Die Boomer Die

The boomer curse unleashed

2007-11-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

And that's the good news. Beggaring government is the least of the damage that we baby boomers intend to inflict over the next 30 or 40 years. What we're really up to is something more diabolical. Our generation is going to do what our generation has always done best. We're going to shape the American social fabric to our will and make the entire nation conform to our ideals, judgments, and

Graduates burdened by exorbitant student loans

2007-09-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

Many in the next generation of workers will be so debt-burdened they will have to delay home purchases, limit vacations, even eat out less to pay loans off on time.Kristin Cole, 30, who graduated from Michigan State University's law school and lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., owes $150,000 in private and government-backed student loans. Her monthly payment of $660, which consumes a quarter of her

The death rattle of boomer liberalism

2007-09-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Thus, the people who are the public voice of American liberalism rarely have any real connection to the ordinary working people whose interests they putatively champion. They tend instead to be well-off, college-educated yuppies from California or the East Coast, and hard as they try to worry about food stamps or veterans’ rights or securing federal assistance for heating oil bills, they

The (Anti) Freedom Generation: an open letter to boomers

2007-09-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

Your generation is owed even more thanks for its total failure to do away with the war on drugs over the past three decades. Your generation’s monstrous consumption of drugs in the 1960’s is simply too well known to need recounting, but you fortunately came to your senses in the 1980’s and did nothing to stop the government’s merciless persecution of younger generations of drug consumers. Few

Naked boomer greed overshadows Iraq debacle

2007-09-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Operation Iraqi Freedom, it turns out, was never a war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It was an invasion of the federal budget, and no occupying force in history has ever been this efficient. George W. Bush's war in the Mesopotamian desert was an experiment of sorts, a crude first take at his vision of a fully privatized American government. In Iraq the lines between essential government

LTE: Blame the selfish boomers!

2007-08-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

The seeds planted 40 years ago by a generation of self-serving brats have morphed into the cesspool we wade in today. Previous generations will be remembered for bestowing to the future the gifts of liberty, patriotism and self-sacrifice. Your generation's motto — sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll— is the sum of your meager contribution. We see the unintended consequences of allowing a generation of

Hasn't Woodstock always been for sale?

2007-08-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

They have tried to be good conservators: For more than a decade, beginning around the 25th anniversary in 1994, they held Woodstock "reunions" that drew musicians and a few hundred to a few thousand spectators, who camped on their 40-hectare homestead for the three days in August near the anniversary dates of Aug. 15, 16 and 17.But they are getting older. They have had a long-running conflict

Boomer recovery zombies prey on teens

2007-07-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Kristen, now 26, said that for eight years, she was "passed along" from one middle-aged male leader of Midtown to another. She said her sponsor urged her to have sex with Quinones -- widely known as Mike Q. -- as a way to solidify her sobriety and spiritual revival. Kristen, who spoke on the condition that her last name not be used in keeping with AA traditions, also recalled helping to persuade

Boomer volunteers: what's in it for ME?

2007-07-18T12:34:00.001-07:00

"Boomers are far more interested in volunteering than they're given credit for," Baldwin said. "They're far more interested in using their career and non-career-related skills. They have higher expectations for their volunteer experiences than some of the younger users we're sampling."But many can't find an outfit that engages the full range of their interests, skills and life experience, he said

The price of hypocrisy: Aussie pols struggle with youthful pot use

2007-07-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

The main reason we hear so many marijuana confessions these days is that baby boomers rule the world. The children of the '60s survived and thrived, man. They emerged dazed from the smoky haze, and took control of the levers. So now the electorate must suffer as boomer pollies tell us that, yes, they smoked pot, and did a few things in their golden youth they shouldn't have, but it's time for

Freedom eclipsed: the boomer culture of fear

2007-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Americans today are actually not much different than those citizens that lived in Great Britain before democracy was introduced. Take for example that as the aristocrats did in early Great Britain, many of our wealthy conservative politicians today are playing the “fear” card by spreading fear among the citizens. They continue to say: “We must fight the terrorists over there or they will attack

The Last Abomination

2007-07-09T08:33:00.001-07:00

Oak Park, Ill. plastic surgeon and author Allan Parungao, MD, notes a 279% increase in breast implant surgery from 1997 to 2006. And now some daughters who have breast augmentation are inspiring their Baby Boomer mothers to follow suit.Breast augmentation surgery isn't just for 20-somethings. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, more than 50% of the 383,886 women who

Jesus is just alright!

