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The Daily Beans
Refried Beans | DOMA Funeral (feat. Ali Zaidi) | Dec 9, 2022
00:44:12
Friday, December 9th, 2022 In the Hot Notes: the DoJ asks Judge Beryl Howell to hold the Trump team in contempt of court in the documents case; Brittney Griner is on her way home from a Russian penal colony; Donald will not appeal the 11th Circuit Special Master ruling to SCOTUS; the same-sex marriage bill has passed the House and on it’s way to President Biden’s desk for signature; Congressional Democrats have launched a probe into the Qatari bail out of Jared’s 666 5th avenue building; plus Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:00]
Allison Gill
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.
- [00:17]
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.
- [00:30]
Allison Gill
Daily Beans.
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Ali Zaidi
Daily Beans.
- [00:34]
Dana Goldberg
Daily Beans.
- [00:35]
Ali Zaidi
Daily Beans.
- [00:40]
Allison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Friday, December 9, 2022. Today, the Department of Justice asks Judge Beryl Howell to hold the Trump team in contempt of court in the documents case. Brittney Griner is on her way home from a Russian penal colony. Donald will not appeal the 11th Circuit special master ruling to SCOTUS. The same sex marriage bill has passed the House, and it's on its way to President Biden's desk for signature. And congressional Democrats have launched a probe into the Qatari bailout of Jared Kushner's 666 Fifth Avenue building. I'm Allison Gill.
- [01:11]
Ali Zaidi
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [01:15]
Allison Gill
Hey, Dana. Hello. Happy Friday.
- [01:17]
Ali Zaidi
Thank you, my friend. It was a good day for some justice, that's for sure. Some good news stories today.
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Allison Gill
Yeah, I woke up to a really brilliant story about Brittney Griner, and the day just kept getting better from there. Also, later in the show, I'm so happy to say that I'll be discussing the climate provisions of the president's agenda with the White House national climate advisor. His name is Ali Zaidi. And so I'm really looking forward to that discussion. Truly an incredible person. And you're just gonna be so refreshed at the people we have in the White House now.
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Ali Zaidi
Oh, God, I'm sure. Well, the fact that we even have someone that cares about the climate in the White House is a step forward.
- [01:55]
Allison Gill
It's a huge step forward. All right, we have a lot of news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, from pretty much everyone at the Washington Post. Prosecutors have urged a federal judge to hold Donald Trump's office in contempt of court for failing to fully comply with the May subpoena to return all classified documents in his possession. And that's according to people familiar with the matter. And this is a sign of how contentious the private talks have become over whether the former president still holds any secret papers. Remember how I said don't listen to Devlin Barrett when he says that they're cooperating and everyone's nice and happy.
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Ali Zaidi
Oh, 100%.
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Allison Gill
Trump's being transparent and cooperative. Yeah. No. In recent days, Justice Department lawyers have asked U.S. district Judge Beryl A. Howell to hold Trump's office in contempt, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. But the judge has not yet held a hearing or ruled on the request. They said this has just happened in the last couple of days. The request came after months of mounting frustration from the Justice Department with Trump's team. Frustration that spiked in June after the former president's lawyers provided assurances that a diligent, quote, unquote search had been conducted for classified documents at his residence. But the FBI amassed evidence suggesting and later confirming through a court authorized search that many more remained. One of the key areas of disagreement centers on Trump's legal team's repeated refusal to designate a custodian of records to sign a document attesting that all classified materials have been returned to the federal government. The Justice Department has repeatedly sought an unequivocal sworn written assurance under penalty of perjury submitted to the court from Trump's team that all such documents have been returned. And Trump's team has been unwilling to designate a custodian of records to sign such a statement, while also giving assurances that they have handed the documents back. The precise wording of the filing could not be determined. It's under seal. Trump is under investigation, as we know, for three potential crimes. Mishandling classified documents, obstruction and destruction of government records. Trump's side has taken the position that such a request is unreasonable. You ready for this? To sign an attestation we've given everything back is unreasonable. No lawyer could sign such a blanket certification in good faith or advise any client to do so, as opposed to attesting that a search of the given location has been completed. Some of Trump's lawyers are also wary of making any claim under oath based on Trump's word alone. No shit.
- [04:18]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
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Ali Zaidi
Really shocking.
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Allison Gill
That's funny, considering Christina Bobb signed one such attestation in June pursuant to the May classified documents subpoena. Prosecutors have asked the judge to find Trump's side in contempt as long as none of his advisors are willing to assume the role of custodian of records responsible for a complete answer to the question. In recent months, as I said, Bob has publicly said she's not doing legal work related to the documents case, but only advising Trump's PAC on election issues. If the judge were to agree, the most likely scenario, Dana, would be a daily fine until the demands of the contempt motion are met, meaning you gotta pay me every day until you appoint a custodian and sign a thing and hand it to the court saying you've handed everything over. Now, how large of a fine that is or who would be forced to pay it would be up to the judge.
