Sunday Funday: December Holidays Edition

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Dave Bradley

6 minutes:

Boy, do we ever need some diversion from the dismemberment of our government and society being led by the Felon in the White House. As the spectacles unfold of Republican politician’s unlawfulness and corruption, including a march to war to steal the oil in Venezuela, I am trying to take a bit of a break from reality for a few days.

 As long as our species has been around in the northern hemisphere this time of year has been a time for joy because we can actually see the day time lengthening and therefore reasoned that the sun is coming back. No better reason to party than knowing the sun will be around again for a while. So Party on!

In the course of celebrating mankind created some low level festive days leading up to the big kahuna which in various places and times has been Saturnalia, Jul, Christmas, Winter Solstice or Hanukkah. Most of these fests have a theme of the retuning light, thanking some deity for that return and fun, fun, fun.

So I will mix in some qiuestions on St. Nicholas and Santa Lucia whose minor feast are celebrated this week as we wind down to the big kahuna. Hope it takes away the stench of questions about what Republicans are doing:

A) We end the week with an announcement of another giant takeover in the media world as who announced they will buy Warner Brothers?

B) In what seems like following a long established script, what cabinet member claimed the blame for illegal acts in the Caribbean were not his fault?

C) Well, then, just whose fault were those illegal acts according to the administration?

D) Santa Lucia Day is December 13th. Traditional celebration has a teen aged girl wearing a white dress and what on her head?

E) SCOTUS topped the week by pronouncing that what state’s gerrymandering plan was OK with them?

F) The week began with an appeals court saying that what Trump appointment for New Jersey’s US Attorney was done illegally?

G) The FIWH held a cabinet meeting this week. During the praise portion of the meeting DHS Secretary Noem showered Trump with praise for keeping what out of the US this year?

H) Santa Lucia is mostly celebrated in what area of the world?

I) In what looks like the first skirmishes in what may become a widening conflict what religious group issued condemnations of US actions against members of that group in the US?

J) European leaders are meeting Dec. 18 to discuss using what to aid Ukraine in their war against Russia?

K) What very select group of people get a wake up call from Santa Lucia and her attendants on Santa Lucia Day (Dec. 13)?

L) What major retailer made headlines when they joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration to recoup tariff payments that the company claimed the administration had collected illegally?

M) Revenue is down over $4 B in Las Vegas because what group of people are boycotting travel to the US this year?

N) Monday the US Department of Transportation threatened to shut down 3000 of what kind of schools in a crackdown?

O) Last Thursday was the one year anniversary of whose shooting that focused attention on the health insurance industry?

P) Saint Nicholas Day was yesterday. Most people know that Nicholas was the Bishop of what city on Turkey’s southern coast?

Q) The hypocrit of the year has to be the FIWH for pardoning the former Honduras president who was incarcerated for what crime?

R) Out of this world edition. The Mars rover discovered indications of what earthly natural phenomena on Mars?

S) Who is Franklin the Turtle and why is he in the news?

T)  What name do the Dutch refer to Saint Nicholas as?

If we are at war, then Pete Hegseth is a war criminal. If we are not at war then Pete Hegseth is a murderer.

Answers:

A) Netflix

B) Secretary of WAR Hegseth

C) Looks like Admiral Frank Bradley is the designated fall guy

D) a crown of candles

E) Texas

F) Alina Habba

G) hurricanes

H) Scandinavia

I) Catholics

J) Frozen Russian assets in European (mostly Belgian) banks

K) People who have just won the Nobel prizes announced on December 10th

L) Costco

M) Canadians

N) truck driving schools. If you think prices are high now, just wait……

O) Brian Thompson, United Health Care CEO

P) Myra

Q) bringing drugs (cocaine) into the US – something like 400 tons – while claiming he is trying to stop drugs coming in from Venezuela

R) lightening in dust devils

S) Franklin is a much loved Canadian children’s book hero who was used by SOW Hegseth to sell his (Hegseth’s) version of his war on Venezuela

T) Sinterklaas (which evolved into Santa Claus)

I spent two years in the Trump administration. During that time, I saw how the president handled national security decisions. One of my biggest takeaways was this:
He fantasized regularly about maiming & killing unarmed civilians. Actually. –Miles Taylor

Canadians boycotting the United States are actually moving the needle. Las Vegas alone has taken a four-billion-dollar hit because Canadians chose not to go. The American alcohol industry is down another nine hundred million. That is real impact. – Microinteracti1.

