Hold ICE Accountable (feat. Stephanie Telles)

Summary

The Daily Beans — “Hold ICE Accountable”

Date: October 13, 2025
Hosts: Allison Gill (A), Dana Goldberg (B)
Featured Guest: Stephanie Telles (D), Democratic candidate for Albuquerque City Council, District 1

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode delivers a whirlwind roundup of a news-heavy weekend, skewering political developments with the beans’ signature mix of progressive insight and biting humor. Highlights include updates on indictments surrounding Trump allies, attacks on environmental law, threats to scientific institutions, book bans, and the purchase of voting machine companies by Republicans. The show closes with a focus on local impact, featuring an in-depth interview with Stephanie Telles about the power of city council races to foster real change.

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Key Discussion Points and Segments

1. Weekend News Blitz: Politics on Fire

[00:00–13:33]

• Letitia James & Mortgage Fraud:
  New evidence dispels charges against NY AG Letitia James. The case appears to be a politically motivated "revenge" prosecution.
  "It's cruel and awful. And there's all the evidence you need to prove that Tish James is innocent." —A [19:45]

• John Bolton Indictment Looms:
  Trump’s team speeding up criminal charges against his ex-national security adviser, John Bolton, as political payback.
  "To indict him, this is just gamesmanship. … he's just going after his enemies." —A [03:29]

• Military Pay Without Congress' OK:
  Trump’s OMB plans to use R&D funds to pay military during the shutdown, keeping the GOP House on vacation and avoiding swearing in a Democrat who would force release of Epstein files.
  "You can't just spend appropriated funds by Congress however you want. That's illegal. Against the Constitution." —A [04:28]

• Dominion Voting Machines Sold to Republican:
  The controversial voting machines company is bought by a firm run by former Republican election director Scott Leyendecker.
  "Dominion is gone. So … I'm sure this is fine. Dog in the fire. It's fine." —A [06:40]

• Trump’s New China Tariffs & Market Crash:
  Trump announces fresh tariffs after China restricts rare earth exports, tanks stock market.
  "China says they're not backing down … but Trump always chickens out." —A [07:21]

• Gutting Marine Mammal Protections:
  Republicans aim to dismantle the 50-year-old Marine Mammal Protection Act, risking whales and other sea life for industry profits.
  "So fuck them marine animals. I guess they're going to try to gut this 50-year-old law." —A [08:06]

• Trump Loses Nobel Peace Prize:
  Despite intense lobbying, Trump is passed over, with the committee emphasizing "courage and integrity" in its selection.
  "You can't be a Nazi and get the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm sorry." —A [09:43]

• ICE Accountability in the Senate (Quote Highlight):
  Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner promises to hold ICE officials accountable:
  "So right now, armed, masked secret police are going around the country kidnapping American citizens, kidnapping people that are here illegally, abusing people because of the color of their skin. It's disgusting. ... I want to haul all of these people and the ones that made them do it in front of a Senate subcommittee, make them take the mask off and explain to the American people how they can justify their illegal and unconstitutional behavior." —Platner [10:20]

• CDC Scientist Firing Clumsy Reversed:
  Trump team hurriedly re-hires top CDC scientists mistakenly fired, including measles and Ebola team leads.
  "You accidentally fire them, so you're purposefully bringing them back. What does that kind of shit do to morale?" —A [13:04]

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2. Hot Notes: Deep Dive into Major Headlines

[13:33–27:10]

• Letitia James Revisited:
  Details emerge showing the weak basis for the indictment against AG James, based largely on how she used a house (not as a rental), painting the prosecution as Trumpian payback.

• Office of Special Counsel Nominee Scandal:
  Trump’s pick to lead oversight on whistleblowing and discrimination, Paul Ingrecia, faces allegations of sexual misconduct after forcing a younger colleague to share a hotel room. The incident exposes ongoing GOP problems with predatory behavior.
  "He is a 30-year-old conservative lawyer and activist who is President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel … and as we know, that deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination claims. I know." —B [21:29]

• MIT Resists Trump Admin 'Shakedown':
  MIT is the first university to reject Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence,” refusing to restrict free expression or limit international students for federal grant money.
  "Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone." —MIT President, quoted by A [23:30]

• Librarian Wins Settlement Over Book Bans:
  Terry Leslie in Wyoming receives $700,000 for being fired after refusing to remove LGBTQ books from children’s sections; her lawsuit underscores the ongoing wave of book censorship.
  "That is censorship. I'm glad she won. 700 large. Wonderful job." —A [26:54]

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3. Good Trouble: Calls to Action

[27:10–29:00]

• CA Prop 50:
  Strong encouragement to fill out and return California Prop 50 ballots quickly to make phone/text banking more effective and secure voting.

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4. FEATURE INTERVIEW: Stephanie Telles, Albuquerque City Council (District 1)

[29:10–46:44]

The Power & Impact of Local Elections

• District Makeup:
  District 1: Central west Albuquerque, 60,000 residents, shifting from 50/50 to more Democratic, younger families moving in but challenged by rising housing costs.

• Top Issues:

  • Affordability & Housing:
    "You have a lot more younger families moving in like mine, except for not as much as we'd hope because housing prices have just gone through the roof." —D [30:39]

    • Home values doubled since 2017 due to outside cash investors and developers.
    • City council has real power to create mixed-income and affordable housing, direct city-owned land for solutions, and support unhoused neighbors.

  • Budget Stewardship:
    Telles draws on her background as a forensic accountant, stressing transparent, efficient use of funds to protect and expand city services in the face of federal cutbacks. "I am a budget expert. I am a fraud examiner, I am a forensic accountant. I go into organizations...to help people manage their, their sort of budget metrics and their transparency." —D [36:44]

  • Crime & Public Safety:
    Promotes community-centered approaches: violence prevention, youth programming, and partnering with trusted organizations for intervention.

    • Special focus on reclassifying 911 operators as first responders for better pay and staffing, recognizing most are women. "They should be honored as first responders and have the...paid as first responders." —D [41:37]

  • Preventing Waste, Fraud, Abuse:
    Telles discusses often-overlooked inefficiencies and casual corruption—promising to use data and best practices for smarter budgets.

