Refried Beans | Pickles in a Tutu | 7/13/2023

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans – "Refried Beans | Pickles in a Tutu" (July 13, 2023)

Hosted by MSW Media, "The Daily Beans" is a progressive news podcast tailored for the morning commute, offering social justice and political news with a dash of snark. In this episode titled "Refried Beans | Pickles in a Tutu," hosts Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg delve into a variety of pressing issues, interspersed with their characteristic humor and engaging banter.

---

1. Introduction

[00:00] Alison Gill:
Alison opens the episode with a nod to "Refried Beans," a segment that revisits past episodes to reflect on progress over the years. The playful exchange between Alison and Dana sets a lighthearted tone for the episode.

---

2. Top News Stories

a. Detention of the Obama Stalker

[00:45] Alison Gill:
Alison kicks off the news segment by reporting the detention of an individual identified as an "Obama stalker," who is now awaiting trial.

b. FBI Director Christopher Wray's Testimony

[00:45] Alison Gill:
Christopher Wray, the FBI Director, testified before the House Judiciary Committee. The hosts later explore the contentious parts of his testimony, highlighting the partisan divide in perceptions of the FBI.

c. Iowa Republicans' Six-Week Abortion Ban

[08:00] Dana Goldberg & Alison Gill:
Dana reports on the Iowa Republicans' passage of a bill banning most abortions after six weeks—a move that significantly restricts reproductive rights. Alison criticizes the bill's stringent reporting requirements for exceptions, labeling them as "insane." The discussion underscores the rapid legislative changes and their potential impact on women's healthcare in Iowa.

Notable Quote:
[08:14] Alison Gill: “Justice for the unborn should not be delayed.”

d. Supreme Court Lawyers’ Payments to Clarence Thomas Aide

[02:14] Alison Gill & Dana Goldberg:
Alison reveals that several lawyers associated with Supreme Court matters, including one who successfully argued against affirmative action, have paid a Clarence Thomas aide via Venmo. Dana questions the lack of privacy in these transactions, emphasizing ethical concerns.

Notable Quote:
[02:44] Dana Goldberg: “What is wrong with these people that don't know how to put this shit private?”

e. Ray Epps' Defamation Suit Against Fox News

[04:26] Alison Gill:
Ray Epps has filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, seeking an unspecified amount. Alison highlights that his lead lawyer is the same attorney who secured a substantial settlement in the Dominion case against Fox News, hinting at potential implications for the media outlet.

f. Department of Justice in Florida Voting Case

[04:51] Alison Gill:
The Department of Justice has intervened in a Florida voting case challenging the "wet signature" requirement for voter registration. Alison provides context on the historical significance of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and how its weakening has led to proactive DOJ involvement in voting regulations.

g. Inflation Falls to 3%

[04:26] Alison Gill:
Alison shares positive news on the economy, noting that inflation has decreased for the 12th consecutive month, now at 3%. She attributes this success to "Bidenomics" and congratulates the administration on meeting inflation targets.

Notable Quote:
[04:26] Alison Gill: “We're going to beat our goal for this year on inflation. And so that's Bidenomics in action. So good job over there to see it.”

h. Acquittal of January 6 Rioter James Beaks

[20:18] Dana Goldberg:
Dana discusses the acquittal of James Beaks, an Oath Keeper member, who was cleared of all charges related to the January 6 Capitol riot. Alison and Dana express surprise and skepticism about the DOJ's record in these cases, noting that this is only the second acquittal out of over a thousand arrests.

Notable Quote:
[21:12] Alison Gill: “I'll take two out of a thousand plus.”

---

3. In-Depth Analysis

a. FBI Director Christopher Wray's Hearing

[12:18 - 17:52] Alison Gill & Dana Goldberg:
The hosts provide an extensive breakdown of FBI Director Christopher Wray's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. They highlight the partisan tensions, with Republicans accusing the FBI of bias against conservatives and Democrats defending the agency's integrity.

Notable Highlights:

• Republican Allegations: Claims that the FBI is a "deep state" entity targeting Trump and conservatives.
• Democratic Defense: Accusations against Republicans for downplaying Trump’s wrongdoing and attempting to shift blame.
• Wray's Defense: Asserts the FBI's impartiality and underscores his Republican affiliation to counter accusations of bias.
• Committee Dynamics: Jim Jordan outlines Republican concerns, while Democrats like Jerry Nadler accuse Republicans of using the hearing to protect Trump.

Notable Quotes:
[13:13] C: “What these facts show is we don't have a two-tiered system of justice. We have one Department of Justice that goes after criminals. Regardless of party ideology.”
[14:12] Alison Gill: “Ted Lieu. I can never get enough of Ted Lieu. He is so brilliant.”

