Refried Beans | Bear Witness (feat Harry Dunn; John Fugelsang) | Aug 23, 2024

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans – "Refried Beans | Bear Witness" (Aug 23, 2024)

Podcast: The Daily Beans, MSW Media
Air Date: August 23, 2024
Hosts: Allison Gill (AG), Dana Goldberg (DG)
Special Guests: Harry Dunn (fmr. Capitol Police Officer), John Fugelsang (comedian/radio host)
Theme: A dynamic, behind-the-scenes look at the final days of the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, plus key political news of the week, interviews, and community engagement.

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode is a vibrant, in-the-moment recounting of the 2024 DNC’s final days, capturing the emotional highs, calls for unity, Republican endorsements, and shifting political landscapes. The show mixes on-the-ground impressions with substantive news coverage—ranging from Supreme Court rulings to RFK Jr.’s plans—while maintaining a signature progressive, witty tone. Featured are exclusive convention interviews, including with Harry Dunn and John Fugelsang, plus the regular "Good News" listener segment.

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Key Discussion Points and Timestamped Highlights

1. Democratic National Convention: Reflections & Highlights

• Kamala Harris’s Headliner Moment & Anniversary

  • The DNC’s emotional apex: Kamala Harris to headline, coinciding with her 10-year anniversary with Doug Emhoff.
    ‣ [00:32-01:25] AG: “Today we have the final day of the DNC in Chicago with the headliner, Vice President Kamala Harris…it happens to be her and Doug Emhoff’s 10 year anniversary.”

• Republican Endorsements: Country Over Party

  • Olivia Troy and Jeff Duncan’s onstage support for Harris; powerful lines on patriotism and democracy.
    ‣ [02:31-03:14] DG: “If you vote for Kamala, it doesn’t make you a Democrat. It makes you a patriot. It makes you care about democracy.”
  • The importance of cross-party unity and appeals to independents and moderates.

• LGBTQ+ Representation & Notable Quotes

  • Dana Nessel and Pete Buttigieg underscore LGBTQ visibility, aspiration, and lasting change in public life.
    ‣ [05:46-06:35] DG cites Buttigieg:

    “The existence of my family is just one example of something literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago…from impossible to possible to real to almost ordinary…brought about through idealism, courage…the right kind of politics.”

• Emotional Speeches: Hostages’ Families, Celebrity Appearances

  • Parents of an Israeli-American hostage’s plea for peace and ceasefire; the crowd's emotional reaction chanting "bring them home".
    ‣ [06:49-07:48] “It was a very powerful, powerful moment. And it’s probably when I cried the most.”
  • Other standouts: Bill Clinton’s job stats factoid, Oprah’s rousing “we aren’t going back,” musical performances by Stevie Wonder, John Legend, and female guitarist Ari.

• Viral Moments & Youth on Stage

  • Hakeem Jeffries offers a viral breakup analogy for Trump:
    ‣ [04:18-05:42]

    “Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend…bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”

  • The heartfelt moment with Gus, a neurodivergent teen supporting his dad, and the subsequent appalling attacks on him by Republicans.
    ‣ [11:40-12:48] DG: “If all the men and boys in our country were encouraged to feel their emotions…we’d have a better country.”

2. Political News, Legal Updates, and Right-Wing Developments

• Elon Musk’s Twitter/X Investors Revealed

  • Federal court unseals list: new transparency about who owns X, with familiar and lesser-known stakeholders.
    ‣ [13:04-16:29] AG: “Shareholders include…Andreessen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed…Jack Dorsey…X has not returned a request for comment.”

• DOJ January 6 Obstruction Prosecutions Post-SCOTUS Ruling

  • DOJ presses on with obstruction case against Shondell and Donald Chilcote, using new jury instructions per recent Supreme Court narrowing (Fisher ruling).
    ‣ [17:00-21:37] DG: “The government understands that the court wants to have confidence…the facts here give rise to a triable case…”

• Threats Against Biden, VP Harris, Obama

  • Tennessee man indicted for assassination threats posted on social media; rapid law enforcement response.
    ‣ [21:37-23:02] AG: “…Kyle Alton Hall did knowingly and willfully make a threat to…kill…President Biden…Vice President Harris, and…President Obama.”

• RFK Jr. Prepares to Exit Race and Endorse Trump

  • Kennedy expected to withdraw and potentially endorse Trump, causing bitterness and confusion among his supporters.
    ‣ [23:02-27:00] DG: “Kennedy plans to endorse Donald Trump…One possible scenario being discussed is for Kennedy to appear on stage at an event in Phoenix today…Kennedy’s thinking could always change because there’s a worm in there.”
  • Satirical banter about “the brain worm party.”

3. On-the-Ground Convention Interviews (Exclusive)

A. Interview with Harry Dunn (Capitol Police Officer, Jan 6 Hero)

‣ [28:44-41:55]

• Harry’s Perspective:
  • His political awakening working in the Capitol; importance of hearing perspectives but also insisting on facts.
  • On January 6 and media misrepresentation: “The media did you dirty, Harry, for a long time…they didn’t push back at the fact the Republicans were trying to rewrite what happened…” ([33:43])
  • Dunn recounts support shared with Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss: “...Tell your story, tell the truth…” ([34:21-34:36])
  • Failure of institutions (Senate, Supreme Court) to hold Trump accountable; ultimate responsibility ends with the people.
    ‣ [37:17-38:21] C (Dunn):

    “There’s one more institution…that is the people. That’s the people. November 5th…We’re the jury that we get to be the jury…”

  • AG and Dunn on the futility of waiting for “saviors” (Mueller, Jack Smith, Garland):
    ‣ [39:36-39:54] A:

    “We are the Muellers we’ve been waiting for…Stop saying that these prosecutors will save us…It’s us.”

B. Interview with John Fugelsang (Comedian, SiriusXM Host)

‣ [43:05-62:39]

• Convention Vibes & Storytelling:

  • Convention mood is electric; dramatic upgrades in production, messaging, and emotional storytelling.
  • Themes: Family values, cross-generational inspiration, the challenge of creating a sense of “motherland” in a changed America.
  • AG on the importance of Republican voices at the DNC:
    ‣ [51:42-55:13] “A bigger pool of Republicans this time…It’s not just about Democrat or Republican, it’s about democracy. It’s about our rights.”

• 2024 Election Strategy:

  • The hosts agree: the key is turnout, not persuasion.
    ‣ [57:12-58:03] B: “…It’s not about getting undecideds, it’s about getting people off the couch, not off the fence…” ‣ [57:52-58:03] A: “Because when we show up, we win…lower turnout, Republicans win.”
  • AG’s strategy advice for Harris/Walz:
    ‣ [60:16-61:21] “She needs Billie Eilish to sing the Barbie song…show Kamala’s journey, touch the heartstrings…step two, get the Taylor Swift endorsement.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Hakeem Jeffries ([04:18]):

  “Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away…Bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”

• Dana Nessel on LGBTQ+ Rights ([03:49]):

  “If you come for gay marriage, you can pry my wedding band off my cold, dead, gay hand.”

• Buttigieg’s Reflection ([05:46]):

  “This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, and from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime…”

• Bill Clinton’s Jobs Stat ([08:18]):

  “51 million jobs since the Cold War ended…50 million of them were created by Democrats.”

• Oprah Winfrey ([09:32]):

  “We’re not going to be kicked back. We won’t be pushed back, not bullied back. We aren’t going back.”

• Harry Dunn ([37:17]):

  “If the Senate convicted Donald Trump…If they convicted him, we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now. But there’s one more institution that has an opportunity…and that’s us. That is the people. November 5th…we get to be the jury.”

• Allison Gill ([39:36]):

  “We are the Muellers we’ve been waiting for.”

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Listener Good News and Shout-outs ([63:02-end])

• Community messages and photos: stories about pet adoption, mutual aid, Minnesota kindness, health resources, baby announcements, nature photography, support for authors and small businesses.
• Correction from a listener, Betsy: “We are not post-COVID. There are currently 47,000 cases this week worldwide…long COVID numbers continue to climb…” ([65:16-67:03])
• Self-shout-outs: Listeners encouraged to celebrate their wins and share how government programs have helped.

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Conclusion and Tone

The episode offers a thoroughly engaging, personal, and at times humorous fly-on-the-wall perspective at a historic DNC. It blends heartfelt social justice themes, biting political analysis, and community warmth, with a clear call to action: democracy is in the voters’ hands, not those of “saviors.” The energy is progressive, witty, and, at times, deeply emotional, especially during stories of cross-partisan solidarity and moments of vulnerability onstage and off.

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:32–12:48 – DNC recap; key speeches, moments, and tributes
• 13:04–27:00 – Hot Notes: Musk/Twitter, DOJ Jan 6 cases, threats against political leaders, RFK Jr. news
• 28:44–41:55 – Harry Dunn interview (convention, Jan 6, saving democracy)
• 43:05–62:39 – John Fugelsang interview (convention vibe, storytelling, strategy, voter turnout)
• 63:02–74:32 – Listener Good News, corrections, animal stories, local heroes

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Final Sign-Off

“Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family…Vote blue over Q and take all that family with you.” ([75:08–75:22])

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For New Listeners

If you missed the show, this episode offers heartfelt DNC convention stories, acute legal and political commentary, exclusive interviews with figures at the heart of recent history, and a welcoming, activist-spirited community vibe—plus a strong reminder: “We are the ones we've been waiting for.”

