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The Daily Beans
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Monday, March 31st, 2025 Today, we’re just hours away from the Wisconsin Supreme Court election which will decide the balance of the highest court in the state; law firm Skadden Arps gives $100M in free legal services; the plaintiffs in the Alien Enemies Act case have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction as Judge Boasberg extends his temporary restraining orders; the Trump administration is looking to gut funding to combat child labor abroad; Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is shot down by the courts after suing to stop Elon from buying votes; RFK Jr is gutting the vaccine promotion and HIV prevention office at HHS after forcing out the FDA’s top vaccine scientist; Amy Berman, Judge Jackson if you’re nasty, has blocked the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Pete Hegseth hired his brother and then brought his wife to sensitive Pentagon meetings; an appeals court says that Trump CAN fire members of the NLRB and MSPB and plaintiffs Wilcox and Harris ...
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- [00:00]
Alison Gill
MSW Media hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Monday, March 31, 2025. Today, we're just hours away from the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, which will decide the balance of the highest court in the state Law firm Skadden arps has given $100 million in free legal services to the Trump administration. The plaintiffs in the Alien Enemies act case have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction as Judge Boasberg extends his temporary restraining orders. The Trump administration is looking to gut funding to combat child labor abroad. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Call is shot down by the courts after after suing to stop Elon from buying votes, RFK Jr. Is gutting the vaccine promotion and HIV prevention office at HHS after forcing out the FDA's top vaccine scientist, Amy Berman. Judge Jackson, if you're nasty, has blocked the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Pete Hegseth hired his brother and then brought his wife to sensitive Pentagon meetings. An appeals court says that Trump can fire members of the National Labor Relations Board and and the Merit Systems Protection Board. And plaintiffs Wilcox and Harris are going to seek an en banc reversal. Doge plans to rebuild the Social Security Administration's code base. And thousands turn out for the Tesla takedown protests over the weekend. And a piece on how to think like a dissident. I'm your host, Alison Gill. Almost a record for our longest introduction of headlines, it's nearly impossible to keep up with the news this weekend, so thank you for trusting me to aggregate it for you. Dana is out this week bringing her amazing gift of laughter and mirth to folks on the Olivia Cruise. Hello to all of them, but we have a lot of guests joining me this week, including the executive director of Swing Left, Yasmin Raji, who will be speaking with me later in the show. We also have former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on deck for later in the week, along with the Dean of Rutgers School of Public Health, Dr. Halkaitis. I look forward to that discussion as well. Former First up thanks to everyone who attended or organized a Tesla Takedown rally this past Saturday. Hundreds and hundreds of Tesla takedown demonstrations took place in the United States, Canada and Europe as activists ramped up their opposition to Musk's efforts to slash federal government staffing and budgets. You can see photos all over social media and I'm sure tonight Maddow will highlight the Tesla takedown that happened on March 29th. Thanks to Evan Sutton, a national volunteer for Tesla Takedown, and our good friend and patron Data Diva, who set that interview up for helping coordinate these rallies. And also a huge thank you to you all our listeners, because last Tuesday, our Good Trouble segment included a plea to call Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Call and ask him to do something about Elon Musk trying to buy voters in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. It worked. Just three days later, Josh Call sued Elon Musk. Now, the court rejected his lawsuit. He appealed Saturday, and the appeals court also said no. And yesterday, he filed with the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. We don't yet have the outcome of that filing. We'll let you know tomorrow. But that's the very court that's hanging in the balance in this week's election. Call argues that Musk's giveaways violate a Wisconsin law that prohibits offering anything of value in exchange for voting. Now, successful or not, Josh Call is trying, and I'm hoping that's thanks in part to all of you calling him and asking him to take action. So well fucking done, Leguminati. All right, we have a lot of news to get to today, so let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, let's chat about where we are with the Alien Enemies act case before Judge Boasberg. Now, there are two things happening in this case. First, Judge Boasberg is trying to assess whether the Trump administration defied his orders to turn the planes around on March 15. The planes carried hundreds of Venezuelans who the Trump administration is alleging are members of the Tren de Aragua gang that were removed to a Salvadoran torture camp with no due process. The plaintiffs in the case are arguing that the government violated Boasberg's order. While the government is saying we're totally in compliance. Now, the response from the plaintiffs is due today. And then the issue of contempt will be fully briefed. And we can expect a ruling from Judge Boasberg on contempt sometime this week, I think. I'm guessing maybe even tomorrow. The second thing going on is the meat of this case, the merits. The plaintiffs argue that what the government is doing is unconstitutional and it's in violation of the Alien Enemies act itself. It's in violation of the apa, the Administrative Procedures act, and the Immigration and Nationality act because the government is not affording any of those deported under the Alien Enemies act proclamation any due process whatsoever. Now, currently, there are restraining orders in place issued by Judge Boasberg, but those are only good for 14 days. So on Friday, the judge extended the restraining orders that he issued on March 15, which included an oral order to turn the planes around and return the deportees to the United States. The process here generally is that a judge will issue a temporary restraining order while the judge considers a more permanent block, which is called a preliminary injunction. Now, by and large, temporary restraining orders are not appealable. But Trump did appeal and then lost at the appellate court level. But preliminary injunctions are appealable, and this weekend the plaintiffs in this case filed their motion for a preliminary injunction. The government's response is due April 1, Tuesday, and the plaintiff's reply to that is due April 4. And by the way, a hearing on the preliminary injunction has been scheduled for April 8 once it's fully briefed. Now, in their motion for a preliminary injunction this weekend, the plaintiffs attached about 20 exhibits or so in support of the fact that many on the plains were not members of or even associates of Trend, proving they had no due process as required by law and and therefore should win on the merits. They also argue that Trump's use of the Alien Enemies act does not even apply here because we're not at war and because immigration is not an invasion or incursion. And further, they argue with evidence that Trend Aragua is not working on behalf of the Maduro regime or the Venezuelan government. Now in those exhibits filed alongside the motion for a preliminary injunction, which also is not totally like on the merits, it's just a more permanent ban on what's going on while the rest of the merits of the case are heard. But in those exhibits is the checklist that ICE is using to determine if someone is deportable under the Alien Enemies act proclamation issued by Trump. And here's the thing, it's a points based system and if you rack up eight points, you're deportable to El Salvador without due process. You get six points for texting someone associated with Trend Aragua, you get four points for having a tattoo that's associated with Trend. There's four points if you flashed a Trend gang sign on social media and so on. The trouble is Trend does not have any tattoos or hand gestures or certifications of membership associated with the gang. And multiple exhibits that were filed are actually declarations from Trend experts saying just that. But but something else was uncovered Sunday by an eagle eyed sleuth on Blue sky who decided to use a Google Image search on the photos of the tattoos pictured in the ICE document in that checklist in that points system document. And get this, seven of the nine tattoos are tattoos stolen from UK tattoo artists