# Jack Thompson calls cops on Penny Arcade: Hilarity Ensues **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 18, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787 "2005-10-18T18:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/21 "2005-10-19T14:29:36Z")
Looking over Penny Arcade, CNN apparently had Thompson on and he was talking about Midway’s new football game. Now, EA bought the rights to make any official NFL game (a pit thread in and of itself) so Midway is coming out with a generic football version. Thompson’s take on it? “The NFL wouldn’t allow it’s name to be used, so that tells you something.” Yeah, it tells me that Thompson is definitely a fucking moron. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/22 "2005-10-19T14:44:56Z")
I find it hard to believe that this moron could’ve graduated from a quality law school. Where’d he get his degree from? Cracker Jacks box? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/23 "2005-10-19T15:24:00Z")
> [@www.jackthompson.org](#): > > A native of Ohio, Jack Thompson graduated in 1976 from Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is a practicing **medical malpractice attorney** in Florida. bolding mine. [www.stopkill.com](http://www.stopkill.com) is his website. That’s some bad formatting. I’m also curious to how Penny Arcade is an “extortion factory”. ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/24 "2005-10-19T15:28:38Z")
VCO3: did you really intend to make this rant title sound like a Fark headline? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/25 "2005-10-19T17:41:23Z")
A medical malpractice attorney is now an expert on videogame violence? Huh? I should have put that GD thread here 😃 . [Here’s](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/24/tech/gamecore/main676446.shtml) a CBS interview with Jacky. He’s a froot loop. ---
**Author:** ![Jenny\_Haniver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jenny\_Haniver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenny_Haniver)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/26 "2005-10-19T20:09:35Z")
> [@Spudo](#): > > I find it endlessly amusing that in his fax to the Seattle police he gave them the wrong URL to the Penny-Arcade website. I can just imagine some cop sitting there, trying to get the page to work and then giving up, realizing how fucking stupid Thompson is. It gets better - the incorrect URL he gave in the fax apparently goes to a porn site. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/27 "2005-10-19T20:42:09Z")
> [@fushj00mang](#): > > VCO3: did you really intend to make this rant title sound like a Fark headline? Nope. I’ve never read Fark. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/28 "2005-10-19T21:32:34Z")
It’s worth mentioning (just to point out how much of a dumbass he is) that Jack Thompson once ran against Janet Reno as DA of Dade County, FL, with the argument that she was a _closet lesbian with a drinking problem_ :rolleyes: who’d be susceptible to blackmail from the criminal element. :smack: He even challenged Ms. Reno in public with [a form for her to state her sexual orientation](http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/outthere/otthompson.html) on the record. :wally When even the Freepers say you’re nuts, you’re **nuts.** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/29 "2005-10-19T23:03:54Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > [www.stopkill.com](http://www.stopkill.com) is his website. That’s some bad formatting. I don’t know – the navigation bar is pretty helpful for people who get disoriented _really_ easily. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/30 "2005-10-19T23:12:43Z")
> [@Spudo](#): > > I find it endlessly amusing that in his fax to the Seattle police he gave them the wrong URL to the Penny-Arcade website. Even better–Good Ol’ Jack [apparently](http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php?date=2005-10-19) didn’t actually manage to send his fax to the Seattle PD. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/31 "2005-10-20T13:03:28Z")
Also check out Gabe [pwning](http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php?date=2005-09-26) Harlan Ellison. Scroll down a bit, right after “I think that Harlan guy is really pissed at us.” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/32 "2005-10-20T15:49:27Z")
[Looks like he might get his license to practice law yanked.](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051019-5458.html) > [@](#): > > At this point, the nerds swung into action. Penny Arcade forum members wrote, edited and sent letters and faxes to the Florida Bar Association detailing Thompson’s activities and urging the review of his license to practice law. Jack Thompson has already received a reprimand by the FBA for his antics in 1998, and according to a spokesperson, the letters and faxes have been received and forwarded to the disciplinary committee. Why doesn’t someone do this with Phelps? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/33 "2005-10-20T15:52:27Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Why doesn’t someone do this with Phelps? Does Phelps have a law license? I dunno that I’m wild about Jack being disbarred. On the one hand, yeah, he’s a raving lunatic. On the other, like Gabe said, if he’s gone, someone competent might take his place. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/34 "2005-10-20T15:55:51Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Does Phelps have a law license? Not any more. Got disbarred years ago. Problem is, 90% of his wierd little cult also have law degrees, and it’s hard to nail each and everyone of them. And Gabe’s encounter with Harlan Ellison was fuckin’ awesome. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/35 "2005-10-20T17:08:55Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > On the other, like Gabe said, if he’s gone, someone competent might take his place. I don’t know that it’s an exclusively-held position as is. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/36 "2005-10-20T17:42:19Z")
> [@Jack Thompson](#): > > Bogus or not bogus?: With members of the Bar (aka lawyers) compelled to tell-the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth, and an FBI agent who doesn’t overtly deny that an investigation is underway, likely not bogus. IANAL, but I don’t believe that lawyers are compelled to “tell-the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth”. Doesn’t that just apply to witnesses? And he gets from an FBI “no comment” to a full-blowned FBI investigation. All that video game violence must have got to him. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787/37 "2005-10-20T22:19:22Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Also check out Gabe [pwning](http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php?date=2005-09-26) Harlan Ellison. Scroll down a bit, right after “I think that Harlan guy is really pissed at us.” Tycho’s commentary on it is even better. I wonder if Gabe’s power works on people less hotheaded than Harlan Ellison or Jack Thompson… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-calls-cops-on-penny-arcade-hilarity-ensues/326787.md?page=1)