---

4. Good News Segment

Following the news roundup, Alison and Dana transition to their "Good News" segment, inviting listeners to share positive stories, confessions, corrections, and shout-outs. This segment fosters a sense of community and provides a refreshing contrast to the often grim news topics.

Listener Contributions:

1. Eric:

   • Misheard Lyric: Mistook "Take a chance on me" from Mamma Mia for "Ollie oxen free."
   • Adoptable Pet: Etta, a Havanese/Oriental Shorthair mix cat with an upper respiratory infection, seeks foster or adoption in the D.C. metro area.

2. Felicity:

   • Misheard Lyric: Confused lyrics from "Bette Davis Eyes," humorously altering the song's meaning.
   • Adoptable Pet: Dasher, a blind and deaf Great Pyrenees mix dog saved from a high-kill shelter.

3. Jonathan:

   • Gardening Effort: Attempted to prevent soil erosion by composting kitchen scraps and inadvertently planted bean sprouts near the Colonial Pipeline.
   • Adoptable Pet: Pickles, a 13-year-old Pug (50% Rolo), featured in a Halloween tutu photo.

4. Courtney Beth:

   • Personal Story: Shared her battle with melanoma, emphasizing the importance of regular skin checks despite financial and personal hardships.
   • PSA: Encourages listeners to get checked for skin cancer and highlights her memoir at feistyrighty.com, created in collaboration with Jennifer D. James.

Notable Exchange: [25:39] Alison Gill: "She definitely oriental in there. Oriental Shorthair cat in there. And yeah, I don't. I mean, she's just absolutely gorgeous cat..."
[30:02] Alison Gill: "I have never heard of that. Now I have to go check that out."

---

5. Closing Remarks

Alison and Dana wrap up the episode by expressing gratitude towards their listeners and encouraging them to continue sharing their good news and pet photos. They reaffirm their commitment to providing a balanced mix of news and positivity, signing off with their signature sign-off: "Refried beans. I like refried beans."

Final Quote:
[35:15] Alison Gill: “I've been AG and I've been DG, and them's the beans. Refried beans. I like refried beans.”

---

6. Key Takeaways

• Political Climate: The episode underscores the deep political divisions, especially concerning the FBI's role and recent legislative changes in reproductive rights.

• Legal and Ethical Concerns: Highlighting potential ethical breaches within the Supreme Court arena and the DOJ's active involvement in voting laws reflects ongoing tensions in American governance.

• Positive Developments: Despite the heavy news topics, the hosts maintain an optimistic outlook with positive economic news and the uplifting "Good News" segment.

• Community Engagement: The "Good News" segment fosters a strong community connection, showcasing listener involvement and personal stories that add warmth to the podcast.

---

For more insights and updates, tune into "The Daily Beans" by MSW Media, where informed analysis meets relatable conversation.

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. Refried beans. I like refried beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

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 with swearing. Jelly beans. Jelly beans. Jelly beans. Jelly beans.

[Alison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, July 13, 2023. Today, the Obama stalker has been detained pending trial. The FBI Director, Christopher Ray testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Iowa Republicans have passed a new six week abortion ban. Lawyers with Supreme Court business paid a Clarence Thomas aide using Venmo Ray Epps has filed his defamation suit against Fox News. The Department of Justice jumps into a Florida voting case. Inflation falls for the 12th consecutive month to just 3%. And Judge Amit Mehta has acquitted a January 6 rioter on all charges. I'm Alison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, Dana. Happy Thursday.

[Dana Goldberg]

Happy Thursday to you, my friend. I hope you got through hump day just fine.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike. Humpty. I did. I. I got through it just fine. By the way, that what I just did right there is from a random commercial from like nine years ago. I don't know why these things.

[Dana Goldberg]

You sound like those two monsters from Sesame street.

[Alison Gill]

Radio.

[Dana Goldberg]

Rad.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. No, it was like this camel who would walk around the office and. Because it was hump day, and he'd be like, mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike. Hump day, you know, And I. It just made me laugh.

[Dana Goldberg]

Listen, people, we have to entertain ourselves any way we can at this point because the news has gone bananas.

[Alison Gill]

Sometimes I throw out these quotes and I'm like, I should tell people where that's from. Not everyone knows me. So, first of all, with Justice Thomas, several lawyers who have had business before the Supreme Court, including one who, who just successfully argued to end affirmative action, paid money to Rajan Vazish, a top aide to Justice Clarence Thomas. That's according to the AIDS Venmo transactions. What do you.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my God. What is wrong with these people that don't know how to put this shit private? First of all, right?

