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This cartoon, drawn by the Green Bay Press Gazettes Joe Heller appeared in the May
6th, 2014 issue of the daily paper. Joe Heller draws upon both elements of pop culture and in
politics to make his point about the dysfunctionality of politics. Heller was probably inspired by
the polarization of government, and how the polarization of politics is hurting our nations
stability and progress. Heller, like many other Americans who rank the current 113th Congress
as the worst Congress ever (according to a December CNN poll) are rightfully upset about the
lack of cooperation and limited amount of legislation that is passed. I agree with Hellers opinion
of Congress, and I there may be some biases, seeing as the midwest votes more conservative,
however there is a consensus among many people, the CNN poll being an example of which, that
Congress is polarized and is harming the nation. Hellers view, however, may be exaggerated to
further convey the point of the cartoon, and I dont exactly agree that Congress is tearing the
nation apart.
There are two main figures in the cartoon, Godzilla, referencing to the movie Godzilla,
and Uncle Sam, who is representative of the US government. There is not very much that is
unique when it comes to the lines drawn to represent the characters of the cartoon, Uncle Sam is
not drawn any more exaggerated than in many other cartoons.


This Joe Heller cartoon appeared in the Green Bay Press Gazettes April 15, 2014
edition, referencing the Cliven Bundys arguments over his land rights against the Federal
government. Heller then ties it to the issues Native Americans have faced for over 200 years, and
how those problems continue. There are no real people in the cartoon, however a man dressed
stereotypically in Native American clothing is representative of all Native Americans, and
symbols like the colorful and representative scarf are symbols for the Native American people.
Heller feels that the Cliven Bundy dispute has been given more coverage in the media
and has been an issue politicians pay more attention to, because it is an issue of National
supremacy. Furthermore, he makes the point that Native Americans have had their land taken
away, and have been forced to live on reservations, however there is hardly any attention driven
by the fact that Native Americans have long been considered second class citizens. Heller
believes that Native Americans have been left in the dark and ignored by the media and
government recently, and shows this through what might appear as a stereotypical conservative
fighting the power of the national government. I agree with Hellers cartoon because Native
Americans have been disenfranchised and ignored by the media, and our nations government.
Heller uses shading to emphasize his ideas about how Native Americans are treated, and
at first the viewer might think that the cartoon is about a conservative ideologue fighting for their
rights. I like Hellers cartoon style because it tricks the viewer into thinking its a completely
different issue.

This Joe Heller carton appeared in the April 23rd, 2014 edition of the Green Bay Press
Gazette. The cartoon references two current political events going on in the world, the first
image that is depicted is the Cliven Bundy land rights case, and the second image is the unrest in
eastern Ukraine. Unlike the other two cartoons, there are real people depicted in the cartoon, with
Cliven Bundy and Vladimir Putin as the two main characters, however there is also a symbol in
the cartoon, a bear, which is often representative of Russia. Heller drew this cartoon because the
two issues are very similar, both groups claim to have property rights in a certain region. On the
left, Bundy's rights stem from a nearly 20 year dispute over property rights on federal land, and
on the right, Heller references Putin's annexation of Crimea because "people are Russians" and
want to "become part of Russia."
I do not believe Heller is trying to make a large statement, although it is clear that he was
trying to make a point about how the two issues are closely connected. I agree with Hellers
cartoon because he makes a good point that the two issues are closely related, just in different
settings.
To an ethnic Russian, or eastern Ukrainians this might seem like a westernpolitical
cartoon, and since Heller is from the west, there is some bias that is portrayed in the cartoon. A
cartoon originating from Russia would probably be more Pro-Putin than this political cartoon
appears to be. I really like this cartoon, because the artist does a nice job comparing the two
issues in a very simple drawing.


This cartoon, drawn by Joe Heller titled Military Mental Health appeared in the April
4th, 2014 issue of the Green Bay Press Gazette, and shows the issues associated with Military
Mental Health Services, and how they are left in the dark. There are no real people in the
cartoon, but each character proudly represents a branch of the military. The Grim Reaper, which
often represents death or despair is saying Im AWOL, which means absent from one's post
but without intent to desert. The event that inspired Heller to make the cartoon was the recent
Fort Hood shooting in April 2014, and the prior shooting in 2009.
Heller is trying to make a commentary about how mental health services are often
ignored and shamed by the rest of the military and the country. I agree with Hellers statement of
treatment and legitimacy the mental health services branch receives from the military, which
often shuns and neglects them, and the rest of the American public, which sees mental health as
not a large issue in the military. Heller also makes the argument that the mental health branch of
the military has not done enough to prevent mass shootings by American soldiers within the
military, and are not doing enough to help mentally ill patients coming back from war. I agree
with Hellers statement because mass shootings in the military continue to happen, and
misdiagnosis of military patients continue to occur every day.
The intent of the cartoon is evoke outcry towards the mental health wards of the military
and of the nation, and try to shed light on the issue of mental health in the military.

This cartoon, titled Vlad was published in the March 18, 2014 issue of the Green Bay
Press Gazette, and shows two Vlads throughout eastern Europes history. The first is Vlad III, or
better known as Vlad the Impaler, or better yet Dracula, who helped preserve Romanias
territory and ethnic culture from raids conducted by the Ottoman empire. The second leader
depicted is Vladimir Putin, Russias premier, and equally a leader that is trying to preserve ethnic
Russia through his annexation of Crimea, which Heller was probably inspired by to draft his
cartoon, and also the Russian presence in Eastern Ukraine. The large stick Vlad III is holding is
some sort of impaling weapon, while Putin holds the more modern and slightly more civilized
pencil, which represents the tool he uses to annex parts of Ukraine.
Heller compares the two figures together because they hold many of the same ideologies,
although nearly six centuries apart (another point Heller makes.) The two leaders wanted to
preserve the spirit and culture of their two countries, and although they used different means to
achieve ethnic dominance, they still represent the same spirit and drive to protect their countries
from outside influence. I enjoy the commentary made by Heller, because it likens a 15th century
maniac to Russias Putin who I believe has overstepped his power by annexing Crimea, and
putting pressure on the Eastern parts of Ukraine. Heller holds some bias, and as I pointed out in
the third cartoon, it might be considered western bias by Russians or eastern Europeans in
general. I like Hellers depiction of Putin, who holds some of the same ideologies as a 15th
century leader.

This Joe Heller cartoon was published on February 10th, 2014, in the Green Bay Press
Gazette, and shows Congress slow and unending debate on immigration reform, coupled with
the Valentines Day holiday. There are no characters depicted in this cartoon, however, the candy
hearts each represent Congress slow response to immigration reform, which inspired him to
make this cartoon.
Heller thanks that Congress is inept in enacting new immigration reform, even though it
has been called to be reformed by both the Republicans and Democrats. This references my first
cartoon I analyzed because it again talks about the polarization in congress and how nothing is
getting done. I agree with Heller's message that immigration reform must be achieved, however
it is just being stalled and prevented from being debated in congress. The cartoon is a call to
action of sorts because it calls attention to the job that Congress is doing, and that immigration
reform must be passed. I also like the creative way Heller used the February holiday to make the
point of immigration reform more poignant.