Editorial #2

This week I chose another article that focuses on the new stimulus package. It was written by Ruth Marcus, a journalist who currently writes an op-ed column for the Washington Post. She was also a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in commentary. The article begins with the stimulus debate, which ended up losing more Democratic votes than it gained Republican ones. Seven Democrats chose to vote against the bill, while only three Republicans voted for it. The Republicans are maintaining a fairly united front against the bill. This is helped along by the peer pressure other party members are putting on those who support the stimulus. Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins said, “The reaction against those of us who negotiated and endorsed the package is really harsh.” The pressure was so great that even Republicans that were “leaning yes” changed their mind when it came time to actually cast the vote. This stand against the President’s stimulus bill shows that the Republican Party still holds some power in the government. As for the three Republicans that voted in favor of the bill, they made it impossible to blame the entire party for the consequences of not passing the bill. The Republicans in the Senate face a tough two years, and they will probably look back on this as the good times of Republican unity.
I found this article interesting because I never thought that peer pressure could play such a major role in the Senate. I remember learning about the whips and how they supposedly kept Senators and Representatives voting within party lines, but I had never heard of a specific example. The story of the “party’s chief deputy whip” standing near a senator, that was leaning yes, during the vote and making him vote no really stuck with me. Hopefully the Republicans will not have such success with future bills.

Editorial #1

For this week’s current event I chose to read the editorial “Why I Support the Stimulus,” by Arlen Specter, a Republican Senator from Pennsylvania. The article stressed the importance of government action by focusing on issues like unemployment and earnings reports, which have been bad recently. Senator Specter also discussed the “moderates” bill, saying that it retained the new jobs and tax relief goals while cutting back on less important provision. The article supports the Senator’s version of the bill, saying it creates four million jobs and cuts one hundred and ten billion dollars from the previous version. Some concerns that are expressed include less money for Title I education programs. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi especially objected to the lack of money left for education. In terms of Health funding, both the House and Senate have included billions of dollars in funding for programs that deal with wellness and prevention. The “moderates” bill cuts this funding because “such programs are better left to the regular appropriations process.” The Pennsylvania Senator concludes by saying that the “moderates” bill does a good job of balancing the concerns of both right and left wing with the need for immediate action.
I agree with most of what Senator Specter is saying, but there are parts of the editorial I disagree with. The unemployment rates are the worst they have been in years, and many companies are reporting either very low, or even negative earnings reports. These are all signs of how bad the current economic recession is doing. I think that a lot of compromise will be necessary to get the bill passed quickly in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but I do not necessarily agree with what should be compromised on. I think health care should be left to the regular appropriations process, but education should receive money in the stimulus package.

Political Cartoon #5

This cartoon is basically saying that President Bush did a bad job while in office. He destroyed or "burned" many of the institutions of the United States Government and is leaving Obama to clean it up. I find it especially ironic that the environment is a burned tree. The cartoon also shows how much re-building Obama will have to do while in office. The speech bubble, "I'll pass the torch in juuust a minute...," serves to show that Bush is still doing damage in the last month of his last term. What he is burning is important because it is "Business Regulation" which represents a lot of the current problems with the economy. The torch, and the passing of it, represent the presidency, and it implies that the country will be safer if the flames are in the hands of President-elect Barack Obama.

Political Cartoon #3

This political cartoon is making fun of the incident when a shoe (or rather pair of shoes) was thrown at President Bush. This shows how disliked our curent president is in the world and the extent people will go to to insult him. In this cartoon the many shoes being thrown at Bush represent the actual shoe that was thrown at him, but also they represent the much larger issue of his inadequacy in the role of President. It is important to note that Bush is not trying to dodge these shoes, but instead closing his eyes, cowering, and hoping for the best.

Political Cartoon #4

This cartoon goes along with the new year. It shows an hourglass as the last number of 2008, and in it, a drowning man in the sand. This man represents the United States and how it has fared this past year. Looking back the "2008" represents all the bad things that happpened last year, and the hourglass shows the effect they had on the United States. The man is drowning in the sand because of all the problems that have come up over the course of the year, and the United States' inability to deal with them properly.

Political cartoon #2

This cartoon is hilighting all of the layoffs that are happening this holiday season due to the economic recession. Santa represents the CEOs or upper management, and the elves represent the employees that are being let go. It is extremely unfortunate that many people are losing their jobs so close to the holidays, so the cartoon is meant to be funny, but also to make people think about the state of the United States. The pink slips the elves are holding represent a discharge notice (printed on pink paper) in an employee's pay envelope to notify the worker of his or her termination of employment or layoff.

Political Cartoon

This political cartoon shows two men, only a little older than I am, both leaving on different paths of life. I found this cartoon particularly appropriate because I will soon be feeling the economic recession in my own life as I head off to college. I will be more like the man on the right that is having trouble finding work. He represents the upper middle working class that is currently unemployed in America because of our failing economy. I hope that this does not depict the future that awaits my generation as we graduate college and join the working force of America. This cartoon shows a strongly negative view of both choices. The man on the left going to war does not seem happy about it, but instead seems to view it as inevitable. The man on the right is equally glum because he is stuck with a pricey education that he can not use to gain money. Neither wants to continue on the path they are set on, which is shown by the fact they are turned away from each other, but still turned to look back.