Free Republic

We are on the cusp of a retirement crisis that will affect everyone. Far too many promises have been made and the demographics we face do not bode well for a bright future. The answer that some people tout is we should have more children or open the borders. This is based on the idea we need more workers and ignores many other factors feeding into this issue. There is simply no way “more children” or workers can ever pay enough into the system to fulfill the promises that have been made. The competition for programs from the government to...

‘Cognitive clock’ may enable assessment of risk for memory and thinking problems. How old is your brain compared to your chronological age? A new measure of brain health developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center may offer a novel approach to identifying individuals at risk of memory and thinking problems, according to research results published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association on June 1, 2021. Dubbed the “cognitive clock” by the researchers, the tool is a measure of brain health based on cognitive performance. It may be used in the future to predict the likelihood...

'Sleepy' Joe Biden was caught napping twice during a rally in Michigan on Saturday, missing his cue to appear on stage and then forgetting his mask as he walked off it. The 77-year-old was speaking at a rally in Flint alongside Barack Obama when he suffered the 'senior moments', just the latest in a series of gaffes that have dogged his presidential run and raised questions over his mental capacity. The first came as Obama had just finished warming up for his old Vice President, and tried to welcome him to the stage by shouting: 'My friend, the next President...

Legendary CREAM drummer Ginger Baker is "critically ill" and in the hospital, his family has revealed. "Please keep him in your prayers tonight," the family wrote in a brief statement posted to Baker's official Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon. Baker, who turned 80 in August, has experienced a number of health issues in recent years. In 2016, he underwent open heart surgery, which forced him to cancel a run of tour dates. During recovery, a fall also left him with swollen legs and feet. In 2013, he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and he is also said to...

A head device that zaps the brain with electromagnetic waves appears to have reversed the effects of Alzheimer's in a trial. Eight patients with mild or moderate forms of the brain-destroying disorder took part in experimental transcranial electromagnetic treatment (TEMT). It involved them wearing a skullcap of magnets which sent electric pulses to break down build-ups of proteins known to stop nerve cells working properly. Seven of the patients showed a 'highly significant improvement' in tests of their memory, language, attention, behaviour and moods. Researchers hope the promising results could be the start of a breakthrough in Alzheimer's research, which...

In October 2014, Ezekiel Emanuel published an essay in the Atlantic called “Why I Hope to Die at 75.” Because Emanuel is a medical doctor and chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s department of medical ethics and health policy, as well as a chief architect of Obamacare, the article stirred enormous controversy. Emanuel vowed to refuse not only heroic medical interventions once he turned 75, but also antibiotics and vaccinations. His argument: older Americans live too long in a diminished state, raising the question of, as he put it, “whether our consumption is worth our contribution.” Emanuel was born into...

Did Noah Really Live to Be 950? Msgr. Charles Pope • February 25, 2019 • Noah – Lorenzo Monaco (1410)I occasionally get questions about the remarkably long lives of the patriarchs who lived before the great flood. Consider the ages at which these figures purportedly died: Adam – 930Seth – 912Enosh – 905Jared – 962Methuselah – 969Noah – 950Shem – 600Eber – 464Abraham – 175Moses – 120David – 70 How should we understand these references? Many theories have been proposed to explain the claimed longevity. Some use a mathematical corrective, but this leads to other pitfalls such as certain...

Mrs. F.’ was 84 years old the first time she ever went to prison. Her crime? Petty shoplifting. She stole rice, strawberries, and cold medicine. She served her time. Got released. Then shoplifted again so that she’d go back to prison. She’s now 89 years old serving out another 2 ½ year sentence, not too far away from where I am right now, at a women’s prison about 60 miles outside of Tokyo. Did you know? You can receive all our actionable articles straight to your email inbox... Click here to signup for our Notes from the Field newsletter. She’s...

A Biblical Meditation on the Difficulties of Old Age Msgr. Charles Pope • September 26, 2016 • Today I would like to discuss the Gospel from last Saturday morning’s daily Mass (25th Week of the Year). For indeed one of the more beautiful passages in the Old Testament is the 12th Chapter of Ecclesiastes. It is a melancholy but soulful meditation on old age. Its poetic imagery is masterful as it draws from the increasingly difficult effects of old age such as hearing loss, fading eyesight, difficulty walking, digestive issues, and even gray hair.Remember your Creator in the days...

ather Jacques Clemens attends a mass at St. Benoit church in Nalinnes, Belgium, July 10, 2016. NALINNES, Belgium A strict daily routine is the recipe for a long life, according to the world's oldest priest, Belgian Jacques Clemens, who will celebrate his 107th birthday on Monday.Clemens, who has also celebrated his 80th anniversary as a Catholic priest, gets up every morning at 5.30 a.m. and goes to bed at 9.00 p.m. When Clemens was about to retire at 75, his bishop asked him to remain in service until they found a successor - he only stopped holding regular church services...

