Free Republic

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Tuesday described the growing economic chasm between rich and poor as "un-American" and called it the biggest "structural" problem facing the nation on Tuesday. "Going forward, we have to deal with our longer structural problems. The biggest one, as far as I'm concerned, is that we're no longer socially mobile as a country," Bush said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "You have people that are born poor and there's a higher and higher probability that they're going to stay poor. And you have people that are born rich and there's a greater probability that they'll...

In early December, in Osawatomie, Kan., President Obama delivered the sort of fiery populist speech his base had been demanding since the start of his administration. The speech as a whole strongly overstated the extent of economic insecurity in today’s America, but one particular claim jumped out at me — that upward mobility has declined rather sharply: We tell people — we tell our kids — that in this country, even if you’re born with nothing, work hard and you can get into the middle class. . . . And yet, over the last few decades, the rungs on the...

My legs are just flat worn out, I'm afraid, but I'm not about to get stuck watching TVI just ordered this, should be here next week. It will carry me and the camera bag all over the place. As it is now I'm stuck close to the car.It breaks down easily into 5 pieces so it will go in the back of the little Ford.

FOB WARRIOR — Driving from one end of Bidawa village in Kirkuk province to the other used to be a challenge, but thanks to the addition of two new road culverts, the trip is now much easier. After nearly 70 days of construction, these new road culverts are ready for use. The concrete culverts span over a 50-meter waterbed, linking one side of the road to another. Water flows easier now underneath the culverts between irrigation canals that have increased water flow to local farmers’ crops. "Building these two road culverts will greatly increase the transportation infrastructure of the village,"...

Americans have tamed their wanderlust during this recession, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Only about 2.4% of Americans moved from state to state in 2008, down from 2.5% the previous year. "The mobility rate is lower than it has been in years," said Robert Lang, a demographer with Virginia Tech University. "There's a recession and a housing bust. People can't sell their homes in California and move to Las Vegas or sell their condo in Florida and move to North Carolina." "People are hunkering down, trying to hold on to what they have," added...

Wearable "chariot" offer hope for amputees and mobility challengedThis invention offers great hope for amputees and people who have mobility issues. They would be able to move around in an upright position. And it looks very cool. Hopefully, this product will be available soon. Video is here Wearable chariot

Mumbai: Under the cover of darkness, the world's cheapest car arrived in Mumbai yesterday. Aditya Anand reports on the buzz surrounding the unveiling of the most-awaited car of the year this evening. 12.30 am, Sunday: Under the cover of darkness in the dead of night, when Mumbai's incessant traffic had slowed down, and pedestrians were few, seven gleaming cars purred their way into the rolling grounds at the Parsi Gymkhana, Marine Drive. The world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano, had finally arrived in the city for its unveiling today, with a security guard in each vehicle. The cars reached the...

As the state's population continues to grow in its urban centers, expansion plans for the highway system continue to be the focus for transportation improvements. The Trans Texas Corridor proposal is aimed to alleviate traffic congestion, improve air quality and provide safer traveling for drivers, among other goals. In 2002, Texas Governor Rick Perry released the plan to create the passageway, which spans northeast from Laredo to Oklahoma and is set to total 4,000 miles in the next 50 years. The $140 billion project calls for the incorporation of new toll roads, commuter railways, power lines and gas pipelines, while...

Cars have been a huge part of our lives. We use them to get around anywhere. It might have been the best invention mankind came up with, but we all hate several common things about cars, such as the cost of gas prices and traffic. We think sometimes in our imagination how awesome it would be if cars had wings, so maybe one day we will fly through terrific! We also despise accidents, high insurance and drunk driving. Sometimes, I feel that we need other alternative means of transportation, such as a subway system in the state of Texas; maybe...

Tooth Scan Reveals Neanderthal Mobility By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press Writer A 40,000-year-old tooth is seen in this undated hand out photo released by Greek Culture Ministry. Analysis of the tooth uncovered in southern Greece indicates for the first time that Neanderthals may have traveled more widely than previously thought, paleontologists announced on Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Greek Culture Ministry)(AP) -- Analysis of a 40,000-year-old tooth found in southern Greece suggests Neanderthals were more mobile than once thought, paleontologists said Friday. Analysis of the tooth - part of the first and only Neanderthal remains found in Greece - showed...

