B (3:44)

Yeah, so he definitely has lost some of the Republicans.

A (3:48)

Yeah. And, and you know, Donald Trump meanwhile, wants to shut the government down. He wants to cause chaos and try to blame Joe Biden for it, but it's not going to stick. They always blame the Republicans for this. You want to go ahead and shut down the government. I mean, right before an election you're going to get all the blame.

B (4:04)

Absolutely. Horrible idea. Speaking of Donald, obviously this is a very solemn day in our country and just remembrance of 911 and when he of course turned into a bigger piece of shit because he was proud that he had the highest building in New York after that attack. But we just want to send a big love and shout out to those of us and you that are still affected by this attack so many years ago, families lost, friends lost in the Twin towers and the rebuilding of that. So just so you know, we're taking in the heaviness of the day as well as hopefully bringing a smile to your face and filling you in with all of the news and there's a lot of it.

A (4:42)

Yeah. And to all of the veterans and wardad and their families who serve post 9 11.

B (4:49)

Absolutely.

A (4:51)

OEF OIF OND OND 2 A big hug for you today as well.

B (4:59)

Yes, thank you A.J.

A (5:00)

Most of which are buried in section 60 of Arlington, which Donald Trump just took a big poop on. So anyway, yes, very solemn day and we do have a lot of news to get to today. Again, we're Going to talk to Lee McGowan. Later in the show, we'll have the good news. But first, let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right. First up for my new friend, host of the weekend on msnbc, which I got to appear on, which was fantastic, Simone Sanders. She writes for msnbc. Debates are part performance and part policy. Tuesday's debate will be no exception. In October 2020, the day before Senator Kamala Harris was set to meet Vice President Mike Pence for the only vice presidential debate, she and her team met in the ballroom of a hotel in Salt Lake City for the last time. Standing on a nearly identical version of the stage where she and her opponent would face off the following night, Harris did a final run through of the coming debate and then huddled with her prep team the following evening. Harris delivered a strong performance, deftly handling Pence's attempts to throw her off her mark. She proactively reminded the American people about the stakes of the election and the histories of her opponent and his running mate. She was personable, yet powerful. When Pence attempted to interrupt her, she effortlessly delivered a line everyone remembers. Excuse me, Mr. Vice President, I am speaking now. Backstage, her senior advisers were ecstatic. I should know. I was one of them. This is Simone Sanders. Nearly four years later, Vice President Harris is now set up shop in a hotel in Pittsburgh for her final preparations for Tuesday's debate against former President Donald Trump. It is a fact that Trump has stood on more presidential debate stages than the vice president. But to suggest she is inexperienced on the debate stage is untrue. She participated in at least a dozen debates during the primary in the race for district attorney and San Francisco, three during the race for Attorney General of California, three more during the 2016 U.S. senate race. In 2019, she participated in five debates during the Democratic primaries. Tuesday night, however, will be different in many ways. First, the vice president will be standing on a stage next to a former president she's never met after inciting the violent mob that attempted to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election on January 6th. Then President Trump declined to attend the inauguration. Still, Vice President Harris says she knows his type.

B (7:22)

Is that true? They've never met, Alice.

A (7:24)

They've never met. And I'm so glad she brought that up because every time somebody in the media says they've never met, I always want them to tell everyone why. Right. You know? Now on the campaign, she has regularly drawn contrasts with the former president through her time as a prosecutor who took on, quote, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, predators who abused women and cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. And she details how Trump fits her aforementioned descriptions. Tuesday presents another opportunity to do just that with a huge audience. People are thinking there might be more than 70 million people watching tonight, Dana.

B (8:00)

I wouldn't be surprised. I think there was 50 million watching the one with Biden, and I do think this would be the most watched debate in history.

A (8:06)

I think so too. So, weaving in her personal narrative, Simone continues while contrasting with her opponent, is approaching an approach that the vice president has leaned into since the switch at the top of the Democratic ticket. In an interview with Univision last week, Harris leaned into her middle class upbringing versus Trump's rich daddy. Trump, too, will have a decision to make. Will he repeat the violent, derogatory comments he's made online?

B (8:31)

Yes.

A (8:32)

It is one thing for him to post inflammatory rhetoric on his social media site about the most powerful woman in the country. It's quite another thing for him to stand on stage next to her and say the same things just as forcefully. How will he react when Harris dismisses his comments to his face, as she has done in the past when asked about them? Second, unlike the crowded early days of the 2020 Democratic primaries, Harris will not be one of 12 candidates on a stage looking to play the audience in the room. Rather, the stage is set for two. While one candidate is speaking, the other's microphone will be muted and an audience will notably not be physically present. In many of her past debates, Harris, like many candidates, has fed off the energy of the crowd. With the absence of a crowd, perhaps the vice president will pull from her experience in Senate hearings or courtrooms. Notably, she's thrived in both venues. Did she make Kavanaugh cry?

B (9:24)

Yeah.

