Misplaced Disapproval

President Obama has experienced significant nationwide criticism--reflected by a 9% drop in his national approval rating--mainly pertaining to the recent steps taken in implementing his administration's healthcare plan, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But is America's discontent with our Commander-in-Chief misplaced? I certainly think so. According to Fox News' article, "How Low Can It Go? ObamaCare Poll Numbers Drop -- Again," much of the public's main misgiving about Obamacare is its recent website malfunctions. I find that there are many other components of the Act that the American people could take issue with than its initial aesthetic problems.

It seems that yet again America's citizens are misinformed by the mass media. Outlets of all political preferences have been reporting on HealthCare.gov's malfunction, but what of Obamacare's effects on doctor's pay, taxation, and overall function within the government? Since mainstream media became widespread and readily available to virtually everyone, it appears that it has essentially determined the public's political opinions by only providing the most basic elements of issues. This is clearly a problem, but I personally see no legitimate alternative to remedy this epidemic of ignorance.

News, Fox. "How Low Can It Go? ObamaCare Poll Numbers Drop -- Again." Fox News. FOX News Network, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

Twitter Mania

Twitter has undeniably become the new king of social media. It allows people to share what they're doing and how they're feeling with the world in real time, and, unlike other outlets, to interact with celebrities on a personal level and be inundated with information from news sources. Twitter is fun, easy, and unique and, as a result, has experienced long-standing and exponentially increasing success.

The executives over at Twitter decided that they could best exploit Twitter's dominance by going public, and, a little over a week ago, did just that. In it's initial days, Twitter's stock values have soared, but many speculate as to whether this boom will continue--perhaps with good reason. After examining that Facebook bubble, some financial experts believe that Twitter will follow suit in Mark Zuckerberg's fall. Social media sites are only worth how many users it has, and declines of ostensible empires like Facebook occur when competitors push them out.

It is undeniable that social media sites' value entirely depends on their popularity, and Facebook's stock plummeted as it gradually became less desirable to the public, but what many do not consider is that Twitter has already battled the storms brought on by rival outlets--including Facebook. For example, when Facebook bought out Instagram, Twitter responded by developing Vine, which, too, continues to become favorable to its users. It appears that Twitter is more robust than many give it credit for, and I, personally, do not see why Twitter's stock will not maintain or even grow.

Dukes of Hazard

The stupidity of humanity never ceases to amaze me. This news report is certainly more benign that the ones we typically discuss, but man’s irrational behavior still led to someone getting hurt and another getting put in jail. I personally don’t know what to make of the situation. Obviously guns were in the hands of untrustworthy men, but was there some ulterior motive or are these guys just idiots? Whether these men got the idea to search for Bigfoot from Animal Planet or beef jerky commercials is irrelevant, the real question is why do humans persistently search for myths and legends when they have been almost conclusively proven to be nonexistent?

There is much speculation as to why we try to discover mythical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster, the Abominable Snowman, and, most recently, Bigfoot. Some claim that it has to do with our insatiable curiosity for the unknown, while others uphold that we are motivated by a pursuit of fame and notoriety. I, however, contend that we, personally, want these storybook characters to exist. We deeply desire to realize the fantastical tales we imagined as children and to wholeheartedly believe that there is more to life than what meets the eye. It is impossible to speak for the men involved in this recent debacle, but I think that our inner child—along with elements of escapism and thrill-of-the-hunt—that motivates us to embark on these senseless and fruitless quests.