Refried Beans | Fraud On The Court (feat. Ben LaBolt) | 7/03/2023

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans – "Refried Beans | Fraud On The Court (feat. Ben LaBolt)"

Episode Information:

• Title: Refried Beans | Fraud On The Court (feat. Ben LaBolt)
• Host/Author: MSW Media
• Release Date: July 5, 2025
• Description: A women-owned progressive news podcast delivering social justice and political news with a touch of snark, featuring hosts Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg, alongside comedian and activist Dana Goldberg.

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with Alison Gill welcoming listeners to "Refried Beans," a segment where past episodes are revisited to assess progress over the years. The hosts, Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg, engage in playful banter about refried beans, setting a lighthearted tone before delving into serious topics.

News Highlights

Supreme Court Ruling on LGBTQ Rights and Student Debt Forgiveness

• Timestamp: [00:45] – [08:34]
• Overview: The Supreme Court invalidated President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan and struck down certain LGBTQ protections based on a case now revealed to be fraudulent. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals also ordered Congressional Republicans to pay their mask fines.
• Key Points:
  • Fraudulent Case: A Colorado web designer, Laurie Smith, argued against creating same-sex wedding websites citing religious objections. However, it was uncovered that the purported plaintiff, Stuart, never requested her services and fabricated the request.
  • Reactions: Ben LaBolt expresses intense frustration, stating, "I am so fucking angry about this story" ([04:40]).
  • Legal Implications: Alison Gill underscores the importance of standing and factual corroboration in legal cases, emphasizing the alleged manipulation of the court.
  • Call to Action: Listeners are urged to contact the Colorado Attorney General and the Justice Department to investigate the fraudulent case.

Fox News Settles with Abby Grossberg

• Timestamp: [08:12] – [12:48]
• Overview: Fox News agreed to a $12 million settlement with former producer Abby Grossberg, who accused the network of a hostile workplace and coercing her into false testimony related to voting misinformation.
• Key Points:
  • Settlement Details: Abby Grossberg’s legal team filed to dismiss the remaining lawsuit following the settlement.
  • Network's Stance: Fox News publicly denies the allegations but opted for settlement to avoid further litigation.
  • Broader Context: This settlement follows Fox’s larger $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation claims.
  • Implications: Highlighting ongoing legal battles, the episode discusses the impact of gross misconduct within major media organizations.

Arrest of January 6th Defendant Near Obama’s Residence

• Timestamp: [12:50] – [15:56]
• Overview: Taylor Taranto, implicated in the January 6th Capitol riot, was arrested near former President Barack Obama's home with firearms and ammunition.
• Key Points:
  • Details of Arrest: Taranto was found with two guns, 400 rounds of ammunition, and a machete in his van, which he was reportedly living in.
  • Motivation: He intended to confront House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over alleged security footage related to the Capitol riot.
  • Legal Proceedings: Taranto faces four misdemeanor charges and will remain in custody pending a detention hearing due to concerns about his mental stability.
  • Community Impact: A lawsuit has been filed by the widow of Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, alleging Taranto's involvement in his death during the riot.

Proud Boys Ordered to Pay $1 Million

• Timestamp: [07:01] – [08:34]
• Overview: A federal judge mandated the Proud Boys organization to pay $1 million to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church for disrupting their activities.
• Key Points:
  • Case Background: The lawsuit stems from the Proud Boys' interference with church events, leading to significant damages.
  • Judge's Ruling: The decision underscores the financial repercussions for groups engaging in disruptive and harmful behavior against community institutions.

Interview: Ben LaBolt, White House Communications Director

• Timestamp: [19:28] – [34:22]
• Overview: Ben LaBolt joins Alison Gill to discuss the Biden administration's economic policies, termed "Bidenomics," and the recent Supreme Court decision affecting student debt relief.

Bidenomics vs. Reaganomics

• Key Points:
  • Investment in America: Focus on reversing offshoring trends by incentivizing domestic manufacturing and clean energy projects like the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • Job Creation: Over 13.1 million jobs created, with a significant portion in manufacturing, signaling a revival of American industries.
  • Supporting the Middle Class: Emphasis on empowering workers through higher wages, stronger unions, and competitive labor markets.

Combating Inflation

• Key Points:
  • Inflation Reduction Act: Implementation of measures to lower healthcare and prescription drug costs, including capping insulin prices and allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
  • Economic Performance: The U.S. boasts the lowest inflation rates among G7 countries, with significant job growth and economic recovery attributed to Biden's policies.

Student Debt Relief Efforts

• Key Points:
  • Supreme Court Ruling: The administration acknowledges the ruling but remains committed to finding alternative pathways for debt relief through executive authority and the Higher Education Act.
  • Revised Repayment Plans: Introduction of more manageable payment structures, reducing the percentage of discretionary income required for repayments and extending repayment periods to alleviate financial burdens.
  • Prioritizing Working-Class Americans: Emphasis on the broad impact of debt relief on families earning less than $75,000 annually, contrasting with Republican policies favoring tax cuts for the wealthy.

Biden’s Commitment to Veterans and Cost of Living

• Key Points:
  • Veteran Support: Investment of $3 billion to combat veteran homelessness and improve support systems.
  • Cost of Living: Addressing inflation through targeted programs aimed at reducing everyday expenses for American families, highlighting the administration’s focus on tangible, immediate benefits for citizens.

Notable Quotes:

• Ben LaBolt [04:40]: "I am so fucking angry about this story."
• Alison Gill [25:06]: "President Biden is the one who finally got it done."

Good News Segment

• Timestamp: [34:28] – [43:38]
• Overview: The hosts transition to a lighter segment, celebrating listener contributions and sharing positive stories.

Listener Contributions:

• Achievements and Personal Stories: Listeners share personal milestones, such as securing training opportunities, attending community theater, and supporting local businesses.
• Pet Highlights: Numerous adorable pet photos are showcased, featuring cats and dogs, adding a heartwarming touch to the episode.
• Community Engagement: Shout-outs to local businesses, adoptable pets, and individuals making a positive impact in their communities.

