In reverse order of importance:
A bunch of famous musicians performed a Sandy benefit concert that was allegedly watched by about two billion people. I must live in a bubble because I don’t know any of those people.
The US Treasury sold its remaining shares of AIG and allegedly turned a profit. I tend to view this sort of thing like a game of Russian roulette – just because it worked this time doesn’t mean it’s a smart game to play, but I have to admit that the anti-government folks were wrong a few years ago that it all could never work. (Assuming, of course, that the whole thing isn’t somehow some kind of accounting trick.)
TSA Outrage Of The Week: “A Texas mom was dumbfounded and angry when her preteen, wheelchair-bound daughter was left sobbing at the security gate at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport when reps from the Transportation Security Administration detected traces of explosive on her hand.” Seriously?
Friday was the extended deadline for states to declare their intentions to set up Obamacare exchanges, and over half of them have declined, adding more delays and complications to an already delayed and complicated process.
After several failed attempts in the last few years, North Korea finally launched some kind of object into orbit. This was a blow to my hypothesis (based on all the failed attempts) that North Korea’s political and economic systems were so backwards and deficient that they weren’t capable of threatening anybody. It’s also a bit of a blow to those hoping the new Kim Jong would be generally friendlier than the last one.
The Department of Justice has declined to prosecute HSBC for knowingly funneling money tied to terrorists and drug cartels. The new catchphrase is “too big to jail.”
The slippery slope of the surveillance state continues.
Someone walked into an Oregon shopping mall and killed a couple people. It’s possible, though unprovable, that an armed citizen limited the death toll.
Someone walked into a Connecticut elementary school and killed over twenty adults and children. Pro- and anti- gun-control messages exploded over the Internet, though I do not expect national gun laws to change. I’m more intrigued that this whole episode might be a powerful case of market failure by the media.