Dana Goldberg (2:48)

Absolutely. That is bizarre. But at the same time, of course, my little brain starts going and then it makes a little bit of sense. But, you know, this guy deserves a trial regardless of the reasons why and what happened. And I sure hope he gets his day in court and does not just end up disappearing.

Allison Gill (3:03)

Yeah, he will. And the incompetence of this administration, changing their stories, putting out grand jury information before, you know, Kash Patel, telling people on the microphone what the grand jury heard and yeah, all of that is going to, I mean, this guy did it. He, he could walk because of the incompetence of this administration.

Dana Goldberg (3:21)

Yeah, they're, they're just so, the bluster and the ego and them needing to just get the clickbait and get the stories out and, and be the one to tell the story and they don't pay attention to the law. It's mind boggling to me.

Allison Gill (3:35)

Yeah. And it's extremely frustrating. And aside from that, Andy McCabe and I reported a couple weeks back on Unjustified that there have been now 23,000 federal criminal cases that have fallen through the cracks because of the flood of immigration habeas claims and the destruction and gutting of the Department of Justice, the lawyers and the line prosecutors that worked there for so long and the U.S. attorney's offices. So to be like the tough on crime president after pardoning 1500 criminals, one in every 230 of which keep getting put back in jail for child pornography and child sexual assault material charges, like, and then to have 23,000 federal crimes slip through the cracks because you're focused on habeas petitions and, you know, deporting the wives of veterans who served in the military or whatever the, I mean, children, like, it's just, it's so frustrating for them to be like, we're the law and order party. No, you're, you're absolutely. Yeah.

Dana Goldberg (4:32)

No you're not. No, you're not. You're the Fast Food Order Party.

Allison Gill (4:36)

You're the Crime and Chaos party is what you are.

Dana Goldberg (4:38)

There you go.

Allison Gill (4:39)

Also, later in the show, we're going to be talking to Steve Pearson, host of the Practifist Pod. He's also the executive director of Blue Wave California, which is an organization that helps raise money for California House seats. The ones that are still close. There are four, two of which we're defending to keep blue and two of which we're trying to flip blue. And you know, like, one of them, the Democrat won by like 147 votes in 2024. And they're still very close even after Prop 50. Well, he's having a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 12th at the El Rey Theater. And Dana, you and I are going to be there.

Dana Goldberg (5:14)

I'm so excited to be a part of this.

Allison Gill (5:16)

It's going to be so much fun. We'll be there in person along with God, Lisa Loeb, Andy Richter, Jean Smart, Iman Jordan, Rufus, Rufus Wainwright.

Dana Goldberg (5:25)

I know. It's like a music concert and like activism.

Allison Gill (5:30)

It's comedy.

Dana Goldberg (5:31)

It's going to be incredible.

Allison Gill (5:33)

Yeah. And so we're actually, it's a fundraiser and we're going to tell you how to get tickets when I talk to Steve later. But we're also going to be releasing a bunch of free tickets to our patrons because we just want a big room full of joyful, amazing people. And so keep an eye on your Patreon email inbox. We'll let you know when we're going to send those tickets out. They'll be free. They'll be first come, first served. You want to become a patron, you can do that by going to patreon.com thedailybeans but this is going to be a really, really cool event. And there's also some other surprise guests that I guess Steve's not allowed to talk about, but they're pretty amazing. Yeah. So we'll talk about that, too. But first, before we do any of that, we got to get to the news. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right. First up from NBC, a federal appeals court on Friday granted the state of Louisiana's request just every day to reinstate a nationwide requirement that abortion pills be dispensed in person. The ruling represents a victory for opponents of abortion rights and, you know, women's health care rights since it limits access by blocking people's ability to obtain mifeprestone, one of the two pills used in medication abortions, through telehealth and by mail. Telehealth prescriptions have been key to maintaining abortion access in states that have outlawed or restricted the practice after the Supreme Court gutted Roe V. Wade in 2022. Quote, Anti abortion politicians have just made it much harder for people everywhere in the country to get a medication that abortion and miscarriage patients have been safely using for more than 25 years. That's Julia Kay, senior staff attorney for the Reproductive Freedom Project of the aclu. That's what she said in a press release on Friday. Friday night, Danko Laboratories, which makes and distributes mifepristone, filed for a one week stay to pause this court order. And it also said it will go to the US Supreme Court if the appeals court does not grant relief. Quote, never before has a federal court purported to immediately change a drug's conditions of use upon issuance of its order. The order results in immediate chaos. That's what lawyers for the company wrote in a motion for temporary administrative stay. And they went on to say it's now unclear whether pharmacies nationwide may still dispense mifepristone to women tonight. That's what the company's lawyers argued in the motion. So just more attacks on a reproductive freedom. More tax on women's health care. More tax on women.

Dana Goldberg (7:53)

And I'm tired of them. I know we are.

Allison Gill (7:55)

And people with uteruses, I mean, if we're being honest, you know.

Dana Goldberg (7:59)

Absolutely. This one's from New York Times. Pentagon officials said on Friday that they were pulling 5,000 troops from Germany and would redeploy them in the United States and other posts overseas.

Allison Gill (8:10)

What, like at our polling place?

