David Dayen
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David Dayen
@ddayen.bsky.social
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Executive editor, The American Prospect. Author, Chain of Title and Monopolized. Tips at ddayen-at-prospect-dot-org or Signal at ddayen.90
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 6d
You can see our entire series on The Business of Sports at
prospect.org/sports. More to come in the days ahead!
Sports - The American Prospect
prospect.org
ddayen.bsky.social
AIPAC was initially looking at a different candidate in IL07, Jason Friedman. He was seen as "too obviously aligned." Conyears Ervin has less defined views for the electorate. The UDP spots are all positive bio spots.
February 10, 2026 at 3:29 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
No
February 10, 2026 at 2:55 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
This is in Illinois' 7th congressional district.
Already AIPAC (through shell PACs and past donors) is in IL08 (supporting Melissa Bean), IL09 (supporting Laura Fine) and IL02 (supporting Donna Miller)
February 10, 2026 at 2:45 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
Just learned that AIPAC has now jumped into a fourth open seat House race in Illinois, backing Melissa Conyears Ervin with what has been described as a $2.8 million buy (around $500k a week).
This is straight up AIPAC, not a shell PAC, through United Democracy Project.
February 10, 2026 at 2:43 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
MAGA lobbyists are demanding that Trump's antitrust division settle the monopolization case against Live Nation/Ticketmaster. The top lawyers in the department don't want to do it. So now the #2 at DOJ Antitrust just quit.
Mark Hamer, #2 at DOJ antitrust, quits.
February 10, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by David Dayen
ruhee.ca
No Kings includes Draft Kings
February 8, 2026 at 11:49 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
We got the pitch deck that public-private partnership Freedom 250 is using to sell access to corporations to Trump in conjunction with the semiquincentennial. $1 million and up gets you a private reception with the president. Read the deck here:
prospect.org/2026/02/09/r...
Read Trump’s Pitch Deck for Selling America’s Birthday - The American Prospect
Freedom 250 is urging donors to repeat far-right Christian nationalist and anti-abortion talking points.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:02 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
Look at this cute new milkshake duck, trying to save Democrats from their excesses.
Update: we regret to inform you that the milkshake duck is a registered lobbyist for OpenAI.
lda.gov/filings/publ...
February 9, 2026 at 10:29 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
The trade of "reforms" to ICE for funding for the Department of Homeland Security looks more and more like it's off the table, Bob Kuttner reports.
prospect.org/2026/02/09/r...
Republican Frostbite - The American Prospect
Defense of ICE has become a political loser, and the deal to trade reforms for continued funding is off the table.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by David Dayen
jamieson.bsky.social
A federal worker at the CFPB found out in December that she had a brain tumor that needed to be removed.

The next month, Russ Vought unilaterally ended her agency's short-term disability plan.
www.huffpost.com/entry/russel...
A Federal Worker Developed A Brain Tumor. The Trump Admin's Next Move Was Unspeakably Cruel.
Russell Vought is seizing every opportunity he can to dismantle a crucial watchdog agency.
www.huffpost.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by David Dayen
whitneycwimbish.bsky.social
The Trump admin made a pitch deck for corporate sponsors to take over America's 250th birthday.
s3.documentcloud.org
February 9, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by David Dayen
sesmith.lol
Very annoyed at the people who decided to open the floodgates to online sports betting, it is absolutely a scourge. Great piece from Gabrielle Gurley on people spending hours a day on these predatory apps.
The Scourge of Online Sports Betting - The American Prospect
States and leagues must face up to the damage from app-based gambling for the next generation of bettors, most of them young men.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 4:52 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
I am pretty used to corporate self-interest, but even I'm shocked by what Ellen Ioanes dug up about the Board of Peace and its designs in Gaza.
prospect.org/2026/02/09/b...
Board of Peace Is a Board of Profits - The American Prospect
Corporate interests dominate the organization planning the reconstruction of Gaza.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 3:50 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
There's way too much nonchalance about the fact that California is hurtling toward electing a MAGA governor, even if 65% of its voters vote for a Democrat in the primary. Harold Meyerson reports on the top-two primary setting conditions for an election at odds with voter preference.
The Nation’s Most Democratic State Might Elect a Trump-Friendly Governor - The American Prospect
California’s nonpartisan primary pits eight Democrats against two Republicans; only the top two finishers advance. Do the math.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:46 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
There's lots more in the story. It's an example of a rare labor success, ending a grossly inequitable work imbalance—and the demands of the beneficiaries of that work imbalance to restore the status quo.
Read it!
prospect.org/2026/02/09/f...
How Congress Refused to Save the NCAA From Itself - The American Prospect
Colleges want exemptions from antitrust and labor laws, so they can continue to hoard billions in cash from sports and deny the players their rights. So far, they’ve failed.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:27 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
It's good that this failed. But the latest concept for the NCAA to "innovate" their way out of reining in their own profligacy is selling off to private equity. prospect.org/2026/02/09/f...
