Article
Goal for Day 234, Part B completed!
Goals for Day 235: Read the private board stickies and continue to get involved in the discussion. Also, read/skim all four topics relating to the FBI.
Day 235 - April 27, 2012.
We finally got some sort of Congressional mass-mailing, but it was just a very brief one telling us what was the name of the Congressional IRC channel. And actually, I won't speak on this much, but apparently we only got THAT mail because the channel had to be changed today. I guess Congressmen who don't know where the forums are can find that out once they've gone to the Congressional IRC channel, neh? One of the three Congressmen who hadn't reported to the forums yet reported today, at least.
I also want to make a note that yesterday I advocated making non-military/domestic budget amounts public. There are many in or, well, around Congress who would like to see some sort of public budget and while I'm still a newbie to these political waters, I think we can dip our toes in public disclosure and see how that goes, starting with non-military stuff (really got to work on those flying metaphors to replace sailing metaphors...). I wasn't going to mention it at all, since nothing's come of it yet and we're still mainly discussing other things (like electing a new Speaker of the House), but after seeing this article I felt I should say something.
Someone made a suggestion we start committees up, but most, including myself, objected on the grounds that it would be adding busywork without increasing our overall productivity. There's also talk of re-arranging how things work between the Legislative and Executive branches when it comes to government money, but I'm not in favor of switching something up that's been working for us thus far just because; I prefer streamlined effeciency in government matters, to make up for my long-winded, ineffecient writing style. Woo.
And although I haven't gotten around to reading the FBI topics yet, it seems there's been some drama on that front. All I'll say is there's nothing wrong with nominating someone you know and have worked with from eRep, because you'd be doing this because you KNOW they have qualifications to do the job, not because they're your friends. Well, that and I don't think I'd want someone heading the FBI who takes things not only so personally, but so publically, as well... a Director of the FBI needs to be able to work well with others, in my opinion, and try to minimize drama, not cause it.
Didn't have much time to do stuff today, which somehow didn't stop me from writing all this.
Goals for Day 235 not completed, but did some reading/discussing in Congress.
Goals for Day 236: Read the private board stickies and continue to get involved in the discussion. Also, read/skim all five topics relating to the FBI.
Day 236 - April 28, 2012.
I was the first to cast a vote for Speaker of the House and, after having read how
Baarogue (whom I'm sure would do a great job) is still a first-time Congressman, I figure it'll be easier to stick with someone experienced for now. We'll all get on-the-job training watching 
Lord of the Blings anyhow.
Discussion into the budget continued, with promises of facts and figures regarding national revenue forthcoming. There's also a discussion starting on whether we should make a public Congress board for the public to watch Congress debate on stuff; it seems fairly common sense, as this helps people decide who to vote for better in elections and gives them a better idea of what their Congress is up to, so I'm in favor of it.
Today was an annual event for me in real life, so I didn't spend much time in Congress, but I did Congress-straight-through-dinner in order to make up for the time I wouldn't be able to spend there today.
Goals for Day 236 partially completed: I read the private board stickies, did some reading/discussing in Congress.
Goals for Day 237: Continue to get involved in the discussion. Also, read/skim all six topics relating to the FBI.
Day 237 - April 29, 2012.
We're currently working on the DFBI proposal and a few other discussions/votes; I offered a Yes vote for the DFBI one, but unless it passes, there isn't much to say on that yet. Work has begun on May's budget, as well!
On a separate topic, a move to make the budget public is seeing fierce resistance along lines of, "it's a strategy game, we shouldn't be laying our cards out on the table for others to see." Despite the fact that it's not a detailed listing of all our assets, it does give other countries an idea of what we've got to work with, so I suppose I can't really argue with this logic. I'd like to see at least non-military/non-critical amounts disclosed, though. I'd like for people to see some of what their tax money is going towards.
We re-elected
Lord of the Blings to the position of Speaker of the House (SoH); while Baarogue would be a fine choice as well, his lack of Congressional experience (as a first-term Congressman) vs. incumbent SoH Lord of the Blings was the ultimate deciding factor. The votes were tallied as 9 for Lord of the Blings , 4 for Baarogue , and 1 abstention.
Things were slow on Sunday, so I guess that's it for now.
Goals for Day 237 completed!
Goals for Day 238: Continue to get involved in the discussion.
Until next time, sAmerica,
~Astra
Previous article:
Congressional Weekly: First Day (13 years ago)
Next article:
Regarding the Presidential Election (13 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
