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The Daily Beans
Bucket Theory
00:32:52
Tuesday, August 19th, 2025 Today, Zelensky meets with Trump and other world leaders in DC as Trump calls for an end to mail in voting; the fifth IRS commissioner Bessent has ousted three top IRS executives so he can consolidate power; a federal judge blocks Trump’s FTC retaliation against Media Matters; the Republican governor of Vermont has rejected Trump’s request to send National Guard troops to DC; Newsmax settles with Dominion Voting for $67M for the lies it told about the 2020 election; Texas Democrats have ended their two week walkout to prevent a quorum; Sherrod Brown has officially launched his 2026 Senate campaign; a federal judge has granted a request by USAID workers to certify a class action lawsuit against Musk and DOGE; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:00]
A
MSW Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, August 19, 2025. Today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Trump and other world leaders in D.C. as Trump calls for an end to mail in voting. The fifth IRS Commissioner Besant has ousted three top IRS executives so he can consolidate power. A federal judge has blocked Trump's FTC retaliation against Media Matters. The Republican governor of Vermont has rejected Trump's request to send national guard troops to D.C. newsmax has settled with Dominion, voting for $67 million for the lies it told about the 2020 election. Texas Democrats have ended their two week walkout to prevent a quorum. Sherrod Brown has officially launched his 2026 Senate campaign. And a federal judge has granted a request by US Aid workers to certify a class action lawsuit against Musk and Doge. I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:13]
B
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
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A
And I should say so called Doge.
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B
Yeah, that's all right. But we all know it's a fake. A thing.
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A
Stupid. I mean, if I'd remember every nickname we have for everything, all the time, I would.
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B
Yeah, you would. There'd be no place in your brain for it, actually.
- [01:35]
A
No. Yeah. There wouldn't be the full cup theory. Like the full bucket theory, my dad called it. Your bucket's full.
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B
Yeah. You're one in and one out at this point. If you put any information, something's getting lost.
- [01:46]
A
Yeah. I don't know what replaced all those phone numbers I used to memorize or directions on how to get places, but it's full.
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B
Movie quotes, probably.
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A
Yeah, yeah, those. Yeah, those are. I can't get. Can't get rid of them.
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B
No. Nor should you if you're going to remember one or the other movie quotes, it is.
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A
I agree. I've been watching the West Wing. I started watching West Wing again because I long for a functional government fantasy show. So I've been watching that. And what's cool is I was on a call earlier for Sherrod Brown and Martin Sheen is gonna back him. He's from Ohio. Dayton, Ohio.
- [02:21]
B
Fantastic.
- [02:22]
A
As is CJ who was in the show, Allison Janney and a lot of other people from Ohio. So it's going to be very cool. Also, Newsmax has settled its lawsuit with Dominion Voting Machines for lying their faces off about the 2020 election. As you might recall, the judge was like, they already found in like a kind of partially granted a summary judgment saying, we already know you lied. And so all the jury has to determine is know whether there was actual Malice or not, the and and how much will be awarded? It was supposed to have be a trial in October, but Newsmax said settle, settle, settle. So they are paying $67 million. Harry Dunn and I are going to go over the details of the settlement on tomorrow's cleanup on the aisle 45 podcast.
- [03:04]
B
Thank you so much. And this is a story we were talking about which I love. Sherrod Brown has officially thrown his hat in the ring for the 2026 election. Now he's running for U.S. senate against John Husted. And that's a former Ohio lieutenant governor. So he's also well known in the state, but he's also been a state senator. He was also the Secretary of State who's already landed whose endorsement? The Orange guys. Now Husted was appointed to the seat in January to succeed J.D. vance's seat when he was elected Vice president. So next year's election is for the final two years of a six term that's going to happen. So Ohio, you know him, you love him. Connie and Sherrod Brown are some of the most incredible people I've ever met in politics. They're just good people. Do everything you can to get out the vote for this guy. Because we could use the Senate seat in Ohio. Can use Sherrod Brown.
