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Please check out my column on NewMajority.com: Gambling with Free Speech on the Net

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  1. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 6:54am)

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    I wrote a column on the situation in Kentucky for NewMajority.com. It will be the featured article for the day, so hopefully we'll get some attention for what we're doing as well. I hope you all like it.

    If you choose to Digg or Twitter it, please reply with "dugg", "Twittered", etc. Thanks!

    Gambling with Free Speech on the Net

    http://www.newmajority.com/gambling-...ech-on-the-net

    Upset at what he saw as competition to the state lottery and to state-taxed parimutuel betting, last year Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D) initiated efforts to seize the internet domain names of 141 offshore online poker, sports betting, and casino gaming sites. This action was undertaken despite the fact that these sites are operating legally in their home nations and have no physical presence in Kentucky.

    With his plan in place, Beshear hired an out-of-state contingency-fee only law firm to assist him with his scheme. The governor and his team of hired guns went to a state circuit court to initiate the seizure and forfeiture of the domain names in question. His stated intention was to release the domain names to their rightful owners only after they paid a large cash settlement and agreed to use blocking technology to prohibit Kentucky residents from viewing content the governor found objectionable. In other words, Beshear sought to assess a non-existent tax on foreign companies and unilaterally establish trade policies while censoring the worlds Internet sites to control content accessible to Kentuckians.

    Beshear moved his case through the state circuit court, but lost 2-1 on appeal. The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear Beshears appeal of that loss next month, and supporters of internet freedom are lining up to tell the court where they stand. eBay, Network Solutions, the Poker Players Alliance, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, the Bluegrass Institute, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and many others are demanding that the Kentucky Supreme Court uphold the appeals court ruling.

    Beshears contention that any court in the world should be permitted to seize domain names of internet sites operating legally in their home jurisdictions is deeply disturbing to those who value internet freedom and U.S. sovereignty, and with good reason. For example, under this scheme CNNs internet domain name could be at risk if they were to run an article critical of Cuba or China. Similarly, the Family Research Councils domain name could be seized by a court in a small town in Syria if FRC were to run an article critical of Islam........
     
  2. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 6:55am) in reply to TheEngineer

    Contact info for Governor Beshear:

    Online: http://governor.ky.gov/contact/contact.htm

    Mailing Address:
    700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
    Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

    Phone/Fax
    Main Line: (502) 564-2611
    Fax: (502) 564-2517
    TDD: (502) 564-9551 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf)
     
    Thread Starter
  3. DEApoker87 DEApoker87 is offline

    Spokane, WA
    United States

    Posts: 789
    Joined: Jul 08

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 7:05am) in reply to TheEngineer

    Dugg. Also read the article, great work as usual TheEngineer...
  4. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 8:19am) in reply to DEApoker87

     
    Originally Posted by DEApoker87 View Post

    Dugg. Also read the article, great work as usual TheEngineer...

    Thanks!
     
    Thread Starter
  5. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 8:20am) in reply to TheEngineer

    We have great placement:

     
    Thread Starter
  6. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 11:14am) in reply to TheEngineer

    I'm glad Beshear is hearing from us.
     
    Thread Starter
  7. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 2:16pm) in reply to TheEngineer

    Any more diggs out there?
     
    Thread Starter
  8. dgillis dgillis is offline Moderator

    CA
    United States

    Posts: 1,903
    Joined: Mar 08

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 2:54pm) in reply to TheEngineer

    Dugg
     
  9. moe86 moe86 is offline

    Milton, MA
    United States

    Posts: 1,147
    Joined: Dec 05

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 3:08pm) in reply to TheEngineer

    dugg

    great work as usual!
     
  10. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 4:39pm) in reply to moe86

     
    Originally Posted by moe86 View Post

    dugg

    great work as usual!

    Thanks!
     
    Thread Starter
  11. makeway makeway is offline

    Posts: 103
    Joined: Aug 05

    Sep 21st, 2009 (9/21/2009 5:59pm) in reply to TheEngineer

    Dugg...Keep up the great work!
  12. TheEngineer TheEngineer is offline Rich Muny - PPA Board VP

    KY
    United States

    Posts: 2,830
    Joined: Nov 07

    Sep 22nd, 2009 (9/22/2009 9:20am) in reply to makeway

    We hit the front page of digg!
     
    Thread Starter
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