NIMF's David Walsh Interviewed in Game Informer
NIMF's David Walsh Interviewed in Game Informer
July 2, 2008
Dr. David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, is the subject of an interview in the July issue of Game Informer.
The politically-connected Walsh, whose organization delivers its Annual Video Game Report Card each holiday season, is described by the magazine as "one of gaming's most thoughtful and reasoned critics." He dishes on a number of topics, including:
- ESRB ratings (watchdog-ish, cautiously supportive)
- his criticism of the Grand Theft Childhood book (disagrees with its premise)
- his thoughts on video game legislation (opposes censorship)
- Jack Thompson (publicly distanced himself from Thompson)
Regarding legislation, Walsh told GI:
I'm not in favor of censorship. Once we delegate to the government what we can and can't say and freedom of expression - and video games are a form of expression - that's a very slippery slope. I think government can have a role. I think the role they've been playing is the "bully pulpit" to raise awareness.
As to Thompson, Walsh said:
Extreme positions create a lot of heat but very little light. Television and talk radio love extreme positions. So there are folks out there who do not hesitate to take positions that they can't defend. You get the these food fights going on that talk radio loves, but don't really advance our knowledge and understanding whatsoever. It got to the point where I had to publlcily distance myself from Jack Thompson.
Distance himself, indeed.
The high-profile split with Thompson came in October, 2005. The story was broken by GamePolitics, and set Internet tongues wagging for days. Read Walsh's letter breaking ties with Thompson here.
Comments
Dr. Walsh isn't a bad guy, just a little misguided, i think.
on the upside, even if you disagree with him, you can still be civil and expect the same in return.
Here are we -- and yonder yawns the universe.
The thing with Dr. Walsh is he's not for censorship in any way. I might disagree with some of his positions, but I respect his goals (keep violent games away from kids) and he's doing it in the right channels (informing parents). He's definitely not the bad guy here.
Dr. Walsh, may not be for censorship, but why does he share his report card with the federal government then? If he doesn't want the government involved, why report to them. Why not just send the report card to the ESRB and bedone with it?
I am glad that he recognizes how big of an idiot Jack Thompson is and he is willing to say so in public.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
he makes the report public, and usually does it in a press conference at the Capitol Building. He's closely aligned with several high-profile Democrats, including Hillary and Lieberman (well, I suppose Lieberman is an Independent these days).
But the report is not commissioned by the government, nor is he reporting to the government. that's just where he releases it.
And that's certainly NOT to say I agree with his conclusions or his methods. His secret shopper data is really skewed when you compare it to the FTC's far more rigorous methods.
I knew it wsn't commissioned by the government. But he seems to make a bigger deal when he shares the report with the government over the public release of it.
And yes his methodology is extremely messed up.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
I think the guy's heart is in the right place but his methods need some fine tuning. At least he's no where NEAR JT's level.
-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
David Walsh "distanced" himself from me in a letter that is based on a lie. Walsh claimed that I was telling the public that he and NIMF endorsed me. I never said any such thing, and would not. I had very publicly endorsed HIM. Big difference. I was the one who got Walsh on 60 Minutes twice. I was the one who encouraged him to run with the Hot Coffee issue, and he thanked me after it turned out the way it did.
David Walsh's letter was written for him by Elliot Kaplan, who sits on the Best Buy board and is their outside general counsel. That is why the false letter was written, because of NIMF's funding stream that leads back to Best Buy. Any real journalist can discover this compromising tie, as I have done, as public documents prove.
Ahh, but to show God is both just and has a sense of humor, days after Walsh lied and said I was saying he endorsed me in what I do, the PTA went public and told Walsh to stop lying and saying it endorsed him. Dennis McCauley knows all this, and yet he does not report it here. Why? Because McCauley, this site, and all the little nitwits who have nothing better to do than reinforce their vast ignorance here, will not get off their obsession with Jack Thompson.
I am in Utah this day to be honored, by God's grace, because I have overcome lcorporation compromised liars like David Walsh, whose beloved, Minneapolis-based Best Buy is still selling GTA IV to minors, in violation of the law.
Hooah!
