Ideas for sale: Campaign Donation Reform

With the Presidential elections coming soon, it is easy to get lost in the fuss on the television, radio, billboards, and other commercial avenues. The idea of an election is that the country is able to decide the next president by a matter of majority votes, but the time up until that point have caused speculation over the years. Campaign donations have been under scrutiny since the early 1970’s and over the years have seen several changes, the most recent of these changes coming in as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.This act stops the donation of “soft money” which are funds given by an individual or company that do not directly advocate the election or defeat of candidates and are not directly contributed to candidate campaigns. It is argued that such legislation is unconstitutional and goes against the first amendment, with many opinions on both sides provided valid reasoning for or against this type of reform.
Advocates for campaign reform argue that by not introducing campaign reform, it tends to limit the ability of the “common man” to have a say in politics, leaving the real power in the hands of special interest groups and wealthy individuals. Opponents to reform claim by limiting the amount an individual or group can donate goes against the first amendment, and limits their right to political speech. It is easy to go either way on this subject, but the main concern is not how candidates feel about possible reforms, but how the voters feel. It has been implied that special interest groups, donate in order to generate sympathy or regard for their issue or needs. While no conclusive proof has been found thus far, one can see how convenient it is that these same groups tend to get what they want. Campaign reform is still very fresh on the minds of many, even being brought during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel; Hillary Clinton stated that she didn’t believe there should be limitations on donating, as it is very expensive to run a campaign. No matter the side of the debate voters fall on, it is their duty to keep their eyes open and do what they can to ensure the political system remains fair and balanced.

Pro Gaming: Oxymoron?

At first glance most people would not consider video games to be a viable outlet as a career or at the very best a pro sport. The reality is that video games are becoming more mainstream everyday, even becoming considered a pro sport. Recently ESPN began airing a monthly television show dedicated solely to gaming, even going so far as to air a “Top Ten” of halo plays. As with all pro sports, going pro in gaming takes a lot of dedication, practice, and skill. Pro gaming events boast prizes in the upwards of $10,000, and even have been known to include endorsement deals with major companies looking to market themselves to gamers.

Halo 2 was originally the best game to get into if a person wanted to go pro and make the most money, Halo 3 has become the new standard of that. The statistics today show that there have been 792,192 unique players logging within the last 24 hours playing a total of 1,699,448 total matches logged in that same time frame. As Bungie rolls out their new matchmaking play list setup in a free-for-all tournament style, there will also be a tournament sponsored by the United States Army which will allow U.S. residents to compete in a tournament bracket with the finalists being flown to New York to vie for the $50,000 prize.

Halo 3 was released on Sept. 25th 2007, so it is still a relatively young game but already there are contests and promotions that give the average casual gamer a chance to compete with their peers and win prizes. The casual gamer can even try their hand at going semi-pro or even pro by going to several of the tournaments of the gaming season hosted by the MLG or Major League of Gaming. All pro and semi-pro spots are already reserved, but by paying the $240 entrance pass fee, an amateur can compete and gain much needed exposure to further their career in gaming. As the gaming industry consistently proves that it is not going anywhere soon, and begins to out perform even feature films, gaming moves to the forefront and what once began as a group of people getting together to play games in their basement on the old black and white television, has become a pillar of modern entertainment today.