Conservative Blogger Who Triggered 2008 Mass Effect Debacle Equates Obama Stimulus Plan with Rape Game
Conservative Blogger Who Triggered 2008 Mass Effect Debacle Equates Obama Stimulus Plan with Rape Game
February 18, 2009
Just when you thought the RapeLay mini-scandal was over...
Kevin McCullough, the conservative blogger who in 2008 lit the fuse that would eventually detonate as pop psychologist Cooper Lawrence's misguided attack on Xbox 360 hit Mass Effect, is back.
In a piece for the conservative Townhall blog, McCullough draws similarities between the despicable RapeLay PC game and President Obama's just-signed stimulus package.
You can't make this stuff up. Here's what McCullough, who eventually backed off of his incorrect allegations against Mass Effect, wrote regarding RapeLay and the stimulus package:
This week Amazon.com after many complaints finally decided to ban a virtual reality game called "Rapelay." Defenders of the game say it's not real rape because it only occurs between computer animations. There are no genuine side effects. And it won't impact reality.
Sort of like what liberals sound like when it comes to our money. The money we work increasingly harder to earn. And with one uber-partisan vote they take away. Taken faster than the speed of light or at least in shorter than being allowed to read the legislation that does so.
In the game Rapelay, reviewers have stated that the player must first sexually assault a mother character and her two daughters before being allowed to then "pick" their next series of victims.
In the Congress of Washington DC liberals have seen to it that our mothers and daughters will have less money in the home budget working for their protection and welfare.
In the game Rapelay the reviews indicate that the rapist can even convince one of the animated computer characters that they like what's happening to them.
In Washington DC liberals in Congress sent their lapdog "Mr. President" out to the masses to do the same thing...
I've tried to be as tasteful as possible in explaining this comparison, and due to the passion of the natural man that was not an easy thing to do!
Class act, that Kevin McCullough...
Via: N'Gai Croal
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Posted 11/20/09 at 05:42pm
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:17pm
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:01pm
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:59pm
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:49pm
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:46pm
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:44pm
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:42pm
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:33pm
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:25pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:07pm
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:56pm
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:49pm
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:47pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I know they are intimate friends of yours...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I know they are intimate friends of yours...
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:44pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Neil and Bob?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Neil and Bob?
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
I've tried to be as tasteful as possible in explaining this comparison, and due to the passion of the natural man that was not an easy thing to do!
*Head Explodes*
I seriously wish mine would. There is no other expression, I can concieve to describe my feelings of this article.
I think reading and understanding nizkor.org/features/fallacies should be a required primer for political bloggers. There are many fallacies in this article, but the strawman one is the biggest offender.
GameSnooper
For a man so concerned with laying out the truth, he has no clue this wasn't an Amazon.com vs. Amazon.co.uk issue. I'm wondering how he found this information on the game considering it was never listed in the US (where the .com exists).
I mean stimulus issues aside (incidently, it's not as big as the big republican dawgs passed prior to Obama taking office, at least this time they're actually telling these companies what they can and cannot do), this is ripe with ignorance.
Wall of Text Simulation- Insert coin to continue.
You sound surprised.
I take it this is your first experience viewing a McCullough post. Take a look at many of the comments and you'll understand where he gets off. His "blogging" is an echo chamber for all of the frightened, ignorant, lazy idiots who would rather have someone tell them their opinions than base them on a balanced view of a larger world.
The way I see it, his unrestrained, uninformed, unthinking ranting just pushes him and his followers closer to the lunatic fringe, and his blogging only puts a public exclamation point on his stupidity. Based on a few of the comments to his post, there is a significant group of conservatives who agree with me on that point.
***Homicide-free video gaming since 1972!***
Sheppy, unfortunately your post is ripe with ignorance as well.
Democrats have held control of Congress for two years. TARP was not a Republican led spending bill, if anything it was bi-partisan.
And incidently, the combination of the Obama spending bill with his 1 Trillion dollar bank bailout announced last week, and his $75 billion housing plan in one week exceeded what we have spent on both Operation Enduring Freedom and Gulf War II in an 8 year span. And additionally this roughly $2 trillion dollars raised our national deficit 20%.
At current, the US government takes in close to $1.5 trillion dollars in tax revenue a year. We pay $600 billion in interest payments to the Chinese and others who hold our debt. At some point, if Obama continues to spend this way for the next 4-8 year, our interest will catch up with our revenue, and there will be no more money.
thelobbyist.net - live it, love it, debate
Actually, The Iraq war has only cost 500 billion; the rest is all pork.
But I actually found this article was quite interesting, and at least the idea behind it was right.
I believe we take in 3 trillion in tax revenue of which 1 trillion is spent on bridges to nowhere...
and I agree, in the last year that democrats have been in charge (including the time when bush was a lame duck and basically powerless to effect spending or congressional bills without the aproval of the democratic party) we have spent more than all 7 years before that...
I am starting to believe that republicans(even bush) are fiscally responsible when compared to democrats...
I am also preparing for the inevitable day when USA decides to either collapse under the strain of all these debts or decides to default on them... both of which would result in a global depression...
He thinks he wrote this "tasefully?"
I vomited in my mouth a little when I read this.
Not to mention any of my English teachers would be less then happy with his piss-poor comparisons.
They'd probably also be less than happy with you using the wrong "then/than."
There's more to good writing than perfect grammar and spelling, you know.
No, Luke, I AM the Walrus
Hey look. An idiot blogger is trying to remain relevant.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
DAMN STRAIGHT!
Its not like he's gonna create a scandal a la Mass Effect, is he?
Yes. I expect it.
He also had the nerve to note the people here who defended RapeLay. I expect this whole this to be blown out proportions.
I'm an attention whore. So visit my DevaintArt and feed my ego. Feed the whore. http://keaton2008.deviantart.com/
HEY! GP still kicks ass!
Yep, this is what it is really. Interesting that he used a reference to an obscure video game-related article to make his point. Maybe he follows the video game industry as avidly as Jack Thompson.
GameSnooper
Oh yes, the whole "liberals are taking your money, gun, Bible, livelihood etc. etc. etc." fear ploy from right ring extremists. Always fun. I'm surprised he didn't refer to the game as socialist propaganda. Of course, the one thing they won't divulge is a reason.
M. Carusi
Capitol Gaming
http://capitolgaming.blogspot.com
To be fair, gun owners and Americians in general should be worried about the potential gun control the new Obama administration can bring. Just Sayin....
Not to mention the PC fascist under tones the dims bring…and FYI I like the dims more but holy fck they have become inverted concrevtive’s in the past decade…
Gore,Violence,Sexauilty,Fear,Emotion these are but modes of transportation of story and thought, to take them from society you create a society of children and nannys, since adults are not required.
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
If inverted conservatives means acting like 19th century Republicans then I'm all for it...
GameSnooper
Sorry, but the dems also use the exact same fear tactics. It wasn't even a week ago that I was hearing speaches from Obama about how this stimulus package had to be passed immediately and without further review or else the country would collapse, the appocolypse would rain down upon us, and all the little lol-cats in the world would die. Or at least it was something along those lines. He's shown he's not above using fear to get what he wants passed.
One month in to the Obama administration, and he's already outspent the entire Iraq War.
Don't get me wrong. Both ends of the political spectrum use shameful tactics. Each side has different ways of integrating video games with its own agenda, is all.
M. Carusi
Capitol Gaming
http://capitolgaming.blogspot.com
He's right though, if we don't do something then we're fucked.
There have always been motherf*ckers, there will always be motherf*ckers, but what we can't do is let them control our motherf*cking lives. -John Oliver, December 1st, 2008
But spending 800 Billion in pork barrel projects isn't really 'doing something', its more 'growing government while fucking the people who actually work over'.
