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Alex Wenzel

@alexwenzel.bsky.social

1.8K followers 360 following 5.9K posts

Postdoc studying cancer. Academic unionist and transit enthusiast. Trying to make buses less invisible. Medic main in TF2. he/him

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Pinned

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 27d

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 · 27d

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 · 1h

Aforementioned thrusting frog. bsky.app/profile/adam...

Adam Parkhomenko @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social · 2d

A frog just defeated ICE. Somewhere Pepe is crying.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1h

Weirdly enough, I think this works. No one is more insecure than a new ICE agent. They want to be the blonde guy in DHS’s AI Nazi posting so badly. Instead, they’ll be guarding indistinguishable suburban warehouse #16361 while inflated frogs and dinosaurs thrust in their face all day every day.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 6h

#WarRavagedPortland

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1h

bsky.app/profile/patr...

Patrick Wyman @patrickwyman.bsky.social · 2h

Watching antisocial driver behavior in the school drop-off line makes it really clear that the pandemic destroyed whatever few shreds remained of the social compact, just pathological selfishness on display every day

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 16h

This wasn’t done in secret. They wanted the whole world to see this.

In video footage from NewsNation, whose camera crew was invited to join the raid, masked agents are shown surrounding the building wearing green uniforms, with vests and yellow lettering spelling out "U.S.
Customs and Border Patrol".
Some officers pointed handguns equipped with tactical lights at the building; others held long rifles and wore helmets equipped with cameras and lights. Helicopters hovered in the sky, and agents on the ground threw flashbang grenades. Hastily awakened residents were only given a few seconds to open before agents broke doors down and forced their way inside, according to recordings by residents witnessing the raid.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 16h

I intentionally removed the thumbnail to make it more likely people would read this post before clicking, and because the article is so full of wall-to-wall violence and bigotry that I thought even the generated thumbnail shouldn’t be just thrown on people’s timelines.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 16h

cw: apparent photograph of a dead child

This was CBP in a private facebook group in 2019. They've always been like this.

www.propublica.org/article/secr...

Jenn Budd @jennbudd.bsky.social · 17h

Please don’t say he is not trained. Border Patrol agents do this on the border all the time. Agents at my station used to throw rocks into car windows that sometimes made them crash. They think it us funny. It’s not training in the academy, but in the field.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 19h

I fear if things don’t change right now, this image is going to come back to haunt us

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 19h

If medical care is speech, then the government can't restrict it - or compel it. This is a very dark path to go down. Ceding political ground on trans rights is what encouraged groups like ADF to use legalizing the psychological abuse of children for profit as the wedge to establish this precedent.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 19h

NEW: Supreme Court likely to strike down Colorado's conversion therapy ban.

A lesson in how defining the case often resolves the case.

Today at Law Dork:

Supreme Court likely to strike down Colorado's conversion therapy ban

A lesson in how defining the case often resolves the case.

www.lawdork.com

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Reposted by Alex Wenzel

Mikki Kendall @karnythia.bsky.social · 1d

You could just talk about Jim Crow. I promise you, there's no need to leave America's shores to talk about life in a fascist state

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

Under the Third Reich, most Germans generally lived in the law-bound normative state, while Jews and other disfavored people were victims of the arbitrary and violent prerogative state.

The dual state is characterized by the facade of normalcy obscuring the fact of an authoritarian state.

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

www.motherjones.com

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 20h

Trump really could stand on 5th Ave and shoot someone. AP would say it was “a striking reversal of long-standing policies on interpersonal violence.”

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 20h

It’s the unequivocal letter of the law that furloughed employees receive back pay. This headline is a lie. It assumes the premise that the regime’s claim to omnipotence is legitimate by describing what is objectively a crime as “reversal of long-standing policy”.

AP
Government shutdown
now
Trump administration threatens no back pay for federal workers in the shutdown, reversing what has been a long-standing policy.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 20h

Most Americans have not experienced a humanitarian crisis of the scope and scale that is approaching in the next couple of months because of cuts like this and other homelessness services generally.

