Steve Nelson, who has created fascinating visualizations which combine real-world political data with the Second Life metaverse, is at it again.

On his Clear Night Sky blog, Nelson has posted a video which mashes up SL and the 2010 federal budget:

To commemorate the 2010 federal budget... I have installed a new feature at the Capitol Hill in Second Life.

Using the APIs available from USASpending.gov, the Show Me the Money! piggy bank will shower $100 bills down on the Capitol Hill legislative chamber. Each bill has the name of one of the top 50 recipients of government funding during 1Q 2009. The size of the bill is proportionate to the amount of money received, at a scale of $1billion = 1 Second Life meter.

As GamePolitics noted on several occasions, using video games as a metaphor for academic underachievement was a staple of Barack Obama's presidential campaign speeches.

The Prez rolled out the same language last night in his first address to a joint session of Congress. Speaking about his administration's approach to education, Obama said:

These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home.

A CNN poll reports that 65% of respondents gave the President favorable marks for the speech. NPR has a full transcript of the President's remarks.

From the Consider the Source Dept:

Gossip mag The Star reports that President Barack Obama indulges in mobile phone gaming apps:

During his first days in office, President Obama laid down the law — Hands off my BlackBerry! But his insistence on keeping it wasn't just because he wanted to stay in touch with family and friends. Turns out the Prez is hooked on playing the mobile game BrickBreaker!

"He plays to unwind," a confidante reveals. "Every night before bed, he gives it a few minutes."

And he's hardly all thumbs.

"His high score is around 15,000!"

Via: GameCulture

Is California's violent video game law headed to the U.S. Supreme Court?

State Sen. Leland Yee (D) thinks it should be. Yee has urged California Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal today's 9th Circuit Court decision which upheld a lower court's ruling that the video game law he authored in 2005 is unconstitutional.

Yee, a child psychologist, released this statement: 

While I am deeply disappointed in today’s ruling, we should not stop our efforts to assist parents in keeping these harmful video games out of the hands of children.  I believe this law will inevitably be upheld as Constitutional by the US Supreme Court.  In fact, the high court recently agreed, in Roper v. Simmons (2005), that we need to treat children differently in the eyes of the law due to brain development.

 

Game publishers' lobbying group the Entertainment Software Association announced today that it has hired a new head of government relations (i.e., lobbying).

Jennifer Manner comes to the ESA by way of Skyterra Communications and the Federal Communications Commission, where she was senior counsel.

Manner replaces Ed Desmond, who exited the ESA for a post in the toy biz last September.

Interestingly, an ESA press release makes it a point to mention that Manner is a "long-time Democrat." We don't recall seeing a similar industry hiring announcement addressing an appointee's political affiliation.

Of Manner, former FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy offered high praise:

Jennifer is an outstanding choice for this position. With her broad experience communicating effectively with multiple public and private sector stakeholders and tackling complex regulatory matters, the industry and the ESA will benefit from Jennifer’s leadership.

The Entertainment Merchants Association, the trade group which represents the interests of numerous video game retailers, has weighed in against game-oriented legislation currently before the Congress.

GamePolitics readers will recall last month's report that Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) had proposed a measure in Congress which would require cigarette-like warning labels for any game rated T (13+) or higher by the ESRB.

The EMA has termed the proposed legislation "unnecessary."

As we have previously noted, Rep. Baca has proposed a number of bills targeting video games over the years. To date, none have passed. In 2008 Esquire named him to its list of Ten Worst Members of Congress.

UPDATE: We've received the EMA's full statement on the Baca bill:

Retailers educate parents about the ESRB video game ratings and content descriptors and enforce the "Mature" rating at the point of sale. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission found that children it sent into video game stores to buy Mature-rated games were turned down 80% of the time.

 

The video game turn-down rate is higher than the turn-down rate for movie theaters and R-rated tickets, DVD retailers and R-rated and “unrated” DVDs, and music retailers and “Parental Advisory”-labeled albums. In fact, it is the highest turn-down rated ever recorded for an entertainment category in any of the undercover shopper surveys the FTC has conducted since 2000.

Apple, it appears, takes a rather dim view of political satire - at least where iPhone apps are concerned.