• Election Logistics & How Listeners Can Help:

  • Early voting now underway; election day is November 4.
  • Volunteer, donate (www.stephanieforabq.com), or canvass to help her campaign.
  • "We don't have a sliding scale for mail pieces … just to send out one mail piece to our targeted universe, it's like $10,000." —D [45:07]

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5. Listener Good News & Feedback

[47:21–close]

• Positive stories from federal workers, local bookstores, and listeners sharing updates on activism, birdwatching, and pets.
• Emotional listener letter about embracing children’s identities and letting go of "unfair plans" for their lives, sparked by a previous episode’s discussion. "Isn't it wonderful to be free of those unfair plans for their lives?" —Listener Will [57:31]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On ICE Accountability:
  "Drag those fuckers. Drag them maskless in front of the Senate committee and ask them about their bullshit." —A [11:13]
• On Voter Suppression:
  "Dominion is gone. So...I'm sure this is fine. Dog in the fire. It's fine." —A [06:41]
• On Local Elections:
  "That's where the rubber meets the road. That's where we have to find, like, real change that impacts people's lives." —A [02:16]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Headlines & Weekend News Blitz
• 10:20 – Graham Platner’s ICE Accountability Pledge
• 13:33 – Hot Notes: Deep Dives (Letitia James, Paul Ingrecia, MIT, librarian settlement)
• 27:10 – Good Trouble: Prop 50 Voting
• 29:10 – Interview: Stephanie Telles
• 46:44 – Listener Good News
• 57:31 – Listener letter: “Unfair plans for their lives”
• 59:18 – Episode close and voting reminders

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Flow & Tone

As always, The Daily Beans mixes rapid-fire progressive news with sharp wit, plainspoken outrage, and frequent four-letter words. Segments pivot seamlessly from national fireworks to local solutions. The interview with Stephanie Telles grounds the episode in actionable politics, complementing the overarching message: real change starts local.

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For Non-Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

You’ll get a clear sense of the volatility in American political life as the 2024 campaign heats up, plus inspiration and insight into how small-scale politics (like city council races) remain a surprisingly powerful lever for progressive change. The episode is rich with actionable content—whether you want to volunteer, campaign, or just stay angry in productive ways, The Daily Beans keeps you both informed and fired up.

Transcript

[A]

MSW Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Monday, October 13, 2025. Today, new evidence has surfaced over the weekend that proves Letitia James is innocent of mortgage fraud. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton could be indicted as early as this week. Trump robs Peter to pay Paul without congressional authorization. Donald's nominee for the Office of Special Counsel is a sex pest. A Republican has purchased Dominion voting machines. I'm sure that's fine. Stocks tank as Trump extends China tariffs. Republicans want to gut a 50 year old law that protects sea life. Donald is scrambling to rehire top CDC scientists that he just fired. MIT is rejecting the regime's shakedown of nine major universities. A librarian fired in a dispute over LGBTQ books gets a massive settlement. And the guy deploying troops against his own citizens loses the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm Alison Gill.

[B]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[A]

So, big news dump from the weekend.

[B]

My gosh, seriously, It's a clown show. Just do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Every time something comes in, I'm like.

[A]

Every minute of every. Now, like, you know, you and I, we aggregate the news for a living. I can't imagine not working in the news and having to deal with this shit on a minute to minute basis.

[B]

I literally thought you'd just say we aggravate the news for a living. And I was like, no, the news aggravates me.

[A]

It's the other way around. Ag. Yes. How dare you. We do have a little bright spot today, though. I'm going to be talking later in the show to Democratic candidate for Albuquerque City Council, District one, Stephanie Thias.

[B]

Oh, I'm so glad that you talked to Stephanie Tellis. We met in Albuquerque and they would be the city council. I'm telling you, down ballot races, these are so important. So I love that we're highlighting her and I hope that she does really well in her election.

[A]

Yeah, me too. And she's got a lot of great ideas and, you know, let's be honest, the local elections, city council, water board, all that stuff, that's where the rubber meets the road. That's where we have to find, like, real change that impacts people's lives in those districts. And I think she's got some great ideas and a great platform, so I'm looking forward to that conversation.

[B]

Wonderful.

[A]

Yeah. As you can tell, we had a ton of headlines. So we're gonna have to maybe split this up into two things. So let's do some quick hits. And to make a long story short. All right, first up, from NBC the acting U.S. attorney in Maryland is moving forward quickly to seek criminal charges against Trump's former national security advisor, half man, half mustache, Charlie John Bolton. That's according to two people familiar with the case. A complaint or an indictment could come as early as this week. That's what the sources said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they wanted to get the story out into the news and they own the media. I've written. Sorry, that wasn't part of the NBC story. I've written something up over at Mueller. She wrote.com that includes some really, really important information. You're going to want to know about John Bolton. It I know you're like, I could live my whole life and not know anything about John Bolton and be fine, but there's some weird stuff that went down in 2020, and I've written that up@military road.com, no paywalls over there, so check it out. But, you know, to indict him, this is just gamesmanship. It's political gamesmanship, and he's just going after his enemies.

[B]

Yep. This one's also from NBC. Trump said Saturday that he was directing Defense Department officials to pay members of the military next week. This is interesting. Despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, the Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, which is totally illegal, by the way. But it also allows Johnson to keep the House on vacation, which is they want to be. So they don't have to swear in that last vote to release the Epstein files. And like I said, that's what he's doing. This whole bullshit of I'll swear in whenever she wants. Well, she has to be sworn in the day after she was elected, which is what you did for 2 of Republicans. So maybe you can get your ass back to the Capitol and get this person who was elected by her constituents to work.

[A]

Yes. Remove your head from Trump's butthole and get to work, please. Yes, please. It's just so. It's frustrating because, first of all, I mean, I'm glad that military members are going to get paid, but you can't just spend appropriated funds by Congress however you want. That's illegal. Against the Constitution. Article 1 gives the power of the purse to Congress. But, you know, there's 700 other things where they're misappropriating funds. This is just one of them. But it helps Mike Johnson stay home. And I think Hakeem Jeffries has said the Democrats are coming back to work because we need to figure out how to get these, you know, get the government funds appropriated properly.

[B]

I think the Democrats have been there the entire time. I keep seeing these fantastic videos from Sarah McBride going, Republicans. Are there any Republicans in here? Nope. No Republicans in here.

[A]

Hello. Hello. Hello. Yeah, and also, I'm sure this is fine. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with this at all. This is from abc. Dominion Voting Systems. That's the voting machine company at the center of the 2020 false election fraud conspiracy theories that Trump was pushing. The center of the $787.5 million settlement that Fox News paid for lying about. Dominion Voting. That company's been sold to a new election company run by a former Republican election official.

[B]

Alison, I just don't understand. I mean, I understand people want to make money, but when you went through all of that and you got so much money from these lawsuits, why would you sell your company to a party that, you know, one, dragged your name through the mud, first of all, and two, really has just not been up and up in the elections? I just don't get this. You don't have to sell.

