QOTW #4

I really don't have a favorite holiday memory, but one Christmas Eve that really stands out in my mind was the one when I directed a Nativity scene for my Grandmother.

Every year, we spend the entire Christmas Eve up until midnight at my grandparent's house in Reston where all of my extended family from all over the country comes to celebrate and be with each other. Although I am not a religious person, my grandmother certainly is. She grew up during the post World War 2 period in Southern Germany so faith, specifically Roman Catholicism, became a huge part of her life. Naturally, many of our Christmas Eve traditions are Catholic/Germanic in nature like the German Christmas Eve feast or the songs that we'd sing together ("O Tannenbaum", Stiele Nacht", etc.) but by far my grandmother's favorite tradition is the Nativity scene where all of her grandchildren dress up as various characters from the scene and sing songs.

One year, I got all of the grandchildren together and decided that we would take things a step further and turn the one scene into the entire Nativity Story. We spent the entire week memorizing lines and verses, learning songs, and creating a backdrop until it was finally time to perform on Christmas Eve. My grandmother, who knew nothing of our plan, was so incredibly happy as she saw all of her grandchildren acted out such an important story to her and even began to cry when we performed for her "Silent Night/Stiele Nacht." When it was all done, she hugged each and every one of us and said that was one of the greatest Christmas presents she had ever received.

Although I don't believe in the Christmas Story the same way or to the same extent that my other family members do, I understand how much it means to them and how it and the holiday season brings us all closer together as a family and for that I'm truly thankful.

Political Cartoon 4

This political cartoon by Rick McKee of the Augusta Chronicle is centered around the government shutdown scenario that occurs when the Congress cannot create a proper budget. Although in actuality, the House passed a nearly 1 Trillion dollar spending bill in order to avoid the crisis, the thought that if our elected officials had not compromised in time many "non-essential" government services would have shut down is still a rather unsettling one.

McKee uses many objects and techniques to convey the event in the political cartoon. The three main objects in the cartoon are the caricatures of the protestor and the congressman as well as the various objects that denote that the location of the cartoon is in Washington D.C. If the sign that says "Occupy D.C." in the upper left did not demonstrate that the Capitol was where the cartoon took place, the Washington Monument in the lower right could have also told you where this took place. The caricatures of the protestor and congressman are also very important to the piece. The protestor, drawn to look like a stereotypical hipster/hippie is angry at the politician and threatens to shut down the government. The congressman, characterized by a his suit and briefcase as well as his "fat-cat" figure, only smiles and responds with "Not if we beat you to it..." Many techniques besides caricature are used in the piece including the use of contrasts. While the protestor is angry, bitter, and not well put together, the congressman is calm, collective, and well put together. McKee also uses allusions through the speech of both the protestor and the congressman in which the two refer to the occupy movement and the government shutdown respectively.

All the symbols, objects, and techniques accumulate to help amplify the cartoon's and Mckee's message. As demonstrated by the speech bubble of the congressman, McKee believes that Congress, while having much more power over change than the Occupy movement, is doing little in terms of fixing the budget and stabilizing our economy even in the threat of a government shutdown. Even though the House was able to compromise and passed a near 1 Trillion dollar spending bill at the last minute, the fact that our elected leaders were not able to compromise until the very last second is unsettling and frankly just plain unacceptable.

QOTW #3

According to the information displayed in the polls conducted/found on Gallup.com, Obama will have a difficult bid for reelection next year. Currently, his approval rating is at 43% while his disapproval rating is 49%. His approval rating is also sitting 8% less than the average approval rating of previous presidents during the same time frame most of which are in the low 50's. Ever since May and the heat of the Republican Presidencial Nominee coverage began, the President's approval rating has been sharply drawing and I would expect that the rhetoric and attacks used by many of the candidates are in some part a reason as to why the public finds Obama less capable. Although there are no real frontrunners for the Republican Nomination and the race right now is fragmented, the intensity of coverage is not helping Obama in any way shape or form. Clearly, if Obama is to win reelection, it is time for him to get into full-on campaign mode and fight back against the Republicans and to show the nation what kind of leader he really is. If he is able to accomplish this and if no strong nominee is selected for the Republican nomination, I place Obama's odd at a good 4:3. If he isn't able to get into gear and the Republican party IS able to find a suitable representative, then Obama might be in a world of hurt come next year.

Political Cartoon 3

This political cartoon by Montie Wolverton is about the Protect IP Act/SOPA Bill that is trying to be passed in Congress. The bill, if made law, would give corporations the ability to take down any and all videos, sites, images, etc that they feel infringes upon their intellectual property. Since the wording is so loose in the bill, the major fear is that the bill can be interpreted by corporations in any manner that they see fit, essentially allowing these corporations to stop the democratic free speech nature of the internet.