First off: Have you reviewed in detail where all the money is going?
Second: While The conservative hardliners may be incensed at the thought of "big goverment", I don't think allowing the united states to descend to 2nd or 3rd world status as buisnesses and industry collapse is a particularly smart move either.
And here I was talking about fear tactics. Thanks for helping to prove my point. A bit less hyperbole in your argument though will make it seem much more realistic and less "OMG WERE DOOMED."
Also, less government intervention and taxes would actually encourage buisnesses to stay and thrive here rather than break down into nothingness, so your argument fails on all but the pure knee-jerk, fear point.
By spending money to build up infrastructure, the US goverment is helping to facilitate all people in the united states. What part of this is too complicated for the right wingers to understand?
Spending all this money will insure that we do infact decend to the 2nd or 3rd world status...
Since from now on, every business knows that managing itself responsibly will only hurt it in the long run... why not get the increased profits now and a bailout later rather than acting responsibly only to have competitors bailed out later?
These bailouts/stimulus things only serve to further destroy our economy...
It is a fact that the government is too big for its own good and most of the things it does are to make itself bigger rather than anything resembling assistance to those who the government is supposed to help...
I had a part time job at a government agency once, we did our stated goal thing with about a third of the budget and spent the rest on anything imaginable so that funding wouldn't get cut the next year... every government agency acts like this...
At some point we will either need to suspend most of it to pay debts for a few years or default on debts or create a new better government from scratch...
Actually, I have. Any other moronic questions?
Neither is wasting nearly a trillion dollars on pork. The money being spent won't save industry, it'll sabotage the country, instill a larger government, and encourage companies to send more people overseas.
He again?
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
Well, at least, he didn't go too far about video games. He just described the content of "RapeLay", without slamming the "gamer-nerd universe", like he did for Mass Effect.
For the rest of his, um, "argument", and his comparison with Barack Obama's current policy... I wish I cared.
......................
I'm at a loss for words. I think I'll just walk away from GP for a while, need some fresh air.
Um... is it just me, or does he seem A LOT more informed about this game then he was Mass Effect?
Good question is how did he come across this in the first place?
Or he bought it and wasn't satisfied with that game :P
lol.. apart from the 'virtual reality' claims
That could be explained more by his lack of understanding what virtual reality is. He just see,ed a lot more familiar with the game, even detailing what happens in the game more completely then anyone on here did.
"This week Amazon.com after many complaints finally decided to ban a virtual reality game called "Rapelay.""
*facepalm* How many times must it be said? There are zero video games in the commercial market that utilize virtual reality technology. THE END.
"I've tried to be as tasteful as possible in explaining this comparison, and due to the passion of the natural man that was not an easy thing to do!"
Oh nice, we got the funny asshat, HAHAHAHAHA.
What kind of sick joke is that? We already had people comparing Obama to Hitler less than a week after the election, now we have him being compared to the stereotypical rapist/pedophile? What's next??
...I can see some pretty big simularities between Hitler and Obama, the fact that millions of people love him, and there is a fair amount of people that really believe he is the save-all of America. Hell, much of the rest of the world loves him too. Plus, both come into power in a time of economic need, and both were forceful/powerful speakers.
While I personally don't like Obama's policies, I highly doubt he would try to seize power like Hitler, or could even succeed if he tried. But I do believe the Hitler/Obama comparisons are fairly good arguments.
Just because you compare doesn't mean you really think that they are similar in the more extreme ways. (Though he might kill Pakistan if we don't watch him...)
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
Dude, you can draw similiarities between any two things. Doesn't mean you should.
I do believe he just described Congress.
"That's not ironic. That's justice."
I described politics once before on this site;
Definition, Politics;
Poli: Poly - meaning "many".
tics: ticks - blood sucking creatures.
'' a virtual reality game called "Rapelay." '
what... ?
since when was it virtual reality?
So much for learning lessons about spouting BS.
great job attracting attention from every butthurt christfag in america
If my hentai gets banned, I know who to go after
Anon's going to start a shitstorm if that happens.
| XBOX LIVE GamerTag: Harry Miste | Steam ID: Harry Miste | PSN ID: HarryMiste |
And then I'll get charged with conflicting interests. *sigh*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
There's a part of this that's had me baffled since Obama was elected and the Republicans began fighting his stimulus bill, which doesn't actually have anything to do with the game, sorry to say: Didn't this massive, multi-hundred-billion dollar stimulus bill idea originate with the Republicans, in the dying days of the Bush administration? Or am I misreading/misunderstand things entirely?
The republicans have been trying to draft their own version of a stimulus bill in order to compete with the Democratic one. It was mostly done to save face and/or bring another side of the arguemnt to light, seeing how the Dem's bill would have passed no matter what. Sure enough, the democratic one passed just a few days ago.
No what passed was not the stimulus package that the Bush administration drafted. The original stimulus used tax cuts to try and allow people and businesses running through these times to expand. While the current bill just gives out money to people and companies claiming that it will create jobs by expanding social programs and government.
Neither of these do I agree with because I do not agree with bail outs due to my belief in "No free money for idiots".
~Weatherlight~
Well we're probably fucked either way but i think that this plan is our best shot at recovery. If we don't do anything we are definently fucked, if we give more tax breaks for the rich then they will fuck us and if we give money to the rich they'll throw a big fucking party and buy a big ass-fucking boat.
There have always been motherf*ckers, there will always be motherf*ckers, but what we can't do is let them control our motherf*cking lives. -John Oliver, December 1st, 2008
The rich don't take everything from you, you give them everything when you spend money you don't have. The idea with tax breaks is a rather old thought, where businesses expand and people invest more when they have the capitol to do so. Spending the money they make on a big boat and party employs the people who make the boat and those that work at the party. Tax breaks don't work when everyone stashes their money in their pocket/bank because annalists scare them into thinking the economy is going to tank and they will have no money if they spend/invest.
What we have now is people getting "free" handouts from government programs, and capitalism is going by the wayside. If people only spent the money they actually had we would not be in this situation and the government is making it worse by spending money they don't have on programs, while tax cuts just decrease revenue.
~Weatherlight~
You can say "if the people did this" or "if the people did that" until you're blue in the face, but the people don't. Sometimes the government has to get involved and use people's money how it should be used.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
"Sometimes the government has to get involved and use people's money how it should be used."
The last group I would trust to spend money how it should be spent is the government. They waste more money than I can even fathom with unnecessary pork barrel project, inefficient bureaucracies, and shady politicians. When was the last time the govenrment actually did something that made fiscal sense? The only people who know how to spend their money is the people, and if they fuck up then so be it. That only prooves that they're free, which is a hell of a lot better of an idea then what you're proposing.
I'd rather be financially secure than "free", as you put it. I might be responsible enough to not live way beyond my means, but most people aren't. And when so many people are living so far beyond their means and taking out so many loans they can't possibly pay off, banks begin to fail. And then it starts to affect me and other fiscally responsible people, and I can't have that happening. And frankly, I don't give a shit about most pork barrel projects. The ones that the Republicans are bitching about don't mean a thing. A couple million hear or there is nothing in the big picture, so if polititions try to slip in funding for useless things, just let them. And 300 mil to upgrade the computer systems at the fucking state department is not pork. I have no idea why this is the most popular example. And even some projects that seem like they are useless at first may have the side affect of simply creating more jobs.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
"I'd rather be financially secure than 'free' "
Get out of my country
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin
I had my thoughts on this, but this post confirmed it. You're a jackass. In order to ensure your own sense of safety and self worth, you'd deny hundreds of millions their freedom. You'd rather be financially secure than free? That is the most incompetent thing I have ever heard, and I've heard a lot of them. You'd willing be a pet to the powers that be so long as you were financially secure? You'd be willing to spit in the face of millions that have died just so they and everyone around them could taste freedom just for your own comfort? What is all the wealth in the world without being free?
