American Government Simulation
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The American Government Simulation (or AGS, for short) is an online political forum dedicated to simulating certain aspects of the United States government (or a government simulation). The entire simulation is mostly conducted over an internet message board. AGS was launched in July 2004 by several former members of the second incarnation of the National Government Simulation (http://pub176.ezboard.com/brepnet). Founding members include Brady Carlson, Jakob Huneycutt (under a pseudonym), John Rearden, Carl Berube, Ben Hauser (also under a pseudonym); all of which would become part of the simulation's (or sim’s) overseeing body known as the Administrative Board (or simply "the AB").
While the American Government Simulation has built on the traditions of the earlier National Government Simulation, there have been several innovations that have set it apart from its predecessor. For one, instead of having members directly elect the sim's President of the United States, the Administrative Board simulates election results. Another major difference between AGS and its predecessors was a true Majority/Minority system for Congress. Whereas, in simulations past, the business on the House or Senate Floor was directed by either a Speaker, Vice-President, or Clerk elected in a sim-wide election, AGS attempted to emulate the actual House by requiring an Organizing Resolution to determine a majority and then having the members of the majority chose a Speaker. This system allowed for more political strategy before each Congressional term.
While Presidential terms in AGS last six months, the simulation operates as if the time were always the present. Hence, even when there have been two complete Presidential terms with the sim launching in 2004, it is not 2012 in AGS; the date for the simulation would still be the present day. In the words of some members, AGS lives in "Comic Book Time" with events moving forward at a rate both slower and faster than in real life (as suits the mechanics of the game) and with some characters aging and others not (for example, though the year has not changed, the character of "President Yoshida" has aged from 42 to 50).
Thus far, AGS has only had two Presidents. Greg Williams, a Republican from Virginia, became the first President after defeating Democrat rival Brandon Long of Kentucky, but resigned before the end of his first term, which meant Vice-President Adam Yoshida of South Carolina became the new President. Yoshida served out the end of Williams' term and won an election in his own right against Democratic challenger Nation Hahn.
In addition to the obvious differences as a result of in-game elections, the history of the AGS-verse has, by this point in time, come to diverge significantly from our own. For example:
- The United States launched an extended air assault against Iran's nuclear program, effectively crippling it.
- After a number of American citizens were taken hostage (following a limited air strike) the Congress voted for a Declaration of War against Sudan and the United States subsequently invaded that country.
- Intelligence Reform has been much more substantive than in real life, resulting in the creation of a number of new government agencies, including an American version of Britain's MI-6 as well as a dedicated Cyber-Warfare agency.
- The United States has, beginning in the 2006 tax year, adopted a 17% Flat Income Tax.
- Following a Presidential order mandating the display of the 10 Commandments in Federal Buildings, the Supreme Court overturned decades of previous rulings on the seperation of Church and State and adopted a significantly more leniant stance on public diplays of religious faith.
- The United States has had its first Hispanic and Asian-American Presidents (Williams and Yoshida respectively)
Presently the simulation's third Presidential election is ongoing with President Yoshida (who served slightly less than half of President Williams' term) seeking a third term against the Democratic challenger, Florida Congressman Mike Adams.
External links
- The American Government Simulation (http://www.americangovernmentsimulation.com)
- AGS forums (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ags&)
- The AGS Wiki (http://ags.xwiki.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome)