Transcript

[A]

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. Refried beans. I like refried beans.

[B]

That's why I want to try fried.

[A]

Beans because maybe they're just as good.

[C]

And we're wasting time.

[A]

Whispering. Jelly beans. Daily beans. Jelly beans. Daily beans. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Friday, August 23, 2024. Today we have the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with the headliner, the vice president herself, Kamala Harris. And it happens to be her and Doug Emhoff's 10 year anniversary. Elon Musk's Twitter revealed its investors in a court filing. A Tennessee man was indicted for threatening to kill President Biden, Vice President Harris and former President Obama. On Twitter. The Department of justice says it will move ahead with an obstruction charge despite the Supreme Court ruling on Fisher. And RFK Jr. Is set to drop out of the race Friday, which is today, and endorse Donald Trump. Big surprise. I'm Allison Gill.

[D]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[A]

Hey, Dana. Happy Friday. I mean, it's Thursday pre convention before, you know, as we're taping this. So we're about to head over to the United center and watch the rest of this, this shindig. Yeah.

[D]

And you already work hard enough, but this week, I know, has just been a lot for you. You've been doing interviews all day. We've been recording all of your podcasts. I don't know how you're doing it. And then you're basically going to the convention from 5 to 11pm Are you sleeping?

[A]

I am not. Well, a little bit. I'm getting a little bit of sleep. I'll be recording the clip cleanup bonus with Pete from the convention floor because there's no other time to do it. And then I have to run up after Kamala Harris's speech to do a live hit on local TV here in Chicago from the arena. I don't know how I'm gonna pull it off, but you're gonna pull off a big woman's luncheon. But it's been amazing to be here. Let's talk a little bit about what we saw last night, which was Wednesday night, night three. We saw our good friend Olivia Troy and Jeff Duncan, some very powerful Republicans coming out to endorse Kamal. Inspiring.

[D]

It was indeed. And all respect to Olivia Troy. Jeff Duncan really got my heartstrings going because his son had a little carved piece of wood, and it basically said, you know, doing the right thing is never wrong. I believe what it said. And he just said, hold strong, dad, because I'm sure he's getting a lot of flack, but, you know, they're going on stage. And his best line was, if you vote for Kamala, it doesn't make you a Democrat. It makes you a patriot. It makes you care about democracy. Voting for her does not make you a Democrat. It doesn't. And it was just a beautiful thing. So I thought it was very powerful, especially on primetime, to have Republicans stand up there and say, hey, you know what? Country over party. Let's do this, and then let's rebuild.

[A]

Yeah, it was fantastic. So some highlights. Dana Nestle was incredible.

[D]

She was. I love her. You know, it's the representation for the LGBTQ community. Last night with herself and Secretary Buttigieg, which I know we'll get to. It's just so nice for people watching at home, home, seeing these people in such high positions in our government, knowing that you can get there. It, you know, if you want to be represented in a seat at the table, run for office, whether it's your school board or, you know, if you want to be in Congress, anything, anything to make a difference, you. You can do it. And it's just been so nice to have them on national television.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. No representation definitely matters. And her, I thought her line of the night is when she warned the right wing Supreme Court, if you come for gay marriage, you can pry my wedding band off my cold, dead, gay hand. And the crowd went wild. It was incredible. And then I think one of my favorite parts of the night was Hakeem Jeffries. Oh, my God. Like, bro, we broke up with you for a reason. Let me play that clip because it's truly incredible.

[E]

Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won't go away. He has spent the last four years spinning the block, trying to get back into a relationship with the American people. Bro, we broke up with you for a reason. Trump was the Mastermind of the GOP tax system scam, where 83% of the benefits went to the wealthiest 1% in America. Trump failed our country during the COVID 19 pandemic. Trump is a chaos agent who is focused on himself, not the American people. Trump tried to destroy our democracy by lying about the election and inciting a violent mob to attack the Capitol. Trump put three Extreme justices on the Supreme Court who destroyed Roe v. Wade. We broke up with you for a reason. Donald Trump can spin the block all he wants, but there's no reason for us to ever get back together. Been there, done that. We're not going back.

[A]

And then, Dana, you were talking about Pete Buttigieg.

[D]

Yeah, he's always so good. He's an incredible speaker. And he got on stage, he said, some of you might recognize me from Fox News because he's on Fox News all the time. Reaching to the other side. Anyway, the quote that he gave on stage, I'll just read it to you. He said, the existence of my family is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago. This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, and from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime. See, it got me last night too. But that, but that didn't just happen. It was brought about through idealism and courage, through organizing and persuasion and storytelling and yes, through politics. The right kind of politics is just a beautiful thing.

[A]

And the work you do, my friend, with, with HRC and Lambda Legal made. That's what he's talking about. It didn't just happen. It was brought about, you know, and so I'm just so proud of you.

[D]

The other. Thank you, honey, so much. The other one that I know isn't necessarily on our, on our list is the parents of the hostage, the Israeli captive who happens to be a US citizen. On October 7, he was at the music festival. No matter where you lie on this, this war in the Middle east, seeing the parents of an American hostage that happens to be Israeli. But it wasn't just that they were calling for a ceasefire to end the damage in Gaza of innocent civilians. It was not a one sided speech. It was very much, we want peace, we want our son back. We want you to have your children, your father's and your uncles back and your aunts and your grand, your grandmother's back, and to have peace in Gaza. It was a very powerful, powerful moment. And it's probably when I cried the most, just watching a mother put her head collapse on a podium. When she was on the podium, I was done. I was done.

[A]

Yeah. Cause I think the whole arena was channing, bring them home and bring him home. And she just, she put her head down and could almost not bear it. But it was a very emotional moment. Yeah, thank you for reminding me of that. And then, yeah, we had former President Bill Clinton and he said he had a couple of great lines. Don't count the lies. When you. When you listen to Donald Trump, count the eyes. I thought that was a very powerful line, but I think the. The hit of the night is when he talked about.

[D]

He looked up.

[A]

I had to check it three times. He said, I looked up the jobs created since the Cold War. Since the end of the Cold War. 51 million jobs and 50 million of them were created by Democrats and Democratic administrations. And everyone's jaws hit the floor. And then we saw all the fact checking on Twitter. Ye. Yep, that's true. And they showed the graphs and the charts and the numbers from the Labor Department. 50 million to 1 million jobs created. So that was big. Then we had Stevie Wonder and John Legend covering Prince.

[D]

So good. Can we talk about the female guitarist real quick before we move on? Apparently, she plays for a lot of bands. Her name is Ari. And when she hit the floor, it was. I mean, that moment. So thank you for that. My God, the power on stage. And John Legend, she plays for Beyonce.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

I'm just saying that's handy.

[A]

That comes in handy.

[D]

Maybe a twofer, huh?

[A]

Yeah, we'll get another on the floor guitar solo. Oh, that was so incredible. From the. Let's go crazy. You know, that whole big solo. And she was brilliant. And Prince is one of the best guitar players, one of the best musicians, like, of my lifetime. And so for her to.

[D]

Could you imagine if he would have been here still?

[A]

Oh, man.

[D]

Because, you know, he would have played. Yeah.

[A]

Oh, heck, yeah. He would have done the little John from Minnesota.

[D]

He would have come down with his.

[A]

Big purple guitar, man. Incredible. Oprah. We got to see Oprah Winfrey. And she had a great line. She said, we're not going to be kicked back. We won't be pushed back, not bullied back. We aren't going back. And that really sent some chills up and down my spine.

[D]

Yeah. Vote for common sense and not nonsense.

[A]

So good. She's just so good. And she appeals to such a broad aud. And then again, you know, looking around that arena and being there this whole week, the diversity in that arena is beautiful. And like, that is the. That is the America I live in and that I want to live in. You know, it's just. Just incredible.

[D]

Absolutely. I was saying that for those of you that live in Florida who aren't able to learn black history in your schools anymore, turn on the dnc. Because we have been at school all week. The stories, the history, the lessons, it's just beautiful. And black history in this country is magnificent. And I'm so happy that it's starting, like, really getting spotlighted on national television because, you know, there's a lot of Republicans watching this. And. And so maybe, maybe this is reaching somebody. Maybe it's reaching an undecided voter that is like, you know what? I actually care about all the things they're talking about. And I want to see a country like that for my children.

[A]

Yeah. Well, we're taking back what it means to be a patriot for freedom, for. For being an American. And I think Kenan Thompson did a really great job of outlining Kenan was problems with Project 2025. But then man of the hour, right, Tim Walls came on. And first of all, a student came up to introduce him, one of his former students. And then he brought out alumni from Coach Walls's football team. And that was a very powerful moment because I think we're going to reach a lot of different people that, you know, again, wouldn't normally Independents, folks on the fence, folks in the Midwest, see a football team out there. I mean, it's just all American. It was fantastic. But the night belonged to Hope and Gus.

[D]

Oh, my goodness.

[A]

And I still like when I watch that clip of him standing up through tears, pounding his chest, saying, that's my dad. I love you, dad. It was just beautiful.

[D]

See, I cried all last night. I'm doing it again now. You are seeing the worst. The worst of the GOP by attacking this young man. The worst of them, they're abhorrent human beings. I just. It just reminds me, I'm so grateful to be a Democrat. I really am. You know, we're calling adults weird because they are being weird. But when you go after a child, and not just any child, a neurodivergent child for loving his father and showing raw emotion on national television. If all the men and boys in our country were encouraged to actually feel their emotions, express their emotions in a positive way, I guarantee we'd have less mass shootings and we'd have a better country. It's just that kid. I'm so glad he's getting all of the love and hope. Beautiful young woman and that family. You know, it's funny, I tweeted the Republicans tout themselves as a, you know, the party for family values. They don't seem to like any family that has values. They just don't.

