The late, great comedian George Carlin once said there was an automatic giveaway when politicians are lying. Carlin said, “When they mention protecting the children, you know they are lying.”
After yesterday’s horrendous decision in the Kentucky case regarding seizure of Internet casino domain names, Governor Steve Beshear stated, “No one has been willing to step up and do anything about illegal Internet gambling until now. We must protect our people, especially our children, from this illegal and unregulated activity while also protecting our legal and regulated forms of gaming in Kentucky.”
So, as Carlin told us politicians are wont to do, Beshear used the excuse of protecting children for pursuing an order that violates most of the standards, liberties, and laws upon which the United States is built.
After all, once people think it might save children, the emotional, knee-jerk response is to give approval. It takes a concerted effort to stop marching in step and question a decision that saves kids!
But Beshear has as much as admitted his case is not about guarding the citizenry, but about collecting revenue. Beshear has attacked online gambling ventures as “leeches on the community,” and insisted on protection for the state’s “signature industry.”
Ed Leyden, president of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association and a highly respected attorney, told Online Casino Advisory, “This is a tax case, pure and simple.”
Gambling is alright with Beshear if the sites pay a fee. Like a mob protection racket, the state of Kentucky will allow all the gambling desired, in all forms available, as long as it gets a taste. Otherwise, a fire might burn down the business, or the domain name might be seized to protect the children.
Beshear seems blind to the shocking precedent he is setting, which may make a case for any government to shut down worldwide businesses that displease it. He doesn’t mind hardening the cases of Antigua and the European Union regarding U.S. protectionism, specifically toward horse racing, which Beshear allows to continue online.
The real truth here is that the most dangerous place to be is between a politician and money he might misspend.
Tags: Kentucky, politician, Sports Betting, Steve Beshear
