What Would Matt Do

That’s an absolutely horrible statement to make in justifying anything. I know it is, and yet, this guy makes me want to hold him down and write it on his forehead:

But goddamit, am I the only one who think it’s morally disturbing to make a game that celebrates COLONIZATION? It’s ironic, actually, because just a few months ago a friend sent me a link to some information about the original "Colonization" game from 1994 (pictured left) that this one updates. At first, I thought it had to be a joke, but sure enough, it was real. However, I dismissed it as a relic from a time when neither developers nor players took videogames seriously as media with moral implications.

But the idea that 2K and Firaxis and Sid Meier himself would make and release a game in the year 2008 that is not only about colonization, but celebrates it by having the player control the people doing the colonizing is truly mind boggling.

There are more than a few ways to refute this argument.

You could go with, I didn’t hear you say anything as you played WWII games where you celebrated the killing of other human beings over and over in a very grotesque manner (some call it war). I didn’t hear you complaining when you played Civilization where you potentially do almost the same thing you’re going to be doing Colonization, but it’s called a different name. I didn’t hear you complaining as you played evil races doing evil things in numerous games. I didn’t hear you complaining when you played any of the Age of Empires games.

Or you could go with, it’s just a game. No matter the subject matter, it is what you make of it. If you find it personally offensive, don’t play it. It’s not actually real you don’t actually have to do any raping and pillaging. You don’t have spread diseases to wipe out whole nations and you don’t have to get your PC panties all in a bunch about it.

What I’d really say though, don’t be dumb. Just like FPS games aren’t murder simulators, this isn’t a genocide simulator. If you really can’t see that, the least you can do is stop posting your trollish type posts on the internet where I’m subjected to reading them. I mean, I know the 1st amendment protects your freedom of speech, but if you had any morals, you wouldn’t post things like this:

And yes, before anyone brings it up, I believe in the First Amendment. Of course 2K has the right to release it. Nobody should stop them from doing so. But I think personally think they shouldn’t release it, if it’s at all what it appears to be based on the early marketing.

What Would Matt Do: Your forehead, my marker, bitchlips.

I really would love it if I had a president I could at least attempt to believe in, and believe in general. If Obama makes it past the primary, I could actually vote for a president I liked, instead of the lesser of two evils.

That is, if you’re a public servant on the take!

“Let me be clear of our intentions: Any public servant who cashes a check from the videogame industry will be exposed by the PTC as taking a stand against families, and his or her actions will be communicated to constituents in his or her congressional district.”

I don’t really know how to take this.

First, I’m pretty happy for the Parents Television Council, what with them expanding beyond just television as of late. I think it’s great that mentally retarded (no offense meant to actual retards. I’m sure they wouldn’t be caught dead running an organization like the PTC) are able to run such an organization. Maybe they can get a Bronze medal just for competing?

Second, that they, a big organization almost assuredly using lobbyists themselves, complaining about another organization using lobbyists brings joy to me heart. Really, there aren’t much more foolish complaints you can make than, “They are going to use the exact same system we are! Lets call them on it!”. I guess you can’t really expect much from the same idiots that flooded the FCC with complaints when Janet Jackson’s nipple was shown during the superbowl (the next idiot that tells me their kid seeing a nipple ruined them is going to get a god damn smack). Ok, I guess that explains it. They are just plain stupid. Can’t really argue with stupid.

I do like that they have no problem lying to get their point across:

Winter went on to accuse the Entertainment Software Rating Board of failing to “prevent companies like Rockstar Games from subjecting millions of children to sexually graphic material as they did with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”

What the fuck are kids doing playing GTA, any version, much less SA? And how would the millions of kids that supposedly saw this content have done so? They couldn’t have unless they had PC and modded their content. Sure, it was included on the disc when it was shipped, but, and this is the important, there was absolutely no way to access that section of the game without modding the game! None! So the whole fucking complaint is bullshit. I really love these guys.

I see the PTC, I mean the idiots, also complain about bad language in tv shows constantly. These guys are awesome. I don’t know about you, but I feel pretty comfortable writing them off as retards…except, well, politicians don’t. The FCC listens, politicians listen and so do others. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me (I’m lying).

