Hodgepodge

1. Steve Jobs’ Last Words

Apparently, Steve Jobs’ final utterance before his death last month was “Oh wow.”  How ironic (or appropriate?) that these were the last words of a man whose innovations in computer technology prompted millions of people to utter those same words.  Here are some interesting reflections on Jobs, last words, and life after death by Brad Hirschfield and Christopher John Farley.

2. The Occupy Wall Street Movement Turning (More) Violent

Many people have expressed concern about the fact that the OWS protestors have not exactly modeled civility.  We’ve all seen the images and reports of pollution, destruction of property, sexual assualt, verbal abuse, public defecation, and public sex.  Now there are reports of shooting deaths in Oakland and Burlington.  This is not going to end well.

3. The Penn State Atrocity

This story is an outrage at many levels.  And it is a sad illustration of some critical moral truths.  For one thing, it is an example of how one man’s indiscretion can devastate an entire community.  It also shows how a sin of omission (here, the failure to properly hold another person accountable) can be as devastating as a sin of commission.  As Edmund Burke famously declared, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”  Or, in this case, not quite enough.