Con Flambers

@themagicconch19

Tempered optimist. Wisconsin politics and other things. Certified EMT. Opinions are mine and mine alone. He/him Blog doing deep dives on politics and history here - .

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Con Flambers@themagicconch19· 14d

You know how people do that "bingo card" meme but are LIARS and don't actually have a bingo card? Well, here's my "bingo card" of sorts for the governor's debate tonight.

A screenshot of a notepad document that reads, "Some things I expect to hear at the Dem debate for governor of Wisconsin (7/28/26):
-Barnes mentioning that he's the son of a public school teacher and a third shift factory worker
-Hong saying, "We make better possible"
-Crowley talking about how he had to work with whoever he could as county executive of Milwaukee County
-Hong being attacked for having bad polls against Tiffany
-Barnes mentioning he's the best candidate against Tiffany
-Hong talking about socialism/being asked about socialism
-Another Democrat bringing up Hong's past comments about wanting to abolish the police and prisons
-Hong mentioning her campaign's organizing efforts/500,000 door goal
-Crowley being asked about why he came back to the race after leaving"

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· 15d

Odysseyheads when the words, "In a time of apparent magic..." appear on the screen at the start of the movie

The Wojak meme of the guy with his mouth wide open in shock and excitement.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· 22d

I'm saying this as someone who thinks Tom Tiffany is a weak candidate for the Republicans, but if you think sounding folksy in between your conspiracy theorizing doesn't have appeal to Wisconsinites, let us remember that this man exists.

A picture of Ron Johnson, Wisconsin's senior senator.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· 23d

This summarizes BlueSky pretty well, I think

A picture of BlueSky's trending tab, showing the following topics trending:

1. AI Regulations
2. Jimothy
3. Spain
4. Troy Jackson
5. Argentina

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Jun 20

I do not think Israel has the right to destroy Lebanon

The "Freedom of Speech" painting by Norman Rockwell, which has become an internet meme. A man is standing up at a town hall to speak his opinion as other seated attendees look on.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Jun 19

It's interesting how little this election gets talked about in the discourse of, "does running a progressive Democrat guarantee you wins in purple states?" Russ Feingold was pretty much the exact type of politician so many people insist we need more of and he got trounced by *Ron Johnson.*

2016 US Senate election of Ron Johnson versus Russ Feingold, where Ron Johnson won 50.17% of the vote to Russ Feingold's 46.81% of the vote. Johnson won 1,479,471 votes to Feingold's 1,380,335 votes.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Jun 13

I wrote this in January of 2025 about Elon Musk's grave threat to democracy - note too that Elon Musk's Twitter already had been implicated in inflaming racist violence. Also, subscribe if you want more writing like this. Here's the full article link: delving-deeper.ghost.io/shall-the-pe...

An excerpt from my blog Delving Deeper which reads, "But even if Musk and Trump do part ways, that won't change the fact that Musk represents perhaps the greatest threat to democracy not just in the United States, but in the world over. His website is regularly used by fascists to spread lies and misinformation - it played a critical role in feeding xenophobic riots by fascists in the UK last summer. Musk might seem just like an annoying loser, and he may well be that, but annoying losers paired with ungodly sums of money can still pose a formidable threat."

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· May 24

An image with a subway sandwich in the background, with the text, "Dudes be like, 'Subway sucks,' my brother in Christ you made the sandwich."

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· May 24

The attack by Germany's Condor Legion on the Basque town of Guernica was the most infamous episode of the war, and true to form, the fascists denied that they ever had anything to do with it, blaming it on the Republic or the Basques themselves. You may recognize the name "Guernica" from this:

Pablo Picasso's 1937 painting "Guernica," which depicts the aftermath of German bombing of a Basque village. The painting shows a harrowing, grotesque scene of chaos: dismembered bodies, frightened animals, and screaming, distraught people. It is one of the most famous paintings ever.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· May 22

Fellas... is this good? First time Trump's disapproval has been at 60% solid in the FiftyPlusOne aggregator. 🤷

A screenshot from the polling website FiftyPlusOne showing Trump at 60.0% disapproval to 36.5% approval as of May 21st, 2026.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· May 8

I still think about "Park the Shark" from The Pitt. Guy's on screen for 5 minutes and he really makes an impression. I'd want a jerk like this taking care of me for sure

The orthopedic surgeon Dr. Park "The Shark" from season 2 of The Pitt.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Apr 21

I think this meme remains the most accurate visual summary of the last ~18 months that I have ever seen. Should put it in history books of this period.

The meme shows a geographic outline of the US stabbing itself. The US has a stupid expression on its face as it stabs itself with two swords, it is also covered in blood. An outline of China looks on studiously, while an outline Europe looks on in shock and concern.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Apr 13

Okay looking at this blasphemous AI slop in more detail, the guy on the far left... looks a lot like my congressman (Derrick Van Orden)? I bet he's honored to be featured by Dear Leader. 🙏 Pic for reference

A picture of Derrick Van Orden, a guy with a ball cap with an American flag on it, and who has a white beard, with some other dude on the grounds of the Capitol during January 6th, 2021.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Apr 8

It cometh. Polls are now closed in Wisconsin. Here we go.

A screenshot of a Google sheet that says, "Wisconsin benchmarks spreadsheet."

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Apr 8

This is kind of a funny one - Elm Grove is a small suburb in Waukesha Co that is also one of the richest communities in WI. My stepdad calls the people who shifted their votes here "Chamber of Commerce Republicans" - I think it fits. I added 2012 for a wider view. A 37 point shift left since '12.