A (9:25)

With the addition of the muted microphones, the onus will be on the vice president to decide whether or not to illuminate her opponent's comments from the stage if he tries to interrupt her. She will also need to find moments, much like during the 2020 primary debates and again during her debate with Pence, where she rose above the discourse in the room and spoke to the voters watching at home. The opportunity in this debate belongs to Harris, and there are voters who say they still don't know much about her or her policies. Donald Trump has a record of playing fast and loose with the truth, both on and off the debate stage. Harris will have to make in the moment decisions about when she responds to Trump's bluster with words or her facial expressions and which she's very good at, and when to ignore him and talk about her plans. She can still grow her support while Trump has a ceiling. Yes, voters feel like they know who Trump is and they rejected him and his policies in 2020. Harris has the opportunity to remind the American people of that by contrasting her joyful and positive vision for the future with Trump's dark view of retribution. As vice President, Harris has huddled with her debate prep team in Pittsburgh. I have no doubt that she has stood on a stage nearly identical to the one she will meet Trump on and is well prepared to meet the moment. It will be interesting. By the way, everybody listening to this now, you're hearing this after the debate because we haven't seen it yet. So we'll discuss more on this tomorrow.

B (10:48)

We definitely will. Thank you ag. This one is from the Hill Voters in Missouri will be able to vote on an amendment yes to protect abortion access after the state Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling Tuesday that would have removed it from the ballot. The decision came just hours before the state's absentee ballots are set to be printed. This is a big deal. The justices ordered Secretary of State J. Ashcroft, who happens to be Republican, to re certify the measure after he abruptly decertified it Monday, despite the deadline for such action already having passed. Proponents of the measure wanted Ashcroft held in contempt, but the court declined that. Quote, today's decision is a victory for both direct democracy and reproductive freedom in Missouri. This is from Rachel Sweet. She's the campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the coalition that is actually backing that measure. Quote this ruling is a validation of the more than 380,000 Missourians who signed the petition. This fight was not just about this amendment. It was about defending the integrity of the initiative petition process and ensuring that Missourians can shape their future directly. The amendment would permit abortion into fetal viability at about 24 weeks, the point in a pregnancy when a fetus can survive outside the Womb. Missouri is one of 10 states that could potentially vote on abortion rights ballot amendments in November. Abortion rights supporters have succeeded every time the issue has been on a state ballot since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade more than two years ago.

A (12:22)

Every single time bat in a thousand.

B (12:25)

Absolutely. Missouri was the first state to ban almost all abortions after the ruling and passage of the ballot measure would be the first time such a ban was would be overturned. So I know some people are like, why aren't they going for full access to abortion? This is a red state. You have a better chance of getting up to 24 weeks if this is actually on their abortion until fetal viability at about 24 weeks.

A (12:47)

God, what if Missouri turned blue, man, I just, I chill thinking about it. I know such solidly red states, but I keep thinking about Kansas. I keep thinking about it. But yeah, we'll see. We'll see what ends up happening. All right. The U.S. this week will discuss the possibility of Ukraine using its long range weaponry to strike targets deep inside Russia. That's according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Tuesday. Blinken made the remarks at a press briefing alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London where it was announced that the pair will travel to Kyiv this week, marking the first joint visit of its kind for more than a decade. Kyiv has long urged its Western allies, including the United States, to allow it to strike targets deep within Russian territory using weaponry such as The Washington supplied ATACMs. Those are ground launched ballistic missiles. The US has so far prevented Ukraine from doing so, fearing escalation in the conflict launched by Putin in February of 2022. Blinken was asked during the press briefing, has the time come to allow Ukraine the freedom to use the long range missiles you're supplying them to hit targets deep in Russia and if not, why not? Blinken said the topic would be discussed during his visit with Lammy to Kyiv this week. Said, quote, one of the purposes of the trip that we'll be taking together is to hear directly from Ukrainian leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, about exactly how the Ukrainians see their needs in this moment, to what objectives and what we can do to support those needs. I think you've seen again from day one that we've continuously adjusted and adapted based on battlefield conditions, based on what Russia was doing in any given place by given means. That's what Blinken said. And he went on to say, it's so important that when we're making these decisions, we factor in a number of critical elements. It's not just the system itself that counts. You have to ask, can the Ukrainians effectively use it? Sometimes that requires significant training, which we have done. Do they have the ability to maintain it? Again, this is something that we've worked on. Is it part of an effective strategy? All of these are questions that we are continuously asking ourselves. He added, and by the way, that is so important, and that's the big lead here that Antony Blinken told everybody in the world that we've actually been training Ukrainians on how to use these long range missiles deep inside Russia. We've been working on this for a while. And Dana, this comes on the heels of just learning today that Iran has sent short range ballistic missiles to Russia. That's also according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, declaring that he said Washington intends to respond with sanctions for a move that pulls Tehran further into the Ukraine conflict. They're sent. They're helping Russia.

