Auchtoon!

The “slippery slope” argument certainly isn’t exclusive to gun rights advocates, but it has definitely been a go-to over the years. It’s usually along the lines of “this particular gun regulation or restriction is bad despite its practical benefits because it will inevitably lead to the end of all gun rights. Therefore, we should do nothing because, it’s a slippery slope.”

It’s a lazy argument. It saves the hard work of figuring out what is and what is not a good law and trying to think through the benefits while anticipating the consequences. I would dare to say that it is also an unpatriotic argument. You really have to have very low confidence in our American system of government and an equally low opinion of your fellow citizens to think that everything is fragile.

This week Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a law that prohibits those with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions from purchasing and possessing a gun for eight years after finishing their sentence. It will help protect domestic abuse victims, who are typically women and children.

The timing for this new law is good in any case, but particularly appropriate to be the same week as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is Saturday, November 25.

College football is important. Seriously. It’s an industry of significant size that supports the livelihoods of a great many people — not just coaches and players, but support staff, media, local merchants, entire communities. It provides entertainment (even identity) for millions of people. It is legitimately important. (Just not all that important.)

As a fan, I, too, was taken aback last week when Big Ten officials summarily suspended Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season as punishment for the ongoing alleged sign stealing scandal. Was it poorly handled? Sure. Was it unfair? Seemingly. Was it the worst injustice ever in the history of injustices? No. But the overwrought reactions of coach Harbaugh, Michigan’s Board of Regents, and the legions of Wolverine fans would have you think it was.

Do you think that I was being particularly cynical in today’s cartoon? Perhaps.

But in the short time between drawing the cartoon and typing this, the Michigan Legislature decided to adjourn for the year. Because the Michigan House will soon have an even number of Democrats and Republicans, the current Democrat majority decided to call it quits for 2023. In the new year, the two representatives who are leaving to become mayors of Westland and Warren will likely be replaced with Democrats and they’ll be back in the majority, so they figure they might as well wait till then. So the ink is barely dry and already my cynicism is justified.

Michigan Republicans are, of course, outraged. Outraged that after decades of their majority rule shenanigans, they now have to suffer such indignities. Who could have possibly foreseen this?

The takeaway: We all suffer when so-called leaders prioritize party over people.

State criminal prosecutions of the Flint Water Crisis ended this week with a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court refusing the state’s appeal of lower-court decisions to dismiss charges against former Governor Rick Snyder. It marks the end of a chapter in a very sad book.

Wherever you happen to stand on holding accountable the public officials who put Flint under state-appointed emergency management, I think we can all agree that the optics (not to mention the results) were terrible. And we can add this as a lesson learned — next time rich, “successful” businessmen tell us that they are better than career politicians because (1) they get things done and (2) they take responsibility, maybe we don’t believe them.

For the record, I don’t think how our state government handled the Flint Water Crisis is the only reason why Michigan population is stagnated. But it certainly hasn’t helped. When you’re a place that gets several inches of snow on Halloween, you already have enough challenges to keep and attract people.