Refried Beans | No Pants Party (feat. Kyle Cheney) | 2/24/2021

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans – Refried Beans | No Pants Party (feat. Kyle Cheney) | 2/24/2021

Host: Alison Gill
Co-host: Dana Goldberg
Guest: Kyle Cheney, Congressional Reporter for Politico
Release Date: February 23, 2025

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Introduction and Opening Remarks [00:00 - 01:09]

Alison Gill welcomes listeners to Refried Beans, a segment that revisits past episodes of The Daily Beans to reflect on how events have evolved. The hosts engage in light-hearted banter about refried beans and tease the upcoming “No Pants Party” on the Stereo app.

Notable Quote:

Alison Gill [00:35]: "Hello and welcome to the Daily Beans for Wednesday, February 24, 2021."

Current Events Overview [01:09 - 05:00]

The hosts dive into the day's major headlines:

1. Senate Hearing on the Insurrection: The first Senate hearing addressing the January 6th Capitol riot, focusing on police response and the delayed National Guard deployment.
2. Andrew Cuomo’s Approval Ratings: New York Governor's approval drops amid a scandal involving concealed COVID-19 data in nursing homes.
3. Arrest of Jacob Webster: A retired NYPD officer accused of violently attacking a Capitol police officer during the riots.
4. Senator Perdue's Withdrawal: Former Senator Perdue decides not to run against Raphael Warnock in the 2022 elections.

Notable Quote:

Alison Gill [02:43]: "Lead story today is the insurrection hearing in front of a joint Senate committee… Cuo's approval rating drops six points amidst the nursing home scandal."

In-Depth Discussion with Kyle Cheney [16:00 - 37:35]

Guests: Kyle Cheney, Congressional Reporter for Politico

Alison Gill engages Kyle Cheney in a comprehensive discussion about the Senate hearing on the insurrection:

Testimonies and Key Agreements [16:00 - 22:32]

Key Points:

• Testimonies from four top officials responsible for Capitol security.
• Agreement that the Pentagon delayed National Guard activation and the intelligence community failed to adequately warn about the potential for violence.

Notable Quotes:

Dana Goldberg [17:33]: "They all agreed that the blame really lies with two other entities... the Pentagon for slow walking the activation of National Guard troops and the intelligence community for not adequately warning them of the degree of violence they should expect on the 6th."

Conflicting Testimonies and Pentagon’s Role [22:32 - 30:30]

Key Points:

• Discrepancies in timelines presented by officials during the hearing.
• Kyle highlights inconsistencies in Ron Johnson’s testimony versus evidence like C-SPAN footage.
• Discussion on whether Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was transparent about the delays.

Notable Quotes:

Dana Goldberg [25:31]: "Sund strikes me as kind of a comey like figure in this where he generates outrage on all sides but really believes in the righteousness of his actions."

Alison Gill [23:48]: "There’s just no clear bad guy yet."

Formation of Insurrection Commission [30:30 - 33:31]

Key Points:

• Democrats draft a plan for an 11-member commission to investigate the insurrection.
• Composition includes members appointed by congressional leaders and the White House, with Democrats holding the majority of appointments.

Notable Quotes:

Dana Goldberg [32:43]: "We are curious about why those people, why Trump made those moves when he did."

Critique of Republican Responses [33:31 - 37:26]

Key Points:

• Examination of Republican figures like Ron Johnson spreading disinformation about the insurrection.
• Analysis of Senator Perdue's decision to withdraw from the Senate race against Warnock.

Notable Quotes:

Dana Goldberg [35:29]: "He is being cast as the villain here by these four officials."

Alison Gill [36:24]: "And Wisconsin is going to be a hard sell after this latest election. It’s looking pretty blue up there."

Good News Segment [37:35 - 55:59]

The hosts transition to a lighter segment, sharing uplifting stories and listener submissions:

1. Listener Stories:

   • Adoption of a Puppy: An anonymous listener shares about adopting a Labrador mix, later revealed to have American Staffordshire Terrier traits.
   • Calligraphy Practice: Jesse shares his journey into calligraphy, integrating humorous phrases from Mueller, She Wrote.
   • Support for Jewish Communities: Jay expresses gratitude for the hosts' representation and support for Jewish listeners.
   • Snowy Owl Sightings: Ben reports on the first documented snowy owl in Central Park in over 130 years, linking it to climate change.
   • COVID-19 Vaccine Success: Hannah shares her father’s successful vaccination and the challenges faced in accessing doses.
   • Surviving a Texas Snowstorm: Nicole recounts her family's ordeal during a Texas snowstorm, emphasizing their safety and resilience.

2. Positive Interactions:

   • The hosts engage with listeners, celebrating their stories and encouraging community support.

Notable Quotes:

Dana Goldberg [37:51]: "Rocking those adorable pets really brings a smile to our faces."

Alison Gill [44:43]: "I love how someone so much like you is in places of high regard and respect. Ellie Hoenig is also one of my favorite recurring guests."

Closing Remarks [55:59]

Alison Gill wraps up the episode by reminding listeners to download the Stereo app for the upcoming "No Pants Party" and encourages continued community engagement. The hosts bid farewell with heartfelt messages emphasizing self-care and mutual support.

Notable Quote:

Alison Gill [55:44]: "Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of your mental health, and take care of the planet. I've been AG and I've been DG and them's the beans."

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Key Takeaways

• Insurrection Senate Hearing: The hearing revealed significant delays and miscommunications between Capitol security officials and the Pentagon regarding the National Guard's deployment.
• Andrew Cuomo's Scandal: Governor Cuomo's approval ratings suffered due to revelations of concealed COVID-19 data, reflecting the ongoing political fallout.
• Political Dynamics: The episode highlighted the contentious nature of Republican responses to the insurrection, particularly the spread of disinformation by figures like Ron Johnson.
• Community Resilience: The Good News segment underscored the importance of community support and personal resilience amidst national turmoil.

Notable Quotes Overview

1. Alison Gill [02:43]: "Lead story today is the insurrection hearing in front of a joint Senate committee… Cuomo's approval rating drops six points amidst the nursing home scandal."

2. Dana Goldberg [17:33]: "They all agreed that the blame really lies with two other entities... the Pentagon for slow walking the activation of National Guard troops and the intelligence community for not adequately warning them of the degree of violence they should expect on the 6th."

3. Dana Goldberg [25:31]: "Sund strikes me as kind of a comey like figure in this where he generates outrage on all sides but really believes in the righteousness of his actions."

4. Alison Gill [36:24]: "And Wisconsin is going to be a hard sell after this latest election. It’s looking pretty blue up there."

5. Alison Gill [55:44]: "Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of your mental health, and take care of the planet. I've been AG and I've been DG and them's the beans."