2007-07-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Questions may have driven many from church, but they're also driving many the boomer generation back to the pews. The generation born from 1946 to 1964 is known for both spiritual seeking and religious scepticism. It's the generation that protested the Vietnam War, challenged gender roles and flouted many forms of convention. Now many of these seekers are returning to the religious rituals that

Scathing new video mocks boomer drug war hawks

2007-06-27T20:15:00.001-07:00

Does your politician suffer from Chronic Re-Election Paranoia (CREEP)? Do you think our nation has an Incarcerex dependence? Tell your elected officials to give up the quick fix and create a new bottom line for the war on drugs."Incarcerex"Drug Policy AllianceThis is the real "civil rights legacy" of the boomers...

They'll buy anything: status-hungry boomers seek cutting edge lawn mowers

2007-06-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Just before Memorial Day, Rod Reams ditched his clunky old lawn mower.His new ride: a ZTR, or zero-turning-radius mower, which can spin around in place and cut a four-foot swath of grass at up to eight miles an hour.Reams, of west suburban Batavia, likes the way his John Deere Z445 cuts cleanly and trims his chore time to two hours from four.He likes something else, too: "One of my neighbors uses

Boomer tyranny: prison population at "all time high"

2007-06-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

The slammer is getting slammed -- with an increase in inmates.The nation's inmate population is at an all-time high, and has seen its largest year-to-year increase in six years, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report.The findings, examining the time frame from July 2005 to June 2006, totaled up more than 2.2 million people incarcerated in the nation's federal and state prisons and

It takes a village...to create a child-free boomer beach

2007-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Pails, shovels and the kids who tote them no longer will be allowed in a kid-free zone that opened this summer on the public beach in Lake Forest."We're creating a quieter space for those adults that are in search of that type of atmosphere," said Sally Swarthout, program manager for the north suburban city's Parks & Recreation Board, which created the 21-and-older beach at the request of several

LTE: 'disgusted by boomers'

2007-06-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

I am a 62-year-old baby boomer who is disgusted and repulsed by my generation.We went from having the greatest generation to the worst overnight. We have lived our lives as self-indulgent spoiled brats. Nothing is sacred or worth fighting for if it interferes with our lifestyle or pleasure."A Baby Boomer Disgusted By Boomers"Arizona Republic

Boomers lag behind children, elders in charitable giving

2007-06-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Why don't affluent Baby Boomers give more money away?We ask this question not to guilt-trip, as Boomer slang would put it, but because solving some urgent social problems hangs on the answer.People between 51 and 64 donate less than three-fourths of one percent of their investment assets, on average -- significantly less than those either younger or older than them, according to New Tithing's

The sickest generation

2007-06-19T15:58:00.001-07:00

A generation used to being at the forefront of social change, the baby boomers are about to achieve another first - but this time, the news isn't so good.For as they edge toward retirement, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that baby boomers will be the first generation to enter their golden years in worse health than their parents."The baby boomers who are in worse health than their

Boomer 'Zero Tolerance' policies under fire

2007-06-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Fifth-graders in California who adorned their mortarboards with tiny toy plastic soldiers last week to support troops in Iraq were forced to cut off their miniature weapons. A Utah boy was suspended for giving his cousin a cold pill prescribed to both students. In Rhode Island, a kindergartner was suspended for bringing a plastic knife to school so he could cut cookies. It's all part of "zero

Boomers: richest generation in history, one in ten a "boomer elite"

2007-06-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

As portrayed by the media and in advertising, virtually all members of the Boomer generation are wealthy. However, only a few Boomers are truly affluent, and of these "elites" only one third relies on outside advice when making financial decisions according to a research study from Focalyst, a market research and consulting firm focused exclusively on Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and

My aura has a gut: UK boomers obsess about their appearance

2007-06-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Almost two-thirds of baby boomers in Moschis's study admitted they were 'extremely' anxious about changes in their appearance and said they would go to great lengths to look a lot younger than they actually were. This compared with just 35 per cent of their parents' generation. In addition, almost two-thirds of baby boomers thought the best years of their life were already behind them, compared

So much for aging gracefully: sex show targets Canada's boomers

2007-06-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

The pavilion was crowded with hundreds of people, young and old, but organizer David Stein said the show is geared towards a slightly older demographic who may need some help spicing up their sex lives."This is a way to spark and rekindle in a safe environment where, if you’re curious and open-minded, you can have some real fun.""Toronto Sex Show Takes Aim At Bored, Tired Boomers"Nova Scotia News

A community in fear: boomers at the gates

2007-06-10T20:38:00.001-07:00

As a now budding member of the plague infesting our communities around the continent, with this new purchase you soon will flower here in the Roaring Fork into another rude, tailgating, speeding, gas-guzzling, resource-wasting, arrogant, impatient, materialistic and inconsiderate pig of a human who thinks the younger generations should live somewhere else. You, of course, will never give a

