United States Says No To Poker

Anyone up for a game of poker? The United States government answer is no. Online internet poker is not only allowed in just about every country in the world but most governments sponsor or regulate online poker and other games.
The United States has lost numerous suits brought against it through the World Trade Organization that accuses the United States of discriminating against online gambling offered by other countries.
The United States argument is that they can refuse products or services that are not socially accepted in society. The WTO ruled that the United States allows online betting on horse racing within the United States but is blocking other forms of regulated gambling outside of the United States.
Sounds like protectionism. This is the same government that lets you go down to your local 7-11 and buy a $20.00 scratch off ticket and has lotto's that finance almost every state government with mind boggling odds. What is the government really afraid of?
Sad to say it seems Republicans are leading this movement.
Being a Republican I just don't get it. I grew up learning that being a Republican meant less government in your life but this is the same party that comes into your house and tells you that you cannot play poker online with money you yourself have earned. A little off the subject but isn't this the same party that has tried to censor broadcast stations for content they deem could be offensive to the public? Talk about Government intruding into your personal life.
Poker unlike other forms of gambling is mostly a game of skill. Those that know the game more or less in the long run win the money. Sooner or later the United States Government will regulate and make it legal to gamble online and when they do the benefits of increased taxes will put smiles on their faces.
Until then you can gamble online under a set of murky laws put in place by the government or you can legally buy as many $20.00 scratch off tickets as you want or get online and do a little bet of horse racing.
Both of these make enormous sums of money for the government but to tell you the truth are just bad bets. If your good at poker then your odds have greatly increased but until the government here does the right thing your out of luck.

Beware of JPMorgan Chase

I kind of took it personal when Chase canceled my credit card after acquiring the card from Washington Mutual. I needn't have worried though because after very little research I found countless examples of Chase screwing their good customers and this is after Chase was granted a $25 billion bailout from the government.
Here are the facts. I have several credit cards and have never been late on any of them, ever. I pay more then the minimum each month on every card. I thought there may have been a mistake but nope. That's the way Chase treats their customers. As recently as last week Chase was cited in a front page USA article on how the company is canceling credit cards of good customers. One, Mary Lou Reid of Arcadia, Ca had a perfect payment record and was a financial planner. Chase closed two of her accounts.
Other disturbing accounts show up all over the web, http://consumerist.com/5313729/ details an account of a Chase customer who had his cards canceled and couldn't get through to a supervisor. I can relate to his problem. Most of the chase reps spoke poor English and one of them flatly denied me the chance to talk to a supervisor.
Speaking of the language skills of their reps here is a interesting fact. After receiving a 25 billion government bailout JPMorgan has continued to outsource jobs to India with contracts totaling almost 400 million for 2009 Here is a link to this information Chase outsourcing jobs .
At a employee-only confrence call a question was asked how the government bailout would be used. JPMorgan Chase chief executive, Jamie Dimon admitted that the massive 25 billion dollars given to it by the tax payers will not be used to free up credit and make new loans but to acquire other companies. Here is the full story in the New York Times
Full Story .
Here is another link to a slew of complaints about JPMorgan Chase who were mostly customers with Washington Mutual which Chase acquired Consumer Affairs .
I have other credit cards so the only way this is hurting me and other people who have been treated like shit by Chase is the effect of your credit score getting lowered by FICO because with the cancellation of your chase card you now have less credit available.
Other web sites that have numerous complaints against chase are Complaints board and horror stories at watch your chase card .
My Chase account online still shows I have over a 1,000 dollars available credit even though my card was canceled. Is this a scam to get you to use your canceled card then you get charged fees?
What our the options available to us? I for one I'm sending a link to this blog posting to anyone that has a email address at JPMorgan Chase. Basically they took out money through taxes (25 billion worth) then shut your accounts down as they proceed to buy other companies. Another example of how big business and government use your money and give you very little in return.