In our previous story GamePolitics broke the news that Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups (R) threatened to have anti-game activist Jack Thompson prosecuted if Thompson did not stop sending him e-mail.
In a remarkable development, a website run by Utah Senate Republicans has publicly taken Thompson to task over the issue:
Jack Thompson sends a lot of Email.
At 6:00 a.m. on Easter Sunday he sent another Email message to a group of contacts and highlighted a picture that, if not legally pornographic, was certainly offensive.
President Waddoups was on the recipient list. He sent a polite but direct request back to Mr. Thompson:
OK, I've had enough. Please remove me from your Email list.
Jack Thompson wrote back:
Sir, did you look at the material being sold to minors in Utah that I sent you?
President Waddoups responded with a second request to be removed:
Yes, I read them all and I got the picture. No more please.
Well . . . a few days went by with no relief. This morning Michael Waddoups – probably a little bugged - sent a third request to be removed from Thompson's Email list...
I asked you before to remove me from your mailing list. I supported your bill but because of the harassment will not again. If I am not removed I will turn you over to the AG for legal action.
So Jack Thompson issued a press release... Jack Thompson might be right. He might be totally, completely, dead-on right on his video game issue. He might not (smart people can disagree). Either way, this behavior doesn't help his cause.
GP: It's not clear who edits the Utah Senate blog, but there is an offer to post the original e-mails if readers request them.
UPDATE: In order to provide some context to this story, in the comments section I've posted the (NSFW) GTA IV screenshot that apparently pushed Sen. Waddoups over the edge. It's clearly not pornographic although it is racy.
UPDATE 2: The Utah Senate Site has posted the series of e-mails between Sen. Waddoups and Thompson.
Comments
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
So Jack Thompson issued a press release... Jack Thompson might be right. He might be totally, completely, dead-on right on his video game issue. He might not (smart people can disagree). Either way, this behavior doesn't help his cause.
This is so, so true. I learned it many years ago - it doesn't matter what you believe or what you champion, it's how you act that can make the difference.
Both of his careers (As an attorney and now as ... a disbarred attorney) are a very slow train crash, just like Star Wars Galaxies. Some day it'll eventually end - at least we hope.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over E-mail
Please have him arrested and locked up where he can't run his mouth anymore except to his cellmate when he is forced to be a prison bitch.
When Jack Thompson runs his mouth, does anyone really care what he has to say anymore?
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Jack Thompson: being able to turn everyone against him since 1988.
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Game on, brothers and sisters.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
I think it's been longer than 1988 :D
*******
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1907543
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
I would speculate it's more like 1953...the year he learned to talk.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
lol Yeah, but I don't know exactly when. I just chose a number. :/
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Game on, brothers and sisters.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over E-mail
Utah, meet the REAL Jack Thompson...
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over E-mail
Exactly,
Now people know who Jack Thompson is. I hope they can do their research on who this guy is and they can find out what he is. Maybe Utah will ask us more about this guy. Hell, I want the senate and Attorney General to go to GP and ask us about JT. Maybe they can find out more about him.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over E-mail
"I was on 60 Minutes."
"We're in the US Supreme Court."
"I received an award."
"I was on the Utah Senate blog... um... wait... that's not a good thing, is it? Hmmm... maybe I can spin it that way."
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over E-mail
Senate President Michael Waddoups wrote: "I supported your bill but because of the harassment will not again. "
Erm... let me be the first to shout HYPOCRITE!
Waddoups either supports the bill or he doesn't. Email spam from the bill's writer should not change his opinion on the bill. If it does, he's a hypocrite. It just shows how petty-minded those who supported this stupid bill are.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Why is withdrawing his support in the face of Thompson's constant e-mail harrassment hypocritical? Who said that he has to either tolerate that nonsense or risk being accused of hypocrisy? Why can't he reasonably say that Thompson's harrasment was a hidden cost of his support which he's now unwilling to bear? Sounds entirely reasonable to me.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
It's hypocritical because the content of the bill is completely separate from Thompson's behavior. He could be the biggest jackass on the face of the earth, but if he comes up with valid legislation, the Senate would be obligated to grit their teeth and put up with him. Saying that they're going to withdraw support because he's being...well, being Jack Thompson, indicates that either 1) they're withdrawing their support of a bill they feel is valid as punitive measure, which does a disservice to the people they're supposed to represent, or 2) they initially supported the bill for political reasons, regardless of its validity, and they now find its sacrifice an acceptable cost to take punitive measures against Thompson.
