republicans
Latest
FCC commissioner Deborah Tate resigns
The Huffington Post (among other sources) is reporting that FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate has resigned. This is the woman who, less than a month ago, said that World of Warcraft was one of the top reasons for college drop-outs. Now, I can't entirely blame someone for seeing MMOs as a bad thing, there are certainly a lot of people who don't seem to have the ability to throttle their playtime, but that really wasn't her first silly act or statement while she held her position (taking advice from corporations is bad, mmkay). A lot of people will take this news as a godsend.Of course, that doesn't mean she didn't do any good at all. Your personal views may differ from hers depending on the topic, but she's generally pretty well regarded for her efforts when it comes to issues regarding children and their protection. Personally, I don't agree with the extreme 'think of the children!' mentality (or Tate's approach to it) that's become increasingly common, but again, my opinion doesn't represent a nation. A few out of line comments don't negate her efforts entirely.
The Daily Grind: Go Vote!
The Daily Grind today is super-simple. We want to know if you voted! No, we don't want to know who you voted for; there are plenty of other sites for that. We just want to know if you American readers have participated in the US presidential elections. Apologies for our non-US readers that this question is so USA-specific, but it's a big day in American politics. We want to be sure to remind readers that voting is an important part of the democratic process - even for MMO players.Besides, the WoW servers are down right now. Everybody in your guild is offline at work or in voting lines, and all the seasonal world events are still a few weeks away. You've no excuse, MMO player: go get in line. If you don't know where you need to go to vote, Google has a nonpartisan polling location tracker online and available for your use. All you need to do is enter your registered street address and it'll tell you where to go.So, gamers, we want to know: have you dinged today? Did you vote?
Virtual Jihadi art exhibit expelled from RPI
A political art exhibit at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) utilizing a modded version of Quest for Saddam, which caused a stir last week, has been booted from the campus by administrators. GamePolitics continues to track the story of the exhibit, which went from "little random thing" to pariah in a week. RPI's VP, William Walker, stated in a press release, "As stewards of a private university, we have the right and, indeed, the responsibility to ensure that university resources are used in ways that are in the overall best interests of the institution."The exhibit is currently being housed at the Sanctuary for Independent Media where protesters, led by the county's Republican majority leader, believe the game to be "un-American and destructive" and "beyond the bounds of what is decent or acceptable." A counter-protest is already underway.
Virtual Jihadi mod causing tension at New York school
A political art exhibit at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) utilizing a modded version of Quest for Saddam is causing a stir with RPI's College Republicans. The installation, which opens tomorrow night, called "The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Jihadi," takes an al-Qaeda mod of the Saddam game and gives it a more nuanced feel according to the artist. In the mod, created by Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal, players are cast in the role of a suicide bomber recruited by al-Qaeda.Bilal says, "This work is meant to bring attention to the vulnerability of Iraqi civilians to the travesties of the current war." The College Republicans say that the RPI Arts Department is "a terrorist safehaven." If people are interested in checking this out for themselves, the exhibit starts tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 5) at 7PM in RPI's West Hall Auditorium in Troy, NY.[Via GamePolitics]
Kucinich comes to Second Life
Another politician has set up digs in Second Life. Dennis Kucinich, whose biggest talking point as a presidential candidate has probably been his strong stance against the Iraq War from the beginning, has created his own headquarters inside the Lindens' little universe. And as you can see above, things are pretty swank, if a little deserted.Looks like there's a few good discussion and hangout areas (I really like the podium in the atrium with the flowing curtains), and a few tents where you can "purchase" videos or t-shirts. Doesn't seem like the sim will be a huge draw just by itself, but if Kucinich's campaign actually puts it to good use (would be really fun, I'd wager, to spend an night watching the primary returns come in from there), it could be a good time.And Kucinich isn't the only presidential hopeful in SL-- Former Senator from Alaska Mike Gravel has a sim in there as well. Have any of the Republican candidates shown up in a virtual world, or do they just consider the whole thing a waste of time? Wait-- looks like Ron Paul has a setup in-world, too.