Dana Goldberg (8:12)

I see your face, Allison. Uh huh. The Defense Department's also canceling a plan developed under the Biden administration to place a missile equipped artillery unit in Europe. The moves will return US Forces to Europe to the level that they were in 2022, where that was before Russia began its war in Ukraine invasion. And this is what the officials said. Of course, they spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to talk about this stuff. Now, last year, the Pentagon deployed a brigade. Excuse me, a brigade. Goodness, it is Monday in Romania and did not send replacement forces. The Pentagon's latest pullback was sharply criticized on Saturday by senior Republicans in Congress, who cited the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The Defense Department, particularly during President Trump's terms, both of his terms, had several years considering decreasing the military presence in Germany. But senior defense officials privately made it clear that they wanted the move to be seen as punishment for Germany, whose recent comments about the U.S. war in Iran have annoyed Donald. Apparently, earlier this week, Germany's chancellor, that's Frederick Mertz now said Iran had humiliated the United States. And he questioned how Mr. Trump planned to end the conflict. And apparently his answer was to take his fucking troops and go home. I mean, this is insane. The Americans obviously have no strategy. Thank you for Saying the obvious, Mr. Mertz. And Politico reports that Trump's initial post about removing U.S. troops from Germany came just hours after he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had long sought to reduce the number of NATO troops in Europe, and that the Pentagon was not expecting it. Yeah, again, just Another just another fuck you to NATO. Another just ridiculous decision, a reactionary decision because his feelings got hurt, his ego got hurt because someone called out the truth.

Allison Gill (10:05)

Yeah, it's like when he pulled everybody out of Syria, abandoned the Kurds, fucked our allies over in the region, and now you've got two hot wars in Europe and the Middle east. And you want to put our troops in the Gulf, but you want to pull them out of. Okay, you know what if Vladimir Putin asks, he, you know, he says jump. He asks how high? Next from the Post. Senators voted unanimously Thursday to ban themselves from participating in prediction markets as Congress tackles the ethics of the novel platforms. Prediction markets, which allow participants to place bets on future events as varied as sports scores and election results, and whether Maduro is captured or not, have gained considerable scrutiny in recent months after suspiciously timed bets led to accusations of insider trading. As I said, a U.S. special Forces soldier, for instance, was arrested last week and accused of betting on the operation to capture Nicholas Maduro based on classified information. He was part of the thing. Now he has pled not guilty to charges including commodities fraud, wire fraud and theft. Senator Bernie Moreno is a Republican from Ohio, introduced a resolution to instate the ban last week. Thursday's vote made it effective immediately. The ban also applies to Senate staffers and officers of the Senate. You know, other people who hear this shit, the insider information, it does not, however, apply to the House of Representatives or the federal bureaucracy. The executive branch, quote, engaging in any way in a prediction market or trying to place bets where we might have inside information deteriorates confidence in our constituents. Yeah, you think that's what Moreno said on the Senate floor Thursday, a Republican. Other lawmakers have pushed to extend the ban on prediction markets for the entire federal government. Chris Murphy, Democrat from Connecticut, and Greg Cassar, Democrat from Texas, have legislation to ban prediction market bets around acts of war. Republicans Blake D. Moore, Republican from Utah, and Salud Carbajal, a Democrat from California, introduced legislation to ban bets related to government actions on terrorism and election results. We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino, trump said. Get over it. It's a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises or elections. That's Chuck Schumer. What he said on the Senate floor, that would destroy the very principle of representative government. There's like 16 other things that destroy representative government more that you could also talk about. Schumer called on House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Trump administration to adopt similar rules. I don't know. You think Mike Johnson's going to eliminate betting on prediction markets in the House?

Dana Goldberg (12:39)

No, because I'm sure he's making a killing. You know, I don't have any proof of that, so I'm just assuming.

Allison Gill (12:44)

Right. But you're not going to get. You need a pretty much every single Republican, right? I don't think you're going to get them.

Dana Goldberg (12:50)

No, I don't think so either.

Steve Pearson (12:52)

No.

Allison Gill (12:52)

I think if I take that back, you could get a bunch of Democrats and then you would need a few Republicans. So maybe there's a couple Republicans who'd be willing to change that rule in the House.

Dana Goldberg (13:00)

We'll sing. Maybe.

Allison Gill (13:02)

Maybe.

Dana Goldberg (13:02)

Thanks so much, Alison. All right. This one's from the Post. It looks like Donald's expansion of the wall along the southern border with Mexico. It's damaged a rare Native American archaeological site in the Arizona desert. This is area residents said this on Thursday as the administration moves to rapidly build hundreds of miles of additional barriers in a $46.5 billion project. I know, the aggressive expansion project funded by the one big beautiful bill, one big bullshit bill is erected. I hate saying that word. Anything that has to do with this administration. It's erected three miles of wall a week introducing this probably as fast as they've gotten anything up. It's erected three miles of wall a week, introducing barriers in parts of Texas that did not previously have them, as well as a second wall in much of California, Arizona and New Mexico.

Allison Gill (13:52)

Oh, two walls.

Dana Goldberg (13:54)

Two walls.

Allison Gill (13:55)

Got you.

Dana Goldberg (13:55)

Two walls. By the way, to no surprise to anyone, the construction isn't abiding by environmental laws and other protections that are in place. Of course, alarming advocates, the national park staff and Native Americans, by the way, who were here first. In Arizona, construction crews ran heavy machinery through and destroyed a roughly 60 to 70 foot swath of intaglio, a more than 200 foot long ground etching that looks like a fish and is thought to be at least a thousand years old. This is from Richard Martinek. And Richard's a retired archaeologist who now volunteers his time surveying that area. The Department of Homeland Security has issued waivers so that border wall construction does not have to follow laws that protect the environment or indigenous sites, which normally require extensive study and planning to limit damages. What a bullshit thing that's allowed to happen right now. If this is allowed to happen and the damage is going to be done, if there's lawsuits, they're going to do so much damage before the courts come back and block this.