Tokers or Jokers: Baby boomers taciturn on drug issue

2007-06-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

Some of these hippies still indulge, but fear of stigma born of the state's construction of deviancy, forces many responsible users to take a vow of silence about their indulgences. There are very few boomers who speak out against the laws they flouted in their youth. They've become the very hypocrites they rebelled against."Wanted: Tokers In Suits"Now Magazine (Toronto)

Senior: The new bad word

2007-06-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to your friendly neighborhood "Boomer Center"?Franklin and Northborough are considering renaming their new senior centers and dropping the word "senior" entirely, although neither community has decided on a new name. The town of Medfield's new senior center, currently under construction, will be known instead as the town's "Adult Community Center.""Talking 'bout their generation"The

Boomer-con: we "failed" conservatism

2007-06-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

[L]et's not kid ourselves: Bush has failed conservatives, yes, but we have also failed ourselves. It doesn't take much courage to stand up for conservative principle to a president as weak as this one has become. It would have taken real courage to stand up for conservative principle in 2002, 2003, 2004, even early 2005. How many did? I know I didn't -- not until Katrina and Miers, which came

Insightful new blog targets "worst generation ever"

2007-06-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

This blog is for those of us living in the shadow of the Worst Generation Ever. This is a group of people that took the hard work of their parents and squandered it by spending and borrowing against it. This generation continues to borrow without regard to their own future (maybe in the hopes that we will take care of them). The mess they will leave behind will haunt the world for several

America's lament: on hating Hillary Clinton

2007-06-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Is there any way she could have packed more loathsome disingenuousness into thirty seconds? Every single word except the senator from New York part could have come out of George Bush's mouth. It's like she's studied all his talking points and boiled them down to their essentials."Dear God Almighty I Hate Hillary Clinton"A Tiny Revolution

Boozing boomers set sales record in Canada

2007-06-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

No longer satisfied with drinking beer, these baby boomers are trying new products, trading up to premium drinks and entertaining more, according to president and CEO Bob Peter of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.The LCBO is reporting a record $3.9 billion in net sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, up by $235 million, or 6.4 per cent, from the previous year."Baby boomers drink LCBO to

Boomer prison population rising

2007-06-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

In New York, for instance, in the mid 1980s, inmates 50 and older comprised 3% of the prison population; in 2006, they made up 11%. In response, the correctional unit in Fishkill, NY now houses inmates suffering from some degree of dementia in this special unit, which offers, among other activities, Bingo every Friday. Across the nation, the number of prisoners over age 50 in state and federal

Ron Paul vs. the boomer-cons

2007-06-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Bill Bennett, author of "The Book of Virtues" and video poker fame, also wants Paul out of the picture, as does Hugh Hewitt, executive editor of Townhall.com.The calls to excommunicate the heretic in their midst came after Paul, a longtime campaigner for a less interventionist U.S. foreign policy, was asked if the attacks of Sept. 11 had altered his view. Paul replied: "Have you ever read the

Pushy boomer parents having trouble letting go

2007-06-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Shortly after one Emory University student was rejected for an internship at a prestigious Wall Street firm, the student's mother called Emory's career center: Could someone there get the firm to reconsider?Never mind that the student had missed a sit-down session and canceled a phone interview with the company."Her mother got into full swing," said Tariq Shakoor, director of the career center. "

Hippie Mecca invaded by 'gutter punks'

2007-06-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Residents of a San Francisco neighborhood famous for being a hippie haven in the 1960s are complaining that the area is attracting a less friendly crowd.People living near the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets, many former hippies themselves, say the so-called gutter punks who live on the streets selling, buying and using drugs are trouble for the neighborhood, The Los Angeles Times

Anti-boomer tirade strikes a nerve

2007-06-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Some boomers think I want them to die. That's not what I meant by "move along." I meant, stop thinking you are the beginning and end of all that is good or selfless or revolutionary. Maybe I should have said that.That column brought in more than 200 reader responses, broken almost evenly over agreement and disagreement. Well, more like agreement and fury. Some of those who agreed were, in fact,

Free love but not free from STD's

2007-05-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

A growing number of baby boomers are contracting sexually transmitted diseases, also known as STD's, at faster rates than even younger people. Experts say it's becoming a scary reality for many."Health: Sex Education For Baby Boomers"CBS 3 (Philadelphia)

Canadian boomer: we shafted our kids

2007-05-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

It's like the boomer party of "respectable" adults were the first at the buffet tables. Our parents suggested that we leave some for those who come after, but most of us piled all the food we could on high. We were sick, after all, of listening to the same old song and dance of that generation. We gorged and drank and had a great time, and casually tossed unhealthy snacks to the kids waiting

