Big Gulp Freedom

This conservative cartoon by Eric Allie is titled, "Big Gulp Freedom". In the cartoon, a man holding a big soda cup is attached to puppet strings which are controlled by a man whose buttons say on them, "Big Gov".  The word freedom is written, as if the man were saying it. The message that the cartoon portrays is that although we may feel that we're free and independent, our lives are controlled by the puppet strings of big government. This is clearly referring to the regulations that the Democratic Party is always trying to put on everyone and everything. We've talked in class about regulation, and differences in ideology. That's exactly what the cartoon refers to. The Democrats want to have centralized control on everything, from healthcare to how we drink soft drinks. Are we really free under these conditions? Not at all. We're just the puppets controlled by the strings of Big Government. 

The Dow and Unemployment

This conservative cartoon by Larry Wright is titled "Big Dow Jones". In the cartoon, a man is holding a newspaper and says, "Wow! The Dow Jones has gone well over 14,000! All I need now is a job..." The message that is sent through this cartoon is that regardless of how high the Dow gets, or the stock market goes; Americans are still going to be unemployed. The stock market is not going to change the reality of thousands of Americans across the country. This article does not really discuss anything that we have talked about during class. However, I personally thought it was quite interesting how this cartoon depicted how so many Americans would react news like the one mentioned in the cartoon. 

Legalities and Illegalities of the Presidency

     The conservative cartoon by Dan Wasserman is titled, "Obama justifies drone killings" and that's because that's exactly what the message of the cartoon is. In the cartoon, President Obama is in the Oval Office, reading a newspaper with the words "Drone Assassinations" written on it. In the office, there's a portrait of former President Nixon saying, "If the president does it, that means it's not illegal." and President Obama responds saying, "What he said.". In the media lately, Obama and his drones have been blown up like no other. The irony of this cartoon is that Obama and his drones are basically being compared to Nixon and Watergate. We've talked in class about how the media spins things into different viewpoints, and that's what the conservatives are doing. They're making Obama look like a bad guy, and saying that he doesn't care. That's what's expressed by his nonchalant posture in the cartoon. 

Skies Falling and Chickens Talking

     This cartoon by Glenn Fogen is titled, "The Little Chickens"; satirically comparing how big a deal people are making of the sequester to how Chicken Little cried that the sky was falling, and is most probably from a conservative standpoint. In this cartoon, there's a man with an American Flag tee-shirt, a gavel and some chickens titled, media, congress, and O. These probably refer to how these three things have made the sequesters so much bigger than they are. In the cartoon, the man has the chickens saying, "Sequester!!! The sky is falling!!! The sky is falling!!", he has enough of it and kills them with a gavel. The message behind this is that once we get rid of everything that makes these sequesters such a big deal, then as a country, we'll be okay. It's ironic because these are the things that are supposed to make things better for us, when they're actually just making things harder. We talked in class about how media can affect the President and Congress, and spin issues in a whole different way than originally intended, and that's what's happening in this cartoon. 

Obese Budgets

     This political cartoon by Henry Payne is titled "Obamas fight obesity", mainly because it criticizes how the Obamas are fighting obesity, while the federal budget is so huge, and they do nothing about it, and is most likely from a conservative standpoint. The cartoon pictures Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as an "obese" man with the words "Federal Budget" written on him. These symbolize a growing federal budget that's continuously being fed (as symbolized by the ice cream and soda). It looks as though President Obama is patting the budget on the back while saying, "Michelle and I are committed to fighting obesity... in children." while the budget is still eating. This is related to what we've talked about in class because we previously discussed how the media can use things that people say, and turn them around into something else that could be taken a totally different way. That's exactly what this cartoon does. It's ironic how the Obamas are putting more into childhood obesity than the Federal Budget though, one would think that with the upcoming sequesters and such, the budget would matter more. 

On Sequesters and Such

     This cartoon is titled, "The Sequester", and was drawn by Nate Beeler. The cartoon was most probably titled so because it's about how overrated the sequesters are. In this cartoon, there's a bumble bee with the word sequester written on it, heading towards a big blue truck titled spending. The truck is being driven by a man that looks like Barack Obama, and in the passenger seat is an Uncle Sam looking figure. The cartoon most probably means that the liberals are making too big of a deal out of the upcoming sequesters. There isn't too much action actually taking place in this cartoon other than the Obama looking person freaking out over a small bee coming toward his truck, saying, "Look out! We're all gonna die!!!" The message is that the sequesters aren't really that big of a deal, considering how huge out spending is, and is most likely given from a conservative standpoint. The current political event discussed relates to our class discussion because we've talked about how media can influence people, and make such a big deal out of something that really isn't all that chaotic; and that's what's been happening with the sequester. We've constantly just been hearing about how horrible they're going to be. The irony of the cartoon is that a little bee can cause a man in such a huge machine to be so afraid. Yes, the sequesters are going to be a hard thing to deal with, since so many things are getting cut, but they really won't hurt us too much as a nation.