Refried Beans | The State of DC Statehood (feat. Meagan Hatcher-Mays) | 3/17/2021

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans
Episode: Refried Beans | The State of DC Statehood (feat. Meagan Hatcher-Mays) | 3/17/2021
Release Date: March 15, 2025

Hosts:

• A.G.
• Dana Goldberg

Guest:

• Megan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy for the Indivisible Project

---

Introduction and Top News Highlights

The episode opens with A.G. and Dana Goldberg greeting listeners and briefly discussing personal anecdotes related to St. Patrick’s Day. They swiftly transition into the day's major news topics, setting a progressive and engaging tone for the episode.

Key News Topics Discussed:

1. Cooperation of Jennifer Weisselberg:

   • A.G. highlights that Jennifer Weisselberg, daughter-in-law of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, is cooperating with prosecutors investigating Trump’s finances. He references a New Yorker article by Jane Mayer detailing her allegations against Donald Trump.
   • Quote (04:17): "She is committed to speaking the truth, no matter how difficult that may be." – Jennifer Weisselberg's attorney, Duncan Levy

2. Russian Interference in the 2020 Election:

   • Confirmation from Biden’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence that Russia attempted to influence the 2020 election through various disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining President Biden and the Democratic Party.
   • Quote (06:10): "The landmark Intelligence Report provides the most comprehensive assessment of foreign threats to the 2020 elections to date."

3. Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Preparedness:

   • Efforts to prevent a potential fourth surge of COVID-19 cases through vaccine distribution and public health measures.
   • Quote (07:16): "The White House is racing to prevent and prepare for a potential fourth coronavirus surge."

4. Corporate Opposition to Georgia's Voting Laws:

   • Major Georgia-based corporations like Coca-Cola and Home Depot oppose Republican-led voter suppression laws, aligning with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s stance against restrictive voting measures.
   • Quote (09:15): "There should be no silence from the business community when anyone in power is trying to strip away the right to vote from the people." – Senator Stacey Abrams

5. FBI Investigation into Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation:

   • Senator Sheldon Whitehouse alleges that the FBI's background check on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was incomplete and possibly biased, urging Attorney General Garland to oversee a more thorough investigation.
   • Quote (13:36): "The tip line appears to have operated more like a garbage chute."

Humorous Interlude:

• A.G. and Dana discuss lighter topics, including Roger Stone’s fundraising efforts and his failed ventures, injecting humor into the episode.

---

In-Depth Interview: Megan Hatcher-Mays on DC Statehood and Court Reform

Introduction of Guest:

• A.G. welcomes Megan Hatcher-Mays, praising her expertise and the timely nature of her work.

1. The For the People Project

• Megan explains the mission of the For the People Project, which focuses on structural democracy reforms, including passing the For the People Act (HR1/S1) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act (H.R.4), alongside advocating for DC statehood.
• Quote (18:27): "The for the People Project is really all about structural democracy reform... making D.C. the 51st state."

2. History and Importance of DC Statehood

• Megan delves into the historical struggles for DC statehood, emphasizing the systemic denial of political power due to DC’s predominantly POC demographic.
• Quote (23:35): "DC is mostly a democratic jurisdiction and they are calling it a partisan power grab to make DC a state."

3. Obstacles: Filibuster and Senate Dynamics

• The conversation shifts to the significant barrier posed by the filibuster in the Senate, necessitating 60 votes for passage of legislation like DC statehood.
• Megan discusses ongoing efforts within the Democratic Party to reform or eliminate the filibuster, with support emerging even from traditionally conservative Democrats like Dick Durbin.
• Quote (32:46): "The best path forward is just to get rid of it [the filibuster]."

4. Upcoming Oversight Hearing on DC Statehood

• A.G. and Megan anticipate the March 22 Oversight Committee hearing on DC statehood, expecting it to showcase the constitutional viability and financial stability of DC as a state.
• Quote (37:15): "There should be no silence from the business community when anyone in power is trying to strip away the right to vote from the people." – Senator Stacey Abrams

5. Court Reform and Brett Kavanaugh Investigation

• Megan outlines the urgent need for Supreme Court reform, including adding seats to counterbalance an extreme conservative majority and implementing ethics reforms.
• She criticizes the current Supreme Court's makeup and the challenges in addressing perceived injustices related to Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
• Quote (45:44): "We need to see some ethics reforms for the Supreme Court in particular, but kind of federal judges across the board."

6. Strategies for Neutralizing Judicial Extremism

• Megan underscores the necessity of adding seats to the Supreme Court and lower federal courts to restore balance and diversity.
• She advocates for term limits and enhanced ethical standards to prevent long-term ideological domination by unelected, anti-democratic forces.
• Quote (47:09): "We need to add some seats to the lower courts, too, to make them more fair and restore a little bit more balance and increase diversity on the bench."

---

Good News Segment

The hosts transition to a heartfelt segment featuring listener submissions of good news, personal achievements, and adorable pet stories.

Notable Submissions:

1. Wedding Celebrations Amid COVID-19:

   • Trevor shares his experience of a Zoom wedding during the pandemic, highlighting resilience and joy despite logistical challenges.
   • Quote (55:23): "Having the Zoom wedding with family and friends was the most important part."

2. Academic Achievements:

   • An anonymous listener celebrates defending her doctoral dissertation on women’s history, inspiring others with her perseverance at 58.
   • Quote (59:05): "Defended my doctoral dissertation on March 8th. Perfect way to celebrate International Women's Day with a dissertation on women's history."

3. Pet Stories:

   • Amanda and others share endearing stories of their pets, emphasizing the comfort and companionship animals provide during challenging times.
   • Quote (60:22): "Pearl reached out and touched my hand. It was such a wonderful experience."

Closing Remarks:

• The hosts encourage listeners to continue sharing their positive stories and remind them to take care of their mental health and each other, wrapping up with warm wishes for St. Patrick’s Day.

---

Conclusion

This episode of The Daily Beans masterfully balances serious political discourse with lighthearted personal stories, providing listeners with both insightful analysis and uplifting content. The in-depth interview with Megan Hatcher-Mays offers a comprehensive look into the critical issues of DC statehood and court reform, highlighting the challenges and strategies for advancing democracy in the United States.

Notable Quote to Remember:

• "There should be no silence from the business community when anyone in power is trying to strip away the right to vote from the people." – Senator Stacey Abrams

Listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the structural barriers to DC statehood, the importance of Senate reform, and the ongoing efforts to create a more equitable and representative democracy.

Transcript

[A.G.]

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. That's why I want to try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're wasting time. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Today, Biden's office director of National Intelligence has confirmed that Russia tried to interfere in the 2020 election. Trump. Org CFO Allen Weisselberg's daughter in law is cooperating with prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's office. The Biden administration is racing to blunt a potential fourth surge of COVID cases. The Arizona GOP has been ordered to pay the legal fees for their frivolous election lawsuit against the Secretary of State there, Evgeny Vindamin. Eugene is set for promotion to full colonel despite bad evaluations from Trump appointees. Corporations in Georgia have voiced opposition to Republican led voter suppression laws. And Senator Whitehouse is alleging that the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh was fake. I'm your host, A.G. and I'm Dana Goldberg. Hello, Dana. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

[Dana Goldberg]

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Patrick say to you, top of the morning, top of the afternoon to you.

[A.G.]

