The Ellisons’ Takeover Attempt of Warner Bros

Posted on September 15, 2026 by Trish Nelson


The following video by Media and Democracy Project opens referencing a quote by our friend, former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson.

“Whatever is your first priority, you have little hope of making any progress with it if you can’t get media coverage – fair and favorable media coverage.” –  Your Second Priority: A Former FCC Commissioner Speaks Out, by Nicholas Johnson

Here is MAD’s description of this event.

Democracy is under siege. Oligarchs Larry and David Ellison are consolidating their personal control of information, and media. TikTokUS, CBS News are under their control and they are attempting to use massive debt and foreign cash to take over Warner Bros Discovery (HBO, CNN and many cable channels and media properties). This is not an ordinary merger. This is a debt time-bomb and would mean harmful hyper-consolidation of the media and entertainment industry under the control of one family – while saddling a merged company with $80+ billion dollars in debt.

Watch and learn from a distinguished panel of experts about the largest attempted leveraged buyout in history – and why that matters to the American media landscape, national security, press freedom, workers, consumers and democracy.

Why does the massive debt used to finance the takeover matter? What would the 39%+ foreign ownership by 3 petro-state (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar) sovereign wealth funds mean for Americans? Past mega-mergers have failed consumers, employees, shareholders – could this be different?

How do Data Centers, AI and Larry Ellison’s personal finances impact the deal and stability of a possible merged entity?

Panelists:

Alvaro Bedoya: Senior Advisor, American Economic Liberties Project and served as a Federal Trade Commissioner from 2022 to 2025.

Pete Johnson: Visiting Assistant Professor at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He specializes in US film and television industry history, media finance and economics, and the role of narrative in shaping business outcomes.

Deborah Jaramillo: Professor of Film and Television Studies, and Director of Graduate Studies for the American Studies Program at Boston, University

Twelve state Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit to #BlockTheMerger on the grounds it violates anti-consolidation laws, but have not emphasized the hazards of debt and financing – and national security and press freedom.

Jaramillo and Johnson are co-authors of the insightful and powerful analysis that demonstrates the harms of the attempted-takeover: “The Costs of Consolidation: Arguments and Evidence for Blocking the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger” https://macrolab.ucsd.edu/paramount-warner-merger/  

 

Follow Meda and Democracy Project on BlueSky.

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Amendment One Poses Questions. The Answer is ‘No’

Posted on September 14, 2026 by Trish Nelson

by Mike Owen
(previously published in the QC Times)

Listen to the article here

One way to approach Iowa’s constitutional amendment question is to ask yourself serious questions.

  • Do you trust legislators elected in 2022 and 2024 to dictate options for policymakers in 2030? 2040? Even 40 or 50 years from now?
  • Do you believe 17 state senators, barely one-third of the Senate, should be able to override the will of 133 other elected legislators, a governor and the popular will of the voters?
  • Do you think Iowa is currently in good enough financial shape to provide the critical public services we need now, let alone decades from now?
  • Do you realize that tax cuts in recent years have not only reduced resources but also provided meaningful benefits only to rich individuals and powerful corporations?

Amendment One on the November ballot would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to raise individual or corporate income tax rates. It is designed to lock in those recent cuts for the wealthy — and permanently hamper Iowa’s investment in education, healthcare, environmental quality and public safety.

Those recent cuts passed despite expectations of nearly $2 billion less annual revenue, according to the Legislature’s own fiscal experts, than Iowa would receive under the previous law to responsibly fund a budget of about $9 billion. They guaranteed future budget deficits.

Lawmakers have patched the holes temporarily using reserves, which resulted from underfunding services and saving revenue gains from federal pandemic relief. It’s a fiscal cliff, assuring that when the reserves run dry in the next couple of years, either drastic cuts in services will be necessary or new revenues will be needed.

The amendment takes off the table any attempt to correct the impact of previous income tax cuts and may even prevent plugging loopholes used by corporations or the wealthy. It would force increases in sales tax — or deep cuts in education.

Come to think of it, this might even reduce funding for private school vouchers, which could concern voucher proponents. Nothing would be off the table for cuts, as the state constitution requires a balanced budget.

Save everyone a lot of future headaches and protect our responsibilities to each other as Iowans. Vote “No” on Amendment One.

Mike Owen is a former Statehouse reporter and recently retired from over 20 years in nonpartisan policy analysis and advocacy at the Iowa Policy Project and Common Good Iowa.

