As you may have heard at the end of the last show, your usual Podcastle crew is going to be taking a break from providing poor-quality, borderline-offensive videogame discussion. Quite how, when and why we'll return is yet to be finalized, but this won't be the last you hear of Jim Sterling, Wardrox and Athiestium. Unless we die in a car crash. 

This week's show will be all about listener questions, so please do the asking by typing with your fingers into the comment box. We will attempt to answer everything, although we might get sleep by the end, so make sure you get your burning questions in quick.

Oh, and check out my badass Alien figure. Its ass is so bad.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching Jack Thompson take questions from a surprisingly respectable and and open-minded crowd at the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention. I have to say that, after all my dealings with the silver-haired fox, I was impressed with JT's performance. His self-deprecating humor and intelligent oration was a breath of fresh air, and I think everyone left the conference hall with a heightened respect for the man.

I captured some video footage (which isn't too dark this time) and will probably edit some highlights together. In the meantime, have a clip of Jack Thompson explaining just how much fun he's having at SGC. I think this is pretty much the moment that really won him over with the crowd.

In all seriousness, I think Jack Thompson did an amazing job yesterday. I don't agree with all his views, and I certainly disagree with the way he's put them across over the years. I think everyone who watched him yesterday will agree, however, that if he continues the rest of his crusade in the polite and intelligent manner with which he carried himself at SGC, he really wouldn't be such a bad guy to have around.

In addition, Thompson took part in a debate which was quite pleasant and very interesting. We liveblogged it, and you can check that out here.

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He is videogaming's final boss, the arch nemesis of everything that interactive entertainment fans hold dear. He is a silver-haired Lothario and purveyor of righteous retribution. He's also available for work and will do birthdays, weddings and bahmitzvahs. He is of course Jack Thompson, and he's here at the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention.

Hard News' Destin will be moderating a debate between Mark Methenitis and the Silver Jackal. Just what will happen in the great verbal joust between these two wordsmith warriors? Hit the jump to read our liveblog, right here in Dallas, where Jack the Ripper takes to the stage. The debate starts at 4pm.

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By now we normally ignore whatever Jack Thompson says, but since this is also a chance to advertise Penn & Teller's Bullshit! we will jump right on the chance, thank you very much. If you're unfamilar with the show, it's five parts hilarious, five parts social commentary and five parts awesome -- unless you're strongly against Libertarian views. Basically, Penn and his silent cohort Teller go around debunking psuedoscientific ideas and stupid misconceptions. Gaming being evil falls in the latter category and most likely is the subject of the show that Jack Thompson will be featured on.

But enough of the facts! Let's get to the juicy quote that Jack drops in the commercial below for the upcoming seventh season of Bullshit!. Speaking to the camera, Thompson proudly proclaims that "Grand Theft Auto is the worst assault on children since polio." 

That sunk in yet? Give it a second.

Good. Now go catch up on all the seasons of Bullshit! that you missed, because I know you haven't all been watching. 

[Thanks, Jonah F.]

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I don't even know wha Jack-o is doing anymore. It's so hard to follow all the stupid things he does and says, so I've kind lost track. Thankfully, GamePolitics is keeping track, and now they point us to Thompson trying to treaten prosecution for  all 104 House and Senate members of the Utah legislature. Jack is pissed because Utah tried to prosecute him for sending them spam.

In an email sent back to Utah, Jack says that he is "not going to put up with it," and threatens to add all of the legislature to his sworn complaint:

If I get one more threat of criminal prosecution for sending you all proof, as I have, that pornographic video games are being sold to children in Utah ... then I will add ALL of you to the sworn criminal complaint now in the hands of the FBI in Salt Lake City. 

Maybe the real problem here is that Utah, as a recent study proves, leads the nation in consumption of on-line porn.  Maybe some among you are into this stuff, and you feel threatened...

Nice, Jack. Very professional move there. Calling Utah's legislature porn fiends, and then saying that you'll prosecute the lot of them? Forget disbarring: this guy should be banned from using e-mail.

Jack. Jackie. Wacko Jack-o. Jackie Boy. I haven't decided what I'll call him when I hang out with him in Dallas this summer. J-dogg?

