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The Daily Beans
Refried Beans | Barbecue Sauce (feat. Charlotte Clymer) | Friday, March 24th, 2023
00:46:32
Friday, March 24th, 2023 In the Hot Notes; more delays for the Manhattan DA Grand Jury as Alvin Bragg claps back at Jim Jordan; a judge rules that E. Jean Carroll jurors can remain anonymous for security reasons; Kari Lake loses Arizona again; Trump’s lawyers make an appearance in the Pence subpoena case; Ray Epps has sent a letter to Tucker Carlson demanding a retraction; and abortion is legal again in Wyoming; plus AG and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:00]
Allison 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.
- [00:24]
Dana Goldberg
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.
- [00:46]
Allison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Friday, March 24, 2023. Today, more delays for the Manhattan DA grand jury. As Alvin Bragg claps back at Jim Jordan, a judge rules that E. Jean Carroll jurors can remain anonymous for security reasons. Carrie Lake loses Arizona again. Trump's lawyers make an appearance in the Pence subpoena case. Ray Epps has sent a letter to Tucker Carlson demanding a retraction. And abortion is legal again in Wyoming. I'm Allison Gill.
- [01:15]
Charlotte Clymer
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [01:20]
Allison Gill
Yay, Wyoming.
- [01:21]
Charlotte Clymer
Yay, Wyoming, indeed. There are some good politicians doing great things for reproductive rights to protect LGBTQ people. I mean, Michigan's kicking ass right now. Like, there is some good stuff happening. Even though things are still horrifying, we do have to highlight the good things when they happen. So I know that. Which we're gonna do a little bit today, which is wonderful.
- [01:40]
Allison Gill
Yep. And I know it's tiring to have to beat it back all day, every day. We just have to keep beating it back, but, you know, that's what we do. And speaking of awesome people who are advocating for LGBTQ rights, I'm talking to Charlotte Clymer. Later in the show, we're gonna discuss her visit to the White House. We're gonn getting to go to the premiere of Ted Lasso. I'm so jealous. But it's a really, really great conversation about amazing things. She's just such a wonderful person. And by the way, Arizona Supreme Court justices have refused to hear Kerry Lake's case disputing her loss for governor. So she lost again.
- [02:19]
Charlotte Clymer
She's just trying to catch up with Donald. He's lost, I think, Georgia and Arizona. He's lost Arizona, what, 47 times now?
- [02:26]
Allison Gill
Yeah, something like that. Yeah. And good old Evan Corcoran was at the D.C. courthouse today, but not for his testimony in the Mar A Lago documents, classified documents case. He was there for the Trump Pence subpoena case. Right. Trump is trying to stop Pence from block his subpoena to Biden to talk to the. So think about that. For a second. The former president's lawyer was in court today to block a federal grand jury subpoena for the former vice president, ahead of his own testimony before a different federal grand jury about whether the former president obstructed justice to steal classified documents.
- [03:01]
Charlotte Clymer
It sounds bananas. Like you, you would walk into a writer's room in Hollywood and they'd be like, yeah, we're going to pass. No one's ever going to believe this shit.
- [03:10]
Allison Gill
Yeah, Liz Lemon would say blurg and flip the table. It would be ridiculous. It would be out. It just, it's out of control. But that is our news environment today. So let's talk about it. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, from Laura Italiano at Business Insider. There will be no and there was no grand jury testimony, deliberations or a vote in the Trump hush money case in Manhattan for the remainder of this week, according to a source speaking to Insider. Grand jurors will return to court Thursday. They they were here today, according to a law enforcement source, but the panel will meet in connection with a different case, not the Trump hush money manner. The panel has been meeting Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and has been hearing evidence since mid January concerning former President Trump and his alleged involvement in a 2016 pre election payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels. The grand jurors are not expected to take up the hush money case again until Monday at the earliest, according to the source, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the high level planning, which meets in secret at the request of Trump's defense team. Grand jurors heard testimony on Monday from Robert Costello, as we know, former legal adviser to prosecution witness Michael Cohen. Costello said he hoped his testimony would challenge Cohen's credibility. The grand jury has not met to consider the hush money matter since then. Now it's not unusual for state grand juries to hear evidence in multiple cases at once. It is not clear if the case on hand for the Trump panel on Thursday has any relation to Trump or to anyone in his sphere, or if it's entirely unrelated. And in an actual related story from Carney and Cheney at Politico, Alvin Bragg's office on Thursday rejected as unlawful the demands by three House GOP chairs who sought sensitive details about his investigation of Trump. Leslie Dubeck, Bragg's general counsel, wrote to Judiciary Oversight and Administration Committee Chairs Jim Jordan, James Comer and Brian Steele, respectively, in response to their requests for an interview with Bragg, as well as a swath of documents. Dubeck countered that the Newly launched GOP probe is, quote, an unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution. The letter, quote, only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day, and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene. Neither fact is a legitimate basis for a congressional inquiry. Now, her letter amounts to a sharp rebuke of GOP inquiries launched days after Trump personally predicted his own imminent arrest. Nudging House Republicans to rally behind him, Dubeck indicated that Bragg's office had adopted the Justice Department's long standing position to refuse to provide Congress with details of an open and ongoing criminal investigation. She says, quote, the District Attorney is obliged by the federal and state constitutions to protect the independence of state law enforcement functions from federal interference. The DA's office therefore requests an opportunity to meet and confer with committee staff to better understand what information the DA's office can provide that relates to a legitimate legislative interest and that can be shared consistent with the District Attorney's constitutional obligations. Great reply.