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Conclusion

In this episode of The Daily Beans, Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg, alongside guest Kyle Cheney, provide a thorough analysis of significant political events surrounding the January 6th insurrection, highlighting systemic failures and ongoing investigations. Balancing intense political discourse, the show also celebrates community stories, emphasizing resilience and positivity amidst challenging times.

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. I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried.

[Alison Gill]

Beans, because maybe they're just as good.

[Dana Goldberg]

And we're wasting time.

[Alison Gill]

Larry J.

[Kyle Cheney]

Beans Daily Beans J BE.

[Alison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily Beans for Wednesday, February 24, 2021. Today we get the first Senate hearing about the insurrection. A judge bench slaps Jacob Wool. The man who gouged out a cop's eye in the Capitol riots is arrested. We're getting more information on the makeup of the Insurrection Commission. Purdue announces he will not run against Warnock in 2022. And Cuomo's approval rating drops six points amidst the nursing home scandal.

[Kyle Cheney]

I'm AG and I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Alison Gill]

So I just want to open up by saying that like all my love and positivity is going out to Tiger woods and his family right now. He was in a one car car crash, pretty serious. He's got compound leg fractures in both legs. He is in, he's not in critical condition. He's not got life threatening issues or anything like that. But he's in surgery right now for his legs. So I just wanted to I echo.

[Kyle Cheney]

That as well, say our thoughts go.

[Alison Gill]

Out to his family. A lot of news today. That hearing was disturbing. We'll talk about that a little bit later with I actually got to talk to Kyle Cheney. He's the congressional reporter for Politico and he wrote a piece about the hearings that went on today with regards to the police response and the slow rollout of the National Guard. It's going to be a really interesting discussion with him. And then Dana, you and me, Thursday, 5 Pacific on the stereo app. That should be fun.

[Kyle Cheney]

Always is.

[Alison Gill]

Yep. And we'll have to come up with a theme. If you have an idea for a theme, you can send it to us at. Go to DailyBeansPod.com and click on contact and just do a general thing and tell us what you think are Our theme should be this Thursday and that's download the stereo app for free. Follow Dana, Follow me and we'll have a good time. It's a party.

[Kyle Cheney]

It's a party. I'm gonna wear a hat. You won't know that, but I'm gonna have my party hat on.

[Alison Gill]

It's a no pants party, so. No, I'm kidding.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, I've been doing that the whole time. Okay, moving on, moving on.

[Alison Gill]

We do have a lot of news to get to. Let's hit the headlines. Let's do it with the hot notes. Hot notes. So, lead story today is the insurrection hearing in front of a joint Senate committee, which included the Senate Rules Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Like I said, I'll be speaking with Politico reporter Kyle Cheney about that hearing a little later in the show. Standout moment for me was Ron Johnson. Today, Russia Ron Johnson continuing to do Putin's work by spreading disinformation into the Senate record stating the siege was jovial. He read from an article saying that it was a false flag operation and that the rioters were antifa and not Trump supporters or white supremacists. And as that was happening, news broke that one of the insurrectionists that was arrested had posted videos saying it was not antifa. Don't give credit to antifa. It was all us. We're Trump supporters and we're white supremacists. I'm paraphrasing, but so that was interesting as he was doing that. Very festive. Festive, yeah.

[Kyle Cheney]

Unbelievable. You know, and jovial. Yeah. My birthday is in April. I'm going to be 40 something and be 40 something. I'm not going to have a pandemic party. I'm just going to have an insurrection. Apparently, they're jovial and very festive.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, cool. Cool. All right, well, sign me up.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah, you're like, I don't really know what to say to that. Some, not all the jokes land. Okay, let's keep going.

[Alison Gill]

I'll bring a gallops.

[Kyle Cheney]

Okay, perfect.

[Alison Gill]

To your jovial festival Festivus. And this just in. Breaking news, we have reports that zip tie guy has been charged with information. It's called an information charge. We've talked about this a lot on the show. It's misdemeanor count, like one or two misconduct misdemeanor counts, very low counts. And that is indicative of one of two things. Either he is prepping to cooperate with authorities. And as we know, we've talked to a lot of former federal prosecutors, Ellie Honig, et cetera, Renato Mariotti, who say when you cooperate, you cooperate to get not like somebody else that was at the insurrection, but somebody higher up. So we'll see what that goes. The other thing could be that they're just deciding not to prosecute him because he's a veteran and a white guy, but I don't know. We'll see. I'm hoping the information charge means that we will be getting a plea agreement out of zip tie guy and the man known as the Eye Gouger has been detained for his role in the siege. From 4 New York News A retired NYPD officer, Goodness, who had been assigned for a time to work perimeter security at City hall and at Gracie Mansion, that's the mayor's official residence, has been accused of using a pipe to attack U.S. capitol officers during the siege. Law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case have told this information to News 4 on Tuesday. Thomas Webster surrendered to the FBI's Hudson Valley office Monday to face charges in the ongoing investigation. A day later in White Plains Federal court, his lawyer, James Monroe okay described Webster as a family man who spent his 54 years living in New York raising his three kids with his wife. Apart from time served in the Marines, he was dishonorably discharged but has had no prior arrests, according to Monroe, who argued Webster was not a danger or a flight risk. He gouged out a cop's eye okay.

[Kyle Cheney]

With a.

[Alison Gill]

Now Webster did go to the US Capitol to participate in a protest that January day, but was not part of any group or organization. Monroe said his client, who spent 20 years 20 years with the NYPD before retiring, went to D.C. to protest at an event at the behest of the former President of the United States. So yet another insurrectionist saying that Trump incited the riot. The FBI has released an image, had released an image and later identified by law enforcement officials as Webster as part of their ongoing investigation. And when Webster learned his image had been circulated on social media, he went to Monroe, his lawyer, who told him the best course was to surrender in a show of good faith. Now, nearing two months after the siege, the FBI continues to make arrests throughout the country. Since the violent riot, a number of tri state residents have been arrested and charged with various crimes in connection with the deadly event, including New York City sanitation worker, the brother of a retired NYPD officer, an MTA worker and an Upper west side community leader. So again, we've talked about the infiltration of white supremacists in everyday life.

