The Constitutional Case Against The Federal Sports Gambling Ban

The Federal ban on sports betting has been blasted by anyone who knows anything about the subject for a number of different reasons. Though the US professional leagues suggest that sports betting threatens the integrity of their games, the opposite is the case. This is important because there would still be no shortage of outlets for college sport wagering, be it offshore or with your local illegal bookmaker. The professional bookmaking industry is usually where any type of compromised or fixed game is discovered. Ultimately, the true injustice of banning sports betting lies in its contempt for the Constitution.

The Congress of the United States has shown very little respect for the Constitution in recent years. Were it to abide strictly by the role outlined for it by the founding fathers, the Legislative Branch of our government would have to relinquish any number of its powers in a variety of areas. The primary problem with our Congress is that it has increasingly become a collection of career politicians rather than a body representative of its constituency. Every increase in power at the Federal level must be brought about by a usurpation of state and local sovereignty and, more alarmingly, personal liberty.

The Federal prohibition of sports wagering which was enacted a few years back is of very dubious Constitutionality. Were it not for the grandfather clause, which allowed it to remain legal in jurisdictions in which it already existed, it would have certainly been struck down as unconstitutional on a number of different fronts. Ironically, the gambling industry supported this bill in the pre-Internet era.

The mere fact that a proposed law or initiative is unconstitutional offers no protection for the citizenry. If a politician can suggest that a law is for ‘the children’ many will swallow the bait hook line and sinker. In many cases such prohibitive legislation contradicts one of the most important concepts in the Constitution–that of the right to sovereignty and self-determination of the individual states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The overriding concern of the writers and framers of the Constitution was that the personal liberty of the individual not be violated by a too-powerful central government. In other words, unless the power in question has been expressly given to the Federal government by the Constitution, and/or unless it has expressly been prohibited to the states (as in the case of treaty making) it is the right of each individual state to govern themselves as they see fit. If an individual state chooses not to regulate a certain activity, it is the right of each individual citizen to make their own decision.

So, you should be asking yourself at this point, where exactly does the Constitution delegate to the Federal government the right to make policy on sports gambling? The answer is that it doesnt, and it is very questionable that they have the Constitutional authority to do so. The sanctimonious blowhards who oppose sports betting would like to think they know best, but fortunately for all freedom loving Americans the founding fathers would beg to differ.

The entire premise of a social contract between a government and the governed is that individuals give up a certain degree of personal liberty for a certain degree of protection. The problem is that too many Americans are willing to give up just about any freedom for even the illusory promise of protection. If theyre not personally willing to cede this freedom, theyre often indifferent or unconcerned about it. The danger to broader concepts of personal liberty may seem a million miles away, but with each additional law intended to protect us from this or that the Federal government becomes larger and more powerful and the rights of the sovereign states”and the individuals that comprise them”are shrinking and being weakened.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Certificate of Good Standing for an Ontario Company

The Ontario Companies Branch of the Ministry of Government Services issues Certificates of Status for companies incorporated in Ontario. A Certificate of Status, Certificate of Good Standing or a Certificate of Compliance are different names for the same thing and the name depends on the province or territory in which you request it. Any company in the World can obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from its country, province or territory of origin.

Certificates of Status are issued when you need to provide some institution or person with confirmation that your Ontario company is in good standing and is up-to-date in its filings.

An Ontario Certificate of Status shows whether the company is in good standing or not, the exact and proper name of the company and the corporation number.

Ontario companies must file federal tax returns each year and if those returns are not filed for many years the federal government will eventually dissolve the company. If a company has been dissolved it will not be able to receive a clear Certificate of Status.

Your Ontario corporation will be dissolved by the Ministry of Government Services if the annual returns are not filed. If you wish to order a Certificate of Status then you must ensure the annual returns are up-to-date or you will not receive a Certificate indicating the corporation is in good standing.

