Silverman urges 'Great Schlep' for Obama
Dallas Morning News Sep 26, 08 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The 2008 election is so important that some Jewish kids may actually visit their grandparents voluntarily. That's the theory behind “The Great Schlep,” an initiative urging young Jews to fly to Florida over Columbus Day weekend and lobby their relatives for Barack Obama. The sponsor is a pro-Obama Jewish group, but more important, it has a celebrity spokesman: Sarah Silverman.
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73% of white college grads over 65 are plugged in
Associated Press Jul 21, 08 5:14 AM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain may be a Luddite when it comes to the internet—the 71-year-old candidate confesses that he relies on his wife and aides to do his browsing for him—but most of his peers are computer savvy, AP reports. While only 35% of Americans over age 65 are online, three-quarters of white, college-educated American men over the age of 65 routinely use the internet, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
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IRS struggling to keep up
CNN Jun 20, 08 9:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Roughly 5 million people who qualify for a stimulus check could be out of luck because they haven't filed a tax return, CNN reports, and the IRS is scrambling to let them know. These un-stimulated masses consist mostly of seniors and veterans who don’t normally file returns. “I think there are some natural barriers to getting some folks to want to file a return again,” one IRS employee theorized.
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Younger woman assaults 71-year-old
CBS13 Jun 19, 08 6:23 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A woman in Stockton, Calif., is facing elder-abuse charges after she allegedly attacked a 71-year-old woman who caught her parking in a handicap spot without a permit, CBS reports. The victim says her 26-year-old assailant “put her baby down and came at me with both hands” when she saw the older woman taking a photo of her license plate. The victim was knocked down but not seriously hurt.
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Boomers, seniors split on whether to support fellow oldster
New York Times Jun 15, 08 3:17 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Now that a primary season fraught with racism and sexism has ended, the nation now gears up to face its general-election gremlin: ageism. While John McCain, 71, may joke that the primary qualification to be president is "to be very, very, very, very old," the New York Times reports that his age may work for him among ever-more vibrant oldsters trying to break a gray ceiling, of sorts.
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Brighter environs cut depression in research hailed as 'spectacular'
BBC Jun 11, 08 11:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Brighter daytime lighting can significantly soften dementia symptoms, according to a Dutch study that found better moods and sleep patterns correlated with brighter environs. Combined with extra doses of the hormone melatonin, lighting slowed onset of symptoms by up to 5%, which “may not sound like a huge amount,” one researcher said, but “it could represent 6 months" of extra time in a patient's own home.
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OPINION
LAT scribe urges elderly to dis a gay marriage ban in Calif.
Los Angeles Times May 30, 08 9:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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If old folks in California would come out to support gay marriage in November, a proposed amendment banning it would keel over and die, Joel Stein writes in the Los Angeles Times . The majority of Californians under 50 support it, but only 36% of senior citizens. Which leads Stein to urge oldsters to "take a leap of faith and trust the younger generations on this one." Sometimes social change requires "uncomfortable lurches toward improvement."
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Drug cuts risk of getting disease in half
HealthDay News May 16, 08 3:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The CDC is recommending that all adults age 60 and older get vaccinated against shingles, a common condition that can result in chronic plan, the Washington Post reports. Research has found that the recommended Merck vaccine reduces the occurrence of shingles by some 50% in this age group. Only those with immunodeficiency diseases should not be vaccinated, according to the CDC.
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Researchers find people get happier as they age
Chicago Sun-Times Apr 19, 08 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Happiness really does come with age, researchers have discovered in one of the widest-ranging studies ever of happiness in America. Measures of happiness steadily climbed among study participants into their mid-60s. Levels dipped only slightly after that, and people in their 80s still tended to be happier than people under 40, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
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Study sees age, wealth increasing, but gap remains between races
Reuters Mar 28, 08 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Americans over age 65 have better financial security, are better educated and expected to live far longer than ever, a study finds—but huge gaps remain between results for whites and those for blacks and Latinos. "The life expectancy gap between whites and blacks has narrowed but is still large," a researcher tells Reuters. "There is a big wealth gap between whites and blacks."
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Long-term study
shows elders
trending left
LiveScience Mar 10, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The older a person gets, the more conservative he or she is likely to be, right? Wrong, say scientists who studied more than 46,000 people who responded to a US government survey from 1972 to 2004. In fact, a lead researcher tells LiveScience, "More people are changing in a liberal direction than in a conservative direction."
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Races close ahead of March 4 primaries
Washington Post Feb 22, 08 4:35 AM CST
(Newser)
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Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are running neck and neck in Texas, while Clinton holds a significant but tenuous lead in Ohio, according to a Washington Post- ABC News Poll. Heading into the crucial March 4 primaries, Clinton leads Obama 48% to 47% in Texas, and 50% to 43% in Ohio .
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40% of the Sunshine State's voters are over 65
Politico Jan 29, 08 1:03 PM CST
(Newser)
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The road to the GOP nomination may pass through The Villages, a retirement community outside Orlando with an upper-crust, Republican-heavy population. “If you don’t get your condos to the polls, you don’t win,” a professor says of the 350 retirement communities in Florida, where 40% of voters are over 65, Politico reports. And The Villages, pop. 65,000, holds special sway.
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New traffic-safety law applies to 85-year-old speedster
Globe and Mail Jan 8, 08 12:18 PM CST
(Newser)
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An 85-year-old speedster has been charged with street racing after a Canadian cop clocked him going 100mph, the Globe and Mail reports. When the officer tried to pull over the rocketing Oldsmobile Intrigue, the heedless octogenarian sped up, weaving between lanes in icy conditions to maintain speed. When he finally pulled over, the lead-footed senior said he was on his way to the bank.
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