HuffPost: Senators Lose Support After Gun Control Vote

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/gun-background-checks-poll_n_3177865.html

After the recent voting down of background checks in Washington this week, many Americans were aggravated with Congress's supposed representation of the American people. After all, when 90% of Americans support an idea, yet it is not made into law, one could expect this aggravation. This Huffington Post article and video reinforces this concept, headlining that five senators have had their approval ratings slide significantly after voting against the large majority of Americans.

The tone of the article and video is very clear and almost condescending toward the senators and lawmakers that disagree with the American public. While listening to the newswoman's voice and reading the article, one can easily picture a chiding finger pointed at these Republican senators. Also, to balance out this tone, the video in particular brings up a counterargument claiming that one senator's approval ratings in particular might have dropped because of other policies, such as immigration policy. 

The Fuel of the Future -- The Economist April 2013

This article, published in The Economist for the week of 4/6/13, discusses a "new, carbon-neutral" fuel called biomass, though some might refer to the source as its more-common name, wood. Although wood may not be widely known as a carbon-neutral source of energy, it certainly is possible with proper reforestation policies in place. In fact, many European countries -- including Germany, one of the most prominent countries in terms of energy reform -- are making moves toward a heavier reliance on biomass with new subsidies and importing measures. After further analysis, the article finally claims that wood is inefficient in fighting the carbon battle for 100 years, even surpassing coal as the dirtiest resource for several years of its first applications as fuel.

The author of this article is clever at first grabbing the attention of its audience flipping through the pages of The Economist through the irony of a picture of a caveman lighting a fire and the headline: The Fuel of the Future. In addition, the article's first paragraph asks a couple questions about renewable energy, leaving the reader wanting to know the answer. Furthermore, it answers the question with wood, a source that is rarely ever thought as a "future-like" energy source.

The article continues by detailing countries' advancement of their "biomass" subsidies and importation of "biomass", clearly a more dependable word than "wood." Also, the author builds up to the underlying question in the reader's mind: "But is it efficient?" The article answers the question directly: no. This climax finally resolves the reader's newly opened mind on the subject of using wood as a major carbon-neutral source.

Calvin and Hobbes: "You Need a Lobotomy"

http://www.progressiveboink.com/2012/4/21/2912173/calvinhobbes

   This is one of the most satirical and classic Calvin and Hobbes strips I remember growing up with. In this cartoon, Calvin and Susie are playing a game involving a doctor and a patient when they start getting in an argument about where the game is going. Then the pretending starts to collapse when the two finally march away from each other in anger. It is a beautiful expression of youth and brings upon a  thoroughly accurate representation of childhood while reading and looking at the cartoon. On top of it all is a great sense of nostalgic humor.
   The first prominent rhetorical device that the author uses is the mood of the drawings. As mentioned in the brief quote from author Bill Waterson below, the dramatic angles and pictures alluding to soap operas are funny enough when they're real, so there was not much effort needed to parody the concept. More specifically, the timing of the drawings shifting from unfamiliar faces to the classical C&H style is so perfect because one can picture two children fighting while reading the dialogue beforehand, yet the pictures are still of adults and include those "dramatic angles" mentioned earlier. Next, the cartoonist uses the classic, witty ending by Calvin when he says, "the Surgeon General should issue a warning about playing with girls." Like almost all other C&H strips, it shows off his sophisticated, humorous vocabulary for his age as well as uses Hobbes as Calvin's more mature yet clever counterpart.