Question of the Week: Christmas Memory

My favorite Christmas memories are visiting family and exchanging gifts. I do this every Christmas and I enjoy spending time with my relatives. Every Christmas is memorable and I don't have one specific memory that is better than the others.

Current Event #4: Iraq War Vets Return

1. Drawn by Joe Heller
2. The key objects are Uncle Sam, who represents the United States; the U.S. soldier who has been fighting in Iraq; and the piece of paper that has U.S. job market on it, representing the poor economy at home.
3. Heller uses ridicule on the U.S. to highlight the poor economy and the war and Iraq.
4. This cartoon deals with the U.S. economy and the Iraq War.
5. The message is that it is tough for our soldiers to fight overseas and then come home without a job.
6. The point of view of the cartoonist is moderate, because it simply states the fact that it is tough for veterans to find work in the U.S.

The Obama Update

Obama's approval rating right now is at 43%. This is a pretty good number considering that the unemployment rate is at 8.6% right now. If I was a betting man I would give Obama about 51% of the vote next election and close electoral battle against Romney (assuming that the Republicans won't be stupid enough to nominate Gingrich). As the November 2012 gets closer, I think you will see more moderate independent voters gravitate towards Obama when they are presented a choice between him and a conservative opponent like Newt or Romney. Obama however will need to show some improvement in the economy in order to have any chance of getting reelected.

Political Cartoon #3

1. Drawn by R.J. Matson
2. The key objects in the cartoon are Rod Blagojevich and the Rod Blagojevich 2026 poster.
3. The cartoonist uses ridicule to put down Blagojevich for being involved in corruption.
4. This cartoon deals with corruption in public offices.
5. The message of the cartoon is that Blagojevich is concerned only on advancing his political career and doesn't care for the public's interest.
6. The point of view of this cartoonist is centrist.

Mitt Romeny

Mitt Romney is the one of the two front runners currently in the GOP race and I believe he will be the eventual nominee. The main reason I believe he can succeed is sitting on a lot of cash. He will be able to stay in the race for the longest and will end up beating Newt one-on-one when the primaries get under way. Despite this advantage, one problem he has with conservative voters is that they don't trust him to lead the party, and would prefer a more hardcore conservative that isn't in the race right now. Romney needs to come out definitively and state his positions on the issues to clear up accusations that he is a flip-flopper whose only goal is to win elections.

Occupy Movement

1. Drawn by Bob Englehart
2. The shoe is an important object because it represents the wealthy in our country, the signs are what the Occupy Protesters are using.
3.  It utilizes caricature do highlight the fact that the wall street isn't happy they are being protested and are using everything they can to crush this movement.
4. This cartoon deals with the Occupy Wall Street movement
5. Its message is that the Occupy Protestors have no chance of succeeding
6. His point of view is probably middle of the road

Current Event #1

Rick Perry could win the Republican nomination if he were better in debates. That flaw alone is what has so far kept him from the front-runner position. It's tough to tell the American people that you will shrink the size of the federal government  if you can't name the three key departments you want to eliminate. Despite these woes on the debate stage, he still has a chance of winning the nomination because he is the clear opposite of Romney. They differ on taxes, social security, immigration, states rights, etc. If Perry could harness his narrative and quit floating to extreme positions, I think he could win key states such as Iowa, South Carolina, and Floriday, but in order to do so he must refine his debate skills. The Iowa Caucus starts in a month and a half, so he is running out of time.

Political Cartoon #1

Daryl Cagle from msnbc.com does a great job of illustrating what the GOP nomination race has been like so far. This guy doesn't seem to have any bias, and is just making fun of it for what it is. The cartoon portrays the narrative of the race so far that the conservative base is looking for someone to oppose Romney, but they have been unable to find a strong candidate to do that. They all have issues, and these are all coming to the front pages of every media outlet in America. Its almost as if the GOP establishment is dying for a story to come out with dirt on these candidates. Its pretty funny as well.
http://www.cagle.com/politicalcartoons/

Virginia Political Issue: Education

The jobs rate in Virginia is relatively low compared to the other states, so in my opinion education is the most important political issue in Virginia. 

Virginia has some of the finest universities in the country and  remarkable public school systems in some areas. This is a result of streamlined spending on education from estates taxes. But I believe in order to increase job opportunities, people must have a strong educational base. So, basically more money will need to supplied to schools in order to have more teachers and programs to support the educationally desperate Virginians.

Debates have raged on about how many Virginians state schools such as Virginia should accept, but their argument is valid that they don't receive enough funds from the state to other in-state tuition. So, more money will need to be spent on education to help the overall state of Virginia.