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Ali Zaidi
All right, thank you so much. And this story did wake me in the most joyous way. Brittany Griner's coming home. The WNBA star who was held for months, nine months in Russian prisons on drug charges, was released Thursday in a one for one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Victor Bu. Now bringing an end to an ordeal that sparked intensive high level negotiations between the US and the Kremlin to secure her freedom. And this is a quote from our president. She's safe. She's on a plane. She's on her way home. And that was announced in the exchange. Went on to say, after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Britney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. This is a day we've worked toward for a long time. We've never stopped pushing for her release. Now, CBS News was first to report the swap, which took place in the United Arab emirates, citing a U.S. official. Now, the exchange agreement negotiated with Moscow in recent weeks was given final approval by Biden within just the last week. And that's according to sources familiar with this deal. Five former U.S. officials told CBS News the agreement had been reached as of last Thursday. The President said he spoke to Griner by phone from the Oval Office, where he was joined by Griner's wife Sherelle, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Now, per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner was expected to quickly undergo a medical evaluation. And I just want to make a couple comments on this story because everyone's like, what about Waylon? What about Waylon? What about Waylon? Waylon's family made the most gracious statement. This was the prisoner swap that was possible. It was either her or no one. And let's be honest, if Putin wanted to release Whelan, he would have done it to Trump to make him look like a fucking hero. There are things, there are specifics in these stories that are unknown to the general public. They wanted to release Waylon. They would have already done it. This is political issue. Brittney Griner was the one that we could get home, and they got her home. And I'm so very grateful. I'm just glad she's back with her family.
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Allison Gill
Yeah, me too. And I mean, that was sort of my question too, with regard to everybody screaming on Twitter about Paul Whelan. And I said, hey, to those insisting Trump would have brought Paul Whelan home, explain to me why Trump didn't bring Paul Whelan home.
- [07:24]
Ali Zaidi
100%. That's exactly right. And listen, I'm not making an excuse for an arms dealer who is a terrorist. Listen, you know, I don't know the specifics of that, but what I do know is that he was set to be released in six years after serving a 25 year prison term. So this isn't someone that they just let go that wasn't doing their time in the United States. There's a lot of specifics to this story, and I hope people research it before they start making blanket statements about this and that and of the story without knowing the facts.
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Allison Gill
Yeah, of course we all want Paul home.
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Ali Zaidi
We all want.
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Allison Gill
But I mean, I think that a lot of this anger on the Trump side comes from, mm, not a good place.
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Ali Zaidi
Racism.
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Allison Gill
Okay, fair enough.
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Ali Zaidi
Okay, let's keep moving.
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Allison Gill
All right, next up, Democrats on a pair of congressional committees have launched an aggressive new effort to obtain information about whether Jared Kushner's actions on U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf region as a senior White House advisor were influenced by the bailout of a property owned by his family business. I've been calling this the devil building since the beginning of time. 666 Fifth Avenue, which is where, by the way, Manafort met with Kalimnick to hand over sensitive polling data. Citing previously undisclosed emails and other documents related to the former president's son in law, the committees on Monday night sent letters to the State and Defense Departments requesting material that they say could shed new light on whether Kushner's financial conflict of interest may have led him to improperly influence U.S. tax, trade and and national security policies for his own financial gain. You think? The letters obtained by the Washington Post focus on efforts by Kushner and his father, Charles, to bail out the troubled 41 story Fifth Avenue building in New York City. The Kushner company in 2018 made a deal with a Canadian company called Brookfield Asset management, which invested 1.2 billion for a 99 year lease. As a result, the Kushner family company avoided defaulting on a loan that was due the following year. Democrats have long raised questions, including myself, about the deal because the Qatar Investment Authority, qia, a sovereign wealth fund, had a stake in one of Brookfield's investment arms. Brookfield said when it was negotiating the deal in 2018 that no cutter linked entity had any involvement in or even knowledge of this potential transaction. But Democrats and me have continued probing whether any Qatari money was spent on the project. Now Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Carolyn Maloney. I love this pair in their roles as chairs of the Senate Finance Committee and House Oversight Committee, have broadened the inquiry, co authoring letters to the State and Defense Departments. They wrote that they are seeking an array of documents addressing their concerns that Jared Kushner's role in Middle east policy could have played a role in the bailout. And this has a lot to do with the Cuttery blockade that went up. And then Kushner met in Riyadh with mbs and then the Qatari blockade was gone. And then he got this bailout for his building. It was all fucking fishy.
