Herndon's Principal

I think a good principal is one who does very little and mainly lets his staff go about their jobs without interference.  Our last full-time principal spent too much time trying to assert his influence on the school, which really just got in the way of the students and teachers.  That is not to say, however, that the principal should seem to be absent.  I like the way that Mr. Cooper has taken to encouraging our school's students in their extra-curricular endeavors.  That is the job of the principal: to encourage all students to participate in their school; it is not to focus on a small minority of students and put up posters.  As long as our new principal knows to mainly not interfere with teachers teaching their classes, he will do a good job.

Political Cartoon #1

1. Who drew the cartoon? Nate Beeler

2. Where was it published? 11/12/09, townhall.com

3. What issue/event does the cartoon deal with? The cartoon offers commentary on the recent attack on Fort Hood in relation to our anti-terrorism efforts in the Middle East.

4. What is the cartoon's message? Beeler is pointing out the problem of focusing our fight on radical Islam in just one area of the world.  This cartoon shows that while we are busy fighting terrorism in the middle east, we have radical Islamic terrorists in our own country that are posing a threat to our security as evidenced by the Fort Hood tragedy.

5. Do you agree/disagree with the cartoon's message? I agree with the cartoon's message.  The middle east is not the only place where radical Islam exists.  Those outside of the Middle East who still subscribe to the same radical beliefs can be the most dangerous to our safety in America, for they are already in position to do us harm as we saw at Fort Hood.  While fighting terrorism in the Middle East is an important part of our national security, we must also do better at making sure there are no threats to this security already existing within our country.

Source: http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/NateBeeler/2009/11/1

Personal Response

As we are currently studying the relationship between media and government, I thought it would be appropriate to make my post on this topic.  I was especially interested in the topic of bias in media reporting.  I think it is a big problem that most television news is politically biased, and predominately towards the left.  CNBC is always in the tank for the democrats, and ABC news is not far off.  Then there is FOX news, which, despite its attempts to be centrist, continues to lean slightly conservative.  We need a news outlet in this country that delivers straight facts and lets us citizens decide what to make of them instead of feeding us the network's own agendas.

Analysis: Palin's high-risk, high-reward strategy/Current Event 6

Background:  Ever since Sarah Palin came up short in her bid for the vice presidency last fall, there has been speculation that she may run for president in 2012.  The former Alaska governor has continued to puzzle political strategists, however, with surprise moves like resigning as governor of Alaska.  Palin is not taking the usual road of a potential presidential campaign.

Summary:  Sarah Palin recently endorsed third party candidate Doug Hoffman instead of the Republican candidate in New York's congressional election.  This move is the latest in a series of surprise decisions from Palin, who many believe is gearing up for a presidential campaign in 2012.  Palin has received much criticism from political strategists for not reaching out to independent voters.

Analysis:  If Sarah Palin is positioning herself for a run at the White House, she is doing so very unconventionally.  She has failed to expand her base beyond conservative voters to independents.  This could hurt her if she does indeed decide to run.

Editorial:  I do not think Sarah Palin is positioning herself for a presidential campaign.  I think she is a rare politician who acts regardless of what the political fallout might be--she does what she thinks is right.  This may lead to a presidential campaign if enough supporters back her avant guard politics, but I don't think it's worth it to Palin to have to calculate her every move for a possibility of being president.

Source:  http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/sarah.palin/index.html