Instagram pages and seven of the nine are not on members of Trend Arago. One's on a white guy named Pete and I sent those Instagram screenshots to the aclu and you can find and follow that thread which I shared on Blue sky and I'll keep you posted on this case as it moves through the courts. You can check out my write up on the motion for a preliminary injunction on my substack@ militiaroad.com, totally free and another judge ruling from Boston US District Judge Brian E. Murphy on Friday issued a nationwide temporary restraining order, citing serious concerns over due process violations and potential breaches of international law under the Convention Against Torture. The Judge's decision prevents U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting individuals subject to final removal orders to third countries, ones not designated in their original immigration proceedings, unless they're first given written notice and the opportunity to seek legal protection. The restraining order will remain in effect until April 10, and on April 10 there will be a hearing in which the court will determine whether to impose a longer term injunction, a preliminary injunction against this policy. Just hours after the decision, the U.S. department of justice filed an appeal arguing that the ruling undermines executive authority over immigration enforcement. I'm assuming if the judge draw is good that that will also be denied at the appellate court level because you generally can't appeal a temporary restraining order. All that comes by the way from the Miami Herald. Definitely subscribe to that paper if you can. Next up from CBS US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued a preliminary injunction Friday that blocks the Trump administration from dismantling the Consum Consumer Protection Financial Bureau. That's the Elizabeth Warren joint set up to protect us from fucking predatory corporate bullshit. Now her order keeps the CFPB in existence until the case has been resolved on the merits. It also reinstates the agency's contracts, workforce data and operational capacity. Jackson ruled that without a court order, President Trump's administration would move quickly to shut down the agency that Congress created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Quote if the defendants are not enjoined, they will eliminate the agency before the court has had an opportunity to decide whether the law permits them to do it. And as the defendant's own witness warned, the harm will be irreparable. That's what she said in her order. Another choice quote from her ruling. Quote it is now clear to the court that the omissions from the first declaration rendered it to be highly misleading, if not intentionally false. Defendants initial effort to persuade the court in their opposition that employees were hard at work on their statutory duties even after they were ordered to stand down on February 10 has been shown to be unreliable and inconsistent with the agency's own contemporaneous records. And the defendant's 11th hour attempt to suggest immediately before the hearing that the stop work order was not really a stop work order at all was so disingenuous that the court is left with little confidence that the defense can be trusted to tell the truth about anything. So thank you, Amy Berman, Judge Jackson, if you're nasty and as you may have heard, law firm Scadden and Arps. Well, Scadden, Arps, it's a whole. There's like five other partners on that. They've agreed to give Trump $100 million in free legal work, blowing Paul Weiss's $40 million subjugation fee out of the water. But judges are blocking Trump's executive orders targeting major law firms that were involved with the Mueller probe. Now Tierney sneed at CNN with her colleagues reports that two federal judges in separate rulings late Friday froze part of Trump's executive orders targeting the law firms Jenner and Block and Wilmer Hale, both firms linked to the Robert Mueller investigation Trump has sought to punish. Now there have been direct and separate rebukes by three judges of the Trump administration's retaliatory policies toward law firms. All three judges have said core constitutional protections are likely violated by the orders for people and companies to choose their own attorneys and for firms to be shielded from political retribution because of their speech. The temporary restraining order in the general Block case, announced by Judge John Bates at the end of a hastily scheduled Friday hearing, pauses parts of the order instructing agencies to terminate contracts with the firm and its clients, as well as the order's directive seeking to limit the firm's access to federal officials and buildings. Abate says those directives, as well as another he paused, aiming to crack down on former Jenner employees being hired for government jobs, were likely unconstitutional because they retaliated against protected speech and were a form of viewpoint discrimination language. And Trump's orders expressing his desire to sanction the firm for pro bono work for causes the president disagrees with was, quote, disturbing and troubling. That's what the judge said. The Jenner and Block hearing began minutes after a different judge in the same courthouse heard a similar request from Wilmer Hale, which was also targeted by Trump. In an executive order issued this week, Judge Richard Leon issued his order late Friday blocking part of Trump's executive order that denied attorneys for the law firm WilmerHale access to federal buildings and retaliated against firm clients with government contracts. The measures in the executive order are, quote, threatening plaintiff's very existence, the judge said in his executive orders. Trump also said he was taking aim at Jenner and Block and Wilmer Hale because of their work on political causes he disagreed with and because of their ties to the Mueller probe, as both firms previously or currently employed veterans of that investigation. Leon, an appointee of former President G.W. bush, expressed concern at various points in the earlier hearing about how the president's order could cause some clients to go elsewhere for legal representation if they had concerns with how effectively Wilmer Hale's attorneys could provide legal services. Now, earlier this month, a third judge in that same courthouse issued an order temporarily blocking another executive order from Trump that went after the law firm Perkins Coie. In court on Friday, Clement told Leon that those three cases, quote, are some of the most important cases for the First Amendment and for the rule of law, adding later that barring certain law firms, quote, is not the tradition in our country. And another, quote, if lawyers are looking over their shoulders to decide if they should take a case or if they do, deciding how do I argue this, do I walk on eggshells or defend my client zealously? That's what Clement said. Clement, by the way, I believe is the lawyer representing Perkins Coie, and that's the same Paul Clement that was the amicus curi in the Judge Dale Ho Eric Adams case, which we still don't have a decision on whether or not he's going to dismiss that or whether he's going to dismiss it with or without prejudice. Next up from the Post. The Trump administration has plans to immediately end US Backed programs that combat child labor, forced labor and and other abuses in dozens of countries around the world. Probably where they make Trump stuff. John Clark, a Trump appointed Labor Department official, directed the agency's Bureau of International Labor affairs that's iLab, on Wednesday to end all of its grants due to a lack of alignment with agency priorities and national interests. That's according to an email obtained by the Post. A separate notice from Leadership informed the Office of Staff Wednesday that the Labor Department had, quote, taken a decision to immediately terminate all of iLab's existing grants and acknowledged that this would be a difficult message to receive. According to a copy reviewed by the Post, the cuts are expected to end 69 programs that have allocated more than $500 million to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking and to enforce labor standards in more than 40 countries. Among the terminated grants are congressionally authorized programs that allocate millions To Nonprofits and NGOs Non governmental organizations to combat child labor and forced labor and agriculture in Mexico, labor abuses in the garment industry in Southeast Asia, human rights abuses in fisheries along the coasts of South America, and mica mining by children in Madagascar used to produce Chinese electronics and automobile parts sold in the United States. Guys, this is literally the fucking plot of Zoolander.
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Dana Goldberg
Hey there, Derek. My name is little Cletus. I'm just a regular kid who wants you to know the real, real truth about child labor laws. Okay? Okay. They're silly and outdated. In the good old days, kids as young as five could work as they please. From textile factories to iron smells. Yes.