Allison Gill (14:56)

If they're going to block it, yeah, it's done. They just Wrecked that thousand year old etching.

Dana Goldberg (15:01)

Jesus Christ.

Allison Gill (15:03)

Among other things. All right, next up from the Times, a suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein in a Manhattan jail has been kept secret for nearly seven years. Locked up in a New York courthouse.

Dana Goldberg (15:14)

Okay.

Allison Gill (15:15)

A cellmate said he discovered the note. His murderous cellmate said he discovered the note in July of 2019 after Mr. Epstein was found unresponsive with a strip of cloth around his neck. Epstein survived that incident, but weeks later was found dead in the jail. The note was eventually sealed by a federal judge as part of that cellmate's own criminal case, according to documents and interviews. That means investigators scrutinizing Epstein's high profile death lacked what could have been a key piece of evidence. On Thursday, the New York Times petitioned the judge to unseal that note, which apparently said it was, quote, time to say goodbye. The cellmate, Nick Tartaglione, recalled when Mr. Tartaglione mentioned the note on a podcast last year. The scrawled message has remained hidden from public view even at a time of unprecedented transparency around the government's investigation into Mr. Epstein. Since December, the DOJ has released, quote, unquote, millions of pages of documents related to the sexual predator. They've also withheld at least half of them and redacted a bunch improperly. But the New York Times has not seen this note, and it could not find it in the Epstein files. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency hasn't seen it either. But a cryptic two page chronology in the records describes how the note became tangled up in Mr. Tartaglione's messy legal case. The chronology says that Nick and his lawyers authenticated the note. They authenticated it. Just so you know, the murderous cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein said this is real. The chronology says that Tartaglion's lawyers authenticated it, though it does not explain how if it was, it just looks like something he wrote. And it also gets me off the hook for murder. If it was written by Jeffrey Epstein, the message could provide insights into his state of mind in the weeks before he died hanging from the bunk bed. What the New York Times doesn't mention is if it was written by murdering Guy Tartaglione, that could also have implications on the investigation into the death of Mr. Epstein. He died at 66. It was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner. But revelations of security lapses inside the now shuttered Manhattan Correctional center have spawned countless theories about how he died and whether he was murdered. When jail officials asked Mr. Epstein about the Red marks on his neck. After that first July incident that he lived through. He told them Mr. Tartaglion had attacked him. And he said, I'm not suicidal. Now, Mr. Tartaglion, former police officer charged with quadruple homicide.

Dana Goldberg (17:50)

Wow.

Allison Gill (17:51)

Has Long denied assaulting Mr. Epstein. I'm not a violent guy. Bureau of Prisons records show that a week after the initial accusation against his cellmate, Epstein then told officials that he never had any issues with him and felt safe being around him. Okay, who said he said that? Seriously, records show. What record? Can I see those? Now, Tartaglion was convicted in 2023, and he's now serving four life sentences. And he's pursuing an appeal. Maintains his innocence. In recent interviews by phone from a federal prison in California, Tartaglion gave his own version of how he came upon the note. Ready. After the July episode, Mr. Epstein was moved to a different part of the jail and briefly placed on suicide watch. And it was around then that Mr. Tartaglion said he found the note in. In his cell, tucked into a comic book.

Dana Goldberg (18:42)

Okay, so hold on. Did I hear you say he was looking for a pardon? This sure seems like a great reason to be like, by the way, this is when I found this.

Allison Gill (18:56)

Yeah.

Dana Goldberg (18:56)

Who would be giving him that pardon?

Allison Gill (18:59)

Todd Blanche. Donald Trump. That's right. Donald Trump.

Dana Goldberg (19:03)

Oh, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Okay, got it, got it, got it, got it, got it. Cool.

Allison Gill (19:07)

Okay. All right. And by the way, in. In yesterday's episode of the Breakdown on Midas Touch, I talked to Katie Fang about her lawsuit to get the Epstein files. She's like, with Todd Blanche saying, we got everything. We looked at everything. We left no stone unturned. Really? Because this. You didn't see this.

Dana Goldberg (19:23)

Yeah, this seemed like a big stone, like a big old fucking boulder. Todd. All right, this one is from Asheville Watchdog in 2022, Chuck Edwards. He campaigned on his image as the responsible adult in the room. As a prosperous businessman with a chain of McDonald's, Edwards was a hardline, if unflashy conservative who had risen through the ranks of the state Senate. Now he successfully offered western North Carolina a change of pace from the scandal ridden tenure of Madison Cawthorn. Until Thursday, he had mostly delivered. But that afternoon, news broke that the two term Republican Congressman is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, making him the fourth congressman in a row from District 11 to face such an inquiry. By the way, who runs the House Ethics Committee? Is it. Is it an even split? Dempsey.

Allison Gill (20:15)

It's a true bipartisan committee. Yeah.

Dana Goldberg (20:17)

Okay. All right.

Allison Gill (20:18)

I thought where you were going with that was fourth in a row including, you know, Corey Mills and Squalwell and

Dana Goldberg (20:24)

no, District 11's got a problem.

Allison Gill (20:26)

Apparently fourth in a row in that district. Wow.

