Political Cartoon on the issues

This cartoon was drawn by John Cole, published by The Scranton Times Tribune on 12/18/2009. The title of the political cartoon is Santa Obamas lap. This cartoon deals with the recession issue which is the issue of people being unemployed and not receiving any money. The message is that Obama is dealing with a lot of issues but not the fact that a lot of people need jobs. Obama seems to have a lot on his plate or in this case his lap so he cannot deal with every important issue that he needs to focus on. I agree with the message that Obama doesn't seem to have a handle on the recession issue and that he needs to realize where his priorities lie.

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/b68c1aae-4b68-4b7b-9350-8cd59b2e9032.html

Favorite Holiday

My favorite holiday is Halloween, because as a child it was always fun to dress up as someone else for a day and receive candy. After coming back from trick-or-treating it was always fun to pig out on the days loot. Nowadays on Halloween I usually watch my favorite horror movie Halloween: Resurrection and anything else scary that happens to be coming on televison. Last year before Halloween my cousins and I went to Markoff's Haunted Forest and it was so fun.

Political Cartoon on war about Reagan

This political cartoon was drawn by RJ Matson. It was published by Roll Call on 12/10/09 and it is titled Obama Paraphrases old Reagan Joke. The cartoon's message is that Reagan embarrassed USA with his comment about "outlawing Russia forever" because of the fact that the Soviet Union was known for its communism. Obama claims that he will stop the war in Iraq except for the fact that the war is still going on and there is still controversy about Obama recieving the Nobel Peace Prize. I agree that Obama has not done anything very important so far to receive a Nobel Peace Prize and that he does need to follow through on his comments about ending the war in Iraq.

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/b34db504-2931-4272-929c-05135e5735eb.html

Religious Symbols

I believe that since the holidays are mainly celebrated for religious reasons; displaying religious symbols is a good idea. The only controversy is that it may conflict with others' religious beliefs. However it should not matter what is displayed as long as everyone who has a specific holiday is recognized.

Political Cartoon on Global Warming

This cartoon was drawn by Nate Beeler. It was published by the Washington Examiner. The title of the cartoon is Global Warming Armor and it was posted on 12/4/09. This cartoon deals with the global warming issue being discussed today.The cartoon's message is that there is a huge problem with the way the government is dealing with the global warming issue. I agree with the message the cartoon sends out; the government needs to do a better job dealing with this issue because it is so important to help our environment for future generations.

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/74380693-95a8-44a3-8391-0b8e7c1d117e.html

Update on Health Care Reform

The Health Care reform seems to be the same as it was before. Our health care does seem to be getting better for the public and easier for people to afford it. Insurance is important so the universal health care is headed to helping the public that needs it the most. There are still people who are against the health care reform brought up by Obama. This reform will help people who cannot afford health care who need it

Political Cartoon on Bad Healthcare

This cartoon was drawn by Jeff Parker. It was published by Daryl Cagle's Political Cartoonists Index. The title of the cartoon is Handicapping Healthcare and it was posted on 11/21/09. This cartoon deals with the Obama's Healthcare program because its such an important issue right now. The cartoon's message is that Obama's health care program is hurting the country instead of helping it because he's getting rid of the public option. I disagree with the cartoon's message because I believe that it is of the utmost importance that everyone receives health care which is what Obama's health care program is all about.

http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/HealthcareYUCK/main.asp

The new principal for Herndon

I believe that our new principal needs to be understanding, nice and he/she should have a good personality to boot. Mr.Cooper has been a good temporary principal so far because he has been trying to get to know the students and staff members unlike Mr.Martinez last year. So we need a principal who possesses the same qualities as Mr.Cooper. The kinder and more helpful the next principal is, the better it will be for the future students who will have to attend Herndon.

Current Event 6: GU rally decries anti-gay violence

Background Info: This article was about Georgetown students rallying against hate crimes on a girl who was attacked based off of her sexual orientation. These hate crimes have occurred in the past before.

Summary: These hate crimes have been investigated by the police. Georgetown students are rallying because of the instances in the past and the fact that everyone deserves the same amount of freedom regardless of their sexual preferences.

Analysis: The police need to do more in order to prevent these hate crimes from reoccurring. These hate crimes need to stop once and for all. The police have been investing a few of the instances that have happened in the past.

