Tag: election

March March

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 1 Comment

It’s March, so it was time to march today in our town’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. I was supposed to ride in the back of a snowplow with other St. Charles Township elected officials, but with snow in the forecast, the township canceled so that all snowplows would be ready for snow removal. That’s actually very responsible but no fun. Instead, I marched with fellow Kane County and St. Charles Township Democrats.

The group of Democrats marching has grown quite a bit over the years. This year we had 2 US House representatives, an Illinois House representative, various Kane County elected officials and board membes, and me as the sole elected township official. In addition, we had Democrat candidates for our upcoming municipal election in April and many other local Dems. We’re kind of a big deal now.

Can you see me in the back holding the “Be The Change! Vote Democrat” sign? Barely, right? Why did I get stuck in the back? Well, I am tall, and I also looked ridiculous. See for yourself …

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Ball of Confusion

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I’m confused.

Editor’s Note: Duh! As if we didn’t know that.

Anyway, I’m gearing up for our local municipal elections in April in which our gaggle of St. Charles Township Democrats are supporting the campaigns of local moderate to progressive candidates for school board, library board, park board, etc. There is a hard right wing extremist group calling themselves Awake Illinois that also has candidates vying for seats. They are well known for their anti-mask, anti-vaxx platform and for crashing school board meetings and the public library without masks when masks were required.

They have other wacky ideas and are in general opposed to what they call “woke” culture. That’s where my confusion comes in. Can’t we consider them woke if they are part of Awake Illinois? Should they perhaps have chosen Asleep Illinois as their group name rather than a name suggesting they have been woke?

Editor’s Note: Why not sleep on it? Your readers are already.

Republicans Are Occupying My Mind

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

After the 12th vote, it’s becoming apparent that Kevin McCarthy will eventually become Speaker of the House. It may take one more vote. It may take twenty more votes. I have no idea, but I’m pretty confident that Republicans will eventually legitimately control the US House and the Speaker’s position, just like they tried to do violently and illegitimately two years ago. In the meantime, Republicans have occupied my mind. They have put a song in my head, and it controls my thoughts every time I see them roll out McCarthy to nominate him for another vote. This one …

It’s a lesser-known REM song, and the lyrics are quite political. But it’s not the lyrics or melody that the Republicans have stuck in my head. It’s the title. After each vote, I imagine Kevin McCarthy being dragged out of the House dead and then buried. When the new round of nominations start, I envision Republicans exhuming McCarthy and propping him up in the House for yet another vote.

It’s not my favorite REM song, probably because I don’t understand all the political lyrics. But I do understand the prescient lyrics at the end of the song that may be a glimpse into life in a Republican-controlled House the next two years.

“Exhuming McCarthy (Meet me at the book burning)
Exhuming McCarthy (Meet me at the book burning)”

Contemplating Loss & Gain

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 1 Comment

Our family suffered a loss this past week as my wife’s oldest sister passed away at the beginning of the week. I was not much in the mood for posting funny stuff this week, but I did learn just a bit about losses and gains in life.

Of course, our biggest loss was my sister-in-law. She had been in hospice care for months, so her passing was not unexpected. But I gained some perspective as to how much of an impact she had on people’s lives. She had lived in an assisted-living facility for the past 15 years due to numerous health conditions. I didn’t think she could have much of an influence on other’s lives, but I was so wrong. One of the other residents came to visit her while I was there. The resident told me how she much she will miss my sister-in-law and how she was her best friend. Everyone matters and has value. Sometimes we just need to take a closer look.

We also lost the wonderful fall weather we have enjoyed. It’s cold now. Winter is on the way. And if you are a reader of this blog, you know how I feel about winter. If you don’t follow this blog, here’s a link to a poem about winter.

So, what do I gain?

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Halloween Hijinks

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I hope you all had a fun Halloween. We started celebrating the scary holiday by attending Halloweensteen, a Bruce Springsteen tribute concert performed annually by Chicago native singer/songwriter Michael McDermott. It appears to be a beloved Chicago tradition that I had never heard of before with many repeat attendees. Now I know why. The show exceeded our expectations. There’s a big difference between a bunch of local musicians forming a tribute band to mimic an artist’s music and a professional musician like McDermott assembling other professional musicians to interpret and perform another professional’s songs.

Our seats were outstanding. The last time my wife and I were at the excellent and classy Park West concert hall, we stood and swayed through a show by Brit pop-rocker Dave Edmunds. However, my wife has knee issues worse than me, so I called ahead to check and see if we could be guaranteed seats. Well, not only were we provided seats, but they were just off to the side of the stage on a padded bench in a handicappped section. We had a great view.

There was a bit of a problem as drinking progressed at the 2+ hour show. I’ll explain.

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Mite Be Funny #280 – Remembering Roe

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I tried. I had a 3 panel Mite Be Funny cartoon about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe ready to publish yesterday. Was it funny? Well, it was about as funny as any Mite Be Funny cartoon, which isn’t saying much. But it definitely had more humor than the somber Flies On Washington Walls cartoon about Roe that I recently published.

I just couldn’t bring myself to push the Publish button. So, I rewrote it into a single panel cartoon about Clarence & Ginni Thomas. Once again, I couldn’t publish. I just can’t bring myself to associate the overthrow of Roe with any semblance of humor. Humor and overturning Roe don’t fit for me. I can’t do it.

We have too many family & friends whose lives will be altered through this Roe reversal, and it’s not all about getting an abortion. For example, did you realize that in the process of IVF (in vitro fertilization), discarded fertilized eggs may be considered to have been aborted? And SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas made it clear that they may not stop at Roe. Protection for same sex marriage, LGBTQ rights, and even contraception are all on the chopping block, so to speak. Will I be branded a criminal someday because I have a vasectomy?