I obviously believe it's totally bogus legislation, but I honestly can't figure out if the boneheads in Utah realize that and are just being petty now, or if they were being campaign opportunists in the beginning and have simply run out of patience for something they've known all along to be a sham.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
A third alternative is conceivable. It's possible that Thompson's behavior since the vote on the bill has made him/them aware of the character of the man behind the bill, and given his abusive and deceptive behavior, no longer trust the premise on which the bill was based. In other words, they may finally be considering the source, and therefore reconsidering the issue.
Yeah, I know it's wildly unlikely, but I do make some effort to give people the benefit of the doubt. Either way, it means they're likely sick of this issue and don't want to hear anything more about it--which is good news for us.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
I also think it's wildly unlikely, but even if you're right, that still means that they didn't do their due diligence in the first place.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Oh, I quite agree. I just prefer to assume ineptitude before iniquity. Hanlon's Razor helps keep me from becoming too paranoid, like a certain disbarred attorney.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
@lumi:
I believe you're beginning to exhibit more than a fair share of naivity about how politics really works in practice. Jack Thompson was pushed unto the Legislature by the all-powerful Gargoyle Ruzicka, who many in the Legislature don't dare oppose. As such, what "due diligence" was there to be done? Like what? There was any possibiliy of passing on Thompson and his whack-ass Bill after conducting due diligence? There wasn't any such option. And to think there was is naive.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
There's nothing naive about saying what is right. I'm not saying I'm surprised by this; I'm saying that at least now, by the Senate President's own words, they didn't do what they should have. It's the difference between ignoring a crime you know someone committed because everyone just knows, and trying to ignore it when he was caught in the act in the middle of a packed football stadium. Some bells are a little too big to be un-rung.
Is this one of them? Probably not, but it's still pretty bad that he would even say that, let alone say it in print, because of the implications if anyone bothered to think about it for a moment.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
While I think both arguements are completely fair and valid... why are you looking the gift horse in the mouth? Seriously, this was bullet dodged... all cuz... DU-DADA-DAH, Jack Thompson is Jack Thompson's worst enemy.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Because it would be nice if the stigma of political failure were attached to this sort of legislature itself, not just to Jack. See today's article about him trying the exact same thing in Louisiana now.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Jack's theme song should be Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy", nice opening riff and highly appropriate for what he's been doing. Alternately I'd also suggest Mike Curb Congregation's "Burning Bridges".
I hate broccoli/ and think it totally sucks/ Why isn't it meat?
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
the glove certainly fits
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
No, there's nothing inherently naive in saying what's right. It's the attempt to hold Whazzup to that standard and the expectation that Whazzup would actually do the right thing (i.e., conduct somedue diligence regarding Thompson and his Bill, exercise his own judgement, and not blindly bend to Gargoyle Ruzicka's will) which smacks of naivity. It just don't play like that in the real world of Utah politics.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Call me an optimist, but I'm not big on the "it's wrong, but it'll never change so why bother pointing out that it's wrong" standpoint.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Maybe they just don't want to be associated with him.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Which doesn't change the fact that supporting his bill, and then not supporting his bill because they don't like his behavior, is hypocritical. They're changing their stance on a piece of legislation based on outside factors that don't actually have any impact on the legislation.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
"They're changing their stance on a piece of legislation based on outside factors that don't actually have any impact on the legislation."
A law in this style is meant to legislate morality, and as such, it's probably a bad idea to support that type of law coming from a person showing flagarent disrespect for laws or behaves immorally. Even if its hypocritical, it's not much of an issue.
It can either be self-preservation (i.e. not recommended to stay with that person), or a sudden eye opener (e.g. realizing that his harassment is solely a form of cherrypicking from games to make them look bad), and the representative doesn't know that yet. That's why it's not as much of an issue.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Exactly. Thompson should be feel lucky that the Utah politicians even listened to him since he is not and never was a resident of Utah. They don't have to listen to anything he says if they don't want to.
Geaux Saints, Geaux Tigers, Geaux Hornets, Jack Thompson can geaux chase a chupacabra.
Geaux Saints, Geaux Tigers, Geaux Pelicans. Solidarity for the Saints = No retreat, no surrender. 2013 = Saints' revenge on the NFL. Even through the darkest days, this fire burns always.
Re: Jack Thompson Criticized by Utah Senate Website over ...
Well, the bill DID come from the king of petty...
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.