[Alison Gill]

Like, oh, man. Their payments appear to have been made in connection to one of Clarence Thomas's Christmas parties, the one that happened in 2019.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, boy.

[Alison Gill]

I know a lot of people are like, oh, it's no big deal. It's not like he, you know, had a billionaire by his mom's house house or something. But I mean, where do you draw the line? When do ethics stop mattering? This is a big deal to me because if I got caught pitching in 20 bucks for a gift that I'm only allowed to pitch in $15 for through a Venmo account to my supervisor, I would be admonished or reprimanded for that. When I was a federal government employee. Also speaking of the federal government, Department of Justice in Florida, they filed a statement of interest regarding a lawsuit challenging a voter registration provision that requires people to physically sign their name with a pen. It's called the wet signature requirement. So they're jumping in on Florida and then they've just sued again. I think in Texas, another one in Mississippi, like. So DOJ's all over this. Suing, suing for section two of the voting Rights act. All over the motherfucking place. Because we got rid of section five, we gutted it in 2013, which means people aren't, you know, states aren't required to. It's called a preclearance in Section five where they have to, if they're going to do some racist shit, they have to check with the Justice Department first. So now they're just, they're pro, proactively going out. This is something that would have never happened under Donald Trump or any Republican for that matter. And then Ray Epps, we talked about this yesterday. He was gonna sue. He has sued. It's an unspecified amount. But what's interesting to me is that the lead lawyer, because I always like to scroll to the end and see who's on the case is the same lead lawyer in the Dominion Fox News case, the guy who won them 787 and a half million dollars.

[Dana Goldberg]

He's got a pretty good record.

[Alison Gill]

So ding dong. And inflation is down for the 12th month in a row. It was at peaked at 9.1%. It's at just 3% now. We're going to beat our, our goal for this year on inflation. And so that's bidenomics in action. So good job over there to see it.

[Dana Goldberg]

Love to see it.

[Alison Gill]

The White House. All right, we have a lot of news to get to, so let's hit that. Notes, hot notes. All right, from Ryan Reilly, who's quickly becoming one of my favorite reporters. Him and Ben Collins consistently crack me up. But this is Ryan reilly over at NBC. A January 6 rioter who was identified by online sleuths nearly two years ago, but wasn't arrested until he showed up outside the home of former President Barack Obama with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his van, was ordered detained until trial on Wednesday and this surprised me a bit. His name is Taylor Taranto of Washington State and he currently faces just four misdemeanor charges in connection with the Capitol attack. But federal prosecutors have indicated more charges could be on the way. Taranto has been living in his van, which was often parked outside of the D.C. jail where many January 6th defendants are being held for the past couple of months. He was actually ousted from there for being just kind of too nut joby for hanging out with the January 6th the protesters, the pro, the you know they're persecuted. US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruki he had questioned whether, given that Taranto had only faced misdemeanor charges, he wanted to know whether he could actually detain only on the basis of presenting a risk to the public. Now, Farooqi said there were a number of factors weighing in favor of releasing him pretrial, but said he was ultimately concerned that Taranto does pose a threat to the public. And here's what he said. We as a country have failed you. He was referencing Taranto's service in the military and the PTSD he suffered from in the years since. Now you have to pay the price for our failure. At every turn it seems you get let down and that's not fair. And I take a little personal issue with this because I didn't park my van down by a river and go and try to assassinate Raskin's kid at a school and the former president of the United States because I have PTSD now. Farooqi said the temperature is way too high in our political discussions and that it was truly heartbreaking that Taranto had to be locked up pre trial. Taranto was identified in August 2021 after a facial recognition search of photos of him at Capitol turned up photos of him posting with a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump. He showed up outside Obama's residence last month after Trump posted a screenshot that included Obama's address. Now Taranto reposted and wrote on telegram we got these losers surrounded. See you in hell, Podestas and Obamas. Taranto was recording himself when he was near the Obama's residence, talking about how he was searching for tunnels that connected their home to Tony Podesta's. Farooqi said he was worried that there could be catastrophic consequences if Taranto was allowed out and did things that Taranto thought elected officials were telling him to do. Farouki, while not explicitly referencing Trump, made clear that he thought the officials who filled Taranto's head with conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election bore moral responsibility for the situation. Quote, where are the people telling you to do things? He asked. Where are they? They're not here. So that's what went down in the courtroom. I am actually glad that he is detained pre trial, but also surprised that he that the judge did that with just the four misdemeanor counts. But apparently more charges are coming. And we'll keep you posted.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, thank you, ag. This one's from Adam Edelman at NBC. Now an Iowa Republicans, they passed a bill late Tuesday to ban most abortions after six weeks. Six weeks. Not everyone even knows they're pregnant, by the way. At six weeks.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, Most people don't even know. Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

A restrictive measure that would quickly remake the reproductive rights legal landscape in a key early voting state. The measure passed mostly along party lines, not surprising. Just after 11pm local time, capping a marathon one day special legislative session, that Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, she called for the sole purpose of enacting a pro life legislation. Yep. Lovely. Reynolds, in a statement issued moments after the bill was passed. She would sign the bill on Friday. And this is from her. Justice for the unborn should not be delayed.