Oh, what? You didn't know we were tight? Okay, we're not really hanging out. But he and I will be in the same building! Ooh! There are definite perks to this job!

Our favorite game hater will be appearing live at the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention on July 4th where he will participate in a live debate with Mark Menthentis, Joystiq's legal columnist. They'll have it out on the topic of videogame restrictions. There will also be a pre-screened Q&A panel for Thompson, so if you're going, have your questions ready. 

ScrewAttack's Craig Skistimas.:

We’re extremely excited to welcome such a controversial figure in the gaming world and provide a venue for a debate that is sure to create fireworks for many people this Fourth of July.

Fireworks indeed. So, we're going, Jackie-poo is going, Nolan Bushnell is going -- hell, everyone is going. Are you?

The poorly written and rather pointless HB 353, a videogame/movie bill intended for Utah by Jack Thompson, has been vetoed by Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, thanks to the sloppy writing of the bill itself, and some clever lobbying from the games industry.

"While protecting children from inappropriate materials is a laudable goal, the language of this bill is so broad that it likely will be struck down by the courts as an unconstitutional violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause and/or the First Amendment," explained Huntsman. "The industries most affected by this new requirement indicated that rather than risk being held liable under this bill, they would likely choose to no longer issue age appropriate labels on goods and services.

"Therefore, the unintended consequence of the bill would be that parents and children would have no labels to guide them in determining the age appropriateness of the goods or service, thereby increasing children’s potential exposure to something they or their parents would have otherwise determined was inappropriate under the voluntary labeling system now being recognized and embraced by a significant majority of vendors."

That's really quite a masterstroke on the part of the games industry. Choosing to pull out of a voluntary rating system rather than risking the wrath of this silly bill was slick, and while Huntsman would likely have vetoed the thing anyway, it still hammers home something important that anti-games lobbyists have forgotten -- the games industry voluntary decided to stick to age restrictions. Nobody made publishers do it, and nobody is saying they have to stick to it. 

Those that moan about how videogames set out to corrupt young minds ought to remember that.

The kids seem to like this Rock Band thing, so MTV Games and Harmonix keep pumping out the tracks. Here's what's coming next week: 

• The Offspring - "All I Want"
• The Offspring - "The Kids Aren't Alright"
• R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"
• Richard Thompson - "The Way That It Shows"

All tracks will cost you $1.99 (160 MS Points on Xbox 360), as usual. 

For those curious, Richard Thompson is a legendary singer, songwriter, and guitar player. In fact, guy was among the top 20 of Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitar players of all time. So saying he's "good" is an understatement. With that in mind, I hope you're pretty good with that plastic axe, because you might need some chops to keep up.

Ever since Jack Thompson lost his job, I resolved to stop covering the man's antics until he did something supremely stupid. That said, I could not resist following up on the suspicions that had been aroused yesterday when I was flicking through the TV channels and discovered America's premier God-friendly anthropomorphic vegetable kids' show, Veggie Tales.

Upon the discovery of regular character Mr. Nezzer -- a sentient Christian zucchini -- the penny had suddenly dropped. Game-hating ex-attorney Jack Thompson is either in this show, or has an identical (albeit green) twin that teaches children the importance of sharing, obedience and Bible stories. 

Let's look at the similarities between JT and Mr. Nezzer -- frightening physical likenesses aside, both are concerned with the morality of children, both are devout Christian messengers, and both are vegetables. Mr. Nezzer and Jack Thompson are inseparable twins!

How is this a story? That is the question I know you ask, and I cannot answer that because I don't know. All I know is that Jack Thompson looks like a sentient Christian zucchini, and I felt the need to share.

Good villains never really die, and Jack Thompson is showing respect for that tradition in his latest attempts to bring gaming down to its figurative knees. GamePolitics was lucky enough to get a press release from Thompson recently, which states:

"Thompson will be in Utah this coming week to work with Utah state officials to pass a new state law that will stop, dead in its tracks, the continuing marketing and sale of “Mature” video games to kids. Utah’s new approach to this problem will be constitutional and it will become a model for other states to follow."

Further digging resulted in proof that Thompson is in fact a keynote speaker at the yearly convention held by Utah Eagle Forum, some people that I would be happy never to have to hold a conversation with in person. The schedule for the convention mentions Thompson will speak on the research proving violent games lead to violence in children and this year's legislation to prevent it.

