Secrets of the City

The bill is fine, I guess, since the games ARE rated for adults. It won’t solve any problems though, because parents will still buy their kids these games. Parents that are oblivious to what their children are playing, watching and reading.

I don’t they’re oblivious, I think they just cave in to relentless kids begging them to buy those games.

Do we fine movie theaters for letting in people under 18 to R-rated movies? What about warning labels on CDs? This seems silly. Who will enforce this? And $25 fine? I get nailed more than that for forgetting to feed a meter downtown.

the bill doesn’t fine retailers, so your movie theatre comparison is DEBUNKED

oh and by the same token, who cares? don’t you people have real problems to be complaining about instead of wasting time whining about laws that don’t actually do anything

That’s pretty harsh. Open, relaxed discussion of anything is healthy. Shall we talk about Josephine Foster instead?

Okay, let me see. First, it was the gay marriage/Dean Johnson TV sitcom affair back in April. Then came the stadium hit parade by the Twins, the Vikings, and the Gophers(in which nobody that I knew wanted these lousy buildings in the first place). And now, these half-ass clowns at the state captiol have finally spend their last week in the session, debating on whether the female stripper in the “Grand Theft Auto” video game is considered seditious for the kids. I mean, dear god, can we have the election this november already?! Throw these idiots out of the office for the sake of the state and country!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s not clear if anything happens to the retailers or not.
Look, if a liquor store or restaurant sells to a minor, they can lose their license and be fined.
Several states have fines thrown at movie theatres for letting underage kids in to R-rated films, but does that even matter. We’re talking about chains, folks. They can take the hit.
Again, my beef here isn’t that kids are going to get fined $25, and I agree that parents will just buy the games to make the kids shut up. My issue is that our representation spent time on THIS. Screw the roads, forget the fact that Minneapolis is getting nationwide attention for its sharp rise of murders (check the NY Post, for one), and who cares about education? No, we need to keep little Jimmy from getting “Halo” because that (and not the lack of having a responsible parent) is why he just might shoot up his school.
Do you think the five year old who brought a gun to school also played Grand Theft Auto and that’s why he did it?
Oh and Senor theblvd: Most movie theaters do not get fined, but, depending on the company, most employees who sell to minors are fired. I’ve seen it happen a few times.

The problem is that it’s unconstitutional. The state cannot define and prohibit violent material. The ratings act as guidelines, not laws. See my Blotter post for a bit more background on it.

who cares about education?

Your state legislature, to the tune of about $12 billion over the next two years.

Screw the roads,

Screw them – with the $2.5 billion in bonding projects for road construction passed ealier this week.

forget the fact that Minneapolis is getting nationwide attention for its sharp rise of murders

They’re getting $2 million in crime prevention funds for just this summer.

don’t you people have real problems to be complaining about instead of wasting time whining about laws that don’t actually do anything

Get a clue. I’m not going to rant on this AGAIN but if you make comments about your legislature wasting its time or not doing anything then your comments are based in ignorance, not fact.

As a small example, I tried to copy-paste the 359-page tax bill in this post, but the spam filter blocked it. I can’t link to it, but it’s House File 785 if you want to read just one of the hundreds of products of your legislature’s time wasting.

Another sad example of a problem that shouldn’t need to be solved by a legislature in the first place. If parents had a clue and paid attention, there wouldn’t be any need for rating systems in the first place, much less a need to enforce them with fines. I’m not a big fan of the state parenting its kids, but if parents don’t bother to do it, who’s going to?

don’t you people have real problems to be complaining about instead of wasting time whining about laws that don’t actually do anything

No, actually. There are no real problems that we have that government can solve.

I actually watched the house floor debate on this bill. (Not because I care, but it because it is a requisite part of my job.) It was riduculous, and it took significant time that could have been better spent passing a damn bonding bill. I was highly aggravated by the time wasting.