TechCrunch reports that Apple has nixed a seemingly harmless game in which depictions of President Barack Obama and other U.S. political figures jump on a virtual trampoline.

The news comes on the heels of Apple's recent rejection of another would-be iPhone game which parodies December's hurling of a shoe at then-President Bush. That well-known incident was widely satirized via online Flash games.

TechCrunch questions Apple's censorship of Obama Trampoline:

Developer Swamiware was surprised to see its latest iPhone app rejected by Apple, and so are we. The application was a harmless game that let you select a known U.S. politician (both republicans and democrats) and have him/her jump a virtual trampoline...

 

Does the Obama Trampoline app actually ridicule public figures? It’s not obscene or pornographic of nature, so why was it deemed either offensive or defamatory?

A $2 billion allocation intended to push universal broadband service into rural areas of the United States has been cut from President Obama's economic stimulus package, according to Gizmodo:

Those jokers down in Washington finally compromised on the economic stimulus bill, with the Republican minority succeeding in cutting out huge swathes of spending. Among the casualties is the $2 billion for universal broadband...

 

Sorry, "real America," you're gonna keep getting screwed.

GP: Support for the Obama stimulus package is largely split along party lines. However you feel about the stimulus bill, universal broadband would be a big win for gamers in areas with poor quality Internet access.

Kotaku reports that Japanese publisher Daletto is offering what appears to be a Barack Obama figure as downloadable content for its Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation, a PC game.

The Obama figure and other DLC characters are available as part of a Valentine's Day update.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm gave PC game publisher Stardock (Sins of a Solar Empire) some Guv-love in her State of the State address yesterday.

Speaking at the State Capitol in Lansing, Granholm acknowledged that Michigan has been hit hard by the economic downturn. But the Guv looked for a silver lining in the film and video game sectors:

There’s real pain in the auto world. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost... Those losses have fueled our determination to bring new industries to Michigan...

 

Since enacting the nation’s most aggressive film [and video game production] incentives in April, we have seen more than 70 film and TV projects slated for production in Michigan, bringing some $430 million in economic activity here...

 

Tonight, I’m pleased to make three major announcements... Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth...

 

The fact that these jobs exist in Michigan today is no accident. These jobs are here because we put a strategy in place to bring them here – often by beating out other states and other countries to get them...

As GamePolitics reported in 2008, Gov. Granholm's administration aggressively pursued a financial incentive package for film, TV and video game production.

Stardock is known as a gamer-friendly publisher which eschews DRM on its PC titles. The company and its CEO, Brad Wardell, garnered major attention at PAX 2008 with the release of the controversial Gamers' Bill of Rights.

GP: Big thanks to reader Chris Bray for the heads-up!

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's West Coast junket touched down in Redmond yesterday for talks with Microsoft.

Mass High Tech reports that Patrick (left), a Democrat, discussed the video game business with MS Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie.

While the Guv described his meeting with Ozzie as "very encouraging," the Microsoft exec apparently pulled no punches:

Ozzie suggested Massachusetts needs to reinvent its high-tech image.

“The famous Route 128 tech highway — people are thinking of that image as being in the past,” said Greg Bialecki, state undersecretary for business development, who accompanied Patrick on the trip. “How do we talk about a new conversation about what we are doing today?”

 

The [Massachusetts] regional gaming cluster already includes companies such as Turbine Inc., 2K Boston, Blue Fang Games LLC, Harmonix Music Systems Inc., Demiurge Studios, Tencent Holdings Limited, 38 Studios LLC, Mad Doc Software and Crate Entertainment...

 

Patrick said West Coast tech execs tell him Silicon valley has a greater “spirit of collaboration,” and “also the ability to start and fail and start again.” To keep entrepreneurs from heading west, Massachusetts will have to emulate that culture...

The Guv is on a mission to bring high tech companies - including game industry firms - to the Bay State. Patrick's other West Coast meetings this week include stops at Facebook, Google and Electronic Arts.

Gov. Rick Perry (R, at left) has proclaimed today "Entertainment Software Day" in Texas.

The declaration is apparently the first of its kind in the United States.

In addition, both chambers of the Texas legislature have passed resolutions recognizing the video game industry's contributions to the Lone Star State. Those resolutions were sponsored by State Sen. Bob Duell (R) and Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D), both of whom have worked on financial incentives for Texas game developers in the past.