Jesse Welles: Department of War (2 minutes)

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Nebraska (Iowa?) Is On A Roll

Posted on December 6, 2025 by Dave Bradley

This is a reprint from Markos Moulitsis on dailykos.com from Saturday November 29th. Dailykos does allow reprints of their articles.

Without too much imagination, you should be able to see that what is ailing Nebraska is also ailing Iowa.

Nebraska has been on a roll. After voting big for President Donald Trump in 2024 and Republicans since forever, the state is now reaping what it so eagerly sowed.

Its economy is collapsing. It lacks the workers it needs. It is losing its medical facilities. And none of this is surprising given how dependent Nebraska is on federal subsidies, immigrant farm labor, and international trade—all things Trump and his party have targeted with budget slashing, mass immigration raids, and tariffs.

The latest blow is the announcement that Tyson Foods is closing its beef processing plant in Lexington. The facility employs around 3,200 workers—roughly a third of the town’s population. 

A hit of that scale doesn’t land on Lexington alone, though. It sends shockwaves through the region: restaurants, grocery stores, landlords, schools, trucking operations, small suppliers, and everyone else tied to the local economy. With the closure slated for January, the message for the holidays and the year ahead is grim. Entire communities now have to brace for an economic crater their political choices helped create.

Trump has spent years attacking the inputs that keep Nebraska’s agriculture-heavy economy afloat. The state depends on immigrant labor to run its farms and packing plants, yet Trump’s raids have scared those workers away or deported them. It depends on access to global markets, yet Trump keeps slapping tariffs on everyone in sight, inspiring them to retaliate with tariffs of their own—driving up the cost of doing business. 

And for all the talk about putting America first, Trump was perfectly happy to boost Argentina’s far-right president, Javier Milei, by cutting a deal to import Argentinian beef straight into the U.S. market. Trump got to help a fellow authoritarian, and Nebraska got undercut.

 

tip of the hat to dailykos.com

{editor’s note: Iowa and Nebraska tied at -6.1% decline}

Tyson’s cuts aren’t limited to Nebraska. The company is also slashing another 1,700 jobs at its plant in Amarillo, Texas. In total, those cuts will slash the nation’s beef processing capacity by up to 9%. And when capacity drops that sharply across the country, the downstream effects show up exactly where you’d expect: higher prices at the checkout counter and fewer jobs in the places that can least afford to lose them.

There’s yet another layer to this crisis, one that Republicans pretend doesn’t exist. 

Years of intensifying drought have helped to shrink cattle herds across the Great Plains. Climate change makes every part of the system more brittle—feed costs rise, grazing conditions worsen, ranchers liquidate herds, and the supply chain tightens even further. Instead of facing that reality, though, Republicans have spent decades mocking climate science and blocking any serious attempt to prepare for the future. That denial is now baked into the economic suffering states like Nebraska are experiencing.

None of these problems are abstract. They are the predictable result of a political movement that promises easy answers, scapegoats immigrants, attacks the very federal investment its states rely on, and refuses to accept the basic facts of a warming planet. 

As long as Nebraskans keep voting Republican to, you know, keep some trans kid from a swim meet or whatever, this won’t be the last town in the state to face economic collapse.

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Ramblings Of A Polluted Mind

Posted on December 6, 2025 by Dave Bradley

After watching the video that Trish Nelson posted on here Thursday morning concerning Iowa’s heavily polluted waterways, I also ran into some stories concerning Trump administration’s recent efforts to  roll back rules that concern pollution or are adjacent to pollution in some way.