The government does not refund the money if a clear Certificate of Status cannot be issued. Basically it will issue a Certificate of Status that indicates the Ontario company is not in compliance and you will then need to file any outstanding returns and order a new Certificate of Status. A Certificate of Status is not cheap so if you know in advance you have not made your filings you should at the least ensure all Ontario annual returns are filed before ordering your Certificate of Status. If you have some outstanding tax returns but have not been dissolved then you will still receive a favourable Certificate of Status as long as your Ontario annual returns have been filed with the Ontario Companies Branch.

An Ontario Certificate of Status is not the same thing as an Ontario company search. If you are looking to find out information such as addresses, names of officers and directors of a company, etc., this would be considered a corporate search and an Ontario Corporate Profile Report should be obtained instead.

If your corporation is selling or buying property, is entering into a major contract, wants to register a car against the corporation, a Certificate of Status might be requested by the law firm, by the government or the bank involved. Any corporation might be asked for confirmation that it has made its proper filings and be requested to provide a Certificate of Status.

Resources for Canadian Business Owners provides information about Ontario Certificates of Status and other legal products including Ontario Company Searches.

Should Personal Blogs be Allowed and Permitted by Employers

It seems that almost everyone has a blog today . Blogs are are the new “Coronation Street”. People may not talk to their neighbors anymore . However they may well be following their online blog. Yet that blog roll may well spill the beans about what should be considered private and confidential workplace matters as well as proprietary if not trade secrets and procedures at the firm and home office.

It seems as if anyone and their dog has a blog. Whether it is their own , hosted on a free blogging platform such as “blogger” or ” word-press” , or self hosted, or even if the worker or client is simply responding to blog posts and posting their own comments , the result to you, your firm or organization can all be the same – loss of company secrets , well held information or worse – damage to the firm’s or organization’s well deserved , hard worked image.

One of the reasons behind this rapid increase in blogging is the ease with which blogs are created. Anyone with basic computes skills and something to write about would be up and running with a blog in less than 10 minutes, thanks to the many free blog auto creation software and templates being offered by internet entrepreneurs including he mighty Google.

As an employer or consultant you need to be aware of the blogs and postings of current staff on the job , as well as former employees , who may well be disgruntled , and who even go by pseudonyms.

In order to protect your business from damaging employee blogs and to reduce the risk of falling to bloggers damaging content, the following steps would be advisable;

Believe it or not , there are organizations out there , whose management view their role in life is to protect their perks and privileges . Any open concerns and discussion is seen by this form of management as a personal attack on them , or a direct threat to their apparent power and position. Its a matter of no matter what “I will teach you who is boss” ( often at great expense to corporate morale and profitability ). It is hard to imagine a greater means of creating dissension , hostility and even anger in the ranks.

Secondly, reference blogging in employee policy handbooks to promote responsible blogging. If your employees are already in the blogging culture; insist that employees place disclaimers on their personal blogs

Also, require employees to sign a non-disclosure contract as a standard in employment. And ensure that older employees as well as new hires are required to sign this form. As part of this policy make it clear that release of confidential corporate information is legal grounds for immediate dismissal from the firm and set policies and guidelines that prohibit employees from publishing defamatory blogs about your business, co-workers or clients.

Blogs in today’s business world are a two edged sword. Used well they can promote your business , organization and website presence. Your awareness on the world wide web can improve , you can develop targeted niche customers and followers. You can enhance your corporate , company or groups inherent image immensely. Blogs involve customers in a community – both for good for bad. They may even see your product or service as “theirs” and “theirs to uphold and protect”. All in all in the internet marketing world these weblogs are playing an increasing role in search engine positioning , whether it is the search engine ranking results (SERPs) of Google, Yahoo & Bing (formerly MSN ). Why take a chance of a loose cannon diminishing all your careful efforts . Monitor your employee’s blogs. Take the time to set standards and rules when it comes to hirelings, operatives and former staff employee members , when it comes to online blogs and blogging.

Top Search Google MSN Bing