[Alison Gill]

Justice, Yep. I know.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep. I want to see a fetus walk in somewhere and sue someone. Like when that happens, we could talk about it. If it's not blocked by a court, the law would go into effect immediately after Reynolds signs it. That could send abortion clinics in the state as well as women with appointments, by the way, scheduled at them already in the coming days and weeks. Scrambling, everyone, scrambling. As it currently stands, abortion remains legal in Iowa until 20th week of pregnancy. Now, the bill passed by Republicans, and they control the legislature in Iowa, that would ban abortion at the sixth week of pregnancy or when in some cases a fetal pulse can first be heard via ultrasound. Now, in some cases, mind you, the measure includes exceptions for the life of the woman, miscarriages and fetal abnormalities deemed by the physician as incompatible with life. Well, the bill also includes exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape and from incest. For those exceptions to apply, the rate must have been reported to law enforcement or a public or private health agency. This is a big fucking problem with this, which includes a family doctor. But it has to be reported within 45 days. And the incest must have been reported to any of those officials or entities within 140 days, which is fucking insane. Now, passage Tuesday was the product of a rapid 15 hour special legislative session that featured hours of impassioned pleas from legislators and members of the public in both support and opposition of this measure. And this is a quote. Abortion is normal, safe, life saving health care. That's from Connie Ryan. Connie is the executive director of the nonprofit Iowa Interfaith Alliance. Okay. And she said that it is a session reserved for members of the public to discuss the measure. She said Iowa is not a theocracy. Democratic legislators and reproductive rights groups. Now, they held large protests in the state Capitol throughout the day with chants audible during several committee sessions where the bill was being discussed. And this is another quote. This is from a Dr. Amy Binghaman. She said, it's pretty demoralizing for those of us that take care of women to have the potential of losing the ability to practice full spectrum health care. Now she's in Des Moines. She's an obstetrician and gynecologist. Bingman said many doctors like her will be forced to consider leaving the state if they are no longer able to legally administer reproductive health care. Polling in the state as well as nationally, by the way, finds that a majority of voters. We support people's having the right to abortions. This could make this any candidate, any candidate who supports this. Of a strict abortion ban. It might make them politically vulnerable among general election voters. We've seen it in other races, so it'll be interesting to see what happens in Iowa.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And this is just the. It's like the dog catches the car and goes, fuck. And then a year later, they still go out chasing cars. I don't understand. You know what? Not even gonna try to put pretend like I know what's going on in the head of these theocrats. This just in, by the way, a little bit of breaking news. This was not at the top of the show. The Department of Justice is appealing the sentences imposed by Judge Mehta against the Oath Keepers convicted of seditious conspiracy or obstruction, including the 18 year term for Stewart Rhodes. The DOJ is appealing the sentences, saying they are too low.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, wow.

[Alison Gill]

18 years is not enough. All of the sentences, even Rhodes sentence, were all well below what the sentencing guidelines called for. That's not something I expected from this particular Department of Justice, but way to go. I agree the sentences are too low. We'll cover that in more detail on tomorrow's show. And FBI Director Chris Wray, who I'm not a huge fan of, testified before the House Judiciary today. It was just a bunch of assholes being Assholes to each other, kinda. Now, let's listen to my favorite, favorite part of the hearing.

[C]

Trump advisor Roger Stone was convicted in a federal court, correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

That's my recollection.

[C]

Trump donor Elliott Brady was convicted in a federal court, correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

Also my recollection.

[C]

The Attorney General at the time for those two convictions was Bill Barr. Which president nominated Bill Barr for attorney general?

[Dana Goldberg]

President Trump.

[C]

Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen was convicted on two separate occasions in a federal court, correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

I believe that's correct.

[C]

The Attorney General at the time for Cohen's second conviction was Matthew Whitaker. Which president appointed Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney general? President Trump, Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort was convicted in a federal court, correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yes.

[C]

Trump's former deputy campaign manager, Mr. Gates, was convicted in a federal court, correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

That's my recollection.

[C]

Trump's campaign foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos was convicted in a federal court, correct?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yes. I think. Yeah. He pled guilty. Yes.