What started me on this track was the story that popped up Thursday morning that the the administration through Secretary of Transportation Duffy would be rolling back mileage standards for fleets from 50.4 MPG (miles per gallon) to 34.5 MPG. If my math is correct that is about a 35% lessening. Here is America’s #1 liar giving his slanted view: (1.5 minutes)

If a fleet of vehicles is burning fuel 35% less efficiently where does that fuel that is burned less efficiently end up? I am not a mechanic, but my understanding is that inefficiently burned fuel ends up either as pollutants in the air or somehow leeches out of the cars system as a solid or liquid waste. Either way it is out there in the environment for us or other animal life to inhale or take into our bodies.

When I saw this story, my mind immediately leapt a couple of summers back to a cross country classic car caravan that happened to go right in front of our house as part of its journey across the US. We had a ringside seat! There were cars from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s! Chevys, Dodges, even American Motors. We thought we were so lucky to have such a parade go right by our house!

But we forgot about the big drawback to those old cars – the pollution. We had watched for about half an hour from our porch when we started getting sick. We got sick in a hurry. We realized that it was the gas fumes from those old polluters that was choking us and making us dizzy. We got in our car and drove about thirty miles in the other direction to get some cleaner air. We stayed away for about 4 hours. When we got back, the air still had a stink, but was tolerable.

Now, while a lowering of the mileage standards may not have that effect, we do know that any retrenchment in pollution standards will have negative effects. When you are in a state like Iowa, couple more car pollution with the highly publicized water pollution that Trish’s post dealt with on Thursday and we are mixing a toxic brew that probably ups the chances of contracting cancer in a state where cancer is a top killer.

Then if we add farm chemicals to the mix the toxic brew becomes a super toxic brew that will come get you. You do not have to take one step out of your way, it will seek you out.  So here in Iowa we start with a base level of waterways polluted by farm nutrient run off, mix in a pollutants in the air that were slowly coming down thanks to fuel standards and then to tie it all together, let’s add in more farm chemicals. This time let’s add in pesticides.

As it sometimes seems to happen, stories that have some commonality will seem to pop up in a timely manner. In this case it was a story that the Trump Administration will be doing what it can to help Bayer company face limited liability for damages alleged in lawsuits over it Roundup brand of glyphosate weed killers.

You may recall last winter and spring that Iowa’s legislature wrestled with limiting liability for Bayer’s Roundup. A bill to limit liability passed the Iowa senate before it stalled in the House. I have no doubt that some form of this bill will be on the Republican agenda when they meet again in January. Farmers are still using glyphosate in the meantime.

“This is like a win-win, where we both win or where we both lose, which is why I’m hopeful that we can convince the decision-makers in the state to stand by us and ultimately to stand by their rural communities,” Matthias Berninger, Bayer senior vice president for public affairs and science and sustainability, told the Des Moines Register in an April 30 interview.

The high-profile bill, Senate File 394, would protect pesticide and herbicide manufacturers from claims their products’ labels didn’t disclose potential health risks, like cancer, as long as their labeling follows U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules.

Opponents of the legislation, who’ve rallied at the Capitol against it, say the bill prioritizes corporate profits over the lives and health of Iowans. Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country.

Investors have been clear that they want a solution soon, Berninger said, which is why Bayer claims it won’t be able to sell glyphosate in the U.S. without the guardrails, like the Iowa bill, because of the risk of losing billions of dollars more from litigation. The company faces 67,000 pending cases.

The company has faced thousands of lawsuits linking cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer to Roundup, paying more than $10 billion in 2020 to settle suits of more than 95,000 cases related to claims that the product’s labels did not warn of potential cancer.

As you get up and get out today, be mindful of what you eat, what you drink, where you walk and what you breathe. The late Tom Lehrer gave us a heads up on conduct in other countries with pollution problems 60 years ago. This little ditty seems to apply to Iowa today:

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Iowa AG And SOS Help Trump Build National Citizen Registry

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Follow Ed Tibbetts’ Along the Mississippi on Substack.  To read this entire article, click on the link. edtibbetts.substack.com/

by Ed Tibbetts

Iowa is helping the Trump administration build a national citizen registry.

