Katie Paris (27:33)

Hey, Allison. And hey, everybody. I'm super excited to be here with you all.

Allison Gill (27:38)

I am very excited to talk to you too, because I, you know, I've been watching your stuff and relying on the information that you guys put out. And then also in the community that's been created by Red Wine and Blue, which I am a part of because I am a patriot and I enjoy Wine and perimenopause is happening. So I feel like I'm, I'm in, I'm in the group. And so it's just, it's wonderful to feel like you're not alone.

Katie Paris (28:04)

Yeah.

Allison Gill (28:04)

And I think that that's something that resonates very powerfully with Red Wine and Blue. So this started back, let's just give a little brief history on Red Wine and Blue. Started back in 2019.

Katie Paris (28:14)

Yep. So I have worked in politics for really my whole career. So that's going back, I don't know, 25 years or so now. Allison and I used to work in more traditional politics. I worked on campaigns in my baby, 20 years, you know, when I was in my 20s, as a baby on senate and presidential races and governor's races. And I lived in D.C. for about a dozen years and I helped start a number of organizations that are still based there, like Media Matters. I know that you have, you know, very well. And so I have always felt that it was really important to be able to build infrastructure so that we don't just have campaigns that come in for, you know, three months of the year every other year to engage with people. And so I loved being a part of things like media matters in D.C. that built this sort of year round infrastructure to support the learning and knowledge and communications and messages, messaging that we need as a movement. But I also have to admit that I always felt that it was pretty disconnected from the real world, like the DC bubble is a real thing. And so I moved to Ohio, which is where I live now. I'm actually talking with you from North Carolina, because that's where I mostly grew up. I'm at my mom's house, but normally I am at my home with my husband and my two little boys in Cleveland, Ohio.

Allison Gill (29:40)

I was born in Akron.

Katie Paris (29:42)

Hello, neighbor.

Allison Gill (29:43)

Hello.

Katie Paris (29:44)

Yes, I like you even more. Yeah. So Northeast Ohio women. So I moved to Ohio almost 13 years ago, and at the time, I was still doing my DC gig, like, telecommuting back and such. And then the 2018 elections happened, and that was the year that Democrats flipped 43 seats in the U.S. house of Representatives. And fun fact, 38 of those 43 seats were suburban districts. And a big reason attributed to a lot of those flips that year was women becoming politically activated and self organizing in new ways that we'd never seen before, doing this for the first time. So when I saw that, I just became really activated and intrigued and inspired, interested in, like, what is going on with these women. And also it seemed like everything in D.C. just kind of went into black and white and everything going out, going on, you know, in communities like my own, just was like in hyper color. And I was. I wanted to know more. And so I. I got in my car and I started meeting with these women, and they didn't look like normal politics. They didn't sound like normal politics. And I was like, holy shit, we got to keep this going. And the punditry class, of course, was saying, like, oh, these women just didn't like Trump's tweets. They're probably just going to go back to their knitting, which, you know, is super, like, disrespectful and misogynistic and everything. But I also know from my career that sustainability requires infrastructure. And these women, as smart as they were, as, you know, as much as they were engaging in politics in new ways and being so much more creative than the old ways. They didn't know about each other, like, one suburb over. You know, they have no idea that groups of women were also meeting. And they also really wanted to make sure they were using their time wisely, being strategic, being effective, and they weren't sure that they were. So, you know, here I come in as this political veteran who was intrigued by them, wanted to take them seriously, help them be effective, connect them together. And here I was saying to them, wow, you know, all DC does is talk about trying to figure out what you think, but you know, what you think. And they're also obsessed with trying to figure out how to tap into your networks, you know, and talk to the people in your communities. All These women had been president of the pto, you know, at the middle school and the high school. They know everybody. And those are those non political, less political networks we've got to be able to tap to talk to people. So I was just, I was kind of all in. And I didn't like have one big vision all at once for what red, white and blue would become. I thought I was going to do something much more local and that still is. So the heart of who we are is working locally even though we've become a national organization. I don't know, it's 6, 700,000 women now, but that's always been the heart of it. Women's networks, women's get women getting shit done, being effective, not being afraid to have a good time together or take ourselves too seriously as we do serious work.