Notable Moments:

• Alison Gill [35:49]: "I did it all in one breath."
• Ben LaBolt [42:48]: "Look at how happy the sled dogs are."

Closing Remarks and Upcoming Events

• Timestamp: [43:38] – [47:35]
• Overview: Alison and Dana wrap up the episode with information about upcoming events, such as panel discussions at Netroots Nation and live shows in Rochester, NY.

Upcoming Engagements:

• Panel at Netroots Nation: Alison will host a panel with notable figures, celebrating recent legal indictments.
• Live Shows: Dana invites listeners in the Rochester area to attend her comedy show on July 28, highlighting her unique blend of activism and humor.

Notable Quotes:

• Alison Gill [47:30]: "Vote blue over Q."
• Ben LaBolt [47:16]: "We've all lost our goddamn minds."

Conclusion

The episode of "Refried Beans | Fraud On The Court" provides a comprehensive look at significant political and social issues, blending serious discussions with moments of levity. The hosts effectively convey their progressive viewpoints while engaging listeners with relatable content and interactive segments. Through in-depth analysis and candid conversations, Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg ensure that their audience remains informed and connected to the latest developments in politics and social justice.

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References:

• Podcast Transcript: Provided by the user.
• Quotes: Accurately attributed with timestamps from the transcript.

Transcript

[Alison Gill]

MSW Media. Hey, everybody, it's Ag. And welcome to Refried Beans, where we play an episode of the Daily Beans podcast from the same week either one, two, or three years ago, so we can see how far we've come. So please enjoy this episode from days gone by and note the date in the intro.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans.

[Alison Gill]

I like refried beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's why I want to try fried beans.

[Alison Gill]

Because maybe they're just as good and we're wasting time Is Daily Beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Daily Beans. Daily Beans.

[Ben LaBolt]

Daily Beans.

[Alison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Monday, July 3, 2023. Today, the illegitimate Supreme Court killed President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan and gutted LGBTQ rights. This past Friday, the D.C. circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Congressional Republicans must pay their mask fines. Fox News settled with Abby Grossberg for $12 million. A January 6th defendant was arrested near Obama's home with guns and 400 rounds of ammunition. And a federal judge has ordered the proud boys to pay $1 million to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. I'm Alison Gill.

[Ben LaBolt]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, Happy Monday.

[Ben LaBolt]

Happy Monday to you. It is July 6 second. How did that happen so quickly? No, it's July 3rd when you're listening to this. Because of the time warp.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, I put. I actually wrote in the script.

[Ben LaBolt]

Hey. You did? Hey, just in case we forget how to greet each other.

[Alison Gill]

Hey. Hello, Dana. Did you have a fine, fun filled weekend?

[Ben LaBolt]

My weekend was great, Allison. I'm reading from the script.

[Alison Gill]

We're robots today. Today's episode is brought to you by Chat. GPT. I'm just kidding.

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, my God. AI. Are we even who we say we are? You don't know.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, right. So you know, just. If I. If I make any court citations that don't exist, you'll know.

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, they'll know, because I will be pronouncing every word correctly. If you hear an episode where I pronounce every fucking word correctly, artificial intelligence has taken over the beans.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And also, by the way, some friends of mine were messing around with ChatGPT and we're like, write a song about, you know, the trees in the style of Alison Gill. And so it wrote this song. And then I was like, okay, write the song in the style of Alison Gill and add profanity. And it's like, I'm sorry, I'm unable to add profanity. So that's another way that you'll know.

[Ben LaBolt]

There you go. If we stop cursing, something's gone terribly wrong.

[Alison Gill]

Yes, we'll blink three Times, if we stop cursing, come save us. In the news today, a black church was awarded a million dollars in a civil lawsuit against the Proud Boys for fucking with their church. It's so good.

[Ben LaBolt]

Good.

[Alison Gill]

You remember how Enrique Tauri was arrested the night before January 6th for burning a Black Lives Matter flag? And yeah, so they also. So there was criminal charges there, but they filed a civil suit and they were awarded a million dollars. And so the Proud Boys organization has to shell out a million bucks to this Episcopal church. And I'm very, very happy about that also. Later in the show. This is so cool. I'll be talking to the White House communications director. His name is Ben LaBolt. We're going to discuss the new Biden administration student debt forgiveness plan in the face of what the Supreme Court did on Friday. We'll also talk about bidenomics and the booming economy that just isn't getting any attention. So the White House reach out, they were like, hey, we would love to have the communications director on the beans. And I was like, heck, yeah. So we're gonna talk to Ben the Bolt later on in the show.

[Ben LaBolt]

Very, very fantastic.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And it was a great interview. I think you will all really enjoy it. All right, we have a lot of news to get to today, so let's hit the Hot notes. Hot notes. On Friday, the Supreme Court gutted LGBTQ rights based on a fake case. This is from cnn and the Washington Post confirmed it today. The Colorado web designer who wanted to refuse LGBTQ customers and just won her case at the Supreme Court had claimed in court filings that the man that inquired about her services for the same sex wedding. She named that because at first she had no complaint. There wasn't anybody who asked her to make a website, so she made one up. The man says he never reached out to Laurie Smith. That's the web designer who argued at the Supreme Court that she shouldn't be forced to create same sex wedding websites because of her religious objections. In fact, the man says he's straight and has been married to a woman for the past 15 years.

[Ben LaBolt]

I am so fucking angry about this story, by the way. And I know if you've been following my Twitter, you know how upset I am, obviously as part of the community, but that it, it, it just creates a situation where apparently you can win a case on. She's worried. She's worried. One day, she's worried.

