Florida Accidentally Banned All Computers, Smart Phones In The State Through Internet Cafe Ban
Source: Huffington Post
When Florida lawmakers recently voted to ban all Internet cafes, they worded the bill so poorly that they effectively outlawed every computer in the state, according to a recent lawsuit.
In April Florida Governor Rick Scott approved a ban on slot machines and Internet cafes after a charity tied to Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll was shut down on suspicion of being an Internet gambling front -- forcing Carroll, who had consulted with the charity, to resign.
Florida's 1,000 Internet cafes were shut down immediately, including Miami-Dade's Incredible Investments, LLC, a café that provides online services to migrant workers, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The owner, Consuelo Zapata, is now suing the state after her legal team found that the ban was so hastily worded that it can be applied to any computer or device connected to the Internet, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Miami Herald.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/florida-banned-computers_n_3561701.html
frylock
(34,825 posts)Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)bluedigger
(17,086 posts)There's no point in waiting for them to come get you.
sigmasix
(794 posts)So the teabagger governor of my state is attacking the 1st amendment rights of every floridian. What a surprise, given that Scott is the poster-boy for The destruction of American liberties and the collusion of private criminally wealthy groups with state and local Teabagger politicians and their owners. all in efforts to sell-off the remaining common spaces and greenways in America, owned by the people.
I moved from Indiana to Michigan because of the right wing teabagger control of indiana politics, then Michigan acquired an even worse Governor, we moved as soon as he staryed jacking up home owner taxes while slashing taxes for the rich and signing off on abatements for the biggest republican donors from out of state. Now we live in florida due to health reasons, but the ODS is strong among the teabagger rank and file in Florida so we often see the worst of the worst out of the governor's office and his operatives.
xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)Orrex
(63,213 posts)I hope that they included a special exemption to allow continued use of computerized ultrasound equipment for the humiliation of women!
sakabatou
(42,152 posts)jtuck004
(15,882 posts)naaman fletcher
(7,362 posts)Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)betting they had something to do with it.
jmowreader
(50,559 posts)These Internet cafes are actually casinos. The owners sell people Internet time or phone cards that come with "entries" in Internet sweepstakes; the "entries" are used to gamble at computers owned by the shop.
naaman fletcher
(7,362 posts)I had no idea.
That being said, I don't care and if have just left them alone
jmowreader
(50,559 posts)Because these things are completely uncontrolled, they're famous for ripping people off even worse than casinos normally do.
And that's the big problem: when one goes to a casino, one has the right to expect the game not to be rigged and to receive any monies one may accidentally win. The Internet cafes don't do that.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,320 posts)Couldn't they have come up with a different phrase?
Thanks for explaining it - it's a shame Huff Post didn't do that as part of their basic journalism.
jmowreader
(50,559 posts)These things are popping up in every state that has an insufficient supply of real casinos. In Idaho these are still legal, so far as I know, but no one's tried opening one because they'd go broke. There are three tribal casinos in North Idaho - the Kootenai tribe has one in Bonners Ferry, the Coeur d'Alenes have one in Worley and the Nez Perce have one in Lewiston. There are probably casinos in south Idaho but am not sure. Washington is thick with casinos, and non-Indians can open card rooms there. Montana is a casino state. And Nevada is right on our southern border. It's in the Bible Belt where these cause problems.
Jerry442
(1,265 posts)"You mean we cain't just write a law that says people should stop doing ornery stuff, you all know what we mean? Got to have de-tails?"
thelordofhell
(4,569 posts)Blue Owl
(50,391 posts)n/t
trusty elf
(7,394 posts)[IMG][/IMG]
Blue Owl
(50,391 posts)dickthegrouch
(3,174 posts)If the government took away my internet cafe, I'd sue for restitution of the value of the property (hint).
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)You could be put in jail for paying your bill. DON"T PAY!
Pterodactyl
(1,687 posts)Lawmakers should actually READ legislation before voting on it.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Pterodactyl
(1,687 posts)Cha
(297,265 posts)Good LUCK to Consuelo Zapata!
Mahalo Galraedia
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)hughee99
(16,113 posts)There was a somewhat minor "moral" issue (like gambling) that was tangentially tied to internet cafes. To fix "the problem" they outlawed internet cafes, and were in such a hurry to do it (because a few people gambling is such a critical thing to address) that they half-assed the language, which is only to be expected when cavemen are trying to legislate a technology they don't understand at all.
Anyone who is familiar with this issue, how'd I do?
jmowreader
(50,559 posts)Florida doesn't allow casinos. The owners were running casinos and calling them Internet cafes. There is a way to ban the casino kind of Internet cafe while allowing the other kind, if you know how to write a bill. Unfortunately, I'm not sure a Republican can write his name on a blackboard much less write a whole piece of legislation.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)alp227
(32,025 posts)See the Medicare fraud case involving the health care corporation he led back in the '90s.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)We could have had a nice healthcare system by now if it wasn't for all the political scammers squandering Americas money for their personal. private ventures.
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,002 posts)LeFleur1
(1,197 posts)SwankyXomb
(2,030 posts)Pretzel_Warrior
(8,361 posts)And in the process reveal a lot about yourself.
Incitatus
(5,317 posts)"revising conditions for exceptions to prohibitions on lotteries"
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2013/0155/BillText/er/PDF
You can gamble away all you want as long as the government is the house that takes the winnings.
Tunkamerica
(4,444 posts)it's like a ghost town.
Conium
(119 posts)This is a fine example of RepUGLYcan hypocrisy and stupidity.
JCMach1
(27,559 posts)and hasn't been seen since... completely gone...
on edit I take that back... the douche now has a job with the defense industry (not joking)...
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)truebrit71
(20,805 posts)...in their attempt to ban sharia law in Oklahoma...
Gotta love when the law of unintended consequences bites these dipshits on the arse..