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colloctopus.bsky.social

@colloctopus.bsky.social
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
💯
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Greg Olear @gregolear.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
One of the best things I’ve read in a while:
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
BREAKING: A young doctor who lives near where Alex Pretti, a nurse, was killed by ICE says in a declaration he saw the shooting, went out to help, was not let through at first then patted down before being let by, and was apparently the first to try and provide any medical assistance to Pretti.
1. 1 am a 29-year-old resident of the
lin Minneapolis,
Minnesota. I have lived in Minneapolis since 2024, when I moved to the
city to begin my medical residency. I am a licensed pediatrician, and I have
been practicing pediatric medicine in the city since I moved here.
2. On January 24, 2026, at approximately 9:00 am CST, I was awoken by the sound of cars honking and whistles blowing. Shortly after I awoke, I heard
screaming from outside my window. I
saw several
ICE agents and civilians yelling at each other.
3. One civilian was standing in front of a parked car on the side of the road.
I saw him yelling at the ICE agents, but I did not see him attack the agents
or brandish a weapon of any kind
4. Suddenly, an ICE agent shoved him to the ground. My view of the altercation was partially obstructed, but after a few seconds, I saw at least
four ICE agents point guns at the man. I then saw the agents shoot the man
at least six or seven times.
5. Initially, I was stunned. From what I could see from my apartment, there was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers. I immediately put on my boots and coat, ran outside, and
approached ICE agents who were near the victim.6. The scene was chaotic. Many civilians were screaming and honking. Over the noise, I informed the ICE agents that I am a physician, and I asked to assess the victim.
7. At first, the ICE agents wouldn't let me through. They repeatedly asked me for my physician's license, which I obviously didn't have. But none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, and I could tell that the victim was in critical condition. I insisted that the agents let me
assess him. Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him.
8. Finally, one agent agreed to let me assess the victim. He patted me down
to "make sure I didn't have a weapon" and then let me approach the victim.
9. As I approached, I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was
surrounded by several ICE agents. I was confused as to why the victim was
on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been
shot. Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice.
Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds.
10.1 asked the ICE agents if the victim had a pulse, and they said they did not know. I then asked the agents to make space so I could assess the victim.11. The victim had at least three bullet wounds in his back. I asked the ICE agents to turn the victim from his side to his back. From that position, I saw an additional gunshot wound on the victim's upper left chest and
another possible gunshot wound on his neck.
12. I checked for a pulse, but I did not feel one. I immediately began CPR.
Shortly after I started compressions, EMS personnel arrived and took over.
13.1 remained at the scene for about five more minutes, but protesters began to gather and the situation seemed to be escalating, so I left and returned
to my apartment.
14. When I returned to my apartment, I was extremely distraught. I was
sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, I called my sister, who
lives in a nearby suburb. I called her for comfort and because I did not feel
safe in my apartment; I wanted to see if I could stay with her for the day
and maybe even a few days.
15.1 also sought advice from a friend who works for the City of Minneapolis.
He recommended that I shelter in place because the situation outside my
apartment was so dangerous. I was going to follow his advice, but then
ICE agents deployed tear gas on the crowd that had gathered below, and
the tear gas began seeping into my apartment.
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Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti. "Please get the truth out about our son."
Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti
Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti

“We are heartbroken but also very angry.

Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.

I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. 

Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 15/01/2026
People need to stop pretending the U.S. government isn’t actively rebranding as a white supremacist movement. 🚨 The Trump administration has rolled out a coordinated campaign across departments, using imagery and messaging straight from right-wing and white nationalist circles. This isn’t subtle.
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AltSSA @altssa.altgov.info · 30/09/2025
This is one of those subtle ways systemic racism shows up y’all. It sounds innocuous right? Gotta be clean shaven in the military so if you can’t do that well you gotta go. But this isn’t innocuous. Because Black men are the largest group of military members that get what’s called a shaving profile.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 31/07/2025
NEW: We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims officers use a “minimum amount of force.” You can judge for yourself. By @nicolefoy.bsky.social @mckenziefunk.com
projects.propublica.org
Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests
We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...
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Dr. Meredith Wills ⚾️⚾️👀 @bbl-astrophyscs.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
This needs as much coverage as protests or ICE raids. Los Angelenos FTW. ❤️🙌
From NYT article in QT:

On Alondra Boulevard in Compton, the streets are quiet after last night's protests. About 15 people came to clean up the mess of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters and other projectiles shot by law enforcement. "Everyone loves to come to Compton and tear it up," said Elaina Angel, 30. "But who's going to come help us clean it up?" She rallied her family this morning, and they bought brooms, trash bags and gloves to collect the hundreds of objects littering the street.
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James Queally @jqwritesstuff.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Nat Guard/DHS threw tear gas canisters and smoke grenades into the crowd. Protesters and media hit. Pellet rounds deployed. All to seemingly clear path for a convoy of DHS/Border Patrol vehicles. I got hit but fine after an eye rinse.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Jay Bhattacharya & Russ Vought are taking $566 million in NIH funding from my state (we are #2 in terminated grants) The impact will be truly horrific, but these 2 men will rejoice 😡 Bhattacharya took $129 million from Duke’s HIV vaccine development efforts: www.dukechronicle.com/article/2025... 🤬
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 04/06/2025
A West Virginia prosecutor said Friday that while *he* doesn’t want to investigate women for miscarriages, his colleagues are discussing it. He suggested people protect themselves by self-reporting pregnancy losses to police or a doctor. Why this is a horrible idea, feat @ifwhenhow.bsky.social
jezebel.com
Prosecutor Suggests Miscarrying Women Call the Cops to Protect Themselves From Criminal Charges
"I don't think you need to be a co-writer on Law & Order SVU to think about why that is a not so great idea," one reproductive justice advocate told Jezebel.
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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 31/05/2025
I laid out most of this last July — and I was late to the game! Going forward, I hope journalists pay closer attention to the bizarre ideologies bubbling up out of the dark corners of Silicon Valley. When backed by tech billionaires, they become dangerous. newrepublic.com/article/1839...
newrepublic.com
Where J.D. Vance Gets His Weird, Terrifying Techno-Authoritarian Ideas
Yes, Peter Thiel was the senator’s benefactor. But they’re both inspired by an obscure software developer who has some truly frightening thoughts about reordering society.
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Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · 21/05/2025
No one experiencing the tragedy of a miscarriage should be arrested, much less abandoned in jail for 5 months with a $100k bond. But that’s exactly what happened to Mallori Patrice Strait in Texas. Women, particularly women of color, in this country are no longer allowed dignity even in extreme loss
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Randall Stephens @randalljstephens.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
"You read books, eh?" A 1949 red scare Herblock cartoon about pressures on teachers that hits hard once again.
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Sebas @ohlookbirdies.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Oh my god the bear is espresso ice so the coffee gets stronger as he melts
An iced coffee with a brown ice bear floating in it. A small Italian biscuit rests on the spoon.
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
"The  easiest way, logistically, is just go after people who are following the rules. They’re the easiest to just snatch up when they come into the office"
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The Trump administration cut federal funding for a research project at Cornell University aimed at developing a heart pump designed for babies and children with congenital heart defects bringing the effort to a halt.
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Jennifer C @thejenniwren.teamlh.social · 10/05/2025
More details are emerging as Rep. Joaquin Castro meets with the deported family of the 11yo U.S. citizen girl in Mexico. CBP agents *confiscated her seizure meds.* That’s not law enforcement—it’s abuse. Keep reposting. Keep raising hell. Be a voice for the voiceless. #OnYourSide
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Luke O'Neil @lukeoneil47.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
A report from the scene of a horrifying kidnapping on the streets of Worcester, MA today by @billshaner.bsky.social www.welcometohellworld.com/they-dont-ne...
welcometohellworld.com
They don't need a warrant
A federal kidnapping in Worcester
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Drew @dschnoeb.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Ice Agents in Worcester, MA RIGHT NOW attempting to take 2 women and a baby. City Council Member @etelhaxhiaj.bsky.social attempting to help her. Please share far and wide ASAP!
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Drew @dschnoeb.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Video of the woman being taken by ICE and the Worcester Police Dept helping them. From @billshaner.bsky.social
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
When they say "America first," they don't mention that this means America will be first among nations in preventable deaths.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
The richest 0.1% of Americans control $22 trillion in wealth. The bottom 50% control $3.8 trillion in wealth. Read that back. Folks, this is what oligarchy looks like.
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👻🗳️Ghost of Democracy 2.0 @ominousrabbit.com · 17/04/2025
So many Americans missed the History of Resistance class and it makes me endlessly grouchy. #audrelorde #poetry #lgbqtia+ #blm
Audre Lorde, lesbian mother poet radical badass