[C]

The Attorney General at the time of those three cases was Jeff Sessions. Which president nominated Jeff Sessions for Attorney General? President Trump, you were the FBI director for all of those cases at the time. Which president nominated you?

[Alison Gill]

President Trump. Okay.

[C]

What these facts show is we don't have a two tiered system of justice. We have one Department of Justice that goes after criminals. Regardless of party ideology. All of these folks were convicted under the administrations of three separate Republican attorneys general. It is not the fault of the FBI that Donald Trump surrounded himself with. With criminals. Donald Trump brought that upon himself. Thank you to the FBI for exposing the cesspool of corruption of these Trump associates. Trump adviser Roger Stone was convicted in a federal court.

[Alison Gill]

Ted Liu. I can. I never. I can never get enough of Ted Lieu.

[Dana Goldberg]

Never. He's so brilliant. He is so, so brilliant. I love that he is my representative.

[Alison Gill]

Some just. Yeah, just took him right down now. This is from abc. House Republicans clashed with the FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday as head of the bureau face sharp questions from lawmakers who in recent years have ratcheted up accusations that the agency has been weaponized for political purposes, when it's actually the fucking opposite. Ray's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee for a hearing the panel billed is focusing on the politicization of the FBI under Wray. And Attorney General Merrick Garland was his first. Since Republicans took control of the lower chamber and came as the FBI and the Justice Department more broadly has emerged a frequent target of Republicans. Former President Trump nominated Wray, just as Ted Lieu just told us, to lead the FBI in 2017. After firing then director Jim Comey, by the way, Ryan Reilly reminded us that had Hillary won, Jim Comey would have two months left at his post heading up the FBI, and she would be nominating a new director of the FBI in two months. The committee's Republican and Democratic members took their places along familiar battle lines throughout the hearing, offering competing views of the FBI. And this is pretty like astounding, the difference here, right? The Republicans think that the FBI is some deep state like, liberal organization that's going after Republicans, which is so crazy. And, and the Democrats are like, you aren't doing enough. You didn't do shit on January6. You blocked subpoenas and search warrants for the January6 probe from the Department of Justice. They blocked, they tried to block the Mar A Lago search warrant. They, you know, like, there aren't, like, they're too gun shy because of what happened in 2016 and with the Durham probe, right? So Republicans are sicking all their dogs on all these FBI agents and then saying, you're doing too much. It's just fucking bonkers. Now. GOP lawmakers accused the bureau of pursuing politically charged investigations to damage Trump and retaliating against parents and whistleblowers. Okay, as a whistleblower, fuck you. Their Democratic colleagues, meanwhile, largely rushed to the bureau's defense, which, when would you ever see that? And said, it's Trump who committed wrongdoing with his handling of sensitive government documents and all the shit that he did the whole rest of the time he's been alive. Now, quote, the idea that I'm biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background. That's what Ray, a registered Republican, said in response to accusations that he used the FBI to target conservatives. Now, at the start of the hearing, Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, the chairman, provided a roadmap for the array of issues Republicans have with the FBI. Among them is its August 2022 court authorized search of Mar A Lago, Trump's resort, and alleged retaliation against whistleblowers who spoke to congressional investigators and purported efforts to suppress conservative viewpoints.

[Dana Goldberg]

Good. And blech. I hate him.

[Alison Gill]

