Once again, the ban on internet gambling in Washington state has a pernicious effect. After seeing the state issue cease and desist letters to publications that even mention online gambling, at least two magazines have been forced to pull all subscriptions to that state. Happy 4th of July, eh?
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I guess this makes you ecstatic.
The morallity police are cracking down. Some what unrelated but not really, now the FCC is asking for tapes of broadcaasts looking for the 7 words that may have been uttered by athletes and crowd members. Yes crowd members.
I think this is a grand example of how fostering an environment at the federal level trickles down to the states. It doesn't matter that those pushing this law in Washington are diametricly apposed to the bush regime on many fronts - they see the fed causing blanket suppresion and choose to follow suite in their own fashion. This is a sore point of contention between me and many of my "liberal" friends. They tend to think that when it is repression they agree with, smoking bans, gambling or drug laws for example, that it's just fine. But when "free speech" is attacked - i.e. their speech - they go apeshit. And will scream till they're blue in the face that it's not the same. Well, I hate to burst that silly little bubble but it is exactly the same.
Humm my html-foo is weak. The link I was trying to post is:
Sorry bout that.
Reverend, that is a pretty frightening precedent. I don't personally give a tinker's cuss about gambling, but that sort of approach could be rather frighteningly applied to all sorts of things.
It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that it would pass the House. The House passes every piece of ridiculous legislation it can conjur up, including the gay marriage amendment and the flag burning amendment. It likely will not pass in the Senate, thankfully.
So when will stock market investments be made illegal?
Is this even constitutional? Doesn't it, at the very least, violate the magazine's first amendment right? And possibly the reader's rights (I assume that the first amendment also protects our right to receive, not just give, speech). Even if the latter isn't true, it still prevents the magazine from speaking on internet gambling. High Times is a magazine dedicated to an illegal activity, for example.
Yes, I think it's unconstitutional. If they actually did prosecute or attempt prior restraint against a publication for publishing information about it, they would lose in court.