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The Daily Beans
Crime Of The Century Of The Month (feat. Oliver Larkin)
00:57:13
Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 Today, The Senate finally advances a War Powers Resolution after eight tries; Todd Blanche refuses to block slush fund payouts for convicted sex offenders and rioters that assaulted police on January 6th; the DOJ adds a stipulation to the slush fund that ends the IRS audits into Trump’s taxes; Donald has endorsed Ken Paxton for Senate and Republicans are livid; Trump is pressuring John Thune to fire the parliamentarian over his $1B Ballroom budget provision; the top lawyer at the US Treasury has resigned after DOJ established the $1.7B slush fund; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:02]
Amanda Sturgel
It's no surprise that newsmakers try to manipulate the audience. They want you to believe that they are the one holding the line, and they'll use any trick they can to get you there.
- [00:10]
Alison Gill
But don't let them fool you.
- [00:12]
Amanda Sturgel
Get Unspun. I'm Amanda Sturgel. I've been a reporter, and today I teach future reporters to cut the spin and think critically about what newsmakers say. My podcast, Unspun, shows you how to know when you're being manipulated by the news, learn to spot the tricks, and how to make up your own mind about what's true. So if you're tired of being fooled by the news, subscribe to Unspun today. Unspun. Because you deserve the truth.
- [00:40]
Alison Gill
MSW Media.
- [00:48]
Amanda Sturgel
News.
- [00:50]
Alison Gill
We're swearing. Jelly beans. Jelly beans. Jelly beans. Daily Beans. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Today, the Senate has finally advanced a War powers resolution. After eight tries, Todd Blanche refuses to block slush fund payouts for convicted sex offenders and rioters that assaulted police. On January 6, the Department of Justice adds a stipulation to the slush fund that ends the IRS audits into Trump's taxes. Donald has endorsed Ken Paxton for Senate. And Republicans are livid. Trump is pressuring John Thune to fire the parliamentarian over his $1 billion ballroom budget provision. And the top lawyer at the U.S. treasury has resigned after the DOJ established that $1.7 billion slush fund. I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:45]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [01:50]
Alison Gill
Hello, my friend. Happy taint of the week.
- [01:53]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you. I don't know if you heard the exhaustion when I was like, I'm Dana Goldberg. Like, these is what that was in my voice after you just read the headlines.
- [02:01]
Alison Gill
Yeah, yeah, there's some. There's some fun stuff today, but also just this 1.8 billion dollar thing is.
- [02:07]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. It's so Infuria. It's infuriating. It's infuriating.
- [02:11]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Tanja Brown Jackson was right, man. When she was like, it's. The Oval Office is going to be the seat of criminality. And she wasn't bullshitting when she said that. No, he's just stealing it. Just plain out. Just. It's just outright theft. I'm doing good. I went to the dentist today. Apparently in the last year, I've cracked three molars clenching my teeth over this administration.
- [02:34]
Dana Goldberg
So, Allison, I'm telling you, that's why I got my Invisalign, because I was breaking teeth, because I was grinding at night. And so they're going to fix my bite.
- [02:45]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And I have to. I'm gonna have to do the same.
- [02:48]
Dana Goldberg
I'm so sorry, my friend. I always joke I have more crowns in my mouth than the English Parliament, the British Parliament.
- [02:56]
Alison Gill
I only have the one crown. I've been pretty good, you know, I go to the dentist every six months for cleanings every year for the stuff like, I'm really, really big on because I had braces for, like, five years when I was a kid, and I hated it. So I'm like, I'm never gonna let my mouth get fucked up again. But here we are. Thanks, Trump. Do you think I could get some of that $1.8 billion slush fund to fix my teeth?
- [03:15]
Dana Goldberg
I think you deserve it because at least you have teeth to fix. Some of his defendants don't. Oh, did I say that out loud? So sorry.
- [03:22]
Alison Gill
I'm definitely going to apply. In fact, when we get the link to apply for that slush fund, we should all apply.
- [03:29]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, my God, that would be amazing.
- [03:31]
Alison Gill
Just shut down the portal. We'll bring that good trouble up once we get the link. Also, later in the show today, going to be talking to Oliver Larkin. He was just recently on the show. He's coming back. He's running for Florida's 25th district. It's a new district. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is no longer running in that district. So now he's still running against Jared mosc for the Aug. 18 Democratic primary. But we're going to talk redistricting in Florida. And, Dana, just like you've been saying and we've been talking about on the beans and beans talk, it seems as though Republicans may have shot themselves in the foot by diluting their own Republican districts. I mean, it went from solid Democrat to toss up. But when you've got Democrats winning in Baton Rouge and Louisiana and Boca Raton, Florida, I mean, the Mar a Lago representative in the state Senate is now a democr. So, I mean, you know, it's going to be an interesting outcome, and we're going to talk about the math later in the show.
- [04:27]
Dana Goldberg
I can't wait. I can't wait. I want to be right. I'm not always right about things, but I want to be right about this.
- [04:32]
Alison Gill
I think you're right about that. And I'm even going to ask him how this could impact the Senate races, which are not impacted by the map. So stick around for that. But first, we have to get to the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up from the Times, lawyers at the IRS sought to contest Trump's lawsuit against the agency, recommending several potential defenses in a case that the Justice Department nevertheless decided to resolve by creating an extraordinary $1.8 billion fund that could soon be used to pay Trump's political allies, IRS officials. Dana. They prepared a 25 page memo outlining what they saw as problems with Mr. Trump's suit, advising the Justice Department to move to dismiss it. Now, that memo was provided to treasury officials in April, and it's unclear if they passed it along to its intended recipients at doj. That's according the people who spoke anonymously to discuss internal government deliberations. The existence of this memo, which has not been previously reported, shows that the Trump administration disregarded readily available defenses to a lawsuit filed by the president against himself, an agency he controls, actually the irs. Now, while the Justice Department has said that Trump will not receive money from the fund, critics have slammed the arrangement as a corrupt attempt at paying Trump's political supporters, including potentially those who were convicted and later pardoned for storming the Capitol. And it's blowing my mind that people are like, this could include the January 6th riot. It was made for the January 6th rioters. Are you kidding? Like, my goodness. Among Republicans on Capitol Hill and within the Trump administration, there's been concern about the fund. Sounds like Susan Collins might be furrowing her brow. Brian Morrissey, a Trump appointee, been there for seven months, general counsel at the Treasury Department, resigned on Monday soon after the creation of the slush fund. The top lawyer believable at the Treasury Department, who's a MAGA guy, was like, I'm not fucking doing this. I don't have immunity. Right, Right.
