Con Flambers
@themagicconch19.bsky.social
Wisconsin politics and other things. Certified EMT. Opinions are mine and mine alone. He/him
Blog doing deep dives on politics and history here - https://delving-deeper.ghost.io.
Blog doing deep dives on politics and history here - https://delving-deeper.ghost.io.
Pinned
Con Flambers
@themagicconch19.bsky.social
· Jun 22
I saw a raccoon and a deer chowing down on some foliage on the side of the road while driving home tonight... this is what solidarity looks like...
Up late doing some reading about the Vietnam War, as one does. And man, the more you read about this war, the more you realize just how not a single side in it even pretended to abide by the laws of war
February 9, 2026 at 8:09 AM
Up late doing some reading about the Vietnam War, as one does. And man, the more you read about this war, the more you realize just how not a single side in it even pretended to abide by the laws of war
Reposted by Con Flambers
people not in MN cannot comprehend how hating ICE is now a core cultural component of being Minnesotan. it’s babe the big blue ox, loons, hot dish, and ICE OUT NOW
Gift shop in the Minneapolis airport is selling "ICE OUT of St. Paul" posters next to cute onesies and fridge magnets.
February 9, 2026 at 1:51 AM
people not in MN cannot comprehend how hating ICE is now a core cultural component of being Minnesotan. it’s babe the big blue ox, loons, hot dish, and ICE OUT NOW
Reposted by Con Flambers
My favorite Super Bowl memory is still when Elon Musk was at the 2023 game in Arizona and panicked about his Eagles tweet getting less engagement than Joe Biden's. He then flew immediately to Twitter's San Francisco office to start emergency meetings to fix the site's algorithm.
February 9, 2026 at 3:40 AM
My favorite Super Bowl memory is still when Elon Musk was at the 2023 game in Arizona and panicked about his Eagles tweet getting less engagement than Joe Biden's. He then flew immediately to Twitter's San Francisco office to start emergency meetings to fix the site's algorithm.
Reposted by Con Flambers
Kid Rock: "god bless the stars and stripes, I love my truck almost as much as Donny's dumptruck" or some shit idk
Bad Bunny:
Bad Bunny:
February 9, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Kid Rock: "god bless the stars and stripes, I love my truck almost as much as Donny's dumptruck" or some shit idk
Bad Bunny:
Bad Bunny:
Also gotta say how funny it is how it beat Melania, a movie with massive oligarch money and explicit regime backing behind it. And it did so with a self-financed shoestring budget of $3 million. Mark Fischbach: he has the sauce.
Saw Iron Lung tonight.
My review, spoiler-free: if you like Markiplier and/or the movie The Lighthouse or movies like it... you'll (probably) like this movie.
My review, spoiler-free: if you like Markiplier and/or the movie The Lighthouse or movies like it... you'll (probably) like this movie.
February 9, 2026 at 3:37 AM
Also gotta say how funny it is how it beat Melania, a movie with massive oligarch money and explicit regime backing behind it. And it did so with a self-financed shoestring budget of $3 million. Mark Fischbach: he has the sauce.
Saw Iron Lung tonight.
My review, spoiler-free: if you like Markiplier and/or the movie The Lighthouse or movies like it... you'll (probably) like this movie.
My review, spoiler-free: if you like Markiplier and/or the movie The Lighthouse or movies like it... you'll (probably) like this movie.
February 9, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Saw Iron Lung tonight.
My review, spoiler-free: if you like Markiplier and/or the movie The Lighthouse or movies like it... you'll (probably) like this movie.
My review, spoiler-free: if you like Markiplier and/or the movie The Lighthouse or movies like it... you'll (probably) like this movie.
Said it before, but... "42% of consumers don't know potato chips come from potatoes" is something I file under, "statistics that aren't explicitly about electoral politics that nevertheless show why Trump won again."
Some context from that Lays ad.
People are very stupid and don’t realize that potato chips are literally made out of potatoes.
That’s why they were parading around a potato in that ad like it’s the fucking Rosetta Stone.
People are very stupid and don’t realize that potato chips are literally made out of potatoes.
That’s why they were parading around a potato in that ad like it’s the fucking Rosetta Stone.
Lay’s revamps to make clear that chips are made from potatoes | Capital Press
Lay's will revamp its brand after 42% of consumers didn't know their potato chips come from potatoes.
capitalpress.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Said it before, but... "42% of consumers don't know potato chips come from potatoes" is something I file under, "statistics that aren't explicitly about electoral politics that nevertheless show why Trump won again."
A thought: I think there's going to be a pretty strong effort by some to downplay what we knew about Trump's history of sexual assault and abusing women before the Epstein stuff got more oxygen, in order to save face for supporting a man who's been so openly, baldly predatory.
February 8, 2026 at 11:56 PM
A thought: I think there's going to be a pretty strong effort by some to downplay what we knew about Trump's history of sexual assault and abusing women before the Epstein stuff got more oxygen, in order to save face for supporting a man who's been so openly, baldly predatory.
