Sixfive do you have any pull with these buddies of yours?

[The Sponge]

Christian right joins betting fightBy Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington

Published: August 13 2007 22:02 | Last updated: August 13 2007 22:02

The National Football League has enlisted the support of the Christian right to help drum up opposition to a proposal in Congress that would legalise sports betting and reverse sweeping prohibitions on online gambling that were passed last year.
The primary target of the lobbying campaign by the sports league and Focus on the Family, the evangelical group headed by James Dobson, is a proposal introduced this year by Barney Frank, the powerful Democratic lawmaker, that would undo the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

The law strengthened federal anti-gambling laws and wiped billions of dollars in value from foreign gaming companies that had operated in the US while the anti-gambling statutes were more ambiguous.
In a July 31 e-mail obtained by the Financial Times, Bill Wichterman ? a Washington lobbyist for the NFL who served as a top adviser to former Republican majority leader Bill Frist ? encouraged conservative groups to co-sign a letter to Congress that ostensibly was written by Focus on the Family. ?The threat posed by the Frank legislation is very real, and we must actively work against it,? Mr Wichterman wrote.

The letter was co-signed by the Christian Coalition and American Values, among others. It urged members of Congress to protect the integrity of the 2006 Act, and cautioned that lawmakers should be wary of ?misinformation campaigns? by ?foreign gambling interests?.

The NFL said the sports league did not author the Focus on the Family letter and there was nothing unusual about its alliance with the Christian groups given their mutual opposition to gambling. Focus on the Family declined to comment.

The campaign underscores how much clout the NFL and its allies wield in the debate over online gaming and sports betting ? and the reason why, some observers say, Mr Frank?s proposal will not become law as long as it includes a provision that allows bets on sports.

While the NFL is active in the lucrative market for fantasy sports betting, which is legal and was not affected by the anti-gaming legislation, it says legalising sports bets would have a ?corrosive? effect on football.
Mr Frank?s proposal contains an ?opt-out? for individual sports leagues such as the NFL, but the group says it nevertheless ?threatens to undermine the integrity of American sports?.

Former New York Senator Alfonse D?Amato, who chairs the Poker Players? Alliance, a pro-gaming group, says the NFL?s lobbying shows it believes Mr Frank?s bill is gaining traction among lawmakers, who see the regulation of gambling as an attractive way to generate tax revenue.

But he says the NFL?s influence in Washington is the ?major issue? that could prevent the bill from gaining more support. ?I don?t believe the NFL can be defeated on this.?

He added: ?They aren?t going to want anyone betting on their games unless they can control it.?

 

[vinnie]

Mr Frank?s bill is gaining traction among lawmakers, who see the regulation of gambling as an attractive way to generate tax revenue.


SAY NO MORE

 

[vinnie]

 

[SixFive]

nope, but Focus on the Family is a good organization.

 

[The Judge]

nope, but Focus on the Family is a good organization.

This may be true but . . . . .

Joe was distraught. He had come home from work one afternoon and found most of his personal belongings on the front lawn. His wife of 12 years, Jean, had put them there and locked him out of the house. Joe, a former student whom I hadn?t spoken with in six years, called me for help. As we talked over the phone, he filled me in on what had happened.

The previous weekend, Jean?s mother had come for a visit. She was a marriage counselor, and she ended up talking about the large number of couples she was seeing whose marriages had been harmed by pornography. She talked about how these men who used pornography grew dissatisfied with their wives? appearance, how emotionally distant they became and how sex had become less frequent and less satisfying.

Once her mother left, Jean made it clear to Joe that they needed to talk. The marital symptoms Jean?s mother had mentioned seemed close to home. Joe made a few futile attempts to deny his use of pornography, but in the face of Jean?s unrelenting insistence, he finally confessed. They did not sleep in the same bedroom that night ? Jean informed Joe that he could sleep with his computer! The next day, he had come home from work to find himself locked out of the house.

As I talked with Joe, he seemed surprised that his pornography use had come to this. As he put it: ?I guess deep down I knew it wasn?t right, but I kept telling myself that it wasn?t hurting anyone, or at least no one else but me. Now I am beginning to see that my love, respect and affection for Jean have been slipping away.?

Like Joe, many men believe that viewing pornography is, at worst, a private sin with consequences that affect only them. But as Joe was finding out the hard way, pornography is in fact a sin that harms the most intimate of relationships ? marriage.

Early research in this area began in the late 1970s. Researchers showed men pictures and movies of beautiful women, then asked them to judge the attractiveness of other women. After viewing these images, the men judged other women much more critically. This was termed ?the contrast effect.?

Subsequent investigations of this contrast effect have used pictures of physically attractive women as well as erotica. Researchers have found that after repeated exposure to such materials, men judged their wives as less satisfying, less attractive and less desirable. They also reported feeling less love for their wives and lower commitment to them.

About eight years ago, marriage studies revealed a phenomenon among couples known as ?Dual Income No Sex? (DINS). DINS refers to married couples who both work outside the home and have sex once per month or less. Nearly 20 percent of married couples in the United States can be classified as DINS.

Initially, social pundits explained that DINS couples were simply too tired for sexual intimacy. But this explanation did not ring true to me. Could it really be that young, healthy men were, on a regular basis, too tired for sex? Subsequent investigations have confirmed my early suspicions: Many of these men fulfill their sexual needs in ways that do not involve their wives.

Several years ago, as I was giving a talk in Minneapolis, a woman in the audience asked a personal question. She said that her husband used pornography and that during the past couple years he had become critical of her appearance and ability to perform sexually. She wanted to know if her husband?s reactions could be related to his use of pornography.

As this woman spoke, two things struck me. First, by any objective standard, she was an attractive woman. Second, she must have been desperate; after all, she had asked this deeply personal question in a room full of strangers. I found myself wondering how many other wives live with the degrading effects of pornography.

. . . somehow I can't relate.