The news comes by way of a press release from the Entertainment Software Association. The trade group which represents U.S. video game publishers enjoys a strong connection to Gov. Perry. GamePolitics readers will recall that the Guv delivered the keynote speech at E3 2008.

ESA CEO Mike Gallagher commented on the Texas-sized salute to the game biz:

The support of Governor Perry, Senator Duell and Representative Dukes for the entertainment software industry in Texas is an endorsement of the artistic and economic contributions our industry has made to the state.

These lawmakers are helping grow our industry as we work to create new jobs for Texans; boost the state’s economy; and help discover new ways computer and video games can improve the ways Americans live, work and play.

According to the ESA, Texas's game industry adds $395 million to the state's economy.

Between the food, the football, the commercials and the schmoozing, it's unlikely that the topic of video game regulation will come up at President Barack Obama's White House Super Bowl party this evening.

But if it does, at least two of the Congressional types on his small, bipartisan guest list have some background on the issue.

In December, 2007 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) stood with Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and Family as Walsh zinged the video game industry for what he referred as "an ominous backslide."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who is known for almost never missing a vote, proposed a 2005 Congressional resolution directing the FTC to investigate the Hot Coffee scandal. In 2006 he sponsored the  Video Game Decency Act, a piece of legislation which ultimately failed to pass.

Perhaps more interesting than the (admittedly unlikely) video game angle is trying to decipher the formula used by the Prez in determining his guest list:

• 11 Democrats, 4 Republicans
• 5 from Pennsylvania (Steelers?)
• 2 from Arizona (Cardinals?)
• 1 from Illinois (Obama's old Senate partner)
• 1 each from Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan, DC, Alabama, Connecticut and New Hampshire

The Illinois Senate may have given  Rod Blagojevich the boot via impeachment, but game developer Yanki.JP is celebrating the disgraced ex-Guv's reign with with Pay2Play, a new iPhone app.

The game's website lets us know that this is not exactly a hardcore political sim:

Pay2Play is the game of trading and danger. How much money can YOU make selling senate seats? Head all over Illinois trading your way to success!

You have 30 days to pay back the unions, make tons of cash, and get out of town all before getting impeached! Transposing a trading game such as Dopewars with a slick interface on the iPhone.

Also a gaming first! Alcopops make it to the game scene for the first time. See what Illinois politicians have been so worried about!

The alcopops reference is a dig at a recent Illinois law prohibiting the depiction of the sweet, boozy drinks in games aimed at children - not that there has ever been an alcopop depicted in a video game.

Eager to try your hand at corrupt Illinois politics? You'll have to wait a bit longer. Pay2Play is currently on hold pending AppStore approval.

Via: Kotaku 

Game publishers lobbying group the Entertainment Software Association gave generously to elected officials in Georgia during 2007-2008, according to public records uncovered by GamePolitics.

Nearly three dozen politicians of both major parties received $27,200 in campaign contributions from the ESA during that period. Attorney General Thurbert Baker (D) received the largest amount, $3,500.

As GamePolitics has previously reported, Baker appeared in a 2007 public service announcement which promoted the video game industry's ESRB rating system.

The large number of contributions to individual legislators may be explained in part by the Georgia legislature's 2008 passage of a tax incentive program for game development. For its part, the ESA declined to discuss specifics of its political contributions.

UPDATE: We noticed this morning (Feb. 1st) that FollowTheMoney.org, the search site we used in preparing this story, is no longer showing any ESA contributions to Georgia officials. It's unclear why, but we have contacted the site for an explanation.

Players needn't worry that their lack of aerial combat skills will get a fictional version of President Barack Obama shot down in the upcoming HAWX.

According to MTV Multiplayer's Patrick Klepek, HAWX publisher Ubisoft maintains that the real-world Prez isn't depicted in the game:

While checking “HAWX” a few weeks ago, the group of journalists I was playing with routinely failed to defend Air Force One. Boom! There’s another failed mission, resulting in a successful attack (again) on the virtual President.

After the inauguration of Barack Obama, I started thinking about what President I was defending during “HAWX.” With our first African-American President now in the White House, would Ubisoft try something different with its representation of a video game President?

