Alex Wenzel
@alexwenzel.bsky.social
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
This account does not represent the positions or opinions of my employer or of my union.
he/him
Pinned
Alex Wenzel
@alexwenzel.bsky.social
· 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 🧵
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 🧵
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.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
Bad news: Pan Amer. Health Org. strips Canada of its measles elimination status after ~3 decades due to its failure to curb a yr-long outbreak. Canada has recorded more than **5000** cases in 9 of its 10 provinces & 1 territory. Note: many US states have lax school reqs, but Canada's are worse. 🛟😷
Canada loses measles elimination status after three decades, health agency says
Canada has lost its measles elimination status after nearly three decades due to its failure to curb a year-long outbreak, the country's public health agency said on Monday.
www.reuters.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Bad news: Pan Amer. Health Org. strips Canada of its measles elimination status after ~3 decades due to its failure to curb a yr-long outbreak. Canada has recorded more than **5000** cases in 9 of its 10 provinces & 1 territory. Note: many US states have lax school reqs, but Canada's are worse. 🛟😷
Haven’t been personally responsible for an RPPR in almost two years, but my heart rate still reflexively jumped reading this.
PSA for people with NIH grant periods starting January 1st (including most NIGMS MIRAs): your RPPR is due Saturday, but they haven’t sent out the usual automated reminders, presumably due to the shutdown
November 11, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Haven’t been personally responsible for an RPPR in almost two years, but my heart rate still reflexively jumped reading this.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
PSA for people with NIH grant periods starting January 1st (including most NIGMS MIRAs): your RPPR is due Saturday, but they haven’t sent out the usual automated reminders, presumably due to the shutdown
November 11, 2025 at 1:20 AM
PSA for people with NIH grant periods starting January 1st (including most NIGMS MIRAs): your RPPR is due Saturday, but they haven’t sent out the usual automated reminders, presumably due to the shutdown
Whether they’re effective over placebo or not, people spend money on alternative treatments and self-medication when healthcare is too expensive. This is an effort to make pharma and insurers profiting from the coming price increases (which Dems know are coming) more feasible.
More than 15 Senate Democrats join GOP to advance nationwide ban on hemp products, including CBD gummies,
oh the paul amendment is going down 78-22
November 11, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Whether they’re effective over placebo or not, people spend money on alternative treatments and self-medication when healthcare is too expensive. This is an effort to make pharma and insurers profiting from the coming price increases (which Dems know are coming) more feasible.
I don't think it's physically possible for an opposition party to be in a stronger position than Democrats were last night right before they gave up.
Voters truly hate Trump right now—for failing to lower prices, for terrorizing communities with his masked gestapo, and so much more. trib.al/i7pWtN8
His disapproval rating in a CNN poll this week hit a record 62%—one point higher than the same poll taken right after the January 6 insurrection.
His disapproval rating in a CNN poll this week hit a record 62%—one point higher than the same poll taken right after the January 6 insurrection.
Trump Has One Mission: To Make Your Life Hell
Tuesday’s elections should have been a wake-up call for Republicans. Instead, the administration is responding in the only way it knows how: causing more misery for millions of Americans.
trib.al
November 10, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I don't think it's physically possible for an opposition party to be in a stronger position than Democrats were last night right before they gave up.
I'd bet Google Adsense has similar numbers. It reverse-engineered my recent medical history, I assume via searches I should've made with better privacy protections, and before I realized adblock on iOS exists, most news stories I opened had ads with blatant misinformation about that condition.
If 10% of my business was based on defrauding and scamming people, and was called a "pillar of the global fraud economy", I would have some serious moral qualms about my business. Not our friends at Meta though.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.
www.reuters.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I'd bet Google Adsense has similar numbers. It reverse-engineered my recent medical history, I assume via searches I should've made with better privacy protections, and before I realized adblock on iOS exists, most news stories I opened had ads with blatant misinformation about that condition.
Remember this when Pritzker’s cops attack Chicagoans to make sure ICE can do this.
Also I don’t want to hear that cops have put themselves above the law as a defense of Pritzker from people who blame “defund the police” for Harris losing.
