President Bush's recent gaming session with wounded Iraq war veterans in a Texas rehab hospital is not sitting well with some liberal bloggers.
At this point, it's not known exactly which game Bush played. As reported by AFP:
President George W. Bush had a shoot-out with the "bad guys" in Iraq on Thursday, playing a computer game with war veterans that simulates a firefight in Baghdad... Bush tried his hand at the game with two soldiers during a visit to a rehabilitation center in Texas that treats veterans wounded in Iraq.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush helped "shoot the bad guys" in a Baghdad neighborhood, albeit virtually... the president saw several "cutting edge virtual reality games" that allow recovering soldiers at the center in San Antonio to simulate riding in a car or boat.
The Huffington Post's bare-bones report on the story generated a thousand comments (although, to be fair, many of those relate to a flame war among HP readers). Meanwhile Exit Stage-left really wigged out:
First, did he wear his flight suit? Just because you play a god blessed video game, you did not fight against the "bad guys" you twit.
It's an insult to the men and women you are sending in to lose limbs and their lives. You playing a video game does not make you a soldier, you giddy moron.
...For [military personnel killed in Iraq] there was no restart button, the bullets were real, you don't get any "life packs" or supercharged powers. You don't play in an air-conditioned room with tons of admirers/donors watching your every move.
GP: Let me say right up front that - my opinion - George W. Bush is a freakin' disaster as President. But c'mon. The troops - many of whom have lost limbs - were rehabbing and enjoying the game. What's the problem? Bush has plenty of real issues over which he can be criticized. Let's not manufacture one from a few moments of game play.
Comments
The almost coming from,well, there are better ways to get change.
Watch this folks. What we have here in Yuki's response is the typical abstraction of conservative fear-inventing mechanisms. GG, abstracting the actions of a dozen of people three decades ago onto an entire polotical philosophy. I suppose this is what Limbaugh and the other conservative brains do to your thought proccesses: the world becomes a simple tone between the colorful, red/white/blue, conservative Americans (who can do no wrongs) and the evil, communist, Godless liberals. Reality check: you might want to stop listening to your veteran father's rantings about the VA after Nam and realize that an enormous amount of anti-verteran legislation has been endorsed, if not co-signed and passed, by an equal amount of conservatives. Further Reality Check: you would be hard pressed to find a liberal in a high office who openly strikes down veterans and the military. Most people against our troops today are conservatives who send them to die for an unjust cause.
I will label conservative thought as either not able to comprehend fact, inconsistent in theory, ignorant of fact, or obscenely unethical. You're forced into chosing at least one of these properties for your political ideology to remain interally consistent. Not all conservatives choose to pick the same mental flaw. Bush, for example, represents a conservative who is blatantly unethical. He is quite aware he sent over 3,000 people to die for corporate profits, and he was certainly not ignorant of the fact that his administration deliberately lied to congress in the months leading up to war. Unethical conservative legislators, who trick gullible conservative voters like yourself, now are able to send people to die in foreign lands for the benefit of the Commander and Chief's closest buisness partners. Talk about "supporting the troops." That's right! Support those troops! Send them to die in a deserted hole in the middle east for virtually no reason, =D! Flag! Flag! Flag!
As someone who supposedly values the lives of those in our military, watching them be sent to war for a handful of corporations should disgust you outright. But, then again, conservatives simply look to some form of external authority and construct their contemporary values around their favored form of authority.
We watch Bush send these people to die for corporate profits. Then Bush has the nerve, knowing what he did, to play FPS games that depict American soldiers getting shot... WITH wounded soldiers?
Seriously, what the hell. I'm glad someone noted this obscenely disgusting PR attempt by the president.
You calling someone else for lies and misrepresenting a position that person disagrees with is ironic. In fact, I think it is the new definition of irony.
I am what you would classify as a right wing nazi.
Trouble is that I am an agnostic bordering on the atheist and that I think of myself as quite a leftist on most issues (except in economic management, this excludes welfare which is a thing to have).
I you would stop classifying the world in the following two categories I might have more respect for you.
CatA: agrees with me on all things: well thought out person.
CatB: disagrees on one or more subjects in a reasonable way or not: ultra conservative christian moron.
You sound like a 12 years old making his wiews of politics, no nuancing, no comparing...
And, seriously, don't drink and post.
Even if here it is "do think and post".
You're funny when you call everyone else conservative, you know that? Wait, by your logic, you're a Conservative too, as you're completely unwilling to admit you can, will or are wrong on any topic.
Which, in calling Yuki a conservative because of the apologies her father deserves, you are most certainly wrong.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-710213549148507636
Ben
Is a registered nutjob.
Or troll.
Do you think the governement is that powerfull? The CIA tried for decades to get rid of Fidel Castro.