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Alison Gill
Next up, Donald Trump notched a rare court win in a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. when they cleared the way for Trump to fire members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board after district courts had earlier blocked their removals and ordered them reinstated. A three judge panel of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit divided 2 to 1 in agreeing to halt the lower court's orders. That voided Trump's firings of Gwen Wilcox from the NLRB and Kathy Harris, my former lawyer from the Merit Systems Protection Board while legal proceedings move forward. This is what happened to Hampton Dellinger. Wilcox and Harris had argued their firings violated federal laws that limited their removals only for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. The Trump administration, meanwhile, defended the terminations and said the restrictions on the president's ability to remove the officials are unconstitutional. Quote, the people elected the president to enforce the nation's laws and stay, and a stay serves that purpose by allowing the people's chosen officer to control the executive branch. That's what Judge Justin Walker, who was appointed by Trump in his first term, wrote in an opinion siding with the administration. Judge Patricia Millet, on the other hand, appointed by Obama, dissented from the court's decision to grant a stay. Quote, the whole purpose of a stay is to avoid instability and turmoil, but the court's decision today creates them. She wrote that the majority's rationale openly calls into question the constitutionality of dozens of federal statutes that limit the circumstances for when an official on a multi member board can be removed. From the Federal Reserve to the National Transportation Safety Board to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Quote, I cannot join a decision that uses a hurried and preliminary first look ruling by this court to announce a revolution in the law that the Supreme Court has expressly avoided and to trap in legal limbo millions of employees and employers whom the law says must go to these boards for the resolution of their employment disputes. Now, Harris has asked the court for an emergency administrative stay as she intends to file an appeal en banc with the full D.C. circuit. And the courts have consolidated the Harris and Wilcox cases so that they will be decided en banc together. And I'll keep you posted on that. And let's check in on the brainworm the Trump administration on Friday pushed out Peter Marks, the nation's top vaccine regulator and an architect of the US Program to rapidly develop coronavirus vaccines, a move that comes as Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr continues his overhaul. That's a nice way of saying it. Of the nation's health and science agencies amid a worsening of US Outbreaks of things like the measles and the bird flu. Marx, who joined the Food and drug administration in 2012 and had overseen its center for Biologics Evaluation and research since 2016, was offered the choice to resign or be fired, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He opted to resign with an effective departure date of April 5th. Mark is leaving his post with, quote, a heavy heart. That's what he wrote in his resignation letter Friday, which was obtained by the Post. The longtime regulator wrote that he was particularly worried about the measles outbreak in Texas, which, quote, reminds us of what happens when confidence in well established science underlying public health and well being is undermined. Two former FDA commissioners praised Marks on Friday night, highlighting his work at the agency. Marks helped conceive of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's program to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine, which has been credited with helping to end the threat of the COVID 19 pandemic. Like the one good thing Trump has ever done or the one good thing that happened while Trump was in office, I should say. And CBS reports that the entire staff of the federal government's Office of Infectious Diseases and HIV AIDS Policy is expected to be laid off. Multiple federal health officials said that to CBS News on Friday. The moves are part of a broader restructuring plan ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. That involves cutting 20,000 HHS positions. We talked about that earlier last week. The Office of Minority Health has also been informed that it should expect to be dissolved. Other initiatives overseen by OIDP include the ending of the HIV epidemic in the US which is a program that was launched by President Trump during his first term. It's unclear what will happen to those initiatives which Congress had approved funding for, also from Wired, which you should subscribe to if you haven't they're putting out some amazing reporting. The so called Department of Government Efficiency is starting to put together a team to migrate the Social Security Administration's computer systems entirely off one of its oldest programming languages in a matter of months, potentially putting the integrity of the system and the benefits on which tens of millions of Americans rely at risk. The project is being organized by Elon Musk, Lt. Steve Davis, according to multiple sources, and aims to migrate all SSSA systems off Cobol, C O B O L, one of the first common business oriented programming languages, and onto a more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight time frame of a few months. Quote if you weren't worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits or getting the wrong entitlements or having to wait ages, then sure, go ahead. That's what Dan Hahn says. Principle of very Little Gravitas, a technology strategy consultancy that helps governments modernize services. And that's what he said about completing such a migration in such a short time frame. And as if texting war plans in emojis with a journalist on a group chat was not bad enough, good old merit based Pete Hegseth, Trump's DUI hire as Secretary of Defense. Well, his brother Phil is serving in a key position inside the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior advisor, the Associated Press reports. The high profile job has meant meetings with a UFC fight champion, a trip to Guantanamo Bay, and right now traveling on the Pentagon's 747 aircraft as Hegseth makes his first trip as Defense Secretary to the Indo Pacific. Phil Hegseth's official title is Senior Advisor to the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Defense Department. That's according to spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson in a statement Thursday. Before being brought on at the Pentagon, Phil was a podcast producer. And if that weren't enough, apparently it's bring your spouse with no clearance to work day at the Pentagon. The Wall Street Journal reports Defense Secretary Hegseth, who's facing scrutiny over his handling of details of a military strike, brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed. And that's according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the meetings. One of the meetings, a high level discussion at the Pentagon on March 6 between Hegseth and UK Secretary of Defense John Healy, took place at a sensitive moment for the Transatlantic alliance one day after the US Said it had cut off military intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The group that met at the Pentagon, which included Admiral Tony Radican, the head of the UK's armed forces, discussed the US rationale behind that decision and as well as the future military collaboration between the two allies, according to people familiar with the meeting. Now, a secretary can invite anyone to meetings with visiting counterparts, but attendee lists are usually carefully limited to those who need to be there. And attendees are typically expected to possess security clearances, given the delicate nature of the discussions. Jennifer Hegseth also attended a meeting last month at North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Brussels, where allied defense officials discussed their support in for Ukraine. And that's according to two people who attended the meeting. Hegseth's brother Philip had also been traveling with him on official visits. According to the Pentagon, high ranking Defense Department officials occasionally bring their spouses on office travel and to ceremonial functions. At a news conference during the NATO conference in Brussels, Hegseth told reporters that Jennifer Hegseth had joined him and had, quote, been meeting with families of the US troops in Belgium and Germany. But it is very rare for spouses who are private citizens to sit in on national security meetings, according to current and former defense officials. All right, that's the news, everybody. It's time for a little good trouble. What are you guys doing? All right, this good trouble comes from our listener, Chloe.
- [25:26]
Dana Goldberg
Hello.
