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It appears that Jack Thompson's act is wearing thin lately, and not just among gamers.
GamePolitics has obtained a hard copy of a blistering letter faxed to the Miami attorney on Thursday by Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family.
Walsh has been a leading critic of video game violence, and stood beside Senator Hillary Clinton during her Hot Coffee press conference in July as Mrs. Clinton called for an FTC investigation into Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The two-page document sent by Walsh to Thompson reads as follows:
"Dear Mr. Thompson,
I founded the National Institute on Media and the Family ten years ago to engage in research and education about the effects of media on children's health and development. Our original premise that "media are powerful" has been validated scientifically and socially many times over. Our work has been cited by organizations around the world and our credibility has been well established.
One of the areas of greatest concern is the issue of violent media's effect on children. I know that you share that common concern and I am well aware that you have frequently cited me and our organization as a source of scientific information. However, over the past few months, I and members of my board have a growing concern that your use of our name, without our permission, has had a negative influence as we try to educate the public on this important issue.
Your commentary has included extreme hyperbole and your tactics have included personally attacking individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect. I believe that respect is essential in all our dealings, including respect for those with whom we disagree. Some of the people that you have publicly criticized are not only people of integrity, but are people who have worked to improve the lives of children.
Even though we have no formal relationship your use of my name and your inclusion of my name in correspondence have created the impression that we condone these tactics. We do not. The result is that our position and reputation as a research based, non-partisan, solution-focused organization has been jeopardized. Consequently, I ask that you cease using the Institute's or my name in any way that would give the impression that we support your efforts. I also ask that you remove the link to our website that appears on your site.
Sincerely,
David Walsh, PH.D."
EDITOR'S NOTE: cc's listed on the letter include Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Sam Brownback and Rick Santorum; the governor and attorney general of Minnesota, Bill Gates, the CEO's of Target and Best Buy, Pat Vance of the ESRB, Doug Lowenstein of the ESA, as well as several other Minnesota political figures.
GP tried to reach Jack Thompson (pictured at left) for comment. However neither a phone message nor an e-mail was returned by press time.
UPDATE 10/14 8:30 A.M. Thompson acknowledges receiving the letter, and GP has received a pair of response letters from the controversial attorney to Dr. David Walsh. We will be publishing them.
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October 14 2005, 04:08:36 UTC 6 years ago
Ownage
I could not have asked for a greater thing to come home to.How do you like them apples JT?
October 14 2005, 04:18:21 UTC 6 years ago
Lmao....OmG Im Lmao!!!
Lmao..ha ha ha Hell yea See Jack finally people are seeing u for the freakin nutcase you are...well thats one group that wont have anything to do with you anymore u moron..Ha ha ha See we are more powerful then you...You've lost Jack deal with it the gamers one...and to end this wonderful post....Jack there is a big L on ur forhead..it stands for LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Anonymous
January 11 2006, 22:20:01 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Lmao....OmG Im Lmao!!!
I completely agree, but your lack of grammer skills doesn't help the gaming communities image...October 14 2005, 04:20:23 UTC 6 years ago
Proof at last, JT is a psycho
There it is folks, we all knew it, we all said it, and now Jt must FACE THE MUSIC. His childish, insulting antics have come back to BITE him in the ass. I for one love this, as it proves beyond doubt that he's a douchebag idiot. I may not always agree with Walsh, but I can at least respect him for what he's trying to do, even if he some times goes about it in the wrong way, but here and now, he has seen JT for what he is and wants to be disconnected from him to avoid being seen in the same light as this jackass. That the letter was CC to all those others, show just how dangerous it will be to jack thompson, as it means everyone will know just how little stock Thompson carries.Its over Thompson, give it up.
Anonymous
October 14 2005, 04:24:12 UTC 6 years ago
Jack got owned and that's the bottom line
I wonder if any other people like Dr. Walsh will turn on Jack as well.You reap what you sow, Jack. Hit the road.
