Baby Jesus Cries

sl-congress.jpgYour tax dollars at work.

International financial markets are in turmoil, gas is pushing $4 a gallon and a recession looms. But don’t worry, folks: The House Energy and Commerce Committee is on the case.

Yesterday, in unwitting observance of April Fools’ Day, the telecommunications subcommittee held a hearing on “online virtual worlds” and the use of cartoon-like characters called avatars.

Surely this, one of the, if not THE first appearances of MMO/VWs before a Congressional committee, was newsworthy and serious.

[Chairman Edward] Markey looked across the room at a jumbo computer screen showing his cartoonish avatar, named EdMarkey Alter. “My avatar actually looks like he’s been working out,” Markey noted approvingly.

Surely, it wasn’t simply an excuse for a public relations exercise.

The lawmakers covered the potential downsides of virtual worlds (recruiting for terrorists, child pornography, human isolation) but much of the hearing served as an infomercial for Second Life. “Virtual worlds,” boasted Second Life founder Philip Rosedale, are “changing the nature of communication itself.” The chairman even allowed him to play a promotional video.

Surely, they had SOME LOGICAL REASON for all this.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) told Markey her suspicion that “the real reason we’re here is so that you can get some pointers on how to get past the seventh level of the World of Warcraft.”

Oh, OK, then.

In case you aren’t already crying along with our infant lord and savior, Terra Nova has the entire thing available. I didn’t post about this yesterday, because, well. You know. No one would have believed it.

  • http://www.thenonentity.com/ Nonentity

    I think you can just run against a tree for a while in Elwynn Forest and hit level 8, but I could be wrong.

  • yunk

    Actually, why not buy all of Congress WoW so they can get addicted and forget to come in to work? At least they’d stop interfering with Real Life and stop breaking everything they touch.

  • Knurd

    “potential downsides of virtual worlds (recruiting for terrorists, child pornography, human isolation)”

    I lol’d in my pants.

    Spending too much time alone/online will make you an anti-American, child diddling, suicide bomber. True story.

  • Kayn

    Okay, this must have been an April Fools gag.
    Even *I* can get past seventh level…

    Can someone explain the following
    – How this helped virtual worlds
    – How this didn’t hinder them through making them look like an overblown PR stunt where the partipants had the same attitude to it as they would if they were slumming it in thier constituancys?

  • Neil

    Well, given that congress ALREADY wasted inordinate amounts of time deciding whether or not Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens used steroids (HOW is this a matter for congressional inquiry? Evidently they don’t have better things to do related to, say, Iraq) this doesn’t surprise me one bit.

  • http://socialistgamerreview.com Ravenhawk

    Dontcha love how whenever these things come up, the only “games” they ever talk about are WoW and Second Life? I don’t even call second life a game, I hardly find it fair that it is being treated as the representative of my favorite game genre.

  • Walter Yarbrough

    Ah crap, I was hoping this was an April Fool’s joke.

  • Pentagony

    Wow…only 11 years before Congress found mmorpgs? I think this actually marks some sort of progress.

    I was expecting at least 15 or 20 years after ’97. These guys are on the ball!

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  • Robert L

    This is really interesting considering that there were Ron Paul supports all over several MMORPG’s on a certain day before Super Tuesday with signs, “shouting” support and so forth.

  • Brenda Archer

    Life, liberty and the pursuit of prim hair!

    Just doesn’t have a ring to it.

    And yeah, if you had posted it yesterday NO ONE would have believed it. I almost don’t believe it now.

    While it’s nice to see SL get some time in the sun don’t those congressoids have something better to do???????????????????? I’d cry too.

  • Brenda Archer

    OK, I feel better now after reading the user comments at the Washington Post and seeing that the committee stayed on track and was looking at the serious side of SL and virtual worlds.
    The comment about Forterra’s defense work was intriguing and news to me.
    Not to say there is anything wrong with play, since it also advances the state of the art, just that one hopes for a certain gravitas from Congress.

  • Mikyo

    With all policy issues “off the table,” it must be difficult for them to find things to discuss.

  • rbtroj

    Um, yeah Scott … April Fool’s is one DAY – not the whole month. K?

  • Steve Jakab

    Neil Says:

    “Well, given that congress ALREADY wasted inordinate amounts of time deciding whether or not Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens used steroids (HOW is this a matter for congressional inquiry?”

    It’s due to the monopoly given to MLB by congress.

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  • http://kickthecant Christine Cunningham

    You’ve got to be kidding! Right? You’re telling me that with the war in Iraq, the desolation of our countries current economy and job market, the cry to bring our troops home, and the furor over the cost of fuel, congress could think of nothing better to discuss? Truly sad. I’m crying right along with Baby Jesus.

  • http://kickthecant.url Christine Cunningham

    April Fools day or not…I don’t appreciate my tax dollars being wasted so frivolously. I mean I know the president and all of his cronies get away with it on a daily basis, but this is really rubbing it in. Don’t you think?

  • frodo441

    This is pathetic…just like so many organizations constantly wasting more and more money whenever a new keyboard or mouse comes out…let alone for an organization that is supposed to run a country, that is just plagued with ineptitude and so out of touch with America’s constituencies…who do these people work for other than their own re election and tax payer expense accounts…not only does the executive branch of our government not know how to function, let alone lead a war, not even anyone in the pentagon could reason the role of the army to get in and out of Iraq and leave them with a fashion statement…for cryin’ out loud, I can’t wait for the next election.

  • Neil

    @Steve Jakab

    I had no idea that the MLB was a government-sponsored monopoly. Thanks for the information. It just seems like a collossal waste of time and tax dollars to me.

  • Rand0m

    Politics + Gaming = Hilarity

  • Paul

    Makes me laugh when $4 gallon “gas” is such a big deal it gets special mention, you dont realise how lucky you are. Try £1.18 (/litre)* 1.99 (exchange) * 3.785 (US gal) = $8.88.

  • Viz

    Why don’t you talk to Parliament about that? Maybe you can convince them to stop charging you tax on the taxes that you already pay.