Dana Goldberg (20:30)

Unbelievable. Axios first reported the news without describing the actual nature of the investigation, followed shortly by a CNN report that the committee is looking into allegations sexual harassment. Notice the swords reported that Edwards was engaged in a long term affair with a former aide. House rules prohibit members from having sexual relations with their staff. Edwards and the aid. They were not discreet and the relationship caused office friction and led to staff departures. This is what notice reported they came as Edwards, who serves on the powerful House Appropriations and Budget committees and faces what is widely seen as his toughest race yet. A showdown with Democrat Jamie Ager that has drawn national attention. District 11 skews Republican and it has voted that way since 2012. That's why Republicans are like, if I have a chance to get in Congress and I am a sexual harasser, I'm running in District 11.

Allison Gill (21:25)

Go move to District 11.

Dana Goldberg (21:27)

Yep. But national Democrats sensing vulnerability over Edwards handling of Helene and Americans frustrations with increases in the cost of living, had the seat in their crosshairs long before the news of the investigation broke. So this guy was already in trouble before this broke In February, the Democratic congressional campaign added District 11 to its red to blue list, marking it as an election priority. Ager, a fourth generation farmer from western North Carolina has taken a lead in fundraising over Edwards.

Allison Gill (22:03)

District 11. That sounds like a. A movie.

Dana Goldberg (22:07)

I know. It should be. It's going to be a documentary like you can do.

Allison Gill (22:11)

You can do a whole movie on the last four Republican Congress people from District 11.

Dana Goldberg (22:18)

Yeah. My God.

Allison Gill (22:22)

Anyway, thank you for that story, my friend. Everybody, we're going to talk to Steve Pearson about this event we're doing at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles on May 12 to fundraise for some of these seats here in California that we need to defend and flip. Dana and I are going to be at that event along with all sorts of other amazing people I can't wait to meet Lisa Loeb. I'm sorry, but that's.

Dana Goldberg (22:40)

Oh, she's lovely.

Allison Gill (22:42)

Fangirl. O rama for me. I'm going to be. You're going to see me up on the stage and I'll be like, hey, I have feet attached to my legs. I like bread. I'm going to be so.

Dana Goldberg (22:52)

I gotcha. I got you.

Allison Gill (22:53)

Thank you. You are so good at that. Whenever I'm like blinded by whatever Just what's happening.

Dana Goldberg (22:59)

You're like, well, this is Allison Gill. She's a co host of the Daily Beans. She runs MSW Media Network. She was Mueller. She wrote.

Allison Gill (23:05)

Oh, yes, I remember when we did that one of the interviews on the red carpet. One, one toward the end, somebody asked you a really great question and you answered it. And I'm just sitting there listening and I'm trying to think of what I'm gonna say and then they, they all of a sudden put the microphone in my face and I'm like, I like cheese. Can you repeat the question? Yeah, yeah, I like cheese.

Dana Goldberg (23:26)

Oh, honey, we've all been there. There is sometimes I will answer a question on the red carpet and when I'm done, I go, what the hell did I just say? Like, I don't remember what came out of my mouth. I don't remember what the question was.

Allison Gill (23:36)

I'm Susie Izzard. I've got legs. Do you like bread? I love you. Anyway, stick around for this interview and then we'll have the good news. We'll be right back after these messages.

Dana Goldberg (23:50)

We'll be right back.

Allison Gill (23:53)

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Amanda Sturgill (27:29)

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Allison Gill (28:08)

All right, everybody, welcome back. It's time to Make It Blue. So, as you know, sometimes we have a Flip It Blue segment here, sometimes we have a Keep it Blue segment. Well, in this segment, we're trying to do both. And joining me today to discuss a fundraiser to do just that is a grassroots leader, having served as Southern California field director and national training director for Swing Left, also co founder of the Resistance Boot Camp and co host of the Practivist podcast here on MSW Media. He also serves now as the executive director of Blue Wave California. That's what this is about today. Please welcome my friend, Steve Pearson. Hi, Steve.

Steve Pearson (28:44)

Hey, Alison. So great to see you.

Allison Gill (28:46)

Always good to see you, my friend. So, as I hinted to earlier in the show, you're having an event this coming Tuesday, May 12th in Los Angeles at the El Rey Theater at 7pm doors are at 7pm that's right. And let's talk about this lineup.

Steve Pearson (29:02)

It's an incredible lineup, you know, I mean, what do fascists hate more than incredible artists and musicians and comedians? Because that's what cuts through all the noise, cuts through the information bubbles and speaks truth to power, but also speaks to our hearts and ties us together. So that's why we're doing this. We've got Rufus Wainwright, the incredible Rufus Wainwright, who's so phenomenal and generous to lend his time to this Lisa Loeb. As soon as I say that name, the song will be stuck in your head for the next week. I don't even have to sing or refrain. It's there. You're welcome Iman Jordan, who just won the Grammy for the Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change. He's incredible artist. And then we've got Grammy winning guitarist Lawrence Juber, we have Queen Jean. Jean Smart's gonna be there. Andy Richter is going to be there. And I think you and Dana are going to join us as well. Am I right about that?

Allison Gill (30:06)

That is correct. Dana and I will be there on stage at the El Rey to, you know, do what we do, talk politics, swear appropriate profanity. And also didn't. Did you tell me that there are some other guests that you can't announce? Can you announce them yet or no?

Steve Pearson (30:25)

No, I can't announce them because there's some like of this pesky contract touring stuff. But just, just to say that there will be some other surprise guests. It's going to be an incredible night. And you know what, we all deserve it. Right? You know, we can fight fascism and celebrate at the same time. Joy is a revolutionary act right now and so I'm just excited for everyone to come out. It's going to be a really great night.