- [06:30]
Dana Goldberg
I know.
- [06:31]
Alison Gill
Goodness, he's got a law license he needs to protect. Right? Because he could be disbarred anyway.
- [06:38]
Dana Goldberg
That's true.
- [06:39]
Alison Gill
On Tuesday, the Justice Department expanded its agreement with Trump, promising that the IRS would drop any audits of him, his family, and his related entities. That's against the law. It was brought up by John Gleason in the amicus brief that I went over on the breakdown on Sunday. And it's basically, Trump is pardoning himself. This is a backdoor pardon of himself.
- [06:59]
Dana Goldberg
Of course it is.
- [07:00]
Alison Gill
In 2024, the Times reported that a loss in IRS audit could cost Trump more than $100 million. But now, nope, not anymore. And Frank Bisignano, who is working in the newly created role of the chief executive of the irs, he signed this with the Justice Department to create the fund, and he was not confirmed by the Senate to that IRS job. And he's splitting his duties with his job as the commissioner of the Social Security Administration after giving all of our Social Security numbers to Doge and Elon Musk.
- [07:33]
Dana Goldberg
Unbelievable. I know I keep saying that, but some of this really is just hard to fucking believe. All right, this is from Notice. Looks like. Was there any drunk Rand Paul children in this story? I think the last one from notice was a drunk Rand Paul child.
- [07:49]
Alison Gill
A story should end with, we reached out to drunk William Paul and he
- [07:53]
Dana Goldberg
has to say, oh, my God, this one's about a different asshole. This is about President Trump. Apparently he pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune to fire Senate parliamentarian after she ruled Republicans could not include funding for the President's Ballroom in a budget bill. This is from two sources familiar with Request. That's what they told Notice. The President called the South Dakota Republican on Monday to express his frustrations with a decision. According to a third source, the call between Trump and Thune was first reported by Semaphore. Now, while Trump has promised to build the ballroom with private donations, we all know that's bullshit. Republicans seem to be looking for a billion dollars in Secret Service funding into their filibuster proof legislation. About 220 million is aimed specifically at the east wing project. Elizabeth McDonough, the nonpartisan parliamentarian who gives determinations on rules of the Senate and determined Saturday that the provision as written did not pass the so called bird rule, which prevents non budget items from passing with a simple majority. And this is a quote. No, that's what Thune told Notice when asked if he would entertain the idea of firing McDonough. Just no, we're going through a process that we go through every time we have a reconciliation bill. And the people on both sides are mad at the parliamentarian. That's been true last year when Republicans were trying to get the President's tax bill over the line through the same process known as reconciliation, Trump allies called on thune to fire McDonough again, or I should say initially, after she initially stripped out several Medicaid provisions. Thune was steadfast then as well. He told reporters at the time that he would not overrule or fire her.
- [09:38]
Alison Gill
All right, so, you know, a while ago, probably about a year ago, maybe less, Dana, I was like, there's gonna be a reckoning between Republicans who have to get elected again and Donald Trump. Yeah, we're starting to see that today, especially in the Senate.
- [09:52]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [09:52]
Alison Gill
And by the way, our friend Bobby Kogan, who's been on this show before, says, quote, the Only reason for Trump to want the parliamentarian fired is if he really was planning to use the money to build the ballroom. And not to stuff the White House claims that they want to use it for security that they wrote in their one pager. So this is a hell of an admission.
- [10:14]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [10:14]
Alison Gill
By pressuring Thune to fire the parliamentarian, it's clear that billion dollars isn't for security.
- [10:21]
Dana Goldberg
Also the other 1.7. I know. We'll talk about this. Sorry to jump it in in this story. Who's gonna. If you get to apply for this, I wanna see how many people actually get any money or if he just pockets the $1.7 billion.
- [10:34]
Alison Gill
Well, I think it's gonna go to. At least some of it's gonna go to the January Sixers. He's gotta pay.
- [10:41]
Dana Goldberg
So true. Oh, my God. On higher. You're right.
- [10:44]
Alison Gill
But a lot of it is going to go to the Trump Organization. I guarantee it. He'll give some to Bannon and Roger Stone and Rudy and Sidney Powell and Chesbro and everybody who took a hit. Mark Meadows, maybe not. Maybe he'll screw Meadows over. I don't know. Some. I'm, I'm sure Josh Hawley and Scott Perry and Ted Cruz and Jim Jordan will get some for lying.
- [11:07]
Dana Goldberg
Right? You're right. Yeah, you're right.
- [11:09]
Alison Gill
But I'm sure it'll be a lot of self dealing as well. But anyway, next up from the Post, Donald Trump on Tuesday offered journalists the closest look yet at the construction for his ballroom. This is a speaking of the ballroom story you were just telling. Even as lawmakers are raising concerns about funding the controversial project, the ballroom construction site has been fenced off for months and unavailable to the public. Government workers in nearby buildings have been instructed not to take photos amid warnings it would be a security risk. But the president brought selected media members inside the project's perimeter Tuesday, spending 45 minutes gesturing toward partially finished structures, showing off renderings and making proclamations. I think it's going to potentially be the most beautiful building in all of Washington. Trump said photographers captured images of columns, pipes and a walkway emblazoned with gold lettering reading 4547, denoting Trump's role, you know, as the 45th, 47th president. The president also touted the ballroom's security measures, including what he said were planned defenses against drone attacks, as White House staff offered journalists sandwiches and drinks. Quote, the top of the ballroom is what they call a drone gallery, Trump said, adding later that the facility would be set up for unlimited numbers of Drones. He's going to have drones. For what? I. I don't know for what, man. I know for what. He's going to go after protesters with those drones.
- [12:38]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [12:39]
Alison Gill
Senator Bill Cassidy, who lost his Senate primary Saturday after Trump urged his supporters to unseat him, said Tuesday. Bill Cassidy said he's against the ballroom funding plan now. Meanwhile, a legal challenge is threatening to halt construction. U.S. district Judge Richard Leon, the guy who likes to use a bunch of exclamation points, has twice rejected the White House's arguments that the ballroom must be built because of national security. He allowed the administration to move ahead with below ground security work, but ordered a pause on the above ground ballroom until Congress formally authorizes the project. A federal appeals panel stayed Leon's order and is set to hear arguments in the case on June 5th.