Thank you. Because I found out, like, when I first did my DNA testing, they said that I was mostly like Dutch, but then they redid it and said I'm mostly Irish. 40%. Interesting.

[Dana Goldberg]

That seems like kind of a big mistake to make.

[A.G.]

So maybe they were drinking when they did my DNA results. I don't know.

[Dana Goldberg]

Could have been.

[A.G.]

I don't know.

[Dana Goldberg]

Who knows? I am. I'm very much, almost all Jew. Like, I'm super Jew on the DNA, like 97.5%.

[A.G.]

Which tribe?

[Dana Goldberg]

Ashkenazi.

[A.G.]

Ashkenazi.

[Dana Goldberg]

Which is very strange because I thought I was more Sephardic because I tan quite well, unlike some other people in my family. So either there's an issue there, but yes, apparently Ashkenazi. Super Jew.

[A.G.]

Super Jew. Well, hey, happy St. Patrick's Day to you.

[Dana Goldberg]

Indeed. I can celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I can drink.

[A.G.]

We all can. Yeah. Now, yes. St. Patty's Day. Yes. I spell that with two D's in the script. You're welcome. We have a lot of news to get to today, as you can tell from the opening there.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, I'm so excited. I Want you to get to this lead story. I'm so excited.

[A.G.]

It's a good news day, so let's do it. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, everybody. I have two leads today. Two leads. First, an attorney representing the former daughter in law of the Trump Organization's cfo, Allen Weisselberg. We've spoken about him extensively. Her name is Jennifer. She's cooperating with prosecutors conducting an inquiry into Trump's finances. And she says she refuses. Well, her lawyer says she refused to be silenced. This is Jennifer, Jennifer Weisselberg. Quote, she is committed to speaking the truth, no matter how difficult that may be. That's her attorney, Duncan Levy, who was talking to Insider, which is a media outlet, quote, she will continue to cooperate fully with the various law enforcement agencies that are investigating her ex husband's family in the very powerful interests they represent. Jennifer refuses to be silenced any longer by those who are conspiring to prevent her from sharing what she has learned over the past 25 years. Levin added. Interesting. Maybe witness intimidation. Levin's comments come in response to a request for comment Friday about a New Yorker story. That was that Jane Mayer story I shared with everyone. That's the story about the Manhattan District Attorney Saivants and his investigation into the Trump Organization and Trump himself. The story includes an anecdote from Jennifer Weisselberg, who told the New Yorker Jane Mayer that she met Trump at a Shiva and he shared photos of naked women with her at the Jewish mourning ceremony.

[Dana Goldberg]

I mean, who doesn't share naked pictures at a Shiva?

[A.G.]

I thought, no, maybe that's a bris. I can't figure it out.

[Dana Goldberg]

God, he's such a horrible human being. Oh, God, he's disgusting.

[A.G.]

Yeah, it's, it's, it's gross. And it took me back to those stories in Mary Trump's book about him trying to flirt with girls, you know, when he was younger.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[A.G.]

Now, Jennifer Weisselberg divorced Allen Weisselberg's son Barry in 2018. The couple received an apartment as a gift from Donald when they married in 2004. But Barry Weisselberg may have skipped out on paying taxes on it by categorizing it incorrectly in his tax filings. That's according to Bloomberg. Hehe. Oops. And interesting that Trump would gift an apartment to the Weisselbergs, but no one in his family just thought that'd be interesting. Now, that apartment, as well as other numerous financial entanglements between the Weisselbergs and Trump family appear to be at the center of the effort to flip Weisselberg into cooperating, which the Southern District of New York did successfully in 2017. So now another story coming out. We'll keep you abreast of everything that's going on with the Trump organization and the U.S. intelligence. Yeah, I know, right? To keep you abreast of the Shiva pictures. I know I can't.

[Dana Goldberg]

As the lesbian, I'm just like, please keep me abreast of whatever you need to. Allison. Thank you.

[A.G.]

And the US Intelligence community now has confirmed what we've been reporting forever. Since last summer, they have assessed that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2020 election by conducting influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy, helping Trump and denigrating the Democratic Party, and undermining public confidence in the electoral process. Oh, and exacerbating sociopolit divisions in the United States. This is this new report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Tuesday. Thank God we have a new dni.

[Dana Goldberg]

I'm kidding.

[A.G.]

The landmark Intelligent Intelligence Report provides the most comprehensive assessment of foreign threats to the 2020 elections to date. Probably because it's the Biden administration now. And it details extensive influence operations by US Adversaries, including Russia and Iran, that sought to undermine confidence in the democratic process. In addition to specifying trying to denigrate Biden false allegations, Biden were amplified and funded. Gosh, I wonder which ones. The US Is expected to unveil sanctions as soon as next week, hence the FBI bulletin I spoke with Frank Fegluci about. Right. That we should expect heavy social media bullshit from Russia in the next 12 to 18 months. And Foglutzi very astutely pointed out it's probably because we're about to slap down some sanctions pretty hard, do some retaliatory cyber attacks and stuff like that for the solar winds. Keep, keep, Keep your head on a swivel on social media, just to be sure. I think we're all pretty good at recognizing Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation.

[Dana Goldberg]

I know we are. I worry about the other side. I do, indeed. Ag, thank you for that. This story. The White House is racing to prevent and prepare for a potential fourth coronavirus surge as more transmissible coronavirus variants spread across the US Investing billions of dollars to boost coronavirus preparedness, accelerating the pace of vaccinations, and working to prepare the public and governors for the prospect of another surge. In what would be a first, the White House is drawing up plans to surge vaccines to emerging hotspots in an attempt to blunt the virus's trajectory. And protect those at highest risk. Now that focus has increased in recent weeks as the decline in new daily cases has slowed, leveling off at a worryingly high level. So the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the more transmissible B1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, will be the dominant strain within weeks here. There are also concerns about governors and local officials prematurely loosening public health restrictions in a slew of states. Texas, Mississippi Excuse me. A fourth surge would be the first on President Biden's watch in a major test for the new administration. And while some constraints still remain, including lopsided author of state and local officials over the federal government in implementing public health restrictions, a half dozen Biden administration officials told CNN they believe the federal government is better prepared than ever before to handle a surge. And I have to believe that that is true, ALLISON.

[A.G.]

It is 100%. Would you rather have Trump trying to stop this fourth surge? No.

[Dana Goldberg]

No.

[A.G.]

So here's some pretty cool news. Kind of like big ups to major corporations. I didn't think I would see this, but Coca Cola and Home Depot, two major corporations based in Georgia, have v opposition to the Republican led effort to restrict access to voting in the state. That's according to the Washington Post. Part of me believes these giant corporations are against it because it also oppresses Republican votes.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's true. I think one of the things to point out, and this is important to me with LGBTQ community, everyone thinks Home Depot is a bad corporation. No. The founder, one of the founders who's no longer involved with the company, is a Trump supporter. The people in charge of Home Depot now are not. So please do your research before you share articles that they're, you know, anti LGBTQ or any of those things. Home Depot is actually a really good company these days.

[A.G.]