Director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford will make a fifth “Indiana Jones” film, to screen July 19, 2019, Disney announced Tuesday. The release from the studio describes “a fifth epic adventure in the blockbuster series,” adding: “Steven Spielberg, who directed all four previous films, will helm the as-yet-untitled project with star Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role. Franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will produce.” Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn called the Jones character “one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history,” adding, “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role,...

Hillary Clinton, appearing Tuesday at a townhall in Keota, Iowa, had a hard time understanding a young voter asking about immigration. The voter introduced herself and began asking a question about the ICE's "reputation" for deporting low-priority immigrants and poor treatment of women. "Can you just slow down a little bit, I'm having a hard time," Clinton interjected. The young woman did not appear to be speaking abnormally quickly. "I want to hear you, so just slow down a little," Clinton repeated. The voter then asked about Pastor Max Villatoro who was deported to Honduras after convictions for drunken driving...

The world’s oldest known man, Alexander Imich, born in 1903, died last June in New York. The torch will be passed to 111-year-old Sakari Momori, who comes from a country full of elderly people: Japan. The Guinness Book of World Records is investigating. That’s not really surprising. You’ve probably heard a similar story before: The Japanese have the highest life expectancy of any major country. Women on average live to 87 and men to 80 (compared to 81 years for American women and 76 for American men). The Japanese can live 75 of those years disability free and fully healthy,...

John Mauldin February 16, 2015We do not have to look to Greece to find massively underfunded obligations. Here in the US we can find hundreds of examples, willingly created by politicians and businessmen who proclaim they are working for the public good. We call them pension funds, but they’re just another form of unfunded debt. A sovereign bond is a promise to pay a certain amount of money over time. A defined-benefit pension fund is a promise to pay a certain amount of income over time. The value of either is determined by the ability of the government or the...

We all want to be happy, don’t we? Well, if you’re dissatisfied, frustrated or downright miserable, cheer up. There’s apparently a cure for you. Even better, it will materialize automatically. Just sit and wait; the very anticipation of its arrival might improve your spirits. The remedy: getting older. It’s counterintuitive. In our mind’s eye, old age is to be endured as much as enjoyed. People fear declining health, growing dependence and increasing social isolation. But on average, they also count themselves happier. Consult public opinion surveys, and that’s what you find. Almost 40 percent of Americans 65 and older rated themselves...

It's hard to picture what today's teenagers will wax nostalgic about 30 years from now when they reminisce about their first car. (It still required gasoline, perhaps?) Who knows how automobiles will change in the future; what we do know is how different they are today from 30 or more years ago. If you fondly remember being surrounded by two or three tons of solid Detroit steel with a whip antenna on the front from which you could tie a raccoon tail or adorn with an orange Union 76 ball, and enough leg room that you didn't suffer from phlebitis...

Some of the elderly to whom I bring Communion as well as the sick express regret that their age or illness makes it difficult for them to pray.  In years gone by they were busy at work and raising kids and prayer was difficult then. But now that they have the time they regret they cannot concentrate enough to pray. Others struggle to be able to read any longer. Still others find that their memory has faded and prayers, once well known, are now gone and requests for prayer cannot be remembered.Indeed as the mind grows weaker prayer becomes difficult...

Older fathers made headlines several years ago when researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine reported that a man over 40 is almost six times as likely as a man under 30 to father an autistic child. Since then, research has shown that a man's chances of fathering offspring with schizophrenia double when he hits 40 and triple at age 50. The incidence of bipolarity, epilepsy, prostate cancer and breast cancer also increases in children born to men approaching 40. Both dwarfism and Marfan syndrome (a disorder of the connective tissue) have been linked to older fathers, and according...

A rather precocious university student was irritated when the very old man sitting next to him on a bus asked him if he could possibly lower his voice while he was chatting to friends on his mobile phone. So he took it upon himself to point out why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.

Prison officials say an inmate at San Quentin State Prison has died of natural causes while awaiting execution for a 1994 slaying in Sacramento County. The state corrections department says Richard Ray Parson died at an outside hospital Monday. He was 67.