We've been asked to post the following request to fellow boomers:

I am a doctoral student in communication at the University of Alabama currently working on my dissertation project. The project is based on the baby boomer demographic and how siblings in this age range communicatively negotiate a family health crisis. I feel confident that health crises are a concern for baby boomers. Ultimately, I am interested in finding out if baby boomer siblings rely on each other in a crisis of this type, or if they turn to significant others or friends for social support.

Click Here to take survey

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Boomer Retirement Survey - Help A College Kid Graduate - Wednesday, May 11, 2005
It's mid-May and you need 3 credit hours to graduate college... Sound familiar? Now fast-forward 30 years or so and it's your son or daughter in the same predicament, only this time, you're footing the bill. Why not help a...

Money In, Money Out--Boomers Paying Out in Both Directions - Friday, January 25, 2008
According to a recent Ameriprise survey, almost all boomers surveyed are giving their adult children financial assistance, while a fair amount are also assisting aging parents financially. This can substantially affect our ability to save and invest for retirement. Download...

Boomers and Hospital Volunteerism - Tuesday, February 6, 2007
An NYU graduate Capstone team is working with the United Hospital Fund on a project to engage Boomers in hospital volunteerism. "The boomer generation is better educated and healthier than previous generations, and is also more culturally, economically, and socially...

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In case you are just returning from outer space or have short-term memory loss, a reminder:
Today is Election Day. If you haven't already done so, please get out there and vote. Although the following information does come from the Obama campaign, it is useful for anyone who's not sure where to vote or who has problems at the polls:

Where and when do I vote?
Find your polling place, voting times, and other important information by checking out these sites below. These resources are good, but not perfect. To be doubly sure, you can also contact your local elections office.

• Obama's VoteForChange site: voteforchange.com
  
• League of Women Voters' site: http://vote411.org/pollfinder.php

• After you've entered your address on either Vote For Change or Vote411, read the voting instructions and special rules for your state.
  
• Voting ID laws vary from state to state, but if you have ID, bring it.
  
• Check out all the voting myths and misinformation to look out for: http://truth.voteforchange.com

What if something goes wrong?

• Not on the voter list? Make sure you're at the right polling place, then demand a provisional ballot.
  
• If you're voting on an electronic machine with a paper record, verify that the record is accurate.
  
• Need legal help? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
  
• If you encounter a problem, try to videotape the situation and submit it to VideoTheVote.org

  
  
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  While We're on the Subject - Monday, September 15, 2008
  If you are, have or know a college student who may not have registered to vote or hasn't gotten it together to get their absentee ballot, send 'em to this site, Vote For Change. And if the college student you...
  Nevada to vote on legalizing possession of pot - Sunday, January 26, 2003
  On 8-27-02, USA Today reported that Neveda voters will go to the polls and decide whether or not to remove criminal penalties for possessing small quantities of marijuana. According to the article, "the campaign to legalize marijuana in America has...
  The Undie Awards - Wednesday, April 11, 2007
  Yes, now apparently they're giving awards for the best underwear. I blame Madonna - ever since she wore her bra on the outside and deleted the word "unmentionable" from our collective vocabularies. Anyway, this underwear voting thing piqued my curiosity...
  
  Google search: vote, election day
  
  

Here's what I learned while reading the paper today. Yes, it's the NY TImes and while some out there will grumble about its 'liberal bias', it is the paper of record and they don't make crap up.

On Sarah Palin's religious beliefs:

What is known, however, is that Ms. Palin has had long associations with religious leaders who practice a particularly assertive and urgent brand of Pentecostalism known as "spiritual warfare."

...Russell P. Spittler, provost emeritus at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and an eminent scholar of Pentecostalism, said, "Most Christians would accept the view that there are forces and powers in the world that oppose Christian virtues." But, Mr. Spittler added, "Spiritual warfare makes a religion of identifying demons by names and ZIP codes."

So, the potential next-in-line for the presidency has been prayed over to be protected from "every form of witchcraft" and believes she can do some sort of demonism demographic study and come up with her own Black List. Wonder if they have my zip code.