Yeah, they aren't anymore. And now they're opposing the Republican led effort to restrict voting access. Major corporations in Georgia have been under pressure from civil liberties groups to stand against legislation advancing in the Georgia General assembly that would make it harder for people to vote disproportionately so for racial and low income minority groups. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce issued a statement to CNBC that expressed its concern and opposition to provisions in two bills, SBA and HB 531. We went over them last week. Both of them restrict voter access. Coca Cola and Home Depot representatives told the Post their companies were aligned with the chamber's statement. Voting rights advocates have called for stronger action from the chamber's member companies, which include Coca Cola, Home Depot, Aflac, ups, Southern Co, And Delta Airlines. Groups including Black Voters Matter, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, and the Georgia NAACP have ratcheted up the pressure for those businesses to take an explicit and public stance against the measures. Not to just say, yeah, we agree, but to be very explicit about it. To stop donations to Republicans sponsoring the legislation from Georgia, lawmaker Stacey Abrams, a leading Democratic voting rights activist. We know who Stacey is. Has called the efforts to restrict voters access racist and, quote, a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and a tie. Quote, she says, we know that the only thing that precipitated these changes, it's not that there was the question of security. And so the only connection that we can find is that more people of color voted. And it changed the outcome of the election in a direction that Republicans do not like. She said during a call with other activists Tuesday that business leaders should take an unequivocal stance on the matter. Quote, there should be no silence from the business community when anyone in power is trying to strip away the right to vote from the people. There should be a hue and a cry, indeed. The suit and the tie. That Jim Crow in a suit and a tie is just such a powerful message.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's so powerful. That statement. Now this last one, I just. I have to laugh. It's just so. It's so delicious. The FBI is facing new scrutiny for its 2018 background check on no one other than drunken Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court justice, after lawmakers suggested that the investigation may have been fake. Yeah, no shit. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat. Yeah. File that under no shit. Thanks. Sheldon Whitehouse, who I love, a Democratic senator and former prosecutor who serves on the judiciary, is calling on the newly confirmed Attorney General Garland to help facilitate, quote, proper oversight by the Senate into questions about how thoroughly the FBI investigated Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. The FBI was called to investigate the allegations during the Senate confirmation process, but was later accused by some Democratic senators of conducting an incomplete background check. I don't know. For example, two key witnesses, AG Ford and Kavanaugh, were never interviewed as part of the inquiry. Yeah, I feel like that may have been two very important witnesses. Among the concerns listed in White House's letter to Garland are allegations that some witnesses who wanted to share their accounts with the FBI could not find anyone at the Bureau who would accept their testimony and that it had not assigned any individual to accept or gather evidence.

[A.G.]

Well, what do you need? Do you need to have. Do you really need evidence in an investigation? I mean, no, you're just splitting hairs at this point.

[Dana Goldberg]

I mean, seriously, let's not get specific here. So White House went on to say, once the FBI decided to create, quote, a tip line, senators were not given any information on how or whether new allegations were processed and evaluated. Now, while senators brief review of the allegations gathered by the tip line showed, quote, a stack of information had come in, there was no further explanation on the steps that had been taken to review the information. That's according to White House.

[A.G.]

So we just got a stack, we got a stack, we got, we got.

[Dana Goldberg]

A binder full of tips done. We haven't looked at it, but, but it's pretty full.

[A.G.]

Look at this stack. Would you look at all this?

[Dana Goldberg]

He went on to say the tip line appears to have operated more like a garbage chute. With everything that came down the chute consigned without review to the figurative dumpster. He also criticized FBI Director Chris Ray, who Joe Biden has elected to remain in place for not answering questions about the investigation. So the FBI did not respond to requests for comment. Surprise, surprise, the DOJ also not respond to requests for comment, which doesn't surprise me. I don't know about uag, but if they're going to start looking into this, I would also really love if they maybe did a little background check. And who paid off Kavanaugh before confirmation and had a, a really early resignation by Supreme Court justice whose son happened to be at a bank that loaned Trump a billion dollars when no one else would listen? I'm just saying perhaps there's some leads to follow.

[A.G.]

Maybe. Maybe. I mean, again, you know, evidence from evidence. Yeah. Who bought those season tickets? Right?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, it was just, I mean, who doesn't rack up $200,000 in tickets?

[A.G.]

Oh, well, you know, I mean, chump change, right? All right. And that almost made it into the schadenfreude segment, but because it's ongoing, it will, I think, eventually be in there. But now we do have some schadenfreude. All right. A state court in Arizona ordered state Republican Party there to pay more than $18,000 in legal fees to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who I love. For an unsuccessful lawsuit that sought a second hand count of election results in the state. The latest instance of Trump allies now facing consequences for their failed legal campaign challenging Biden's victory. And Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Eugene Vindamin is set to be promoted to full bird. He's going to be a full colonel despite attempts by loyalists to former President Donald Trump to derail his career following his bit role in the President's first impeachment. And Roger Stone is begging for money on parlor alms for the weird. He says after the Democrats tried to destroy him by de Platforming him. That's a thing with a 16 month gag order. That was a court, by the way, that did that because he put up a picture of a judge's head in crosshairs and removing him from Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. It's been difficult for me to sell my book or launch my podcast. Please can I have the violin music? And now he needs money. And he said bitcoin's cool, too. And he needs money to fight the deep state and also to pay rent and bills and buy groceries for the Stone family, for Sly and the Family Stone. I guess he's not going to sell rocks again. What's that you say? Yes, at one point he sold rocks called Roger Stones. Trouble with that is he didn't quite think it through. Rocks are heavy and expensive to ship. So he lost money on the rock selling adventure.

[Dana Goldberg]

Maybe he could sell a couple of his Roger Rabbit suits and, like, pay off some groceries.

[A.G.]

Sell some of his steampunk goggles.

[Dana Goldberg]

There you go.

[A.G.]

Sell those fancy bowls that everyone who has to come to his house for a party has to put their keys in. Oh, God, no. I'm. You know what? I'm not. I'm pro. Not gonna. Sex shame. No, just Roger Stone shaming, that's all. He was always that creepy old guy at the goth club that wanted us to go home with his family. All right, we'll be right back with the director of Democracy Policy for the Indivisible Project, Megan Hatcher Mays. We're gonna talk about a lot of stuff, including Kavanaugh, the subcommittee on court reform. We're gonna talk about the filibuster and perhaps killing it or reforming it. And we're gonna talk about just some really incredible stuff that's going on with their group, which she's incredible, by the way. And she's been working on D.C. statehood for a really long time. And we now finally have a D.C. statehood hearing on the calendar. We're gonna talk about that, too. So stay with us. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. All right, everybody, welcome back. I am honored today to be speaking with the director of Democracy Policy for the Indivisible Project, Megan Hatcher Mays. Megan, welcome.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Hi. Thank. Thanks for having me. Excited to be here.

[A.G.]

Yeah, I'm excited to talk to you. I haven't had you on the show before. I'm really excited to talk to you. And this is just serendipitous timing because all of the things that you're focusing on are happening. They're starting to happen. And so this is really, really exciting. And I want to ask you really quickly, you just started the for the People project. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think here we are in this sort of once in a generation moment where, you know, Democrats have control of the House, they have control of the Senate, even though it's. The margins are very, very tight. And we won back the White House. And so we handed Democrats this majority, this governing majority, and it's time to really use it. And the first thing that we need to do is fix our democracy, which is a big job, but it's necessary. I mean, I think, you know, obviously our democracy has taken several body blows over the last four years, but all of this kind of didn't start with Trump. You know, the fact that Trump was elected in the first place kind of gives you a sense of, you know, that our democracy was sort of designed badly and it could use some improvements if the ultimate outcome is that somebody like Donald, as corrupt as Donald Trump, actually got elected to the presidency. So the for the People Project is really all about structural democracy reform. It means that. That we really need to pass before the People act, which is HR1 or S1 in the Senate, that's already passed the House, but it's moving on to the Senate. We need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. That's H.R. 4. And we really need to make D.C. the 51st state. I mean, there's a lot of issues facing our democracy at the moment, but one of those things is that our Senate is not representative of the country as a whole. There are 700,000 people in the District of Columbia who have no voting representation in Congress at all. And really, the only way to fix that problem is to make D.C. a state. So that's what the for the People Project is all about. We have this opportunity to build a democracy that actually work, works by, of and for the people for the first time ever in this country's history. It has just really never been the case that our democracy worked for everyone. And now we have a chance to do that. But we need our Senate Democrats to think big to make it happen.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[A.G.]

