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Alex Wenzel

@alexwenzel.bsky.social

1.8K followers 360 following 6K posts

Postdoc studying cancer. Academic unionist and transit enthusiast. Trying to make buses less invisible. TF2 Medic main. This account does not represent the positions or opinions of my employer or of my union. he/him

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · Sep 11

Critically important thread. In fact, I’m going to pin this quote post. Cut through all the noise and commentary and various overlapping mirror worlds that it’s easy to fall into, this is the core of what has always been happening, and what our options are.

Mira (SPOOKYNOUNS IN BIO) @thefreeradical.org · Sep 11

seeing a lot of takes alleging that kirk's death is what is specifically going to trigger a civil war.

and, no, i have to say as my official opinion as not only a politics journalist but someone whose been in leftist activist spaces for nearly a decade. it is not what will trigger it specifically 🧵

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 4h

A standard MTS 40ft bus seats around 30-35 people (60 with standing). Next time you’re completely stuck in traffic in San Diego, try to count how far ahead 35 cars is - if you can see that far.

Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 10h

👀 "An entire lane of solo drivers on Denny Way between Seattle Center and I-4 can fit into one articulated Route 8 bus, and a dedicated transit lane would allow that bus to be over four times faster than driving along this section"

Cars just don't scale well, especially in dense cities.

200 people in different modes on 2nd ave demonstration

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 8h

Yeah, that is a tear gas canister being fired toward the retreating couple holding the baby

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 9h

The official government account for DHS appears to be run by far-right trolls deliberately trying to provoke a response by using a term openly associated with ethnic cleansing. They will attack anyone who points this out and express faux outrage at the suggestion. They know what they are doing.

Remigration Wikipedia Page.

Not to be confused with Return migration.
Remigration is an originally European far-right proposal of ethnic cleansing via the mass deportation of non-white immigrants and their descendants, sometimes including those born in Europe, to their place of racial ancestry.
It is popular especially within the Identitarian movement. Some proponents of remigration suggest excluding some persons with non-European background from such a mass deportation, based on a varyingly defined degree of assimilation into European culture.

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RoseMarie @rosesbloom24.bsky.social · 12h

The E.P.A. canceled a $20 million flood protection grant to Alaska months before a remote village was inundated.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 10h

To put things in terms an economist like Bhattacharya would understand, if the change of Presidents is immediately followed by more workers in one industry being laid off each subsequent month than in the entire previous Presidency, is the President pro- or anti- that industry?

Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 10h

Anyone who normalized or defended this guy was normalizing and defending a MAGA propagandist.

Bravo. 🧵

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 10h

This is the shift into a general purpose secret police. Their goal here is to feed their base’s racist fantasies of subjugating cities. There is no amount of economic harm the regime can cause that will prevent those people from voting for them as long as they get to see this every day.

The TRiiBE @thetriibe.com · 14h

UPDATE — Multiple witness videos today show an older white federal agent straddling a young Black man on the ground outside of a Walgreens on Chicago’s Southeast Side.

This is a developing story.

thetriibe.com/2025/10/fede...

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 13h

I'm not joking or exaggerating, that database of chat logs tied to photo IDs will eventually leak or be hacked, and it will change the course of history for the worse in horrific ways we can't even imagine.

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 14h

Great business model! They have to turn a profit somewhere, right? Get the audience (of lonely and poorly socialized males) addicted on an investor-subsidized product (of personalized porn) and then, slowly but inevitably, turn up the cost.

The Verge @theverge.com · 17h

Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon sext with verified adults

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 13h

Just saying that GenA/GenZ didn't invent this form of brainrot.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 13h

No room for me to criticize, I spent my first four years as an adult in a college marching band where 90% of our culture involved finding meaning in appearances of the number 49 in random places. Eight years later, my random seed is always 49 and server ports are always 49494.

Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 1d

Middle school teachers should be paid a heck of a lot more.