[Alison Gill]

There's no standing here. This man was identified as Stuart in court filings and as someone who requested graphic designs for invitations and other materials. For a same sex wedding with his fiance Mike. Well, CNN contacted Stewart through information in court filings. He asked for his last name, which is not in the filing, to not be used. But in an interview with CNN Friday, Stewart said that he did not submit any requests to the company, which is called 303Creative. And as a happily married man to a woman of 15 years, quote, I don't know, Mike, Stewart said. I never asked anybody to design a website for me. It's all very strange. I certainly didn't contact her and whatever the information in that request is is fake. Stewart, who previously worked for cnn, said that he is a web designer himself. It would make zero sense to hire a web designer when I can do that for myself, he said. Stewart said he was unaware that his information was being used as a part of the court record until he was contacted by media outlet the new rep on Wednesday, quote, it is concerning that nobody connected with this case over the last six years has ever thought to call me, email me, text me to try and corroborate that my communication was in such a way, he said. And he added, I don't necessarily think that would be a tipping point in this case at all, but at the very least, a case of this magnitude should be corroborated. It should be fact checked along the way, unquote. CNN reached out to Smith for comment. Kelly Fedoric, a senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Smith, said in a statement that Smith, quote, doesn't do background checks on incoming requests to determine if the person submitting is genuine. Quote, whether Laurie received a legitimate request or whether someone lied to her is irrelevant. It's not. No one should have to wait to be punished by the government to challenge an unjust law. Yes, you do have to wait until you are injured or harmed in some way. You abso fucking lutely do. It's called standing. It's.

[Ben LaBolt]

Yeah, I'm telling you, that's why I'm letting you take the story. I'm so fucking mad.

[Alison Gill]

Moreover, Laurie has received other wedding requests and has been unable to respond to any request because that put her at risk of punishment for violating Colorado's unjust law. That's Fedoric, her lawyer, referring to the anti discrimination law in the state. Stewart called the Supreme Court's decision Friday disgraceful and said, this is Stewart again, the guy who was used and said it does seem like the entire case has been somewhat concocted to achieve a specific outcome. Yes, as a designer, he said, I think designers can refuse to do work for A prospective client for any number of reasons. Race, gender, sexual orientation should not be one of those reasons. So what can we do? Besides vote y'? All? Well, we can contact the Colorado Attorney General and ask them to open an investigation. This is a fraud on the court. And the court is a fraud. And we can write the Justice Department to do the same. They have a contact page of their website. So that's what I would do. I would also contact your representatives in the Senate to open an investigation into this case. It's a fraudulent case. It's based on a lie, and this outcome needs to be vacated.

[Ben LaBolt]

And I guess that's my question, is if it is proven that it's a lie and that she was. Cause I know she was funded by some right wing group. Because if you follow the money on this, can the Supreme Court vacate their own ruling?

[Alison Gill]

I don't know. We've never. I don't. I can't think. And, you know, I've only been following the court for a handful of years.

[Ben LaBolt]

Money would make them look like jackasses. All the ones that. Except the three that dissented, of course.

[Alison Gill]

But see the. And you know, I wrote this thread on Twitter. I was like, doj needs to investigate. Colorado AG should investigate. This is based on a lie. This is a fraud on the court. Perpetrated on the court. If the court had a hand in it. If this came from that $600,000 donation to Ginni Thomas's fucking shell company. Yep, whatever. It needs to be investigated. But I don't know the rules behind vacating a Supreme Court ruling. I just don't know. I guess another lawsuit would be filed, or perhaps the Attorney General would make a request. But it's a separate branch of government. There's a separation of powers issue. Perhaps the Department of Justice could file a lawsuit to vacate the ruling, but I just don't know how this works. I need to dig deeper into that research.

[Ben LaBolt]

All right, Angie, thank you. This one's from Katie Robertson at the Times. Fox News has agreed to pay $12 million to Abby Grossberg. And Abby's that former Fox News producer who had accused the network of operating a hostile and discriminatory workplace and of coercing her into providing false testimony in a deposition. This was all about the voting. The voting situation.

[Alison Gill]

The Dominion voting machine.

[Ben LaBolt]

Thank you, Dominion. Parisis G. Philopatos, I hope I'm saying that correctly, is a lawyer for Grossberg said the settlement concluded all of Ms. Grossberg's claims against Fox and the people she had named in her complaints, which included the former host Tucker Carlson and some of his producers. Now, Grossberg's legal team filed a request in U.S. district Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday to dismiss a remaining lawsuit against Fox in light of the settlement. They gave her money. She dropped the other part. Ms. Grossberg said in a statement on Friday that she stood by her allegations, but she was heartened that Fox News had taken me and my legal claims seriously. Okay, that's one way to look at it. Yeah. Fox News had previously disputed Ms. Grossberg's claims. By the way, a spokeswoman for the network said in a statement on Friday, we are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation by paying her $12 million.

[Alison Gill]

By the way, that's nothing compared to 787 million. So.

[Ben LaBolt]

Yeah, that's right. That was just chump change. Now, Justin Wells, he's a former senior executive producer for Mr. Carlson for Tucker, who was named in a complaint. He said in a post on Twitter, and I quote, we deny Ms. Grossberg's claims and allegations against Tucker Carlson and his team. Nevertheless, we are glad that Fox has settled this matter and that all sides can move forward.

[Alison Gill]

We deny it all, but we didn't want to go to court. So here's $12 million. Right?

[Ben LaBolt]

That's it. Yep. Now, the settlement with Ms. Grossberg, it's. That's the latest development in a series of legal battles involving Fox News. In April, the company, as we know, agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems, as I mentioned before, that $787 million in what's believed to be the biggest settlement figure in a defamation case. Days later, Fox took Tucker Carlson, its most popular host, off the air after the company's leadership concluded, as we know, he was more of a problem than an asset. Now Fox faces a second defamation case. We've talked about this a little bit by the other voting technology company, and that's smartmatic. And like Dominion, what smartmatic is saying that Fox knowingly spread false information about its products, baselessly claiming that they contributed to election fraud in 2020. Now, after filing her lawsuits, Ms. Grossberg drip fed audio recordings from her time at Fox to other media organizations. So she was like, here's a little for you and here's a little for you.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody gets an audio recording.

[Ben LaBolt]

The recording showed, among other things, that Tucker Carlson's immense influence on the Republican Party, an admission by Rudy Giuliani, by the way, and that he didn't have evidence of voter fraud. He knew that. And discussions between Ted Cruz and and Ms. Bartiromo about his attempts to audit the 2020 election results. Well, Mr. Filipathos, the lawyer to Ms. Grossberg, confirmed that he had been contacted by the Office of Special Counsel investigating Donald's effort to overturn the 2020 election and that he and his client were cooperating.

