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The Daily Beans
I’m Allison Gill?
00:39:52
Thursday, February 27th, 2025 Today, the Office of Personnel Management sent out a memo directing massive reductions in force; the Trump administration threatens a permanent visa ban for trans athletes; Musk cancelled contracts that help veterans only to reinstate them the next day; Jeff Bezos announced a revamp to the Washington Post op ed section causing the editor to quit; a Democrat in Maine won her state special election by 43 points; the US logs its first measles death in a decade; judge Amy Berman Jackson extends the restraining order keeping Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger in his job through Saturday; Republicans in the House have passed Trump’s budget including sweeping cuts to Medicaid; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:00]
Alison Gill
MSW Media hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, February 27, 2025. Today, the office of Personnel Management sent out a memo direct massive reductions in force. The Trump administration threatens a permanent visa ban for trans athletes. Elon Musk has canceled contracts that help veterans only to reinstate them. The next day, Jeff Bezos announced a revamp to the Washington Post op ed section, causing the editor to quit. A Democrat in Maine won her state special election by 43 points. The US logs its first measles death in a decade. Judge Amy Berman Jackson extends the restraining order keeping special counsel Hampton Dellinger in his job through Saturday. And Republicans in the House have passed Trump's budget that includes sweeping cuts to Medicaid. I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:10]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [01:14]
Alison Gill
That was where I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:17]
Dana Goldberg
It actually set me up really well for. And I'm Dana Goldberg. Like, you went up and I went. Well, that's, that's now it's getting weird. You went up and I went down.
- [01:25]
Alison Gill
And then I set him up. You knock him down.
- [01:28]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [01:29]
Alison Gill
So it goes so Wednesday, as we're recording this Thursday, as you're hearing this, unless you're a patron, because if you're a patron, you get these shows ad free and you get them the night we record them, you get them the night before they come out to the public. So thanks to our patrons, you make this show possible. If you're interested in supporting us, our podcasts are always free, but if you're interested in supporting us, you can do so like NPR style. You can pledge on a monthly basis. Over at patreon.com mullershirote we have a lot of show to get to today. There's a lot of news. Did you have, like, don't you have, I think you have some really awesome fundraising stuff coming up, don't you?
- [02:04]
Dana Goldberg
I do. Well, I have a ton of stuff. This Saturday, I'm going to be in Boston. So if you're at the Boston gala, I can't wait to see you and meet you weekend after that. We've talked about it on the podcast a lot. I'm going to be down in Florida for the Child Rescue Coalition. It's an incredible organization that catches child predators on the dark web. It is a room full of police officers and FBI who love their lesbian host, which is really fun. And then it's just sort of one after the other on that. I've got HRC LA March 22nd. Then I'm going to be in an Olivia Cruise And I go, geez, after that. Yeah, it's a lot. If you want to see where I'm at, you can check my website. It's danagoldberg.com.
- [02:42]
Alison Gill
Awesome. Thank you for all of the hard work that you're doing. Super appreciated.
- [02:47]
Dana Goldberg
My pleasure.
- [02:48]
Alison Gill
It's a lot. Yeah. I mean, you know, we're standing up our Fed oath nonprofit, trying to help these federal workers. We're going to talk a lot about more layoffs coming and more wrongful terminations, in my mind, coming from the federal government. Now that we know who the DOGE administrator is, one Amy Gleason, who received a call while on vacation in Mexico and probably went, I'm the what?
- [03:15]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, probably.
- [03:19]
Alison Gill
You know, she's worked. She worked at USDS, so she's an electronic health records expert. Because USDS, which is what became DOGE, was set up by Obama in 2014 after the kind of the. You remember the botched rollout of healthcare.gov?
- [03:33]
Dana Goldberg
Yes, yes, I do. Yeah. That was not good.
- [03:36]
Alison Gill
So he's like, we should probably set up a little agency that helps us, you know, do better in the government at launching websites and protecting cybersecurity. So they set that up, and she's been there for less than a year. I think she's still probationary, but she's somehow the administrator. And it sounds like it was just like, minutes earlier. I think we talked about this yesterday, where Carolyn Levitt was like, I'm not going to give you that name from this podium. And just a couple minutes later, they're like, it's. It's Amy Gleason. Amy Gleason, poor girl, is probably like. And a lot of people have asked, can she fire Elon Musk? No, probably not. Because they're contending that Elon Musk is actually a White House advisor and not the administrator of doge. Anyway, it's a clusterfuck. And here's something funny, too. They said she was the administrator, and then they said, no, no, no, no, no, she's the acting administrator. But here's the thing. That position isn't Senate confirmed, so there's no need to have an acting. You just appoint one.