- [13:18]
Dana Goldberg
All right, thank you so much, my friend. This one's from the Times. Republican senators reacted angrily on Tuesday to President Trump's decision to endorse Ken Paxton. Big bag of rats. As Stephanie Miller would say. Fight, fight, fight. Big bag of rats. As we know, that's the Texas Attorney general who is now running for state Senate. That's the primary runoff. Now warning that his snub of the incumbent, Senator John Cornyn, could risk the seat and the party's fight to keep its majority. I know. So sad. Heading into their weekly GOP luncheon not long after Donald posted his choice on social media, many Senate Republicans appeared stunned and livid as they learned the news that dealt a serious blow to Mr. Cornyn, who has served for more than two decades. Oh, boy. Said a visibly dismayed Senator John Hovind of North Dakota. Oh, boy, oh, boy. As he left the Senate chamber after hearing of Donald's announcement. Well, obviously I support Senator Cornyn. A stone faced Senator Roger Wicker, MS, just refused to answer questions about the endorsement as he left the chamber following a vote. Oh, dude.
- [14:29]
Alison Gill
It wasn't even just that he, like, was asked about it and he just sat there blinking stone faced for like, I think I counted like 18 seconds and then just walked out of the room.
- [14:40]
Dana Goldberg
Big mad. We've got Lisa Murkowski. Apparently she said she's supremely disappointed by Donald's decision. And then she went a step further, saying that the president's endorsement of Mr. Paxton could cost Republicans what has been considered a safe Senate seat. Said I think that this puts this seat in jeopardy. That's what she told reporters. Mr. Trump's endorsement, which came as early voting is underway in Texas, is expected to boost Ken Pacton's odds in what has already been an expensive and bitter election. Many Senate Republicans, including the majority leader, John Thune, as we've talked about in South Dakota, he's been urging Donald to back Cornyn, whom they saw as a stronger candidate in a general election. And he is.
- [15:23]
Alison Gill
He is.
- [15:23]
Dana Goldberg
They don't my far. The president's decision to do otherwise amounted to a slap at Mr. Thune, who's an institutionalist like Cornyn. This is what Thune said. He said it's his decision. That's what he told reporters as he entered the party luncheon in the Capitol, throwing up a hand gesture of exasperation. They've got to be tired of this motherfucker Now. The endorsement was also likely to further sour an already tense relationship between Donald and some Republican senators who had bristled at his tactics. That and his decisions during his second term. But they're now worried that the defeat of Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana by a Trump backed challenger last week and the president's rejection of Mr. Corin is going to further complicate their efforts to pass consequential legislation. That's according to two leadership aides who requested anonymity because, you know, they're not allowed to talk about this. In fact, and this is breaking from the Associated Press, the Senate just advanced legislation that seeks to force Donald Trump to withdraw from Iran's war.
- [16:28]
Oliver Larkin
Wow.
- [16:29]
Dana Goldberg
Since Trump ordered the attack on Iran at the end of February, Democrats have forced eight votes on the War Powers Resolution that would require him to either gain congressional approval for the war or withdrawal troops. Republicans had been able to muster the votes to reject those proposals. But today, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, fresh off a primary election loss and when Trump endorsed his opponent, switched sides to deliver a crucial vote to pass the
- [16:58]
Alison Gill
legislation, even with Fetterman voting no.
- [17:04]
Dana Goldberg
That is amazing. And apparently Cassidy, who was greeted with a loud standing ovation from his fellow Republicans inside a luncheon, said that he would vote against a bill to fund ICE if it included money even tied to Trump's ballroom project. Both of them are like, go fuck yourself. Now back to the Trump endorsing Paxton. If Cornyn were to lose his primary, everybody, Trump would actually face the prospect of at least three lame duck senators more willing to buck his demands. We got Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina. Thom decided to retire last year and Trump threatened to back a challenger. We've got Susan Collins, who's always really upset in Maine. She's running for reelection, but she's also been sort of a thorn in Donald's side, I don't think a big enough one. Who said that? She was dismayed. I am dismayed about what? Donald's endorsement of Mr. Paxson. I'm going to write him a letter and never send it. And she said, I quote, john Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved, in my judgment, the president's support. Again, that was Susan Collins. She said, obviously it's the president's call, but I'm disappointed that he did it. Even Donald's most loyal allies in the Senate, they have concerns. I'm talking about Lindsey Graham. Yeah. He said that Donald had a right to his endorsement, but he added, and I quote, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there, but it's more uphill.
- [18:27]
Alison Gill
Yeah. He, Lindsay thinks that Paxton, if Paxton wins the, the primary here, I think it's in less than a week. I think it's next Tuesday, the 26th, if Paxton wins, which that would be so great. Yeah. Lindsay said he still thinks that Paxton will beat Talarico.
- [18:48]
Dana Goldberg
Right.
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Alison Gill
It'll just be way, way more expensive. I don't know. I don't know.
- [18:53]
Dana Goldberg
I don't know. I think Texas is tired of Paxton. I really do.
- [18:56]
Alison Gill
Oh, they hate him so much. This is so fun. I'm so glad that Donald Trump endorses Paxton. Oh, my God. We'll talk about this more on Beans Talk. And then right after this break, we're going to talk to Oliver Larkin, running for Congress in Florida's new 25th district, and we'll talk about redistricting a little bit. And then we'll have the good news. Everybody stick around. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. I'm excited to talk about Koyuchi because they make the kind of bedding that raises the standard for everything else in my home. Now, Koyuchi leads the field in bedding, bath and home products. And their organic sateen and flannel sheet sets deliver more comfortable, healthier sleep. All year. I like to pay close attention to what I eat and what I put on my skin. But Koyuchi pushed me to think about what I sleep on. Bedding touches your body every night. That's like a third of your life. And Koyuchi makes that part of your life cleaner, better made, and far more worth the investment. So we have a deal for you from Koiuchi. Get 15% off your first order at koyuchi.com dailybeans and what sets them apart at Koiuchi is they deliver LU with real substance behind it right Their sheets are made with natural fibers, low impact dyes, and they're certified fair trade standards. So you're getting quality that's good for your home and easier to feel good about overall. They're also certified free of toxins and harmful chemicals, which makes a real difference for something you sleep on night after night, touches your skin so much, and on top of that, they look beautiful. The sateen has a beautiful sheen to it, the flannel is soft and velvety, and the colors and patterns bring a calm, natural feel that never tries too hard. And with every wash they get softer and softer instead of wearing down. So if you want healthy, organic luxury bedding that lasts a lifetime, you need Koyuchi. You can get 15 off your first order when you visit koyuchi.comdailybeans that's coyuchi.com dailybeans to get 15% off. It's C-O Y U C-H-I.com dailybeans thanks to HomeServe for sponsoring this episode. You protect your health, your car, your phone, but your home is one of the biggest investments you'll ever make. And when something goes wrong there, the cost can hit hard and fast. That's where HomeServe comes in. HomeServe is built around the kinds of repair problems homeowners actually run into. Regular homeowners insurance doesn't usually cover a lot of the wear and tear issues that still cost serious money, like plumbing failures, furnace system breakdowns, electrical problems. But HomeServe gives you a way to plan ahead instead of getting blindsided. You choose a plan that works for your needs and your budget. And if something covered breaks, you can call their 24.7hotline to begin the repair process. And plans start as low as $4.99 a month. It's a really good idea to me. Like I just found out the other day there was a leak in my water. He this is pretty common. And to replace the the water heater, it was like four or five thousand dollars. You don't need to get hit with that kind of huge emergency cost. And you don't have to try to figure out who to call with HomeServe because they've been helping homeowners for over 20 years. They have a trusted national network of 2,600 local contractors ready to help. And they also have four and a half million customers and a 4.8 out of five post repair rating. Plus they have an A plus rating from the BBB. So I have had those homeowner near miss moments where something starts acting up and you immediately think, oh my gosh, this could get expensive fast. And that's why I use homeserve and so should you. So help protect your home systems and your wallet with HomeServe against covered repairs. Plans start at just 499amonth. Go to HomeServe.com to find out the plan that's right for you. That's HomeServe.com not available everywhere. Most plans range between 499 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply on covered preparers.
