Comment Text:
I feel extremely certain this comment will be completely ignored, likely not even read, by this administration. But I could not live with myself if I did not spend even the fractional amount of effort required by writing this to attempt to stem this tide. "Prediction Markets" are just gambling on real-world events, that's it. But at least in gambling, there is an honest expectation of fairness. A casino is charged with a crime if they rig their roulette wheels. But what happens when administration insiders bet on military decisions they already know are happening? They get rich. Even worse, those same insiders, especially those with money, now have an active incentive to convince people to think a certain way and to make decisions that will most benefit them. This administration has already proven it is willing to accept bribes (gifts, investments) to alter decisions. This is just one more avenue for the rich and powerful to manipulate public opinion and real-world decision making at the highest levels of government for their own personal gain. If anyone actually is reading this, I hope you understand that you have an obligation, just like all of us, to do what is best for our society. The difference is that someone like me is largely limited to common courtesies, voting, and oaying my taxes. But right now, you have a real chance to avert further damage from this heinous concept of an industry. I am literally begging you, in these terrible times, to do something, anything, the most that you can, to make things just a little more bearable for all of us.
