In a piece on the Washington Post aimed at dispelling (although pathetically) so-called myths post election Chris Cillizza had this as important as the second

A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory.

Afraid not. Heading into Election Day, cable news, newspapers and blogs were dominated by excited chatter about record levels of enthusiasm for Obama among two critical groups: African Americans and young voters (aged 18-29). It made sense: Black voters were energized to cast a historic vote for the first African American nominee of either major party; young people -- following a false start with former Vermont governor Howard Dean in 2004 -- had bought into Obama in a major way during the primary season, and they finally seemed on the cusp of realizing their much-promised potential as a powerhouse voting bloc.

If you haven't heard of it by now... where have you been?! The Harry Potter Alliance got started in 2005 on MySpace and has grown into a larger and larger alliance tackling issue after issue bringing online involvement into offline actions.

Most recently their stance on California's Anti-Equality Amendment Proposition H8. The HP Forum includes anti-discrimination topics that speak of the inspiration for the advocacy.

"Dumbledore spoke against the Wizarding World’s discrimination of Half-bloods, Muggle borns, Muggles, Centaurs, Werewolves, Giants, and House Elves. How can we fight discrimination based on race, physical and mental ability, age, sexual orientation, economic status, ethnicity, and any thing else?"

The day before the election I appeared on Kansas City's Public Radio station KCUR to discuss young voters with Steve Kraske with the Kansas City Star and Diana Carlin a communications professor at the University of Kansas whose work focuses on young people.

I cut out many of the listener calls and left in the good parts that are in 3 sections the first is here the other two are below the jump. Usually I have to do radio over the phone so this was my first time in studio and I learned I need to turn my headphones down and speak louder. I was really into the NPR voice... good times....

Wow... I'm amazed and grinning from ear to ear. Young voters put Obama over the top in Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and Colorado. Colorado - specifically, took out an incumbent Republican US Senator, and a conservative Representative as well as electing a very young Congressman in Boulder.

"One day to a new beginning
Raise the flag of freedom high!
Every man will be a king
There's a new world for the winning
There's a new world to be won
My place is here, I fight with you!
One day more!"

UPDATE: CNN Picked up this story on iReport. Its on the lower right hand corner of CNN.com and the video on iReport is here.

We've said it before and we'll say it again... its the best way on the best day. Best way because its face to face communication with voters, and its the best day because its the day when people expect strangers to come to their door, knock on them, and ask for something. This year, don't just ask for candy, ask for votes!

Frequently ignored, rural voters are sometimes the most insistent. Rural youth, are just as dedicated to policies that can make their lives better. In Oklahoma youth have a solid idea of how issues impact their world. Unique to their area, the environment has a larger impact on their lives than that of urban America.

"In my town, if the river's high, everybody knows it. If the river's dirty, everyone knows about it," young voter Dale Denwalt says.

Kyle Meade is a second generation American whose grandparents came from Mexico. He attacks Republican Tyler Trammell on his assumption that immigration will force Americans into a Mexican culture. Meade says he's living proof that those stereotypes aren't true.

See what they think at the Rural Roundtable...

I think FM referenced Generation We in a list of greatest hits last month. We've all been pretty busy and Gen We is full of some of the most tasty information I've seen in quite some time. I'm combing my way through it, but unfortunately, only between other stuff, which means I haven't gotten as far as I'd like to. I'm also reading it completely out of order. They also have an amazing new video beyond the flip that is a MUST see!

Writer Eric Greenberg pulled together the results of over eighteen months of research, polls and focus groups to prove one thing: the Millennial Generation is a force to be reckoned with. Through his new book, and a website, Greenberg is harnessing the thoughts and energy of a younger generation.

GenWe was Greenberg's project to help the Millennial Generation empower itself against much scrutiny. Speaking with US News, he said:

"They are not a 'me' generation; they are the 'we' generation," he says. "They are about the greater good," he adds, noting that they're really jazzed up about the environment and the energy crisis. Armed with his huge study, he's urging both presidential campaigns to focus on one mega-idea the kids endorsed; an Apollo-style approach to the energy crisis."

MTV Street Team interviews me about what its like blogging the election and young voters. Cool thing is that it got picked up by the AP and is now posted on AOL, USA Today, and possibly more I haven't found yet... (I posted on the flip too btw)

My major point... emphasizing the importance of blogs is that it allows for you to completely cover something that mainstream media ignores... like.... um... what is a good example of an issue that the media doesn't cover or totally gets wrong? Gosh... there must be something... oh yeah! THE YOUTH MOVEMENT! Don't even get me started on Heartland Politics....

When I first started blogging it was 2004 and I pretty much had no idea wtf I was doing. I was a front page reader of Kos but didn't understand where all the other blogs were.... seriously.... I didn't get it, I didn't know too much about politics and all I knew was that I was pissed about the way I saw the Kerry campaign running and that my candidate was losing right along with him.

This morning Matthew Segal from the Student Association for Voter Empowerment was on CNN talking about some of the challenges Students face and the rights that need to be protected for young voters. He also addresses the atrocious actions by the County Clerk in Virginia and El Paso, Colorado who attempted to disenfranchise students, and fliers that are geared to suppress the youth vote.

Segal who is younger than me, if you can believe it, is making the rounds talking about the unique challenges that youth face both in getting registered to vote and casting ballots on Election Day. Students who go to school out of state must choose between the state they left and their new state. Many who spend 9 months or more a year in school in the state, work there, pay taxes there, but for reasons passing in understanding are not considered by many to be "real" residents. This occurred in El Paso, Colorado and at Virginia Tech just last month. Government officials knowingly lied to students in efforts to disenfranchise thousands of students. It is unclear why there is not an investigation into this matter and these actions.

Below the flip is the Segal interview where he addresses further concerns young voters face.