And the D.C. statehood thing has been something that has just mystified me for a very long time, because all of us as kids growing up taking civics classes. We all remember the battle cry, no taxation without representation. Yet here we are with delegates for territories, delegates for D.C. that have no voting power, and therefore the people of this country as a whole are not represented equally. As you were saying. And I wanted to talk, but we've got a lot of cool things coming up. We've got the Court Reform subcommittee because, you know, I'm pro doubling the federal bench and expanding the Supreme Court, as many people are, but also for this DC Statehood situation as far as structural democracy goes. And I've always been like, yes, and we'll talk about the filibuster later. I'm like, yes, kill the filibuster. But let's get our representation straight in Congress first so we aren't like one old guy heart attack away from losing the majority. But tell us a little bit, you've been working on D.C. statehood for so long. Tell us a little bit about the history of D.C. statehood.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah, it's been decades and decades of a lot of work. You know, the people who have lived here, my former boss, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, she's the non voting delegate for the District of Columbia and she, you know, a lot of this comes down to her and how she has worked so hard to kind of turn this from, from a slogan, like you said, to turn it from no taxation without representation into a viable policy. I mean, this is like a mainstream Democratic platform now. This is not some sort of weird idea that people had. And so a lot has changed over the last few years. In particular, even since I left her office in 2018, the amount of support for this bill has increased significantly among Democrats. And in fact, when it passed the House last Congress, every single Democrat voted yes, except for one. But he is no longer in Congress. So all good. So that's great. I think historically the reason that DC has been denied statehood or denied enfranchisement in Congress is because of the demographics of the city. D.C. is known as Chocolate City. The reason for that is because it was for a very long time a majority black city. Now, it's not quite where plurality black, but majority black poc people of color live here. So it's mostly not white people who live here. And we've been denied very explicitly political power for that reason. You know, you had conservative legislators going as far back as like the early 19th century, looking around, seeing how many black people lived in the District and saying this, this place, this jurisdiction cannot have a say in Congress because, because of the makeup of the city. And that continues to be true to this day, although Republicans are smart enough not to say it quite like that quite as explicitly. That's very obvious what they're getting at when they say they don't support D.C. statehood.

[A.G.]

I mean, you could go and look at the Hoffler files. Right. For redistricting, which did actually explicitly say we need to draw lines to benefit white Republicans. Like, I'm not paraphrasing. And when all that came out, that is a really excellent argument for D.C. statehood. Else that happened about nine and a half weeks ago, the insurrection on the Capitol and the botched security and law enforcement response to the siege on the Capitol to overthrow our democracy, I think provides an excellent argument for D.C. statehood, because you're going to be able to streamline that sort of infrastructure for those responses. And then, of course, I mean, we know why they didn't respond, but it's important to be able to see the failings of that day and make a really strong argument, not that you didn't already have one for D.C. statehood. I mean, it's a glaring gap in what is needed to run that city.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah. So unlike the governors of states, the mayor of the District of Columbia does not have authority over the D.C. national Guard. So the mayor can request to call up the D.C. national Guard, but ultimately the executive branch, that would be the president, would have to approve that request. You know, obviously, under Democratic presidents, that's not a problem. Usually they disapprove it, but in this case, it was a problem. Donald Trump denied the mayor's request for many, many hours before the National Guard finally showed up at the Capitol. Now, if we were a state, she would have the same right as every other governor everywhere else in this country to be able to call up the National Guard. I think even more disturbing is if you compare the response to the January 6 events with the otherwise very peaceful Black Lives Matter protests that happened last summer after George Floyd was killed. We have had here in D.C. in what is now known as Black Lives Matter Plaza, otherwise very peaceful Black Lives Matter protests, basically calling for racial justice, calling for accountability. Donald Trump sent in federal law enforcement officers. He sent in military personnel in uniform in camouflage out into these protests, and they gassed peaceful protesters so that Donald Trump could have a photo opportunity in front of a church across the street from the White House. So if you compare that to what happened on January 6th, it's very stark. Now, the reason that the president can send in military personnel and federal law enforcement, including the FBI and including ice, into the District is because we're Not a state. Under normal circumstances, if the President wants to do that and he wants to send in federal law enforcement into a state, he has to ask the governor for permission. Then the governor can say, yes, you can send federal troops or you can send federal law enforcement in D.C. dC. The president doesn't have to do that because we are not a state. We don't have the same rights as everybody else. And that's where you see this discrepancy in the response between June 2020 at the Black Lives Matter protests and January 6th at the White supremacist mob at the Capitol.

[A.G.]

Yeah, and not just June, but July, August and September. And when the Commander of the D.C. national Guard, William Walker, testified to the Joint Senate committee about law enforcement response and was asked, hey, you know, you have to go through six levels to get D.C. national Guard out there. That seems to be the problem. And he goes, well, it wasn't a problem last June or July or August or September. When I made the, when I made the requests back then, it took seconds to get those approvals where it took over three hours for this particular one. And then you have Senator Ron Johnson saying the quiet part out loud, right? Oh, well, I felt safe, basically, cuz they were white. I would have felt, I would have have felt that I was in more danger if it was Black Lives Matter protesters.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah.

[A.G.]

Wow, thanks for that. And what's so alarming is that when he told that podcast guy, I can't even remember his name, he said, now this is gonna get me in trouble. But. And then he comes out later and says, no, my comments weren't racist. It's like, really? Why did you think that they would get you in trouble? Why did you. That's like the, you know, the equivalent of, you know, looking over both shoulders before telling a racist joke. Like, you knew, yeah, it was going to get you in trouble, Ron. Now, I think I want to talk a little bit about some of the things, some of the obstacles to D.C. statehood, specifically the filibuster, because in order to get D.C. statehood approved, we. It's not a budgetary reconciliation issue. So you can't use the budget reconciliation project like we did for the COVID bill or like the Republicans used for the tax scam bill. So it would have to go through that. It would need 60 votes in the Senate to pass unless we kill the filibuster. So what are y'all doing with regards to that? Because I know Senator White, there are some now, some, you know, old school, middle of the road, what we call Establishment Democrats who are, who apparently who were just learning this week have been fighting hard and lobbying hard to get this filibuster ended.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah. From people that you wouldn't necessarily expect. So people like Dick Durbin, who is the whip. He's like the second, you know, in command after, you know, Chuck Schumer. He's a longtime, you know, Senate institutionalist. He, you know, as of 2018, was saying, I don't want to get rid of the filibuster because it'll sort of destroy the whole concept of the Senate as an institution. And just this week, he's saying, you know what? Actually, just kidding. We are not getting anything done with the, with the filibuster in place. We need to get rid of it or we need to reform it, which is really, really good news because Dick Durbin is again second in line for as far as the Democratic Caucus is concerned. And then we are also hearing that folks are having conversations with their colleagues behind the scenes. Obviously, a lot of the more progressive members, I think I would count Sheldon Winehouse of Rhode island among those, are really kind of seeing the writing on the wall here, which is, again, we've given, you know, the American people gave Democrats this mandate to govern, and they're being blocked from doing it by, by the minority party who benefits from our broken democracy. So there the Republicans have no incentive to join, you know, the Democrats in passing the for the People act or making D.C. a state that all the incentives on their end is to make it harder for people to vote, make the Senate less representative. And that way they can kind of keep their control over, you know, they can maintain their power. So there's no 10 Republicans anywhere in the Senate who are going to vote in favor of the for the People Act. But our democracy is really under threat. It continues to be under threat even though Trump is gone. Trump is not the president, but, you know, there's a lot of damage that was done.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

