Ben Teresa
@benfteresa.bsky.social
Associate Professor VCU Urban and Regional Studies & Planning, Co-founder and director, RVA Eviction Lab
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Moments ago: tenants of the South Shore apartment building that federal immigration agents raided at the end of September held a presser to announce they're forming a tenants union.
They're demanding, among other things, sewage removal and heat and electricity restroration.
More updates TK.
They're demanding, among other things, sewage removal and heat and electricity restroration.
More updates TK.
November 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Moments ago: tenants of the South Shore apartment building that federal immigration agents raided at the end of September held a presser to announce they're forming a tenants union.
They're demanding, among other things, sewage removal and heat and electricity restroration.
More updates TK.
They're demanding, among other things, sewage removal and heat and electricity restroration.
More updates TK.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
![II. Credibility
The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6]
Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage.
[FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifpyry2il5toxbr3iejgrsxs6kmnwve75qwnhebfp44ieyjrfpsdu@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
This is what guys like Yglesias, and everybody else making hay about Kamala supporting transition care in prisons, want to happen everywhere.
EXCLUSIVE: A forced detransition policy had disastrous effects in one Georgia prison, according to the manager of the medical unit there.
The policy is on hold due to a court order requiring prisons to re-start hormone treatments for incarcerated people in GA.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
The policy is on hold due to a court order requiring prisons to re-start hormone treatments for incarcerated people in GA.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
EXCLUSIVE: Forced Detransitions ‘Nearly Toppled’ Medical Unit in Georgia Prison During Care Ban — Assigned
In the midst of a lawsuit, a Georgia prison resumes gender affirming care for trans inmates.
www.assignedmedia.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:10 PM
This is what guys like Yglesias, and everybody else making hay about Kamala supporting transition care in prisons, want to happen everywhere.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
What does the end of Trumpism look like? Ironically, the breakup of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s might lend some insights 1/x
🔥 A former president & a former chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) resigned from ISI’s board on Friday. One of them posted this warning that “conservative institutions are being systematically…undermined by post-liberals who promote a ‘no enemies to the right’ mindset.” 1/
November 17, 2025 at 8:58 PM
What does the end of Trumpism look like? Ironically, the breakup of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s might lend some insights 1/x
Reposted by Ben Teresa
The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled and the Youngkin appointees who were voted down by the Senate from our college boards will NOT be taking their seats! This is a victory of enormous significance to the legislative branch and a reminder that we have no Kings in Virginia!
November 17, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled and the Youngkin appointees who were voted down by the Senate from our college boards will NOT be taking their seats! This is a victory of enormous significance to the legislative branch and a reminder that we have no Kings in Virginia!
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
No one demanded the market distorting effects of personalist dictatorship more than capital, they should be happy with their choice. bsky.app/profile/carl...
YELLEN: “.. businesses feel paralyzed by the uncertainty about policies that represent the strong but really personal whims of a single individual.”
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
November 14, 2025 at 1:02 PM
No one demanded the market distorting effects of personalist dictatorship more than capital, they should be happy with their choice. bsky.app/profile/carl...
Reposted by Ben Teresa
If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:48 PM
If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
November 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?
Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM
This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Ben Teresa
So many people were detained extrajudicially, were tortured, or died because of Dick Cheney. You can't get to the danger we're in now without everything he did. The weapons he helped forge are ones we need to take away from U.S. presidents forever.
November 4, 2025 at 12:52 PM
So many people were detained extrajudicially, were tortured, or died because of Dick Cheney. You can't get to the danger we're in now without everything he did. The weapons he helped forge are ones we need to take away from U.S. presidents forever.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Republicans still being willing to carry on this charade for 15 fucking years is a direct indictment of the media
Mike Johnson talks about the Republican "healthcare plan" like it's highly classified information: "We're not gonna be on a conference call explaining all our plans and strategies for healthcare reform, because they're leaked in real time."
November 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Republicans still being willing to carry on this charade for 15 fucking years is a direct indictment of the media
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Published my first Op-Ed w/ Professor Ed Goetz on how the national narrative about Minneapolis misses how zoning and market rate housing are necessary but not sufficient to help lower-income renters 🧵 www.startribune.com/twin-cities-...
Opinion | We’re seeing haves and have-nots with Minneapolis rents
While the housing cost burden is easing overall, it’s not the case for lower-income renters, the authors write.
www.startribune.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Published my first Op-Ed w/ Professor Ed Goetz on how the national narrative about Minneapolis misses how zoning and market rate housing are necessary but not sufficient to help lower-income renters 🧵 www.startribune.com/twin-cities-...
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Since the LIHTC program was created in 1986, the number of LIHTC units has risen every year as the program has become the major generator of affordable housing in the US.
Because of affordability expiration, however, the number of LIHTC units is expected to begin falling over the next decade.