Current Event # 4: North Africa

Interesting events are taking place in North Africa while the homecoming festivities were under way. The big event that everyone is talking about is the death of Qaddafi(or the million other ways you can spell his name), which cements the revolt of the rebels. The other event which has been less publicized is that Tunisia is having elections for the first time since their revolt. I am intrigued and will try to pay close attention to the success or failures of these new governments. I think we are going to see a whole new middle east by the time I am an adult. One which will be more tolerant of freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. The United States should in my opinion support these new governments to make sure they are on our side in the future, but make sure not to get involved in their governments, like we did in Iraq, and let democracy take its free course.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-23/libya-declares-liberation-tunisia-holds-first-vote-since-revolt.html

Curent Event #3: Inhumane Cain

Well first, I would like to start off by saying that I know I skipped current event #2, I was in Ohio and was lazy to get to a computer by Sunday night.

OK, now Herman Cain. One of my least favorite Republican candidates. First off he comes from a business background, all he sees in economic policies is cost and returns. His 9-9-9 plan resembles that of a pizza deal, which is exactly where he came from, CEO of Godfather Pizza. One fun fact is that it is the recommended settings in SimCity. 9% income tax, 9% sales tax and 9% business tax.  Now, I do agree that we should have tax overhaul, but this plan is not it.

He has little sense of the hardship that a majority of Americans are facing right now. For a 50k household, the tax burden would jump from 8.3k to 13.5k. A stupid 9% sales tax would kill low income families. The burden goes from rich people to poor people, who don't have much money to begin with, so whats the point? I fail to understand why during an economic downturn the first thing we choose to cut are programs for people who need it the most. This plan would increase the already huge gap between the rich and the poor. The middle class would shrink substantially as well. Businesses shouldn't like this either, because it does a terrible job with tax deductions. They can't deduct wages, and products made overseas... EVERYTHING IS MADE OVERSEAS!

Overall this plan is terrible and once people realize how much this sucks Cain will no longer be a contender, Good Night.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/On-the-Economy/2011/1014/999-Plan-A-distributional-nightmare

President Obama's Report Card

Health Care: B
Can't say i worry about health care because of my parents, but i do believe "Obama Care" has saved lives and will continue to do so. People can no longer be denied insurance because of a preexisting illness. People I know who are 26 years old or less can stay on their parents plan while they look for jobs. Obama care is projected to reduce the deficit and covers more people, so enough said.


Dealing with the Economic Downturn: C+
The one area that Obama has done well with the economy is the auto industry. With the bailout of GM came a preservation of millions of jobs, and GM is projected to pay off all the money they owe to the United States and Canada. Despite some advances here and  there, unemployment remains around 9% , and people are desperately looking for jobs. I think Obama needs to address our trade imbalance with China, which is just flat out beating us. No more on this subject.

War on Terror: A+
Obama has used the same defense budget as Bush and done twice as much with it. I'm glad we are finally getting out of Iraq(Bush's biggest blunder). Obama has put Al Qaeda on the defensive with the use of drones, seals, and normal ground troops. The deaths of Bin Laden and Anwar were crucial to the fight on terrorism, and we haven't had an attack in awhile. In my opinion, Obama has been one of the U.S.'s  better commanders in chief.

Reelection bid: B
Although it is still early, I think Obama has to be the favorite going into the next election.I agree that he has lost momentum from 2008. The economy is in the toilet at the moment and no one is happy with Washington. However, if he positions himself as a President who has tried to get the economy out of the hole (i.e. the jobs bill) he may be able to take key states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.; Florida will most likely go Republican.

Political Party Allignment

Although my views on politics is still evolving, I would have to say at this point I am most closely aligned with the Democrats. One reason being I don't trust Wall Street and the big banks, and I think they are a big reason why this economic recession started. I believe that government has a role in the economy, especially in infrastructure, which is is sub-standard compared to other countries such as Singapore. I think that America should have a certain "social net" to keep those who are on the brink of poverty to stay above. I agree on social issues such as legalizing same-sex marriage, legalizing marijuana, abortion rights, some gun control laws, and in separation between church and state. Overall at the moment, I consider myself a "liberal", but this could very well change the next day, it is forever evolving.

Current Event #1: Partisan Politics

Over the summer there was a sense of brinkmanship inside the Beltway of a possible government default on its loans. Thankfully a deal was struck, but it was pushed to the final day before default, giving many Americans the question of whether Congress and the President were able to govern effectively. Flash forward to yesterday Monday September 26th and you find a congress that still has no way of dealing with the issues that face this country. The midterm elections of 2010 brought together a House full of Tea Party supporters and the other aisle filled with big government liberals. Many of the moderate politicians are out of Washington becasue of the previous election. It will be interesting to see how long the politicians in Washington will be willing to stay in gridlock over issues such as the struggling economy. We may not get concrete action from the government until the 2012 elections are over. (sigh) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/bipartisanship-is-dead-at-least-until-2013/2011/09/27/gIQAxkH31K_blog.html?hpid=z3

Welcome

This is my first post, I am excited to kick off this blog. I am looking forward to all the different topics I will be covering on this blog. So, fasten your seat belts and get ready for the ride.