[A]

Right. And, yeah, you're talking about. I think, you know, you tweeted out a little bit of ago about Ann Coulter's tweet, which was just sick and vile and evil. And. And she ended up deleting it. And I was like, that's right, because we told you if you come for Gus, we ride at dawn.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And we warned you, like Oprah said, we won't be bullied back. We're not going back. So hashtag Team Gus forever. It was beautiful, incredible night. I'm looking forward to tonight. All right, that was our little recap of what's going on at the dnc, but we have some news to get to. Other things are happening in the world, so let's hit the Hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, from the Washington Post, A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Elon Musk's Twitter to unseal the list of shareholders involved with X Holdings Corp. Giving the public an official look at the investors who aided his $44 billion purchase of the social media platform previously known as Twitter. But I still call it Twitter back in October of 2022. Shareholders named in the document include some of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, as well as a fund linked with hip hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs. The filing lists nearly 100 entities with a stake in Twitter, although many appear to represent different funds controlled by the same firm or person. Other investors include venture capital firm Anderson Andresen, Andreessen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Ben, Talal Al Saud, Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey and 8VC, a venture capital firm co funded by John Lonsdale, a co founder of intelligence contractor and data analysis platform Palantir. We know their jerks. Lesser known shareholders included in the filing are Unipol Psi Spa, an Italian financial services company based in Bologna. Many of the larger investors had previously been reported, but X had not publicly detailed its stakeholders before, and X has not returned a request for comment. Twitter originally filed a list of investors under seal as part of a lawsuit brought in 2023 by former Twitter employees who alleged that the entrepreneur violated their arbitration agreements by failing to pay them certain fees after he bought the company. Attorneys for the Nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a motion in July asking the court to unseal this record on behalf of independent technology journalist Jacob Silverman. So on Tuesday, District Judge Susan Ilston granted Silverman's motion to unseal the filing and ordered Twitter to file an unredacted copy on the docket. The Post downloaded an unredacted version of the filing from the court website Wednesday. It's not clear when it was made available to the public. Katie Townsend, Legal director for the reporters committee, said in a statement. Yet the court's ruling vindicates the interest of the general public in knowing who owns Twitter. In an earlier blog post after the motion requesting the records be unsealed was filed, Silverman wrote that, quote, people have the right to know who owns this company. With such a prominent role in shaping public discourse both in the United States and around the world, Musk, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in recent history. I guess you could say it's not really looking that way these days, at least to the sec, drew interest from investors large and small after he wanted to, you know, announced he was going to buy it. But there are indications that under his ownership, Twitter's business has struggled, potentially causing investor stakes to lose value. I think some stakeholders actually sued him. Twitter does not routinely release financial data. Musk had launched new subscription options and AI chatbot Grok, but also made deep staff cuts. We know all this, right? And this month, Twitter filed suit against advertisers for leaving the platform because they didn't want to put their Rice Krispie treats next to fucking swastikas. Boop. That's me. Not Washington Post.

[D]

I don't even understand how you can sue someone on those grounds.

[A]

Just weird, right? I was like, yeah, well, I sued, you know, Rolling Stones for not playing my birthday party. What if I, like, shut up. In recent weeks, Musk has seized on the presidential election as a way to attract more users to the platform, and he says that the Twitter has reached an all time high. The tech entrepreneur who endorsed former President Donald Trump last month has courted a right wing audience on the platform, raising concerns about how it will shape online discourse ahead of the election. So that's what Washington Post says.

[D]

Thanks, AG. This one's from Jordan Fisher at WUSA9. The Department of Justice said Wednesday it intends to take an Ohio couple to trial on allegations they obstructed the joint session of Congress on January 6, even after the Supreme Court ruling narrowing the statute earlier this year. In a new filing, federal prosecutor said they believe their evidence in the case against Shondell and Donald Chilcote of Salina is sufficient to sustain conviction on the obstruction of an official proceeding charge. In June, SCOTUS ruled defendants charged under the post Enron obstruction statute must take some action that, quote, impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects or other things used in the proceeding or attempted to do so. The decision appears to be the first for the Justice Department, which has since early July moved to dismiss the charge in dozens of cases pending trial because of that. But in the Chilcotes case, prosecutors said they will only seek an updated jury instruction. The remainder of the filing, which was itself a response to an order from U.S. district Judge Colleen Kohler Catelli seeking clarity on how SCOTUS's decision would affect the case, laid out how the DOJ believes they can achieve a conviction under the newly narrowed statute. And I quote, the government understands that the court wants to have confidence that the facts here give rise to a tribal case. Well, according to the filing, the DOJ's evidence at trial will show the Chilcotes were well aware of the process on January 6 and the presence of physical ballots, which when they joined other members of the mob, they entered the Senate chamber two days prior to the riot. Prosecutors say Shondell Chilcote responded to a Facebook friend that she had just called the office of then Senator Rob Portman of Ohio about rejecting, quote, fraudulent votes. A day later, they said Shondell posted on Facebook about then Vice President Mike Pence saying he, quote, cannot reject the votes. And a day after the riot, prosecutors said Shondell said they were, quote, just trying to stop them from certifying the votes and didn't know they were already gone.

[A]

Whoops.

[D]

Yep. She also allegedly bragged that it was not Antifa who stormed the Capitol, but her.

[A]

Bless your heart.

[D]

That's when you say that the crime part out loud. It's hard to spell that. And I quote, okay, so Antifa is being blamed for breaking windows and storming Congress. This is what Shonda allegedly said and went on to say, no, it was us. I was them and couldn't be more proud. Prosecutor said.

[A]

Yep.

[D]

Prosecutors said all of that was enough for a jury to, quote, infer that Shondale Chilcote attempted to impair the ability of the Electoral college votes which Congress was to consider. They said due to his joint conduct and their relationship, the jury could infer Donald Chilcote was attempting to do the same. Quote, through their conduct, the defendants demonstrated an intent to invade and occupy the Capitol building and to stop the certification of Electoral college votes. This is what prosecutors wrote. And they continued. And critically, they were aware that this proceeding involved records, documents or other things, specifically the electoral votes that Congress was to consider. The DOJ's theory has yet to be tested, although it aligns closely with how Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested in a concurrence that the obstruction count could be changed in January 6th cases going forward. Quote, that official proceeding plainly used certain records, documents or objects, including, among others, those relating in the electoral votes themselves. That's what Jackson wrote. So the Chilcotes were scheduled to begin a jury trial before caller Catelli on October 4, although it was unclear whether that date would. On Monday, the Chilcote's attorneys, Joseph McBride and Bradford Geier, filed a motion to withdraw from the case.

[A]

Oh, oops, whoops.

[D]

In the motion, McBride and Guyer said the attorney client relationship had, quote, irretrievably broken down and the defendants appear to have fired them.

[A]

Oh, good job.

[D]

They filed note without expressly saying it was the cause of the apparent breakdown that McBride and Guyer had made clear to the chill codes that they would not put a, quote, sovereign citizen defense in an order Monday, Caller Cotelli said she had received filings from Shondale chilcote referring to McBride and Guyer as, quote, my former attorneys. She said a status hearing on August 29th to determine whether the Chilcotes intended to seek new attorneys, have attorneys appointed to them or represent themselves at trials. I would go no on the last one if I was them. But hey, you do you, you do you.

[A]

Yeah. And I think this is an interesting preview of how the Department of Justice might bring or re bring the charges against Donald Trump. And Andy and I are going to talk about that on the next Jack podcast. Next up, a Tennessee man was indicted for threatening to kill President Biden, Vice President Harris and former President Obama on Twitter. This is from the indictment. Count one. On July 27, 2024, so this is fast. In the Western District of Tennessee, Kyle Alton hall did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, specifically by posting on X, a social media platform that he was going to kill, assassinate, shoot and crash the plane of the President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, all in Violation of Title 18, U.S. code Section 871A. Count 2. On July 27th in the Western District of Tennessee, Kyle Alton Hull did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life to inflict bodily harm upon the Vice President of the United States by posting on X, a social media platform, that he was going to assassinate Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris in Violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 871A. Count three. All that same stuff. But they were going to kill President Obama. Posting on X that he was going to assassinate Obama in Violation of Title 18, US Code Section 879A1. So yeah, that's that guy's going to jail.

[D]

Yeah, definitely going to jail. Okay. This last story. This is from ABC News. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is planning to drop out of the presidential race by the end of this week. This is sources familiar with the decision. That's what they told ABC News. Sources tell ABC News that Kennedy plans to endorse Donald Trump. No surprise to anyone. But when asked directly by ABC News if he will be endorsing the former president, Kennedy said, I will not confirm or deny that.

[A]

Could the brain worm be reached for comment?

[D]

Maybe. I don't know. Maybe the brain worm said, we're not talking about any of that.

[A]

That's what he said.

[D]

Sources. Sources cost in the decision not to yet finalize. That could still change. With one source adding that Kennedy's hope is in part to finalize things quickly in order to try to blunt momentum from Democratic National Convention. Wow. This guy thinks he's very powerful.

[A]

Yeah. He thinks he's super important.

