Since 1971, when the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, it has been legal for anyone of at least 18 years of age on Election day to vote (though that right had existed at the Federal election level since 1970, as a provision added to the Voting RIghts Act of 1965).

The result has been, to date, less than earth-shattering.

That may change this election cycle, with the first Generation X’er, Barak Obama, (though he is technically a tail-end baby boomer, having been born in 1961) with a shot at actually winning the White House.

Anecdotal ecidence suggests that Obama pulls vastly more young voters (17-24 range) than other candidates (way too many sources for this - here’s one). 

In the late 90’s and to the current day, evidence has mounted that the decision making capabilities of the average American are somehwat less than desirable until later than previously supposed.  One recent study suggested that while there is individual variation, :

The rosy glow of the lunar eclipse seems to have inspired some far flung lunacy last night:  in the Athens, Greece metropolitan area dozens of arsons were set.  Banks, insurance offices, government sites and vehicles were torched. And it all took place in a space of 10 minutes around 2 a.m.  

Locally, windows of 4 banks were destroyed in Bremerton when bricks with anarchist polemics attached were smashed through the windows.  Story here and here .

Image:  Xinhua  

OK, I am filing this one in my "what the hell?" file.

As I understand it, the guy tries to board a plane.  He passes a backpack through the airport scanner and they see books, box cutter, papers, lint…wait, box cutter?

So they inspect and find a book with a hollowed out inner compartment (ala Shawshank Redemption) in which a box cutter was concealed.

His excuse?  "Oops! I forget it was there."

Michelle Malkin starts us off:

Whoops. He just forgot it was there!

The Clearwater man pleads guilty, saying he had forgotten about the box cutter.

The X-ray image of a box cutter inside Benjamin Baines Jr.’s backpack caught the attention of federal officers Sunday morning at Tampa International Airport.

But it was the packaging that really jolted them: a hollowed-out book that hid the razor-sharp tool. Also inside the backpack: a Koran, a Holy Bible and rap music lyrics referencing police, drugs and guns.

It seems that more and more we’re seeing states work hard to give up their rights, and the rights of their citizens to mob rule. Not content with having the federal government be a binding and cohesive force to hold the states together and having the states govern the people within their borders, the Democratic party marches on down the path toward direct democracy and the inevitable socialism that it brings. Here’s the latest from KOMO TV and the Washington State Senate.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - State senators have approved a bill that would deliver the state’s electoral votes to the U.S. presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote.

The bill, which passed 30-18 Monday, now heads to the House.

The bill would change Washington’s current system of typically giving all of the state’s electoral votes to the candidate who wins the statewide election to awarding all of the state’s delegates to the national popular vote winner.

Apparently one of the attractions of Barak Obama for some Democratic voters is that he’s seen as an agent of change. There’s some question about his experience and his accomplishments. There’s also some question about what he will actually do if he’s elected to the Presidency, but he is seen as "the candidate for change."

Meanwhile, quite a few conservatives (including myself) have waxed despondent over the presumptive nomination of John McCain to the Republican candidacy for President. He is, after all, no conservative. Sure, he’s a Republican, but he’s one of the most liberal of Republicans. He has more in common with Edward M. Kennedy than with Ronald Reagan. He is also, sadly, typical of the sort of politician that seems to represent the Republican party over the last several years.

First of all, I read this at Rosemary's Thoughts:

Code Pinko vs. Move America Forward

Now is the time to fight back. If you have to wear pink just to get in under cover, do so. They are on to our plan to show up on the 12th. They are planning to stack the deck by having all code pinkos sitting in those chairs. DO NOT ALLOW THIS. Here is the e-mail I received from Move America Forward:

The radical anti-military group, Code Pink, has been paying attention to our plans to organize a pro-troop demonstration in front of the Berkeley City Council Chambers on Tuesday, February 12th. (Located at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Berkeley, CA - CLICK HERE FOR A MAP).

We learned of this posting from Code Pink and their allies today: www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/02/07/18477667.php.

The topic of possible running mates for John McCain is suddenly being discussed, of course.  Several are mentioned at the blog at Weekly Standard, including Gov. Palin of Alaska , seen left.  (She's been called the most popular governor in America).  The Red Marilyn favorite, so far, is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele who currently heads up GOPAC.   Take a peek at some of the suggestions so far, here.  (Scroll down to Gov. Palin for Vice-President and Daily Blog Buzz).

Alternately, following his brilliant and statesmanlike speech at CPAC withdrawing from the race, some like the Beltway Boys are suggesting Mitt Romney.

I know that having heard about this fiasco, I wish I could have been there.

Well, Berkeley was nice enough to videotape their session, and I managed to upload to YouTube some interesting clips:

Because of the procedures they use, the main resolution asking the Marines to leave (Item 12) was not called to the floor for discussion, it was instead accepted as part of the Constant Calendar.  The real debate was about the parking permit and fee waivers for Code Pink (Item 15).

But before that got started, I did find this interesting clip of Council member Olds, who spoke against Item 12 and recorded her no vote, but still managed to totally trash the Marine Corp in the process.

Yes there it is again.  They can't get real jobs or go to college so they join the Marines.  Of course, since the office they are protesting is an Officers Recruiting Center, that is pure nonsense, as they are specifically looking for college graduates.

First of all I will say briefly that I am encouraged by the building support against Berkeley.  The fact that I have seen so many local comments from people who are aghast at the total idiocy of this situation, particularly from the oh so liberal Seattle, was a bit of a surprise (I expected much more push back), but then again Code Pink (note please my restraint to not call them Code Pinko as so many others do) has always been an extremist fringe group.

This blog will be looking at the actual city council resolution and seeing just what they actually said.  It will also talk about the Mayor's attempts to make everyone happy and save face.  And I will link to the petition now active concerning this.

First, the resolution.  A commenter linked me to the actual city record search.  Interesting stuff.

Garrison Keillor has expressed some support for No Child Left Behind.  And he's encouraging his political brethren to recognize something good when they see it.  Even if it's been tarred with association with the GOP and Pres. Bush.  Orbusmax linked an excerpt at Joanne Jacobs' blog with a "Flying Pigs Alert".  More here .