The stale, the shameless, and the greedy: creaky boomer rock stars to tour

2007-05-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

In the next few months, a handful of past acts of legend, minus some hair and appetite for late nights, will take to the stage for a globe-trotting, nostalgia-tinged encore following a slew of band reunions.The Police, The Who, Sly and the Family Stone, Iggy Pop, and the Stooges and what remains of The Doors are all heading once more for the road."Too Old To Rock? Aging Stars Back On The

The last man (grand)standing: boomers want "last word"

2007-05-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

The baby boom generation that has changed everything it touched is doing the same for death.Today's aging boomers have obit news groups, obit websites, obit blogs and forums, even obit-writing classes so they can pen their own send-offs. There are obit books, obit writers' conferences.And coming soon: the launch of Obit magazine, a publication that's dead serious about writing about the dearly

Boomers: your time is running out

2007-05-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

You weren't the first teenagers, but you grabbed hold of the concept like you were. You spent the '60s changing the world, but apparently weren't all that effective. Your antiwar protests took six years to end Vietnam, and it was a boomer president who sent us to Iraq. You rejected consumerism and the status quo, then spent the 1980s making yourselves rich.Now you're getting old, and it's tragic.

Why boomer-cons hate Ron Paul

2007-05-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

One assumes that Ron Paul knows he is not going to be the next president of the United States - or even the next Republican nominee. Yet the Texas congressman is campaigning hard, aiming particular ire and fire at Rudy Giuliani.Paul is commonly regarded - by those who have heard of him - as more of a Libertarian than a Republican. That is, he believes in minimal regulation at home and minimal

Another boomer betrayal: Dems 'cave' on war funding

2007-05-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

There's compromise. There's also caving in. After four years of futility, it was Bush's turn to compromise. Instead, Reid and Pelosi caved. That's what this comes down to: An about-face surrender to the perception that if Democrats persisted in defying Bush's demands for a blank check, they would be seen as anti-troops. They would be at risk of losing their majority in 2008, or of failing to

Alberta's pension fund dries up for retiring boomers

2007-05-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

In April Liepert promised to appoint a task force to investigate rebuilding the teacher’s pension fund and extended an olive branch to the union - which claims the fund was so poorly managed that there’s not enough cash to pay pensions to a growing number of retiring baby-boomers.He said the province would donate a one-time, $25-million payment towards the teachers’ $2-billion portion of the

Under boomer leadership, pessimism prevails

2007-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Baby boomers are such worry warts. Is it really such a big deal if they have to postpone that bypass surgery to put their kid through school, or work well into their golden years to pad a sparse retirement income that medical expenses could overwhelm? Well, at least the next generation will have it better.In their formative years they will be tested to death in pressure cooker, cash-strapped

Boomer failures overshadow Sgt. Pepper anniversary

2007-05-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

What Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is not is the perfect encapsulation of American hippie counterculture. A 12-year-old sitting on the end of his bed trying to figure out what would compel someone to dream of rocking horse people and marmalade skies might have thought so. The 52-year-old in the Lexus today has to face the fact that his generation ultimately failed and it’s time to hand

Tie-dyed tyranny: Canadians fed up with boomer management

2007-05-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

Aging baby boomers dominate the work force. They believe rules should be obeyed - unless the rules are contrary to what they want. And they tend to equate hard work with long hours at the office, according to a report released yesterday.Little wonder, then, that about half of Canada's younger workers find the boomers a pain to work with, according to a survey of more than 2,100 employees

Doomed to repeat it: Paul assails clueless Rudy

2007-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

"I'm giving Mr. Giuliani a reading assignment," the nine-term Texas congressman said as he stood behind a stack of books that included the report by the commission that examined the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Giuliani was mayor of New York when Islamic militants slammed two commerical airliners into the World Trade Center, a role that has vaulted him to the front of the

Selfish boomers and the shafting of a generation

2007-05-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

I blame my own generation, the baby boomers, for failing to challenge our children and grandchildren with high enough standards. And our "me-generation" self-centeredness has bred such stinginess with tax dollars that we've cheated the next generation.In a meeting with the editorial board last week, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal noted that so-called "portable" classrooms that were

Treatment of returning vets a "stain" on boomer legacy

2007-05-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

Local veterans Dan Rogala and Andy MacVie told me that when they arrived on a flight from Saigon and landed in California, they were met by anti-war protesters who spat on them. That was their thanks for serving their country in a nasty was in Southeast Asia. They were also called ‘baby killers’ and other names that can’t be printed here. Their experience was common. Other returning servicemen (