Allison Gill (30:51)

Yeah, me too. I'm really excited to see everybody there. Let's talk a little bit about the fundraiser. It's BlueWaveCalifornia.org and if you want to buy tickets to this event, you can get them@bluewavecalifornia.org concert. But this is like a sort of a little fund that goes to I think four specific races in California because even though we voted, we got consent from the voters and decided to enact Proposition 50 in order to redraw our maps. There are still a couple of really tough districts of four. These particular four that you are focusing on. And two of them were defending and two of them were trying to flip. Talk a little bit about these districts and why they're so important.

Steve Pearson (31:30)

Yeah, well, you and I have worked on these impact funds over the years and they're really, really important because people come to both of us all the time and say, where can I make the biggest impact? I'm getting solicited by fundraisers all over the place. Where is my money going to make the biggest impact? So here in California, yes, we, we did pass prop 50. That set it up for us. That didn't just win these seats, but it made it a little bit easier in some cases. But we still have some really tough ones. So as you mentioned, we've got a seat like a CA13 that's Adam Gray that we have to defend. He won that race by 187 votes. Just barely, barely won that. I mean, imagine him winning by 187 votes with Mike Johnson as Speaker right now. I mean, they wouldn't even swear him in.

Dana Goldberg (32:19)

Right.

Steve Pearson (32:19)

You know, we have to do much better than that. Derek Tran, who we also are trying to re elect, won by less than a thousand votes. So Prop 50 made their districts a little bit better, but these are the top two Democrats that Republicans are coming after in our state. And then we have two flip opportunities. One, the David Valadao seat and CA22. And then the what you know very well, the former Darrell isa seat and CA48. He ran scared. He knew he was going to lose. But that's actually shaping up to be a really close race. And what we do is when we bundle these together, you know, everyone gets really excited about flipping seats, rightfully so, but we have to protect these seats at the same time. So we're lifting everyone up and making a big impact. California is still the tip of the spear for taking back the House and we must win these seats to take back the House and protect the majority. Not just now, but in 2028, after all of the egregious redistricting is going to happen post the Calais decision at the Supreme Court.

Allison Gill (33:25)

Yeah, that was a gut punch, I think, for a lot of people in every state. It's going to impact us. We already have Landry canceling elections that were already underway in Louisiana to redraw these maps. So it's going to be a battle for the maps and that's why this impact fund is so important and why this fundraiser is so important and I think why so many amazing people are coming to help raise money for that. Man, Darrell Issa has been like whack a mole for Southern Californians, as you know. You know, back in 2018, we finally brought down the orange curtain in Orange county and we, we flipped it all blue except for one district, Darrell Issa. And then bam, he pops up somewhere else because he can't win there anymore and he comes down to a different district and then bam, he realizes after Prop 50, he's got not a chance in hell. And I guess he just, like you said, wants to avoid the embarrassment altogether. But it's still a really tight race down here in 48. There are a lot of Republicans down here and there's a lot of very, very red areas that continually supported Republicans and probably would have voted for Darrell Issa where he's still in the race. So it's, it's super important that we're able to take our dollars and use math to be able to know and data to be able to know right where you're gonna get the most bang for your buck. And that's where all, you know, all the dollars for these tickets to come and see this amazing show and hang out in a room full of joyful, celebratory people just for like a theater full of people to sing Stay, I think would probably be the highlight of my year. I think it would be fantastic.

Steve Pearson (35:00)

There's gonna be a lot of highlights. I, I, I don't want to give away the show, but Lawrence Juber, who won a Grammy playing with Paul McCartney and wings and then another Grammy as an acoustic guitar player, has a huge catalog of incredible Beatles songs. And he's gonna, I won't tell you what the song is, but people can guess. He's gonna do something with Rufus that's gonna be amazing too, so.

Allison Gill (35:23)

Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I've been listening to Rufus Wainwright for a very, very long time. He's absolutely one of my favorite singer songwriters. So it's, it's gonna be amazing. And if you want to come live on stage doing some stuff and saying some things with appropriate profanity, as I said, you have an opportunity to buy your tickets again. Bluewavecalifornia.org concert and also I have some great news. If you're a patron, keep an eye on your inbox. If you're a patron of the daily beans because we're going to be. And clean up on aisle 45. Might as well throw the patrons for that in there too. We're going to be giving away a bunch of tickets to our members and we're going to be sending out an email like we do to tell you when we will send you the link so that. Because it's going to be a first come, first serve thing and they will get snatched up really quick. Steve, I can tell you I sounded like Rick Moranis from Ghostbusters just then. Many schlubs and zools knew what it meant to roast in the depths of the slore that day. I could tell you these are going to get snatched up really quick. I could tell you so good.

Steve Pearson (36:24)

That's scarily good.

Allison Gill (36:25)

Yeah, I watch a few 80s movies every now and now and again.

Steve Pearson (36:30)

And if you think about it, there's not much far to go from Rick Moranis and Donald Trump impression. They're, they're, you know, kind of close together, aren't they?

Dana Goldberg (36:37)

A little bit.

Allison Gill (36:38)

I think it's, I think it's a maybe a little. But, you know, Rick Moranis is an amazing, beautiful, fantastic, genius of a human being. And we know what Donald Trump is, right?

Steve Pearson (36:47)

Garbage person, maybe he.

Allison Gill (36:48)

But, you know, I think you could probably compare Donald Trump to Vince Clortho, the key master of Gozer. Regardless, these tickets are gonna go fast and we're gonna be giving a chunk of em away for free. Thank you to our patrons.