The Numbers Six and Seven Are Making Life Hell for Math Teachers

‘Six seven’ sends teens into a frenzy that schools have been powerless to stop. ‘It’s like throwing catnip at cats.’

www.wsj.com

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 13h

Don't know how much it says or doesn't say that the White House allowed this, but worth noting.

Atlanta News First @atlantanewsfirst.com · 14h

DeKalb County police officer killed in CDC shooting awarded Purple Heart, Medal of Honor

The Purple Heart is awarded to those hurt or killed in action, while the Medal of Honor is the country’s highest award for military valor.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 15h

College Young Republican groups have been like this for a long time. College Republicans invited Charles Murray when I was an undergrad in 2016. It worked because liberal media repeatedly came to their defense when college admins or communities pushed back even slightly against their overt racism.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 17h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 17h

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 17h

Two current principles of concern-troll fascism:

1. RFK Jr just wants to get rid of all the sugary processed food.

2. We should all start drinking energy drinks to help Trump win his trade war.

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 19h

Tariffs have rapidly increased the price of coffee—a drink with almost no nutritional value and lots of functional substitutes. Yet coffee may also be the one thing Americans can’t live without, @elcush.bsky.social writes:

The Drink That Americans Won’t Give Up Without a Fight

Coffee has almost no nutritional value and lots of substitutes. It’s also, apparently, too important to lose.

bit.ly

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 18h

It’s important to understand what someone like Russel Vought is saying when he terminates the entire CDC IRB. It’s a statement that there should be no limits on the ways a marginalized person’s bodily integrity can be violated, and he knows that.

Formal review procedures for institutional human subject studies were originally developed in direct response to research abuses in the 20th century.
Among the most notorious of these abuses were the experiments of Nazi physicians, which became a focus of the post-World War II Doctors' Trial, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a long-term project conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S.
Public Health Service, and numerous human radiation experiments conducted during the Cold War. Other controversial U.S. projects undertaken during this era include the Milgram obedience experiment, the Stanford prison experiment, and Project MKULTRA, a series of classified mind control studies organized by the CIA.
The result of these abuses was the National Research Act of 1974 and the development of the Belmont Report, which outlined the primary ethical principles in human subjects review; these include
"respect for persons", "beneficence", and "justice".
An IRB may approve only research for which the risks to subjects are balanced by potential benefits to society, and for which the selection of subjects presents a fair or just distribution of risks and benefits to eligible participants. A bona fide process for obtaining informed consent from participants is also generally needed. However, this requirement may be waived in certain circumstances - for example, when the risk of harm to participants is clearlv minimal.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 19h

The NIH is arguably the only good thing America has done for humanity in its entire existence, and according to its current leadership, government actions like this are the reason it has to be destroyed.

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 19h

I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?

Is it...requesting content moderation?

Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago.
The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 19h

Build decentralized human networks using encrypted channels. Your social media page will be taken down if it is effective. Your app will be taken down if it is effective. There is no path to safety via the clear corporate internet.

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 19h

I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?

Is it...requesting content moderation?

Reposted by Alex Wenzel

Jim Daley @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social · 20h

NEW: The People’s Law Office is representing Debbie Brockman, the WGN producer who was detained by feds.

“Ms. Brockman and her legal team adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone. Rather, Ms. Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work.”

Statement on Behalf of Debbie Brockman, WGN
Employee Assaulted by Federal Agents

Debbie Brockman, the WGN employee who was physically attacked and arrested in Chicago, Illinois by federal agents on October 10, 2025, would like to provide the following information to clarify any misunderstandings or misrepresentations that have been previously reported.