Your statement there confuses me to no end. I have so many different thoughts flowing through my head that I can't make up from down. The one thing I can be certain of though, is anger. I have never said this to anyone before, but if you honestly believe what you just said, then you may live in this country, but you're no countryman of mine.
I was going to try to end on something else to drive the point home, but really, I don't think I need to. Realize you're not the center of the fucking world, and that you've been given the gift of liberty freely, something many would and have died to gain. You would gladly trade this away for comfort. You are a pet and a fool, and you don't deserve what has been given to you.
Not spend nearly a trillion dollars, most of which goes towards projects that'll take at least 5 years to even become apparent to the public.
Make smart investments which will pay out in both the short term and the long term, such as improving infrastructure and power generation. The stimulus package has some decent bits about infrastructure, but anything it has to do about power is absolutely horrible.
Reduce spending by eliminating programs that have shown not to work (the government has a lot of these), and trimming much of the fat in the bureaucracy. The stimulus package currently does the opposite of this.
Stop trying to play god with the economy, cause as the last bailout showed, the government can't really pull that one off. Who's to say that it wasn't government intervention that caused the recession anyways?
Yeah, I think those 4 things would do much better at "stimulating" the economy far better than this waste of money that's been passed.
I think facts and common sense would say that the government didn't cause the recession. Or you could say that they absolutely did cause it through inaction.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
Through inaction? Their hands were all over the mess, long before it started to manifest itself. First with a poor sense of fiscal responsibility and then later with measures that encouraged banks to get into the position that caused them to fail, along with coddling the weak ones with handouts until they imploded upon themselves when all shit went south. Facts and common sense would show that the government shares half the blame, while the other half lies on us.
How did the government encourage banks to take up so many toxic assets?
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
Hint: they didn't.
What we're seeing here, is a fucking testament as to why leaving the market unregulated is bad.
PROTIP: It isn't the government's job to make sure that you're successful even if you fuck up or if no one wants to buy your product.
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
Go back to only spending money we have and better regulate the futures market. That is how we got into this to begin with.
~Weatherlight~
bah, as if it matters... the moment the Obama won the election many conservatives were determined to fight him every step of the way, they will try to fish for any possible fault they could see even if it is in a sense a contradiction in that they would probably make similar mistakes (only in a slightly different way... Grant it, Liberals would be doing the same thing had McCain wonl... its just part of how the two party system works...
Yeah, they were kind of already doing that for the past 8 years while bush was in office. Though it's good to know that despite all the bickering, they continue to keep up with their duties and set the standard for ....aww hell, I can't keep that up, even if it was supposed to be massive sarcasm.
Eh, I'm libertarian, and I know that many of the kids in my school aren't siding specifically with Republican/Democrat but will still generally pick one of those two. However, I think we are starting to lean more towards becoming multi-party, as I know several kids that are joining the libertarian party at 18, and others that will vote for the candidate they want, not along party lines.
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/1/14/ (second one)
Don't pay attention to that idiot. He doesn't deserve it.
There's something wrong when blowhard pundits, both liberal and conservative, get to keep their job by being idiots all the time, yet factory workers, something that the world actually needs, get fired.
Also, you can space stuff out by hitting the enter/return key.
Like this.
"That's not ironic. That's justice."
Are you serious? You need to look at some of the more liberal pundits a little closer then. Far more infuriating and shameless.
Dude, have you looked at the likes of coulter objectivley?
***
At any rate, Does anyone hear think that intelligent discourse is served when idiots like this particular blogger are given free reign?
You know, Coulter and this guy kind of fall into the same catagory. They are like real life villains. They're entertainment. And they can create intelligent debate. Sure, most of that debate is over whether trash like them should be allowed to say the things they say, but it's still intelligent debate.
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
The answer of course is yes, they should be allowed to say the things that they say. It's called the first Ammendment. Kind of the keystone of the American ideal set. Just because you don't like what she says doesn't mean she doesn't have the right to say it.
Who other than Michael Moore even comes close to this?
---------------------------------
Internet troll > internet paladin
Ann Coulter. You lose.
"Conservative bloggers have a reputation of having no shame..." Let me correct that for you
"Political bloggers have a reputation of having no shame..." I've seen many a Liberal blogger be just as shameful so sorry I had to correct it, I'm getting kinda tired of see this "Republican this..." "Democrat that..." Because they're all morons of the same calibure...
Words fail to describe the stupid found in his blog.
I hate hard-line political bloggers. They're nothing but oratory masturbation.
Tea and cake or death! Tea and cake or death! Little Red Cook-book! Little Red Cook-book!
If you think this is like masturbation then you are doing something SERIOUSLY wrong. This tripe is mentally painful on so many levels. Masturbation is generally supposed to be pleasureable.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Maybe he's a masochist.
"That's not ironic. That's justice."
I think he enjoyed writing it.
What I ment by that is that hard-line bloggers (both left and right) write hyberbole to make themselves feel smart and superior (it's easy when you don't have the other side to argue points). Those that visit those sites often usually have the same hard-line views and go to said sites to help renforce the percepective bubble they've placed around themselves, meanwhile the blogger in question gets the smug satisfaction that people believe what he/she says.
Hence, oratory masturbation. They're getting off at the idea that they aren't alone with their crazy beliefs. I guess you could say it's more like a circle jerk though.
Of course the same could be applied to any internet site, but you rarely see the same amount of hardcore ideological belief and preaching than on these kind of blog sites. (Go check out Freerepublic or Democratic Underground if you like, though I wouldn't suggest either.)
Tea and cake or death! Tea and cake or death! Little Red Cook-book! Little Red Cook-book!
ROFL, I may hate the stimulus package and dislike Obama, but this guy takes the cake.
~Weatherlight~
Kevin McCullough's house gets destroyed by the stimulus pakage and rapelay
Kevin McCullough: WTH, no no no nooooooooooooooo.
Bathtub falls to the ground breaking in the process
Kevin McCullough: I got to stop making comparison to videogames and the stupid stimulus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8GMemv2xc (link added for the family guy skit of which it was inspired from)
-----------------
Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights
Seriously, put this guy against the wall for treason would ya? Pretty sure that calling the President and his entire party rapists can be considered treason by some weird ancient fucked up law.
Lol, when Jefferson and Adams were running for the 2nd President, the people doing the campaigning said that if one was elected, "rape, incest, and sodamy would run rampant." Back in the day, shit like this was nothing. We've become wayyyy too sensitive and bitchy.
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
Do you really think that venting your spleen like this particular blogger is prone to do serves intelligent discourse.
I hate both political parties and quite franky see little difference between the two. This clown wants to blame Democrats for spending despite that for the last 8 years the Republicans spent and spent and killed regulations and as a result we're in this mess today. We can blame the Congress who for 6 out of 8 of Bush's years had a Republican majority, something ppl seem to forget. I blame both parties for this mess but the Republicans take most of it. Whatever party is in control, they spend our like drunked sailors yet don't take a dime out of their own incomes (no surprise). I'm not a huge Obama supporter but I want to give him the benefit of a doubt and hope he can make something happen for the economy. This guy is a piece of work who like other Republicans got us in this mess and then pretend to be the voice of reason? Give me a f**k**g break. It took 8 years before ppl finally out Bush was sscrewing the country beyond repair and noone says anything til its too late. Now he's off scott free. Obama has been in for a month and everyone wants to blame him for everything that has gone wrong in human history. Anyway this gamepolitics not politics so as I said before especially in regards to the GOP that their arguements for the dangers of simulations of violence in games falls on deaf ears as long as they continue to make more leanient gun laws. According to them: violent acts on polygon models is is bad but providing weapons to people, many who don't have emotion control and maturity to be trusted with a nerf gun: A-OK. As long as its this way all the politicians and Jack Thompsons of the country don't have a leg to stand on.