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Protecting The Midterm Vote

Posted on September 13, 2026 by Paul Deaton
Rural Polling Place

My first assignments as a poll worker dropped this week, a reminder of how soon election day will be here. Early voting starts October 14 in Iowa.

I drew three shifts helping in the lobby at the county administration building, and expect to draw an election day assignment. The county auditor is well-organized to cover elections. Despite bluster in the media, voting preparations seem to be progressing normally in our county.

Democrats have activated their vote protection process. I worked as a poll watcher as part of this program during the previous three general elections. It was pretty dull work. There was never any action, of any kind, that required my intervention. I got a lot of reading done while poll watching. This lack of action led me to apply to be a poll worker, figuring if I was going to be there, I may as well get paid. I don’t recall ever seeing a Republican poll watcher in our precinct.

The problem we face this cycle is not local. The current administration has openly announced that it will send ICE agents to some polling places, and the Justice Department has recently raided election offices. As our local Democratic Party said on their website, “Don’t give in to fear! Take comfort in knowing that many organizations are working together to protect our voters and our election system.”

There are volunteer opportunities to protect the vote.

Volunteer with the legal team. If you are an attorney able to be in Iowa on Election Day, contact the county party to volunteer with the Voter Protection legal team. You do not have to be an expert in voting law.

Become a poll watcher, like I did. Volunteer through your county Democratic party.

Help in another county. Let your local volunteer coordinators know if you are willing and able to serve as a poll watcher outside your home county. If so, be sure to vote early.

Join a monitoring effort. Learn about organizations and local groups recruiting citizens to monitor the polls on Election Day as an early warning system. Sign up with your county Democratic Party if you can.

While the president tends to turn everything he lays his hands on into a goat screw, here’s hoping everyone who wants to vote can do so… and that our votes count. This seems basic, yet in these times we can take nothing for granted. I plan to check my voter registration, and vote early, in person, at the auditor’s office. Maybe you should consider it, too.

The No Kings coalition is offering training in how to protect the election where you live. Sign up at this link.

If you experience or witness any issues or problems at the polls, call the Iowa Democratic Party Voter Protection Hotline at 515-207-9455.

Posted in 2026 election | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Miller-Meeks Dodges The Real Problem

Posted on September 12, 2026 by Paul Deaton
Social Security card.

In November I will get my seventh opportunity to vote for Mariannette Miller-Meeks for Congress. I will decline, again. The incumbent is not doing enough on important issues of our times. I am thinking particularly of Social Security.

She made a splash with her support for Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent’s bill to open access to the Social Security database by the Treasury Department. This is a quest to stop Social Security payments for people who died.

Whatever.

Shouldn’t the Social Security Administration already have such a process in place? The most pressing problem is an actuarial one. The Social Security Trust Fund will not be able to pay full benefits beginning in 2032 without changes. “Changes” means Miller-Meeks and other like her must do something. Thus far they haven’t.

There are a number of proposals related to Social Security in both chambers of the legislature, sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. I don’t see Miller-Meeks supporting any of them, including the House bill introduced by a Republican to form a bipartisan committee to address the issue.

I am unaware of any public statement from Miller-Meeks that lays out a specific plan for fixing Social Security’s projected 2032 financing gap. None.

She says Social Security must be protected. What does that mean? Her inference is protecting the program from waste and fraud. It shouldn’t take an act of Congress to do that. This is not the position of a serious member of Congress and represents no solution to the actuarial problem.

She co-sponsored legislation focused on removing deceased recipients from the roles, and making sure only qualified people receive benefits. Again, why would it take an act of Congress to do that? The Social Security Administration should be doing that already. If administrators are doing an insufficient job, get people in position who will do better.

Another of her claims to fame concerns making tax deductions for Social Security recipients permanent. Nothing in that legislation addresses the actuarial problem.

Miller-Meeks seeks to “control federal spending,” and “make Congress live within its means.” That sounds pretty good, yet she doesn’t connect that idea to the actuarial problem. She could propose any number of changes to support these ideas. If they exist, I have not seen them.

There are plenty of ideas available to resolve the actuarial problem, including raise the cap on taxable earnings, change the structure of the program by modifying eligibility requirements, or joining the bipartisan commission/process proposals now being discussed. Where is Miller-Meeks? Nowhere to be found.

If Miller-Meeks had public Town Hall Meetings, someone should ask directly, “You have said that you want to protect Social Security. The trustees now project the retirement trust fund will be depleted around 2032. What specific changes to taxes, benefits, retirement age, or other financing do you support to prevent the roughly 22% reduction in scheduled benefits?” Since an answer to this type of question doesn’t fall under the umbrella of her vapid statement about “protecting Social Security,” I doubt she would answer.

