John Auchter
Contributor, Auchter's ArtSince 1995 John has created Michigan-based editorial cartoons for the Grand Rapids Business Journal, the Grand Rapids Press, and MLive Newspapers. His cartoons are currently featured at MichiganPublic.org and are syndicated to newspapers through the Michigan Press Association. John is an active member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. You can view an archive of his editorial work and other cartoons at Auchtoon.com.
In addition to cartoons and essays for Michigan Radio, John works as a technical communication specialist. He has worked for a variety companies, from startups to large corporations, and has operated his own business. The job basically is the same as cartooning — putting words and images together to communicate. But in this case, John knows enough not to draw funny pictures of his boss or client. (Well, now he does.)
John grew up on the east side of the state near Flint, graduated from Michigan Tech in da UP, and has lived in West Michigan since. He vacations Up North every summer and shovels lots of snow every winter. After his wife, he is the biggest Tigers fan in the family. He drinks Vernors when his tummy hurts.
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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.) -
We tend to prefer laws designed to control and constrict other people over ones designed to control and constrict ourselves. -
We are usually better off just keeping it simple. So putting myself in a union worker's shoes, I think I'd go for a presidential candidate who didn't have a well-documented history of stiffing workers (and customers and creditors and...). -
I think the biggest tell that the current Republican Party is no longer the party of Ronald Reagan is its complete lack of positivity. -
I'm so rested and relaxed I'm complimenting government agencies! So you can understand why I'm looking to avoid anything that will harsh this particular mellow. Say, for example, salty old Republican politicians who want to fill me with fear and anger. -
Is it just me or have you, dear readers, also seen a considerable uptick in politics-related email and texts these past few months? It may be related to this editorial cartooning gig, but I don't think so. 'Tis election season, of course, but then when is it never not election season? -
So a week ago, the buzz was about Kamala Harris and floating the accusation that she was a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) hire. This has now been superseded by Donald Trump's rant about Harris that, in his esteemed assessment, she is somehow not Black. This, of course, from a person and a party (they are really now the same thing) who often profess not to see color and are annoyed by all this racial stuff. Yet they keep weaponizing it. -
We no longer receive news as something to learn about but as something to opine about. We are all pundits, supposed experts, talking past each other. We leave what is too soon so we can be the first to have a hot take on what might be. -
Somewhere between describing Donald Trump as "America's Hitler" and "cultural heroin" in his first presidential campaign and accepting (after rabidly seeking) the offer to be his running mate in the current campaign, J.D. Vance had a transformation. I've seen it described as a "Road to Damascus" moment for him. -
We've been doing a fine job of chasing teachers and nurses out of their professions. Are scientists and researchers next?