Same here
Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights
UGH. >_<
Just..... UGH.
I'm an attention whore. So visit my DevaintArt and feed my ego. Feed the whore. http://keaton2008.deviantart.com/
How did this blowhard get elected again?
Enough people thought he was good? He must've been going up against Hitler.
I'm an attention whore. So visit my DevaintArt and feed my ego. Feed the whore. http://keaton2008.deviantart.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZCISY40qns
There have always been motherf*ckers, there will always be motherf*ckers, but what we can't do is let them control our motherf*cking lives. -John Oliver, December 1st, 2008
Wait, we have virtual reality games now? And on Amazon? Wow.
"This week Amazon.com... finally decided to ban... "Rapelay.""
"Finally"? Amazon removed it within 24 hours of the original newspaper article.
Andrew Eisen
So this idiot implies that there's a significant amount of liberals that are gay pedophiles who have little objection to child porn and/or child-adult sex.
Words cannot describe the utter stupidity of that statement.
It's part of the same old tactic. Convince people that those on the other side of the spectrum are all satanic, inferior, stupid, Anti-American or out to get you in some way. That way people won't listen to the other side and probably won't listen if/when people point out the flaws of your ideas. Then you can keep feeding them the same one-sided cherry picked BS and not worry about all those dangerous counter-ideas.
It's a way to get people (or at least their followers) to instantly dismiss 'bad ideas' when they can't get government to get rid of them.
It's why the hard religion preaches 'gay and/or atheists are tools of Satan'.
It's why some conservatives preach that there's a war on Christmas and that the ACLU is going to get them.
It's why that some liberals are led to believe that the NRA and/or most private gun owners are irresponsible rednecks.
And of course there's the old bs of 'liberals are all morally bankrupt, anarchists, and anti-American' 'conservatives are religious freaks who wish to force you to follow their rules and they're nuts'
I could go on.
Oh well stereotyping and demonizing are not the marks of a true journalist or one interested in honest discussion. They're the marks of an idiot.
----------------------------------------------------
Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
After reading some of the replies to the original article that specifically supported Rapelay, I've got to wonder if this guy's really as awful as you're trying to make him out to be. I mean, sure, he's badly informed on the original news source, but at least he's not trying to defend the thing. That makes him more of a "class act" than some of your readers.
What's wrong with defending the game's right to exist and the rights of gamers to play it?
Andrew Eisen
Some things are best left undefended, at the very least until the industry is capable of staving off attacks on more mainstream games (Grand Theft Auto, for example). A game with fairly realistic rape sequences is exactly the sort of target that people who oppose violent, more adult games in general would want. It's not yet time to push the envelope quite that far; you need Elvis before you can have Madonna.
The people who responded to that post... well, I don't know what they think they were defending. High art, Rapelay certainly is not.
I could not possibly disagree more.
"High art, Rapelay certainly is not."
That makes absolutely no difference.
Andrew Eisen
Oh, but it does make a difference. When your product depicts something that is, quite frankly, an evil thing, it needs some sort of redeeming quality. Grand Theft Auto provides cultural commentary. Manhunt, a bloody, violent game, is something of a morality play. These qualities make the games an art form.
What quality raises Rapelay above mere obscenity? What makes it worthy of defense?
"When your product depicts something that is, quite frankly, an evil thing, it needs some sort of redeeming quality."
No it doesn't but that aside, if the game is fun to play, then there's your redeeming quality. If you're asking what keeps it from being obscenity, the reason is because it fails the Miller Test.
Andrew Eisen
From Wikipedia:
Please explain which point it fails.
No problem.
1. For most people, rape is not sexually appealing. Plus, when taken as a whole the game does not solely appeal to the prurient interests of the player. There is gameplay and story.
2. I don't see how the image of two cartoons interacting can be patently offensive but I won't argue this one.
3. This is the big one. The game has artistic value. Every video game does. It's unavoidable. Plus, there is a story in this game (albeit, not a very deep one) so there is also literary value. And scientific value from a coding and engineering perspective.
Andrew Eisen
1. The test doesn't ask if the average person finds it stimulating; it asks if the average person would find that the game "appeals to the prurient interest". If it were your way, then scat porn could never be found obscene, and some guy in Florida would be out of trouble.
I'd recommend you read the Something Awful review of this game before you suggest it has gameplay and story; you'll find Zack Parsons' account enlightening.
2. The cartoons depict rape. Depictions of rape tend to be offensive. Ever seen Irreversible? That was intentional.
3. I disagree with you on that point. Not all games have artistic merit, just like not all films have artistic merit. As to the story, it's paper-thin and could not be considered "serious" literary value.
Again with the cherry picking... I don't see how you can lambast rapelay (or whatever it's called) and defend GTA, and Manslaughter (or again, whatever it's called), just cuz they have stories. Hell, even pornos have stories.
The stories are a significant part of the experience of Manhunt and GTA. They make statements about destructive behavior and Western culture. That gives them artistic merit.
Rapelay's story is not a significant part of its experience. It's simply a setup so you can start to rape three people. You could conceivably skip the entire story and not miss anything of real import.
"The stories are a significant part of the experience of Manhunt and GTA. They make statements about destructive behavior and Western culture."
So art must be judgmental to qualify as art? Art cannot have a negative message?
"The test doesn't ask if the average person finds it stimulating; it asks if the average person would find that the game "appeals to the prurient interest"."
That's what prurient means and I don't think most people would find that a cartoon depiction of rape or a video of someone defecating on another would qualify as appealing to a prurient interest. I'll have to ask a few legal guys I know, see if the Millar Test is using a broader definition of "prurient" then the one I'm aware of. If it encompasses mere interest, then yeah, it could arguably pass the first point.
"I'd recommend you read the Something Awful review..."
I did. I also read the game's website and watched all the gameplay videos. Like it or not, there is a story here. Although, as I said earlier, it's not very deep. Basically, a guy is caught molesting girls on a subway and thrown in jail. As it happens, his father is a political big shot and gets the charges dropped. The young man then goes after the girls who got him arrested. The game ends with him being killed, either hit by a train or stabbed to death. Not only is there a story (again, not much of one) but there's also arguably a moral and political commentary (although, I'd classify it more of a plot device than anything else).
"The cartoons depict rape. Depictions of rape tend to be offensive. Ever seen Irreversible? That was intentional."
Yep and I said as much in my last comment. No, I haven't seen the entirety of Irreversible but I have seen the 8 minute rape scene from the film. I don't find it offensive even without the context of the story.
"Not all games have artistic merit..."
I'm not inclined to agree. Can you give me an example of a video game you feel has no artistic merit?
Andrew Eisen
I've got this one (playing devil's advocate here): Braid
ZING! :D
That's what prurient means and I don't think most people would find that a cartoon depiction of rape or a video of someone defecating on another would qualify as appealing to a prurient interest. I'll have to ask a few legal guys I know, see if the Millar Test is using a broader definition of "prurient" then the one I'm aware of. If it encompasses mere interest, then yeah, it could arguably pass the first point.