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Dana Goldberg
Like, yeah, you can be the administrator. You don't have to be acting. You don't have to be pretending. Just be the administrator.
- [04:47]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And in the executive order setting up the Doge bags, Trump appointed Musk to be the head of doge. It's just a clusterfuck. Anyway, we'll see what they're. What they end up trying to tell the court because there are two judges currently, Cotter Catelli and Judge Chutkin, who are like, what the. So. And if you want more information on that whole story, go check out Anna Bauer at Law Fair. She has written up some really great succinct summaries of all of the things that are happening in that case. All right. We have a lot of news to get to, but first, we have some quick hits. And to make a long story short. All right, from the Guardian. The US State Department has ordered officials worldwide to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to come to the United States for sports competitions and to issue permanent visa bans against those who are deemed to misrepresent their birth sex on visa applications. The Feb. 24 State Department cable obtained by the Guardian instructs visa officers to apply Immigration and Nationality act section 212A6, the permanent fraud bar against trans applicants. Unlike regular visa denials, this section triggers lifetime exclusion from the United States with limited waiver possibilities. They're saying that they're trying to defraud.
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Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And let's be very clear here. This is not just for athletes. If they put this through, this will be a ban on any transgender person trying to get a visa to come into the United States. So don't let this go under. Just there's nothing in here that wouldn't be carried to the rest of anyone who wants to come into the United States that happens to be trans or non binary.
- [06:27]
Alison Gill
Yep.
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Dana Goldberg
So just to be clear, and this one's from NBC. In Maine, Democrat Sean Faircloth won a state Senate special election by more than 43 points. Democratic presidential ticket carried the same district last fall by only 23 points. There were similar results last week in Delaware in two special elections for the state Senate. And in a bit of a surprise, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has decided not to launch a US Senate campaign. The Democratic governor is still open, however, to running for a third term in 2026.
- [06:59]
Alison Gill
He's such a good damn governor, you know, So I hope they elect him again. And that's what he decides to do. Also last night, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, giant piece of shit, took to social media to tout sweeping cuts to contracts that he said would save the department nearly $2 billion without touching core services. But the 875 contracts on the chopping block help cover medical services. They fund cancer programs for veterans. They recruit doctors to serve veterans. They provide burial services to veterans. There was one that was a contractor that would test the water at the D.C. veterans Affairs Hospital for Legionella. And they Canceled that. But check this out. Department of Veterans affairs leaders the next day on Wednesday, directed staff to halt the sweeping round of contract terminations in a major reversal less than a day after Doug Collins celebrated the cuts. So pushback works everyone.
- [07:57]
Dana Goldberg
It does. And Judge Amy Berman Jackson extends for three days through Saturday her temporary restraining order that reinstated Hampton Dillinger as special counsel despite Trump's attempt to fire him. She held a hearing today, actually, on whether to issue a more permanent preliminary injunction. And last night, Raymond Limone of the Merit Systems Protection Board granted Hampton Dellinger's request to reinstate the jobs of six fired probationary federal employees.
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Alison Gill
Yes. And that's a huge, huge win. I've written it up@substackmullershirote.com and the reason it is is because Hampton Dellinger, like, he was fired by Trump, and then he sued a couple days later. And then the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, like you said, reinstated his job, saying, you can't do that. I'm doing a temporary restraining order while I decide whether or not you can do that for reals. And then Trump went to the D.C. circuit Court of Appeals, and they were like, get the out. Then he went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's like, we're not. No. And then, so now, now she's extended that restraining order. And all the while, Hampton Dellinger has filed for these six federal employees that were terminated on a probationary because they were probationary. And last night, like you said, Limone or Lyman, I'm not sure how to say his name was like, yep, I agree with Hampton Dellinger. We're going to reinstate those six. But this is a big deal because Hampton Dellinger said, I'm trying to find a way to make this apply to all the other probationary employees who are similarly situated in the federal government.