GP: Once again you are lying about me and GamePolitics. We certainly did report the PTA's issues with Walsh's Video Game Report Card: http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148233.html
Actually, I think Utah ultra-conservatives are the reason you are there. Ultra-cons who are apparently afraid to even explain how someone with your embarrassing track record was selected or why...
You're right Jack. God is both just and has a sense of humor. God is just based on the fact that you're going to be disbarred and God has a sense of humor based on the fact that you're going to receive an award.
Good lord man, I'm sick of hearing you and I'm sick of hearing ABOUT you. Just shut up and go away already. You, like a screeming child, annoy me and give me a headache.
Why don't you quit lying, Jacky Boy?
Dr. Walsh never claimed that they endorsed your worthless ass, if you bothered to read or even comprehend the letter he sent to you, idiot:
Even though we have no formal relationship your use of my name and your inclusion of my name in correspondence have created the impression that we condone these tactics. We do not.
Why don't you get off your obsession with this site, assclown?
So what if you're in Utah?
God is indeed just, as you're getting disbarred later this summer. Earl Hickey's best friend Karma found it's way to you, jabroni.
Practice what you preach, Metropolitian Moron of Miami(the only award that Jack deserves besides Biggest Douche in the Universe): Grow Up and Get A Life.
John Bruce,
Dr. Walsh told you to stop using him and his organization in a way the implied that they endorsed you. He never said you claimed that endorsement. You were purposely using him and his organization in a misleading way. Of course you may not see that.
Also, why are you up and reading Game Politics before 6 in the morning? Are you that obsessed with this site that you cannot let a moment pass without reading the latest news?
Also, I doubt Dr. Walsh needed your help getting on 60 minutes, as it is apparent from your time on the show that any idiot with an agenda can get on it.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Also, why are you up and reading Game Politics before 6 in the morning? Are you that obsessed with this site that you cannot let a moment pass without reading the latest news?
Insomnia perhaps? It would explain a part of his insanity.
-Gray17
If he's in Utah then he actually reading GP before 5 in the morning
Also, why are you up and reading Game Politics before 6 in the morning? Are you that obsessed with this site that you cannot let a moment pass without reading the latest news?
Actually, that's 6:00AM Eastern time (GMT-5). Jack is currently experiencing Mountain time (GMT-7) soooo...depending on whether or not the hosting server reports DST or not, he's up at either 5:00AM or 4:00AM.
But hey, Jack's insane at breakfast, bedtime, and even 3 o'clock in the afternoon, so what difference does it make what time he posts? He's still a nitwit, by his own admission in the post above, and just contributing to the Internet white noise...
Actually his comment appeared before 7am Central time. Mountain time is only one hour behind Central.
The good thing about the new GP is that you can set your own timezone to display times in.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Mr Thompson,
Is it really necessary to spell WHODOYOUTHINK in all caps? I also would like to ask this: Since only nitwits with nothing better to do read this site, does that mean you're a nitwit with nothing better to do?
More on the topic of this news item, I have that magazine and I read the article. I found that it changed my opinion about Walsh and his organization overall. I still don't agree with his stance, but as long he maintains this reasonable civility I have to respect how much he is willing to push for what he believes in (without breaking that civility).
...which is also why I cannot respect Jack Thompson. He's not reasonable, and he's not civil.
neoelasticman
not a lawyer, and pretty soon neither is JT
I'm giving away MANHUNT and GTA4 to impressionable minors! OH NO!!!!! Oh, the children! Their little brains are dying as we speak, leaving them as brainless killing machines! Oh noooooo! Now they're heading for the schools-OH NO! That five year old used his demon powers to rip that old lady's head off! OH NOOOOOO!! What have I done???? Don't forget to grab some copies of GTA for your brothers and sisters! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!!!
Ha!
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
EPIC WIN on your part, Grizzam. I want to see more of that!
I AM A LOST SOUL, CONDEMNED TO HAUNT THE DREAMS OF JOHN BRUCE "JACK" THOMPSON UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS. SOMEONE, PLEASE! END MY SUFFERING!
"I had very publicly endorsed HIM."
It doesn't matter who claims they endorsed who, at the end of the day, there was an association being drawn between you and the NIMF. David Walsh quite rightly wanted no association with an abusive, intolerant and insulting figure such as yourself and distanced himself.
"Any real journalist can discover this compromising tie, as I have done, as public documents prove."