[Alison Gill]

Ding dong.

[Ben LaBolt]

Yep. At least 90 tapes have been retrieved and Ms. Grossberg's legal team was forensically analyzing all of Ms. Grossberg's devices in case there were any additional recordings. 90 tapes. 90 tapes.

[Alison Gill]

Over to the city council.

[Ben LaBolt]

There are tapes.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. So, all right, 12 million. Yeah. We'll see what happens with Smartmatic. Next up from NBC. A Trump supporter who stormed the Capitol wearing a Make Space Great again hat had two guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van down by the river where he was arrested Thursday near former President Barack Obama's home. That's according to federal authorities. A federal prosecutor said in court Friday that Taylor Taranto, a 37 year old man first identified by online sleuths in August of 2021, also had a machete in the van that he appeared to be living in down by the river.

[Ben LaBolt]

Good lord.

[Alison Gill]

Taranto's van had been parked near a D.C. jail in recent weeks, and he has appeared at protests in support of other January 6th defendants. That's according to videos on social media. Noting that he lived in the van, a federal prosecutor said Taranto had nowhere to go. Taranto currently faces four misdemeanor counts so he could drive the van away from D.C. you dumb ass. Anyway, he faces four misdemeanor counts in connection with January 6th. That's according to federal prosecutors. The prosecutor said Taranto had been in Washington to take House Speaker Kevin McCarthy up on his offer of letting January 6th defendants review security footage of the Capitol riot relevant to their cases. Taranto had posted recordings of phone calls he made trying to get access to that footage. Yeah, sorry. Guess what? McCarthy lied to you, you dumb shit. Taranto has acknowledged entering the Capitol on January 6 in social media posts and questioned why authorities had not arrested him. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That's for the best. Taranto showed up at the Obama residence on Thursday after former President Donald Trump posted screenshots on Truth Social. Five people have been arrested, by the way, for insider trading on the DWAC s PAC Truth Social merger. President Trump posted on Truth Social that featured a purported address for Obama's home in Washington. So he went there. Taranto went there and his account reposted Trump's post. We got these losers surrounded, he wrote on Telegram yesterday. See you in hell, Podestas and Obamas. Wow. Taranto will be held in custody at least until a detention hearing on Wednesday. Federal Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey said Friday he had some concern about his mental stability. Taranto was identified by members of the sedition hunters community after facial recognition search turned up photos of him posing with a cardboard cutout of Trump at county GOP events in his home state of Washington. The widow of Metropolitan Police officer who died by suicide after defending The Capitol on January 6 has filed a lawsuit against him and another man, David Walls Kaufman, alleging they played a role in his death. Both men have denied involvement in Officer Jeffrey Smith's death. Smith's body cam footage appears to show that he was also struck with a flying metal object later in evening hours after he was part of a scuffle involving Walls, Kaufman and Taranto. So he is under arrest. I don't think he's going anywhere. I think he'll probably be remanded without bail. We'll see what happens. But yeah, that's what you get when you live in a van down by the river ag.

[Ben LaBolt]

Thank you especially for the end of the story. This is.

[Alison Gill]

Pour one out for Chris Farley.

[Ben LaBolt]

Listen people, it's the beginning of the week. Here we go. This is from Politico. The federal appeals.

[Alison Gill]

Read it like him. Read it from Politico. Federal Appeals Court no, I'm just kidding.

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh my God. The federal appeal. I can't even speak now. See, not artificial intelligence A federal appeals court in Washington rejected a challenge by three House Republican lawmakers against then Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congressional mask mandate, citing Congress's ability to set its own rules. And this is a quote. In sum, the Speaker, Sergeant at Arms and chief administrative Officer have immunity from suit because the adoption and execution of the resolution are legislative acts protected by the speech or debate clause. That's what the D.C. circuit Court Judge Naomi Rao, Trump appointee by the way, in an eight page opinion. That is what she said. The House's power to set its own internal procedures is typically protected by the Constitution speech or debate clause, which prohibits lawmakers from being questioned for their official legislative acts. Now, courts routinely interpreted those official acts to include ancillary procedures like methods of voting and maintaining order in the chamber of Commercial. Well, piece of crap. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ralph Norman and Thomas Massie, who's a Republican from Kentucky. They had brought the lawsuit challenging the mask mandate's constitutionality after they were all fined $500 for entering the House chamber without masks during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic. Now that fine increased to about $2,500 for subsequent violations. Pelosi had instituted a mask mandate in the House because she's a smart woman. As a pandemic error precaution, though, it was rescinded in February of 2022 because things were a lot less dangerous at that moment. It's the second time in recent months that the courts have sided with House leaders, including those from the previous Congress. And it may not be the last. Early last year, the Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge brought by then House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to the chamber's proxy voting system established by Democratic leaders. Now, like the mask mandate, the appeals court unanimously backed the House's immunity from suit over exercises of its internal rulemaking power, the D.C. circuit. It's also considering a challenge brought by GOP lawmakers to the Houses. And this has been since eliminated requirement for members to pass through metal detectors after entering the chamber. That was a precaution adopted by then Democratic majority house shortly after January 6th of 2021. And I understand why, because the fucking lunatics in Congress, some of them in the House of Representatives, like Lauren Boebert, I could imagine she would just walk on in with something, you know, hypothetically. Notably, the current House counsel, Matthew Berry, argued in favor, by the way, of the metal detectors. That plan. That plan for them, even as he acknowledged that no member of the current GOP leadership supported it. Now, the lawmakers can still appeal the decision to the full bench of the appeals court, to the Supreme Court, if they want to. Spokespeople for the three GOP members. They didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. So this is all really interesting to me.

[Alison Gill]

These dick bags are really going to want to invoke the speech or debate clause when they tried to overthrow the government, but they don't want to use it for actual shit that's covered by the speech or debate clause. Yep. All right, good. Pay your fines, dicks. We'll be right back with a white. I should probably use a more gracious segue into the White House communications director.