Steve Pearson (36:59)

I'm glad you're doing that though, because this is about community too. Obviously. It's a fundraiser for these vital races. And that's, you know, our goal is to, is to raise money. We're at a huge fundraising deficit against Republicans, about $330 million nationwide right now in these congressional races. So it's really important. If you can donate, please do. But we also want this to be a community event. We want everyone to be able to come and, and celebrate with us and kick off the midterms. So thank you for offering that to your patrons 100%.

Allison Gill (37:29)

And, you know, I think it's that Dan Savage quote like it's the, you know, we fought during day, protested in the evening, and then danced at night. And it was the dance that kept us going. And, you know, just that kind of joy and being around so many amazing artists is in and of itself an act of opposition, act of resistance.

Dana Goldberg (37:50)

Yep.

Allison Gill (37:50)

I love that. Well, I am very much looking forward to it. Again, it's Tuesday, May 12, 7pm Doors at 7 at the El Rey Theater and you can get tickets again@bluewavecalifornia.org concert. And if you're a patron, make sure to check your inbox for an email about when we're going to send that link out so you can scoop up some free tickets if you want to go. Steve, tell everybody where they can find and follow you and get more information about BlueWave California.

Steve Pearson (38:17)

Well, yeah, BlueWaveCalifornia.org is the website and of course I also co host the Practivist POD on the MSW Media Network. So you can find that show dropping every Tuesday and Thursday morning and find us@practicepod.com yeah, and it's really great.

Allison Gill (38:33)

It's like a whole podcast dedicated to good trouble, little things that you can do between now and elections. I mean, we focus a lot on elections, but it doesn't mean we need to sit on our hands and wait for that ballot to come in the mail. At least here in California, where we have mail in voting for now, they're gonna keep trying to take it away from us and trying to Chip away. And that is why it is so important that we get the House and we get it by a large margin to make it easy to hold the house again in 2028. Because once we have a Democratic president in there, we're going to want to be able to pass bills. And that's why we need that big margin.

Steve Pearson (39:05)

So 100%. That's how we inoculate ourself against all of the, you know, I'll just say tomfoolery around elections that the Republicans are throwing out there by winning huge.

Allison Gill (39:17)

That's a very nice way of putting it. Yeah. The shenanigans, the brouhaha around our elections brought, brought to you by the Republican Party. We saw it in Dallas county in the Texas primaries. We've now we're seeing it in Louisiana. Just canceling elections for us House just while they're already going on. And it will continue to happen. They will continue to sow the chaos. So that's the buffer zone we need. We'll see you all at the El Rey theater again, Tuesday, May 12, 7pm bluewayofcalifornia.org concert for your tickets and I appreciate your time today, Steve. Thanks. Thank you.

Steve Pearson (39:50)

See you Tuesday the 12th.

Allison Gill (39:52)

Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you need in your life? The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do.

Steve Pearson (40:02)

That's right.

Allison Gill (40:02)

It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's. It's the news we think you need to hear.

Dana Goldberg (40:17)

That's right. We think you need to hear it.

Allison Gill (40:19)

Okay. Yeah. It's what we say. So. That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to. Okay? All we do is give. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone. Then good news, everyone. And if you have any good news or good trouble suggestions, your good news can be little. It can be, hi. Today I saw a caterpillar, and it was rad. Here's a photo of it. Or it can be, my student loans were forgiven four years ago and my life has changed in these dramatic ways. It can be little. It can be big. It can be anything. We can, you know, microdose in your hope on and you, you know, help bring a smile to our faces. Send it to us. You can maybe give a shout out to a loved one or a nonprofit you want us to know about. Maybe a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one self shout outs. We want to hear why you're awesome because you are. Send that to us. And all you got to do to get your stuff read on the air is submit a picture. Pay your POD pet tariff. It can be anything. It can be your pet. We can try to guess the breeds in your shelter pup. It can be a random animal on the Internet. It can be family photos, baby pictures, your baby pictures. It really doesn't matter. Bird watching photos, which can be birds or you flipping the bird to a Trump building. We love those. Everyone's got one in their phone somewhere. Especially if you've been to Vegas or Chicago or New York, right? Yeah. Or just, you know, the White House. Some the Supreme Court. I got a couple of bird watching photos of the Supreme Court building recently, but anything at all, send it to us dailyveanspot.com click on contact first up is your Good trouble. Good Trouble today comes from SJ Tucker pronoun she and her I have some time sensitive hyper local good trouble here at home in Arkansas. I found out about a week ago that our stunning ancient Ouachita Mountains are under threat of pit mining despite being Designated National Forest. Thanks 47 I live at their feet and I'm doing what I can to get more hearts and minds on this. We have until May 5th, that's tomorrow to make public comments against this nonsense. There's magic in these hills and I want to protect it. Not least because ancient mountains don't grow back. Quartz crystal points are very easy to find here and surface collecting is allowed. About as ethical as it gets for us woo woo types. I put a public post together with all the info I could find about the environmental assessment, local press coverage and where to make public comment. Again, we have until May 5th. Everyone's welcome. To paraphrase my own letter to the District Ranger if you need somewhere to start and thank you from the bottom of the bones of me and the bones of my beloved mountains too. We'll have a link in the show notes to both of those things. A place where you can publicly comment podpet tax is Jilly Jo, my dog in law AKA the world's best girl. She was a free Walmart parking lot adoption special. She and my 7 year old son have been inseparable since he was 2 when my in laws brought her Home as a puppy. We were told she's a blank, but we have no proof. A blank mix, but we have no proof. Whatever she is, she's perfect. Look at this sweet baby. Is that like a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix? What do you think?