Any real journalist would show the evidence and proof of this tie. You don't show any evidence, just like with every other bizarre claim you make.
"all the little nitwits who have nothing better to do than reinforce their vast ignorance here"
Jack, one thing I have to commend you on is your ability to make me laugh out loud with statements like this, so laden with irony you could build a bridge out of them!
"I am in Utah this day to be honored, by God's grace"
You are being honoured by ultra-conservative fundamentalists, if you can call that an honour...
Thompson, I would like to just point this little tidbit out for you. David Walsh, a very successful man who got where he is by being respectful and civil. He has my respect despite the fact that I disagree with his stance. Whereas you got where you are by being hostile and intolerable (by 'where you are' I mean about to be disbarred). You have successfully lost any and all respect from nearly everyone in this country except for a few thousand super conservative fundamentalists. Wow.
If you were anything like Walsh there would be no hostility against you from this site. You'd still have a long and possibly prosperous law career ahead of you. And, last but not least, your obsession wouldn't be dragging you in here at six in the morning to make hypocritical and ironic statements that you won't even have the decency to back up against the people replying to and contradicting your post.
-"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Jack,
I thought your wife's cancer had returned and you needed to spend lots of time with her? At least, that was from the latest letter that you sent to Judge Tunis. Yet, there you are, off in Utah getting some award.
If your wife's illness has indeed returned (assuming you weren't lying about this), my condolence to her, as I've said before.
But this also shows what an utter self-serving asshole you truly are.
Have fun with your bogus award and your day among the Jebus freaks.
Walsh was on 60 minutes twice? Golly Gee, Mr. Thompson! That must mean he's twice as credible as you EVER were!
Not that it matters two times zero is still zero.
"all the little nitwits who have nothing better to do than reinforce their vast ignorance here, will not get off their obsession with Jack Thompson"
you're the only one who fits that description of nitwit, WHODOYOUTHINK
岩「…Ace beats Jack」
Not once has Jack Thompson bothered to post back and forth with others in a debate. His only directive is "MakeLongPost + HOOOAHH!" in one topic and he's done. It's like those trolls that make annoying troll topics and never follow up on the responses, they only do it to brew up some heat.
He did reply to me once, but it was only asking me what illegal substances I was on.
My ciminal record is clean dammit!!!! He can't say the same anymore.
One of the seven trustees of the Festival that is honoring me is CNN's Larry King. Larry King is an ultra-conservative, Dennis? What brand of medicine are you on now?
I am one of four honorees BECAUSE of The Florida Bar's harassment of me. They know all about it. Mormons understand persecution because of one's faith very well. You, Dennis, should read the Bible at least once. Maybe you will wait for the Playstation version of it.
Jack Thompson
They only know about it insofar as you only told them your version of things no doubt. The truth of course is very different. It's depressing to think you've managed to pull the wool over the eyes of a bunch of gullible people yet again.
Oh and stop playing the martyr card. It's annoying. As much as you may want to think you are, you're not Jesus. You are the farthest thing from Jesus. And if you met Jesus, odds are he'd be very pissed off at you.
As far as Larry King goes, I'll consider that a serious lapse of judgment on Mr. King's part.
Jack, you LOOOVE persecution. Trying to go for the woe is me thing but persecution because you are an idiot does not make you cool no matter what Matthew 10 has to say about it.
The Florida Bar is not harrassing you, they are disbaring you because YOU broke the rules. YOU were the one doing the harrassing and THATS why you are in the position you are in.
It is funny that you always say people should "read the bible at least once". Jacko, I am starting to think you havent read it, just read a few passages here and there and found a few that you could possibly use. Myself I have read your silly book many times.
Of course he's never read the Holy Bible, otherwise he'd know that it's wrong to bear false witness.
The PlayStation version will be rated 'AO' for the incest alone, Jack. Why don't you go follow Matthew 5:42, Matthew 19:11-12, Matthew 19:16-21, Luke 12:33, and Luke 6:30. BTW, the word "conservative" appears nowhere in the Bible, and according to Isaiah 32:5, your god favors liberals.
now, maybe you can help me with something. Acts 1:18 says after betraying Jesus, Judas took the silver, bought a farm, fell and "bought the farm" due to disembowelment. Now I ask you, was this before or after he refused to take the silver and hung himself as outlined in Matthew 27:5?