- [03:53]
A
Yes. And I think, you know, him coming back is I think he's got a really, really good shot. So we'll see what happens. Also, a federal judge is granted a request by USAID workers to certify a class action to pursue their arguments that Elon Musk made the decision to shut down the agency in violation of the Constitution's appointments clause, meaning you can't be the administrator of doge. You weren't Senate confirmed. So we'll keep an eye on that one for you, too.
- [04:22]
B
And we've got the House Oversight Chair, James Comer. He's that Republican from Kentucky. He said today that the Justice Department would, and I quote, begin turning over files related to Jeffrey Epstein's case on Friday, days after the DOJ was supposed to have already turned all the information over. The subpoena that had been sent to the Justice Department by Comer's committee directed the DOJ to turn over the full, complete, unredacted Epstein files on or before August 19th of 2025. That's tomorrow. Comer shrugged off the delay. He's like, eh, whatever. So he's trying to play hardball. We'll see what happens. There is someone out there that knows what this full file entails. And so we're going to see if we actually get all of the full, complete and unredacted files.
- [05:05]
A
We will not. They might. And then they might cherry pick them.
- [05:07]
B
Yo, that's 100%.
- [05:08]
A
And that's actually today as you're listening to this, tomorrow as we're recording it. And yeah, at first I was like, I'm surprised Comer subpoenaed him, but there was a vote in his committee, so he really, he kind of had to. And a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's investigation of Media Matters, which is very cool. Judge Sparkle Souqnanan cited evidence that the investigation, which was opened by the Federal Trade Commission last spring, was an act of retaliation against against the advocacy group Media Matters. The judge granted a preliminary injunction because she wrote, quote, media Matters is likely to succeed in its First Amendment retaliation claim, which is all it needs at this stage. So we'll keep an eye on that. I'm sure the Supreme Court will lift that, of course, during dependency of a litigation, but we'll follow that for you, too. All right, we got a lot of news to get to everybody. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders are meeting in D.C. as we record this episode. And we're going to report the readout of that meeting once the details become clearer. But Rolling Stone is reporting that Donald pledged Monday that he's going to try to eliminate mail in voting after telling Fox News that authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with him on the subject during their meeting in Alaska last week. Despite lacking any sort of constitutional power on the matter, Trump declared in a truth social post he would sign an executive order to help bring honesty to the 2026 midterm elections and attempt to strip states of their independent authority to oversee elections. And he's demanding they do just what he tells them to do. Quote, I'm going to lead a movement to get rid of all mail in ballots. And also, while we're at it, highly inaccurate, very expensive and seriously controversial voting machines. The president said, referencing conservatives, disproven claims and conspiracies regarding voter fraud in the 2020 election, which he lost. Quote, remember, the states are merely an agent for the federal government in counting and tabulating the votes. No, that's totally incorrect. They must do what the federal government, as represented by the president of the United States tells them. Again, not true. For the good of our country, elections can never be honest with mail in ballots and voting. The mail in ballot hoax, using voting machines that are complete and total disaster must end now. And that's what he says. Any grammar problems, he could take that up with him. Of course, the president does not have the power to unilaterally strip states of their constitutionally guaranteed right to conduct and oversee elections. And any executive order purporting to do so will face immediate court challenges. Quote, Vladimir Putin said something, one of the most interesting things. He said your election was rigged because you have mail in voting. That's what he said. Trump went on to say, he said it's impossible to have mail in voting and have honest elections. There's no evidence that the use of mail in ballots or digital voting machines is conducive to widespread electoral fraud. Though mail in voting has historically skewed, Democratic Republicans do rely on it as well, including states like Florida, where Trump voted by mail early last year. Nevertheless, eliminating mail in voting has been a goal of Trump's for some time now. So while Trump may not legally be able to change state voting laws with the stroke of a pen, plenty of lawmakers across the country are ready and willing to cooperate with his anti Democratic agenda. Now, Dana Trump also said to Zelensky today, quote, during the war, you can't have elections. So let me just see three and a half years from me, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. That's good. This is what we've been warning about, that he's going to declare a war against the enemy from within and send his new 10,000 strong ice brown shirts out. And that's why it is so crucial, everybody, that we flip Congress in 2026 and stop him from doing this in 2028.