Dana Goldberg (43:48)

Yeah, and it looks like a. Maybe a lab.

Allison Gill (43:51)

Yeah. Let's see. Jack Russell terrier lab. You got it. You got half of it.

Dana Goldberg (43:57)

I'll take it.

Allison Gill (43:58)

You've got half.

Dana Goldberg (43:59)

Oh, God, the puppy.

Allison Gill (44:00)

Yeah, I know, I know. And now I'm picturing a Jack Russell terrier and a lab. Meet cute right now.

Dana Goldberg (44:06)

Yep, yep.

Allison Gill (44:10)

Thank you for that. Good trouble.

Dana Goldberg (44:11)

We do have more good trouble, though. Scotus, as we know, ripped up more of the Voting Rights act, basically decimated it. Instead of being furious, though, and throwing up, I called my local representative and asked that they immediately put the John Lewis Voting Rights act to vote in Congress and the Senate. Now you can go to. And we're going to give you the link in the show notes. It's common cause.org find your representative, put your address in to get all of the contact info for the federal, state and local electeds. Okay, so let them know now. Pod pet tax is falcor being silly. You've guessed his breeds before. Easy for ag. Alternatively, being gravely dismayed at wearing a raincoat. Never again. Thank you for all you do. Oh, my God.

Allison Gill (45:00)

Now the pressure's on. I've guessed it correctly before. What if I get it wrong and I'm wrong this time? Pyrenees lab, maybe.

Dana Goldberg (45:06)

It looks like to me. And we're going to say you're right because there's no little bar there.

Allison Gill (45:10)

I love the raincoat especially. All right, so common cause.org find hyphen, your hyphen representative. We'll have a link in the show notes. And yeah, I am so for putting the John Lewis Voting Rights act to a vote in Congress, in the Senate. But there's a step we need to take before we do that to protect that law once it becomes law from this Supreme Court. There's something we need to do and we're you and I, Dana, we're going to talk all about it. I have a plan. Wonderful. I have a project 2026, 2028 plan. We're going to talk about it on Beans Talk today, so check that out. All right, next up from anonymous, no pronouns. My dear friend, Elle Bates first published novel, Consequences of Normal, was released into the World on April 28. It tells the story of a mom's fight to support her young transgender daughter in a small Midwestern town. Please check it out again. It's called Consequences of Normal. Pick is my pod pet tariff. It's a beautiful Ms. Kanga, aka Kanga Khan, Kiki or Kikamora. She's half of the dumpster twins duo of sister kittens that a young couple rescued from a gas station dumpster. What the is wrong with people?

Dana Goldberg (46:18)

I know. I just want to throat punch them.

Allison Gill (46:20)

Okay, this book cover is gorgeous. Absolutely. The colors, the trans colors in the sky, they're beautiful. Absolutely. Hi, Kitty. Hi, Torti. I know.

Dana Goldberg (46:33)

Looking over.

Allison Gill (46:35)

Adorable. Thank you for that. Again, consequences of Normal, everybody.

Dana Goldberg (46:39)

All right, here comes Suzanne Elm pronoun. She and her dearly beloved Beanie Queenies.

Allison Gill (46:46)

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today.

Dana Goldberg (46:48)

I'm a preschool special education teacher in a very small, rural Colorado school district. Only Denver and the ski towns are blue, the rest of the state, deep red. That's how Bimbo Burt keeps getting elected. And for May Day, I didn't take the day off, but instead I volunteered for my district Special Olympics. That's awesome.

Allison Gill (47:07)

Perfect.

Dana Goldberg (47:08)

It was a beautiful day. Perfect weather, and the smiles and laughter of the student athletes made it all worthwhile. I can't share pics of those perfect faces because they don't have permission, but there's one of me and the back of a group walking past me on the track. My pod pet taxes. My cat. Lieutenant Commander Data, looking handsome as usual. Please keep filling my morning commute with news, laughter and swearing. It's one of the main ways I keep my head above water in these dark times. I'm so glad I found you.

Allison Gill (47:39)

We're glad we found you, Suzanne.

Dana Goldberg (47:41)

This is awesome.

Allison Gill (47:42)

That is a perfect day. Oh, my. Okay, so here's Lieutenant Commander Data. He's an orange, so he's got one brain cell bouncing around in there. Look at. Look at that blank star.

Steve Pearson (47:53)

Just.

Allison Gill (47:53)

Hey. Absolutely adorable. Seems like a sweet chirpy boy. I bet he chirps. He strikes me as a chirpy boy, but thank you so much for that. And, you know, stay strong there. Blue dot in those red areas. I know it can be tough. All right, next up from Will. Pronouns, he and him. I think prosecutors in the Second Comey indictment should have to say James showed seashells at the seashore at least three times in a row. And in order to move this case forward. It's so stupidly silly.

Dana Goldberg (48:25)

I know this whole thing.

Allison Gill (48:27)

And then to the love. We got an email to the lovely AG&DG. I think the new phrase you're looking for is a grand jury would indict a clam sandwich. It was right there. Yours respectfully, Tarkin Fin Tim, Lin Bin Win Bim Lim Bus stop Fatang fatang ole Biscuit barrel Pronouns he I'm always

Dana Goldberg (48:46)

so much happier when you get that one.