- [25:26]
Alison Gill
Lovely legume, ladies. Thanks for all you do. The American Psychological association just suspended their diversity standards under pressure from the Trump administration. That shit. I wrote a letter to the APA telling them that I'm suspending my membership until they reverse this capitulation to fascism and dumb anti science bullshit. Good trouble for everyone. Write or call the American Psychological association and tell them that diversity is crucial to mental health. Reverse that shit, because racism will fuck with all our mental well being. So we have a mailing address. American Psychological association is 750 First Street Northeast in D.C. 20002. And their telephone number, 800-374-2721. Or locally, 202-336-5500. Sorry for all the swearing. Chloe says. I'm just so mad. So I'm taking action. Thank you, Chloe. All right, that's the news that's fit to swear about. Next up, a piece on how to think like a dissident from the Bulwark, followed by my chat with the executive director of Swing Left, Yasmin Raji. But first we have to take a quick break, so stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Dining out and ordering in adds up. Fast and grocery shopping means endless meal planning. So there's a better way. Home Chef. They deliver fresh ingredients and Chef crafted recipes right to your door so you can enjoy restaurant quality meals at home without the hassle. Users of leading meal kits have rated Home Chef number one in quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe ease. And for a limited time, Home Chef is offering you 18 free meals, plus free dessert for life and of course, free shipping on your first box when you go to homechef.com dailybeans so whether you love classic meal kits, quick 30 minute recipes or oven ready dishes, Home Chef has options for everyone. 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So for a limited time, Home Chef is offering you 18 free meals plus free dessert for life and of course, free shipping on your first box. Go to homechef.com dailybeans everybody, that's homechef.com dailybeans for 18 free meals and free dessert for life. You heard that right. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Hey everybody, welcome back. I wanted to share this quick piece with you by Jonathan V. Last at the Bulwark how to Think and Act Like a Dissident Movement. We had a good show in Phoenix and during our conversation, something clicked for me that I want to unpack today. I'm leaving this edition unlocked. I hope you'll share it. And if you're not a member of Bulwark plus yet, I hope you'll consider joining today. We're doing something important here. We're building a community that's going to be part of a broader solidarity movement. And all of the pieces of this movement need to be supported in the coming months. Months, everyone will be forced to Choose a side, like it or not. Stand with the bulwark community. We want you with us. Number one. Seeing like a dissident I was wrong about one big thing in 2024. I did not realize that most American institutions, the media, the legal world, big business, universities, the tech sector would immediately capitulate to Trump in 2016. I believe the Republican Party's submission was the result of the GOP's particular failings. That was incorrect. The Republican Party was merely the first institution to accept authoritarianism because it was the first institution Trump targeted. We now see that most institutions are weak in the face of authoritarianism. JVL's law is any institution not explicitly anti Trump will eventually become useful to Trump. I originally thought this would apply only to media organizations. Turns out it also applies to everyone and everything. From Ross Douthot to John Fetterman, from Paul Weiss to Facebook. All of our institutions are the Republican Party now. This is an extraordinary moment and it requires extraordinary vision and actions. We must stop viewing political life through the lens of American politics as we have known it and adopt the viewpoint of dissident movements in autocratic states. The Democratic Party has more to learn from Alexei Navalny or the protesters in Serbia than it does from Chuck Schumer or strategists obsessing over message testing crosstabs. This battle is half mass mobilization and half asymmetric warfare. Over the next year, those tactics will matter more than traditional political messaging as it's been practiced here in living memory. Once you accept that reality, the next steps become clear. Here's the rough roadmap for how to proceed, and it starts with Number one, demonstrate popular power in the provinces through large scale rallies. Number two, use the events to organize the resistance into a mass movement that can be called into action. Number three, direct the mass movement into targeted political strikes, getting blowout wins in special elections, Boycotts of Tesla, etc. Number four, politicize everything. Attack authoritarians for every bad thing that happens anywhere in the world, flood the zone. Number five, elevate the corruption in a way that pits the billionaire insiders against the forgotten man. Number six, when the moment is right, bring this movement to the Capitol for a show of strength. Number seven, use this demonstration as a slingshot to take back legislative power in 2026. And number eight, more importantly, use it to send a message to the institutional actors that people will have their back if they show courage. Number two, the near term winning in 2026 will not be sufficient to stop the authoritarian push, but it's necessary and the only way to win is people power. That's it. No institutions are going to save us. The courts won't stop authoritarians. Corporate interests won't stop them. The Democratic Party won't stop them either. If the authoritarians can be stopped, then the Democratic Party will be the vehicle through which people wield the power. AOC's public events over the last week have been exactly what the opposition needs. She's making herself a rally point and telling everyone who wants to resist they have a place to go. She should do these rallies over and over across the country. But not in D.C. or New York. Not yet. When you look at the history of dissident movements, they almost always begin in the outer provinces. The autocrats power is greatest near the literal center of the government they control. The further you get from their power center, the weaker their hold and the more risks they have to take if they want to put down the demonstrations now. AOC went to Denver and Phoenix last week. She needs to go to Nashua and Nashville, Houston, Chicago, Oakland and Oklahoma City. The bigger these rallies get, the better, make them ongoing events. She will need an infrastructure. It's not enough to get 30,000 people in the streets. You need to get them organized. People in the pro democracy space will need to help figure out how to do that, how to turn live attendance into lists that can be activated. And when I say activated, I do not mean for fundraising. Keep ActBlue away from this project. These lists should never be focused for ginning up donations. They should be used to direct people into actions, getting them registered to vote, getting them to turn out for elections, getting them to show up at the next rally to organize their friends. This will require a sophisticated data operation. AOC will need help. It would be great if Mark Cuban or Scott Galloway could step in here. The dissident movement will need its own platform. It will also need its own media, because believe me, the New York Times is never going to be explicitly anti authoritarian. This movement should have millions of highly activated people attached to it by the end of 2025, building to a show of strength in the summer of 2026. The goal should be a day when 2 million people show up in either New York or Washington and demonstrate that there is an unprecedented mass movement opposing the authoritarians running the federal government. That's the moment you force the rest of America to take a side. And it's the moment you dare Trump to do what he's always wanted, to take the mask all the way off and use force against American citizens. The more people you bring out, the greater the provocation and also the safer the opposition will be. If you put 2 million people in the streets will look weak if he doesn't respond, but he will look like a tyrant if he does. And everything is about making him unpopular and weak. In the final stretch before November 2026, what will this movement actually look like? I don't know. These things are unpredictable. But I have a high degree of certainty about one thing. The movement must be at some level oppositional to the status quo. It cannot only be a defense of democracy and our institutions. It must be a challenge to them. One thing I found interesting over the last week is the way that two potential leaders of this movement from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum were both aligned in this framework. On Tim's podcast, Maryland Governor Wes Moore put it, like many Americans don't see how the system works for them. And the truth is it hasn't. And that's why I think we have to be real, real careful about somehow spending our time defending a status quo when for real, for many people the status quo never worked for them. So how are you defending something that's indefensible? For aoc, this outsider messaging is right there in the branding of their fight oligarchy barnstorming. She's anti establishment enough to talk about needing a democratic party that fights harder. The reality is that a mass movement is not going to arise around protecting institutions. The way for us to actually protect our institutions is to rally together behind leaders who commit to reforming them, making them better. Number three, solidarity. The last piece of the puzzle is leadership and solidarity. The dissident movement needs a leader. AOC has been the primary person to step up, though Chris Murphy and a few others have been banging the drum. Maybe in time someone else will emerge as a more potent leader for the movement that they're incubating. But either way, without a leader, this movement will not materialize. People need a rally point. History makes that clear. Whoever this leader is, she will be imperfect. In addition to being imperfect, she will not be everyone's first choice. If you are a Paul Ryan style conservative, you'll have many disagreements with, say, aoc. If you are a progressive and Mark Cuban becomes the leader of the opposition, you'll have many disagreements with him. Hear me when I say this, there can be no purity tests in the pro democracy opposition. You are either against Trump or you're not. If you are against Trump, then the anti Trump movement must operate in solidarity. We do not have the luxury of saying, well, yes, I dislike Trump But Leader X wants higher marginal tax rates, so I can't sign on with that. That does not mean you have to agree with everyone in the opposition. Just for the sake of argument, let's pretend it's October 2026 and AOC is the face of the opposition. You don't have to suddenly love the Green New Deal and single payer health care. You can disagree with those policies, but you cannot use those disagreements as pretexts to distance yourself from the opposition movement. Remember, any person or institution not explicitly anti Trump becomes useful to Trump. You're either on the bus or you are off. And the point of solidarity is that everyone in the anti Trump opposition needs to support one another again. History is clear on this. So that's the plan. Find a leader. Bring people together in person, far away from the Capitol's control. Build momentum, organize your supporters, harness the power of their mass, build toward an explicit show of strength and take back control of Congress. And then, if we're lucky, we can start thinking about an end game. In the meantime, fight the authoritarians on everything. If the stock market drops, scream about it because it's their fault when a kid dies of measles, their fault. Attack them every day on whatever the latest thing is. Turn. Flood the zone against them by not needing to cling to any one outrage for weeks. Embrace the idea of snapping up new outrages every day. Get hot about them, be passionate about them. And for the love of all that's holy, talk like a normal human being, not a canned politician going through the motions. Let's get to work. So thank you so much for that piece, Jonathan V. Last, you're going to want to subscribe to the Bulwark plus, or at least follow him on social media if you can't swing it. This one is free and there'll be a link for our patrons in the Patreon Post at the end of the week to this story. All right, everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the executive director of Swing Left to talk more detail about what to do in 2026. Hey, everybody, welcome back. I'm super honored today to be joined by somebody who I've worked with behind the scenes for many, many years, but never got to meet face to face, or at least in a virtual studio. The executive director of Swing Left, Yasmin Raji. Please welcome. Yasmin. Hi.
