Day: February 2, 2006

That’s the premise behind a game on the web that kids can play for free. Terrorists break into the White House, then by setting off bombs, they blast their way into the Oval Office. At that moment, George W. Bush pulls out a machine gun and goes on a killing rampage. If you’re good enough, you might make it to the level that includes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. And yes, Condi gets into the action too by blasting away with two handheld machine pistols.

And that game rating? It’s useless. No matter your age, if you click ‘Play’, you’re old enough to shoot.

Don’t get me wrong, games like this are kinda fun to play, but given the subject matter, I’m wondering what message this sends to kids who can’t distinguish fact from fiction. The idea of terrorists busting into the Oval Office to try and kill the president is not funny. Just as a game about a suicide bomber blowing themselves up while riding a city bus wouldn’t be funny. Yet, here we have a scene which teeters on the edge of reality and trivializes what otherwise would be an extremely traumatic event for Americans. In its most basic terms, ‘Bush Shoot-Out’ is an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, yet because it’s cartoon-ish and somehow fits a caricature of Bush the ‘cowboy’, it’s kid entertainment. 

What’s next? A game where Jesus Christ pulls an Uzi and fires away at the Roman soldiers who attempt to capture him in the Garden of Gethsemane?

I’m not calling for a boycott of Miniclip.com or anything like that, after all, as parents, it’s up to us to use common sense and allow or disallow things like this in the home. But, there are a lot of ignorant, inattentive parents in the world. Want proof? Guess how many times this game has been played? According to the web page, at least 100 million times. That’s a lot of bullets fired at the president.

And that’s nothing to laugh about.

I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the controversy over the allegedly blasphemous cartoon drawings featuring the prophet Mohammed. The heat behind the story has increased each day this week, and now it appears (to some) that we’re on the brink of a world crisis over the drama. Protests, condemnation, the firing of newspaper personnel, and now the storming of the EU office by Palestinian gunmen – quite an amazing turn of events!

I’ve seen the cartoons. In my opinion, people have created caricatures of Jesus Christ which are far and away more offensive than these.

Michelle Malkin has great coverage, and Gateway Pundit provides background into how the whole thing started. To see the controversial cartoons for yourself, head over to FrontPage magazine.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, has been chosen House majority leader, according to CNN.  Boehner defeated Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, 122-109, after lagging behind his rival in a first, inconclusive ballot.

More…

U.S. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio upset a former deputy to indicted Texan Tom DeLay on Thursday to become majority leader of the scandal-rocked U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Roy Blunt had appeared to be the front-runner, based on a long list of public commitments, but Boehner, who campaigned on a vow to seek to renew the party’s “spirit and vision,” defeated Blunt and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona in a secret election by fellow Republicans.

Boehner had 122 votes to Blunt’s 109. Shadegg dropped out after a first ballot loss.

Boehner’s election represented a shake-up in the House leadership, as Republicans effectively gave a vote of no-confidence to Blunt, the acting majority leader and a close ally of DeLay.

But Blunt will remain in the House Republican leadership, holding onto his job as majority whip, the person responsible for making sure Republican-backed bills pass the House.

Blunt became acting majority leader in September after DeLay was forced under House Republican rules to step down when he was indicted in Texas on campaign-related felony charges.

In January, DeLay, under pressure from members, announced he would not seek to reclaim the job after lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a close associate, pleaded guilty in a mushrooming influence-peddling investigation that threatens the Republicans hold on Congress.

AP

The pollsters are going to keep polling this until they can find the right combination of questions which will elicit a positive response toward Hillary Clinton’s potential run for president in 2008. Up until now though, everyone is saying the same thing.

She can’t win.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is in strong shape for re-election in New York this year, but most voters in her adopted state think it is unlikely the former first lady could win the 2008 presidential race, a state-wide poll reported. And,.. “because of who she is,” would be treated more harshly than other candidates in the 2008 presidential campaign.

If someone can identify the photographer who took that picture, I’d like to meet the person and shake his hand.