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Dana Goldberg
That's amazing.
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Alison Gill
So he's working on that, and I hope he keeps his job long enough to do that.
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Dana Goldberg
Yeah, no kidding.
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Alison Gill
I'm pretty sure the Supreme Court's going to be like, yeah, no, the president can fire you at will. And the law that says that you have to be fired for causes unconstitutional because it treads on the core executive article 2 Powers of the Almighty King. You know, it's going to be one of those things.
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Dana Goldberg
Some.
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Alison Gill
Yep, yep. Some is right. And we talk about this at length on on the cleanup on all 45 podcast. All right, we have a lot more news to get to, but we're going to take a quick break. Everybody stick around. We'll be right back after these Messages. We'll be right back. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for Hot Notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, from the Associated Press. Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions. And that's according to a memo distributed Wednesday by Trump's administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government. I would say destruction or decimation of American government. The memo expands the Republican president's efforts to downsize the federal workforce, which he has described as an impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now his administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection. We're cutting down the size of the government. We have to. That's what Trump said during the first Cabinet meeting. We're bloated, we're sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren't doing their job. No, you're bloated, you're sloppy, and you are not doing your job.
- [10:56]
Dana Goldberg
That's about it. We should make T shirts. You're bloated, you're sloppy, and you're not doing your job.
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Alison Gill
What a. These. These government workers, they work so hard for low pay in thankless jobs because they want to serve the people and serve the United States. And he just. He has no idea about service. This is so frustrating. The ripple effects will be felt around the country. Roughly 4/5 of federal workers live outside the D.C. area, and government services, patent approvals, food inspections, park maintenance, and more could be hindered depending on how the cuts are handled. Resistance is expected. Labor unions, Democratic state leaders, and other organizations have tried, with some success, to slow Trump down with litigation. While Republicans are growing more concerned about how a slash and burn strategy could affect their constituents. Because apparently Republicans can't fucking read. Because this was all spelled out in Project 2025, agencies are directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, a rif, which would not only lay off employees, but eliminate the positions altogether. The result could be extensive changes in how government functions. More plans are due on April 14, when agencies are expected to outline how they will consolidate management, become more efficient, and potentially relocate offices to parts of the country that are less expensive than Washington, D.C. that's not to save money. That's to get people to quit. I know somebody whose job was moved across the country by Donald Trump. I can't.
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Dana Goldberg
Who was that? Begins with Allison and ends with Gil.
- [12:28]
Alison Gill
I'm Alison Gill. Yeah, that's.
- [12:32]
Dana Goldberg
Nice. Callback.
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Alison Gill
Thank you. That's what we call a callback. In the business. All right, so the memo says the agency should implement their plans by September 30th. Administration officials framed their effort as a cost saving measure, but with a clear ideological goal. Quote, the federal government is costly, inefficient and deeply in debt. It's in debt because you give tax cuts to your rich fucking friends. At the same time, it's not producing results for the American public. Yes, it fucking is. That's what the memo from Russell Vaught, who, gosh, he was also in charge of the Office of Management and Budget when some other federal employee was asked to move across the country. And again, I can't put my finger on it, but I'm sure I'll think of it in a second. And Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which functions basically as the human resource agency for the government, quote, instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hardworking American citizens. All of that is absolutely. Vought was an author of Project 2025. Oh, look at that. A conservative blueprint for Trump's second term. And he has advocated for centralizing power under the presidency and dismantling the federal bureaucracy. Quote, we're not going to save our country without a little confrontation. That's what Vought said last summer during a podcast hosted by Steve Bannon. Kevin Owen, an employment lawyer who represents federal workers, compared the administration's initiative to the kind of disruptions that are caused by government shutdowns during congressional budget standoffs. Quote, this looks like a plan for a significant and shocking reduct of the federal workforce that I don't think the American people are prepared for. That's what he said, continuing, saying, it's going to cripple a lot of government functions. He said that Trump and his allies were focusing on speed rather than precision as they overhaul the government. Quote, their plan is to do damage and get sued. That's what he said. If a court ultimately rules against them, by that