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
May 25, 2014

In Michigan, our legislature is finally, finally putting together a serious long term plan to fix our awful roads. I have harped on this for many years and pleased that we are all finally taking a mature approach. After starving funding for road repairs for more than a decade, it only makes sense that an increase will be needed. And it only makes sense for at least part of that funding to come through higher gas taxes. Well… up until the point when I have to buy gas.

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 18, 2014

So after running for Congress 20+ times, apparently John Conyers is still not clear on the rules. But he shouldn’t feel too bad. Four years ago congressman Thaddeus McCotter filed fraudulent signatures and failed to get on the ballot. Then last year current Detroit mayor Mike Duggan had to run as a write-in on the primary ballot because he missed a deadline. Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it?

Meanwhile, in the West Michigan, the congressional district that includes Grand Rapids has a battle for the Republican nomination — incumbent and tea-party favorite Justin Amash verses businessperson and traditional GOP backed Brain Ellis. This is actually a game that is playing out in several races across the country but is something of tradition here in West Michigan — who can appear more conservative. My original inspiration for this cartoon was to  have an increasingly ridiculous hypothetical argument between Amash and Ellis. For example:

Amash: “I’m so conservative, I would have a baby with Ayn Rand and name it “Ronald Reagan”! Even if it was a girl!”

Ellis: “I’m so conservative, I would shame Ayn Rand for having an illegitimate baby, and then I’d cut off healthcare funding so baby Ronald would get whooping cough!”

…and so on. For me and about a dozen other readers, it would have been worth reading all of the dialogue. So instead I went with the more straightforward irony of candidates who profess to hate government wanting to be in government. Funny, but not hilarious like a good Ayn Rand joke….

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 11, 2014

I don’t remember if there was a specific story that got me started on this. I think it was just an amalgamation of various unhappy incidents of lawmakers preventing people who wouldn’t vote for them from having full rights as citizens and supposedly open-minded folks saying hateful things about people with faith they don’t understand . But then on Sunday, the day the cartoon hit the newspapers, a single illustrative story was provided in my very own town on Grandville: Slushie Thrown at Anti-Gay Demonstrator

Cue the Elvis Costello: http://vimeo.com/43308455

Backstory: John Hoslett, as very dear friend to both Jane and me, recently retired and moved to Connecticut. I met Hos (pronounced Hoz) at my second job out of college and over the years our lives intersected through various employment and social events, but most consistently through volleyball. For many, many years we were part of a group who played pickup games of beach volleyball on Wednesday nights during the summer. We affectionately called ourselves the MotherEffing Sandpipers, and thus Hos’s t-shirt in the cartoon. (One time a deranged man stumbled right through a game, pausing his rant on various injustices perpetrated upon him by unfaithful women to call us all a bunch of mothereffing sandpipers. We played on with nobody acknowledging him, and he walk away without incident, but the name stuck.) Hos is a natural and generous teacher, and nearly all Jane and I know about volleyball comes from him. Some of the wisdom he dispensed came from his hippie days when he learned the game, a sample of which is included in the cartoon. (Turns out, hippies were really competitive!)

So in honor of our friend, I’m calling out all those who know him (and especially the MFSs) to bid this up! Auctioning begins on eBay today and goes through May 19. Check out the gallery or go directly to mine and make a bid!

The NF Doodle auction is a fundraising event to benefit NF, Inc., an organization dedicated to providing support to individuals and families affected by neurofibromatosis (NF). Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that affects one in every 2,500 births. NF is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy and Huntington’s Disease combined. Funds raised from the Doodle Day auction will go to support education, advocacy, coalitions, and research for treatments and a cure. For more specifics and links, check out: http://www.doodle4nf.org/

Originally published in the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 4, 2014

This one is deeply into Michigan politics. And if you don’t already recognize what’s going on, you aren’t going to be entertained a bit by me explaining it. Suffice to say, I managed to insult two generally opposing political factions by comparing them to each other. A good day for me.