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The Daily Beans
Refried Beans | Adopt a Striker (feat. Rick Smith) | 11/16/2021
00:45:49
Nov 16, 2021 In the Hot Notes: Alex Jones is on the hook for all legal fees stemming from Sandy Hook lawsuits; Mnuchin and Pompeo discussed ousting Trump on January 6th; Michael Flynn pressured contacts within the Department of Defense to overturn the 2020 election; Pfizer is seeking FDA EUA for it’s covid 19 antiviral pill; plus Allison and Dana deliver your Good News. Our Guest: Rick Smith
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- [00:00]
Alison Gill
MSW Media. Hey, everybody, it's ag. And welcome to Refried Beans, where we play an episode of the Daily Beans podcast from the same week either one, two, or three years ago, so we can see how far we've come. So please enjoy this episode from days gone by and note the date in the intro.
- [00:22]
Rick Smith
Refried beans. I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're wasting time.
- [00:45]
Alison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Today, Alex Jones is on the hook for all legal fees stemming from Sandy Hook lawsuits. Minutian and Pompo discussed ousting Trump on January 6th. Michael Flynn pressured contacts within the Department of Defense to overturn the 20. And Pfizer is seeking FDA emergency use authorization for its COVID 19 antiviral pill. I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:11]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [01:14]
Alison Gill
Hey, Dana. How's it going?
- [01:16]
Dana Goldberg
I'm good. Now that you've gone public with things, I just want to check in and say hello and see how you are, my dear. Oh, I don't know.
- [01:23]
Alison Gill
I'm just going to work until. Okay.
- [01:27]
Dana Goldberg
Everyone's wondering, so I just wanted them to know you were relatively good. Relatively. Okay.
- [01:33]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And, you know, from my own personal experience and knowledge and understanding of myself, when. When things like what happened happen to me for just to kind of bring everybody up to speed, a companion and myself were assaulted this weekend at a hotel where we were staying. And when things like that happen, Dana, I tend to work harder, like, dive into my work to keep my brain absolutely occupied.
- [02:03]
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely.
- [02:04]
Alison Gill
It's one of the ways that I cope. I know I'll probably have to take some time to actually process the, you know, what happened. And I will. I promise everybody, I will. But right now, I'm just working.
- [02:14]
Dana Goldberg
All right? And I'm gonna work with you. And I got you, and we've got you. And so we're gonna rock this. We're gonna rock this episode out. What do you have today?
- [02:21]
Alison Gill
Thank you. We have a lot. We're gonna be talking to Rick Smith, who of the Rick Smith Show, a little bit later on in this episode. And the Rick Smith show is also part of the MSW Media podcast family, so we're absolutely honored to have him be part of our little growing group of podcasters. So we appreciate him. So we'll talk to him. And that's. We got good news, of course. And if anybody has any good news or corrections or anything you want to submit, you can do that by going to DailyBeansPod.com and clicking on Contact. But between now and then, we have news that we need to talk about it. And so let's do that. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first story here. Steve, who is Steve Mnuchin and Mike Pompeo apparently discussed a plan to remove Trump from office after the January 6th insurrection. That's according to Jonathan Carl's new book, Betrayal, which chronicles the final days of the former president's time in office. Then Treasury Secretary Mnuchin reportedly called then Secretary of State Pompeo on the evening of January 6th to suggest using the 25th Amendment, which outlines the protocols for how to replace the president or vice president in the event of their death, removal from office, resignation or incapacitation. Quote, I learned that Mnuchin had several conversations about the 25th Amendment and further, that Mike Pompeo actually asked for a legal analysis of the 25th Amendment and how it would work. That's according to Jonathan Karl. And he said that during an appearance on MSNBC Monday morning. And interestingly, you know, the reporting that I got from my sources said that when Mike Pence was ushered off of the floor, you know, while he was certifying votes and the mob had breached the Capitol and they couldn't get into their offices because all of their badges had been deactivated, even though they were working earlier that morning and he was taking them down to a loading dock and they were hanging out in a parking garage. That it was during that time in the parking garage that Mike Pence and his staff were also discussing the 25th Amendment and constitutional crisis and how to remove Trump from office. According to Jonathan Karl, the idea was quickly jettisoned for the 25th Amendment the next day as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chapp resigned, leaving Mnuchin to realize that using the Constitution to push Trump out of office would take too much time and would almost certainly face legal challenges. Mnuchin, however, did not resign. Quote, it would not be quick enough and it would be subject to legal challenges. That's what Jonathan Karl said, explaining why the plan was abandoned, quote. But in the hours after the riot, there were high level conversations about it. Karl said that his sourcing is rock solid. Although Pompeo issued a statement through a spokesperson denying he was involved in any 25th Amendment conversations, Carl added that although he made multiple attempts to reach out to Pompeo and Mnuchin to confirm the story, neither would agree to speak with him. In fact, it wasn't until a couple hours after Carl's final interview with the former president for the book, during which Carl mentioned the 25th Amendment discussion between Mnuchin and Pompeo, that a spokesperson for Pompeo sent a statement denying the former secretary of state engaged in any conversations about it. So of course they did.
- [05:22]
Dana Goldberg
You know, it's interesting because I know you've seen Pompeo and everyone's like, how did he lose so much weight? And I'm like, well, according to this story, he lost about 250, 14 pounds, which is what Trump seems to think he weighs. So maybe that's why he looks so thin these days. And it's a joke, people not commenting on his physical appearance. I'm just saying Trump weighs down on people. That's it.