- [06:22]
Charlotte Clymer
Very good.
- [06:24]
Allison Gill
And it came just ahead of a 10am deadline that Republicans set for Bragg to set up and appear in a closed door transcribed interview with their aides, as well as to hand over a broad swath of documents, including any related to potential federal funding of or involvement in his work. Now, Dubeck said that Bragg's office would submit a letter describing its use of federal funds, which Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated could face revocation. She further requested a meeting with committee staff to determine if they had, quote, any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests. But Dubeck emphasized that questions about the office's use of federal funds does not justify a congressional attempt to unearth non public information about the probe. Broadly speaking, her letter emphasized that even though Bragg's office sharply rejects the notion that the Trump probe is political, the forum for probing those allegations would be court proceedings in New York, not Congress. The threat of an indictment loomed over the retreat. You know the Republicans had this retreat recently, which is the latest example of House Republicans inability to escape Trump's long shadow. McCarthy almost immediately vowed that he would direct committees to investigate the potential indictment. And Republicans got questions at nearly every press event they held in Florida. Bummer for them. And Trump's social media suggestion of an arrest on Tuesday appeared to have achieved its intended goal by sparking a near immediate rush of support from House Republicans, including McCarthy's vow that he would direct committees to investigate. Jordan also wrote to former special prosecutors Kerry Dunn and Mark Pomerantz, both who worked on the investigation before Leaving it last year on Wednesday night with a request for interviews and documents. So whatever.
- [08:06]
Charlotte Clymer
Absolutely. All right. This is from Ben Weiser at the New York Times. A Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday that jurors hearing a trial next month involving a rape allegation against former President Donald J. Trump will be kept anonymous. Thank God, because of concerns they become victims of harassment or worse by Mr. Trump supporters. Yep. The judge, Louis Kaplan. Lewis Kaplan. A federal district court issued his ruling in a lawsuit filed by Eugene Carroll. Woo hoo. A writer and a badass fucking woman who has accused Mr. Trump of raping her in a dressing room at the luxury department store Bergdorf goodman in the mid-1990s. Mr. Trump, of course, has denied the allegations, saying Ms. Carroll was totally lying and that he had never met her. He also claimed he could not have raped her because she was not his type. He's such a fucking douchebag.
- [08:58]
Allison Gill
Does that mean he does rape people who are his type?
- [09:00]
Charlotte Clymer
Like I know now? Kaplan, in ordering an anonymous jury and other steps to protect jurors from outside pressure, cited Donald's calls last week for protest and for people to take our nation back after news reports indicated that his indictment was imminent in an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into the role Mr. Trump played in hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. And this is a quote, that reaction reportedly has been perceived by some as incitement to violence. This is from Judge Kaplan. He noted that Donald had repeatedly attacked the courts, judges, law enforcement officials, and even individual jurors and other matters.
- [09:38]
Allison Gill
He.
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Charlotte Clymer
He cited, for example, Mr. Trump's critical statements on social media about the former woman of a special grand jury in Atlanta, Georgia, where the former president has faced an investigation into possible election interference. Because he's under an investigation in a lot of different states right now. Judge Kaplan said he could not ignore the significant risk that jurors in Ms. Carroll's case would be affected by concern that they could be targeted for unwanted media attention, outside pressure, and retaliation, and harassment from persons unhappy with any verdict that might be returned. In his opinion, Judge Kaplan noted anonymous jurors historically have been ordered in criminal cases, most often involving terrorism or organized crime, in which, and the quote, the risk of tampering with or violent retaliation against jurors by criminal defendants or their confederates was palpable. That is a strong fucking statement about Donald Trump.
- [10:32]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
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Charlotte Clymer
Now, in other measures ordered by the judge, jurors would assemble and disperse from undisclosed locations each day where they would be taken to and from the courthouse. Federal marshals would take them to lunch As a group, they are being very well protected, as they should be.
- [10:47]
Allison Gill
Yeah, that's some. That's something else. Most often involving terrorism and organized crime, where tampering with or violent retaliation against jurors by criminal defendants or their confederates was palpable. Damn.
- [10:59]
Charlotte Clymer
Yeah.
- [10:59]
Allison Gill
And I mean, that's exactly correct. This is the right call. And also somebody else who's been singled out and harassed by Trump and Trump and his supporters. Ray Epps. Right. A lawyer for Ray Epps, who is the man at the center of a prominent conspiracy theory about the Capitol riot, sent a letter on Thursday to Fox News host Tucker Carlson demanding he publicly retract his false and defamatory statements that Epps had worked as a government provocateur on January 6 and helped instigate the mob attack. The letter to Mr. Carlson from the lawyer, who is Michael Teeter, also demanded a formal on air apology for the lies that have been quote, spread about Mr. Epps by him and others at Fox. Quote, the fanciful notions that Mr. Carlson advances on his show regarding Mr. Epps's involvement in the January 6th insurrection are demonstrably and already proven to be false. And yet Mr. Carlson persists with his assault on the truth, unquote, letter seeking retractions and apologies are often sent when lawyers are preparing to file a defamation lawsuit. As Mr. Teeter noted, Mr. Epps demand comes as Mr. Carlson and other top figures at Fox are already under pressure from a bunch of lawsuits. A $1.6 billion defamation suit by Dominion, 2.67 billion from Smartmatic. All that stuff is happening. And in a series of recent filings, Dominion revealed embarrassing text messages and emails swapped by several leading Fox employees showing that in private, they dismissed the idea that the company was involved in voter fraud, even though they supported the notion in public. The internal communications also suggested that Fox's corporate leadership permitted lies about the election to be spread on the network in order to keep ratings high and viewers watching. Quote, recent revelations from the Dominion Voting lawsuit may help explain why Fox News has allowed the falsehoods about Mr. Epps to continue to spread and be amplified through its network. But fear of losing viewers by telling them the truth is not a defense to defamation. That's such a good statement. A spokeswoman for Fox didn't respond to comment.
