Game Politics ([info]gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2006-04-27 06:16:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend  Next Entry
Entry tags:congress, democrats, esrb, game ratings, joe baca, legislation, patricia vance

CA Congressman Calls on Game Industry to Improve ESRB

Baca's back.

Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA), long-time critic of the video game industry, has been relatively quiet over the past year while political players like Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), California Assembly Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee (D) and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) plowed ahead with high-profile video game legislation.

But don't think Baca has given up on the video game issue.

An article in today's Press Enterprise details a Capitol Hill press conference held by Baca on Wednesday. There, Baca called for the game industry to improve the ESRB rating system.

"Parents are misled by the video-game ratings," he told reporters.

The veteran congressman believes game ratings, especially for "T" and "M"-rated games, aren't clear enough and don't provide all of the information parents need to make purchasing decisions.

Over the years, Baca has introduced a number of video game-oriented bills in the House, but none have gained any traction. His latest effort, HB1145, which would require the Federal Trade Commission to study the ESRB system for unfair or deceptive practices, has been stuck in committee for more than a year.

ESRB president Patricia Vance, reacting to Baca's comments, said, ""M-rated titles include content that parents may find inappropriate for younger players. We continue to encourage parents to regularly check the ratings to help them make educated purchase decisions, and to monitor the games that their children play."


(Read 321 comments) - (Post a new comment)

Re: Joe Baca Is Full Of Shit
[info]the1jeffy
2006-04-27 03:00 pm UTC (link)
So his calling someone an idiot is directly akin to:

1)Only posting inflammatory comments, including open-ended insults, and not responding to reasonable counter points,
2)Never adding anything of any substance to the discussion,
3)Exploiting human tradgedies for personal gain, and doing so here on the GP boards in hopes of a retaliation - i.e. a martyr complex,
4)Using arguements full of opinion and logical fallacies, and presenting them as facts,
5)Hypocritically portraying himself differently in different forums, showing a lack of respect for the very place he posts,
6)Being banned 47+ times for such actions.

So, yeah Beardoggx is soooo going to a Jack Thompson level there. Come on. I'm glad you are defending a person you believe to be worthy, but Beardoggx (and myself) are entitled to an opinion, and his past actions are nothing like Jack Thompson. Talk about making the Himalayas out of molehills there.

Let's agree that his (and mine) insults are immature, and might not be warranted. Let's also keep the silly comparisons to a minimum.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Joe Baca Is Full Of Shit
[info]tollwutig
2006-04-27 03:10 pm UTC (link)
Only the first one applies but makes it no less Thompsoneske.

Everyone here gets insulted when Thompson insults us... think about that before insulting others.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Joe Baca Is Full Of Shit
[info]tollwutig
2006-04-27 03:13 pm UTC (link)
err everyone here gets angry when thompson insults gamers... clarification...damn server patching interfering with my train of thought.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: Joe Baca Is Full Of Shit
[info]the1jeffy
2006-04-27 04:29 pm UTC (link)
"Everyone here gets insulted when Thompson insults us... think about that before insulting others."

I agree, but your call to civility, is marred by hyperbole; nothing anyone, that still posts here, says can even be said to reach anywhere near the level of Thompson-ism that Thompson himself exudes.

You want us gamers to hold the "moral high-ground." Well, I don't have the same morals as you, evidently. I hold that insults and anger are moral, as long as the person that makes them accepts responsibility for the consequences, and makes an attempt to defend such actions with some form of debate.

You hold yourself to a "higher" standard. That's fine, but I disagree on just what makes your standard better than mine.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: Joe Baca Is Full Of Shit
[info]beardoggx
2006-04-28 02:36 am UTC (link)
The first one doesn't apply anyway, as there were no reasonable counter-points to begin with.

And I think you're being a hypocrite for complaining about my calling the Harvard people "idiots", when I've called the head researcher Kimberly Thompson an idiot before when that "study" first came out, and you didn't complain then. And I'm pretty sure you've made some open-ended insults as well.

the1jeffy, thanks. I appreciate the defense.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read 321 comments) - (Post a new comment)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…