A 7yo boy was kidnapped from someplace in Oregon.  It's received the kind of coverage parents can only get when their missing child is cute enough to imply profitability to network news directors.  During a one-year period studied by the DOJ (stat via missingkids.org), an average of 2,185 children were reported missing each day.  Paring the news coverage down to the occassional poster child makes the subject more manageable, but it also gives the illusion that kidnapping is a rare occurrence.

According to the latest ad for Kings Island amusement park, riding their roller coaster makes you a "ride warrior".  I guess we can add it to the list with "road warrior" and "war on poverty".  It's standard identity advertising -- that is, making people want something because they want to think of themselves as the kind of person who wants that thing.  It's ridiculous, and it sells.  There's a reason that the "warrior" image can sell Americans on just about anything these days, and it's a symptom of a real problem with some pretty terrifying results.