On tonight's episode of Penn & Teller BS (not its real name):

Politicians and other alarmists claim that playing video games leads to teen violence. Penn & Teller attempt to debunk that theory by handing over a real semi-automatic weapon to a nine-year-old to see if playing video games will turn him into a human killing machine.

It'll be a grand ol' time and we'll all be able to watch and laugh as they mock the politicians and other alarmists. I'm sure I'll stand around the water cooler tomorrow with my fellow videogamers and laugh about it.

But before we wallow in the righteous indignation, just a quick reminder. It's easy to make fun of people who complain about videogame violence. But remember that if you want to take seriously all those feel-good stories and studies about videogaming helping reflexes, problem-solving skills, and social interaction, you can't dismiss the correlation between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior. It's all good and well to laugh at the anti-gaming nuts, but there's more to the story than Jack Thompson, "murder simulators", and currying favor among constituents with quick n' dirty legislation. I hate to see a real issue glossed over, no matter what the agenda.

Anyway, watch the preview for tonight's episode of Penn & Teller BS here and check your local listings* for the broadcast time. I'll see you at the water cooler tomorrow.

* I love that I got to say this.