== BearDogg-X ==
Veronica Mars Wednesdays 9/8 CT UPN
October 14 2005, 04:29:34 UTC 6 years ago
October 14 2005, 04:30:59 UTC 6 years ago
he didnt
Oh please dont tell me that heartless son of a bitch attacked that orginization..what a fucking low life piece of shit!...sorry but that makes me mad right there that anyone would even insult something that brings joy to children..6 years ago
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October 14 2005, 04:29:59 UTC 6 years ago
God tonight was a good night afterall
Tonight is a good night...well that is gonna be going around now and thompson will go down....Hmmm i wonder if he will come in here and try to defend Himself by saying that Mediafamily.org approves of bullying and goes know what else...after all if you have commen sense and decency like most americans and u dont agree with thompson then ur a "killer" Well im off to go check something adn Enjoy my dr pepper and my teen popDeleted comment
October 14 2005, 04:35:52 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Jack getting a little of what he deserves...
he will continue it i mean come on we all know he will just say some crap now and continue everything he is doing until the florida bar gets tired of it and revokes his license.....Anonymous
October 14 2005, 04:42:39 UTC 6 years ago
Holy freakin' crap
What goes around comes around I guess. Is it wrong that I actually kinda feel bad for the guy? Maybe I should look back on some of the things he's said. Oh, yes, I no longer care.Jack, you need to turn it around man,nobody likes a bully... Bully, hehe, how Freudian of me.
As for that Penny-Arcade situation, it appears Gabe sent him a wicked zinger about $10,000 being nothing compared to Child's Play, and a phone shouting match ensued.
October 14 2005, 06:02:06 UTC 6 years ago
Actually....
...I DO feel sorry for the guy. Sure, he's a flaming douchebag jackass that is a mockery of human society, but DAMN if he didn't actually believe what he was preaching. Or have a drive for money like man has not seen the likes of for quite a while. Either way, you've GOTTA admire that. Or abhor it, but whatever. Any way you look at it, he's also a damned funny man; good for a few laughs while waiting for the next CAD update.-TheNewL
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October 14 2005, 04:51:35 UTC 6 years ago
Tack Jhompson
For those of you who haven't seen it, go to todays news post. Someone actually made the CAD game that Tim buckley asked for, albeit in a simple, 2d format.http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/
Scrool down toward the bottom of the page
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Anonymous
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October 14 2005, 05:01:21 UTC 6 years ago
October 14 2005, 05:07:04 UTC 6 years ago
Funny Shit
I just noticed that letter was sent to Bill Gates too. He should get a real kick out of that one, after JT threatened him.Bill: What's this...Stop the release of Bully? Or else? Bwahahahahaha! DELETED!!
Bill: Hmm, let's the check the email...What the, why did they send this to me...Bwahahahahaha!! OWNED BITCH!!
October 14 2005, 05:41:07 UTC 6 years ago
It's About Time
I wonder if Jack will show up and defend himself?October 14 2005, 05:44:58 UTC 6 years ago
Re: It's About Time
I hope he does. It'll make this all the sweeter when he calls David Walsh a "puppet of the industry" or a "propagandist". Or maybe even a "hack". Let's wait and see...6 years ago
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October 14 2005, 06:35:00 UTC 6 years ago
Off topic, but a cool idea
Hi gang. I know this is way off topic, but I had an idea.Is anyone familiar with the progam called mugen. If so, I have an awesome idea for a game we could make with it.
Presenting
The "Videogame Violence Showdown" 2d fighting game.
For those of you who don't know, Mugen is a free program that allows you to make your own fighting games like street fighter.
I was thinking, lets make a little game of our own.
I have an idea for 9 fighters
On one side, we got the Industry, with its three fighters
1. Doug L, with his special attacks based on the first amendment
2. Hal Harpin, with his special attacks based on retailer self policing
3. Pat Vance, with her special attacks based on the ESRB ratings. (the higher the rating, the more painful the attack
Then we have the anti gamers.
1. Jack Thompson, the least effective, with his special attacks of insults and name calling doing only the most minimal damage
2. Sen. Shcumer, with his political pandering attacks, summoning soccer moms to fight his battles for him.
3. Judge Limbaugh, with his perversion of the 1st amemndment, though it can be countered by Doug L.
Then we have the gamers. Note that this is a personal fantasy, so by nature I had to throw myself and some of the GP fatihful in there.
1. Yuki. Using his cross bladed spear of Ownage to bring logic against the anitgamers.
2. Josh. Brining honesty and good nature to the battle, he uses defensive counters to crush the idiototic arguments of the anti gamers.
3. Dufffan. Using passion and devotion to violent games, dufffan summons up the GTA charecters to lay the smack down on the antigamers.
Also, gamers, being so numorus, get "support attacks", where other gamers back us up for ultra tag team action.
1. Jaber. Using the jaber special brings Jaber forth to disprove all anti gamer arguments, or, in a fight with other gamers, turn them to your side, instantly winning the battle.