- [22:31]
Martin Sheen
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 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.
- [23:44]
Alison Gill
Hey everybody. Welcome back. It's time to make it Blue. Hey everybody. As you know, we usually have a Flip it Blue or Keep it blue segment here on the show, but because of Jim Crow 2.0 and Republican gerrymandering, also known as dummy mandering in some cases, we are calling the segment now Make It Blue because we have a new district in Florida, Florida 25. And we're bringing back a guest to talk about that and the fact that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is no longer running in 25. She's gonna run in a different district. But most of all, I wanted to talk about something that Dana and I have been talking about quite a bit here on Beans Talk and the daily Beans Podcast. And that is the rake stepping by the Republicans, how they might be shooting themselves in the foot with some of the, I don't know. We know they can't do Math. So perhaps they're having a little hard time with this particular district and the state and in other states as well. We've talked about this in Tennessee and what Memphis might do to those three districts, evening them up and making them less Republican. So please welcome back to the show Democrat running in the primary against Moskowitz for Florida's 25th district, Oliver Larkin. Hi, Oliver, how are you?
- [24:50]
Oliver Larkin
I'm doing well, thanks, Alison. How are you doing?
- [24:52]
Alison Gill
You know, as I like to say, despite the fascism, I'm doing all right. I've been kind of popping off with steam and coming out of my flames on the side of my face, like in the movie clue about this $1.8 billion slush fund. But what I want to talk to you about today is Florida's 25th. And we've had you on recently, but we wanted to bring you back because there's something interesting going on regarding Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her moving to a different district and also what the district is now looking like in a generic ballot. Can you talk a little bit about that?
- [25:23]
Oliver Larkin
Yeah. So just to catch folks up, we've been, up to this point, running in Florida's 23rd congressional district, Republicans passed these new gerrymandered maps that are currently being challenged in Florida court. And what this did is it shifted more than 50% of the old 23rd district into this new 25th district, which now runs basically up and down the coast from Boynton beach in Palm beach county all the way down to Miami Beach. And what we found in the first general election polling matchup in this district, in this new district, is that a Republican is falling behind the Democrat by about 12 percentage points. Democrats lead the generic ballot by 51 to 39% with 10% of people undecided. I know that Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans thought that Donald Trump had the mandate of heaven with his 2024 election margins. But. But what we're seeing in this district, which would have been won by Joe Biden in 2020, would have gone to the Democrats in the 2018 midterms, is that people are so dissatisfied with the Republican Party with this cost of living crisis that we're experiencing with $5 gas that's impacted by Trump's illegal war with Iran. And we're seeing an opportunity for Democrats to not just retain the. The eight congressional seats that we've had in Florida up until this point, but perhaps even to expand the map, because with NPA voters, which in Florida is our independent voters, breaking so strongly towards the Democratic Party, and young people and working class people again, snapping back from the, from the rightward creep that we saw in 2024, we've now got these people back in play. And there is a tremendous opportunity in South Florida, which for the COVID years we had people moving in, wealthy out of state conservatives. Now people are leaving, people are moving out because it is becoming so unaffordable, so expensive to live here. And that's presenting a real opportunity for Democrats, for us to address the cost of living crisis, the affordability crisis, and to retake control of our democracy from these very far right Republicans.
- [27:17]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And despite Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's Road Rules 2American road trip for the 250th anniversary, nobody can afford gasoline, especially if we look at places like Florida or California, where I live, because demand is so high. So you add that on top of it and the poll numbers are bearing that out. I think 21% of people approve of the economy with 79% disapproving of the way the economy is going. Most people, including independents, a heavy chunk of those independents. And as you said, because there's non party affiliated people in that district are saying that this is all because of Donald Trump and Republican policies. And so it's not polling well. And when you add that to the fact that, yes, I mean, Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report say that this has gone solid Democrat to toss up in the new Florida 25th district. When you look at that polling, that generic ballot, what's that, a 12 point deficit? 11. 12 point deficit. That is really, really bad news. And the generic ballot all around, according to a Siena poll, the Republicans are in the hole 11 points. And so I think that makes this, what you told me offline, a dummy mander. We're seeing it in Tennessee because it seems like the Republicans drew these lines based on 2020 and 2024 election results instead of 2018 election results, which is more of a, it's a better historical analog to compare 2026 to is 2018. Because first of all, as Donald Trump likes to point out, I'm not on the ballot. So I think a lot of people aren't going to show up on their side to vote at all. So, so let's talk a little bit about, I know we talked about your policies the first time you were here on the Daily Beans, but remind everybody you're a Democratic socialist, you're running to the left of Jared Moskowitz. Remind everybody what your policy differences are here in the primary and then we can talk about your policy Differences against Republicans in the general, certainly.