Quote, the American people have lost faith in the FBI. That's what. Because of you, motherfucker. That's Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Matt Gaetz questioned whether the FBI was protecting the Bidens, an assertion Ray basically laughed at and forcefully rejected. Absolutely not. The FBI does not and has no interest in protecting anyone politically. Democrats, meanwhile, accused their GOP colleagues of leveling attacks against the FBI for the benefit of Trump and attempting to reshift the blame for the former president's legal troubles onto the FBI. Quote, for them, this hearing is little more than performance art. It is an elaborate show designed with only two purposes in to protect Donald Trump from the consequences of his actions and to return him to the White House in the next election. That was Jerry Nadler, top Democrat on the Judiciary panel. To further their claims that the FBI is biased against conservatives, Republicans repeatedly raised a July 4th preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in Louisiana, which limited a number of top Biden administration officials and Aiden agencies from communicating with social media companies about protected speech. The injunction stemmed from a case brought by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana who allege that Biden and his administration colluded with social media platforms to censor conservative viewpoints about the COVID 19 pandemic and election integrity. The Justice Department has asked federal appeals court to pause the lower court while it pursues an appeal. They were on that immediately. The FBI is not in the business of moderating content or causing any social media company to suppress or censor. That's what Wray said. FBI chief told the committee that the bureau's focus is on malign foreign disinformation by hostile actors who abuse social media platforms. Hey Russia, what's up China? Asked about the suggestion from a small number of Republicans and Trump that the FBI be defunded, Wray said that would be disastrous and ill conceived. He said it would hurt the American people, neighborhoods and communities all across this country. The people we are protecting from cartels, violent criminals, gang members, predators, foreign and domestic terrorists, cyber attacks. He said all this adding that stripping the FBI of its funding would help violent gangs and cartels and foreign terrorists, Chinese spies, hackers and so forth. And it would also like, fuck up our relationship with local law enforcement, who we help all the time all around the country to help solve their local crimes. So it was a weird hearing today, but that's how it went down.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you so much. And our last story goes back to Judge Amit Mehta. This is from Sarah Burris at Raw Story. It seems the judge acquitted Oath Keeper member James Beaks of all charges regarding the January 6 riot on Wednesday. Beaks, who is this paragraph makes me kind of giggle because I guess this is his bio. But Beaks is a former Broadway actor, pastor and Michael Jackson impersonator who was arrested in November 2021 while playing the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. I mean, come on, there is some funny in there. He has long proclaimed and agreed to waive a jury trial to allow Meta to decide the case, and it worked out in his favor. WUSA reporter Jordan Fisher this is what he tweeted. Among the arguments he made to the judge was that he had divine authority and the government had no jurisdiction over him, an argument commonly espoused by believers of sovereign citizenship.

[Alison Gill]

Ah, yep. SOB sits. They're all. They're a special group.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. Well, at the same time, James and Casey Kusick, two pastors from Florida and a member of their church, John Les Bronz, they were standing trial in the same Washington, D.C. courtroom. For their part in January 6, Beaks argued that he only joined the Oath Keepers a few weeks before January 6th attack and hadn't been involved in any of the plots of planning. On January 6, he joined them in creating a formation upon entrance of the Capitol. Now he faced seven counts but was acquitted of all of them. Bart McQuaid said on Twitter that this was the right decision and that the proof simply wasn't there. Now, this is only the second case the DOJ has lost, by the way, and a sprawling investigation of the boots on the ground rioters where over a thousand of them have been arrested.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, this is the second acquittal.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's pretty good numbers. Pretty good average if you're a baseball player.

[Alison Gill]

If you're an anything player.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Alison Gill]

I'll take two out of a thousand plus. All right, we have a lot of good news to get to. If you have good news, send it into [e-mail] and click on Contact. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with it. Stick around after these messages.

[Dana Goldberg]

We'll be right back.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone?

[Dana Goldberg]

Then good news, everyone.

[Alison Gill]

Good news, good news. And if you have any good news, confessions, corrections, a shout out to a loved one, Small business in your area, your business. A shout out to yourself. I love those. I'm loving those so much.

[Dana Goldberg]

Me too.

[Alison Gill]

Would be stories adoptable pet in your area. If you don't have pod pet tax to pay Pod pet tax is where you drop a photo of your pet so that you know you can pay the tax of writing in and sharing your good news. If you want to tell us about your happy place, a vacation that you're going on or that you've recently on on anything at all, send it to [e-mail] and click on contact. First up from Eric. Pronouns he and him hi Ag and DG. As always, thank you for your daily voices and bringing news, sanity and swearing to my commutes. I have a misheard song lyric for you. Ooh, we haven't had one of these in a while. Until I saw the musical Mamma Mia. I thought the line was honey, I'm still free from Take a chance on Me. I thought it was Ollie oxen free. Take a chance on me Honey, I'm still free. Take a chance, take a chance on me Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance. Yeah, I thought it was Ollie oxen free and could not understand what that was doing in there. But really I'm here to share an adoptable pet. If there are listeners in the D.C. metro region, this beautiful gal, Etta is in need of a foster or an adopter. Her rescue does foster to adopt trials as well. She has either a Havanese or a Oriental short hair or mix, including one of those. Etta has an upper respiratory infection and needs a few more weeks of medicine. But she's a good girl. She's a good girl at taking it and she's responding well to the treatment. But she is so sad in the cage all by herself because she's sick and she can't be around other cats. I would take her in, but due to family matters, I can't do so right now. Can someone out there in this wonderful community help? All she needs is a bathroom where she can decompress and recuperate for a week or two. It's not cruel to isolate a cat in the bathroom. It makes them feel more secure to start out in a small room when introduced to a new actually attest to that. I'm happy to make a connection with a person advocating for her if the Daily Beans crew is willing to help connect a listener out there with us. Thank you. And look at this beautiful kitty.

