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Here’s a link to Governor Rod Blagojevich’s new website, “Safe Games Illinois” that I wrote about in today’s Capitol Fax. The site is owned by Jascula Terman, a Chicago PR firm.
The 2003 poll about parental attitudes on media influence can be found at the Common Sense Media website.
Meanwhile, the blogoshpere is up in arms about the governor’s proposal to criminalize the sale or rental of violent/sexual video games to minors.
Most of the blogging is super negative. My favorite headline is Governor Rod Blagojevich Thinks You’re an Idiot on momentago.
Another, from Libertarianism ,and entitled “Dem Rod Blagojevich is villainizing videogames,” is far more strident:
“I hate Illinois Nazis”
-Jake Blues, The Blues BrothersThe Software/Videogame industry has policed itself for years with the ESRB ratings. But the Dems and Repubs (surprisingly it’s the Dems that have mostly been fighting against videogames lately) just don’t trust industry organizations to police themselves. Why? Because if industries police themselves then the government can’t create new bureaus and consume more taxpayer dollars and make politicians wallets fatter by doing a half-[redacted] job of regulating things.
(Except that many, including the governor, contend that retailers aren’t doing a very good job of regulating themselves.)
Some, like brothersjudd take the opposite view.
This is an excellent values issue and one the GOP should quickly swipe.
As I told you in Capitol Fax today, other Democratic governors are reportedly about to jump onto this bandwagon.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 2:06 am
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Rich:
As an Illinois teacher, OUTSTANDING comment about Blago’s venue for presenting his new “criminalization” initiative. Just what we need: more ineffectual laws like this while real street crime remains at current levels, ignored by His Hairbrushness. Kids have to go to and from school in fear but DON’T WORRY–they’re VIDEO GAMES won’t be violent.
Randy Fritz
Williamsfield, IL.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 8:44 am
Movies and video games have been violent for at least 10 years, now. I found a very effective way to keep them out of my children’s hands. Believe it or not, I said “no.”
The governor should spend his time seeing that all school children are fed and all communities have fire trucks. Instead, he is looking for drugs from Canada, which anyone can order anyway and searching out at DOT for the dreaded GOP.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 9:21 am
I’d like to see Blago issue a press release about how his flu shot fiasco is gonna *cost* the state money. If he doesn’t get approval, he’ll have to sell the doses at a loss.
I’d like to see some media coverage on *that*.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 9:33 am
Vote for Rod…
Because you are to stupid to take care of yourself.
Comment by John C. A. Bambenek Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 3:16 pm
I’m just curious about how many millions Rod’s video game farce is going to cost Illinois taxpayers? Lawsuits from game companies, retailers and rental businesses? Enforcement of the bogus law?
Wake up Rodney! Illinois needs LESS government NOT more.
Signed,
A man who believes that Illinois is a great state to be FROM.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 5:15 pm
“I’m just curious about how many millions Rod’s video game farce is going to cost Illinois taxpayers? Lawsuits from game companies, retailers and rental businesses? Enforcement of the bogus law?”
That leads to a most interesting area to consider?
If lots of lawsuits are being tossed around, isn’t this the purview (and responsibility) of IL’s chief law enforcement officer?
Who just happens to be LISA MADIGAN…
Who just happens to be the daughter of Blagojevich’s most visible (and capable) opponent in the IL state
legislature.
And, if some of the rumors out there are correct, she might end up in line (1st in line, probably) to challenge our esteemed Governor in the Democratic primary.
Not a bad tactic: Create a devisive issue that comes across as a “red meat” type of issue to any number of interested parties, then dumping all the ramifications and the like of said legislation directly into the lap of a possible primary opponent (who’s already found creative ways to stick it to you), and then making her deal with all those problems and issues.
Even though I’m anything but a big fan of our Hairbrush Governor, got to give him points for this one….
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Dec 17, 04 @ 5:48 pm
Maybe this is part of a “payback” to Hollywood from “Governor Hairbrush” in return for earlier campaign contributions.
This is from sfgate.com:
“The $10 billion video game industry, which generates more revenue than Hollywood, has never released so many highly anticipated blockbuster titles in a single season.
It started in August with the game title Doom 3, followed by The Sims 2 in September, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in October, then Halo 2, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Half-Life 2 last month.
In November, sales of video games rose to $849 million, an 11 percent increase from the same month last year and up 77 percent from October, according to the industry research firm NPD Funworld.”
The link to the story is:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/18/MNGUOAE36I1.DTL
After all, there’s only so much money out there to be spent for entertainment. And Hollywood much prefers that it be spent on DVD’s (their product), and not on video games (somebody else’s product).
Example:
$125 million: Value of total sales for the first 24 hours of “Halo 2″
$114 million: Opening-weekend gross for “Spider-Man,” a Hollywood record
Defination of “Priceless”: Having “Governor Hairbrush” play the “attack dog” for you against the competition.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 20, 04 @ 5:21 pm
Correction (or more appropriately, “The Rest of The Story”):
The sfgate.com story posted above includes some carefully edited “facts” to make their point. Specifically,…
1) The computer game industry is bigger than Hollywood, if you only count US box office receipts. But these “game industry is bigger than Hollywood” claims always leave out the rental and DVD sales market.
2) Also, the numbers don’t include sales of DVD players themselves either, whereas the games industry most certainly includes the hardware sales dollars from dedicated consoles.
Sorry about the misinformation. In a head-to-head on money, the movie industry is WAY ahead.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 20, 04 @ 6:50 pm