GOP Disaster Monitoring Cuts

A guest blogger on Think Process in the article "New Three-Week GOP Funding Resolution Would Slash Funds For Tsunami Monitoring And Disaster Response" has gathered information about the possible cuts the GOP wants to implement. There are plans to cut over 6 million dollars of the budget with 100 million of that amount from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other disaster monitoring agencies.

I think that the author writes clearly, organizing the editorial in a way that is simple. He/she quickly gets the point across without potential mind-muddling facts. The author starts off writing of a problem that has a lot of meaning to us now with so many affected by the tsunami. He/she summarizes specific disaster monitoring programs that will have money cut from them, such as NOAA and U.S. Geological Survey. The blogger summarizes the the agencies affected and how much would be cut from them. This should get the public more focused on the issue since they know what could be affected and how. I think the fact that it's straight forward in this way will make it more appealing  to the public to read and think about.

The author concludes the editorial with his/her opinion on the issue. I think that this is a good way to close the editorial. Readers have time to get their take on the issue and think about it a little as they read. They can then get another perspective after reading how the author feels. We get an idea of which side the author is on from the beginning, with a couple of words, but most of the author's opinion doesn't come until the end. Once the author has given reasons the cuts on disaster monitoring are a problem, the opinion that comes afterwards has more power as opposed to giving bits of fact and opinion at the same time. I think the author wants to inform the public and hopes that we can do something more than just knowing about the issue. There is one main criticism I have. The title is long and I think it would catch more attention and work better with the article if it were just a few words long.

Overall, I think the author is effective in communicating his/her message and with perfect timing.