point, they would have gotten what they wanted. In the interim. Specific targets for reductions were not included in the memo. But Trump said the Environmental Protection Agency should cut its workforce by 65%. Trump foreshadowed the effort in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who oversees doge, but I guess it should have been signed by Amy Gleason. The orders said agency leaders, quote, shall promptly undertake preparations for a large scale reduction in force. Some departments have already begun. General Services Administration, which handles federal Real estate told employees Monday that a reduction in force was underway and they would do everything in our power to make your departure fair and dignified. Law enforcement, national security, public safety, military positions, and U.S. postal Service positions are exempt, but not Department of Veterans affairs. Okay? The memo was released shortly before Trump convened Cabinet officials and Musk, who attended the meeting wearing a black Make America Great Again campaign hat. Musk described himself during the meeting as a humble tech support person for the federal government, and he talked about his cost cutting crusade in existential terms. If we don't do this, America will go bankrupt, he said. This is by the way, and we're going to get to this the same day that they passed tax cuts to the tune of $5 trillion. Musk has caused turmoil within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees justify their jobs or that's the five bullets email. OPM later said that email was voluntary, although workers could face similar requests in the future. He described his request as a pulse check. Are these people real? Are they alive? Can they write an email? He said. What a fucking dick. Before the meeting, White House Press Secretary Levitt told reporters, all of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of Doge Great quote, they'll be providing updates on efforts, blah, blah, blah. I don't give a what she says. There's also something kind of scary that happened today. There was a memo that went out about ses. Those are the executive people within the executive government and how they're all going to be now transformed into political appointees.
- [16:27]
Dana Goldberg
Oh boy.
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Alison Gill
Which means that all of the SES people who handle all the contracts that we give, massive contracts, government contracts, can now be just appointed to be in there and give those contracts to themselves and their friends. It's frightening.
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Dana Goldberg
It is frightening. Thanks, Alison. This one's from Scott Wong at NBC. Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday muscled a multitrillion dollar budget blueprint through the House by the narrowest of margins, a crucial step for Republicans as they embark on advancing President Donald Trump's legislative agenda. The vote was 217 to 215, with Republicans casting all of the votes in favor of the budget resolution. Just one, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, and the Republican from Kentucky, joined all the Democrats in voting against it. The vote came after a dramatic day of arm twisting in the House, with Johnson hosting multiple meetings his office to win over GOP holdouts and Trump personally calling many of the same individuals, quote, we got it done. That's what Johnson said after the vote. This is the first important step in opening up the reconciliation process. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. We're going to deliver the America first agenda. The budget Measure calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a goal of 2 trillion in spending cuts. It includes more than $100 billion in new spending on immigration enforcement and the military. It also requires the House Energy and Commerce committee to find $880 billion in cuts to federal programs. And Republicans say some of that will come from reducing spending on Medicaid. And it also raises the debt limit by $4 trillion.
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Alison Gill
The thing that they never want to raise. That thing.
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Dana Goldberg
Yep, that's it. Same debt limit, I believe that got raised the highest in the history under his first term. I'm pretty sure, yeah. Three conservative rebels who had been publicly opposed to the budget framework. That's Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, and Warren Davidson of Ohio. They ultimately flipped and voted in favor of it. The successful vote puts the ball back in the Senate's court. Because Trump has endorsed the House budget plan, The Senate will be under pressure to take up and pass that blueprint, even though the upper chamber adopted its own version last week under reconciliation, the process Republicans are using to attempt to enact Trump's policy priorities on a party line basis. Both chambers need to pass the same budget resolution before committees can officially draft the legislative package. Democrats unified it in opposition to the GOP budget plan, slamming it as a tax cut for the wealthy, which it is. That will hurt working class families, which it does by cutting Medicaid. They have coalesced around that political message, intending to drive a wedge between Trump and swing voters as well as his own voters who rely on federal benefits. So I sure hope that they do this if it's when, when, not if. When it starts hurting their own constituents. Post it. Tag these legislators. Make sure that the people who voted for them can see that they are getting fucked by their own elected officials.
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Alison Gill
Yeah, 100%. What a bunch of bullshit. $5 trillion. It'll cost $19 trillion over 10 years for. For wealthy people to take money. And they're going to cut our Medicaid to do it.