Also I don’t want to hear that cops have put themselves above the law as a defense of Pritzker from people who blame “defund the police” for Harris losing.
"While Border Patrol photographers snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’”"
ICE/CBP have targeted Little Village for 10+ yrs. In just the last 3 wks, they've repeatedly (3x) used chemical weapons, aimed guns, & threatened residents, most recently this past weekend.
ICE/CBP have targeted Little Village for 10+ yrs. In just the last 3 wks, they've repeatedly (3x) used chemical weapons, aimed guns, & threatened residents, most recently this past weekend.
Border Patrol Agents Pose At 'The Bean' For Apparent Photo Op
The photo op came after agents tear-gassed a Little Village street and were spotted in the area numerous times. At the Bean, one agent shouted, "Everyone say, Little Village!"
blockclubchicago.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Remember this when Pritzker’s cops attack Chicagoans to make sure ICE can do this.
Also I don’t want to hear that cops have put themselves above the law as a defense of Pritzker from people who blame “defund the police” for Harris losing.
Also I don’t want to hear that cops have put themselves above the law as a defense of Pritzker from people who blame “defund the police” for Harris losing.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
All hope drawn from politicians is ultimately false hope. The only true hope in this world is the hope we create together
Moreover, ICE must be destroyed
Moreover, ICE must be destroyed
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 AM
All hope drawn from politicians is ultimately false hope. The only true hope in this world is the hope we create together
Moreover, ICE must be destroyed
Moreover, ICE must be destroyed
The relationship between the UC community and its leaders is the same as the one between Americans and Democrats.
We now have leaders of undergraduate clubs and organizations putting themselves on the line while the regents and administration themselves still refuse to go to court for anything besides protecting their ability to negotiate the terms of our surrender in secret.
Our students are just stunning. Their bravery and integrity put our leaders to shame.
November 10, 2025 at 5:51 AM
The relationship between the UC community and its leaders is the same as the one between Americans and Democrats.
Donors don't pay Democrats to solve problems, they pay them to stay just on the heels of Republicans enough to make it look like a fight most of the time.
I say this as a former comms person, this is the consequence of the party deciding that the most important ways to win is all about "messaging".
No it fucking isn't! It's about solving actual problems because that's what everyone pays them to do!
No it fucking isn't! It's about solving actual problems because that's what everyone pays them to do!
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Donors don't pay Democrats to solve problems, they pay them to stay just on the heels of Republicans enough to make it look like a fight most of the time.
Nothing is going to change until journalism collectively decides that writing this headline is a fireable offense.
Car fleeing police slams into bar in Tampa, killing 4 people and injuring 11
Car fleeing police slams into bar in Tampa, killing 4 people and injuring 11
Police say vehicle was involved in street racing before driver fled from authorities and then crashed into Ybor City bar
A speeding car fleeing police slammed into a crowded bar early on Saturday, killing four people and injuring 11 in a historic district of Tampa, Florida, known for its nightlife and tourists.
An air patrol unit with the Tampa police department spotted the car driving recklessly on a freeway at about 12.40am after police said the silver sedan had been seen street racing in another neighborhood, according to a police department statement. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Nothing is going to change until journalism collectively decides that writing this headline is a fireable offense.
There isn’t a floor to what we’ll accept apparently.
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
November 9, 2025 at 9:10 AM
There isn’t a floor to what we’ll accept apparently.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
November 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
Maybe we should put some spikes or netting out to deter cars from landing/nesting there. Surely it’s reasonable to assume based on this headline that that’s why the car is there.
#BeSafeBeSeen, parked cars in the parking lot of a medical office building!
mocoshow.com/2025/10/30/t...
mocoshow.com/2025/10/30/t...
Two Rescued After Car Lands on Two Vehicles - The MoCo Show
Two people were trapped after a vehicle ended up on top of two occupied cars in the parking lot of the Camalier Building on Fernwood Road in North Bethesda on […]
mocoshow.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Maybe we should put some spikes or netting out to deter cars from landing/nesting there. Surely it’s reasonable to assume based on this headline that that’s why the car is there.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
November 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
When Alex Jones said Sandy Hook was a false flag, his listeners followed the families for years, threatening to kill them or to dig up graves to prove the kids never existed. Planting the idea that some people are presumed responsible for any harm that comes to them is an accelerant for persecution.