2. Shaun. Brings the power of law to the fight. Though not a lawyer, he still provides info, giving the main gamers charecter a massive attack boost for 1 minute.
.3 And last, the Most powerful support charecter, Dennis of GP, whose fair and honest reporting gives the main fighter a massive speed increase, as they know what will happen before anyone else, as well as increasging slowing there opponents down.Think bullet time.
Also, mugen is easy to add to, so we could add more charecters any time we like. I'm downloading the software right now, but I haven't learned how it works, so I'm looking for anyone else who wants to help.
ANyone else got charecters to add to the list?
October 14 2005, 07:40:11 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Off topic, but a cool idea
Cool idea, yes. But...spriting's a bitch.Don't leave out Soth...unless he's on there, I have no idea what anyone's name is.
-TheNewL
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October 14 2005, 07:12:24 UTC 6 years ago
Do something now you Miami shyster, do something now
You lose. Now all we gotta do is get your lawsuit crushed in Alabama and you're done. Maybe you can occupy the hole Saddam Hussein hid out in until they finally caught him.Deleted comment
October 14 2005, 21:19:06 UTC 6 years ago
rofl, so much for "me big predictor!"...
Surely Jack "Nostradamus" Thompson could have seen this one coming.rofl
October 14 2005, 07:28:25 UTC 6 years ago
What goes around, comes around.
Honestly, I am glad to hear that. Now that people of some noteriety are taking notice of Mr. Thompson's behaviour they are trying to distance themselves from him. Remember, these are people that have the same concern as Mr. Thompson and they are asking not to be associated with him. I'll be supprised if Jack Thompson doesn't come and defend himself. You know what? This is all his doing, just him. Mr. Thompson shows that he doesn't play well with others and it's all coming back to haunt him.-Auto
October 14 2005, 08:32:30 UTC 6 years ago
Re: What goes around, comes around.
He'll come back..me and my roomate were just discussing this...jack will come back and attack david walsh and say that mediafamily.org and the esrb are in cahoots with Rockstar games and take two interactive to distribute murder simulators to children...that or he will say that all us gamers are saying lies about him and will try to deny him being a douchebag 24 7October 14 2005, 07:30:47 UTC 6 years ago
That pic of Jack
Where'd it come from?That vest.....those red buttons.....
No sir, I don't like it.
October 14 2005, 11:53:09 UTC 6 years ago
Re: That pic of Jack
Found it on the web... from a college campus debate he did. He was on his side (duh - haven't had my coffee yet)and David Kushner, author of Masters of Doom and other stuff was on the gaming side...6 years ago
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October 14 2005, 08:08:38 UTC 6 years ago
HAHAHAHA
The National Institute on Media & Family is a lot more... centralist on the issue then Jack Thompson. They seem more concerned with warning parents about the games their kids shouldn't be playing, while JackHole would just like to ban them altogether...With that, I kinda hope we never see JackHole here again... I've come to enjoy his antics. His press releases and such seemed more like entertaining flames then legit commentary...
October 14 2005, 08:30:16 UTC 6 years ago
Re: HAHAHAHA
i think mediafamily.org did the right thing and while i dont agree with some of the things that are on there site they at least do the right thing and inform parents about these games..thats what needs to be done..as soon as jack has lost his bar license and cant be a lawyer anymore he will enjoy a life as a busboy at mcdonalds....and as soon as most parents realize that only 21 percent of kids are gamers...as soon as they realize that and understand it is a adult market now and choose to start paying attention and having some balls and saying No to there kid then this will all go awayOctober 14 2005, 08:25:40 UTC 6 years ago
Jack attacking Child's Play?
What does that mean?If there's a link post plz.
Thx in advance.
Anonymous
October 14 2005, 08:51:50 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Jack attacking Child's Play?
I'm copying this straight off of the penny arcade website just to clear this up:Jack Thompson
Wed, October 12 2005 - 10:49 AM
by: Gabe
You may have seen Jack’s proposal mentioned on various news sites. He’s offering 10 grand to charity if a game developer makes a game based on his insane proposal.
So I got his email address and I went ahead and sent Jack a note this morning:
10 grand is pretty weak man. Through our charity www.childsplaycharity.org gamers have given over half a million dollars in toys and cash to children’s hospitals all over the country.
I’ll let you know if he responds.