Obama=Hitler

You heard it here first. According to an article by Jim Rutenberg in today's Times, an email went out to Jewish voters in Pennsylvania this week that equated a vote for Obama "with the 'tragic mistake' of their Jewish ancestors who 'ignored the warning signs in the 1930's and 1940's.'" And it was not sent by some crank political action group, but by the Pennsylvania Republican Party's 'Victory 2008' Committee.

Naturally they repudiated it, after the fact, and let a staff member take one for the team. That strategist says the email was approved. Of course it was. Pardon my naivete, but I still thought perhaps the McCain campaign had one slender thread of decency left. Apparently I was wrong. I only ask, in the most respectful way possible, are they freakin' insane??

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A Boomer View of the Election - Tuesday, October 21, 2008
As aging Hipsters, we've had the benefit of watching as the tenor of politics has grown ever more divisive. Negative campaigning isn't new - you can find examples as far back as Jefferson - but today the message seems designed...

A Boomer View of a Convention - Saturday, September 6, 2008
"You Go Girl!" Ask any local TV news producer and he/she will tell you that ratings rise and fall on personality. Forget the fact that anchor people do not make news, nor provide commentary; remember that they are hired for...

Just the Facts, Ma'am - Monday, October 6, 2008
Boy, the McCain camp can't get anything right: they actually have me on their email list. The good thing is I now get to see what they're sending supporters. We also hear from friends and relations in battleground states about...

Google search: mccain, obama, religious right, sarah palin

As aging Hipsters, we've had the benefit of watching as the tenor of politics has grown ever more divisive. Negative campaigning isn't new - you can find examples as far back as Jefferson - but today the message seems designed to divide and polarize. And now, an even more insidious set of code words is creeping into the campaign with the expressed purpose of stirring racial hatred.

Perhaps MaCain reasons that if he can scare enough white people into voting against a black man, he might have a chance to once again split the electorate into numbers that favor his campaign. In the McCain/Palin world, "real Americans" means white people living in predominantly white states. "That One" is code for anything different than white.

What he doesn't count on is Obama's uniquely compelling message to bring real change to the country and unify the electorate. You don't have to even have a firm grasp of the issues to make a choice. Just observe. McCain - cranky and annoyed, attacking at every opportunity, or Obama - cool and composed with a message that looks to the good character of all Americans.

McCain would have us believe it's about experience. But experience without leadership is a hollow promise. It's really about judgment. McCain chose a divisive course when he unleashed his judgment on us in the form of Sarah Palin. Sure, she has "energized the base" (read, pander to the far-right) but at what cost?

There was a time when I might have supported McCain, but this single decision signaled that he had caved to the Republican hate machine and embraced its narrow agenda. Include the fact that he hired the same Rove disciples responsible for torpedoing him in the last election and we get a clear picture of a man who says "Country First" yet means McCain first... at all costs.

Once again, all you have to do is observe to see the contrast. If it's a matter of judgment, I'll take Biden as an indication of good judgment and Palin as an example of poor judgment.

I'm no socialist (whatever that means) but like to think I can spot fairness when I see it. The Bush administration has made a mockery of the American Dream by forcing a greater percentage of the tax burden on the middle class while easing it for the top 10% of wealthy Americans. And unfortunately, if the current trend keeps up, the top 10% will be the only ones working any way.

This election is about protecting the middle class. Not just the white, right-leaning, evangelical middle class, but the entire middle class. Its about creating jobs that help every American aspire to something greater. The "real Americans" in this race are the ones who realize it's time to stop focusing on greed and start thinking about what's fair.

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A Boomer View of a Convention - Saturday, September 6, 2008
"You Go Girl!" Ask any local TV news producer and he/she will tell you that ratings rise and fall on personality. Forget the fact that anchor people do not make news, nor provide commentary; remember that they are hired for...

From the Bizarre to the Obscene - Saturday, October 25, 2008
Here's what I learned while reading the paper today. Yes, it's the NY TImes and while some out there will grumble about its 'liberal bias', it is the paper of record and they don't make crap up. On Sarah Palin's...

