Yes, Hollywood glamorizes violence. I saw a movie this evening and it's an ideal example. In Crank (2006), Jason Statham walks into a convenience store, pulls a clerk across the counter and points a gun at her. He later goes into an alley and shoots someone in the back of the head. He drives a car through a mall while being chased through police, then somersaults his vehicle up a moving escalator. He points a gun at random hospital staff during an escape scene. He shoots at officers (or security) in the hospital. He steals a police motorcycle. He nearly shoots and nearly gets shot by a room full of gangsters. The movie glorifies drug abuse. He even shoots Polly. And all of this happens in the first half of the movie. The media makes a great deal about the murder rate in America and how - they feel - guns are to blame. But guns have been around for hundreds of years, and mass murders are largely a 20th and 21st century occurrence.
Bitcoin's value has crashed in the past few days. I personally visited the Bitcoin Center in New York City last year and had an "interesting" conversation with staff there. The Bitcoin Center's staff insisted without the slightest hint of sarcasm that bitcoin was "more reliable in value than the US dollar." And yet, at the same time, they said that bitcoin can be so volatile that people were "jumping off buildings" when things went bad. I think bitcoin is probably more dependable than Zimbabwe's currency, but that's probably about it. I would like to think that most people understand the risk and volatility entailed with bitcoin, but people still use it.
You probably read about the ISIS supporter who was arrested in Ohio yesterday. Christopher Lee Cornell recently converted to Islam, after his father had entertained muslim sympathies. And just like that, he was planning to kill people. Rest assured, there is still some liberal out there thinking of a twitter hash tag like #illridewithyou to show solidarity with muslims.
NeoGAF posters are assuring everyone that there's "no way" Mitt Romney would run for President again. Like they would know. Meanwhile, Governor Romney is attending the Republican National Committee meeting on the USS Midway in San Diego. He is working to reorganize his campaign structure. Romney is on top of the polls in Iowa. He is, in fact, polling 7 points ahead of Jeb Bush. People tend to forget that Richard Nixon lost an election to John F. Kennedy. Ronald Reagan ran more than once, as did George H. W. Bush. Besides, what's wrong with having more choices?
CBS News reported that President Obama's approval rating rose from 39% in October to 46% now. What they failed to mention is that CBS News never reported on Obama's approval ratings when they were falling in the first place.