Congratulations on being both stupid enough to fall for the 9/11 'conspiracy theories' as well as being completely uninformed on the effects of PTSD.
You join the unwashed masses of retards who believe 9/11 was caused by a bomb/missile, along with such intelligent people as Rosie O'donnel.
Your father is owed many apologies, but those fuckers are too cowardly to apologize and too lazy to do their own research, so it won't be coming.
As all soldiers do, we respect those who came before us.
Regarding Ben: Ouch. Hit the Nail on the head there..
Regarding Respect ot other Veterans: Well, in General I agree. In General.
Some people deserve to be disrespected. The Gestapo, father of the CIA, for Example.
But then, Fidel Castro is invincible. And it's the CIA, after all.
And, Autin Lewis? "Impressive."
Same techniques. Granted, every agency does the same thing, so I suppose there was one in the beginning.
The methods are so self evident that there is no need for the agencies to copy each other. Pandralisk, if he was not locked on the Xians would blather about the Incas who used religion to keep people down.
Plus KGB and FSB (Anon's useless knowledge: the soviets put the nazi camps back in use for political detention, although they used the manpower instead of treating it all the way to uselessness. I hate waste too.) and KGB is more badass than the CIA.
it would appear that the only one incapable of understanding logic and reason is you buddy.
Nothing personal, but attacking others for your own faults, doesn't help your cause.
But back to the actually topic at hand. Video Games are such a part of the culture now that it shouldn't be a surprise that a wounded soldier was playing them in his free time.
Simply put : IT ISN'T REAL.
No matter what Grossman or Thompson say, unless you have some seriously messed up mind, you know that it isn't real and just play it as a game. Just like you know a TV shows isn't real, or that a movie isn't real. (Not counting that time I was playing Secret of Monkey Island when I was 12. Spent 2 days at home looking for a nail file because I needed one in game. Then again, I really stuck on what to do next.)
And I think i'm strange.. Idiocy blows pre-monitions out of the water..
I /like/ the soviet union, without it there would have little scientific and technologic emulation between the sides, they have been useful, now they have fallen and deprived a stupid part of humanity of their presence which was the "easy to hate, big, heinous, godless ennemy".
Without it, those peope have nothing else to cling on,th ey are lost in the sea of greyish reality where they only ever Black and White and now they try to see Black and White but it is hard, choices are to be made and none of them will get them where they want.
They (those people, of which we are part, all of us. See our reaction to game haters. Yes, I implied that I am deluded) are in dire need of a fixed moral beacon because when they don't they either turn mad or think themselves mad (see Neitzsche's adhesive ultimate) and the effective result is the same, they either "roleplay" themselves in a role in society or are considered mad for all practical purposes and we know the rest (... Pickman Project ...).
Now that the "world" is without its beacon of evil, it will have to form a new one, that it is "really" (you can't say that about a moral standpoint) evil has nothing to do with the issue, people need to hate something, to blame it for the state of the world, their own failures, things that no one had any conscious influence on (cancer and other illnesses), we need to blame something, or, better, someone, to feel good.
Even if it only is "damn you, universe!", it still counts.
/ Armchair philosophy.
Congratulations on being both stupid enough to fall for the 9/11 ‘conspiracy theories’ as well as being completely uninformed on the effects of PTSD."
pwnd in the face.
And sadly, that was just a sample of the buffet.
That Republicans want smaller Federal government, lower taxes, and a true free market economy, favoring the rights of the states to set their own laws (Interestingly, there is no federal right to vote, simply an amendment to the constitution that says everyone can vote regardless of gender or color), while the democrats are in favor of a government that does more for the people than simply defend or start wars.
But somehow these stances have become almost interchangeable, conservative republicans and liberal democrats. Not to mention that there is now an extremely heavy-handed Christian ideology behind the republican party, which keeps trying to ban abortions and punish homosexuality on a governmental level.
Moderates have been sidelined and compromise has become difficult to reach, with state-level parties working to change voting districts to marginalize voters of the other side, influencing the electoral college, house, and senate at the national level.
As a liberal Democrat, I don't think conservative Republicans are bad or stupid, and I sometimes shake my head at the stupidity of 'my party'.
It's politics that has been broken by extremists, and so we get polarization that puts a President on trial for a sex scandal that had no influence on his job, but a President who lies to congress and the American People, who drags Colin Powell's name and reputation in the mud, who puts more cronies and lobbyists and defense contractors in his staff than any other President in history... goes unchallenged because the party in power when this would have mattered was all too willing to hate the Democrats rather than taking a critical look at the issues.
The game is now about image over fact and emotion over analysis.
We're looking at actors, paid to say things or so guided by belief that they cannot seek compromise.