- [05:42]
Alison Gill
He does.
- [05:43]
Dana Goldberg
All right. This next story is a good one. It's a long one, but it's appropriate and it's long overdue. Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, he was found liable Monday for damages in lawsuits brought by parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting over Jones's claims that the massacre was a hoax. Judge Barbara Bellis took the rare step of defaulting Jones in the defamation lawsuits for his and his company's, quote, failure to produce critical material information that the plaintiffs needed to prove their claims because he doesn't have it, okay? The default means the judge found in favor of the parents and will hold a hearing on how much he should pay. And I hope it's a fucking lot. Lawyers for the parents claimed Jones and his companies, including Infowars and Free Speech Systems, that they violated court rulings by failing to turn over documents, including internal company documents, showing how and if Jones and Infowars profited from talking about the school shooting and other mass shootings. In a statement following Monday's ruling, one of the parents, lawyer Chris Mete, said his clients, quote, remain focused on uncovering the truth and continued, as the court noted, Alex Jones and his companies have deliberately concealed evidence of the relationship between what they publish and how they make money. Mete said Mr. Jones was given every opportunity to comply, but when he chose instead to withhold evidence for more than two years, the court was left with no other choice but to rule. As it did today. Jones's lawyers have denied violating court rules on document disclosure and have asked that Bellis be removed from the case, alleging he has not been impartial. Interesting. Now, shortly after the judge's decision, Jones went on the air on his show, deriding the legal process surrounding the Case, which is just a horrible idea. This is a quote, these individuals, again, are not allowing me to have a jury trial because they know the things they said I supposedly did didn't happen. He said, they know they don't have a case for damages. And so the judge is saying, you're guilty of damages. Now a jury decides how guilty you are. It's not guilty until proven guilty. What exactly? Makes no fucking sense. Just like the rest of the show. It's just a bunch of garbage. The ruling has the same outcome as a jury determined the case in favor of the families. The jury will now determine the damages, which is wonderful because obviously they already agree he's guilty. Twenty first graders and six educators were killed in the December 2012 shooting. The gunman, he killed his mother at their Newton home before the shooting and killed himself at the school as police arrived. Now, the shooting was portrayed on Jones infrawar show as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. Jones has since acknowledged the school shooting did occur. In a deposition released in 2019, Jones said, and I quote, a form of psychosis made him believe it was staged.
- [08:35]
Alison Gill
Wow.
- [08:36]
Dana Goldberg
As a piece of work. Families of the victims said they have been subjected to harassment and death threats from Jones followers because of the hoax conspiracy pushed on infowars. They sued Jones and his companies for defamation and infliction of emotional distress. The hearing on damages before a jury is expected to be held next year. Now, a Texas judge recently issued similar rulings against Jones and three defamation lawsuits brought by Sandy Hook families in that state, specifically finding Jones liable for damages after defaulting him and his companies for not turning over documents. Hearings on damages also were ordered there. Now, one of the lawsuits, a Texas judge in 2019 ordered Jones to pay $100,000 in legal fees and refused to dismiss the suit. And a jury in Wisconsin awarded 450,000 to one of the parents in his lawsuit against conspiracy theorist writers, not including Jones that time, who claimed the massacre never happened. Now, in the three Connecticut lawsuits, Jones previously was sanctioned for violating numerous orders to turn over documents and for an angry outburst on his web show against Matei. Again, another stupid thing to do. A judge barred Jones from filing a motion to dismiss the case, and a ruling was upheld after being appealed all the way to the U.S. supreme Court, which declined to hear Jones appeal in April. Which is the right thing to do, because this case, it should be open and shut. I'm so glad that this piece of shit is going to pay for all of the damage and pain he's caused. These families after this event.
- [10:02]
Alison Gill
Same, same. I'm happy about this. This was good news. This was a good news Monday, honestly. It was.
- [10:08]
Dana Goldberg
It was.
- [10:08]
Alison Gill
And this story got bumped for another one and I wanted to bring it back today. So there it is. Thank you for giving it to us. And in the Aftermath of the 2020 election, some of Donald Trump's closest allies embarked on an unprecedented effort to get the Department of Defense to chase down outlandish voter fraud conspiracy theories in hopes of helping Trump retain power. This according to ABC News chief Washington correspondent again, Jonathan Karl, writing in his new book, information that would have been helpful earlier in Betrayal, the Final act of the Trump show, scheduled to be released today. Carl reports that former Trump national security adviser Flynn and former Trump attorney Sidney Powell tried to enlist the Pentagon, a specific official actually at the Pentagon, to help overturn the election. And that is our good friend Ezra Cohen Watnick. According to the book, Flynn, who just received an unconditional pardon after pleading guilty twice in 2017 to lying to the FBI during the Russia probe, made a frantic phone call to a senior Trump intelligence official. And intelligence is a strong word named Ezra Cohen, sometimes referred to as Ezra Cohen. Watnick, who previously worked under Flynn at both the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he was fired by Obama, and the National Security Council, where he was fired by Trump. Where are you? Flynn asked, and he said he was traveling in the Middle East. That's where Ezra was. Flynn told him to cut his trip short, get back to the United States immediately, because there were big things about to happen. According to the book, Carl writes that Flynn told Cohen, we need you and told the DoD official that there was going to be an epic showdown over the election results. Flynn, according to the book, urged Cohen that he needed to get orders signed, that ballots needed to be seized, and that extraordinary measures needed to be taken to stop Democrats from stealing the election. As Flynn ranted on about the election fight, Cohen felt his old boss sounded manicured. He didn't sound like the same guy he had worked for. That's another quote. Sir, the election's over, Cohen told Flynn, according to the book, it's time to move on. And Flynn, according to Carl, fired back. You're a quitter. This isn't over. Don't be a quitter. Carl writes that after a few heated minutes, Flynn hung up the phone and that was the last time the two men talked. So apparently Cohen Watnick is a big source for this Jonathan Carl book.