- [29:15]
Oliver Larkin
Yeah. I think the thing that stands out and that is the overarching policy difference between myself and Congressman Moskowitz. I'm not taking corporate PAC money on this campaign. We are 100% grassroots funded. We're standing up to AIPAC, we're standing up to the MAGA billionaires that are funding not only Donald Trump, but far too many in the Democratic Party, including Congressman Moskowitz. And that allows us to fight without restraint for Medicare for all, for ending congressional stock trading by overturning Citizens United, raising the minimum wage to a living wage of $25 an hour, and passing bold universal policies like universal childcare, paid family and medical leave, the things that most other wealthy nations, our other peer nations, provide to their people. And we can certainly have it here. It's just a matter of having the political will. And that's one thing that the American people are calling out for. Donald Trump was elected based on the cost of living crisis and the kind of lagging economic indicators after COVID 19 and the inflation that caused. And rather than addressing the cost of living crisis, this we're seeing Republicans once again cater to the wealthy, the billionaire class, the corporate elite. And so our policy is in stark contrast and really asserting a working class democracy for all of us.
- [30:27]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And I think it's important, you know, that you're refusing to take corporate PAC money, APAC money. Have you found though that that kind of money is being spent against you and your campaign?
- [30:37]
Oliver Larkin
There is a lot of corporate PAC money and AIPAC money that is awash in South Florida. Congressman Moskowitz, on his most recent financial report for the first FEC quarter, he was the first Democrat in Congress to join Elon Musk's Doge caucus. And then Elon Musk's SpaceX PAC gave him a maximum $10,000 contribution. So this is certainly a problem in our politics and in, in Democratic primaries where it's not only aipac, it is the big sugar MAGA billionaires like the Fanhole family who are also funding the ballroom that the Republicans are struggling to get funded thanks to the Senate parliamentarian. It's nice to see the parliamentarians rule in our favor every once in a while. So certainly the corporate PAC money, the APAC money, it is going to be a factor in this election. But the people are on our side. And one thing that we've seen consistently, regardless of whether people are Democrats, Republicans or non party affiliated independents, we all correctly assess that there is a problem of corruption in our campaign finance system. That, that the, the wealthy, the corporate elite, the billionaire class should not be able to spend and lavish the amount of money that they are. I mean, look at what's happening in a Republican primary today in Kentucky with a record amount of money that AIPAC is spending to defeat Thomas Massie, who is a libertarian minded Republican that's worked with Congressman Ro Khanna and other Democrats on war powers resolutions, on releasing the Epstein files. So this is a bipartisan concern and we're certainly experiencing it here. But that's why we're building the grassroots momentum and the volunteer operation to, to overcome that and truly reach people where they are with face to face conversations. And that's going to be a big difference in this race.
- [32:15]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I agree. Let's get into the weeds a little bit about the redistricting. What was DeSantis goal in carving up Broward county and how did he fail so spectacularly? I mean, at least according to the latest generic ballot that you told us about at the top of the interview.
- [32:32]
Oliver Larkin
Yeah, Republicans have gotten incredibly greedy and just to catch folks up to speed with the few recent rounds of redistricting because let's remember the maps that Ron DeSantis just tried to eradicate that are now being challenged in Florida court. He drew the maps in 2022 behind closed doors. It's usually the, the responsibility of the legislature to have hearings to, to receive witness testimony and then to draw these new congressional maps in the light of day. But Florida has a voter passed constitutional amendment called the Fair Districts Amendment that was passed in 2010, if you remember that Tea Party wave. Not exactly a friendly year for Democrats. And yet 63% of Floridians voted for Fair Districts to explicitly ban partisan gerrymandering to benefit one political party. So by definition that included not only Democrats voting for that constitutional amendment, but Republicans and non party affiliated voters as well. And Broward county is the highest Democratic voter registration county in the state of Florida. We are the heart of the effort that delivered the state for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 that has elected Democrats in the past. And what Republicans are attempting to do is to crack up Broward county, this deep blue county they're trying to cordon off the 25th district where I'm running to be a wealthy coastal district that they believe is going to turn out again for Republicans. What we're seeing in the polling is that's not necessarily the case. They're also connecting parts of western Broward and Palm beach county all the way across the Everglades to The outskirts of Naples to Marco Island. So not only a partisan gerrymander, but breaking up another provision of the Fair District's amendment, which is to have communities of interest and contiguous communities to the best ability of the map makers. That's been completely flouted. Ron DeSantis's map maker testified in a legislative hearing that he referenced partisan data when drawing these new districts. So it's in an effort to. To break up South Florida and the Democratic voter base that up until now has had five Democratic representatives. They're trying to knock that down to three. And this is just a ratcheting effect. In the. Before the 2022 maps were passed, Florida had a more or less fair map because again, Republicans in 2012, they gerrymandered the maps. They took it to Mark Elias and the Elias Law Group took it to the Florida Supreme Court. In 2015, the Florida Supreme Court struck down those maps and forced a redistricting that made about 16 Republican districts and 11 Democratic held districts, which is more or less the proportionality of the vote share for the House of Representatives. In 2022, with the DeSantis maps, they knocked that down to have just eight Democratic seats and 20 Republican seats. So about a 14% difference between the 43% that voted for Democrats and the 29% of seats that represent Democrats. And now they're going for a 24 to 4 map. They tried to go the maximum extent possible. And what that's done is shaved down the Republican margins in all of these respective districts to put a lot of these seats in play, not just in South Florida, but in the Tampa Bay area. Still in the Orlando area, we've got Corey Mills, a Republican ghoul who should be resigning from Congress the same way that Congressman Gonzalez recently did in Texas. So there are a lot of Republicans that are put at risk by these new maps. That's why you heard Miami Republicans, including Carlos Jimenez and Mario Diaz Balart, expressing some caution to the legislature that if they go too far, it could put a lot of these seats up for grabs. And that's exactly what we're seeing. And, and we're going to press that advantage and truly run to show the American people in South Florida that the Democratic Party has your interest at heart. We are fighting for affordability. We are fighting to lower the cost of living, and we're fighting to take back our democracy. I mean, those are the twin issues. People assess that our democracy is in crisis and that the cost of living in the economy has just become so tilted towards the wealthy. And those Two issues are intertwined. It is because that we have a wealthy billionaire elite that is able to, in the case of elon Musk, spend $275 million to buy a presidential election. It is impacting our democracy. It's also impacting our economy. When this is the playing field that Republicans have tilted to cater to the corporate interests.
- [36:51]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I think it's going to backfire too. And I know you're not running for Senate, but I wanted to ask you a question about the Senate race there because these are statewide races. Governor, Senator, they aren't touched by these maps. But I've been wondering and I'm interested to see how the gerrymandering of the House districts impacts the Senate races. Not in that they rely on districts, but that they've pissed off voters and might bring more voters out in a statewide election. Have you seen or heard anything about how that might go with. I think Vindman is running for Senate down there. Do you see a boost there based on what they're trying to do to your districts in the House?
