Earlier this year Missouri's Republican Governor Matt Blunt banished all video games - even the nonviolent ones - from his state's prisons.

Pennsylvania Rep. James Casorio, a Democrat from Westmoreland County, apparently liked Gov. Blunt's idea. Liked it so much that in a press release, Casorio referenced the Missouri case and called upon Pennsylvania's Secretary of Corrections to remove any video games that might be in the hands of inmates housed in the Keystone State.

Whether or not prisoners should be permitted video games is certainly a worthy topic for political dialogue. However, Rep. Casorio's letter reveals that when he speaks of video games he is not treading on familiar ground. His press release reads in part:

"I am not aware of any evidence that shows video games, no matter what their content, to be constructive forms of recreation or learning."

Sadly, among political figures Casorio is hardly alone in his complete lack of knowledge about video games and their place in modern culture.

Those with even a passing awareness understand that games teach concepts like strategy and the allocation of scarce resources. In fact there's a whole segment of the game market - "edutainment" - that combines game technology with learning. In hospitals games are used to relax children before surgery. Professional race car drivers have been known to play games in order to study the courses they will compete on.

Many of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan enjoy games during their down time, and the U.S. Army itself spent millions developing America's Army , a popular - and violent - video game that it gives away for free as a successful recruitment tool.

As an elected official, Rep. Casorio should at least realize that in Pennsylvania, as in the other 49 states, games are big business. The video game industry creates jobs and tax revenue. In fact, colleges and universities in Pennsylvania have prestigious academic programs devoted to video game design. Millions of people enjoy games as a constructive form of recreation. Millions of people learn from games. Maybe Rep. Casorio could, too.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In a parallel universe, pictured at right, Rep. Casorio and friend discover that games can indeed be a "constructive form of recreation."