Killers from Outer Space

It was really strange the other day - on one channel, there was something like "Greatest hits of Gospel" followed by...
"KILLERS FROM OUTER SPACE."
It was so incongruous that it got my attention. I had to see what it was. And you know what? Thanks to the glories of the Internet, and expired copyrights, now you, too, can see!

Government!

Real Katrina hero? Wal-Mart, study says - MSN Money
Unsurprisingly, they outperformed the government.


Passengers Air Grievances on TSA Blog - MSN Travel Articles
There's finally a way to complain about the TSA...that someone in the TSA might actually read. And then they'll decide to give you "Softer lighting, soothing music and a quieter atmosphere" because they want "you to be a little more relaxed before they run you through the airport screening process."
Oh, hooray.


Most sweeping changes since Great Depression - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com
Yeah, so, since the Fed already failed to do what it was supposed to do, they should be given more power with which to fail. Good planning, there.
These sorts of economic busts occur regularly - they're part of the natural cycle. Just leave them alone. Of course it'd be nice to mitigate the effects of these things, or avoid them entirely - but the amount of regulation and top-down control you'd need would be stifling. It'd have to be a planned economy, and we know those don't work.
Just let those who made poor decisions pay for it, and the rest of us will do what we have to until things get better. If you allow things to proceed naturally, they will get better. It's when you start interfering that you get things like Japan's Lost Decade or the Great Depression.
It's nice that I'm not the only one who thinks so:
Why Fed reform won't work. - By Nomi Prins - Slate Magazine
And Hillary doesn't appear to understand her proposed policy would lead us to emulate Japan. Hillary's Bad History - WSJ.com



And speaking of Hillary...
The real harm Hillary Clinton inflicted on Bosnia. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
Ok, Mr. Hitches is not exactly the most...even-tempered, maybe. But, as he puts it, there was a promise by Pres. Clinton to oppose the genocide in Bosnia in 1992. Nothing was done, of course, until years later. Why?

"The key factor in Bill's policy reversal was Hillary, who was said to have "deep misgivings" and viewed the situation as "a Vietnam that would compromise health-care reform."

Well, that health-care reform sure was worth it, huh? Thank you, Hillary, for allowing genocide to continue.



The Supreme Court gives habeas corpus a swirly. - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine
If you happen to be an American citizen held by American forces anywhere that isn't America, guess what? You don't have habeas corpus. Swell.


U.S. expats fight their soaring tax burden - International Herald Tribune
If you were taxed twice on your income - and not just a little, but taxed fully twice, you would be angry, right?
If you are an American living abroad, that is exactly what happens to you. Naturally, foreign employers, and American companies overseas, do not want to hire Americans since they have to pay so much more for them.



Microsoft’s Bill Gates asks for more visas - U.S. business- msnbc.com
If even Bill Gates is saying that our visa system doesn't work, there may be a problem. There are not enough visas, and even though we train a lot of foreign students, if they want to stay here to work, we make it hard on them - it's absurdly hard to get permission to stay here - and so they go home, and we lose their talent. Who does that benefit?