Holiday memories!

My favorite holiday activity was always decorating the christmas tree! Every summer my family rents a house in the Outer Banks, and it was tradition to go to buy ornaments at a store down there. It seemed like sort of a huge decision at the time since we were only allowed to pick one ornament a year, but being able to put my ornament on the tree come December always made me happy.

"Congress' crummy gifting"

found at: http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/51/222506/congress

This cartoon by Chris Britt shows a man representing "big business" walking away with a big "gift" - lots of tax breaks - and a man representing "middle class" walking away with a fruit cake (no tax breaks). Nearly all the cartoons I looked at were holiday-related, sriking a more sentimental and possibly angering chord that cartoonists are using to get their reader's attention. Overall, Britt is ridiculing Congress ( "xxoo Legislature" ) and giving the impression that legislation has been unfair to the middle class. The overbearance of big business is also reflected in the cartoon by the sheer size of the "gift" - it takes up most of the cartoon and dwarfs even Capitol Hill in the background. The economy continues to be a major issue of Obama's presidency, and the cartoon could especially be referring to problems as a result of the payroll tax cuts that Americans have been enjoying the past few years. The cartoonist's point of view is evidently that tax cuts given to the wealthy are unfair and only hurt the middle class, most likely putting him in a liberal and Democratic point of view.

The Obama Update

The above graph shows the results of Obama's daily Job Approval rates, ending in an approval rate of 42% and a disapproval rate of 51%. The graph also details the common trend among U.S. Presidents of beginning with a high approval rate - Obama starting at around 70% when polled in April 2009 - and slowly decreasing in approval. While this is a fairly normal rate of approval and is still higher that George W Bush's approval rate at the end of his second term, that does not guarantee his reelection. Obama's failure to jumpstart the economy would be one major reason Americans would seek a new candidate, though if the GOP fails to turn up with a strong candidate that the majority of the party will back, Obama may have a stronger chance as the incumbent. In addition, another poll at gallup, "Trial Heat: Obama vs. Romney", depicted Obama and Romney to be tied at 47%, meaning that there is still a general belief in Obama's ability as the nation's president and his bid for re-election is viable, even if it will be a close race.

"Energy Issues": Cartoon #3



"The EPA's crackdown on Santa"

I thought this cartoon by Dana Summers would be appropriate since we just discussed the powers of independent regulatory commissions as a part of the federal bureaucracy. The cartoon shows Santa reading a note from the EPA that no coal will be placed in stockings this year, as a nod to the idea that the energy crisis continues. The cartoonist uses Santa as a satire for businesses and corporations that are closely regulated by the EPA, and gives the impression that the EPA is interfering with the traditional way of things (judging from the vaguely shocked expression on the faces of the elves and reindeer). This would mean that the cartoonist has a more conservative view of government and the bureaucracy, being of the opinion that too much government regulation is overwhelming and overall ineffective or harmful to business practices and prices.

Mitt Romney for the nomination?

Despite the fact that Romney has been a frontrunner for the Republican nomination since the very beginning, the low level of approval he has attained from the bulk of the party continues to stop him from being widely accepted as the best option for the nomination. However, the very fact that Romney has yet to make himself a public display of embarassment should, in theory, be a reason why he could win the nomination. With Herman Cain withdrawing from the race this weekend, Perry's blunders, Gingrich's sketchy past, and the weak candidacies of Bachmann and Santorum, Mitt Romney should seem like a golden child.
Yet, at the same time, the fact that he has not been able to gain more widespread support by now could also be a hindrance if the Republican party ever finds another acceptable candidate. Further, while Newt Gingrich has made a surge in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney has failed to. The importance of the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary in the overall race could seriously hurt Romney in the rest of the primaries if he fails to make a strong appearance. For now then, it seems as if he is simply waiting for the rest of his opponents to drown in scandal before making any change to his campaign.

