Tim Pawlenty Trying to Censor the Internet!!

[TheEngineer]

On April 29, 2009, Minnesota announced a plan to force eleven Internet service providers to block access to 200 online poker and gaming sites throughout the state. The state is citing the Wire Act, a 1961 federal law that prohibits transmission of some wagering activity. Federal case law, including an appeals court ruling, holds that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting, but the state of Minnesota contends that the Wire Act applies to all gaming. John Willems, director of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division of Minnesota's Department of Public Safety, said this "seem(s) to be a reasonable application of the law."

The Poker Players Alliance, a one million member strong poker advocacy group, said the state's plan was based on "a clear misrepresentation of federal law, as well as Minnesota law, used in an unprecedented way to try and censor the Internet."

"We're calling their bluff," said Matt Werden, the Minnesota Poker Players Alliance State Director.

Needless to say, once government gains a foothold into the Internet, they will not stop until it is completely regulated. Government cannot stand that speech and commerce occur free from government interference. If you believe in free speech and Internet freedom, I urge you to stand for your rights right now!

Here is contact information for Governor Tim Pawlenty. Let our voices be heard!

email: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Pawlenty
telephone: 651-296-3391
toll free: 1-800-657-3717
fax: 651-296-2089

Contact him ASAP. If you don't live in MN, just tell him you will remember this action if he runs for national office.

Check my blogs at http://www.campaignforliberty.com/user/TheEngineer/ and http://poker.townhall.com for more.

[TheEngineer]

Pawlenty has a brand-new Twitter account at http://twitter.com/Pawlenty (it's really him -- see http://www.timpawlenty.com ). Let's welcome him to Twitter! :D

With all the Internet freedom supporters on Twitter, I believe we can make this viral. So, let's all send Pawlenty tweets with our opinion of this action.

Some examples:

PLZ send Gov. Tim Pawlenty (at Pawlenty) a tweet expressing outrage over his Internet censorship plans http://is.gd/uNvv PLZ RT! #liberty

@Pawlenty I object to your attempt to censor the Internet. PLZ reconsider. I'll keep your actions in mind in '12 http://is.gd/uNvv

(links are to my blog....feel free to use, or substitute with a different article)

[BuddyRey]

Pawlenty has a brand-new Twitter account at http://twitter.com/Pawlenty (it's really him -- see http://www.timpawlenty.com ). Let's welcome him to Twitter! :D

With all the Internet freedom supporters on Twitter, I believe we can make this viral. So, let's all send Pawlenty tweets with our opinion of this action.

Some examples:

PLZ send Gov. Tim Pawlenty (at Pawlenty) a tweet expressing outrage over his Internet censorship plans http://is.gd/uNvv PLZ RT! #liberty

@Pawlenty I object to your attempt to censor the Internet. PLZ reconsider. I'll keep your actions in mind in '12 http://is.gd/uNvv

(links are to my blog....feel free to use, or substitute with a different article)

I'm brand new to this, so please forgive my ignorance, but how exactly does one go about "tweeting" a specific person and not just one's own followers?

[TheEngineer]

I'm brand new to this, so please forgive my ignorance, but how exactly does one go about "tweeting" a specific person and not just one's own followers?

Just include @pawlenty anywhere in the tweet.

[BuddyRey]

Just include @pawlenty anywhere in the tweet.

Cool, thanks!

[TheEngineer]

Monitor this in real-time at http://tweetgrid.com/grid?l=1&q1=pawlenty&q2=poker

[TheEngineer]

Too bad Jesse Ventura is no longer governor.

[BuddyRey]

Bump!

[TheEngineer]

Here's an open letter I wrote to Gov. Tim Pawlenty:

Read/digg at http://digg.com/d1q7a9
Click here to Twitter (comment autopopulated....just click and you're done) (http://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20@TheEngineer2008:%20An%20Open%20L etter%20to%20Gov.%20Tim%20@Pawlenty%20on%20the%20M innesota%20Internet%20Censorship%20Plan%20http://digg.com/d1q7a9)

Letter is posted to my blogs, at http://www.campaignforliberty.com/user/TheEngineer/ (http://www.campaignforliberty.com/user/TheEngineer/) and http://poker.townhall.com (http://poker.townhall.com/)

May 2, 2009

Dear Governor Pawlenty,

I am writing to express my displeasure with your state's plan to censor the Internet (http://www.imega.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/minnestoa-seeks-to-prohibit-access-to-illegal-online-gambling-news-release.doc) to stop Minnesotans from playing a hand of poker in the comfort of their own home. I ask that you stand up for Internet freedom.

