In this regular weekend feature you will find links to news items from the preceding week related to elders and aging, along with whatever else catches my fancy that I think you might like to know. Suggestions are welcome with, however, no promises of publication.

A de facto embargo on discussing Senator Obama’s race in this campaign has not stopped some from making insinuating statements about him, but it has also deprived us of rejoicing in the achievement of a black presidential candidate. "Even if he didn't win, I was happy for him just to be nominated," said centenarian Ann Nixon Cooper. "The first black president - isn't that something, at 106 years old?" Read more here. (Hat tip to Donna Woodka of Changing Places)

In his new Gray Matters column today, Saul Friedman sheds some light on the changes in Medicare and explains how a means test for the Part B premium, which is deducted from Social Security benefits, will be fully phased in next year.

Social Security, Medicare and “hell on our grandkids” are among the five ways R.W. Eskew says a McCain/Palin administration would make things worse for elders. More here.

David Wolfe of Ageless Marketing has a terrific post about how much the internet has changed our lives. There is even, he tells us, a primitive version of the Star Trek food replicator. We are living through extraordinary times of political, economic and cultural storms, says David, but “Deconstruction has always preceded reconstruction in the long journey of human progress from the days of the first hand-wrought tools.” Read more here.

From the beginning of the presidential campaign, we’ve been told that a majority of elders are voting for Senator McCain. Early voting in Florida belies this “fact” as does this story from Bloomberg.com. And the latest Gallup numbers tracking preferences by age now show elders have given Senator Obama a slight lead in their age group.

Google has created a terrific, little tool to help you figure out how much money you can save and reduce your carbon footprint by changing some of your household energy behavior. According to their tool, I’m saving $368 a year and 5100 pounds of CO₂. They have other energy saving tips here.

Here’s a Halloween video about the election and Social Security from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: