Free Republic

Payless Shoesource pranked VIP shoppers into paying markups of up to 1,800 percent for the bargain retailer's shoes as part of a viral advertising campaign designed to shift consumers' perceptions of the brand. Creating a fake luxury brand — Palessi — Payless built a temporary store and filled it with fashionistas. So-called fashion influencers – essentially trendsetters that regular consumers look to for style cues — paid up to $645 for footwear that usually retails for between $19.99 and $39.99, the company said. The fashion insiders were captured remarking on the quality of the shoes' design and fabrication – before...

The 1,478-Horsepower Bugatti Divo Costs $5.8 Million And you can't have one, because they sold out months ago. By James GilboyAugust 24, 2018 NewsbugattiBugatti DivoHypercarsSupercarstrack cars Bugatti SHARE James GilboyView James Gilboy's Articles At "The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering" on Friday, Bugatti unveiled its new $5.8 million hypercar, named the Divo after two-time Targa Florio winner Albert Divo.Bugatti makes clear that the Chiron-based Divo escalates the already-outrageous performance of the car from which it is derived, ratcheting the Chiron's superlatives further skyward. Downforce increases by 198 pounds courtesy of a rear wing 23 percent wider than that of the Chiron,...

The vision embedded in the Founding documents of the United States was of a free and equal people. At the time of the nation’s founding, this was not so much a fantasy but—with the obvious and inhumane exception of slavery—empirical reality. Class distinctions were extant, but they were not necessarily pronounced. The same was true of inequality in wealth and status. Northeastern financial families like the Schuylers had an edge over the yeoman farmers of Shenandoah Valley, of course, but it was nothing compared to the rigid class divisions in continental Europe. The same seemed true for the nation for...

<p>A former lieutenant in the New Jersey State Police says that for three years he was involved in a covert operation that used confidential State Police records to discredit the Whitman administration and boost the candidacy of Gov. James E. McGreevey.</p>