Allison Gill (32:48)

You know, this is, this is the practical magic, activating the phone tree of politics.

Katie Paris (32:53)

Oh hell yes.

Allison Gill (32:55)

Do you know what I mean?

Katie Paris (32:56)

I know exactly what you mean.

Allison Gill (32:58)

Ladies, hide your husbands.

Katie Paris (33:02)

I mean that's how we get everything done. You know, it's like the practical magic of in the feng tree, you know, and tapping into, okay, who do I know who knows this, who can do this, who has this skill? It's the same thing whether you are dealing with, you know, an issue that went down on the playground yesterday or you know, taking over your school board if necessary.

Allison Gill (33:25)

Yeah. And we got that, that 700,000 women, we got, you know, half a million women over here in MSW media land. We got to get all these women together, right? Not like all like all in one place, but like that would be fun, right? We could do that. We could all go get like Marie Callender's pies after or whatever. But to think about just first of all, the community, the community is so important. The community that we've built here at the, at the Daily Beans and MSW media is means like the world to me. The fact that it's there means I never feel afraid and that I know there's always somebody who is like minded, that has my back and that I have theirs too. And I know that that's the feeling that y' all are experiencing as well. And I, I want to talk a little bit about this idea of local community and getting best practices from your surrounding communities or people who are across the country in a similar sister district, for example, and how that, what that looks like practically on the ground because you know, we've got yesterday or the day before, I can't remember, could have been last year. I had the co founder of Indivisible on and we're Talking about the 1 million rising and training a million people on how to activate your local communities. And so when all of this stuff, I feel like it's getting there, it's chugging along and it's all going to come together into this big, amazing explosion of awesomeness. And I think along the way there's a lot to pay attention to. So talk a lot, a little bit about what you mean by when you say when they go low, we go local.

Katie Paris (35:09)

Well, that is at the heart of our community. And thanks for what you said about the importance of community. I see it as the foundation for everything you can talk about, like, oh, let's build a successful program. And we have this metric to measure our outcomes and these are our outputs. But if you do that on the foundation of community, whatever you're trying to accomplish is going to be accomplished more quickly, more efficiently, more effectively, because people are going to feel a part of something. You know, I say sometimes, you know, it's like when you go to work at a new job, you're excited about, it's probably because of the mission of the organization or the company and you're excited about being part of that. But you stay for the people. That's why you stay. I love my team, I love my boss, et cetera. And so it's the same when joining a movement. People want to feel a part of something where they like the people. And so what we're trying to do at Red, White and Blue is make doing politics feel more like friendship and way less like arguing on cable news tv, you know, and it is such a powerful way to build connection with one another. You know, just getting shit done together and being effective and figuring out, oh, she can do that and she can do that and she can do that. And so we really see foundation, community building as the foundation to everything. And the other thing that's super strategic about it is it is truly the antidote to extremism or authoritarianism. Vertarianism breeds on isolation and a sense of aloneness. And so the more we are connected together, whether that is organizing around a local election or just feeling a sense of connection with our neighbors that I'm comfortable asking for a cup of sugar like that is poison to authoritarianism because they need us polarized, divided and alone in order.

Allison Gill (37:02)

And, and something like no kings, you know, because that happened when this regime says to us, there's more of us than you and we are bigger and more powerful, we actually have something that we can point to that is an experience of knowledge that. No, you're not. Yeah, we are. We are massive and there are tons of us. And we're also seeing the philosophy, the red wine and blue philosophy play out in these elections, the community, the people power. We see in New York City, for example, in the mayoral race, people power really overcame the money machine, the traditional punditry, the traditional politics, traditional campaigns. We saw it in Wisconsin in the Supreme Court race, when Elon Musk came in on a pale horse and dropped tens of millions of dollars and the people beat him by double digits. And we're starting to learn and see the effect because sometimes you question the strength of your movement, but once you see it and you see results like no kings, like Wisconsin, like we. You start giving a permission structure for other people to. To join the community.