Ron Paul: the boomer GOP's worst nightmare

2007-05-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Paul doesn't pretend to be a modern Republican but an old-fashioned libertarian one who puts the Constitution and freedom before politics and party. He and everyone else on Earth know he's not going to be running against Hillary next fall. And because of the trouble he's causing his philosophically lost and troubled party, he'll be lucky if he's allowed to appear in future debates."Paul's Mission

In the UK: scamsters target greedy boomers

2007-05-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

This makes them prime targets for any organizations that want to separate the boomer from their money. These 'scams' are far more savvy and intellectual that those used on the rest of us 'mere mortals.' In fact, many people can spend several weeks from hook to landing without a slight sniff that something rotten is in the air."Get Rich Quick Can Leave Baby Boomers Broke"The Thrifty Scot

Boomer Congress: still on a spending spree

2007-05-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Most abhorrent in the Democrats' spending schemes, aside from raising taxes to expand government, is their insipient disregard of the coming entitlement explosion. About 77 million retiring baby boomers will tap into Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The first wave becomes eligible in January 2008.What Democrats have engineered is a fiscal train wreck at a time when the U.S. can least

Boomer academia, education or activism?

2007-05-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Not long after I was hired at Napa Valley College to teach political science, I received a friendly invitation to speak at the Napa Rotary Club. After a warm welcome and pleasant lunch, I gave a presentation in which I argued that the way in which the social sciences are taught would change once the baby boom generation began to exit academia. I reasoned that, whereas many of that generation view

Anyone have a million dollars they can spare?

2007-05-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Merrill Lynch's "Baby Boom Retirement Index," first published in 1993, is shaking up America. Although it focuses primarily on the baby boomers -- the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1962 -- the index is one of many loud alarm bells in a rising chorus encouraging not only boomers, but Americans in general, as well as other investors worldwide, to start planning for the future, to shift

Boomerspeak: Hillary "rewrites history"

2007-05-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

Instead of honestly explaining her transformation from pro-war supporter to cheerleader of the war's progress to tentative opponent of the war to her current incarnation as long-term opponent of the war, Hillary skipped right over the unpleasant past and tried to talk only about the future: "Well, you know, Matt, I think the important thing is for the Democrats to be united in trying to either

New study shows dire future for boomers and healthcare

2007-05-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

The first Boomers will turn 65 in 2011 and, according to today's report, more than 37 million of them -- six out of 10 -- will be managing more than one chronic condition by 2030. Also by 2030:-- 14 million Boomers will be living with diabetes -- that's one out of every four Boomers.-- Almost half of the Boomers will live with arthritis and that number peaks to just over 26 million in 2020.--

"Not Your Daughter's Jeans" seeing gold with line of boomer "fat pants"

2007-05-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Not Your Daughter's Jeans played with fabric, patterns and stitching techniques to create Tummy Tuck jeans, doubling up on the Lycra to make them stretchier. The pockets are stitched to create a horizontal band across the front that reduces the stretch in that area, thereby — theoretically, at least — subduing the belly. A note from Sandal-Rudes is stuck inside the pants: You can thank me later."

When "grandma" is a dirty word

2007-05-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is the generation that says middle age begins at 48 and old age doesn't start until 75 or later, according to Matt Thornhill, founder and president of the Boomer Project, a marketing, consulting and research firm in Richmond, Va."Boomers are going to change what it means to be a grandparent," he says. And they want names that reflect that relationship."Don't Call Me Grandmother: Boomers

The Hollow Men: boomer candidates, diminished expectations

2007-05-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Character ought to matter more than it does, but it continues to be redefined and de-emphasized.The candidates reflect who we are and, with half of all American couples headed for divorce, we aren't as concerned as we used to be about the vows exchanged between a man and a woman. Ronald Reagan was the nation's first divorced president.The traditional view of marriage as a once-in-a-lifetime

LTE: Immigration scheme imperils boomer retirement

2007-05-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Illegal aliens often pay few or no taxes. Many don't pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes because they don't have a Social Security number. Making illegal aliens citizens will bankrupt Social Security, and the baby boomers won't get their share."Immigrant Plan Unfair To Boomers"Herald Tribune (Florida)

Blair, Iraq, and the folly of boomer exceptionalism

2007-05-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Mr. Blair's speech was shaped by the American-led interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo, and it overflowed with baby boomer confidence about the capacity of good intentions to set the world right. His vision was missing the astringent understanding of the fallibility of both men and nations that anchored the foreign policy thinking of Cold War-era realists like Reinhold Niebuhr, the brilliant

Aging with "attitude" or just plain cranky?

2007-05-20T18:29:00.001-07:00

The golden age of baby boomers, say experts, will ultimately revolutionize how America looks at and deals with aging, especially given the traditional youth-centered focus on pop culture, entertainment and image."Baby boomers are aging with attitude," says Bill Orozco, 57, a Los Angeles political consultant and aging activist. "The baby boomer seniors are active, involved in their communities and

Wanna buy a "People's Temple" shirt?