[D]

Yeah. One possible scenario being discussed is for Kennedy to appear on stage with at an event in Phoenix today. Though the sources caution that Kennedy's thinking could always change, sources close to Trump say no plan for Friday is finalized.

[A]

Kennedy's thinking could always change because there's a worm in there.

[D]

Oh, my God. Kennedy's campaign manager, Emma Rillis. Fox emailed senior staff on Wednesday morning thanking them for their hard work, but indicated a decision on the way forward had not been made. That's a source familiar and that's also what they told abc, Quote, there are a couple of potential paths forward, not only to. And I can bear witness to the case. Examination, Examination. Hold on. Examination that Bobby has invested in the consideration of each. That's what Fox wrote. According to the source, a spokesperson for Kennedy posted on X that Kennedy will address the nation live on Friday to discuss his path forward, but offered no specifics. A spokesperson for Trump campaign did not immediately request for comment and respond to any requests for comment. Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, who in a podcast interview published Tuesday said Kennedy was considering a move to, quote, join forces with Trump. This would told ABC News Wednesday that choice is Bobby's decision and that he has her full support.

[A]

It's a coup, isn't it? A coup?

[D]

I think so.

[A]

If you step down from the presidential race because you're not doing well. Oh, I think it's a couple of.

[D]

The campaign's discussions with Trump's team. She said, quote, all we can do is to gauge sincerity, really. And we're gauging sincerity from Donald Trump. And I think the Word sincerity. And I don't know why I said it like that twice, everyone, but I'm just going to correct myself. What sincerity.

[A]

That's the same thing.

[D]

Kennedy told ABC News regarding the Democratic Convention and Democratic presidential nomination of Kamala Harris. Quote, I think it was a coronation. It's not democracy. Nobody voted. Who chose Kamala? It wasn't voters.

[A]

But you're gonna step aside and endorse the. Okay. Yeah.

[D]

He also complained about the way his campaign has been treated. He said she went in four weeks from being the worst liability for Democratic Party to the second coming of Christ without giving one interview, without showing up for a debate, without a single policy that anyone thinks isn't ridiculous. He said it's not democracy. For weeks, Kennedy, buried under an avalanche of lawsuits brought by the Democratic groups challenging his place on state ballots, has accused Democrats of acting undemocratically by trying to strip his supporters of the opportunity to vote for him. Shanahan on Wednesday said, we're getting prosecuted politically right now. This is not normal for democracy. Just a question. Did RFK debate anyone to get. And who is he running? What party?

[A]

You know what? You got me. I thought he wanted to run for the Democratic Party, and then the Democrats were like, no, sorry, no.

[D]

But so somehow he's getting his name on. On the. As a third party.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So I. Yeah, you know what? I don't know. The brain worm party, I guess it could be.

[D]

Well, I guarantee he didn't debate anyone for those votes. He didn't get any. You know what I mean? Like, he got the nomination because he gave it to himself for whatever party.

[A]

He invented, the Bear witness party. I don't know, man. Yeah. Oh, yeah. We've. We've disenfranchised all nine of his voters. It's a coup. Okay. All right, everybody, we have some good news to get to, but after this break, I was able to participate in an interview or a couple of interviews during this convention on the floor of the convention in media row. And so I think we're going to be able to play some of the. One. At least one of those interviews for you. We'll know a little bit more later in the day, but you're going to get at least one of those interviews after this break, and then we'll hit the good news. So stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.

[F]

We'll be right back.

[A]

Foreign hey, everybody, it's ag. If it sounds loud and kind of crazy right now, that's because I am in the hallway. I'm at the United Center, Section 106 for the Democratic National Convention, 2024, day four. And I have an interview for you that I did yesterday at WCPT 8:20am radio here in Chicago. Oh, here's Victor Shi walking right by. Come on up. Just say hi to the folks.

[F]

Hi, everyone.

[C]

It's Victor Shi.

[A]

Oh, it's wonderful to see you, my friend. You just run into everybody here.

[C]

I know.

[A]

I'll see you later. We're going to have such a good time tonight. So this interview that you're about to hear is between myself, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn. And we talked to Richard Chu and Patty Vasquez at WCPT, 8:20am I hope you enjoy it.

[G]

We have with us Harry Dunn. You know, you've seen him in interviews. And we sadly, on January 6th, we all learned the sacrifice that so many of our men and women in blue had to endure when they were, when people were lied to about what was happening in our election. And we want to talk to him about his experiences and why he's at the Democratic National Convention. And we also have Alison Gill from Mueller. She wrote. You can also check out. We should go back and listen to On Topic with Renato Mariota, because I had the pleasure of interviewing her about five years ago. So both of you, I think, are so important in this conversation at the Democratic National Convention because it kind of brings together everything that we've been through over the last eight years. And let me start with Alison, because I know that during the Trump first four, the only four years, you did a lot of work explaining what was going on legally. Tell us a little about your background and what people should know about the work you were doing in regards to the investigation in Trump and Russia.

[A]

Yeah, sure. First of all, I'm not a lawyer.

[G]

Oh, I thought you were.

[A]

Okay. No. So you can listen to me and trust me. No, I'm just kidding, just kidding to all my lawyer friends. But I've always been very interested in politics. You know, I'm a disabled veteran and I worked at the Department of Veterans affairs for over a decade. And around 2017, you know, Mueller was appointed. And I felt like this seems like I felt the weight of history. This seems historical and important. And I, I wanted to get that information out all in one place to everybody who wanted to hear it because I thought it was going to be really important that people got that information.

[G]

And we needed it. I mean, you're on top of everything and you're, and you are sharing stories that should be amplified so that People are engaged and understand what's happening in real time. And I don't know when you started following Alison and Mueller. She wrote Richard.

[F]

It's an interesting story. So Dana Goldberg, comedian Dana Goldberg from DG Comedy, and I became friends in 2019, so I started connecting with Dana and, you know, trying to figure out literally how to do a show, a comedy show here in Chicago. And as I started following Dana then.

[A]

Yeah, Dana. Dana Goldberg is my co host on the daily basis.

[G]

Oh, that's right. That's right.

[F]

And so that's how it happened. And then this, like I said earlier when I. When I first met Allison, and this kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier with. With Lee McGowan, what. What Allison has done. And. And Harry, you probably recognize this, too. She simplifies some of the complicated talk right now when it comes to legal issues and when it comes to civics so that everyday folks can. Can take it in and then turn around and use it effectively.

[A]

Yep.

[F]

She does that extraordinarily well.

[G]

Yes. And that's what condenses it.

[F]

Yes, that's what drew me to her.

[C]

That's very quickly.

[G]

That's the thing about Twitter is it has to be consumable now. Now, did you, Harry, did you. Did you follow politics prior? Were you, like, were you, you know, entrenched? A lot of us marinate this, as Stephanie Miller says.

[C]

Yeah.

[G]

What were you. Where were you politically prior to?

[C]

Well, I will say. I will say a couple things. You said Allison said she wasn't a lawyer, but Rudy Giuliani is one. So, like, you got to put some perspective on kind of things like that, you know.

[A]

Outstanding, right?

[F]

Was one, yeah.

[C]

What was one, Exactly.

[A]

Thank you for putting the bar.

[C]

I'm just saying the title doesn't necessarily matter.

[G]

I mean, the understanding of the law.

[C]

Exactly, exactly. And so you asked me. So. So working at the Capitol, I mean, people don't realize. I was a capitol police officer 13, 12. 13 years before January 6th.

[G]

Okay.

[C]

And so I was always at the Capitol. And as I grew to. You work somewhere, you start to understand and you grow. I called it a political awakening. And I just started to learn about what's going on in the world and. And not necessarily watching the news, but I was right there, so I didn't need to watch the news. I saw what was happening on the House floor. I saw what was happening on Senate floor. I was there. And being in the trenches of it, you learn. I mean, I'm lifelong Democrat, lifelong liberal person, and obviously, as a Police officer. So I was always paying attention to what was going on. But now, obviously, I love hearing people's takes now, because when you do that, you live in an echo chamber, and that's kind of dangerous. You don't want to live in an echo chamber, but you want to understand all sides of things. But mainly, which Allison is so good at, she does, you know, inject her personal beliefs in it, but when she's talking straight facts, she just breaks it down with the facts. And you can't read that and not walk away with a clear understanding of what is going on. And that's what people need to understand, just the facts of what's going on.

[F]

That's why I started. I mean, so at that point, to your question, and as Harry said, is she.

[A]

That's.

[F]

That's kind of your superpower. And I don't know if anybody's put it that way, but I think it definitely is. So. And that's exciting.

[B]

Right now.

[F]

It's. And it's needed.

[A]

It is needed.

[F]

It's so needed. Because to your point, you get caught up in the bubble, and then there's so much that's coming at you, and you don't know how to, you know, put it in the silos so that you can try to learn from it and then help somebody else.

[A]

Well, it was because of Harry that I was able to get into the January 6 hearings and give an honest accounting of them, because I don't think the media was doing. I think the media did you Dirty Harry for a long time and didn't really push back at the fact that the Republicans were just trying to rewrite what happened on January 6th.

[G]

It's so maddening.

[A]

Yeah. And so it was an honor and a privilege to be there with you and to present those facts to the American people the way that I saw them. Like the one who went up and hugged Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss, and you whispered in her ear, and I said, what did you whisper? And you told me, tell him.

[C]

I don't remember.

[A]

Oh, I don't remember.

[C]

I do remember, because we just talked about it again. But I'm. I'm blanking right now.