- [13:01]
Charlotte Clymer
Shocking.
- [13:02]
Allison Gill
Epps is a Marine. Former Marine, traveled to Washington from his home in Arizona. He owns a wedding venue. He traveled to support Trump and was videotaped on the night before the attack urging people to go inside the Capitol. He was also in the crowd on January 6, moving past barricades outside the building. Although he never went inside and ultimately sought to de escalate tensions, he ultimately sought to de escalate tensions. Still, he became the face of a conspiracy theory that the federal government had instigated the entire attack for a single reason. He was never charged for what he did on January 6, but in reality, prosecutors declined to file charges against thousands of people who breached the barricades outside the Capitol but never entered the building. Mr. Carlson was one of the first major figures in the news media to give the stories about Mr. Epps a wide audience. Ultimately, they were also echoed by Republican members of Congress like Thomas Massie and Senator Ted Cruz. Mr. Teeter's letter requested that Carlson and Fox send written confirmation that they intended to comply with epps's demands by March 31st. That's seven days from now. The letter also asked Fox to preserve all communications concerning the Network's arrangement with Mr. McCarthy and about any dealings that Fox or Carlson might have had with Darren Beatty, the proprietor of a website called Revolver News, which published early stories about Epps. The letter also noted the costs that Mr. Epps and his wife had faced by being a target of a conspiracy theory. After the false story started, the couple sold their house and business in Arizona and went into hiding in a mobile home in the Rocky Mountains. Mr. And Mrs. Epps have been subjected to threats, intimidation, harassment, resulting in significant economic and emotional damages. Each time Mr. Carlson and Fox News spreads more misinformation about Mr. Epps, the harm redoubles.
- [14:46]
Charlotte Clymer
Tell you what, Tucker Carlson is in a lot of fucking trouble from all sides. And I'm. I'm here for it. I hope he goes down for something.
- [14:53]
Allison Gill
He better be.
- [14:54]
Charlotte Clymer
And the good news of the day, abortion is legal again in Wyoming after a Teton county judge Wednesday temporarily blocked, temporarily blocked a new band on the procedure while a new legal challenge winds through the court. So it's not done yet, but this is a good move. And this is a quote, Wyomingites, Wyomingites voted into law that they have a fundamental right to make their own health care decisions. And by doing so, they also agreed that the state can put necessary and reasonable restrictions on that as long as there's no undue government infringement upon those rights. That is Teton County Judge Melissa Owens went on to say, the Legislature declaring that abortion is not health care takes away from the duty of this court to decide constitutional questions of law and that violates the separation of powers. The Life is a Human Right act took effect, took effect on Midnight Saturday after governor Mark Gordon allowed it to become law without his signature. The legislation, sponsored by Cody Republican Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams, attempted to speed the end of abortion in Wyoming by answering legal questions raised by a lawsuit challenging last year's trigger ban. Well, the new ban aimed to restrict abortions except in cases of rape and incest or if the mother's life is in danger. Okay. It also provided exemptions for some medical circumstances, such as if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. Unlike last year's bigger ban, the Life Is a Human Right act requires cases of rape and incest to be reported to law enforcement before a legal abortion could be performed. Go fuck yourself. Yeah.
- [16:32]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
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Charlotte Clymer
The ban also states that life begins at conception and that abortion, which is absurd because no woman knows that they're pregnant when the baby is conceived in that moment. And that abortion is not a form of healthcare. An assertion that counters what plaintiffs had argued in last year's lawsuit based on a constitutional amendment that grants Wyomingites the right to make their own healthcare decisions.
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Allison Gill
You know what's really cool?
- [16:56]
Charlotte Clymer
Tell me.
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Allison Gill
That constitutional amendment was put in place by Republicans so that people didn't have to go along with Obamacare.
- [17:03]
Charlotte Clymer
Oh, my God. That's fantastic. Thank you for that little gem, A.G. teehee. Now, the quote continues. When women are pregnant between conception and childbirth, they are not equal to men. John Robinson, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said on Wednesday of the law's implications. They are merely vessels carrying fetuses and their rights to equal protection to health care, religion, and numerous other unenumerated rights. And some enumerated rights are implicated by that choice by the Wyoming legislature. So the lawsuit was amended on Tuesday to include a challenge to Senate File 109. That's legislation banning medication abortions that Gordon signed into law on Friday. Wyoming was the first state in the US to ban medication abortions. That law goes into effect in July. God. Yep.
- [17:54]
Allison Gill
What is going on? Damn. Everyone needs to listen to Feminist Buzzkills with Liz Winstead, by the way.
- [18:00]
Charlotte Clymer
Oh, yeah.
