Auchtoon!

News came out this week that Governor Snyder has hired a Public Relations firm to help him navigate through this messy, messy Flint water crisis. Nobody should be surprised. It was a by-the-numbers, top-down, corporate CEO type of decision, and that has consistently been Governor Snyder’s jam. What is hard to take, however, is that the PR firm is now obviously coaching him to be an empathetic, I-feel-your-pain, point-fingers-of-blame-at-others, I’m-with-you-guys, man of the people. This abrupt shift has been nothing but awkward (and kinda nauseating). NOT your jam, Governor Snyder. Not your jam.

Which isn’t to say there has not been caustic rhetoric pouring out of other campaigns. And as the pressure builds up to and into Iowa and the primary season, expect it to get worse. But to this point, Donald Trump and Senator Cruz have distinguished themselves (if that’s the right term) with their ability to leach out the latent fears and prejudices of the American voter.

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
January 3, 2016

Also posted online at MLive.com, January 3, 2016

This week I received an email from the Vice President of Content at MLive Media Group notifying me that they would no longer contract for my services under our existing freelance agreement. It was not a surprise. This past May, MLive cut the number of cartoons they paid me for from weekly to monthly. During the summer, I continued provide a weekly cartoon along with commentary for posting on MLive.com. (Up to that point my cartoons were exclusive to the print editions.) I had hoped to demonstrate the value of Michigan-focused editorial cartoons in an online format. While it is clear now my efforts did not close the sale, I did very much enjoy sharing and engaging online, and I’m happy to have had the experience.

I would like to thank those at MLive I had the pleasure to work with, particularly my editors: Ed Golder, Paul Keep and Dan Hawkins — each consummate professionals. They challenged me by allowing me space to run while when necessary reminding me of the bounds of common sense and good grammar. The benefits of working with people you respect cannot be overstated.

Despite my disappointment with their decision, I would also like thank MLive and predecessor, the Grand Rapids Press. Editorial cartoons in newspapers — especially local editorial cartoons — are a truly American institution, and I’ve appreciated the opportunity to be a participant.

And I would like to thank you, the readers for taking the time to be readers. For a cartoonist, that’s really all that’s needed. But I also appreciated when you shared your reactions — from kind encouragements to the angry dissents. (Okay, sure, I found the occasional unibomber-like manifesto a bit unsettling, but otherwise the feedback was all good.)

I hope to find other venues because I think editorial cartoons are valuable. They somehow roll up a chaotic mix of satire, exaggeration and unfairness into tidy packages that (when done well) provoke thought and reveal truth. Anyway, that’s what I aim for.

All the best,
John

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
November 1, 2015

It’s easy to write off Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent shenanigans that I’ve documented here as simply a politician being a politician, and that’s not right. First, the whole business of relentlessly staying on message with contrived positivity until reality forces you to admit that “mistakes were made” is not unique to politics — think CEOs, military brass, head coaches of major sport teams. But second, and more importantly, blaming it all on politics is dangerous. That just feeds the pervasive hopelessness of “all politicians are bad, government never works,” and that can lead to really, really bad choices like, say, Donald Trump.

No, the base issue is poor leadership. Consider Lincoln and Churchill, both consummate politicians who had to rally their constituents under difficult circumstances — sometimes not being entirely truthful, sometimes failing miserably. But after failures, a big reason why they were able to maintain and rebuild support was because they didn’t try to sell false optimism. They didn’t cling to mistakes with a big ol’ smile.

I understand that the big ol’ smile is part of Gov. Snyder’s shtick. And when he was a first-term governor I found it sometimes cloying but also practical. In leading a state out of a 12-year recession, he needed to swing the pendulum back over to the optimism side. But as a second-term governor, not so much. When, for example, decisions you made have resulted in poisoned water, you really need to assess and identify what is important about that. (Hint: HOLY CRAP! YOU POISONED THE WATER!) Then you need to own the mistake, move forward with seriousness and determination, and lose the big ol’ smile.

Also posted online at MLive.com, September 12, 2015

MLive had an interesting article this week about rising college costs, along with a slideshow of the biggest increases in room and board in Michigan. As a parent of college-age students, I felt it hit a chord. And by “hit a chord,” I mean “made me draw a cranky editorial cartoon.” Which I did.

The truth is, my feelings are much more nuanced on the subject. Take my alma mater, Michigan Tech, for instance: I graduated with manageable debt and a degree that has returned value over and over in my career. Not this career — the cartooning gig has always been freelance and is largely self-taught. I have the artistic prowess you might expect from somebody with a bachelor’s degree in Scientific and Technical Communications with a minor in Metallurgical Engineering. (Although I did draw for the school newspaper.)

But would a Michigan Tech degree be worth the price if I were getting that degree now —especially at those room and board prices? Maybe. Could I afford it? I don’t know.