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Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
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Alison Gill
Yeah. All right, next up from David Folkenflick at npr. And this is just when you think the Washington Post couldn't be any grosser, they get fucking grosser. The Washington Post's billionaire owner Bezos announced a sweeping new libertarian version for the paper's opinion sections on Wednesday, just four months after his decision to kill a presidential endorsement of Kamala Harris, having triggered hundreds of thousands of subscribers to cancel Post opinions. Editor David Shipley, whom Bezos recruited from Bloomberg in 2022, chose to resign rather than to stay to oversee the paper's revamped section. Quote, we're going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars, personal liberties and free markets. That's what Bezos wrote in a memo to staffers announcing the changes. We'll cover other topics, too, of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others. At an hour long meeting with opinion writers, Shipley said he did not know what lay ahead, according to an attendee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they didn't have permission to speak publicly. Shipley said he had wanted a broader, pluralistic place, but that Bezos sought a focused opinion report. Bezos justified his decision in the memo to staffers, saying, I am of America and for America and proud to be so, and a big part of America's success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. The decision sparked fresh shock and dismay at the paper after senior news editors raised concerns at a meeting Wednesday. Executive editor Matt Murray reassured them that Bezos had given no indication that he wanted to interfere with news coverage. That's according to two people with direct knowledge. Post Associate editor David Marinus, a legendary journalist whose association with the newspaper stretches back more than four decades, wrote on Blue sky that he would never write for it again as long as Bezos owns it. Quote, One pernicious step after another, Bezos encroached on the Post editorial policy today. He seized it fully. The old Washington Post is gone. One writer for the Opinion section told NPR he was heartsick, adding, leadership matters.
- [21:43]
Dana Goldberg
It's just so frustrating. I know we're going to be covering a lot of this stuff. Just take a breath. Some of this you cannot control. Some of it you can. So this is one of the things you can't right now. This is from Erica Edwards at NBC. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On Wednesday appeared to downplay the seriousness of the West Texas measles outbreak that has killed a school aged child. And he also did it sounding like shit and not just because of his voice. The guy sounds sick right now. Now the child's death, the first from the disease in a decade in the United States, was confirmed by Katherine Wells. Catherine is the director of public health at the Health Department in Lubbock, Texas. The child had not been vaccinated against the measles. The outbreak has so far infected at least 124 people, mostly children, in rural West Texas. HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Dr. Laura Johnson, a pediatrician and the chief medical officer at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, said in an email earlier that all of the children hospitalized with measles were admitted because they were having trouble breathing. None of the hospitalized had been vaccinated against measles. The death in Texas is the first measles death to be reported in the US since 2015, when a Washington woman died after an exposure at a health clinic. The last time a child died of measles in the US was 22 years ago in 2003. And that's all. According to the CDC. Measles was considered eliminated in the US in 2000. This is again. CDC reported that because of widespread use of the measles mumps rubella vaccine, that's the MMR two doses of the shot are 97% effective in preventing the disease. And the vast majority of US kids get them as CDC recommends one dose around age one and another around age five. But as vaccine hesitancy has increased over time, fewer kids are getting their shots. And RFK Jr said during this whole fucking press conference, this is normal. It happens. No, this isn't fucking normal. Hasn't happened in 22 years.
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Alison Gill
This is bad. This is bad. It's all bad. But we got each other, right? Yeah, we got each other and we've got some good trouble. What are you guys doing? All right, so for good trouble tomorrow, as you know, is the blackout. The February 28th blackout. Do not buy anything unless it's from a small local business. And we have an action request sent in to us today. USAID staff in Washington D.C. received word that they can go in to the USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building to retrieve their personal belongings. The entire Washington based staff will have two days today and tomorrow in one hour windows by bureau and in 15 minute increments per person. No boxes or packing materials will be provided. There are staff who have worked at the RRB for 20 to 30 years and it is the mothership for most of us. This will be an extremely emotional two days. So we would like to encourage anyone who is able to join us at the RRB to clap out staff with signs of support and applause. If you're able to bring extra packing materials and or drinks and snacks, please do. We want to show these people how you treat public servants who have given their lives to the important work they do. So it was today at 7:30am to 6:00pm and Friday, 7:30am to 3:30pm that's USAID Ronald Reagan Building. It's a 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. And just as a note here, there is public parking in the RRB garage and the closest metros are Metro Center Red line and Federal Triangle Orange blue. If you're planning to park in the garage, please make sure to a government issued id. So thank you very much to the person who sent that in. And if, if you're in the D.C. area, show up, clap, support, bring boxes, bring snacks, bring water. These are incredible federal workers that have dedicated their lives to public service.