- [37:31]
Oliver Larkin
Yeah, I certainly think. And we also have a governor's race up this year as well, which is a rarity. But because Marco Rubio vacated his Senate seat to become Secretary of State and National Security Advisor and Trump's handmaiden and everything else that Rubio is doing in the administration, Ashley Moody is now the Republican appointed United States Senator who is up for reelection to basically fill well up for election because she was never elected to the Senate in the first place. And so we're seeing Alexander Vindman and Angie Nixon running for United States Senate. We're also seeing David Jolly and Jerry Demings, two Democrats running for the governor's race. And there's a lot of competitiveness because again, Florida is, it has this narrative in recent years that it is a Republican state. But we have so many non party affiliated independent voters. We have such a young voter base. So it's very elastic. And that's why I think we've seen these big swings. It was not that long ago that in 2018 this was within a 1% margin of victory for the United States Senate and for the governor. In 2020, Joe Biden only lost to Donald Trump in Florida by about 3 percentage points. And we've seen the right word effect in 2022 and 2024. But we're back in that 2018, 2020 environment where people are reminded of just how catastrophic Donald Trump's leadership is and the fact that he has a more than compliant majority in the Senate. In the House and in governor's mansions. And so this presents a real opportunity for us. And people are so energized, they're so animated, they're so incensed by this just openly partisan attack. I mean, the Republicans in our state passed these new gerrymandered maps under the proposition that the Supreme Court was going to completely strike down Section two of the Voting Rights Act. And while I'm no fan of the Supreme Court and I'm not going to hand it to them, but it did preserve a small part of Section two rather than completely eliminating it. And that's what Republicans were not counting on in our state. They thought that Section 2 was going to be completely invalidated, which would overturn our fair districts amendment. But fair districts is still the law of the land in Florida. And people all across the state. I mean, think back to the margins in those special elections last year. In 2025, when Gay Vallomont was running to replace Matt Gaetz in the Panhandle, Escambia county flipped blue for the first time since, I believe, 1996, when Bill Nelson was running for the Senate, when Josh Wheel was running in the special election against Randy Fine, we saw a 15 point over performance in favor of the Democrats. And down here locally in South Florida, we've seen Emily Gregory flip the State House District 87 covering Mar a Lago, which had a 10 point Republican margin of victory in 2024. She just won that for the Democrats. The city of Boca Raton just elected our first Democratic mayor, Andy Thompson, in over three decades. Further south in Miami, Eileen Higgins became the first Democrat elected mayor of the city of Miami in a quarter century. The first woman ever in the city's history. And in other parts of the state, Joe Nathan in Hillsborough county in the Tampa area flipped a state Senate seat the same evening that Emily Gregory won. That was vacated by Ron DeSantis's handpicked lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, who's running to succeed him. Not well, he's pulling very far behind some of the other Republicans. But we're seeing all across the state, in the, in the metro areas, in the more rural areas, these swings towards the Democratic Party. And I think that's an indicator in these special elections and these city and municipal elections and what we're building up to with some very well resourced campaigns, some very energetic campaigns, we're seeing these candidates for statewide office showing up and people are showing up for them. And I think that's really exciting and it's really giving a lot of optimism in a state and in a country that really needs some right now that Florida is not the write off that Republicans would have you believe.
- [41:13]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I look forward to the general elections this year. I generally don't, so I'm glad that you came on and explained all this to us. Your primary is August 18th. Can you tell everyone where they can find more information about your campaign and follow you on social?
- [41:28]
Oliver Larkin
Yeah, absolutely. Www.OliverForCongress.com. you can sign up to receive emails, you can donate, you can volunteer our mobilize links for our canvassing, our phone banking, our town halls are linked right there in the website and where you can find us on social media as well. And we could always use the help with amplifying our message and helping get the word out. And if you know anyone in South Florida that's eligible to vote for us, every little bit helps.
- [41:52]
Alison Gill
Yeah. All right, awesome. Thank you so much. Oliver Larkin, running in Florida's 25th congressional district. Well, let's see what the dummy mandering, let's see what the rake stepping does and what happens when you're bad at math because you're a Republican. I appreciate your time today. Thanks for coming back on to join us. I hope we see you again soon, closer to the primary or just after. Again, thank you for your time.
- [42:15]
Oliver Larkin
Thank you so much for having me on again, Allison. This was great.
- [42:17]
Alison Gill
All right, everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Hi, I'm Frances Calyer. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do. That's right. 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 the news we think you need to hear.
- [42:46]
Dana Goldberg
That's right. We think you need to hear it.
- [42:48]
Alison Gill
Okay. Yeah. It's what we say, so.
- [42:50]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [42:51]
Alison Gill
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.
- [43:00]
Dana Goldberg
Okay?
- [43:01]
Alison Gill
All we do is give. Everybody welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone.
- [43:10]
Oliver Larkin
Then good news, everyone.
- [43:25]
Alison Gill
Good news, good news. And if you have any little bit of good news, it can be big, it can be small, it can be recent, it can be from a long time ago. Maybe it's a fun story you like to share when you're sitting around with your friends. We want to hear about it. We need to microdose. Hope so send it into us. It can also be a shout out to like a spouse or a partner or yourself. We love self shout outs. It can be a shout out to a nonprofit you want us to know about or some great activism going on in your community. We want to hear about it. And all you got to do to to get your good news or your good trouble suggestions. If you have any of those, all you got to do to get them on the air is attach a photo. It can be your pet, an adoptable pet, a random animal on the Internet. It can be family photos, baby photos, pictures of you flipping off Trump Tower that we call that bird watching. It could be your garden, what you're growing, what you're making, creating crocheting, knitting. Do you have, do you have egg laying hens? I want to meet them. Do you have goats? I would love to see your goats. Send it all to us dailybeanspot.com click on contact. First up is your good trouble. All right, good troubles from the Five Calls app. Stop Trump's $1.8 billion political slush fund Quote Dodging Judicial Oversight the Trump administration has dropped its dubious lawsuit against the IRS and directed the Department of Justice to create a $1.776 billion anti weaponization compensation fund for so called political victims of the Biden administration. This pool of money is in fact an illegal and nakedly corrupt slush fund that will funnel taxpayer money to Trump's political allies, including the violent insurrectionist who assaulted the Capitol on January 6th. Acting Attorney General and enthusiastic Trump lackey Todd Blanch will appoint the five individuals responsible for doling out these stolen funds. The creation of the fund is yet another act of breathtaking corruption to enrich Trump and his supporters. Amid an ongoing affordability crisis caused by the president's incompetence and apathy. House Democrats are poised to force a vote on legislation to block use of the fund. And even some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have questioned the fund's legality. Congress must do everything they can to prevent this blatant theft of taxpayer dollars to pay off Trump cronies. Urge your representatives and senators to immediately act to block this unprecedented fraud. And you can use the five calls applied to Contact your reps in Washington and seriously call them and tell them we should be filing impeachment articles on this. I mean, there's been a million impeachable offenses. Oh yeah, but this is the crime of the Fucking century. Yeah. Okay. I mean since January 6th.