[A]

Yeah, they're just afraid, probably, you know, another knee bend. But in a statement, Liberty Vote, which is this company owned by this Republican, said it was founded and run by Scott Leyendecker, whose LinkedIn profile says he served as the election director of St. Louis in 2012. News articles from the time indicate he's a Republican. In a statement, Liberty Vote called its purchase of Dominion a bold and historic move to transform and improve and steal elections in America. That's not what they said, but that's close enough. And they ended with Dominion is gone. So.

[B]

Oh, boy.

[A]

I'm sure this is. This is fine. Dog in the fire. It's fine.

[B]

Totally normal. Totally normal. All right, Ag, thank you. And this next story is from the Times. The stock market slumped to its worst one day showing since tariffs roiled markets in April as the specter of the trade war returned between Beijing and Washington, thanks to Trump. He on Friday threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports after its government put curbs on the export of rare earth minerals vital to a host of industries, including the production of valuable chips used in artificial intelligence.

[A]

Great. Okay, cool. Now China says they're not backing down.

[B]

I don't think they will.

[A]

I don't think so, either. But Trump always chickens out. Right, Taco? So we'll see what happens Next up from ABC. Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the US's longest standing pieces of environmental legislation credited with helping save rare whales from extinction. Because of course they are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Conservative leaders feel they have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection act from 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears, and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers, and other marine industries there, thereby revealing the impetus here for doing this. Right, because of the billionaires. Yeah. The law protects all marine mammals and prohibits capturing or killing them in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It allowed for preventive measures to stop commercial fishing ships and other businesses from accidentally harming animals such as whales and seals. The animals can be harmed by entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and other hazards at sea. So fuck them marine animals. I guess they're going to try to gut this 50 year old law by passing a new bill.

[B]

Angers me. Angers me. Of all the animals, the ones that live in the ocean are some of my faves.

[A]

Me, too.

[B]

All right, this one's from Politico. Trump lost out on the Nobel Peace Prize Friday. Boy, did he. And, man, he was campaigning for it. And all of his followers thought he was going to get it. And Republicans from all corners of the party, of course, say he was robbed. Trump, fueled by bone deep contempt for Barack Obama because he won the plotted in his first year as president, has been shameless, and I mean shameless, in his bid to become the fifth person in his role to get the prestigious nod for those who chase peace, disarmament, and international cooperation. Now, on the surface, those remarks don't exactly align with Trump's record of isolationism, antagonism, and domestic militarism. Former US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama, they have all previously won that prestigious award. One of my favorite things, and I know we don't have the clip, but when they asked the person who gives the award why it wasn't Trump, he said, we in part make sure that we honor this to someone who is courageous and has integrity.

[A]

Yep, yep, they sure did. And they mentioned authoritarianism. The rise of authoritarianism. Indeed. You can't be a Nazi and get the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm sorry.

[B]

Yeah, you don't get to, you know, be putting your own military against the US Citizens. Disappearing people in the streets, ripping people away, ziplining babies in the middle of the night, putting them out in the street without clothes on with their families while you figure out if they're US Citizens or if they've broken a law. That doesn't exactly add to peacetime. Peacetime and a Nobel Peace Prize.

[A]

So, yeah, no, sorry, you lose. And now I want you to listen to this clip. This is Graham Platner. He's running against Susan Collins in Maine. He's running for Senate, and this is what he intends to do about ICE if he's elected to the Senate. Let's listen. Could you please share your feelings on ice?

[C]

So right now, armed, masked secret police are going around the country kidnapping American citizens, kidnapping people that are here illegally abusing people because of the color of their skin. It's disgusting. One of the reasons I want to go to the Senate is that when we have power again, I want to haul all of these people and the ones that made them do it in front of a Senate subcommittee, make them.

[B]

Take the mask off.

[D]

Explain to the.

[C]

American people how they can justify their illegal and unconstitutional behavior. So that's what I think about ice, Dana.

[A]

That is the promise I want to hear from any and all Senate candidates. Drag those fuckers. Drag them maskless in front of the Senate committee and ask them about their bullshit. Absolutely.

[B]

Please.

[A]

I mean, that was just so well said and so succinct. Everyone needs to say that. Who's running for Senate. In fact, call and write your Senate candidates and tell them that this is what you want to hear. And of course, not the only thing you want to hear. I don't want to get a bunch of emails saying there's other stuff. You know, just this kind of.

[B]

At the same time, add this to your list.

[A]

Add this to the list of important things that. That your senator is running on, because this kind of accountability is going to get people elected. If we can flip the Senate and Peanut power drag these fuckers in front of a panel. Come on.

[B]

Me, too. Got me a little bit warm and fuzzy in my private parts. Mm. All right, Ag. And last in the quick hits, this one's also from the Times. The Trump administration on Saturday raced to rescind layoffs of hundreds of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were mistakenly fired on Friday night in what appeared to be a substantial procedural lapse. Really? Were they procedural labs?

[A]

Mistakenly fired?

[B]

They've been doing so well. All right. Among those wrongly dismissed were the two top leaders of the Federal Measles Response Team. That seems important right now. Those working to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and the team that assembles the CDC's vaunted scientific journal. And that is the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which seems important that we know who's dying and from what?

[A]

Well, how long have I been saying they don't want you to know who's dying.

[B]

I know.

[A]

So. But they accidentally fired them, so they're purposefully bringing them all back right now. What does that kind of shit do to morale? You know?

[B]

I mean, oh God, I can't even imagine.

[A]

Especially, I'm sure people are like, a.

[B]

Few of them are going to be.

[A]

Like, you know what?

[B]

Go fuck yourself. Not doing this.

[A]

Seriously. Seriously. Like, I'm going to move to Oslo and be a scientist there where they like science. Like, fuck. That just makes us all less safe. And you know, like you said when if you're dismantling the morbidity and mortality Weekly report team. Yeah, we don't know how unsafe we are.

[B]

It's awful.

