Let's talk about investment risk and alien sightings. How do you assess risk? What is your exposure? What are the odds? What kind of fact checking do you do? What return is appropriate for what level risk? What is your time frame? Do you ask yourself the hard questions?

An ex-astronaut claims that the aliens have landed on earth. According to CNN: former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell and other UFO enthusiasts are concerned, the real story is happening elsewhere. Mitchell, who was part of the 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission, asserted Monday that extraterrestrial life exists, and that the truth is being concealed by the United States and other governments.

All of this alien talk is baloney. The "government" could not keep a secret if the entire universe were at risk. The odds that multiple governments could keep a common secret and that not one person would provide the slightest conclusive evidence are microscopic.

It's been a long time since that snowy day in 1973 when OJ Simpson became the first running back ever to rush for 200 yards in three games in one season. With that performance against the New York Jets, Simpson handily crushed the total yardage record held until then by Jim Brown and he peeled away the 2000 yard season barrier, which had stood mocking pro football running backs ever since they began keeping statistics for the game.

The man became an icon, excelling in every endeavor he pursued. In my opinion he strode right past wearing the label of legend because his accomplishments were so timely and tangible. So what happened to this meteoric star who wore the hats of athlete, spokes person, broadcaster, actor, producer, and family man? Did he burn out and slip into drugs? Did he get arrogant and stupid? Perhaps he sold his soul to the devil?

To me it makes no difference what the reasons are for the rapid decline into destruction that has become the life of Orenthal James Simpson. What has happened to him cannot in any way be shrouded in the filmy faux veil called victim. He's lived his life, made his mistakes, and bent into an ugly pretzel the golden scepter of opportunity that the world had placed at his talented feet. By my figuring OJ Simpson is now in debt approximately $34,969,162.17, not including interest and penalties on back taxes.

When I first heard the story of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) employee Bruce Gabbard, who was fired for intercepting conversations between Wal-Mart executives and a reporter, it just didn't make sense.

Basically, the official story was that Gabbard was just disgusted with the way that Wal-Mart was being treated and decided that he was going to tap conversations with reporters. Shocked and disgusted by this act of unrestrained loyalty, Wal-Mart fired him because it prided itself on protecting the privacy of people it associated with, and wanted no part of Mr. Gabbard's shady dealings. If this post seems sarcastic, it's meant to be. The initial story seemed out of sync with Wal-Mart's obsession with gathering information, and not particularly indicative of the employer-employee relationship Wal-Mart is known for.

But now, Mr. Gabbard is saying that he was part of a "sophisticated surveillance operation that included snooping not only on employees, but also on critics, stockholders and the consulting firm McKinsey & Co," according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). That sounds pretty spooky, and has already drawn the inevitable comparisons to George Orwell's 1984. According to Gabbard, Wal-Mart hired two former FBI agents to set up systems so that the company could track calls from Middle Eastern countries. They also sent employees to infiltrate meetings of anti-Wal-Mart groups to find out when they were planning to picket Wal-Mart, and apparently set up systems to track the computer strokes of McKinsey employees suspected of leaking confidential documents to the media.

While these are just allegations and rumors, it's safe to say that they will do little to change the reputation of Wal-Mart from that of a paranoid, retailer-against-the-world giant located in Bentonville.