- [38:49]
Dana Goldberg
Hi. Longtime fan, first time caller. Great to finally officially meet you after many, many years, as you said, of collaboration. Allison.
- [38:58]
Alison Gill
Yeah, let's talk a little bit about our what we've done together in the past with MSW media and our shows and how we win. And then talk about what you're planning for the midterms this time. I know a lot of people are feeling kind of deflated still from what happened in November, and I want to talk a little bit about that kind of, you know, how we look forward.
- [39:20]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [39:21]
Alison Gill
As well. So I remember, gosh, going all the way back to when was the first time I was at 2020 or 2018.
- [39:29]
Dana Goldberg
Even, I think, if I remember correctly. I think you all have been there. I mean, I've. I just joined the organization in 2022 and I remember from the outside sort of following yalls work since 2018 and always sort of assuming that you and Swing Left were. Were friends, peas in the pot from the very beginning. But I think your big moment with us was in 2020 with your. I think you broke our fundraising record for personal fundraising pages and then I think you broke it again in 2022. So amazing.
- [39:59]
Alison Gill
The listeners are incredible. I think we raised half a million in 2020. But the damage we did to the Republicans in 2018 can't be understated. It seemed to fly under the radar because votes come in so slowly, especially in California, where we flipped so many seats that particular year. And we're in a very similar situation, perhaps even more so because people are so upset with, you know, unelected, unconfirmed Senate confirmed Elon Musk pulling all the strings. But yeah, we've done a lot of great work in the past. And I think some of the best part about, you know, why we loved working with Swing Left and why we're going to do this again in 2026 is because of the massive amounts of data y'all use to figure out where your dollar does the most good. Right. So rather than give all your money to, like, Amy McGrath, who is a friend and I love, but had a huge war chest and kind of ignoring some of the more down ballot, more flippable seats, we sort of were shooting ourselves in the foot, even though we did so well in 2018. But, you know, moving forward, to be able to know that your dollar is going to have the most impact is based on the incredible people on your team and the data that they pull together for the most flippable districts. So talk a little bit about that and what Swing Left does for folks who might, you know, be new to the daily beans and Swing Left and then, then we'll get into your initiatives for. For the midterms.
- [41:33]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. So Swing Left started actually on the eve of Donald Trump's first inauguration, which obviously we all hoped would be his last. And the mission from the very beginning was very simple. We exist to make sure that people can channel their time and their money to the highest impact races to win Democratic majorities. And in 2018, we knew that the first line of defense against Donald Trump was the House. Right. It feels like we are. We've seen this movie before, unfortunately. And so, as you said, In 2018, folks felt tremendous energy and desire to do something, weren't necessarily sure where to do that, and were unaware that actually, most Americans live within 90 minutes of really competitive House district, including folks in places like California, where you are in New York, and so many other kind of deep blue areas where just a hop and a skip away, there's a district that's going to come down to just a few thousand, in some cases a few hundred votes. And since 2018, we've expanded to be about more than just the House. But again, so, I mean, this is such a different moment in many ways from 2018, and it also rhymes so much with 2018. And so we are back in a moment where, you know, what Donald Trump is doing can feel. Can make people feel overwhelmed and feel a real lack of agency. And once again, winning back the House is going to be the most essential line of defense, especially in a moment where, at least in 2018, we had some degree of integrity to our court system. Right. And we had some degree of institutional strength, still defending, you know, and didn't defend us from everything, but it defended us from more than right now. And so today, we remain focused on that simple mission of how do people move their time and money in the ways that will make a difference, to actually shift the balance of power to put a check on Trump. Our primary focus is going to be on the House this cycle, but it's about more than the House, too. Right. We need to make sure that in our swingy states, so not places like New York, California, but purple states where a governor's race or the balance of power of a key legislative chamber is at stake. We're also going to be making sure that folks are moving their money and their time if they live close to those places, to make sure that states are going to be essential, especially as Donald Trump is stripping us of any sort of semblance of agency wherever he can, that states need to be a key line of defense as well.
- [44:07]
Alison Gill
Yeah, agreed. All right, so let's talk about this 2026 initiative. It's called Three to Win. Tell us about Three to Win.
- [44:14]
Dana Goldberg
Yes. Well, I think what a lot of folks don't know, especially because we were all in such a state of, of shock after the presidential election, is that we just barely lost the house. It was 7309 votes that we lost the House by. And it's just three seats that we need to win to win back the House. And so I think right now, so many of us feel, I mean, overwhelmed feels like remarkably understatement. It's a lot right now. Right. And I think by design, this is a moment where Trump keeps saying over and over, he has a mandate. He has a mandate. He has a mandate. He keeps saying, the Americans are, the American people are on my side. And we know in our brains that that is not true, but we have started to actually absorb some of that into our bones. Right. And so Three to Win is a campaign aimed at, first of all, reminding us that we are a rounding error away from winning the House. We just barely lost it. We just need to win three seats. That's 7,309 voters that we need to turn. That is completely winnable. And the implications of that very achievable win are very, very serious. Right. We will be able to have a check on Trump. We'll be able to have control of committees in the House. We will be able to also put a real check on his sense that everything is on his side, momentum is on his side. And we know that that's not true and that the American people are more on our side and Democratic Party positions align with majoritarian positions. But, you know, we've got some real work to do to make sure that we are aligning a key chamber in our direction. And what I'll say is, also, it's not that the Senate doesn't really matter. It really, really, really does. And I hope that we can talk about that, too, especially for things like, like the courts and, and so on and so forth. It's just, to be brutally honest, we're not going to be able to win the Senate. Just the math doesn't math for 2026. So we'll also focus on winning some key Senate races. But we need to win a chamber, and so we have to win the House, and it is existential to flip those three seats.