2007-05-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Rather than trade, they want to possess.The phenomenon is most visible in demand for items that reflect the interests and experiences of the Baby Boom generation, those born between 1946 and 1966. Rock, film and sports memorabilia have been commanding heady prices as the boomers reach their peak earning years. Many have finished with their family obligations and find themselves with plenty of

The real boomer legacy: failed war, foreign debt

2007-05-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Debt to foreign governments is rising by roughly $700-800 billion annually. These governments for the moment are content to lend the U.S these lofty sums at reasonable interest rates, but that could change by, for instance, an act of terrorism that would shake foreign confidence in the U.S., cause the budget deficit to increase due to a drop in revenues and an increase in spending for

The cure for restless leg syndrome: separate bedrooms

2007-05-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

A lot of happily married couples, partners for 30 years or more, are no longer sleeping together. Why? There are snoring problems, restless leg syndrome or other sleep issues. The need for sleep is fueling a new housing trend for baby boomers.Danny Utterbeck has been in housing construction for years. Lately he's noticing some differences in his customer's requests. The baby boomers are dictating

Boomers fight senility with quackery and snake oil

2007-05-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Gerry Stride cracks wise jokes about having a senior moment when she forgets a name. But this baby boomer's fear of succumbing to dementia or Alzheimer's disease is no joke.That's why Stride, 57, is a regular at the new "brain gym" of the Medford Leas retirement campus in Medford, N.J., where she works as director of community life."Baby Boomers Explore Ways To Avoid Senility"Clarion Ledger (

No room for minority youth in the "Age of Aquarius"

2007-05-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

With the number of nonwhite Americans above 100 million for the first time, demographers are identifying an emerging racial generation gap.That development may portend a nation split between an older, whiter electorate and a younger overall population that is more Hispanic, black and Asian and that presses sometimes competing agendas and priorities."Minority Population Surpasses 100 Million"Tampa

A warning to grabby boomers

2007-05-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

And so that leaves us with only one option -- to default. (We certainly mimic our parents when it comes to our comfort with bad credit.) We're not going to kill you off, Boomers, as much as we'd like to sometimes, but we're not going to pay for your old age, either. All the more reason to not only accept but lobby for cuts in benefits now -- before you turn to younger workers for a handout, and

Tune in, turn on and drop dead!

2007-05-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

Memo to Baby Boomers: An Apple a day might keep the doctor away, but your iPod might send you to the emergency room. On Thursday, a 17-year-old Michigan high school student named Jay Thaker presented a paper on iPod and pacemaker interference to the 2007 annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society in Denver, Colorado. His study concluded that iPods caused various types of interference in

Rise of the machines: a robotic future for boomers?

2007-05-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

But then there is the other thing....Will it be the Bicentennial Man? Which I actually think was one of the better science fiction movies. It's schmaltzy, but underneath what's going on, there are some interesting questions. Robin Williams is a robot who wants to become the human, a common theme. He starts replacing his parts with biologically motivated parts, and at the same time those

Historian: modern religious conservatism emerged in 60's counterculture

2007-05-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

The author, a historian at Southeast Community College, considers links between evangelicalism and 1960s youth culture and shows how a mixing of the two in the "Jesus movement" went on to influence the "biblically grounded politics" of a force most historians describe as "purely reactionary." Yet, "if it had not been for the counterculture," he says, "there may never have been a Christian Right."

'Hippie' author slams documentary

2007-05-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

If you are going to do a balanced job of reporting, you have to present that first part of the picture. With mostly no coverage of it, and just the barest fleeting mention of part of it, the producers of the Sunday night farce filled their two-hour butchery with tales of drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, violence, and crime. Thus, as usual, what viewers were given was a one-sided picture that wound

The new boomer, sorry... age discrimination industry

2007-05-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

The large number of baby boomers in the work force is helping to drive what some lawyers see as a steady rise in the number of age-bias complaints.According to the Census Bureau, there were 78.2 million baby boomers as of July 1, 2005. Many boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964, have fought for civil rights, are bolder than the previous generation, and will stand up for themselves

"Hippies": far from flattering

2007-05-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

It's depressing enough to see your high school and college years show up on the History Channel. But it got much worse when they interviewed former hippies who now look like Granny Clampett or shuffleboard supervisors at Seizure World Retirement Village, waxing nostalgic about their glory days sleeping with 60 other unwashed flower children in a commune."All of our money went into the pot," one

A hard sell: boomer nudists target younger demographic

2007-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the naked truth about nude recreation: The people who practice it aren't getting any younger.To draw 20- and 30-somethings, nudist groups and camps are trying everything from deep discounts on membership fees to a young ambassador program that encourages college and graduate students to talk to their peers about having fun in the buff."Nudists Try to Attract Younger Following"MSNBC

Boomer spending a non-issue for candidates

2007-05-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

The nation, already wallowing in debt, has no plan to cope with the tsunami of new costs that will arrive as baby boomers begin to retire. Instead of contributing to Social Security, the boomers will draw from it and as waves of boomers join the Medicare rolls, the program's costs will swell, swamping the ability of younger Americans to pay for them, says USA Today.The first surge is now within

Open borders for boomers!

