This cartoon illustrates the frustrations experienced by Americans as the Republicans and Democrats square off in Congress, but have yet to get anything done at all. Interestingly enough, the ring girl represents the thoughts of Americans as they watch and wait for Congress to make a move and decide on a budget. The debate has been going on for far too long, and the whole nation is waiting for our lawmakers to decide what to with our budget. Though the government shutdown will not have the effect most concerned people fear it will, but nonetheless it is an unnecessaryshutdown that could have and should have been avoided.

Oh Pastor Jones

This cartoon is a direct allusion to the common American's opinion of utter stupidity expressed by Pastor Jones by burning the Quran. He has not only made a fool of himself, but has enraged the country of Afghanistan and other Muslim nations by showing this complete act of hatred and disrespect for the Muslim religion. Our troops are just beginning to retain control and order in the country of Afghanistan, and now are easy targets for these angry protesters to unleash their anger on. Pastor Jones have paved the way for and outrage and inevitably more conflict and an increase in tensions with Islamic nations.

Here We Go Again

This cartoon portrays the relief that the bitterness and high tensions that were almost palpable in the 2010 elections are over, but also the naivety of most Americans in failing to realize its just around the corner and in most likely much larger proportions. These elections are already beginning to heat up as potential candidates begin to emerge from the darkness, which will inevitable lead to the start of the mud-slinging and agressive and negative campaigning. Most Americans haven't realized it yet but it, just as the author has illustrated, right around the corner and will come out swinging when America stumbles upon it.

Unclear Intentions

This cartoon is directly representing the unclear intentions of President Obama as he proceeds with military operations in Libya to restore order and stop Moammar Gadhafi's murdering of his own people while the country is being ravaged by civil war and unrest. Obama has undergone sending warships and miniscule amounts of ground forces into Libya, as well as being part of the instatement of a No-Fly Zone over Libyan airspace to prevent Gadhafi from bombing his own people. Many questions have been raised regarding Obama's plan for action and what his true intentions are in getting involved in Libya. Outrage has been expressed because Obama went into action while Congress was in recess, meaning that he pretty much did it without consulting anyone about it and this action has brought him much criticism in recent weeks. The artist is trying to illustrate that Obama's intentions regarding Libya are very hazy and unclear, as if they were enveloped by a fog.

This political cartoon was published on March 15th in the St. Louis Post. It responds to the recent controversy regarding Representative King and his rash actions and words against Muslims in the United States. He believes that Muslims in American soil are a threat to homeland security and should be dealt with and surveyed constantly to prevent threats to the national safety. The point that the artist is trying to portray is that he is only looking at muslims and not the actual suspected homegrown terrorists. He is purely focused on the "danger" he feels all Muslim-American citizens pose, while turning a "blind eye" towards people that may actually pose a severe threat to homeland security.

Westboro Baptist Church

This cartoon was published on March 8th, in The Washington Examiner. It portrays the illustrator's opinion of the protests carried out by the Westboro Baptist Church. The WBC is a radical religious organization that states that God hates and is punishing America because we allow homosexuality go without persecution and other extremely radical and bizarre views. The artist here is directly portraying the contradictions the WBC presents when they "Thank God for dead soldiers", since these soldiers died protecting the rights of all American citizens including the radical Westboro Baptist Church. The image in the cartoon shows the WBC at a fallen soldier's funeral, which they have been known to do on many occasions, holding signs that say God used the soldier's death as a punishment for America's moral corruption.

Gadhafi Spills More Blood

In this cartoon, the leader of Libya Moammar Gadhafi is depicted painting his country from border to border with blood, but still saying that he is not satisfied. This cartoon represents the recent explosion or revolution and uproar in Libya, which is leading inevitably to a civil war. The anti-Gadhafi rebels and the pro-Gadhafi forces are fighting for control and territory in Libya, all resulting from the eccentric leader's refusal to relinquish his power. Symbolically, this cartoon explains that Gadhafi is painting his country with blood intentionally, because he is tainted and does not want to give up his power and control of the country. This relates to topics discussed in class because it has to deal with the social and political unrest going on in the rest of the world and specifically the Muslim countries.