B (15:34)

Of course they are. Thank you so much, Ag. This one is from the Associated Press. Americans were duped out of more than 5.6 billion with a B billion dollars last year through fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency. This is what the FBI said in a report released Monday that shows 45% jump in losses from 2022. The FBI received nearly 70,000 complaints in 2023 by victims of financial fraud involving ether. That's another crypto and other cryptocurrencies. According to the FBI, the most rampant scheme was investment fraud, which accounted for 3.96 billion of those losses. Quote, decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, the speed of irreversible transactions and the ability to transfer value around the world make cryptocurrency an attractive vehicle for criminals while creating challenges to recover stolen funds. That's from Michael Nordwall. He's the assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division. Scammers will often make contact through dating apps or social media to build trust over several weeks or months before suggesting cryptocurrency investing. This is what the FBI said. Once a relationship is built, they convince the targets to use fake websites or apps to invest their money, sometimes even allowing the victims to withdraw small amounts of money early on just to make it seem legitimate. In some cases, these victims are then targeted by bogus businesses claiming they will help the victim recovery. The cryptocurrency they lost again. That's according to the FBI. And they also said officials from the FBI say Americans of all ages can be a target of such scams. Should be extremely cautious when presented with investment opportunities from people they've never met in real life.

A (17:18)

Man. So not only are they scamming you into investing into cryptocurrency, but then they scam you to get your money back.

B (17:27)

Yeah, there's a lot.

A (17:30)

So they light the fire and then try to put it out. Oh, wow.

B (17:35)

With vodka.

A (17:35)

With vodka. With molotovka. All right, well, thank you for that story, everybody. You are gonna love this interview with Lee McGowan. You know her as politics girl all across social media. We got to hang out a little bit, you, Dana and me. And leave at the Democratic National Convention. She's just a gem.

B (17:57)

She's awesome.

A (17:58)

She has a new book coming out called A Return to Common Sense. And you're going to want to hear this and you're going to want to grab a copy of this book. You're going to want to buy it for your friends and family that aren't necessarily too into politics because kind of like what we did for the Mueller report broke it down into layman's terms and translated the legalese for you. She does that with how American democracy works. And it's so fantastic. It helped me when I read it. So I get all these little turns of phrases and easy explanations I can give to friends and family and community members about exactly why democracy is, is a, is a good system. So you're going to listen to that interview and then we'll be right back with the good news. So stick around after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, welcome back. I'm really excited today to be joined by my good friend, fellow content creator, at the Democratic National Convention, host of the Politics Girl podcast on the Midas Touch Network. You know her as I am Politics Girl all over Social. She has a new book out called A Return to Common Sense and it comes out on September 17th. It's available for pre order. Please. Welcome Leigh McGowan. Hi, Lee.

C (19:12)

Hi, Al. How's it going, Ag?

A (19:14)

Oh, so good to see you, my friend. It was so nice to run into you at the convention. I was just like, hey, it's you. And we just ran up and hugged. It was like, oh, it was so good to see you.

C (19:23)

It's ridiculous because so many people I know and love were there and we were all so busy working and not eating. By the way, I would like to add that no one ate, I think, for the whole week, but we were all there. And then you'd be like, nope, didn't see her. Nope, didn't see them. Nope. Wasn't that that thing? And so it was so fun to run into you in the hall. We were like, oh my God, you know, like, so finally we saw each other. Cause it was bananas. You could be working the entire time, doing the same job and miss each other for a week. It was bananas.

A (19:51)

That's how big it was. That's how massive it was and how many different events there were and places you could go and people you could interview. It was incredible.

C (19:59)

Can we just take a second, though, to talk about the organization of that event, like how well that was done, how many people were there, how many moving parts and how efficient. It was just I was so impressed. And I kept thinking, like, dude, if you want people to run your government, like, these people know how to hire people, right?

A (20:15)

And they know how to run a roll call.

C (20:17)

Yeah, I keep talking about that roll call. I was like, if you ever want to feel like the country is connected and you don't want to feel like, like we're red states and blue states and we'll never get along again, watch the Democratic roll call. Or watch my rant on the Democratic roll call if you only have three minutes. But it was so inspiring and so hopeful and just this moment where you just saw all the diversity in one giant country, because we really are just such a huge and diverse place, all in one place, all with the same goal of moving forward in hope and joy and supporting each other. And there was this great sort of familial ribbing, you know, of people being like, we're the best state in the nation. Everyone's like, boo. And I thought it was great. I was like, this was like, when you're at a family table and they're like, obviously I'm the favorite kid. And everyone's like, boo. You know, it felt wonderful and I was so honored to be a part of it. And it really made me, it inspired me to do the work that we're doing moving forward to make sure that this election turns out for the best of democracy.

A (21:19)

Yeah. And the foundation of all of it, the preparedness, the way that they put it together. I mean, this is a last minute convention, considering usually we have a year or so to prepare for these things. We have a whole new candidate. All of the people, all of the hope, all of the joy, and all of it is built on this foundation of common sense. And so your book, A Return to Common Sense is so prescient and fantastic and necessary for this time because a lot of people have gotten away from the basics of our government and how it functions. And we heard Joe Biden, when he was the candidate and as president, in his State of the Union addresses and joint addresses to Congress, say so many times his top line issue is that democracy can work. It's harder, it's hard work, and it involves all of us. And sure, a dictator is the easy way out, or running the country like a private company is the easy way out. Firing 50,000 government employees because you don't like them or they don't like you. Easy way out. But democracy does work. And looking at the, the, the Biden Harris administration and all their accomplishments, they have proven that to the world, to the dictators of the world and the wannabe dictator we have here at home. So talk a little bit about why this. Like because you and I talked offline a lot about this when it was in the works and why it was so important. Talk a little bit about that.