- [18:02]
Allison Gill
You get everything that you need to know about abortion, AF and what's going on with the laws going, being signed and being blocked around the country. All right, we will speak to Charlotte Clymer after the break to discuss her trip to the White House today and her invite to the Ted Lasso premiere. We'll be back soon, Daniel Boone, after these messages. We'll be right back.
- [18:30]
Unknown
So, like, no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter who you voted for, we all probably, I assume we all know Someone who has or have been that someone ourselves, actually, that's struggled, that's felt isolated, that's felt anxious, that has felt alone.
- [18:45]
Charlotte Clymer
Right?
- [18:45]
Unknown
And it's actually one of the many things that, that, believe it or not, that we all have in common as human beings, right? And so that means that it's something that we can all, you know, and should talk about with one another when we're feeling that way or when we recognize that in someone feeling that way. So please, you know, we encourage everyone and this big theme of the show is like to check in with your, you know, your neighbor, your co worker, your friends, your family and ask how they're doing and listen sincerely. You know, I mean, you all ask questions for a living, but you also listen for a living. So, you know, who am I preaching to the choir? That is. Okay. And look, and while, look, while it's easier said than done, we also have to know that we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help ourselves. And that does take a lot, especially when it's something that has such a negative stigma to it, such as mental health. And it doesn't need to be that way. And if you can ask for that help from a professional, fantastic. If it needs to be a loved one, equally as good in a lot of ways, because sometimes you just need to let that pressure, that pressure valve release. The president is working on and his own team, although his team is real. Our team is make believe. And don't think I don't know that, despite what the people at FIFA and EA will tell you, we are actually a make believe team. But, you know, they're working very hard to make sure that, you know, that option is available to as many Americans as possible. Now, look, I know in this town a lot of folks don't always agree, right. And don't always feel heard, seen, listened to. Yes. But I truly believe that we should all do our best to help take care of each other.
- [20:14]
Allison Gill
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. Super honored today to be joined by my friend, writer, lesbian, Texan veteran, she her. Please welcome Charlotte Clymer to the show. Hi, Charlotte. Hey, Alison.
- [20:25]
Dana Goldberg
How you doing?
- [20:26]
Allison Gill
Oh, I'm so happy to see you and also so very jealous. And I want to live vicariously through you. So I'm very excited to speak to you today.
- [20:34]
Dana Goldberg
That's very kind of you to say. I want to live through you. You're killing it lately, my friend. My goodness.
- [20:39]
Allison Gill
Thank you. You too. I mean, I did get to go to the, the Golden State warriors thing in the East Room, which was Amazing. But I saw you there today to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Tell me about that. It must have been amazing.
- [20:53]
Dana Goldberg
Here's the summary. Democrats get shit done. That's the summary.
- [20:56]
Allison Gill
Ta da.
- [20:57]
Dana Goldberg
13 years ago, you know, a Democratic Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. President Biden signed it. Excuse me, President Obama. Oh my God, I'm getting my mixed up. President Obama signed it into law and as you remember, President Biden told him an off mic moment, this is a big fucking deal. And he referenced that. Actually, he referenced President Biden during his speech, referenced that today. It was pretty funny. Look, tens of millions of Americans are getting the care they need because Democrats stepped up and ensured that we had a legislative solution to the enormous gap, the enormous disparity in healthcare for so many people in this country, including the two of us who come from backgrounds where we didn't necessarily always have access to the healthcare we needed. So to be surrounded by advocates, policymakers, I would say people who have been directly affected in such a profound way by that lack of healthcare access had their lives saved by the aca. It's been amazing. It was a great event.
- [21:54]
Allison Gill
Yeah. And my concern is for the people who aren't covered by the ACA because of Republican governors who don't expand Medicare or Medicaid. We know they've been fighting that in a lot of Republican states for a long time. And I fear that there's people who don't know what they're missing when it comes to the Affordable Care act because they haven't been granted the full potential of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Just kind of like, it kind of reminds me of COVID you know, if you were in a responsible state that shut down, how amazing it was when everything opened back up again and the jobs came back. People who were in states that didn't shut down, you know, they probably lost a lot of family members and didn't realize the, you know, the impact of that. And so I'm very sad because as a Democrat, I want free health care for everyone. Republicans. And I want healthcare. I want everybody to have their gas stoves too, please. But you know, I want those student debt forgiven for Republicans. I want healthcare for Republicans. I want them to have these benefits. That's what I'm out here fighting for. And they're trying to stop me from helping them get nice shit. I don't understand.
- [23:00]
Dana Goldberg
You know, I was telling someone today, there was this doctor sitting next sat next to me, wonderful man. He works at a community clinic in Chicago where He's been there for almost a decade, since ACA was passed, really doing the hard work of going in day, day in, day out and serving the needs of his community members. And you know, we were talking and it's just this, this thing that keeps coming up. Republicans don't have ideas. They don't. Their, their whole thing is protecting the most elite among us, you know, maintaining this vast system of inequality across the board and using fear, using fear to dragoon vulnerable voters into supporting them at the ballot box. And it happens over and over again. And that's why they keep losing, by the way. That's why they've lost the popular vote in, gosh, what is it, seven of eight of the last eight presidential elections. You know, that's why they didn't do nearly as well as they thought they would do in the midterm, because Americans understand that Democrats have ideas and solutions and all Republicans have is fear. And they're sick and tired of it. Americans are sick and tired of being told what to be scared of. They're looking for leaders to step up and tell them how they're going to make their lives better.
