Celebrate MLK Day!

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. A lot of people enjoy this day because there is no school/work, but here are some interesting facts about the holiday.  

MLK day was declared a holiday by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1983, but was first celebrated in 1986. That's not a long time when you think about it. It is one of only 4 holidays that Americans celebrate honoring a specific person. After doing some research, I learned that South Carolina was the last state to recognize the day as a paid holiday for all state employees in 2000. Prior to this, employees could choose between celebrating Martin Luther King Day or one of three Confederate holidays. 

MLK Day is in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement. He protested racial discrimination. He was assassinated in 1968.

Since we are so close to DC, we are lucky that there are many activities and celebrations nearby that we can go to today!

Take a look at this list in the Washington Post. There are lots of marches, parades, speeches, and parties to go check out. 

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Political Cartoon 6

1.) Dave Granlund drew this cartoon.

2.) It was published on politicalcartoons.com on January 15, 2010.

3.) The cartoon shows aid arriving in Haiti after the huge earthquake earlier this week. 

4.) The author is saying that although help is arriving in Haiti, thousands of people have already died and many others are missing. The entire country is in a state of disarray and there is only so much that foreign aid can do to help the Haitian people. 

5.) The earthquake in Haiti was a horrible event and I feel so sorry for all of the Haitian people. I know that the relief efforts that are coming now could not have stopped the earthquake, but they definitely show the world coming together to support each other. It was an unfortunate act of nature and all that we can hope for is that Haiti is able to rebuild. 

Obama Administration: 2010

Happy 2010 everyone!

I hope that the recent problems that have arisen in the country will be resolved, or at least start to be resolved this year. One issue is national unemployment. President Obama needs to try and fix double-digit unemployment because this affects American families as well as Democrat candidates in upcoming elections. 

Another thing that will be on the agenda for most of the year is the health care bill. Although the bill passed in the Senate in December, Obama and other Democrats will have trouble compromising the Democrat version and Republican version of the health care bill. 

I don't think that recent decisions have improved the situation in the Middle East. The increased spending on more troops for Afghanistan is difficult since so many American are unemployed. Plans to leave Iraq in 2011 will also be difficult because there have been more bombs in Iraq. Obama sticks by his plans and hopes that withdrawal from Iraq will leave more spending for Afghanistan. 

Overall, there has been evidence that the economic downturn is improving, but there are still plenty of issues that need to be addressed this year. 

Political Cartoon 5

1. This political cartoon was drawn by Parker

2. It was published in Florida Today on January 8, 2010.

3. The cartoon jokes about the attempts of a government program to help mortgages. 

4. The government wanted to help people avoid foreclosure, by buying mortgages. Unfortunately, this program has not worked well at all. The picture shows the homeowners floundering in the waters while the overturned boat represents the failure of the program.

5. I agree that the government program wasn't as effective as it could have been, but I think that it definitely shows a step in the right direction. At least the government is trying to help citizens who are struggling because of the economic downturn, rather than letting them suffer.