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David Dayen

@ddayen.bsky.social

65K followers 580 following 5.8K posts

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 · 10d

Hey so we're doing our fall fundraising campaign and I want to share with you why it's so important. 🧵
secure.actblue.com/donate/tap-f...

I just donated to The American Prospect

My donation supports independent, fact-checked, professional journalism, which is now more valuable than ever before.

secure.actblue.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 4h

I appreciate that the Post quickly rectified this situation and added a credit that we did this story first.

The American Prospect first reported on the Labor Department’s comments that immigration policies are endangering the food supply and that American workers are unwilling to take agricultural jobs.

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 5h

I respect @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social as a writer, but I reported this story 3 days ago, the story uses some of my same sources, and it's now at the top of the Post website, with no acknowledgement that @prospect.org already published it.
Read the Prospect, get the news first.

Post story on the Labor Department warning of immigration enforcement threatening the food supply, 10/11/25

Prospect story on the Labor Department warning of immigration enforcement threatening the food supply, 10/8/25

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 13h

Tigers

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 13h

Our publisher @grummon.bsky.social, a Michigander living in Seattle, is at this game

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 19h

I think we have enough info to piece it together:
1-Trump threatened mass firings
2-The lawyers told him he can't
3-He risked looking weak
4-He decided to do the firings anyway

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 19h

This has been the entire thing for months. It's better if Democrats start saying so in public.

Congresswoman Gwen Moore @repgwenmoore.bsky.social · 1d

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 19h

You could frame China's export controls as a way to pop our AI bubble, yes

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 20h

Social Security got hit with more body blows this week: its commissioner is moonlighting as the made-up "CEO" of the IRS, and 750,000 applicants could be denied disability benefits. More from Bob Kuttner:
prospect.org/blogs-and-ne...

More Sneak Attacks on Social Security

Today on TAP: It's hard to kill America's most loved program outright—so Trump is strangling it by stealth.

prospect.org

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 20h

What's fun is you could put "pedo" in about 5 different places and it would still make sense

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 20h

Cantwell got it wrong (she was writing based on previous reports), I didn't, as you can see upthread.

Reposted by David Dayen

Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 21h

I have a couple of comments about Paul Ingrassia's lawyer, who sounds like a lawyer who would be hired by Paul Ingrassia.

First, vagueness in legal threats is the hallmark of legal thuggery. Notice the letter does not identify a single allegedly false statement of fact in the Politico story.

/1

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 1d

Paul Ingrassia is now threatening to sue Politico:

“This vexatious political attack masquerading as "journalism" is defamatory and will be addressed in forthcoming litigation.”

October 10, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Re: Statement on behalf of my client Paul Ingrassia regarding last night's story, Key Trump nominee accused of sexual harassment, POLITICO (Oct. 9, 2025), https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/09/ingrassia-trump-harassment-dhs-
00596545
POLITICO's hit piece about Mr. Ingrassia is calculated to cause maximum harm to his promising career — and torpedo his nomination for Special Counsel. This vexatious political attack masquerading as "journalism" is defamatory and will be addressed in forthcoming litigation.
To be 100% crystal clear, so that there is zero room for doubt: Mr. Ingrassia did not engage in any wrongdoing in connection with the matters reported. As POLITICO itself reported: "The woman, whom POLITICO is not naming, said in a statement that she 'never felt uncomfortable' about Ingrassia's behavior and said she had never made a complaint." This is one of the only accurate parts of POLITICO's otherwise fantastical and fictional partisan fairy tale.
Accordingly, one last time, I call upon POLITICO to publicly apologize and issue a full retraction of this disgraceful and partisan sludge.
/s/ Edward Andrew Paltzik
taylordykema.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 20h

The problem is that Trump has so backed the U.S. economy into a corner that China recognizes that if they shut down data center construction they shut down the country. It's pathological to give another country this much leverage over your affairs.

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 20h

"Nobody has ever seen anything like this"

Trump slapped some of America's closest allies with "reciprocal tariffs" on Liberation Day

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 21h

Maria Cantwell isn't exactly a firebrand, if she's sending letters on this my eyebrows are raised
www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/10/sen-...

Sen. Cantwell Warns Big Ten Presidents of Dangers in Selling University Assets to Private Equity Firms

Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, wrote a letter to the Presidents and Chancellors of the Big Ten Conference school...

www.commerce.senate.gov

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 21h

I guess they can get away with saying that it's not a private equity deal because they're selling to... the UC pension system? And who exactly is going to run the investment?