C (22:44)

Well, listen, I started this whole project, right, because I wanted a way for people to understand their government was going on in politics without it feeling like an overwhelming slog. I think it's deliberately complicated. I think that a lot of the times people talk on, on our media or when politicians speak, they, they speak in acronyms. They speak in a way that most people don't understand. And sort of, we sort of let politics fly over our heads because we were feeling safe with our democracy. We'd been such a long term relationship with this shining city on the hill and the greatest country on earth and the best democracy in the world that we started stop working on democracy itself. We didn't understand how it really worked. We were told not to talk about politics or religion, but when we don't talk about government, when we don't talk about politics, it allows the very worst people to take over. And then we don't understand how it got broken. And then we just feel angry and we disconnect. So I wrote this book the same way I kind of started this project which was a way to re engage people in the political experiment because America is by nature an experiment and it takes work. And so I wrote this book as a political book for non political people. But of course, if you understand politics, it's also a book for you because I'm giving a roadmap for not only how to get out of this mess we're in right now, but how to look at our democracy moving forward. Something simple that people can really hold onto and then hang their hat on. You know, the first part of the book is what I call America 101. It's a good 20 pages of just like, hey man, if you don't know how the government works, or you're not quite as familiar with it, or you forgot it from Civics, read these 20 pages. If you're like, I know how everything works and I know how laws are made, then skip it. It literally says, skip this section. If you know everything, move on to principle one. And then there's six principles which are six principles that I believe no matter where you sit in the political spectrum, we can all agree, make America America. And so it doesn't matter if you're a Republican or A Democrat or you don't vote. If I said to you, America is a land of freedom, you'd probably say, yeah, I agree with that. As a fundamental principle of this nation, America is a land of freedom. And then I go on and I explain where we got that constitutionally, historically, and where we went off track and how we need to get back on track, because that's fundamentally where we are right now. And there's six principles. And I think it's really interesting that you're talking at this beginning here about democracy being able to work, because the sixth principle in the book, the last principle, is that government should be a force for good. And I really believe that most people feel that government should be here to help us. You know, this idea that, like, oh, I'm from the government and I'm here to help. It's like the nine worst words in the English language. You know what I mean? And, like, that's not true. If, if the government isn't supposed to help the people, what the hell is it doing, right? Like, what is the point of that? And ultimately, we should have a government and we should ask for a government and we should elect a government that is fundamentally here to do good by the people. And if not, then the hell are we doing?

A (25:43)

Yeah, well, and that's been a GOP talking point forever. So that they can take all of our tax revenue and give them as tax cuts to their wealthy benefactors. As, you know, they come out and say, oh, government is stupid people. You know, the whole good enough for government work phrase. Or, you know, I'm from the government, I can help. They've been wanting us to hate and despise and, and detest democracy for so long. Oh, the gridlock in Washington, you know, we hear about it all, but they're.

C (26:11)

The cause of it. That's the thing. But they're the cause if you, if your whole thing in government is that government doesn't work, and then you say, elect us, because these guys totally blew it. And then you get in there and you make sure government doesn't work. It only exacerbates your original point, which is that government is a joke and you shouldn't believe in it. But then you have this entire party of Democrats who we were just talking about at the convention, who are saying, we can help you. We can lower these costs, we can make your minimum wage higher, we can protect your voting rights, we can protect your right to your own body. That's our job and we should be doing it. And we have to stop Pretending that coming to Congress to act as obstructionists to everything that people want is the way to get things done. I mean, I mean, there's a principle in the book that's representatives should represent the people who elected them instead of say, lobby groups, right? Or billionaire donors. Because ultimately you say, like, I don't understand, like, how come 85% plus of us think that there should be some sort of common sense gun laws, but we don't have them. How come 90% of us think the minimum wage should be higher, but we don't have it? People don't understand. And then they think, well, government just doesn't work. But it doesn't work for a very specific reason. And it's because we have all these little isms in our government that could be fixed if we knew they needed to be. Things like the filibuster in the Senate that hold up progress and then make us all angry and disconnected again. And I've really tried hard to write a book that if everyone, enough people read it, they'd go, oh my God, this is, this is all fixable. We could actually make real change in this country. We could have government that, that represented us. We could have the things that we ask for. We don't have to live like this because honestly, most countries in the world don't live like this. Most countries that are modern western nations don't live like this. And America, you know, decomposing in front of our eyes, American democracy falling apart in front of our eyes is exactly what these autocrats of the world want because they're holding the whole premise is democracy is a joke and it doesn't work. And if America, the shining star of democracy, can't make it work, then why should any of you try?