OK. Maybe I was unclear with the first prong.
The point isn't whether an average person finds that a work stimulates himself, it's whether the average person would agree that the purpose of that work is sexual stimulation. Again, (don't) look at scat porn. Stuff like Swap.avi is positively revolting to most people; however, the average person would likely say that the purpose of that film was some sort of titillation.
Next, a plot device doesn't make something a serious work of literature. Otherwise, those little blurbs in Club magazine explaining why Suzie is in a diner and about to do stuff to Tommy would count as serious literature. Nobody's pretending that the blurb is; why suggest the plot device was?
Can you give me an example of a video game you feel has no artistic merit?
Can you name a film without artistic merit? If your definition of "art" involves any sort of cinematography at all, then you'll have a problem saying anything at all lacks artistic merit.
Likewise with games. Anything I name will either have words (literary merit) or pictures (artistic merit). So, when I give you an example, understand that just because a game has pictures, that does not mean it meets any artistic merit.
That said, Pong. Pong lacks any legitimate artistic merit. If I had more time (a week or so), I could probably come up with a better example than that.
And I think pong is very artsy fartsy...
so one of us must be right... and the other is wrong...
wanna sword fight over it?
I kid... I'm wright, because my moral viewpoints are better than your moral viewpoints... fact! :D
Also, because my viewpoints are fact (like you believe yours are), asparagus is disgusting, and Dark Knight is the crappiest movie ever.
I state my viewpoints because I believe I can make a good case for them. They are opinions, just like anybody else's. The only thing we can do is try to persuade others, or at the very least let them see where we're coming from.
Except for the asparagus. It truly is horrible.
but you're splitting hairs, and going on a case by case basis... which... in the ideal world would be nice... but as of this moment, rapelay basically represents the entire industry... it's why I get pissed off at Rockstar... I do believe they should have the right to release whatever crap they want... but I wish they displayed a little bit more tact.
And the Dark Knight was a really REALLY bad movie... seriously... worst.movie.evar!
That's just it, don't you see? Rapelay is not a stand-in for the gaming industry, just as Dark Knight is not a stand-in for the entire movie industry.
You need to view things on a case-by-case basis. Broad assertions don't always work.
And herein lies the problem with the Miller Test. It's far too vague and subjective to accurately define obscenity.
"average person" "community standards" "depicts/describes in a patently offensive way" "serious literary/artistic/scientific/political value"
None of those things are defined so we can go back and forth all day on why Rapelay does or does not fall into any of those categories. I see how it could and I see how it couldn't.
At the end of the day, I don't care whether Rapelay is viewed as obscene or not. All I care about is that people understand that it's just a game, it's not real, it can't hurt anyone (unless you hit them over the head with the game disk), and while you don't have to play it (or in the case of Amazon (ignoring Amazon JP) sell it), any interested gamers should be able to.
Getting back to the original question of “why justify or defend Rapelay?” - it’s a work that a lot of serious effort went into creating. Some may find the end product deplorable simply because of its content but there are those out there who enjoy the game for a variety of reasons and I think that's enough to justify and defend its existence. It fills a need without hurting anyone or violating anyone's rights.
And finally, just for fun…
"That said, Pong. Pong lacks any legitimate artistic merit."
In an art gallery I once saw a painting of a red circle on a plain white canvas. Damn thing was selling for a couple grand. Certainly has serious artistic merit to someone.
Anyway, Pong, when taken as a whole, does have artistic (and scientific) merit. Getting an oscilloscope to render and animate a brick and a square ball was a heck of a feat back in the day. The engineer had to work a hell of a lot of technical magic to get it to work. While I could write Pong in half an hour today, I can't help but acknowledge the skill, imagination, and creativity that went into creating the original and call it art.
Andrew Eisen
They were selling a Japanese flag?
There have always been motherf*ckers, there will always be motherf*ckers, but what we can't do is let them control our motherf*cking lives. -John Oliver, December 1st, 2008
Heh, wrong shape (the canvas I mean) and the circle was off center but yeah, pretty much.
Andrew Eisen
From Wikipedia:
Please explain which point it fails.
To be quite honest, it fails all three points as Wikipedia is NOT a credible source. Sorry, please try again.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Yeah, Wikipedia's not a credible source but it's description of the Miller Test is correct in this case.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=us/413/15...
Andrew Eisen
Didn't know this was a scholarly journal.
Does it have to be for people to know that the info there can be tampered with?
Last I checked common sense was applicable outside of school as well.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Not at all. But stating that information is wrong simply because of its source is just foolish. I chose Wikipedia for the sake of expediency.
The Miller Test is readily available for people who wish to check whether the information provided is true. If you don't like Wikipedia, then look elsewhere and confirm what I said.
And who are you (or myself) to cherry pick what is obscene, and what has redeeming qualities (moral, cultural, etc)?
I'm the guy who just posted the Miller Test, which gives the legal definition of whether a particular work can be labeled obscene. Rapelay passes all three prongs.
No it doesn't. See my comment above. There's an argument to be made for the first two but it absolutely, inarguably fails the third prong.
Andrew Eisen
I find the third prong to be quite debatable, and in fact, quite central to why I find it baffling that there are users on this website defend the game.
If anything, the third prong raises the issue of whether the government should be acting as art critic. If modern art demonstrates anything it is that one man's art is another man's commode.
Dude! The game is fucking called Rapelay! It contains rape, and lots of it. And I can guarun-damn-tee you that nobody is playing the game for the story. If this doesn't pass the Miller test, then what the hell does?
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Internet troll > internet paladin
"If this doesn't pass the Miller test, then what the hell does?"
Nothing I can thing of and that's the problem. The Miller test is far too subjective and vague.
"And I can guarun-damn-tee you that nobody is playing the game for the story."
Doesn't matter. No one plays Super Mario Bros. for the story either. Is that enough to declassify it from "serious literary" value? To some, yes, to others, no. Again, that's the problem with the Miller Test. It doesn't define its terms.
Andrew Eisen
It's terms are defined by the general public's attitudes. And the general public would find this game obscene and pornographic.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Only the first prong but even so, how do you quantify how the general public will define "average person" or "contemporary community standards"?
Andrew Eisen
I think that one justice said it best. I know it when I see it. There is no quanitification involved here. You just have to use common sense. And I don't mean common sense as most people on the internet refer to it, as intelligence. I mean real common sense. The sense that is common to all (or almost all) people.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Hence the problem and why obscenity cases are debated to this day. Determining if something passes a particular prong of the Miller Test is a matter of opinion, not common sense.
As an example, does common sense dictate what is of "serious artistic value"? No, it's completely subjective.
Andrew Eisen
Would you like to know why so many people are defending Rapelay, even though we find it disgusting? Its because of two words......
"Stare decisis"
These words mean to maintain the precedent. Its how our legal system works. United States judges are not supposed to pull rulings out of their butts. When making up their minds, they have to look to older rulings and the consitution for the answer. These days books, movies, and music have almost complete protection under the first amendment, but the precedant for digital media is still being set.
Now picture if you will: an american court bans Rapelay. This doesnt seem that odd to some people, all in all, it is a game with a violent setting, and very little artistic value. Now, later on GTA V is released, the normal hulabalu starts, and so on. This time, however, it gets banned. How could this have happened? Well its just so happens that the judge on the case pulled up PoliticalJerk v. Rapelay, which says that certain digital media can be "banned if they don't have a cetain level of artistic merit" (or whatever the legal brief from the case claimed).
You wonder why, despite being disgusted by Rapelay so many of us get our noses out of joint about regulation? Thats why.
