Best laid plans

It was my intention to keep a near-running log of what was going on during this Youth Legislative Session...but, well, I have a bad habit of overestimating how much time I actually have. But, for the highlights:

So far in the Senate we have made marriage a religious institution (and not one of the government), reduced the legal drinking age to 18, required mediator sessions for women looking to get an abortion, banned the penny from US currency, ratified the Kyoto Protocol, required school and city buses to use biofuel, required one hour of physical activity for children in school, required high school seniors to register to vote, reduced the copyright law to 14 years, required recycling bins in schools, and added sexual orientation to the list of things employers cannot discriminate against.

My bill, restoring the states' rights of the Tenth Ammendment, passed committee but failed in the Senate. Aragorn's bill, raising the legal smoking age to 21, also failed. However, both of us received compliments on how well we did our bills, even if the majority disagreed with the content, so it's not too depressing.

One exciting thing that happened yesterday did not relate to Youth and Government at all. Halfway through the first session, we in the Senate heard very loud chanting going on outside. We couldn't tell if it was in the Rotunda, on the Capitol steps, or in the House Chambers, but it sounded very passionate. After session ended, we found out that there were May Day protesters who had been rioting on the Capitol steps and entered the Capitol without permission. The Senate and House Chambers were locked down, and the security eventually dealt with the riot, but not before they put graffiti on the front columns. There was talk of getting T-shirts reading "I survived the May Day riot", but mainly we're just glad it didn't get dangerous.

In more mundane news, the host home I'm staying at is lovely, however the attic room where I'm sleeping has two giant skylights that make it impossible to sleep after 6am. Also, my favorite dress shoes broke when I fell down the Capitol steps. But that's all I can think of to withdraw from this wonderful experience. The delegates here are friendly, intelligent, and almost without fail respectful to those with opposing opinions.