It’s time for a new member of Congress in Iowa’s First District. Christina Bohannan is available and willing to say publicly how she would resolve the actuarial problem with Social Security. Vote for Christina Bohannan on or before November 3.

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Nate Willems: “She Looked The Other Way”

Posted on September 11, 2026 by Trish Nelson

“Since she [Brenna Bird] looked the other way, the CEO of that company has put $100,000 directly into her campaign account. He is now the single largest individual donor to her campaign.” – Nate Willems

Take a listen:

Biofuels giant threatens defamation suit against Iowa AG candidate

 Today would be a great day to donate to Nate Willems’ campaign for Iowa Attorney General.  natewillems.com

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The Labor Movement In Iowa

Posted on September 10, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Guests on this September 4th edition of Iowa Press are  Jesse Case, secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, the largest labor union in Iowa; and Jennifer Sherer with the Economic Policy Institute and former director of the University of Iowa Labor Center.

Transcript available here.

“I think you can see the last ten years in Iowa what a one-party system has done in terms of collective bargaining rights being lost by 180,000 public sector employees. The two-party system is broken, but a one-party system is worse.” – Jesse Case

“We’re in a period of time that has been difficult for Iowa workers.  I look at the data and think about moving here 30 years ago when Iowa’s union representation density was above the national average. In that time that I’ve lived here, it has fallen to being just below the national average. And that has to do with all kinds of policy choices and all kinds of attacks, some of which we’ve talked about today. But that’s not the end of this history. Workers are still rewriting it today. And this Labor Day and the next election cycle, and everything that comes after will probably write the next chapter.” – Jennifer Sherer

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The Next No Kings

Posted on September 9, 2026 by Trish Nelson


Official announcement from Indivisible:

For over a year, millions of us have come together to declare that America has no kings. We made our voices heard in the streets, and we made history with the three largest protests in our country’s history.

Now, it’s time to take the next step.

With our democracy at stake, we’re showing up again on October 17 to encourage unprecedented voter participation in the midterms. Previous No Kings mobilizations have already shown the strength and scale of our movement. No Kings: Vote Early is about translating that protest power into a massive wave of voter turnout.

While the regime is actively threatening to sabotage the election and undermine our freedom to vote, we know the best way to protect our rights is to exercise them. So on October 17, we’re organizing thousands of local events across the country to ensure every eligible voter has a plan to vote early, knows their options for how to vote, and is ready to help defend the results.

No Kings Vote Early. On October 17th it's time to take the next step. Register for our upcoming call to find out how to claim our power and protect our vote.

No Kings: Vote Early will look different than previous mobilizations. Some communities will still have large rallies, but with a new focus on early voting. Other events might look like block parties, cookouts, or a march to the polls.

The message and actions will also be tailored to your local context. Early voting options and starting dates vary by state, but no matter what event you’re joining and what actions make sense for your community, our goal will be the same nationwide: converting the protest power we’ve built together into a massive display of resistance at the polls. Here’s how you can get started:

1️⃣ Find an event in your area. Our map is live and we’re expecting more events than any of our previous mobilizations. If there’s not one in your area yet, check back soon, or read through the host toolkit to learn how you can organize your own event.

2️⃣ Join the mass call this Thursday, September 10 (8pm ET / 5pm PT). This call will have critical information on how this No Kings will be different from our previous mobilizations and how voting early is directly linked to protecting our elections, so we need as many folks joining as possible.

3️⃣ Chip in, if you can. Millions of participants, hundreds of moving parts, anchor events, recruitment, supplies, and thousands of local events can only come together with a lot of grassroots support. If you’re in a position to contribute to the effort, we could use your help.

Together, we’re going to build the largest early vote turnout this country has ever seen. We’re going to use our constitutional rights to defend the results from any attack that gets thrown our way. And we’re going to reclaim our right to decide our country’s future.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

No Kings: Vote Early events are nonpartisan and are designed to increase participation from all eligible voters.

A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action and no civil disobedience. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.
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Watersheds And The Future Of The Mississippi River

Posted on September 8, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Mark your calendar for this educational opportunity.

Zoom Event by Iowa Izaak Walton League
Public welcome!
Register Here
The Living River: Communities, Watersheds & the Future of the Mississippi
When: Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. CT
Where: Virtual via Zoom

What does it mean to be a good river citizen?