The Big Ten spent the fall negotiating a $2.4 billion deal with UC Investments, the University of California’s pension fund. In exchange for the money, UC Investments would receive a 10 percent stake in a new for-profit entity called Big Ten Enterprises, which would control the conference’s media rights and sponsorship deals. Schools would also extend their media rights contracts through 2046, binding them to the conference for two more decades. The deal promised immediate cash infusions averaging $135 million per school, but the details were troubling. Unlike the Big Ten’s traditional equal revenue sharing, this deal would create a tiered distribution system that favored Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State over the other 15 universities. The deal process was also remarkably opaque. Trustees at multiple Big Ten schools said they were denied access to key details about the proposal. USC and Michigan balked, even amid allegations that the Big Ten threatened penalties if they refused to support the plan. Both schools lack permanent presidents and have powerful boards demanding accountability. Michigan regent Jordan Acker went so far as to suggest the Wolverines might consider football independence when the current grant of rights expires in 2036. UC Investments eventually paused the deal, saying it would not proceed without “unity” among all 18 member schools. But the appetite for outside investment hasn’t disappeared. The University of Utah’s board recently approved a proposal to give private equity firm Otro Capital a minority stake in its new for-profit arm, Utah Brands and Entertainment, the first deal of its kind in college athletics. Utah’s conference, the Big 12, is in talks with a private equity–backed investment firm called Collegiate Athletic Solutions for a $500 million capital infusion that involves future revenue sharing. Another firm, Elevate, has raised $500 million to invest in athletic departments, aiming to transform college football into a “premium experience” comparable to F1 racing. Meanwhile, other investors want to create a super league that would put college football’s biggest brands under a single roof, excluding most of the smaller schools currently eligible for the CFP. Given how unhappy big programs like Notre Dame were about being left out of this year’s bracket while Tulane and James Madison got in, the idea may gain traction.
February 9, 2026 at 2:27 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
The SCORE Act, which was stymied this winter, would have given the NCAA immunity from antitrust laws. The NCAA could have this power if they agreed to respect their players' labor rights, but they won't do that, either.
prospect.org/2026/02/09/f...
The absurdity of the SCORE Act is underscored by the fact that an antitrust exemption is already available to the NCAA. If schools would recognize college athletes as employees, or simply consent to players organizing into unions the way professional athletes in all major American sports leagues do, they could collectively bargain salary caps, limits on NIL collectives, transfer and eligibility rules, scholarship guarantees, health and safety provisions, and all the other terms and conditions of participating in college athletics. The resulting agreement, just like the CBAs in the professional leagues, would be protected from antitrust challenges by labor exemptions that have existed for over a century. Perhaps even more important to the schools, the NCAA and athletes could reach agreement on enforceable anti-circumvention rules, like those that exist in the NBA (the kind that L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is currently accused of violating). That would prevent billionaire alumni from creating the pay-to-play problems that are plaguing the transfer portal. But the NCAA is a calcified organization, and it refuses to recognize athletes as employees. It refuses to let them organize. It refuses to negotiate. Instead, the NCAA and its members pleaded to Congress for a nearly unprecedented exemption from antitrust laws that would give them free rein over a multibillion-dollar industry.
February 9, 2026 at 2:27 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
During college football season you may have endured endless ads telling you the game is in crisis. The crisis is this: players are getting paid. Katie Van Dyck explains how schools appealed to Congress to once again hoard the money players generate, and lost (for now):
prospect.org/2026/02/09/f...
How Congress Refused to Save the NCAA From Itself - The American Prospect
Colleges want exemptions from antitrust and labor laws, so they can continue to hoard billions in cash from sports and deny the players their rights. So far, they’ve failed.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:19 PM
ddayen.bsky.social
bump
February 9, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by David Dayen
costasamaras.com
Just a few weeks ago, the administration cancelled all remaining department of energy grid resilience projects in Puerto Rico. All of them. www.latitudemedia.com/news/the-end...
The end of DOE’s grid work in Puerto Rico
The Trump administration has canceled all eight of the remaining awards devoted to distributed energy on the island.
www.latitudemedia.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 2:24 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
"What he may not understand is that Bad Bunny is inherently political"
prospect.org/2026/02/06/b...
Bad Bunny Bowl - The American Prospect
Fresh off Grammy glory, Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny is set to perform on America’s biggest stage. It’s shaping up to be Puerto Rico’s moon-landing moment.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 1:57 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
Every copywriter who produced these ads after that halftime show is calling NBC right now going "Spike it! Spike it!"
February 9, 2026 at 1:35 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
8
February 9, 2026 at 1:24 AM
ddayen.bsky.social
Four dead of heart attacks in The Villages from this show so far
February 9, 2026 at 1:21 AM