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For many months now, many of my posts have been, admittedly, overly lamenting the on “loss” of American culture. As a member of Generation X, perhaps I have often been very overly vitriolic in my opinion that life is just not as it once was in America. I recently watched my first few episodes of the series “Mad Men” on DVD. And the experience has been enlightening on my own view of American culture and cathartic of my own personal history. I must say, I am coming to grips with my own political views. And my watching a TV show...

They branded us "Generation X". They said we had no cause to fight for. They labeled us as lazy, and lost, all the while feeding us their rhetoric of "Equality". They drowned us in a sea of political correctness, while they continued on living contrary to their own words. They tried to use the Earth herself to enslave us. We grew up knowing that we could never trust them, but we never knew where to turn. We remember the values of the founding fathers, and we know that our politicians are not up to par with them. Now is the...

Is Obama a disaster zone? Of course he is. Let’s cut through the crap, shall we? The SOB has never had any experience. And, but for the failed phrase “Compassionate Conservative,” we would never have been where we are today. What the hell does America have to show for its liberal agenda? Can anyone stand up and affirmatively tell us? An educational system occupied by apologist leftists? The ideal of community values now epitomized by a lack of gang bangers saying “trick or treat” on Halloween? The concept that “family” is a couple of homosexual men with a child and...

Is Obama a disaster zone? Of course he is. Let’s cut through the crap, shall we? The SOB has never had any experience. And, but for the failed phrase “Compassionate Conservative,” we would never have been where we are today. What the hell does America have to show for a liberal agenda? Can anyone stand up and tell us? An educational system occupied by apologist leftists? The ideal of community values now epitomized by a lack of gang bangers saying “trick or treat” on Halloween? The concept that “family” is a couple of homosexual men with a child and “nice...

The sad news of the death of former correspondent and newscaster Walter Cronkite gripped the entire nation last week and continues to do so. Many generations are grieving for the man who brought the truth of living history into our homes and into our lives. Each generation has its own vision of the man who became affectionately known as “Uncle” Walter. To the older generations, born during the Great Depression and prior, he first gained national attention by reporting firsthand on the struggle of World War II. His coverage of the war included North Africa and Europe, where he participated...

I have never done a vanity before but today I just needed to let my FREEPER FRiends that I turned 40 today and am stunned. I just can't believe that I remember my parents turning 40. Enjoy life cuz it is short. I tell you my life has been enhanced with my membership to Free Republic. Thank you to all of you and my family Julie (Mrs. NAPS), Nick, Kyle, Alex, and Abby. May 2, 1969 as a lucky day for the world...lol. Just kidding.

Two months shy of its 150th birthday, the Rocky Mountain News breathes its last. Elsewhere, the state of Minnesota shifts tax money from retraining manufacturing workers, to helping newspaper staff connect with an online audience. Before the World Wide Web, I was one of those journalists in training. As fate would have it, the year I graduated in 1993, an invention called the web browser would soon change everything. While starting my career as a journalist for a pauper’s salary, my brother emails me something that blows my mind. It’s called Netscape Navigator and allows people to share “web pages”...

You’ve likely heard the expression, “Mugged by reality.” It usually refers to having a treasured ideal shattered by some stubborn feature of human nature or unbending aspect of science or geopolitics. I’ve been eager to proclaim that the financial meltdown shows our world being mugged by economic reality. But increasingly, it seems humanity is attempting to perform a multitrillion-dollar mugging of reality. This is the first postmodern recession. It combines baby-boomer self-absorption with the ahistorical ignorance of the following generation, plus the acute narcissism common to both. The accompanying histrionics erase perspective and proportion – and the chance for rational...

We’re Not Gen-X, We’re Gen-Reagan This is for everyone who was raised to believe that our young lives would soon end in a nuclear war, of mutually assured destruction, quivering under our school desks with President Reagan to thank for making the pink and gray tile on our classroom floors the last thing we would ever see. This is for those of us raised in the post-graduate, post-doctorate suburbs where Volkswagens and Volvos taught us that we “can’t hug our children with nuclear arms” and that “war is not healthy for children and other living things.” This is for the...

New online program can replace trip to a field office WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration, envisioning the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day, has put together a new online service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field office. The agency, in introducing the program Tuesday, said most people will be able to apply for their retirement or disability benefits in 15 minutes or less.