[Ben LaBolt]

Okay, Maybe because he was just.

[Alison Gill]

He was so great to talk to. We're going to talk to White House communications director Ben LaBolt. He and I discuss the economy and how Biden is fighting back against the Supreme Court decision to kill President Biden's student debt forgiveness program. You don't want to miss it. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm honored today to be joined by the White House Communications director to discuss bidenomics and the new student debt relief plan announced on Friday by President Biden. Please welcome Ben LaBolt. Hi, Ben, how are you?

[Dana Goldberg]

Great to be here, Alison. Thanks for having me.

[Alison Gill]

I appreciate you joining us last minute. I know it's a very, very busy day over there with everything going on, but I really wanted to drive home everything that's going on with the Biden economy, Bidenomics, and how that is different from Reaganomics that we were so used to for so long. So talk a little bit about what has been accomplished and what we're looking at in the future.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right. Well, as you know, Starting in the 80s, Republicans and a number of economic elites believed that if we rewarded corporations and the wealthiest with tax breaks, that that would trickle down to middle class. But President Biden knew that that wasn't true. He never saw corporations being rewarded as something that trickled down to his family's kitchen table in Scranton, Pennsylvania, or Claymont, Delaware. And so he's had a different approach since he came into office, and that is the middle class is really the backbone of the economy, and he knows that unions built the middle class. And so he's been squarely focused on what we can do to support the middle class since he came into office. So there's basically three pillars to bidenomics as we see it. The first is investing in America. For years, we'd offered tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas. And you saw manufacturing go offshore. Well, you've seen a reversal of that under this administration. He's passed things like the Inflation Reduction act to build a clean energy industry in America instead of China to bring the semiconductor industry back to the United States. And something that we had invented, we invented the little chips that go into cars or refrigerators, but they were being built overseas, and now they're going to be built in America. We've seen 13.1 million jobs created under this administration. After you'd seen a net job loss under Donald Trump, 800,000 of those are manufacturing jobs. A lot of people believed we wouldn't see manufacturing ever come back to America, that it would always go to wherever the cheaper labor market was. Well, the president didn't accept that. And you're seeing the revival of manufacturing across America. You're seeing record small business starts under this administration. You know, the president talks about each one of those as. As an act of hope. The second piece of this has been empowering workers. And so we've got a tight labor market, wages are up, workers are more empowered, more of them are joining unions and employers really have to compete for workers. And so he's really tipped the balance of who's empowered in this economy. And it's paying dividends for the average middle class family, the average hard working American.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And let's talk a little bit more about having everything made here in America. I've sat in on quite a few briefings where we learned all the way down to the granular level here. Like we're increasing wind energy and we're making sure that those turbine blades are manufactured using steel made in the United States by manufacturers that are pro labor. So I mean it goes like at every step of the way we're ensuring that we are helping middle class families, American workers, we're using labor unions and we're using things made in the United States. And that is kind of that bottom up, middle out promise that we see. And it's already taking effect. Although some of these projects for the Infrastructure act we aren't going to see for a very long time. But that's kind of the point, right? Investing in infrastructure and America and workers for decades to come.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right. And you've seen Republicans and others come out against the buy American proposal and say, oh, that'll raise costs, it's going to lower costs in the long run. Because you want to talk about the cause of inflation. The cause of inflation was related to the global supply chain crisis coming out of the pandemic because we weren't making enough things in America. You know, we were, we were importing products from, from overseas and the supply chains got clogged. Well, the president believes we need to insulate ourselves from having that sort of price shock ever again. And whether it's taxpayer dollars that are better paying for something or if it's simply, you know, a company that we're providing tax breaks for, he believes they should make their products in America. And that's part of why you're seeing, you know, manufacturing jobs come back in the United States right now.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And let's talk about inflation for a minute because that seems to be a major talking point for Republicans going into 2024. But the fact of the matter is, if my understanding is cor the United States has the lowest inflation of the G7 countries and we have several months of lowering inflation in the books already. So talk about how bidenomics has been combating inflation through things like the Inflation Reduction Act. And some of the things you were talking about.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's exactly right. I mean, inflation's come down more than 50% in the United States since last summer. We have the strongest recovery on record. You know, the G7 countries, those are really our peers economically, other developed nations. We've seen inflation come down faster. We've seen here in the United States, we've seen more job creation. And those are a direct result of President Biden's policies. You know, the Inflation Reduction Act. That's the top issue that Americans have been concerned about, which is the cost of living. And the president passed a series of programs in that legislation which would lower costs, the heart of which are areas like health care costs, prescription drug costs, capping the price of insulin at $35, for example, capping the price of prescription drugs out of pocket expenses at $2,000 a year for an American, you know, no matter what disease or condition they might be facing. Allowing Medicare, you know, standing up to pharma and allowing Medicare to negotiate down the cost of prescription drugs, just like the VA does. You know, I've been in politics for 20 years. I've heard a lot of people talk about that. President Biden is the one who finally got it done. And I'd also like to note that Republicans, all of them, voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. And this was a targeted program to lower costs for working families on the top issue that the American people care about. And their only economic plan is the same thing that they had under President Trump, which is tax cuts for the wealthiest. And for corporations, it's not paid for. It created 40% of the federal debt that's facing us today. And they'd extend those tax cuts forever. They're at the table trying to do that right now.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And negotiating those drug prices for Medicare is huge. I worked at the Department of Veterans affairs for over 10 years, and then I was the liaison to the Department of Defense. And they weren't even able to negotiate their drug prices. We only had it for the va and so that was just a huge, massive step in the right direction. It's gonna save billions and billions of dollars. And another thing that President Biden is doing for Veterans is investing $3 billion in cutting veteran homelessness. I noticed that he worked very hard when he was vice president under Obama. That administration halved veteran homelessness. And I'm glad to see him bringing this back to take it the rest of the way home.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's exactly right. I mean, it's. No veteran should be homeless. No veteran should go hungry. That's something that the President and the administration just invested a substantial amount in, both to try to start to tackle the problem of homelessness writ large, but also to make sure that no veteran goes without a home. And so it's a priority for the President, it's a priority for Secretary McDonough. And I think it just goes to show again, President Biden wakes up every day focused on what's impacting the daily lives of the American people. And Republicans are often in this parallel universe, this silly season of universe talking about the woke mind virus and all these sorts of things that exist within the right wing media infrastructure. But the average American is not waking up concerned about those phantoms. What they're concerned about is, are you bringing down the cost of living? Are you creating jobs? Are you focused on the things that impact me and my family day in and day out? And that's kind of the core of what Bidenomics has been all about.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And talking about the daily lives of Americans and how we are impacted in so many ways, the hypocrisy on the other side of the aisle is pretty stunning. We know that today the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student debt relief plan and they had the website ready to go. They had simplified the application for it to take just five minutes. And President Biden spoke on Friday about what he's going to do going forward now that we have to have a workaround to give relief to American families from this being saddled with huge amounts of debts, while Republican congresspeople are taking sometimes over a million dollars in forgiven PPP loans, which I think a program, I think that he said cost twice as much as his student debt relief program. Talk a little bit about what President Biden and Secretary Cardona are going to do to help get the relief needed for Americans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Well, look, the court came down with a number of rulings this week that were extremely disappointing. And I think it just goes to show, I mean, I have to take a step back and say that's one of the reasons that this president has been very focused on nominating federal judges since he came into office. He's confirmed 136 federal judges. You know, he used to be the chair of the Judiciary Committee. This is hugely important to him. He knows what impacts the courts can have on our society. This court has been tossing out decades of precedent on issue after issue, whether it was the affirmative action ruling this week or whether it comes to the student debt relief ruling. As you said, this is something that people come up to the President, talk to him about almost every day when he goes out into states and what a difference it would make in their lives to forgive 10, $20,000 worth of debt just to help them dig out coming out of college and start to focus on just paying the cost in their daily lives and moving beyond that debt. And so the program was ready to go. It had strong support across the country. Republicans did everything they could to stop it in its tracks. And the President made clear today that the court ultimately can't have the final word here. He believes that there's additional executive authority that's not related to emergency relief in the pandemic, but the Higher Education Act. It's going to take a little bit longer, but he still believes there's a path to getting those borrowers the relief that they were promised. And by the way, these aren't rich folks as Republicans have tried to portray it as. The vast majority of them are making less than $75,000 a year. And so 10, $20,000 of relief is hugely meaningful to them. The second step that he took is to change the payment plans before they're re implemented through the Department of Education so that they're paying no more than 5% of their DISC funds in their salary and they've got a little bit longer to pay those loans back as well. So that'll save the average person $1,000 a year even as we're trying to get the broader relief through the Higher Education Act. So we were preparing for every scenario here for weeks. This remains a very significant priority for the President. And we know, just because of the number of people we hear from every day on this, how important an issue it is not only to young people coming right out of college, but to people who've been in the workforce for years.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. So he cut in half the income based driven repayment program from 10% of your discretionary income to 5%. That's after you pay all your bills, 5% of your discretionary income. And that after 20 years of payments, the rest is forgiven if there's anything left over, which is excellent. He fixed the public Service Loan forgiveness program as well. And then Also there's a 12 month on ramp repayment program as well, meaning that if you for the next 12 months starting this fall are unable to make your payments for any reason, you will not be forwarded to a debt collection agency. It will not negatively impact your credit. And that I think gives people a little more breathing room as well.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's exactly right. The President's been attacking this from every angle, using every authority available. And again, as you pointed out, you know, Republicans were comfortable with loan forgiveness to businesses during the pandemic. Many of them got those loans themselves, those PPP loans that were ultimately forgiven to their businesses. They never paid them back. But when it comes to, you know, a working class and middle class kid just getting out of college who is bearing an enormous debt burden, not making a high salary salary, of course, they scrambled to try to get that program, that relief invalidated for them. So ultimately that says something about the Republicans values versus President Biden's values.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, not to mention the $2 trillion in tax debt relief for the wealthy.