Because of affordability expiration, however, the number of LIHTC units is expected to begin falling over the next decade.
Expirations and early exits of LIHTC units: Implications for the affordable housing stock - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the nation’s largest source of financing for the development and preservation of affordable rental housing. The program provides tax credits to developers ...
www.chicagofed.org
October 31, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Since the LIHTC program was created in 1986, the number of LIHTC units has risen every year as the program has become the major generator of affordable housing in the US.
Because of affordability expiration, however, the number of LIHTC units is expected to begin falling over the next decade.
Because of affordability expiration, however, the number of LIHTC units is expected to begin falling over the next decade.
Reposted by Ben Teresa
The US federal government's spending on housing—directly through the budget, or through tax expenditures—amounts to more than $400 billion a year.
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
October 30, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The US federal government's spending on housing—directly through the budget, or through tax expenditures—amounts to more than $400 billion a year.
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Diversity doesn’t weaken unions. Racist bosses like Vance using racism to divide workers by race so they can exploit them weakens unions. All this stuff is arsonists complaining about the temperature in the building they set on fire. bsky.app/profile/diew...
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Diversity doesn’t weaken unions. Racist bosses like Vance using racism to divide workers by race so they can exploit them weakens unions. All this stuff is arsonists complaining about the temperature in the building they set on fire. bsky.app/profile/diew...
Reposted by Ben Teresa
Jeremy W. Peters identifies the tell-tale sign of “leftist dogma” in @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social: pronouncing Haiti’s name correctly
October 29, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Jeremy W. Peters identifies the tell-tale sign of “leftist dogma” in @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social: pronouncing Haiti’s name correctly
Reposted by Ben Teresa
That’s right folks, knowing basic facts about one of the formative events of Western history makes you a threat to the nation
October 29, 2025 at 1:29 AM
That’s right folks, knowing basic facts about one of the formative events of Western history makes you a threat to the nation
Reposted by Ben Teresa
i hope that a governor spanberger and a democratic general assembly uses its authority to discipline the university for its capitulation and to remove these BOV members who have decided that they work for donald trump and not the people of the commonwealth
October 22, 2025 at 11:56 PM
i hope that a governor spanberger and a democratic general assembly uses its authority to discipline the university for its capitulation and to remove these BOV members who have decided that they work for donald trump and not the people of the commonwealth
Reposted by Ben Teresa
The day after the Chinatown raid, New York AG Tish James launches an online portal for the public to submit photos and videos of ICE activity.
"We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes.
Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...
"We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes.
Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...
October 22, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The day after the Chinatown raid, New York AG Tish James launches an online portal for the public to submit photos and videos of ICE activity.
"We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes.
Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...
"We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes.
Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...
Reposted by Ben Teresa
We're two weeks out from Virginia's election. Almost no state's electorate has realigned as much as Virginia's over the past decades. When Mark Warner won the 2001 Gov. election, he did so with a coalition that included the Western coal counties and Hampton Roads, but mostly lost NOVA. 1/x
October 22, 2025 at 4:12 PM
We're two weeks out from Virginia's election. Almost no state's electorate has realigned as much as Virginia's over the past decades. When Mark Warner won the 2001 Gov. election, he did so with a coalition that included the Western coal counties and Hampton Roads, but mostly lost NOVA. 1/x
Reposted by Ben Teresa
This is one of the worst papers I've read in a long time and should not be cited by serious scholars and journalists
October 22, 2025 at 5:02 PM
This is one of the worst papers I've read in a long time and should not be cited by serious scholars and journalists
Reposted by Ben Teresa
New, by me, on why the City of Atlanta should not extend its TAD (TIF) districts and how it will hurt, not help, low-income Atlantans.
(Bracing for a new round of ad hominem attacks from Mayor Dickens or his staff/lobbyists, but I am traveling so may not see it.)
🧵1/N
(Bracing for a new round of ad hominem attacks from Mayor Dickens or his staff/lobbyists, but I am traveling so may not see it.)
🧵1/N
Extending gentrifying Atlanta’s tax districts for 25 years makes little sense
Atlanta's Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) have run their course and we should find more novel ways to spur prosperity, build housing and assist low-income residents.
www.ajc.com
October 18, 2025 at 11:27 AM
New, by me, on why the City of Atlanta should not extend its TAD (TIF) districts and how it will hurt, not help, low-income Atlantans.
(Bracing for a new round of ad hominem attacks from Mayor Dickens or his staff/lobbyists, but I am traveling so may not see it.)
🧵1/N
(Bracing for a new round of ad hominem attacks from Mayor Dickens or his staff/lobbyists, but I am traveling so may not see it.)
🧵1/N
Reposted by Ben Teresa
GET RID OF YOUR RING CAMERAS www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Amazon’s Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police
Agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with "evidence collection and investigative work."
www.yahoo.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM
GET RID OF YOUR RING CAMERAS www.yahoo.com/news/article...