- [25:42]
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely.
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Alison Gill
All right, everybody, we have some good news, but we have to take a quick break, so stick around. We'll be right back. Oh my God, this dog.
- [25:50]
Dana Goldberg
I know. So freaking cute.
- [25:52]
Alison Gill
Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone. Then good news everyone. Good news. Oh my God, this dog. In the first submission. I can't, I can't. It's so adorable. Everybody. If you have good news, confessions, corrections, you want to give a shout out, whether it's to a loved one, family member, a self shout out, a small business in your area, some great activist work that's happening in your community, or a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one, whether it's Medicaid, especially right now, Affordable Care act, wic, snap, school lunches for kids, great VA health care you've received, student debt relief, anything like that, you can send it to us. And all you got to do to get your submission in and have it read on the air is pay your pod pet tax, which means just please attach a photo of your pet. And if you don't have a pet, you can attach a photo of an adoptable pet in your area. We'll see if we can help find him a home. And if you don't have that, any random animal photo will do. We're doing a lot of bird watching these days, which means actual pictures of literal birds or you and your friends and family flipping off Trump and musk properties. And then also if you don't have any of that, we definitely accept and encourage, as a matter of fact, baby pictures. So please send it all to us@dailybeanspod.com Click on Contact. All right, first up from Anonymous, pronouns he and him. And actually, let me rewind a little bit before I get to Anonymous. I want to make a correction on yesterday's show. It just popped into my head and it occurred to me, I think I said that when we, when we were talking about the the purge at msnbc. I think that I said Nicole Wallace was leaving. That's not correct. She's not leaving. But she did complain about all the others leaving. So I just wanted to make that correction. Okay, now from Anonymous pronouns he and him on today's good news, you quoted the great Fred Rogers and said look for the helpers. I want to say that for me, you are the helpers. After the election, I felt adrift, betrayed by corporate media but wanting to be informed. Then Blue sky led me to this rising independent media, including the Daily Beans, which has become my go to for getting caught up on my morning commute. It is so helpful as I listen to the latest damage report to hear you share in my what the reactions. Thank you for what you give us all to try to stay sane during Shit Show 2 for my pod Tax oh God, this dog.
- [28:23]
Dana Goldberg
I know. So sweet.
- [28:25]
Alison Gill
I offer a picture of our rescue miniature Schnauzer Daisy with a Z who came to us a timid little girl afraid to be pet and now who cuddles and has separation anxiety. I would share a bird watching picture as I now flip the bird to every swastikar and wank ponzer I see. But I have to do so on the down low because open carry state. So no pictures.
- [28:49]
Dana Goldberg
I I don't blame you. Anonymous Please stay safe.
- [28:52]
Alison Gill
Look at this sweet baby.
- [28:55]
Dana Goldberg
So cute. All right, we're keeping under wraps Another Anonymous no pronouns Give in a good government shout out to the folks at the IRS from a friend who used the Free file feature to file her return easily and fairly quickly right on IRS.gov she said the helpful prompts were simple to follow, and for someone in a lower income bracket, she can't really afford to pay a third party. This worked great. Some states don't allow it, and there are income qualifiers, but she urges people to check it out. And it's a free service our government offers, at least for the time being, and experts are recommending filing as soon as possible this year. Well, you know why we're sorry for the IRS and the other federal workers who are being so unceremoniously fired. You matter. Americans appreciate you. For my pod Pet tax, here is Bruce, a Lab Terrier pit Bull mix available for adoption at my local shelter, Beaverhead Anim Shelter in Dylan, Montana. He likes to bring his favorite rocks as gifts. He's so cute.
- [29:58]
Alison Gill
Look at what is. Hi Bruce.
- [30:00]
Dana Goldberg
Hi.
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Alison Gill
Bruce looks very curious and inquisitive.
- [30:03]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, he does. Hi Bruce.
