MSNBC Rips Thompson Over NIU Claims, But He's Busy Arguing with Fake Actor

February 19, 2008
Writing for MSNBC, contributor Winda Benedetti casts a critical eye toward Miami attorney Jack Thompson's claims that the NIU rampage was sparked by a grown man's video game play. From Benedetti's piece:
The attorney-turned-anti-video-game crusader has what can only be described as a breathtaking genius for transforming ghastly national tragedies into shining moments of self promotion.

On Friday, police were still struggling to figure out why... But Thompson had it all figured out. Faster than you can say wild speculation and reckless sensationalism, he leapt in front of Fox News cameras and suggested that video games were to blame.

Meanwhile, Thompson obsequiously responded to a parody article, posted in style of Samuel L. Jackson, apparently believing it to be the real thing:
Mr. Jackson, I enjoyed your post about NIU and about me. Unfortunately, you could fit what you know about school shootings and their causes in a sleeve of Titleist golf balls. I’m a six handicap, and would love to play you a match anywhere anytime.

More importantly, Mr. Jackson, I saw you and the Jack Thompson spoof at the Spike TV Video Game Awards Show. Very funny, really.

Here’s a proposal: Why don’t you debate me on this issue... Saw you in Black Snake Moan this weekend. I thought you deserved an Oscar for your performance. Brilliant.

Thompson later posted a follow-up indicating that he understood the Samuel L. Jackson post was a fake, but not before he circulated his original response to GamePolitics and Kotaku.

UPDATE: Thompson claims that he has been libeled by the MSNBC article and plans to sue.
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Comments

@Pandralisk

Jack's not Catholic mate. He's much, much worse.

lol he plans to sue for libel...

lol the irony of JT sueing for the fact he feels information represented about him isnt true...

i mean come on seriously? how comes he is allowed to reel off whatever crap he likes?

Too bad truth is a defense against libel.

I would love to see his reasons for finding the article libelous. It doesn't agree with him maybe? It reports on his actions and finds them contemptable? There's nothing libelous about the truth, and that combined with the opinion of the writer is nothing actionable. At no point does he state anything about Thompson that is no true or is not qualified as being an opinion.

I would like for him to continue with this libel suit however, just to see him get defeated in court once again, adding to the flawless scoreline of common sense and reality vs Jack Thompson.

Looks like wako Jacko is fishing for retirement funds again. The sad part is i can understand why he is doing this...gets money and attention. Face it when people think of video games and there critics Jack pops up, but to do it in such an asinine way with absolutly no supporting evidence in front of millions is just pathetic. I figure its got to be because he is so old thats about the only people who take him seriously an more. Older people who are out of touch with the mainstream and think that video games are the devil.

Wow this is just pathetic. The last acts of a desperate man.

Oh yay, another lawsuit. How original. If anyone remembers, did Jack claim that the Amish school shooter back in 2006 played "violent video games"?

@kyleJCrb:

I'm hoping I'm not the only one who thought of 'A few good men' there. :P

@WCC:

I'm surprised he hasn't choked to death on it by this point...

@VenomandCarnage:

Well when the 'opinion' doesn't coincide with what JT perceives as the 'truth', then yeah.

@NovaBlack:

I think he's 0 and... well however many he's attempted, I forget.

@Tyler Baumbarger:

Well, Sonic *can* get pretty frustrating, but driving someone to go on a rampage? Even *I* thought that sounded ridiculous.

@Oni:

Still, 'the enemy of our enemy' and all that.

@Quad9Damage:

Because Jack says so? What do you *mean* 'that's not good enough'?

Okay now I'm scared, that Pandralisk can't be the same anti-relgious bigot from before can it. What's with the change in prespectitive? And if it's not the same guy then who are you?
@Pandralisk
I was for a time a Catholic but was excommicated for believing that the law of the state is above church law and I am also partial to Adoptionism.
Some of us are fine living our without a supreme being.
Oh and if I was a hedonist why would I be returning to NIU before the shitstorm has cleared in its entirety?

We need to send this story everywhere we possibly can.

"UPDATE: Thompson claims that he has been libeled by the MSNBC article and plans to sue."

Well, that'll make about a dozen cases that he'll never get to pursue when he gets disbarred in the coming months.

This man is truly living in his own fantasy world.

@Mark of Cain

Unless something has changed drastically recently, Pandralisk was parodying a church figure. Last I knew, he was a devout athiest who saw religion's influence in EVERYTHING.

@AgnostoTheo -- MSNBC is running the article on their website. If there was libel present (there isn't, but let's just say there is), they would be held accountable for it.

Moron sorry

@ Rukon

Is that Bob Loblaw's Law Blog?

Here's a much better linky for seeing how bad a lawyer JT is:

http://jweb.flcourts.org/pls/docket/ds_docket?p_caseyear=1960&p_casenumb...

Wow, a perfectly accurate article on Jack: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/article.asp?CIID=103879

I mean, naturally more accurate then the already accurate ones about him being a prat. I wonder if JT will even bother to read it. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll have another lawsuit announcement befor the day is out.

Great find Rukon.

