Underage consumption has not slowed, and many worry that binge drinking is occurring, and kids may not make proper choices or phone for help if problems arise
due to the legality. A 2005 national survey concluded that 85% of 20 year old Americans had used alcohol in their lifetime. One of the largest benefits that has come since raising the legal age is traffic fatalities of those between the ages 18-20 has been cut by 13%.

Many of the legislation is aimed at allowing military personnel the right to drink legally if they are actively enlisted. The notion of allowing the military personnel to drink legally is heating up debates within the government:

Deputy Transportation Secretary Thomas Barrett is against the idea and stated “I hear this bandied about that if you are old enough to fight for your country, you are old enough to have a beer. … I don’t think it’s the same type of maturity.”

Senator David Floyd is pro military personnel being allowed to drink and says its “common sense to recognize as full adults the young men and women who serve in the military.”

States Weighing Lowering Drinking Age for Military Personnel

State Representative Terry Musser is sponsoring a bill that will allow troops 19 and older to drink legally. Rep. Mark Kirk says that making 21 the drinking age (implemented in 1986) has saved more than 20,000 lives a year and opposes the law.

Lawmakers have proposed that any military member currently enlisted, would be eligible to drink legally. State Rep. Fletcher Smith is pushing this bill and commented: “It treats our military personnel like the adults and heroes we say they are,” Smith said. “If you can take a shot on the battlefield, you ought to be able to take a shot in a bar.”

Rep. David Floyd filed a bill which would make it legal for military personnel 18 or older to drink legally. Floyd stated “What do I say to a soldier who comes back from Iraq, having served his country and asks me if he could have a beer? … I just could not possibly imagine myself saying, ‘No, son. You’re too young.’”

States Weighing Lowering Drinking Age for All Citizens

An initiative in the works in South Dakota would allow the drinking age to be lowered to 19 for low-alcohol beer. The current initiative would not allow for any 19 or 20 year olds to partake in drinking hard liquors or beer with strong alcoholic content. Any beer with the alcoholic percentage under 3.2% would be considered a “low-alcohol” beer.

A planned ballot initiative would have the legal drinking age lowered to everyone 18 and over. The “Missouri 18 to Drink” organization is gathering signatures and pushing forward to have the initiative on the ballots for the 2010 elections.

A bill was approved to assign a task force to weigh the pros and cons of reducing the drinking age. The task force will make a recommendation to the state Legislature early next year.

State Lawmakers have introduced bills that would lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 for anyone drinking in at a place that carries a liquor license. The bill would not allow for them to buy alcohol at stores.

The argument will still wage on, and Rep. Terry Musser (Wisconsin) may have said it best when talking about legalizing alcoholic consumption by 18-20 year old military personnel, “We’re going to need a groundswell. We’re going to have to have real people out there say ‘enough is enough.’ ”

For May and all of 2008 and Pong a Long is continuing our User Submission Photo Contests! To enter all you have to do is submit your photo (preferably beer pong related or beer pong table related) cross your fingers, and check back at the beginning of the next month!

Each month we are going to be offering a killer prize and April’s prize is a Creative Zen V Plus! Not only does this gadget play music, but also video to quench all of your digital needs.

To see past winners please check here, and to view all user submitted photo please view this page.

Thanks and good luck from Pong A Long!

We call it Boot Pong:

If you submitted this picture, then email us and we will send you out your video MP3 player, ASAP! Thanks for all those who submitted beer pong pictures!

Welcome to the March 12th edition of “Pong A Links”, a weekly digital dump of hot ‘n steamy links and pics right onto your lap. On with the links!

FUNNY LINKS

Here is a great reason why you should look at your logo from every angle before picking it.

7 year old kid plays GTA IV with his grandma’s car, hits 4 other cars and 2 mailboxes, then says he “does it to be hootrat for his friend.”

Next time you are going to vandalize a church make sure you take a no-doze.

Apparenty it isn’t all fun and games doing dolphin tricks.