Katie Paris (38:15)

Yeah. And those are some of the most visible at the national level examples. But, you know, I don't know how many people are aware that there are over 100,000 local elections with open seats this year in 2025, you know, that was more than there was in 2024. These odd years, there are actually pretty much every Tuesday there are elections and sometimes on Saturdays. And so there already have been thousands of additional examples behind those more prominent ones you just named of extremists getting knocked out of office at a hyperlocal level. And you asked about, when they go low, we go local. And the reason why we see that is so important is why going local is the most effective, effective way to fight back is because it is. Okay, so like, just take, just. But just take an example. Like, we have all these federal threats coming at us, right? Think about if you're. Let's take immigration. If you have a neighbor who is concerned about ICE raids and their impact on their family and your community, what is going to make them feel like you are more there for them? Hey, neighbor. I called our senator and that's important. I'm not saying it's not, but in terms of, like, that's more of a federal, national, you know, action to take, or are they going to feel more supported by saying, I am working with our school principal and the school board and I'm showing up at our next meeting to make sure that there is a rock solid policy in place. So when ICE comes to our school, your kid's going to be protected because they know their rights at the school and the teachers know what to do. You know what I mean? Like, what can you do actually locally? And how empowering is that to be a part of something. And you also just have so much more leverage at the local level. You know, unfortunately, we know and this has been studied at the congressional level. It is very hard to influence those votes because of the amount of money, because of the special interests. There is a tiny, very wealthy percent of the population that is influencing most of what's happening at that level. But your voice in your local school district and your local state legislative district, if those, if your state rep gets like more than five calls about something, like they're lighting their hair on fire, like, that means that you have so, so much power. So that is why that is our mantra for 2025. And I, I think it'll extend beyond that. You know, Michelle Obama said, when they go low, we go high. We're going local because we want to be effective. And so building that sense of local community. Red, White and Blue has about 850 local groups across the country. Like, go to our website and find yours and if it doesn't exist yet, we'll help you start one and we'll connect you with other people in our network who live near you who are also craving that because all of this stuff can feel hard if you're on your own, but it can actually feel really fun, actually, you know, if you do it with others.

Allison Gill (41:12)

Well, we should totally like partner up and do you know, MSW Beans listeners in an area who also are red wine and blue, like all like join the forces, like wonder twin powers. Right? I think that would be, I think that would be fantastic. We should, we should look into that. But you're right, like locally, like we, we recalled a bunch of Moms Against Liberty jerks and the Temecula School Board, they, Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln, Nebraska just had a ton of wins.

Katie Paris (41:37)

Yes.

Allison Gill (41:38)

In, in Nebraska, we got San Antonio, we got Omaha, we got, you know, like these small local people working with the people in their community to do the things that matter. And like you said, I have to tell you before I got active politically and I was just more on the sidelines talking about what, what, you know, we should do this, we should do that. When I started to actually do it, that feeling is bigger than the action. Like the, the feeling that you get from that. Like you said, like, tell your neighbor, hey, I'm going to the school. I'm gonna make sure we got a rock solid policy that the principal protects our school and your kids from ice. Just that spending a day doing that, like, just, it fuels me for like six months.

Katie Paris (42:25)

I mean, at least Winning is fun. And, like, having a moral high ground is a good feeling. You know, like, we are so starved to be able to actually feel like, to cut through the noise and actually feel like we can accomplish something. And all of this is an invitation to do just that. You know, this reminds me, there's. There's this whole conversation, I think, going on right now, which is a good one, which is like, how do I engage in politics and protect my mental health? And it's seen as a binary. Like, oh, well, if I'm going to engage at all in anything political, then I better go and do some self care to make up for it or, you know, fuel myself or how do I ever. How can I possibly do both? I want to take care of myself. And yes, you need to take care of yourself. It's so important. But what you just said is why I reject the binary of this. Because what you just described and the feeling you just got was self care, too. Like, community care can be self care. If you do it in a way where you are engaging with others, you're doing it at the local level. You can touch and feel your impact. Like that is. Is good for the mind, body and soul.