Matthew Cortland (they) @matthewcort.land · 21h

The Trump Regime is killing SOAR

www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-a...

Access to the SOAR Works website ended August 18, 2025.

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Reposted by Alex Wenzel

Rosa Lafer-Sousa @rosalafersousa.bsky.social · 1d

Over the weekend ICE abducted an NIH contractor when he showed up to a courthouse for his green card hearing. He is documented. His wife is a citizen.

He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.

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Reposted by Alex Wenzel

Arizona fRight Watch 🎃 @azrww.bsky.social · 21h

Mesa Gateway Airport is keeping people locked up for weeks in a detention facility only meant for 12 hour holding and ICE is using this airport to deport immigrants to countries they’re not even from — detainees are reporting they’re being flown out in straight jackets & given little food or water.

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 23h

ICE Air Operations uses Mesa Gateway as headquarters for controversial third-country removals

story via @jerodmacevoy.com

Trump's African deportation operation runs through a Phoenix airport

Arizona's Mesa Gateway Airport serves as hub for Trump's ICE Air deportation flights to Africa as ICE expands operations

azmirror.com

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 23h

There's no other "treatment" I can think of that has such overwhelming evidence against it but that may become legally impossible for the state to regulate.

Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 1d

Supreme Court: of course states can regulate, and restrict access to, medical procedures if there’s a compelling public interest

Colorado: (bans conversion therapy for minors)

Supreme Court: no not like that, we only meant abortion

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

SCOTUS’s existing and likely rulings will have the effect of outlawing the proven standard of care and replacing it with torture.

Henry Carnell @hencarnell.bsky.social · 1d

“It is psychologically manipulative."

"A place of constant, albeit quiet, torment.”

“A lot of thoughts [were] placed into my head about how disturbing and gross and creepy people like me were... I internalized a lot of these projections.”

SCOTUS wades back into the war on trans kids—and considers greenlighting conversion therapy

The science is in: The anti-LGBTQ "treatments" are ineffective and dangerous.

www.motherjones.com

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Digital commerce was a mistake. Having services where lots of people make accounts was a mistake. We should all just have a server in our basement and only talk to people we know already over IRC and DDoS each other like nature intended.

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 1d

“People over Papers, a crowdsourcing project that maps sightings of US immigration agents, was taken offline yesterday by Padlet, the collaborative bulletin board platform on which it was built. It’s just the latest ICE-tracking initiative to be pulled by tech platforms in the past few days.”

Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline

People over Papers was removed by Padlet, the platform it was built on, yesterday.

www.technologyreview.com

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

I see people waiting on weekends for route 237 all the time and I think it may in part be because our branding and maps implicitly overstate its service levels. I've even met experienced operators who drive Kearny Mesa Division routes and didn't know that 237 is weekdays only.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

At this point, route 227 is so reduced that this map would make more sense if MTS just said "933/934 are now 233/234 and 227 is now 927" and swapped them.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

I haven't seen the map on the second page before. It would be cool except:
- 227 has 30min peak headways west of Iris Ave
- 204 has 30min headways, weekdays only
- 237 operates peak times, weekdays only

www.sdmts.com/sites/defaul...

www.sdmts.com

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Would love to see more of this in San Diego. MTS has tried to make subway diagrams for the Rapid network, but too much of it is peak/weekday only that it's almost misleading. There are more frequent buses overlaying some of the routes, but they aren't Rapid(tm).

TTCriders @ttcriders.bsky.social · 1d

Fern up next with their amazing sign (that they helped design!!). Joins the call for better way finding system-wide.

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Reposted by Alex Wenzel

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

I think something really important to note about this data is how the graphs show that the differences between liberal and conservative mainstream outlets is far less than many believe, even in 2023.

Some examples: Fox, WaPo, NYT are all anti-trans, anti-homeless, and fearmonger/lie about crime.

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 1d

What Americans Die from?

And what the media reports on...

Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...