[A]

You said. You said, this is how you do it. You tell your story.

[C]

Yes, yes, yes.

[A]

You get the facts. And. And that's exactly what ended up happening. And it was. It was fantastic.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Well, I just wanted to extend a moment of empathy with them, but just telling them, continue to tell your story, tell the truth, what's going on. And I just Wanted to be there for them at that moment. But also, like getting Allison in. I've got to learn and know what she did with the work that she did on Twitter. It's always Twitter to me. It's not X, it's Twitter.

[A]

I agree.

[C]

Just seeing the work that she would do, and I knew that she would do a great service inside the hearing, so I definitely wanted to make her one of my guests when the January 6 hearings were going on.

[G]

You both have served America. Right. I mean, in the work of the Capitol Hill. And as a veteran. I mean, it is. And you mentioned, Harry, that you are a lifelong Democrat. And as a veteran, what branch were you in? Alison?

[A]

I was in the Navy under Clinton. It was not difficult, but I could sign up. But it was a long time ago in the 90s.

[G]

I know, but it's still. But when you see veterans who, because there were veterans at January 6th with military training who somehow were driven by, again, this misunderstanding, misconception of lies. Lies.

[B]

Not.

[C]

Not misconception, not misunderstanding. Not misconception. Lies.

[G]

But they were misunderstanding the reality. I mean, like, they've tricked themselves. I don't know. They choose it. Okay.

[C]

They were intellectually dishonest about what happened. The facts were there. Donald Trump lost over 60 appeals. Appeals about the election. Yeah, it lost. And he won one. Maybe one. One. One.

[F]

There were 63.

[C]

63. And he won one. So let's be real. They were intellectually dishonest about what? They wouldn't have a mission.

[A]

Probably didn't hear about any of that because they've been marinating, as you said.

[G]

Yeah. In their own.

[F]

In the other side of this.

[C]

Yeah.

[F]

Well. And I. I really appreciate here, you saying it that way. They were lies and they. And they deceived themselves.

[C]

Yep.

[F]

And there's a point where, I mean, we're all in the same age band. I'm older than all you guys, but we're all the same general age band. There's a point where you have to look in the mirror and go, that's a doggone lie. And if you don't say that to yourself. My father used to say this to me all the time. Richard, you can lie to anybody else, but when you lie to yourself, then you're not going to be able to be true to anything that's important. And that's what I think has happened with that crowd. Sorry, Allison.

[A]

No, I was just going to say I hope all those veterans, and I think many of them have been stripped of their veteran status. They get no benefit.

[G]

They get no.

[A]

And they. Nor do they deserve them. You can't take an oath to the Constitution and then do what you did on January unless.

[C]

Unless you're Donald Trump and you run for president, because how the hell.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

Is he still able to. And that just. I mean, I don't know how further along. I'm getting too far ahead of myself. But these institutions have failed us, I believe, have failed us for accountability. You know, specifically the Senate and the Supreme Court.

[A]

Court.

[C]

If the Senate convicted Donald Trump when it impeached him in the first impeachment. Even after January 6th. After January 6th. If they. If they convicted him, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now. Because under the Constitution, if you're impeached, you're. That you're unable to run for office if you're convicted. That's what I'm saying.

[A]

If they convicted him, they have to write that little.

[C]

Correct. If they convicted him. But Mitch McConnell, the Senate, led by Mitch McConnell. Trump failed that. So that institution failed us. The Supreme Court failed us by giving the immunity. They failed us. But there's one more institution that has an opportunity to hold Donald Trump accountable, and that's us. That is the people. That's the people. November 5th. How fitting. We're the jury that we get to be the jury. We get to say, you know what, it's our turn now.

[A]

And it's always been us. It's always been.

[F]

We're not going to lie to ourselves.

[C]

Absolutely.

[F]

We know that there's things that have happened, and in some cases, you guys may agree or disagree with this, we kind of have fallen asleep. And you said failed. Yeah, but I think collectively, there's been a little bit of asleep at the wheel. We got comfortable, and now we are going, oh, my God, I can't believe we let ourselves get this comfortable.

[C]

So that's what happened with Hillary, with Hillary Clinton. We said, there's no way Donald Trump's gonna win. And people just like I told this.

[G]

Story, I promised when he was only 13, and I told him, this country's not gonna let that happen. And I didn't believe it till the night before. I thought Trump was gonna win. The whole time, I had standing bets with people. I'm like, he's not dropping out. He's gonna go up in the polls. And then the last minute, I bought a white pant suit, I was ready, and I went to a taco truck and Skittles party. I don't know if you remember all this history about the Skittles having a poison Skittle. Anyway. Not here. Neither here nor there. But here's the thing to your point about we, you know, we are the institution that will rescue America. Is that. But we told Trump that four years ago, and he's like, let the country decide. No, we decided.

[A]

I'm just.

[G]

I'm getting a little fired up.

[F]

No, no, we should.

[A]

Well, I think, you know, I was saying it. In 2018, everyone's like, Mueller's gonna save us. I'm like, no, no, no. Mueller's a prosecutor. Do his job, and that'll be it. We are the Muellers we've been waiting for.

[G]

Nice.

[A]

I think I even had a little shirt or something. And then. Then again with the Jack Smith. I have a podcast about that with. With Andy McCabe, a former Deputy Director, FBI. Jack Smith's gonna save us. No, stop saying that. These prosecutors are gonna save us. Merrick Garland's gonna save us.

[G]

Where's Milk Toast Garland?

[A]

Like, stop. Leave these people alone. That's not. Their job is to prosecute. They did that. They indicted him over a year ago. Plenty of time to have a trial. In comes the captured, bought and yes, purchased Supreme Court and blows it all up.

[G]

Yep.

[A]

And Judge Eileen Cannon, who is in.

[F]

Trump's body, which we let. This is.

[A]

It's truly unbelievable.

[F]

The upside of this, this. The inspirational part of this is.

[C]

I'm waiting to hear this. Hold on. The upside.

[F]

We mean, what you said, though. It comes back to us.

[C]

Yeah.

[F]

It comes back to us. And to. To Allison's point, you know. Well, this. This person's gonna write it in a white horse. No. This one. No, no, it's us. We have our own horses.

[C]

That's right.

[F]

And imagine the visual of that. All of us.

[C]

Yeah.

[F]

Figuratively walking in with. Riding on our horses.

[C]

Yeah. And that's.

[F]

That's the exciting part for me. And I think that that's transferred from the vice president and the governor to so many people right now. And we have to do what every. Michelle. Mrs. Obama said last night. It's in our hands. We have to deal with it. We have to run with it and go forward.

[C]

This is the most important moment, I think with Michelle Obama's speech last night and right now in this building, this whole week, the energy has been through the roof. People are excited. When we go home, when we go home to our states, we go home to our counties where we live. We got to maintain that.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

We can't fall off. We're doing a bunch of us right now. We're doing a lot of preaching to the choir.

[A]

Yeah. Right.

[C]

But there's so many people that we need to continue to get involved and keep them motivated, and that's why I'm so happy to be what I'm doing now.

[G]

So I want to thank Harry Dunn and Allison Gill for your service. Both of you. Yeah, of course. Check out Mueller. She wrote Pod. A daily beans pod.

[F]

You have to.

[A]

Yeah, the Mueller She Wrote podcast is gone. Shut.

[G]

Yeah, Daily Beans. Well, still, you can check out the old. You can check out the old news and just dig it up and follow. Definitely follow her on Twitter, as we all still call it. Harry Dunn is an author as well. So where can people find your book? What's the best place to send them?

[C]

Amazon.

[G]

Amazon.

[C]

Amazon. But it's also in. In brick and mortar stores. Standing My ground.

[G]

Excellent. And thank you for doing such a good book.

[A]

Thank you. So good.

[C]

Appreciate it.

[G]

And I look forward to seeing you. And we will hope to stay in touch with you and have you on again.

[C]

Happy to.

[G]

Richard and I are so great grateful that you stopped by and allowed us to talk to you both at the same time, because you seem to know each other. When I saw you guys were, like, excited. I'm like, all right, let's put them in. Thank you both so much, and we'll see you around the hallways. Enjoy yourselves. Well deserved.

[A]

After these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody, welcome back. It's AG again, live here on the floor. Democratic National Convention 2024. It's so electric here, I can't explain it. We are going to blow the roof off this place tonight. It's going to be packed to the rafters. And in grand tradition for the daily beans, it's still Fugal Sang Fridays, because I got to sit down with John. Fugal sang where he interviewed me for SiriusXM radio, you know, his amazing show, Tell me everything, channel 127A SiriusXM progress. And I got that audio, so I'm gonna share that with you right now. And then as soon as this is done, then you will get the good news, I promise. Thanks, everybody. I hope you enjoy the interview.

[B]

One of the best things about being at the DNC is that you get to run into all kinds of wonderful political and media people that I only get to talk to on Zoom. So I am so pleased to welcome a regular guest on this show. She has made so many appearances. A hero in democracy and media, but the first time in the flesh. People of Earth, will you please welcome the titanic force behind Mueller. She wrote. And of course, the Daily Beans, which is one of the best political podcasts you could ever listen to, especially on Fridays. Allison Gill, it's so nice to actually see you when I'm welcoming you to the show.

[A]

Hello, Planet Earth. And joining me today, one of my great friends. You can hear him on Tell Me everything, weeknights at 9pm Eastern, 6 Pacific on Sirius XM progress channel 127. Please welcome John Fugle saying. Oh, wait, you're interviewing me.