So, yeah. So that's good. It's kind of seems to be moving in the right direction. That's great. Because there is no democracy reform that we're going to be able to pass through reconciliation. We really need to rid of the filibuster to do it.

[A.G.]

Yeah. And I want to talk a little bit more about the filibuster and Manchin. I also want to talk about the upcoming oversight hearing, oversight committee hearing on D.C. statehood and court reform. But I do have to take a quick break. Would you mind sticking around with me for a minute?

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah, of course.

[A.G.]

All right. Great. Thanks everybody. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back, everybody. Welcome back. We're talking to Megan Hatcher Mays. I'm very excited to be speaking with you today because you are so knowledgeable on these issues. And before the break, we were talking a little bit about ending the filibuster. And now since Manchin at first Manchin and Cinema were like, no, I'm not going to do anything ever to ever mess with the filibuster. But now, and maybe because of some of the pressure from White House, from Senator Whitehouse, not the White House, but Senator Whitehouse and some of his other conversations colleagues, he's saying I'm open to reforming the filibuster, which makes it very painful. He said the word painful about nine times. For the minority to filibust, I guess like 41 of them have to be there. They have to continually stand and speak. It just makes it more difficult. But it's still sort of in place. Do you see any filibuster reform as helping this? Like maybe even changing the requirement of 60 to 55? I don't even think we could get five Republicans to come on board because of what's happened now to Murkowski in Alaska. She's been censured because, you know, she's, she's split with the party so many times. But what are your thoughts on a reformed filibuster helping?

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Well, it's certainly possible.

[A.G.]

I don't.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

So I think what Joe Manchin is getting at is going back to the time of the talking filibuster. So for people who have seen Mr. Smith goes to Washington, you know, they actually have to physically go down and talk for many, many hours. They have to talk like the whole 60 hours or however long for debate. And then once that's over, you can take the vote. I am less, less confident that restoring the talking filibuster would somehow discourage Republicans from either wasting the Senate's time or obstructing the Democrats agenda. I think the best path forward is just to get rid of it. Either there's just there just is no really other way other path forward. I mean, the issue with the talking filibuster is unless they change a bunch of other rules too, both parties would basically have to be on or near the Senate floor for the full 60 hours. If even one Democrat goes missing during this, Republicans can immediately move to adjourn whatever it is they're debating. They can try to pass a bunch of stuff through unanimous consent. It's Just a mess. You know, if you're doing all that anyway, if you're changing all the rules anyway, you might as well just get rid of it. You know, there might be a situation where they carve out an exception for certain types of bills. So some people have said, well, the filibuster surely shouldn't apply to any democracy reform because there is kind of no more stark an example of anti Democratic obstruction than like the minority party blocking good government bills or blocking an expansion of democracy. So why not get rid of it for the for the People act or the Voting Rights act? And for D.C. statehood? You know, no state has been subject to the filibuster before being admitted to the Union, so why not at least get rid of it for D.C. statehood? So those are some of the reforms on the table. I mean, I think, look, whatever gets stuff moving in the Senate, I think folks should be open to. But at the end of the day, There are not 10 Republican votes for most of the stuff that Joe Biden wants to get done or that Senate Democrats want to get done, including, like immigration, climate change, all that stuff. Health care, all that stuff.

[A.G.]

Yeah, we couldn't even get any Republican votes in the Senate for Covid relief. And even afterwards, now we have a bunch of congressional representative Republicans saying, look what we did. It's like you voted against it. Now, I've always been concerned about, you know, at this particular point in time getting rid of the filibuster because we have such a narrow margin that a retirement or incapacitation of a senator could lead to losing our majority. However, like you said, if you could maybe, I mean, if you're doing it for D.C. statehood and you get that done, or maybe you change the filibuster rule like you said, for things that are structural democracy changes, do that, get D.C. statehood, then I feel safer getting rid of the entire filibuster when you run up, because you will run up against walls. And the way the government likes to work is they like to be reactionary. So they'll say, well, let's just see if it works, and then it won't work. And then they'll say, okay, it didn't work. But the problem with trying to get D.C. statehood through with a reformed filibuster is that the whole idea behind the reformed filibuster is that during that 60 hours of debate when everyone has to stand and talk, that maybe they could work out some negotiations. You know, maybe they can come to a settlement agreement, but there's really nothing to negotiate in D.C. statehood, it either is or it isn't. Right. It's not like you can add things or change things to the package. Right. You either have D.C. statehood or you do not.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Right.

[A.G.]

And so the way I envision it, I think I would love it the most if they changed the filibuster rules. If they could get Manchin and Cinema on board to change the filibuster rules to allow for changes in structural democracy, get DC Statehood that way, then really push to kill the entire filibuster, I would be like, yeah, let's do that. But that's sort of where I'm at, because we've talked on this show a lot about amending the budget reconciliation rules with Chuck Schumer. He brought that up to Rachel Madow. He's got. I got a trick. I can amend the budget reconciliation rules. But I mean, trying to get, you know, trying to get D.C. statehood through using an amended budget reconciliation. Even if you did do that, I don't think Manchin and Cinema would agree to it because it is effectively ending the filibuster when you do that, like, if you change the budget reconciliation rules to say we can pass any bill we want with a simple majority, that's ending the filibuster, basically. Yeah. Yeah.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

I don't disagree with that.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

So they should just get rid of the filibuster. I agree.

[A.G.]

Now, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the upcoming. Now we have it on the Calendar, March 22 Oversight committee hearing about D.C. statehood. What do you expect to come out of that hearing?

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Well, it should be interesting in a lot of different ways. So there was a very similar hearing on D.C. statehood, just like this one that took place back in 2019 before that bill passed the House. And this one will be very similar. It's like all the same witnesses. The mayor of the District will be there, our wonderful chairman of the council, Phil Mendelssohn will be there, and a couple other folks. And then, of course, Republicans get to invite somebody, and they've invited a guy from Cato, the Cato Institute, to come and complain that of D.C. statehood is not constitutional. So last time I think it was. It's a good opportunity, you know, it's a good opportunity for it to kind of assuage any fears that people might have about actually making D.C. a state. Like this is the closest we've ever been to being able to make D.C. a state. We have control of the Senate. And so I think it's kind of important to think of this hearing as an Opportunity for the two chambers to kind of talk to each other a little bit. So, you know, Joe Manchin has said, I want to see the pros and cons of D.C. statehood. This hearing is that this hearing is the pros and cons of D.C. statehood. And I think, you know, Joe Manchin or his staff watches, they'll see there are no cons and it's all pros. So I hope they tune in. But I think so last time it was all about, you know, hey, don't worry about it, D.C. state. D.C. statehood is constitutional. D.C. is in good financial health. Like we can afford to be a state. Because that's kind of an old trope that Republicans kind of trot out that we had some budgetary issues back in the 70s.

