Ken Schwencke
@schwanksta.com
18K followers 360 following 290 posts
Senior editor of @propublica.org's data journalism teams. Super gay. Sometimes printmaker.
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schwanksta.com
Last year I picked up printmaking and linocutting as a hobby, and yesterday I ran this giant 18x24 print of the sky over Fire Island. I was trying to translate that big and calming sense you get when it’s warm and breezy out and you’re just watching the clouds go by.

#linocut #printmaking #artsky
A photo of a large print with a textured blue sky and three smallish birds flying across it A photo of the print on a drying rack, showing the scale and paper’s edges.
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
flglchicago.bsky.social
Here’s video of the incident
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
dlknowles.bsky.social
Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...
Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children
Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.
southsideweekly.com
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
bradheath.bsky.social
An update: Former FBI director and Trump antagonist James Comey is scheduled be arraigned tomorrow morning in federal court in Alexandria, Va. And still no career DOJ attorneys have entered an appearance in the case.
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
gbbranstetter.bsky.social
ADF has a track record of representing clients with just-so standing claims, like wedding businesses that are incorporated just long enough to challenge nondiscrimination laws protecting queer couples and are never heard from again
mjsdc.bsky.social
I'm sorry but how does this person have standing to challenge Colorado's ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy when she has explicitly disclaimed any desire to change a patient's sexual orientation or gender identity? How is this a real case? slate.com/news-and-pol...
The Supreme Court’s First Blockbuster Case This Term Looks Pretty Fake
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a case that seeks to undo a major triumph of the LGBTQ+ movement.
slate.com
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
seantcollins.com
CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.

ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't

CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.

ISILDUR: true
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
gbbranstetter.bsky.social
I'm also reminded of the "whistleblower" report about abuses at a Missouri gender clinic, the author of which is now just a full-time anti-transgender lobbyist, that fell apart the moment any reporter tried to verify it
jamellebouie.net
perhaps the biggest story TFPever ran was a catastrophically shoddy argument that George Floyd ackshully died of an overdose. When confronted with irrefutable evidence that the piece was simply wrong, Weiss didn’t take it down, she asked her critic, @radleybalko.bsky.social, to come on a podcast.
maxtani.bsky.social
David Ellison’s note to staff on Paramount’s acquisition of the Free Press
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
jamellebouie.net
perhaps the biggest story TFPever ran was a catastrophically shoddy argument that George Floyd ackshully died of an overdose. When confronted with irrefutable evidence that the piece was simply wrong, Weiss didn’t take it down, she asked her critic, @radleybalko.bsky.social, to come on a podcast.
maxtani.bsky.social
David Ellison’s note to staff on Paramount’s acquisition of the Free Press
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
cristianfarias.com
This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.

Community action works.

Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
dansinker.com
this appears to be video of the incident that set everything off in Chicago yesterday. No part of this is consistent with the narrative DHS put out immediately after.
helldude.bsky.social
per reddit this is the 'ten car' incident -- weird!
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
waldo.net
The Trump administration has cancelled 4,304 deliveries to food banks so far this year, refusing to deliver 94 million pounds of contracted-for food. Food banks simply can’t feed people enough anymore. Millions of Americans are going hungry as a result.
Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.
ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...
projects.propublica.org
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
unraveledpress.com
ICE reportedly opened fire on rapid responders on the southwest side this afternoon.

There are *very few* details on this available at this time. Treat all rumors with caution until verified.

This Sun-Times article cites a DHS statement that should be treated, as always, with extreme skepticism:
Shooting involving federal agents in Brighton Park under investigation
According to the Department of Homeland Security, a woman allegedly "boxed in" federal authorities, who opened fire.
chicago.suntimes.com
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
donmoyn.bsky.social
*A Republican lawmaker objected to reference to Charlie Kirk holding “often racist and controversial views” in local Alaska news
*The corporate owner took down the story and edited it
*The journalists resigned

This feels like more and more of our media now.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...
Journalists at 3 Newspapers Quit Over Edits to a Charlie Kirk Story
www.nytimes.com
schwanksta.com
The thing is, I actually have no idea why people are mad at the Bluesky folks, but all I *do* see is them making asses of themselves.
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
dansinker.com
yet another example of how you should ALWAYS have people in your corner who will tell you to stfu
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
This is the sort of stuff we’re dealing with —>
joshuajfriedman.com
Judge: Let me ask you, though: a social-media post is the basis of deployment of troops? Is that really the basis?

DOJ: Posts reflect Trump's decision-making.

Judge: How can I consider post-hoc rationalization of order already issued?

DOJ: Nothing in law requires particular form of determination
Reposted by Ken Schwencke
clancyny.bsky.social
Logan Square neighborhood, Chicago. Man wearing a balaclava in a white, unmarked vehicle, pulls the pin on a tear gas canister and tosses it in the road.

"Just trying to grab some lunch and these fucking losers showed up. FUCK ICE!"
source: www.reddit.com/r/LoganSquar...