Republican Bashes Midnight Rulings: 2

The article written for CNet by Dick Armey has brought up a lot of attention from the right wing because of the midnight rulings. He is warning people of the actions that the United States Treasury is taking by making the US Financial institutions essentially an extension of the government by being able to enforce the illegal online casino activity. The only problem with that is that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act does not exactly define what “illegal internet gambling” means. The article is one to be read because it covers how the basic principles of the internet are going to be endangered with the passing of the regulations for online casinos.

The pressure that is being put on the financial institutions to act as the enforcers of the government’s lack of definition especially during a time of economic crisis is an irresponsible move, according to Armey. Alas, these reports and warnings have not done anything to deter the course that the Treasury Department is on at the moment when it comes to the online casino issue. They formed their latest draft of the regulations and submitted them in November. There is a sixty day review period before it would have to be implemented.

The article states that there is a plan that was introduced by Democrat Representative Barney Frank called the Payments System Protection Act. Online casinos are just a fraction of the jurisdiction that these regulations would have. The online casino regulations that the government would be placing on the financial institutions will have various effects on the United States. Armey writes, “Beyond correcting the economic burdens of the law, however, Americans ought to be concerned about the larger questions of the law's impact on privacy and Internet freedom for the future.” One of the most effective lines in his article was, “The Founding Fathers took great care constructing a government that would protect our endowed rights and liberties, not restrict and monitor them. Americans don't want the government monitoring their private transactions, online or offline.”