- [46:25]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I, I, I'm, I'm with you on that. I think we can make headway in the Senate as we move to 2028 and swing our focus then. But let's talk a little bit about the, this whole Media, corporate media narrative that Everybody's tired resistance 2.0 is not going to happen. Now, we've seen just publicly a lot of counter facts that counter that narrative. All these Tesla takedown rallies that we had this past weekend, all of the town halls, whether it's a Republican there or an empty chair town hall because the Republican refuses to show up. I think that we're seeing a lot of that emergence. But you're also seeing it within your own organization. Talk about that.
- [47:05]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, it's funny because it's a moment where I was really worried. I mean, I was worried about the state of our democracy and where we were headed after the election, but I was also really worried that maybe people were just not going to show up and maybe folks were going to say, you know what, I got to worry about my family and my livelihood and I got to bow out. And we are seeing on a week to week basis, and we've been seeing this every week since the inauguration, levels of volunteer action that are exceeding the levels in the peak resistance moment in 2017. And I think that's important. We saw similar trends that kind of bucked national narratives in 22 and even 2024 when folks were really feeling, feeling all the feelings about Joe Biden being at the top of the ticket, we were still seeing a lot more action than what the national narrative was. And right now it's kind of gangbusters levels of action and it's just not breaking through beyond some of the kind of town hall actions in the way that folks are absorbing. And I think that's because obviously the weight of this moment is significant and the weight of the damage that Trump is, Trump and Elon Musk, you know, are doing at every level. But it's also because even if the levels of action people are taking are on par with the peak of the resistance era, the mood is really different. And I think that's really important. So what we're seeing is in our surveys from folks, they are much more skeptical, rightfully, and I think intelligently about this moment of is my action actually moving the needle? How do I know? Sort of what is the data showing? And they are also still taking actions because they know we can't take our foot off the gas. And so for us, what that means is we are playing sort of at two different levels of a chess game. We are both making sure we're moving quickly to give people actions. Such as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is coming up. I think it'll be after this show or before the show airs but this Tuesday, April 1st. So we want to make sure, you know, folks are taking tremendous amounts of action there and we are engaging in this House Campaign 3 to win. That is also something we need to move quickly on. And at the same time, we can't ignore the much bigger questions that are underneath people's doubt and worry and anxiety, which is what were the things that went wrong last presidential cycle? It's not just a simple, oh, we didn't have a Joe Rogan or oh, we didn't get our economic message. Right. Right. Tactically, there's stuff that we still have to learn and analyze. And so it is a bull fan. We are seeing the energy that makes me feel really bullish about just how big the wins are that are possible in the midterms and how big some of the advocacy wins could be. With the caveat that I don't trust Republicans in Congress to do a single bipartisan thing, even if the politics show them that they should. But it's also something that makes me impressed with the sophistication that volunteers and donors have, which is walk and chew gum. Let's do while we're still taking a beat to learning so that we're not in kind of a rinse and repeat moment of, as one of our volunteers said, let's make sure we're not reheating leftovers from the 2024 cycle. Let's make sure that we're actually engaging in, you know, building a plate of the right meal for winning in 2026.
- [50:23]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Or the 2012 side. I mean, we've been stuck in old politics.
- [50:26]
Dana Goldberg
Right.
- [50:26]
Alison Gill
Totally in this post insurrection era for, for too long. But I also, you know, I want to let you know we're seeing it in independent media also, like after the election, nobody wanted to watch the news listenership for podcasts that I host and my friends host kind of dropped off pretty significantly for the week or two after the election. But then everyone plus came back and it's been growing and I mean, I think we're up like 80% incredible. Over just pre election numbers. I know Midas Touch is now beating Joe Rogan in some cases.
- [50:59]
Dana Goldberg
Incredible. Yes.
- [51:00]
Alison Gill
And so it's there the, you know, the. It's there more than it has been in the past. And also we have new tools to thank. Like Blue sky, for example. We were all stuck on Twitter pre2024 election, which was a road to nowhere. Everything sort of plateaued over on that particular platform. So now we have new tools. So that's what swing left is so good at because it's so data driven, is adapting to the new normal. And so I think it's something that we should be injecting into people's bones instead of, you know, to replace this exhaustion, cynicism, nihilism narrative. And let's talk about that. That's the last piece. I want to talk about how to overcome that because I see so many people saying, oh, that's cute that you think we're going to ever have elections again or you know, kind of just a very defeat and you know, so many people feel defeated because of what happened in 2024. I remember it happening 20 years ago in 2004 and then someone that no one had ever heard of gave a pretty rousing speech at the dnc and then four years later, bazinga.
- [52:13]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [52:13]
Alison Gill
That's right. So, you know, we're all kind of trying to have the pieces fall and find the path. But you know, I want to talk about how you guys overcome that because, you know, what I basically say is we just had an election in Pennsylvania. We had two special elections and we, we flipped a really red seat. We had one in Iowa for the legislature there in January. So we are currently having elections. We're still having elections and we're winning them.
- [52:41]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [52:42]
Alison Gill
And, and I know that, you know, three to win. We've got, you know, Florida one and Florida six. But we did have New York 21, but we don't anymore because I think that this administration recognizes the Democrats ability to flip these seats and hold elections. And that's why they, he pulled the nomination of Stefanik. So what do you guys, what's your messaging as far as we have to move forward as though there will be elections? Because I feel like if you say, oh, it's funny, no one's ever gonna have an election again, that kind of helps the bad guys. It sort of discourages people from bothering to vote. Right?
- [53:21]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, I think this is, it's a really important point and it's really resonant. I think this is probably, if not number one, it's in the top two questions that we get from volunteers and donors saying, you know, why should I, you know, it's. If we're in a three legged stool of the ways that we're tackling this moment of litigation, of all the big lawsuits that folks like ACLU and you know, Democracy Forward and others are, are leading and then you've got the advocacy side of, as you said, the Tesla town halls and the, and so on and so forth. And then you've got the election leg of the stool. A lot of folks were like, why, why does that even matter? Does you know, he's been clear, Project 2025 is clear that elections, he's going to undermine the integrity of the elections. He's already passed an executive order that is sort of moving that forward. There's already movement in Congress. And so I think it is part of what you said, which is we've got to first of all operate because we don't know yet what is ahead. And I think we would be delusional if we this was going to be a linear road that was smoothly paved for us, right? They're going to be throwing not just potholes, they're going to be throwing sort of like firebombs on the road to the midterms. And if we want to, if we are serious about our commitment to flip those three seats, which again is winnable, it's like 7309 voters is nothing, then we also need to be organized early and really, really robustly or when they throw those obstacles in our way. We don't know exactly what those obstacles would be, but we have a pretty good sense of the kinds of stuff that are, that are coming. We've got to be well organized. And we also need to be winning more than three seats. Three is what we need to get to a majority. But it is much harder for them to block us if we really have organized voters over the course of 20 months and really gotten folks to realize their egg prices are high because of Trump tariffs are impacting their quality of life over 20 months through media. As you were saying, that is sort of outside of what folks were listening to, maybe in, in 2024, but also face to face and voter to voter. So for us, it's, it is the depth and the breadth of the organizing ahead is really significant. And the other thing that's on our minds, just on our own morale as volunteers and donors, because we ourselves, this is a, this is a marathon to 2026. It's a marathon to 2028. And it's going to be a marathon beyond that. And we're humans, right? Like we I'm not a marathon runner. I can't run a marathon, right? So sort of how are we training for this moment individually and collectively? And something that we have observed that I think is really important and is central to our strategy on three to win is the level of digital fatigue that folks are experiencing right now is really significant. And it's digital Fatigue that is coupled with loneliness that our last surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, called the greatest public health crisis that is facing our country. And I'm saying that in a. It's kind of esoteric, but it actually is really core to how we're thinking about this strategy of we're going to let people organize online. We're going to have the best digital tools to make sure that folks are engaging from wherever they are. And core to our strategy is to get people to listen to amazing shows like yours, to engage online, and then to get together in a coffee shop or in a living room or in a library or in a park with their neighbors. Because 20 months of organizing around your closest swing district is going to require us to be really strong. And we can't be strong if we are just sort of clicking a button and moving on with our lives. We've got to build some real power. And so face to face engagement is going to be essential even to the online digital advocacy that we're going to be doing for the midterms.
- [57:08]
Alison Gill
Yeah, agreed. And voter suppression isn't new. That's right. We've been having to overcome it as Democrats for many, many, many elections. You know, voting numbers too big to manipulate, too big to rig. You know, he, he cheated in 2020 and we beat him anyway. That's right. It can happen there. And there will be, there's never going to not be an onslaught of Republican attacks on voting rights ever.
- [57:35]
Dana Goldberg
That's exactly right.
- [57:36]
Alison Gill
Because it's the only way they can win. And you know, we, despite gerrymandering and all sorts of terrible stuff, we did what we did in 2018 and 2012 or 2010, I can't remember. You know, but we've, there's always been voter suppression. So that can be overcome if we organize properly. So there's no, I don't think there's any reason to be like, well, it's over because we've proven it. Yeah.
- [57:59]
Dana Goldberg
I remember my first organizing job was on the 2008 Obama campaign in Northeast Ohio. And I remember during it was my first get out the vote and I was sort of starry eyed about how beautiful our democracy was. And I was on a call where one of my fellow organizers who was organizing in downtown Akron was reporting on signs and leaflets that were being, you know, posted all over black neighborhoods in Akron saying election day was moved this year instead of Tuesday. It's on Wednesday, and here's the information. And so we had to bring in a bunch of our allies from the labor movement to come in and literally block walk neighborhoods, not to contact voters, but to take away these false leaflets. And so, you know, that was 2008 and the story of Barack Obama's historic election was not the story of voter suppression. But as you said, it was going on there. But if we are well organized enough, we can fight it back to have a fighting chance. And then we can only actually fight back to end things like voter suppression if we have Democratic majorities, period, full stop. And that is even for any listeners who are annoyed by Democrats right now, who are disappointed in Democrats right now. Those feelings are valid, are probably how most of our volunteers and donors have some mix of those feelings. And we still need to fight like hell to get Democratic majorities because that's the only way we've got a fighting chance at actually passing, passing proactive legislation when one day we have a trifecta, hopefully in 2028, but in 2026 to put a check on Trump because we just need a chamber.
- [59:35]
Alison Gill
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for coming and speaking with us. So good to meet you finally. And tell everybody how they can get involved with and support Swing Left.
- [59:46]
Dana Goldberg
Yes, folks can go to swingleft.org and they'll be able to get involved whether they have time, money, a combination of the two, very little of it or a lot of it to make sure that whatever resources they have are going to making sure that we are winning those three seats that will get us a House majority in 2026 and have us have a fighting chance at putting a check on Trump.
- [60:10]
Alison Gill
Thank you so much. Yasmin Raji from from Swing Left. I appreciate your time today.
- [60:15]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you. Thanks for having me and for all you do.
- [60:17]
Alison Gill
Yeah, you too. All right, everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone. Good news. And if you have any good news confessions corrections, like pronunciation corrections, especially if you want to give a shout out to a loved one, a spouse, a small business in your area, your small business, a self shout out, a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one, whether it's Social Security, Medicare, student Debt Relief, the PACT Act, Great VA Healthcare, you've received WIC, Head Start, Section 8, anything at all, send it to us. And to get your submission read on the air, all you got to do is pay your POD pet tax. That means attach a photo of your pet and if you don't have a pet, send us an adoptable pet in your area. We'll see if we can find him a forever home. If you don't have that, any animal photo will do. And then of course, we also love baby photos. And for the foreseeable future, we're accepting bird watching photos, which can be a photo of an actual bird or a photo of you and your family and friends flipping off Trump and Musk properties. You can send it all to us@dailybeanspot.com and click on Contact. Thanks for hanging in with me today. First up from Tim Pronouns he and him Good news and a misheard song lyrics Good news. Thanks Joe Biden My wife's Social Security Check Just Got bigger thanks to Joe Biden's elimination last year of the WEP provision that hurts US Government retirees who also worked enough to qualify for Social Security as non US Government employers. Not that it's a ton of money, but her payments will basically double. Even better, the change was retroactive to January 2024, so last month when she was notified she got a fat lump sum check for 14 months. Woohoo. The SSA did all this on their own and there was no action that we had to take. There are likely many thousands or more who qualified for this. So from us all, thank you President Biden. My misheard song lyric is your very own Good Trouble jingle. I thought the first month the kids were saying, what are you guys doing getting into trouble? Let's fucking make good trouble. I thought, wow, that's edgy. Really