Allison Gill (48:48)

And him and Dina I wanted to read something we got in the mail. Somebody sent us a beautiful a couple of gifts. They're crocheted shawls and they're super soft and amazing and it says Dear AG and dg, thank you for the hard work you do not only with the POD and videos, but in your communities. I've been a follower of Allison's work since the Mueller report days following her writing, but haven't been an avid listener until I finally figured out that my only recently diagnosed ADHD made it easier for me to follow that format. Although these days it's been getting harder to even listen to the beans every day with everything going on and not feeling overwhelmed. I get it. I so get it. Alison, thanks so much for your support and perspective. As a former VA employee, I reached out to you several times with some bullshit memos that got put out in the early days of this administration, as I'm sure many others did when the second round of DRP was offered. That included Vera, and it was a very hard decision for me to choose that off ramp, but I knew it would be for the best and the continued fascist actions of this cabal have supported my decision since. I'm struggling a bit trying to find work, but I'm hopeful the right thing will come along. Dana, thank you for the laughs, the support, and the love. I can only imagine the number of people who feel supported by your advocacy and visibility. It takes so much as a person to stay humorous without becoming cynical these days, and you're amazing for maintaining that balance while calling out all the incredible steaming pile of excrement we deal with every day. I don't really have a story or anything to relay, but I know I appreciate you both so much. For my pod pet tariff, I present Gromit and Roxy, my 11 companions of 13 and a half and 12 years. There's not really any way I can do the redacted breeds in a letter, so I'll list them on the next page and you know, we'll try to get these pictures out, but this is a physical letter that with photos that was sent to me. P.S. you're always asking what folks are doing.

Dana Goldberg (50:39)

This is so sweet.

Allison Gill (50:40)

Yeah, to creatively keep busy. So I present to you two of my keep myself busy projects I'll let you two fight over the colors. I meant for them to be done earlier, so. Happy Hanukkah. Joyous Yule. Happy New Year. Happy birthday. And apparently imminently happy Valentine's Day. It's May.

Dana Goldberg (50:58)

That's hysterical. What a lovely gift and letter.

Allison Gill (51:02)

Yeah, yeah. That's how long it takes these packages to get to us because of our security, you know.

Dana Goldberg (51:08)

Yeah, of course.

Allison Gill (51:09)

I just want to thank you for that. But anyway, that's the good news today. Thanks for sending it in. Please continue to pile it on. But we, you know, we flood the zone. Wish it. Let's flood the zone with good news for a change. Send it to us.

Dana Goldberg (51:20)

Yeah.

Allison Gill (51:21)

Dailybeanspod.com Click on contact again. If you want to become a patron, maybe get one of those free tickets to the el Rey on May 12th. Tuesday, you can go to patreon.com thedailybeans Dana, do you have any final thoughts before I get out of here? Just a reminder.

Dana Goldberg (51:37)

I've got Dallas coming up on Sunday right after you celebrate your. Your day. If you are a mother. If you did you identify as a mother. Mother's Day. I've got a show at 6pm at the Dallas Comedy Club and there's still some tickets left for that. And then the week after, I'll be in Rochester, New York with a talk back with V Esper under the desk news after the comedy show. And you can also get tickets on my website for that. So just. Danagoldberg.com hit the tour schedule. Dallas, Rochester. I will see you Sunday and a week from Sunday.

Allison Gill (52:06)

V is such a joy. I was so happy.

Dana Goldberg (52:08)

Oh my God.

Allison Gill (52:09)

To meet them.

Dana Goldberg (52:09)

Yeah.

Allison Gill (52:10)

When, when we were at the GLAAD Awards, I was just like,

Dana Goldberg (52:15)

they're really just a love.

Allison Gill (52:17)

It's one of those amazing things where you, you know, people always say, don't meet your heroes. I always say, please do. Because the heroes that the kind of people we are have are actually really, really amazing people.

Dana Goldberg (52:28)

So, yeah, it's true.

Allison Gill (52:29)

It's totally fantastic. And I thought you will really enjoy that if you, if you head to that Rochester show. Not to mention the amazing Dana Goldberg comedy that you're gonna get to.

Dana Goldberg (52:40)

Thank you very much.

Allison Gill (52:41)

If you haven't heard that, you absolutely must. Every time Dana's anywhere within a 50 mile radius of me, I'm like, gotta go see. Gotta go see. Always laughing myself off the chair, my friend.

Dana Goldberg (52:51)

You're so sweet. You're so very sweet.

Allison Gill (52:53)

All right, everybody. I think you're traveling tomorrow, Dana, but I will be back in everybody's ears. So 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, I've been DG 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 podcast dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media

Martin Sheen (53:37)

hello, Martin Sheen here, and it seems to me that no day of the week is without its endless barrage of bad news. Even on Sunday. For God's sake, let's change that. What do you say? Together, let's make Sunday immune to bad news. Available now every Sunday, Season three of the Martin Sheen Sheen Podcast with yours truly, Martin Sheen has begun. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes are already underway. So join me, Martin sheen, for a 20 minute journey as I share my personal stories, a bit of poetry, and insightful reflections that will encourage you to take a deep breath and enjoy a relaxing moment. Of course, it's important to know and understand what's happening in the world, but I also believe there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to find strength and clarity. And Lord knows we need that now more than ever. A moment of thoughtfulness and calm may be rare these days, but it doesn't have to be. So what do you say? You want to take back your Sundays? So do I. And guess what? I've already done it with the Martin Sheen Podcast, Season three, available now. Don't mess with my Sunday and thank you for listening.