[Ben LaBolt]

So.

[Alison Gill]

And he said the hypocrisy is stunning and I tend to agree. Thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy day. I know it's very busy over there at the White House today. White House communications director Ben LaBolt.

[Dana Goldberg]

Great to talk to you.

[Alison Gill]

Thanks for having me on everybody. Stick around. We'll be right back with the good.

[Ben LaBolt]

News after these messages.

[Alison Gill]

We'll be right back everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news.

[Dana Goldberg]

Who likes good news, everyone? Then good news everyone.

[Alison Gill]

Good news.

[Ben LaBolt]

Good, good news. Good news.

[Alison Gill]

And if you have any good news confessions, corrections, Shout out to someone you love. What the mutt? What the heckwind? Frog orgies. Baby pictures. Shout out to an adoptable pet in your area. Shout out to a local business. Shout out to your business. Anything you want to send us. I did it all in one breath. Please send it nice job to dailybeanspot.com and click on Contact Everyone.

[Ben LaBolt]

We've all lost our goddamn minds.

[Alison Gill]

It doesn't look like you should be using those papers for homework because you've been using them to roll doobies. Okay, anyway, yeah, it's been an interesting weekend, but we have the good news. And if you want to send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact. First up from anonymous Pronouns she and her Several months back, the nonprofit I work for nominated me for an amazing training opportunity to network with a group of professionals focusing on leadership skills and social justice. We will work together to fundraise and solve what we can within the area. And this week, I was accepted.

[Ben LaBolt]

Congratulations.

[Alison Gill]

Heck yeah. Anonymous to answer my mother's questions. No, it's not a promotion. No, it's not a raise. No, it's not even part of my actual job. Yes, it will be a year of hard and incredibly rewarding work. Think of it like grad school, but better for my community. And I'm ecstatic for pet tax.

[Ben LaBolt]

I love that.