[A.G.]

Oh, because like, Mississippi is doing so well.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Right. Well, there's lots of states that mean states financial. That's not how we decide anyway. So, you know, those sorts of things. But really what they're really upset about is that DC Is mostly. Republicans are upset about is that DC Is mostly a Democratic jurisdiction and they. They are calling it a partisan power grab to make DC Estate.

[A.G.]

Yeah. And they don't want two more votes of color in the Senate.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yes. So I would.

[A.G.]

Yes.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

And so I would anticipate Republicans to talk about that a lot. But also in 2019, they talked a lot about the loss of parking spaces. If D.C. were to become a state, they would have no place to park. So y. That is also a very important consideration to take. Advisement is that Republicans may have to park elsewhere. Very bananas hearing in 2019. And I expect a kind of a replay, a silly season on Monday.

[A.G.]

I would like to know what Jim Jordan drives, where he parks in D.C. are all these people just dropped off by their drivers and. Or take the take public, whatever.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

There are a ton of parking lots on the Capitol. I've seen them with my own eyes. And so I'm sure just park there.

[A.G.]

I don't know what the big deal.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Is, but yes, it will just be silly season on the Republican side of things. But for Democrats, it's really a good opportunity to try to get that message out to those four or so remaining Democratic senators on the Senate side who don't yet support. Just a way to say it's all right, there's nothing to see here. It's not scary. This is a popular policy. It's important for democracy, and it's a huge racial justice issue. It's just a matter of basic fairness to give the people living in the Capitol the same Representation as every everybody else in this country.

[A.G.]

Yeah. Just go back to that originalist language. Don't you want that? Taxation without representation? I hope. I don't know that they'll do this, but I hope they bring in some witnesses from the insurrection. Maybe some family members of fallen police officers, D.C. police officers and Metro police officers, Capitol police officers, maybe William Walker. Have the commander of National Guard DC Come in. Yogananda Pittman, the current head of. Of the Capitol Police. Just something to sort of drive home how the response and the horrific events that went down on January 6 would have been diverted and would have been mitigated and stopped had we had D.C. statehood at the time. Before I let you go, we've got a new court reform subcommittee that I think is very, very awesome and very important because I have been very. About doub. The national federal bench and expanding the Supreme Court. Again, things we can't do with the filibuster in place. But I also wanted to ask you about that and ask you about new reports coming out about Kavanaugh and the FBI investigation into all of the other women who came forward during the Kavanaugh hearings, confirmation hearings, the I want beer hearings, people. Because now I think it's Senator Whitehouse who has written a letter saying, I think that that whole investigation was fake. And I think Christopher Wray might have to answer for that. So tell me a little bit about what you guys are doing for court reform and Kavanaugh and things like that.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yeah. So the sad news is I think we're stuck with Brett Kavanaugh for a while unless he willingly resigns or retires. There is a way to impeach a sitting Supreme Court justice. It's the same process as impeaching a president, which we just lived through twice over the last four years. So I'm sure everyone is an expert on impeachment now.

[A.G.]

Yeah. And killing the filibuster doesn't change the impeachment requirement of 67 votes.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Right. You'd still need two thirds. And so that is very unlikely to happen unless there is some investigation, a new investigation of Kavanaugh that uncovers not just instances of, you know, bad or illegal behavior before he became a justice, but while he has been a justice. And that would probably be the only situation in which you might find some Republicans wanting to remove him from the bench. So instead, you have to figure out a different way to sort of neutralize the fact that Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court at all, which should never have happened. Please let me be clear. He is terrible and should. He should never have been confirmed. He's like, not even qualified. In addition to being a terrible, terrible person, he's also not qualified to be a judge or a Supreme Court justice. So that's fun. But there's. You have to look at different avenues for neutralizing both. Brett Kavanaugh, but also the extreme sort of ideological bent of the current makeup of the Supreme Court. So right now, the conservatives have a 6, 3. And it's not just like I have some sort of idle disagreement, like on ideology with these people. They are extremists in the strongest sense of the word. And they were sort of handpicked by these dark money groups. And speaking of White House, he talks about this all the time. That we don't even know who is, like, supporting these Supreme Court justices nominations because they don't have to disclose their donors or where they get their money from. But one group spent something like $15 million to get Neil Gorsuch confirmed to the bench. And we don't know who cut the check. We don't know who paid that $15 million. So this is a very bad group of six. And they're unelected and they're anti Democratic, and they have not yet found a voter suppression law that they didn't love. You can kind of draw a straight line from John Roberts gutting the Voting Rights act to Stacey Abrams losing the governorship in Georgia in 2018. Like, that's the reason why that happened. So you have to start looking at ways to fix this problem. So there's a lot of urgent threats facing the Supreme Court. And it's the six of those six conservatives, basically. So you have to add seats. You got to add at least four. So that's what we're pushing for. Indivisible wants to add seats. That's the most important court reform that we need to see in Congress. No one's introduced a bill on that quite yet, and no one hasn't in the past. That's the most important thing that we need to see happen in this Congress. We need to expand the lower courts as well. So there's precedent for this. Jimmy Carter added about 150 seats back in the 70s. And the reason for it was he was saying, hey, the judiciary is not very diverse and there's a huge backlog of cases. Guess what? That's still a problem right now. And part of the reason that's a problem right now is because Donald Trump confirmed 200 judges to the lower courts, and they were almost all white guys. Many of them unqualified. And 200 judges, by the way, is one third of the entire federal judiciary. That is a lot of judges. And again, Trump gone Trumpism in the judiciary for the rest of their lives. So it's very scary. So we got to add some seats to the lower courts, too, to make them more fair and restore a little bit more balance and increase diversity on the bench. The Supreme Court also doesn't have to follow the same code of ethics as any other federal judge, which is wild.

[A.G.]

Once Kavanaugh was in there, right, he was free from ethical investigations.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

You know, it's like. And a lot of judges who are facing either sexual harassment investigations or other sorts of ethical investigations, they can just get out of it by just retiring. So that's what happened to Judge Kaczynski, who was Brett Kavanaugh's mentor on the ninth Circuit.

[A.G.]

It also happened to Trump's sister.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Correct. They can just retire, get their pension, and the investigation just kind of goes away. So we need to see some ethics reforms for the Supreme Court in particular, but kind of federal judges across the board. And then also term limits. It's the most popular Supreme Court reform. That way every president would get two Supreme Court picks per term. It's just that that's sort of a forward facing long term reform. It wouldn't apply retroactively, so it wouldn't apply to Brett Kavanaugh or John Roberts or any of the people who are already on the bench. It'd be people confirmed in the future. So again, it's important, but it doesn't really address the urgent threats that we're facing right now. And what would address those urgent threats is adding four seats. So I know it's kind of a outre idea, but it's super, super important because we are on the cusp of, like, fighting our butts off to get the for the People act passed and the Voting Rights act passed and D.C. statehood passed, and all that stuff is going to end up in court. And if we don't have a fair judiciary, none of it is going to be upheld. So really, court reform is a really critical piece of the fight to fix our democracy, for sure.