- [24:10]
Allison Gill
Yeah, 100%. And I mean, that's what Republicans do. They get into power by redrawing lines as minority rule. They wreck shit. And then they say, look, democracy doesn't work. We need an autocracy. We need a single leader, we need a dictator, we need a king. And then they convince the uneducated citizenry that the democracy is a problem. It's slow gridlock. We never get anything done. But they go in and make sure that we do their best, that we don't get things done. I mean, look how hard it is just to pass the Affordable Care act. Thirteen years ago. We had to have, we were hanging on by a thread with 59, 60 votes to get that thing passed, and we had to make a lot of concessions to get it passed as well. And here we are on the 13th anniversary.
- [24:54]
Dana Goldberg
And by the way, let's point this out real quick because I can't stand purity politics. I think it is the biggest obstacles. You know, if we had tanked that legislation because it wasn't the single payer or because, you know, it didn't have all the progressive goals that we wanted, imagine where we'd be right now. We wouldn't have the aca, we wouldn't have all of the, the building blocks. On top of that, all of the health care advances that we've made for marginalized communities that were built on the foundation of aca. For example, trans healthcare on so many different fronts. We'd have none of that right now. We would still be griping and saying that we were the smartest people in the room and that at least we could stick to our values and be happy with a moral victory. That's bullshit. I am so happy that Speaker Pelosi stood strong, that President Obama stood strong, and that they fought for millions of Americans who needed that care at the moment when it was most critical.
- [25:46]
Allison Gill
Yeah, agreed, 100%. Same goes with the Inflation Reduction act and the Affordable Care act and the CARES act and the PACT Act. You know, there have to be concessions made and we wouldn't be as close as we are to single payer health care without the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
- [26:01]
Dana Goldberg
And by the way, it's coming. We're gonna get it someday. It's gonna come.
- [26:04]
Allison Gill
It is.
- [26:04]
Dana Goldberg
But we wouldn't have it without fighting.
- [26:06]
Allison Gill
So. Yeah, and push it. Hey, I ran to be a Bernie delegate. He didn't win the nomination. So I voted for Hillary. I was a Warren Democrat. She didn't win the nomination. I voted for Biden because I know it's better to have a seat at the table than to not have a seat at the table at all. You can't push our leaders to the left. If the leader is a Republican or an autocrat, there's just no possibility to do it. They don't. They just want the power. Okay, how was the okay? I'm a huge Ted Lasso fan. Massive. Like, I watched that season three premiere and I was in the middle of an existential crisis where I had to make a pretty critical decision about my life and that let the pupe flow. You know, that whole episode helped me. And it also helped. I know millions of people talk about mental health in a more open way, and that is why they were invited to the White House. And you went to the premiere. Talk a little bit about your going to the premiere, what it's like and what it means for this country. Especially during COVID when we were all so depressed to have Ted Lasso come into our lives and help us talk more openly about mental health.
- [27:19]
Dana Goldberg
So picture this in Sophia's voice. Picture this. You know, it's the United States in late summer of 2020 or early fall of 2020, and I'm depressed as hell. You know, there's a lot going on. My mother just died. You know, the election was raging. The George Floyd protests were going on after his murder by law enforcement. Covid, of course, was still very, very much Ripping the country in an iron grip. And it's not over, by the way. I want to be clear about. The pandemic is not over. But back then, it was hard, right? And I was depressed. I was very, very depressed. I was hurting. And people kept telling me to watch this damn show called Ted Lasso on Apple tv. And I was like, look, I'm just not in the mood for that right now. I don't want to watch some Pollyannish fantasy of things that all work out by episodes in. But I kept having friends telling me to watch it, and people on Twitter were telling me to watch it. And so I finally watched this damn show. And my goodness, it was a breath of fresh air. That first season was amazing. And I found myself really being, I would say, renavigated in terms of the content that I watch, because I love prestige television. I love things like Breaking Bad, Sopranos. Those are great shows. They're great artists, but they're also very cynical, and they kind of focus on the gritty rather than the optimistic. And watching Zed Lasso was a revelation in that our content, the productions that we see in film and television could be calling on us to be better people, could be modeling relationships for us in a way that betters our society alongside the great art that's gritty. We could have shows that really fill us with joy and optimism. And I think that's a great thing. Here's the thing about Ted Lasso, and I want people to understand this. It is not a Pollyanna show. You know, people get hurt. They struggle. Ted Lasso, of all the characters, probably struggles the most. He's going through this, what they hint at as a divorce. He doesn't see a son much at all. You know, he's very honest with his feelings, which I don't think I've seen any real example of a man in film and television doing that quite like his character does. So when the second season came out, I wrote this review talking about all this, like, the fact that there's nothing else like Ted Lasso, popular culture, and, you know, writing at it from a very painful point of view. You know, someone who's going through things and sees that reflected in the show and knows. Knows how to, you know, kind of see community built around, you know, shared pain. Anyway, so I wrote. I wrote this blog. It went viral. Apple TV reached out to me about two months ago, and they're like, hey, you want to come to the third season premiere? Because we'd love to have you, because we wrote your. We read Your review, Of course. Once I was done squealing for about five minutes, just jumping up and down and dancing, my friend and I booked a plane ticket, went there to LA for a couple days. They didn't pay for any of that, by the way, and nor should they have. That was all on my own dime, and it was very much worth it. And so we showed up to the premiere. I was dressed in this great little dress. My friend was there. Their name is Mick, by the way. And the Apple TV person sees us, and he comes over. He's like, charlotte, you're here. I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Where's the line? We're eager to file in. He's like, oh, no, you're not doing a line. And he walks us over to the blue carpet. It wasn't a red carpet. It was blue because Ted, lasso the step and repeat. That's right. And they're flipping through the pages, this packet of faces on there, and apparently I was in the Facebook, or that there are little pages of faces in there, like, oh, yeah, we want you to walk the red carpet, so to speak. Like, what, are you kidding me? And Mick, I think, starts hyperventilating. And I was doing that in my heart, honestly, because I've never done that. I've never walked a red carpet at all. So we start walking it. I mean, there's all these cameras and photographers, and I probably look awkward as hell, to be honest with you. But we walk through it, we got inside the premiere, and you know what I really loved about it? I want to be clear about this. What I really loved about this premiere was just the sense of optimism and good faith that was present. Everyone there was just nice. It's like we were all on the same page that we wanted this to be an event where people could just let their hair down, be themselves, be vulnerable, enjoy the show, and not feel on guard. I didn't feel on guard there the entire time. I felt like I was around my people, my folks, who understand what the show means and what we want to see in our future as a collective society, reflected in the optimism and good faith of the show. I gotta tell you, Alison, it was amazing. By the way, the first two episodes are incredible. If y'all have not started watching this show, you should watch it. If you have watched the first seasons, the third. Third season is very, very, very much worth watching. I think it's gonna be the best season yet.