Groups worry the registry threatens the privacy of millions of Americans

Brenna Bird buried the news. I can understand why.

No self-respecting right-winger would want to be seen backing a centralized citizen registry in Washington, DC.

For as long as I can remember, conservatives were in the vanguard of opposing such big government excesses. Yet, here is Iowa’s attorney general—along with Secretary of State Paul Pate—actually helping to build what some critics are likening to a super database for Big Brother.

Iowa’s involvement in this pursuit was revealed on Monday, when Bird and Pate bragged about an agreement with the Trump administration. They called it a victory for election integrity. But they conveniently failed to explain a separate part of the deal. The news organization Stateline reported that Iowa, Florida, Ohio and Indiana also agreed as part of the bargain to assist the federal government’s effort to scoop up the driver’s license records of Americans now being held in a nationwide law enforcement computer network.

The pursuit of this detailed personal data is part of the Trump administration’s effort to convert the federal Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE program into what is, essentially, a national citizen data bank.

Originally, the SAVE program was built to ensure applicants for government benefits were eligible citizens. But the new Trump initiative, which has been under-reported in the mainstream news media, has been going on for several months and is currently the subject of a court challenge.

Read more

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What’s Eating Iowa?

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen and award-winning cinematographer Jerry Risius have teamed up again for the new docuseries What’s Eating Iowa to highlight issues and struggles faced by working families in Iowa.

Visit Iowans for Stronger Communities

Donate to fund the remainder of this docuseries: https://givebutter.com/whats-eating-iowa

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Dem Candidate Clint Twedt-Ball Completes Tour Of District 02

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Clint stocking shelves at the Clarksville Food Pantry in Butler County on December 1.

press@clintforiowa.com

Clint Twedt-Ball Announces he has Visited All 22 Counties in Iowa’s Second Congressional District

Today, Clint Twedt-Ball announced that he has visited all twenty-two counties in Iowa’s Second Congressional District since launching his campaign for Congress. His final stop was on December 1 in Butler County, where Clint dropped off donated food and toured the Clarksville Food Pantry.

“Being a Representative is about listening to Iowans and then taking action to improve their lives. As I’ve traveled this district and had conversations with Iowans from all walks of life, there is one thing nearly everyone agrees we need: change,” Twedt-Ball said.

“During my 20 years leading Matthew 25, the nonprofit I founded, I learned that creating change starts with showing up, listening to people’s goals and aspirations and then taking action. So that’s what I’ve done in this campaign. I’ve visited with seniors on a fixed income struggling under crushing healthcare costs, parents worried about the state of Iowa’s education system, and young people uncertain about what a future in Iowa looks like.”

“Iowans are tired of our angry, broken political system, with the culture of contempt and shameless self-enrichment by career politicians in both parties. They are looking for a new kind of politics where we listen to each other and solve problems. I know if we elect the right leaders, we can build a better future for Iowa, with better healthcare, better schools, and stronger communities.”

Clint’s stops included candidate forums, county party events, and visits to farms, food banks, economic development organizations and small businesses. He has driven nearly 3,800 miles across northeast Iowa to meet Iowans where they are.

Clint plans to visit every county again early next year to hold listening sessions, town halls and meet and greets. A public schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

About Clint

Clint Twedt-Ball is a United Methodist pastor and founder of Matthew 25, a Cedar Rapids nonprofit focused on affordable housing, food, and education. Clint played a pivotal role in recovery efforts after the 2008 flood and the 2020 derecho. His organization recruited thousands of volunteers, rehabbed over 1,000 homes, and has driven millions of dollars of investment into core neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids.

Clint was born and raised in Iowa and has dedicated his life to building up his community and stepping in when the system is broken. He is centering his campaign on his optimistic leadership that has proven to bring people together through difficult times. Clint is committed to fighting rising costs, chaos, and corruption and finding common ground on solutions to make sure everyone has the opportunity to reach their God-given potential.

