CHANGE: Bond market hammers Italy, Spain ponders outside help.

REMEMBERING MIKE SPANN: CIA officers mark death of spy with rare request.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Regarding the Mike Spann comment, I guess it is no longer newsworthy for the AP to note that Mr. Spann was killed in attack in which John Walker Lindh, an American, took part and which John Walker Lindh could have warned Mr. Spann earlier that day. Given that Lindh has supporters that want him released from prison, it is important for everyone to remember that an American hero was killed with the complicity of another American and that traitor should spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

MORE SCANDALS: McCaskill calls for probe into smallpox-vaccine boondoggle.

Almost two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Times reported on the peculiar case of Siga Technologies, which got a no-bid contract to supply the Pentagon with an experimental vaccine for smallpox, a dead disease, when we have a plentiful supply of traditional vaccine to handle an outbreak. Siga Technologies has close ties to the Democratic Party with its primary investor, party donor Ronald Perelman, and relatively new board member Andy Stern, the former head of the SEIU and a frequent visitor to the Obama White House. The deal amounts to almost a half-billion dollars for Perelman and Stern, and the White House appears to have intervened to relax contract requirements and eliminate any hint of competition for the project.

Under those circumstances, it should come as no surprise that a member of Congress wants this deal investigated. Should it surprise us that the demand comes from a Senate Democrat?

Not anymore.

THE HILL: Republicans see opportunity to beat Obama with Pentagon cuts. “The potential for $1 trillion in cuts to the defense budget is thrusting the issue of national security back into the spotlight of the 2012 presidential race. The cuts, set for January 2013, could also turn a strength into a vulnerability for President Obama, who has more to brag about when it comes to security and foreign affairs than the economy.”

#OCCUPYFAIL: Why African Americans aren’t embracing Occupy Wall Street. “Occupy Wall Street was started by whites and is about their concern with their plight.”

TEN YEARS AGO ON INSTAPUNDIT: Remembering my father-in-law, Dr. Julius Smith.

WHERE IT’LL BE EASIER FOR CHAVEZ TO STEAL? Venezuela brings gold reserves home. “The move puzzled economists, who said it would further reduce transparency and raise more questions over the central bank’s declining reserves. Some analysts speculated that, faced with several international arbitration cases seeking billions of dollars over nationalizations, the left-leaning South American government was looking to shield itself from having its own assets seized.” I think that’s understating the scope of Chavez’s ambition.

#OCCUPYFAIL: Occupy Wall Street’s Government Problem. Love the cartoon.

AT AMAZON, Black Friday deals galore. All weekend.

EUROPE: Belgium’s Credit Rating Lowered to AA by S&P on Bank Rescues, Politics. More here.

LETTING THE TROOPS feed themselves.

HMM: Black Friday draws crowds, but spending in doubt. That’s consistent with my own reporting.

Related: For Black Friday First-Timers, Not a Night of Conversion.

UPDATE: Reader Blake Hiatt emails that he read the article and spotted something: “Only one shopper was over 40. The rest were 34 and younger. The largest demographic in this country is 40 and over. If the over 40 crowd isn’t shopping, there’s a problem. My 2 cents.”

PREPARE FOR THE RETIREMENT TAX BITE. “One of the nastiest surprises awaiting some retirees is the devastating impact that taxes can have on their cash flow. Although many people welcome the upfront tax breaks of contributing to traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans during their working years, they’re not so thrilled when Uncle Sam demands his cut when they start tapping those retirement accounts. Imagine you are retired, plan to buy a new car for $30,000, and have all your savings tied up in a traditional IRA or company 401(k) plan. If you’re in the 25% tax bracket, you’ll need to withdraw $40,000 to have enough after-tax money to buy that $30,000 car. Ouch! Welcome to the IRA tax trap.”

Well, if you’re working, you’ll have to earn $40,000 to pay for that $30,000 car. That’s not so hot either.

UPDATE: Reader John MacDonald writes: “When they reach 70, they have to make withdrawals but since the banks are only paying 1.5% , their retirement principal becomes depleted at a faster rate. Financial planners used to factor in returns of 7-8% when figuring how long their clients’ money would last. That’s been thrown out the window….that’s a story the media haven’t written about. Middle class seniors thought they would be OK, but aren’t so sure today… they haven’t made money on stocks they held since 2000. …to add insult to injury, banks have been paying an anaemic 1% on CD’s….If they saved $500,000 for example over 40 years, it would throw off $30000 @ 6% but @1% it’s a puny $5000…Lots of belt tightening ….and no hope on the horizon.”

If we had a Republican president, the press would be pushing the poor-seniors angle a lot harder.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Popular Mom-and-pop water purification business shuttered by DEA’s meth-hunting “knotheads.”

I RECOMMEND EXERCISE AND A LOW-CARB DIET: Americans 20 pounds heavier than in 1990.

Check out Gary Taubes’ advice. And there’s also the Livestrong App.

UPDATE: Reader Newell Wright emails: “Last January, I saw a post of yours about following a low carb diet and bought Taubes’ book. Nine months later, I am down almost 70 pounds and feeling great. Thank you for alerting me to low carb, as I had never heard of it before. Literally, that post last January has changed my life.” Glad to help!

ROGER SIMON: My Fedex Man Predicts The Oscars. “Of the thirty or so screeners that had already arrived at my house, there was hardly a one I wanted to see – even for free. Voting in the Oscars, once a thrill, was getting to be a chore.”

I feel the same way about music. My Grammy ballot is sitting unopened on my desk in the “guilt pile.”

SINCE HORSEWHIPPING HAS GONE OUT OF STYLE, I SUPPOSE A LAWSUIT IS BEST: Parents Sue D.A. for Charging Their 6-Year-Old Son With a Felony After He Played Doctor With a 5-Year-Old Girl. But no one should be shielded by their office from consequences for this kind of jackassery. And there certainly seem to be a lot of rotten officials in Wisconsin.

“SCHMUCKS.”

JOHN STOSSEL: Campus Speech Codes Are Bad For Higher Education: We should counter hateful speech with more words—not government force.

FISKING Justice Stevens.

KICKSTARTER: Guatemala’s Lost Photos.

READER P.G. SCHRAN WRITES: “I’m thinking of getting the family a weather radio as a Christmas present… I know you have the Midland WR300 – are you still happy with it? I worry about reliability for something so important…. Any info from you or your readers would be much appreciated!” Mine still works perfectly — and it got quite a workout during the big storms last spring.

UPDATE: Reader Brian Hoskins writes: “The Sangean 100 table top weather radio is superior to the Midland. I have both.”

NICE TO SEE PEOPLE RECOGNIZING my prescience.

VISUALIZING THANKSGIVING TRAVEL using Foursquare checkins.

AT AMAZON, gift ideas in Kitchen, Home & Garden.