John Auchter

Full disclosure: I'm a big fan of Roald Dahl's work — his books and the movies made from them. Even the ones like 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which Dahl himself wasn't especially fond of.

The Gordie Howe Bridge was supposed to have its ribbon-cutting ceremony the day this cartoon is published (Friday, June 12). But as I write this, the

Hall jumped on the Trumpian bandwagon of delaying the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge, the bridge that Canada paid for. This also is a negotiating tactic. It's from the "never miss an opportunity to screw your neighbor" school of negotiating.

A reminder to readers: I'm a Michigan Tech grad and therefore an agnostic as far as the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry goes — I acknowledge that both schools exist, but I don't worship either one.

I'm hoping that most readers will recognize the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Or at least that it's some sort of gathering of the Founding Fathers. (Clue: Look at all the White guys!)

It did occur to me to make Elon Musk the guy in the cartoon. After all, the newly minted trillionaire is very much the poster child for an absurd concentration of wealth leading to an absurd concentration of power.

As we approach Election Day for the Michigan primary on August 4, you may have noticed the uptick in negative campaign ads.

I was on vacation during this week, so I drew this cartoon a week ahead of time. I figured there would likely be additional drama about the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge and, sure enough, there is.

Typically, when a cartoonist makes a note to apologize for appropriating another cartoonist's work, it's for something widely recognized.

This week, voters here in Michigan chose a man named Abdul El-Sayed to be Michigan's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate. Like him, don't like him. Like his policies, don't like his policies. Vote for him in November, don't vote for him. Your choice. But don't fall for the BS and demonize him because of his name.