Michael Vick Off to a Poor Start

            Michael Vick has been pummeled with criticism by Philadelphia Eagles fans over the first three weeks of the season.  Because of his terrible start, both his and Andy Reid’s jobs are at stake this season.  Ashley Fox of ESPN featured this story on her column.  Because ESPN is the most reliable sports network in the world, and Ashley Fox is a proven sports columnist, the content of this article is very reliable.  At the time this article was written, Michael Vick and the Eagles have been a popular story around the NFL because of their upcoming prime time game against a divisional rival. 

            This text was written for NFL fans in general, but mostly fans outside of Philadelphia.  Much of the article spent describing the current situation in Philadelphia, most of which Eagles fans would have known prior to reading the article.  This piece was intended to both make an opinionated statement on the future of the Eagles as well as to create drama leading up to the prime time game.  Fox wants to make sure that people are interested going into the Sunday Night game so that more people watch and want coverage on it.  In order to make her point of controversy, Fox drastically varies the length of her sentences in the first two paragraphs.  Each had about three points that were made simply and then were followed up by a long sentence of details, which contained multiple commas.  Also, Fox mainly appeals to logos and ethos by using quotations from Eagles players as well as statistics on Vick to back up her statements.  Fox does a good job of portraying the controversy and showing new perspectives that will make upcoming Eagles games more appealing to watch.

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Gas Prices Political Cartoon

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            This political cartoon refers to two heated topics in politics right now: Iran’s nuclear development program and the rising price of gas.  The top portion depicts and Israeli fighter jet that is assumed to be heading towards Iran to attack them, while on the bottom there is a regular citizen complaining about how the gas prices are rising due to tension in the Middle East.  This cartoon is drawn for U.S. News by an author in San Diego.  This means that there is American bias in the cartoon and that it is from an American perspective.  Currently, Iran is developing nuclear energy that is very controversial because many nations and leaders believe that their intention is to develop nuclear weapons.  These would most likely be used against Israel, which is why they are very concerned and are depicted through the fighter jet.  However, Americans are interested in the situation not only because of Israel, but also because all of the controversy drives the gas prices up because the majority of oil is exported out of the Middle East. 

            The author likely drew this cartoon because they wanted to further explain, with an American point of view, the conflict with Iran.  He created it for Americans and with an American eye because he didn’t focus on the potential consequences for Israel but rather shows the effect on gas prices and how Americans will struggle to keep up.  In order to do this, the author based his cartoon in a cause and effect format, showing how the war would kill Americans’ wallets.  Also, the word choice in the Israeli speech bubble includes the phrase “pay a steep price,” which is easily converted in to a monetary context.  The author did a good job portraying his purpose because the reader was able to take away the implications of the tension in Iran and the reader understands how America would be hit.

TOW #1 - Slain Marine Predicts Insider Attack

            This week, a tragedy occurred in a United States Marine base in southern Afghanistan.  One Marine, who was training new recruits, accurately predicted that he would be gunned down by one of his own men inside of his own base.  This was made clear through phone calls and letters sent home prior to his falling.  The article was found on CNN’s website and written using the primary source of the soldier’s father, making the article extremely accurate.  The piece was published in the midst of a heated debate regarding the war in Afghanistan, which is also an important topic in the upcoming election. 

            This article was written to the everyday citizen that does not have a strong opinion of the war yet.  It was structured in order to convince readers that this devastating war should end quickly.  The article first drew people in by isolating the phrase that showed that the Marine predicted his own death.  Then, the author heavily relied on pathos by giving a play-by-play of the devastation that the family of the fallen soldier faced.  The story given will tug on anybody’s heart and served as a gateway to the statistics that were provided about trainees killing their mentors, or green-on-blues.  More pathos was then added at the end by describing the soldier’s brother’s football game, in which he saluted his brother.  Altogether, the author played with the readers’ emotions very well, in addition to grounding his arguments with facts, to portray his focus to the reader.

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