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Ali Zaidi
Oh, 100% worse than gas station sushi fishy. Thank you. The order of the stories today is not lost on me and I hope it's not lost on the listeners. I get all the gay stories. The House on Thursday gave final approval to legislation to mandate federal recognition of same sex marriages. With a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voting in favor of the measure. In the waning days of the Democratic led Congress, the vote was 258 to 169, with one member voting present. The landmark legislation cleared Congress, sending it to President Biden to be signed into law and capping an improbable path for a measure that only months ago appeared to have little chance at enactment, which is fucking crazy because it's already legal now. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the tally triumphantly, Actually in tears. It was very sweet. She got very choked up. Aggressively.
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Allison Gill
Yeah.
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Ali Zaidi
She's been an ally for our community forever. She banged the gavel repeatedly as if it applaud. As members of the House cheered, they cheered. The measure of success reflected a broader cultural and political shift on the issue of same sex marriage, which only a decade ago was regarded by members of both parties as divisive and risky terrain. And it's become so broadly accepted in American society that it's now generated decisive bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress. Now, in years since, same sex marriage has become widely accepted by both members of the parties. And polls show that more than 70% of voters support same sex marriage. Which is fucking crazy that it's not more than that. But let's not digress. It was the second time in five months that the House had taken up The Respect for Marriage Act. Now, last summer, 47 House Republicans joined Democrats in support of the legislation, a level of GOP enthusiasm for same sex marriage rights that surprised and delighted a lot of people. Now, that set off an intensive effort, though, among bipartisan groups of proponents in the Senate. It boosted quietly by a coalition of influential Republican donors and operatives, and some of them gay, to find the at least 10 Republican votes necessary in that chamber to move it forward. In the Senate, the legislation was revised to address concerns among other Republicans that it would punish or restrict the religious freedom of institutions that refused to recognize same sex marriages. Now, that version passed last month, forcing it back to the House for a second vote to approve the changes. But the revisions appear to have failed to build support for the bill among Republicans in the House. Now, on Thursday, 39 Republicans voted yes, less than one fifth of the party's contingent in the House. And this is after a debate in which many GOP lawmakers condemn the legislation as immoral. And one of them started crying at the podium. All I can imagine is that maybe some husband. I know this isn't truth, but it just makes me feel like maybe your husband left her for another man. Like, I don't see any reason to get this upset about marriage equality unless somehow it has affected your marriage. And even then it shouldn't matter. Oh, my God. All right, well, former Rep. Barney Frank, oh, that was such an emotional moment. Was in the House for the vote and said, I was there for the birth of Doma and I'm here for the funeral. And he came with the cane and a massive step onto the stage. I don't know why they didn't make that easier for him. But this is a good thing. This is a good thing. And for those of you still confused about this, it's not full protection under the law in the sense of marriage licenses. If Obergefell falls for some reason, Supreme Court wants to go that far, and Obergefell falls, states can still refuse to issue marriage licenses. What this does is it protects the marriage licenses in other states and it makes states that refuse to give them, they have to recognize the marriages as legal as long as they were performed in a state where it is. So it's not full protection, but it is a massive step forward and it is a big, big win.
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Allison Gill
Yeah, agreed. And thank you for that. Thanks for reading that story. And that. That Barney Frank part just got me.
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Ali Zaidi
It did. I know.
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Allison Gill
It really did. All right, one last thing before we go to break. Donald, by the way, has decided not to challenge the 11th Circuit ruling vacating Federalist Society. Weirdo. Judge Eileen Cannon's order appointing a special master. He will not seek a stay from the Supreme Court. The 11th Circuit has filed its official mandate and the documents will be back on the way to the Department of Justice so they can use them in their ongoing criminal investigation. The clock is ticking. Drop by this Sunday and every Sunday. Andy McCabe and I will break it down as we cover the special counsel investigations on the new podcast called Jack. We'll be right back with the White House climate adviser, Ali Zaidi. Stay with us after these messages. We'll be right back, everybody. Welcome back. I am honored today to be joined by the former New York deputy secretary for Energy and Environment, currently the White House national climate advisor. Please welcome Ali Zaidi. Hi, Ali, how are you?
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Dana Goldberg
It's good to be on.
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Allison Gill
It's so great to have you. There are so many important things that I want to talk to you about that I think sometimes get missed by the public and some of the programs that are going on within the White House. And the first thing I want to talk about is the Inflation Reduction act because I feel like that was such a huge, monumental piece of legislation led by the White House and Democrats on the Hill and we were able to get it passed. But I think a lot of folks don't realize how broad it is and what some of the things that it does to help American families directly, like where the rubber meets the road. Can you talk a little bit about that?