My question was far more interesting than the answer, unfortunately. A Ubisoft representative told me the President is not a character in “HAWX” and is merely referenced as “the President” during the game. Oh well.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) will meet with Microsoft, Electronic Arts and other, unspecified video game publishers during a West Coast trip next week.

The Boston Business Journal reports that the Guv and several top economic advisors will meet with non-gaming high-tech firms as well, including Google and Cisco. Patrick's group is expected to visit with about 50 companies in all.

While the main purpose of the trip is to head off potential layoffs in Massachusetts, Patrick hopes to persuade game companies to set up shop there as well.

GP: Gov. Patrick might have a better chance with the game companies if the state legislature hadn't nixed a proposed tax break measure in 2008.

UPDATE: The Belmont Citizen-Herald has more on Gov. Patrick's trip, including comments from Massachusetts' Undersecretary for Business Development Greg Bialecki:

We do not have a national video game publisher and the governor will make the case that there is enough local video game development talent that a recognized video game publisher like a Microsoft or EA should be locating here in Massachusetts as well.

In most legislative offices, the most exciting thing you'll find are brochures.

In Rep. Joe Pickett's office, however, you can try your hand at classic Mario Bros.

As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, Mario isn't the only thing that's different about the Texas Democrat's office in the Capitol Building in Austin.

At his own expense, Pickett has remodeled his digs to look like a 1950s-era burger joint, complete with juke box. Visitors are offered free gumballs, soda and ice cream. As for Mario, the game helps keep state politics from getting too tense: 

[Pickett's] chief of staff, says the old "Mario Bros. " video game is a mood elevator. One day a guy who wanted to argue some issue or other marched in with a fierce face, ready to rumble.

 

"He walked in and saw the old Mario Bros. video game," Chambers recalled. "He looks and says, `Awwwwwwww, I love that game.' It even destressed him."

A spokesman for President Barack Obama used a comparison of video game consoles to describe what the new administration found upon moving into the White House on Inauguration Day.

Staffer Bill Burton told the Washington Post:

It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari.

We assume he means an Xbox 360...

In any event, Burton was referring to the sorry state of technology that the Obama crowd inherited from the departed Bushies. More from the WaPo:

Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts.

What does that mean in 21st-century terms? No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Hard adjustments for a staff that helped sweep Obama to power through, among other things, relentless online social networking.

Via: MTV Multiplayer

Newly-installed President Barack Obama may have captivated the public's imagination, but at least one designer of virtual fashions is thinking more about First Lady Michelle.

New World Notes reports that Second Life fashionista Iris Ophelia has assembled a line of haute couture garments with Mrs. Obama in mind:

Blazers and skirts are a bit of a First Lady staple... The Shades of Gray suit by Miko Omegamu of Icing is probably one of the outfits in SL that is most faithful to Michelle Obama's style...

 

Mrs. Obama definitely favors the silhouette of pencil/sheath dresses... She's also known for really chic use of color and texture in her outfits...

 

The Midas Evening gown by Shai Delacroix of Casa Del Shai is probably more risqué than Michelle's normal attire (cleavage is a bit of a faux-pas when you're the First Lady), but the soft color and the flowing fabric make for something closer to what I wish she'd been wearing to the Inaugural ball...

 

To quote Yves Saint Laurent, "Fashions fade, style is eternal."

Shawn Recinto of HeadlineGames dropped by GamePolitics the other day to let us know that a pair of games loosely based on the misadventures of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are available.

Blago Run, a Frogger-like affair, challenges players to guide Senate hopefuls past FBI and police patrols in search of President Barack Obama's former seat.

Meanwhile, Blago Red Tape Breakout is a Breakout clone in which Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan must get her supoena past rows of red tape in order to serve Blagojevich with impeachment papers.

Yesterday, we mentioned that numerous Obama inauguration-themed events would be occurring in Second Life.

This morning, Bixyl Shuftan of Second Life Newspaper recaps a pair of virtual inaugural balls which took place in SL:

I checked Netroots, the group of liberal political bloggers... There were about 40 people in their dance floor area, with a musician singing live on stage...