FUNNY PICTURES

Closeup:

Now that is a paint job!

For April, and all of 2008 and Pong a Long is continuing our User Submission Photo Contests! To enter all you have to do is submit your photo (preferably beer pong related or beer pong table related) cross your fingers, and check back at the beginning of the next month!

Each month we are going to be offering a killer prize and April’s prize is a Creative Zen V Plus! Not only does this gadget play music, but also video to quench all of your digital needs.

To see past winners please check here, and to view all user submitted photo please view this page.

Thanks and good luck from Pong A Long!

This could be the best product placement that we have ever seen! Thanks for the submission, you have one MP3 player headed your way!

To see past winners please check here, and to view all user submitted photo please view this page.

5. Wrestling Referee Gets Cracked and Tossed Out of Ring
This wrestling match features an ogre against a regular Joe. Something happens and the ogre roid rages all over the ref’s existence and ends up taking him right out of the ring. The best part of the clip is that the average Joe tries to defend the ref and the referee tosses him out of the way, and then gets pile-driven out of the ring.

4. Old School Boxing Ref Knockout
Right after the blurry tape, you can see the ref try to stop the fight, then get punched directly in the face and get knocked out. He falls backwards so perfectly, that you just have to watch over and over.

3. Boxing Combination Referee Knockout
This clip achieved number three status in our countdown due to the shear rage that the fighter displayed. Usually when something like this happens it is a “one and done” punch. This fighter get so upset that he tosses a three punch combo on to the referee and knocks him out.

2. Boxing Referee Knockout
Guy in white is winning. Guy in red is losing. Ref thinks guy in red is beaten to badly to continue and decides to try and stop fight. Ref is wrong and guy in red punches him into the next dimension.

1. Overseas Basketball Ref Knockout
After a bad call the one gigantic basketball player takes offense and instead of talking it out, punches the ref so hard in the face that it might just shake your computer monitor. This punch banned the player from the league forever, but more importantly placed the player ontop of our best referee knockout clips segment.

Welcome to the March 12th edition of “Pong A Links”, a weekly digital dump of hot ‘n steamy links and pics right onto your lap. On with the links!

FUNNY LINKS

Governor Spitzer has been linked to a prosecution ring. Some Hookers allegedly cost $5,500 an hour. Let the funny Eliot Spitzer T shirts Begin!

What if Celebrities Lived In Oklahoma?

33 Awesome Beer Pong Tables (shameless plug)

1 Cop vs. 25 Stoners .. put to Benny Hill Music

99 Words For Boobs - Put to the tune of 99 Red Balloons.

FUNNY PICTURES

Walmart really stereotypes all college kids:

Very helpful CD case instructions on how to make portable …

5) Double Catfight
One girl fight breaks out between some emo chicks, then another fight breaks out right next to them. Then the emos realize that they are having too much fun and go back to sulking. Only on the list due to the shear coolness of two separate chick fights at once.

4) 3 Round Girl Fight Punchfest
These ladies are brawlers, and fight for three entire rounds. Not the prettiest fight out there, but hey .. it’s three rounds of girlfights.

3) Crazy Hair Pulling Chick Fight
At one point in the fight Girl A grabs a huge chunk of hair and tries to rip Girl B’s head off. Then Girl B grabs Girl A and they get in a serious hairlock of epic proportions.

2) Kick Smashing Beatdown
This isn’t really a fight, more of a beatdown. Very hard to watch, but hey this shows the “never let up” attitude. The stupid girl getting beaten just won’t stand up and run, and just sits there in a pile of kicks. Very disturbing!
**Even though we found this on Youtube, they removed it, so please following MetaCafe vid**

1) Busty Babe KO’s Some Girl
Someone call the UFC because this girl can be a ring girl and jump in the ring. Really horrid quality video, but the chesty chick smashes her opponent unconscious then stands up and still manages to look hot.

Check back next week, for more YouTube Friday Five!