A (28:24)

And one of the reasons I love this book so much is that you know me, I'm a huge political wonk. I know the deputy assistant secretary, chief of staff to the Michigan senator number two. Like we're steeped in this stuff. But when I read your book, you talk about how you make it for people who are non political too, but also for people who are political, because the way that you turn a phrase and the simple way that you explain things, I mean, this is why I put out the whole Mueller She Wrote podcast, is because the Mueller report is wonky and a snoozer and complicated and nobody wants to sit down and read 500 pages of the Mueller. A lot of folks did. And I'm very, very thankful for that, God bless them. But to put it into you know, digestible bites. But for me, it's your turn of phrase, your ability to explain these things so well, which is your gift to this universe, by the way, is what I take to my members and friends and community members to explain it to them. And that's why this book is. First of all, you need to buy it for any member of your family who's either sits out from voting or is MAGA or needs to have this explained to them in a way that's not condescending. This is the best Christmas gift ever. It's available for pre sale now, but you have to send this to your family members. I have so many listeners, Lee, who are like, how do I explain this to Uncle Frank who maybe doesn't really get into politics or has no idea who Roger Stone is? People who aren't as steeped in it as we are. And that is what I love about this book. That's where I connect the most with your book, is your ability to break it down. So I can take that to other people and break it down for them.

C (30:08)

Yeah, it doesn't have to be this complicated. It doesn't have to be far away things that are happening over there. Our country is supposed to be of the people, by the people, for the people. And people often say to me, even with my rants or my podcast or the work that I do, they say, why are you bothering? Like, you're just preaching to the choir. And I say, that's actually not what I'm doing. If anything, I am teaching the choir the words to the song so they can go out and sing to other people. Right? So they can go out and sing that song to other people. They can teach other people. I'm going to have effects on people that will never listen to me me, that will never hear me. Because like you said, you and I are both wonks. We love this stuff. I'm an absolute political nerd through and through. I don't expect other people to be. What I think is, if it's complicated to me, what does it feel like to other people? So, like, how do I make it less complicated? Not only to myself, so I can explain it to others, but how do I make it so accessible that then that person can go explain it to their people? Because I always say that we're responsible for our people, people that. That's not just you and your friends that are into this. That's your dad at your dining room table. That's your hairdresser who says, I don't bother voting. That's the person at the cashes you out at the grocery store that's like, I can't get health insurance. And you're like, do you know about. I told a woman years ago when Obama was still president, I was like, wait, you could just look up in the exchange for the Affordable Care Act? And she was like, the what? You know what I mean? Like, most people don't know. I was at an event recently with Sherrod Brown, who's running for Ohio Senate, and he has to win that election. And he said that he'd recently got a new dentist. And so he went to fill out the paperwork at the receptionist and she said, what's your name? He said, sherrod Brown. And she said, what's your job? And he's like, I work for the federal government. And she's like, what job do you have? And he goes, I'm a U.S. senator. And she was like, for Ohio. Like, she's in Ohio. And he was like, yes. And he thought. And he said to this group I was with, he said, said, here's the thing. She didn't need to know me. We failed her that she doesn't know me. We failed her that she doesn't know that she has a senator named Sherrod Brown, that I care about what she wants, that I. I would listen to what she needs, that I'm out here fighting for the workers rights. He's like, we, the government have failed the people. If they're like, who are you? You know what I mean? Not because I need to be famous, but because they need to know that we're out here listening to them. And I thought you. Yeah, that's exactly why I wrote the book. It's exactly why. Because as soon as you understand that something isn't some complicated thing from far away, then you can be in it. And I always say politics, you know, politics doesn't. Just not caring about politics doesn't mean politics doesn't affect you. It means you can't affect it. And ultimately that's how the powers that be like it. And the rest of us have to be like, I think I'm going to pay attention now because you guys kind of blew it. And actually, we have way more power than we think. You know, we have.

A (33:02)

We have pretty much all the power right now.

C (33:04)

Right now. Right now. Let's just stress right now we have to be very careful with this next election.

A (33:09)

Yeah. Because, you know, first of all, way back, oh, Mueller's gonna save us. Oh, Jack Smith's gonna save us. The Department of Justice is gonna save us. Merrick Garland is gonna save us. The courts are gonna save us. The Supreme Court will save us. Not right now. And by the way, it was never anybody's job to save us. It's our job to vote and do that. And I think that that's why another thing that really comes across in this book, you have, you know, the principle that every citizen should have a vote and that that vote should count. And by the way, that's one of the charges against Donald Trump in D.C. against his. Against his coup attempt. His attempt to retain power illegally is Title 18, Section 241, Conspiracy Against Rights. And Jack Smith says, namely, our right to vote and have our votes counted. And that's. I thought, like that. That particular principle really stood out to me. And so I know that you. When you talk to friends and family and people in your community, and when you talk to all of us in this book, you really drive that point home. We're our heroes. We're our own heroes.