[A.G.]

Yeah.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

So if people want to learn more, you can go to unrigthecourts.org and check it out.

[A.G.]

Oh, great. I was going to ask you where to go. So there we go. Yeah. Wouldn't it be lovely to live in a country where one person got one vote and we got to the president, got to whoever the president was, got to select two for their term. And that means that who the people elect dictates who gets on the court. Oh my gosh. It's like actual having like representing the American people. What a concept. But yeah, I'm looking forward to this. I hope they dig into the dark money that Sheldon Whitehouse has brought up a few times. I hope they somebody, maybe the judiciary, the House Judiciary, looks into who paid off Kavanaugh's debts, why Justice Kennedy retired so quickly, and how interesting it is that his son was working for Deutsche Bank. Lending Trump a bunch of money in like I would really just like those answers where those season tickets came. Anyway, we'll see what happens and we'll keep following this. I appreciate your time today. Can you tell us one more time where people can go to get information on for the People Project and unrig the Courts?

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Yes, for the People Project. Just go to indivisible.org and check it out. It's like the first thing that you see when you go to our website. And if you want to know more about the courts, you should check out our coalition that I found founded. It's called Unrig the Courts and the website is unrigthecourts.org awesome.

[A.G.]

Thank you so much. Director of Democracy policy for the Indivisible Project, Megan Hatcher Mays. It's been an honor to speak to you. Thanks.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Thanks for having me.

[A.G.]

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? Everyone? Then good news, everyone. Good news, good news. It's time for Luck of the Irish news on this St. Patty's Day. Everyone, if you have good news segments or confessions or corrections or misheard song lyrics or you want us to guess your mixed breed rescue pup in what the mutt? Or if you have a dispute you need solved in Amy's court, pretty much anything. I mean, I don't even know why I go through the list anymore. Anything you want to send in, go ahead and send it to [e-mail] and click on contact and we will read it on the air. Unless you want to be anonymous. First up, I think I'm take these first two here.

[Dana Goldberg]

Go for it, Arthur.

[A.G.]

No pronouns given love. The daily Beans podcast I thought Hotel California started with On a dark desert highway, Cool wind in my hair. Once smelled a policeman rising up through the air.

[Dana Goldberg]

There's that, there's I'm not. I mean, I mean, isn't is it. I think the words are colitis. What is that? Does anyone know what that is?

[A.G.]

Yeah. Warm smell of colitis. Yes. It's a. It's a. It's a plant that grows in the desert. When it gets moist from rain, it has this really pungent smell. And so that's the smell of desert rain.

[Dana Goldberg]

Sounds very dirty to me.

[A.G.]

It does, doesn't it? Now, next up from Anonymous. Pronouns they and the.

[Dana Goldberg]

I'm actually surprised no one has ever misheard the lyrics. This one smell. Cunnilingas.

[A.G.]

Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

Rising up through the air. Okay.

[A.G.]

Well, yeah, because the rest of the song sort of indicates that that could be true. Okay.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep. Okay.

[A.G.]

Next up, anonymous pronouns they and them. Ladies of the lagoon, step right up and guess my mutt. Let me present Tina, thief of bones, hoarder of toys, and center of my dad's universe. See how her wide round face with curly blonde hair is mismatched to her sausage tubed body with a wire stiff coat. She may not be the large dog, but if you put her on the other side of the scale with a Chihuahua, she would hover pret to the ground. Both of her parents are show dogs. She was born on the other side of the mattress. Can you guess her breed?

[Dana Goldberg]

What breed is the dog from? As Good as it Gets. Oh, is Shih Tzu.

[A.G.]

No, no, no. Verdell is a. Not a bichon frise. A Brussels griffon.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay, So I think there's Brussels griffon, and I think there is wiener dog in this as well.

[A.G.]

I see. See a. I see a Pekingese in here. I see a Pekingese and whatever a Toto is. Oh, what was Toto? I need to look that up.

[Dana Goldberg]

Toto. I don't know. I think Toto was also a mutt.

[A.G.]

So I don't know if that terrier. Cairn Terrier, maybe. What kind of dog is that?

[Dana Goldberg]

A terrier that asks for the manager all the time.

[A.G.]

Karen. Terry, the terrier from. Why does it. Why aren't you telling me It's a Terry? Karen Terrier.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right. Shall we peek a knees at the. At the.

[A.G.]

At the answer? Yeah, let's. Let's peek a knees. Her father was a purebred pug. Ah, Pekingese. That's what I'm saying.

[Dana Goldberg]

We're both wrong.

[A.G.]

And her mother was a cockapoo, which is a cocker spaniel poodle. They got her on the cheap. Does that make. Make her a pug? A cockapoo. A cockapugapoo. I don't think she'll be Showing at Westminster, but she's very happy. She's adorable, by the way, and she sits like a person, which I love.

[Dana Goldberg]

So sweet. God loves interior. Okay, thank you so much for that submission. This one's next one. This one's next one. Jesus. Okay, this next. This next one. I haven't even started drinking yet. This next one's from Trevor, pronouncing him hi, AG and Dana. I've been listening. I've been a listener since the Kitchen days and proud sponsor for Patron. Well, I missed the sound of Ag's cat periodically retching in the corner. I've been incredibly grateful for the journey you've led us on and the community you've built. And for the addition of Dana, whose good humor and kindness radiates through the audio waves. Trevor, thank you for that good news. After many months of effort, I was finally able to get married. My wife and I had a set of wedding had to set a wedding day for August 2020. But because of COVID we decided to postpone the ceremony for a year. In the meantime, we asked a friend to perform a small Zoom wedding with close family and friends near our original date because, well, we felt like we needed a little joy in these difficult times. However, the marriage took six months to become official. We lived in Washington, dc. We saw AG live with Mueller. She wrote came when Molly. She wrote came here now. Due to Covid restrictions, our marriage license office has been closed to the public. They have electronic options but have been so overwhelmed, our application kept getting lost in a shovel. After all these months, we finally connected with a marriage license official who was extremely kind and eager to help us. Civil servants really do just want to do their jobs. Our certificate was then slowed by USPS delivery. Thank you Trump. And finally arrived. Actually, I should say thank you to Joy. Throughout this process, we've thankfully kept the perspective that other people have many more challenges right now. And of course, having the Zoom wedding with family and friends was the most most important part. But having it be official gives us something to celebrate all over again. And now, looking for more and more like we can gather some friends and family safely for a formal ceremony in July. Keep up the great work. I love laughing along with your take on the news and all the amazing and hilarious stories from this community. I convinced my mom to start listening to the podcast and she's a huge fan now. I promised her if I ever get famous, I'll give her a shout out. And this is probably as close as I'm ever gonna get. Hi Mom, Mama. Some Trouble. Okay. For my what the mutt Pod pet tax. Oh, here we go. I've attached two pictures, both rescue pets. The first is my dear sweet girl Nico, who passed away nearly two years ago very suddenly from an undetected tumor. I still miss her every day. I wanted to include her because she was a huge Mueller she wrote fan. Now the other is my wife's dog, Maybelle, who we call the gentle Giant. They're a lot of pandemic puppy adoptions in my neighborhood and Maybelle is getting old enough. She doesn't really love Max maximum puppy energy in her face all the time, but she quietly endures their playful bounces as we walk around the neighborhood. Nico predominantly. Oh, I'm not. I don't know what to do with this because the answers are right there. Damn it.