This false flag stuff is the perfect example of how poisoned the well has become. I shudder to imagine what the discourse will look like following an incident like the Tree of Life shooting.
Context.
November 8, 2025 at 9:51 PM
When Alex Jones said Sandy Hook was a false flag, his listeners followed the families for years, threatening to kill them or to dig up graves to prove the kids never existed. Planting the idea that some people are presumed responsible for any harm that comes to them is an accelerant for persecution.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
If the pattern follows B-18 here in LA, DHS is clearing out Broadview to hide the human rights abuses.
The magistrate will visit an empty facility.
And three days later DHS will have it packed again.
The magistrate will visit an empty facility.
And three days later DHS will have it packed again.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Photo sent to me from a faith leader on the ground outside the Broadview ICE detention center this morning shows several buses now parked outside the facility.
This, the leader says, is an unusual occurrence.
Also: a magistrate is set to visit the facility next week.
This, the leader says, is an unusual occurrence.
Also: a magistrate is set to visit the facility next week.
November 8, 2025 at 6:35 PM
If the pattern follows B-18 here in LA, DHS is clearing out Broadview to hide the human rights abuses.
The magistrate will visit an empty facility.
And three days later DHS will have it packed again.
The magistrate will visit an empty facility.
And three days later DHS will have it packed again.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
After housing markets near universities, the biggest reason that the grad/postdoc union movement exists is because of men like him.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:35 AM
After housing markets near universities, the biggest reason that the grad/postdoc union movement exists is because of men like him.
We now have leaders of undergraduate clubs and organizations putting themselves on the line while the regents and administration themselves still refuse to go to court for anything besides protecting their ability to negotiate the terms of our surrender in secret.
Our students are just stunning. Their bravery and integrity put our leaders to shame.
Student organization coalition files amicus brief supporting lawsuit against Trump - Daily Bruin
This post was updated Nov. 5 at 1:02 a.m. A coalition of 25 student organizations filed an amicus brief Thursday in support of a lawsuit against President Donald Trump that alleged research funding su...
dailybruin.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:04 PM
We now have leaders of undergraduate clubs and organizations putting themselves on the line while the regents and administration themselves still refuse to go to court for anything besides protecting their ability to negotiate the terms of our surrender in secret.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
These cases are nightmares. Many people had removal proceedings “administratively closed” for years; the case is off the docket and the person can stay indefinitely.
Now, suddenly, ICE is restarting them. And if they miss a physical letter, they might get ordered deported without their knowledge.
Now, suddenly, ICE is restarting them. And if they miss a physical letter, they might get ordered deported without their knowledge.
Hundreds of immigration cases in San Francisco have been closed for years, even decades, often b/c they are not an enforcement priority.
Many involve victims of crime & abuse.
This summer, Trump attorneys tried to bring them back.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-i...
Many involve victims of crime & abuse.
This summer, Trump attorneys tried to bring them back.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-i...
Hundreds of S.F. immigration cases were paused for decades. Trump tried to revive them.
Federal attorneys tried reviving some 2,000 deportation cases in San Francisco, many involving alleged victims of crime and abuse.
missionlocal.org
November 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
These cases are nightmares. Many people had removal proceedings “administratively closed” for years; the case is off the docket and the person can stay indefinitely.
Now, suddenly, ICE is restarting them. And if they miss a physical letter, they might get ordered deported without their knowledge.
Now, suddenly, ICE is restarting them. And if they miss a physical letter, they might get ordered deported without their knowledge.
After housing markets near universities, the biggest reason that the grad/postdoc union movement exists is because of men like him.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:35 AM
After housing markets near universities, the biggest reason that the grad/postdoc union movement exists is because of men like him.
For my non-scientist followers, if you saw a headline that the “co-discoverer of DNA” died and are surprised to see that the responses from health scientists range from indifferent to celebratory, here’s a small sample of his bigotry. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W...
