Auchtoon!

Sometimes it’s difficult to trace exactly where an idea for a cartoon comes from. But sometimes it’s crystal clear. For example, this week.

I was reading an article in the Washington Post about how developers in Galveston Island, Texas, are building luxury, waterfront condos in areas unprotected by a sea wall. This, despite the fact that sea levels (particularly in the Gulf of Mexico) are rising precipitously, compounded by more violent storms brought on by global climate change.

Then of course there was all the news about Hurricane Helene, which may or may not have devastated Florida by the time you are reading this. Just like past hurricanes have. Just like increasingly powerful hurricanes in the future will. Swampland handles this well. People living in swampland, not so much.

Meanwhile, I’m hoping to finish fixing the roof of my shed this weekend in preparation for winter. Because I live in a sensible, somewhat predictable place, I don’t anticipate receiving any federal disaster relief money for the effort.

Among the many frustrating things about the current American political landscape is the inability to discuss and resolve actual issues. Case in point, the Michigan House and Senate has, to date, the fewest number of voting days since Governor Gretchen Whitmer took office in 2018. There is plenty of blame to go around for this, but one of the upshots is that another session is likely to close without having addressed the significant problem with the lack of transparency in our state-level government.

It’s truly a bipartisan issue. All those years the Republicans were in control, they didn’t do anything, and the Democrats (justifiably) complained bitterly. But now the Democrats, except for a blip earlier this year, have been in full control and managed to avoid the issue. Hypocritical.

Issues like this should be top-of-list. But they aren’t. Why? Well, when one political party (let’s not be coy — it’s the Republicans) have people at the top of their ticket continuously spewing stupid, dangerous … stuff, it not only steals the headlines, it makes thoughtful people not want to associate with them in any way.

So are there some legitimate concerns in Michigan about what Democrats have or have not done? Certainly. Am I going to line up next to guys who insist on doubling-down on their stupid, dangerous … stuff? No way.

Sometimes I need to assume (and hope) that readers will know all of the stories I’m referencing. I had no concerns about you not being aware of this presidential election thing going on. Nor did I worry that, as Michiganders living in a swing/battleground state, you would have experienced more than your fair share of mailings, messages, and commercials intended to sway your vote. And finally, I was pretty sure you all saw or at least heard about Donald Trump’s torrent of lies in this week’s debate.

What you may not know about is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to clean up sites around the country contaminated with radiation from nuclear weapons development by shipping the waste to hazardous waste disposal facilities. One such facility is Wayne Disposal in Van Buren Township, which is in the Detroit Metro area.

The Michigan Public article does an excellent job providing all of the details, and it’s not as dystopian as you might imagine. Still, there is always room for concern when something coming to your community can be accurately described as toxic waste. (I’m referring to the radioactive waste, but the rhetorical waste is likely the more pressing danger.)