Comment: People who are against homosexuals are ignorant about the world. These people should learn to ignore this issue altogether instead of insulting homosexuals and they need to stop the hate crimes against homosexuals . It should not matter what someone's sexual preference is and if homosexuals want to marry who are we to judge them and prevent their happiness. I don't think it matters I could care less about someone's sexual preferences.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103002639.html?hpid=newswell

Personal Response

I believe one of the biggest issues today are the economy and the debt we are in today. The economy is so bad today that people are losing jobs and our debt is as bad as it was during the Great Depression. We need to do all that we can to fix it before it gets any worse. We are in billions of dollars of debt and it gets worse every second. President Obama is trying to fix our debt but it will be worse by the time he finishes his term.

Current Event 5: Senate Global Warming Bill Is Seeking to Cushion the Impact on Industry

Background Info: There has been a Senate bill issued to reduce global warming pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the cost of the bill will be a hundred dollars per household. This bill is initially meant to help our environment by reducing the pollution that will increase in the future.

Summary: This bill is being sponsored by two Democratic Senators: John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. The bill is meant to reduce emissions from greenhouse gases. Their bill closely resembles another house bill sponsored by two Democratic Representatives: Henry A. Waxman and Edward J. Markey. Each bill would reduce about the same amount of emissions over the next forty years.

Analysis: The issues on global warming are very important to future generations and the environment. The bills will help make our environment better by reducing the chances of more pollution that is being emitted into the world.

Comment: I believe we as citizens should do all that we can to improve our environment in any way, shape, or form. We should support the bill to improve our lives and the generation after ours. If we don't take action now our environment will continue to deteriorate in the process. The more we help the environment the more beneficial it will be for everyone else.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/us/politics/25climate.html?ref=politics

Question 5

In 2005 Creigh Deeds lost to Bob McDonnell when they were both running for Attorney General of Virginia. Now they are running against each other again for the Virginia Governor's race. They both are concerned with the same issues about transportation however they have a difference of opinion on how the situation should be handled; since the McDonnell campaign criticized Deeds for his plan. Based off of the polls people are leaning more towards McDonnell however that does not represent the whole population since it was a random telephone poll and not many people are that well informed when it comes to politics. From the polls alone you can assume that McDonnell will win but no one can predict the future accurately.

Current Event 4: Military Seeks $1.3 Billion for Projects in Afghanistan

Background Info: This article is about whether or not the military should spend money on upgrading military bases in Afghanistan. It mentions that they have upgraded a military base in the past before. Obama's administration is still contemplating the idea of if they are even going to send any more troops out to Afghanistan so spending so much money on constructing more military bases would be a bad idea.

Summary: The military has spent so many billions of dollars on construction in the past. The administration that makes the decisions is still debating with the idea of whether or not they should make more construction for military bases. Since they are already planning on not sending any more troops who will use those military bases.

Analysis: Since the issue is so important they are all still debating on if spending that money is a good idea or not. This issue is probably not going to be solved any time soon since they have been debating on if they should take the troops out of Afghanistan for the longest time.

Comment: I believe that this is an important issue since it depends on how well the other bases have been constructed. It is beneficial that the troops have the best base to protect themselves from surprise attacks from the enemy. In my opinion they should just end the war already but since it is not going to be resolved any time soon maybe they should just construct better bases for the troops. It still depends on how well the pre-established bases are. Spending money on something that is not necessary as of right now seems like such a waste. Our country is already in so much debt they should be careful on how they spend it that's probably why they are taking so long in making their decisions in the first place.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/17/AR2009101701695.html

Question 4

I believe that the biggest political issue we are facing with in Virginia is fiscally since every program seems to be on a budget. Our whole country is in so much debt that it gets worse each second of the day. We need to do something about our debt and President Obama is trying to do all that he can to pull us out of it that's why even the taxes are increasing to help with the situation and programs that need it. The fact is that by the time Obama finishes his term as President we will be in even more debt. We should change our government all together since sooner or later it is going to fall apart and we will need to reestablish a new government.

Current Event 2: As Pressure Grows, Obama Addresses Gay Rights Group

Background Info: This article is about whether or not the army should allow openly gay people to join the army. Obama talks to a gay rights group addressing that issue and the issue of allowing same-sex marriage to occur. So far he has not done anything to help with letting homosexuals join the army saying that the generals are looking into it.