[A]

All right, everybody, we've still got hot notes to get to. That's how much news we had this weekend. It was so much news. So we're gonna do that, but we're gonna take a quick break first. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey everybody. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack and hydration sponsor. IQ Bar is the better for you. Plant protein based snack made with brain boosting nutrients to refuel, nourish and satisfy hunger without the sugar crash. And right now, IQ Bar is offering you an exclusive deal. 20% off all IQ Bar products plus free shipping. Just text daily beans, all one word to 64,000. So IQ bar makes fueling your day simple, smart and delicious. I have tons of these. I love them. I've got all three of their products. They've got hydration, they've got some amazing coffees like instant sort of morning drinks. And they also have the snack bars which I keep in like my nightstand and my gym bag. 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And more people than ever are fueling their busy lifestyles with IQ Bar, Brain and Body Boosting Bars, hydration mixes, and mushroom coffees. The ultimate sampler pack. I'm telling you, it includes all three. It truly lives up to the hype. Clean energy, great taste, no crash. So right now, IQ Bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQ bar products, including the sampler pack, plus free shipping. So to get your 20% off, text daily beans to 64,000. That's text daily beans all one word to 64,000. Daily beans to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the Hot Notes. Hot Notes. All right, Dana, check this out from the Times. Five years ago, the door of a modest yellow house on a quiet stretch of avenue in Norfolk, Virginia, swung open to admit a young family looking for a peaceful life after years of turbulence in several cities. That family, Nakia Thompson and her children, and they've lived at that address ever since, according to two people familiar with the home. And until this week, the plan for a more placid existence had largely gone as expected. Several times a year, the people said the great aunt who purchased the home for the family in 2020 with Ms. Thompson in mind, would come for an extended stay. This week, with the filing of court papers some 200 miles north, the plan came to an abrupt end. That great aunt, Letitia James, New York Attorney General, and she was indicted by Trump's Justice Department. The yellow house with its gabled roof and tidy lawn was revealed to be at the heart of the case that Mr. Trump's chosen prosecutor brought against Ms. James, one of the president's most prominent adversaries. Now, in the indictment, the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, accuses Tish James of having misrepresented the purpose of the house when she purchased it in August 2020 for $137,000. The indictment says that while Ms. James indicated to her mortgage broker she expected to use the house as a second home, she had instead used it as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of three. Okay. And the difference between an investment property and a second home is about, according to the government, 0.815 points of interest 47 bucks a month, Dana. And in June, Ms. Thompson testified to a grand jury in Norfolk that she has lived in the house for years and she's not paid rent. That's according to a person familiar with her testimony. She was not asked to testify again. And the grand jury that voted to indict Ms. James was not seated in Norfolk, but in Alexandria, so that grand jury did not return an indictment. The specter of Mr. Trump's revenge campaign has so far overshadowed the facts of the case, given how he has pushed for Ms. James's punishment for years. He's railed against her on social media, calling her a crook and corrupt. Looks as guilty as hell. Last month, he appointed Lindsay Halligan, one of his personal lawyers, to replace Eric siebert, the previous U.S. attorney in Eastern Virginia. Siebert had cast doubt on this case and, and had career prosecutors. So had they in the office. So it wasn't just him, it was the line prosecutors, too. But that sequence of events has prompted outrage from Democrats and even some Republicans, as has the paltry amount Ms. James is accused of having stood to gain. $18,933 over a 30 year mortgage. But Mr. Trump's allies celebrated the indictment, calling it airtight and suggesting that it represents fair play against a state attorney general who had sued Trump in 2022, accusing him of staggering fraud, which a jury agreed with. A lawyer for Ms. James, Abby Lowell, has flatly denied the charges on her behalf and said this is a tremendous breach of the public's trust. Ms. Thompson and Ms. James years long use of the House and Ms. Thompson's testimony to the grand jury, neither of which has been previously reported, illuminate the straightforward factual dispute that will animate the case. Real estate and legal experts said it would be difficult to assess the strength of Lindsay's case. That's Halligan, until more facts were presented in court. And Dana, the difference between a second home and an investment property is that in an investment property you never stay there and you collect rent. That a second home, you have to stay there at least part of the year and you can't collect rent. And actually you can collect some rent as long as you don't use that rent to get another loan as you know as a value. And as long as you occupy and you stay there at the property. And that's what happened here. This is a second home. So this is cruel and awful. And there's all the evidence you need to prove that Tish James is innocent.

[B]

Yes, and I hope it goes away quickly. This next story is from Politico. In late July, Paul Ingrecia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando with a lower ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn't have a hotel room. Ingracia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with this episode. Eventually, the woman discovered that Ingracia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him. Three of those officials said this. This is just gross.

[A]

That's so horrible.

[B]

The woman, a foe, by the way, is a fellow Trump appointee, initially protested the room arrangement, but not wanting to cause more of a scene around her other colleagues, she relented. This is according to the officials. So the two, who knew each other previously as just friends, went to the room and slept in separate beds. Gracia's attorney said it no last minute changes were made to the hotel reservation. So he's denying that he canceled her room. What's not disputed is that the two ended up sharing a room on a business trip and that has resulted in an official investigation. The fallout from the incident has been the talk of upper echelons at DHS ever since that happened. It adds to a swirl of controversy around Ingrassian. He is a 30 year old conservative lawyer and activist who is President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel. And as we know, that deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination claims. I know.

[A]

So if she wanted to complain. Yeah, okay, maybe.

[B]

Grassi would be two decades younger, by the way, and less experienced than recent leaders of that agency. Grassi's nomination is already on the rocks after Republican senators raised concerns about his background and amount of experience, as well as possible antisemitism, which in this administration has disputed that claim.

[A]

Yeah, he's a Nazi. He's a Nazi.

[B]

Angrassi's female colleague filed a human resources complaint against him before retracting it days later, fearing retaliation. That's according to three of the officials. However, five administration officials told Politico she complained to them that Ingrazi was making her feel uncomfortable and that it was hurting her ability to do her job. And I'm really glad she spoke up. I don't understand why conservative women don't see this shit and go, maybe I'm part of the wrong party because they.

[A]

They don't want to upset the boys club.

[B]

Yeah. And listen, I know that there's some Bad people on the Dem side, too. It just seems like there's a whole lot of them on the Republican side, especially when there's this ring that all surrounds sex trafficking, the biggest one in our history. And then you hear stuff like this, and I'm like, it seems like everyone's predatory that hangs out with this administration.

[A]

Yeah, pretty much. All right, well, maybe I don't know that he's supposed to lead the special counsel to look into these kinds of complaints. It's just. It's horrifying, unbelievable, but totally believable. All right, some good news here from the Times. MIT became the first university to reject an agreement that would trade support for Trump administration's higher education agenda in exchange for favorable treatment for grants and stuff. The proposal. Grants and stuff. I added, that's not a New York Times line. Could that be funny? New York Times for grants and stuff. The proposal, called the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, was sent to nine universities. We talked about this on the beans. And it would require colleges to cap international student enrollment, freeze tuition for five years, adhere to definitions of gender, and prohibit anything that would belittle conservative ideas. In a letter on Friday to the Trump administration, though, MIT's president, Sally Kornbluth, wrote that the University of. We already freely meet or exceed many of these standards outlined in your proposal. But she said she disagrees with other requirements that it demands, including those that would restrict free expression. Quote, fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. I know. Big, amazing revelation there. The White House has said it wants a response from all these universities by October 20th. The the other eight colleges, University of Arizona, Brown, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas, Vanderbilt, and the University of Virginia. The idea of the compacts has been deeply unpopular among faculty members and free speech advocates who view them as yet another political intrusion into the affairs of academia. They argue that the Trump administration is threatening the independence of American higher education by cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding to force these universities to adopt its BS Agenda. So thank you, mit. We'll see how the other eight universities do.