Text: YOUR SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU
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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
You are here.
Tweet showing a protest-style sign on a city street that reads, “We are officially living out the part of history that makes school kids ask, WHY DIDN’T ANYONE DO ANYTHING TO STOP THEM?”
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Nothing says "we're the party of small government that's trying to stamp out government waste" like having US Attorneys investigate the editorial practices of academic journals read by a few thousand people.
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It's Going Down @igd.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
"Hundreds of military children who are students at Defense Department schools across the globe walked out of class to protest book bans, curriculum changes and restrictions on extracurricular activities that have resulted from Trump's crackdown on diversity." www.military.com/daily-news/2...
military.com
Hundreds of Students at Military Base Schools Walk Out to Protest Trump Administration’s Anti-Diversity Policies
The walkouts, which included about a dozen schools on U.S. military bases in Europe, Asia and at least one stateside, represent the biggest collective action military children have taken since the sta...
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
🧵 None of the humans with autism in our lives need curing & RFK & everyone like him can go to hell
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Remember that faculty already have to share reports of their research to university management for routine performance evaluations. This is about something else.
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Dahlia Lithwick @dahlialithwick.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
"If the government can disappear any people it wishes, dump them in a Salvadoran dungeon and prevent any court in this country from providing relief, we all should be very, very afraid."
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump’s Gulag Archipelago (Gift Article)
Trump is seeking to establish a truly chilling proposition: that no one can stop his administration from imprisoning anyone it wants, anywhere in the world.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Perfect distillation of the hypocrisy of the “defending women” claim
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
🚨 NIH quietly reinstated a grant on gender-affirming care, hoping it'd save top officials from sitting for depositions. It didn't work. On 4/22, Memoli will sit for sworn testimony. Today: Michelle Bulls, who's signed many termination letters. Tomorrow: fmr extramural research chief Liza Bundesen.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Absolutely proud of you all! HUG! So far, 3.1 million protesters counted today — that’s nearly 1% of the U.S. population! Photos are flooding social media everywhere. Still waiting on more numbers to come in.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
The biggest thing we need to do is let people know that the protests are FUN. Yelling fuck the man is fun. You will meet fun people. We also need to make them more fun. Bring grills like the French. Bring instruments like it’s Mardi Gras. Give people a reason to spend their weekend in the streets.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
To the world: We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom. —With love, Your American allies.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 05/04/2025
Keep downplaying the protests at your own peril. Keep threatening Americans. The protests will only get bigger. Trump is hated. Musk is hated. The political winds have shifted. People are fed up. This is only the beginning.
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Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Well, here it is. Trump and Musk are turning #NIH into a garbage rightwing thinktank, just as we said. They’re forcing down junk science on us with your tax dollars. This is a deep shame for America and for scientists everywhere. 1/3
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 02/04/2025
How does one go in five years from running—under very difficult circumstances— a poorly designed study of infection rates, to presiding over the wholesale destruction of US biomedical research?
scientificamerican.com
NIH Director Removes Four Main Scientists amid Massive Staff Purge
The Trump Administration has fired four leaders and thousands of employees at the National Institutes of Health in "one of the darkest days"
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WIRED @wired.com · 31/03/2025
Xiaofeng Wang, a longtime computer science professor at Indiana University, has disappeared along with his wife, and their profiles on the school's website were wiped ahead of recent FBI raids.
wrd.cm
Cybersecurity Professor Mysteriously Disappears as FBI Raids His Homes
Xiaofeng Wang, a longtime computer science professor at Indiana University, has disappeared along with his wife, and their profiles on the school's website were wiped ahead of recent FBI raids.
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Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Update on the situation at IMLS -> “Entire staff at federal agency that funds libraries and museums put on leave”
npr.org
Entire staff at federal agency that funds libraries and museums put on leave
The staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was placed on administrative leave this morning, following a meeting between IMLS leadership and DOGE staff.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Peter Marks has been a constant force for good at FDA and this is beyond worrisome. It’s devastating news. wapo.st/4j31DJa
wapo.st
RFK Jr. forces out Peter Marks, FDA’s top vaccine scientist
Marks, an architect of Operation Warp Speed for coronavirus vaccines, warned that a measles outbreak shows how confidence in science is being “undermined.”
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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Breaking: RFK Jr. has forced out PETER MARKS, the nation’s top vaccine regulator. In his resignation letter, obtained by the Post, Marks said he was willing to work with RFK Jr on his vaccine concerns — but said Kennedy wishes “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”
washingtonpost.com
RFK Jr. forces out Peter Marks, FDA’s top vaccine scientist
Marks, an architect of Operation Warp Speed, warned that a recent measles outbreak shows how confidence in science and public health is being “undermined.”
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Ruining studies and potentially harming research subjects... Abruptly terminating clinical trials... Ignorant and evil www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
theatlantic.com
The NIH’s Most Reckless Cuts Yet
Ending clinical trials with no warning can put patients at risk.
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David Woodruff @dmwoodruff.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
A very old Soviet joke, from an especially dark time: Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves. Q: Why are you running away? Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels. Q: But you’re foxes! Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
BREAKING: A second federal judge has barred the military from enforcing its ban on transgender service members. Details TK storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
I noted the plaintiff in the case against the military transgender ban that just resulted in a nationwide injunction against it, out of WA state, is Commander Emily Shilling, a Navy fighter and test pilot who transitioned while in the service. glaad.org/transgender-...
glaad.org
Transgender Military Service Member: “I am proof that we are qualified to serve” | GLAAD
Commander Emily Shilling, a U.S. Naval aviator who is also an out transgender woman, is already serving in the military, already making our country safer and stronger, already well qualified. "I have ...
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
"It’s not clear how or why Geier, who is not a physician and has an undergraduate degree from the Univ. of Maryland at Baltimore County, was chosen... "He was disciplined by Maryland regulators over a decade ago for practicing medicine without a license... www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism
A long-discredited researcher and vaccine skeptic will conduct a government study on whether vaccines cause autism.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 25/03/2025
So the guy leading RFK Jr.'s vaccine-autism study? A total quack who was previously charged for practicing medicine without a license for using chemical castration drugs on autistic children.
Maryland physician board charges promoters of dangerous autism therapy.
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