- [12:22]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, my goodness. My goodness. We do have more good news in this segment, at least, I do think it's good news. Pfizer announced Tuesday that it's seeking emergency use authorization from the U.S. food and Drug Administration for its experimental antiviral COVID 19 pill known as PF07321332 or Paxlovid. And I know some of you are familiar with other Pfizer pills, so hope this one is just as successful. Here's a quote. With more than 5 million deaths and countless lives impacted by this devastating disease globally, there's an urgent need for life saving treatment options. Now, the overwhelming efficacy achieved in our recent clinical study of Plaxlovid and its potential to help save lives and keep people out of the hospital if authorized underscores the critical role that oral antiviral therapies could play in the battle against COVID 19. And that's from Albert Bourla. He's the chairman of the CEO of Pfizer. Now, the pill is to be administered in combination with an older antiviral drug called Ritonavir and is meant to treat mild to moderate COVID 19 in patients at risk of hospitalization or death. And that's what the company says. Earlier this month, Pfizer announced top line results from its trial saying that an interim analysis done before the trial was scheduled to end showed an 89% reduction in the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID 19among people given the drug within the first three days of symptom onset. Now, Pfizer said it is investing up to approximately a billion into the manufacturing and distribution of this treatment and also has rolling submissions for the pill in other countries, including the uk, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics are also seeking FDA emergency youth authorization.
- [14:08]
Alison Gill
It's hard to say.
- [14:10]
Dana Goldberg
It really is.
- [14:10]
Alison Gill
I have a hard time with emergency use authorization.
- [14:13]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you. Emergency use. I said youth emergency. Youth authorization. Emergency. This is what I don't drink before the shows people Emergency use authorization. An antiviral pill known as Molnupiravir. Great name, molnupiravir. An FDA advisory committee is scheduled to meet on November 30th to discuss the application. So not surprising. I've heard this in the pipeline for a while that they're trying to get a pill for this which would just really change things globally as well. So I'm just hoping this comes through.
- [14:48]
Alison Gill
Yes, this is excellent news. And basically the way that this pill works is within five days of you getting Covid symptoms because this is mostly going to be for unvaccinated people. So if you get this pill, you get this treatment, this antiviral treatment. Within five days of the onset of symptoms, you are 89% less likely to be hospitalized by Covid. That's huge. They had to actually stop the trial early because. Because it was no longer ethical to give people placebos in this study because it so effectively stopped Covid. You can't just keep testing it, you know, for a really long time while people on the placebos. It's unethical to keep them, to keep getting sick and not giving them the actual drug. And so this is going to be a life saving drug for the global pandemic. But here, I think in the United States, in Republican strongholds where we're still in a pandemic of the unvaccinated, maybe, maybe we should only have one clinic in that state that dispenses these pills. And maybe you'd have to get a note from your wife if you want to be prescribed this. And then maybe you have to have an ultrasound or something. Some sort of really invasive traumatic procedure.
- [16:03]
Dana Goldberg
Just a lot of hoops to jump through.
- [16:05]
Alison Gill
The doctors have to be doctors. You can't have nurse practitioners give this pill out. I think. And yeah, again, one clinic per state. I think. No, I am kidding. As we all know as liberals, we want everybody to be saved from this and we want the pandemic to end. But gosh, it's just, I'm.
- [16:25]
Dana Goldberg
I mean, if people stop eating horse paste, I'm all for this fucking pill getting on the market. I just, you know, because at the same time, we're ending up paying for this in the long run because we're probably paying these hospital bills for these people that are just. We are. It's going to help globally. And so I'm just hoping for the best.
- [16:43]
Alison Gill
Yeah, and it's going to be very, very interesting to see people who refused to get a vaccine because they don't trust Pfizer and they don't trust the fda, who will immediately want this pill from Pfizer that was approved by the fda. Yeah, it's going to be very interesting to see them square that circle. I personally don't give a shit. I want everybody's life to be saved. I want everyone to have timely access to quality health care. And I want to end the pandemic. And if this is how we get idiots on board, fuck, you know, fine.
- [17:10]
Dana Goldberg
I'm not, I was not familiar with that saying, it will be interesting to watch them square the circle. And I love it. Oh, yeah, I never heard it before. Hopefully I'M not the only one. I could be living under a rock. Who knows?
- [17:20]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Well, write in and tell us where you first heard square the circle. You can do that@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. And we'll be reading all of those kinds of submissions along with the good news. But first, we have to take a quick break and we'll be right back with Rick Smith of the Rick Smith Show. Stay with us after these messages. We'll be right back, everybody. Welcome back. I'm honored today to be joined by my friend, host of the Rick Smith Show, Rick Smith. How are you, Rick?