Just the Facts, Ma'am - Monday, October 6, 2008
Boy, the McCain camp can't get anything right: they actually have me on their email list. The good thing is I now get to see what they're sending supporters. We also hear from friends and relations in battleground states about...

Google search: Obama, Biden, McCain, Palin, election, politics

This may be the best political email we've received all season.

Dear Red States,

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you don't own a map, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly:

We get stem cell research and the best beaches. You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.

We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.

We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get
a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch ofd single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going
to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up eventually, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90
percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of
all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, and Bob Jones University.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty, abortion providers, homosexuals, Muslims, or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is
only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you
crazy bastards actually believe you are people with higher morals than us lefties.

By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they
grow in Mexico.

Peace Out,
The Blue States

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Google search: nuevo california red states blue states

Got the Bug, Got the Motorcycle Bug
Driving along you notice the graybeard motorcycle rider in the lane next to you. The wind is blowing his beard back and you can see the wrinkles on his face. You figure he must be fifty or sixty years old. It gets you thinking.

Or, what about all of these new motor scooters that seem to be popping up all over the place? Students, blue collar workers and the occasional professional are all just putting along enjoying the 90 miles per gallon fuel savings. Hmmm, looks like fun.

A lot of people just like you have the bug, the motorcycle rider bug. But you have it real bad and you are seriously thinking about actually doing it, buying a motorcycle and having a little fun yourself. What’s the holdup?

Well, motorcycles can kill you. Yes they can. But on the other hand, you spouse may kill you just for considering a motorcycle. OK folks, a little humor, lets not get too morbid here, you are only thinking about getting a motorcycle right? You haven’t actually done it yet.

Boy, the McCain camp can't get anything right: they actually have me on their email list. The good thing is I now get to see what they're sending supporters. We also hear from friends and relations in battleground states about the kind of advertising the Republicans are doing there. And it's ugly. I'm not naive, both sides have been known to skirt around the edges of the truth. Which is why we urge you and everyone you know to avail yourselves of these great fact checking websites:

FactCheck.org

Snopes.com

The FactCheck Wire, with the great tagline--"Faster than the speed of spin"

Just the Facts

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From the Bizarre to the Obscene - Saturday, October 25, 2008
Here's what I learned while reading the paper today. Yes, it's the NY TImes and while some out there will grumble about its 'liberal bias', it is the paper of record and they don't make crap up. On Sarah Palin's...

A Boomer View of the Election - Tuesday, October 21, 2008
As aging Hipsters, we've had the benefit of watching as the tenor of politics has grown ever more divisive. Negative campaigning isn't new - you can find examples as far back as Jefferson - but today the message seems designed...

How the Republicans Sell Us Out Every Way Every Day - Thursday, May 18, 2006
This from the DCCC: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: Americans literally can no longer afford to live under the rule of a Republican Congress that has shut out American interests and let loose the special interests. The Republicans in Congress have turned the People's House into the GOP Auction House and it is time that voters across the country know the truth. That's why we at the DCCC...

Google search: McCain, Obama, campaign, presidential campaign

I was going to write today about the Presidential debate, but instead find I need to say goodbye to the first man I ever loved--Paul Newman. As a pre-pubescent girl curled up in an armchair on rainy Sundays watching movies, my teeny nascent lust was aroused by the eyes, that attitude. Who wouldn't follow Ari Ben Canaan to Palestine? What woman wouldn't stick with Fast Eddie Felson? And who could play the grifter/drifter/anti-hero better?

He aged perfectly--staying interesting till the end, both as an actor and a man.

Imdb has a complete filmography. Even I, a lifelong fan, was surprised by how many of his movies were iconic milestones for me. And how many were just so damn good.

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Goodbye Old Friend - Sunday, September 24, 2006
Maxwell September 30, 1991 - September 23, 2006 There was uneasy silence last evening as we spent the first night alone without our friend and protector. Maxwell passed away on Saturday morning, one week short of his 15th birthday....

The Boomer Film Generation - Friday, July 29, 2005
I watched Stay Hungry on cable the other day and it got me wondering about Bob Rafelson. Back in 1970, he directed the benchmark movie Five Easy Pieces and other quintessential independent films, like The Postman Always Rings Twice...