- [32:08]
Allison Gill
Personally, I agree. And by the way, I've Binged the entire thing multiple times. It can be done pretty quickly. Yeah. And there was nothing like. I think it was in July maybe, or August, September, something at the end of 2020 there. I was also very depressed.
- [32:25]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, yeah.
- [32:26]
Allison Gill
And we got the Christmas episode, and it wasn't even Christmas. And boy, did they go out of their way to just make you feel good and laugh.
- [32:39]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, my God, it's so funny.
- [32:41]
Allison Gill
And we talk, you know, my friends and I talk about specific episodes. Now we'll be like, ooh, let's watch the Rom Communism episode. It's not called that, but that's what we call it. That's one of my favorites, the one where Rebecca sings Let It Go. I mean, just the beard's night out. Right. That's a fantastic episode as well.
- [32:59]
Dana Goldberg
The dart scene, the darts. Oh, the darts.
- [33:01]
Allison Gill
Yeah. Barbecue sauce. We call that. We call that the barbecue sauce scene with the 2% milks, although they don't show up. But these moments when I remember when Rebecca was sitting at the table and she's like, that's it, isn't it? I just have to be brave enough to let someone love me.
- [33:17]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [33:18]
Allison Gill
You know, something to that effect. And I was like, oh, damn. They reach into my soul and pull out what my inner monologue knows is right and puts it right up in front of my face. It's just fantastic. And so I'm so happy that you got to go to that. And I loved that they were at the White House. I loved when I saw the photo of the Believe poster above the Oval Office. And I just think, you know, you're right. We need more things like that in popular culture that we can all get behind. Because it's not just about the show. It's about what it does to us, and it's about the community that it creates. Like, you said, you felt totally fine being you were home amongst your people.
- [34:03]
Dana Goldberg
And, you know, the show, too. And I want to be. You know, I think this is very important to say the show has made me question, you know, how empathetic am I being toward others.
- [34:12]
Allison Gill
Yes.
- [34:12]
Dana Goldberg
You know, am I. Am I doing. Am I making the kind of effort to understand where the people are coming from that I see in the show? And it's really made me kind of challenge myself and a lot of my assumptions, a lot of the way my interpersonal relationships maybe be more. Maybe. Maybe more considerate of others when they're going through something, you know, and look, I. You know, I think there might be cynical people listening to this and saying, well, you know, that's what you should be doing anyway. I'm like, well, yeah, but, you know, a lot of us come from backgrounds where we didn't see that modeled for us.
- [34:44]
Allison Gill
Yeah. And we can always be better than who we are right now.
- [34:47]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [34:48]
Allison Gill
No one is so amazing that they can't improve.
- [34:51]
Dana Goldberg
Which is one of the lessons of the show, by the way. You know, Lasso. Lasso is not this perfect person. He makes mistakes. You know, he does some wrong things sometimes and he has to, like, recognize them and try to do right by others. And that's where we all should be, is trying to do right by others and recognize that we're all works in progress.
- [35:08]
Allison Gill
Yeah, 100%. That's such a beautiful sentiment, too. And I just want to let everybody know, full disclosure, I'm not being paid by Apple TV or TEDx here to.
- [35:15]
Dana Goldberg
Talk about this fucking dime.
- [35:17]
Allison Gill
Let me tell you, this is all just from my soul. It's truly just an incredible show and I'm so, so proud of you, my friend, and everything that you're doing. Your voice is so important. Everybody follow Charlotte on all the social media. Check out her blog. Let everybody know where they can find you.
- [35:33]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Well, so my blog is called Charlotte's Web Thoughts. It's on Substack. I just was just nominated for a 2023 Glad Meady Award for outstanding blog, which is awesome.
- [35:42]
Allison Gill
Yes, congratulations.