Actually, the cartoon is more a crack about what K-12 education has been forced to become than it is about higher education. A few years ago I did a cartoon that was a variation on the same theme.

Not quite as mean, but just as cranky.

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News September 6, 2015

Also posted online at MLive.com, September 5, 2015

The Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan has this brilliant campaign called “be nice.” It is a mental health awareness, bullying and suicide prevention initiative that focuses on change through simple, daily actions. It is really where the rubber hits the road for making a real, positive difference. The primary audience for “be nice” is youth in schools, but certainly the principles can apply to all ages.

Still, not all people learn the same. I’m afraid the “be nice” approach might not resonate with many of us middle-aged men. Perhaps there should be a program designed specifically for us. Let’s call it “Don’t Be a D—.” Crude? Yes. Negative? Absolutely. But it may be exactly what is needed to get through.

Listen, Virgil Smith Jr. did what he did and he still has the audacity to show up for his job as a senator. Todd Courser is not only showing up, he is actively trying to take the system down with him. It is obvious that cajoling and appealing to better sense won’t dislodge either of these guys. It’s time to say to them, “You’re being a d—. Don’t be a d—. Do the right thing. Resign. Start over. Rebuild your lives. For yourself, for your family, for the state of Michigan.”

Oh. And apologies to my father, Richard. Growing up, I got into more than a few fights defending the honor of his nickname. People may call him Dick, but he was (and is) anything but one. Of course then, he is the guy who named me John, which has had its own set of issues …

Also posted online at MLive.com, August 29, 2015

Now is probably a good time to remind readers: I don’t draw editorial cartoons intending to change opinions; I draw them to provoke thought.

Cartoons (good ones, anyway) are much more about throwing a chunk of raw meat into the wolf den than they are about trying to herd the whole pack to a specific destination. Besides, recent articles on MLive regarding gun deaths have demonstrated that opinions are pretty well entrenched. But I do think it’s worth considering the notion that the number of gun deaths is unacceptably high in Michigan and the rest of the United States.

So … what can be done? What exactly, I don’t pretend to know. But somewhere between the naive desire to pass a magic law that makes all bad guns disappear and the creepy desire of the gun lobby to load up every man, woman and child with multiple firearms, there must be solutions to reduce those deaths. It is a legitimate public health concern.

As a state and as a nation, we need more gun-related homicides, suicides and accidents like we need, well, like we need a collective hole in the head.

Also posted online at MLive.com, August 22, 2015

 I’m a bit late getting to this one. I was on vacation when the Courser/Gamrat scandal broke, so I felt I needed find a different angle. A lot has already been said, but the irony of two family-values tea partiers behaving in a manner typically associated with corrupt political-machine bosses has been largely untapped. I couldn’t let that go by. That’s editorial cartooning gold, baby!

Still, I was honestly hoping to find a more positive takeaway from all this. I tried to figure out a way to juxtapose Courser and Gamrat with genuine, selfless public service. If they win the Kilpatrick, who gets the Bing? That would be Dave Bing, the Detroit Pistons star who after his basketball career became a successful entrepreneur and business leader in Michigan.

At the point of comfortable retirement and with a well-earned reputation, Bing sought and got the most difficult job imaginable: mayor of Detroit in the depths of the Great Recession after the city had been bled dry. He made unpopular but necessary decisions with limited power while navigating the uncharted waters of big city bankruptcy. That, my friends, is public service. I don’t expect Courser and Gamrat to be up for a Bing any time soon.

On a personal note, I would like to mention the passing of Richard “Dick” Daly on Tuesday, August 18. Dick was an exceptional public servant in the Flint community, dedicating his professional career to providing positive growth opportunities for citizens of the Flint area, most notably with his work in developing the Flint Olympian and CANUSA Games. Again, that is public service.

Also posted online at MLive.com, August 15, 2015

I’ve done a few of these “public service reminders.” Here are links to a couple more:

• Important Public Service Reminder.
• The Lane is Going to End!

Not exactly hard-hitting editorial commentary, but they do tend to elicit strong emotions. And anyway it helps me channel my road rage.

Also posted online at MLive.com, August 8, 2015

 Here are three other pieces of dialogue I considered for Panel 4:

• “What’s this Planned Parenthood thing all about?”
• “What do you guys think about Obama’s new emission controls?”
• “How ’bout those Tigers?”

In the end, I felt talking about an election that is 15 months away fits best the definition of “needless distraction.” It’s certainly the least controversial — especially the Tigers topic. I mean, what the heck happened there? The season had such potential, such promise. Then a few injuries, the bullpen never gels, inconsistent offense — boom! It all implodes. They trade away their ace, their closer, an all-star left fielder. Now Dombrowski is gone. And… wait… sorry….

Back to the original point: It’s summertime and the living’s easy. It’s our best hope to recharge. And February will be here soon enough.