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Reposted by Alex Wenzel

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 1d

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 1d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Ended up making a "venv" folder in ~/Documents (not synced) and a JSON file mapping each venv to a relevant place in my GDrive to store a copy of the requirements.txt. It's set to run ever hour, which is excessive, but it's super light-weight so I don't really care. Might change it to 8 hours.

Screenshot of code. It is a Python script that, when invoked at the command line, opens a JSON file and loops through all the keys in that file, which are the names of virtual environments. For each one, it calls a function which itself executes three shell commands: activating the virtual environment, generate a requirements.txt with pip freeze, and copying that requirements.txt file to a directory specified by the value associated with the virtual environment in the JSON config file.

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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 1d

Aged depressingly well.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 3d

Can already almost guarantee none of this happened except that they shot someone.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3d

WHOA: DHS says that their officers were “rammed and blocked in” in Chicago and got out of their cars and shot an U.S. citizen who reportedly also had a gun and who had been tracking ICE raids. They are blaming the shooting on her, and say they were already tracking her socials. More details to come.

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Reposted by Alex Wenzel

Jenn Budd @jennbudd.bsky.social · 1d

For those claiming these are not trained agents, this is a report done in 2014. Looks like what you are seeing today, huh?

AMERICAN
IMMIGRATION
COUNCIL
Special Report
NO ACTION TAKEN
Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse
By Daniel E. Martínez, Ph.D., Guillermo Cantor, Ph.D., and Walter A. Ewing, Ph.D.

May 2014

"BPA (Border Patrol Agent) allegedly hit a UDA's [Undocumented Alien's) head against a rock causing a hematoma." (Tucson Sector-Counseling)
• "Mexican Citizen alleges BPA physically abused her as she was trying to go back to Mexico." (San Diego Sector-Formal Court)
• "BPA allegedly kicked female during apprehension causing her to miscarry." (El Paso
Sector-No Action Taken)."
• "A minor alleged he was physically forced by a BPA to sign a document." (Tucson
Sector-No Action Taken)."
• "A UDA alleges a BPA who arrested him stomped on his back after he had lain on the ground." (Rio Grande Valley Sector-No Action Taken).
• "Allegedly having a relationship with an illegal alien/forcing female aliens to have sex." (El Centro Sector-Pending Investigation)
"Unknown BPA from the Laredo Section kicked already handcuffed alien." (Laredo
Sector-Pending Investigation)
• "Alleges that BPAs beat him with a baton and pepper sprayed him." (San Diego
Sector-Pending Investigation)
• "BPAs allegedly denied a UDA water; touched/treated female UDAs inappropriately."
(Tucson Sector-Pending Investigation)
• "Juvenile UDA alleges a BPA pepper sprayed her, hit her in the back; threatened to throw a bomb at her." (Rio Grande Valley Sector-Pending Investigation)
• "AUDA alleges BPAs stripped him and left him naked in a cell, called him 'faggot and homo,' took his DL (Driver's License]." (El Centro Sector-Pending Investigation)
• "BPA allegedly hit an undocumented juvenile with the butt of his flashlight; grabbed his throat, Calexico, CA." (El Centro Sector-Pending Investigation)
• "Improper strip search of a driver at a Border Patrol checkpoint." (El Paso Sector-
Written Report)
• "Alleges an unidentified BPA stated 'Don't move or I'll kill you' as he was being arrested." (Rio Grande Valley-No Action Taken)
• "Alleged excessive use of force by BPA during an arrest of an alien." (Rio Grande Valley-Suspension)

CHRONIC INACTION BY CBP
mong the 809 formal complaints filed against the agency, 472 (58.3 percent) resulted in
when the Immigration Council received the data in response to the FOlA request. Six complaints resulted in counseling, two led to court proceedings against the perpetrator, two led to an oral reprimand of the accused, and an additional two resulted in a written report. Only one resulted in suspension of the perpetrator of the abuse. In other words, among the 485 complaints in which a formal decision was made, "No Action Taken" represented 97 percent of all outcomes, with the average amount of time taken to arrive at a decision being 122 days.
Among the cases that were still "Pending Investigation," the average number of days between the date the complaint was filed and the last record date provided in the data set was 389 days.

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