Free Republic

One of the darkest risks facing America is that so few of us are prepared for retirement.It's shocking, really. According to ConvergEx Group, "Only 58% of us are even saving for retirement in the first place. Of that group, 60% have less than $25,000 put away ... a full 30% have less than $1,000." According to Nielsen Claritas, Americans age 55 to 64 have a median net worth of $180,000 -- less than they'll likely need for health care spending alone during retirement.I recently asked Joseph Dear, chief investment officer of CalPERS, one of the world's largest pension funds, whether...

In a shed atop East Pittsburgh's old eight-story Westinghouse plant, five men and the company's chief engineer made history when they broadcast results of 1920's presidential election. That culture-changing moment ended one of the most dramatic U.S. presidential elections, in which six once-or-future presidents — Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt — jockeyed for the White House. Although the election eventually came down to Harding and James M. Cox, early on, both Wilson and “TR” plotted third-term campaigns — Wilson to avenge his tarnished presidency, Roosevelt emerging as a clear front-runner in a...

Just for fun : "The beginning of the "Happy Feet" number from King of Jazz (1930). After setting the mood of the piece with some giant dancing shoes and the Rhythm Boys.This short video presents a song from the orchestra leader Paul Whiteman,..." --see if you can recognize the man in the middle....

My dad said he was big and beefy with butcher’s hands. He could take a joke but was uncompromising if boundaries were crossed. Several times dad or one of his mates would be dragged by the ear to their home and parents informed in no uncertain terms of the appropriate transgression. No parent argued with Ginger – his word was law…Ginger WAS the law. Ginger exuded authority and never walked away from trouble. He had great physical presence but dad never recalled him actually hitting anyone…..except when some wife had been used too often as a punchbag by her beer...

The Long War Journal: Al Douri forms nationalist Sunni coalition; 1920s Revolution Brigades denounces al Qaeda Written by Bill Roggio on October 4, 2007 11:34 AM to The Long War Journal Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/10/al_douri_forms_natio.php The Sunni insurgency continues to fracture as US and Iraqi forces are on the offensive in central and northern Iraq. Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, the most wanted Baathist and leader in the Sunni insurgency, has formed a new insurgent front which is willing to negotiate, while a faction of the 1920s Revolution Brigades openly denounced al Qaeda. A grouping of 22 Sunni insurgent groups have...

Many people often speak of the "dangers" of capitalism - unsafe working conditions, little kids working, too many hours in a week, low wages, monotonous work, no health care. This is really the big argument against laissez-faire. They may not say it, but frankly, its what it is. Even George Orwell was big into this. Now, I know that government intereference and poverty truly caused all of this, not businesses. I would like some more specific information, and wondering if you guys could help me out - specifically, historical information (1920s and 1930s). Now, it is obvious why such conditions...

In the past several months as the debate over Social Security reform has taken center stage in the theater of the absurd that is modern American politics, the idea has been floated that the entire pay-as-you-go structure of this system closely resembles a Ponzi scheme, albeit one that is about to collapse. In reality, few people likely have any idea what a Ponzi scheme is, nor how closely America’s largest retirement system follows its tenets. As such, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission:http://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm “Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands...

<p>A band of grizzled Louisiana Civil War veterans placed a time capsule beneath the cornerstone of the Louisiana Monument at the Vicksburg (Miss.) National Military Park 83 years ago.</p> <p>Today, that capsule will be opened, offering a glimpse of what the world was like in 1920.</p>