C (34:11)

We're our own heroes. And I think it's really important that people understand that. I think it would be. I think we all wish, like, boy, I wish I could just win the lottery. Like, I wish the Supreme Court could just save us. Us. Wouldn't that be easier? But life's not freaking easy, and we all know that, right? I think the thing is about the six principles is that someone in Goodreads who got a. An early copy of the book said, on the surface, the six principles look obvious and simplistic. Like, obviously, everyone should have. Every citizen should have a vote and that vote should count. But they're not obvious the way America has set itself up, right? It is not simplistic. And it's one of the reasons that I. I did it like this, because not only do I think we can use these six principles as new foundational pillars in which to build a better, stronger nation, because God knows, the Constitution is an amazing document. But we built this nation on some shaky foundations, right? Like, we still built the nation on the backs of slavery. We built the nation on only white landowners having a vote. We built the nation on keeping people out. We built the nation on the Electoral College and giving each state two senators, despite the fact that they're all fricking different sizes. We built the nation on some shaky ground, and we need new foundational pillars to hold it up. But we also need a lens in which to look at our nation and say, like, hold on, are we living up to this pillar? And if not, why Not. And how do we get back to doing that? And I feel like that's the thing. It's not as simplistic as people think it is. But I do want it to be simplistic. When you think of it, when you go, okay, if they're trying to make sure my vote doesn't count because of this weird signature matching thing that has to happen in four days in this blah, blah, is that every citizen should have a vote in that vote should count. No, it doesn't fit into that lens. And I think people can look at things through these six things that are very easy to remember and go, does this legislator, does this piece of legislation, does this nation live up to these values that we could all agree on are obvious? And if not, then maybe you don't have a right to be a legislator or maybe this should not be a law that we should be supporting. It becomes easier that way.

A (36:13)

Yeah. And it's nonpartisan too. Yeah. You know, I mean, right now a lot of the facts are on a certain side, but it's nonpartisan in that right now the party line is so blurred because we have Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney. Dick Cheney.

C (36:28)

Dick Cheney, dude. When you know the Democrats have Dick Cheney, it's no longer like, it's not about partisanship. Right. It is literally about democracy, facts, rule of law, and the fact that this is an absolute existential danger to our country to go the other way.

A (36:44)

Yeah. Olivia Troy, Miles Taylor, even like the Vice President Pence, I don't think he's endorsed Harris, but he certainly said he's not going to vote for Trump. It shows that we are in a time now. And this is why your book is so timely and important, that it's about these foundational principles and it's not partisan politics, it's common sense.

C (37:08)

Common sense politics.

A (37:09)

It's common sense. And before I let you go, let's talk a little bit about the title because Return to Common Sense. Talk about it.

C (37:17)

Well, listen, we started with saying I'm a giant nerd. I read Thomas Payton's Common Sense a couple years ago just for kicks, for funsies.

A (37:25)

On a Friday.

C (37:26)

For funsies. I was trying to figure out the history. I was trying to do a, a podcast on the Fourth of July. And I felt like I didn't want to do all the basic stuff. So I read A Return to Common Sense and here was this 47 page pamphlet which is basically a colonial version of a paperback written right when we were trying to decide if we were going to be independent. Or Stay with Britain, right? Like, we were a nation at a crossroads. And Thomas Paine was like a guy who wrote normal language for normal people. And he said, here's what I think. I think we're not part of the British Empire. I think we've created something new here, and I think we're independent, and I think we should go that way.

A (37:59)

Way.

C (37:59)

And his book went the modern version of viral, right? People went crazy over it. They were reading it in pubs, they were reading it in town squares. Everyone was talking about it. And it was kind of the public push for this idea of independence that really forced the hands of the founding fathers to write the Declaration of Independence. It actually went that direction. It wasn't that the Declaration of Independence was written first, and then Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense. It was. Common sense was written, and then the Declaration was written. And I thought, geez, we're a nation at a crossroads again. Where's our Thomas Paint who's writing to the common people in common language that says, hey, here we are at a crossroads. I think we should go this way? And I thought, oh, God, is it me? And then I wrote this flipping book, Allison. And, like, halfway through the book, I was like, why would I have suggested I would explain how American government works? This is too hard, you know?

A (38:56)

And yet the book is completed, you.

C (38:59)

Know, like, it is worth it to say, hey, let's speak to each other in normal language and say, just use your freaking common sense. Does it make sense to you that you have a different rule over your own body depending on your zip code? No, that doesn't make much sense. Does it make sense to you that you should go sit in a car and bleed out until you can crawl your ass back in there because you're sick enough for the lawyers to approve you being treated for? No, that's not common sense. Right. Does it make sense that you go to vote and they say, oh, I'm sorry we took you off the voting rolls without telling you, and we've actually changed the rules so you can't register on the day of anymore. Does that make sense to people? Like, no. Most people would say, that makes no goddamn sense. So what I want people to do is say, hey, hey, let's back it up, like you said, in a nonpartisan way, and say, what is the best way to move forward with this country that we love and that we believe can succeed? And let's do it from a place of common sense.