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B
Also, I just remind people that mail in voting, like Allison said, a lot of Republicans use it, but you know who it's going to disenfranchise on a massive level? Allison. I bet you know the answer to this.
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A
The military.
- [08:59]
B
The military, right. So I sure hope that those military people who care about our democracy and want their vote to be counted actually push back against this as well. So, yeah, yeah. This one's from the Times. Texas Democrats, they had left that state to halt an aggressive redistricting. Well, they all returned to Texas and they ended their two week walkout on Monday, paving the way for Republicans to pass a redrawn congressional map called for by President Trump. For the past two weeks, Republican leaders in Texas, they bristled at the Democrats flight and took extraordinary steps to pressure them to return, including trying to arrest everybody. Governor Greg Abbott and State Attorney General Ken Paxton sued To try to remove the absent Democrats from office, Senator John Cornyn got the FBI involved in locating them. The state House Speaker, Dustin Burroughs, issued civil arrest warrants and threatened to impose $500 daily fines under the House rules. Well, but in the end, Democrats said they had decided to return only after they had denied a vote during a first special legislative session. A move that drew national attention to Trump's push for a rare mid decade redistricting. And it helped prepare Democratic states to begin their own redistricting efforts. And I definitely see the timing on this. Newsom came out, he did what he did. We had the new map set up, and now the Democrats in Texas are like, okay, just wanna make sure you guys had time. So on Monday, that's the point.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Yep. California state lawmakers, they were expected to move forward on a measure to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Democrats and counteract those changes in Texas, a move championed by California's Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, and the majority of the state. And I quote, our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court. That's from Representative Jean Wu, and that's a Houston Democrat who led the walkout. That's what we have to remember. This isn't them just wanting five seats. These five seats are mainly Democratic and they are a mainly black populous area. And we talked about this before, when you take away this area, it changes. The money allocated for schools, for roads, for all kinds of things change when the district changes. And so this is, this is voter disenfranchisement at the highest level to a black community.
- [11:17]
A
And we have to remember that they have to come back. The Democrats. Yeah. So I don't want folks to get upset that they're giving up or anything like that. They have to come back for the legal record. And all of the other redistricting that's going to happen, particularly in California, isn't triggered unless they actually do pass their maps in Texas. So it's. And you know, the governor would just keep continuing to call special legislative sessions over and over again. And we also have to remember that this job pays like $5 a year. So a lot of these Texas Democrats have second and third jobs that they can't continue to stay away from. So just want to put all that out there. They have to come back. They did what they intended to do by leaving and drew attention to this matter on a national level. And I still stand with them and I thank them. All right, from the post, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant ousted three senior IRS executives this week responsible for online task tax services and the scrutiny of tax exempt organizations as the Trump administration asserts new control over the tax agency. And that's according to three people familiar. Karen Howard, executive director of online services, confirmed Friday she was placed on indefinite administrative leave with pay, but declined to comment further. Bridget Roberts and Robert Choi, who led divisions for direct file and tax exempt and government entities, respectively, also were removed from their jobs, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The departures come at a time of unprecedented turnover at the tax agency, where in recent days Besant was named acting commissioner. The fifth or sixth? Sixth acting commissioner?
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B
Geez.
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A
Seventh? No. He's the seventh person to lead the IRS since the start of the year, according to this, replacing former Missouri Congressman Billy Long after less than two months. Long has since announced he's going to become the ambassador to Iceland now. Holly Paz, who oversaw the IRS's large business unit, and Elizabeth Kastenberg with the Office of Professional Responsibility, were also placed on leave earlier this summer. At least one quarter of the IRS's workforce has resigned, been laid off or accepted resignation packages. Several executives and former commissioners departed over the administration's efforts to share confidential tax data with immigration authorities. The memo also linked Choi and Paz to the agency's handling of tea party groups and other conservative nonprofits that were seeking tax exempt status more than a decade ago. Both were employed in the division that helps oversee such applications. Critics said the IRS subjected the targeted groups to extra scrutiny and long delays, largely because their names suggested they would be political opponents of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party. None of that was true. There was a huge investigation, and that didn't happen. But a 2017 report from the Treasury Department's inspector general determined both liberal and conservative groups were targeted. The Justice Department didn't bring any charges, et cetera.
