Check the want ads in just about any city or town in the U.S. and you'll find the words, "Help Wanted." The economy added only a few thousand jobs in June according to the latest jobs report, and 14 million Americans remain out of work.

But, there are jobs in Allentown, Penn. The town used to depend on steel and heavy manufacturing. Those jobs are largely gone, but Allentown has become an important distribution point for goods passing through on their way to New York and Philadelphia. And there are open positions — especially if you can drive a forklift.

As talks continue in Washington about how to cut the budget, reduce expected federal deficits and start shrinking the federal debt, our friends at American Public Media's Marketplace have put together Budget Hero — an interactive game "that encourages players to think through the complexities and challenges of the federal budget."

Chris Clemans, Max Schulman and Margy Slattery are interns for The New Republic.

Recent events got The New Republic thinking about all the rumors of dictators' bad health and those heads of state whose well-being has generated rumor, uncertainty and controversy.