[A.G.]

Oh, I think he's just telling us.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, okay. Nico predominantly this lamix and some hound, Maybelle, American foxhound and according to DNA tests, collie. We really don't see any collie. I can safely say AG and I would have gotten neither of these.

[A.G.]

Correct. I would have got. I might have gotten Vizsla because it does look. That does have a Vizsla look to it. But that is just a friggin German shepherd. I'm sorry. Yeah. What a adorable baby.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's amazing. Beautiful, beautiful. Well, thank you so much for that incredible submission and congratulations on your nuptials. And keep celebrating. Celebrating as many times as you can.

[A.G.]

Yeah, why not? Next up, from Amanda. No pronouns given. Hey, Beans Queens. Once again, I've waited too long to submit just one or two items, so take a deep breath. Here we go. I have great news. My high risk husband got vaccinated on Friday. Yay. Woo hoo. I told him on his way out the door to ask if the pharmacist if they ever had any leftovers because I would run my happy little ass down there asap. The husband did as he was told and two hours later I got a call from the pharmacy to come in and get my first shot because they had an appointment, cancer cancellation, and I was the only one on their list. I cried happy tears the entire five minute drive there. Maybe in five weeks time I'll be able to give my mom a hug for the first time in a year and a half. I'm literally counting down the days. Same Amanda, same. I have some misheard lyrics. When my husband and I met, the song Rock Me Amadeus came out. I was baffled when the husband started to sing the chorus in his brain. It was hot potatoes Hot potatoes, hot potatoes, hot potatoes, hot potatoes. How does that even remotely make sense? But it has stood the test of time and I can't hear the song without singing Hot potatoes. Now instead of Amadeus. Amadeus. Yeah. Also, I just got notice that a course I proposed for a grad level course was approved and I get to teach it. So I'll be teaching my first grad course in a field that I love. Absolutely love. I'm terrified and excited to share my love of my field with my students. More good news. What? I joined the. I started a podcast and quarantine crew. As terrified as I was of being awful and messing up, I just decided to go for it because I kept thinking about how much I love listening to you ladies. And now you aren't afraid to mess up and correct yourselves. I love how natural you make it feel. I'm so glad I did it. It's been a great mental escape. I teamed up with a friend and my sister and we're bulldozing our way through learning about whiskey. We're. We're complete novices, but it's just been amazing. It's called Blind Drams. If you're ever out this way, you have to open. You have an open invitation to drink whiskey with us and offer. And the offer will always stand. We don't need a podcast for that, Amanda. But I will. I totally will. Thank you ladies for being such a bright spot in my day, for your empathy and for inspiring me to do something I didn't think I could ever do. Sincerely thank you for my tax. I offer up my favorite spot to sit and sip a glass of whiskey Schlante.

[Dana Goldberg]

Nice. That's gorgeous.

[A.G.]

Erin Go bra. Oh wow. That sky there's like a little. It's like a. It's like a field with a little old barn and some beautiful trees in the background. Just delicious orange sunset. Gorgeous.

[Dana Goldberg]

Absolutely. And. And what? Nice addition to the whiskey, that's for sure. All right, this next one is from anonymous pronoun she and her. Hi all. I so enjoy the show. Besides my coffee, it's my favorite part of waking up. I have good news to share. I defended my doctoral dissertation on March 8th. Perfect. Woohoo. Perfect way to celebrate International Women's Day with a dissertation on women's history. I'm 58 and this has been a long process. For my pet tags, here's the four legged crew. Rhea, Blind kitty with no tail but lots of attitude. Never met a box she didn't love. Sparky Ginger boy obviously very concerned about what his next Meal will arrive. And Rosie, AKA Murdermouth, she's quite the chipmunk hunter.

[A.G.]

Yeah, that's my Bruce Willis. Oh, my God. Look at the orange kitty.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my goodness. Feed me.

[A.G.]

Oh, murder mouth.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, gosh, that last cat. All three of these cats are gorgeous markings. Look at that.

[A.G.]

So pretty. I like that. I like. Oh, Rhea is pretty too.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh.

[A.G.]

Oh, so cute. All right, next up from Anonymous, no pronouns given. I have some good news and a pet tax combo. Friends of mine live in a neighborhood surrounded by hydro canals where a small colony of feral cats live. Well, nearly 12 years ago, one of the ferals gave birth to a litter of four on the their back porch. They were able to trap the kittens and the mom several months later, and I immediately knew which one I wanted. For the past 11 and a half years, Pearl, named for Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Pearl has been very skittish around humans, but would never be in the same room as me. Unless, of course, the food and water bowl was empty. But knowing that she's safe inside with a full belly and a comfy bed has been the best thing to have happened to both of us. Now for the good news. I was sitting on the couch, catching up on some of the news that I took a break when this happened. Not only did Pearl settle down for a nap beside me, but she actually reached out and touched my hand. I've also attached my other girl, Ruby, a tabby who almost never leaves my side. Thanks for all you do to keep the news. To keep the news making sense to this Canadian.

[Dana Goldberg]

So sweet.

[A.G.]

Yay.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, I love. I love that we're ending on that story. These pictures are just so beautiful.

[A.G.]

The kitty with the paw on the hand that settled near you. How wonderful. What. What a great picture. Well, everyone, please send in your stuff. Send it to. Send it to [e-mail] Click on Contact and you can get it to us and we will read it. Unless you don't want us to and then we won't. That's how it goes.

[Dana Goldberg]

Because we respect your privacy and your wishes.

[A.G.]

Yeah, just don't put. You don't want us to read it at the end. Yeah, that's happened to me before. I was reading, somebody sent me a note and they're like, here's my name and thanks. And oh, by the way, don't say anything on the air.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my goodness.

[A.G.]

Oh, my.

[Dana Goldberg]

Don't bury the lead, people. Don't bury the lead. We need it.

[A.G.]

Yep. Need the lead. Anything before we get out of here?

[Dana Goldberg]

No, just Everyone, have a really nice evening. I'm looking forward to another episode tomorrow. And then our. Oh, what day is it?

[A.G.]

It's Wednesday right now.

[Dana Goldberg]

So much. We have so much still. Yeah. Just have a great night.

[A.G.]

Yeah. And it's. It is Wednesday, so there's a new episode of Clean up on aisle 45 out. So check that out. If you would, please follow subscribe, rate it. If you haven't, that would be wonderful. I'd appreciate it very, very much. Everyone, until tomorrow, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of your mental health, take care of the planet, and Happy St. Patty's Day. Them's the beans. Oh, wait.

[Dana Goldberg]

I was like, hey, what don't I get to say. Say goodbye.

[A.G.]

I forgot to do that thing. I'm AG.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, and I'm dg. I. We're not going back.

[A.G.]

Oh, we can go back. Let's just do the whole thing again. Everybody, until tomorrow, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of your mental health, take care of the planet, and have a happy St. Patty's Day. I'm AG and I'm DG. Them's the beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

I was like, wait.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Hey.

[A.G.]

No, you shut up.

[Dana Goldberg]

No, you shut up.

[A.G.]

No.

[Dana Goldberg]

Niche, I'll talk to you later.

[A.G.]

Bye.

[Dana Goldberg]

Bye.

[Megan Hatcher Mays]

Refried beans.

[A.G.]

I like refried beans.