- [14:11]
B
All right, thanks, Alison. I do have a little bit of better news from Vermont. This is from the Vermont public. Republican governor Phil Scott has politely declined a federal request to deploy Vermont National Guard soldiers to Washington, D.C. as part of Trump's controversial unconstitutional directive to tamp down on crime. At Trump's behest, the federal government has taken control of the capital city's police force and dispatched approximately 800 National Guard troops, as well as roughly 500 federal law enforcement agents. Those are all on the to just patrol the streets. No emergency, just to patrol the streets. Their numbers could have included a few dozen soldiers from Vermont. That's according to Scott's chief of staff, Jason Gibbs had the governor not rebuffed a preliminary request from the Pentagon last week. And I quote, while public safety is a legitimate concern in cities across the country and certainly in the nation's capital, in the absence of an immediate emergency or disaster that local and regional first responders are unable to handle, the government does not support utilizing the Guard for this purpose and does not view the enforcement of domestic law as a proper use of the National Guard.
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A
Wow.
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B
Well, sad.
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A
Yeah. I imagine that that might come up in some evidence, in some lawsuits.
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B
I would think so. Gibbs said the governor's calculation might have been different if Washington, D.C. officials were seeking federal assistance with an emergency situation. Instead, the city on Friday filed a legal challenge to the Trump administration's takeover of its police force. And I quote, but in this case, because it's being hyper politicized, the governor doesn't feel like, and I believe the vast majority of Vermonters don't feel like it would be an acceptable and appropriate use of the National Guard. Again, that's from Gibbs. Well said.
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A
Good job. Broken clock.
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B
Small wins, Small wins. We'll take them.
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A
Yes. Thank you. Must microdose the hope. And speaking of microdosing hope, we're gonna be back with the good news. And the good trouble is first up in the good news. But we have to take a quick break. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. I'm super excited to tell you about our new sponsor, Koyuchi. Koiuchi is in league of its own when it comes to bedding, bath and home products. And their organic crinkled percale sheet set is the key to a cooler, healthier sleep year round. It hit me recently. I've put a lot of effort into my skincare, my nutrition, but I hadn't really thought about what I sleep on now. Koyuchi helped me connect the dots. I got their organic crinkled percale sheets and honestly, they've transformed the way I think about bedding. And we have a deal for you from Koiuchi. You can get 15% off when you visit Koiuchi.comDailyBeans these sheets are so soft, buttery soft. And they keep getting softer every time you wash them. The subtle texture hides wrinkles. So my bed looks great without any extra effort. I love that. For me, the colors are calming and grounded, like something out of a nature retreat. And when I saw their 100% recycled packaging, I knew I was in good hands. Koyuchi has been making organic, ethical bedding for 35 years. And that experience shows their materials are all certified free from harmful chemicals. And they focus on longevity. No fading, no pilling, just comfortable breathable sheets that last. They use natural fibers and environmentally friendly dyes. And their facilities recycle 90% of their wastewater. So it's luxury, but it's also thoughtful. And I sleep better knowing I'm making a healthier choice for myself and the planet. So if you want healthy, handcrafted luxury bedding that lasts a lifetime, you need Koyuchi. You can get 15% off when you visit coyuchi.comdailybeans that's coyuchi.com dailybeans to get 15% off that, you spell that C-O-Y-U C-H-I.com dailybeans. You'll be glad you did. Hey everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone?
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B
Then good news, everyone.
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A
Good news. And if you have any little good news story, something wonderful that's happened to you, no matter how small and no matter when, it could be Yesterday, could be 10 years ago, we would love to hear about it. You can give a shout out also maybe to your spouse or a loved one, a neighbor, a great nonprofit that you work for or that you know of that you want to shine a light on, some good work that they're doing some great community organizing in your, in your area and your community. Maybe a small business that could use a boost or your small business. Tell us what you're making and creating. We love to see that. We know we have a lot of makers and creators here, definitely. We also love shout outs to government programs that have helped you or a loved one or somebody in the community as well. Because we have to stand up for our government programs because they're being dismantled one by one. So you can send those to us. And all you got to do to get your stuff right on the air is pay your pod pet tariff. And what that means really is just to attach a photo of anything.