A table showing presidential election results for Elm Grove, Wisconsin. The table reads: Elm Grove, Wisconsin
Dem% Rep % Dem margin
2012 31.6 67.7 -36.1
2016 39.9 53.4 -13.5
2020 47.6 50.5 -2.9
2024 49.7 48.6 1.1

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Apr 8

(fixed, previous table had errors) Here's some recent presidential election results from Brookfield and Waukesha City. These places have been huge drivers of Waukesha County becoming less red. Brookfield's shift feels esp large - it used to regularly give Reps ~70% of the vote.

A table of presidential election results from Brookfield and Waukesha, Wisconsin. The table reads:
Brookfield, Wisconsin Waukesha, Wisconsin
Dem % Rep % Dem margin Dem % Rep % Dem margin
2016 37.0 56.5 -19.5 2016 40.8 51.1 -10.3
2020 45.0 53.5 -8.5 2020 46.2 51.6 -5.4
2024 46.1 51.4 -5.3 2024 46.2 52.0 -5.8

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Apr 3

Literally the first guy that came to mind here

Sean Penn as the villainous and cruel Colonel Lockjaw in the movie One Battle After Another.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Mar 31

I dunno guys, maybe it's just me, but I don't think people who randomly show up in my mentions to say things like this are people we should treat as anything other than bad faith weirdos.

Some deranged weirdo in my replies saying that he proudly voted for Trump in 2016, then Green in 2020 and 2024. He punctuates his post with, "Come at me #BlueMaga IDGAF about your hateful, unprincipled, binary thinking cult of LOSERS"

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Mar 30

Elon Musk spent ~$50 million to buy our supreme court a year ago and this was the outcome. Let's not flatter this Nazi loser for one second by thinking that his blood money makes him some unbeatable god.

A Wikipedia screenshot of the 2025 supreme court election in Wisconsin, showing Wisconsin's 72 counties and which candidate won each. Liberal candidate Susan Crawford got 55.02% of the vote to Musk-backed conservative Brad Schimel's 44.92%, or 1,301,137 votes to 1,062,330 votes.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Mar 22

True story: ~60% of the ads for Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia's governor election last year were anti-trans dreck. Crazy to think about how they devoted that much of their finite resources to fearmongering. Anyway, pic related. Walloped!

A screenshot from Wikipedia showing Democrat Abigail Spanberger's victory in the 2025 Virginia governor's race. It shows her receiving 57.58% of the vote to Republican Winsome Earle-Sears' 42.2%. She received 1,976,857 votes to Sears' 1,449,586 votes. A total walloping.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Mar 7

A headline from CNN the reads, "Analysis suggests US was responsible for deadly strike on Iranian elementary school."

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Mar 6

Madison is arguing that while voting might be a right, absentee voting in particular is a *privilege* - not a right. A remarkable claim, but also... Madison literally made a huge show of protesting the-then conservative Wisconsin supreme court majority banning ballot boxes in 2022. See below. (2/4)

A closed ballot dropbox from 2022 with a quote from Sojourner Truth on it. The quote reads, "Truth is powerful and will prevail."

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Feb 26

People always are talking about vote share... but not goat share... really makes ya think

A goat with a brown coat standing on a tree stump, being distinctly goatish.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Feb 25

A screenshot of Paul Dano as The Riddler from The Batman (2022). In large yellow text is the caption, "Does he know?"

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Feb 19

Reading the endorsement lists for Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign is a trip. Orval Faubus - the segregationist governor of Arkansas who sparked the Little Rock crisis of 1957 - AND Bernie Sanders endorsed him?

An endorsement list for Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign, screenshotted from Wikipedia. It includes Orvaul Faubus, the former segregationist governor of Arkansas, and Bernie Sanders, the then-mayor of Burlington, Vermont. It also includes Casey Kasem, Harold Washington, and Paul Wellstone.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Feb 8

I'm not really kidding here - he is way ahead of the competition. He's raised over $60 million.

A screenshot from the FEC website showing fundraising totals for various Senate candidates. Jon Ossoff, a Democratic senator from Georgia, has raised almost $64 million, far more than any other senator or Senate candidate. Cory Booker is in a distant 2nd at just over $30 million.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Jan 31

At the end of Judge Fred Biery's decision is a picture of Liam Ramos being arrested, clad in his now-iconic bunny hat. The Bible verses? Matthew 19:14, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." John 11:35 - "Jesus wept."

A screenshot of Judge Fred Biery's signature at the end of his decision, ordering the release of Liam Ramos and his father. Attached is a picture of Liam Ramos being arrested by ICE, clad in his now-iconic bunny hat. The picture is credited to a bystander, and 2 Bible verses are shown below the picture - Matthew 19:14, John 11:35. The verses not actually directly quoted, just alluded to, so it is left to the reader to look them up for themself.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Jan 6

My summary of political developments in Minnesota today, presented in the (perhaps unfortunately so) modern visual language of the internet: a meme.

A meme of a man laughing and smiling in the first frame, with the caption, "Minnesota Republicans when Tim Walz drops out of the Minnesota governor's race."

In the second, he looks to be in a mixture of despair and shock. The caption for this frame reads, "Minnesota Republicans when they realize they're now running against Amy Klobuchar."

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Dec 31

AW YEAH BABY! HAPPY NEW YEAR. Killing Jad with just 7 hp left.... (this is from Old School RuneScape and thus will be indiscernible to 95% of my followers, but I had to post it somewhere)

A screenshot from the game Old School RuneScape. A player in ranged gear with a ranged prayer activated has just defeated the level 702 boss Tztok-Jad. The player had only 7 hp left, and so he was on the cusp of dying before he triumphed.

Con Flambers@themagicconch19· Dec 29

One of my best 2025 accomplishments was doing this for my girlfriend 🫧