- [35:43]
Dana Goldberg
You can go subscribe@charlotteclimber.substack.com it's completely free to read. You don't even need to pay. I would love to have your paid subscription, let me tell you, but it's free to read and it's important to me that folks can access it even if they don't have the resources to do so. Alison, can I just praise you for a second? You are killing it, my friend. Oh, my goodness. You have had such a strong and unwavering, I think, approach to not only charting all this, all these indictments going on, or possible indictments that are coming, but you. You keep people in perspective. You do it honestly. You are, and I mean this in the absolute best sense, you are the opposite of a grifter, the complete opposite. Everything you do is so good faith. You're so transparent. You get people to understand what's at stake, and then you encourage them to be part of the solution and working toward that day when these people are going to be held accountable and we'll be, and we'll build a system in a country that reflects all of us and doesn't leave Anyone behind?
- [36:37]
Allison Gill
Oh, gosh, I hope so. I mean, that's again, like, none of us are so perfect. Neither is our democracy. And that's what we're working toward. And we can always work towards it because we can always improve. Thank you so much for spending some time with me. It was so great to see you, my friend. Next time we're in the same city, we will have to hang out. And next time you get invited to a TED Lasso thing, let me know.
- [36:56]
Dana Goldberg
Hey, I. You'll be the first to my list. I'm not even kidding about that.
- [37:00]
Allison Gill
I love you, my friend.
- [37:01]
Charlotte Clymer
I love you, too.
- [37:03]
Allison Gill
Everybody stick around. We'll be right back with the good news after these messages. We'll be right back, everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone? Then good news, everyone. Good news. Good news. And if you have any good news confessions corrections. You want to give a shout out to a local business in your area. You want to show us that your cats sit or not sit where they fit or don't fit by putting a tape square on the floor. Or if you just want to send us photos of your pets. You don't have to do the square thing if you don't want to. Frog orgies, baby pictures. Shout out to somebody you love. Play what the mutt. Adoptable pets in your area. Whatever you want to send us, you can do it at. Where? I don't even remember. Dana, do you know?
- [37:54]
Charlotte Clymer
No, actually, I never remember where they can send them.
- [37:58]
Allison Gill
I think it's DailyBeansPod.com that's helpful.
- [38:00]
Charlotte Clymer
Now I'll remember.
- [38:01]
Allison Gill
Click on contact. I think that's escaped me in that moment for some reason.
- [38:06]
Charlotte Clymer
We're fine over here. Don't worry about us.
- [38:10]
Allison Gill
It's been a hell of a news week.
- [38:12]
Charlotte Clymer
Oh, my God. I know. If you only knew what was happening behind the scenes.
- [38:15]
Allison Gill
Oh, goodness. All right, first up from D in Iowa, pronoun she and her hi beans, Queens. Since I sent a photo of my cat Addie in last week and I heard you mention the tape square experiment, hubby and I were actually trying to figure out if it was the shape that attracted the cat to sit. I was looking at a few recent photos of my cat on my phone, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a rectangle that attracts her. Here's two photos of her sitting on a stack of mail and sitting on a box of labels. Both times, she left the position to take a drink of water from her water fountain and then returned to the item. We cannot stop laughing about this.
- [38:49]
Charlotte Clymer
Oh my God. That's really funny.
- [38:53]
Allison Gill
I'm telling you, it's weird.
- [38:54]
Charlotte Clymer
Oh my God. All right, this is from say and pronoun. She and her greetings AG&DG. Thank you for creating an awesome snarky source of news with a female point of view. I only recently started listening to podcasts but have become fiercely loyal to the daily beans. I'm married to a person with the Gill surname, so I like to imagine that AG is a distant in law relation. Here are photos of my 6 year old cat, Tabitha, who wants no part of the cat in the box activities. My family adopted Tabitha back in 2017 through a TNR, which is a trap neuter release program sponsored by a local no kill cat shelter. Tabitha was captured from a dumpster behind a grocery store and brought back to the shelter where she was spayed and vaccinated. She has a great affinity for people, so she was selected for adoption instead of being released back to the dumpster. Thank God. While community cats have an important role in the ecosystem, cats live longer and healthier lives in a home than they do in the wild. Not all feral cats are suited to be domestic lifestyle, but Tabitha most certainly is. I tried to coax Tabitha into the Blue line square using her favorite toys and then some cat treats, but she could not be coerced, even with Jedi mind tricks. With that in mind, I created a revised version of Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars Episode. Is that six?
- [40:10]
Allison Gill
Six, yeah.
- [40:11]
Charlotte Clymer
Yep. Return of the Jedi. It's a trap. It must be Tabitha's early education on the mean streets that taught her to be suspicious of traps. I appreciate all you do. Keep being awesome.
- [40:22]
Allison Gill
This is the best.
- [40:23]
Charlotte Clymer
Oh my God, it's Admiral Akbar.
- [40:26]
Allison Gill
But it's got the cat face. Just. Just like not even trying with Photoshop. This is like Ms. Paint just smacked right on. Yep, it's a trap. Fantastic. Thank you for that. Look at there's treats in the square and she's outside the square. All right, so we've got some inside the square cats and outside the square cats and she is clearly an outside the square cat. So thank you for that. Data Diva sent in a submission pronoun she and her I want to give a shout out to my best friend Neil who took care of me when I was in the hospital, and my Generation Data co founder Matt, who does the hard stuff like logistics and raising money. So I just have to show up and teach. Jen Data will be at Netroots in Chicago as well. So we will see you there. Excellent. Now I have a song prepared by Dada Diva. I don't have the actual song yet. We are working on putting it together. But you're gonna love it as soon as it's done because she is a master lyricist. I have to tell you.
