I think Person of Interest set the record for shootings in a prime time television series. Even the most violent episode of 24 might lag last night’s body count. Women as well as men participated. The concern groups have expressed through the years about the deleterious effects of such depiction has apparently been dismissed by programmers who figure they must compete with the carnage on cable to retain viewers. I suppose the next step will be to have the blood spurting once again. Right now the kills are largely clean, bloodless. Is it damaging to the psyche of those watching, especially the young? Will there even be a debate about it? Maybe there would be if the characters were smoking cigarettes or drinking large sodas.
It’s been said that most modern bank robbery will occur by computer. There was proof of that yesterday, as a group hacked into gift card accounts to the tune of 45 million. I have so far resisted the temptation of online banking for fear of having my information swiped, but this crime seems to show that even those who do not bank online may be vulnerable. Is it possible that an institution can be bankrupted by a cyber attack? If so, will depositors' money be insured? Scary stuff.
The New York City Council is considering a law to allow the right to vote to non-citizens who have lived within the five boroughs for at least six months. This is mind boggling even for a liberal bastion. Proponents defend it by saying these people, an estimated 800,000, have been paying taxes and other charges for years. Just when it seems impossible that politicians can sink to a new low, they do. Of course, this is nothing but a cynical ploy to add more Democrats to the rolls - in a town where they already outnumber Republicans by five to one.
It was a beautiful summer-like day in Brooklyn. The Fed-Ex guy donated two books to the floating book shop, one on poverty, the other on art. No sooner had I displayed the latter than a bird baptized it. I cleaned it immediately. Sure enough, a young man purchased it a while later. Mrs. Eclectic stopped by for another batch of books, and Old Simon left a bag full of Harlequin romances at Ali Baba's gyro stand. My thanks to them and to the other kind folks who purchased today.
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
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