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B
Yeah, anything. We'll take anything.
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A
It could be your pet. We can guess the breeds of your pet if you want. We're not very good at it, but we love doing it. If you don't have that an adoptable pet in your area, if you don't have that any animal photo off the Internet, really it works. That's fine. Bird watching, which is can be an actual bird or you and your family and friends flipping the bird to trump or musk properties. And then of course, any family photos, photos of your Happy place, your garden, what you're making and creating baby pictures, whatever you want, send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact.
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B
Allison, I have a favor, and I'm not good at this, asking our Beans listeners for a favor for me. Out magazine. It's one of the biggest LGBTQ magazines in the country. They do something called out 100 every year and I've never been nominated. I feel like I've done the work. I feel like I'm a good representation for the community. So there'll be a link in the show notes. If for some reason any of the listeners feel compelled to go on there, nominate me, they're going to ask you why I think I should be part of the list. So if you've been moved by the work that I do, the Daily Beans, if you feel like we are doing what we should to protect, you know, and get stories out about our community, if you somehow your family's been affected by the work that I've done out in the public. You know, I know I don't like asking for this. It feels a little bit weird for me, but I figured, you know what, you may not know about this otherwise. And I know how much you all like to support Alison and myself. So if you feel like nominating me, there's going to be a link in the show notes for this episode and you can go on and do it.
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A
Yes. And you've raised over $70 million.
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B
That's one of the things you could say raise, you know, the advocacy work that I do or just bringing joy to you during these times, or, you know, if I'm inspiring any of the trans non binary community, the LGBTQ community in these times, those are things you can say, so make it your own. Everyone has a different experience listening to the POD or the things that have affected in their life. If I have, and I appreciate it, it's a wonderful and only time I'll ask at least with this. And it feels weird, but we're still going to hit send on it. So there you go.
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A
Absolutely, I will do that.
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B
Thank you, my friend.
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A
All right, everybody, here's your good trouble. This comes from one of many Resistance Rangers. High Beans Queens Resistance Rangers again, huge unfortunate News for the LGBTQ + and First Amendment rights for off duty civil servants. And as everything trickles down, eventually impacting everyone's First Amendment rights and civil rights. Here's the press release we typed up about the ranger who flew the trans flag at Yosemite. They just got fired. You can learn more at the link in the show notes National Park Service fires employee for practicing First Amendment pictures. Included are pictures of the trans flag flying at Yosemite and the ranger SJ who did it. There are more pictures if you click the Google link and click the link under the picture. The story sucks, but it needs to be shared. And for those willing to get into some good trouble, email and call Yosemite with how disappointed we all are. Fellow climbers, allies and community members are calling for SJ's immediate reinstatement, an independent investigation into Yosemite's discriminatory employment practices and full transparency from the National Park Service and Department of the Interior. They are encouraging everyone to email Yosemite's recent acting superintendent@raymond mcpaddenps.gov and recent acting deputy Superintendent Danica Globokar G L O B O K a r@nps.gov, we'll have those in the show notes to call for the same. This new leadership team who made the decision to fire SJ has only been in place at Yosemite since May quote In America, our freedoms matter. This country was built on the right to have a voice and be able to celebrate who we are. SJ said our team followed every written and unwritten rule, left no trace and honored Yosemite's accepted traditions. Flying the trans flags signified acceptance and safety within the park. If this administration starts telling park rangers we're not allowed allowed the constitutional right of free speech as private citizens, what's to stop them from taking it from you? Next.
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B
Yeah, thank you for this submission. You all know what to do. This even takes precedent over what I just asked you to be honest with you. So make sure if you've got time to do one thing, it's this.
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A
You can nominate a bunch of people for the out 100.
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B
Yeah, you can nominate this ranger or.