- [17:50]
Rick Smith
I am fabulous, Allison. I appreciate you taking time for us and having me on the program.
- [17:54]
Alison Gill
Ah, 100% full disclosure. The Rick Smith show is part of the MSW Media Network, and we are so, so thankful that you are there to. I mean, you are the voice of workers and unions in our lineup. And I have to say, it's a very, very important gap that you have filled with what you bring to the network. So thank you very much.
- [18:19]
Rick Smith
No, thank you for bringing us in. We've really enjoyed being part of the network and some of the responses we've gotten have just been terrific. So thanks you and your audience.
- [18:28]
Alison Gill
Awesome. Thank you so much. Now, what I want to talk about today, if no one's listened to the Rick Smith show before, although I'm assuming a lot of folks have already, I want to talk about the show, the premise of the show and some of the show growth that you are experiencing now and in the new year to come. Can you talk a little bit about that?
- [18:43]
Rick Smith
Yeah. It turns out if you hang around long enough and you have a constant message like we've had for the last 16 years, people go, oh, finally. Yeah, whoa, we've discovered you. Yeah, I've been here all along. But right now people are taking onto the labor message, the fact that people should earn a living wage, should have reasonable health security, some bit of retirement security and, oh, by the way, a little dignity and respect on the job, maybe some family life balance, work balance. Some of that stuff now finally in vogue, now finally in the newspaper and stuff we've been talking about for years. So our growth this coming year after Thanksgiving, we're going to be adding a station in Chicago, wcpt, the progressive talk station there in Chicago. We're also in talks with other stations around the country, KPFK in Los Angeles and other places to bring our working class message to all across the country, because it seems that right now this is a good time to Be talking about workers rights coming out of a pandemic where people have gone, is it really on this treadmill of. Is it really, do I want to live to work or should I work to live? I think people are waking up to the reality is we should be. We should be able to live, work and have something of a life on the other side.
- [20:01]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I consider this to be a sort of a labor revolution. Honestly. We may have been forced into it, or should I say that a lot of the corporations and businesses were forced into it and now people seem to have choices and it's, I think, having a massive impact on what we expect from our employers as far as wages and benefits go. But, you know, but also how we work and things like that. And I wanted to talk to you a little bit two about, you know, you say you're going to Chicago. That's amazing. One of my favorite cities in the country, by the way, Chicago. And I know we're just, we're a podcast network. Right? But, but talk about how important terrestrial radio is to us and especially to, to the middle class in America.
- [20:40]
Rick Smith
Well, to the average everyday working class person. They've been inundated for 40 years with right wing blather. In fact, the reality is when we started this show 16 years ago, it was with that in mind all of my truck driver buddies who were, you know, driving down the road listening to the whole blathering idiot squad of the right and then beginning to regurgitate those things because, well, it's what they had learned via osmosis. It was my goal to add some balance to the airwaves and say, look, there's an alternative to this. I literally had someone tell me that they would make more money doing the job that they were doing if there were no union there. Until you go explain that to me, walk me through the process of where that is, and then why aren't you there?
- [21:20]
Alison Gill
Right?
- [21:21]
Rick Smith
And it was that second beginning to have a conversation that made him question what he was regurgitating because it's what he'd been told ad nauseam. And finally he goes, you know, you're probably right. And it was that conversation that made me go, no, we got to fight back. In these arenas, the right wing understands that they go where the fight is. I look at a city like Philadelphia, overwhelmingly a Democratic city, has four conservative talk stations, zero quote unquote liberal progressive talks, patients, because they understand where the fight is and where they have to be, where their message needs to be and where it can change things. This is where the left and Democrats and labor for that matter, they need to be where the fights are at. And the fights right now are in rural America. You need to be changing the hearts and minds of working people in rural America because sadly, we've abandoned them and left them behind. And you go to these old factory towns where the factory left 20 years ago or 10 years ago, and there's nothing left there but anger and frustration and no hope and vision. This is where Democrats got to start talking to those people and providing them with a vision on how they're going to get out of it.
- [22:29]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I 100% agree. When I think of where I came from, where I grew up in the suburb of a suburb almost rural Ohio outside of Akron. And you know, my dad was and his brothers worked at their dad's steel mill. And you know, that town just sort of dried up after a while. And I can't tell you how important radio was to the family. I mean, just how like wzzp, I'll never, I, you know, I still remember it sitting in my dad's basement at his workshop, listening to the radio, listening to talk radio. And that's where we get into the ears. Have we talked yet about the Free Speech television show?
- [23:08]
Rick Smith
No. For the last couple years, we've been doing a weekly Free speech show. They've asked us to do it daily. So we're going to be doing 9pm Monday through Friday on Free Speech in the new year again, another growth opportunity, another way to contact people and reach out, which again, all of these places are important to be. All of these places are important to put our message. And that's why we're, you know, we're working as hard as we can to make sure that we get it out.
- [23:33]
Alison Gill
Good. Good. And I'm glad, and I'm glad you're part of our family, too, at MSW Media. I have some questions about the message of the show and some things that you're doing to get that out, but I have to take a quick break. Rick, will you stay with me?
- [23:43]
Rick Smith
Absolutely.