"Adventures in Personhood": Cartoon #2



Cartoon found at: http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/0/222088/all-cartoons

Drawn by Monte Wolverton, this cartoon depicts Bob the "fertilized egg person" trying to drive a car ("a corporation person").  It illustrates the debate between pro-life and pro-choice factions over abortion laws - specifically that pro-life factions are attempting to push legislation that would classify any fertilized egg as a person and would therefore make abortion, many forms of birth control, and some fertility treatments illegal. One specific example of this kind of legislation was recently voted down in Mississippi but the legislation debate continues in varies forms in both the House and Senate. Wolverton mainly uses ridicule and the depiction of absurdity to get across the point that the idea of a fertilized egg as a person seems absurd - as absurd as calling a car "a corporation person" and argues that it is impractical to give a fertilized egg the rights that come with personhood. The cartoonist is then most likely looking from a pro-choice point of view, although in reality much of the public is aligned against the idea of personhood because of the severity of legislation - even many who would generally consider themselves pro-life think that the idea goes much too far.

Rick Perry for the Repulican Nomination

While Perry's missteps in the recent debates have led to a more serious downturn of supporters in polls and funding of his campaign,  for much of September Perry was one of the leading candidates in polls and had raised over $17 million for his campaign by October. While the chances that he would again take the lead in the GOP nomination race are slim to none, Perry's campaign did have a few effective ideas/strategies for his campaign. Perry's ability to raise money and the idea of pitting "Romney vs. Romney" were two things that made him a serious potential candidate. Money is an important part of modern campaigning, and the reliance on the fact that despite everything, Republicans still do not support Mitt Romney as the acceptable candidate is a smart way to place doubt on his competitors. 
However, Perry's performances in the latest GOP debates have had a serious impact on these two strategies, especially campaign funding. A further reason that it would be difficult for Perry to win the debate as well is his more radical economic views, reportedly wanting to eliminate the IRS and cut off funding to the UN in some accounts - ideas which are very polarizing and would ultimately turn away most of the moderate conservatives of the Republican party.

"Woe, is the 1 percent"

Drawn by Gary Markstein, this cartoon depicts the Occupy Wall Street movement (the police apparently beating them back) on one side and the "1 percent" big businessmen through the glass of their office on the other side. Visually, the cartoon is clearly divided with a straight line down the middle, and the businessmen are shown higher up than the protesters, representing the idea of the cartoon that the businessmen have remained untouchable even in light of the protesting. The cartoon mainly uses irony to depict the idea that while the protesters are attempting to have a serious impact on Wall Street, the businessmen have simply been able to sit, watch, and ask for more money. It diminishes the message of the Wall Street protesters by implying that the movement will never have any true impact because of the power of Wall Street, and also illustrates the idea that the protesting has failed to accomplish anything so far besides trashing Central Park (especially in light of their recent eviction from remaining there overnight). The cartoonists' point of view is like that of any bystander, seeing the futility of the Occupy movement at this point and, essentially, ridiculing the fact that they continue to protest.

cartoon found at: http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/0/221645/all-cartoons

Virginia and Education (Q #4)

I think one of the largest current political issues that Virginia is facing is that of education. It is not a struggle that Virginia alone faces, but years of "draconian cuts to Virginia's budget" (http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/virginia/2011/02/public-education-gets-boost-general-assembly-adjourns) has definitely taken a toll on public education systems throughout Virginia. This is especially true with No Child Left Behind legislature still in place as well as overall economic hardship in the United States as a whole.
The topic of education is one that is also difficult to address while living in Fairfax County and having access to one of the top school systems in the entire country - it is easy to forget that there is definitely disparity bewteen school systems of Northern Virginia and school systems of the state as a whole. So while many Northern Virginia schools and colleges were privy to the $80 million dollar boost that the General Assembly passed back in Febuary, less can be said for the state as a whole - in fact, one goal is simply to get more Virginia students to attend Virginia schools, or the plan of "100,00 new degrees".
This fight for funding, both in Northern Virginia and in the state as a whole, is one that will continue, especially as funding is still federally controlled, and remains an important part of Virginia legislature.

