Ben Testani
Aspiring writer: ivebenthinking.substack.com | Oakland 5️⃣1️⃣0️⃣ | Comms for @climateone.org | Bad at chess | Proud member @thenwu.bsky.social
- Reposted by Ben Testani☘️new newsletter☘️ A bunch of thoughts on how to best enjoy college football. This one won't be news to anybody here but still wanted to start with it. rakesreport.substack.com/p/rakes-repo...
- Reposted by Ben TestaniI saw Gavin Newsom load a homeless family into a Waymo and shout, “the ocean please” into the steering wheel and then slap the back of it to send it off like a horse.
- I wrote about the joy of transient, often anonymous friendships formed in the temporary bubbles of social cohesion we move through on a daily basis
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- Reposted by Ben TestaniMade some calls. Expect to sign a contract tomorrow. Initial focus is New Haven as that's the largest operation for the carrier by a factor of 4x. Here. We. Go! avelno.com
- Rich people going to do their thing
- Barbara Lee is picking up most of her support in Oakland's flatlands neighborhoods and North Oakland. Loren Taylor is picking up his base of support in the hills, from Berkeley to San Leandro's border. oaklandside.org/2025/04/15/o...
- The email from @bart.gov announcing the debut of @alerts.bart.gov feels especially pointed in light of today's Social Security Administration news
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- I'm excited to log the tariff recession bank run on Strava
- I guess in some ways it'll be liberating if the Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers, as I'll suddenly have 4 hours of my Sundays back this fall.
- An odd to the mighty donut, the world's most versatile dessert 🍩
- I'm sure it's just a coincidence but I can't help but get all conspiracy brained when the commercial breaks align perfectly for March Madness games
- Snagged last-minute tickets to the two #MarchMadness games in San Francisco today. Two Sweet 16 games cost me less than one Warriors game!
- I'm in a neck and neck matchup in the fantasy basketball playoffs despite only having 5 players I drafted left on my roster. I'm either the worst manager with the best luck or the best manager with the worst luck, no in between.
- The signature of Dean G. Marcus Cole of Notre Dame Law School, which is the alma mater of Amy Coney Barrett, is pathetically absent from this letter
- Dean Chemerinsky and other #lawschool deans "speak as legal educators, responsible for training the next generation of lawyers, in condemning any government efforts to punish lawyers or their firms based on the identity of their clients or for their zealous lawful and ethical advocacy."
- It's incredible that the Trump administration plans its military engagements as well as a Disney Channel sitcom main character planning a surprise birthday party
- Taking the sting out of my busted bracket with a little civic participation #ACVotes
- My mood after having picked St. John's to make the Final Four #cbb
- Reposted by Ben TestaniSickos.jpg
- It certainly feels as though mid majors are hosed by foul calls in the tournament every March
- Reposted by Ben TestaniThis case should be a wake up call. Our client has been disappeared and locked up solely based on his tattoos. It is naive to think this kind of incarceration with no chance to refute the charges against you will be limited to asylum seekers. If this goes unchallenged, who could be next?
- Reposted by Ben Testaniabducted by masked agents of the state in the streets of the capital and slated for deportation for the offense of being linked to views
- SCOOP: Hooded ICE agents snatched Indian-born Georgetown postdoc Badar Suri from Rosslyn street Monday, per court filing. Like Khalil, linked to pro-Palestinian views & Rubio 'foreign policy' power, lawyer says. Then whisked to Louisiana. w/ @kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
- Welp, after nearly five years of living in California, I finally experienced an earthquake that was strong enough to notice
- I'm in the 11th year of running a bracket pool. It started on pen and paper in my high school and has now grown into a multinational all-virtual production. I'm still rebuilding the same digital community on Bluesky that I had on Twitter, but anyone who follows me is welcome to join!
- I wrote this piece two years ago about March 11, which is a date that has taken on the level of significance of June 6 or September 11 to those like me who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic
- Just once again wondering what is wrong with @schiff.senate.gov
- 17 Democrats just voted to confirm Trump's anti-labor Labor Secretary. If we have a constitutional crisis (we do), they should start acting like it. www.senate.gov/legislative/...
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- The start of Daylight Saving Time is my favorite holiday
- Markus Burton 🤯
- The ads on the ACC Network are wild
- This response from Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Alysse Castro is how all Democrats should be talking about Republicans' illegal actions.
- @kenpom.com reading through a Reddit thread about the ugly start to BYU-Iowa last night, I came across your old post about the longest scoreless streaks. Some absolutely nasty basketball in there. Any chance of you updating the post to include newer seasons?
- Welp, I've turned into my mother, venting angrily into politicians' mentions. She was onto something — it is indeed therapeutic to virtually harangue spineless stooges. Miss ya mom
- So the best dissent (most) Democrats could muster tonight required as much effort as the average high school spirit day outfit. Cool.
- Rent should be discounted in February
- 🚨 URGENT call to action 🚨 Please join @norcalresist.bsky.social in demanding ICE release Damaris, Edgar, and their daughter from detention. Despite having an active U visa application, the family faces imminent deportation. We need community outreach to urge ICE to stop deportation proceedings.
- A major BART issue yesterday, now Slack is down today. This feels like the start of ten days of plagues for the Bay Area.
- Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla should be CAMPED OUT in regions like the Placer Foothills, Central Valley, and the Inland Empire. These are narrow margin districts — some even went for Biden — where they could easily embarrass the Republicans hell-bent on dismantling California.
- Notre Dame beating Pitt validates my "always wear green jerseys" theory for ND sports
- Reposted by Ben TestaniIt's pretty cool that Eater put together resources for restaurants about how to handle ICE raids
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- This but for BART. I'm so tired of being told BART is "ghetto" or whatever other dogwhistle is in flavor. Riding a BART train is infinitely chiller than driving 580.