If I don't get an answer from you in 2 weeks, I'll assume you've never read the Bible yourself. (Yes Jack, this parallels what you tried to pull on Janet Reno.)
岩「…Ace beats Jack」
Jack Thompson, why do you speak in the third person? Usually that's reserved for mental, God-fearing censorship advocates.....Oh, wait. My bad.
-Keep your friends close, and your enemies dead-
funny thing about the term "God-fearing" is that while various bible verses say to fear and love god, 1 John 4:18 clearly states "There is no fear in love..."
岩「…Ace beats Jack」
Oh, just stop it with your wild and elaborate conspiracies, Jack. Can you admit for JUST ONCE in your miserable excuse for a life that maybe, just maybe the reason why people distance themselves from you is because...well...YOU'RE A RAGING ASSHOLE!!! That and your actions undermine and damage the credibility of organizations like the NIMF. That's why they would distance themselves from you, and not because of some shadowy connection to a corporation.
Like I said before, enjoy your time in Utah. As I'm sure you've noticed, there's going to be a protest there to literally rain on your parade. So if you think you're going to enjoy an unsullied moment of personal glory there, you're sorely mistaken.
I'm a liar, Dennis? Where is the rebuff of Walsy by the PTA in this story? Where is the reportage that Walsh did not tell the truth when he said I was claiming he endorsed me and I asked him for one example of that and he couldn't come up with it? Where is the reportage, Dennis, about Walsh's Best Buy funding stream? Where is it, Dennis?????????????
I'm in Utah with normal Americans. You're in Philadelphia with game addict perverts. I'll take Utah.
Jack-o - Utah is a majority Mormon state...I don't think you'd fit in....unless you go there for puligamy
Meh, I'll stay in Central Illinois with true normal Americans who think you're as crazy as PETA.
---------------------------------
So speak I, some random guy.
Personally, I'd take Philadelphia, the birthplace of this fine country that stands for Liberty and Free-Expression (which you so endlessly rail against) and the home of free-thinkers like my idol Benjamin Franklin over Utah with it's narrow-minded neocons and Mormonism. And don't you have a parade to get to?
Yes, I'm a pervert and a gamer. If you think you can shame me, though, you're wrong. The hatred is mutual.
It is very very noticable that when you lie and claim someone hasn't done something and they prove that they did you don't apologise for being wrong, you just increase the comments on where is this and that and the other.
One of these days you are going to have to realise that people don't do work for you. You seem to think that all journalists have to do your bidding and print every scrap of repugnant trash you file their way or they don't have credibility. You're wrong. What you need to do is set up your own little website with all that free time you are soon to have and you can post your lies on there for all to see. When you overstep the mark, as you will enevitably do, people can file for libel and we can sit back and laugh.
Oh, and perverts and game addicts may intersect, but are seperate groups. I doubt that Frank Bough or Gov. Eliot Spitzer were avid gamers.
So I take it you don't quite grasp that Dennis is reporting on an interview Dr. Walsh had with a different media outlet? Dennis just highlighted a couple points he thought readers would find of particular interest. He's not providing a biography of Walsh, and as such no mention of any scuffles between Walsh and the PTA.
-Gray17
I SAID go away! The grownups are trying to talk.
The story is about the Game Informer interview, not a global perspective on the life & times of David Walsh.
Your name came up in that interview and GP was a major part of that story when it broke originally, so it got a mention in our coverage. The PTA issue, the Best Buy issue were NOT part of what we were reporting on, which you fully realize. You're just in full lash-out mode, as usual.
Am I supposed to go back and link every story I've ever written about NIMF & Walsh? Uh, no. We covered the PTA's dispute with Walsh, it's a matter of record. It's available online.
You're the one who's made the allegations regarding NIMF & Best Buy, and we've reported that in the past as well. They have denied it.
I'm sure that 99.99% of the people in Utah are "normal" ...just as are 99.99% of the peeps in Philly.
Now, let me ask you... Where are these upstanding citizens who nominated you and selected you? Why won't they say why? By selecting you, are they saying that the Florida Bar, FL Supreme Court, US Disrict Court SDF and Judge Moore in Alabama are all full of it? Where are those answers???? Where????
