Tag: illinois

Is a Milton Berle Reference an Insult or Compliment?

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I got into a Twitter war yesterday over this post from right wing policy pushers @IllinoisPolicy.

Why did I choose to go to war over that? First, I don’t like @IllinoisPolicy. They just make shit up, which appears to be the MAGA Republican strategy these days. Throw lies at the wall and see what sticks or resonates with their base. I don’t have a problem with most of those numbers shown in that graphic, although I rarely use a paid parking garage (nobody outside of Chicago does), and I know I have saved waaaaaay more with grocery taxes suspended. What I have a problem with is that apparently the numbers weren’t adding up for them, so they threw in that mysterious “Permanent increases over 4 years” expense to make it look bad. That’s just utter nonsense. What does that even mean? They may as well have listed “Parmaflankerstein tax” at $2720.99.

So, I sprung into action to defend Illinois and our beloved Governor JB Pritzker, who doesn’t need my love or defense since he’s a billionaire but has been a great governor despite rolling in dough. I engaged. I defended. I went down the rabbit-hole with the crazies. But I kept my cool and tried to use facts. What did I get? So much anger from them. Why are they always so mad? How can someone go through life like that? And I got what might be a compliment or an insult. I’m not sure.

One of the Pritzker-haters came at me with this …

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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.

Evidence of the Decline of Western Civilization

~ Jim Flanigan ~ Leave a comment

I firmly believe that Western Civilization is on the decline. Not Northern or Southern, and maybe just some of Eastern, but definitely all of Western Civilization.

You want evidence?

Not good enough for you? Well …

Still not convinced? Fine, then take a look at this.

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420 Reasons JB is OK

~ Jim Flanigan

As a Democratic Precinct Committeeperson, I worked for the election of billionaire JB Pritzker as Governor of Illinois. He won. I received no monetary remuneration for my work, despite the whole billionaire thing. I did get some tickets to go see President Obama speak last week, courtesy of the JB Pritzker campaign.

GOTV Obama

It was a 3PM rally with doors opening at 1:30PM. I didn’t need to sit close. I figured I would stroll in about 2:55PM and sit in an upper deck seat. Nope. It was suggested to me that I best be in line at noon … in the cold … in the rain … with my 10 year old, because of this fine print …

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Tall Tales of Fact & Fantasy

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 1 Comment

I was really pleased with the name and logo I chose for my winless fantasy football team in my family’s league last week … Supreme Injustices.

Injustice crop

For this week, I wanted to feature Paul Manafort, especially after hearing that he made a court appearance sitting in a wheelchair in prison clothes while missing a shoe. When I think of Manafort in a wheelchair, I start wishing for this …

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The Proof is in Your Sticker

~ Jim Flanigan

I voted early in the Illinois primary. See, I have proof. I have a sticker.

Vote Early

I voted with my middle daughter, which I thought was kinda’ cool. I did tell her it was a crime if she didn’t take a sticker. She bought it!

It also felt weird, but good, to be voting with one of my kids. How did she get to be 21 and why do I still have a much younger daughter not even in double-digits yet in age? What felt even weirder was knowing that she voted for me.

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A History of the Word “Gubernatorial”

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 2 Comments

Where I live in Illinois, the race for Governor in 2018 is starting to heat up which typically means more politicians will be going to jail. A couple of months back, I saw Democratic candidate for Governor Chris Kennedy speak, and while blogging about it, pondered why gubernatorial is used rather than governal. There is fascinating history behind the word “gubernatorial” which I am happy to share with you in this essay.

The origins of the word “gubernatorial” can be traced back to the pre-Civil War Deep South. Back in those days (and still today in some southern states), educated people were mocked and ridiculed. Those literate types running for public office like governor were regularly called derogatory names. One of the most popular derogatory name thrown at candidates was “goober.”

At southern political rallies in the early 1800’s, one could always hear taunts of “hey you goober!” directed at the candidates. Southerners are not known for being long-winded, and as the 1800’s drew close to the mid-point, the “you” in “hey you goober” was combined with the “goober” part to create a single word taunt of “guber!”

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I Spent Last Evening With a Kennedy

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 1 Comment

In my youth, I would have wished to spend a pleasant evening with Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK.  I grew up with her, albeit at a distance geographically and socially. We were born 4 days apart. I felt bad when she lost her dad at a young age, and then I lost my dad shortly thereafter at a similarly young age. She was a major babe when I was a major dude and I majorly crushed on her for years. Oh, did I forget to mention that she was a wealthy Kennedy? That may have played a small role (or bank roll) in my feelings. But rather than Caroline, the Kennedy I spent last night with was …

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