Shrub himself is wrapped in insulation, and only goes to events where there will be support for him. In visiting the soldiers, he is playing the role of caretaker in chief. While it may be insulting to the soldiers (depending on one's viewpoint), it is probable that he is insisting on seeing the damage done, and doing all he can do at this point to show his concern without compromising his image and admitting that all the misery and mishandling and corruption of the Iraq war was a mistake.
So long as he's not trying to cast himself in the same light as the troops in any way, I see nothing wrong.
President Bush has done a great deal for the economy (those reviled tax cuts have spurned investment in the stock market, which ultimately lead to new jobs in new markets), health care for senior citizens (Medicare part D), and a number of other accomplishments which have been completely twisted with this dogged partisan narrative that Bush is an "Idiot" and "Corrupt".
:: Sighs. :: Sorry for the rant. I am entitled to my opinion, as you all are.
In the future, I hope we can continue to keep and eye out for issues concerning the gaming industry without dragging in unrelated, and decidely controversial issues. We are all gamers, and we are subject to dangerous stereotypes and bias. Until the day where people like us roam the halls of Capitol Hill or God willing, the White House; we must remain vigilant and united in allowing our beloved pastime (livelyhood for some) from being targeted by ignorant journalists, pseudo-scientists, and politicans.
I just had a gigantic philosophical rant, I deleted it. Doesn't matter, no one here would change their mind, no one would shut their mouths. No opinions would change at all.
A bloggers got mad that the president payed attention to troops. GET OVER IT.
"but it was a war game, and if he thinks such and such..."
Whatever, it was probably the game the people were already playing of their own tastes.
Like they say damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you have a problem with the president being with wounded troops, doing activities they are doing, think about what your problem really is, I don't want to here about it. If you really think it is a real issue, ok, otherwise think about what you really have a problem with.
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@John
"President Bush has done a great deal for the economy...”
Are we living the same country? Did you see the sharp market self of last week? The dow was down a record 250 points almost 1% (note I think it like .5 correct me if I wrong). This actually happen not once but twice. It has not been that low for 2 years. The tax cut have lead to a record deficit. Also they have devalued the dollar to the point where it is now lower the Canadian dollar. Also the housing market is slipping. Our Economy is not well and comparing it to per Bush Administration it a lot worse.
"If President Carter had actually supported the Shah of Iran, and President H.W. Bush disposed of Saddam in the first gulf war, the ongoing conflict in Iraq (The War was WON, we toppled the army of Iraq, people really need to look up what a War is. ) would never have been necessary had we dealt with them when it would have been justifiable."
First of Carter did support the Shah. We were watch Ayatollah Khomeini and when the Shah was deposed, in 82, he was actually over here get a heart transplant. Yes we did "win" the war. I will give you that. But we did not stabilize the country we made it worst. Further more I really don't see what Iran and Saddam have to do with each other. They FOUGHT A WAR THEY WEREN'T BEST FRIENDS. I could go on but I will stop here. I don't not feeling like give a history lesson. As it will bore you all.
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Sorry GP I had to responded to that post.
Invading Iraq was never necessary. END OF STORY. It is now a quagmire, where American lives and dollars are being wasted. We may have won the war, but it looks like we may never win the aftermath... with that in mind, does it really count as a victory?
Bush hasn't done a "great deal for the economy" - if that were true, why has the American dollar fallen so much (33% in the last year alone!!!) and why are other countries abandoning the dollar?
Bush has gotten some things right, but Iraq and the Economy are not among his accomplishments.
"God, I am so tired of hearing people railing against President Bush. The man is doing the best he can in a bad situation."
He's the one who PUT us in that situation, and if this is his "best" than bloody Christ...we.are.fucked. That is some "best."
Partially correct. More precisely he is doing as best he can in a situation in which he had to lie to the American people to drag them into.
He got us into this mess, I feel no sympathy for him as he tries to get us out.
For one to be lying, they have to be speaking a deliberate falsehood with intention to decieve. Given that the belief that Iraq had WMDs predated Bush by quite a bit, it’s somewhat hard to believe that Bush somehow had this amazing gift of clairvoyance that allowed him and him alone to know that many years of intelligence was faulty. No one else in the intelligence community knew Saddam had no WMDs, none of the recent Presidents before bush knew, but somehow, Bush knew. I mean, there’s not the slightest chance in the world that he was mistaken too, right?
Bah. I can perfectly understand saying that before you actually go to war, you want to be absolutely certain that your info is correct. If you want to criticise Bush, members of his administration, and various members of Congress for failing to do that, go right ahead. That’s reasonable. But enough of this “Bush lied” nonsense. If Bush is really as much of an idiot as so many of you think, I highly doubt that he would have had insight into the interior of Iraq that no one else did.