Allison Gill (43:34)

Yeah. It's the end of the movie Scrooged. Okay, so I brought up practical magic, and now I'm going to bring up Scrooge. Like, if you like that feeling and you want it, you're gonna crave it and you're gonna go out every day to get it. I feel it. It's gonna happen for me now. Like. Like, that's. That's it. That's exactly what it is. Every time I watch that, I'm like, yeah, and then I enjoy watching Carol Kane hit it with the toaster. But these things are tropes because they're true.

Katie Paris (43:59)

Yeah.

Allison Gill (43:59)

You know, 100.

Katie Paris (44:00)

Yeah, exactly. I think. And we need to do. Look, politics has been very, like, political engagement. Like most Americans, most people just are like, oh, I'm not political. I'm not.

Allison Gill (44:11)

Yuck.

Katie Paris (44:12)

Ick. You know, And I do not blame them because the way it's been branded by so many of our political leaders, by the conversation that we see on the news, the failings of the mainstream media in covering the news and politics. Like, yeah, I. I get that, but we need to. I mean, just like what you said with the. With the assist of practical magic and Scrooge, like, we got to sell this thing better. You know, it can feel good, but you got to do it right. You got to do it in community. You Got to get your squad. You got to go local.

Allison Gill (44:45)

Yeah. Less Scott Jennings, more Katie Paris. That's what I always say. Thank you so much. It's been amazing to talk to you. I hope we have you back on. We should try to make a thing where, you know, my people call your people and we all get together in, in local cities.

Katie Paris (45:01)

It's just a big ass phone tree.

Allison Gill (45:03)

Is what it is. It will activate the phone tree. It's going to be that. The fact that's going to be the title of this episode is practical magic. So I've decided, so. And then, you know, at the end we can jump off the roof and with umbrellas. It'll be great. And, and land safely with our beautiful witch shoes. It'll be fantastic. I'd like to have a glass of wine anyway. Thank you so much. Tell everybody where they can find, follow, get involved, join these local groups with Red Wine and Blue and meet the people where they live.

Katie Paris (45:28)

Yes. And another thing I want to make sure that people know about because I think like the question on everyone's lips, Allison, I know, I hear all the time is like, okay, but yeah, like, what do I do? You know, it's like I went to a protest or I called my member of Congress. But like, what else can I do? You know, it's just people have this feeling of helplessness and we wanted to answer that. And so Red, White and Blue has just released what we are calling 160 Ways to Change the world without losing your shit again. Because you can change the world and maintain a sense of peace of mind. And anyway, so I just really want to plug that because I can see your audience being down for many of those 160 ways and using this guide as they connect with others in their community to figure out what they want to do. Because you don't have to do it all, but do something. We have 160 options. So anyway, go to Redwine Blue. Go to the Trouble Nation page on our website. Go to 160 Ways Guide on our website to check that out. Of course, we are on all the platforms owned by the tech billionaires. Find those at Red Wine Blue usa. And we are putting out content every day showing the beautiful faces of the women in our community. And we hope you'll come find us.

Allison Gill (46:44)

Fantastic. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. I can now check it off my bucket list that I've talked to the founder and CEO of Red Wine and Blue, Katie Paris. I appreciate you. And we'll have. Let's get let's do this again soon, in the future. Sound good?

Katie Paris (46:59)

Sounds great.

Allison Gill (46:59)