The major symbols and imagery used are the baby, the knife, and the corporate businessman. The baby is used to represent the internet community and those who would be affected by the passing of the bill. The image of the baby is used in order to evoke innocence and to lend sympathy to the plight of the online community and their situation with "internet corporatocracy". The businessman represents the "internet corporatocracy" who would be given free reign with the passing of the bill to take down anything they feel conflicts with their intellectual property rights. Finally, the dagger represents the bill itself, the ability for the Internet corporations to misuse the bill for their own benefit and the harm it could do to the internet as we know it.

The two major techniques that Wolverton uses is his use of imagery and symbolism as well as his use of sympathy. Each object in the picture is a representation of an idea like the bill, the internet community, etc and the scene that the cartoon creates helps describe the interaction between the three ideas. Sympathy is evoked through the plight of the innocent baby that is the internet who, with the passing of the Protect IP bill, would be severely hurt.

Through the cartoon, it is very clear to see Wolverton's point-of-view and message regarding the Protect IP bill. He, like I, believe that the passing of the bill would have serious ramifications that could result in the limiting of the freedom of expression that the internet currently provides. If the bill is passed, content on the internet, just as the cartoon's message expresses, could be severely censored and limited due to the seemingly unlimited power that Protect IP would grant corporations.

Political Cartoon 2

This political cartoon drawn by JD Crowe is centered around the now infamous video ad that Rick Perry is currently ran in Iowa and online where he stated that, "There's something wrong in this country when gays can openly serve in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." This ad has been seen as homophobic and down right offensive and idiotic to many, prompting Crowe to create this cartoon.

In the image, the two main symbols/objects are that of the caricature representing Rick Perry and the Jake Gyllenhaal character from Brokeback Mountain representing Homophobia as clearly stated. Rick Perry's line, "I wish I knew how to quit you" is a direct quote from the movie and serves to further satirize his homophobic remarks. Besides the caricature of Rick Perry and the use of allusions to the film, Brokeback Mountain, Crowe also uses ridicule and satire by placing the Rick Perry character in a relationship that the real life Rick Perry is opposed to.

Through this cartoon, Crowe is able to demonstrate his point-of-view regarding the Rick Perry situation and the ad. In drawing this, Crowe is mocking Perry's views displayed in the ad and calling attention how homophobic and insensitive they are. Crowe's point-of-view further amplifies the cartoon's overall message that Rick Perry's comments were irrational, insensitive, and most of all, insane.

Political Cartoon 1

This Political Cartoon by artist Rick McKee of the Augusta Chronicle is satirizing Donald Trump's recent talks about potentially running for the presidency as an Independent through Americans Elect. He stated that after The Apprentice ends in may, he could, if he wanted to, pursue the presidency and, "if the Republicans pick the wrong person...seriously consider running."

McKee uses a number of objects and devices in order to mock Trump. The caricature of Trump is the most important object in the piece. By giving the Trump character narrow eyes and an enormous head, the caricature represents Trump's inflated ego and his constant teasing of the presidency with his potential running. His vanity and ego is also represented by other objects in the room such as his giant painting of himself labeled "The Donald" and the fact he is reading a newspaper article about himself. The secretary character and the phone she is carrying represents the American people and their overwhelming distain to Trump's constant media coverage and teasing. Other techniques McKee uses besides caricature is ridicule in the fact that he berates Trump's constant need for media attention.

All of these devices and objects combine to demonstrate McKee's message and point-of-view regarding the Trump presidencial campaign situation. McKee, through his cartoon, shows the audience that he is tired of the constant teasing of a potential run for presidency that Trump does and the overwhelming media attention that Trump gets whenever he mentions his candidacy further inflating his ego. The underlying message of the cartoon, therefore, is that much like Trump, those who tease just for the attention are not paying attention to.

QOTW 2: Mitt Romney

In my opinion, Mitt Romney is the most capable of the Republican Nominee candidates in actually winning the Presidential Election. However, before he can even run for the presidency, he must secure the Republican nomination which could be very difficult for him. One thing that could make him lose is his religious faith. Many of his opponents have used his Mormonism as a point of attack and many Republicans, as polls have showed, are hesistant in nominating a Mormon Candidate. Those who look past his personal faith, however can see why he'd be the best choice for the Republican Nomination. His track record as the Governor of Massachusetts and his history with business and economic reform is very attractive to voters who are perturbed with today's economic conditions. Due to the public's split perspective on Mitt Romney, he is, by far, one of the more interesting candidates to follow, and follow him I will.