2007-05-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Immigrants and baby boomers are two groups whose destinies are converging in the next 20 years,'' says Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California. ''Baby boomers will surrender their economic role to this generation of immigrants and their children,'' who will evolve into a critical pool of laborers and taxpayers, he says."Boomers' Fates Are Tied To Immigrants"Salt Lake

Canadian boomers keep it rockin'

2007-05-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

The spectre of old-age homes filling with pot smokers and crack heads is daunting for the scant few organizations in the country devoted to treating addictions among seniors."We're seeing a huge jump," said Marilyn White-Campbell, who works with addicted seniors through Ontario's Community Outreach Programs in Addictions. "It used to be just alcohol was a problem. Now we're seeing seniors using

Poll: students weary of boomer leaders

2007-05-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

College students apparently are fed up with the job being done by today's leaders.That's the gist of a new survey completed for the Panetta Institute for Public Policy at Cal State Monterey Bay.Like the rest of Americans, they've about had it with the Iraq war: about 73 percent supported a timetable for American troops to leave. Only 22 percent support keeping troops there "as long as necessary,"

Reader assails aussie boomers

2007-05-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

As an example, look at those heroic baby boomers who would have us believe they brought us into a golden age of enlightenment, happiness and progressive thinking.For all the stories of their wild challenges to authority and traditional thinking, I'm willing to bet that most did nothing more politically active than get stoned, sleep around, wear stupid headbands and sway their heads to trite and

In NZ: from "People Power" to elitism

2007-05-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Because the Baby Boomers are the establishment now. We are the oldies. We've become the people we marched against. This is the world our revolution has created.And it's every bit as flawed and dysfunctional, as failed and unjust as it ever was. The flaws and the failings may be new, they may be different but that's all. Their effect is every bit as sad and serious as anything the stuffy old

History we'd soon forget: 'Hippies'

2007-05-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

In the film, former hippie activist Roz Payne, now a gray-haired grandmotherly figure living in New Hampshire, talks about Woodstock and how she and others sneaked up to the security fence on Yasgur's Farm and cut it so thousands could get into the concert grounds without paying. She notes that she still has the original blueprints of the site. Oddly enough, she looks into the camera and says,

New fiction: overcoming hippie parents

2007-05-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

The true test for the hippie kids of Flower Children is not their parents' divorce, nor is it dealing with the string of short-term boyfriends and girlfriends who woo their folks.It's junior high. Raised in a cartoonish house with four rooms stacked one atop another, a dirt floor in the kitchen and a swing dangling from the living room ceiling, the children in Maxine

Tony Blair: typical selfish boomer

2007-05-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

For the boomer generation may be well educated, but they are at heart uncivilised. On average, they read much less than their parents did. Their taste in music remains largely mired in the comforting rhythms of their youth. "I feel I should graduate to classical music," Tony Blair said just a few weeks before his 50th birthday. "But the truth is, I'm more likely to listen to rock music. I

Now it can be told: the 60's "sucked"

2007-05-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Geez, I'm getting worked up about it all over, which is not a good sign. Could I be becoming as obsessed with rampant boomerism as the rest of my generation, only from a negative rather than a fawningly positive standpoint? If so, I'd better leave it there, thought not without a final word of warning to any younger readers who might still be tempted to romanticize the 60s: don't. They sucked. Bad

Public mood darkens towards boomer Congress, President

2007-05-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

The survey found only 35 percent approve of how Congress is handling its job, down 5 percentage points in a month. That gives lawmakers the same bleak approval rating as Bush, who has been mired at about that level since last fall, including his dip to a record low for the AP-Ipsos poll of 32 percent last January."Poll: Congress, Bush Share Low Approval"ABC News

Reality bites: day of reckoning for the "Me Generation"

2007-05-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post's economic columnist Bob Samuelson, a boomer himself, estimates that sustaining present benefit levels could require tax increases of 30 percent to 50 percent by 2030. Moreover, he expects boomers to be dissatisfied with present benefits and to lobby for more. He characterizes his generation as one of "careless self-absorption committing a political and economic crime against

Let the kids pay for it: boomer war waged on credit

2007-05-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Like all debts, however, the bill for Iraq and Afghanistan will eventually come due. While it is unlikely to cause economic upheaval, such as the devastating inflation that followed the Vietnam War, economists foresee substantial increases in government spending to rebuild the nation's exhausted armed forces, care for its disabled veterans and cover rising interest payments.Administration

Don Imus vs. the "anti-boomers"?

