The trigger for this week’s cartoon was the story about a “Cryptocurrency Bill of Rights” being introduced as legislation in the Michigan House:
State Representative Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) said that bill and others would help Michigan attract the crypto industry to the state.
“Cryptocurrency is here to stay. I believe that 20 years from now, it’ll be the foundation of our entire financial industry. And Michigan can be a national leader in that effort,” Posthumus said.
Yeah, okay, fine. Go ahead, I suppose. But is anybody else bothered by politicians in full embrace of technologies they know very little about while they are summarily rejecting and defunding the scientific and education communities?
Back in January of this year, Jocelyn Benson, the current Secretary of State in Michigan, held a press conference inside a state-owned building to launch her 2026 campaign for governor. This week, the state attorney general determined that this was in violation of the state’s campaign finance law.
The good news for Benson is the only formal punishment she’ll face is a warning (presumably not to do it again). This is because there currently is nothing in the law to deal with this specific set of circumstances. It broke a norm. The folks who wrote the law never anticipated that an active Secretary of State would do something like this.
The bad news for Benson is that she’s facing political punishment for her mistake. Yes, she had intended to give the press conference outside her office building, and, yes, it seemed sensible on a frigid winter day to move it inside to the lobby. But Benson and her team should have been aware of the situation. She wants to be governor, after all. The leader needs to know what the laws are and abide by them.
You know, just like the President of the United States does.
Much has been said about Governor Whitmer and her more, shall we say, nuanced approach to the Trump 2.0 presidency. The reality is, Trump is running the federal government like a monarchy, and he’s the king (or the emir or the crown prince — it’s clear he was in his element on this week’s Middle East tour). So what is a governor to do if she needs to get stuff done? Bend the knee, butter him up, and at least appear to give him what he wants. And apparently it works.
He signed a memo Friday directing the federal government to “achieve maximum speed and efficiency” on a project designed to block the spread of an invasive fish into the Great Lakes. A couple weeks ago, he announced a new fighter jet mission for Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base. If Whitmer only had a spare luxury airliner to give him to ensure the new Soo Lock in Sault Ste. Marie gets completed.
I was listening to Michigan Public (naturally) when I heard the story about the Michigan House of Representatives passing a bill last week that would require state agency hiring decisions to be based on merit.
Here’s what caught my attention: The bill passed with nearly complete bipartisan support — all but one representative voted for it. Whoa! That level of agreement between Democrat and Republican politicians seems …unlikely. Turns out, there was agreement on the vote, but not really on the intention.
As you might imagine, Republicans see it as repudiation of DEI policies. Representative Angela Rigas (R-Alto) said, “Only the most qualified candidates should be chosen for a position rather than prioritizing gender, skin color, or sexual orientation.”
Democrats, on the other hand, see it as repudiation of nepotism, legacy advantages, and other unfair favoritism. Representative Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn) said, “This bill helps to create opportunity by eroding the barrier of the old boys’ club as we work toward a more equal playing field for all Michiganders. Michigan is stronger when various backgrounds and experiences empower the best and brightest.”
The bill goes next to the Senate. It will be interesting to see if it holds together there. Basically, they will all have to agree to pass legislation that is against DEI, but for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
You may not be familiar with The White Stripes. But if you’ve been to a large sporting event in the last decade, you know some of their work. The guitar riff from their hit, “Seven Nation Army” has become a go-to for firing up the home fans. It’s super catchy and connects instantly with our monkey brains.
Which is kind of how sports and rooting for a team works. We have an inherent proclivity toward tribalism. That is, people generally want to associate with a group, and a football/basketball/whatever-ball team can fill that need nicely.
Of course, tribalism can easily grow into something toxic and disastrous: nationalism. By way of example, I offer to you the whole of human history. (It’s more than alarming that President Trump seems intent on heading down the well-worn path.)
I was talking with my son about this the other day, and he suggested that — while sports can also be toxic (by way of example, I offer to you the whole of sports radio) — associating with a team generally fills the need to be part of tribe in a positive way.
Game 6 of the Detroit Pistons series with the New York Knicks takes place after my deadline for this, so by the time you read it, future me will either be a bit happier or a bit sadder than current me.
My superpower is overthinking. I can overthink anything. Big, small, no matter. I can needlessly complicate anything.
A classic example is when my now wife and I were taking our pre-marriage course, and we were given a questionnaire as an exercise to see how well we were aligned as a couple. It was 100 questions. She finished in less than 10 minutes; it took me nearly an hour.
In the end, there were only six or seven questions in which we had different answers. But after discussing those, it turned out that we did actually have the same answer — I just had overthought those particular questions to the point of misinterpreting them.
For instance, one such question was something like, “Is having a child part of your decision to seek marriage?” I interpreted that to mean, “Have you talked about having children together at some point?” Sure! But what it really meant was, “Is she pregnant?” (She wasn’t, which was nice because it saved the host couple a lot of follow-ups.)
Anyway, this is why I can feel a bit defensive when somebody accuses me of drawing a cartoon that is reactionary — of not having thoroughly taken into account other thoughts and angles. To this I can confidently reply, “Ha!” I guarantee you that I have absolutely overthought it. Granted, it may not always lead to the best result, but it’s never from lack of effort.
So, given all that, I am particularly proud of the simple, clear message behind this week’s cartoon: If you’re implementing policies that consistently tank the market, then maybe don’t implement those policies. No need to overthink it.
The oft-cited Pogo cartoon by Walt Kelly (“We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us“) is a gift that keeps on giving. That particular cartoon was about pollution, but it really applies to almost any awful result from regrettable human behavior.
Currently, we have lots to choose from, but I decided to go with blind ideology. Why can’t government officials let go of their partisan politics and simply pass useful legislation that benefits the general public? Well, why can’t individuals believe overwhelming scientific evidence and get themselves and their children immunized for measles?
The behavior of our elected representatives is often more uncomfortably reflective of our own behavior than we would necessarily like it to be.
It’s been a wild ride this week. And God only knows what’s happening today. Well, certain people close to the current administration who are making profits from insider trading probably have a pretty good idea. That’s fun.
The grifting notwithstanding, is it not clear at this point that the fate of our economic system should not be subject to the whims of a single person? This has been like watching great-grandpa, who never drove a car, trying to parallel park a Winnebego on a city street. Yeah, he’s got the biggest vehicle and may eventually get it into a space. But there is gonna be so much damage. And so many enemies.
A common criticism for an editorial cartoon: “It’s not funny.” The common response from an editorial cartoonist: “You’re right.” That’s because the main goal of an editorial or political cartoon (a good one anyway) should be to stir a thought or even start a conversation. Humor can help, but it isn’t necessary.
Whether or not this cartoon is funny, I leave that entirely to you, the reader. I can only say that it is not purposely so. It was inspired by the video of the Tufts University student getting accosted by masked government officials, arrested without identification, and shipped to a holding facility without due process, which is just but one of many similar recent incidents.
That is not how America works. Well, it’s not how it was designed to work. But now it’s clear that all the rah-rah-rah by the current administration about constitutions and justice and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is just a means to an end for power and control. Nothing funny about that.
The ongoing “ready, shoot, aim” approach to government efficiency brings daily consequences of hobbled and/or eliminated school programs, veteran services, medical care, voter rights, environmental protections, and so on. The latest headline: “Michigan libraries prepare for impact as Trump moves to eliminate federal library agency.”
Abraham Lincoln famously described our particular form of government as “of the people, by the people, for the people.” So it seems to me that if we slash and cut and terminate all of the people parts, there will be no constitutional republic left. And a real danger of it perishing from the earth.
Auchtoon!