[B]

Absolutely. And I've got a good news story for you. A library director in Wyoming who was fired two years ago because she refused to remove books with sexual content and LGBTQ themes from a library's children and young adult section. She was awarded $700,000 in a settlement on Wednesday. I know that may not make up for firing, but, oh, boy, I bet it feels good. Terry Leslie, the former director of the Campbell County Public Library in Galette, Wyoming, filed a federal lawsuit in April for defamation and the violation of her civil rights against the county, its board of commissioners, the library board, an individual member of both government boards. The lawsuit accused them of violating her First Amendment rights to free speech and of firing Ms. Leslie in a retaliatory and discriminatory way. She had worked for the local library system since 1996 and directed the system for about 11 years. Some people behind the challenges took issue with the placement of the books. One resident told the county library board that the LGBTQ books should be moved to the library's adult section to protect the emotional, physical, and mental health of children, as reported by the Galette News Record. I got so many explicit wanting to come out of my chest with that comment. But Ms. Leslie resisted the calls to move or remove the books. And I quote, if you segregate these books, say, in the adult section, and you're a teenager and you go to try and find something on a topic, that book isn't there, you won't discover it. That's what she said on Thursday. This is a form of censorship. A separate lawsuit filed by Ms. Leslie that accuses three members of a family of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. That's also going to continue. The family members accused Ms. Leslie providing obscene material to children and reported her to the Campbell County Sheriff's Office in an attempt to have her arrested. A special prosecutor has concluded that the books were not obscene, which means there sounds like there's a very good chance that she's also going to win this case, which would be fabulous.

[A]

Good for her. And fuck off with the. I know we want to move the young adult books that have the word gay in them to the adult section. That is censorship. I'm glad she won. 700 large. Wonderful job. All right, everybody, it's time for some good trouble.

[D]

What are you guys doing?

[A]

California, you have your Prop 50 ballots. It's just one thing. It says yes or no, and you fill in the yes bubble and then you return your ballot either via mail and you. Or just take it to. I'm taking it to a Dropbox. I'm going to go around the mail on this one and do this as soon as possible. And the reason you want to do it as soon as possible, as soon as you get your ballot, which I think you have now. There's a couple of reasons that you want to do it fast. First of all, it gets you off the call lists and Email lists and text bank lists. Right. So you don't have to deal with those calls and emails and texts anymore. But more importantly, the people who do the text banking and phone banking, when you come off the list, they can focus more on the people who haven't sent their ballots in.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Right. And again, like I said, I'm going to drop mine in a Dropbox because mail is fucky. I don't. I do not trust this postmaster or Donald Trump. And so I'm going to drop it in my Dropbox. I have one about a mile away up the road from my house here in San Diego. So, you know, if you feel good, it's early enough, send it in the mail. Just make sure you drop it in as soon as humanly possible. Vote yes on Prop 50, everyone, and that is your good trouble today. So. And if you're not in California, maybe you can join a text bank or a phone bank to get people in California who have yet to send in their ballots. That would be super helpful. All right, everybody, we'll be right back with the good news. But first, I have that amazing interview with Stephanie Theas right after this. Stick around. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm honored to be joined today. You know how much I talk about how important local politics is, especially school board races, water board races, city council races. And joining us is the Democratic candidate for Albuquerque City council in District 1. Please welcome Stephanie Thaias.

[B]

Hello.

[D]

Thank you so much for having me today. I'm excited to be here.

[A]

It's so great to meet you. I know that Dana sang your praises and said we must have Stephanie on the show to talk about District 1 and what's at stake. And normally we do a keep it blue segment, but as we discussed offline a little bit, this seat is held by a Democrat, but kind of a Democrat. Right. And we need to get somebody in there like yourself who is going to represent the needs of the constituents in District 1. So could you tell me a little bit to start about the makeup of District one? Who lives there? What is that district? Like, what are the demographics?

[D]

Yeah, I'm happy to. You know, it's a. It's the biggest district in the city. So it runs on the kind of the central west side of Albuquerque. I don't know if you're familiar with Albuquerque, if you've been here before, but we look at the mountains and so it is. It runs from practically Central Avenue to Paseo, which is like just giant west of the river. We have about 60,000 people in the district. So it's a big, big district. A few years ago it was pretty much a 50, 50 split as far as political ideology. So 50 Dem, 50 Republican. I think that it's, we're starting to tilt a little more over to the left and we're probably at about 60, 40 now, Democrat, Republican, but it's more of that sort of moderate Democrat inching closer to a bit more progressive. Because what we're finding is a lot of folks, it's an older neighborhood, like my house was built in 1978 I believe. And so you know, a lot of families who raise their kids here, their kids are my age and kind of moving out. So you know, their parents are deciding to sell and go, you know, live in smaller places for them. And so you have a lot more younger families moving in like mine, except for not as much as we'd hope because housing prices have just gone through the roof.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And so that's making it really difficult, but it's, it's really working families in the area and you know, really awesome seniors who have been just here since the neighborhood kind of was built.

[A]

Yeah. And that segues nicely into kind of my first question, the first thing I want to talk about. Pretty much every candidate I've been interviewing, whether it's for special elections this year or midterm elections next year, has been saying that the number one thing on their constituents minds is the cost of living and affordability. And we see these kinds of successful campaigns being run elsewhere. I think of the one that stands out, Mamdani, in New York City. But the same is true pretty much everywhere you go. Is that what you're finding in District 1 as well is that affordability, costs, inflation, jobs, the economy in general is the number one issue on people's minds.

[D]

I mean it's absolutely in the top three here in Albuquerque, especially when it comes to affordable housing and, and our unhoused community members. It's just my. I will. So here's a picture for you. In 2017 is when we purchased our house. We bought our house for $170,000. Very, very low interest rate at the time. And recently we've had it kind of appraised. It's appraising, you know, at the 300, like $60,000 insanity, artificial inflations. Because we're seeing a lot of developers and sort of venture capitalists are buying up land and homes.