Living in Illinois, we are safe for now. We have a strong pro-choice Democrat as governor and Democrat-controlled legislatures. But hold on. Everyone is up for election in less than 5 months. Illinois has a history of electing Republican governors. Ugh! Thanks, downstate Republican rubes. My focus for the November elections will be to flip our local Illinois State House seat blue. Click HERE for the voting record of Republican incumbent Dan Ugaste. Yuck. At least he voted against puppy mills. Our just-announced Democratic candidate is a female pro-choice microbiologist! She didn’t go through our primary election process, so the Democratic Party will have to slate her which will involve getting her a lot of signatures. We will.

The bottom line is that we got an excellent local candidate for IL State House in November, and you did not get a Mite Be Funny cartoon yesterday. Everyone wins.

Let Lying Trumpers Lie

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I’ve gone back and forth with friends debating whether or not we should make an attempt to reason with our relatives and friends who are hardcore MAGA Trumpers. Sure, we want our loved ones to see the error of their ways, but I have become convinced that trying to sway them is a lost cause. To support my argument, I present this video from a couple days ago.

Your eyes may have glazed over just a bit at the falsehoods flung around like feces in the monkey house at the zoo. Sounds like something crazy Aunt Jane or Uncle Joe at the holidays would say after getting into the spiked eggnog, but it perfectly supports why trying to show them their thinking is flawed is futile. First, take a look at the sheer volume of nonsense this woman spouted along with the truth listed underneath each.

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It’s a Family Affair

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

No, the title is not referring to Donald Trump’s creepy obsession with Ivanka.

Come on, who says that about their own child? I know I wouldn’t say that about any of my 3 daughters … except for the super-hot one!

All kidding aside (bad idea for a humor blog), I always wondered why Trump never attempted dating a Kennedy (and more importantly, all the Kennedy money) during the times he was between marriages. Now I think I know.

I was as perplexed as most everyone else as to why people gathered in Dallas at Dealey Plaza the other day waiting for JFK Jr to return. There were hundreds there from all over the country. Take a look.

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Would You Like Math With Your Burger?

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

A question has confounded me for the last 5 years. Can people really be dumb enough to support Donald Trump? I think I have my answer, thanks to a hamburger, which seems appropriate when speaking of Trump. Or, perhaps I should say hamberder. In case you have forgotten, click this link for a reminder of hamberder heaven.

Ah, memories. Anyway, the burger of which I speak is on the menu of a chain in the US called A&W, a franchise more famous for their root beer, which is undeniably awesome. There aren’t many A&W locations in Chicagoland, but there happens to be one about 15 minutes due south of my house. I rarely pass by without getting a root beer float.

It was the story of an A&W 1/3 pound burger meant to compete with the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s that gave me the answer to the Trump dilemma. I wasn’t familiar with the story until I saw this new A&W commercial.

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Taking the Temperature of the 2020 Election

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

This is a big story, if true.

This story about thermometers throwing the election to Joe Biden got the investigative team at Jim Flanigan Looks at the World whipped into a fever pitch. I took the temperature of the team on this subject. Opinions were running hot and cold over whether we should delve behind the facts to generate reckless stories full of conjecture and speculation. My mercurial views were ignored, and cooler heads prevailed.

Fresh out of temperature references, we assigned our top two Jim Flanigan Looks at the World investigative reporters to the story.

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Post-Election Disappointment

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I attended my first monthly meeting as an elected Township Trustee. I have been somewhat disappointed. While I discovered that I now have an official nameplate which is very nice, I learned that I will NOT be receiving any of the following:

  • Badge
  • Uniform
  • Cap
  • Gun

The disappointment is hard to hide, so I don’t even try. I openly weeped through most of the monthly meeting. But then, my spirits were lifted when this arrived for me …

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Weight, Hair, & Election Losses

~ Jim Flanigan

I normally like to wait a day or two after the end of the month to announce my weight loss for the month. I check my weight for several days in a row before and after the last day of the month to verify that I actually did lose weight that month. But here we are a week into May, and I’m still not sure. My weight bounced around like a ping pong ball at a college fraternity beer pong tournament. Up several pounds one day and down a pound the next. A week into May, and about the only statement I am comfortable making is that I didn’t lose any weight. I’m still staring at losing 10 pounds by the end of warm weather in the fall.

My weight loss plan was at a serious disadvantage in April with Easter coming early in the month. My plan to deal with all the chocolate in the house at Easter was to eat it all as quickly as possible. Success!

Easter was quickly followed two days later by the local election that I lost but still won. Yes, third runner-up was enough to be elected. I felt like a kid at a rec league soccer tournament where everyone gets a trophy. But I think it’s official now that this came in the mail …

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I Lost But Still Won

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 6 Comments

That’s the problem with today’s world. I come in 4th place, but I still am considered a winner. It looks like my Third Runner Up finish is good enough to claim to be elected.

I may have been able to do better, but I think I lost some votes during the swimsuit portion of the election.

This is an unexpected win for me, and I know my opponents did not expect it. They were appalled that anyone dare run against them. They make me think of this line I like from Patrick Kane of the Chicago Black Hawks.

To those who may think I don’t deserve to win, am not qualified, didn’t campaign fairly, or maybe even rigged the election, all I can say is, “That’s democracy, baby!”

Election Drive

~ Jim Flanigan

With my local election just 5 days away, I’m pulling out all the stops to gain votes. I added this to my car’s rear window …

I think it may be too subtle. If we learned anything from Trump supporters, it was to go big or go home. Personally, I always hoped they’d go home and stay home. If mine wasn’t a leased vehicle, I would be inclined to go all in with something like this …

Of course, with the Flanigan name rather than Trump on it. But I can’t afford to own a nice truck like that. This would likely be about the best I could pay for …

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