03/03/11 from cagle.com

     The title of this cartoon is "Steel-Barrel Dictator." Since the oil spill is in the shape of the U.S., the cartoonist is saying that the U.S. is the country that relies the most on oil. The steel barrel has the word "oil" on it and is the source for the oil that is spread across the sand. The cartoonist is saying that the U.S. is the country that has the biggest oil dependency. The cartoonist may also be saying that the U.S. contributes to the problem even further with the oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. This cartoon may be in reference to either the growing problem of oil dependency or the oil spill or even both. We have not really touched on this topic in the classroom but it was addressed by Obama in his State of the Union address. This cartoonist does not seem to have any use of satire or irony because it is basically blaming the U.S. for its huge consumption of oil.