First off, Ms. Brockman wishes to clarify that at the time of this incident she was not acting in any professional capacity as an employee of WGN. During the morning hours this past Friday, Ms. Brockman was walking to the bus stop as part of her morning commute when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.
Ms. Brockman, who is a U.S. citizen born in this country, was violently detained on Foster Avenue, on the north side of Chicago. As this occurred, individuals on the street began recording the incident and asked Ms. Brockman her name. In addition to providing her name, Ms. Brockman stated that she worked for WGN. She added this information because she hoped someone would notify her employer so her coworkers would know that she would not be arriving at work that day.
Ms. Brockman was detained and held in federal custody for approximately 7 hours before being released. She has not been charged with any crimes and she intends to pursue all legal avenues available to her to vindicate her rights and hold the federal authorities accountable for their actions.
Ms. Brockman is being represented by attorneys from the People’s Law Office in Chicago. Ms. Brockman and her legal team adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone. Rather, Ms. Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work. Ms. Brockman feared for her life multiple times throughout this terrifying experience.
“This incident should be alarming and horrifying to every single person in this country,” said Brad Thomson, one of Ms. Brockman’s attorneys at People’s Law Office. “If armed, masked, federal agents are sn…

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 20h

My thesis was an enhancement/extension of a method my advisor developed. It doesn’t make sense to avoid citing it because, without the prior context, there’s no point or motivation for my work.

Dr Ellie Murray, ScD @epiellie.bsky.social · 22h

Not to pick on Per, but I’ve never understood the snark about “self citation”.

If, as an academic, you aren’t creating an inter-related body of work that builds towards some larger understanding of a problem, what even is the point?

Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 1d

The true academic method: overthink, underdeliver, cite yourself.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Am I supposed to switch to Apple? They took down IceBlock and Tim Cook is making pilgrimages to the White House to make offerings of random gold things.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

This is just corporate America now honestly. Only way to avoid this is stream pirated music from a server in your basement. Media companies have capitulated 100%.

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 1d

Spotify is now running recruitment ads for ICE.

It’s time to cancel your account.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

They’re being pretty upfront about their political goals using “Christ is King” as a response to “No Kings.”

S.C.E.W. @socalextremismwatch.com · 1d

Just a normal call out to militant, slightly goofy, mostly Latino, self loathing Proud Boys of the Chino Valley and surrounding areas by a local Calvary Church: Because we all know by now that Calvary Church networks and Proud Boys go hand in hand.

Proud Boy Luke Dennis shares an advertisement by Calvary Chapel Chino Valley to attend a Charlie Kirk memorial.
Flyer has a very large Proud Boy symbol on it- yellow graphic of a “crown of laurel.”

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Lmao OAN. Still embarrassing San Diego, still the biggest eyesore on the Nobel-Balboa rail segment.

Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 1d

Solidarity is the only way

Reposted by Alex Wenzel

mady castigan✨ 🏳️‍⚧️ @madycast.com · 1d

Newsom vetoing trans rights bills because they would hurt the health insurance industry's profit margins, instead of just pure bigotry, is actually very unsurprising tbh lol.

This is how he has always operated. Talks a big game, but his actions show his actual job is to protect special interests.

mady castigan✨ 🏳️‍⚧️ @madycast.com · 1d

Newsom vetoes both the PreP access and the HRT stockpile bill because he is worried it would increase healthcare costs...

He claims to support the aims of these bills. But the vetoes deny access to medical care for queer people.

(Context: He vetoed these 2 while signing 8 other queer rights bills)

Trans News Network @transnews.network · 1d

He also signed SB 590, which bolsters paid family leave.

Read his veto messages here:

www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/u...
www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/u...

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Bluesky won't let me quote this for some reason (quotes are allowed on the post).

Dave Vetter
@davidrvetter.bsky.social
The US federal attack on Portland has resulted in the best advertisement for a city that I have ever seen. Round-the-clock joy, community solidarity and silliness that much of the West has lost and longs for.

Video in post shows many hundreds of people protesting while some play music and wear extravagant costumes.There is a relaxed, festival-like atmosphere despite the presence of police monitoring the protest.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

In LA, DC, and elsewhere, DHS officers are reportedly pulling over work vans without warning and detaining everyone inside.

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 1d

ICE is all over the city and burbs today, including Waukegan. Multiple reports on social media from people who have found empty work vans and are trying to locate family of their owners. This is a near daily occurrence now.

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