- [23:44]
Alison Gill
Thanks, everybody. We'll be right back. Stick around, everybody. Welcome back. We're talking with the host of the Rick Smith Show, Rick Smith. Rick, before the break, I mentioned a little bit about messaging on your show and some of the things you were doing, including adopt a striker. Can you tell us about that and what that entails and what it means, especially coming into the holiday here?
- [24:04]
Rick Smith
Well, this goes back to 20, election night of 2020, while everyone's still trying to decide who the president's going to be. I went and began leading a strike about 30 miles from where I live. 55 striking warehouse workers who were fighting the righteous fight. Decent wages, good benefits, healthcare, retirement, and more importantly, respect and dignity. Overwhelmingly, they voted for Trump. Overwhelmingly. They were politically on a different side of the aisle than I am. But there was the righteous fight. They were fighting, in my view, the good fight. And a place where we could walk shoulder to shoulder and talk about things, not yell at each other across the street, not throw platitudes and angry statements at each other, but literally walk shoulder to shoulder with each other, fight for a common interest and maybe find some common ground on the things we disagreed on. And all of those things did happen. And I've been saying in this moment of coming out of striketober into strikesgiving, this is an excellent time to adopt a striker. Get out on a picket line, walk shoulder to shoulder with one of those people, even if you don't agree with them politically, but listen to them walk back and forth on that picket line, walk a mile in their shoes and understand what they're going through. And maybe together we can begin having some of these conversations that are difficult to have. But I still believe we have to find some common ground to pull people back together to fight the righteous, good fight. And then we figure out how we agree or come together on things that we disagree with. Because where we're at right now with this Kyle Rittenhouse trial going on, I fear every protest now in the future ends with somebody getting gunned down. Because, hey, I was in fear of my life. I'm worried that we can't argue, we can't debate, we can't discuss anymore without violence or insanity coming. And this, to me, is a way that we start, that we find a picket line. There are tons of them across this country. Find a striker, walk with them and hear their stories. Take a master's class in working class economics. That's my pitch.
- [26:10]
Alison Gill
How do you find a picket line? And when you arrive, what do you say to the person you want to walk shoulder to shoulder with? How do you even start that conversation?
- [26:19]
Rick Smith
The AFL CIO now has a on their website, a strike map. So wherever you're at, there's probably a picket line somewhere nearby. If you're a politician, you should be making every opportunity to close your mouth and walk and listen to those strikers to help figure out, especially if you're a Democrat, because a lot of this is your fault. But get on that picket line and listen to them. Now, for me, it's just show up. Hey, I'm with you. You know, let me guy walk with you for a couple minutes. Can you tell me what's going on? These folks want to talk. These people want to have the community support them. Because understand, no strike is ever won with only the workers support. It has to be part of the community. It has to be the fabric. That shop is part of the fabric of the community. And if you make the pitch that hey, we're being mistreated, we're being underpaid, they're dividing us through two tier wage systems, go through this, all of that stuff, you bring the community around, it's going to be a successful strike for those workers and the community and I would argue the company as well. You cannot have a workplace that is so torn apart. This is to me an opportunity to heal, to rebuild and to reconnect America in the workplace.
- [27:32]
Dana Goldberg
Agreed.
- [27:32]
Alison Gill
That's a really great idea and I like that. And it's the AFL CIO's website that has the strike map.
- [27:38]
Rick Smith
Yep, aflcio.org, i think it's- strike map.
- [27:42]
Alison Gill
Great. Well, I'm sure we could find it if we get to the website. The next thing I wanted to talk to you about and the final thing before I let you go here with this labor movement strikes giving, I love that. And your expansion with the Rick Smith show that's happening. I want to talk about the potential and some of the provisions in the infrastructure bill, the bipartisan infrastructure bill that just passed that's going to be signed by President Biden and the build back better plan that still needs to go through the Senate. I'm sure that's going to be marked up and cut down a little bit more before it's passed and heads to his, his desk. Can you talk a little bit about the kind of jobs that are created with these bills, how that might present opportunities for union growth and also what sort of provisions are in these bills that help workers.
- [28:27]
Rick Smith
Well, in the one that's going to be signed soon, the hard infrastructure bill, as much as the Republicans and Tom Coburn wanted to take prevailing wage out of it, prevailing wage is still in this legislation.
- [28:39]
Alison Gill
Can you explain what prevailing wage is?
- [28:41]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [28:41]
Rick Smith
Which means, you know, in a, in a area, the wage for whatever job that you are doing will be paid at the prevailing rate. If, if you know you've got 10 people who do this particular job and six people make $20 an hour, that prevailing wage will be $20 an hour. It's not the average, it's not the you know, the minimum, it's, it's not the high, it's not the low, it's, it's the prevailing, it's the one paid most often, which generally is the union rate because they're proud of the wages that they earn and they report those wages. So generally it's going to be a good wage and this is what you want.
- [29:15]
Alison Gill
So for my math nerds, my math nerds out there, that's the mode, there you go. Of mean median mode.
