aei

Just got this in my inbox from the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Think someone's afraid of Millennials? If you are in DC, go to their site and register. I won't be able to make it down to DC that day and would love to hear how it went.

The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation?
Monday, September 29, 2008, 12:00–2:00 p.m.
Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

In an election season marked by the prominent involvement of young voters and the unprecedented use of new technologies for campaign advertisements and fundraising, the significance of the “millennial generation” has acquired new salience. Some have deemed the generation born between 1982 and 2000 smart and engaged, pointing to record competitiveness for admission to top colleges and surging political participation. Others cite the average two hours that youths spend each day watching television—and the average eight minutes they spend reading—and lament that their access to video games, the Internet, and other digital technologies has eroded essential knowledge and skills. What do data tell us about the impact of new technologies on learning and attainment? What does this mean for youth and schooling in America? How are today’s youth affecting technological development, our way of life, and our institutions?

Two influential thinkers on these questions—Mark Bauerlein, author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future and Neil Howe, co-author of Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation—will debate these and other issues. Frederick M. Hess, AEI’s director of education policy studies, will moderate.

I'll give you one guess which side the moderator favors . . .

• Hat tip to Tony Cani, the Political Director of the Young Democrats, for catching the most cynical youth story of the week. From the conservative Washington Times:
  

  Republicans can keep young voters who support Democratic nominee Barack Obama at home by giving their young relatives and friends gift cards to iTunes and Starbucks that are good only on Nov. 4, election day.

  “That’s the only way to keep them away from the polls,” said Kellyanne Conway, president of The Polling Company, during a breakfast with the delegates at their hotel near the University of Minnesota.

  Tony has the appropriate response.

• That last gem comes courtesy of a speaker addressing the Virginia delegation at the Republican National Convention. But I don't think the Virginia GOP needs any help suppressing the youth vote, they're already doing a bang-up job of that, according to this New York Times article. A local registrar near Virginia Tech is improperly and inaccurately threatening students with the loss of financial aid if they register to vote in the state.
• Meanwhile, in another swing state, the Ohio Secretary of State is actually doing her job and is taking precautions to prevent voter suppression at the polls in November.
• Everyone should read Glenn Greenwald's post about why McCain and Palin can lie with impunity on the stump.
• On September 18th, the Center for American Progress is hosting an event on Millennials and how they will reshape the electorate. RSVP here.
• AEI has their own event on Millennials as well. Let's say that their take is not so optimistic. Details and RSVP here.
• The WE Campaign, 1 Sky and Green for All are teaming up for a day of action to promote Green Jobs Now. So far there are 232 events scheduled for September 27th.
• YP4 is offering an online course (Free!) on how to fight the Religious Right. The course begins Sept. 15th.
• YP4 is also recruiting a new class of Fellows. Find out more here.
• The New York Times has an interesting piece on the state of the money-race, including an interesting bit about Obama donors collecting checks that will go to the state parties in Battlegrounds.