Did You Know?

• 50 to 70 year-old women are about to become the richest demographic in U.S. history.
• Boomers outspend other generations by an estimated $400 billion each year on consumer goods and services.
• Women between 45 and 64 are the most likely age group to shop online for beauty products.
• The 50+ market has $2.4 trillion in annual income, which accounts for 42% of all after-tax income.
• There are now more people over 65 than there are teenagers.
• Over the next 10 years the boomer generation’s leading female edge will transform the American market in nearly every consumer product category.
• 83.2% of US Boomers will use the Internet regularly in 2011, up from 75% in 2006.
• There are 8 million Hispanic Boomers.
• There are 9.1 million African American Boomers
• More than 70% of the US Boomers report buying music in the past year, making it the most important buying segment for CDs and an increasingly important market for digital downloads.
• By 2010, adults 45 years old and older will outspend younger adults by $1 trillion annually.
• Boomers, on average, have the most discretionary income of any segment of the US population.

Authorities have warned people to beware of e-mails promising faster stimulus checks from the federal government in exchange for personal information.

These phishing e-mails are a scam designed to steal your personal information and drain your bank account.  The IRS isn’t contacting people about their refunds by e-mail, so don’t take the bait.

The e-mails appear to come from the Internal Revenue Service and tell recipients they can receive their stimulus check from the government more quickly by providing their bank account information for direct deposit.  The e-mails tell recipients their checks will be delayed if they don't provide the information. 

The IRS never requests taxpayers' personal information by e-mail, according to the FBI, which also has warned people about the e-mails.

People with questions about their stimulus checks can call a toll-free rebate hotline at 1-866-234-2942.

Today, the good old mountain boys and girls of West Virginia go to the polls to let the rest of the world know how they feel about the choices on the democratic presidential ticket.

But Hillary has probably summed it up best when she was recently quoted as saying this:   “There was just an AP article posted that found how Senator Obama’s support among working-hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how the, you know, whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”

Now, I'm not sure why Hillary is taking pride in knowing that white Americans with no college education support her.  So what does that say about her?  It says she'll do or say whatever  she has to in order to get the votes.  She has created a democratic primary of "fear" in rural white America and basically told them she is their best alternative over a Black man.

The next time you hear someone called former President Bill Clinton "the Black President" do me a favor and engage them in a discussion about

Despite the fact that North Carolina’s Governor went against the grain and endorsed Hillary Clinton, it was Barack Obama who came out the big winner during Tuesday’s Primary election.

The numbers are beyond impressive!  Obama won a lopsided victory by more than 200,000 votes.  With 99 percent of the votes counted:

Barack Obama      887,186

Hillary Clinton      654,484

What is even more astonishing is the fact that nearly 1.5 million votes were cast (by Democrats) in the race.  According to the NC Board of Elections, there are 2,633,502 registered democratic voters (as of 5/7/08)

Never in the history of NC voting has there ever been a turnout like this.  Yes, Obama overwhelmingly won the black vote, but he clearly crossed over racial lines and received a significant number of white votes as well.  (The media’s not talking about that!)

Even though I’m not a fan of FOX News, they reported some interesting statistics:

74% of voters with college degrees voted for Obama

56% of voters with no degree voted for Obama

69% of first-time voters voted for Obama

61% of Obama voters were under 30 (my daughter was one of them).

 Obama received 92% of the black vote

Obama received 61% of white women

So there you have it.....

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Obama---wife of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Michelle came to Durham, NC to campaign for her husband. She was supposed to speak at 12:30pm but due to bad weather in the Midwest, she arrived and spoke more than two hours later. But her tardiness didn't seem to matter to the standing room only crowd. While waiting, we actually sat around and talked to each other---black, white, hispanic, young and old. It was a refreshing site to see. Not one hate monger in the crowd.

Michelle is even more impressive in person than she is on television. She is poised and assertive. She has a sense of humor and she can deliver a speech without NOTES. It's so obvious she and Barack have a REAL relationship and not something they have to make up for the cameras. She is also a beautiful example of what it's like to grow up in humble beginnings---unlike the way she and Barack have been depicted by some media as "elitists." She reminds me a lot of myself.

Following her speech I had a chance to actually meet her and gave her an autographed copy of my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age, along with a T-shirt donning the face of my grandson wearing an OBAMA hat.

If I had been on the fence in this campaign, Michelle would've definitely won me over! She has all of the qualities needed to represent her husband as the "First Lady."