I was nominated because they read my book. The bases for honoree selection are at the America's Freedom Festival site. Apparently you don't know how to google. Jack Thompson
And apparently, their criteria for selections must be very low. That and of course your book presented only your side of the story, which is very skewed and prejudiced to say the least.
Jack,
And apparently you don't know how to read. Here's all the website says on the Freedom Award:
"individuals who have espoused the cause of freedom throughout the world. Participants will enjoy not only the inspring stores of these individuals, but also great food and outstanding entertainment."
Certainly their grammar and spelling is as good as yours, but that doesn't say how you've "espoused the cause of freedom throughout the world" when you've actively been working at the exact opposite spectrum of that. Or are you not the person who was proud to once be called "America's greatest censor?"
Actually, it does explain why he’s there and it certainly doesn’t say it was because of his self-indulgent book…
Jack Thompson: Advocate for working to keep obscenity, indecency, and profanity out of America's entertainment industry.
Translated this basically means, “Advocate for working to keep freedom of expression out of America’s entertainment industry.”
You’re a lunatic Jack Thompson (This much is evident based on how gleeful you become whenever a child is murdered). And this “Freedom Awards Gala” sounds contradictory at best considering what I just noted above. I believe “Christian/Family/Fanatic Awards Gala” would fit better than “Freedom”.
But you have to admit "Christian/Family/Fanatic Award," or even "Christian Extremist Award" or "Super Fanatical Friend of Jebus Award" doesn't quite have the same ring as "Freedom Award." Those would look awkward on the stationary.
I'm in Pennsylvania, undoubtedly with the same 'game addict perverts' as Dennis. You're in Utah with a bunch of people so far removed from normal America that they're honoring you. I'll take Pennsylvania.
-"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
I'm in Utah with normal Americans. You're in Philadelphia with game addict perverts. I'll take Utah.
You can have it. Just please, stay there and don't pervert my children with your un-Christian, un-American, anti-Truth messages.
LOL, male skank...
---------------------------------------------- The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka Censorship Kingdom): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
Mr. Thompson, i'll tell you one last time. LEARN TO READ ENGLISH.
I know it's hard to type anything in a search box other than your own name, but DO try to extend a little more than 30 seconds of your time doing research on what is posted here. Baby steps. Baby steps.
David Gagnon, Mature & Patient Human Being, and You're Not
You're in Utah with Mormons, a particularly scary brand of religious zealot. They should suit you nicely.
Game addict perverts? We're the perverted ones? At least we have the (un) common humanity to accept all people as humans, unlike you, if you are the God-fearing fundamentalist you claim and seem to be.
For example;
Homosexuals: Leviticus 20:13
"If a man also lie with mankind, as he leith with a woman, both of them have commited an abomination; they surely shall be put to death, their blood shall be opon them."
Rowdy Kids: Deuteronomy 21:18-21
"And they shall say unto the elders of his city, "This our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard."
"And all the men in the city shall stone him with stones, that he die, so shalt thou put evil away from among you."
Perhaps the latter passage is the reason why you have been on this crusade against creative freedom. You believe that it is your Biblical duty to punish rowdy children (despite the fact that, according to ESA statistics, the average age of an American gamer is 33, and less than a third of gamers (28.2%, to be exact) are under 18. The case may be slightly different in Australia, my country, but, the figures are nearly the same.).
Also, your key argument (that violent video games encourage real world violence in teens) is flawed to the core. If what you were saying was true, wouldn't the American crime rate be going up, instead of down? If you're going to mention the Nassau Six, don't bother. They had consumed alcohol, and were at a park at 11:30 pm on a Tuesday. Where were the parents? If the parents of those six little brats had have been responsible and made sure their children weren't out at night (on a school night, with alcohol), the whole thing wouldn't have happened. They were a bunch of rowdy teenagers who got a bit pissed and decided to rob some people. Teenagers have been rebelling against soceity ever since soceity existed. If you, or the Nassau police department, seriously believe that these teenagers would not have done this were it not for the game, then I shake my head in shame and wonder why.