Maybe those Freedom Awards got him feeling confident, or maybe crazy people just have endless confidence, but either way it looks like Jack is far from throwing in the towel just because of a silly little disbarring. What a great guy. Well, if all else fails, target the religious -- just say God hates it and they'll be in the palm of your hand in no time.

Jack Thompson recently cited God’s wrath as the reason Take-Two’s stocks have been plummeting. In a conversation with Game Politics Thompson created his own headline by saying “GOD STRIKES TAKE-TWO DOWN.” It’s like the New York Post, except with more vigor.

Thompson would go on to elaborate his belief in a later e-mail with less pop, but just as much passion:

...If you had any understanding of the Bible and of God you would understand that persecution comes Christians' way, and we are blessed by it.  There is no blessing for Zelnick, who is not a Christian, when he gets what he deserves...

Ailing economy aside, perhaps Thompson has something here. God probably isn’t a big fan of Grand Theft Auto and its content. Stealing cars, picking up hookers, and killing people aren’t exactly wholesome actions. Perhaps we’ll see more evidence of this if Nintendo’s stocks drop unexpectedly. Smashing Goombas is a sin, right?

[via 1UP, thanks Brian!]

I'm not much for celebrating anyone's hard times, but let's face it, Jack Thompson has incited a lot of rage in the hearts of happy gamers who felt their favorite pastime could be threatened by his antics. With the recent news of his disbarment, some will certainly breathe a sigh of relief, but others may not experience quite the same joy until the actual day is upon us.

What better way to count down, then, than with a Firefox add-on that will remind you daily exactly how much time Thompson has left before his law career terminates? Created by GamePolitics reader and comment moderator E. Zachary Knight, it's free to download and may aid in your everyday sense of celebration.

[Thanks Joe!]

Jack Thompson was one of the gaming community's most hated villains. The man waged a one man war on videogames with lies, half-truths and social misconceptions as his only weapons, and he received much coverage in the gaming press for his obsessive attacks on the industry.

It is for this reason that former ESA boss Doug Lowenstein has laid the blame for JT's proliferation squarely at the feet of people like me, the games media writers who recorded his actions and words for public consumption. According to Lowenstein, it was the gaming press that gave Thompson his power and that, he implies, reflects very poorly on us. 

"The media knew well that he was a charlatan who wholly lacked credibility. But hey, they said, he was news and could not be ignored. That was a cop out. It gave Thompson a platform he might not have had for as long as he did."

Were we wrong to cover Jack Thompson? Did we lack a justifiable reason for giving the preacher his pulpit, or was a man meant to be ignored? Read on for some frank and open thoughts on the subject, from a man who interacted with and wrote about the man more than anybody not called Dennis Mccauley. view full story + comments

It's been a long time coming, but silver-haired game hater Jack Thompson has been permanently disbarred. That's right folks, in thirty days time, the man who once so proudly flaunted his lawyer credentials in peoples' faces will soon have to go from being "Jack Thompson, Attorney" to just plain ol' John Bruce Thompson, Nobody.

The Court approves the corrected referee's report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. If respondent notifies the Court in writing that he is no longer practicing and does not need the thirty days to protect existing clients, this Court will enter an order making the permanent disbarment effective immediately. Respondent shall accept no new business from the date this order is filed.

Judgment is entered for The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300, for recovery of costs from John Bruce Thompson in the amount of $43,675.35, for which sum let execution issue.

Not final until time expires to file motion for rehearing, and if filed, determined. The filing of a motion for rehearing shall not alter the effective date of this permanent disbarment. Consistent with this Court's sanction order, no motion for rehearing will be considered unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar other than respondent.

Jack Thompson will no longer be able to practice law thanks to a string of misconduct allegations that included lying, making a nuisance of himself to professionals, and generally being both ignorant and disrespectful of his peers. Jack Thompson behaved with nothing but contempt and immaturity in his own disbarment trial, so it's hardly surprising that this has happened. He had only himself to blame.

I doubt Thompson's crusade against videogames ends here. But until FOX hands him another paycheck to pretend to be an expert, hit the jump for an exclusive official response to the disbarment from Jack himself.

[Thanks, Radio Guy]

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