Knock of ages

I have a 4-year-old niece who has a one-year-old toy. Why isn't it a 1-year-old toy? Because AP recently changed its mind. Common Sense Journalism dissents (despite Norm Goldstein's and Bill Walsh's reasonings of clarity and animate privilege):

Balderdash. I like a little more substance to my style decisions. And if you're going to be intellectually honest and follow that logic, you shouldn't make possessives either (you can't say the law's effect, for instance) because the law really doesn't deserve that "respect," seeing as it's not a person or animal. So it's the earnings of General Motors and the effect of the law -- and that's just silliness, despite what some of the stricter grammarians would say.

And you know what? I agree. The simpler we keep rules, the better.