Airlines and "lost" luggage items

So why is it so difficult to get back something missing after an airline flight? Are airlines trying to further deter people from wanting to fly?
I had an expensive item missing after a recent flight where my suitcase had a TSA inspection notice in it when I got home. After a week's wait from my email (I was told on the phone it would a 90-minute wait) request, when I finally got the TSA claim form, I was appalled at all the information the TSA prefers to have.
Another person I know had an expensive camera missing from luggage that had been in the possession of one airline only. The luggage showed up more than 24 hours after the flight landed. Upon notifying the airline, the passenger was told he should have called within 24 hours!
If such a reply is something other than tacitly condoning theft by the airline's employees, what could it be?????

Valerie Plame and who is responsible for what?

So tell me, somebody, Why is Judith Miller so under scrutiny, when she is not even the person who published Valerie Plame's name in the newspaper? And why is the person who did publish her name--Robert Novak--just about never mentioned? What is going on with this? Is the so-called crime lost amidst political maneuvering??????

Baseball players and talent

Brian and I have been discussing the art of baseball. This past summer he pointed out that if you hit the foul ball pole or the net, then it's an automatic home run. This is my question: Baseball players get paid millions of dollars. Why don't they train (at least a little) to aim for the foul ball pole every single time they're at bat? If the point of playing the game = winning, and winning = more money, then why don't we have more players aiming for what appears to be a relatively easy way of hitting a home run?

Neela's question about education

Why is there so much emphasis on education and certification these days, in order to get jobs? Who is served by this process?