Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.

This week is going to be an abbreviated version because I’ve just discovered Gears of War 2 for Xbox 360. (I have a rule I don’t pay more than $30 for any video game and GOW2 just got there.)

Right! Onward!

* If someone said new home sales are in the gutter, that would be an improvement from where they are now. New home sales fell to the lowest on record, which isn’t a good sign for a supposedly recovering economy. [CALCULATED RISK] has some scary and detailed graphics on how ugly this whole thing is, and [USA TODAY] has some pretty graphics on… well, whatever they are advertising this week.

* The first Americans may have been Texans? As in “the oldest human habitation in North America”? As in 15,500 years ago? And they were from AUSTIN? Well, if there’s anyplace in Texas that’s further ahead than the rest of them, Austin would be the city. LONE STAR REP-RE-SENT!!! [CHRON]

* The CIA actually has a troubleshooting checklist? I always thought their only troubleshooting advice was “if they aren’t in range, get closer.” The really scary thing is that this checklist is actually useful! [BBH-LABS]

* AT&T records everything you do on their network, whether you are using their phones or their web services. They then hand everything over to the NSA without any reason whatsoever. Close your eyes! Make a Wish! Count to Three! Come with meee…. and you’ll beee…. in a wooorrrlllld where AT&T is a punk ass government bitch that doesn’t give a fuck about their customers or the constituuuution! Wait, that’s not how their commercial jingle goes! [EFF]

* And finally, a former US marine “ended up on the government’s no-fly list because he exchanged e-mails with a Muslim cleric they were monitoring.” His crime? He asked a question about raising kids in an interfaith household. The marine, completely innocent, was then told by the F.B.I. that they would take him off the list “if he would become an undercover informant at mosques.” WHAT. THE. FUCK. Have the F.ucking B.atshit I.diots handling this case lost their minds? 8-balling a marine? For a crime he didn’t commit? Nice job, guys! How’s that constitutional toilet paper workin’ for you all? [SUNTIMES]