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What Would Matt Do: Did I care enough, I’d suggest someone watching the watchers. Post every single politician that takes donation from these jack offs and post it on a website called, http://www.IAcceptedDonationsFromIdiots.com. That would sweet. Someone go do that, would ya?

Just a quick update here… Looks like Senator Dodd and others have decided to become real Senators today. They are at this very moment a filibuster to try to stop telecommunications companies from being immune for rolling over to the government requests. It’s outrageous that the government comes calling for our private information and the companies (all except QWest) rollover and say sure, the law doesn’t matter. That’s effed up and it’s not right.

And it turns out that Chris Dodd not only thinks the same thing, that our civil liberties are important, but that he’s willing to do something about it. He’s put his presidency bid on hold for at least a couple of days and leading just and right movement. While I don’t have any faith in it doing anything, or anyone covering it (at this moment, no major news site is even mentioning it), I do believe it’s the right thing to do.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this kind of thing actually gives me hope. Just a little bit, but it’s lot more than I have about politics on regular basis.

As always, Glenn Greenwald covers it pretty well.

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Greenwald has good coverage of what happened yesterday, but basically, Reid and his cronies/allies pulled the telecommunications bill from the floor in face of the opposition. Sure, it’s just temporary, but still, it’s something. I’m still as my closing suggests, amazed.

What Would Matt Do: Be amazed.

If you haven’t been living under a rock the past few weeks, you’ve heard about the eight attorneys fired by Gonzales’ office, the outcry of political motivation for their firings, and his chief of staff stepping down. Amid rumors of the firings being called for by Rove, memos wondering if Bush shouldn’t just fire all ninety-three U.S. Attorneys on the start of his second term and calls for Gonzales to either be fired or step down, Bush came out yesterday and made a defiant, if ill advised, statement that basically said, “Better stop off, bitches!”

Yet, in this case, I recognize the importance of members of Congress having — the importance of Congress has placed on understanding how and why this decision was made. So I’ll allow relevant committee members on a bipartisan basis to interview key members of my staff to ascertain relevant facts. In addition to this offer, we will also release all White House documents and emails involving direct communications with the Justice Department or any other outside person, including members of Congress and their staff, related to this issue. These extraordinary steps offered today to the majority in Congress demonstrate a reasonable solution to the issue. However, we will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants.

I love the boldness of the statement in starting to say he sees the importance, no wait, the importance Congress puts on the matter. Everything in his speech was hostile and basically put out there not as an olive branch he suggests in it, but as a slap to the Congress at almost every step. I found it pretty funny listening to it yesterday.

So today? Congress answered back:

A House Judiciary subcommittee today authorized subpoenas for Karl Rove, President Bush’s political adviser, and other senior White House officials in the investigation into the firing of eight United States attorneys.

Democrats said the subpoenas, approved on a voice vote of the panel, would not be issued immediately but could provide leverage for Congress in trying to win the testimony of the aides being sought.

“We have worked toward voluntary cooperation on this investigation, but we must prepare for the possibility that the Justice Department and White House will continue to hide the truth,” said Representative Linda Sanchez of California, chairwoman of the subcommittee on commercial and administrative law.

That’s awesome. We aren’t issuing them yet, but we could…at any time! So Bush says, don’t defy me, I’m the boss here. And the Democrats answer back with a warning shot off the port bow. Awesome.

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Now, lets not think that Democrats all of a sudden got a back bone. What’s really happening is they are feeling a bit stronger after the 2006 election and are trying to do anything they to make themselves look good and the administration look bad for the 2008 election. Which is smart and yet, still doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Ah well, it’s politics.

This funniest part? This is easily one of the lesser crimes Bush’s staff has committed during his time in office and yet here we finally have something the Democrats are standing up and shouting about.

We also have one of the fired attorneys writing up his story in the NYTimes. Interesting read.

I’m looking forward to the coming days of both sides saying they are trying to get along and neither actually doing so or trying to do so. I love the barely guarded contempt in Bush’s speeches and the pretend by the Democrats that this is all on the up and up they just want to see justice done. This is good shit.

What Would Matt Do: Get some popcorn, dim the lights a bit and watch in amusement as politics continues as normal and yet not.