[Kyle Cheney]

All facets they are in our workplaces, they are the person in the cubicle next to us, they are your fellow police officers. It is a little bit frightening how deep this goes AG this next story is also coming from New York. It seems New York Governor Andrew Cuomo his is, as we know, he's a Democrat. His approval rating has Fallen six points amid reports his office concealed data relating to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes, though it remains higher than before the pandemic began, which is really interesting. 57% of New Yorkers approve of Cuomo's performance, while 38% disapprove, a number that has risen five points in the last 10 days, according to Morning Consult Poll. That's, that's a poll that was released Monday. So Cuomo's critics have hit him repeatedly on his handling of a nursing home outbreak. And. And a January 28 report issued by Attorney General Letitia James, also a Democrat. Her office outlines systemic undercounting of deaths. So I think we've all heard the story by now. However, this did not translate to a substantial drop in approvals before mid February, when the New York Post reported a Cuomo aide told lawmakers the governor's office withheld data to prevent it from being quote, used against us by the Trump administration. So the governor still has the support of 81% of Democrats in the poll. However, the portion of Democrats who say they strongly approve of his performance has dropped by 9 points since January. So that's only 33%. So 42% of independents polled approve of Cuomo compared to 49% who disapprove. This is the first time a plurality of independents have disproved since the beginning of the pandemic. Everyone was very happy with his job up until this. Cuomo has said, at least the majority, I should say. Cuomo has said he will seek a third term as governor, has declined to directly apologize, saying that only that the withholding of data created a, quote, void that failed people in that moment. So, listen, I don't necessarily agree with the way Andrew's handled this. I think some of his statements are, have been a little bit not forthcoming. And from what other people have said, he's been a little bit prickly.

[Alison Gill]

Little bristly.

[Kyle Cheney]

No, bristly. A little prickly. A little bristly in that special when people have wanted to talk to him. So, yeah, we'll see what happens with that story.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. Meanwhile, I mean, we could report for hours on terrible things that Republican governors are doing as well, but definitely needed to get this story out there. And hard right. Hoaxers Jacob Wool and Jack Berkman caught with their flies down again. They wanted to pause a civil suit, a civil lawsuit accusing them of violating the Ku Klux Klan act through robocalls targeting black voters until their criminal cases over the same conduct had ended. So Jacob and Jack were like, hey, can you Pause this civil lawsuit while we face these federal criminal charges. A federal judge shot that down on Monday finding that such an indefinite delay could harm the integrity of future elections. Quote, it is important to note that our elections occur periodically. U.S. district Judge Victor Marrero wrote in a 14 page ruling on Monday. He went on to say by the time defendants criminal proceedings have concluded countless elections may have taken place. The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation which brought a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against the alleged fraudsters in late October. I think we can drop the alleged. Yeah. Asked for the temporary. For a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit accusing Wool and Berkman of violating the Voting Rights act of 1965 and the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871. In October, Judge Marrero found those claims likely to prevail in a decision blasting the men's campaign of electoral terror, quote, unquote. The right to vote embodies the very essence of democracy the judge wrote last year. This last year, absent free and fair elections, uninfluenced by fear the underpinnings of democratic rule would crumble. The United States Constitution as enforced by Congress and the courts enshrines these principles. The judge made the parallels between the KKK's racist campaigns and those he found the hoaxers likely engaged in explicit. In his ruling he says, quote in the current version of events Berkman and Wool used to intimidate voters. Though born of fear and similarly powered by hate are not guns, torches, burning crosses or other dire methods perpetrated under the COVID of white hoods. Rather, Berkman and Wall carry out electoral terror using telephones, computers and modern technology adapted to serve the same deleterious end.

[Kyle Cheney]

Wow, that is powerful.

[Alison Gill]

As a result of that ruling Willem Berkman were forced to send out a new round of robocalls informing the recipients of their original shitty messages that a federal judge found them discriminatory and illegal. The men tried to argue that the order interfered with their rights to a fair trial on criminal charges brought by prosecutors in Ohio and Michigan based on the same messages. Wolom Berkman's attorney David Schwartz from the firm Gertzman Schwartz told Law and Crime that his clients intend to appeal the decision.

[Kyle Cheney]

Of course they do. They appeal all the decisions. But they are guilty as fuck. They have been for a very long time. What? I mean just a couple of pieces of garbage that those, those. I want to call them boys. Those boys are my goodness.

[Alison Gill]

And a reminder. They would call. They would target black communities and make these robocalls saying if you vote, they'll know who you are. They'll arrest you if you have outstanding warrants, et cetera, et cetera. Like it just intimidated them.

[Kyle Cheney]

Horrible. Absolutely. Absolutely. This next one is a good news story, I believe. Democrats have drafted a plan for the formation of an insurrection commission designed to investigate what led to the January 6th Capitol insurrection. So a senior Democrat. Aiden. Excuse me. A senior Democratic aide involved in the negotiations described the plan as a discussion draft to begin the process of crafting the legislation that will be used to form the group. Now, According to the aid, the drafts call for a commission of 11 members outside of government that will be appointed by the congressional leaders and the White House. The big four leaders in the Congress would each get to appoint two members, while the President would appoint three members, including the chairman. So, based on the current leadership makeup of Democrats would choose seven of the commission members and Republicans would pick four, which I do believe is a good thing in our favor. The commissioners would be tasked with filing the report by the end of 2021. The commission would end 60 days after the report had been issued. This draft is just the beginning of the negotiations, though. Republicans will likely offer a counter proposal before the legislation is ultimately drafted. Of course they're going to counter it.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I imagine they'll come back and say, no, we want seven, and you get four, and we'll end up. We'll end up with six and five.

[Kyle Cheney]

Right. Because Democrats need to fight more. I don't mean. I don't mean dirty. I just mean fight. Ugh. You. I. I saw you echoing David's tweet. David, Was it David's tweets on.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. David Weissman's like, I don't. Why do Dems keep rolling over? Why don't they fight? And I'm like, ah, welcome to the party of being. Being a Democrat. Enjoy.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, goodness. It's infuriating.

[Alison Gill]

It really is. It really is. In other news, despite filing for a Senate run against Reverend Warnock just a week ago, former Senator Perdue, who lost to Jon ossoff in the Jan. 5 runoff, has decided to back out of the race. I guess he looked at the numbers, didn't realize that Warnock beat Loeffler by a bigger margin that Ossoff be produced. Maybe that's not the best idea.

[Kyle Cheney]

Maybe he got an insider tip that he was going to lose and decided not to buy that stock.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, insider politicking. Warnock responded, quote, I'm prepared to defeat whatever Republican they come up with, which I love. Whatever one they come up with whatever.

[Kyle Cheney]

One, whatever one you want to throw in there. I have no doubt that he will, too. He had a very strong showing in that election. A very strong, strong showing.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, it was beautiful. It was beautiful thing to watch. And I remember going to bed so happy that night and then waking up to January 6th.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

Speaking of January 6th, we're going to be right back with POLITICO's Kyle Cheney about the conflicting testimony in today's Senate hearing on the insurrection. So stay with us after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody, welcome back. Joining me today is Congress reporter for Politico who has a byline today with Andrew Desiderio about the joint Senate committee hearing on the insurrection. Please welcome Kyle Chaney. Kyle, thanks for speaking with me today.