I'm With the Band - Thursday, March 23, 2006
It's not so much second childhoods many of us are after, it's more second hippie-hoods. Not that it's necessarily time to re-learn macrame, but maybe it's never too late to be a rock star. A friend sent us an article...

Google search: paul newman, movies, imdb,

We recently received this release from the Social Security Administration and think it may come in handy.

By Brandon Robertson
Social Security Administration

More Americans than ever are using the internet to conduct business. On behalf of the Social Security Administration, we would like to share some of the many resources available at our website www.socialsecurity.gov.

Visitors to the website may apply for retirement, spouse's or disability benefits. If visitors to the site are already receiving benefits, they may request a replacement Medicare card, report a change of address or update direct deposit information.

Social Security has recently introduced a new "Retirement Estimator" at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. Getting a personalized online estimate of your future retirement benefits is now easier than ever before.

The online Retirement Estimator is a convenient, secure and quick financial planning tool that lets visitors to the website calculate how much they might expect to receive in Social Security benefits when they retire.

The Estimator allows visitors to create multiple "what if" scenarios. Visitors may, for example, change an expected retirement date or projected future earnings to create and compare different retirement options. Just visit www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator to use this terrific financial planning tool!

The website also offers a Frequently Asked Questions feature. Visitors to the site may select a topic; the site then displays all available information on that topic.

Much Social Security business can be done from the comfort of a home or office by visiting our website or by calling 1-800-772-1213. Social Security offers a variety of service options: you can visit us online, by telephone or at one of our community based offices.

Social Security is just a click away! Save a trip and go to www.socialsecurity.gov to get started. You can rest assured that doing business with Social Security online is fast, secure, and convenient.

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How Secure is Social Security? - Saturday, April 16, 2005
Now here's a social security story I can get down with. How many more people have to point out that if anyone brings down Social security it will be the current administration, not 73 million Baby Boomers? Make up your...

Social Security And Other Ways to Piss-Off Gen-X - Monday, December 29, 2003
Social Security (or a future lack of it) has been on the minds of Gen-X lately and 76 million Baby Boomers are to blame for the bleak picture. But Dave Lindorff writes in The American Prospect "...baby boomers, if united,...

Social Security--The Story That Never Dies - Thursday, February 2, 2006
Occasionally we receive releases about book of interest to Boomers. And what could be closer to our hearts (and wallets) than social security? You can read an excerpt here from Nancy Altman's book, The Battle for Social Security, and buy...

Google search: social security

If you are, have or know a college student who may not have registered to vote or hasn't gotten it together to get their absentee ballot, send 'em to this site, Vote For Change.

And if the college student you know is jaded, apathetic and cynical--like the 'indifferent son' of Passover--try this on them (found on the most unlikely of sources--a Mason's website):

Then there is the simple son who is indifferent to knowledge because he is not concerned with finding truth and is, therefore, the one who can be controlled and enslaved. The simple son asks, "What is all this anyway?" The danger of tyranny arises when enough people are indifferent to the truth, when there is a general failure to delve beneath the surface and consider statements carefully. Then people are subject to lies and deceits through which tyrants win power. Indifference to knowledge leads to the loss of freedom.

Ok, 'tyranny' may be a little strong, but you get the idea.

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VOTE - Tuesday, November 4, 2008
In case you are just returning from outer space or have short-term memory loss, a reminder: Today is Election Day. If you haven't already done so, please get out there and vote. Although the following information does come from the...

Subject: Searching for Birthmother - Saturday, February 1, 2003
From: Darlene Purtle: darlene-at-dialnet-dot-net My niece's name is Jennifer Cummins Konye. She was born on 10/01/73 at St. John's hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Her mother was supposedly a medical technician, she was approximately 35 years old in 1973 and suffered...

Nevada to vote on legalizing possession of pot - Sunday, January 26, 2003
On 8-27-02, USA Today reported that Neveda voters will go to the polls and decide whether or not to remove criminal penalties for possessing small quantities of marijuana. According to the article, "the campaign to legalize marijuana in America has...

Google search: vote