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A
Yeah, SJ, Dana the beans, whatever. We're going to have those emails in the show notes and the link to learn more. And then there's these beautiful photos of the trans flag that went up. And there's sj. Amazing man. Good, good trouble. Thanks for that.
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B
Yep. This one's from Federal Fuckery Resister pronoun she and her just wanted to give an update from good news post earlier this year to remind people we're still here fighting for you. I'm a federal employee at an agency that oversees benefit payments for the most vulnerable populations. Despite attempts to distract us from systems failures, phones fuck ups and just general fuckery, my efforts to pay the people and fuck Elon during the doge days continue. So far this calendar year, I personally approved or waived recovery for more than 500 overpayments. I haven't kept track, but if the average overpayment is $3,000, that's about 1.5 million in debt forgiven. I've also released funds that people have waited months or years to receive. Over 400 underpayments, some as little as $200, all the way up to 15,000. Nothing illegal, just shifting my focus to meeting only the agency goals that matter to me. We have your back, America. Every day people are showing up to their federal jobs. Even on the toughest days. We believe in what we do and we'll keep on serving you until we no longer can. My pod pet tariff. My girl, Ellie. Official name, Glacier Ridge, Goddess of Ruckus. Older sister to my big headed gumbo. Just chilling, enjoying the water on a nice summer day. Even though you're an excellent dog. Breed identification. I'll just tell you. She's a Lakeland terrier.
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A
Yeah, I wouldn't have gotten that. Yeah, I would have called this a sploot terrier.
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B
Because she's splooting everybody.
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A
She's fluten Sploot. Federal resistor. I love this. You know, you and I should talk. You should email us@helloullershirote.com I think people would love to hear this story of the shifting priorities of some of our federal agents. So hit us up and we'll see if we can get this story to a wider audience. All right, next up, from Rebecca Pronoun. She and her. I'd like to give a shout out to my husband Jamie, who introduced me to the daily beans. High five, Jamie. And cleanup on aisle 45. And unjustified. He's a retired federal worker who now spends his time protesting weekly at our state capitol in Santa Fe. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Always with the best signs in bold, giant metal that can be read from blocks away. And volunteering for two local food banks. He's also an amazing home chef who cooks delicious meals for me and Jen.
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B
You are lucky, Rebecca.
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A
And generously shares food with friends and neighbors. Thank you, Jamie, for remaining so dedicated to our democracy and our community in these trying times. And thank you for being such an amazing husband and partner in life. Jamie, you are also lucky. Photos include protesting in Santa Fe, one of Jamie's delicious meals. Miso black cod with rice, bok choy and mushrooms. And some of our beautiful public land in New Mexico that we are fighting to protect. Oh, look at this.
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B
Oh, my God, this food looks so good.
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A
Oh, wow, that's beautiful. Yeah, New Mexico is just beautiful.
- [26:36]
B
It is.
- [26:37]
A
If you aren't resisting, you are assisting.
- [26:41]
B
Nice.
- [26:42]
A
Very cool sign.
- [26:44]
B
All right, this one's from Corey. Pronouns he and him. Dear, Beans, Queens. My good news and my pet, my pet tariff are intertwined for you. I just got back from vacationing in the Hudson Valley region of New York, where I was able to visit five national parks over the course of one week without fail. In every park I visited, the US park rangers are the friendliest, most knowledgeable people you could possibly run into. Most of them total nerds about the parks in which they work and just go out of their way to inform the public about these treasures. I implore everyone to get out to your nearest national park before the Fanta fascist sells them off for oil drilling. That brings me to my pet tariff, my home national park. I live less than 30 minutes away. Oh, boy. Is Assateague Island National Seashore. The park stretches across two states, Maryland and Virginia. And while I typically visit the Maryland side, listeners may know a Virginia side for the more famous Cinco. Texas Chincoteg ponies. Chincoteg ponies, made famous by the book and later movie Misty of Misty of Chincoteg by Marguerite Henry. Every year, as a fundraiser for the Chincoteg Volunteer Fire Department and as a method of population control, the saltwater cowboys, they swim the ponies over to Chincoteg island, and a certain number of yearlings are auctioned off. This year, visitors to the park discovered a foal was born missing a rear foot. I know. Veterinarians were able to track down the foal and determine that the missing foot was due to a birth defect, not an injury. Ordinarily, this would mean euthanasia, but several awesome veterinarians and other volunteers stepped up. Holy shit. To make a prosthetic for this foal. It's foal number 84.