[Alison Gill]

Like, cut the mom off at the. No, it's not a promotion. No, for pet tax. They're grumpy but lovable neighborhood cat who gets fed by everyone. Look at this baby that looks like my cat boobs. Oh, my God, he's beautiful.

[Ben LaBolt]

I'm actually picturing this cat the size of a leopard because you don't know how big this cat is. So if you picture it like that, it's actually the most gentle leopard instead of grumpy cat you've ever seen.

[Alison Gill]

Boy cat. And he's got little white patch on his chest, and he's got the secret stripes on his forehead. Love it.

[Ben LaBolt]

So cute. All right, this is from Carolyn Pronoun. She and her hello, beans Queens. I have a very small pronunciation correction. Why do I think this is for me? It may not be. Spack is generally pronounced as a single word. Oh, look at that.

[Alison Gill]

Like, I've been calling it an S pack.

[Ben LaBolt]

Look at me. And I didn't even fuck it up on the story.

[Alison Gill]

I fucked it up. Look at me go.

[Ben LaBolt]

Yes. I mean, everyone makes mistakes. Okay.

[Alison Gill]

You suck. I mean, that's too bad for you.

[Ben LaBolt]

I mean, I do it too. Okay. Spack is generally pronounced as a single word, like spackle without the L. A. As a communicator in the biotech industry. Biotech industry. See, everything went to shit after that. As a communicator in the biotech industry, spacs were all the rage in 2020. 2021. So I've heard the acronym from my clients who use the vehicle to go public. Media covering the transactions, et cetera. It's a little thing, but the indictments you covered Friday and perhaps more to come. You might be using the acronym a lot more in the future. Let's hope, Carolyn. Now for podpet tacks. Here are photos from a trip I took with my husband and the youngest kid to the Yukon in February. It was a combination Northern lights bucket list slash. Oh, you lifelong San Diego kid. Can't remember seeing snow. Well, we'll show you snow trip. Now, one outing was dog sledding. Awesome. So much fun. The dogs were incredibly friendly. And boy, do they love to run.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, this is amazing. Look at that.

[Ben LaBolt]

That is a beautiful photo.

[Alison Gill]

Spack. Got it.

[Ben LaBolt]

Look at how happy the sled dogs are.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, they just love doing their job. Look at. Oh, he.

[Ben LaBolt]

He.

[Alison Gill]

He's like, I'm gonna take a rest right here. We'll keep going in a minute. And the other one's like, Balto. Ah, let's go.

[Ben LaBolt]

Actually, they all look like they're laughing, except this one fell out. Look at the one behind. He looks like he's laughing at something, too. Everyone's hysterical in this line, except the guy in front's like, get your shit together.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, Rudolph's pissed. So, so cute. What a cool trip. The Yukon from San Diego. That's not something I would have thought of, so well done. All right, next up from Kim Pronoun. She and her hi, AG and dg. I heard AG Wondering about whether Bay City, Wisconsin is where the Bay City Rollers got their name. Nope, that's Bay City, Michigan.

[Ben LaBolt]

There you have it.

[Alison Gill]

Thanks for the shows. My husband, who was Army Reserve Intelligence unit decades ago, eagerly awaits the Jack podcast every weekend. And I listen first thing in the morning to the Beans Jack and cleanup. I'm a huge fan of Pissed Off Pete. Oh, he's so fun. I've attached pictures of our cat Menagerie. Great name. The Dilute Calico is the youngest Luna, queen of the boxes. The gray fuzzball in the basket is B.B. king, because he's kind of blue and obviously king of the house.

[Ben LaBolt]

Goodness.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, my God. The tabby is Jasmine, who, no kidding, is 19 years old and has always seen me as a rival for my husband's affections. We appreciate you. Look at these babies.

[Ben LaBolt]

Cuteness.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, so lovely. I love cats in baskets, too. Thank you so much.

[Ben LaBolt]

Dander. All right, this is from Dave. Pronouns he and pronouns he and him. As a Delaware voter in 2024, I'm going to be voting for the chance to have the only black female US Senator, the only openly trans US Representative, and the US President, all from my tiny little state home of tax free shopping, too. Dave, I love you. And I just want to say, side note, we got in touch with Sarah McBride and I have a feeling she'll be a guest on the show. So that will be one of the people you're voting for as your US Representative. No pet tax today, but speaking of a small state, I was in my favorite coffee shop in the state capitol, the House of Coffee, the other day. It's a favorite because it's owned by Kristin and not some corporate behemoth. The name is derived from her Welsh heritage. She started it five years ago and has navigated Covid and all that it brought. She has a great, very diverse crew and she's always positive and engaged. When I went in, our current U.S. senator, Tom Carper, who was in for some coffee while he was in town. Now Senator Carper Is retiring. This is what I was telling you about. And supports, by the way, the Lisa Blunt Rochester person to take his senator seat. And that is why Sarah McBride is running for Congress, by the way, the House of Representatives. That's the candidate for Senate that this person had mentioned earlier. Now, and I just fucked up this entire sentence, but that's what I wanted to interject. So Senator Carper is retiring and supports Lisa Blunt Rochester, the candidate for Senate, this person mentioned earlier in her run for the seat he is vacating. So there you go. What is tldr?

[Alison Gill]

Too long. Didn't read. Delaware is pretty cool.

[Ben LaBolt]

Too long. Didn't read. Delaware is pretty cool. Yeah. So this is what I was telling you about before. Sarah McBride is the one that is running for this empty Congress seat because the congressperson is trying to take over the Senate seat of someone that's retiring. So. Good.

[Alison Gill]

And we need that Senate seat. We need all the Senate seats, because I think Joe Manchin is. Word on the street is he's gonna be flipping to Republican in 2024. I'm so shocked. Are you shocked?

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, boy. So shocked.

[Alison Gill]

Super shocking.

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, my God. I hate these people. I am so tired of people running under certain pretense to get elected and then completely turn their backs on their constituents. I just. It takes a lot of nerve and probably a lot of dark money funding.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. Hey, do you want to take this short one by sort of Damocles?

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, I'm happy to. This is sort of Damocles.

[Alison Gill]

Damocles.

