The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Today is the 100th anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment and Women’s Equality Day

Certification of the 19^th Amendment

The 19^th Amendment guarantees the right of women to vote. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it on Aug. 18, 1920. It was the final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states.

On Aug. 26, 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification. That meant that the 19^th Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution. The certification serves as official notice to the Congress and to the nation that the amendment process has been completed.

The amendment was called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, for Anthony, a leading figure in the women's voting rights movement.

On Nov. 2, 1920, more than 8 million women in the United States voted in elections for the first time.

Women’s Equality Day

On Aug. 26, 1973, Congress designated August 26 as Women's Equality Day, and authorized and requested the president to issue a proclamation in commemoration of that day in 1920 on which America women were first guaranteed the right to vote.

Today is the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th amendment, which guarantees the right for women to vote

Women fought long and hard for the vote – before the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which states the right to vote “shall not be denied … on account of sex.”

Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the constitution.

Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.

Baby boomers thinking about elections and safe travel

In Washington state, the primary election is Tuesday. Last week, I voted on the ballot sent to me in the mail, then I took it to the drop box about 10 blocks from my house. I’m a big fan of our state’s vote-by-mail system.

There are a  number of important elections on the primary ballot: selecting a new representative in Congress, retaining our great governor, Jay Inslee; and choosing a new lieutenant governor.

On the county level, we need to vote out two right-wing county commissioners. They ran as Independents and fooled voters.

Meanwhile, my baby boomer blogger friends are writing about:

Consumer groups ask for review of FCC ruling that would allow millions more text messages and calls to cellphones

Consumer groups filed an appeal on behalf of low-income consumers with the Federal Communications Commission Friday of a ruling by the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau that federal protections against unwanted text messages don’t apply to peer-to-peer text messaging systems, systems where the text message is sent by a person.

The calling industry is already citing the ruling as a basis to exempt all text messages and autodialed voice calls from the federal prohibition against making these calls without the consumer’s consent.  

“Such an interpretation would lead to an exponential growth in unsolicited calls and text messages from both telemarketers and political campaigns,” said Margot Saunders, senior counsel with the National Consumer Law Center. “Now more than ever, as consumers face mounting pressures from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and as we’re entering the peak election season, the FCC must protect consumers from unwanted and harassing text messages rather than bowing to political pressure to allow these unwanted texts without consent.”

Baby boomers thinking about venturing out, but should they?

Photo: Lawrence Purce

It’s so upsetting to see millions of people out protesting in the streets of America in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Should people be protesting the murder of George Floyd by a police officer? Yes, it’s needed. Should they be protesting in the middle of the pandemic? No.

In Washington state as of June 12, 2020, the 14-day average of covid-19 deaths was seven.

Seven people a day are dying, yet the state is opening up. The public policy is that it’s O.K. for seven people to die a day of covid-19.

In the United States on Sunday, 317 people died.

In this state, people age 65 and older are considered to be in the high-risk category, as are people with underlying health conditions. About half of baby boomers are in this age category. However, baby boomers are going out to dinner, getting their hair cut, and planning vacations.

Don’t be one of those who die. Stay home if you’re in the high-risk group. Health officials are predicting a second wave of covid-19.

Baby boomers contemplate grief, quarantine, hoarding, and love

You never know what's going to happen next in life. One day, you could lose someone you love or you could be in the middle of a pandemic. So, enjoy every day to its fullest.

That's the recommendation of our boomer blogging group. This week's articles are as follows:

Over at A Healing Spirit, Carol Cassara wants to counteract the negativity in the world by doing her version of random acts of kindness. Cassara calls them "love bombs" and offers a variety of ideas you can easily use to make the world more loving in "How To Love Bomb Someone for Free."

For Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles, it’s hard to believe almost four years have passed since her dad died. Four winters, springs, summers, and falls have come and gone. He was a good father and they were close. She thought his death would become easier with time, but instead it gets harder. Numbness eventually turned to grief, but each time she thinks of him the sadness goes deeper, the loss is more real. Here are eight things she misses…

It has been a busy week with presidential primaries and a possible pandemic dominating the news. The prospect of being quarantined got Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting pondering whether, and how, to prepare. Baer remembers a past brief time spent at home while contemplating future confinement.

The snowbird season is over. At least it is for Tom at Sightings Over Sixty. March is here, and so in his post "Homeward Bound" he says goodbye to the southern beaches and turns his sights to the north . . . and to the season ahead.

When a hoarder passes away, his or her family is left to sort out the mess. Rebecca Olkowski, with BabyBoomster.com, has been spending time getting rid of stuff so she can move. It’s amazing what a person can collect who has trouble letting things go. 

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #639. Click on the links to read these informative articles. And be sure to leave a comment. Boomer bloggers enjoy communicating with readers. 

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Happy Presidents' Day 2020

Presidents’ Day is a good day to think about government and what you can do as a citizen to be involved and help it work as effectively as possible.

For decades, I’ve been a member of the League of Women Voters, an organization who’s purpose is to educate citizens so that they can become informed participants in government.

Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, was the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the National League of Women Voters. To celebrate, I went to a Gala 100th Birthday Party and High Tea sponsored by the Tacoma-Pierce County League of Women Voters in Tacoma, Washington. The photo of me at the left was taken at the tea.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year.

I spent most of yesterday working on an article about the top consumer stories of 2019. Today, I'll be working on the top consumer stories of the decade. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The United States of America has such potential. It's a big, diverse country with tremendous resources. But, time and time again, we miss the mark. The opioid crisis. Mass shootings. Climate change inaction. Barriers for minorities and women. Ongoing wars. A lacking health care system.

But, as a consumer writer, the thing that bothers me the most is the continual favoring of corporate interests over the public interest. One of the biggest stories of the decade, in my opinion, is the increase in income inequality. I read about it on social media every day. Families struggling to get by, living paycheck to paycheck.

President Trump is impeached

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know I’m not a fan of the Trump administration. As it works to dismantle our government institutions and slash consumer and environmental protections, consumers are put in a worse position every day.

In my opinion, it’s a good thing that the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump. The House centered it’s investigation on the Ukraine travesty of bribery and obstruction of Congress for withholding documents and witnesses during the investigations.

To me there could have been many more items on which Trump could be impeached. Abuses of power and putting personal interest above the public interest occur regularly in the Trump administration.

Be sure to vote today

It’s Election Day throughout the nation in most places, and states are having important local elections. Be sure to research carefully who to vote for in these races. The people who run your city, county, and schools are important to your life and the lives of your family.

In addition, governors will be elected in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. State legislative elections also will be held in Virginia, Louisiana, and Mississippi as well as for the General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Special elections are also being held to fill state legislative seats vacated due to retirement, death, resignation, or election to another office.

On ballot measures, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, voters will consider a ballot initiative to change how seats in the legislature are apportioned. In Washington state, voters will decide on Referendum 88, a measure that would allow affirmative action policies in public education, employment, and contracting, and Initiative 976, which would reduce car tabs to $30. In Pennsylvania, voters will consider a constitutional amendment to adopt Marsy’s Law protections for crime victims.