Same How, Different Whys

What’s wrong with this picture?  Nothing really, just that the democratic donkey and the republican elephant are agreeing on conduct.  So what is wrong with this picture?  If they are agreeing, then why are they glaring at each other?  Well, the cartoonist makes it very clear.  Democrats and Republicans agree on hows.  But the Whys, well, there’s a reason why Gun Control is in blue and Immigration Reform is in red.  Democrats and Republicans may both want strict background checks, limited numbers, and beefed up enforcement, but while the Democrats want them to be implemented for Gun reform, the Republicans want them for Immigration Reform.  Same hows, different whys.  The two parties are saying the same thing, just with different reasons.  So why are they glaring at each other?  

Well, I believe that’s the whole point of this little cartoon.  The two parties are too stubborn to compromise on the one point they actually agree on, because of categorical discrepancies, the very sad thing about party politics. The question left is, will the two parties compromise on this point, or will their separate 'whys' prevent them from moving forward?

Most Earthlike Planets Found Yet: A "Breakthrough"

Aliens, or at least alien organisms, may exist in space, even within the Milky Way.  As Marc Kaufman, writer for National Geographic, reports, the NASA Keplar Mission has found two Earth-sized planets at the right distance from their suns to support life.  This ‘right distance’ as Kaufman defines, is just far enough where water remains liquid, which is essential to life.  According to William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center, this is, ‘a breakthrough discovery’.  Scientists call planets like these two ‘exoplanets’, and they are, as Kaufman explains in layman’s terms, planets that are Earth-sized that are rocky or watery or exist in habitable regions in relation to their suns.  But what makes these two new planets so remarkable is that they match all three criteria.  Is this really such a great thing?  Well, according to the quotes Kaufman includes, yes, yes it is, because it is “a very moving moment in humanity's efforts to understand our home planet and the possibility of other habitable planets in the universe”.  

Quotes are great and all, but the fact is that this is all scientific conjecture.  There is a possibility that there is life, and what is important is that that possibility exists.  Through these stars scientists can learn more about our own planet.  Kaufman is informing us of this discovery, and he makes this information clear and to-the point, while also pointing out the opportunities presented by this new data.  Though, he does not mention any sort of downsides or possible negative ramifications of this data, he succeeds in portraying this new data as a breathtaking new discovery for Keplar scientists.  

The White City by Erik Larson

Two great men, existing at the same time, brilliant at two very different things, both handsome and blue-eyed, lived in Chicago in 1893.  One, Daniel Burnham, became the great architect behind the World’s Fair, known as the White City, while the other, Dr. H. H. Holmes, became a serial murderer.  Erik Larson, four times New York Times bestseller, masterfully pieces together the events of that time, with old diary entries, newspaper articles, letters, postcards, and pictures, to tell their story.  

The arrangement of the story in chronological order, switching between Burnham and his associates and Holmes and his psychopathic charms builds the suspense.  When reading of Holmes and his seduction of his latest female victim, a reader cannot wait to see how Burnham will handle his latest challenge in building the fair.  When reading about Burnham one cannot help but wonder as to the fate of Holmes’ latest woman, and whether or not she will live to tell her tale.  Varied sentence structures and abrupt phrases that begin or end a chapter help convey urgency and heighten tensions within the reader.  Larson successfully conveys the history of the two men, their brilliance, and their challenges.