So if he's founf guilty does that mean he'll no longer be able to file lawsuits unless he gets approval from the Bar first (highly unlikely considering how frivilous all his cases are)?

As though Thompson were important enough to get called out by anyone really important. XD

I LOVE the MSNBC article though.

What an idiot.

Would have been cool if the real Samuel L. Jackson really wrote that blog.

Jack should be more worried about Charles Barkley(Barkley called people like Jacky Boy "fake Christians" on CNN a few days ago).

I would love to see this spoof. ^_^

What a marooooon...

Is this a news article I can actually write this on.

"PWND!"

Ok back to my normal, if not sometimes incorrect, proper grammar.

Great article glad someone has decided to check out Jack more and respond with logic.

I'm beginning to wonder whether Jackie boy is hitting his medicine cabinate pretty hard in recent months..

Doesn't really mean anything. The sensationalism will continue, and anyone with an opposing view will be swiftly silenced by Fox News.

That article from MSNBC is great!

In his message to Kotaku, he publicly posed his number and email. And judging from many of the other posts there, his phone would have been ringing off the hook all night, if he hadn't apparently left it off the hook.

All I can say is he'd better not start with the harassment threats. What did he think would happen?

Also, I did not participate in any prank calling.

Jack is very delusional. It is not libelous at all.

From "attention-seeker" to "willing-to-walk-over-the-dead-in-hopes-that-I-get-15-seconds-of-TV-time" is a pretty slippery slope.

To Jack, I say go ahead and sue. Don't like it when you're hoisted by your petard, do you? I can't wait for Micrsoft to countersue you into oblivion!

Jack Thompson threatening a lawsuit. In other shocking news, I'm breathing right now.

~~All Knowledge is Worth Having~~

@ Beardogg

Where's the Charles Barkley comment? Is it on YouTube? I would love to see that.

WOW.

I have been all across this world, but very rarely have I encountered stupidity on such a level.

As I read this article while standing up at my kitchen, I had to sit down; the level of stupidity was so blinding that for a minute, I forgot how to stand.

LMFAO!! That was one of the funniest things I have read.

Meanwhile big bad Jack missed this. http://www.newsgroper.com/i/logo/newsgroper_logo_sidebar.gif

Very, very funny.

"UPDATE: Thompson claims that he has been libeled by the MSNBC article and plans to sue."

Heh, yeah good luck with that. Its not libel if its true.

"UPDATE: Thompson claims that he has been libeled by the MSNBC article and plans to sue. "

Oh please please please let me be named in the suit! I did, after all, post comments in the discussion.

I can't wait to be sworn to tell The Truth, The WHOLE Truth, And Nothing But The Truth. Moreover, I can't wait to have the transcript publicized worldwide, ending John Bruce bid for the creation of a Theocratic Dictatorship built on lies and deceit.

OOOooooo... I'm all aquiver.

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 NW2K Software http://www.facebook.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl

Libel? Oy.

I wanna hear Olberman rip him a new one. After what he did with Bush and Telcom Immunity, this'll be 10x better.

UPDATE: Thompson claims that he has been libeled by the MSNBC article and plans to sue"

Oh please please please let me be named in the suit! I did, after all, post comments in the discussion.

Name me as well! Then I can counter-sue for intent to defame!

----
Papa Midnight

P.S. Someone please tell me why J.B.'s phone number is 305-666-4366,

P.S. It's public domain GP and all mods!

----
Papa Midnight

Okay, I'm not a lawyer and even I know libel won't stand here. There are issues with libel when you place yourself in the public sphere. There are also issues when it is commentary (opinion) and not stated as an actual fact. Plus if he can sue for libel then we could sue for libel for all the times he has called us killers and his statements that we don't care about the dead.

@nightwng

isn't the law fun!

Gotta love that when a mainstream news organization calls Thompson on his lies, he starts to pull the lawsuit card. What's wrong, Jack? Can't handle the truth?

How could anyone so blatantly incompetent as Jackhole manage to remain in his profession for this long???

Suing for libel? He doesn't seem to understand what libel is.

What a complete idiot.

Hmm, apparently the site doesn't like the triangular brackety things!

Jack's keeping me amused on what has thus far been a rather rubbish day. Go Jack!

Oh, it's you. I thought I had accidentally hit the post button.
It's like back in high school. In almost every class I was in there was at least one other Dan.

Open mouth, insert foot?

I am tired of these muthafuckin' attorneys hatin' on my muthfuckin' games!

Anyone? No? Bueller?
*cries*

"The attorney-turned-anti-video-game crusader has what can only be described as a breathtaking genius for transforming ghastly national tragedies into shining moments of self promotion."

This guy is my hero for finally having the stuff to say the truth instead of calling him an 'expert' in the industry.

"Thompson claims that he has been libeled by the MSNBC article and plans to sue. "

oh of course he plans to sue. pointless lawsuites are his thing, and without them he would not be so obviously mental.

msnbc just became my favorite news show.

Yah know his lawsuite might have something behind it if, you know, we didnt have freedom of the press...hell msnbc could call him a drugdealingpedofilenazi and walk away fresh as daisys
 
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