- [29:21]
Rick Smith
See for the math nerds, which I am not one, unfortunately, wish I were. Now, what we know is we know in those places where the prevailing wage is paid, you're going to get a better quality of worker. You're not going to have transient fly by night contractors getting jobs, doing, you know, half assed jobs and then heading off to who knows where. When it's done, you're going to get quality work. And I think the perfect place to show the differences, if you look at the two bridges, one out in Oakland there, the Bay Bridge there and the Tappan Zee in New York, the Tappan Z was done with prevailing wage and a project labor agreement, the one out in California was not. The one in New York was done on time, under budget and is fabulous and is complete. The one in California is never going to be complete because they use fly by night contractors and Chinese welders and it's never going to be done. So people matter, skill matters, quality matters and so does the wage. So that's in the bipartisan plan. That is a good thing for labor. You're going to get good high wage jobs. We're talking about 20 million potential jobs being created out of this. Those are good family sustaining wage jobs with health care, with retirement security, with a voice on the job. Really great stuff. Now in the build back better plan, hopefully this passes. At this moment, there are still some things from the pro act in there. And the only thing that you can do in a budget reconciliation bill is something financial. So they've added some fines to organize. If a company violates labor law, commits an unfair labor practice, they can be fined up to $50,000 per incident. In this new language in the build back better plan, if they illegally fire someone, which happens in about 30% of union organizing campaigns, think Amazon, think a number of other places that can be up to $100,000 per incident. And you go, well, $50,000 for this and 100 grand for that. Is that a big deal? To Amazon, no. But to any other employer it's going to be an Awful lot more than what it is now, which the penalty is if you illegally fire someone. If I illegally fire you, Alison, and you go get another job making the exact same money, you win your job back. I owe you nothing. If you end up going to jail and you don't get any money, then I got to pay you your whole salary. But that rarely happens. And then there's the dreaded. Once I'm found guilty, I might have to post a notice saying, I'm sorry and I won't do it again until I get caught again.
- [31:56]
Alison Gill
Oh, post a notice.
- [31:59]
Rick Smith
These fines actually put a little bit of teeth in the dog so that if you do break the law, if you do something illegal, that you will have to pay something. 50 grand and 100 grand. A lot of money. Yeah, not really when you're talking about these big companies and. And the payoff from denying workers their ability to fight for better wages, hours, and conditions. But it's something. And for me, it's a step in the right direction. We still need major comprehensive labor law reform. We still need the Pro Act. We still need to undo all of the horrible effects of Taft Hartley and giving me my right to organize and my right to strike back. But this is a start.
- [32:35]
Alison Gill
It is a start for sure. And yeah, boy, slaps on the wrist. Post a notice. It reminds me of the Hatch Act. Rick.
- [32:41]
Rick Smith
I'll do it again.
- [32:43]
Alison Gill
You be careful now, especially if I like you. But if, you know, if I don't like you, you're fired. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time today, everybody. You can find the Rick Smith. Tell them everywhere. You can find the Rick Smith Show.
- [32:56]
Rick Smith
First go to the ricksmithshow.com everything is right there on our website. Videos, audio, our podcasts. Podcasts are everywhere, especially on your media platform. One of my favorites, by the way.
- [33:08]
Alison Gill
Thank you.
- [33:09]
Rick Smith
Also the video. Our YouTube channel. By all means, go there. Follow us on Twitter @ricksmithshow. Do the Facebook thing. We're there. YouTube everything. Wherever you can find things, that's where we will be.
- [33:20]
Alison Gill
Awesome. Well, thanks so much. I appreciate your time today. And I'll see you on your show pretty soon, I think. Yep.
- [33:25]
Rick Smith
Cannot wait for it. Thank you, Allison.
- [33:26]
Alison Gill
Have a good one. Everybody. Stick around. We'll be right back with the good.
- [33:29]
Dana Goldberg
News after these messages will be read back.
- [33:39]
Alison Gill
Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news.
- [33:41]
Dana Goldberg
Who likes good news?
- [33:42]
Rick Smith
Everyone?
- [33:43]
Alison Gill
Then good news, everyone. Good news, good news. And I could really use your good news this week. So if you have anything, especially Halloween pictures, tell us your Thanksgiving plans. Tell us your turkey day plans. Tell us your holiday plans, whatever you're doing. Something fun. You can do that by going to DailyBeansPod.com and clicking on Contact. Tell me something good and tell me something good.
- [34:13]
Dana Goldberg
Okay, Tell me that you.
- [34:15]
Alison Gill
Okay, let's start with Steve. This isn't Mnuchin. I doubt it's Mnuchin, but it just says Steve. I'm a longtime listener. Thank you for all the work you put into the podcast. Your focus and dedication are astounding. You interviewed Ruth Ben Guillot, author of Strongmen, on the 114 episode of the Daily Beans. First, thank you. It was a great conversation. And second, the ebook of Ruth's book is on sale today and Wednesday. So today's the last day of the sale. 1117 for just $2.99. Everywhere ebooks are sold and there's a link in the description. So just today only you can get the audiobook version.
- [34:51]
Dana Goldberg
Nice.
- [34:52]
Alison Gill
Of Ruth. Ruth Ben Guillot's Strong Men From Mussolini to the present for just 299. Thanks, Steve.
- [34:58]
Dana Goldberg
299. All right, moving on to Keith's pronoun. Seeing him. Good news. I work in tech, and after my employer of nine years kept stringing me along for the last four years about a raise, even before COVID was their excuse, I finally cut the cord and found a new home. They made us take pay cuts in 2020 to avoid layoffs and then laid people off anyway, and I decided to get out.
- [35:18]
Alison Gill
Good.
- [35:19]
Dana Goldberg
After starting my new job, I became a patron because I've listened to you since the early MSW days, and I feel like I'm in a good place now and I can pay content creators who I enjoy and respect. Correction. This comes with a correction.