About the Race

Iowa’s second congressional district spans the northeast part of the state and includes Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Waverly, Waterloo, and Grinnell.

With incumbent Rep. Ashley Hinson running for Senate, the seat is open this cycle and Cook Political Report has shifted the race towards Democrats. It is one of only four open seats Democrats are targeting in the country.

https://www.clintforiowa.com/

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Homeless: The Reality On The Ground

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Trish Nelson

“After many years of reporting and writing, the day is finally here: THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US is out today. I poured everything into this book, and I hope it ignites outrage at the fact that so many people in the richest nation on earth have been deprived of one of the most basic human necessities.” – Brian Goldstone

Journalist and Author Brian Goldstone was on pbsnews.org discussing his book, There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America, about the staggering rise of the “working homeless.”

“Homelessness today isn’t just the person sleeping outside a Walmart. It’s often the cashier or worker stocking the shelves inside.”

It’s in cities across America today, in one city after another, a low wage job really is homelessness waiting to happen. And what they have in common is they all belong to the low wage workforce. And it’s not just that their wages are too low to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of having a place to live.

It’s also that the jobs themselves have become increasingly volatile and precarious where they often don’t know how many hours they’re going to be getting from one week to the next. Their employers give them 29 hours a week because at 30 they would be eligible for basic benefits like health insurance or sick leave…”

Read the full transcript here 

Follow Brian Goldstone on  bsky/brian-goldstone

 

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Democratic FCC Commissioner Is Standing Up For Free Speech

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Trish Nelson

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the FCC,  is standing up for the public interest.  In April she embarked on the first leg of her First Amendment Tour to raise and hear concerns about government censorship and control over media. The tour features speaking engagements and listening sessions across the country, often in partnership with consumer and civil society groups, such as Free Press.

“I embarked on my First Amendment tour because I became alarmed by the campaign of control and censorship that I saw this administration embarking on,” said FCC Commissioner Gomez.

Gomez joined  community leaders for a special forum on November 13 at Rutgers University.

Also on the panel is Jennifer Jessica Gonzalez of Free Press. Among many accomplishments,  she “co-led effective advertiser boycotts of Facebook and Twitter for their permissive approaches to hate speech and to democracy destabilization one of the few boycotts that have actually been successful.”

Watch the conversation below.

Free Press and Rutgers Law School

“Local news and freedom of speech across the country are under threat. Due to federal funding cuts, NPR and PBS affiliates of all sizes have announced that they will need to lay off staff, reduce programming. News for diverse populations is further under threat due to additional media consolidation, which the Federal Communications Commission is poised to bless. The FCC chairman and President Trump are brazenly attacking journalists and media outlets for seeking to foster diversity, equity and inclusion and for critical reporting.”

 

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Sunday Funday: Nursing Not A Profession? Edition

Posted on November 30, 2025 by Dave Bradley

Marsh Family “MTG Has Broken Cover” 4 minutes

The Onion caught wind of the soon to be dispensed with Education Department’s drive to claim Nursing was not a profession (follow that? Good!) and gave it coverage as only the Onion can deliver:

White House Reclassifies Nursing As Hobby

WASHINGTON—Describing the practice as a “fun little side project” rather than an occupation, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Monday that nursing would be reclassified as a hobby under new student loan regulations. “While those seeking degrees in veterinary medicine, law, and podiatry will still have access to the full financing available to future professionals, our department will henceforth limit loans for those Americans simply blowing off a little steam by attending nursing school in between shifts at Buffalo Wild Wings,” said McMahon, who questioned the federal government’s role in loaning out money so students could purchase masks, gloves, and stethoscopes for their “fun little nurse costumes.” “There’s a lot of cutting and sewing in nursing, so it’s really an activity that falls under arts and crafts. Some moms choose to knit, others choose to nurse. Plus, rushing between ER patients is a great way to stay active, just like riding your bike. And what’s also great is you get to brush shoulders with doctors, who can give you career advice should you choose to pursue a real job in the medical world some day.” McMahon concluded her statement by announcing the loan cap for theology degrees had been increased to $800,000.