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Dana Goldberg
Absolutely. This is a monumental piece of legislation and it's not a proposal. It's not pending anywhere. It's now the law of the land. Thanks to Joe Biden and his leadership and his ability to work with both a speaker and a leader that share his values and advance this through the United States Congress, we in just the clean energy space are now able to provide the American people with incentives and rebates that directly meet, I think, people where they are, which is a sense of, hey, can I prevent myself? Can I cut my sort of bottom line costs in terms of what I spend on energy. And I think this last couple of years because of the pandemic, because of the war started by Putin, we've seen shockwaves through the energy system and it's more front of mind for people than it perhaps been before. And folks don't want to get caught flat footed again. Even though gas prices are back down because of the president's actions, people are really focused on getting out of this sort of boom and bust cycle and the Inflation Reduction Act, I think will help people do exactly that. So, for example, just to get very concrete, you have appliances in your home that soak up energy. In fact, perhaps the biggest spend for folks is heating and cooling of their homes. Right? An H Vac unit is usually half of the costs that people absorb at home. And the way the Inflation Reduction act helps there is to finance folks when they are going to replace that H Vac unit. So it's been a few years, it's getting a little clunky. If you are a low or moderate income American, the Inflation Reduction act will give you a full rebate to switch from an H Vac unit that's sort of susceptible to the prices going up and down to an H Vac unit that plugs into the grid something that's fully electric. And what we know is that when people make that switch, we're talking about hundreds of dollars each year just being saved on that switch to electric heat for cars. You know, I think folks every few years are going back into the car market. Whether it's they're looking for a new car or maybe they're looking to buy a used one. The Inflation Reduction act helps bring down the costs of electric vehicles, which again, we know if you switch to electric, you might be unlocking something like $1,000 of fuel savings per year. We're seeing that pan out all across the country. And you know, to just be very concrete, let's say you're like Pete Buttigieg, right? Our Secretary of Transportation, who by the way, just recently bought a used C Max, a Ford vehicle that was 14,000 bucks when Pete went out and got it. What the Inflation Reduction act would do is if you meet the income requirements, it would be the equivalent of 4,000 bucks on the hood. So 14 would cost you 10. And that for a lot of people is going to be a game changer. And of course, if you're in the new car market, that's $7,500 that that unlocks. So appliances, retrofits and upgrades of your home, right? You've got windows that are old and they're just leaking all that hot air out during the winter months. You don't want to leak that out because that's stuff you pay for. We have tax credits that help Defray the cost, 30% of the cost of upgrading to the energy efficient windows. So H Vac units, windows sealant that goes into your roof and other places you might leak out energy. And then of course, the cost that, you know, so many folks absorb on the Pump being able to make a shift to electric, whether it's new or used.
- [19:49]
Allison Gill
Yeah. And I think American dads will be very happy that we won't have to heat the entire neighborhood. My dad used to see.
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Dana Goldberg
Yes. Yeah. I mean, that is hard. That is literally money that you earned that is just blowing into the wind that we can. We have the technology. I grew up outside of Erie, Pennsylvania. They make those windows. They've been making windows for 60 years, and now they make windows with a few more layers of coating on them. And they keep you from having to waste all that energy.
- [20:19]
Allison Gill
And it also limits the amount of carbon required to produce that energy. I mean, everything that it's in this bill has ripple effects to everything else. And I've noticed, you know, using US Made steel, which is cleaner to make than the stuff we buy from China, which are going to be used in windmills, which are going to be helping provide the energy which won't get drained out the window. I mean, everything sort of touches everything else. And I wanted to talk about that compounding effect on President Biden's climate goals because I know he set some pretty ambitious goals. So talk a little bit about how inflation reduction act. That compounding effect impacts our ability to reach those goals.