Just how popular is Kay Hymowitz’s City Journal essay, “Love in the Time of Darwinism,” which decries the phenomenon of marriage-avoiding man-children? So popular that it was sent to me by no less than three different friends today (all males) and it’s been featured on two different traffic engines this week: Arts & Letters Daily and Real Clear Politics. Her brief is actually a mild apology for a previous essay in which she reprehended the jaded and loveless men of my generation for, as she puts it here, “whiling away their leisure hours with South Park reruns, marathon sessions of...

Even as he fends off Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination contest, Senator Barack Obama is already turning his attention to the general election, and to an ambitious plan to reshape the American electorate in his favor. Bringing new voters to the polls "is going to be a very big part of how we win," said Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, in an interview. "Barack's appeal to independent voters is also going to be key." Hildebrand said the campaign is likely to turn its attention and the energy of its massive volunteer army this fall on registering African-American...

A generational struggle is underway. What's so unusual is it's taking place within a single generation [Obama] represents a new generation of leadership, even though technically he's part of the same generation as Hillary, the baby boomers. Here's where it gets a bit complicated. This tussle pits an Early Boomer vs. a Late Boomer, and the two cohorts have little in common... In the case of boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—the whole frame is wrong. It's based on birthrates, not common cultural and political affinities... Worse, the Early Boomer sensibility gets all the attention. Five decades of newsmagazine boomer...

Rocking The Vote by: Louisa Tavlas, January 31, 2008 With primaries in full swing and the November elections drawing near, a seemingly unlikely constituency is being given an increasing amount of attention. Today’s youth has unfortunately been heir to the politically apathetic Generation-X stereotype. According to non-partisan groups such as The Center for American Progress, however, this stereotype is not only unfair, but largely inaccurate. Campus Progress, which is The Center’s comprehensive effort to encourage young voters to make themselves heard, hosted the “Super Tuesday and Youth Vote” event on January 29th. This panel discussion addressed the rise of the...

“The greatest generation had Normandy,” writes David Bellavia. “Generation X will have Fallujah.” He knows well whereof he speaks. A former Army staff sergeant, Bellavia was a part of the Army-Marine operation Phantom Fury that liberated the Jihadist-controlled Iraqi city in nine days of heavy fighting in November 2004. For his actions in Fallujah, Bellavia was awarded the Silver Star and has been nominated for the Medal of Honor. Now out of the Army, Bellavia, is a highly educated, extremely well-read young man. He knows his history, speaks some Arabic and understands the overarching strategic imperatives of the War on...

Summer of love: 40 years later Hippie Hippie Shakedown: But where was love? BY DAWN EDEN, Guest Columnist LA Daily News WHEN it comes to inappropriate names, "Summer of Love" has to be right up there with "Joy Division," the name the Nazis reportedly gave to the sections of concentration camps that housed the guards' sex slaves. For one thing, it was not just a summer event. The countercultural happening that swept through San Francisco and beyond began with an April1967 planning announcement by concert promoter Chet Helms, aka Family Dog, creating the "Council for the Summer of Love." It...

Since 1994, viewers of NBC Channel 8 in Tampa, Florida have grown to love weatherman John Winter. John had a certain understated charisma, and seemed to embody Generation X cool. West Central Florida weather can be very monotonous some seasons, in those times, John always had a way to liven up his audience. When hurricanes bore down on the state, the short, but powerfully built weatherman had the calm to get the audience through the storm. It came as a complete shock when he committed suicide with a gun last Thursday afternoon ...

He croons songs including "Frosty the Snowman" on the festive CD 'Happy Holidays.' Billy Idol has stunned his diehard fans by ditching his punk image to record an album of classic Christmas songs. The rocker croons a selection of songs including "Frosty the Snowman," "Winter Wonderland" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on the festive CD 'Happy Holidays.' And the British rocker insists he had no trouble hitting the right notes, because the songs just flowed out of him. He says, "These songs were a challenge to sing as so many other singers have interpreted them in their own...

A fan surfs the crowd at the 2005 Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park. (Photo courtesy of Cambria Harkey/Lollapalooza) A Senior Moment for Gen X: First Lollapalooza Was 15 Years Ago BY MICHELE M. MELENDEZ   [Chicago, Illinois] -- It happens to everyone: Some cultural moment makes you "feel old." For Generation X, now in their 30s and 40s, this is one of those times. Beneath the buzz for next month's Lollapalooza music festival lurks the jarring realization that the first one was 15 years ago. "Jeez. Really? Fifteen?" asked Kristen Palmer, 32, of New York City, who braved the...

Recent Endicott College graduate Kristin Bradshaw has found the perfect pad: There's no rent, most of her meals are prepared, and she doesn't have to do much cleaning. There's just one drawback of sorts: Her housemate is her mother. Because the 22-year-old doesn't have money socked away or a full-time job to support herself, Bradshaw said, her only option for the moment is to bunk at home in Stow -- and she's not necessarily happy about it. ``I never thought I'd move back in with my parents," Bradshaw said. ``I feel like I'm taking a step backward." For many college...

WASHINGTON - Unemployment soared to record highs recently, not because of lack of jobs, but lack of motivation to work. Such is the legacy of today's "Slacker Generation." Andy Dandershaw, a self-described "free-thinker" still living with his parents at age 32, said he discovered his calling when Forest Gump said "Life is like a box of chocolates." "It made a lot of sense, like something kicked down a door in my mind." Anderstone said, "Eating chocolates sure beats work. Forest is happy, and he can run real fast. What else do you need?" Jeff Tamozzar, a computer engineer and scholar,...

Dems Clap On Account Of Not Acting On Bush’s Social Security Proposal (VIDEO) PRESIDENT BUSH: We must also confront the larger challenge of mandatory spending, or entitlements. This year, the first of about 78 million baby boomers turn 60, including two of my Dad’s favorite people — me and President Clinton. (Laughter.) This milestone is more than a personal crisis — (laughter) — it is a national challenge. The retirement of the baby boom generation will put unprecedented strains on the federal government. By 2030, spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid alone will be almost 60 percent of the...

CHICAGO -- Abby Lovett's friends would die laughing if they heard her. Here she is in her office at a Chicago advertising agency, the place she spends many a night and weekend, loudly proclaiming that people in her generation need to work less than their baby-boomer parents have. Sure, she's putting in more than 50 hours a week to establish her career. But in her heart, Miss Lovett knows she'll end up miserable if she doesn't eventually find a little balance. To her and many other young adults, "having it all" quickly is becoming a myth, not the mantra it...

I never thought there would be an issue about what age I decided to marry at, which now I realize you don't "decide" to marry. It should just happen. (But sometimes it is a conscious decision for some women that results as an ultimatum. That's an entirely different column.) I'm 35 years old, never married and that makes me "single." I'm not a divorcee or a widow. I'm not dating anyone nor am I "playing the field" since the prospective greenery seems to be missing in my general vicinity. If you're a 35-year-old woman who has substantial control over your...

Before we bust out the .50 caliber rifles and start shooting people from a mile away it’s important to know exactly who we’re talking about. Your parents, the baby boomers, are between 40 and 60 years old. They “stopped a war.” They “can’t remember the 60s” and they ruined everything for every generation to come. Though their politics were knee-jerk liberal 25 years ago, today they combine the worst of both parties. They pretend to be Democrats but secretly vote Republican at the last second so they don’t have to pay taxes on the incredible amount of income they’ve accrued...

A new rock group featuring former members of The Clash and Generation X has taken a novel approach to the issue of piracy by urging their fans to copy their music. Carbon Silicon make all their recordings freely available online, and actively encourage bootlegging or filming of their gigs. They even attack the current waves of litigation surrounding illegally copied music in their song Gangs Of England, which includes the line, "if you want the record, press record". "What we're talking about here is fans who are sharing music," Tony James, formally of Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Generation X -...

Ever want to look into the mind of a Clinton-era ‘Generation-X’ slacker who ‘made a mistake’ by accepting a prestigious Air Force Academy slot and then just could not stand to serve out his 6 year military commitment? Well, the following would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad (from the standpoint of our nation). Hopefully 9-11 has somewhat cured this kind of attitude amongst the younguns. The following is the actual text of a handwritten letter left at his desk by a 24-year-old Second Lieutenant, a US Air Force Academy graduate, on the day he deserted from the Air...