[Dana Goldberg]

I mean, the cat is fascinating looking, that's for sure. Do you. You're a cat person. Do you know the breed?

[Alison Gill]

She definitely oriental in there. Oriental shorthair cat in there. And yeah, I don't. I mean, she's just absolutely gorgeous cat and she just needs a few weeks of some love in a little safe spot. If Anybody in the D.C. metro area is interested in fostering or adopting or fostering to adopt this baby, please. I just. I hate to think of her alone in this cage because she can't be around other animals. So send an email to helloullershirote.com and do me a favor, put Mamma Mia in the subject line and I'll know exactly what you're Talking about awesome.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you so much, Ag. This next one's from Felicity Pronoun. She and her hello. Being queens of the Leguminati, I've been a patron of MSW shortly before the Daily Bean started. I've had some tough things going on with my family recently, so now more than ever, it's important for me to have a new source that is thorough but doesn't leave me feeling despondent. Now, this podcast has admirably fulfilled that need since it began, thanks to the Beans crew and the awesome listeners. All I have to offer is a misheard lyric. Well, we got a lot today. My husband and I both love 80s music. Same. And on recent road trip, Bette Davis eyes came up in the shuffle. I commented, it must be really hard to make a crow blush. How can you tell? Because they have black feathers and you can't see their skin, I reasoned. Now, my husband did me a favor of not laughing me out of the car as he corrected me. I think she makes the prose blush. He's got Betty Davis.

[Alison Gill]

That makes sense too.

[Dana Goldberg]

That makes sense too, says Felicity.

[Alison Gill]

And you know what, Felicity? I was today years old when I learned that it wasn't making crows blush. That's what I always thought it was, too. So seriously have that in common.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my God. That's very funny.

[Alison Gill]

That's fantastic. And you know what? I've noticed too, this is the second song lyric thing you mentioned. Oh, we're getting a lot of those today, Dana. I think the Leguminati is on some sort of communal wavelength because we get similar posts in every. You know, like, it'll be a year without music and we'll get a couple or we'll get like two what the heck Wines in one thing. Who has hor. Like, it's just. I think it's. There's some sort of universal string theory. We're all vibrating on the same frequency, so. Oh my gosh. Dog.

[Dana Goldberg]

So gorgeous size, gorgeous eyes.

[Alison Gill]

Next up from Rosamond, this is Dasher. We saved him three years ago from a high kill shelter with hours left to live. He is blind and deaf. His sister is also a deaf. Great Pyrenees, sharing a fun expressive artwork from Draw My Dog. I never met the artist that had to give a shout out. Dasher is a big boy and a beautiful boy. Look at these Pyrenees. Oh, look at the drawing.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, it's so good. That's such a happy drawing. That's beautiful.

[Alison Gill]

Draw My Dog. Okay, I have never heard of that. Now I have to go check that out. And you Know, Rosamond, our friend Stephanie Miller is a Great Pyrenees aficionado.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

So I love.

[Dana Goldberg]

She's got two little ones now.

[Alison Gill]

And I grew up with a peer in my house of Great Pyrenees. I grew up with. With two. We had two over my childhood. So thank you for that.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, that made me sound like she's got two great Pyrenees now. No, she has two little dogs now. She's actually left. No, no, I wasn't correcting you. I was correcting myself because I think someone would have written in and been like, she doesn't have Pyrenees right now.

[Alison Gill]

Right.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right. This is from Jonathan, pronouncing him. Many thanks to you and Dana for always bringing the appropriate levels of joy and ire. You are welcome, Jonathan. A few weeks ago, I decided to do something to limit or stop the soil erosion into the ravine on the other side of the parking lot of our apartment. I started throwing my vegetable only chicken. Excuse me.

[Alison Gill]

Kitchen scraps in to create vegetable only chicken scraps.

[Dana Goldberg]

Chicken scraps, kitchen scraps in to create something resembling a compost pile. And I spouted some seeds and I figured would enrich the soil and planted them along the edge of. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized that what I had done was not exactly putting beans on it, but putting beans in it. So I give you a pic of my. One of my bean plants, which is a mix of black pinto and black eyed peas that I planted, which now has bean sprouts. Never mind that they will never be picked. The Colonial pipeline is about 3 yards behind those beans. So don't trust that the soil isn't polluted for podpet tags. Find a picture of our 13 year old dog, Pickles and a tutu from Halloween. There's no question about her breed, but I'll let you guess you can improve your win ratio just a smidge.

[Alison Gill]

Thank you, people.

[Dana Goldberg]

Is a Pug. 100% Pug.

[Alison Gill]

Good job. And by the way.