Suha Hussein Yas, a 15-year-old girl who suffers from a disease similar to polio, smiles while sitting in her gift from Soldiers of Company B, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. The Soldiers learned of Yas’ condition while interacting with local residents during the initial build-up of Patrol Base Hawkes. They delivered the wheelchair to her, Dec. 7. Photo by 1st Lt. Greg Highstrom. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — An Iraqi girl suffering from a disease limiting her ability to walk received the gift of mobility, Dec. 7, thanks to Coalition...

Army Mobility Relies on Personal Security Platoons Soldiers are exclusively selected to perform vital security role. By U.S. Army Sgt. Chris Keller U.S. Central Command Public Affairs CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, April 26, 2007 — Instant mobility gives commanders what they need to be successful in the fast-paced Global War on Terrorism. And that’s exactly what the Iraq Assistance Group’s (IAG) Personal Security Platoon (PSP) provides. When the IAG demands mobility, the PSP makes it happen. The PSP takes IAG personnel threw some of the most dangerous roads in Iraq to make sure transition teams and Iraqi forces get the...

This article might sound a bit hypocritical. After all, the theme of this website could be construed as "bashing" America. Let's clear that up right now. I love America. I love the ideals that created it. I love the Constitution that was written for it. And I love the freedoms I enjoy living in it. It's because I love all these things that I fear the rising liberal philosophies - even by so-called Republicans - that are turning America into a socialist's paradise. That's why this site exists - to do what little I can to prevent that from happening....

She Has Called for an Investigation Into Why Soldiers Are Not Fully Protected Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called the Bush administration "incompetent" when it came to protecting the troops in combat and called the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines "unforgivable." So far in Iraq, more than 2,100 American troops have been killed. Critics like Clinton, D-N.Y., say that many of these deaths are the result of inadequate body armor. A secret Pentagon study of 93 Marines who were killed in Iraq found that 74 died after they were hit by a bullet or shrapnel in the...

Why is it taking so long to design, develop, produce, and deploy — in adequate numbers — a troop-transporting armored vehicle that would replace the up-armored Humvee in Iraq? I've been asked that question time and again, not by soldiers and Marines who ride in Humvees daily, but by fellow journalists, many of whom have logged time in Iraq or Afghanistan. One reporter said to me it was "criminal negligence" on the part of the White House and the Defense Department. Another referred to it as "the ultimate betrayal" of our soldiers. Despite their time in country, both reporters are...

U.S. Banks on Technology in Revised Military Plan for a Possible North Korea ConflictBy THOM SHANKER Published: August 29, 2005 CAMP CASEY, South Korea - American commanders are making significant changes in their plans in the event of a military conflict with North Korea, to rely in large measure on a new generation of sensors, smart bombs and high-speed transport ships to deter and, if necessary, counter that unpredictable dictatorship, the senior United States commander in South Korea says. The shift in strategy is being undertaken even as the United States cuts the number of troops here by one-third and...

The war that nobody talks about - the overwhelmingly one-sided class war - is being waged all across America. Guess who's winning. A recent front-page article in The Los Angeles Times showed that teenagers are faring poorly in a tight job market because of the fierce competition they're getting from older workers and immigrants for entry-level positions. On the same day, in the business section, the paper reported that the chief executives at California's largest 100 companies took home a collective $1.1 billion in 2004, an increase of nearly 20 percent over the previous year. The paper contrasted that with...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the United States in a calendar month, the research firm Current Analysis says. After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, Current Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last year. San Diego-based Current Analysis does not follow worldwide personal computer sales. Spurring demand for notebooks is their overall price drop as quality has improved, says Sam...

I don’t believe in coincidences in politics. When I see the Wall Street Journal and New York Times both running big front-page stories within two days of each other on a subject that isn’t remotely time sensitive, I know that something is going on. More than likely, it signals the beginning of an organized campaign by the liberal media to gin up an issue for the Democrats. When a team is on a losing streak, the best thing the coach can do is line up a game with a cream-puff opponent. Even if the victory doesn’t mean much substantively, it...

Thank goodness Confederate History Month is over! Maybe Civil Rights organizations, black politicians and journalists will stop whining for awhile. They must pay the Sons of Confederate Veterans on the side. Fat, middle-aged suburbanites waving Confederate flags create excuses for hysterical screaming. Ironically, the volume and shrillness of attacking Confederate heritage is inversely proportional to the actual racism and threat to personal safety. But, it’s profitable if you’re a race pimp. When your skin color is your day job, you need something to cry ‘wolf’ about. The professionally-black Blacks, whose jobs are based on ‘African-American’ in their titles, are working...