Obama on Offshore Drilling, Tobacco Lawyer Goes to Prison and Video Game Violence
Sen. Barack Obama changes his position on offshore oil drilling.
One of the nation’s richest attorneys begins a prison sentence for bribery.
The government of Thailand bans the sale of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV because of violent content.
1. ENERGY
Sen. Barack Obama changes his position on offshore oil drilling.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Energy Policy Myron Ebell on why action on offshore exploration is needed in Congress:
“For too long the federal government has tied the hands of state governments that wish to permit oil and natural gas leasing in their adjacent offshore zones. Congress should remove the moratoria on offshore gas production and share the federal royalties with the States that decide to allow offshore production, just as they share the royalties from production on federal lands with the States.”
2. LEGAL
One of the nation’s richest attorneys begins a prison sentence for bribery.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the history of Dickie Scruggs and big tobacco lawsuits:
“Dickie Scruggs is reporting to prison to begin a 5-year sentence for trying to bribe a judge. He’s the rich trial lawyer who brought the tobacco lawsuit that ultimately led to the multibillion dollar tobacco settlements. Those settlements raised prices for consumers in order to pay $15 billion in attorneys fees for the trial lawyers hired by state attorneys general to bring them (including lawyers who received fabulous wealth for doing nothing more than bringing copycat lawsuits). In exchange for protection against competition, the big tobacco companies also agreed to pay billions of dollars annually to state governments, in perpetuity.”
3. CULTURE
The government of Thailand bans the sale of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV because of violent content.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Research Associate Ryan Radia on the artistic value of video games:
“As game budgets have swelled and public interest in gaming has expanded, more games than ever transcend the stereotype of gaming as a juvenile pursuit with little artistic merit, reminding us that games can be artistic expressions on par with books, movies, or songs. Critics whose gaming experience consists of having played Pacman in an arcade may belittle gaming as a trivial pastime, but anybody who has played Bioshock or Gears of War or Oblivion knows better. Games can critique the harsh realities of modern society and offer insight into the nature of the human soul in ways that less interactive forms of media cannot.”