[Ben LaBolt]

Damocles. I like Damocles.

[Alison Gill]

Well, I like that spelled.

[Ben LaBolt]

It's spelled like Damocles. Okay. Sword of Damocles. That's the name.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, because you know the Sword of Damocles.

[Ben LaBolt]

No, of course I don't. What is that a Dungeons and Dragons thing?

[Alison Gill]

What is that? No, Damocles. He had a sword hanging over his head all the time. Oh. It was kind of like when Muller was always under the threat of being fired, we would say he was under the sword of Damocles. Well, this is sort of Damocles play on words.

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, See, I like learning these things, too, about the little inside jokes that existed before I got here. Yep. Now, this is from Sword of Democles. Pronouns she and her. This is cat butt. Here's Mike looking for warmth in all the wrong places. Mike is a very puffy, beautiful cat sitting on a very warm lap.

[Alison Gill]

Wonderful. Yep. Send in those cats on electronics.

[Ben LaBolt]

I love that people name their animals names like that. You know, people would have. Because you're just like Mike, come here. Yeah, totally, Mike. Get off my laptop.

[Alison Gill]

I had a. Kevin. Kevin. Kevin. Fuck. All right, next up from Janice Pronoun. She and her hey Beans crew. I just love today's guest, Adam Green, who exuded positivity in his description of what bold progressives are getting done. Especially loved pushing the scotus Legitimacy messaging. Yes. Yesterday you mentioned in the concerts that are going on this summer and I'd like to put a shout out for community theater. We made the eight hour drive to Iowa this weekend to be blown away by my daughter in law's voice in Cedar Rapids Community Theater's Rock of Ages.

[Ben LaBolt]

Fuck yeah.

[Alison Gill]

It is so cool to see live theater. And the talent within our communities is amazing. Who among us were those music drama students in high school? I did refrain from flipping off the De Satan business. Business, the highway. Only a thumbs down. I don't know what that is. Desaitan business, the highway. My pet tax is Stacio, our Maine Coon who brings me presents. These teeny Beanie Babies have been hunted and left for us for 15 years. Thanks for the news each morning, Janice. Look at the Maine Coon.

[Ben LaBolt]

Oh, my God. Well, I can tell you Janice is talking about Desantis, but I'm a little confused by the business. The highway. So who knows? Who knows?

[Alison Gill]

There was, I guess, flipping off the Desantis business on the highway. Maybe there's a Desantis business on the highway to Iowa. Oh, I know he. Wasn't he in Iowa? And maybe motorcade or something. So the Desantis, the Desaitan business. Okay, now it makes sense. Not a business, but the business. I gotcha.

[Ben LaBolt]

Got it.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. Iowa's gonna be a shit show early next year.

[Ben LaBolt]

I mean, has it been changed that they're no longer one of the first states to vote?

[Alison Gill]

I don't know. I know New Hampshire's not first for Dems anymore. South Carolina is, but. And I think they pushed back Iowa and the caucus. But the caucus is also weird. It makes it very difficult for, you know, people who aren't able bodied to come down and participate in the caucus. It's just, it's a very strange process. And I don't. I'll look into that. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about the Iowa caucus, as we always do in a presidential election year. But Galadja flipped off that business. Absolutely.

[Ben LaBolt]

I like that. I like the people that flip off motorcades of people that they don't like. Like that woman that went viral for flipping off Trump's Motorcade on her bicycle.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And then she was elected to Congress, I think.

[Ben LaBolt]

Yep, she sure was. She won her seat for that, which I think not the House of Representatives, but like some sort of a.

[Alison Gill]

Some.

[Ben LaBolt]

Yeah, yeah. Some city council or some. Whatever it was, it was awesome.

[Alison Gill]

She won. She was fired from her job for that. And then she's like, fine, I'll run for office. And she won. All right, everybody. It's been a weird show today. Thank you.

[Ben LaBolt]

It has been very weird.

[Alison Gill]

Yep. Thank you for listening and thanks to our patrons. Thanks for coming to the happy hour last Friday. We'll have another one in a couple weeks. And check your inbox for a potential interest in meetups with me for cocktails and stuff in Chicago. July 13th through 15th, I'll be at Netroots, be hosting a panel with Joel Wein Banks, Victor Shi and Renato Marioti. And there's an open bar. It's an open. It's the only open bar panel at Netroots Nation because we're gonna be celebrating the indictments.

[Ben LaBolt]

That's hysterical.

[Alison Gill]

I was like, can we get a bar in there? Cause we got some. We're gonna have some cocktails and mocktails and celebrate these indictments. And you know, I've been thinking about maybe that Sunday night, the 16th. Your inbox if you. If you're interested in a meet up in Chicago and then also in Grand Rapids. The. The following Friday, I believe, is the 21st of July. I'm looking to see if there's any enough people in Grand Rapids who want to come out and have a cocktail, celebrate some indictments. So check your inboxes, patrons. If you're not a patron, you can become one. Patreon.com Mueller She Wrote Wee wee. All right, that's it, everybody. We'll be back tomorrow. Do you have any final thoughts, Dana?

[Ben LaBolt]

No, just a. We got a few more tickets left for my Rochester show. So if you are in the Rochester, New York area and you're free July 28, it's a. I would love to have you in the audience. You can go to my website, danagoldberg.com, just go to the appearances section. Tickets are still available. They're super reasonable. It's a very small room. It only holds 100 people. I'd love to have my beans family in there. So if you're in the Rochester area on July 28, go grab a ticket before they are gone.

[Alison Gill]

Yes. And I have seen Dana do her comedy and it is some of the funniest shit you will ever see, so you don't wanna miss it.

[Ben LaBolt]

Thank you, honey.

[Alison Gill]

You're welcome. All right, everybody, we'll see you tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Take care of the planet, take care of your mental health. Vote blue over Q.

[Ben LaBolt]

And please take everyone we know with you.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody. I've been ag.

[Ben LaBolt]

I've been dg.

[Alison Gill]

Names?

[Ben LaBolt]

The beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried bean.

[Alison Gill]

I like refried beans.