- [20:57]
Dana Goldberg
Well, before I get to the greenhouse gas accounting part of this conversation, which of course I'm always ready to go do I think the point about how this ripples through the economy is so massively important. So massively important. So we talk about the tax credits for electric vehicles or the tax credits to make batteries here in the United States. What does that mean in terms of private investment we've seen since the beginning of the Biden administration, the private sector itself, say because of the President's vision, because of where we're now going as a country, they're going to put $100 billion of private money into building the manufacturing base here in the United States. That's batteries, it's cars, it's all the parts. Folks used to make compressors for internal combustion engine. Now they're making compressors for electric vehicles. And we're seeing a real renaissance in the auto sector here in the United States. You talked about steel, and by the way, it's not same old, same old dirty steel. I went to this plant in Toledo, Ohio, which there used to be a brownfield. Nothing there. Right. And because of where we're headed in the clean energy economy, now, US Steel workers, unionized folks are building clean steel at this state of the art facility. And the demand is being driven by folks who are modernizing our grid and folks who are building these exciting new cars. And, you know, we talk about offshore wind. That's something we talk about here in the Biden administration. And people think, okay, offshore wind. Well, I don't live in Massachusetts or New York or California. I'm not on the coast, so why should I care about offshore wind? Well, there are now supply chain elements of offshore wind in every one of the 50 states. Every one. And the reason is this. You know, the stuff that goes into building this is getting sourced all across the country. One megawatt of wind is 500 tons of steel. Where's that steel coming from? The heartland of this country. And it's turning places that felt like they had been written off for a really long time back into hubs of economic activity. You know, the Port of Albany. Have you heard of the Port of Albany? Probably not. And now the Port of Albany is getting juiced back up because that's where they're going to manufacture these blades that are going to then get shipped into the coastal deployment of offshore wind. So that's a really big deal. The ripple effect through the economy and what it means is the jobs are going to be massive. We're already seeing that be created all around the country to the point on greenhouse gas emissions. I remember when we came into office and we knew what science told us we needed to do, but it was daunting. And the President set a science based target. It was massively ambitious that we would cut our emissions in half by 2030. Folks said it couldn't be done, could not be done. Now, because of the bipartisan infrastructure law, because of some of the executive action steps he's taken, and because of this massive bill, the inflation Reduction act, we're on track for over 40%. So we're most of the way there.
- [24:12]
Ali Zaidi
Now.
- [24:12]
Dana Goldberg
Do we have more work to do? Yeah, we have more work to do and we're going to do it. But think about the progress we've made, not just a, you know, linear pace. We are taking a big leap forward. And that's because of the President's leadership.
- [24:27]
Allison Gill
Yeah. And I wanted to go back and touch on something you were talking about a little bit earlier with the steel and the blades. And I want to talk about the labor portion of this bill because that's where our United Steel Workers come in. And some of the deals that are going on with making sure that these jobs producing these clean steel blades for offshore wind are union jobs. And some of the other things that go on with regard to the labor portion of the inflation Reduction Act. Can you touch on that?
- [24:55]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, look, I remember having this conversation in, like, 2008, 2009, and we would say, oh, we got these green jobs. And you talk to workers and they'd say, no, thank you. I want a real job. These green jobs sounded like they were jobs on another planet. And I think what's changed is electricians, the ibew, are the ones who now see themselves as the folks who are going to expand our charging network. And not only do they see themselves that way, the President has made sure that the billions of dollars we're spending through the infrastructure law to deploy the 500,000 chargers is going to be work that's done by the ibw. Same with the building trades. You know, for a while, solar and wind and some of these emerging industries have been a laggard in terms of salary for building tradesmen, welders, folks who are literally sort of standing up the steel that goes into the ground. We in our tax credit, you want the full tax credit, you got to pay a prevailing wage. You got to get 10% of your labor hours from registered apprenticeships. So all of a sudden, the building trades are in the game. And this means not just steel in the ground, in terms of clean energy means steel in the spine of our middle class. And the auto transition. The President has refused to allow this auto transition to be a transition that is led by anyone else other than the skilled workers in the United States who've helped build out the middle class in all these parts of the country where we've come to know the auto industry. And as it expands and as it gets stronger and modernizes, we're going to make sure those workers continue to be at the forefront. So it's embedded in the tax policy. It's embedded across our cabinet. Everyone knows to call Marty Walsh, who's our Secretary of Labor, to get help to make sure all these programs are designed in the right way. And by the way, at the end of the day, you got someone who's in the Oval Office who, when they see climate, they see jobs. And when they see jobs and they think jobs, they think not just a paycheck. He recognizes this is about dignity and respect and making sure you can provide for your family. Those are the careers we're creating with clean energy. It's not the conversation we were having 10, 15 years ago. It's a new conversation, and folks are really excited about it.
- [27:22]
Allison Gill
Yeah, me too. And before I let you go, I wanted to ask you a little bit about some of the plans for the future, maybe policies coming down the pike or maybe possible legislation. I know we're flipping the House over to the very helpful and always wonderful Republicans, but some of the things that you're looking for in the future and also how this is going to impact some of the marginalized communities who bear the brunt of environmental justice policies gone wrong. So if we could kind of combine that, the future and how we're going to, you know, sort of attack the environmental justice approach that I know President Biden holds very dear. Can you talk about that?