All right, everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Hey, everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone. Then good news, everyone. And if you have any good news confessions, corrections, you want to play any animal guessing game when you attach your pod pet tariff, we can try to guess whatever the breed or style of or whatever of the animal is. We're very bad at it, but it's fun anyway. All you got to do is send in your good news stories and no matter how small, anything at all. Seriously, one good thing that happened to you this week, Send it to us. You can give us a shout out to your spouse or a kid or a parent or a best friend or a loved one. You can give a shout out to yourself or a small business in your area or a government program that's helped you or a family member. Whether it's a federal government program or a municipal, local, state government program that's helped you out in the past, we would love to hear about that. We would love to hear about people helping people. And you can send it to us@dailybeanspod.com just click on contact. And then again, like I said, to get your submission read on the air, all you got to do is pay your pod pet tariff, which means attach a photo of your pet. And if you don't have that, an adoptable pet in your area will work. If you don't have that, just grab any photo of any animal. Off the Internet. We have some favorites. Frogs, axolotls, red pandas. Dana likes black and white pandas, and she loves baby photos, whether they're people or animals. You can also send bird watching pictures, which can be an actual bird, or you and your family and friends flipping the bird to trump and musk properties. And of course, maybe a photo of your happy place or a sunset or your last vacation that you loved. Something that makes you happy and brings you peace. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. All right, first up, Catherine in Colorado. Pronoun she and her om. Gosh, I so remember pizza counting as a vegetable. As I remember, it's because Congress decided that tomato sauce counts as a vegetable. My young affected self wondered, have none of these congresspeople gone to high school biology or middle school life science class? Because science tells us that tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable. And everything else on that pizza slice the school is serving is also not a vegetable. I was More in the Catherine. I was more in the camp of ha ha, look mom, I'm eating vegetables. While I was eating pizza, I kind of used it to my. To my advantage. Alas, we still need more scientists in Congress. That's very true. We shouldn't be relying on, you know, me, an eight year old saying, yeah, it's totally a vegetable. Anyway, I do have some good news for today. My very good dog, Ms. Wilma practiced her loose leash walking and focus on her human skills at the Independence Day celebrations last week. Here's a few photos of her being a very good girl in a highly chaotic and stimulating environment. Those are the best places to practice. Those, if any of the Leguminati are in the Fort Collins, Colorado area. We practice at the K9 Learning Center. They've been around for more than 30 years and have built a beautiful and supportive community. For the record, the Dems got way more cheers than the other guys in our local parade, which included our very awesome representative, Joe. Nicky's. I love Joe. I love him in the hearings. He's so good. He's so succinct and he just tears into him. Thank you to the entire Beans team for being here. You make this world a better place. Thank you. No, this dog makes the world a better place. This is a gorgeous dog. Is it like a Saint Bernard Akita mix? You didn't tell us. You have to tell us. Catherine, thank you for these wonderful pictures. This is amazing. All right, next up, hello wonderful empresses of all things. Legume Fada here. This is Fata. He's always on our zoom calls. If you are a patron and you join us for our Zoom Q and A Happy hours. I, like everyone else, have watched in horror as the death toll near Kerrville in Texas has risen due to the flood. Particularly the young girls and counselors at the camp where the flood hit. Such horrific loss that could have been prevented if the orange diaper stain and musk had not done such a huge riff at the National Weather Service and noaa. I wonder what could be done. So I reached out to a musician and spoken word artist who's a friend of mine, Chris Chandler. You can find them@chrischandler.org who plays often at the yearly Kerrville Folks Festival. The Kerrville Folks Festival, which has Also a website, KerrvilleFolkFestival.org is a yearly gathering of musicians from all over to celebrate and play folk in its various forms for very appreciative crowds. Chris, let me know that the Kerrville Folk Festival has a relief effort going on to which Friends of the Beans can donate. Also sharing a link to volunteer and help displaced flood victims. If you're near Kerrville, Texas or heading there, we'll have a link to that in the show notes. Also, if you get a chance, check out Chris's music and spoken word. I think you'll find his words, demeanor and politics right in keeping with MSW Media and the Daily Beans For Podpet Tax. I once again present you with Tabor and Riley, my two sourdough starters that I maintain which are in fact colonies of living beings. Though very microscopic, they have made many a great loaf of bread for me and I have none of the usual pets as my apartment is too small for little beings like that. I