Israpundit » Blog Archive » One U.S. Code for Patrick Patte, Another for Barack Obama

One U.S. Code for Patrick Patte, Another for Barack Obama

Internet gambling is illegal unless you are running for President
by Bill Levinson

Patte, 72, owner of Patte’s Sports Bar and Restaurant in Wilkes-Barre, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo to three years probation, with the first six months on home confinement with electronic monitoring, and a $21,000 fine. …Patte and two other men, Christopher Marion, 33, and Mark Fino, 53, were charged in February 2010 with operating an Internet-based betting ring, willtobet.com. Prosecutors said bettors made wagers through the website, then paid their losses or collected their winnings at the popular bar on West Hollenback Avenue.

Two wrongs do not make a right but, on the other hand, a nation of laws cannot tolerate one set of laws for sports bar owners and another set for Presidential candidates. Unless there is something about the proven facts shown below we don’t understand, conduct that could have sent Patrick Patte to the Big House merely helped send Barack Obama to the White House.

There is a famous saying, “You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts.” Here are the facts, straight from Organizing for America.

Every supporter who made a donation of $5 or more between July 26th and July 31st took part in our second Dinner with Barack campaign.

On Labor Day, September 3rd, four lucky supporters from all over the country will join Barack for an evening of good food and good conversation.

Note the three elements of a lottery, i.e. gambling over the Internet:
(1) Payment of consideration ($5 or more)
(2) Element of chance (“four lucky supporters”)
(3) A prize (expenses-paid trip to have dinner with Barack Obama)

At least one law enforcement agency (Minnesota Gambling Board) agreed that this promotion constituted an illegal lottery. Per “Obama Campaign Revamps Trip Offer” (Randy Furst, Star Tribune, July 9 2008), “Doug Forsman, a special agent with the [Minnesota] state Department of Public Safety, said he told the campaign such a solicitation was illegal in Minnesota because it constituted a lottery.”

This is far from the only evidence of what might well have been Internet gambling contrary to the laws of Minnesota and many other states. Here is Barack Obama himself (starts at the 35 second mark) soliciting for what is to all appearances a lottery.

Here is an E-mail we received from the Obama campaign (highlighting is ours), and note that the IP address is still traceable to the campaign’s service provider Blue State Digital. Note again the three elements of a lottery or gambling: (1) “Make a donation” (payment of consideration), (2) “you could” (element of chance), (3) “join us” (prize). Note also the dishonest nature of this lottery because a winner was selected before the entry deadline, thus giving later entrants a lesser chance to win.

bluestatedigital.com

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Content-Type: text/plain; charset = “iso-8859-1″
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Make a donation by 11:59 pm tonight, Tuesday, July 31st, and you could join us for our second Dinner with Barack:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner

Dear Bill,

A couple of weeks ago I sat down to dinner with four supporters like you.

Christina, Haile, Margaret, and Michael each made a small online donation,
and we flew them across the country for some good food and good conversation.

What I enjoyed most about this dinner was the opportunity to listen to the
stories and concerns of ordinary Americans in a relaxed environment. Out on
the campaign trail, there isn’t always time for that kind of interaction.

Last week we started planning our second dinner, and on Friday evening at 6:42 pm,
a woman named Dorothy Unruh of Lakewood, Colorado made a donation.

I’m pleased to announce that Dorothy will be one of my guests for the second dinner.
You could join us if you make a small donation before 11:59 pm tonight, July 31st:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner

Here’s what Dorothy told us about herself:

“I’m a senior citizen fed up with the current state of our government.
I’m sad that our great nation has lost its stature in the eyes of the rest of the world.
I have been a registered Republican for years, but recently officially changed parties so
I can attend the Democratic caucus and help elect Senator Obama. He is like a breath of
fresh air to my husband and me.”

Dorothy has never taken part in a political campaign before, but she and millions of
other voters who want change are going to be the key to Democratic victories up and down
the ballot next year.

I’m looking forward to having dinner with Dorothy, but there are still three seats left
at the table. Will you be in one of them?

If you make a donation by 11:59 pm tonight, Tuesday, July 31st, you could join us for

dinner very soon:

https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner

We’ll pay for your trip and the meal — all you need to bring is your story and
your ideas about how to make this a better country for all Americans.

Small donations from ordinary Americans have set our campaign apart and allowed us to
reject the influence of Washington lobbyists and special interest groups. Not only is
your support the key to our success, it’s essential to reclaiming a government that
is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I hope you will make a donation now and participate in this opportunity. Take ownership
of your part in this campaign and strengthen your role in our movement.

Together we can put an end to pay-for-influence politics. We can turn the page in Washington,
and it all begins with you.

Thank you for your support.

Barack Obama

————————————————————————
Paid for by Obama for America

These are the facts. What Congress should or should not do about these facts is a subject for opinions and discussion.

Posted by Bill Levinson @ 9:35 pm | Comments Off

February 26, 2011

One U.S. Code for Patrick Patte, Another for Barack Obama