Found out my magnificent girlfriend, who is a baller and frankly also a bombshell, has been calling her representatives several times a week for a while now. She's showing me up!
February 8, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Found out my magnificent girlfriend, who is a baller and frankly also a bombshell, has been calling her representatives several times a week for a while now. She's showing me up!
Reposted by Con Flambers
"Destroying the concept of truth" is why I am so rabidly opposed to photorealistic generative AI in particular (but neutral on some other uses). I should not have to wonder if a photo or video of some event is real. Yes, manipulation existed before, but it was difficult and thus relatively rare.
February 8, 2026 at 11:41 PM
"Destroying the concept of truth" is why I am so rabidly opposed to photorealistic generative AI in particular (but neutral on some other uses). I should not have to wonder if a photo or video of some event is real. Yes, manipulation existed before, but it was difficult and thus relatively rare.
Ever since I heard the US as it currently stands right now described as "the Russia of North America" I cannot get it out of my head, because it's so true lol
February 8, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Ever since I heard the US as it currently stands right now described as "the Russia of North America" I cannot get it out of my head, because it's so true lol
Finding out that Jack Schlossberg is one of many Dems running for NY-12 (district Jerry Nadler's retiring from) and I'm like... do we really need another Kennedy in office?
Then I read about the district and learned that it's got the highest per capita income in the US. Maybe he fits after all.
Then I read about the district and learned that it's got the highest per capita income in the US. Maybe he fits after all.
February 8, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Finding out that Jack Schlossberg is one of many Dems running for NY-12 (district Jerry Nadler's retiring from) and I'm like... do we really need another Kennedy in office?
Then I read about the district and learned that it's got the highest per capita income in the US. Maybe he fits after all.
Then I read about the district and learned that it's got the highest per capita income in the US. Maybe he fits after all.
Reposted by Con Flambers
look forward to watching the super bowl of bsky: the fight to determine which one is the lib team and which one is the con team so everyone knows if their rooting interests are morally good or not
February 8, 2026 at 10:34 PM
look forward to watching the super bowl of bsky: the fight to determine which one is the lib team and which one is the con team so everyone knows if their rooting interests are morally good or not
Reposted by Con Flambers
Here’s the situation in the Twin Cities:
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
February 8, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Here’s the situation in the Twin Cities:
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
Random Bovino-style tear-gassing: Way down
Relentless persecution of immigrants: Unchanged
Thuggish violence against observers: Way up
Reposted by Con Flambers
Personally, I think the ICE terror-surge alone is impeachable. If Noem can be impeached for it, no reason Trump can't be. It also crystallizes things nicely: the admin is using immigration enforcement as a pretext to crush dissent, target areas that oppose it politically, and undermine democracy.
February 6, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Personally, I think the ICE terror-surge alone is impeachable. If Noem can be impeached for it, no reason Trump can't be. It also crystallizes things nicely: the admin is using immigration enforcement as a pretext to crush dissent, target areas that oppose it politically, and undermine democracy.
Reposted by Con Flambers
Final thought before bed: I do not actually think it's a question of whether Trump will be impeached again. He will be. It's a question of *what* it will be for, amid the smorgasbord of criminality and atrocities that this admin has been engaging in.
February 6, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Final thought before bed: I do not actually think it's a question of whether Trump will be impeached again. He will be. It's a question of *what* it will be for, amid the smorgasbord of criminality and atrocities that this admin has been engaging in.
Reposted by Con Flambers
This is in part why I don't necessarily think the divide in the US is strictly between doctrinaire Zionism and anti-Zionism, though these can be useful self sorting mechanisms, but between those who simply think Israel *has the right* to rule over Palestinians and those who do not.
The underlying political consensus prior to Oct 2023 in the US was that Palestine was an internal issue which the Israelis were entitled to managing for the indefinite future. This was the view of all in DC but literally just a handful. The divide was on the *preference* for *how* Israel managed it.
Most of the time whether implicitly or explicitly what is being said is that there was a ceasefire for Israeli Jews.
February 8, 2026 at 5:57 PM
This is in part why I don't necessarily think the divide in the US is strictly between doctrinaire Zionism and anti-Zionism, though these can be useful self sorting mechanisms, but between those who simply think Israel *has the right* to rule over Palestinians and those who do not.
Reposted by Con Flambers
It’s incredibly frustrating to see people spread conspiracies that Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre “didn’t really kill herself.” It ignores her allegations of domestic abuse against her husband before she did, actually, die by suicide. It’s a way to minimize how pervasive abuse really is
February 8, 2026 at 5:25 PM
It’s incredibly frustrating to see people spread conspiracies that Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre “didn’t really kill herself.” It ignores her allegations of domestic abuse against her husband before she did, actually, die by suicide. It’s a way to minimize how pervasive abuse really is
Reposted by Con Flambers
Feel like there has been a lot of “conspiracy theorists were right” but what actually happened was victims were and that’s much harder to accept for most people
This conspiratorial thinking is actually the easy way out that ignores addressing real, solvable problems that contribute to victim’s deaths. It ignores failures of the justice system, not fictional shadowy figures and assassins, to keep her safe. It ignores how she was punished by the courts
February 8, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Feel like there has been a lot of “conspiracy theorists were right” but what actually happened was victims were and that’s much harder to accept for most people
Reposted by Con Flambers
I want to go back to this: this is a genuinely crazy thing to say when the latest polling indicates a supermajority of the party wants Abolish
You have been handed political capital on a silver platter, and you're telling us "no thank you."