[B]

And it's not robotic at all when you do it. When I do it, I sound like a mannequin.

[A]

No, no, you don't. It's so good to see you, my friend. What an incredible convention we have so far.

[B]

I mean, it's great to see you. And really, it's the first convention, the first real convention in eight years. I mean, I'm thinking about how different your life was back in 2016, the last time the Democrats really put something like this up.

[A]

Yeah, that's, that's true. We, we all had very different lives back then. I was still working for the federal government. We were transitioning, getting ready, preparing to transition to a Republican administration, terrified of what possibly might happen to veterans, health care, you know, not really understanding the depth and scope of what was about to come upon us. But 2020, we, you know, we're all. Because of the depth and scope of what came upon us. We were all at home, stuck at home, and we had a very quiet remote. Interesting. I like the roll call in 2020, but I mean, the roll call here last night, I don't think anything can compare to that. And I think we've set a new tradition, and I think it's going to become a competition.

[B]

Well, one thing that I've said for a while is that, you know, all personal biases aside, and I'm not a Democrat, boy, they know how to do TV production better. I mean, Democrats, it looks like the Oscars, Republican conventions looks like the Walker Texas Ranger reunion Special. I mean, just the production value, the quality of the pa. I'm going to say it. The quality of the music.

[A]

You know, we can get the licenses.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[A]

They don't hate us.

[B]

Yeah, it's such a. It's such a better production. It's almost unfair. But, like, that's what it's about in the TV age. You have to have a great TV show. And, boy, they've delivered this time.

[A]

Yeah. And I think they, you know, they figured that out for the January 6th hearings, too. Yeah, they hired the producers from ABC and some other television producers to Come in and actually produce, you know, what they had to show the American public. You and I both know, sometimes reporting on these things. I did a whole podcast about the Mueller investigation, and the Mueller report's a snoozer. I'm sorry, but it's kind of tough to get through. And to make things like this, to make politics look the way that they did last night, was impressive.

[B]

The Mueller report was so boring. It delivered 10 open and shut cases of obstruction of justice, and the Democrats were too asleep to prosecute any of them. So I. I agree. In terms of the storytelling.

[A]

Well, it didn't help that Bill Barr wrote a whole OLC memo that, oh, my God. Said that you couldn't prosecute Trump even if he wasn't the president. That.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So kind of put the kibosh on that.

[B]

True. But when we had the impeachments, there were these 10 obstruction of justice counts that they didn't want to do anything with.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I've just kind of thought, you.

[A]

Know, him for that.

[B]

Three are great, but you got these ten you lying around. But you're right. I mean, these things are all about storytelling. And that's the challenge of politics, is who's got a better story? What are the narratives, the themes that you think have come through the most clearly from what we've seen the past couple of nights?

[A]

Well, thinking back to last night with Michelle Obama's speech and thinking back to the first night with Hillary Clinton's speech, and then also with the woman who talked about Kamala's mom.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I think also Brooks family. It was. Yes, it was also Brooks. I think it's family and family values, oddly enough. Right. Because that seems to be like something that I feel like at least I, as a Democrat, had lost for a while. Because we're battling for our rights. We're battling for voting rights and abortion rights. But to hear them talk about their mothers really painted an incredible picture. And to hear Barack Obama talk about his mother in law in that way, the mother like son mother, daughter connection and the family connection with Doug, I mean, that's really a huge theme I'm seeing come out of this, and it's giving me all the feels.

[B]

Yeah, I think you're right. It's very moving to see both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have spouses who are willing to speak on behalf of their partners at the convention. But I kept thinking, watching Michelle Obama's speech, that that theme of missing the mother we've lost and thinking of the concept of what a motherland is and the America that raised us, that doesn't seem to exist anymore. And how so many of us have sort of felt like, where is the family? Where is the home that we thought we were inheriting and realizing, oh, we've got to build a brand new house and see who wants to live in it for this new century. I mean, the work is there, but you're right, there's an element of, of warmth and of love. Not of flag waving, not of just empty jingoism, but of real feeling.

[A]

Yeah, real, like true Americanism. And I mean, they're painting it better than Norman Rockwell, you know, I mean, it's. That gives you that feel, those. Feels that homey. It's been fascinating to watch and have them dive into these speeches the way that they do. And like you said, it's about telling a story and who tells the best story. And I think they, they're, they're nailing it.

[B]

What has been your experience attending the, the convention? You know, I'm trapped here. I don't know if you know, but they, they actually chained me physically to this, this little cafe table here. And we are doing these interviews all day, then the live broadcast at night. So I'm like Boo Radley in the basement. I don't really get to see what's going on. You've been hitting the parties, you've been going around. What, what's been your experience, Alison? What's it like to have fun at one of these things?

[A]

Well. Well, let me first just say this hall, it's like the Department of Veterans affairs and Veterans Health. It's really hard to get here, but once you're here, it's pretty great. So you don't want to leave. But I do have to. I have to leave and come back and leave and come back because I have all these outside events that I'm doing, which, by the way, if that's your question about what's it like to have one of these things, it's incredible. I had a cool cocktail reception last night and got to meet Mallory McMorrow and just some Dave Troy, some really, you know, people I look up to. Jack Bryan, you know, the guy who wrote and directed active measures. So just getting out there and then coming here and getting, you know, just texting your friends to be like, meet me at 1:16 and you do selfies, you know, get to see Harry Dunn, get to run to you. Brian Karam was just here. It's just. It's really, truly incredible to be in a city that is completely Infiltrated by like minded people at the same time. It's like Comic Con in San Diego, if you've ever been.

[B]

No, I mean, to me, it's like the sexy liberal show. Know, I'm not used to, like, we. That show is where I get to be in a room with 2,000 people and everyone's like, oh, my God, there's no red hats. We all. We all support marriage equality. We all don't like racism. Holy shit. Wow. And here it's like 10 times that.

[A]

Everybody gets it.

[B]

Exactly, exactly.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's been, it's been interesting for me also to witness how this is really about Big ten politics. And the. The biggest theme for me has been the incredible diversity and unity that can exist in a pluralistic democracy. I mean, not just to say, oh, there's so many black people and white people. It's like, no, there's so many different kinds of black people and white people. And there's transgender people, there's Republicans, there's union guys all over the place, disabled people, There's Palestinian people. I mean, like, I want to live in an America that looks like this and this building looks like America.

[A]

Yeah. It truly does. And I. Because I was thinking that myself, my friend Olivia Troy is here. She's going to speak today, I think.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And I'm really looking forward to her remarks. But we've had those conversations about Republican women. And, you know, I. I told her, I was like, I think what we need to say to Republican women is remind them that their vote is a secret.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You don't have to tell your family or your friends or your MAGA community that you went in and pulled the lever for. For Kamala Harris.

[B]

For your.

[A]

For your own rights.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Preserve your own rights. And to get back ones that they've taken, I even put out a cartoon because my mom, that. You know, that story that you, you hear a lot of Republicans talk about that like your vote is a secret. That is a story I tell all the time. And I told to Olivia and I told to Grisham that my mom brought me to the polls when I was young and she looked down at me. This is back when we went into a voting booth with a wooden booth with a cloth curtain and metal.

[B]

My dad used to take me in and she would.

[A]

She looked at me and she. She said in. Nobody can tell me what to do. And I was just. I never forget that.

[B]

And so I think that's the secret weapon to Joe Biden's election in 2020, when you actually look at the breakdown of votes. People wondered how. How could he win the presidency? And yet Democrats lost seats in the House, and we had to wait a month to find out who controlled the Senate. I mean, you look at the results, and it's. It's clear there are Republicans who voted for Joe Biden and then went R all the way down the ticket. And, I mean, it's right there. And yet the media didn' make too much of that. But it's clear what you're talking about is exactly the reality and really is the edge that pushed Joe Biden over, especially in states like Georgia.

[A]

I was just thinking Georgia when you said that, because, I mean, they're still Republicans in charge of everything down there. Yeah, but they went blue for Biden.

[B]

How significant is it that the Democrats have gone out of their way to include a large number of Republicans? Normally, you get one right, just like every Democratic administration has one Republican Secretary of Transportation, usually, or something. And Republicans will always exhume a Zell Miller or a Joe Lieberman to come and, you know, praise billionaires just for being themselves here. It's like a significant portion of the cast on stage every night. What did you make of, say, Stephanie Grisham coming out here and making the speech? She seemed very nervous at first. They've all seemed nervous, and then the crowd eventually loves them, welcomes them. And you understand why this casting is so important.

[A]

Yeah. And, you know, I think it has a lot to do. First of all, there's a lot available who don't support Donald Trump, so there's a bigger pool of Republicans to choose from this time around. He doesn't even have the support of his former vice president.

[B]

I believe 40 of his 44 cabinet members are not endorsing him.

[A]

That's correct. In fact, they're speaking out against him in cases, not just not endorsing. So we have a bigger pool to choose from, a bigger, talented pool to choose from. But, you know, a lot of people understand that this election is about. It's not just about Democrat or Republican. It's about democracy. It's about our rights. It's about, you know, this vision that Kamala Harris and Tim Walls are putting forward. And knowing that, I think we have a lot of, you know, Judge Ludig, for example, one of the most conservative 4th Circuit former judge, coming out and endorsing because he'll. He'll look at, you know, folks like me and say we don't agree on most policy, but we both, both want democracy to keep happening and want democracy to continue. So I think that's why we're seeing this.