[Dana Goldberg]

Good to be with you, Alison.

[Alison Gill]

So let's talk a little bit about your reporting here for politico. And according to that and the testimony we heard today, there were a lot of conflicting and confusing accounts about what happened, especially during that 115 minutes everyone's wondering about. But all four top officials responsible for security during the insurrection seem to agree on two key points. Can you tell us, first of all, who testified today and what those two key points of agreement are?

[Dana Goldberg]

Sure. So the officials who testified were basically the four people most responsible for on the ground security on January 6th. So it was the former Capitol Police chief, Stephen Sund, the former House and Senate sergeant at arms. All three of those men resigned or were pushed out after the insurrection. And then you had the acting chief of the D.C. police, Robert Conti, who is still on the job. But the four of them all had varying degrees of responsibility for the response that day and the planning for it. And they all agreed that while they share some culpability in the events of that day, they feel like the blame really lies with two other entities that were not represented today, the Pentagon, for slow walking the activation of National Guard troops and the intelligence community for not adequately warning them of the degree of violence they should expect on the 6th. And that was a consistent refrain all day.

[Alison Gill]

And that's something that confused me about the testimony, is that they didn't see intelligence warning the insurrection. And I mean, we all kind of knew it was being publicly reported. Can you talk about that piece of their testimony specifically? Because, well, I mean, I know that they kept saying it over and over again, but I was hoping there would be some sort of a drill down on that specifically. And we didn't quite seem to get it.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. I think the clearest answer we got on that Was this. There were previous rallies, Trump related rallies in D.C. in November and December. And in both cases they were given similar warnings that there was going to be, there were going to be violent elements in the crowd. And in both of those cases there were violent elements in the crowd, but they were a relatively small scale and containable based on the practices that they've always employed. You know, D.C. police and Capitol Police are used to pretty big rallies and protests where you have some skirmishes and outbreaks of violence, not a coordinated assault on the Capitol with sort of military style tactics. And that's what Stephen sun, the former D.C. police chief, or sorry, the Capitol Police Chief, said was, yes, we were ready for violence. No, we were not ready for that degree of sophistication and concerted coordinated violence.

[Alison Gill]

That just seems odd. But regarding the other thing that they all seem to agree on, that the Pentagon slow walked the response. I've been focusing ON Somebody named Lt. Gen. Pyatt for a while now. And can you tell us what the testimony was about Pyatt today?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, we're gonna have to hear from this guy because he is being sort of cast as the villain here by these four officials. Essentially, they basically said that at around 2:30ish, or a little before 2:30ish on January 6th, now we're talking almost two hours into the insurrection. Members of Congress have been evacuated, Vice President Pence been evacuated. People are afraid for their lives. They had a conference call with the Pentagon saying. And Sund, the former Capitol Police Chief, is on the call saying, get me help now. We are desperate here. We are overmatched. We don't know how bad this is going to get. And you have this sort of clinical response. The way they described it was sort of, hmm, you know, you have to explain this a little more, justify it. And what, what the D.C. police chief who was on the call, Conte said, seemed like a check the box exercise, like they were asking very formulaically what you need and why justify it. And that PIA, who you mentioned, said he was uncomfortable with the optics of armed National Guardsmen at the Capitol and was going to recommend against that request. Ultimately, he didn't recommend against it, but did say he was going to raise these concerns with his superiors and that's where they left it. It took two hours at least for National Guardians to be activated to the Capitol after that.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, and something that stood out to me was that Sund testified that Irving said two days before the insurrection, January 4th. I believe that he also did not like the optics of sending the National Guard. That's the same sort of language that was used by Pyatt. But now Irving denies he ever said that at all. And so I know they're waiting for phone records. I think somebody was requesting phone records to see when calls were made. Obviously, the contents of those calls is not going to be available.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right. And now Irving. And they didn't really, again, senators didn't really drill down on this enough. But Irving said that, you know, there may have been the word optics may have been used, but it was never in the same. It wasn't the same context as what Pyatt was saying. He said his security and safety was always top of mind for him, even on January 4. And that any discussion, even if that word were used, would have only been about does the intelligence support the deployment of National Guard troops? You know, is it a part of the advanced planning? And so that was the discrepancy. No one really asked, son, you know, why did you think it was about that? Irving wanted this to be about optics when he claims that was never really the intent of his comment.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And it wouldn't really stand to reason that had Irving said that on January 4, he wouldn't also to be able to maintain that they had no intelligence about the attack.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right. And I think what. What he said, what they all said was they left that meeting on the 4th thinking everyone was on the same page about the response, that they all agreed that they had enough, you know, support available to them and contingency plans in place. So. So they didn't. It wasn't like they left that meeting and said, we're all on different pages here. No. They were all in agreement at that point.

[Alison Gill]

And did they. Were they able to get any answers about who sent the FBI memo and where, like where the buck stopped on that FBI memo? Because I felt like that was a little convoluted.

[Dana Goldberg]

It was a little convoluted. It's still not totally clear, but essentially, I don't know who at the FBI it was, but someone at the FBI sent a intelligence assessment or intelligent, raw intelligence actually is how they characterized it about some social media posts suggesting that people were going to that January 6th rally, prepared for war, I think, was the words they use and really threatening, violent or bloody kind of a day. And this was sent the night before by the FBI to a Capitol Police unit, intelligence unit that received it and did not send it up the chain. Apparently the D.C. police also received it by email. And we heard Chief Conte say if they really thought this was that Big of a deal. And not just sort of some uncorroborated raw intelligence. Maybe they would have picked up the phone, you know, or got made sure they talked to somebody because we didn't see it until, you know, it was too late to act on it. And they may not have acted on anyway because it was raw intelligence.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I imagine they would bring in somebody from the FBI, whoever that was, to testify too. I would really like to ask them some questions. Not to mention all the way up the chain to Chris Wray to find out, hey, have you had this intelligence? Why wasn't it, you know, why weren't you at that meeting on January 4th, you know, to discuss this? So when everybody did said they walked out on the same page, they actually were would be on the same or would have been on the same page. Now I have a question about the major conflict of the day, the major conflicting testimony. But I need to take a quick break. Will you stay with me?

[Dana Goldberg]

Absolutely.

[Alison Gill]

All right, everybody, we'll be right back. All right. We're talking to Congress reporter from Politico, Kyle Cheney about the testimony we heard today in the Joint Senate Committee. Right. The Rules and Homeland Security Committee committees were joined today. And these were the four top officials who were responsible for on the ground security that were testifying. And the major conflict came and I listened to this several times. It came and I read it in the. There was some New York Times reporting out on this yesterday as well. The main conflict came when Sund testified he called Irving at 1:09 requesting National Guard deployment. But Irving says he didn't get a call until 1:28 and it wasn't a request, it was just like standby, I might make a request. And so Irving said, so I stood by and didn't hear anything again until later. And I was. It strikes me as this whole thing seems like it's sunned against the world. And I'm wondering sort of what your thoughts were on that major conflict and why. I felt like they didn't stay on that they long enough to resolve it.

[Dana Goldberg]

So it was maybe the newsiest part beyond the description of how the Pentagon reacted, where they all agreed, this discrepancy between two of the four participants in today's hearing was maybe the most important aspect of things. To your point. Sund strikes me as kind of a comey like figure in this where he generates outrage on all sides but really believes in the righteousness of his actions. And I think one thing is clear. Sund has an issue with his timeline because there is you can look at the session, the House session that day. Paul Irving said, I was on the house floor at 1:09, not taking a call from Chief Sund. Well, that's true. It's there. It's on the C SPAN footage. You can see Irving on the house floor at 1:09. Right. As the joint session of Congress got underway that day. And so there's something off about Son's timeline, and no one really asked him how to reconcile that. I don't even think the senators knew that that footage was there. So no one said, hey, but he was on the floor. You can see it. And so we don't know really how Son would reconcile that.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

I mean, unless he had a cell phone and called him on his cell phone on the floor. But there was. It's not even the video, right?

[Dana Goldberg]

It's not in the video. The camera doesn't stay on Irving the whole time. And who knows if he got a call and glanced at it and didn't take it or. But again, now Irving says he has no record of this call, period. So that some senators asked, hey, show us your phone records and we can really verify this. But bottom line is if Irving's on the floor at 1:09, he's not taking a call. You're not allowed to use, have an active cell phone call on the floor. You would get thrown out of the chamber.

[Alison Gill]

Right, right, exactly.

[Dana Goldberg]

One who enforces that rule, actually. So I would tend to believe that he wouldn't take a call on the House floor.

[Alison Gill]

Except for Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz can use his phone on the Senate floor to look up, as.

[Dana Goldberg]

Long as we get to see his text.

[Alison Gill]

Priceline. He's on Priceline. Something else that came out of that particular timeline, and it came out today, it was also reported in that New York Times reporting, was that Pelosi approved deployment as soon as she was asked. And Republicans have been blaming the delay on her. So I think maybe that was put to bed today. What are your thoughts on that?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, they didn't drill down too hard on that, but in the run up to the hearing and in some of the testimony, they acknowledged that, you know, Pelosi was informed about the need for national guard deployment around 140ish. And apparently as soon as she was informed, she said yes. And then they had to coordinate a little bit with Mitch McConnell, who was also on board. But this, there's been this sort of budding narrative from some Republicans that, oh, Pelosi was responsible for capital security, therefore this must be on her Somehow. Let's get to the bottom of it. Well, now, as more details come out, it seems like she reacted quickly based once she was informed of what they needed, what she needed to be informed of, there will be more questions about that, I'm sure. But right now, the evidence suggests that this was not a Pelosi problem or a McConnell problem, really. He was a problem at the security level of the officials we're talking about.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. So if Son's timeline is right, which it doesn't seem like it is, then that would have meant that Irving waited 30 minutes to go and talk to Pelosi's staff. And if Irving's timeline is right, then it was Sund who failed to call to request to have that request put in right away. It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out. Phone records are phone records.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right. And so, and you know, they're basically, the authorities have been combing cell phone records from people who breached the Capitol that day. The. The intelligence and the evidence is out there. It's gettable. It's will know who made what calls when. So I think the committees will get that information. And in fact, they control the Capitol Police, Congress. So they can basically request whatever they want if they do pass it in a form of resolution and demand that information from the officials that report to them.

[Alison Gill]

And the Pentagon also disputes Sun's timeline, is that correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, they essentially say that the conference call they all had, I forget now, the precise order of what they disputed, but they don't believe Sun's characterization of the foot dragging and the amount of time it took them to respond. So again, it really begs for them, the Pentagon, to appear, which we understand will happen next week, and answer these specific questions of what are they disputing about what Sund is saying and why did it take as long as it did for them to approve National Guard?

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, there's just no clear bad guy yet.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, everybody wants a certain person to be the bad guy. And we don't know who actually is at this point, if anyone, or if it's all just gonna be a big circular, blameless and no accountability situation.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, it's the. It's the director's cut of Blade Runner. You don't know who the protagonist is at this point. But the next hearing is going to be with the House Appropriations Committee, who will testify at that committee hearing.

[Dana Goldberg]

So that we're going to have the current officials, the acting Sergeant at Arms who succeeded Paul Irving, and the acting Capitol Police chief succeeded Son. They were both there on the 6th as well in different capacities and can speak to what happened, but also now have been involved in operational discussions since that day and can maybe speak to what do they feel they need appropriations wise for security going forward? Are there any other security threats they're worried about and what can they tell us about the six that they know that maybe the other officials didn't shed light on?

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, and there's a few other investigations going on, too. The Department of Defense inspector general is looking into the Pentagon's response is my understanding now, I can't remember after the waterfall of inspector general fire firings, inspectors general firings from Trump. At the end, there is the inspector general, Department of Defense, an okay person.

[Dana Goldberg]

You know, I do know that the person who was in that role was removed. That was the person. Glenn Fine was his name. Now he was supposed to be put in charge of COVID relief and Trump sort of reassigned him or demoted him essentially, and, and shook up. I think he put the EPA inspector general in there as a dual headed official, got very convoluted over there for a while. So I don't remember where that ended up. But that's something that will be fascinating because one of the things hanging over all of this is Trump's personnel move at the Pentagon in the last few weeks of his term. People were very perplexed by why he had what compelled him to put close allies in acting capacity in these final few weeks. And they were the people in charge of decisions regarding the National Guard that day. And so we really are curious about why those people, why Trump made those moves when he did. And that the IG may be able to get some answers on that.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, unless the IG was put in there to also kind of help out with, you know, speculating that this was a coordinated effort on the part of Trump by putting Chris Miller in there and what was his name? Ezra Cohen Watnick.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, Cohen Watnick.

[Alison Gill]

And. And of course, whoever the inspector general is after Fine was removed. So it'll be interesting to see. I kind of want to wait until we get a Biden inspector general in there, but that's my own personal theory on that. But we, I mean, there are other ways that this is going to come out. We've got now the Insurrection Commission which is being put together. The legislation is being drafted for that. And then apparently there's also investigations. The Capitol Police are looking into its own officers. What's up with that?

[Dana Goldberg]

Another missed opportunity here today to drill down on that because the Capitol Police themselves have acknowledged on the Record that about three dozen of their officers are being reviewed for their actions on January 6th, including, I believe, six who were suspended with pay for their conduct on the 6th. We have no more details than that. Now, after the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, a lot of people pointed to videos of Capitol Police, you know, seeming to be on friendly terms with some of the rioters or seeming to pull back the barricades. Now, I don't. Without context, it's hard to know, were those justified actions? Were they trying to keep tensions cool, you know, or were they under orders to sort of lower the temperature? I don't know. Without context, we won't know. But this was an opportunity to ask about that and they didn't. Hopefully we'll find out more about what those investigations of the officers are.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, and perhaps in the insurrection Commission, we'll get to speak and hear testimony from those officers and all, you know, all of the incidental people who had roles that day. Because, yeah, you're right. All we saw was like officers taking selfies with people and. But yeah, removing the barricades. We've heard a lot of the police radio chatter saying the line is broken, the line is broken.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right. You got to retreat. And look at these people were, you know, across the radio, you heard and you saw the video of the reports of officers being beaten, like viciously beaten by some of these people in the mob. So a lot of these people are scared for their lives. If I'm in a room with a hundred of these people, I don't know if they're, if they have violent intent or not. Maybe I do act friendly toward them because, you know, that might be your own self preservation. I don't know. I just don't know. And I don't think anybody truly knows right now.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, and until we hear from them, I think we won't know or unless we get information from those investigations by the Capitol Police Department itself. All right, finally, just one last thing. What is up with Ron Johnson?

[Dana Goldberg]

I mean, it's, it's truly off the deep end kind of stuff with him. You know, he dabbled in it in some of his investigations when he was in the majority. You know, he's up for reelection in 2022. He wants to fashion himself as a close ally of the president, but still, you know, other allies of the president haven't taken this tack. I mean, Ted Cruz, you know, for whatever, you know, he's never going to have any friends on the left, but called this a terrorist attack on the Capitol, not underselling what happened. Ron Johnson seems to be the only one, at least in the Senate, who is treating this insurrection like it's not an insurrection, like it might have just been this, like it might have been a false flag type of event. Or at least saying, I'm just asking questions, maybe it's a false flag, who knows? And injecting that into the discussion, which. Which no one else seemed to do.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, it was jovial and also at the same time it was antifa. Like, I don't. It's just odd. And you know, I remember him bringing debunked Russian disinformation into a committee hearing when he was chair and after being warned not to. It's just, I think actually they were warning Ratcliffe not to put that out. But it's just, it boggles my mind. I don't understand what's going on with him. But Wisconsin is going to be a hard sell after this latest election. It's looking pretty blue up there.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, I mean the knock on or the wrap on Wisconsin is always, I think 47 to 47 is a guarantee. And then the fight over that last 6% is where the election happens. And that's been true in the last several statewide elections there. And so it will always be close. But Ron Johnson has become more, a bit more of a polarizing figure even than he was when he was elected last two times.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. Interesting tack. Well, thank you very much, Congress reporter for Politico. I encourage everyone to read the piece that you have the byline on today, Kyle Cheney. I appreciate your time.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody stick around. We'll be right back with the good news after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?

[Dana Goldberg]

Everyone.

[Alison Gill]

Then good news, everyone. Good news. So we need some good news today and we got some. So everyone, if you want to submit your good news, pod, pet pics, kids, grandkids, happy place, want to tell us about a dumb moment you've had or have a dispute settled in Amy's court? You can send everything into [e-mail] click on Contact. I'll kick us off. Dina. The first submission here is from an anonymous poster pronoun. She and her good day beans, Queens. Good news. Four months ago we adopted a new puppy, Angus. He was listed as a four month old lab mix, good with cats, crate trained, house broken and good with basic commands. At the risk of spoiling the game, I'll just say they were about as right as the Other stuff they were about this breed.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, geez.

[Alison Gill]

We had him DNA tested so we knew for sure what he is and it's a challenging one. I'm attaching a picture of his DNA results. I know you won't peek. This has been a super fun game and I appreciate how much work you do to include feel good and non political stuff to help the news feed be more digestive.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, look at the baby.

[Alison Gill]

Okay, so let's see. Here's listen to his four month old lab mix.

[Kyle Cheney]

He said he was wrong with the lab because I was gonna say chocolate lab. Pity there's some pit bull in the eyes.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, what a honey.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh goodness. I think the dog's name should be honey.

[Alison Gill]

Okay, so no, no American bulldog and pity. I think you're right.

[Kyle Cheney]

I do see pity in the eyes, so I'm gonna go with that for sure. I'm surprised there's not some chocolate lab in there.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, Chocolate lab with those ears, right?

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah. And maybe a little shepherd.

[Alison Gill]

Well, let's see what we got here.

[Kyle Cheney]

Okay.

[Alison Gill]

Siberian husky. What? Chinese Shar Pei Dalmatian Pitti and German short haired pointer. Siberian husky.

[Kyle Cheney]

Did you just throw pity in there? I don't see it.

[Alison Gill]

It says American Staffordshire terrier.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, got it.

[Alison Gill]

I think that's a pity, isn't it really a staffy is. Maybe, maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps I'm incorrect.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh man, let me look that up. See, I'm a Jew, so I didn't recognize the German short haired pointer. I don't know what they. I don't know what they look like.

[Alison Gill]

No. American pit bull terrier is different from Staffordshire terrier.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, interesting. Okay, well this is a beautiful dog.

[Alison Gill]

I know. I absolute love this dog.

[Kyle Cheney]

Siberian husky. That makes total sense. All right, thank you so much for this beautiful baby. I'm enjoying this game too. We probably, we kind of suck at it, but it's been a lot of fun.

[Alison Gill]

Although I just found out that a cattle dog is a blue heeler, so you're right about that. Now I will say looking at this pup, first of all, it looks like the RCA dog, right?

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

But the way he's sitting gives me the husky vibe.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, I can see.

[Alison Gill]

But that's about it. But that's about it.

[Kyle Cheney]

That's about it. All right, next one. This is from Jesse. Pronounce he and him. I've been practicing calligraphy as a means to mentally unwind during the quarantine. To keep me amused, I write a few of the with swears, nicknames and phrases from The Mueller report and the daily beans like dick, dick toilet wine, Big dick toilet wine. Big dick toilet wine and stuff. I could use a comprehensive list for research. Of course, if one exists, let me know on Twitter lostangel, and I'll post it on Facebook group, too, if I can see if I can compile something. So we're looking for the swears that they like to do a calligraphy. First, a duh moment. Awesome. I married a man. There's a period after this, so I want you to realize that's how I'm reading it. First, a duh moment. I'm a married man of an age where I get all of Agee's 80s references, and I'm learning how to do calligraphy from YouTube as I'm watching a very talented young lady describe how to archive. Achieve. Excuse me, Achieve. I can't read today. How to achieve a perfect loop at the top of the cursive S, she says, kind of like if you had written a print S, but connected it from below. I blinked, looked at what I'd drawn, and had one of those oh, my God moments. I'd always thought the cursive S was just a unique cursive shape, and now I'm questioning all the other unique cursive shapes. Like, is a capital G actually a G somehow? Here's one of my practice sheets and a photo of our pet, Cobalt, the Frenchie, who is absolutely. I have to say, Frenchies. French bulldogs are one of the cutest puppies I've ever seen in my life.

[Alison Gill]

What a beautiful color, too.

[Kyle Cheney]

It's fucking okay. This is what the calligraphy says. It's fucking essential. Big Dick Toilet wine. Turtle Dick. Mitch Fuckstick Von Clown face. Fuckstick Von Clown face. Too dumb to crime. Yellow copter.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah.

[Kyle Cheney]

Your calligraphy is very nice, though.

[Alison Gill]

It's very beautiful. The thread on Facebook is hilarious, by the way. Somebody actually put together an amazing spreadsheet of beanisms or Muellerisms, and it was just. It was so. It was fantastic to go back and look at all of the nicknames and phrases that we've coined over the years. It was. It was interesting and fun, and it just. It was really cool. Like, what a. The body of work.

[Kyle Cheney]

I think calligraphy's so pretty, too.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, it really is. Really well done, too. Good job. Next up, from Jay. Pronouns, they and them. Hello. Hello, ladies. I've been listening since I heard AG and Jonathan Van Ness on Jonathan Van Ness is getting curious. And you and Dana have become my favorite comedians who also talk about the news. I'M not sure if this counts as good news or a confession, but I wanted to let you know how extremely grateful I am to have found a new source who cares so much about Jews and anti Semitism. I'm a Jew who moved to the south way too long ago and it's been a constant struggle to stay connected, even with all my Orthodox family. That's why I was so excited when Dana joined the team. Listening to a queer Jewish woman talk every day really puts my mind at ease. It definitely makes a difference to see someone so much like you in places of high regard and respect. Ellie Hoenig is also one of my favorite recurring guests. I get so excited when I see he's going to be on. I always feel like I'm listening to my aunt and uncle talk about politics. And what made me write in to say thank you was the highlight and serious tone you took handling those extremely anti Semitic remarks from the Merrick Garland episode. It's so hard for anti Semitism to be taken seriously and I feel very seen whenever I listen. I know there is a deeper understanding and care here. Thank you. Attached for the pet tax should be Pictures of my 6 year old black cat, Dexter, and my roommate's cat named Mouse. They're cousins in terror. I like how he said should be attached. This should be attached. Pictures. Let's see.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh my goodness, they are here. I love when, I don't know, I just have this thing now when people name their cats Mouse. It makes me very happy.

[Alison Gill]

Look at that fluffy tail on the stripey one.

[Kyle Cheney]

They're so pretty.

[Alison Gill]

That's a pretty pattern on that Kitty.

[Kyle Cheney]

My goodness, Jay, thank you for all of the compliments in there and I'm glad that you feel heard and at home here. I do some other podcasts and every once in a while the host says they use the word Jew. The Jews here. And it really gets my heart. And I've tried to very softly say, please don't do that because you would never walk in and say the black's here or the gay's here. So I'm glad that you feel heard in this scene. Yeah, it gets me in my chest. Gets me right in my chest. All right, this one's next. Mine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, go for it. This is from Ben. This is from Ben. Pronouns. He, him. The wild New York guy. The wild New York guy. How you doing, Ben? How yo.

[Alison Gill]

I'm walking right?

[Kyle Cheney]

Hi, a quick news story. I've got a fun little update. Think I can keep the accent? I don't think so Central park is hosting a new special guest. The first. All right.

[Alison Gill]

The first snowy owl documented in the park. In the pock.

[Kyle Cheney]

In 130 years.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah.

[Kyle Cheney]

Well, this may yet be another indication of widespread effects of climate change. Snowy owls are known for their sporadic. What kind of fucking word is sporadic? Sporadic and often chaotic migrations. Okay, that's nice.

[Alison Gill]

I like how you're kind of going in and out of Christopher Walken. Hey, good news story. A fun little update. Central park has hootie owls. Owls.

[Kyle Cheney]

All right, I'm gonna give Ben some more respect with this and start over. Okay, thank you for entertaining us on that. A good news story. I've got a fun little update. Central park is hosting a new special. It's on the first snowy owl documented in the park in over 130 years.

[Alison Gill]

I love.

[Kyle Cheney]

This may be yet another indication of the widespread effects of climate change. Snowy owls are known for their sporadic and often chaotic migrations. So this lovely lady. The females exhibit strong barring in their coloration. Excuse me, in their coloration. Males are almost solid white. Has been perching and hunting in the park for almost four weeks straight. I saw some YouTube videos of this in Brooklyn. Any, I think, anyway. Others have been taken. Better quality photos. But I wanted to share what I was able to get myself. If you want to see more, check out our Twitter feed @WildNewyorkshow. Oh, that's why they look for more familiar at Wild New York show. Yeah, we've talked about. Yeah, we've talked about your podcast before.

[Alison Gill]

We love your show.

[Kyle Cheney]

We love your show. Wild New York show. There's an incredible video of her swallowing a rat hole like a freaking baby Yoda. Well, if you're into that. All right, so the political tie in is that the Trump administration, on its way out the door, rolled back protections in Migratory Bird act, which made corporations liable for endangered birds killed by collisions with property and equipment. If you've got friends that are just, quote, aren't into politics, it's a good time to remind them that whatever they are into, even something as seemingly apolitical as bird watching is directly affected by the role our government does or doesn't play it in. Really good point, by the way.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I always like to change. Whenever I see the word regulation, I always like to change it with the. Exchange it with the word protection.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah. God. Smart. Very smart. I realize why this is familiar because I started following them on Twitter and there were some pictures of this beautiful snowy owl. Okay, not everyone has to make a podcast or YouTube show that investigates the intricacies of political intrigue. But we all must pay closer attention going forward because the last four years were a masterclass and how easy it is to destroy things rather than build them. Your show is a big part of that consciousness raising and we thank you. Stay wild. Yes. I had seen these pictures because I was so. I was. I just love the idea of their show. It was so brilliant.

[Alison Gill]

Basically, same, same. And so when, when he introduced himself as wild New York guy, I was thinking wild and crazy guy. I forgot that about the wild New York show. I love it so much.

[Kyle Cheney]

So it's a couple in, if I remember correctly, a couple Broadway performers that obviously Broadway's gone dark and they're either Broadway or off Broadway, but they are in the arts. And they went dark. And during that time they were like, well, let's do a YouTube channel. And they started following all of these random animals and species in New York and it's really cool. So that's just a revisit to them.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. So these are beautiful shots too.