You're telling us "I know ball" and holding up a cube
You have been handed political capital on a silver platter, and you're telling us "no thank you."
You're telling us "I know ball" and holding up a cube
“I would rather you vote for what is morally correct,” Davidson said.
“Don’t talk to me about my own morality,” DeLauro shot back.
“Don’t tell your constituents what they can and can’t talk to you about,” replied Rev. Nathan Empsall. “What you are voting for is not moral.”
“Don’t talk to me about my own morality,” DeLauro shot back.
“Don’t tell your constituents what they can and can’t talk to you about,” replied Rev. Nathan Empsall. “What you are voting for is not moral.”
DeLauro to pressing clergy: 'I will not vote to abolish ICE'
The Connecticut U.S. representative found herself at odds with faith leaders.
www.ctpublic.org
February 7, 2026 at 12:39 PM
I want to go back to this: this is a genuinely crazy thing to say when the latest polling indicates a supermajority of the party wants Abolish
You have been handed political capital on a silver platter, and you're telling us "no thank you."
You're telling us "I know ball" and holding up a cube
You have been handed political capital on a silver platter, and you're telling us "no thank you."
You're telling us "I know ball" and holding up a cube
Reposted by Con Flambers
RESULT: Democrat Chasity Martinez wins a special election for a legislative seat in Louisiana, 62% to 38%.
This was a district that Trump carried by 13% last year, so a big overperformance by Dems, but the seat was already Dem-held.
This was a district that Trump carried by 13% last year, so a big overperformance by Dems, but the seat was already Dem-held.
February 8, 2026 at 3:14 AM
RESULT: Democrat Chasity Martinez wins a special election for a legislative seat in Louisiana, 62% to 38%.
This was a district that Trump carried by 13% last year, so a big overperformance by Dems, but the seat was already Dem-held.
This was a district that Trump carried by 13% last year, so a big overperformance by Dems, but the seat was already Dem-held.
Still think this holds up, as we see Democrats post another insane overperformance tonight.
In a sense, it's like an abusive relationship: I think this admin is going to get more dangerous as it realizes the apex of its power is ending, and that its blank checks will run out soon.
In a sense, it's like an abusive relationship: I think this admin is going to get more dangerous as it realizes the apex of its power is ending, and that its blank checks will run out soon.
I come back to this point: all signs point to the GOP getting annihilated next year. That's not really the issue. The issue is the massive amount of damage they're doing while they still have power.
February 8, 2026 at 5:52 AM
Still think this holds up, as we see Democrats post another insane overperformance tonight.
In a sense, it's like an abusive relationship: I think this admin is going to get more dangerous as it realizes the apex of its power is ending, and that its blank checks will run out soon.
In a sense, it's like an abusive relationship: I think this admin is going to get more dangerous as it realizes the apex of its power is ending, and that its blank checks will run out soon.
Reposted by Con Flambers
A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:
February 8, 2026 at 5:06 AM
A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:
Reposted by Con Flambers
If this man loses his organ because he was denied his anti-rejection meds, it’ll probably kill him AND will be a huge waste of a very precious resource that thousands of people are waiting on.
The disrespect for life is seeped down to their bones.
The disrespect for life is seeped down to their bones.
A man taken into custody in Rochester Thursday by federal immigration agents and now held at the Whipple Federal Building in the Twin Cities is a recent organ transplant recipient who is without his needed anti-rejection medication, state Rep. Kim Hicks tells MPR News.
Transplant recipient arrested by federal agents in Rochester needs medicine, state representative says
State Rep. Kim Hicks told MPR News she drove to the Whipple Federal Building near Ft. Snelling Thursday night to give the man his medication but authorities wouldn't take it without a doctor's note. S...
www.mprnews.org
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 PM
If this man loses his organ because he was denied his anti-rejection meds, it’ll probably kill him AND will be a huge waste of a very precious resource that thousands of people are waiting on.
The disrespect for life is seeped down to their bones.
The disrespect for life is seeped down to their bones.
At first I thought the Crockett campaign website blurb about "mental health fundingINSERT TEXT HERE" or whatever was a funny slip-up, and it is now being revealed to me by others doing some sleuthing that her entire website is a hot mess.
February 8, 2026 at 5:28 AM
At first I thought the Crockett campaign website blurb about "mental health fundingINSERT TEXT HERE" or whatever was a funny slip-up, and it is now being revealed to me by others doing some sleuthing that her entire website is a hot mess.