![In 2007, Watson said, "I turned against the left wing because they don't like genetics, because genetics implies that sometimes in life we fail because we have bad genes. They want all failure in life to be due to the evil system." [69]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ahzuot3wuxc6b4zdiudhx5os/bafkreie4limg6wtoyirw6vingux3u6ikxggnf3ldnnulpxqbelu52o3veq@jpeg)
![On the issue of obesity, Watson was quoted in 2000, saying: "Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you're not going to hire them."|74)
Watson repeatedly supported genetic screening and genetic engineering in public lectures and interviews, arguing that stupidity is a disease and the "really stupid" bottom 10% of people should be cured. 75 He also suggested that beauty could be genetically engineered, saying in 2003, "People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would be great."!751176]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ahzuot3wuxc6b4zdiudhx5os/bafkreia3pyu5u7gngujoemm3dgzsw2yj3pj4zh73uqssp4fo3vngxkztqi@jpeg)
![At a conference in 2000, Watson suggested a link between skin color and sex drive, hypothesizing that dark-skinned people have stronger libidos. (74][102] His lecture argued that extracts of melanin-which gives skin its color-had been found to boost subjects' sex drive. "That's why you have Latin lovers", he said, according to people who attended the lecture. "You've never heard of an English lover.
Only an English Patient."[103) Watson also said that stereotypes associated with racial and ethnic groups have a genetic basis: Jews being intelligent, Chinese being intelligent but not creative because of selection for conformity, and Indians being servile because of selection under caste endogamy. 104)
Regarding intelligence differences between blacks and whites, Watson has asserted that "all our social policies are based on the fact that their (blacks) intelligence is the same as ours (whites) - whereas all the testing says not really ... people who have to deal with black employees find this not true." (105]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ahzuot3wuxc6b4zdiudhx5os/bafkreigchtvbxyc2fgal7gxx6m7sz7yjsy2dvkjpopp4r2ons4xrotupky@jpeg)
November 8, 2025 at 1:45 AM
For my non-scientist followers, if you saw a headline that the “co-discoverer of DNA” died and are surprised to see that the responses from health scientists range from indifferent to celebratory, here’s a small sample of his bigotry. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W...
You only have to look at polling on immigration over the last 12-15 months to see how malleable lots of voters’ opinions are. The Third Way people and their retained commentators only exist to sabotage progressivism no matter the electoral cost to Democrats.
Pod Save guys saying exit polls show 12% of Californians who voted for Trump in 2024 then voted on Prop 50 in 2025, voted YES to redistrict Republicans out of 5 seats
The median voter is so frustrating and confusing, it’s obvious the answer is to NEVER tailor your message for them
The median voter is so frustrating and confusing, it’s obvious the answer is to NEVER tailor your message for them
November 8, 2025 at 1:20 AM
You only have to look at polling on immigration over the last 12-15 months to see how malleable lots of voters’ opinions are. The Third Way people and their retained commentators only exist to sabotage progressivism no matter the electoral cost to Democrats.
As a patient, my doctor and her staff are wonderful, but UC’s understaffing has repeatedly caused me harm.
As a member of a UC union, if you think UC doesn’t have money to spend, you should see the absurd things for which they’re paying counsel to drag us to arbitration.
As a member of a UC union, if you think UC doesn’t have money to spend, you should see the absurd things for which they’re paying counsel to drag us to arbitration.
November 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM
As a patient, my doctor and her staff are wonderful, but UC’s understaffing has repeatedly caused me harm.
As a member of a UC union, if you think UC doesn’t have money to spend, you should see the absurd things for which they’re paying counsel to drag us to arbitration.
As a member of a UC union, if you think UC doesn’t have money to spend, you should see the absurd things for which they’re paying counsel to drag us to arbitration.
Not that the overall point is wrong, but using “overwhelming” to describe a 1.5% popular vote margin and a single-digit House majority is just propaganda.
November 7, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Not that the overall point is wrong, but using “overwhelming” to describe a 1.5% popular vote margin and a single-digit House majority is just propaganda.