Shares of ownership in Big Ten Enterprises would fall to the league's 18 schools, the conference office and the capital group -- an investment fund that's tied to the University of California pension system. Yahoo Sports first reported the involvement of the UC investment fund.

The pension fund is not a private equity firm, and the UC fund valuation proved to be higher than other competing bids. This has been attractive to the Big Ten and its schools, according to sources.

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 21h

"College football is money-hungry, exploitative of the players, and expert at creating miserable fan experiences, but at least it can't get any worse."
"Hold my-"
www.espn.com/college-spor...

Sources: Big Ten closes in on private equity deal

The Big Ten is approaching a vote on a private capital agreement and the formation of Big Ten Enterprises, which would infuse league schools with more than $2 billion, according to sources.

www.espn.com

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Reposted by David Dayen

geraldmcgrew @geraldmcgrew.bsky.social · 23h

*For this week's edition of The Prospect Weekly Roundup, American Prospect executive editor @ddayen.bsky.social talks with Sam Seder about the ongoing government shutdown and the backlash to Democratic gerontocracy*

(Dayen begins at the 27 minute mark)

Oct 10, 2025

www.youtube.com/live/d-EtvIj...

The Prospect's Weekly Roundup x The Majority Report | October 10, 2025

YouTube video by The American Prospect

www.youtube.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 22h

wE aRe FiRiNg WoRkErS

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 22h

The Trump administration is recalling some furloughed workers to publish a key inflation report, showing just how critical the data is for a variety of government services.

Why the Next CPI Report Is Important for Social Security Checks, Bonds and 401(k)s

Furloughed federal workers are being recalled to issue the monthly inflation report that was due out next week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has said it would publish the data on Oct. 24.

on.wsj.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

The RIFs began months ago. This is just recycled DOGE, just as unpopular and just as illegal.

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1d

Three key points:
1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February
2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty
3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

Russ Vought v @russvought
The RIFs have begun.
12:27 PM • 10/10/25 • 15K Views

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

Going on with @samseder.bsky.social and @majorityreport.bsky.social around 12:30ET, we'll simulcast for our Weekly Roundup here:
www.youtube.com/@TheAmerican...

The American Prospect

A pioneer in nonprofit journalism, The American Prospect was founded as a 501(c)(3) and published its first issue in Spring 1990 as a champion for informed discussion on progressive public policy. Si...

www.youtube.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

When we last left this, you were telling me Rs speaking out about HPE-Juniper corruption didn't matter. Since then, Bondi's chief of staff had to resign, the antitrust division finished a 2nd Google remedy trial without interference, Zillow & Live Nation were sued. Why should I listen to you?

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

When Pam Bondi tried her hand at insult comedy this week, four Senators asked her about antitrust corruption. It's a real point of vulnerability, and the pressure has led to a few better outcomes. More importantly, states and the public are squarely attuned to fighting corporate power. From me:

How Antimonopoly is Enduring Despite Trumpian Corruption

Public pressure and partisan attacks have yielded some new cases, and citizens are waking up to corporate power’s harms.

prospect.org

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

Political operatives are rapidly adopting AI to use in campaigns. What was a novelty in 2024 will be ubiquitous in 2026. Bruce Schneier and Nathan Schneider go through the innovations.
prospect.org/power/2025-1...

AI Is Changing How Politics Is Practiced in America

Here’s what to expect in the midterm elections.

prospect.org

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

Crypto bros have a great idea: "fractional real estate." Investors just buy a piece of a property, on the blockchain.
This is *how every property-related security already works*.
And given its history, securitization might not be something you want to reinvent!
From @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social:

Crypto Bros Want to Create Micro Landlords

Crypto executives are selling investors fractions of buildings in yet another scheme to reinvent an existing activity and say rules don’t apply because it’s on the blockchain.

prospect.org

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 2d

This is a microcosm of practically all federal spending under Trump: delays, uncertainty, empty promises. It is in fact why there is a shutdown right now: unilateral decisionmaking on spending appropriated by Congress is intolerable.

Politico @politico.com · 2d

The shutdown is already impacting delivery of nutrition aid to low-income moms and babies.

Trump officials said tariff revenue would fund WIC until the government reopens, but the money hasn’t started flowing yet.

States left in the dark on food aid despite Trump’s promise of tariff funds

The shutdown is already interrupting benefits for low-income moms and babies — and agencies don’t know when the next check is coming.

www.politico.com

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