At one point, one attendee asks, “Looking for an American.” This was followed by cheers, “Yay, we love Americans!” “You done great today - keep it up!” “Happy day for Americans, and I hope for everyone else too.” “CONGRATS AMERICANS .... From DOWNUNDER!” Almost everyone was in formal wear, with two ladies wearing dresses with Obama’s likeness on the skirt...

 

Gemma and I then went to the Inaugural Ball at the Capitol Hill sim... As an officially neutral area, Obama didn’t get the lavish kind of praise he got at the Netroots as he did here, but he did get some, “Oh yes, one of the best days in American history.” “It is hard for me to define.... but if nothing else I do have an increased sense of optimism and pride in my country.” “Obama will certainly have an impact on streaming media.”

President Barack Obama's status as pop culture icon extends to Xbox Live as well as, seemingly, everywhere else.

Joystiq notes that the Obama inauguration was featured on XBL last evening:

Log into Xbox Live tonight and the first thing you'll see is ... a photo of President Obama from today's inauguration. Indeed, the spotlight of the Spotlight channel is today's ceremony, including video of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden being sworn into office, the 44th President's inaugural speech and more.

Even the Movies and TV Shows categories have taken on the theme, featuring the likes of The West Wing and -- wait a second -- Mars Attacks? Yes, the Tim Burton camp-fest is inexplicably among the inaugural offerings...

Indeed, the Obama features are still up this morning.

Obama, as GamePolitics readers will recall, was the runaway choice among Xbox Live users in political polling conducted by the online gaming venue during the run-up to November's election (see: Xbox Live is a Blue State).

The Obama campaign also created a stir with its groundbreaking in-game ads, which were seen only on Xbox Live. The XBL ad story was broken on GamePolitics, BTW.

Included in the current inaugural theme is a segment introduced by Major Nelson which features XBL users offering their opinions as to what the new chief executive should prioritize. Aside from the woman who wanted Bruce Springsteen named "secretary of rock" and the guy who demanded a college football playoff system, the answers showed that the XBL crowd is both thoughtful and well-versed in current affairs.

Gamasutra has posted a lengthy piece which examines the state of video game regulation and what we might expect from the Obama administration in regard to games.

Author Neils Clark interviewed me for the article, so I'll share my quote on Obama and games:

To be honest, I think that when politicians get around to legislating video games that will mean that they're feeling comfortable with some of the more important issues. Right now there's so much on President Obama's table: the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I can't see his administration prioritizing video game content legislation.

Let's be clear, though. While I don't think that Obama will be pushing game content legislation from the White House, that certainly doesn't preclude members of Congress from introducing their own bills, as we saw recently with Calfornia Rep. Joe Baca's push to include cigarette-like health warnings on games rated T and higher.

State-level efforts, of course, are unaffected by Obama's view on game legislation. Thus we will likely see a Jack Thompson-authored legislative proposal in Utah soon. California's contested law will almost certainly head to the U.S. Supreme Court, no matter how the 9th Circuit rules on the state's pending appeal.

Actually, as I told Neils, going forward I see the fight between consumers and media corporations over IP issues like DRM as even more of a threat to gamers than government legislation. On that score, however, I will qualify one comment I made regarding the feds' 2007 mod chip raid, which I blasted in the Gamasutra piece:

Yes, mod chips have applications for piracy, but possibly also for homebrew gaming. It seems heavy handed to me to have federal agents kicking down doors over mod chips.

What's fascinating is that we're more than a year beyond that [raid] and all of those cases are still sealed in federal court... This is America, what's going on here? You kick down 32 doors over mod chips more than a year ago and it's still a big secret?

I did the Gamasutra interview in mid-November, but that was before an investigative report on GamePolitics broke the news that at least one big fish was busted in those 2007 raids. So, while it's clear that not everyone whose door went down was a small timer, it's still pretty interesting that the case remains under wraps 18 months later.

Over at MTV Multiplayer, Stephen Totilo suggests a unique way to gain perspective on the Washington, D.C. turf that is the site for Barack Obama's inauguration as America's 44th president.

If you can deal with the nuked-out look, Totilo recommends taking a virtual tour, courtesy of Bethesda's best-selling, post-apocalyptic, RPG Fallout 3:

Video games are an under-used tool for understanding current events. Let’s change that and use the most graphically realistic version of Washington, D.C. ever created to get an enhanced perspective of today’s Inauguration Day, shall we?