Yet another disastrous week for the US with the Felon In The White House [FIWH]

A) In his Thanksgiving Day address from Mar-a-Lago the FIWH proposed eliminating what tax on Americans?

B) The FIWH then suggested replacing that tax with revenue from what source?

C) Since we are between holidays, I will ask some trivia questions about our next war opponent, Venezuela. For instance, what other superpower is sending troops and equipment to Venezuella as we speak?

D) Over 130 are dead or missing following a huge fire in a high rise complex in what major Asian city last week?

E) The Native American actress who played Marilyn Whirlwind in the TV series “Northern Exposure” was detained last week in yet another case of racial profiling by what government agency?

F) The FIWH called for an end to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for what group of aliens that are clustered in the Minneapolis area last Sunday morning?

G) What incredible waterfall is located in Venezuella?

H) At least 3,200 jobs are expected to be lost in a town of 11,000 as Tyson announced the closing of beef processing plant in what Nebraska city?

I) In the ongoing battle to control the US House, there will be a special election to fill a vacant seat Tuesday in what state?

J) Following his participation in a video reminding military personnel that they must disobey illegal orders, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is seeking to have what retired military senator reactivated so he can be courtmartialed?

K) In a ranking of countries based on their freedom of press, the US ranks what out of 179 countries?

L) Most people know that the Venezuelan capitol Caracas is also the largest city in Venezuela. What is the second largest city?

M) Two National Guard were shot while on duty in Washington DC. The FIWH has said his response will be what?

N) Happy Birthday, Y’all! What major southern entertainment enterprise celebrated its 100th anniversary Friday?

O) Claiming the organization is “designed to attack boy friendly spaces” Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, said the military will sever ties with what youth group?

P) At $3.5 million per outing, how much has the FIWH spent on golf trips so far this term?

Q) What soup company had some internal strife when a VP openly disparaged the company in various ways?

R) Unfortunately, on a ranking of corruption, Venezuela ranks in what position in the Americas?

S) Toy inventor Burt Meyer’s death was announced last week. Can you name one of Meyer’s  very well known inventions?

T) Maybe another discharge petition is needed? SOH Mike Johnson said the House is not interested in revisiting what policy last week?

AOC on MTG’s sudden resignation:

“She’s carefully timing her departure just 1- 2 days after her pension kicks in and after making millions of dollars insider trading stocks for weapons manufacturers and others while in office. She is saying a lot but her ACTIONS have not backed up the rhetoric. For all her talk, she’s STILL voting with them to gut healthcare and advance
self-dealing corruption schemes.”

tip of the hat to democraticunderground.com

Answers:

A) Income tax

B) tariffs! (which would hit the poor and middle class hardest)

C) Russia is sending Venezuela equipment and troops

D) Hong Kong

E) ICE

F) Somalis

G) Angel Falls

H) Lexington

I) Tennessee

J) Mark Kelly

K) 58th

L) Maracaibo

M) More Troops! At least 500 more

N) The Grand Ole Opry

O) what used to be Boy Scouts and is now Scouting

P) $71 million

Q) Campbell’s

R) #1 and #3 in the world

S) Lite Brite and Rock ‘em sock ‘em Robots

T) extending the ACA support program

“Government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob” FDR 1936

tip of the hat to all-hat-no-cattle.com

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More And More Consolidation In The Media

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Dave Bradley

30 seconds:

When you wake up Monday morning the long time locally ownder Cedar Rapids Gazette will be under a new ownership – Adams Multi-Media from Minneapolis will be taking over one Iowa’s most iconic news sources. Like many media companies, the CRG is another victim of the consolidation epidemic in journalism.

Does that leave any media actually owned by Iowans in the state? I do not know and if we out them, they may not be locally owned for long. Thus is the world of media these days. While the loss of an independent medium sized local media voice won’t kill the American democracy, when these consolidations happen multiple times a year and the independent voices slowly turn to one corporate voice that hands down the corporate line we do indeed have our democracy damaged.