- [35:31]
Alison Gill
Oh, okay. So that was the buttering up part.
- [35:34]
Dana Goldberg
That's right. That was the beginning.
- [35:35]
Alison Gill
Yeah.
- [35:36]
Dana Goldberg
I'm 48 and I love all of your pop culture references. There's still more. There's still more love here. But you and Mary misquoted swingers recently, and I feel that I can't. It can't go unnoticed. When ordering the pancakes, Mike said quote, and the age of enlightenment, not Renaissance. However, he did mention to Trey that he should have said Renaissance. And yes, it was hilarious when the server came back and said, hang on, Voltaire. That's her lyrics.
- [36:04]
Alison Gill
Pancakes in the age of enlightened.
- [36:06]
Dana Goldberg
Right?
- [36:08]
Alison Gill
Awesome.
- [36:08]
Dana Goldberg
Mr. Lyrics. Yes. In 1990, a group called Delight, the big hit with Groove is in the Hub. Groove is in the Hub, a rather funky, catchy song you could dance to. However, my father thought she was saying Grover says hi. To this day, my siblings and I will randomly text each other Grover says hi just to make each other laugh. I love it. Now my pet tax Pixavelli, short for Eleanor Rigby, our 9 year old beagle Jack Russell mix this Wednesday, 1117 is her Gotcha day. The day we picked her up from the Westchester SPCA after she was rescued by a group called the Homeward Bound Project, Mississippi and transported in a litter of nine other puppies to New York. She's the sweetest dog ever. She loves laying in the sun. And cheese. Me too. Love everyone who has been a co host in the past. Me too. And it's currently a co host you all rock. And look at the baby ready for cheese.
- [37:10]
Alison Gill
That's working on my night. Cheese.
- [37:11]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, look at the second picture. Oh hey, that's definitely.
- [37:16]
Alison Gill
That's a dog profile picture.
- [37:18]
Dana Goldberg
I don't always eat cheese, but when I do, it's cheese. It's cheese.
- [37:24]
Alison Gill
It's Colby, the most interesting dog in the world picture.
- [37:27]
Dana Goldberg
Indeed.
- [37:28]
Alison Gill
Awesome. Thanks for the delight reminder. Absolutely wonderful. And if you're Westchester SPCA New York, that is Mimi Roca's district, the district attorney. So tell if you see Mimi out on the street, tell her we say hi and to and to indict Donald Trump. All right, next up, because she is investigating him. Next up, anonymous pronoun. She and her a twist on shit my kids say for y'all today I have shit. My grandmother, my godmother. My godmother says for you instead. When my godmother moved to the US from Germany in the early 70s, she spoke high school English, which was very good, but lacked nuance and idioms. Or Lord, oh Lord. The idioms. They must be a nightmare for people learning English. Anyway, she was getting the hang of some of them, but not so much of others. For instance, someone cut in front of her at line at the grocery store as she retold the story. She said I was on top of myself instead of beside myself. My mom said beside yourself. You were beside yourself. And now we've all used I was on top of myself. Ever since. You all have seen enough Pictures of hammy McBacon fat for pet tax. So instead I will submit Shelby from the Charlotte, North Carolina spca. She's a senior Chihuahua mix. Here's a link. She looks like a lovely lady named Shelby.
- [38:45]
Dana Goldberg
She does.
- [38:46]
Alison Gill
Look at the baby.
- [38:48]
Dana Goldberg
Oh my goodness. Someone go adopt that sweetness, please.
- [38:52]
Alison Gill
Oh, please, please.
- [38:54]
Dana Goldberg
Alrighty. This is from Trevor Pronouncing him. Thank you, Ag, for this podcast. I've been listening since the early days and really appreciate your humor and swearing and your exemplary guests for shit kids say. My son's favorite movie when he was about four years old was Shrek, except when he said it came out as sex. We always had to remember to tell babysitters what to expect when they asked him what he wanted to watch and what it actually meant, lest they get the wrong idea for pet tax. Here are dog Smudge, who's the goldendoodle, Lucy, who's the boxador. Smudge is the elder statesman and Lucy is basically the Tasmanian Devil. Smudge is definitely the statesman. Look at that.
- [39:37]
Alison Gill
Yes. Very calm, very together.
- [39:40]
Dana Goldberg
Yes.
- [39:40]
Alison Gill
And then Lucy's like, what, What? What? What? What's next? What's next? Oh my God. So cute. Thank you very thank you, Trevor. And sorry for making fun of your name when we talk about Trevor McFadden. It's not personal. I love the name Trevor. Next up, pronouns he and him from Leo. Hey, Ag and all. I enjoyed your red blue paint joke the other day, so here's another that is shamelessly stolen from a BBC show. The Vicar of Dibley. What is brown and sticky? A stick. Hope you all have a great day. Thanks for all you do. P.S. attached is a find the mutt pick of our dog jumping from rock to rock while on vacation in North Carolina. Oh, there he is.
- [40:20]
Dana Goldberg
Wow, wow, wow.
- [40:23]
Alison Gill
That's a insect.
- [40:24]
Dana Goldberg
Then he popped right out.
- [40:26]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Whoa. Awesome. Thank you for that picture. Was that you were told that joke or was I on the line with Mary?
- [40:33]
Dana Goldberg
You must have been on the line with Mary.
- [40:35]
Alison Gill
I can't remember who I was talking to, but the joke was, what is red and smells like blue paint?