"Yellow Light for Romney in Iowa"

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67156.html

As we've been talking in class about noominations and campaigning, I thought I would highlight part of the 2012 presidential election - specifically, the Iowa caucus.
The article above illustrates the pattern of frontrunning - as the Iowa caucus will be the first state indicator of the Republican nominations, so it has been given an inordinate amount of attention in the nomination race. The Iowa caucus even has its own website (http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/) with breakdowns of poll data candidate by candidate, pages for all of the candidates, and a "candidate calendar and tracker" that shows the specific locations candidates have been in Iowa and where they are going to be. While this wealth of information certainly allows voters to get a wealth of information, who takes advantage of it? For those looking for a simple breakdown of data, the website itself can be incredibly overwhelming, and it reflects the fact that candidates place a disproportionate amount of time and effort getting votes for this one caucus.
The article also indicates that caucus members must choose both a first and second choice candidate, which reflects a key facet of the caucus itself, and is a reminder of the fact that the caucus is extremely open. However, all of the information together also shows how incomplete polling truly is - of those polled, only 38% "definitely intend to caucus" - and, of those, Romney is the first choice of only 10% while Herman Cain is the first choice of 27%. Yet when looking at the votes as a whole, Romney is the first choice of 22% while Cain is the first choice of 23% - a much closer race. The nominations (and the Iowa caucus especially) are really only shrouded in viewpoint right now, and it seems complicated and confusing to try and pick a "frontrunner" at the momet.

the President Obama report card

Health Care - (C+)
 -- President Obama has made health care reform concerning Medicare, which is especially important in light of the coming problems dealing with higher number of retirees from the baby boomer years
--many health care initiatives and reforms are still being debated between the House and the Senate, with few changes being made
--ideals over universal health care are hotly debated but no attempt has been made to compromise, due to strong conflict between conservative and liberal views
Economic Downturn - (D)
--The economy has not improved significantly since the downturn, and while President Obama is not solely at fault, it will be a serious tool for the Republican party to use against him in the upcoming elections
--President Obama has made attempts with the stimulus and jobs bills, but they have been lost in Congressional debate and politics or blocked by the Republican-dominated House
--Occupy Wall Street movement is a reflection of citizens' unhappiness with the current economic situation
War on Terror - (B+)
--Debate about the War on Terror has mostly subsided in the general news, and for many people, the War on Terror has taken a positive turn with the death of major figures like Osama Bin Laden during Obama's Presidency
--US support of the revolutionaries in Libya and Egypt enforces the American ideals of democracy and freedom in refusal to support repressive dictatorships, though there is still turmoil in those areas
Reelection Bid - (B+)
--Use of the Occupy Wall Street protests in his favor will be an effective way to take some of the moderate votes during the election (as well as asserting his Wall Street reform actions)
--Unified front in opposition to the confusion and debate between Republican candidates is effective, as well as making the Republicans seem like the problem behind political gridlock in Congress (e.g, attempt in his 'Jobs Bill' speech)

Obama and Occupy Wall Street

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-plans-to-turn-anti-wall-street-anger-on-mitt-romney-republicans/2011/10/14/gIQAZfiwkL_story.html

This article was in regard to President Obama's plans to use the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations across the country as a tool against the GOP in the upcoming 2012 presidential elections. I thought this was important topic to highlight becuase of the growing movement that is "Occupy Wall Street" - a conglomeration of people and ideas that has spread rapidly across the United States, and now has a faction located in DC - only a metro ride away. While many have protested that the movement lacks any actual focus or leader, the sheer amount and variety of people that are camped out to support the cause have begun to have an impact on the behavior of elected officials in Washington.
The fact that President Obama sees the movement as having big enough influence (in trying to convince voters that the President has passed Wall Street reform while his opposition will be against it) to impact the way voters turn out next November means that this is an example of a way that people are directly influencing the current politicy agenda. Because the people have demanded that it become an issue, it has. The movement then becomes a powerful illustration of the impact of the freedom of speech and petition within the American government system.
So while Obama proposes Wall Street reform and the GOP proposes new economic plans, they are both, in essence, trying to respond to the (loud) voice of the people, which is an encouraging display of government, despite what one believes about how effective the movement will be as a whole.

affirmative action

Despite the fact that I didn't know this particular term until about two weeks ago, I think affirmative action is an interesting and essential part of American politics today.
While the term "affirmative action" was not coined until the 1960s, I do think that the idea of equality for all Americans - whether they are minorities or not - has been a central facet of American political ideology since the Declaration of Independence. Ideologically, then, I see affirmative action as an essential way of creating opportunities for those who are disadvantaged in education and in the workplace as well as allowing for social equality for all Americans, especially in light of the fact that the United States is set to reach a minority majority by the mid-21st century.
Yet at the same time, intellectually I do see the side of conservative standpoints on the issue - it cannot be denied that there are instances in which affirmative action legislation can undermine the achievements of minority citizens and encourage people to identify with that particular minority rather than their achievements or qualifications for a position.
Overall then, I see both sides as an interesting debate, though in practice I will most likely always support the use of affirmative action legislation.