Furthermore, I don’t have kids, but if I did I would be pissed off at a law that fines kids, cuz guess who’s gonna end up paying that fine? Mom or dad. Duh. How the hell do you fine KIDS? And isn’t already against the law for retailers to rent/sell this material to children? Why do we pile one law on top of another rather than enforce the ones we have?

Ridiculous. Pure door-knocking fodder for suburban legislators.

What’s the deal, are you one of those right wing, anti-government guys? There are some things that, like it or not, ONLY the government can do, such as law enforcement, the judicial function, maintain a stable monetary system or public infrastructure, to name a few. It might be more accurate to say that there are no “real problems” that can be “solved” at all, by anyone or anything, but I don’t believe that.

Note: My remark was directed at dtester.

it took significant time that could have been better spent passing a damn bonding bill. I was highly aggravated by the time wasting.

You don’t just pass a bonding bill, it doesn’t appear out of thin air and it isn’t put together willy nilly on the House floor. The bonding bill was agreed to late last night, language was finalized this evening and it will take 10 hours to process in the revisor’s office. It will likely receive a vote between 2 and 4 a.m.

As a side note, bonding committee members started working on the bonding bill last fall, touring the state to see projects up for consideration. I don’t think anyone does more work than members of the bonding committee. Let’s not forget they’re set to approve just under $1 billion in projects.

My point is, there are no real problems that government has solved. Law enforcement? Has government solved the crime problem? Are prison populations decreasing? Are the number of thugs and criminals decreasing? Of course not. And no amount of budgeted government money is going to solve that problem.

Has government solved the education problem? We spend more on education than on any other budget item yet some people say that it’s still not enough. As if more money is going to solve the problem of ill-educated youth.

So why is it so important to hurry and pass more laws in a vain attempt to solve these and other problems when we all know that they’re based on aberrant societal behavior and no amount of money is going to change that.

All the government spending does is enable politicians to tell the voters that they’re “doing something about it.” And it enables the voters to pretend that the solution is simply a few more dollars away. You’re all in denial.

Thanks, Dtester, for telling everyone how it really is! You’re so smart!

You’re certainly welcome my boy.

If I ever hear anyone that our legistraures have worked hard this session, I’m going to barf. Peroid. These morons we elected have done nothing in the last four years, except for playing around like little kids in the sandbox, making up absoulte excuses in order to defend their character during every election season. Yet this is one of the reasons I’ve become an independent voter, rather than a straight-party ticket supporter. Both the state DFL and Republican parties have become total lame duck status by their nature, and now they wanted to feel good on what they accomplished this year at the captiol. People like me are sick and tired of all the politcal mind games, media spin, and self-rightous drama kings acts that these reps have done recentely.

Until then, don’t ask me or call me for any donation to either party this year. You’re not getting any pity from me or the rest of the angry voters in the state.

I guess I’m unclear on what you mean by “solved” and “ALL the government spending.” Face it, dtester, you’re a silly and profoundly stupid crank who doesn’t know shit about anything. And that, “my boy,” is one thing in which I am not in denial.

Dean Johnson’s comments got swept under the rug after an apology on the Senate floor, with absolutely no investigation into the veracity of his claims. That’s not a resolution, that’s a capitol-wide coverup. If Johnson was lying, they would’ve hung him, but they put him in the stocks, instead. Whose asses are getting covered?

I think BrianP has issues. Either he pays his bills with a government check or his momma does.

This sounds like the perfect issue for business to tackle on its own. Stores shouldn’t open memberships to minors without a parent sponsor, the sponsor should be able to set restrictions on what their kids can and can’t rent.

Hey, dtester, how does it feel to be wrong AND stupid – all the time?

The judicial standards board is investigating all seven court justices over the Johnson matter. Thus, absolutely no investigation is complete nonsense.