*EDIT*
I also point out, I'm a moderate. One of those people in middle. I think that the political blog we have been talking about is a disgusting little bit of fearmongering, but I will defend their right to spread that filth around because its the same right that allows us all to get togather here and take pot shots at each other. ^_^
Should Rapelay have been released? No, because as you said it could hurt the mainstream gaming in the press. But what we were defending was its right to exist. The moment I say that something should be banned or shouldn't be allowed is the moment I become a hypocrite. Because who am I to say what is and isn't acceptable? I won't play the game, but I don't think it should be taken away from those who do want to play it.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
You don't have to defend something just because it's been labeled a videogame.
He's not defending it, he's defending its right to exist.
I think that people that burn American flags are some of the most deplorable, disgusting, worthless pieces of filth around, but I still defend a person's right to burn something that belongs to them, or have other forms of free speech like that.
(Though, I would probably punch a flag-burner in the face, and likely no jury would convict me...)
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
You kidding?
Assaulting someone because they did a protected act you find repulsive?
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
They have a right to burn the flag, and he has the right to show them how he feels about it. He'll probably be prosecuted, but he'll be a martyr for it.
Yes but not if the expression involves punching someone then it's not covered under free speech no matter how many ideas he was expressing through it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._O%27Brien
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
Again, I said he'd probably be prosecuted. However, he'd become a martyr in the eyes of anyone that bleeds red, white, and blue.
He's not defending it, he's defending its right to exist.
It can exist. It doesn't have to exist on Amazon.
lol, I'm not defending it because it's a videogame. I just hate censorship. It even pisses me off that France and Germany prohibit the display of Nazi paraphernalia, and there is pretty much nothing that I hate more than Nazis.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
The game can be purchased from other quarters (I think J-List may still sell it). It's not being censored, it's just being removed from a particular quarter because they see keeping the listing as a terrible PR move.
I mean, I can't buy adult movies from Blockbuster, but that doesn't mean they're being censored. I just have to go to a different place if I want them.
If J-List sells it, its not coming up on their search engine...though not like there isn't other games on the site that are similar in nature, etc.
Shall we defend all speech as free speech, then?
How about this blogger guy? Why aren't you defending his speech?
Because he's an idiot. I might be happy if he was fired from his job for being a moron, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in his right to say whatever he wants, no matter how incredibly stupid it is.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
You'll get no argument from me on that first point.
So, what's the difference between him getting fired and losing his audience and Rapelay being removed from Amazon's "shelves" and losing its audience?
Amazon can sell whatever they want on their website. Likewise townhall can publish what it wants as well.
(of course this doesn't cover Amazon selling contraband or townhall publishing something like slander).
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
Oh, we accept his right to free speech. However, we also have the right of free speech to say why we don't agree.
| XBOX LIVE GamerTag: Harry Miste | Steam ID: Harry Miste | PSN ID: HarryMiste |
You certainly can respond, and probably should. But when people are calling for him to be silenced (fired from his job), how are they any different than what Amazon did?
I think it's a far stretch to say that calling for his firing is the same as calling for him to be silenced. Saying that he shouldn't speak for that publication is a lot different than saying he shouldn't speak.
No, I don't think he should be fired. I'd prefer it if the crazies had someplace to go so that they're not all over the flippin' place. I just don't see how calling for someone to be fired is the same as calling for them to not be allowed to speak.
I think it's a far stretch to say that calling for his firing is the same as calling for him to be silenced. Saying that he shouldn't speak for that publication is a lot different than saying he shouldn't speak.
If you remove somebody's platform, then you've effectively silenced them.
Ok, this is starting to not make sense. First off, you don't silence them. They can always get a job somewhere else where they can voice their idiotic opinions (Fox news for example). And if they can't get a job, that's their own fault for being an incompetent moron.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
If Jack Thompson were to lose GamePolitics... wait, he did... well, if Dennis decided to ignore all things Jack, then what more would you hear of him? He'd lose his platform. He could send faxes and emails all day long, but nobody would pay them any mind.
Same thing here. Kick him off whatever site he's on and let him go on Livejournal? What's the point in doing that? Nobody would read his drivel.
And then that would be... great?
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Internet troll > internet paladin
No, it wouldn't, b/c then he'd become the equivalent of the Time Devourer from Chrono Cross. We must keep him in the Lavos stage FOR GREAT JUSTICE, until there is a way to completely and utterly destroy him.
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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon
Wow. I'm baffled. He'd have a platform. There are tons of services out there that will let you spew whatever drivel you want and be untouched.
I have a Livejournal. I rant regularly about stuff, and yes, sometimes spew drivel that some would call offensive. I talk to my friends and family about it.
So what you're saying, then, is because I'm not working for a company, getting paid to boast my opinions, and reaching a large audience, I am... silent? I don't have freedom of speech because the only people reading my stuff are my friends? That's... not my understanding of the subject and not something I agree with.
Furthermore, if there are people who want to follow him, in the sad event he was fired (for, as far as I can tell, doing his job- I'm not saying he should be fired) they can follow him to his blog. It happens.
Yeah, exactly. And I also don't think Amazon removing Rapelay from their site is a bad thing in principle. It's their site, so they can do what they want with it. But if they start regulating content like this now, then they are going to have to deal with a lot of difficult situations in the future. I know that one person on the previous article about this said that Amazon has a no lolicon policy. But then another person instantly found lolicon for sale on Amazon. The Rapelay issue was what brought attention to that.
What I do think is a bad thing in principle is when people say Rapelay should not have been allowe to be made. That's censorship of free speach, and that's wrong.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
I think the fundamental issue is that its easy to find something that offensive anywhere. I used to work in a bookstore, we would occasionaly have someone get offended, get mad and say they are never coming back again cause we had some item they didn't like. I could say I don't like the bible or the koran or some other "acceptable" book. I may not like them, but I don't have the right to demand that they be pulled off the shelf. What would happen, for example if a bunch of fundamentalist christians got into power? Could we expect to see a "censureship" for say witch and wiccan books/products because they believe them to be not moral and offensive? Where do you stop the line of what is offensive. Yes, we have freedom of speech, but that doesn't seem to matter if someone (in power)finds it offensive.
I agree with Amazon's removal of Rapelay if it violates their terms of service, and if lolicon violates it, that should be removed, too. The ToS isn't there to look pretty. If they're not going to enforce the rules, the rules need to be removed.
I've said several times, personally, that I'm disgusted there's a market for it, but there is a market and it is not illegal in the country it was made in. It has every right to have been made.
However, firing someone- anyone- from a blog is not censorship. It is censorship if the publication deletes the article and forces the employee to apologize when he doesn't mean it. It is censorship if he is fired and all those free services out there that give you a platform refuse to let you use them. I hate to say this, but even though we're only debating among ourselves? We're engaging in free speech. You don't need a large audience to be able to speak. You don't need a large audience to exercise your freedom of speech.
*sigh*
Penny Arcade clearly got it right when they lampooned this guy. He realized that he was no longer relevant and that the last time he got any real attention was when he pissed people off with sensationalist claims. Comparing a potentially make or break piece of legislation with raping a woman and her daughters? Who the hell would even think to use that if they really wanted their argument to be valid? Especially when this bill is meant to, in theory, help the people. Sure, there's a lot of political pork, but a lot of it's necessary, just like the New Deal was.
And, to be perfectly frank, his "article" made me sick. This man is low, pathetic, and willing to sellout and be hated, just to get some attention.
-"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Which is why if you wanted to stand up to the guy, you shouldn't have read it :p Every time the guy wants some more hits, he's just gonna make some stupid article referencing gamers as lowlife.
That's true I suppose. But then I wouldn't have been able to complain about it. And what fun would that have been?