[B]

We're always going to be a house divided, but no one in the House should vote for the guy trying to burn the House down.

[A]

And Democrats know how important it is to have Republicans speak to other Republicans.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

To say, you are welcome here. They're not going to treat you like you're being treated over there.

[B]

What do you think are going to be the biggest challenges the Harris Walls campaign faces going forward in the next 75 days? I mean, it's exuberant here and people are thrilled about it, but it's still going to be an uphill battle. And even though it feels a certain way, it's still a very good chance that Man Baby could pull this out.

[A]

Exactly what Michelle Obama was talking about last night, the lies, the attacks, the ugly smears are. They're going to happen and they're going to be really bad. Because, you know, after everything post Trump, everyone's got permission to say pretty much anything they want, but I think that that's going to work against them. If you had reasonable smears, it might be more insidious and it might be more impactful, but because it's going to be so wild, like trying to attack Tim Walls military record, like, come on.

[B]

They can't get it together. I mean, they're going to go after Tim Walls so heavily because. Because they can't go after Kamala Harris without being misogynistic, without being racist. They've shown it. They're the gang that can't smear straight.

[A]

And Tim, I think, is. I think I just read that he's the most popular of all four people on the top of the ticket. Like, of Trump, Vance, Harrison and Walls. He's the most liked right now.

[B]

Thank God for J.D. vance. Alison. Thank God. I mean, as a comedian, thank God. But I think Joe Biden's last gift to us might be that he waited long enough until J.D. vance was locked in as a running mate to drop out.

[A]

How long can I do jokes about JD Vance after they lose forever?

[B]

I'm still telling quail jokes. Baby, you got. You got a long time.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Potato Dan.

[B]

I mean, I mean, he'll be a lobbyist within 10 years, I'm pretty sure.

[A]

Can't be a Bev on K Street.

[D]

We can still.

[B]

Or, or, you know, selling eyeliner product for Maybelline. One thing I wanted to ask you about, and I'll let you go, because I know it's crazy. I. I came here thinking, you know, the Goal is, how do you convince these undecided white people in seven swing states? The whole thing's about the undecided white people in seven swing states. After a couple days here, I' not really about that. It's about getting people off the couch, not off the fence. Getting people actually to decide, oh, I want to go through the trouble of showing up and voting. I want to actually do my mail ballot. I no longer think it's about getting the undecideds in the swing states. They're just trying to get greater turnout across the boards.

[A]

Yeah. Because when we show up, we win. That's always been true for Democrats. Democrats, the lower turnout that we have, the more likely Republicans win.

[B]

Always.

[A]

Always. So that's it. Yeah. And her, you know, the do something I thought was a very powerful message. They're getting there. They're getting good at messaging, aren't they? For months in my life.

[B]

But also just the diversity. I mean, on the second night, they put J.B. pritzker, the billionaire, and Bernie Sanders back, and it worked beautifully.

[A]

Made a billionaire, Joe.

[B]

That's right. He did.

[A]

He was like, I'm a real billionaire. Something about being a real billionaire. Yeah. And. Yeah, you're right back to back with Sandy. I didn't think about that.

[B]

And he's a billionaire who's fighting to have his own taxes raised. That's the difference. All day, I see people. Michelle Obama flies her private plane. It's like, Michelle Obama wasn't a born millionaire. She's not an aristocrat like Donald Trump. The money she and her husband made are money they've earned, and they're both fighting to have them taxed at a more fairer rate.

[A]

Yes, yes, That's. That is one of the main differences. And I understand that because, you know, when I worked for. Under the. Well, I worked for the Obama administration, but when I worked under the Trump administration, I mean, I was just desperately trying to eliminate my own job by making it easier, you know, by kind of cutting some red tape. I know that Donald Trump was like, I'm the king of. You know, he plays his little accordion. I'm the king of cutting regulations. But what ended up happening was he created so much red tape because he sent Jared Kushner in to just cut three, two of every five regulations that we have. Well, we still have to get accredited. You know, we're hospitals. We can't really cut these regulations. But, you know, I'm sitting there and I'm like, there's gotta be a way to do this stuff. More efficiently. And I think the, you know, finally the Democrats are figuring out that this message efficiency and it's. It's truly, truly fascinating.

[B]

Yeah. They're doing so much non verbally too.

[A]

Yes, yes. And yeah, that's so true. It's great. It's great to see. I think there's a lot of energy here and I'm looking forward to, to what happens in the next 75 days.

[B]

Okay, one last serious question. If you were able to advise the Harris Walls campaign for the next 75 days, what would you think would be the most crucial thing you could tell them in terms of. Of turning up the turnout?

[A]

Okay, here's what she has to do. Thursday night, she has to get Billie Eilish to sing the Barbie song.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

What was I made for? Sing that.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Show a video of Kamala coming into her own. What was she made for? She was made for this moment. You can make that message. Try. There won't be a dry eye.

[B]

Very nice writing this down.

[A]

Then you have Beyonce come out with Freedom Song. And that's how you introduce Kamala Harris. So that would be step one.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Step two.

[B]

So Taylor Swift comes at the end of the set, not the beginning is what you're saying.

[A]

Go on step two. Yeah. Get the Taylor Swift endorsement. But make sure you, you know, she's already doing it. Going around the country touting her new economic plan, making sure she's showing everybody that, yes, she has been a successful vice president with the Biden Harris administration. But it's like a. Yes and Right. We've done improv. Yes. And I'm gonna give you $25,000 for a down payment. I'm gonna build 3 million housing units for rental and low cost housing. Yeah. He wants to tax the wealthy. I'm also gon 100 million middle class. So it's. Yes. And. And she just has to keep doing that.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And keep sharing that message. And like you said, keep telling the stories that really pull a tug at the heartstrings because, man, they're. They're working.

[B]

But Allison, she's not. She's not facing the press every day. How can I trust her if she hasn't been subjected to questions by Peter Doocy?

[A]

She is answering questions all the time.

[B]

I know.

[A]

It's. You know what? She is handling the press.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I love to see it.

[B]

Why the hell should she go on that channel? Why the hell should she go on that channel?

[A]

After press handled Biden.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They didn't. They.

[B]

Oh, yeah, they handled Biden. Like he was John Kerry and Jimmy Carter whipped into a fondue.

[A]

Yeah, that's funny. Yeah. And so she's handling it, and I'm glad to see it because f them, right?

[B]

Seriously, Alison Gill, you are the best at what you do. What is the best way for our evil army of the night to follow your doings?

[A]

Oh, my gosh. I'm everywhere. On every social media platform. Muller, she wrote. But do me a favor. Listen to the Daily Beans podcast.

[B]

Please listen to the Daily Beans podcast.

[A]

Tell me what you think about it.

[F]

It sense.

[B]

Makes me smarter. It makes me a better person. That it makes me healthier and a better man.

[A]

You can get the news without opening your wrists. It's news with swearing. And Dana Goldberg is a gem. So I love hosting that show, and I. I think you'll love it if you could just give it a shot.

[B]

Dana Goldberg will tell you I've had a deeply inappropriate crush on her for many, many years. Deeply inappropriate. And she knows it. Allison, thank you. I love what you do. I'm so glad I got to talk to you here.

[A]

I'm glad I ran into you, too, my friends, after these messages. We'll be right back. Back, everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news.

[B]

Good news, everyone.

[A]

Then good news, everyone.

[D]

Good news.

[A]

Good news, ag.

[D]

Okay, I know you're going to do your whole spiel about send us anything you've ever wanted to say out in public to anyone or your inside voices, but we got the picture of the husky Chihuahua mix, and I have to say, it is one of the cutest dogs I've ever seen in my life.

[A]

Oh, my God. Okay.

[D]

I mean, that must have been quite the encounter to make this puppy. You know what I mean? Like, good for you. And I bet the chihuahua was definitely topping that husky, but this is the cutest thing I have ever seen because, you know, that puppy, when it came out.

[A]

Oh. Oh, my gosh. All right, so, yeah, we're cracking up a little bit. It.

[D]

Oh, the p. But, yeah, if you.

[A]

If you have good news confessions, corrections. You want to send in a photo of your pod pet to pay your pod pet tax. You can do that if you don't have a pod pet. Send us an adoptable pet in your area if you'd like. We'll see if we can get them adopted. And then, of course, any animal guessing game you want to play with. Let's just send us really seriously pictures of animals. We love baby animals. And speaking of babies, we also want to see your baby pictures. All of our new members of the Luminati. Everyone's new to the Daily Beans. Send in your baby photos. We love these. They're especially the ones with like Santa and the Easter bunny. That those are those crack me up. Send those in. And then any shout outs that you have to a loved one, a spouse, a partner, a friend, family member, somebody doing amazing community work in your in your area. Love to hear about that self. Shout outs are always wonderful. Toot your own horn. We love it. And then of course shout outs to government programs that have helped you or somebody that you love. Whether it's Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, 35, insulin cap, $2,000 a year cap on medications, Affordable Care Act, VA Healthcare, any great VA Healthcare you' gotten, and of course student debt forgiveness. I send those stories directly to the White House. They read them. They love them. Send anything and everything to [e-mail] and click on contact. So here we go. Here's a picture of Brownie and Oreo. Didn't make it into yesterday's episode. Brownie is the Chihuahua husky and Oreo Staffy Pity baby cakes. That is a beautiful dog too.

[D]

The sweetest, sweetest girl. These two pictures are adorable. Thank you for sending those in.