I'm feeling a little guilty these days. in fact, President Bush sometimes makes me feel awful. He and I both hail from Texas, we've both been Republicans, and we're about the same age. But he's constantly reminding all of us baby boomers that when we first started working each of us was 1 of nearly 7 workers paying Social Security taxes for every retiree. By the time we retire, however, there will only be two workers supporting each of us. As we say in Texas, that ain't right. But I do wish the president, with a lot of heavy burdens...

Generation X Catholics were asked in their teenage days what it was that the church had failed to give them. The most frequent response was that the church had not challenged teens with “a high and heroic ideal.” Such a challenge, as we’ve been reminded these past few weeks, was made with astounding success by the late pope. The Millennial Generation, born in the days of Reagan and John Paul II, is emerging into the world with a conservatism unexpected and nervously opposed by the liberal elite of American culture. But liberalism cannot erase the moral demand it has provoked....

Ferrell Going Back in Time for Universal's 'Lost' LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - After playing an elf and an anchorman on the big screen, Will Ferrell is venturing into "Land of the Lost" for Universal. The "Saturday Night Live" alumnus is attached to star in a "Land of the Lost" comedy feature based on the 1974-77 television series of the same name. Universal acquired the feature rights from Sid and Marty Krofft, executive producers of the original NBC series, who will produce the feature for the studio. Jimmy Miller and Julie Wixson-Darmody also will produce via the Mosaic Media Group...

In 1935, Americans drove the Model T, enjoyed Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing “cheek to cheek,” watched the Chicago Cubs in a rare World Series appearance and were mostly unaware of an infant, experimental technology known as “television.” For today’s Generation Xer’s, the 1930’s are a world away, as contemporary American society bears little resemblance to these forgotten, distant days. But not so fast. We still maintain one undisturbed link to this decade – it’s called social security. Yes, the social security system initially devised by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 inexplicably lives on into the new millennium. There’s...

When Michael Graves was 20 years old, a typical evening involved caking his face in skull makeup, donning a leather vest stained with fake blood and spitting out lyrics in front of hordes of moshing, screaming kids. For five years, Graves was the lead singer of the Misfits, a legendary punk band known for their bloody "fiend" costumes and horror-movie lyrics. In short, he was the perfect example of America's radical liberal youth. From the moment he left the stage, though, Graves was a devout Catholic and conservative voter. Graves, now 29, was just one of a growing number of...

We've (Generation X) have always been stereotyped as a "Conservative" Generation. Whether we got that way from Christianity, rebelling against the Baby Boomers, or some other way dosn't matter. Let's prove them right by voting 4 BUSH November 2!!! It's only 7 1/2 days away!!! It's gonna be a tight race!!! Vote 4 babies!!! Vote 4 Christians & Jews!!! Vote 4 marriage!!! Vote 4 low taxes!!! Vote 4 the Constitution!!! If you were born 1962 - 1981 PROVE THE STEREOTYPE RIGHT!!! VOTE RIGHT!!! VOTE BUSH 04!!!

I'm tired of Liberals trying to move the dates of Generation X. The only reason they push the ending date back into the 70s is to make Bush looke bad. The smaller Generation X is the harder it will be for us to support the Baby Boomers. And the harder it is the worse a problem George Bush has created. I've heard many Generation Xers very upset that they get lumped into the "Boomer" Generation (again to make them look bigger & us smaller) And on the other end, some people try to push the ending date up. I've heard...

Younger voters think the country is heading in the wrong direction and that President Bush does not share their priorities, but they like Bush personally and are unsure about John Kerry. Overall, Kerry has a substantial lead among voters under thirty, a reversal of the Bush's nine-point advantage among all registered voters. In a head-to-head contest, Kerry is leading Bush by 10 points (51-41), and in a contest that includes Ralph Nader, Kerry is ahead by 6 (46-40-4). These results came from a new poll of 18-29-year-olds (conducted September 8-13) by CBS News on behalf of MTV and the Center...

Red, white and blue colors cover the screen on MTV's website as the words appear, "The last election was decided by 500,000 votes nationwide. In some states it was decided by 50,000 or 5,000 or 500. In the last election, 18 million young people voted. What if that were 20 million? Who's swing voting now?" The same network that has given us "The Osbournes," "Punk'd," and "Total Request Live" also contributes to the seriousness of politics by delivering "Choose or Lose," the current MTV campaign to mobilize 20 million young voters in November. "Choose or Lose," launched in 1992, brought...