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A
Oh, my gosh.
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B
The foal's adapted well and has been paired with a new mare, which is fully accepting of her. She will never be auctioned off or ridden, but the sea and VFC does believe she will live a healthy and fulfilling domestic life when she's able to be separated from the wild herd and placed in a proper home. Photo credit goes to CVFC and our local news station, wboc. This is phenomenal.
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A
Oh, my gosh. They made a prosthetic leg for the pony.
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B
Oh, my God, I love it.
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A
Oh, I love the national parks. And the rangers are nerds. You're right. I've been started rewatching the West Wing because I need some functional government porn in my eyes. And I love how Jeb Bartlett is, like, total nerd about national parks. That's so great. Thank you, Corey. That's amazing. All right, I'm going to take the next two, which happen to be the last two, because this one's kind of short from Nina Pronoun. She and her. Thank you so much, Ag and Gigi for keeping me informed. I screamed the swear words with you at some of these crazy stories. I'd like to share a podcast that talks about the bills Congress passes. Jennifer Briney with the Congressional Dish reads the bills like the Congress critters are supposed to and finds the interesting bits and hidden dingleberries, hidden money giveaways. She did two episodes about the good and the bad, mostly bad of the big beautiful bill that I think is worth listening to. I found the tax code change information useful. We're gonna have a link in the show notes. My pod pet tariff is my kitty, Lilou, who is in the catnip plant. I'm surprised the plant continues to survive. What a sweet, beautiful baby. And from Katie, I love the good news on Friday and laughed out loud in my car when Dana read the piece about the trimmed bush. She gave me a much needed laugh.
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B
And said, oh, thank God. Thank you for saying that. Because I had a moment where I was like, man, was my timing okay on this?
- [30:26]
A
I needed that laugh. So I thought I'd share a picture of my more untrimmed bush. Also, a limelight hydrangea. Our yard is where my husband works out his frustrations. I believe that tending our garden is his way of caring for his mental health. Thank you, ladies, for bringing. We're talking about actual gardens, people. Thank you, ladies for bringing us the news in a way I can stomach. This is not normal. It's a shit show. And I'm glad I have this community to help me get through it. I'm also including a picture of my cat on his new favorite napping spot, a new bath mat. His full name is Captain Sam Pipkin, named by my kids. We call him Pip or Pippi for short. And finally, a pic of me giving the ass hat building the bird. Thank you, ladies, for all you give us. Keep taking care of yourselves so you can can keep going, okay? That garden is beautiful. The cat is hilarious. Double bird and a double barrel. Middle finger to Trump Tower. I think that's Fifth Avenue in hills.
- [31:20]
B
Yeah.
- [31:21]
A
Nice. Thank you everyone for your amazing good news. I needed that on this Tuesday afternoon. I appreciate you so very much. It's Monday afternoon as we record this, but you know what I mean. Yeah. Watch everybody if you have. If you can watch the West Wing again. So nice.
- [31:36]
B
It's such a. Such a. Not sure if he'll make me angry. Why can't we have nice things?
- [31:41]
A
It's. It's why we should vote for Sherrod Brown.
- [31:44]
B
There you go.
- [31:45]
A
He's friends with all those West Wing people. So, anyway, y' all are amazing. Send your good news to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact. Do you have any final thoughts today, my friend?
- [31:56]
B
I do not. I just appreciate y'. All. I love this community.
- [31:59]
A
Yeah, everybody go to that out 100 link and nominate Dana for her $70 million raised for LGBTQ plus communities. And maybe the SF Ranger. Park Ranger that got fired.
- [32:10]
B
Yes, definitely.
- [32:11]
A
All right, everybody, we'll be back in your ears 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.
- [32:20]
B
I've been dg.
- [32:21]
A
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 Joel Reeder with Mock 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.