A (39:57)

Well, Lee, I have some breaking news for you, and I want to get your I want to get your reaction because this has to do with your principle that every citizen should have a vote and that the votes should count. In Missouri, they wanted to put. They wanted to enshrine abortion. And there was some skullduggery where the Republicans were taking that off the ballot. And Jay Ashcroft, I think his name is, took it off the ballot before they had a chance to appeal. The breaking news is that the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that abortion rights will appear on the November ballot in Missouri.

C (40:37)

Well, thank goodness. I mean, here's the thing. If you are just a regular American, if you want to talk to that grandfather or whoever that says, you know, well, abortion rights weren't taken away. They were just returned to the states.

A (40:49)

Well, return to the states, let the states decide. But then you take it off. Try to take it off.

C (40:54)

No, exactly. It's not returned to the states. It's returned to the state government. It's not the people. Because if you're trying to put things on the ballot and they say, nope, we can't put it on the ballot, like they tried to do in Ohio, like they tried. They're trying to do in Florida, like, it is terrible. Yeah. Arkansas. Yeah. So I think people need to know that at the end of the day, if you want to live in a country where your vote counts, it doesn't matter if right now it serves you that these people's vote doesn't count. At the end of the day, you're a voter, and you should never support anyone that is taking away the right for voters to be heard. Because if you give that right away, eventually they'll come for you.

A (41:30)

The key to all other rights, as Michelle Obama put it during the dnc. I think Kamala Harris did, too, my friend. Thank you. So I could talk for another hour. I know we focused on only a couple of these principles, but I could seriously talk to each other.

C (41:43)

I know, and I'm so glad. I know this sounds crazy, but I'm so glad we're doing this around 9 11, because that's the day that made me want to be a citizen of this country. And that's the day that I lived in New York on that day. And I thought, I have to be part of this amazing nation that has come together on this terrible moment. And, you know, 23 years later, I wrote a book to try and save this beautiful nation that I love so much, and that is my chosen country. And I really appreciate you having me on to talk about it, because I really believe that we can fix what's broken and it's going to take all of us to do it, but we are our own heroes. So thank you for being part of this fight with me and thank you for caring about America and to democracy. And thanks for having me on to talk about this because it means a whole lot.

A (42:30)

It's an honor to be part of this fight with you, my friend. You are a patriot. You, you are a warrior. You are persistent and you never give up. And I love that about you. Thank you so much everybody. The book is available for pre order now. It's called A Return to Common Sense by Lee McGowan. You can listen to her at the Politics Girl Podcast on the Midas Touch Network, our friends over at Midas. And of course you can follow her on all social media at iampoliticsgirl. Do you have any final thoughts before I let you go today?

C (43:04)

No. Look, here's the thing. We know what we're up against. We know what these choices are in November. And I think we can't take a single day for granted. So, you know, get out there, talk to your friends, talk to your people, learn the song and sing it to your people because I really think we can win this. And then if we keep democracy's head above water, boy, can we make some positive change.

A (43:27)

We sure can. Thank you so much my friend. Everybody, we have to take another quick break, but we'll be right back with the good news.

B (43:32)

Stick around after these messages.

A (43:34)

We'll be Red Bicycle hey everybody, it's ag. And if you enjoyed our recent Daily Beans episode called Red Pill Mill with Pulitzer Prize finalist and historian Garrett Graf, then you should definitely check out his chart topping and Peabody Award nominated podcast, Long Shadow, which recently dropped a brand new seven part series called Breaking the Internet. The new season charts the evolution of the Internet from the optimistic days of the dot com boom to our present moment featuring memes and moments you know, like when the world became transfixed by the color of a dress and others that you don't but should. Like how people sent death threats to the woman who posted that meme online. The podcast both scales the heights of Internet virality and plumbs the depths of social media's depravity. From Long Lead and prx, Long Shadow is the story of mankind's greatest invention and it's also the story of the biggest crisis facing society today. So don't miss out. Follow Long Shadow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening now. You'll be glad you did. Everybody. Welcome back. It's Time for the good news.

B (44:43)

Good news everyone then good news, everyone.

A (44:53)

Good news, good news. And if you have any good news confessions corrections, especially pronunciation corrections. If you want to play any animal guessing game, what the mutt, find the cat. What the hell's in that shell? What's the model of your axolotl? Opine on the bovine? What the heck? Wine? Or just send in your adopted shelter pup and we'll try to guess very poorly. By the way, what breeds are in there. You can do that. And if you don't have POD pet tax to pay, you can send us an adoptable pet in your area. We'll try to find them a forever home. And then of course, we love our shout outs. Like if you have a shout out to a woobi or a blankie or a stuffed animal that you've had in your family or that you've been toting around for the last 50 years, I want to know about it. Dana wants to know about it. Dana also wants to see, and so do I, your baby pictures.

B (45:34)

So go baby. Baby animals, baby people, I don't care. Baby trees, baby flowers, doesn't matter.