It's little wonder many women are single when they expect Mr Absolutely Perfect, writes Miranda Devine. If you ever suspected men haven't a chance in the dating game against today's picky uber-femme, here's some evidence, from last week's New York magazine relationships advice column, The Help Desk. "I go on this great first date and we decide to share a cab home - separate stops. When we get in, he buckles his seatbelt! I know that's a wise thing to do, so I feel like a jerk saying this, but it totally turned me off. It just seemed so kid-like...

<p>Once upon a time, a fellow was considered a mature man at 20 — a guy with a steady job, wife and baby, a little house somewhere.</p> <p>Time and attitude march on, however. Today's twenty-somethings have become reluctant to surrender to the traditional grown-up world, according to a University of Pennsylvania study released Tuesday.</p>

GALLUP TUESDAY BRIEFINGGovernment & Public AffairsSeptember 2, 2003Ideological Crossroads: Gen X Marks the Spotby Darren K. Carlson, Contributing EditorA special analysis* of Gallup data on the politics of Americans between the ages of 25 and 38 -- post-baby boomers who correspond roughly to "Generation X" -- points toward a more conservative ideology than one might expect, given their relatively young age. Two survey questions focusing on respondents' stances on social and economic issues shed light on where Gen Xers stand ideologically. Socially Balanced The famous 1960's admonition to "never trust anybody over 30" alluded to people's penchant to grow more...

When liberals wear ties and jackets, it's not news. But for some reason, when conservatives put on baggy jeans, it's a huge story. That seems to be the upshot of a recent cover story of The New York Times magazine titled "The Young Hipublicans," which explores the world of campus conservatives. The article's teaser says it all: "No taxes, no gun control -- but these days blue blazers and gay bashing are not required. College conservatives have learned that by acting like everybody else, they can sway their peers and become the most influential political act on campus." The article,...

I am proud to be a member of Generation X, which is sometimes described as those born between 1965 and 1980. Tom Brokaw may have identified the "greatest generation" of the 20th century, but I would like to bring your attention to the one that has kicked off the 21st century with a bang. We are the same people who grew up with the Commodore 64 computer and played Pac-Man on the Atari 2600 for sport. Rock 'n' roll to us was Van Halen, while pop music was represented by Madonna and Michael Jackson. We knew Ronald Reagan as our...

WASHINGTON (RNS)--The nation's youth are more conservative than older adults on issues relating to religion and abortion, a study by the University of California at Berkeley has found. The school's Survey Research Center found that while 59 percent of adults ages 27 to 59 would like public schools to permit prayer at commencements and other official school activities, 69 percent of teenagers support school prayer. "We were surprised by the great support among young Americans for some aspects of the conservative cultural agenda," said Merrill Shanks, a political science professor at the university and a lead researcher of the study....

The Eternal Liturgy Worship in the Orthodox TraditionBy Fr. Jonah Paffhausen Over a thousand years ago, when emissaries from the Russian prince Vladimir went to Constantinople and stood in the Liturgy at the Church of Christ the Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia, they did not know whether they were in heaven or on earth. The grandeur of the cathedral, the unearthly music, the choirs, the majestic iconography, the rites of worship, the elders in white vesture falling before the Throne of God and singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” with all the angels and an innumerable company of saints, altogether bore them to...

Let’s be honest with ourselves, the policies of the Democratic Party encourage people to remain lazy, claim victim status, and leech off of the money of taxpayers and anyone else’s money they can get their lazy fingers on. It is due in large part to the perpetuation of these bottom feeders that taxpayers eventually flee the Democratic Party. As the old saying goes, “if you’re not liberal in your 20’s you have no heart, and if you’re not conservative in your 40’s you have no head.” A lifetime of observing these bottom feeders will build up cynicism in even the...

The Forestry Commission is brightening up its forests because it thinks people are scared by dark woods. It's likely to mean the appearance of cleared paths, neatly manicured glens and strategically placed water features. Psychologists have told the commission that folklore, fairytales and films like the Blair Witch Project were causing tourists to steer clear of woods. The Times says one of the first woodland makeovers, at Grizedale Forest in the Lake District, will create wider paths, provide more information boards and clear large areas of trees. John White, a tree expert and former researcher for the commission, told the...