Words of Wisdom from Barney Frank
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) on internet gambling:
If an adult in this country, with his or her own money, wants to engage in an activity that harms no one, how dare we prohibit it because it doesn't add to the GDP or it has no macroeconomic benefit. Are we all to take home calculators and, until we have satisfied the gentleman from Iowa that we are being socially useful, we abstain from recreational activities that we choose?... People have said, What is the value of gambling ? Here is the value. Some human beings enjoy doing it. Shouldn't that be our principle? If individuals like doing something and they harm no one, we will allow them to do it, even if other people disapprove of what they do.
(quoted in Unclaimed Territory). Go here to read more from Glenn Greenwald on the GOP's war on the private sphere.
posted by Jason Sonenshein @ 11:05 PM
5 Comments:
FYI, your Feedburner feed is out of order. This is the feed used by Freedom Democrats to syndicate your posts
http://feeds.feedburner.com/LeaveUsAlone
Thanks for the heads-up! How do I fix it?
Actually, I can see a lot more arguments from the libertarian perspective supporting internet gambling than I can about OH issue 2 to give state sanctioned monopoly power to a very small group of racetrack owners.
There's a ton less corruption with open competition for the gambling dollar on the net than there will be at the track / slot parlor operators in bed with the state government.
btw, I added you to the TBMD blogroll.
Thanks for you comments.
Thanks for the link, BMD.
A couple of things bother me about Issue 3. One is that it would legalize only slot machines and not table games. The other is that it would create a state-protected oligopoly. I still think it would be a lesser evil than the outright criminalization of casino gambling, and therefore an improvement over the current law, but it's a close call.
Pretty funny hearing Barney Frank complain about intrusive government. Pretty much the only place he doesn't want the government to intrude into is the bedroom.
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