- [40:41]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, that was definitely not me.
- [40:42]
Alison Gill
It's red paint. And so that makes. That stands to reason. What is brown and sticky? A stick would be a stick joke. So thank you for that, Leo. Appreciate it.
- [40:54]
Dana Goldberg
Love it. All right, this is from M. Pronouns. They. Them. Following up on my recent submission about being from a blue county in a red state where we just elected Dems across the board. Oh, not Utah, as you two had guessed. Though I did grow up there and I am still recovering from the effects of its cult. My goodness, Em, I'm sure. But it's Montana. Big sky country has some amazing liberal pockets. Sadly, the propaganda machine is working hard here and we went from purple to red in 2020. It's disheartening. Nevertheless, I'm proud of my fellow Missoulians. Obviously, Missoula Montana, Missoulians, for keeping our county blue. And thank you for being my primary political outlet during these crazy times. I often feel like I have real friends when I listen. You are the best AG Random factoid, Mozilla. Why can't I say it all of a sudden? I just said it five times. Missoula, Montana. Missoula, Montana has a extraordinary high number of lesbians per capita. And I don't know why. It's like the lesbian capital of Montana and like that area of the country. It's very weird, all right? And I get that, you know, it's outdoorsy and stuff, but hopefully Em can back me up on that. But Missoula, Montana has a very high number of lesbians per capita.
- [42:10]
Alison Gill
Well, awesome.
- [42:11]
Dana Goldberg
I know the more you know. Q. Shooting star.
- [42:15]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed. Wouldn't have guessed in big sky country. But thank you and happy to be your primary political outlet during these crazy times. I appreciate the kind words, Em. And I believe this is the last submission here we have from Anonymous. Pronouns he and him. About a year ago.
- [42:33]
Dana Goldberg
Oh my God. Sorry, I scrolled.
- [42:35]
Alison Gill
I know. About a year ago, my wife and I were told by our fertility doctor that further treatments were unlikely to produce different results and we were not recommended. After trying for seven years to conceive, we were crushed. I was heartbroken both for myself and for my wife, who's always had a knack for connecting with babies and young kids. There were nights after my wife went to bed when I would just sit and weep. And then four months later, it happened all on its own. Today, my wife and I are celebrating the birth of our healthy baby boy, who was just declared the cutest baby in the world by his 12 year old cousin, by the way.
- [43:06]
Dana Goldberg
I'm totally crying.
- [43:07]
Alison Gill
I know.
- [43:07]
Dana Goldberg
Me too.
- [43:08]
Alison Gill
I know that not everyone's infertility story ends so happily, and I have deep sympathies for people who are living with that. But for now, we are so incredibly happy. And my wife is over the moon for this little guy photo attached.
- [43:19]
Dana Goldberg
Look at him, he's perfect.
- [43:21]
Alison Gill
I almost thought it said potato attached. And that's.
- [43:25]
Dana Goldberg
Oh my goodness, I gotta take off my glasses.
- [43:27]
Alison Gill
Just as adorable. Look at this baby.
- [43:30]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, he's perfect.
- [43:30]
Alison Gill
He's perfect in his little burrito blankie.
- [43:34]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, thank you so much, Anonymous, for this. I am so happy for the both of you. And obviously this is the little soul that was supposed to come into your life. And I'm so happy he's here. He really is beautiful.
- [43:49]
Alison Gill
Yeah.
- [43:51]
Dana Goldberg
She made me ovulate. I'm still at that point where I want kids, and I'm like, it comes in from time to time. And, like, physically, my mom went through the change pretty early, and so I'm sort of there. And man, oh, man, though the dad get my ovaries going just now.
- [44:08]
Alison Gill
Join us live on the Daily Beans where you can. You can witness Dana ovulate.
- [44:15]
Dana Goldberg
Dana's ovulation. Just sending pictures of babies, that's all it. I literally. There's a. There was a period in my life where I was like, fuck comedy. I'm going to go be a baby cuddler at the hospital because I know they need them, and I guess I could do both. But there really is time that I still think about going and signing up.
- [44:31]
Alison Gill
Because, yeah, you could work out your material. Yeah.
- [44:34]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, best audience ever.
- [44:35]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Everyone's just crying. So then when you go do actual comedy, it's better. It's better even if they don't make any sounds at all.
- [44:47]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, fuck, that's funny. Ag. I just pictured it. Me standing there and all these babies.
- [44:55]
Alison Gill
Telling jokes.
- [44:56]
Dana Goldberg
Oh.
- [44:59]
Alison Gill
All right.
- [45:00]
Dana Goldberg
Good times for us. What a fun episode.
- [45:02]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Thank you so much for sending us in. Congratulations on this beautiful, beautiful baby. And everyone, thanks for your submissions. I need these this week. Like I said. Send them in@dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. And again, you can get Ruth Ben Giat's book for $2.99 today only. Everywhere ebooks are sold, link in the description. Any final thoughts from yesterday that we didn't get to?
- [45:27]
Dana Goldberg
No. In fact, maybe I'll have some for tomorrow, but right now my thoughts are final.
- [45:31]
Alison Gill
All right, we'll see. Stay tuned for tomorrow and we'll find out if Dana has any final thoughts. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, and take care of your mental health. I've been AG and I've been dg and them's the beans.
- [45:46]
Rick Smith
Refried beans. I like refried beans.