Political Cartoon #Last

1. This cartoon was drawn by Taylor Jones for Cagle Cartoons.
2. The cartoon is certainly an eye-catcher, depicting Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich as birds over a sprawl of cold hard cash. Each bird seems to represent the figure of the candidate, caricaturing Newt's girth, Romney's more slender character, and Paul's, erm.....seemingly (and unfairly) unelectable aging figure.
3. As stated, the cartoonist uses caricature to depict the candidates in a humorous fashion that ties into the drawing's primary purpose.
4. The cartoon depicts the three birds standing over a swath of dollars, representing both their incredibly costly campaigns and questionable financial background. Especially with Romney, business practice has become an incredibly important factor in the election, and Newt hopes to capitalize on a few financial idiosyncrasies of Romney's in the South Carolina race. If all is right in the world they'll both implode and Paul will come out with a shocking victory.
5. The GOP nomination's core candidates have helmed incredibly costly campaigns, coupled with questionable financial backgrounds.
6. The cartoonist appears to be quite disapproving of the candidates, given their humorous depiction.

Reflections

Senior year has been met with an extensive list of regrets, coupled with some of my life's greatest experiences. Beginning the year with a mop upon my chin was pretty reassuring, and I feel I've had some marginal development socially. When it comes to courses, my six (or eight) advanced placement classes have been, while informative and rewarding, incredibly stressful and occasionally infuriating. This is primarily a result of taking AP Computer Science with absolutely no prior experience though, which I'm certainly to blame for. Symphonic Orchestra is as monotonous as always, though second chair in districts was a nice experience, despite my potential butchering of the Bach Fugue. Sigh. Graduation is irrelevant to me really, my past four years of work will hopefully be capitalized on come college acceptances in April. Gah, I forgot to enter credits when filling out my schedule on the common app, still quite frightened about that. I'll try to take a break from all the pessimism though. My applications were at least finished on time, and I was very happy with the essays. AP Physics and Econ have been interesting, though I'm missing Mr. Gannon. Government has actually been one of my least stressful classes, excluding a recent quiz that shall not be named. SALT II, grrr! Robotics has started, resulting in 20 fewer hours a week, so I'm eagerly awaiting the end of the semester. Following the robotics build season and rejection letters, I aspire to sleep over six hours a night and speak over twelve words to those outside my tightly-knit circle of friends and acquaintances.Though honestly, I'm incredibly excited for graduation itself, quite the experience. Only a few months more!

If there was still any doubt....

The GOP Nomination: I'm Serious-ish

Ron Paul. An established Representative of Texas with a largely untarnished voting record and unquestioned integrity, a strict constitutionalist and libertarian, a purveyor and advocate of extensive civil liberties, a reliable source in re-establishing American economic independence, and a logical choice for the next president of the United States. Having been purposely underrepresented by the media for over half a decade in presidential elections, Ron Paul holds an incredibly devout voting base that largely consists of frequent internet readers. While occasionally misinterpreted as a quasi-anarchist, Paul is a employer of logic who could benefit the nation through admittedly radical departures from our current direction. As for why I believe Paul remains a potential nominee, he accumulated over 340,000 twitter mentions over the past week, belittling Romney, holding 154,000 and president Obama with 120,000. Such statistics may appear arbitrary, but I feel they're indicative of the educated public's dissatisfaction with news favoritism and gradual realization of how Paul's supposedly ridiculous policies and theories have been proven correct numerous times in the past years. Paul faces numerous hindrances, including his aged appearance, uncommanding voice and projection and differentiation from other candidates. But with Jon Stewart and a majority of the internet on his side, Paul remains a potential frontrunner. He may have underperformed in Iowa, but Paul has not fallen victim to the brief bursts of media coverage and eventual undermining that have plagued Perry, Gingrich, and eventually Santorum. Charting a steady second in New Hampshire pollings and potentially showing an impressive Virginia performance, it's certainly not over yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QuLZ1FSnzc
No idea why V for Vendetta's in here, but it serves its purpose.

Political Cartoon: Huntsman Speaks Mandarin?!

1. This comic was drawn by Taylor Jones for Cagle Cartoons.
2. The cartoon is relatively straightforward, offering a detailed caricature of Jon Huntsman, a GOP hopeful whose chances hinge on the New Hampshire primary.
3. Jones appears to take a cynically humorous approach to Huntsman in his unflattering caricature. Numerous signs surround the candidate, each pertaining to a particular draw towards his nomination. "He's a Mormon, but not a Romney" and "He's not Newt!" seem to remark upon the draw of a particular candidate simply through dissatisfaction with the opposition. Such a rise already occurred for Newt and Santorum, and their briefs spurts of stardom indicate the cartoonist's belief that Huntsman's supposed fame will be short-lived. Oh, and he spoke mandarin during the New Hampshire debate. That's pretty cool.
4. As stated, it deals with Huntsman's strong media coverage as a result from the New Hampshire debates, and the belief that such attention will be brief.
5. Huntsman's rather strong showings in recent debates are instrumental in his campaign. Without an established base and funding, a surprise in New Hampshire may validate him as a true candidate. Who knows after Santorum...
6. The cartoonist appears to display a mocking tone towards the press's lauding of Huntsman.

Political Cartoon #4 - Shutdown

1. This cartoon was drawn by Rick McKee for the Augusta Chronicle.
2. The Occupy DC sign and Washington Monument very clearly describe the cartoon's setting as federal Washington. The character on the left serves as the stereotypical resemblance of an occupier, while the man on the right is clearly involved in corporate politics, as expressed through his "portly" figure, pinstripe suit and Congress briefcase.
3. The caricature depictions of an occupier and Congress member draw heavily from the stereotypical public perception of such figures, the movement member wearing plaid, a beanie, patched jeans and various other indications of financial instability while the government worker's figure and suit work to exaggerate his encapsulation of corporate politics.
4. The cartoon references recent threats of government shutdown that have been narrowly avoided through extensions, as well as the general desire of the occupy movement to promote redistribution of wealth and the libertarian ideology of a decrease in government influence.
5. While the cartoon lacks a clear standpoint and is not overtly partisan, the McKee is likely displaying his annoyance towards government's general lack of commitment and laziness, which has in effect jeopardized many.
6. Again, McKee exudes an anti-government view while remaining relatively light on distinct partisan influence.

My Favorite Holiday Memory (and quite possibly my only)

Besides general euphoria, I've never been able to remember distinct holiday moments. While I can't recall if it had happened on Christmas day, my cat's fateful fifteen-odd foot plunge into our merciful tannenbaum will forever be etched into my memory. I'll just take this opportunity to elaborate on my cats, given that's practically it for the memory. We have two cats, Yoyo and Wynton, named after Yoyo Ma and Wynton Marsalis respectively, as my brother and I play the cello and the trumpet. They, like any sane cats (as you must be very aware of), seem to find comfort in the most precarious places, and can often be found on the outside railings of are small upstairs balcony. Yoyo's unyielding holiday spirit resulted in some uncareful footing, resulting in his first, and quite surprisingly only, plunge from the balcony. Our tree, which had been brought in only a day earlier (this still could have been on Christmas, we're unfashionably late), acted as a shock absorber, allowing him to land safely, and, of course, on all fours. This was Yoyo's second most notorious stunt, bested only by his eight foot leap into a now shattered plate a china. Anyways, I was very thankful he wasn't injured, and it's always been an entertaining memory to reference.