Summary: President Obama wants to do all that he can to let gay people have the same rights as other people do. Throughout this article it shows some of his steps in trying to help with the issue even though it is not much he is still trying his best. In the article they compare his attempts on the issue to Bill Clintons'. They said it wasn't wise for Bill Clinton to deal with this issue so early on in his presidency and it is advised that Obama should also deal with the issue later on.

Analysis: Obama's attempt to deal with this issue is very admirable. He should still try to deal with some more important issues right now instead of this one even though it is just as important. He should probably focus more on his health care plan and other issues that everyone has been talking about such as the economic downturn.

Comment: I belive that homosexuals deserve to be treated with the same respect and they sould have the same rights as everyone else. It's not fair to discriminate them on how they live their lives and no one has the right to judge anyone else. I don't think it's anyones' business on who someone marries whether it is someone of the same sex or different. I personally think marriage is overrated anyway so it really shouldn't matter and it's about time people learned to accept homosexuals for who they are. As they all say 'they're here they're queer get used to it'.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/10/AR2009101000627.html?sid=ST2009101100127

Question 3

Obama's health care plan sounds reasonable since he understands that having health care is very important and he is lowering the costs so that other people who don't have insurance can afford it. I would have to give him a B for working so hard to improve that issue.

I give Obama an A for effort on trying to help the economy but based off of the debt clock he's probably not going to get anywhere. Our debt is as bad now as it was during the Great Depression so it's going to take a lot of time to bring the economy back up. People predict that we are going to be in billons of more debt after Obama finishes his term. I would have to give him a D or an F since the economy is not going to improve even though he is trying his hardest.

As for Obama's stance on the war of terror he plans on getting the troops out of Iraq by the summer of 2010. I would have to give him a C for even though he seems to have a good plan, there are a lot of casualties or troops dying each day they are in Iraq since they are in so much danger. Who knows how many troops will die by the time Obama follows through with his plan or even if he will actually follow through with his 'plan' at all.

Taliban Fighters Attack Outposts, U.S. Troops Killed in Battle

Background Info: This article was about how the Taliban fighters unexpectedly attacked American and Afghan bases and the Americans retaliated with an attack of their own. It also states that twenty Afghan soldiers and police may have been taken hostage.

Summary: Since the Taliban fighters attacked and another attack by the Wanat contributes to the change in moving the American soldiers from a remote area to a safer and a more populated area where to avoid other attacks in the future.

Analysis: Relocating the soldiers to a safer area seems like a good idea. This will be better for them to plan everything out and avoid attacks. They should probably just stop fighting altogether so that way no one else will die.

Comment: I believe they should just end this war and come to a compromise with all of the rival groups of people who have been attacking the soldiers like the Taliban. They all need to end their controversies that way all of this can be avoided. President Obama should take our soldier out of Afghanistan and take those steps in hlping make a compromise.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100400778_2.html?hpid=topnews

Question 2

A political issue I am concerned with is the health-care bill it seems that so many people have controversy with it. There are plenty of people who need secure health care insurance and it is critical that the government should try to provide their citizens with those benefits. There are many people in America who don't have insurance so it is important and that's why there is such a huge debate about it.

Question 1

I would have to say that I am more closely aligned with the Democratic Party since they stick up more for the middle class people. The Republicans seem to help people who are more wealthy. I don't really know everything about the Democratic Party but I know based off of President Bush that they are not very great. I think we would have been better off with a monkey running the presidency compared to President Bush.

Current Event 1: Armey's Army Marches Against Obama

Background Info: The article I read is about a man named Richard Armey who is against President Obama's health care program. He has held rallies and organizations against it. He happens to be a Republican and he heads a group called the FreedomWorks.

Summary: Richard Armey is the main person being talked about throughout the article. How he always seems to have a problem with different programs and how he quit his job at a law and lobbying firm. The article also mentions how much money his organization, FreedomWorks, receives and how much money Armey himself makes from the profits of the organization.

Analysis: Everyone seems to have a problem with Obama's health care program. They should just work it out amongst themselves and resolve their issues in a more productive way instead of spending so much money on organizations who are against the program. If they made less arguments and more compromises they would get more work done.

Comment: This argument over Obama's health care program is monotousness. I personally have been hearing about the controversies about the program for too long. They need to move on to other issues such as the fact that America is in so much debt and how it increases with each passing second.

Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/26/AR2009092602438.html?sub=AR