Strong Arm: Obama says he’s committed to an assault weapons ban, despite political whining.
Job Creators: WalMart announces a plan to hire any recent veteran who wants a job.
Big Dope: Lance Armstrong comes clean that he doped and will testify against people he says pushed him to do it.
Justice Clarence Thomas Says Something! The stony-faced Supreme Court judge says four words, his first utterance in seven years.
Oregon Senator Wants to See Secret Files: Senator Ron Wyden wants to view files on the killings of Americans in counterterrorism operations.
“Christmas Tree Bombing” Trial: The local trial of Mohamed Mohamud continues today.
Pakistan Tries to Arrest its Prime Minister: Courts order the maybe politically motivated arrest of Pakistan’s prime minister, who’s charged with massive corruption.
France Sends Troops to Mali: The situation in Mali is apparently getting more violent, with France sending in troops.
Who Pulls the Strings in Hollywood? Increasingly, Chinese censors.
Robbing Peter: Workers are cashing out their 401k plans to stay afloat.
MIT Hacked: Anonymous attacks MIT’s website as some retribution for the death of internet activist Aaron Schwartz.
Can Pedophiles Change? New research suggests maybe not.
Endangered Animal Breeding Zone: The Audubon Society has big plans for a 1,000-acre breeding program for endangered animals near New Orleans.
Lesson Learned: If you steal a train, know how to drive it.
Clarence Thomas finally said four words?
“Hey, whose pubic hair?”
FWIW, 401k loans are hardly in the same boat as disbursements. Safe investments haven’t been generating notable returns for a while now and aren’t likely to, any time soon. So taking a 401k loan to pay off higher-interest (credit card) debt, can actually be a pretty shrewd move. (Provided you aren’t doing it to finance a lifestyle, but to prudently erase higher-interest debts.)