"Poll sees a new low in Americans' approval of Congress"

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-sees-a-new-low-in-americans-approval-of-congress/2011/10/04/gIQAc0yQML_story.html

I thought this would be an interesting article to discuss in light of recent class discussion about the impact of polling on public opionion and, ultimately, presidential elections.

We discussed in class the fact that polls are in no way exact, especially due to lack of voter turnout and Americans' lack of substantial political knowlegde - something that this graph reflects. While only 1% of those polled failed to state an opinion about how well the government was working (upper left pie chart), the number jumps up to 9% of people saying "no opinion" when the dissatisfied are asked who is to blame (upper right pie chart) - meaning that while Americans do believe something is wrong, many do not know enough about the government to say what exactly is wrong. This trend is also reflected in the question about military and domestic cuts (bottom right pie chart) - 7% stating that they had no opinion about a major government policy. While 7 and 9% are not particularly large percentages themselves, 9% of Americans as a whole is a much larger, as well as more influential, number.

In any case, the article itself discussed the fact that only 14% of Americans are satisfied with the actions of Congress at this point in time, which is the lowest that number has been in the past 20 years - and the majority of these numbers are "strongly dissatisfied". Most of this distaste is accredited to the problems over the debt ceiling this summer, as well as plummeting approval of President Obama, suggesting a downturn in trust in U.S. Government overall. 

What I think is most important about these statistics are the implications on Americans both practically and ideologically - in a practical sense, it becomes a serious problem when the branch of government with the most enumerated powers in the Constitution is no longer able to represent the beliefs and wishes of the people - laws will not accurately reflect the needs of current American society. And in an ideological sense, a government that does not have the faith of the citizens it governs ceases to have enough power to protect those citizens. I think it has been easy for citizens to say that they are dissatisfied with government - which is something that needed to be acknowledged - but perhaps it is time to go about deciding what exactly is going wrong to better determine what issues should control this next presidential election.

political ideology

In the political ideology quizzes we took in class this past week, my results came in somewhere between centrist and liberal - which is, in my opinion, a pretty accurate reading. Overall, my results illustrated that I tend to take a liberal standpoint on social issues, though I have a more moderate view of issues concerning the economy and size of government.
That therefore aligns me with the Democratic party, which is probably a result of influence from my (solidly) Democratic parents, and although they are not very openly political it has an effect nonetheless. The fact that I am not as strongly liberal as my parents is probably due to my age and the fact that my views about government and social policy are far from solidified, yet at the same time I also think that the tense economic state of government as well as policy gridlock between parties during the past few years (the time in which I have become more politically active and aware) makes me more hesitant to commit to one party (as compared to previous generations, perhaps).

"Let states control schools"?

source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64504.html

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) is proposing legislation that would essentially cancel out the yearly requirements for education set by the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind mandate from 2002.
This legislation highlights some of the discussion points from class about federal mandates - while the No Child Left Behind policy reform was meant to ensure equal education for minorities and set national education standards, many states argued loudly that the policy is extremely costly (an example of an unfunded mandate).
This proposed bill then supports the position of state governments, saying that many schools will be labeled as "failing" in the coming years and will lose valuable funding under a system whose requirements are much too strict.
I think that the legislation has a valid chance of moving forward in light of the fact that it is considered a "bipartisan" issue and is supported by President Obama himself, as is cited in the article. Lamar claims that "better schools mean better jobs" which is hopefully an indication that states would place priority on education issues if this legislation was passed - and, overall, would one of the unique instances in which devolution was successful in our federal system today.

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