-"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Wow, what a goober.
I hate people like this. They draw people away from ligitmate issues with nonsense.
The stimulas plan IS horrible, but thanks to this guy, the argument is harder to make.
I think we need a joke in here about how this was 'rammed' through congress without any bipartisanship whatsoever. Seriously. Republicans weren't allowed to have a hand in the writing of the bill, their ideas for the bill were largely ignored (and in my favorite example, they actually did the exact opposite of what the republican party line wanted and cut out all money to veterans except 1 billion to the VA for rebuilding), and they weren't allowed any input at the end.
Of course, with all Obama's talk about how transparent this new government would be, he sure didn't care to let people read through the 1100 some odd pages before the vote, nor did Pelosi. Hell, no one even knew exactly what was in the bill until the day after it was voted for. What a great new government.
Oh, and to anyone who voted Obama? Fuck you. Thanks for assisting this moron in wasting 1.3 trillion in a month.
*tip of the hat*
You're welcome! :]
Hopefully I am not breaking any rules by posting this, but it is a link to Politifact.com Obama Promise Tracker. I don't agree with their conclusions completely, but they do explain their reasoning's and link to the presidential press releases.
~Weatherlight~
How many promisses a president keeps is a poor measure of his effectiveness. Personally, I'd like to see Obama break a lot of his promisses.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
That seems like an extremely poor measure. It seems to have forgotten about him hiring (or attempting to hire) lobbyists for government jobs, not being transparent with policy (like the stimulus bill, which he signed before most people had a chance to even read the bill), etc.
And a great big Fuck you back, you've got a lot of gaul calling anyone a moron after 8 years of nonstop Bush-worshipping.
It's Austin_Lewis. If he wasn't trolling for the neo-con "everyone who doesn't agree with us is to blame" point of view, he'd have nothing to post here.
Parallax Abstraction
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
blog.digital-lifeline.ca
I know, he truly does embody the mantra of the 23%ers. Whenever I mention that there's no worship like Bush-worship, its people like him that come right to mind.
Right. I'm sorry that I'm annoyed that this jackass helped to ram through a bill that wastes nearly a third of the government's tax income on things that are just pork, nearly guaranteed to not have any effect on the recession, and, my personal favorite, WRITING A 1.3 TRILLION DOLLAR BILL THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL HAVE TO FUCKING PAY FOR!
Right, Bush fucked us over as much as that. It couldn't have been the Democrat party helping to force Subprime lending, then blocking the regulation of the same sort of lending. No, let's misplace blame out of a blind hatred for Bush.
Yes yes, George never made a single mistake in all of his 8 years as president, nothing was ever his fault, he's the living embodiment of jesus christ and you worship him as a god, we've heard your schtick over and over again. Last I checked Obama actually attempted to bring the republicans into this, and he made changes around their input, despite the fact that their only mantra right now are that tax cuts are the is-all-end-all solution to everything in life. Hell your "they never do wrong" republicans are even on the record complimenting him for his bipartisanship. But no, thats not good enough, they get told to all vote no regardless of any changes, and like the sheep they are, they comply. To them its all about scoring points for the next election - party before country, something you seem to follow quite adamantly.
That, and torture is fine and dandy when we do it.
But its nice to know that you're so partisan that you'd probably punch a democrat in the face for rescuing your own mother from a burning building. I'm sure if all this money in the stimulus bill were were to go to Iraq you'd be jumping for joy, since apparantly wasting trillions into the "war" is perfectly reasonable, but spending at home is a travesty.
Get back to us on this after you look at the money which was wasted on the war in Iraq, as well as estimates on its future costs. But, you know, coffins for dead American soldiers aren't cheap.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Funny... but i thought all those conservative christians out there thought the end of the world is upon us and that yall will be raptured up not carrying what happens to the world. So why would they care about a crappy 1.3 trillion dollars? Heck why not add the nearly 600 billion(which doesnt include VA costs for medical treatment for vets wounded from the war, repair and replacement of worn/destroyed equipment, interest on that money etc) for Iraq bill that was paid with a nice Mastercard express and make it 1.9 trillion? Well, democrats had to bend over and take it up the arse for 8 years, its republicans turn. Hopefully us moderates and independents can keep put of the way while those two factions go at it. Stock up on some lube Austin, it sounds like you will need some for awhile.
Hear Hear!
There have always been motherf*ckers, there will always be motherf*ckers, but what we can't do is let them control our motherf*cking lives. -John Oliver, December 1st, 2008
Last I checked Obama didn't put a mountain of cash on fire. As such we won't know whether or not the money has been "wasted" until we see some sort of result (positive or negative).
If, 4 years from now, the US is no better (or is in fact worse) an argument could be made for the spendatures being a waste.
As to the qq of republicans not getting there say: You guys get to watch the other kids have fun.
But the mountain is there, and the match is lit. It's a tense situation. I actually think we'll have to wait more than 4 years to see if it works out.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
I was actually talking in a literal sense on the topic of a mountain of money being burned. that's the only way that the US goverment could "waste" money.
If you have any other ideas about how to get our economy out of this mess, I'm all ears.
I don't have a in depth knowledge other than basic college Economics,
But doesn't the consumer possess half the blame (at least) in this, for not being able to pay back the loans they were never able to afford in the first place?
The decrease in home value comes from supply and demand, as more are not able to pay their loans, they go into bankruptcy, ergo they sell their house to the bank...
Do this in masse, and you have an abundance of houses, and with the law of supply and demand, the homes are significantly worth less than when they were first bought, which really screwed other homeowners facing emminent foreclosure (is that the proper term?).
Spread this among other factors such as the inability to buy insurance (much less pay for medical expenses), an increase govenrment expenditure (food stamps, etc.), all of which we pay for in taxes.... and lets not forget the current CEO corruption, and other individuals that were responsible or could have prevented this... (Alan Greenspan, etc.)
Plus, the war..... and I think that's mostly it.
There in more details than I care to state, elaborate, or even know. But I think that's the gist of it.
I maybe half-wrong here, since I am half-awake during my classes. So any more insightful commentary or corrections (no cursing ;) gentlemen/women) will be fully welcomed.
That's all correct, except the consumer never posseses any of the blame. You know how you don't blame a retarded person when they do something wrong because they can't help it? Well the consumers are like super-retards. If the average person was capable of making responsible decisions about their economic futures, while still keeping other people's economic situations in mind, then we wouldn't really even need a government. It is really the fault of the banks for not being more responsible, and also the fault of the government for not keeping the banks in line.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
I can't fully agree with that. While it's true that the government shares some of the blame, they were addressing the problem with the predatory lending laws. The lenders were just one step ahead with their "creative financing". And consumers should be given a free pass? I say bullshit. In this day and age of internet access, it's not hard to educate yourself to the point where you can make sound financial decisions, even if you only go so far as to get competing offers. If you go with the first smooth-talking salesman you meet regarding a huge financial decision like your home, that's your choice. Just don't expect me to feel sorry for you when it all goes south.
"There is no sin except stupidity." - Oscar Wilde
EDIT: I work in the foreclosure prevention field, so I know what I'm talking out.
The majority of those homeowners who were attempting to "live above their means" were placed into their loans by agrresive and often unethical brokers, agents and officers. By luring people (generally immigrants in the southwest) into minimum payment loans in which the borrower was not making payments on principle balance and the adjustable not feature created further payments which brought the loan out of any concept of affordability. These borrowers were "qualified" for the loans essentially by the banks, who held the grestest interest in flipping properties to create unethical profit.