[A]

They swoop in, don't they, and do cash only offers and they turn them into short term rentals or, or airbnbs or flip them and then sell them again to another conglomerate billionaire jerk who's gonna, you know, make it ugly and, and turn it into a short term rental. And that's happening like all over the place. I remember Kamala Harris had a great plan to stop that from happening. But I think being a city council member, you're more poised to actually have an impact on that kind of.

[D]

Well, yes, I mean, and that's the thing. That's why city council and these local and statewide races are so, so critical because people in general are not going to be as impacted on their day to day lives by some of the big laws that get passed at the federal level. Now, right now is kind of an outlier. Obviously it's not what we're used to seeing because things at the federal level are really kind of driving these high grocery rate. Right. High gas, like all these inflated prices. That's because of what's happening at the federal level. Right. But everything else from our day to day, what we happens to us is based off of what happens at the local level. And so we do have an opportunity to really kind of come in and help people and help working families and help our unhoused community members by creating sort of house tax credit, you know, housing tax credits for low income folks, mixed income developments, really leveraging kind of city owned land. Right. So we can build our own affordable housing with wraparound services for people who might be experiencing things like homelessness. I think at the local level we really have the opportunity, opportunity to go housing first with those supported services that we don't necessarily get at the federal level. So, yeah, I mean I, like I said this house not worth $380,000. Like, I promise I live in it. I know, yeah, so. And the sad thing is, you know, if my husband and I tried to buy this house, interest rates are outrageous. We wouldn't be able to get it. There'd be no way, right?

[A]

You know, no, of course not. And you know, it's our, you know, the interest rates are horrific and that adds to the costs and yeah, it's, it's just, it makes it so difficult for, for people to be able just to afford to, to live. And so I think that that really is something that our local politicians can, can help with. Something else that I think is important for our local politicians to work on is with this particular Trump administration cutting all kinds of federal funding, it will be up to the city council members and the state assemblies to see if they can fund these programs that help locals in Their area where we get those budget shortfalls from this particular administration. So as city council there in district one, how would you go about helping continue some of these programs for people in Albuquerque?

[D]

That is a great question. And this is sort of what this is a particular area where I am very different from my opponents, right. Is because I am a budget expert. I am a fraud examiner, I am a forensic accountant. I go into to organizations, whether it be a government organization or a for profit or a nonprofit, whatever it is. That's what I come in to help people manage their, their sort of budget metrics and their transparency, accountability, especially at the government level. So having somebody who knows how to come in and look at a budget and say we can save a lot, which we need to do because we're not getting what we anticipated that we were going to be able to get from our federal level. And so that comes in the form of just knowing how to look at a budget and kind of identify where we need more resources and where we can kind of scale back a little bit is important. But also just knowing how and where to evaluate risk. Right. And monetary risk, Whether that's waste, fraud or abuse, which happens at every organization. It doesn't matter how big or how small. I ask folks when I go into their, my clients, I'll be like, one of the first questions I ask is like, so do you think there's any fraud in your organization? No, absolutely not. And I'm like, you are being defraud it, you know, big time if you don't think there's fraud. Right. And that's not necessarily right internally. I mean, there are internal threats obviously, but external fraud threats. And which is really big in governments because you have really sophisticated actors, both, you know, domestically and internationally that just know how to get into these programs and take advantage and have a lot of that loss.

[A]

And oddly enough, it's usually the rich people that are doing it that are defrauding the government.

[D]

Well, and that's for the internal certainly especially I think right now at our federal level, that is absolutely true. The creation of the, of doge, for example, I love that people are talking about waste, fraud and abuse. Right. I love that that's something that came up. But what the, what the administration is doing right now, it is utilizing this idea of looking for waste, fraud and abuse to actually perpetrate waste, fraud and abuse. And so we have to really, really be careful with that. But you know, at the local level, it oftentimes comes down to mostly waste and abuse. And waste generally is not malicious at all.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

It really is just folks not knowing how to better improve their processes and their controls so that they are using public funds more effectively and efficiently. Right. And so it just comes to education and certainly there are abuse. There is a lot of abuse that happens, especially in, you know, smaller areas where, you know, it's one of those things. It's like, oh, well, you know, my Theo does concrete, so let's give them the contract or whatever. Right. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. We want our community to be involved in our economic development, but we have to do it the right way.

[A]

Yeah, no, I agree. One last thing I wanted to ask you about before we get out of here is another issue that I know that you want to tackle, which is crime in Albuquerque. Can you talk about that?

[D]

Yes, yes. I mean, the city, we really need to address crime in a lot of different ways. Communities that are just feeling less safe and we need to have more community centered strategies over just blanket enforcement. And I think it's by investing in more violence prevention, investing in more youth services, you know, just invest partnering with local organizations who already have some of that community trust to help with intervention support. Right. And it's about addressing the root cause. Right. One of the things that I want to do, for example, is I want to reclassify 911 operators. Right now we have a shortage of 911 operators. And part of the reason is because they are considered clerical workers, not first responders, which I think that's crazy because they are literally the first responder. Right. Folks call 911 as first person you talk to, and they go through law enforcement training. They have these trainings to be first responders. So they should be honored as first responders and have the sort of paid.

[A]

As first responders, right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

And if we do that, guess what? We're going to recruit more people to fill those roles. So we're helping the workforce, which means lower call times. We can better assess and address the needs of calls that come in. So we know when to send, you know, police or fire or EMS resources or whatever it might be. So faster response times in the area. But here's another thing that's super important in doing that is for the most part, 911 operators are generally filled by women. Those roles are by women. And so having it as a clerical position and not as for, you know, a first responder actual position, it hurts women who are already struggling. Right. To just have equal pay and, you know, equal representation. And they deserve those type of benefits that first responders get because we're also, we're going to be addressing crime and addressing economic development and our workforce needs all at the same time. And then once we do that, guess what? When we invest in all of these things at the root cause, crime intrinsically goes down. And then we can focus on public safety, because that's the difference. I think people use public safety and crime interchangeably, and they are not the same things. You know, public safety is about saving people, keeping our people safe, and that should be our priority. And when we do that and needs are met, crime goes down.

[A]

Yeah. And that's also one of those waste issues that you're talking about, because those dollars can be steered toward public safety and prevention as opposed to, oh, what do we do after the fact. So absolutely fantastic. I think that your, you know, your background in forensic accounting and fraud and auditing is so helpful, especially at the city council level. So we're, we're really hoping that you get this seat. And I would love it if you would tell everyone listening how they can help you get this seat. And whether it's through tax, banking or volunteering or helping canvas, or maybe somebody from out of state can help from afar or maybe, you know, kicking in a couple bucks to your campaign. Can you tell them where and how they can do that?