Big G. – what exactly were you looking for over the last four years? I would think that most everyone could look at $60 billion of government spending and find at least something they would like. Plus, three public works bills, acceleration of transportation projects. My guess is you just don’t agree with the legislation that gets passed so you just say nothing gets done because if it’s not exactly what you want they’re all morons.

I guess I missed that story, but you’re right, Kevin. It’s such a shame that a casual conversation had to blow up like that.

Kevin, I’m never going to buy the “We spent money, so we got something accomplished” argument. Sure, I’ll agree with you to the extent that the legislature does work hard. But there’s far too much wheel-spinning, partisan posturing, and focus on the wrong issues.

One example that springs immediately to mind are the transit issues facing the metro area. Oh yes, they spent money on roads, but was there any work to solve our transit issues on the back end rather than just building more roads? I was rather intrigued by the metro-wide transit tax proposed briefly in committee, no matter if it was intended to spike the Twins’ stadium hopes. It was creative, and would’ve gone a long way toward helping the metro get past some of its growing pains.

In essence, it’s another example of a session devoted to politics as usual. Too much NIMBY, too much concern over reelection hopes and fears, too much iron-clad party-line rhetoric, and far too much ignorance of the effects of some of their “enlightened” policy.

Oh don’t give me this poppycrock crap Kwatt! Our state representives, in reality, have always waited until the last minute for the important stuff to get passed, before the session ends every year. The rest of the time, they goof off and discuss non-issues like pot luck dinners or who won American Idol last night on FOX TV. That’s the reason they wasted over four years at the state captiol. I mean, what kind of independent voter wants to hear these guys, talking about sport stadiums or how Matt Entenzaa looks today at the committe hearing. Come on! Gimmie a Break already! Nobody wants to hear this sort of garbage. 60 billion surplus, you say? Ha! That ain’t going to last like a Janurary thaw!

Already, we’re loosing good labor jobs like the Ford Plant in Saint Paul and the Airline mechanics at Northwest, due to job outsourcing and anti-union feelings by fat cat CEO’s. There’s also an increase fear of rising inflation because of the nation’s deficet going up. Gas prices are skyrocketing, hurting most consumers, including the struggling middle class that wanted to go on vacation. And now, your telling me this lousy BS defense that our state reps are doing well for self-incompance and the lack of leadership style in both parties? Boy man, you really need a reallity check in life. Wait until your sales tax in the west metro hits you like a cold shower, whenever you buy something at the local store. You could thank our so-called wonderful state reps for passing that anti-democratic Twins ballpark bill at the benfit of coperate welfare.

Then you disagree with what they do, which is fine. What burns me is people who say they don’t do anything.

Re: the bonding bill – there was much partisan game-playing on that conference committee… I’m not saying that they should have just shoved a plan through willy-nilly, but stuff like recessing for a dinner break and then having HALF of the members go awol is simply a joke.

But anyway…. HOORAY FOR SINE DIE!

*wipes brow*

In reading this thread it’s patently clear that there are people that understand the process of law making and people that have no idea how we make laws.

It seems that ignorance runs rampant with the angry crowd!

Lawmaking is like making sausage, but lawmaking usually turns out better than those awful sausage links they serve at Ikea on Sunday mornings. Ick! Not what my tummy was looking for following three hours sleep and a 17-hour workday.

You know, I find it fascinating how this has turned.
Seriously, I was just pointing out that some people were hanging their hats on a video game bill. I was trying to be slightly sarcastic (which is evidently lost on Minnesotans according to the Star Trib). Guess it didn’t come off that way. Still, DeRusha and others have a point: The parents are going to pay. What about the people who sell the product? Are they let off? If some dude forgets to ask ID in a restaurant, he’s fired (seen it happen to one of my students), but will Gamestop and such fire an employee over this?

Sarcasm is always lost on me…we didn’t have it growing up in Iowa.

My six-year-old nephew was telling me at Christmas how much he liked playing GTA:San Andreas. He played it with his dad. His favorite part was killing cops.