- [27:58]
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely. And you know, I've talked a lot about the President's leadership and that's been, I think, central to our ability to get this done. But the reason the President's able to do what he's able to do is because we have a broad and strong coalition that supports this work. That is the political and economy, the political economy that enables this shift in clean energy economics. So we're now in this place where clean energy has irresistible economics associated with it. The reason is because of political economy. The way we keep strengthening political economy is by continuing to invest in the breadth of that coalition. So when I think about the next few years, I think about the fact that just this fall we signed up almost 50,000 farms, 20 million acres, to do climate smart agriculture in all of the states of the union, including in Puerto Rico, where they're doing climate smart agriculture around coffee beans. That means there's a whole nother constituency that maybe didn't see themselves as part of climate, that now sees themselves as part of climate. And I think by focusing on every sector of the economy and every segment and every zip code, I think in the same way we've made clean energy irresistible from an economic perspective, hopefully we make it irresistible from a political economy perspective. Now, we don't see that necessarily manifesting in the way some folks represent their constituents in Washington. We will continue to try to change their minds. But I think more and more what we're seeing is a consensus that this is the way forward if you want to build a strong and sustainable and competitive economy. Now, you raise a good point, which is just because if you look at America from 50,000ft, everything looks like it's growing and it's good, doesn't mean everyone's growing and they're good. And so we have to be very particular and deliberate to make sure that as we build this new clean energy economy, it's one that lifts up the folks who've so often been left behind. I'll give you three examples very quickly. One is Justice 40. So day one of the administration, the President signs an executive order, says 40% of the benefits of all this investment have to accrue to communities that have been disadvantaged. That means communities that were historically redlined. That means communities that have been soaking up a bunch of the pollution because someone decided to site a facility there that's been dumping a bunch of gunk on them. That means communities that stand at the front lines of a changing climate, next to wildfire, next to hurricanes. Right. And we've been very purposeful about making sure as we spend these dollars, you know, this is an investment by the American people into America, and it's got to work for the folks who are the most vulnerable. So that's one initiative that's critical, Justice 40. And I hope folks will look into that. And by the way, I hope folks will hold us accountable to making sure we follow through on that. The second is Energy Communities. So we set up this Energy Communities Working group, chaired by me and several others on the President's senior team. We are going to the places where maybe a coal plant shut down 10, 15 years ago, or maybe the oil and gas industry used to be there and has left and has left behind folks without the wherewithal to build the economy of the future. We have to be their partner. These are the folks that powered our economy for 100 plus years. We've got to be their partner as the economy shifts to clean. And then the third is just this focus on making sure that the jobs that are created are not just jobs. They're careers that can support families that come with rights and come with a sense of dignity and purpose. We are involved in the greatest project that I think America's taken on in centuries or decades, rather, to rebuild our economy in a way that's clean. That's going to take every single person feeling like they're part of that project and being able to harness all of that talent as we build a more competitive, durable, sustainable and fair economy.
- [32:20]
Allison Gill
Wow. Well, thank you so much. Talking to you gives me so much pride in all the work we put in to get Joe Biden elected president because of the incredible staff that he's put together. I'm so thankful to be able and grateful to be able to have these conversations with you. So I really appreciate your time, everybody. White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, thank you again for your time.
- [32:41]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you, Allison. Really appreciate it.
- [32:43]
Allison Gill
Everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. 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 someone you love? You want to play what the mutt so we can badly guess what breeds make up your rescue pup? If you want to give a shout out to a small business or show us your pets in costume or holiday photos Baby photos also appreciated by Dana. Thank you very much and you can send it all to us at DailyBeanspot. I love baby photos too. I just want you to know I just not like.
- [33:30]
Ali Zaidi
I mean they're second to frog orgies. But she does love baby photos.
- [33:33]
Allison Gill
It's not like I hate them. I love baby photos.
- [33:36]
Ali Zaidi
Damn photos for Dana because Ag's dead inside.
- [33:40]
Allison Gill
Let's keep it going my black and cold heart. No. Please send it all to us@dailybeanspot.com and click on Contact. First up from Sebastian no pronouns. Hi beans Queens. It's not the most important issue of the day, but since you're always so thoughtful about what you say, I just wanted to raise our common consciousness. Last episode you joked about Avenatti having to stand on a step to take a selfie with you. Although we've come a long way to try not to stigmatize obese people, it's still pretty acceptable in today's society to make fun of men's heights. But since that is a physical characteristic they cannot change, maybe it shouldn't be. Sebastian Good point. I will do better.
- [34:14]
Ali Zaidi
Well done. All right. This is from Corey. Hello Ag. This is Corey Kareen. I was the last cleanup on aisle 45Q and A and I have the 13 plan B pills if they expire 1023 23. I'm not sure the best way to go about getting them to the correct people so you'll know about that.
