I hate eating crow

Yesterday I said that I would not be voting for Phil Gingrey to represent GA-11 in November based on HR 4411.

Well, in checking out the Secretary of State's website and seeing who the other candidates are, it appears there's only one other candidate.

And I don't agree with this guy on a single issue. I'm surprised there isn't any sort of conservative leaning with the Democratic candidate, in this neck of the woods. And I can't support anyone who says we should bring home every troop, right now. This guy just seems WAAAAAAY too liberal to represent this district.

So, perhaps I'll just sit that race out.

Too bad that we don't like taxes, because legalizing and regulating (taxing) online gaming entities would more than cover the current budget deficit of $300 million. Online gaming is, from my best estimates, a $12 billion enterprise. A 3% tax would cover a budget deficit this year, and allow for a lot more in surplus in following years. That would make for a much nicer blog post - check the entry for July 12.

Look at it this way - players tip the dealers upon winning a hand in a casino, so essentially this would be close to the same amount that a player, in person, would give up as part of winning. For the player, how is a 5% tax on online gaming winnings any different than me handing a $1 chip to the dealer as a tip after winning a $20 pot?

Losses can be tracked and itemized in taxes for deductions if above a certain amount, but the winnings are taxes as gambling income. The government still gets a piece of the pie.

Frankly, it's downright hypocritical that the House has voted to ban online poker and other games of skill, while allowing games of chance like betting on horce racing and state lotteries. It's short-sighted to not see the revenue possibilities of legalization and regulation. Lastly, it's misguided to have a 21st-century version of Prohibition. If you want to work on legislating morals, there's plenty of other higher-profile issues to worry about instead of online gaming.

But what do I know, I'm not in Congress. Perhaps I should consider running in 2008 a bit more seriously :)

I will be writing a few more items about the Georgia elections in the next few days, if I can manage to avoid any more bomb-throwing ads by Mark Taylor, Cathy Cox, Ralph Reed, and Casey Cagle. In 30 minutes of watching TV this morning, I counted over a dozen ads from the four of them. Overkill, anyone? I just hope no primaries are needed. What a disgrace to American discourse.