The Mississippi River is more than a channel on a map. It is a living system connected to its watershed, its communities, its history—and the choices we make about its future.
Join us for September’s Watershed Talks with longtime conservationist and river advocate Barry W. Drazkowski. Barry will take us beyond the traditional focus on floodplain management to explore why healthy rivers require policies and practices that connect the river with the entire watershed.

We’ll explore the history and management of the Upper Mississippi, the Izaak Walton League’s connection to the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, and the importance of collaboration among the League’s Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin divisions.

We’ll also look at the growing threats facing the river—from sedimentation and hydrologic change to agricultural contaminants—and what informed, engaged communities can do to help shape its future.

Because we are all connected to the Mississippi watershed, protecting healthy watershed ecosystems also means protecting the water, communities, and public health we depend on.

Come learn what it means to become a river citizen—and why our communities matter to the future of the Mississippi.

Free and open to all. Join us September 22 at 7:00 p.m. CT via Zoom.

Register Here

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Proposed Amendment To Iowa Constitution A Scam

Posted on September 7, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Iowa State Capitol

Constitutional amendment aims to protect rich taxpayers

by Peter Fisher

[Previously published as a guest opinion in the Cedar Rapids Gazette]

This is a scam alert. We’ve all learned to be wary of schemes promising to save us thousands of dollars but designed instead to drain our bank account. Well there is a new one coming on Election Day in November in the form of a proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution.

The past decade of Republican rule has been a story of one tax cut after another shoveling millions in benefits to the richest Iowans while tossing pennies to the rest of us. The most recent cuts promised the average millionaire household about $23,500 in savings but gave the bottom two-thirds of tax filers an average of only about $100.

That strategy has led to huge revenue losses. Schools and other services have been forced to retrench as state funding fails to keep up with rising costs. And yet the budget is still not balanced. The annual budget deficit exceeded $1.2 billion last year and is projected to do so again this year. .

The tax-cutting binge has been financed largely by eating up our savings. From 2021 to 2024 the state accumulated large budget surpluses, thanks to federal pandemic relief, but we started devouring those surpluses, and they will soon be gone. Revenues no longer keep up with what Iowans want and need from their state.

The Legislature has chosen not to fix the budget imbalance but instead to try to lock in all those tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy. Republicans have put a constitutional amendment on the ballot requiring a supermajority to pass any law that increases individual or corporate income taxes: Two-thirds of both the House and the Senate would have to approve such a measure, making it virtually impossible to pass.

This amendment would ensure that we can’t finance public schools or health care or childcare by any measure that would make the rich pay their fair share of costs. We couldn’t restore a higher tax bracket on top incomes or enact a millionaire tax as some states have done, or close a loophole that corporations exploit. Call it “The Millionaire Protection Act.”

Future legislatures would be left with only two choices: Enact massive cuts in education and other services, or adopt a huge increase in the sales tax, making goods and services even more unaffordable in working family budgets. To cover continued revenue shortfalls the sales tax would have to rise to nearly 9 cents on the dollar including the local option portion.

Guess who pays the biggest share of their income in sales taxes? The lowest income Iowans pay about 6 percent of their income in sales and excise taxes, the top incomes only 1 or 2 percent. So don’t be fooled. A vote for this amendment is not a vote to keep your taxes down. It is a vote to preserve tax cuts for the richest and force higher taxes on the rest of us.

Peter Fisher is a retired professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa where he taught state and local government finance.

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How To Tell If You Are Buying American Beef

Posted on September 6, 2026 by Dave Bradley

Trump’s Mystery Meat import program started Tuesday. This throws Trump’s mystery meat imports into a current food supply that is tainted with various forms of illness producing foods. So I thought it might be a good idea to post this video on the off chance that it might help you avoid some of the potentially tainted product from abroad.

4 minutes:

If you have been paying attention you are aware that foods from eggs to blueberries and lettuce have been felling Americans this summer. Since the DOGE cutbacks and RFK, jr. and the administration’s attitude that they really don’t care, shopping and eating this summer has been an adventure.

While this video won’t necessarily help you avoid tainted meat, it may help you support American beef ranchers by buying their meat. Also remember that the administration will not tell us where the beef is from so you are on your own. Good Luck.

Also note that the price of beef will probably not change at the store, so the biggest effect will be to screw the cattle farmers. And on a side note Costco announced they would not stock any of the imported beef. As far as I know they are the only retailer to make such a statement.

Good Luck. And I do mean Good Luck.

Posted in #nevertrump, 2026 election, Republican Policy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment