Refried Beans | Lightning Vest (feat. Greg Olear) | 5/20/2024

Summary

The Daily Beans Podcast Summary: Refried Beans | Lightning Vest (feat. Greg Olear) | 5/20/2024

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Daily Beans
• Host/Authors: Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg (MSW Media)
• Description: A women-owned progressive news podcast offering social justice and political news with a touch of snark, hosted by award-winning personalities.
• Episode: Refried Beans | Lightning Vest (feat. Greg Olear)
• Release Date: May 24, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode titled "Refried Beans | Lightning Vest," hosts Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg delve into critical political and social issues unfolding around May 2024. Featuring a special guest, Greg Oliar, the conversation spans a range of topics from criminal sentencing related to political violence, dark money influence in elections, redistricting battles affecting the 2024 elections, and an international incident involving Iran's leadership. The episode is enriched with personal anecdotes, listener interactions, and a segment dedicated to uplifting good news.

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Key Topics and Discussions

1. Sentencing of David DePape and Brent Bozell IV

Timestamp: [00:45] – [07:54]

Allison and Dana begin by discussing the sentencing of David DePape, who received a 30-year prison sentence for attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer. They highlight concerns about the sentencing process, noting that DePape was reportedly not given an opportunity to mitigate his sentence (Allison Gill, [04:21]). The hosts express frustration over the short statute of limitations for assault offenses, questioning the fairness of the legal system:

"But the DA's hands are tied by the statute of limitations, which is why they didn't bring or came." — Allison Gill ([04:55])

They also cover the sentencing of Brent Bozell IV, who was given nearly four years for his role in the January 6th Capitol insurrection, despite prosecutors seeking 11 years. The judge, John Bates, criticized the insurrectionist rhetoric, emphasizing that:

"Not for a moment should January six rioters be considered true patriots. They're not political prisoners. They’re not hostages." — Judge John Bates via Allison Gill ([07:54])

2. Dark Money Influence: Citizens for Sanity

Timestamp: [13:37] – [18:42]

The hosts shift focus to the significant financial influence of the dark money group Citizens for Sanity, linked to Donald Trump. Dana reports that the group spent over $90 million on racist and transphobic ads in the latter half of 2022 alone:

"Citizens for Sanity...spent a stunning $93 million in the final months of 2022, with nearly all of those funds going toward payments to outside media firms for advertising and promotion." — Dana Goldberg ([16:22])

These ads targeted various communities with vitriolic messaging against LGBTQ+ rights, immigrants, and Democrats, aiming to suppress voting among communities of color while mobilizing conservative white voters:

"They wanted to one, deter black and Latino voters from the ballot box...and at the same time produce ads decrying anti-white racism to motivate conservative white voters to show up at the polls." — Allison Gill ([18:23])

3. Redistricting Battles and the 2024 Election

Timestamp: [21:51] – [23:49]

Allison and Dana analyze the redistricting outcomes across several states and their implications for the 2024 House elections. Key points include:

• Louisiana: Introduction of a second black majority district potentially flipping a Republican seat to Democrats. (Allison Gill, [22:46])
• New York: Court rulings and legislative decisions leading to a net gain of three seats for Democrats.
• North Carolina: Aggressive redistricting by Republicans aiming to retain or gain seats, balancing the Democrats' gains.
• Alabama and Georgia: Mixed outcomes with Alabama gaining a Democratic seat due to a new district, while Georgia's map preserves GOP dominance.
• Florida: Ongoing legal battles over district maps, with potential Democratic gains pending court decisions.

Dana concludes that despite Republican efforts, Democrats are poised to regain control of the House based on current redistricting trends:

"I think that that will be enough to give us the gavel back this election." — Dana Goldberg ([23:49])

4. International Incident: Iran’s Helicopter Crash

Timestamp: [25:33] – [25:49]

The episode covers the reported crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister, as stated by Iran's state media. The hosts discuss the potential political ramifications:

"If the president dies, power is transferred to the first vice president, Mohammed Makber." — Dana Goldberg ([25:33])

They highlight the ongoing rescue efforts hindered by inclement weather and the uncertainty surrounding the cause and casualties of the crash:

"We are hoping that the rescue teams reach the helicopter and give us more information." — Dana Goldberg ([25:34])

5. Interview with Greg Oliar on His New Book

Timestamp: [26:06] – [40:34]

The episode features an in-depth interview with Greg Oliar, host of the Prevail podcast and author of his new book, "Rough Beast: Who Donald Trump Really Is, What He’ll Do if Reelected, and Why Democracy Must Prevail." Key discussion points include:

• Motivation for Writing the Book: Greg explains his desire to update his previous work and provide a concise guide for persuading undecided voters to support Joe Biden over Donald Trump.

  "I wanted to write a book that is short and easy to read and kind of makes the argument for somebody who maybe is on the fence or hasn't been paying attention." — Greg Oliar ([27:36])

• Book Structure and Content: The book is structured into ten chapters, with the first four focusing on:

  1. Trump as a Liar: Highlighting his consistent dishonesty.
  2. Trump as a Criminal and Kremlin Asset: Exploring alleged ties to Russian interests.
  3. Exploitation of the Pardon Process: Detailing abuses of presidential pardons.
  4. Critique of Trump’s Presidency: Discussing the negative impacts of his administration, including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6th insurrection.

  "He's been cultivated by the Russian mob and the Kremlin for many years now." — Greg Oliar ([32:08])

• Future Implications: Greg warns of the dangerous policies Project 2025 could implement if Trump is reelected, such as making abortion criminal nationwide and rolling back LGBTQ+ rights.

  "They want to make abortion criminal in all 50 states...roll back civil rights for LGBTQ Americans, and they want to outlaw contraception." — Greg Oliar ([37:32])

• Call to Action: Greg emphasizes the importance of voting for Biden to prevent the rise of what he terms a fascist political agenda under Trump.

  "If you vote for somebody other than Biden, you are voting for Trump, period. That's just how it works." — Greg Oliar ([38:31])

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Good News Segment

Timestamp: [40:00] – [55:27]

The hosts take a lighter turn, sharing uplifting stories and listener submissions:

• Listener Pronunciation Corrections:

  • Correction on pronouncing “Boston” correctly.
  • Clarification on “Aussie” referring to the American breed Australian Shepherd.

• Personal Shout-Outs and Stories:

  • Listeners share adorable pet photos, heartwarming family moments, and personal achievements.
  • Dana proudly announces breaking a fundraising goal, raising over $300,000 for the LGBTQ center in Los Angeles, supporting youth programs amid rising mental health crises:

    "I broke a fundraising goal for the Enter the LGBTQ center in Los Angeles...raising over $300,000." — Dana Goldberg ([54:26])

• Humorous Misunderstandings:

  • Fun exchanges about pronunciation and word mix-ups, adding a relatable and entertaining layer to the show.

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Conclusion

Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg wrap up the episode by encouraging listeners to stay engaged, support their communities, and prioritize voting for Joe Biden to uphold democratic values. They emphasize the importance of caring for one another and maintaining mental health amidst challenging times.

"Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family." — Allison Gill ([55:21])

The episode concludes with playful banter about refried beans, leaving listeners with a sense of camaraderie and commitment to progressive causes.

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Notable Quotes:

• Allison Gill ([04:55]):

  "But the DA's hands are tied by the statute of limitations, which is why they didn't bring or came."

• Judge John Bates via Allison Gill ([07:54]):

  "Not for a moment should January six rioters be considered true patriots. They're not political prisoners. They're not hostages."

• Dana Goldberg ([16:22]):

  "They wanted to one, deter black and Latino voters from the ballot box...and at the same time produce ads decrying anti-white racism to motivate conservative white voters to show up at the polls."

• Greg Oliar ([27:36]):

  "I wanted to write a book that is short and easy to read and kind of makes the argument for somebody who maybe is on the fence or hasn't been paying attention."

• Greg Oliar ([38:31]):

  "If you vote for somebody other than Biden, you are voting for Trump, period. That's just how it works."

---

Final Thoughts: This episode of The Daily Beans offers a comprehensive overview of pressing political issues, interspersed with personal stories and humor. Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg provide insightful analysis, empowering listeners to stay informed and take action, particularly in the upcoming election cycle. The inclusion of Greg Oliar's perspectives further enriches the discussion, making this episode a valuable resource for those seeking to understand and influence the current political landscape.

Transcript

[Allison Gill]

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

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans.

[Allison Gill]

I like refried beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's why I want to try fried.

[Allison Gill]

Beans, because maybe they're just as good.

[Dana Goldberg]

And we're wasting time.

[Allison Gill]

With swearing.

[Dana Goldberg]

Daily Beans. Daily Beans. Daily Beans. Daily Beans.

[Allison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Monday, May 20, 2024. Today, David DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison for attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer. But there's a flag on the play. Brent Bozell IV was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for his role in the insurrection. We're going to talk about how redistricting battles could impact the 2024 election. Minnesota Republicans back Royce White to run against Amy Klobuchar. A helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister has crashed. And a Trump linked dark money group spent $90 million on racist and transphobic ads in 2022. I'm Allison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Allison Gill]

Hey, Dana. Happy Monday.

[Dana Goldberg]

Happy Monday to you. How was your weekend?

[Allison Gill]

It was a bleach, blonde, bad built, butch body weekend, but it was good. It was good.

[Dana Goldberg]

Let me just say out loud, I love a good butch body sometimes. Not that one. Definitely not that one.

[Allison Gill]

No. And you know, to talk about, you know, we talk a lot about not body shaming on here, but when you're defending yourself against someone who was attacking you for how you look, I've got to stand up and clap. I'm kind of tired of people who defend themselves being called the same as the people who are bullying them. I disagree with that.

[Dana Goldberg]

I agree with you 100%. So this time I feel like it was justified. I don't always feel like you should go low when someone goes low, but at the same time, I don't feel like that's what that was. Jesmyn Crockett was defending herself in the most beautiful way. And I think my favorite part was Raskin covering his face because he knew it was so funny. And then the other congressman going, I don't understand.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Comer's like, what is that? I don't even understand.

[Dana Goldberg]

What does that mean?

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And this specifically was about rules against attacking what are called personalities, which is. Which can include how somebody looks. And that's what Marjorie Taylor Greene did to Jasmine Crockett. So in order for Jasmine Crockett to prove her point, she also needed to make comments on, quote, unquote, personalities, specifically about how Marjorie Taylor Greene looks. So that was the way she chose to do it. And so I just wanted to get that out there. That's why I think this is awesome and funny and why I'm high fiving, giving, sending all the virtual high fives to Representative Jasmine Crockett for what she did, for standing up for herself and other members who are constantly under attack for just the worst and most horrible things by Marjorie Taylor Greene and her ilk. And so let's see what else happened this weekend. We. We had all the fallout from. From the flag being flown upside down. The. The Insurrectionist flag, the Stop the Steel symbol at Alito's house. And we talk about that at great length on the Jack podcast in the D block. So check that out. It's just. It just came out yesterday. I mean, there's so. There was so much going on over the weekend. I watched that horrific video.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, God, the bullshit. Listen, I say it's a apology from. From P. Diddy. I just. The video is horrifying and literally sending my support out to anyone who has been a victim of domestic violence. I know I'm speaking to one right now. And so I'm sure that video was incredibly triggering. I think his apologies. Bullshit. It was very much like, you know, when you're in a dark place in your life, and I was. You had to look to God. At no point does he say I'm sorry to her specifically. And I. I just. I can't. It's hard to watch him turn himself into the victim. It was just. It was gross.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Were you at a really dark point in your life two weeks ago when you said you didn't do anything wrong?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And now you're only saying this because the videos come out. Now the DA in Los Angeles says that the reason they never prosecuted is because they didn't get this video until well after the statute of limitations had expired. And we can have a whole other discussion about why the statute of limitation for simple assault is only a year and for bad assault is only three years. We can have that conversation. Conversation. Because I think that's. But the DA's hands are tied by the statute of limitations, which is why they didn't bring or came.

[Dana Goldberg]

Because I was curious. So I appreciate the explanation.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Because I was like, why the. Is that guy not in jail?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And then it could be that perhaps they didn't have the video. Maybe the hotel held on to the video. Like, why are we only now seeing the video multiple. Multiple years after that happened?

[Dana Goldberg]

Right. There could be some speculation on that for sure, and we won't get into that, but it's possible that someone wanted to keep that video private.

[Allison Gill]

Yep. And so that's where we are. But anyway, we have a lot of news to get to today after this long weekend of pretty kind of depressing gaslighting news, whether it be domestic violence or whether it be the Supreme Court gaslighting us. But we do have a lot of other stuff to get to. But first, we have some quick hits. And to make a long story short. All right, first up, as you know, Cohen's cross examination continues this morning, probably up till morning break. Closing arguments could come as soon as tomorrow. There's no trial Wednesday or Friday this week. Donald did manage to make it to Barron's graduation on Saturday. And you had one of the best tweets on all of Twitter, my friend. Can you tell everybody what you tweeted, please?

[Dana Goldberg]

All I said was, has anyone checked to see if Melania is actually cake? She's not moving. I understand it's a still photo, but she looks like a cardboard cutout of herself. And, and the. The memes that have come out of this picture are just incredible. But in every picture, she looks miserable, and it looks like Donald's yelling at her, like, almost every photo I've ever seen of them.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, he's. He's saying, which one's Barton? Yeah, that's a. That was a good meme that came out over this weekend. Next Monday is a holiday, so there's three days off of court and out of the next, what, five? But Pete and I are going to keep you posted on the cleanup on aisle 45 podcast. So check that out Wednesday, because if we do get summation Tuesday, I. I'm very. Than to our producers who are. Who are willing to wait until the last minute to cut and edit and produce that podcast and get it out to you by Wednesday morning after summation on Tuesday, which is really, really tricky. And then, of course, Andy and I tackle the whole Alito thing on the latest Jack podcast. Like I said.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, thanks, Ag. Next quick hit. A man whose family member were key architects of the American conservative movement. This is Brent Bozell IV, was sentenced Friday to three years and nine months in federal prison for his role in January 6th attack in the U.S. capit. The Department of Justice has asked for 11 years. And while Judge John Bates, who's a G.W. bush appointee agreed with applying a terrorism enhancement. His sentence came in lower because the window he broke cost less than $1,000. Interesting. The judge also took aim at conservative rhetoric about the attack on the Capitol, saying, quote, not for a moment should January six rioters be considered true patriots. They're not political prisoners. They, they're not hostages. So I'm glad Ed G.W. bush appointee was like, stop with the bullshit. It wasn't a tour. It wasn't to go see the gift shop.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And a lot of these conservative judges, including some that are appointed by Trump, are saying the same things. I know Lamberth has said this, wait, no, that's not a Trump appointee. But you know, many, a lot of many are saying strongly with tears in their eyes that the January 6th rioters are not hostages. But they came up to me and said, sir, every time he says sir, and tears in his eyes, you have to drink. Next up, Royce White, former Black Lives Matter protester turned infowars darling, won the state Republican Party's endorsement this past Saturday in Minnesota. That is to challenge Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar for her U.S. senate seat. Joe Fraser, former naval intelligence officer from See Minotrista. I hope I'm saying that right. Send us, send, send in your corrections. Minnesotans had appeared, he had appeared to be the odds on favorite for the GOP endorsement to challenge Amy Klobuchar. She's a three term senator. But in recent weeks, a grassroots effort pushed White, Royce White to the party forefront. While the GOP endorsement carries weight, it is not a shoe in for becoming the party's ultimate nominee. That challenge is decided on the August 13 primary day. A campaign staffer for Fraser, the one who was we thought would be the Republican contender, said the candidate has not decided as of Saturday afternoon if he'll run in the primary. I don't know. He's being pushed out or bribed or threatened or maybe he's just tired. I don't know. I don't know. But we'll see. All right, we have a lot more news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. First up, from the Associated Press. The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison. But prosecutors later filed a motion saying the court failed to offer the defendant, David DePape, an opportunity to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence as required by federal rule. Now, he doesn't have to speak, right, but he has to be given the opportunity and she didn't. They asked the court to reopen the sentencing portion to allow him that option. Now court hasn't responded yet. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence for Depap, 44. She's a Biden appointee whom jurors found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official. Now Prosecutors want wanted 40 years. DePape was given 20 for one count and 30 for another, and the sentences will run concurrently. And he was given credit for the 18 months that he's been in custody. And a terror enhancement was applied. In its afternoon motion to the court, U.S. attorney's office said DePape was not given the opportunity by the court to speak before being sentenced and that could be an issue on appeal. Right. DePape's defense, however, said they opposed bringing their client back to court and filed a notice of appeal, according to the filing. Prosecutors and defense counsel did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment late Friday. The court has 14 days to correct a sentence resulting from an error. So that's what happening. That's what's happening. With that, DePape stood quietly as Corley handed the sentence down and looked down at times. His public defense attorney had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out he was going through a difficult time in his life and had no prior criminal history. Before sentencing, Christine Pelosi read victim statements on behalf of her father and mother, explaining how the violent attack changed their lives. Depape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the home in San Francisco on October 28, 2022. God, it's been that long, huh? Intending to hold the speaker hostage and break her kneecaps, he also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling. The attack against Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body cam video just days before the midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world. Defense attorneys argued DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with Pelosi's official duties. One of his attorneys said during closing arguments that Depape was caught up in conspiracy theories again. Is this an excuse to beat people on the head with a hammer? I don't think so. At trial, DePape, a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago, testified he believed news outlets repeatedly lied about former President Trump. In rants posted on a blog and online forum that were taken down after his arrest, he echoed the baseless right wing QAnon conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of devil worshipping pedophiles runs the U.S. government. DePape also told jurors he had planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of the speaker, who was not at home at the time of the attack. Prosecutors said he had rope and zip ties and detectives found body cameras, a computer and a tablet. Paul Pelosi also testified at the trial, recalling how he was awakened by a large man bursting into the bedroom and asking, where's Nancy? He said that when he responded that his wife was in D.C. to Pap, said he would tie him up while they waited for her quote, it was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the sip ties, I recognized I was in serious danger. So I tried to stay as calm as possible. That's what Paul Pelosi told the jurors. Now DePape is also charged in state court with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Jury selection starts Wednesday of this week for that trial and Paul Pelosi suffered two head wounds in the attack, including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws that he'll have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you so much ag. This is from Brendan Fisher at the Guardian. A dark money group with ties to Trump's inner circle dropped more than $90 million on ads described as vile, racist and transphobic in the second half of 2022 alone. This is what new tax records attained by documented and the Guardian reveal now. The staggering sum makes newly created group which is based out of the nerve center for the MAGA movement, one of the top political spenders in the last election cycle as it is now peers to gear up to influence voters with violent bigoted messaging again in 2024. The group called Citizens for Sanity which was formed in mid of 2022 and quickly drew attention as it flooded the airwaves in battleground states and swing districts with deeply offensive and often misleading ads. Some ads targeted LGBTQ + rights and attacked quote Biden and his radical allies for supporting quote the woke lefts war on girls sports and the woke war on our children. It's just ridiculous. Others pictured Latino immigrants and characterized them as criminals, quote draining your paychecks wrecking your schools, ruining your hospitals, and threatening your family, declaring that Joe Biden and the Democrats have erased our southern border. Yeah. Another ad featured scene after scene of violent crime involving black people, blaming the disturbing imagery on, quote, the radical left wing love affair with criminals. The racist ads seem to be part of a bigger strategy to try to suppress voting among communities of color. Not long ago, this kind of extreme messaging would be relegated to far right Internet message boards like 4chan, but Citizens for Sanity even ran those ads during the World Series. And tax records show that Citizens for Sanity spent a stunning 93 million in the final months of 2022, with nearly all of those funds going toward payments to outside media firms for, quote, advertising and promotion. Well, Citizen for Sanity's spending has continued into the election cycle, with more recent ads focusing intensely on anti white racism. Narrator's voice that's not a real thing. One ad from last year plays on racist fears of white Americans being disadvantaged by diversity, equity and inclusion, otherwise known as DEI metrics, falsely claiming that left wing politicians think skin color and gender identity should determine who gets the job. Another ad declares that equality is, quote, left wing code for whites and Asians not welcome. The group asserts that Democrats used to care about the middle class. Now they just care about your race and your gender. Other ads have targeted Democrats and competitive races, such as Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio, which is unfortunate because he is a phenomenal guy and I hope that doesn't work. The newly obtained tax records also reveal that Citizens for Sanity is housed at the headquarters of the conservative partnership Institute, the cpi. And they're calling that a nerve center for the right wing and a key component of MAGA political infrastructure. CPI is staffed with former Trump officials, including his twice indicted chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and the lawyer Cleta Mitchell, and has launched several other projects, including America First Legal. That's the legal group created by Meadows and Trump's anti immigrant speech writer, the racist Stephen Miller. In 2022, Open Secrets reported that America First Legal also employed Citizens for Sanity's three board members. Those are Gene Hamil, John Sidrosny, and Ian Pryor, all of whom are former Trump administration officials. Prior told Open Secrets at the time that Citizens for Sanity had, quote, no relationship with America First Legal Foundation. But the group's latest tax filings describe the two as, quote, related organizations. Yep. Oops. Yep, there's receipts. Notably, even as these groups ran ads in 2022 promoting racist stereotypes about black and Latino Americans, they were simultaneously targeting black and Latino voters with separate messages. For example, last Cycle, Citizens for Sanity produced inflammatory Spanish language ads warning of urban crime and migration from Pakistan. They aired anti trans ads in Latino heavy congressional districts and placed an ad in Philadelphia's oldest African American newspaper attacking John Fetterman. At the same time, American First Legal promoted anti trans tv, radio and billboard ads in both English and Spanish and aired radio spots on black and Spanish language radio. This demographic targeting and dual messaging appeared to have two goals. They wanted to one, deter black and Latino voters from the ballot box using inflammatory and anti trans ads and at the same time produce ads decreeing, decrying. Are you decrying or decreeing, Alison?

[Allison Gill]

Decrying.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay, I would say decreeing, but we'll say decrying, decrying anti white racism to motivate conservative white voters to show up at the polls. So, wow, this is infuriating. I don't, I guess there's nothing that can be done about it because if someone's going to pay, they, they're going to pay to have whatever ads they want out there.

[Allison Gill]

So on one hand they're putting out Spanish language ads talking about, you know, how bad Democrats are, and on the other hand, they're putting out ads for white voters saying how bad Latinos are. Right, got it. And then they're doing the same thing with the black community. Not surprised. Not surprised at all. All right, next up from Frederica, shouting at cnn. After months and months of legal legislative skirmishes around the country, much of the redistricting drama of the 2024 election cycle is behind us. And it has ended pretty close to where it began. Just a handful of seats could determine which party controls the House, where Republicans now hold a threadbare majority. They can lose one vote. In North Carolina, newly empowered GOP state legislators took an aggressive approach with their map drawing, crafting lines to allow their party to flip at least three seats that are now Democratic. But in recently concluded redistricting in New York, Democrats, who had a final say over the map and could have gotten like six more seats, went a little more modest, essentially turning just one Republican held seat into a blue one. In the South, Democrats are expected to gain two seats as a result of Voting Rights act ruling out of Alabama and Louisiana. But a protracted battle over the congressional map in another southern state, Georgia, has not changed the partisan balance of the state delegation heading into November. Although Republicans control the House by a narrow margin under the map used in the 2022 midterm elections, 17 of those GOP lawmakers were elected in communities that backed President Biden in 2020. So let's run down the results and keep a tally of the litigation going on in these states from this election cycle. In Louisiana, the Republican controlled state legislature approved a map with a second black majority district that's expected to be in effect in this year's elections. That action, viewed as a win for Dems, endangered the seat now held by Republican Rep. Garrett graves. So there's plus one in the Dem column. In New York, Republicans flipped four U.S. house seats in the 2022 midterm elections. Then a ruling by the state's highest court appeared to jeopardize those gains by potentially making it easier for Democrats to pick up as many as six Republican seats. But the legislature's final product ended up putting a central New York seat held by Republican freshman Brandon Williams at greater risk for his party. It also shored up for Democrats Tom Suozzi's Long island seat, which the party flipped in February in a special election to succeed George Santos. So two more seats bringing the Dem lead up to three seats between New York and Louisiana. So up to three for Dems now. Then in North Carolina, where Republicans hold a super majority, there are new congressional lines that could prove a windfall for Republicans and boost the party's chances of retaining its House majority next year. This could net three seats for Republicans. So now we're back to even Steven. We had three for Dems, now we got three for for the gop. All right. Down in Alabama, in one of the cycle's highest profile redistricting cases, a three judge panel approved a map that created a second congressional district with a substantial black population. Before the court action, Alabama, which is 27% black, had only one black majority district out of seven.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's ridiculous.

[Allison Gill]

It's so fucked up. So with that one seat, Dems are up one. Now we're back up to Dems plus one. Then to Georgia. Republicans who hold a governing trifecta in the state finalized new maps last year that safeguarded their party's dominance in politics and dashed Democrats hopes of adding an additional U.S. house seat. So then we're still at Dems plus one. Now in Florida, a state judge in September struck down congressional lines of a northern Florida district that had been championed by Ron DeSantis, ruling that the Republican governor's map had improperly diluted black voting power. The case is now before the all Republican state Supreme Court, most of which have been appointed by DeSantis. The disputed map appears to probably remain in place for this year's elections after the court denied the plaintiff's request to speed up the case. So we're still Dems one up. The Kentucky Supreme Court in December rejected arguments from Democrats that their map drawn by the state's Republican controlled legislature violated the state constitution as extremely partisan and gerrymander. So no changes there. So Dems are still one up. And Rep. Nancy Mace's seat is up for debate in South Carolina because a lower court found that gerrymander to be racial. But the 2024 elections will proceed under the current map and that's according to a three judge panel ruling in March. The judges in part cited the delay in the high court issuing a decision. Still one up. Dems. And in New Mexico, a state judge in October upheld that map drawn by Democrats. So the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed it. So no gains, no losses. But there is another seat that's become more competitive for Republicans in North Carolina which could bring us back to even Stephen. But the Democrats have abortion on the ballot in Multiple states and 17 current GOP seats are held in districts. Biden won in 20, not to mention the absolutely embarrassing showing by Republicans in the House. And I think that that will be enough to give us the gavel back this election.

[Dana Goldberg]

I sure hope so. As I go into the next story, I'm going to do my best with the pronunciations. Allison may correct me in lifetime. We shall see. This is from the Times. A helicopter carrying President Ibrahim Raisi crashed on Sunday. That's according to Iran's state media and the country's mission to the United nations, but as yet to be found by search and rescue as the time we're reading this story because there's heavy fog in the area. The helicopter was also carrying Iran's foreign minister, the state news agency, which is the IRNA. They reported that an enormous search operation involving 16 teams was underway to locate the helicopter. Inclement weather, the report said, was hampering that effort. The teams had yet to locate the crash site after almost five hours. State media has yet to report on casualties or confirm the whereabouts or condition of the President. The cause of the crash is also unknown. This is quote given the complexities of the region, connection has been difficult. We are hoping that the rescue teams reach the helicopter and give us more information. That's Iran's interior minister. That's what they told state television. Mr. Raisi was on an official visit to the province of eastern Azerbaijan, a mountainous region in northwestern Iran. A delegation of ministers traveled with him in a convoy of three helicopters. This is from state media. That's what they reported, adding that the Two other aircraft had reached their destinations. In addition to the president and the foreign minister, the governor of the province was also in the helicopter. Now, Iran's law stipulates that if the president dies, power is transferred to the first vice president and an election must be called within six months. Well, the first vice president is Mohammed Makber.

[Allison Gill]

Mohammed Makbir.

[Dana Goldberg]

Mohammed Makbir. And he happens to be a conservative politician. Not surprising with the way this regime is. But this story's ongoing. Like I said, we're reading this on Sunday and we'll see what happens in the next 24 hours. By the time you hear the story, I'm sure we'll have an update on tomorrow's beans.

[Allison Gill]

Yes, we will keep you posted. All right, that's the news. We have a lot of good news to get to. But you know what? I have a surprise. After this quick break, we're going to talk to our friend, the host of the Prevail podcast on MSW Media, Greg Olar. So everybody stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.

[Greg Oliar]

We'll be right back.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I am really excited today to be joined by my good friend, author and host of the Prevail podcast on MSW Media and also host of the Five eight with Stephanie Cough Lincoln's Bible, another really incredible show that you need to check out. If you haven't. Please welcome my friend Greg Oliard.

[Greg Oliar]

Thanks so much for having me. Great to be back. Great to see you.

[Allison Gill]

It is really good to see you too, my friend. I know you're gonna be joining us at the live Daily Beans in New York. Right. On June 15th.

[Greg Oliar]

I'm gonna be joining you in New York. Am I joining you in Boston, too? I think I might be joining you at both. I don't know.

[Allison Gill]

Yes. Yes, that is correct. Boston on the 16th, though, but not the 17th. The first show. The first show, yeah. And so will Lincoln's Bible. She'll be joining us in New York. And so I'm looking forward to that and looking forward to seeing you there. I don't think I've seen you in person since our show in Boston in 2019. At the end of 2019.

[Greg Oliar]

That was a long time ago. We're due. We're due for a night of drinks and celebration, I think no matter what.

[Allison Gill]

We absolutely are. We've had a lot to celebrate since 2019.

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

Today, I wanted to talk to you about your new book. It is out on Tuesday, but you can get it right now. Wherever you get your books, you can get it pre order. It's called Rough Beast. Who Donald Trump Really Is, what He'll do if Reelected, and why Democracy Must Prevail. Nice. Prevail. I like it because of the podcast. Talk a little bit about what prompted you to write this book.

[Greg Oliar]

Well, I was on a walk one day, and I thought to myself, you know, dirty Rubles has been out now for six years, and maybe it's time to, like, update that and do sort of a dirtier Rubles kind of thing. And it's been a while now. It's been a long time since I wrote that book. And I'm better now at what I'm doing. I think I'm better as a, you know, as a journalist, kind of that part of the writing. I'm better as a researcher. I'm better arguing all of that because I've written a column on Substack since November of 2019, which is also called Prevail. That's. Prevail is my brand. Right. So. And I have this enormous archive of work that I think is important in the sense that it will help people make the argument that Donald Trump is really bad and that electing him again would be fatal to democracy, which I think is not something that the mainstream media is talking about enough. They're talking about it, but they're not talking about it enough. And I want. I wanted to write a book that is short and easy to read and kind of makes the argument for somebody who maybe is on the fence or hasn't been paying attention. I remember you were on the Five Eight one time, and you said, you know, most people don't know who Roger Stone is. And it really, you know, it really floored me. And you're right. I think, you know, we. You and I and people listening to this, we're in the weeds. We're lost in the weeds a lot of the time. And when you pull back, you see people have no idea what's going on, which is fine. I'm not making judgments. I get why people don't want to know what's going on because everything's so horrible. But the way that I envision this book is being kind of a. A guide for people to make the argument to other people to vote for Biden and not Trump.

[Allison Gill]

This is so important because the number one way to turn out the vote, I mean, we. We do postcards, we do door knocking, we do text banking, we do phone banking, we raise money for. For candidates and for. For groups of candidates. But the number one most effective way I think it's got an 86% rate of return is to talk to people, you know, who don't otherwise vote. And in order to do that the most effectively, specifically members of our community and members of our family who just don't care. They're not plugged in, they don't vote, they aren't going to vote, is how to approach them with that conversation and why it's so important. And I think your sub subtitle here is an urgent appeal to independence, undecideds, fiscal Republicans, third party people, voters who quote unquote, don't like politics and the Biden hating left, Right. And that if you think about your circle, there's gonna be somebody in it that falls into one or more of those categories. And this book will give you the tools that you need to speak to those people one on one and make your appeal to them to get out and vote for Biden. Because we know that if you don't vote, you are implicitly supporting Donald Trump.

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah, yeah. And I make that case in the book. I think it's, it's 10 chapters long, so it's not, it's not long. It's, it's 150 pages, some odd of actual text. And the first four chapters I talk about like who he actually is, as the subtitle says, and who he is is. First, he's a liar. He's just a liar. He's lied constantly for his whole life. The first time that Sean Spicer came out as White House press Secretary, you will recall, he lied about the inauguration size. And we all knew it was bad. We all knew we were heading into a direction that we didn't want to go in. But what he was doing was an assault on reality and it's been very successful. So the first chapter is he is a liar. The second chapter is he's a criminal and he's an asset of the Kremlin. And we can argue about what word you want to use. If it's asset, we can argue what collusion means. But the reality is that he's been cultivated by the Russian mob and the Kremlin for many years now. And he basically has done his presidency to serve their purposes, whether intentionally or otherwise. And I make. That's a long chapter. There's a lot of mafia stuff in there that I learned about from Stephanie Kauf, Lincoln's Bible, my co host on the Five Eight, my good friend. That's the second chapter. People might not know the stuff that's in there because again, the media doesn't like to report on the fact that he's a mob guy. The third chapter, and I think this is an interesting one that you don't really hear ever, is how he exploited the pardons and the pardon process.

[Allison Gill]

We're hearing a little bit about it in the Michael Cohen testimony, a little bit about it in the 2016 election interference trial. It's not a hush money trial. And we get a taste of the mob tactics, don't we?

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

Now, of course, folks like you and I, you know, I had a whole podcast and we had a Mueller report series of 21 episodes where I read the whole thing with commentary. And it's mentioned in volume two, the obstruction volume. I'm. I the sorting hat. Put me in. In house, Volume two of House Obstruction. That's my. That's my bag right there. I love that. I love that volume.

[Greg Oliar]

I prefer the first one, but.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, as does. As does Robert Mueller. Right. He's. He's the sorting hat. Put him in. In the Russian volume. But they do talk a lot about the pardons. And, you know, right now, the defense is trying to decide whether to bring Robert Costello onto the stand, who is the person who emailed during that Mueller investigation or during the 2018 raid on Cohen's home and office and hotel room or whatever, because I think he was remodeling something. I don't even remember all of. It's been so long. But he's the one who said, you sleep well, you have friends in high places. And Cohen has been testifying that there were discussions with his lawyer about pardons. That's a very big part of the election interference in 2016. And he's using it again now.

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know if you've. If you're familiar with Noel Dunphy and the lawsuit that she filed against Rudy Giuliani. Right.

[Allison Gill]

Yes.

[Greg Oliar]

It's disgusting and a horrific read and trigger warning before you even look at it. But one of the things that comes out of that is that Rudy was going around basically brokering deals on pardons. So Trump was selling pardons for $2 million a pop, according to Rudy. That's what Rudy was going around saying, and I have it on good authority that it wasn't just bluster, like he really meant it. So at least that's what I've heard. So. But who did Trump pardon? He pardoned his friends, he pardoned his accomplices, he pardoned corrupt gop, he pardoned Eddie Gallagher, kind of a war criminal. He pardoned people that were Friends with Jared, Ken Kerson, who used to be the editor in chief of the New York Observer. He pardoned him. This guy was on trial for stalking, which is really hard to get an indictment on that at all. And he got pardoned before the case even went to trial. It's so sleazy and scummy. And I think this is one of the things that people don't realize. Like. Like abusing the pardons in that gross way to kind of help your friends and your buddies is so disgusting. It's so, like, we don't expect that here in the United States. We expect that from some country that has a corrupt government that. That we're supposed to be above and beyond, and we're not with this guy. So that's the third chapter. And the fourth chapter is, oh, by the way, he was a sucky ass president. He was awful. He was fucking terrible. Have you noticed this?

[Allison Gill]

That.

[Greg Oliar]

But his whole PR strategy now is to go around and say it was better four years ago. And it's like, dude, we were hoarding toilet paper four years ago. And, like, putting, you know, putting 409 on our.

[Allison Gill]

He. He wants to swap 2020 and 2021. He's actually trying to make people think that Joe Biden was president in 2020 and that he was president in 2021 and that 2021 is four years ago and that we were better off now.

[Greg Oliar]

He was president during the pandemic, the early days of the pandemic, and he chose with Jared Kushner, with Mike Pence, to politicize the pandemic and to make it so that you couldn't trust anybody. And by doing that and doing his approach to the response to the pandemic and the way that it was, it cost U.S. probably 300,000American lives. There's been 1.1 million people dead of COVID If we had had the same kind of leadership that they had in South Korea or Germany or Japan or New Zealand, 300,000 more Americans would be alive. So he killed that many people. Him, Trump killed them. He killed them. That's it. It's on him and Kushner. So. Oh, and also, I don't know if you knew about this, but on January, 6, 2021, he tried to overthrow the government. So there's also that.

[Allison Gill]

Really?

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah, yeah, apparently he did. He did.

[Allison Gill]

I hadn't heard about that.

[Greg Oliar]

I know. It's crazy, right? So this is the guy that they're trying to bring back. Okay. He's just that he's awful in every way. And he's old and he's, you know, losing his mind and all the other stuff, and just a nasty human. But then there's what he'll do. You know, we know about Project 2025, which is a project run by the Heritage foundation, which is now run by a guy named Kevin Roberts, who. Like Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, and presiding over that $1.6 billion in money from Barry's side. These are extremist Catholics who are trying to lurch the country rightward. And what they want to do is make abortion criminal in all 50 states. They want to roll back civil rights for LGBTQ Americans, and they want to outlaw contraception. Those are three big things. There's other things, too. They want to fire 50,000 civil service employees, like, the day that he gets in there. And if you believe Kash Patel, and I believe Kash Patel when he's on Steve Bannon's show talking, they're basically going to enact vengeance on anybody who dares to write the truth about these people. Meaning people like anybody. Could be people like you and me. Could be people listening to this show.

[Allison Gill]

It was people like me.

[Greg Oliar]

I know you've already been there. You're like, this is not my first rodeo, Greg.

[Allison Gill]

This is not my first Project 2025. I called it Project 2020, but you know that.

[Greg Oliar]

So if people haven't read that, I mean, it's really devastating. I, I talk about it in one of the chapters. I, I break down the, the, the introduction that Kevin Roberts writes so you don't have to go read the whole thing. And, and then the last part of the book is about how the GOP isn't the GOP anymore. It's not your dad's GOP or your grandfather's Buick or whatever. It's just not. It's maga. It's a fascist party. You have people like Robert Kagan writing in the Washington Post, very, very well respected, not liberal, squishy guy at all, writing in the Washington Post that we're on a path to dictatorship. All the fascism scholars have been screaming for years now that this guy.

[Allison Gill]

Wait, Jeff Duncan. Write an op ed about why he's pulling the lever for Joe Biden. Jeff Duncan?

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

Former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.

[Greg Oliar]

See, I mean, people know, and it's not us being crazy about it. They really are gonna come in and do these nasty things. So if you're voting for a Republican and you think you're voting for the old Republicans, the Romney Republicans, the Bush Republicans, the Reagan Republicans, God help us, the Eisenhower Republicans, you're not. You're voting for a fascist dictatorship. That's what you're voting for. And then third party, you know, it's third parties never work. They're always spoilers. They say, you know, the lesser of two evils is still evil and all that kind of stuff. But if you vote for somebody other than Biden, you are voting for Trump, period. That's just how it works, you know.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Right wing dark money spends billions to try to make you think both sides are the same or that your vote doesn't matter. That's why they do that. That's why you've heard that. That's why there's catchphrases about it. And the Russians and other foreign bad actors jump in and amplify those messages considerably, as we know, as we saw quite clearly and blatantly in 2016. Well, thank you. I appreciate you going over that with us. And I encourage anybody who's wondering how I talk, how do I talk? Do the, how do I do the most impactful thing I can do to get the vote out? Talk to my community members, neighbors, friends, family members that are somehow not committed to voting for Biden and get them to vote for Biden. The answers are in the pages here. And I really encourage everybody to pick it up wherever it's on Amazon. Is that right?

[Greg Oliar]

Yeah, right now it's on Amazon. Ebooks come in. I finished recording the audiobook over the weekend, so, you know, all the formats are coming down the pike. You can get it right now on Amazon.

[Allison Gill]

Awesome. It's called Rough Beast, everyone. It's by Greg Oliar. And you definitely want to check that out. You don't want to miss his Prevail substack. You also don't go subscribe to that. You don't want to miss Prevail, the podcast on MSW Media. And of course, please check out the 5 8. It's one of my favorite shows. And it's every Friday at what, 5pm Pacific, 8 Eastern.

[Greg Oliar]

Yep, 5 and 8. That's what it is. Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

Thank you. So it's really great animations, too, and song parodies if you're into that type of thing, which I know you are because you're listening to the Daily Beans. So thank you so much, my good friend. We will see you in New York and Boston on June 15th and 16th with our good friend Stephanie Cough Lincoln's Bible, my friend Greg Oliar.

[Greg Oliar]

Thanks so much for having me. Great to see you.

[Allison Gill]

It's great to See you too, everybody. Stick around. We'll be right back with the good.

[Dana Goldberg]

News after these messages.

[Allison Gill]

We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone. Then good news, everyone. And if you have any good news confessions, corrections, especially pronunciation corrections. I was trying to do that Minnesota place. Let me know if I did it right. If you want to play what the mutt, find the cat opine on the bovine. What the heck one what the hell's in that shell? What's the model of your axolotl? Any guessing game for animals at all, send that to us. And if you don't have podpet tax to pay, you can send us an adoptable pet in your area. Also, if you have a self shout out or a shout out to a small business in your area, or a shout out to a loved one, your spouse, your partner, your kids, your parents, a friend, any anybody send it to, send it to us because we love getting the shout outs. They're amazing, especially those self shout outs. And finally, if you have thesis titles, dissertation titles would be stories, blankie stories, stuffed animal stories, stories about cleaning up garbage on the side of a river and the interesting things that you might find, go listen to charismatic megaplastics. If you haven't, send that to us as well. And of course, all of your student debt relief stories, dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. That's how you get it to. First up, a public health fairing in Boston. I write to offer a gentle correction on the pronunciation of the state capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mispronunciations are usually variations of Boston or Boston. But to say Boston. But say Boston and you'll be correct. Okay, B O S S T O N Boston. For my pod pet. Well, I Boston.

[Dana Goldberg]

I'm not gonna keep my mouth shut because my brain's about to malfunction.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, I didn't know there was a way to mispronounce Boston.

[Dana Goldberg]

Well, some people say Boston. That's the, that's the accent. Boston.

[Allison Gill]

Well, okay, Boston. Meh. Anyway, I'll go and listen to some click and clack the Tapper brothers. There you go. For the. For the correct pronunciation too. For my podpet tax, I should send a picture of my Miss Kitty who usually hangs out on my chest during happy hour. But I'm a dog woman and would rather send one of the greatest fucking dogs who's been gone a couple of years now. Her picture still sparks a sweet flow of oxytocin. Oh, the face sister, you're Working hard these days. Remember, take care of yourself, exercise, eat well, get sunshine and good sleep. Thank you. Sending gratitude and love from the east coast. Beautiful doggo. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sending that in Public health fairy in Boston.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, this one's from Jack. Pronouns he and him, Aussie slash Aussie debate. This is what you brought up the other day. The Australian. The Australian shepherd is actually an American breed of dog and not from Australia. Therefore the American Aussie should be the official pronunciation. That said, everyone who has one knows them by their preferred nickname, asshole. These are very strong willed working dogs that need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. And apparently that sounds like something that Kristi Noem would shoot and we'd like to adopt. Unbelievable. Pet tax. Podpet tax. My two, Diesel is the blue Merle and Ruby is the red Merle and my grandson. Oh, the baby. This first pick is from one year ago and the other two are from just last week. Diesel and Ruby love our grandson and especially love our daily hikes.

[Allison Gill]

Now, is it Diesel or Diesel?

[Dana Goldberg]

Don't start. Fair question though.

[Allison Gill]

Oh, oh, look at this baby. Look at the boots. Look at the baby in grown up shoes. I love these.

[Dana Goldberg]

Fanta. Oh God, that baby, the hair, all of it.

[Allison Gill]

I know those curls.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, this guy looks like my brother in law Jack this. If that Jack, if this is you, you look a little bit like my handsome bro.

[Allison Gill]

Assholes love it. So it is Aussie. Okay, just checking. Yeah, because we have that dumb, you know, that dumb Outbacks take up. Remember in the 90s 80s everything was like we were super into Australia stuff here we had Crocodile Dundee and Outback Steakhouse and it was all just, it was everywhere. And then they had that, they had that slogan for Outback Steakhouse which has nothing to do with Australia but it's like Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi. And and so that's kind of what has stuck in my head sadly and much to the the chagrin of probably many Australians. But thank you for sending that in Aussie. I didn't realize it was American dog breed not from Australia. Thank you. Next up, Anonymous. She and her hi AG and dg. Just love the show. You make my day every day. You make me smile, laugh. A curse, curse and cry. Thank you. A big thank you. And here's a photo of my pod pet, Sammy, a mutt for you to guess. He ended up at the sale animal aid after being dumped. He still needs his thunder jacket all which gives him a big hug every day to cope with life's. Little ups and downs. He is much, much less stressed now, as you can see here. P S. The shelter thought he was a labradorx poodle. I think he's a golden retriever poodle. What do you think? Let's see.

[Dana Goldberg]

I think he's perfect.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Yeah. I think he's adorbs. I think.

[Dana Goldberg]

Is he a schnauzer or something?

[Allison Gill]

I feel like he's got, like a giant schnauzer doodle or something.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, giant schnauzer doodle is. I'm. I'm in. I'm in.

[Allison Gill]

I'm in for the giants. The gsd.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right.

[Allison Gill]

Energy schnauzer doodle. Oh, my God. That's so, so adorable. And thunder jacket. Okay, do you ever lose words and just say other words that you think might be the word, but it's totally not? I was the other day, my. My best friend has a. A dog who's really afraid of thunder and lightning. And I was like, have you tried a. Have you tried a lightning.

[Dana Goldberg]

Excuse me, everyone, while we take a quick commercial break while Allison gets her together.

[Allison Gill]

I. I said, have you tried. Have you tried a lightning vest.

[Dana Goldberg]

Instead of a thunder vest?

[Allison Gill]

Thunder jacket. She goes, do you mean thunder jacket?

[Dana Goldberg]

Have you tried a lightning vest? I have a friend who listens to this podcast and she's gonna send me. She does this voiceover for commercials and watch. She's gonna send me a commercial for a lightning vest, and it's gonna be ever heard. And if it's good enough, I'm going to download it and send it to you so we can play it on the podcast.

[Allison Gill]

Okay?

[Dana Goldberg]

All right. This one's from Leslie P. No pronouns given.

[Allison Gill]

There's no segue.

[Dana Goldberg]

Hello, AG and dg, the entire MSW team and the Gumanati community. I listen to all the podcasts, and my day does not feel complete without an episode of the Beans. As I make my espresso in the morning, I have a misheard name in the New York election interference case. Every time I hear Keith Davidson, obviously Stormy Daniels, former attorney, my brain hears Pete Davidson, and all I can picture is Chad from SNL on the witness stand saying, yeah, my bad. And it makes me laugh every time, Allison, to say, you're not very old. I am seven years older than you. My sister's turning 60 this year and said it. Best quote. I earned these fucking 60 years, and I'm damn proud of them. Okay, maybe we are kind of old, but it's all in the attitude. Here are the pictures of our beautiful First. Oh, my God. Of our beautiful first grandbaby. Born on the winter solstice, as cute as can be. She's the light of our lives. But talk about feeling old. I can't quite accept the name Grandma. And I'm looking for a hipper name to use for myself. I haven't found it yet, but I'm sure it will come to me or to Leela herself. Lila, probably Dana. Jesus H. To Lila herself. Watch, there's gonna be a correction. It's Lila. I bet it's Lila. Thank you again for all that you do. And I, for one, am confident Biden will win this November vote blue. There's Lila at three months and the perfect little babies and laughter and the baby looking at their toes. I wish I could touch my toes like that still. Just like in. Just complete of like. What are these little things?

[Allison Gill]

Amazing. Yeah. I wish I. What?

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my back would absolutely go out if I tried to do this at this point.

[Allison Gill]

Oh, that's just an adorable baby. As far as other names for Grandma, my aunt goes by Nana and she loves it.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

All right, next up, from Gene S. Pronouns, she and her. Sorry, I couldn't stop laughing at the.

[Dana Goldberg]

You're adorable. No need to apologize.

[Allison Gill]

Hello, AG and dg. I'm a longtime listener, first time writer, and I follow you everywhere. Your reach, insights, deep dives, creativity and humor never cease to amaze me. Thank you, Jean. I live in Portland, and my good news is that after being steeped in politics and volunteerism for so long, I went on a much needed three week road trip with my husband and a friend from Germany. We hired a house sitter to hold down the fort and take care of our two cats while we explored the southwest region of the United States. While on the road enjoying breakfast in New Mexico, I think I got a call from our house sitter. Her car, which was parked in front of the house, had been stolen. But wait, it gets better. She reported it to the police and I didn't hear any news after that call until a day before we returned home. Her car was recovered in Vancouver, Washington. The car was totaled, but with her insurance and state and federal rebates, she got a new electric car. Her dream car. Lemonade out of lemons. She's young and I'm so happy for her, Jean. Thank you for that. And I always like to. You know, there's always. What? What? What did John Lennon say? In the end, everything will be okay. And if it's not okay, it's not the end.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's a Good quote. This next one's from Gary.

[Allison Gill]

Pronouns he and Get a lightning vest.

[Dana Goldberg]

And get a lightning vest, Gary. You probably don't need one. Pronouns he and they. This is Molly. Mischief. She is inveterate. This is a new word for me.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Inveterate.

[Dana Goldberg]

She is inveterate. She is an inveterate thief. I'm going to look that up right after. She's an inveterate thief. She has stolen such things as a spatula and the element from our stove. She and her brother Wolfie have saved my life though a mental health crisis. It's safe to say she has stolen my heart as well. I've recently started listening, and I am glad to hear more strong, compassionate voices bringing the news. And while ag glad closes is out, I'm going to look up the word in inveterate. Inveterate.

[Allison Gill]

Thank you, Gary. That is the nicest thing. Compassionate. Strong, compassionate voices. I love that. All right, last one here from Patrick. Pronouns he and him. Ave liguminum. Regina. Hello from Rockford, Illinois, where we learned that there's no crying in baseball. True. I've got some pronunciation corrections for Dana. Regina is pronounced with a long I. Regina. That's right. Reminds me of a street joke I heard in Chicago. In Chicago, we have three streets in which the names that rhyme with vagina. Paulina, Medina, and Lunt.

[Dana Goldberg]

I love that. And now I'm trying to remember when I said the word Regina or Regina in any place.

[Allison Gill]

It was when somebody called us queens of the beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, okay.

[Allison Gill]

Because Regina means queen.

[Dana Goldberg]

Got it?

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And that always like. Like, kind of shocked me a little bit When I was watching the crown. They're like, regina. I was like, what? Excuse me. Hello. Pardon, but it's Regina. Look at the baby deer.

[Dana Goldberg]

That is beautiful.

[Allison Gill]

I'm at my office computer, so except this dick, dick pig from the Brookfield Zoo. And is. It's a baby dick dick.

[Dana Goldberg]

Like, oh, Patrick, you are very funny.

[Allison Gill]

Patrick is good. Thank you for that submission. It's great. We've got dick. Dick pics and Reginas and lunts.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. And the word of the day. Inveterate. For those of you that don't know what that is. Like, I don't, and I'm sure some of you do. So just give me a moment to teach the others. It's having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long established and unlikely to change. So an inveterate thief is going to keep stealing in the kitchen? Like spatulas.

[Allison Gill]

Like Spatula City. We sell spatulas. And that's all awesome. Thank you, everybody for sending in your good news. You can send it to [e-mail] click on Contact. Please listen to the new Jack episode. Please subscribe to my substack muller she wrote.substack.com it is free to subscribe. The more you subscribe, the more eyes get on my news. So that's why, you know, I keep asking for that. I like. Why do you keep asking us for stuff that's free? Because it helps. It really helps get the word out. And that's the number one mission of this network. Do you have any final thoughts today, my very good friend?

[Dana Goldberg]

The fastest one. I'm giving myself a self shout out, which I never do, but I broke a fundraising goal for the Enter the LGBTQ center in Los Angeles, which is called the center Gala on Saturday. And I raised over $300,000. So I'm giving myself a self shout out, helping. Helping the LGBTQ community, especially in Los Angeles. And it was for the youth programs, which is more important than ever. With an election coming up in 2016, the suicide hotline numbers, they exploded after Trump stole the election and became president. And I, I just. I fear that no matter what happens in November, that that's going to happen again. So we're raising money to make sure our kids are taken care of.

[Allison Gill]

Wonderful. You are. You're an inspiration, my friend.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you.

[Allison Gill]

Thank you. So lucky to be doing this show with you. So thank you very much. All right, everybody. Yeah, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family.

[Dana Goldberg]

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

[Allison Gill]

I've been AG and I've been dg, and them's the beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans.

[Allison Gill]

I like refried beans.