Rick Perry
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Who is Jerry Falwell Jr. and why is he reforming higher education?
Donald Trump has already earned his reputation of nominating candidates for his cabinet-level positions who face stiff opposition from the science and tech community. He's given the nod to former Texas Governor Rick Perry, who once called on Congress to abolish the Department of Energy that he now heads, and EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, who, as Oklahoma attorney general, sued the EPA no fewer than 14 times. On Tuesday, Trump continued this streak by tapping Jerry Falwell Jr. to head up a presidential task force charged with suggesting reforms for the Department of Education.
Trump taps anti-vaxxer to lead vaccine safety committee (updated)
It's become a common occurrence in the Trump transition team. The incoming administration has nominated a candidate so uniquely unqualified for their intended position that the nod can only be interpreted as a troll against the American people. We've already seen it in Ben Carson's selection as head of Housing and Urban Development, Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, Rex Tillerson's role as Secretary of State and Rick Perry's heading of the Energy Department. Now, Trump wants vaccine denier Robert Kennedy Jr. to chair a presidential commission on vaccine safety.
Apple building $304 million campus in Austin, Texas, Rick Perry approves this message
Looks like SXSW isn't the only thing happening in Austin. The Apple machine is rolling in, but this time it's not the Cupertino outfit filling us in on the deets. Outspoken Texas Governor Rick Perry says that one of Apple's next creations will be a $304 million campus in his state's capital, which will include a $21 million investment over a decade from the Texas Enterprise Fund. Apple's not exactly a newcomer to the south, though, since it currently holds a customer support base in the area and, if all goes according to plan, the new addition could create up to 3600 more jobs. After all, bigger is better in Texas, right?
Texas Gov. signs game developer tax break bill into law
When he's not busy keynoting major industry events and extolling the virtues of his state, Texas Governor Rick Perry is a swell guy. Further incentivizing the aforementioned game industry types, Mr. Perry just recently signed into law a bill that will extend the 2007 initiatives, according to the San Marcos Daily Record. House Bill 873 looks to increase state grants available to a variety of digital mediums, including games, film and other commercial prospects. The state is hoping the bill will encourage game development companies and film studios (among others) to bring their work to Texas, which Perry backed up by saying, "We are strengthening our state's investment in a vital industry that not only shows off our state to the rest of the world, but also draws investment and creates jobs for Texans." Considering the poor economy and tightening budgets, we're fairly certain this bill will work as intended.[Via GamePolitics]
Overheard@E3: The E-Word
"There are fascinating things going on in your industry that not enough Americans, not enough people around the world, know about. You're in a constant state of evolution -- and yes for all you bloggers out there, I actually used the E-word there."-Texas Governor Rick Perry makes an oblique reference to his more controversial associations at his E3 keynote speech this morning.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry: For developers, everything's better in Texas
If we had to summarize thismorning's E keynote speech by Texas Governor Rick Perry in three words, it would be "Texas is awesome." If we had a few more words, we'd say "Texas is awesome, and so is the game industry."After a short introductory video featuring a few Texan developers (including Warren Spector), Perry launched into a laundry list of the business virtues for the Lone Star state, including a legal system low on frivolous lawsuits, an income-tax free revenue structure that "lets workers keep their wages" and a "sensible regulatory environment," whatever that means. Texas also has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, making it an economic powerhouse."The weather is hot, the barbecue is hot, the music is hot, and we want to see the game industry even hotter," Perry said, gushing about the 2,800 new jobs created by 22 Texas game development companies (the third highest concentration in America, but Perry is "gunning for No. 1"). The governor lost us a bit when he said the industry average salary of $63,000 a year "may seem like pocket change to those of you here from California or Washington," Personally, we'd love to make that kind of scratch.
The E3 2008 press conference schedule
Given most of the big announcements at next week's E3 Media & Business Summit will happen during the publishers' respective press conference, we thought we'd help you with a schedule of those events, including links to our coverage of each company's respective E3 2007 appearances (we'll never forget this one). Here's the schedule:Monday, July 14 Microsoft (last year, bingo card): 10:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET Electronic Arts: 3:00 pm PT / 6:00 pm ET Tuesday, July 15 Nintendo (last year, bingo coming soon): 9:00am PT / 12:00 pm ET Sony (last year, bingo card): 11:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET Ubisoft (last year): 2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET Capcom: 4:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm PT Activision's non-E3 event (last year): 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET Wednesday, July 16 Texas Governor Rick Perry: 9:15 am PT / 12:15 pm ET Take-Two: 10:45 am PT / 1:45 pm ET ESA CEO Mike Gallagher: 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET Konami (last year): 2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET Joystiq's live blogging ninjas will be working overtime next week to bring you up-to-the-minute coverage, so stay tuned.
Texas Governor Rick Perry keynoting E3
The ESA announced this morning that Texas Governor Rick Perry will give the keynote at this year's E3. OK kids, remember that E3 is a business and media summit before flipping out and asking why the governor of Texas is keynoting the event. Texas actually has a large development community (particularly in the MMO space) and even supports the industry with financial incentives. The ESA says Perry's "forward-thinking leadership" is a roadmap for other states on how to welcome the video game industry. As a side note, Perry also defeated an anti-gaming gubernatorial candidate during the last election who sought to place a 50% tax on violent video games. It'll be interesting to see if Perry's keynote is pure business or if it addresses some of the other issues going like publishers leaving the ESA or the national game law ID bill.
