Wednesday‘s hearing on Capitol Hill regarding the Restoration of America‘s Wire
Act (RAWA) was amusing. Not "Look at that Sheldon Adelson-Led Train Wreck, We‘re
Definitely Going to Win" amusing, rather "Do These People Realize What They‘re
Saying and Does Anyone Actually Take them Serious?" amusing. The scary part is
that, yes, people do take Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) seriously. Chaffetz, the lead
sponsor on the bill, takes himself so seriously that he bounced before the
proceedings ended. I‘m sure he will catch up on the final testimonies when the
minutes are released, or one of his staffers will brief him. I‘m also certain
that everything sensible will fly right over his head, or simply fall upon
forcibly deaf ears. Five professors, directors, and attorneys offered their
testimony on RAWA. One of them compared online gambling to crack cocaine, one of
them favors the prohibition of state-sponsored gambling, one of them wrongly
associated the three regulated markets in America with offshore operators, and
two of them gave thoughtful, sensible testimonies. Professor John Kindt is
someone with the power to influence a bill that could result in millions of
dollars and thousands texas poker of jobs
gained or lost in this country, and he is sitting on the Hill making green eggs
and ham. Even more puke-worthy, Kindt also busted out the tried and true "crack
cocaine" analogy a bit later, comparing the accessibility of the Internet to the
chemical powers of baking soda and an open flame. He also made some insane
Vladimir Putin reference, praising the Russian Czar President for his
anti-online gambling stance. Les Bernal, the national director of Step Predatory
Gambling, is against all forms of gambling. His testimony focused on the
negative economic effects that are associated with state-sponsored
brick-and-mortar operations, claiming that no one actually wants to be able to
gamble.
Do These People Realize What They're Saying