[Dana Goldberg]

And 50% Rolo. Look how cute that dog is. Those wrinkles.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, it's like. It kind of reminds me of my friend Sarah. Somebody who works with us on the beans team is a. A pug rescuer. And it looks like pigs. One of her pugs. But pickles in a tutu reminds me of. Now I know Morrissey is a son of a bitch. I know that. Okay. I know he's a pain in the ass racist alt right? Weirdo. But he has an old song called Vicar in a tutu and that's. Now I just have that. Oh, it's pickles in a tutu. He's not strange. He just wants to live his life this way. Oh, so. So how cute she is. Oh, had those stats. Thank you. All right, we got another 100%.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep.

[Alison Gill]

Cool.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, send in your pure breeds.

[Alison Gill]

We'll be able to guess them pretty easily sometimes, right?

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh my God. I know. Someone's going to send in like a Great Dane and we're going to be like, that's a Chihuahua.

[Alison Gill]

I don't even think I've seen a purebred Catahoua Hound. I just know that they're. That dog is in a lot of mutts. And what if I saw one like that was just that. No, you know, no other varietals. I would. I would not recognize it. Courtney Beth pronoun. She and her hello Beans Queens. I'm thrilled to share that I was lucky enough to be asked to create the COVID design for this incredible memoir written by a friend I met in high school. We used to have art and photography classes at the same time and in a shared classroom which further solidified our creative friendship. We'd take clown wigs and fake eyelashes and crazy thrift store clothing out and do photo shoots in rural Nebraska together. She went to photo college, I went to art school and now 30 years later, we've collaborated on our fourth self published book together. The first three were kids books. This one is different, full of inspiration and written after battling and beating breast cancer. It's an amazing and surprisingly hilarious book by my friend and author Jennifer D. James, who since her recovery has worked to become a mentor, trained in offering support to those who have been diagnosed with cancer and now for my psa. As a single parent who works as a contractor, I discovered melanoma last year on my arm. I don't have health insurance because I'm still trying to get out from under FFELP student debt which I have paid off the principal but owe 150% of what I borrowed in the 90s.

[Dana Goldberg]

Jesus.

[Alison Gill]

And the financial crater that the COVID shutdown dealt to me and my 12 year old son. His dad is a homeless veteran and things have not been easy. I encourage all the beans listeners to get checked for skin cancer even without insurance. I paid under $200 for a skin check and continue to go every three months now to keep an eye on things. My melanoma scar is about 7 inches down the back of my left arm, a symbol of awareness for me and hopefully for others. Thanks for all you do ladies. You can find the Memoir at, let's see, feistyrighty.com. oh, that's a very cool book cover, by the way.

[Dana Goldberg]

It really is.

[Alison Gill]

And wow, Courtney, Beth, I have to hand it to you. With all of this that's going on, you are just a warrior. You're one of the kindest people I can think of right now who has just gone through so much. So thank you so much for that.

[Dana Goldberg]

It is amazing how sometimes I feel like the more people go through, the more empathic and kinder they are as humans. And I think those people that. That have never struggled, and I think there's probably no one on this earth that's never struggled. But I don't know. I do believe that sometimes the more people get, the kinder they are.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. I used to tell a story when I would do customer service training at the Department of Veterans Affairs. For the longest time, the customer service training at the VA was don't be a dick. And like, that's it, you know, And I was like, how about be nice. And. And a lot of people can struggle with that friendliness. Especially we have so many disabled veterans who work at the va. But I always remember this one woman who came up to the clinic. I was checking people in for their vesting appointments, their first time appointments on Saturday. And she came up, she was in a wheelchair. She was a double amputee. Both legs were gone. She lost them at an IED in Afghanistan. And she had a son on her lap, one and a half maybe. And he had. When she came up, she was smiling. And she told us about her son. He has asked if somebody could sit with him for a while because he has Ms. And that her husband had been killed in action.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, goodness.

[Alison Gill]

But she was the happiest, kindest, sweetest person. And I was like, if she can smile, yeah, no kidding, you can too. And I always remember telling her story. And that's sort of. I think you're right on the money there. So Everybody go to feistyrighty.com and check out this book that is our Thursday. Thank you so much for all of your amazing good news and pet photos. Again, if you want to adopt that cat or foster that cat in the DC metro area or surrounding area, just email us helloullershirote.com and put mamma Mia in the subject line. Do you have any final thoughts before we get out of here today, Dana?

[Dana Goldberg]

No, just wishing everyone the best.

[Alison Gill]

Truly awesome. Me too. And we'll be back tomorrow in your ears for one last show before the weekend. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health. Vote blue over Q.

[Dana Goldberg]

And take everyone you know with you.

[Alison Gill]

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