Twain's "Huck Finn" Censored

Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a book that contains a multitude of words that might be thought of as offensive, namely the "N-Word". 

What this cartoonist seems to think is that it's ironic in a way that we are censoring Huck Finn because of the N-Word, when such a word is prevalent in much of our mainstream music. 

Most notably are various rap and hip hop artists that incorporate the word into their songs, or the people that use the word frequently in everyday conversation. 

It's ironic that Huck Finn was chosen to be censored when the word is used on such a larger scale. 

What bothers me, however, is the fact that our dignitaries would even think of censoring books.

Freedom of speech is a constitutional right, and politicians playing culture police is not a way of promoting that right. 

If we want a more fair society, one that doesn't restrict us and upholds our rights, we should stand against this type of behavior because when our rights are challenged in such a way, the only thing we can and should do is fight back and protect them. 

Eyes of a Madman

The man in the picture is Jared Loughner, the assailant in Tuscon, AZ that gunned down over 19 people, killing 6 in the process. Among those shot was Representative Gabby Giffords. 

What I like about the picture is the mood it sets, and the message it relays. 

It puts you in front of the barrel of a gun of a crazed gunman, insinuating that one day, you might be next.

The text, "A disturbed mind behind the gun = the inevitable" is stating that with the way things are - and by things I mean gun regulations/laws - rampages from mentally insane individuals who have or have gained access to firearms is inevitable.

It is saying that another Tuscon is possible, and it has been for years prior. 

The Virginia Tech Massacre, the Columbine High School massacre, the Fort Hood shooting, and many others in past and future like them are inevitable if we keep our gun regulation laws the same.

Now, I'm one that supports our constitutional rights, but sometimes we have to step aside just a little bit (changing gun regulation laws) to prevent things like this for the good of all Americans.

Wiki-Leaks

The internet, as many people in the Information Age know, is a rapid and vast sea of information. 

There are millions upon billions (and potentially more) of web pages froth with information about a wide array of topics. 

One topic in particular, and one that's been in the news often, is the story with Wikileaks, and its publishing of confidential documentation of illicit activities and evidence of corruption of the United States' war on Afghanistan and Iraq. 

The man behind the site that published these documents, Julian Assange, has been on trial in Britain on various claims, such as rape and theft. 

Moving on to the meat of this post, the cartoonist seems to be likening the wiki leaks situation to an oil pipeline breaking, or something similar. 

In the cartoon, president Obama is struggling desperately to stop the leak flow of the Wikileaks pipeline, but if you notice, documents pertaining to very sensitive subjects have already escaped his grasp, to flow into the ocean of information. 

The cartoonist seems to be saying that you can't stop something like this from happening, and that the situation is already far beyond control. 

What I get from this cartoon is that even if you try desperately to hide illicit information, if it isn't well hid enough, it will find its way to the internet and thanks to the nature of the internet, and its fast transfer of information, it is only a matter of hours or days before the information you didn't want to be spread is. 

Charlie Sheen Goes Nuts

If one's been paying attention at all to media of any kind in the past year, they could easily note that one celebrity in particular (because of his antics on interviews, among other things) has been making headlines and turning heads. 

This celebrity/actor is Charlie Sheen, one who coined various terms from his interview antics. 

("Winning!", for example. )

I think what the cartoonist is trying to point out is that we care more about the ludicrous antics of a celebrity

over more serious things like the wars in the Middle East. 

This too is something I've been wondering - just why DO we care so much more about celebrities? 

While funny and pretty to look at (which is probably the answer to my above question...), I say that they aren't important enough to be prioritized over our nation's problems, or wars or anything else that concerns 

the United States population. 

Maybe more people would get out and vote, and get involved and shed their apathy if they stopped caring about celebrities, or if the media would stop shoving every detail of these actors and singers' lives down our throats. 

The Fog of Obama's War

With the conflict in Libya intensifying, it's now on the UN's and NATO's shoulders whether or not to get involved.

President Obama labeled the war in Libya a humanitarian crisis, and made plans to get the US Military involved in the conflict in the rebels' favor. 

This political cartoon details how one artist seems to view Obama's decisions in regards to intervention in Libya.
As shown in the picture, the board displaying Obama's plans is mostly obscured in a fog, showing that the artist feels that Obama's plans for the country and its revolution are pretty vague or hard to decipher.

In another interpretation, it could be that Obama is purposely not revealing his plans for Libya to others, or that he himself does not entirely know what the best course of action would be in regards to intervention.

Regardless of Obama's decision, I feel that he should act for the sake of the Libyan people, and their fight for freedom against their dictator.