[D]

Yes, I would love. We, locally, we are hitting the doors every single day. I'm hitting the doors every single day. And that's really how we win. Right. It's knocking on doors and talking to people. And that's just, that's it. It's about community building and getting out into the neighborhoods and listening, learning about what they care about so that I can take that to city council. So if you want to volunteer, you can do that. And folks out of state, the big or even in state everywhere, we do need help raising money. You know, we don't get a lot of funds. Typically, people tend to donate more to bigger races. But the cost of things are the same whether you're a big race or a small race.

[B]

Right.

[D]

They don't. We don't have sliding scale on mail pieces.

[A]

You don't have a city council discount, right?

[D]

Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, and it's pricey. I mean, just to send out one mail piece to our targeted universe. It's like $10,000. And so that is super, super helpful. And it's very easy to do. You can go to my website, which is www.dot Stephanie for a BQ and it's spelled out F O R dot com. And there is a link on there where you can contribute. There is a link on there where you can sign up for our newsletter and there is another link where you can sign up to volunteer. And all of those things will just help us get over that finish line in a, you know, winning spot.

[A]

Awesome. Remind us when the election is.

[D]

It is on November 4, but we are in our early vote timeline right now. So folks can early vote right now at the county clerk's office. And Then starting on October 18, expanded early vote opens. So all early vote locations will be open in the city. So I highly recommend folks get out to vote early because you never know what's going to pop up right on November 4th. If the calendar is right or wrong, we might get raptured on the fourth. I don't know. So we want to make sure that we vote first for the rest of us who have to stay here.

[A]

For the left behind, right?

[D]

Yeah, for the left. So get out and vote early so we can have that amazing, amazing November 4th. And I'm just. We're almost there.

[A]

Awesome. All right, Leguminati. So if you're in a trouble nation group or an indivisible group or a dumb party group there in abq, make sure to have everybody early vote because that brings you off the lists, right? Then we don't that you, you don't get calls and texts and emails anymore. Make sure to early vote and you don't have to mess with the mail. Who knows what they're gonna do with the mail. So make sure that you early vote and make sure you vote for Stephanie. So that is District 1 City Council, Albuquerque, New Mexico. I really appreciate your time today. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much, Stephanie. I really, I wish you the best. Best of luck.

[D]

Thank you everybody.

[A]

Stick around. We'll be right back for the good news. Everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?

[C]

Everyone?

[A]

Then good news everyone. Good news, good news. And if you have any good news that you want to share with us, as little as possible or as big and amazing as you want could have happened a minute ago or 20 years ago, we would love to hear your good news story. We're also accepting street jokes for laughs. If you want to send us your favorite joke, misheard song lyrics, anything like that, some weird aha moment you've had. Like I remember Dana when I realized that the post office logo was actually an eagle and not a bird headed man with his pockets. Turned out like it was a huge day for me. I was in my 30s, okay. And I was like, oh, there was a commercial on tv and the eagle was flying and landed and became the logo. And I was like, okay, that makes way more sense. But I never questioned it. Anyway, anything at all. Like, those weird aha moments are so fun. You can send that to us. If you have a shout out to a loved one or a small business in your area or a nonprofit you want to highlight, we would love to hear about that. Maybe some great protesting you're doing, especially in Portland and Chicago. If you're dressing as an inflatable frog, I want to hear from you because those videos are filling me with joy. The big dancing inflatable animals in front of the ice facilities. Send that to us. Also, if you have a shout out to a government program, anything at all. And all you got to do to get your stuff right on the air is pay your pod pet tariff, which means really attach a photo of anything. They can be a photo of your pet. It can be an adoptable pet in your area. If you don't have a pet. It can be a random animal off the Internet. It can be inflatable animals protesting ICE.

[B]

Detention, detention facilities in your town.

[A]

It can be bird watching photos, which can be an actual bird, or you and your family and friends flipping the bird to Trump properties or Tesla showrooms or maybe a cardboard cutout of your local Republican representative. Whatever it is, we would love to see it. Send it to us. A photo of what you're making or creating, like what your hobby is to pass the time between now and Project 2029. Right? Send it all to us DailyBeansPod.com and click on contact. Maybe you're going to have a sign making party for Kings 2. That would be cool. I would love to see pictures of that. And I hope everybody's going to no Kings too, if you're able, of course. Because, man, I think we're gonna blow the numbers out of the water for the original no Kings. Oh, yeah. I think we're gonna set some records.

[B]

I'm feeling there's gonna be a lot more Republicans marching with us this time.

[A]

I think so, too. All right, so let's get to the good news. Oh, and by the way, the way, the place that you go to send in the good news is probably helpful if I give it to you dailybeanspod.com click on contact. First up from Anonymous, furloughed federal Dear Queens of the beans and all behind the scenes. I love that it rhymes. On Friday's show, Dana asked for examples of businesses that are supporting furloughed federal workers. Oh, this is cool. That's right. We wanted that to be sent into I love this High Country News is independent journalism that brings in depth, inclusive and wide ranging stories from around the West. At the beginning of the year, when federal workers started to get laid off and forced out of jobs, HCN offered free digital subscriptions to Federalis. They are continuing this offer with furloughed federal employees like the MSW network. They're another great source of independent journalism and I encourage people to check them out. And since you guys have gotten into bird watching, you and anyone who likes birds, I'm looking at you. Fellow furloughed feds with ample time on your hands should definitely check out the free movie on YouTube called Listers a Glimpse into Extreme Birding. The storytelling and videography are amazing. Per my POD pet tariff, I'm attaching a photo of my first furlough project, restoring our 20 something KitchenAid mixer that was leaking oil.

[D]

Wow.

[A]

Keep up the great work. Oh my gosh. It's a deconstructed KitchenAid mixer.

[B]

I don't even know where I would start putting that thing back together.

[A]

That's incredible. Are you a helicopter?

[B]

Taking it apart? I think I could do right.

[A]

Like, is that what your job is for the government? Are you a helicopter repair person or like.

[B]

Yeah, or works with explosives or something?

[A]

Oh my gosh. This is brilliant. Thank you so much for this. And we'll have a link to hcn.org with that article that you're talking about for government employee access.