I am 16, and have been playing violent video games for almost 6 years. I have not hurt a fly in my life, Mr.Thompson, but I have been bullied a lot. These bullies don't play video games (because they're 'nerdy'), they play sport. All my gamer friends are in exactly the same scenario as me, bullied by aggressive, violent sport players. Therefore, logically, if we are going to make generalisations, as you love to do, it is far more plausible for sport to make kids violent, rather than games.
I have so many other points to make, but this comment is long enough. And, having played GTA, I do agree that kids shouldn't be playing it. It is an adult game for exactly that reason.
Jack, please reply to this, i sincerely want to hear your thoughts on your destroyed arguments.
-Keep your friends close, and your enemies dead-
Jack Thompson, reply to something? Please, he won't. EVER. I've tried. I once e-mailed him something about the same length as what you gave here, and i got one sentence in return. One. Something along the lines of 'I don't care what a heathen like you has to say.' OK, maybe not verbatim to that, but close to it. That was it. He doesn't read anything people send him.
To those of you reading this, hear me out: Just don't e-mail Jack Thompson. Period. It doesn't matter how civil you present yourself, he still adds it to the 'potential death threats from gamer perverts' circural file.
Jack you are a liar. Your, supposed, faith is pretty critical of that isn't it?
Walsh made any such claims about you saying he endorced you. The letter pretty clearly states that neither of you had any formal relationship. Perhaps for a refresher you need to see his letter again:
""Dear Mr. Thompson,
I founded the National Institute on Media and the Family ten years ago to engage in research and education about the effects of media on children's health and development. Our original premise that "media are powerful" has been validated scientifically and socially many times over. Our work has been cited by organizations around the world and our credibility has been well established.
One of the areas of greatest concern is the issue of violent media's effect on children. I know that you share that common concern and I am well aware that you have frequently cited me and our organization as a source of scientific information. However, over the past few months, I and members of my board have a growing concern that your use of our name, without our permission, has had a negative influence as we try to educate the public on this important issue.
Your commentary has included extreme hyperbole and your tactics have included personally attacking individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect. I believe that respect is essential in all our dealings, including respect for those with whom we disagree. Some of the people that you have publicly criticized are not only people of integrity, but are people who have worked to improve the lives of children.
Even though we have no formal relationship your use of my name and your inclusion of my name in correspondence have created the impression that we condone these tactics. We do not. The result is that our position and reputation as a research based, non-partisan, solution-focused organization has been jeopardized. Consequently, I ask that you cease using the Institute's or my name in any way that would give the impression that we support your efforts. I also ask that you remove the link to our website that appears on your site.
Sincerely,
David Walsh, PH.D.""
Now no claims of endorsement were made were they? All he wanted you to do is not mention his name, something you cannot (reasonably) attempt to lie about doing. Of course when have you been reasonable?
You're not with "normal Americans", Jacky Boy, you're with self-righteous assclowns.
I'd rather stay in Louisiana than go to a place where polygamy is treated like the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
And where is my letter back to Walsh, Dennis, proving he lied, Dennis? You have it, and yet all you print here is Walsh's letter written by Kaplan. You are an embarassment to your race, Dennis, the human race.
At least he is IN the human race...
It's been said before, but I'll say it again: Pot + Kettle = Black
As a (soon-to-be-ex) lawyer, you already represent the lowest form of human life that there is. Your massacre-chasing tactics lower you even further. And your arrgoance, self-rightousness, intimidation and harrassment and poor civil conduct take you even further down.
It's gotten to the point that even your fellow lawyers don't want anything to do with you and consider you a laughingstock and an embarassment to their profession. That's whay they want to disbar you and if you ask me, it's long overdue. So I'd say it's you who's deserves to be an emabarssment to the human race. Dennis on the other hand is a beacon of journalistic integrity.
:Holds up a copy of Grand Theft Childhood to ward-off Jack:
Back, foul creature! Back to the unholy pit from whence you came!
Here.
http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/107140.html
Dumbass.
That doesn't appear to be proof that Walsh lied (unless you're Jack). Looks more like Jack is badgering and browbeating Walsh into coercing him into saying he lied.
From Jack Thompson to Dr. David Walsh via above link, 1st sentence, 11th paragraph:
Liberals, like you, love to label things and then think that the labeling has accomplished something.
Right, Jack, just like when you label GTA a "murder simulator", you really are not accomplishing anything.