[Kyle Cheney]

Beautiful, beautiful.

[Alison Gill]

And if you get a chance, everybody, you have to check out ILD New yorkshow. It's really, really great and so fun. And yeah, now I'm recognizing these pictures too. So beautiful. Thank you. Next up, from Hannah. Like Hanukkah pronouns, she and her. Hello, lovely beans, Queens. I was originally writing in to share. My dad got his first shot of the vaccine last week. He's 66 and still recovering from cancer treatment. We live together and I've spent most of the last year terrified I might bring Covid home and kill him no longer. Gosh, what a relief. Even more good news, when I went with him to get his shot, I got in on the in case of cancellation list. Not really expecting to hear anything because I'm 36 and I'm relatively good health. In relatively good health. Well, they called me at 6:18 last night and said if I could make it by 6:45, they had a dose for me. I was about 30 minutes away. So needless to say, I broke more than a few traffic laws to get there in time. I highly suggest everyone reach out to their local health systems to see if they're doing something similar. It's not jumping the line. It's not taking a dose from someone else. It's keeping these much needed vaccines from going to waste. I don't have any pets, so for podtax, here's one friend's very vicious rescue pibble Huxley and another friend's adorable rescue terrier, Samwise. Pibble.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, yeah, vicious. Look at vicious. He's. That there's a vicious dog.

[Alison Gill]

Look at his little eyebrows.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, my goodness.

[Alison Gill]

And the Santa sweater. Oh, and I love the. I love the. The terrier dressed as a mail delivery person. Samwise. Yes.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, my goodness. Fantastic. I love these pop heads. Thank you so much for that and I'm glad you got your first shot. I was telling ag and I'll just make a confession. And this is sort of a public service announcement to anyone listening. So in la, if you're listening in LA and someone texts you and says, hey, here's a code, they opened a new site and they're giving this to people so that they can test out the kinks and make sure there's no problems before they enter it to the gen pop. Do not take the appointment. You can get an appointment with this code, but they are taking, unfortunately, these codes that are for underserved areas and farmers, teachers, as well as the black and brown communities. Someone is getting these codes out and they're being taken by more white, affluent, rich communities. And one of them came across my phone. And so of course I was like, oh, my God, I would love to get my vaccine. And made an appointment. And the moment I found out that what had happened, I canceled it. And it's just the same thing. If you get extra, take extra. But if do not jump the line, it's just not worth it. Karma is not a good friend with those things. And so just. It'll happen. Everyone stay patient. But if you do get one of those codes, there's no code for people to test a new site that has been taken from an underserved community. So please heed my warning with that.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, yeah. But definitely reach out to your local clinics and. And pharmacies to see if they have a. You know, you can get on a list for doses that would be thrown away otherwise.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah, there's even one of these. And east, in east la, where it's a clinic and they don't have a refrigerator, so they vaccinate everyone over 65 all day. And then the line outside, which has gotten into the hundreds, unfortunately, and people camping out all night, they will start vaccinating people in that line because they don't have a refrigerator to keep the vaccines overnight. So definitely check in with your local health centers and see if they're doing that, because you can, if you want to, camp out and stay in line. Otherwise, just stay safe, social distance, keep your mask on and we'll make it through. So. All right. This next one is from Nicole. Thank you for listening to our public service announcement. By the way, this next one's from Nicole. Print on she and her good news. It's my birthday and I'm finally able to wash clothes again. I live in Texas. My wife, 2 year old and I survived the snowstorm from last week. We lost power at 4am on a Monday the 15th. We decided to stay the night in our house not knowing we wouldn't get power back until mid Wednesday the 17th. Thankfully, my dad got us on Tuesday. He lives by a hospital and never lost power. When he came to get us, our house was already at 42 degrees Fahrenheit. My family and I are some of the lucky ones with no busted water pipes. Attached is a picture of my happy place when we lost our power. Us in bed with two layers of clothing, four blankets, two pups to keep us warm. Also included is my pet tax, a picture of my little one with her puppers, Ruby Black and Oliver is the white one. Oh my goodness.

[Alison Gill]

Look at that little angel.

[Kyle Cheney]

It's so, so.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, and then the dogs. Look at the look on that one. Dog's.

[Kyle Cheney]

I do love that her wife does not look like she wants to be in this picture. Although she's just probably staying very, very warm.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I think this is a warmth, a warmth shot.

[Kyle Cheney]

Oh, the babies. I'm so glad you all are okay. I'm so glad your pipes did not burst and just glad you're safe. I hope all of the listeners in Texas are doing well and you've got water running and I know it was. It's been hell and you've got a lot to deal with with damaged rebuilding, in control. But we are thinking about you. And please, if you need anything, reach out to the beans community.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And happy birthday as well. Nicole.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yes.

[Alison Gill]

My gosh, it's just, that's just so terrifying. You know, I think the longest we've gone without power here was that massive San Diego outage we had and it lasted overnight. And it's also not zero degrees outside, you know, so we were just basically without power.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah. I had another friend in Austin who had lucky enough to have a place to go, but when he got back to his house, his house inside was 32 degrees.

[Alison Gill]

Oh my gosh. Oh, I can't. I can't even imagine. I just can't imagine. And then we got Ted Cruz and Governor Abbott and a couple other lawmakers just bailing, just bailing.

[Kyle Cheney]

They're such SOBs. I hope they get what's coming to them. Ted Cruz has a long list of karma behind him, and I hope it all catches up.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I know. I hope he gets it in this lifetime, like if we're reincarnated beings. I hope it all happens this time, 100%, because I need to stick around and see it. All right, well, thank you so much again. You could submit your good news stories and anything else that you want to let us know about. You can do [e-mail] and click on contact. Any final thoughts before we get out of here? Other than everybody you know, download that stereo app and. And join the after party on. On Thursday. It's so much fun. It's a five Pacific. It's really. It's a free app. I. I love it.

[Kyle Cheney]

Yeah, absolutely. And for some reason, you all are on Instagram. I know. AG and I are both there. We'd love to have you there too. My Instagram handle is dgcomedy and ag. What's yours on Instagram?

[Alison Gill]

I think ours is @mullershirote. And then I also have an at the Alison Gill maybe or yeah, something some other Alison Gill.

[Kyle Cheney]

Sometimes I post pictures of myself in a bikini and sometimes I don't. So hey, you'll just have to go find out.

[Alison Gill]

That's what you're gonna wear to the no pants party. Thursday time Pacific.

[Kyle Cheney]

Too bad it's just on a radio.

[Alison Gill]

All right, everybody, thanks so much. Until tomorrow, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of your mental health, and take care of the planet. I've been AG and I've been dg and them's the beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans. I like refried beans.