Auchtoon!

First, credit where credit is due: the Michigan legislature and the Whitmer administration came together to create a budget for next year that does in fact significantly increase funding for child care in Michigan. As reported by Bridge Michigan:

The budget allocates $1.4 billion in federal COVID relief funds to help support child care providers, bring down costs and expand subsidies to another 105,000 Michigan families. The budget also includes $30 million for a one-time $1,000 bonus for child care staffers.

Of course it was relatively easy to do because of the boatload of federal funds. But still, they did it. And ahead of an October 1 default deadline. (Note to Mitch McConnell: This is how grown-ups work together to avoid financial defaults.)

So I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but the self-congratulations from Whitmer, Shirkey, and the lot are a bit hard to take. Specifically because, as later noted in the Bridge Michigan article, Michigan currently helps families with child care costs less than almost any state. (When Mississippi has been kicking your butt, it’s time for some soul searching.) Here’s hoping the 2022 budget is the start of a continued investment in supporting Michigan families and businesses, not a one-time bonus.

I was over at my folks’ house this week and the news on the TV was showing clips of the latest devastation suffered in Louisiana. I joked with my Mom, “Aren’t you glad now you and Dad decided against buying that retirement home in the bayou?” She gave a little chuckle but then also grimaced at the very idea. Louisiana is one of the last places on earth she would ever want to live. She has never been able to tolerate heat and humidity, and those are pretty much the main ingredients there.

But as I watched more, my little joke got less and less funny. Louisiana has now endured Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas in a two week span. The flooding and damage have been biblical. And hurricane season is not over.

It is true that we’ve experienced some quirky weather patterns here in Michigan recently. And I hesitate to call them “quirky” because they have caused some very real damage. But they hardly rate relative to what has been going on along the Gulf Coast. Thankfully.

Makes you wonder if maybe our scientific community has looked into this. You know, tried to figure out why storms are becoming more violent and more frequent, and what we might be able to do about it. Yep, sure makes you wonder… (That’s also a joke that gets less and less funny).

In the olden days (you know, only a couple of decades ago), editorial cartoonists could draw a guy in a frumpled suit and trench coat wearing a fedora with a card reading “PRESS” sticking out of the band to represent the news media. Maybe holding a pencil and notepad. Or a camera with an absurdly large flash. And it would be universally recognized as a journalist. Well, a newspaper reporter, but those were pretty much the same thing.

Nowadays, none of that is nearly as clear cut. So for the cartoon, I drew a person dressed in general work attire and labeled her “News Media.” This leaves an uncomfortable amount of room for interpretation. What I intended by “news media” is straight-up journalism, reporting, the sharing of information as observed by a trained professional. What I didn’t intend was cable news, talking heads, carnival barkers, and the like. Unfortunately, those are often conflated, which is one of the reasons why the media in general is held in such low regard.

Conversely, my demonic “Social Media” guy is probably too specific. I mean, social media also includes pithy memes and cat videos, and I think those are lovely. But it has proven itself to be by far the best spreader of disinformation that the world has ever seen, and that’s the part that isn’t so lovely.

This is really just a silly cartoon intended as a hopeful reminder that (1) it’s Labor Day, (2) Labor Day is for honoring and celebrating working folks, and (3) it’d be nice to give them a break, especially a year and a half into a pandemic.

So if you find yourself upset by, say, being served some less than crispy french fries over the weekend, consider channeling your anger elsewhere. And if you can find a memorial for labor leaders of the past, that may provide some additional perspective.