*BURN!!!!*
Oh, I'll post your letter(s). But to keep everything in context, let's post all of the stories related to your very public dumping by Dave Walsh in October of 2005:
October 14th, it begins: GP EXCLUSIVE: National Institute on Media & the Family Disavows Jack Thomson
October 14th your rebuttal (same day, pretty fair, no?): Thompson Fires Back at Walsh, NIMF
Also, my October 16th editorial on the entire affair: NIMF's David Walsh Nailed It Regarding Thompson
October 17th: Jack Thompson Reaches Out to Sen. Lieberman Over NIMF Slap
October 17th: Take a Peek at the NIMF Letter to Jack Thompson
Owned.
-"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
OOoooo that's gonna leave a mark!
-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
Wow, Mr. Thompson, three pathetic outbursts on the same note? You really don´t have any life, don´t you? Anyways, enjoy you self-masturbatory prize in Utah. You really deserve it.
---------------------------------------------- The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka Censorship Kingdom): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
I'd say it's more of a Booby Prize myself.
No, he is gay, so he is afraid to boobs and that´s why he can´t stand them on videogames...
(lol, I know booby is not really boobs)
---------------------------------------------- The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka Censorship Kingdom): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
"You are an embarassment to your race, Dennis, the human race."
And you're a racist. And as a basketball commentator would say: He shoots, he SCORES!
岩「…Ace beats Jack」
You're the embarrassment to the human race, a skidmark on the underwear of life, if you will.
Practice what you preach, idiot: Grow up and get a life.
Seriously Jack, does it physically hurt you when you lie to yourself like that? You have zero credibility left. Zero. How'd that suit against MSNBC go when that reporter dissed you, eh? How'd that lawsuit against kincyr (gp blogger) go after GamePolitics refused to remove a post that offended you? How'd all the lawsuits against GP go? How is your life holding together? I mean, your career is looking dead, you have seemingly abandoned your family to dick around on a website harrassing people...I don't understand why you haven't fallen apart...Does your hate keep you alive?
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
Hey Jack,
When are you going to file that lawsuit against me? I even sent you my name and my lawyer's name and number almost 2 years ago now.
That's right, you can't sue me. You can't even file paperwork anymore.
As I said before, sue me. I dare you. I'll counter-sue you so fast it will make your head spin. My lawyer would love to have a crack at you. He thinks people like you are a disgrace to the profession.
You are a liar and a fraud, Jack. Go ahead and sue me, I dare you.
How does this type of attitude help the situation? Are you going to triple dog dare him next?
Walsh seems to change his tune every other month, I don't believe half the things he says and the other half I take with a grain of salt. Didn't he want to dismantle the ESRB and have his own group's rating system put in place after Hot Coffee? Did he speak out against the Minnesota bill back before it was passed?
I have to agree with Phoenix...my impression is that Walsh has got a personality for politics. He can seem reasonable in one article, but I think he has been a big factor in whipping up anti-game hysteria in the populace. Like many anti-game folks, he simply ignores information that doesn't fit his view and highlights information (ignoring it's flaws) that supports his views. I'd guess (without knowing him) that he might be a "nice guy" who'd make a great neighbor...but let's not mix that up with reasonableness. This fellow is responsible for grossly misinforming the public about video games.
I'd guess (without knowing him) that he might be a "nice guy" who'd make a great neighbor...
See, that's the thing we like about Walsh. Yeah he's generally full of it, but he's usually polite about it. We've weathered enough ad hominum attacks, that critics that don't usually use them are a refreshing change.
-Gray17
I want to hear his arguements against the book so I can defend it.
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
I would like to have seen im questioned about the contrast between NIMF's video game availablity report, and the Fed's. Maybe ask him why they had much more positive results from basicly the same time period.
You all ready for the really funny part? There's actualy a signifgant number of small time game devs in Utah. Jack if you're worried about 'gaming perverts' or whatever I think ya came to the wrong state sir.
Somebody please sue this idiot for slander and libel already...
Game addict perverts?
I'm sorry but I'm a much better representation of a "normal American" then you are or ever have been Jacky my boy.
Damn Jack, how does it feel to get owned so badly with logic and reason?
Is it awful Jack? Does it burn? Is that why you've inexplicably had nothing to say at this point?
