One of the recurring themes throughout the book is that Jobs wanted to change the world and impact the universe in a way never before done. After reading so much of the book and then casually browsing news websites and checking the headlines, I am a firm believer that Jobs has done just that: changed the world. So with that in mind, all of the articles that I find fascinating and worth reading today are all Apple-related. Enjoy!

• The Economic Times: Apple courts EPIX for upcoming TV: Reports
• eWeek.com: iPhone 5 to Be Thinner, Release Date Inconsequential: Jefferies
• Forbes: Apple’s Road Ahead: iOS6, New iPhones And Apple TV, At Last
• The New York Times: How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Global Taxes

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long addressing the media Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

This is probably an overstatement, but I think it is fair to say that none of us have ever been nor will ever be in the shoes of someone like Jeff Long. Most of us will not ever be in charge of an athletic or other program with revenues and expenditures in the hundreds of millions of dollars. And most of us will never be faced with the decision of whether we terminate the most successful individual in that program on the principle of a matter, this matter being that regardless of success on the field, he at best violated trust with both leadership and players and at worst violated the law.

When faced with the decision to fire Bobby Petrino for covering up his affair with a fundraiser for the University of Arkansas, Jeff Long didn’t hesitate to make the right move. He was thorough, yes, but he did not hesitate. He made the right move. And he did something that I am not sure many of us would have had the courage to do: he stood on principle even though it was not the popular decision and could likely cost his school and athletic program millions of dollars in donations, merchandise sales and ticket sales down the road.

Jeff Long’s actions are something that people in all aspects of life can learn and take lessons from. No matter how hard the decision, doing the right thing will ultimately win you the respect of your colleagues and foes alike. And while there have been reported death threats against Long, in time the vast majority of fans will agree that he made the right decision, no matter what the short term consequences.

During that election, Clinton herself was no fan of Obama. She kept attacking him for attacking her, or she would say that he doesn’t have a fundamental understanding of how to run the government, running this now-infamous ad about who is more ready to lead when the world nears complete destruction at 3am:

That ad started to awaken fear in some voters. Fear of the unknown. Fear for no other reason than to be fearful.

Fast forward to the Fall’s general election, and deep in the recesses of the Republican Party, consultants, party insiders and some candidates themselves were spreading false rumors that Obama was a marxist, a racist, a communist and a Muslim, sometimes simultaneously (I’m not sure how it would happen, but some people believed it and some still believe it). There were also rumors being spread that Obama was going to outlaw guns and take away Constitutional rights, somehow circumventing both the Congress and the Supreme Court to become some sort of “Super President” with unlimited powers. Those of us on the left knew the rumors to be false and Constitutionally impossible to achieve, but the right kept pushing that narrative.

During that election, I was in college and working part-time at an outdoors store. I saw the politics of fear first hand as people would come in and buy guns or load up on as much ammunition as they could. And it only got worse after the election. Sales at the store where I worked soared. We were thanking our lucky stars that a Democrat was elected simply because it helped the bottom line. But the undying message of why these people were buying these items was alarming. They were buying into the fear that they were being spoon-fed by the Republican Party.

Now, in the next Presidential election, it is no better. Although President Obama was done nothing to curtail gun ownership or the purchasing of ammunition, the right is still playing the fear card, especially with Southern and Midwestern voters. And they are falling for it again, although they have nothing on which to base their fears. They still have guns, almost three and a half years in to Obama’s term and President and it doesn’t look like his actions will be changing anytime soon.