- [46:00]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And other than him raping children. But I agree. Right. There's so many. There's so many to choose from.
- [46:07]
Alison Gill
I know. There's so many. This is just blatant corruption. It's an definitely an impeachable offense that qualifies as high crimes and misdemeanors. And I don't care if we don't have the votes. Schumer, Jeffries, start calling for impeachment.
- [46:19]
Dana Goldberg
Do it. All right. This is from Annie Nonimus, which is super cute. Pronouns they, them, salvit, regine, febrom. I don't know if I said that right, but. Greetings queens of the beans. I'm a reader slash follower since the initial MSW days. Thanks for your important work. I work in aerospace industry and I have some additional data which is publicly available for your report of the FAA cutting air traffic controller staffing the ATC. 64 of 67 commercial airline fatalities worldwide were under and due to the absolute gross negligence of the current administration's FAA ATC short staffing and DoD hold my beer operations when the DoD helicopter collided with the commercial jet approaching Reagan. Mr. I fired all the ATCs airport now pod pet tariff. A harem of axolotls complements of the Dallas Children's Aquarium. They're really beautiful. They're a little creepy alien like and very beautiful.
- [47:25]
Alison Gill
I want them all. My favorite are the pink ones.
- [47:28]
Dana Goldberg
I kind of like that black one. It's super goth.
- [47:31]
Alison Gill
Yeah, very John that. If I had the black one, his name would be Johnny Cash and. Or Robert Smith and. Or Susie sue. But it, you know, it all kinds of depends. Thank you so much for the axolotls and thanks for this anenonymous pronouns they and them. I appreciate that and thanks for listening. Since the old MSW days. It's been a minute.
- [47:53]
Dana Goldberg
It sure has.
- [47:54]
Alison Gill
Nine years. Okay, next up, look at this handsome good boy.
- [47:58]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, the baby.
- [47:59]
Alison Gill
So daily listener says if we have to pay 1.776 billion because Trump suffered damages related to his taxes being leaked, shouldn't all his taxes have to be released? I concur. And here's a beautiful picture of a golden retriever as a podbetter of cute. And from Amy pronoun she and her. Hello lovely ladies of the Leguminati. I'm writing with two pieces of good news. First, Colorado Democrats are moving to censure Governor Jared Polis decision ah to commute the sentence of Tina Peters. We have a news from cpr.org with a link in the show notes. Amazing. Good. Censure him. Recall him, that guy. My second piece of good news is that my son graduated high school this weekend. Yay. He made the most of his high school years racing on the mountain bike team. You have a mountain bike team? My school didn't have a mountain bike.
- [48:51]
Dana Goldberg
That's amazing. Actually, I lived in New Mexico and we didn't have a mountain biking team.
- [48:56]
Alison Gill
I want a mountain bike team, but I don't want to go back in time, never mind taking engineering classes, earning an IB diploma, making fantastic friends, lifeguarding at our local rec center, and skiing whenever possible. We're so proud of him and excited he'll be attending college just down the road at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He claims he'll come home twice a week, but we'll see how long that lasts. It depends. Depends on Amy on how much laundry he has. For my pod pet tax, I'm attaching a photo of our son in all of his graduation finery and a photo of our calico sassafras. Great name for a kitty. I love how her toe beans are multi colored. Look at this handsome fellow graduating. Oh, and that's a lot of ropes and tasks. This is a smart kid. I can tell. There's metals and ropes and tassels and banners.
- [49:44]
Dana Goldberg
And seriously, all the cords and all
- [49:47]
Alison Gill
the cords, all the accoutrements. Very fantastic.
- [49:50]
Dana Goldberg
Look at the toe beans.
- [49:52]
Alison Gill
The kitty is amazing with the calico toe beans. Love it. Thank you.
- [49:57]
Dana Goldberg
All right, this is from Vic Nk. Pronounce he and she shout out to Jim Comey for the following quote of the day. We are about to see a U turn in this country that will make Hungary look like a pimple. By the way, that was on PBS's NewsHour. We're ready. And thank you, AG and DG for being almost as funny as he is. You know what, Vic and Kay? I will come to your house.
- [50:20]
Alison Gill
Dude, I guarantee you we're a thousand times funnier than Jim Comey.
- [50:24]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Plus, I'll leave it alone for pot Pet tax. We would like to issue a second shout out to the Wombat for not only being adorable, but providing the perfect summation of current events. Cubed. Yep, that's real wombat poop. They really do make it in cubes. And by the way, a little note from our producer. Bare nosed wombats are the only known animals in the world that produce cube shape shaped poop. Thank you for all you do. Msw. You're welcome, Vic and K. Oh, and
- [50:56]
Alison Gill
there's a picture of.
- [50:57]
Dana Goldberg
That is wild. That is literally them. A brick
- [51:01]
Alison Gill
wombat poops. Yeah, I guess you could build a wall.
- [51:07]
Dana Goldberg
I mean, look how tiny they are though. Little, little square poops.
- [51:11]
Alison Gill
Okay, all right. So I think the one. The wombats are much cuter than their poops. But thank you, that's very interesting. I. I knew that, but then I forgot. I like, didn't keep it in my brain file. You know what I mean?
- [51:25]
Dana Goldberg
No. Part of me knew that.
- [51:26]
Alison Gill
Zero part. Glad that's back in there. Now. Next up from Anonymous. He, him. Hello, beans, queens and all fellow Leguminati. So recently I've had a bit of a fire light up in me with recent showings of resistance, protest and the continued hope I hear from you two and all of our community. I come formerly from a counter trafficking background, a position that has been all but abandoned by the current administration. So I' restored to working on what I can to make ends meet and do what I can for others. Recently though, while shoveling a very late inseason winter storm from my elderly neighbor's driveway. That's so kind of you. We got to talking about LGBT issues. Turns out she's an elderly in life widowed lesbian living only across the street from my LGBT family for over a year now. We instantly went from neighbors to great friends. And now she regularly joins us for dinner and is now an avid listener of your show. Welcome.