- [30:05]
Alison Gill
Adorable. Thanks for that. Yes, big shout out to Iris, a baby. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. All right. From Michelle Pronouns. She and her finally received my public service loan forgiveness letter. After working in healthcare and paying back my original loan for almost 10 years. I was genuinely concerned Musk would have fake fired these staff by now. Sharing a picture of our dogs and one of my human nephew. They all brought me joy lately. Look at this baby.
- [30:33]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, my God.
- [30:35]
Alison Gill
And the puppers. It's three big dogs. Those are three big dogs you got going on there. All right, that was short. You want to take the next one too?
- [30:44]
Dana Goldberg
You actually read that, darling, so would you like to take the next one too? Didn't you just read this?
- [30:49]
Alison Gill
I said, yeah, that one was short. Should I take the next one too?
- [30:52]
Dana Goldberg
I thought you said, do you want to take the next one too? Don't edit that. We should listen. Let them listen to us argue.
- [31:00]
Alison Gill
She saw me writing down edit.
- [31:02]
Dana Goldberg
I know she was going to edit. I was like, no, I literally thought you said, do you want to take the next one too? And that's why I got confused. You should absolutely take the next one too.
- [31:11]
Alison Gill
All right, we're gonna leave this.
- [31:13]
Dana Goldberg
We're fine, everybody.
- [31:14]
Alison Gill
I love how you saw me go for the edit and you're like, no, let them hear us.
- [31:17]
Dana Goldberg
Let them. Let them see behind the curtain.
- [31:22]
Alison Gill
Next up from Anonymous, Pronouns they and them. Hi, AG and dg. I hope you're well. With All Things Considered, I have a funny but incredibly awkward shout out. In northern Minnesota, we have the 4th of July celebrations like crazy. Small town parades, small kids games, and of course, fireworks. Well, every summer, minus the COVID summer, Minnesota representative Amy Klobuchar has walked in these parades in small towns in our community. She talks to people, shakes their hands. Well, last summer I was a little amped up at the fact that the Doompa Loompa was gaining popularity, and I knew what that could mean. So when she came up to where I was standing, I yelled, kick Trump's ass. Full disclosure, I may have been a little thirsty prior to this meeting and my volume control was not responding as well as I would have liked. I swear she looked at me like I was completely insane, nodded, and then quickly passed. Can't say I blame her. However, my shout out is to her. She's fighting hard for the people of our state, and I hope that she will be back for the fourth this year and we will be ready to celebrate the end of this utter lawlessness, cruelty, and abuse. I would also like to apologize for yelling at her. I'm just Passionate about my country, of its people. For podpet tax, I'm sharing a photo of the most important people and animal in my life. -2. My hubby and oldest daughter Honey is our three legged super pooch who we rescued three months before COVID I love her smile in this photo. Oh my gosh. Adorable. What a beautiful fam.
- [32:51]
Dana Goldberg
Very sweet. Absolutely. All right, I'll take the next one. This is from anonymous. I'm gonna. All right, this is from Anonymous. Pronouns she and her good trouble. Ready? The lovely state of Iowa has created its own doji because you know, Kim Reynolds is obsessed with kissing the ring of the current felon in chief. The Iowa Doge website is requesting feedback from public on how to cut back on waste, fraud and abuse. Recently our legislators have passed the school voucher program, taking taxpayer money away from public schools and giving it to private voucher schools with no oversight on how the money is spent. Our government also passed a bill gutting the state auditor's ability to audit much of what the state does with taxpayer money. So my proposed good trouble is to fill out the feedback form. We're gonna have a link to that in the show notes letting them know what you really think of school vouchers and the fact that our auditor is being blocked from auditing this corrupt governor's agenda. My pod pet tax is two adorable boys. Rocky's an oversized Boston Terrier, approximately 38 pounds and he loves scratching his back with a big smile on his face. Dodger, great name is an Australian shepherd and he's showing you his best smile too. Oh my God, these dogs are adorbs.
- [34:10]
Alison Gill
That's a 38 pound Boston Terrier.
- [34:14]
Dana Goldberg
That's a baby. That's a big. Yeah, that's like a Boston terrier from Boston. You know what I mean?