[A]

I'm so glad I got to see a Chihuahua husky in my life. So thank you very much for sending that in.

[D]

Okay, this one's from Betsy. Pronouns she and her hi, I love y' all and listen daily. And one of the things I love about the show is that they're based in reality, even when that reality is uncomfortable. Allison, you mentioned on Tuesday morning's podcast that we are post covet. We are not. Where was I Tuesday morning? Oh, I think I had to. I didn't do the good news with you. We are not. There are currently 47,000 cases this week worldwide, according to WHO. And most US cases are not being reported to anyone because of the cost of getting, quote, an official PCR test and because the government isn't all that interested in keeping track. In the U.S. wastewater indicators show that the level of COVID is very high. In addition, Covid is not a cold and while acute symptoms aren't as bad or as fatal as they once were, especially for vaccinated people, long Covid numbers continue to climb and each repeated infection makes long Covid more likely and makes the long term effects multiply. My father has long Covid and has had neurological symptoms, fatigue, tinnitus for two and a half years. There are almost no treatments. I was so excited about the DNC Convention. But I fear that it's a super spreader and I wish more people were masking and that the pandemic was not referred to in the past tense during the speeches from the opening day. Finally, some Good news. In 2018, I became a guardian to a 16 year old boy. I later stood up at his wedding, represented the groom's family with the rest of his family on FaceTime. A month ago, he and his high school sweetheart had a baby girl and I am the Guardi grandma. My birth child has yet to marry or have children, so this is all that much sweeter. Here's a picture of her reading a book that I sent. Love you both and love the beans community. And this newborn is absolutely perfect.

[A]

Oh, the onesie with the little mittens because they have nails that will scratch you. Yeah. Thank you so much, Betsy. That is a very good point. What I was trying to get at is I think lockdown. I think when I talk about COVID you know, and we're post Covid, I think, I think I should change the phrase to post lockdown because Covid is always going to be here with us now. Now you're right. We're never going to be post Covid. It'd be like saying we're post flu, you know, And I'm not comparing the two because one, it was obviously very, very much worse. So thank you for that. I'm going to make that correction in my lexicon and I'll refer to it as the lockdown and that we are never going to live in a, in a truly post Covid society unless we can somehow eradicate it with vaccines. But with what's going on on the right, I don't know that that's going to be very realistic to think about. But thank you for that. Thank you for pointing that that out. Next up, from Dave, pronouns he and him. Greetings, most honored doyens of the legumes. My best memory of your DC show was when Dana exclaimed during her set that she loved my laugh.

[D]

Oh, it was a good one.

[A]

That was the. Yeah, that was a good laugh. I remember that. It was a delightful moment of recognition.

[D]

Dave actually told me when I spoke to him after that he was a theater kid and that during certain plays that had humor in them, they used to place him in the audience and told him when to laugh at the line so that they'd actually come across better. It's a good laugh, Dave. Keep it up.

[A]

Yeah, seed the laughter, right? You laugh having people feel like they have permission to laugh. He says I'd like to offer a shout out to a dear friend. Dr. Ellen Tinsley spent many years as a large animal veterinarian with a mobile practice all trundled about in her pickup truck all over eastern North Carolina. Sadly, her career was cut short following a horrific collision where a fully loaded 18 wheeler slammed into the back of her truck and pancake the passenger compartment around her. The resulting injuries made the exertions of compelling compliance from 1200 pound farm animals impossible. Never want to dwell on what's lost. She threw herself into a wildlife she threw herself into wildlife photography. She's become a certified federal Bald Eagle monitor and spends many hours getting amazing shots of the critters around the local lake. It is a joy to follow her and see her daily photographs and nature meditation for Podpet Tax. I'm including three of her amazing photos. I'll save you having to guess. The first is a double crested cormorant and a pond slider eyeing each other on a log, the second is a bald eagle launching himself into flight and the third is a great egret and mallard duck at the side of a lake. She sells high quality prints at D O C E L L e n s naturephotography.com we'll have a link in the show notes and can be found on threads at dreamingsongs. Photos look at these incredible pictures.

[D]

Absolutely beautiful.

[A]

Oh that eagle. Oh my gosh.

[D]

Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you. Yeah. This one's from Anonymous Pronouns they, them, dear, ag, DG and All the Beans Team this is a shout out to a fellow Beans listener, Eric Hutton Excuse me, Aaron Hutton wrote wrote in a few weeks ago to tell us about her new business. It's auto buying consulting llc.com it just so happens that days after I heard that bit of good news, my friend had her car destroyed by a speeding driver who ran a red light. Fortunately, only the cars were injured. Good. But my friend has no interest in car shopping, so I was able to recommend Aaron. Aaron was great. She did all the research, provided all the detail for my friend wanted, and did all the negotiations long distance. She even spotted one dealer trying to pull a fast one and found a more reliable deal dealer. All this was extra great because I'm my friend's next most informed car buyer and I'm not very informed at all. It was such a relief to have someone on our side who knows what she's talking about. Podpet Tax is my friend's rescue. Kitty Minka he came meowing from the woods to the best possible home when he was far too young to be on his own. We think he was rejected by his mother because he was a sickly runt. Fortunately, he's generally growing well, recovering and a joy to be around. He's going to need surgery on his infected eye as soon as his red blood cell levels improve some more. We think that will be in early September. All good vibes gratefully accepted.

[A]

Oh, sending all the good vibes to this little sweet baby. Look at him.

[D]

Cat fruit bowl.

[A]

That's so cute. Thank you for that. I'm so glad Aaron Hutton was able to help you again. That's auto buying consulting llc.com Aaron's amazing. All right, next up from Beth. She and her dear beans queens shout out to the city of Chicago and the Chicago Police for doing a kick ass job during the DNC to keep us all informed. It's easy to sign for text alerts on road closures, details about why military helicopters are overhead and areas to avoid. The police presence is incredible. And I'm sure they're working double duty around the city to protect our neighborhoods. I love this city and the DNC banners all over town are a thrilling reminder. We'll get to vote for the Harris Walls ticket in a few short months. Also, a self shout out. Excellent. As I moved here last year to be in this vibrant community of artists, specifically writers of fiction, in time to accomplish a goal of more than 20 years to publish my first novel. Novel. It's called Coming Clean with an amazing small press called Regal House. There are so many writers working toward a similar goal and I'm here to say, never stop pursuing your dreams. It is possible. Please buy a book from your local indie to keep bookstores alive for pot. Bat tax. Here's our rescue dog, Kaya. She's a quirky girl who's afraid of her water dish, chases a laser pointer like a cat and gets real mad if another dog tries to sniff her butt. Here she is with her favorite toy. Me too. Honestly. Here she is with her favorite toy, which is also a little unusual, but it's a girl's got to have her own opinion, right? It's a balloon, y'. All. It's a balloon. So what do we have here? Healer Shepherd. And here's the book Coming Clean. A sharp, sexy pressure chamber of a book.

[D]

Long hair Chihuahua. I don't know, I just made that up.

[A]

We have rat, terrier, border collie, Chihuahua and Pomeranian. Hey, look at that. We got half. Half of them. Nice. That's pretty good.

[D]

I love that. All right, she her pronouns and this is Grandma D. A couple examples of Minnesota. Nice. Minnesota Nice. Number one. My job was eliminated after 35 years. Then COVID 19 hit. I was not old enough for Social Security but was saved by Minnesota. Sure. MN Sure. A state run health plan, affordable health care plan that should be available to all USA citizens. Minnesota Nice. Number two. I took my grandkids from Chico, California to moa. Mall of America. My granddaughter lost her hello Kitty wallet that had all of her birthday money. $177.

[A]

Heartbreaking.

[D]

It was lunchtime so we popped over to IKEA. When we came back to MOA, we checked the police substation. No one answered the door. I thought, let's try the guest services. Sure enough, someone turned it in. All the cash was intact. They left no name for a thank you. They restored some of our faith back in humanity. My 13 year old nerd bought five books.

[A]

Hell yeah.

[D]

Grandma D story.

[A]

Yep, that is Minnesota Nice. Number one. And number two. And we're gonna hear a lot more of that, I think as the election draws nearer. And as soon as Mr. Tim Walls takes the home over at the Naval Observatory as the Vice President of the United States. I'm so excited.

[D]

Yes. Yes.

[G]

All right.

[A]

Thank you all. Thank all so much for sending in your good news. Please send us more. I hope everybody has a wonderful weekend. We will have the Jack podcast on Sunday. We're going to do our best to get a cleanup on aisle 45. Bonus episode out to you. Probably me on the floor of the convention center walking around trying to find a seat. I don't know how it's going to go, but it'll be interesting. Anyway, thank you so much. Do you have any final thoughts as we wrap this week up? Dana?

[D]

No, not today.

[A]

All right, everybody, we'll be back in your ears on Monday. Until then, oh, and by the way, I think on Saturday, Saturday I will see you with Olivia Troy and Pete Strock in San Francisco so that. Oh yeah.

[D]

Have a great show, my friend.

[A]

Yeah, I don't only have. Yeah, I'll sleep when I'm dead. As Tim Wall says, we'll sleep when we're dead. All right, everybody, until next time, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family.

[D]

Vote blue over Q and take all that family with you.

[A]

And oh, by the way, vote.org check your status, make sure you're still registered and vote down ballot all the way.

[D]

I've been AG and I've been dg.

[A]

And them's the beans. Refried beans. I like refried be.