Whiners in Washington

The title of the cartoon is "Tired of the Whining", the words are being used to describe the action taking place in the cartoon. The Elephant, symbol of the Republican party, and the Donkey, symbol of the Democratic party, are used to symbolize their respective parties in this cartoon. The artist means that the people who are in control in Washington are stressing out the tax payers, making them tired and annoyed. Let us take a closer look at the cartoon, we see the two parties, in a high chair, usually used by a baby. Also, the objects that are falling off of the high chair in the cartoon are usually used by babies. I think the cartoon's message is that the tax payers of the country are tired of all the whining that takes place in Washington, and instead of being productive they are too busy bickering like babies over budget blunders. This seems to come from the moderate perspective, not taking any side, but displaying a common wrong in the country. This cartoon relates to the near shutdown of the government and the budget debates that have been taking place to prevent it.
The ironic part of this cartoon is that the policy makers in Washington that are so quick to bicker like children are the exact opposite, they are adults that continue to debate and whine like babies without producing results.


This Cartoon was published by Randy Bish of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review on 8-April-11
I found it on: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/013833ed-9bca-4421-b9be-7e61c87e2ba0.html

Doppleganger Dilimmas

The title of this cartoon is "Barack vs. Obama"  The words of the title describe the two characters that are the focus of the cartoon. President Obama is used as a symbol but he is used to represent two different times. The Obama shown without the suit jacket is used to portray the current President Obama, and the foreign involvement, and the Health care bills, and the budget crisis that followed, while the other is used to portray President-elect Obama with progressive promises of prosperity. The previous synopsis of the symbols in the cartoon  is what I believe is the artist's meaning is. In the cartoon, the President seems to be choking a clone of himself. The message here comes directly from the short passage above the picture, "teaching a lesson". The artist believes that the President needs to be taught a lesson in order to improve his approval by the people. This cartoon is related to our in-class discussions of the role and powers of the president. Through our discussions we have learned that the president does not have half as much power as his constituents believe he does, and is responsible for half of the problems with this country. The irony of this cartoon stems from the fact that President Obama is being shown here as if he was a different person with different policies before assuming office, when in reality he had the same values, stressed the same policies, and had the same progressive views before he gave his inaugural speech.

This Cartoon was published by Dwayne Booth of Mr. Fish on 9-April-2011,
I found it on : http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/43b1d3d4-70e0-4d87-aed9-03430bcb876b.html

The Blame Game

The title of the cartoon is government shut down, it describes the recent talks of government shut down that has been going on in Washington. The artist uses the symbols of the Democrats (Donkey) and the Republicans (Elephant). The cartoon depicts the two parties blaming each other for the government shut down that is believed to be upcoming if the budget crises cannot be resolved. The message is that the two are spending more time blaming one another for the shutdown rather than putting all their effort into fixing it. This cartoon comes from the moderate point of view, favoring neither party and depicting each one equally guilty. The Irony of this cartoon is that they actually are equally guilty. If both parties could simply agree then the shut down most likely would not occur. Also, the two seem to be engaged in a childish blame game of sorts, depicting the two as immature, which could be a reference to the behavior of our esteemed leaders.

This Cartoon was published on the 6th of April, at 12 Pm by Daryl Cagle on MSNBC.com
I found it at : http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/a084de61-eb90-4746-9319-e5ec24bf57a7.html

It Must Be Done

The title of this cartoon is "Bombing For Peace", and is used to describe the symbols in the cartoon that represent our recent actions in Libya. The Eagle in the cartoon is used to signify the purpose of the U.S bombers flying over Libya. In America the Eagle (bird) holding a twig in it's  hand is the symbol of peace. It seems as though the artist believes that the Presence of U.S Air force in Libya is necessary for that country to see peace. This liberal point of view is widely shared and is obviously the view of our government being as though we are still there. The irony of this cartoon, and of the situation itself is that we are bombing bombers, and all in an attempt to use violence to create peace.

This cartoon was published By Daryle Cagle, on Msnbc.com on 3/31/2011
 Found it on: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/85d06d36-3f0c-4604-85c9-250ff119d220.html

A Battle With War

The title of this week's political cartoon is "Obama and war", and this title describes the two figures in the cartoon. The figures in the cartoon are president Obama and large man in armor whom is symbolizing war, another key symbol is the chess board itself, which is foreign military involvement. The artist is satirizing how close the United States is becoming to being at war with Libya. He is doing this by showing Obama and the figure of war locked in a game of chess. The message of the cartoon is for Obama to make larger moves in Libya. The cartoon seems more on the liberal side of the spectrum, being as though liberals tend to believe that as a part of the security council the U.S has a duty to uphold peace. In Libya there are United states Navy and Air force operations however we are not engaged in war with Libya, we have discussed this several times in class and even questioned why we are not at war with Libya.

This cartoon was published by Bob Englehart of The Hartford Courant  on 3/23/2011 and I found it on

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/82f61fd7-483f-4790-a25f-ec694d5f3556.html

Portrayal Of Gaddafi

The Title of this cartoon is "Libya's Gaddafi", the title shows exactly what is supposed to be portrayed in the cartoon. Muammar Gaddafi is being represented in this political cartoon, I think the artist is trying to portray Gaddaffi as a violent machine and not a human being. The steam coming from the ears, the pistols for fingers, this seems more like a fictional android than a human dictator, which is what it seems like the artist is aiming for. The message if the cartoon is that Gaddafi is more of a monster than a leader, and with his fingers being handguns he is likely to be quick to fire. The Cartoonist does not take the position of a specific ideology in this cartoon. Currently we are hearing in the news about Gaddafi being content with firing on his own people, which is also something that we have discussed in class. The Irony that Gaddafi is being portrayed as a monster, and is also behaving like one, sheds light on the situation in Libya and expresses the pain suffered by the people there.




This Cartoon was published in Singapore by Deng Coy Miel, and I found it on: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/2670f9ff-1935-4728-a2ca-fa76d0431edb.html

Impossible Homework

The title of this cartoon is "Lost Homework". The title of this cartoon refers to the child in the cartoon explaining why he did not do his homework. It seems that the citizens of the united states are represented in the cartoon. Most citizens benefit from the educational system, and with the potential passing of  Senate Bill #1 this system is at stake. The artist of the cartoon is giving a predicted scenario that would result from the passing of the bill. The artist does not portray any specific ideological position. The cartoon relates to the PA general assembly's first consideration of the bill, which happened yesterday. The cartoon does not directly relate to anything we have discussed in class however. The irony of the cartoon stems from the fact that both the examples that the child brought up as an excuse, were actually proposed by the general assembly at some point in time.

This cartoon was published by "Wright" via the website:
http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/59ba47a8-ff99-488d-b827-3c0e202d2318.html