Quote:AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- Texas Democratic lawmakers returned triumphantly from their self-imposed exile Friday, telling enthusiastic supporters at a rally outside the state Capitol that they had killed -- for now anyway -- a Republican redistricting plan that would likely have thinned their ranks in Congress.
"Government is by the people, for the people, and we had to go to Oklahoma to say that government is not for Tom DeLay," said state Rep. Jim Dunnam, chairman of the Democratic Caucus in the Texas House of Representatives.
A group of 51 Democrats from the Texas House fled last weekend to Ardmore, Oklahoma, a move that deprived the Texas House of a quorum and brought legislative action to a standstill. Democrats said they took that step to prevent passage of what they described as an unfair redistricting plan pushed by Delay, the powerful majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives and a fellow Texan.
The redistricting plan, which Democrats say would have cost them five congressional seats, died in the House when it could not be voted on by midnight Thursday. Republicans, however, have said they may bring the plan up again in a special session this summer.
The flight across state lines became the subject of late-night lampoons and biting commentary. By holing up in a hotel in Oklahoma, the Democrats were out of the reach of Texas law enforcement authorities, who were told to round up the rebellious lawmakers and bring them back to the Capitol.
Texas Democrats wait aboard a bus in Ardmore, Oklahoma, before heading home.
In addition to infuriating Republicans, the Democrats' absence shut down all business on the House floor, stalling up to 500 bills and costing the state of Texas some $700 million, according to House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Republican.
The Democrats, however, savored their victory Friday, even if the broader legislative battle over redistricting is far from over.
"No matter what happens, democracy won in this event," Dunnam said.
The crowd cheered and waved signs reading, "51 Heroes," "Welcome home, Hero Demos" and "We're Proud of You."
While state legislatures typically redraw district lines every 10 years after each census, Republicans in Texas moved ahead with a plan this year.
In Washington, DeLay defended the move, saying, "Texans deserve representation that reflects their values and beliefs." He noted that all statewide officeholders and a majority of the Legislature are Republicans.
Several black Democrats refused to join the walkout because the redistricting plan would have created a majority African-American congressional district.
Quote:LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2003 – Nintendo today announces a new worldwide retail offer combining its Nintendo GameCube™ home console with the new Game Boy® Player. The combination allows players to enjoy more than 1,200 Game Boy games on the home TV screen, along with the full library of more than 300 Nintendo GameCube titles.
For a limited time, Nintendo will include Game Boy Player for the regular price of the Nintendo GameCube system. This offer will be available at retail on June 23 for an MSRP of $149.99 in the United States, and on June 20 for €199.99 in Europe.
"This offer builds on the incredible momentum generated by our Game Boy® Advance line, which has already sold 35 million systems worldwide," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "Once we saw the enthusiastic reception given to the debut of Game Boy Player here on the show floor at the E3 trade show, it was an easy decision to move ahead with our plans to combine these two products."
The Game Boy Player is a platform less than an inch thick, which acts as a base for the Nintendo GameCube. By simply inserting Game Boy cartridges into a slot in the Game Boy Player, consumers can use their Nintendo GameCube controller to direct action on the TV screen.
In North America, Nintendo is riding a wave of momentum generated by three dominating product launches this spring. Game Boy Advance is the hottest selling system in the market; The Legend of Zelda®: The Wind Waker™ tops the console hit charts; and the combined Pokemon® Ruby and Pokemon® Sapphire are the top two selling titles in the portable game category.
Wow, a nice move by Nintendo. This effectively opens up the GC and GBA libraries to buyers when they buy a GC, at no extra cost. This could really tip the scales for deciding gamers.
Quote:Today I went to the Gamespy booth to conduct a small and simple interview with GameSpy's President, Jon Epstein. After exchanging business cards, the questions began.
The word "tunneling" was introduced to many gamers with the software that Gamespy released for Halo and many of other Xbox games that didn't utilize Xbox Live but did use LAN.
Tunneling IS NOT being used for any of Nintendo's upcoming LAN utilized games. The information which came to me as a huge shock, is actually better than it sounds. According to Gamespy, Nintendo came to them about a year ago for LAN software. Nintendo did not want to use "tunneling, because it would require gamers excessive hardware such as hooking up multiple cables, computers, hubs, and what not.
Instead, Mr. Epstein, went on to reveal that Nintendo will be using Gamespy developed "in-game" software. Much is not known about this except the fact that all gamers have to do is hook an internet cord from the Gamecube to their broadband modem and that's it. You are online as soon as you plug in the ethernet cord and choose the LAN option.
I repeat: "tunneling" will not be used and extra hubs, computers, and extra ethernet cords will not be needed as Nintendo wanted to keep it simple. It is simple in-game software that will be used in upcoming Nintendo LAN games.
You can buy it at EB, Best Buy, etc. On the disc are playable demos of Billy Hatcher, Sonic DX (which I heard is even worse than the Dreamcast version), Soul Calibur 2, and uh... some more games. I think Viewtiful Joe might be on it, but I'm not sure.
Wow, I just got back from it. What an awesome movie! The story was great, the action was great, the music was great... everything was great! It was slow in some parts and the CGI doubles throughout the movie (especially during the burly brawl scene) were very fake-looking, but overall I thought it was fantastic. Revolutions can't come any sooner!
And that movie is Equilibrium. Equilibrium is a combination of The Matrix and Fahrenheit 451. It's also a martial arts movie, except instead of kung fu it has gun-kata, which is form of martial arts that uses guns. Gun-kata isn't real, so don't get any ideas. :)
Quote:In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Clerick John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. Whe he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it.