- [34:20]
Alison Gill
Telling you that's a triple H Boston terrier. Look at this Aussie though with the smile. Adorable. All right, next up from Jay pronouns she and her hi beans Queens. I'm writing from Australia. I'm a federal public servant here in Oz and I just wanted to send love and support to my colleagues in the US Today I had a reminder pop up to do some mandatory training titled safe, secure and inclusive. This training reminds us that bias exists, but you can change it. Diversity is strength and how to use micro affirmations to embrace it, how to use a fire extinguisher in case of an emergency, that psychological safety is just as important as physical safety, how to report conflicts of interest and how to be cyber safe. It also defines fraud and corruption as well as telling us how to report it. Fraud is dishonestly obtaining or attempting to obtain a gain or benefit, or causing a loss or risk of loss by deception or other means. Corruption is broadly defined as a dishonest or biased exercise of Commonwealth public official functions. There are multiple methods of reporting public corruption privately, and in these things it's always best to err on the side of caution. So if you you're seeing public corruption, Google how to report it and fill in all of the anonymous online forms for every department you can find attached. For my pod pet tax is my kitty Obie. Oh, hi Obie. Oh, the baby poking his head out of the tunnel. That's hilarious. So thanks for that, Jay.
- [35:44]
Dana Goldberg
All right, this one's from Kelstar. She her Kelstar pronouns she and her hello to my favorite queens of the Dicots. A longtime listener, I attended your show in Boston last summer, the night the Celtics won the MNBA final. It was a great show even though DG wasn't present. My young 22 year old friend who had just graduated university in the Netherlands asked a question. I'm young, I'm female, and I have great role models, but how do I get older people to take me seriously? You gave wonderful answers and she's doing great. I write today with the correction not for you, but for me. All the while I've been listening to your show's opening song, Opening Things song on the Daily Beans power walk around Boston Common. I misunderstood the lyrics for some reason. Bizarre reason, I thought the lyrics were news. Liz Fair Daily beans, Daily beans. I mean, it kind of works, but I knew that likely wasn't it. Thanks to my thanks to my crack researching skills, I now get how wrong I was. Duh. I have no pets, but I submit for your consideration a baby photo of my grandson. His mom has made it clear he is not to be identified online, but I love this photo and I thought you would too. I like to think he is staring down all the miscreant miscreants. What is that? Miscreants?
- [37:05]
Alison Gill
Miscreants.
- [37:06]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, miscreants who are fucking with his future. As if to say, I'm coming assholes. Thank you for keeping me fair and balanced through this terrifying time. Allison appears to be made of steel with no need for recreational time. I don't know how you do it. And I might just add, Clean up on Aisle 45 is my all time favorite podcast name. All my donation dollars this year are going to trans rights groups and Dana is one of my inspirations. Thank you. Keep on making a difference. And next time you are in Boston, together or separate, I hope to be there. And thank you so much for this calstar. I am going to be in Boston this weekend, but it's for the Human Rights Campaign gala. I don't know if it's sold out or if that's something you even would want to attend. But I think you can go to HRC.org events and the galas are on there. And that goes for everyone to see if there's a gala in your city. But yeah, trans allies, that's how this fight is going to move in the right direction because the trans community, the non binary community should not be fighting this fight on their own. It is up to the allies to stand up and help. Not fight for, but up next to.
- [38:18]
Alison Gill
Yeah, fight with, not against, you know.
- [38:20]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, not against. That's right alongside it. We will fight alongside our trans community.
- [38:27]
Alison Gill
Yes. Thank you so, so much, everybody for sending in your good news. And Dana, again, I'm just always in awe about all of the money that you're able to raise to help protect our vulnerable community members. And family members. And family members. So thank you so much.
- [38:44]
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely. It's my pleasure.
- [38:46]
Alison Gill
All right, tomorrow's Friday. Fugal sang Friday on the Beans. Don't forget to check out the latest episode of clean up on L45. It's out now with me and Harry Dunn, who's just a hero. That guy's just a hero. I can't believe he agreed to do a podcast with me, but I'm so lucky that I get to talk to him on that podcast and get his insights. So check that out and we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. So do you have any final thoughts before we sign off?
- [39:11]
Dana Goldberg
I do not.
- [39:12]
Alison Gill
All right. And until then, until tomorrow, 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.
- [39:19]
Dana Goldberg
I've been AG and I've been DG.
- [39:21]
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 Studio. 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.