Headlines from September 30, 2009

Senate committee rejects two Democratic proposals for a government insurance plan.
A new report shows that while U.S.-Mexico border detainments have dropped significantly, deaths have increased.
He wore a crisp gray suit, and seemed eager to greet voters. But there were none to greet.
The Pentagon mulls approving Twitter for troops.
Leach called Twitter "stupid to begin with." Texas Tech football coach bans players' Twitter accounts.
Record stores may be shutting down, but the owners are still selling records--sometimes out of their own apartments.
A brief, powerful case for the importance of Ray Charles's Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.
The winners of the "BLT From Scratch" contest, where entrants couldn't buy any of the key ingredients in a store.
See also: How to make your own guanciale and the BLT Kama Sutra.
Also see also: Book collector finds a strip of bacon double-dutying as a bookmark.
Nation demands fresh celebrity meat.
Nathaniel Roe's family just decided to bury him in the backyard. America's lack of death culture leaves mourners in lurch.
Thirty dumb inventions, including a baby cage and a curved barrel machine gun.
E.U. report says Georgia started last year's war after much provocation.
Op: Being cunning in handling his biz, Obama acts presidentially; his detractors, being hysterical, do not.
How to "Merkelize": a Flickr pool of Angela Merkel-ish hand gestures.
Copyright woes and lack of demand attack producer of the AK-47.
Wanted at U.S. universities for their superior early training: Australian philosophers.
Contemporary examples of Darwin's point about a predominance of cats generating a dearth of flowers.
Blog post gets homeless couple's pension and benefits reinstated to the tune of $1 million.
Side effects from placebos can be drug-specific, and often more intense.
Reasons why the Manhattan Project will be forgotten in the relatively near future.
Reporter develops theory about Malcom Gladwell being a ladies' man; Gladwell declines to comment.
Princeton students and professors give pilot Kindle program a big red F.
Scientific and mathematical concepts demonstrated with food.
The next time your brain droops, here's why you should eat some sugar.
Illustrated "Missed Connections."
Interactive optical illusion makes it look as if everything is melting (don't click if you have photosensitive epilepsy).
Note: One TMN editor almost fell over after looking at that illusion.