I read in an email from the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative that a couple of the CRG’ favorite local writers had been dispatched from the CRG and will now be working with the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative. So much for Adam’s claim of “local.” No doubt “local” is lower on the totem pole than “corporate line.”

This brought back memories of a returning flight I had from a business trip back in the early ‘90s. My seat mate for Two and a half hours was a former VP of Gannet. He had been a VP earlier that day, but had quit in protest of the direction that Gannet was heading. I got to listen and discuss the direction of American media from this very insightful man until we landed.

His assessment was almost square on the head. Corporations heading only a few voices in a media that once had thousands. Gannet was only among the first. Soon we would have conglomerates where money was much more important than truth. Boy I wish I had a recording of that day.

Obviously I do not, but every time there is another consolidation – even a small one like Adams taking over the Gazette – I think of that guy. He tried. Surely he went off on a crusade and probably got crushed by some corporate machine, but at least he tried.

While the CRG takeover may be considered small potatoes, the media in Iowa is becoming more and more consolidated. Sinclair TV which has outlets in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Omaha and Sioux City is currently in the process of taking over Scripps TV. Scripps in its turn owns TV stations in Cedar Rapids and Omaha. As these companies consolidate fewer voices are heard. Those were once voices of dissent.

The more consolidated the more that politicians can exert “leverage” over these stations, newspapers and other outlets. For instance as we see hundreds of TV and cable stations and terrestrial and satellite radio, in reality there are somewhere in the single digits of definitive voices. One of those is public radio and TV which now shine like a lone beacon in the darkness.

The Sinclair-Scripps takeover is huge but not as big as the one in the works between Nexstar and Tegna. Nexstar owns 200 station in 116 markets and Tegna owns 64 stations in 51 markets. Nexstar owns outlets in Davenport (3), Des Moines and Sioux City. Tegna owns two stations in Des Moines-Ames, Moline, Ill. Hopefully you see the pattern here.

Iowa is hardly a major stake for the media giants, yet as they play empire our voices of democracy will be snuffed out. Robert Reich, a true champion of democracy, spelled out some of the consequences in his subtack post for Tuesday:

Friends,

The richest man on earth owns X.

The family of the second-richest man owns Paramount, which owns CBS — and could soon own Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN.

The third-richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The fourth-richest man owns The Washington Post and Amazon MGM Studios.

Another billionaire owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.

Why are the ultra-rich buying up so much of the media? Vanity may play a part, but there’s a more pragmatic — some might say sinister — reason.

As vast wealth concentrates in the hands of a few, this small group of the ultra-wealthy may rationally fear that a majority of voters could try to confiscate their wealth — through, for example, a wealth tax.

If you’re a multibillionaire, in other words, you might view democracy as a potential threat to your net worth. New York City real estate and oil tycoon John Catsimatidis, whose net worth is estimated at $4.5 billion, donated $2.4 million to support Trump and congressional Republicans in 2024 — nearly twice as much as he gave in 2016. Why? “If you’re a billionaire, you want to stay a billionaire,” Catsimatidis told The Washington Post.

But rather than rely on Republicans, a more reliable means of stopping majorities from targeting your riches might be to control a significant share of the dwindling number of media outlets.

As a media mogul, you can effectively hedge against democracy by suppressing criticism of yourself and other plutocrats and discouraging any attempt to tax away your wealth.

And Trump has been ready to help you. In his second term of office, Trump has brazenly and illegally used the power of the presidency to punish his enemies and reward those who lavish him with praise and profits.

So it wasn’t surprising that the owner of  The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos — the fourth-richest person — stopped the paper from endorsing Kamala Harris last year, as Trump rose in the polls. Or that, once Trump was elected, Bezos decreed that the Post’s opinion section must support “personal liberties and free markets.” And that he bought a proposed documentary about Melania Trump — for which she is the executive producer — for a whopping $40 million.

And while Trump and democracy killing minions may be voted out of office, we may never be able to repair the damage they have done to the watchdogs of democracy and to the first amendment.

 

Posted in #trumpresistance, Media Reform | 1 Comment