continue to be grateful for all you do in getting us the real news with appropriate swearing. This is amazing. This bread looks delicious. There they are. Tabor and Riley. Let's see. Both from April 2025. Well done sir. I cannot bake bread. I can't bake really. Actually just keep me out of the kitchen. It's probably the best idea for everyone. All right, next up from Elizabeth H. We adopted a 10 year old cat from TC Paws. The foster mom was wonderful and Malia is settling in to join our family. She's not afraid of our adopted greyhound former racer Livey. I hope I'm saying that right now. We have a seven pound bundle of happiness joining our 78 pounds of goofy long legs joy every day with these two. Love the daily Beans. Thanks for being there with the truth. Oh thank you so much for the kind words Elizabeth. The kitty is gorgeous. I do not see the doggo perhaps in the background a little bit but welcome home. Welcome home Malia. All right, next up from Renee Pronoun. She and her oh the baby picture. Hello. I'm excited. Also worried and anxious that I'll be a voting precinct chief judge this fall. I started working with elections in my county in 2017 in response to the election of you know who. Working my way up from assistant to judge and now to chief judge at a new precinct. Cool. Renee, congrats. While we are all concerned that our elections are free and fair, most people don't know that any registered voter can work for your community as an election assistant. You need to receive some training. Of course bonus election workers in my state are paid. This is North Carolina, which is nice for us elders and the others who take that day off from regular work. We're looking for November's helpers now so you can be trained in September off year elections are a good time to start. They're not as crazy as the midterms or the presidential years. People should check with their local board of elections for more information. For podpet tax Here are my three darling great nephews, born October, November, December of 2024. We have two more great nephews on the way. So many boys. Renee these babies are amazing. Oh my God, look at this baby. They're so beautiful. He's grabbing his little toes. He's got the squiggy haircut. I love it. Oh my gosh, they're just adorable. Thank you. Oh, I needed that. Thank you. I'm sharing this with Dana, by the way. Next up, active duty Medicine Pronouns They I can confirm that most of us currently serving don't want another pointless Middle east war. Most of us still recognize that diversity is our strength, that immigrants and refugees benefit our country, and that racist traitors should not be glorified by having bases named after them. After an executive order banning the display of non US Flags on federal property, I placed this bumper sticker on my vehicle, the trans flag overlaid with the words queer. Afraid my bumper sticker is permitted on personal vehicles on base. I thought it might inspire hope in some who didn't feel seen or represented anymore. Today I was getting in my vehicle at the dining facility and was told by a passing lower enlisted that they liked it and they asked if they could take a picture of it. Please tell Dana if she isn't in, thanks for all you do. Microdose Hope Active duty medic thank you. I will send this along. Next up, Anonymous oh, it's the white squirrel. Anonymous Pronouns he and him I work at a university that recently banned drag performances on campus. I also graduated from this university, so to see my alma mater turn its back on marginalized students is incredibly disheartening. Shortly after the announcement was made, I was driving and Pink Pony Club came on. I fucking started bawling. Man, that song is so beautiful, about finding your people and where you belong. The thought of us denying that to our students broke my heart. Especially at a time in your life when you're supposed to be finding yourself. I played it on repeat and started shouting the lyrics, imagining screaming it in the face of the administrators who made this cowardly decision. The refrain of I'm going to keep on dancing always makes me think of the quote that AG has mentioned a few times, the dance is why we fight. It's a joyous protest song, in my opinion. Thank you for what you do and keep dancing, y'. All. Pink Pony Club by the way, Chapel Roan Podpet Tariff meet Lucky the albino squirrel. If you see him on campus before an exam, you're practically guaranteed to ace it. Oh, do people go out looking for this squirrel? Are there, are there drunken like campus crawls the night before? Maybe hopefully catching a glance of him the night before finals? He's beautiful. Anonymous thank you and thanks to everyone. Thanks to all of you. Just also amazing, just incredible people. I'm so proud to know you and I really appreciate you. Please send your good news to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. I'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Let's see who's coming in for tomorrow. Oh yes, we have John Fugl saying tomorrow because it is Fugal sang Fridays. I'm also going to be this morning morning if you hear this early enough. I'm going to be on Steph Miller on the Thursday morning. This morning if you're listening to this on Thursday at 8am Pacific. So I'll be there and I'll see you there and I'll also be back in your ears tomorrow on the Beans. 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 and that's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written in executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media.