The fact is when we kick off Child’s Play 2005 on November 1st we’ll be going global. We’ll be delivering videogames and toys to children’s hospitals all over the world now. I don’t think there’s any better response to Jack’s insane ramblings than that. Maybe Jack would like to donate his 10 grand to Child’s Play, that could buy a lot of Game Boys.
-Gabe out
And then this happened:
Jack
Wed, October 12 2005 - 11:48 AM
by: Gabe
My email sig had my phone number in it. Jack actually just called and screamed at me for a couple minutes. He said if I email him again I will “regret it”. What a violent man.
-Gabe out
I'm trying to decide wether he's a cashew or an almond, but I definitely know that he's a nut.
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October 14 2005, 08:52:58 UTC 6 years ago
haha
sweet.Anonymous
October 14 2005, 08:57:54 UTC 6 years ago
The child's play thing.
Check out the "penny arcade" news page, it's posted right there. It's not that big of a deal.October 14 2005, 13:11:49 UTC 6 years ago
Re: The child's play thing.
I beg to differ. When you insult a group that donated more then 500 grand for calling you out for being a shallow SOB, it is a big deal. I"m tired of this sleeze ball acting like all gamers are selfish, anti social nerds. Childs play proves beyond doubt that he's wrong, and if he dares to insult it again, then I"m gonna contact every major news paper I can think of till someone shows this man for the douchebag he is. Maybe if CNN and ABC did stories about good things, like childsplay, then maybe this wouldn't be such a fucking issue.6 years ago
October 14 2005, 10:32:13 UTC 6 years ago
Oh man, this is awesome
Serves the guy right! He should try to talk nicer to people :PAnonymous
October 14 2005, 10:41:52 UTC 6 years ago
Jack Thompson Responds
First off, Game Politics never tried to reach me. I have no phone message, and no email from Dennis McCauley. It is a lie even that you all tried.If you had contacted me I would have sent you the letter I sent back to Walsh. Let's just say that Dr. Walsh has some funding issues that have helped prompt this.
It is interesting that Dave sent a copy of his letter to Doug Lowenstein, given what Dave has said about him and his methods to me. The truth will come out in due time. I love it. Jack Thompson
October 14 2005, 11:48:57 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Jack Thompson Responds
As you well know, I'm not lying about the contact attempt. Check your cell phone voice mail and your e-mail.I called at 8:15 P.M. and waited until midnight for a response before posting the story.
And, Jack, before you go too far down this particular road, remember that your cell phone is long distance to me. I did call, your phone did answer. I did leave a message. It's going to be on my phone bill.
Get the picture?
Now, on the off chance that you have blocked any of my e-mail addresses as you once claimed, I'll be sending this to you from a couple of different addresses.
And, as I did last night, I'll offer you the chance to comment on the letter from Dr. Walsh. If you care to send the letter, GP will publish it.
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October 14 2005, 11:05:58 UTC 6 years ago
Wow!
I just gained a whole bunch of respect for the National Institute on Media and the Family.Because of Jack's attitude, I really had not paid much heed to what NIMF had to say, but all that has changed now.
I applaud NIMF for having the guts to put themselves in the limelight with this sensitve decision to cut Jack from them. They were professional, polite, and appropriate...all things opposite of Mr. Thompson. I imagine this was a difficult decision, having the same views but different approaches on how to deal with issues.
Glad GP recieved news, glad GP shared it with us.
October 14 2005, 11:20:41 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Wow!
Just went to Jack's website, the NIMF link is still there. Noticed that Wikipedia is reporting that Jack's e-mail address no longer works. Hmmm.....6 years ago
October 14 2005, 11:19:29 UTC 6 years ago
My thoughts spill forth
Just a quick one, trying to get some sleep. This event brings into perspective something that we have all said. Jacks desperate, he knows his actions are being seen rather dimmly by gamers and the gaming community, but what he has failed to thing about is how big, and how powerful that community it. 70 million plus is a lot. I wonder, perhaps, if the NIMF chose this route to avoid getting the same anger from us as jack had. Lets face it, NIMF has a far different and much more calm approach to this issue then jack does. I can only hope that this is a first step to peace between the two camps, and maybe to actually finding real solutions that everyone can agree with.October 14 2005, 11:24:23 UTC 6 years ago
Re: My thoughts spill forth
"I can only hope that this is a first step to peace between the two camps, and maybe to actually finding real solutions that everyone can agree with."Oh, Yuki, I LOVE that!
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