- [34:31]
Allison Gill
Yes, Corrine was on our last ama. You know, happy hour that we have for patrons for the Cleanup on Aisle 45 podcast that I do with Andrew Torres. She says she has 13 plan B pills. They don't expire until October of next year and anyone who wants them or has a charity that they could be donated to, just contact us at helloulluller she wrote and put Plan B in the subject line. Again, that's helloullersheewrote.com and put Plan B in the subject line if you're interested in getting any of these. Thank you very much Corey. Self correction from Susan. Sending a self correction. Oops. I used Shriven and The word I meant to use was riven. I feel dumb.
- [35:13]
Ali Zaidi
That's okay, because I read it like it was a real word and I just kept on moving Susan.
- [35:21]
Allison Gill
Moving Susan. Apparently shriven means to be absolved of sin in the Catholic Church. But riven, torn violently apart is what I was going for. Oh, thank you for that. Do you want to take the next one too?
- [35:31]
Ali Zaidi
You got it. This is from Anonymous. No pronouns given Dears, Beans, Queens. I've been thinking about sharing good news for over a year now, but hearing the emotion in your voice is covering that story. I decided to no longer be shy that now is the time to show some of the gratitude I've learned to practice over the last 20 years. The last six in particular. Here it goes. I had my first stroke 20 years ago when I was in my early 30s. I made a full recovery. It was a bit of a miracle. I had my second stroke July of 2021. This one was massive. I would not be here if it were not for my incredible husband who recognized the telltale signs of aphasia and a tiny droop in my face. He's been through this once before, after all. He got me to the hospital where I received the most incredible care and yet again made a full recovery.
- [36:17]
Allison Gill
Wow.
- [36:17]
Ali Zaidi
I recovered from a third stroke in February. Tiny, but still. We've addressed all the possible issues causing these strokes and the hubs and I joke that version 3.0 of me is much better than the original. And here's the extra good news. I was able to spend almost every weekend this entire year the same way I spent many weekends in 2018, canvassing and phone banking for down ballot candidates in Pennsylvania. I wasn't always this involved, but I got busy when TFG got busy in 2016, crawling out of a hole that election put me in wasn't easy, but all the work I did to find my activist family to get the help I needed to heal and do the volunteer work has made me a better person. And we flipped PA State House this year. Not to mention Senator Elect Fetterman and Governor Elect Shapiro. I wouldn't trade any of it. Okay, I would trade some of it. I'm sure there's more for me to learn from everything that's happened these past two years. But for now, I've learned that leading with love and curiosity is my forever way forward. And I've learned to not take one second for granted. That includes the time I spend listening to you two every morning. Thank you for all you do to keep me informed. Engaged in touch, laughing. And for my pet tax, I'm attached a picture of Nina, our rescue from the Humane Society. She's been happily shredding our sofa since 2015. Her nickname is Marmalade Blaze, thanks to the apricot stripe on her forehead. Sending you both love, light, and gratitude from your devoted friend in New York City.
- [37:43]
Allison Gill
What a beautiful submission.
- [37:45]
Ali Zaidi
It really was. And my God, three strokes and fully recovered. God bless whatever you believe in up there. God, goddess, the universe. I'm so glad.
- [37:54]
Allison Gill
Yeah. And your incredible work that you've been doing, that's just so amazing. Thank you so much for that. Look at this beautiful baby girl.
- [38:03]
Ali Zaidi
So sweet.
- [38:05]
Allison Gill
Oh, what a lovely baby. Thank you, Marmalade Blaze. Next up, from Kim Pronouns, he and him. Old straight white guy who has fallen in love with your podcast. I'm an Arizona resident who could not be prouder of our state for telling people like me who are afraid of change that they either get on the bus or get run over by it. I also shared your tagline, vote blue over Q and take someone with you with a phone banker. And they asked if they could use it. Hope you don't mind, but I gave them permission. I really only want to post pictures of my boy Augie. I never had a DNA test done because I spoke to a woman who had two done on her dog by different services, and they came up with completely different results.
- [38:42]
Ali Zaidi
That's hilarious.
- [38:43]
Allison Gill
Your guess is as good as mine. This is a chiweenie for sure, right?
- [38:47]
Ali Zaidi
It is. And also it's a miniature pincer.
- [38:49]
Allison Gill
Maybe look at the second photo.
- [38:52]
Ali Zaidi
I know, it's hilarious, like, just fucking all out there, girl. But also, I'm sorry if DNA companies can give two different answers. Ag and I have been right on every single guest we've ever had. All right, I got this short one. You're going to close it out. This is Audrey Pronoun. She and her. Hello, goddesses of the Leguminati. I look up to both of you amazing women. Thank you. This is my doggy niece, Valkyrie. Valkyrie, the Belgian Malinois.
- [39:23]
Allison Gill
Oh, wow.
- [39:25]
Ali Zaidi
Belgian Malinois. Look a lot like German shepherds, do they not?