2007-05-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

America's recovery from its Fourth Turning crisis, which I discussed last week, will rely heavily on the energy and ideas of a rising younger generation. Because of this, it was with particular fascination that I read the details of Don Imus's 30-year career and his sudden and spectacular fall from public favor last month. The Imus story embodies something of extraordinary significance that (of

Does Obama threaten boomer leadership?

2007-05-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

But if Obama is correct and this really is his generation's moment, doesn't that mean that the moment is ending for the baby boomers — you know, the generation that said it would never get old, that it would never leave the stage, that it would redefine retirement, etc? Boomers must realize that if Obama is elected, it could make it less likely that one of them will ever again be elected

No way out: why can't boomers accept aging?

2007-05-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

What generations before us were spared is the relatively recent invention of middle age as a sustained mentality — one predicated on an awareness of its own growing remove from that elusive property known as hipness. Indeed, the enshrinement of hipness as a long-term attitude — the idea that first you’re cool and then you’re uncool and then you die — is probably the worst legacy of the culture of

A fool and his money: Grateful Dead auction brings in millions

2007-05-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO During their heyday, the Grateful Dead promised in their folksy lyrics to "steal your face right off your head."Some Deadheads figuratively lost their shirts on Tuesday, when big bidders pushed up prices during an auction ofGrateful Dead memorabilia collected by the group's longtime road manager.The auction of Dead memorabilia in San Francisco brought in more than $1.1 million for

(Yet) another boomer messiah

2007-05-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

Miranda said he is known as God in at least 30 countries.Local 6 reported that he was born in Puerto Rico and admits to being a recovering heroin addict. He also spent times in prison on drug and petty theft charges.Miranda is the founder of the Miami-based Growing in Grace Ministry."Crowd Packs Amphitheater for Man Claiming He's Jesus Christ Reincarnated"Local6.com (Florida)

Boomers retirement likely to destroy Medicare, Social Security

2007-05-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Fewer benefits, more taxes and some accounting magic will buy an extra year of life for Social Security and Medicare, trustees of the government's two largest benefit programs said Monday.The oncoming crush of 78 million retiring baby boomers still will crash the Medicare trust fund by 2019 and the Social Security trust fund by 2041 unless Congress and the White House can agree on a way to save

Thus spake Kurzweil: boomer futurist seeks immortality

2007-05-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

Note that by "forever" we mean "forever": The man literally intends not to die. With an acute memory of his father's early death, he's been getting weekly blood tests and intravenous treatments. He also takes pills - lots of pills, more than 200 vitamins, antioxidants, and other supplements every day. It's all part of his effort to "reprogram" his body chemistry and stop growing old. "I've slowed

Rolling Stone: 40 years too many

2007-05-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

In any case, whatever authority Rolling Stone might have claimed as a musical tastemaker has long since been eclipsed by savvier sources, beginning with Spin and expanding to include British imports such as Mojo and Q, specialty publications like No Depression and, now, the cyber punditry of Pitchfork, PopMatters and the rest.No matter, Wenner and company have moved on to higher pursuits."Over

In the UK: Hippie festival marred by spam attack

2007-05-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Anyone wanting tickets for this year's festival had to pre-register at the official website. Organisers had promised that no personal data would be shared and that all of it would be destroyed one month after the event.But, of the 400,000 who registered for the world's largest muddy, mooing music festival, many never got as far as See Tickets in the booking process to bag their spot because the

Too lazy to rock: boomers perfect art of armchair headbanging

2007-05-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

I don’t get it. Standing and stomping and moving to the beat are so much a part of what a rock concert is about. You go to live shows to feel free! Express yourself! Maybe even make a fool of yourself (okay, paunchy, balding guys doing air guitar in the crowd may not be pretty – or safe—but rock isn’t necessarily meant to be pretty – or safe). How can you let go if your hands are folded

The reaper wore tie-dye: boomer funerals eschew tradition

2007-05-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Inside his Phoenix funeral home, Craig Hansen has re-created a casino where mourners, in honor of the departed, played slot machines. Money dropped into the machines is donated to the deceased's favorite charity.At another farewell, the funeral director simulated a campsite because the deceased had loved to camp. He pitched a tent and brought in a faux fire.And, recently, when an armored truck