Auchter's Art

"I was thinking about that guy when I saw the news the other day about President Donald Trump's desire for the U.S. government to own a piece of troubled chipmaker, Intel. What would he think about that? How would he reconcile his steadfast ideology with a President (who I'm guessing he voted for) actively violating it?"

I feel this party-first approach to government has gotten considerably worse in the past few decades. The Gingriching, the McConnellizing of American politics.

Scientists and climate experts uniformly tell us that climate change brought about by fossil fuel usage is a root cause of the Canadian wildfires. Many people — including those in leadership positions in the federal government — find this inconvenient, unacceptable, or (by their own declaration) fake news. But that doesn't stop it from being true.

The whole tariff and trade situation, particularly with the automobile industry, is so volatile and so complex, it really doesn't lend itself to a hot take. But I do feel safe in saying that the only folks I imagine being happy about the situation are the ones receiving payments on those $1,000-per-month-for-84-months auto loans.

As it turns out, there is a difference between a trillion and a billion. A large difference. A 1,000 times difference. And if you do the math, our Republican representatives and our current president just overspent 3,091 times more than they "saved."

My dear Mr. President, let us not be so selective in our demands for transparency. You and many, many of your appointees rode the Jeffrey Epstein story into office. Release the findings.

Right now, it's a particularly good time to be a Michigan sports fan. To the astonishment of all, the Tigers have the best record in Major League Baseball. The Lions are a popular Super Bowl pick. The Pistons are ascending.

Happy Independence Day to our fragile young republic — here's to all the good we've been and to all the good we hope to be!

It's not that I'm surprised by the astonishing callousness of these Republican U.S. Senators. In fact, it helps explain the cruelty of the budget bill they are crafting.

It's easy to say you want transparency in government when you aren't in government. It's even easier to say it when you want to get elected. But apparently it's very difficult to make it happen once you're elected.