- [39:29]
Allison Gill
Yeah, a lot of people confuse them, get them confused.
- [39:31]
Ali Zaidi
Yeah, she's beautiful.
- [39:34]
Allison Gill
Valkyrie. Great name, too, for a Belgian Malinois. Thank you so much.
- [39:38]
Ali Zaidi
Oh, this is a continuation. You want to close this out, though?
- [39:41]
Allison Gill
Oh, yeah. Look, there's more. Here's the real reason for me writing in. I felt the need to give a shout out to Iranian women and the men who support them. I know that the women inside Iran won't hear this, but I had to get it off my chest. Forget Marvel and dc. These women are the epitome of indomitable courage. They are heroes. If you've seen videos from Iran, and the way they literally shout death to Khomeini as they rip off their hijab in the faces of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This has been going on for three months. It's the beginning of a revolution. A revolution that is spearheaded by young women. I also have to mention Iranians outside of Iran, too. The Iranian diaspora that for three months has been following the events unfolding in their homeland. They're not okay. They're hurting and they're helplessly watching their homeland bleed. If anyone listening is Iranian, American or of Iranian heritage, please know we are with you. We've got you. Also, for non Iranians, speaking out against the Islamic Republic is not Islamophobic. I'm going to repeat that line. Speaking out against the Islamic Republic is not Islamophobic. These murderous bastards are to Islam what Christian nationalists are to Christianity.
- [40:51]
Ali Zaidi
Well said.
- [40:52]
Allison Gill
Very well said. The Islamic Republic is not Iran, and Iran is not the Islamic Republican Zanzidegi. As women. Life, freedom. And we will have a link to this video and this song. It's absolutely amazing. So thank you so much for this.
- [41:18]
Ali Zaidi
And just a little point. I'm not sure if everyone has seen it, but the women of Iran have been named as Time magazine's Women of the Year. And there's a beautiful three. There's three women on the COVID They're not facing us, it's just the backs. They're holding hands with their hands in the air. And I mean, the revolution there has been unbelievable. The courage, the absolute courage by these women has just been inspiring.
- [41:41]
Allison Gill
Absolutely, 100%. And it is. It's a revolution. So thank you for that submission so much. We really, really appreciate it, Audrey. I believe. Yeah, I hope I'm saying that right. And thank you to everyone for submitting your good news. If you have anything you want to send to us, you can do it by going to DailyBeansPod.com and clicking on Contact. Thanks to White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. What a cool dude and just an incredibly smart, amazing person at the helm of the advisor position for climate at the White House. I'm so glad he's there. Thank you to everyone who voted and put him there. Put Biden there. To put him there.
- [42:18]
Ali Zaidi
No kidding.
- [42:19]
Allison Gill
I mean, I sometimes take for granted what had happened to our government and how much better it is now. No chance. Remind myself of that every day. Just down to the climate advisor in the White House. There wasn't one in the Trump administration. He ordered the words climate change to be taken out of all and off all government websites, including the Department of Defense, who's been talking about this and prepping for it for 40 years now. So thank you, everyone for all of your work and everything that you've done up and down the ballot and for listening to the beans. I appreciate you. Do you have any final thoughts before we get out of here for the weekend? Dana?
- [42:57]
Ali Zaidi
I am just happy Brittany's coming home. She's sure should be home safely by the time you all hear this. And I'm grateful for the respect for Mayor Jack passing the house yet again. And it should be signed into law shortly by the President. So there's been a lot of good from Warnock to this, this week, and I'm just. I'm just happy things. It looks like justice is starting to happen and even in the small bits to the Trump dynasty, hopefully they'll be taken down soon.
- [43:22]
Allison Gill
Yeah. I said a long time ago that I would not stop until House Trump falls. And I am still here. And thank you everybody for listening. We'll be. Well, you know, Sunday is a new episode of Jack I'll put out the beans weekly wrap up bonus episode. It's probably, I think, Friday or Saturday. And then the cleanup aisle on aisle 45 bonus episode comes out this weekend. Dina, are you gonna be back with us on Monday or are you traveling on Sunday?
- [43:47]
Ali Zaidi
I will be here Monday. I'll be out a couple days next week, but I'll be with you Monday. I'll be recording from New York.
- [43:53]
Allison Gill
Good, I'm glad because I miss you when you're gone.
- [43:56]
Ali Zaidi
Yes.
- [43:57]
Allison Gill
Until then, everybody, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health.
- [44:02]
Ali Zaidi
Vote blue over Q and take everyone with you. I've been AG and I've been dg.
- [44:07]
Allison Gill
And them's the beans.
- [44:10]
Dana Goldberg
Refried beans. I like refried beans.