While this action may have been initiated by John Willems, Director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (a department that is under DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie), it is yours now. You are the chief executive of your state and you clearly have the authority to stop this if you choose to. At a minimum, you can have the attorney general review it for legality or challenge it in court yourself. You can also speak out against it. If you choose to remain silent on the issue and refuse to act, Americans will (rightly) take this as your tacit authorization of a very unpopular censorship action. It will surely be remembered in 2012 if you choose to run for national office.

You have ample reason to stop this on purely legal grounds. Here are a few:

Many sites on the block order (http://www.imega.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ab001dd4.pdf) do not accept U.S. customers. As such, Minnesota cannot make a Wire Act claim for a block of such sites. Minnesota will just be blocking free speech. You can and should rescind the entire blocking order as a clear violation of the First Amendment protections of free speech.
The Wire Act has never been held to apply to anything but interstate sports betting. The state of Minnesota will be in for a long, expensive, and potentially losing court battle to get this definition expanded judicially.
Blocks by Minnesota would likely result in inadvertent blocking to residents of neighboring states. Other states may not wish for the Minnesota government nanny to "protect" their citizens from freedom.
The block order includes sites that offer only poker. However, games of skill like poker are likely not "gambling" as defined by Minnesota law. From your own state's website (http://www.dps.state.mn.us/alcgamb/gamfaq.html): "What about games of skill? If the activity is a game of skill, then criminal penalties don't apply. Skill activities might include darts, bowling and pool tournaments." Perhaps the State Attorney General's Office believes Texas Hold'em and other poker games are not included, but Minnesota will have to prove this in court, where poker has recently won several rulings in states with similar laws on skill vs. chance. Again, you may find yourself in for a long, expensive, and potentially losing court battle.
The block order irresponsibly threatened players' funds. Minnesota has made no allegations that players are breaking any state or federal laws, so this misleading and inaccurate scaremongering is reason enough to rescind the entire blocking order.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear tried to censor the Internet for online poker and gaming, too. When he initiated his protectionist crusade, he thought no one would object. Well, besides the thousands of Kentuckians who called and wrote, pro-rights groups like the million-member Poker Players Alliance, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU, and many others fought for Internet freedom -- in court. Beshear won at the circuit court level, but lost his case at the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He's now appealing to the Kentucky Supreme Court, where even eBay and Network Solutions have filed briefs opposing his unpopular actions. At least Beshear did this with a contingency-fee only law firm. Under Minnesota's plan, taxpayers will be required to foot the bill for this very expensive (and likely unpopular) effort.
Willems expressed surprise at the volume of calls (http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/minnesota-department-of-public-safety-discusses-internet-gambling-ban-2223/) from poker players. However, those calls were generated from word-of-mouth only. Willems should expect many more calls from people who care about their freedoms as news of this plan gets out. Willems also said, "if (poker players) want to make their case, they should also do so to the state's policy makers." Well, the Poker Players Alliance does not believe the state policy makers appointed Willems as the Minnesota Internet Czar. PPA stated that the state's plan was based on "a clear misrepresentation of federal law, as well as Minnesota law, used in an unprecedented way to try and censor the Internet." They went on to declare that they are "calling (Minnesota's) bluff (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/29/ap6357166.html)." In Kentucky, that meant court action.

What's most important to me is your support for freedom. Please respond to this letter and let me know you will change your mind and support liberty. I will be watching your actions on this issue closely and, should you choose to run for national office, will definitely keep them in mind in 2012. I hope that I -- along with my over one million fellow Poker Players Alliance members -- can count on your support.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Rich Muny
Union, KY 41091
PPA Board Member & KY State Director
www.twitter.com/TheEngineer2008 (http://www.twitter.com/TheEngineer2008)

[TheEngineer]

If you like the above letter:

Digg at http://digg.com/d1q7a9
Click here to Twitter (comment autopopulated....just click and you're done) (http://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20@TheEngineer2008:%20An%20Open%20L etter%20to%20Gov.%20Tim%20@Pawlenty%20on%20the%20M innesota%20Internet%20Censorship%20Plan%20http://digg.com/d1q7a9)