Hopefully the omnipresent force of the universe (be it God, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster) writes a letter to Jack Thompson asking him to stop using His name for endorsing reasons.
Several hundred years ago, there was another group whom carried out "God's will". They were called Crusaders, and anyone who has read a history book should know what happened there.
Just a little black humor to open up with. Please forgive me.
In any event, take away any kind of sanctioning or endorsement issues, I'm not surprised that Dr. Walsh decided to distance himself from Mr. Thompson. His [Mr. Thompson] reasons behind his goal, if anyone is even sure anymore, is a positive one. I don't think it is to totally ban violent video games as a whole, just to keep them out of the hands of kids. I think that is something that most people can reason with.
However, Mr. Thompson, your tactics borderline on being crass. For one, I seriously hope that you do not accept payment for these victims of alleged video game related/caused crimes. If your fight is truly a just cause, you should not use it to line your pockets. Also, I think another reason that you come off as being "an asshole" (not meaning to call you an asshole, just a perception that people have of you) is that you come off as insulting. For example, you come on to this website and call gamers perverts and nitwits. Mr. Thompson, these are the very people you should be trying to convince. I, for one, do not consider myself a pervert and a nitwit. I have my flaws, but who doesn't. I do consider myself (not trying to blow smoke up my own ass) quite an intelligent and upstanding member of society. I work 40 hours (at least) a week and pay my own bills. I've never been convicted of a crime or been considered "mentally defective". I am 26 years old and have been playing video games for about 20 of those years. I think it is a great medium to express ideas and also have fun. I think of video games as an art form that is still going through its adolescent years, almost like film and rock music did last century.
I've been a frequent visitor to this website [GamePolitics.com] since late 2005, and have followed their coverage of you. I believe that Dennis has been more than forthcoming with all material related to you. I also feel that he has been very generous in giving you a medium to express yourself, unsensored, even when you are insulting readers, myself included.
I won't go into the struggle with the Florida Bar. That issue is rather irrelevant at this point. You being a lawyer doesn't really have anything to do with your fight. If you are disbarred, and you continue the fight, I commend you. It takes a certain amount of character to keep going, no matter whom may kick you down. You may, however, wish to consider changing your tactics. Whenever I read about you, or see you on television, you seem rather standoffish. Debate is good. With debate, compromises can be made. Instead of working against people and pushing what seems to be "a Jack Thompson agenda", try working with people instead. You are already a fixture in the video game world, no doubt, but become a positively perceived fixture. Every individual can change how people perceive them. If you are better perceived, people will be more receptive of you.
You can take all this with a grain of salt and dismiss it as the rantings of a "perverted video gamer". That is fine. but as an aspriing journalist, I can only tell you that if you need to turn your cause into a message instead of a fight.
Thank you for your time,
Jason Travis
Atlanta, GA
Hear hear! If anti-gaming people were polite and actualy did debate properly I'd be much more willing to listen to what they had to say. That Walsh fellow sounds like someone who might be a good person to sit down with and discuss the whole thing at length with for instance.
Though unfortunately I seriously doubt Jack will take any of this to heart :(
We, as gamers, must also be polite. Instead, however, we see some responses with one simple word: PWND!
The problem here is that I think just about everybody, myself included, initially tried to be civil to Jack and engage him in meaningful dialogue. Jack's just not interested. No matter how polite you are to him, his responses consist of:
"You're a bunch of nitwits."
"Gamers are Hitler incarnate."
"I'll sue you."
and "NO U!"
And, yes, I've been threatened with a Jack Thompson lawsuit. Of course, the threat of a Jack Thompson lawsuit is akin to the threat of invasion from Luxembourg.
Get the ESRB to enforce ratings themselves. No more controversey(for the most part), no more digressing from the more important political issues.
Moving the subject away from Jack, does anyone have a quote from Walsh on Grand Theft Childhood? I definitely want to hear how he can defend his positions and still say Olson and Kutner are wrong, when they have pointed out the numerous flaws in the studies that support his position.
I for one would love to have a polite debate with Jack Thompson regarding the topic of video game content. But I'm no fool, and I'm not naive enough to give Jack Thompson the benefit of the doubt anymore. His stunning lack of class or common sense have killed any serious attempts to communicate with him.<