Slight problem: the best representation of Washington, D.C. and the National Mall in video game history involves a richly-rendered post-nuclear-war version of the nation’s capital circa the year 2277...

 

Here’s the National Mall as viewed from the top of a bombed-out Washington Monument...  “Fallout 3″ players can reach this location by traveling to the “Washington Monument” marker on the game’s map, passing a security checkpoint and taking an elevator to the top. In real life, the Mall, is currently filled with hundreds of thousands of people.

“Fallout 3″ gamers, if you have time today, walk in Obama’s steps. It’s an interesting experience.

The Second Life crowd is marking the inauguration of President Barack Obama in a number of ways today.

TechNewsWorld reports that SL festivities will include an inaugural ball:

...there will be two celebrations: the official and ever-so-formal Inauguration Ball and another more informal "meet and greet" party. Tickets to both are free and available at SL dispensers in-world. You can even pick up a free [virtual] tux or ballroom gown if you don't have one or can't afford one...

The ballroom is roofless, since some residents can fly and prefer to make their entrance from above...

 

"I would like to attend the SL Inaugural Ball," Cubsfan Pugilist, an active Second Life resident, who also organized Obama political rallies in Second Life, told TechNewsWorld. "I also got tickets for the inauguration in DC, but I don't think I will be attending that. So I should be in Second Life."

In addition to the Inauguration Ball, the virtual SL Newspaper lists a half-dozen separate Obama-themed events, while New World Notes chips in with its own list.

Last week GamePolitics reported on legislation proposed by Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA, seen at left). Baca's bill, H.R. 231, would require video games rated T (13+) and higher to carry a cigarette-like warning label that would read:

WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.

In response, the Entertainment Consumers Association has launched an action campaign to oppose Baca's bill:

Congress is simply misinformed on this issue. The vast majority of studies show that there is no proven causal link between violent media of any type and aggressive behavior. Several studies suggest that playing video games can be helpful to young people... Further, the bill requires the label even for games that are not rated T or above for violence, which could confuse parents and undermine the ESRB, which according to the FTC is the most enforced media retail system.

HR 231 is an unconstitutional restraint on speech that will harm consumers and parents alike. Please join with the ECA, and let your representatives know that you want them to let the industry and parents continue with a system that works, and have Congress stay focused on the real problems facing our nation.

The campaign site has a suggested letter which users can edit and automatically forward to their congressional representatives.

Rep. Baca, by the way, was recently named one of the Ten Worst Members of Congress by Esquire magazine.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

In honor of Barack Obama's Tuesday inaugural festivities, Atom.com has posted an inauguration speech generator.

We'd rate this one mildy entertaining.

South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford (D) has introduced a bill that, essentially, seeks to outlaw profanity.

S.56 would prohibit the public utterance or publication of printed material containing profanity. It would also make it illegal to "exhibit or otherwise make available material containing words, language, or actions of a profane, vulgar, lewd, lascivious, or indecent nature."

On the video game front, presumably, this might encompass the F-bombs included not only in Grand Theft Auto IV's dialogue but in Band of Brothers: Hell's Highway and various other M-rated games. Movies, books, websites, magazines, music and cable TV, of course, would also be threatened.

The proposal would make the dissemination of such profanity a felony, punishable by five years in jail or a $5,000 fine. Or both.

Via: Slashdot

President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Federal Communications Commission seems like a win for gamers and online businesses, among others.

As Ars Technica reports, Julius Genachowski (left) is a proponent of Net Neutrality (and if you're not sure why that's important to gamers check out the ECA's Gamers For Net Neutrality advocacy page). Genachowski is also said to be against media consolidation.

Ars Technica quotes Josh Silver of media reform group Free Press on Genachowski:

Under Julius Genachowski's leadership, the FCC's compass would point toward the public interest.

Meanwhile, Steve Augustino, a Washington, D.C. attorney who works with Net Neutrality issues, praised Genachowski:

Genachowski was a senior advisor to former FCC chairman Reed Hundt in the 1990s and went on to an Internet business career afterward.  He was leading Obama's Technology Working Group prior to this designation.  This is very good news for Internet-based businesses.  The FCC will have a chair that understands your issues.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.