So the deadline the for the EPA's "Rulemaking Matters!" video contest was yesterday, May 17, and we beavered away like heavily drunken legislators deciding the future of unborn generations late into the afternoon to provide three (count 'em) entries to said contest.

The point of the contest, which will award $2,500 (U.S., alas) to lucky winners at an unnamed cost to taxpayers, was to "to explain federal rulemaking and motivate others to participate in the rulemaking process." Or, in other words, to help the EPA propagandize just how great it and other aspects of the government are.

As the EPA helpfully (and unironically) put it,

Almost every aspect of our lives is touched by federal regulations…Even before you leave the house in the morning, government regulations help set the price of the coffee you drink, the voltage of electricity in your alarm clock, and the types of programming allowed on the morning news.

That's more touching than at a Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) staff meeting! And, let's face it, most of it is uninvited, unwanted, and unnecessary (again, just like a Massa meeting!). Could, for instance, coffee be priced without the "help" of the government? Would producers of electricity and makers of alarm clocks have created common standards absent federal bureaucrats? Perhaps most important, should we be trusted to check out "disallowed" news in the morning? (Thank you, Internets!)

But in the interest of public spiritedness, Reason.tv is proud to share its three entries into the "Rulemaking Matters!" video contest, which will hopefully motivate you to participate in the creation of rules governing everything from private space flight to the size of holes in Swiss cheese. Because as millions of Lotto winners could tell you, you gotta be in it to win it.

"Let Your Robotic Voice Be Heard!" Produced by Dan Hayes, approximately 1.30 minutes.

"Subtitled For Your Protection," produced by Meredith Bragg. Approximately 1.30 minutes.

"Federal Regulations and You: Partners in Democracy!" Produced by Ted Balaker, with Paul Detrick, Zach Weismuller, and Hawk Jensen. Approximately 1.15 minutes.

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