Remembering when bankers tried to overthrow FDR and install a fascist dictator

Yes, a coup d'état.

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  • Though we know today that his policies eventually ended the Great Depression, FDR's election was seen as disastrous by some.
  • A group of wealthy bankers decided to take things into their own hands; they plotted a coup against FDR, hoping to install a fascist dictator in its stead.
  • Ultimately, the coup was brought to light by General Smedley Butler and squashed before it could get off the ground.
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Teens should be able to get vaccines without consent from parents, say NY lawmakers

A bill in New York would let older kids get vaccinations against their parents' wishes.

Ethan Lindenberger (R), student at Norwalk High School in Norwalk, Ohio before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2019. (Photo credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
  • Teens 14 and older should be able to get vaccinated on their own, says a new bill in New York.
  • Lawmakers were inspired by Ethan Lindenberger, an Ohio teen who fought to take vaccines against his mom's wishes.
  • Anti-vaccination attitudes have been blamed for recent measles outbreaks.
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A belief in meritocracy is not only false: it’s bad for you

Most people don't just think the world should be run meritocratically, they think it is meritocratic.

Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

'We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else …' Barack Obama, inaugural address, 2013

'We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.' Donald Trump, inaugural address, 2017

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5 ways life would be better if it were always daylight saving time

It's almost time to 'spring forward.'

In my research on daylight saving time, I have found that Americans don't like it when Congress messes with their clocks.

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10 of the most controversial people in Russian history

The hard part was keeping the list down to ten.

Karl Bulla/Public Domain
  • Russia's history is fascinating and filled with colorful characters.
  • Some of the most influential of them have been extremely controversial.
  • Here are ten of the most interesting, both good and bad.
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