Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 28, 2013

I got a bunch of comments back on this one. There were a range of points that readers wanted to make, but the consensus seemed to be “what’s the matter with you” and “you’re not funny.” My short reply is: “lots” and “oftentimes, yes.”

The slightly longer reply is “I think there’s an uncomfortable inconsistency when the law prevents retirement money from being stolen from old ladies on the streets but allows it through the courts” and “I really wasn’t trying to be funny.”

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 21, 2013

And then sometimes it just feels right to vent about personal (although I’m sure shared) experiences….

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 14, 2013

Last week, a West Michigan lawmaker proposed legislation for a 2014 ballot proposal to eliminate state income tax. You can click here for the particulars, but it really doesn’t get more thought-out than what I wrote. This sort of deep cynicism can only be met with even deeper sarcasm.

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
July 7, 2013

So last month a Michigan House Representative, Lisa Lyons, made an unfortunate comment during a debate on school reform. I guess we should give her points for attempting to bring something new and witty to the standard politicking  but what came out was “Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.” Yeah, that wasn’t good. Naturally, some people were offended and parsed the words to be offended as they could possibly be. Naturally, Lyons apologized by way of saying she was offended that people were offended and that, my friends, is what is really offensive. And so it spun. There was a “point/counterpoint” article in the MLive newspapers on this. It was really difficult to read with both sides going to great length about the finer points of pigs, hogs, and swine-related metaphors, and very little about the actual issue, which was… wait, what was the issue? Exactly. So instead of me weighing in on the school reform issue, I thought I’d sooth myself with the only positive I could take from it.

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
June 30, 2013

I don’t typically do cartoons on the same subject two weeks in a row. But the Michigan Senate heading for vacation without choosing to vote on providing Medicaid to Michigan’s working poor seemed to have the right level of audacity. And I did take a different approach. Whereas last week’s cartoon has an academic and somewhat more traditional angle to demonstrate the consequences, this week’s is specific and realistic. More of a punch to the gut. I’m hoping some of our Michigan senators got to read it, and it made their vacations slightly less enjoyable.

Side note for myself: Next time I try to draw coffee pots, I should, I don’t know, maybe practice a little. Yeesh, the ones I drew are bad….