edgy. But hey, this is news with swearing, so that's way cool. It was only a few weeks ago I was listening to the pod on my car speakers instead of my earpods. Imagine my giggle when I could clearly hear what they were really singing. Ha ha ha ha ha. Podbet Tax is our sweetie Nike. She's a rescue from almost 12 years ago. See if you can guess. She's about 90 pounds. Aw. And our producers put the answers right in here. So I didn't get a chance to guess. She is 25% border collie, 25% German shepherd dog, 25% great P and 25% other. Also 100% love. I would have guessed either border collie or some sort of herding dog. I don't think I would have got German shepherd dog, but I would have thrown a big dog in there like a Burmese mountain dog or a great Pyrenees or something. I probably would have gotten maybe like half of those. Right Tim? Thanks for that. Look at that. Having some ice cream. Delicious. Next up from Jerome G. Pronouns he and him Dear Queens of the beans. I've been a listener for a year or so. Thanks for making the fire hydrant and ooze bearable. And thanks AG for your work with the VA Day. I'm writing in with a shout out to my friend and fellow dance caller, Deborah Dannenfeld and all the friends and volunteers who support Dancing well the Soldier Project. Knowing of the community and connection that develops through folk dance, Deborah created and nurtured Dancing well, a nonprofit organization to bring the healing power of live music, dance and community to veterans and families coping with post traumatic stress and brain injury. That's awesome. What it looks like is dance events held by a caller or teacher with live music, veterans, family members and loved ones. Volunteers all joined together with a focus on being welcoming, joyful and accessible. I can attest that the healing is real. People connect through the shared activity and carry that into their daily lives that can sometimes seem isolated or lonely. A peer reviewed study found highly significant improvement in PTSD symptoms from participating in the program. Right now, much of the group's work is centered in Louisville, Kentucky, but Debra envisions expanding the program across the United States. The group welcomes your support and your participation. You can see the website for more information. If you're a veteran, a family member, or a loved one of a veteran in the Kentuckiana area, you're welcome to attend regardless of whether you experience PTSD or TBI. We'll have a link in the show notes to dancingwell.org and for podpet tax I offer animal my wife recently crocheted. Can you guess the animal? It looks like a turtle, sir. Is it you know? Oh, I get it. It's the turtle box instead of a box turtle because it has a top and you can open it and put stuff inside. Turtle box Crocheted by Jerome G's wife Thank you so much for that Everybody. Check out dancingwell.org that sounds amazing. Congrats on all the good work you're doing. Next up from anonymous pronoun she and her I want to shout out my 89 year old dad. He's gone from Goldwater Nixon to an ardent supporter of Biden and Harris. He hates Donald as much as I do and being an old white dude, he's presumed to be maga. Especially when he wears the cap I bought for him in 2020 that says make America Sane Again. Well, until they get close enough to read it and then they smile and laugh, we're each other's ranting partners. I share as many funny memes and pieces as I can Today he phoned to say he's driven over to the library. Couldn't find a place to park anywhere because the Tesla takedown was happening nearby. He estimated about 200 people with signs, banners, everything on the freeway fence. He rolled down his window and waved in support as he drove past. It's amazing. My pod pet tax is occasional cat sit miracle. A thick tabby who isn't the most snuggly, but she's loving and lovable all the same. Thank you Anonymous and shout out to dad. Hi dad. Look at this sweet baby. Oh, she's so pretty. Thank you so much for sending that and including your bodped tax. Next up, Amy Pronoun. She and her hi Allison. Hi Dana. For work I contract with the Texas Workforce Commission, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation to help individuals with disabilities obtain and maintain employment. I want to shout out the wonderful work that they do and the resources they provide to help this often overlooked population. I worry that funding for this program will be cut, leaving disabled populations without the crucial services that they need and providers like me without any way to make a living. It is easy to forget that there are agencies in Texas that are beneficial when we're constantly bombarded with horrifying stories of what our governor and Republican legislators are trying to do. I used to be a proud Texan, but now I'm just heartbroken by what my state has become. And my family and I are actively making plans to leave. My teenage children, one queer and one non binary, have decided not to stay in Texas for college, and my husband and I will follow suit when they go. I also want to shout out my sister Lee for telling me about the daily beans. You guys have become my go to podcast for important news. Not only do you provide no spin news, but I love that you offer listeners a way to push back with good trouble and hopeful stories in the Good News segment. Thank you both for what you do, Amy. This is so touching to me. Thank you. I've included a picture of Jasper for bodbet Tax. He's just the best, smartest boy. Oh, this is a beautiful dog with blue eyes. Oh, and there's dots. So maybe, I'm guessing the breeds here. Maybe a Roddy or a. What are those called? Dobies. Doberman Pinchers. That's the markings and lab. I don't know. Let's see. Let's see what we got. 40% Doberman and a 60% mixture of Husky and Malamute and too many others to name. All right, I got about 40% of that dog, right? The blue Eyes. I should have guessed. Husky with the blue eyes. Absolutely beautiful dog. Amy. Thank you for sharing and shout out to Lee. Hey, what's up? All right, next up from Anonymous. She they. Hi Laguma ladies. I took my kids to our local Tesla takeover protest in Baltimore this weekend. It was the first protest both of my kiddos attended. They had so much fun making their signs and leading the crowds in chants. They were the youngest protesters and so many elder activists told me how moved they were to see the next generation already participating in our democracy and fighting against fascism. My pod pet tax is a picture of our dog Dolly Rebecca Parton, who is a large lap dog. Guess the breed answer below who wakes up daily jumps in our bed and smushes her body under the covers. I'm also including picture of our signs. I was very proud to see hundreds of people out against musk. We only got flipped off five times. All white dudes. Thank you for all you're doing to fight the good fight. All right, let's see. Stop Elon and his musk rats. F Elon Felon and his swastikars. Tesla funds Fascists and muskrats are an invasive species. I love it. Oh, and this dog looks like an American bulldog. Pity. Staffy maybe. Let's see what we got. Mostly Catalua Leopard Hound with some pity. If you heard her, you would definitely know she's a hound dog. Her bay will cause your soul to leave your body. I wouldn't have guessed that. Beautiful dog. Anonymous. Thank you so much and high five for taking the kids out to the Tesla takedown. All right, our last submission is from Ruth R. She her I got an email that all school district employees must take, quote, what every employee must be told. Student discrimination. I'm so proud of my district taking this diversity, equity and inclusion stand at this time in our history. And I will take the training even though I'm retiring in June. For my bot bet tax, I'm sharing this photo of my fur girl's princess, the gray and white who lost her eyes to glaucoma. Aww. And is at the top of the cat tree. And then there's Thunderbolt, the black. Oh my gosh, look at the kitty with no eyes. I want to kiss the face. Oh, so adorable. Thunderbutt. Sorry I said thunderbolt. It's Thunderbutt, you guys. Two teas and butt. Oh, thank you all so much. I needed that good news. On this Monday, I'll be back in your ears. Tomorrow there is a brand new episode of unjustified Andy McCabe and I talk about the classified on the Signal chat. We talk about this authoritarian deportation of of people without due process. How we used to like if somebody committed a crime in the United States, we would, you know, arrest them, indict them and try them and sentence them here in the United States. And now we're just sending them to El Salvador. It's in Guantanamo. It's frightening. And his perspective is unique, you know, as he worked for the FBI for over two decades and ended up as the deputy director at one point acting director for for a minute before he was ceremony unceremoniously fired by the Trump administration. He and I have that in common, although I wasn't like the deputy secretary of the VA or anything. But his insight is invaluable. So you want to check that out. It's called Unjustified. It's free. Wherever you get your podcast, it's because we can't do the Jack podcast anymore. So I think you'll enjoy it and I appreciate all of you. Again, I'll be back in yours tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health and take care of your family. I've been AG and them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media.