The entire loan "craze" of the turn of the century was based on the incorrect concept that our economy and housing demand would continue to rise exponentially, allowing borrowers who were above their means making these "minimum payment" loans to refinance within a five year period. The concept was sound, the implementation ended up as predatory. The loan products out there were meant for sophisticated consumers who understood and were willing to bet on the further economic rise. Instead, these loans were made to uneducated borrowers as a means for them to only pay $600 a month (minimum payment) for homes that sat decidedly out of reach of their current economic means.
What does this mean? It means that there's a lot more going on here than merely "people living outside of their means." These loans were pushed on low-income families in order for them to get into the home they dreamed of for years but could never afford. The problem began in the Clinton years when federal regulations were loosened to allow these products, were perpetuated by lenders' unethical business practices, and came to a head when our economy slipped and people's income began to drop.
Consumers should not be given a free pass. There are many who knowingly entered into bad loans out of greed, and those who were tricked into signing due to a lack of financial knowlege and communication skills (Spanish-only speakers in the southwest who were never provided with loan documents in their own language.) Regardless, the problem begins and ends with the same thing: Governmental regulation and oversight over a greedy and unethical industry.
You can talk about "choice" all you wish. The bottom line is that there was an abuse of trust on the part of lenders and, surprise, the general American populous fell for it. Really, when was the last time you saw someone who dropped out of school after 10th grade understand the ins and outs of mortgage lending? Honestly, do you understand the minute ins and outs of lending?
Well said. I worked for five years as a mortgage loan officer myself, so I saw firsthand what was going on. Unscrupulous business practices and sales burnout ultimately made me call it quits. However, I did eventually have the satisfaction of seeing many of my former colleagues go broke after carelessly frittering away all the commission money they received by ripping people off over those years.
I also learned that it's not that difficult to read a mortgage note and understand what your loan is all about, even if you're not familiar with loan lingo. Maybe that's why I'm relatively unsympathetic to the plight of the average consumer.
"There is no sin except stupidity." - Oscar Wilde
While I didn't vote for Obama, I do enjoy watching those people at Townhall squirm because he was elected. It was funny, they accused people who didnt like Bush of BDS(Bush Derangement Syndrome), so are they now guilty of ODS? Personally, I don't like either party, expecially when its far right/far left.
I think RapeLay is a better metaphor for what the previous administration did to the US and the rest of the world.
Anyhow, about the stimulus package. I may not agree with all of it, but what I do agree is that something different must be tried. Tax cuts are part of the reason we're in this mess already. Aren't you guys willing to give the Democrats a chance? (remember the surplus, peace and prosperity of the Clinton years?) Forget partisanship for a second. We're all intelligent people here. The democrats may not be right but at least they're trying something different.
The reason the republicans keep losing power is that instead of doing something different, they want to do the same thing they've been doing for the last 8 years but expect different results.
At least one thing that I've noticed since Obama became president is there's a feeling of comraderie now. People are more willing to help each other. People are helping out people find homes and jobs. Or just to help out because they're in a better position than the person they're helping. There's been too much of "This is mine, fuck off" and "you're wrong, fuck you" coming from the states.
Just my two canadian cents.
Wait... Letting people keep the money they trade a fraction of their life for got us intot this mess?
Free market is what got you guys (and a great many other nations besides) into this mess.
With the right regulations, the banks wouldn't have wound up giving out mortgages to people who couldn't afford them (the source of the problem), or would have been compelled to NOT swap them around like trading cards (which would have isolated the toxic assets).
And that's another thing that pisses me off! When the government raises taxes, they're not just taking money and throwing it into a pit (well, some of the time they are). They are attempting to use that money in a more responsible way than the public have been doing, because sometimes, believe it or not, the government is actually capable of being more responsible than the people. In fact, a long time ago, that was sort of the point of a government. I know it's hard to imagine a responsible government after the past 8 years, but I'm pretty sure it's possible.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
"And that's another thing that pisses me off! When the government raises taxes, they're not just taking money and throwing it into a pit (well, some of the time they are)."
Well the pit hasn't been approved by our beaucracy yet, but don't worry it'll be there. As Americans when we see our tax dollars wasted we want to see them wasted in style. That pit's going to look pretty good.
And expecting the government to act responsible or in everyone's interest all the time is in my opinion stupid. Adopting an attitude of 'government knows best' just gives a lot of potential for abuse or downfall when/if the government gets incompetent.
I say that people should be skeptical of government considering the amount of power it has and the amount of money it needs.
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
That's what I hate the most! Why do they think tax cuts will all of a sudden start working? I don't understand economics very well, but I am able to see a basic pattern. I can see how tax cuts would work to put more money in people's pockets and allow them to spend more, but for one reason or another, that hasn't been happening. I can also see how raising taxes and investing the money in rebuilding our infrastucture of, well everything at this point, would also help. Why don't we try that for a little, because frankly, we don't have much more to lose.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Thank you for articulating my thoughts.
hey people who think that only bastards would play Raeplay? Who's worse, those people or this guy?
Wow. That ones tough.
Seriously. I know one is worse then the other, but I honestly can't decide which.
I'd say this guy. Some people just have some weird fetishes.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Ditto..... I never understood foot fetish people.
150 comments and going strong!
Let's all spread the hate...
It's called the Texas sharpshooter fallacy, right? When a person takes something (Rapelay) that has nothing to do with the topic at hand (stimulus bill) and tries to twist it around to make it relevant?
Testing my new sig.
Result: FAILURE
Dammit.
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(Can someone give me the bracket text to make this my real sig?)
I hate all this "Liberals are ruining America" crap. Just because you have a different politic view doesn't mean you have to attack everyone. Conservatives got to be the worst when it comes to that stuff.
Hopefully you've all realized he just doing this because he remembered the only time anyone ever reads his articles is when he bashes a video game. Best solution to this guy is to just ignore him.
Ok so this gamepolitics article has now officially gotten more comments than the conservative nut's article.
Has kotaku reported on this? I fear for the worse if they have.
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
You know I just realized something. If two people had actually bought those 2 used games before Amazon took them down a lot of this controversy would probably have never happened.
Way to let everyone down internet.
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
I don't think that would be entirely true. I do a lot of selling on Amazon (selling video games, coincidentally enough), and when an item sells out, the listing doesn't go away, its just labled as "not currently available" and it just sits there waiting for someone to restock it. It may not have been found as eaily, but it definately would still be there.
in his defense, the game was pretty "stimulating"
In the defense of us (sometimes) conservative bloggers out there... even *I* think the moron's going more than a smidge too far. Don't paint everybody who disagrees with Obama with the same broad brush McCullough deserves to have shoved sideways into a very small orifice.
I mean... Christ almighty, what was he THINKING when he wrote that? Did he even consider how stupid the words he's typing make him sound?!?
Politics, Religion, and Particle Physics http://dttaboos.wordpress.com
"In a piece for the conservative Townhall blog, McCullough draws similarities between the despicable RapeLay PC game and President Obama's just-signed stimulus package."
Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but what happened to "we report, you decide", Dennis?
"There is no sin except stupidity." - Oscar Wilde
It's a blog and besides that's FOX's lie, their own mantra is a lie it should say, We decide, you parrot
There have always been motherf*ckers, there will always be motherf*ckers, but what we can't do is let them control our motherf*cking lives. -John Oliver, December 1st, 2008
...and due to the passion of natural man, that was not an easy thing to do!
Wait. Is he saying that it's human nature to rape people, or have I misconstrued this further? D:
"HEY! LISTEN!"
I've tried to be as tasteful as possible in explaining this comparison
I guess it's tasteful by "Biggest choads in the world club" standards.
GameSnooper