- [41:25]
Charlotte Clymer
Gonna be so good. All right. This is from Tony. Tony. Pronouns. He, him. Dear ladies and Leguminati, I've been listening for at least four years. Thank you for being a touchstone of sanity and affirmation in a raging sea of fascist bullshit. I've been intending to share many things, but I'm just now getting around to sharing the story. I've been attending protests and rallies for all the good causes for almost of my 61 years. In the last five years, I've been carrying a 16 foot flag pole with a 6 foot by 10 foot American flag above the back to back. 3 foot by 5 foot trans and gay pride flags. Fuck yeah. The big flag is for my love of what I was taught my country stands for and my demand that she live up to her promise. The pride flags are for my adult children, both trans, who are amazing, brave and creative people. Children of whom I am fiercely proud and will passionately defend. I took my flags to the Wadsworth Humanist Rock and Roll Drag Queen Story Hour. Fuck yeah. A few weeks ago, fascist threats had shut down an earlier event with the venue backed when the venue backed out. This was held in a pavilion in the city park. I expected Nazis, Christo, Fascists and Proud Boys to be there and was emotionally prepared for heckling and abuse like at many other rallies. But I was taken aback by the number, organization and discipline of the Blood Clan. The National Front and Proud Boys groups that showed up. The Parasol Patrol were there in force to try to shield the 15 or so brave children and their parents that showed up. Around 100 allies and defenders were there too. As the fascist chanted death threats slogans and every slur imaginable. We stood behind a double row of fencing and just about every cop in the region. I waved my flags at the fascists and they seemed particularly triggered by the American and queer flags so close together. As they threatened me, I smiled, gave them that silly finger wave and turned my back. After a few hours, the show ended and everyone wandered off. There were few minor scuffles, two arrests and a few minor medical emergencies. I'm writing today because I just found an article in the Advocate online link below that featured a photo of the leader of the Blood Clan in the foreground and My flags in the background. It turns out I was face to face with Christopher Paulus. Feel free to redact the motherfucker's name if you want. He is nationally known, associated with participants in the terrorist attack of the Capitol on January 6th. The advocates sniper attacks on truckers to disrupt the economy and wants to start a white ethno state in Maine. I have to say I'm a bit freaked out to have been so close to one of the really evil ones. He had a big revolver on his hip too. Freaked out as I may be, I am far too ornery and maybe stupid to be scared off. I'm even more determined than ever to show up at any opportunity and stand with my flags in the face of these assholes. For my country, for my kids, for all the people who have lost in the 404 year fight for justice on this continent, and for all those who want to stand but cannot. I've never loved my country more nor feared for her more than today and even more for tomorrow. Next, I'm going to D.C. for the National Trans Day of awareness March on the 31st. There are sister events all around the country. Look up queer youth assemble.org queeryout.org for more info. Thank you for your service under arms. And on the podcast, yours in resistance, love and hope.
- [44:46]
Allison Gill
Oh, my God. Whew.
- [44:49]
Charlotte Clymer
Look at this last photo with this terrifying fucking Nazi. And then our heroes flags in the background.
- [44:56]
Allison Gill
Dude, fuck Nazis.
- [44:58]
Charlotte Clymer
Unbelievable.
- [45:00]
Allison Gill
Wow. Tony. Tony, thank you for.
- [45:02]
Charlotte Clymer
Thank you very much. That definitely got me. Tony, stay safe, please. And your children.
- [45:07]
Allison Gill
I'm gonna look for those flags on the 31st in D.C. son of a bitch. Whoo. Wow. I got choked up there.
- [45:16]
Charlotte Clymer
Yeah, me too.
- [45:17]
Allison Gill
Oh, that's just. Okay. I'm all right. But the bravery there is just incredible.
- [45:27]
Charlotte Clymer
Yeah.
- [45:28]
Allison Gill
Thank you guys for sending these in. I love you guys. Seriously.
- [45:33]
Charlotte Clymer
Me too.
- [45:35]
Allison Gill
And thanks to Charlotte Clymer for speaking with me today as.
- [45:38]
Charlotte Clymer
Love her. Absolutely love her.
- [45:40]
Allison Gill
Barbecue sauce. Yeah, she's awesome.
- [45:42]
Charlotte Clymer
Yeah.
- [45:43]
Allison Gill
All right, Any final thoughts before we get out of here for the weekend? I mean, obviously, we're gonna have the Beans weekly wrap up for the patrons. We're gonna have Jack the Jack podcast. On Sunday, we're gonna have Jennifer Rogers as a guest. NYU lawyer. Amazing, amazing legal mind. He's gonna join us to talk about all the Corcoran stuff. And, you know, of course we'll do a cleanup on aisle 45 bonus episode with Pete and me as well for patrons of that show. Everybody for listening. It's been another amazing week in the news. This was the busiest week in the news that I've seen in five years. We'll see what next week has in store. So until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health.
- [46:23]
Charlotte Clymer
Vote blue over Q and take someone with you.
- [46:26]
Allison Gill
Go vote Wisconsin. I've been AG and I've been dg, and them's the beans.
- [46:30]
Dana Goldberg
Refried beans. I like refried beans.