Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDonk 
I've been in this argument here at PAW before, so I'm going to keep this one tame  .
At what point do we expect the PPA to accomplish something? 'Too little, too late' passed us long ago, and yet the PPA has 'done' nothing. They talk a whole hell of a lot, but that's all they seem to do.
After a recent argument here with someone who was trying to defend the PPA, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and I contacted my states PPA representative personally. I told him my passion for poker as a live player, an online player, and as someone who believes the government should stay out of these types of social issues. I also told him about my websites and offered to publish unique articles if he would write them. I asked him if there was anything else I could do aside from the PPA banners that I already had on my site to help the cause (hoping he'd have some good ideas). I told him I would volunteer my time whenever he could use it.
His response was that soon there would be a chance to talk with our state representatives about busting home games and that he'd love for me to attend and contribute. He said he'd contact me when it came time. He said nothing about online poker.
That was several months ago, and that was the last time we had contact.
Don't anybody try to convince me that the PPA is 'doing' a damn thing, except talking.
TheDonk
PS...okay maybe that wasn't "tame", but I couldn't help myself.
|
First off the PPA as an org is about a year old according to the Sec of State of CA. About 800,000 members as of this morning.
The PPA is also under new nominal leadership. In late Aug or early Sept they announced a new ED and a location change to DC.
The PPA is organized as a non-profit.
From talking to a number of people including the new ED, the PPA seems to be short staffed, in the middle of a change, not very liquid, and over extended on projects. These are my personal opinions based on my take on various interactions with the PPA and poker players.
There is no longer any riff between the PPA and iMEGA, if you do a little looking and have a DC phone book you'll see the PPA and iMEGA's new PR firm not only share the same office space but share some phone lines.
Personally I don't know if even the PPA's management knows what it wants to be in the current enviroment. Too often in the past it has seemingly gone after "quick fixes", either lobbing, legislative, and now perhaps by defeating the proposed UIGEA regulations. In doing so IMO it has avoided doing the work to show it is committed to becoming a true grassroots all poker ogranization committed to the long haul.
IMO the PPA is almost skitzo.
On the one hand it says it is committed to the broader all poker players goals yet when it comes to concrete action it time and time again only places its money and effort on the various quick fixes.
For example the PPA listed a job for a grassroots organizer located in its new DC office. Since that is what I do, and I had already had tried to volunteer in any capicity in the DC office I had a meeting with the ED ironically the day the job was posted. At that time it was clear that in the month just passed the PPA was going to try to accomplish the following items, these are just the ones I personally know of:
- Set up and get running the new office.
- Hire 2 new people
- Organize some sort of grassroots effort in the KY Gov.'s race
- Do the organizational work to be ready for '08 an beyond
- Support the iMEGA case
- Prepare for the 1st Anniversary of the UIGEA Law with an event
- Continue to lobby Congress for existing bills
- Attract broader industry interest to our cause due to the WTO issue
- Defend its position as the premire poker lobbing group from encroachment
- Defend it self and be responsive to past complaints
- Send out and be responsive to a member "communications and goals" survey
- Increase website traffic by improving the functionality of the PPA site
- Recruit an additional 250,000 members
- Convert as many "free" members to dues paying members
- Keep the members it has happy
I could go on a bit more, but as you can tell this is a bit much for one person in DC and the remains of the original group in San Fran, in a bifricated HQ mess.
In the interests of full disclosure yes I applied for the grassroots organizer job. I had been told the intent was to fill that position in 3 to 4 weeks. I was told yesterday that plans to fill that position were now being put on hold, with no new timeline set. I have made it clear that I feel it would be fun to get involved in the PPA, in the long run I don't care if I get the open job if the PPA finds a better candidate for less money. '08 is fast apporaching there is plenty of work for people like me.
So to my mind that asks the question; does the PPA have some confidence that there is a "secret" solution and poker players don't need a grassroots organization for the long haul?
IMO if the PPA were firmly committed to the broader issues beyond the UIGEA law most of these day to day issues would be simple decisions, it would not IMO continue to go back and forth between the short term and long term dreams.
But hey I've been married over 20 years, I've been wrong before.
D$D
PPA Good and Bad.
Linear Mode