[B]

All right, this is from Devin, New York. No pronouns given. Greetings, legume goddesses. Gentle correction. Friday's good news story featuring roller derby in Nassau County, New York is actually pronounced Nassau, same as Nassau, Bahamas. Good. Keep up your awesome work. It is much appreciated. My tariff is a nighttime view of the towering eight foot tall sunflower blooming on the on my block in East Midtown in Manhattan and a view of Monday's full harvest moon from my stoop just down the block that same night. I love how nature can surprise you even in the big city. I do too. Also, Deb, I love that you live in Manhattan. I spend half my time there. It's magical.

[A]

It really is. Midtown East Midtown Manhattan. A sunflower just coming up out of the ground. Like how? Wow, that is so very cool. I'm gonna go see that now next time I'm in New York. Thanks, Deb. All right, next up from Nick, pronouns he and him. Hello Beans. I have a Question. Before launching Headfirst into some good trouble, I recently came across Project Mail Storm. Folks are encouraged to send physical letters containing anything, notes, cards, actual garbage to the White House, Doge, the Supreme Court, et cetera. The theory is that everything received must legally be opened and logged. So by flooding the system, we can muck up the works in a way that sending or signing online petitions do not. I am a fan of all things analog. Heck, I own vinyl. A vinyl record shop. Oh, very cool, Nick. So this really caught my eye as some good trouble I could get into. And owning a shop, I could set up a Project Mail Storm station where customers could join in. My question for you. Is this a good idea? Are there any departments that should be particularly worthy of receiving a flood of mail? Anything we should not clog up. And, Nick, that was my first thought. If we flood the mail, our ballots might not get through. Yeah, but when we're not sending in mail ballots. I love this idea. I think farmers should deliver pounds and pounds of manure to the. To the stairs of the White House. Well, as close as you can get, which I guess would be Pennsylvania Avenue. But I love this idea. Although there are some things that are. It's illegal to send in the mail, so you might want to check that before you do that, because I don't want anybody coming after anybody. And I don't give any legal advice here on the Daily Beans. I'm not a lawyer. That's my indemnification clause for you all. For my pet tax, here's Norbu, AKA Norbalini, AKA Stinky Boy, AKA the Pretty Prince of Pillows. No need to guess his breed. He's an Australian labradoodle. I wouldn't have gotten that right, Nick, just so you know, just look at the photo and try to guess which end is the front and which end is the back. Thanks for being awesome and delivering the news in the only way that seems appropriate right now with cursing. Look at the baby. I can't tell. I can't tell. You're right. I don't. Oh, there, I see. I see the head and the feet on the pillow.

[B]

Very cute.

[A]

Love it. Thank you so much for that, Nick.

[B]

All right, from Breezy Paranoun. She and her Good morning, ladies of the Beans. I want to give a shout out to a local bookstore in my area. It's called the Printed garden, and that's theprintedgarden.com if someone wants to check it out. It is locally owned and offers a wide variety of new, gently used and rare books. The owner ordered a copy of the Separation of Church and Hate for me. I'm going to purchase another copy and donate it to the library. When you enter the store, you can smell the fresh coffee and if you favor tea, Earl Grey is available. If you live in Sandy, Utah and need a break from the crazy world, drop in and browse. I'm planning to attend the no Kings protest later this month in Salt Lake City. We need to make sure our voices are heard. I know that sometimes it feels hopeless, but if you don't do something, nothing will change. I'm adding a photo of my cat's shadow when she was just a kitten. It was taken right after she was spayed and the vet put her in a onesie. Every time I look at this it brings a smile to my face. Thanks again for all you do. And oh my God, this is a very cute kitten in a onesie.

[A]

Yes, Breezy. I'm a huge fan of putting animals with stitches in onesies instead of cones of shame. This is fantastic. This photo. Look it. That's a floofy kitty. Next time you'll have to send an update of what the kitty looks like today. All right, next up from Will Pronouns he and him. I just had to write after Friday's good newsletter from Kim and how wonderful it was. I'm a 56 year old white guy from Texas who was raised in the Reagan era and subjected to all the homophobia that came with it. While I've always been what I thought was an open minded liberal person, it took my wonderful wife to show me I had some deep seated prejudices, especially towards gay people and she patiently taught me along with my three children to be not only tolerant but accepting, to be an ally and even self reflective. As gender and sexuality are not as simple as as the dichotomy we're all taught growing up. My youngest son, an incredible show of bravery when he was 13, approached me in our house, his 6 foot 2 inch 250 pound father standing in front of him and told me he was gay. I reacted by telling him I love you. I was extremely proud of him but worried about his future and what his life would now be. I remember after the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando, taking him to the front yard and warning him that if there were so many people, people I knew that I had grown up with, that would hate him and I would want to harm him for being gay and I told him to be cautious out of my concern for his safety. When Kim wrote I didn't lose a son I lost my unfair plan for his life. I had to stop and listen to Allison read that about three times. I thought of all three of my children and how they're all so wonderfully different from my expectations for who they would be. From asexual to cisgender to my youngest being gay. Isn't it wonderful to be free of those unfair plans for their lives? So thank you, Kim, for putting that feeling into words for me. I can shed even more of the weight of the unfair lessons that I was taught by my repressive, uncaring, selfish culture and hopefully stop pressuring each of my children to be something that I had envisioned for them. The great Dave Matthews Band has a song with a chorus that says, I don't want to wake up lost in the dreams of our fathers I don't want to pass on with my children lost in mine. Thanks for the beans. Each day a new lesson is learned. Attach is just a photo of my buddy Churro Breeds. Pretty obvious. Hopefully he's waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge. I miss him so much.

[B]

Wow. Sweet baby.

[A]

What a great letter, Will. That's some badass self reflection, my friend. So incredible. Thank you for sending that in.

[B]

Got good people listening.

[A]

Just the best. Just the best. Everyone. You're amazing. I love you all so, so very much. And thanks for listening. We're going to be back in your ears tomorrow. Of course. And thanks to Stephanie Diaz for coming and sharing her vision for Albuquerque's first district for city council.

[B]

So, yep, Albuquerque, get out and vote. You make sure you get those people in there. They're going to take care of you.

[A]

Yep. And she gave the whole voting schedule. I think she said here this week early voting is going to start too. And you can mark the box for her. She's amazing. All right, everybody, send your good news to us dailybeanspod.com, click on Contact. Do you have any final thoughts before we get out of here?

[B]

Dana, I have to apologize. A couple people went to my website trying to get tickets for my Chicago show on the 14th. There was a little delay on the ticket link. It is going to be up this week. So for those of you that emailed, please know it's not there yet, but keep on looking. I promise I will announce the moment they go on sale.

[A]

Awesome. Thank you so much. And everybody will 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. I'VE been DG and them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information please visit mswmedia.com msw media.