- [52:20]
Dana Goldberg
That's amazing. Hi.
- [52:23]
Alison Gill
Elderly, late in life widowed lesbian. Hello. Now, Lily, our family is made up of a bisexual man, an M2F trans woman, and a non binary pansexual goblin. Hearing her story got me to finally sit down and read about Stonewall proper. We've discussed it at length. I'm now brainstorming ideas to try to launch a new project to help aid and build up our communities in these passing times. We need to be the hope that rekindles the flame in us all. Love to both of you and all those out there still fighting and surviving. Wolf, thank you so much. Thank you for that absolutely great story and what a fantastic wiener dog that you've shared with us. Yes. In a pot.
- [53:08]
Dana Goldberg
In the pot. This is from Kora. Pronouns she and her. Hello from Delaware, Ohio. Huh? Where I'm unfortunately a constituent of Jim Jordan. After six years of regretting my name change after marriage, I finally changed it back to my maiden name. Turns out the save act bullshit was exactly the kick in the ass I needed to get it done. Cora, that is awesome. Huge shout out to the Delaware County Probate court and Judge Hedgemanowski, they processed my application the same day. I had the court order in hands within two business days. And I'm still working through updating everything, but it genuinely feels so good to be writing my name again. I love that attached picture of my adorable chaos gremlins. Nook is the brown tabby. Miso is the tabby with a white nose and mittens. They are bonded pair we adopted right as Covid was ramping up and they absolutely kept us sane. And Pandora, our little Torby, she came home with us New Year's Day 2025 as our post election adoption. Definitely inspired by the pod to do something positive and giving her a home felt like the exact right move for all of us. Look at these kitties loving each other.
- [54:17]
Alison Gill
Okay, Pandora, the Torbie is so cute. And this bonded pair, they look so soft. Those markings are so pretty.
- [54:26]
Dana Goldberg
They are gorgeous.
- [54:28]
Alison Gill
Thank you so much for that, Cora. All right, next up from Anonymous, Fay Fair. I love it. Hey AG and dg, I thought you might get a laugh out of this. A couple weeks ago I was listening to the Daily Beans when I heard a cat meowing in the background. Y I always love it when pets interact on air by sitting and in hearing range from a microphone. And I thought that had been the case here as well until I paused the podcast, but kept hearing the meowing accompanied by some banging on the window. I went to investigate and a neighborhood cat was sitting just outside my window staring at me. I wanted to make sure they were okay, carefully opened the window and got a little closer they were and quickly jumped up and ran away. I got ding dong ditched by a cat.
- [55:16]
Dana Goldberg
Oh my God.
- [55:18]
Alison Gill
Or meow meow tapped as a friend called it, attached as a photo of this cat outside my window and one of them at an earlier visit. Okay. Oh my gosh. There she is. Look at through the grass. I see you, Katie.
- [55:34]
Dana Goldberg
Oh the baby.
- [55:36]
Alison Gill
So cute.
- [55:37]
Dana Goldberg
Very cute. All right, next up is from Brain. No pronouns given. Hello beans Queens. I would like to share my good news that has been three years in the making. After a previous pit bull passed, I saw a post claiming many pit bulls were about to be put down due to overcrowding. So I told them I would foster one. However, all interested parties, they quickly lost interest due to his aggression toward other animals. So after a year of that, I adopted him myself. I began working with a trainer to help curb his aggression. We spent one year walking around populated areas, another full year outside the dog park fence tuning his focus, and finally three months ago he graduated to the inside dog park. After some initial muzzle training, we took the muzzle off about two weeks ago. He has been doing great. He's not aggressive and he pulls back when another dog reacts to him. After three years of hard work, he's finally able to run free around other dogs. And I'm so very proud of him.
- [56:36]
Martin Sheen
Him.
- [56:36]
Dana Goldberg
He has started learning how to play with other dogs and even chase a ball. Attach your photos of him in the dog part. Off leash and off muzzle. I wish I could go back to those people that rejected him to show them how great he's doing now. I wish less people would reject similar dogs for basic aggression. It's not the curse. People assume it is, and it can be corrected. I also think of those other dogs that were put down because other people weren't willing to open their homes to a pit bull. Aggressive dogs are not aggressive. They're protective. We still need to fix this negative stigma.
- [57:10]
Alison Gill
Look at this baby. Agreed.
- [57:13]
Dana Goldberg
Such a happy dog. This is an incredible submission. We've got brain on our side. I don't know if it's Brian, but that's what we have. So if it's you, Brain or if it's you, Brian, thank you for the submission. I think it's a great reminder.
- [57:25]
Alison Gill
It is. It really is. And I love the. You know, when you say aggressive dogs, aggressive in quotes are. Are protective. They aren't aggressive. They're protective. I think that's so important to remember and it makes it easier to work with the dog to kind of curb that aggression. You know what I mean? I do. Understanding what it actually is. Thank you so much, everybody, for all the amazing good news submissions. Please send them all to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. Any final thoughts today, my friend?
- [57:55]
Dana Goldberg
I do. I have already sent this out to my patreon so I can announce it. I know some people will hear it tonight, Others will hear Hear it tomorrow. September 23rd. Chicago. Your tickets just went on sale last year when I performed, it sold out two shows very, very quickly. And I know some of you weren't able to get in. So tickets are on sale right now for Chicago. September 23rd, I believe is a Wednesday night. You can get them on my website, Dana Goldberg dot com. I have not put this on social media. The beans and my patreon are the first to know about it. And I love to see you there. There.
- [58:28]
Alison Gill
Hell, yeah. It's going to be an amazing show. Are you in two?
- [58:32]
Dana Goldberg
Nope, just one. It's at the den. It's 300 person so we made a bigger venue. I want to fit everyone in there. It's just one show, so make sure you get your tickets before they sell out.
- [58:42]
Alison Gill
Yeah, definitely get those. Dana Goldberg dot com. Thank you so much. And that's going to be. That's going to be amazing. We're also going to see you in June in.
- [58:52]
Dana Goldberg
Yes. And I'll announce it to that Patreon there. So if there's any tickets left, then the Beans will be able to swipe those up. But, you know, they will have just seen me do a set, but I have a longer set that I do. And between June and September, I'm gonna write some new jokes.
- [59:06]
Alison Gill
Right. That's quite a while. So.
- [59:08]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [59:09]
Alison Gill
Yeah. For reals. All right, everybody, thank you so much for listening. 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.
- [59:19]
Dana Goldberg
I've been dg.
- [59:20]
Alison Gill
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
- [59:51]
Martin Sheen
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 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.