A (45:39)

Send them in. And, and, and because I mean especially like those ones where you're like holiday photos or like weird family photos. Those are so funny to me. I love those so much and they just bring so much joy. But send those in shout outs to a dissertation or a thesis that you wrote. Those titles are incredible and y' all are so smart, it blows me away. You got a shout out to a small business in your area, or your small business, or a friend or a loved one, a partner, a spouse, some. Some amazing activists doing community organizing in your area. Want to hear about them? And then, of course, shout outs to government programs. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Section 8, WIC, SNAP, and $35 insulin caps. $2,000 out of pocket a year. Costs for medications for seniors. Anything. Literally anything. And up to and including. And especially student debt forgiveness. Send it all to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. All right, our first submission is from Larry. Pronouns he and him. Good morning, Beans. Love the show. I only leave 15 miles from work, but some days it takes me an hour to get there because I'll take several laps just so I can listen to the entire show. I work at a public high school, and one day I was in the front office working on something and one of our assistant principals was hovering nearby. Finally he said, you like beans, do you? Huh? I replied. He said, I don't know you're just singing something about eating beans every day. It was at that point I realized I was singing your opening theme song out loud. Like beans. Do you? Oh yeah. Who doesn't? For my good news, I present to you my adopted grandson, Kahlua. My daughter and her boyfriend found him abandoned in a garage on a 110 degree day here in Arizona. And they nursed him back to health.

B (47:28)

Oh, the baby.

A (47:30)

He's now happy, hilarious, inquisitive and loving, and 1 years old. I am one proud grandpa. He has his own Tick Tock channel at Kitty named Kilua. K I L L U A. I'm not on Tick Tock because, you know, I'm old.

C (47:43)

Old.

A (47:43)

But I can only imagine that the picks are great. Larry.

B (47:47)

Guys. So cute.

A (47:48)

Okay, first of all, Larry, I want to know what high school you work at. Because I went to public high school for a minute in Arizona. I mean, mostly went to Catholic school, but for a while they were like, she's a witch burner. And they sent me to public school. But I would be kitten really interested to know, Larry, what school you work at?

B (48:06)

Also, Larry looks like a really cool dude.

A (48:09)

Yeah. Oh, look at this sweet baby.

B (48:11)

Yeah.

A (48:12)

Oh yeah, Larry. Rad. And what do you teach? Did he say what he teach? He didn't say what he. No. It looks like he teaches history. He's like one of those cool history teachers. Like, let me tell you about Vietnam. That's what he reminds me of. Thank you, Larry. If you care to write in and tell me what school it is and what subject you teach, I would love to know. I know Dana would too.

B (48:31)

I would. This one's from Jamie. Pronoun. She her. Hello fierce frajoles. I wanted to introduce you to the childless cat lady Starter kit. I'm currently fostering a pair of wonderful two month old kittens. They have been named Hope and Joy in honor of these foreign feelings I've had recently. And for the drawing Karen Hillian created during the dnc. Joy is in love with a resident dog and I have my fingers crossed that her forever family includes a pup. Oh my God, I love kittens all of a sudden. This is me, by the way, interjection, if any. I've always loved kittens, but these pictures are adorable. If anyone out there lives in central Florida. They are scheduled for spay on September 12th and are available for adoption on kindnessforcats.org thank you both for being the voices of hope and joy I cling to here in the reddish purple Florida. Yes, let's lean More toward purple. This is awesome, Jamie. And these kittens are freaking adorable.

A (49:27)

Oh, my God, they're so cute. Oh, look at the puffy tail. Oh, I can Love it.

C (49:32)

Love it.

A (49:33)

Thank you so much. All right, so we got some great cat pictures to start. Let's see where we're going next. This is from Karen Hallion. Art. And it's just. Oh, that's the photo. That's the joy and hope photo I'm talking about. Okay.

B (49:46)

Oddly, the next submission is from a Karen, though.

A (49:48)

All right, Karen. Probably not Hallion, but here we go. Karen. She her with short hair and a double mastectomy. Good news. Due to Medicare paying my half a million dollar cancer treatment.

B (50:00)

Good lord.

A (50:02)

Blood tests show I am cancer free now.

B (50:05)

Yes.

A (50:06)

Without Medicare, I could not have afforded this and I would have died. This is Ranger, who is up for adoption at Wild Rivers Animal Shelter. I'm fostering because he's the most snuggly, wonderful dog. He's young, and he was found tied up to a fence with a bag of dog food next to him, but obviously had not been fed enough. He's probably less than 18 months old.

B (50:27)

What is wrong with people?

A (50:29)

Who is this? Kristi Noem. Where do you live?

C (50:31)

Live?

A (50:32)

I've been working with a trainer, and he sits, he lies down, he stays. And he's working on passing his good citizenship test. He started out being very reactive, barking and lunging at both people and dogs. But now he's all wiggly and happy around people, good with dogs he's seen before, but still working on not barking when a new dog comes close to him. I have to leave to Oregon in a month, and I'm hoping somebody who will love him as much as I do will adopt him before I go so he doesn't have to go back to the shelter. I think he would like to be in a house with a fenced yard and another dog to play with. And you can go to wild riversanimal rescue.org oh, the baby face. Who would leave this dot? Who would. I don't. This is adorable. Thank you, Karen. Thank you. And congratulations on being cancer free.

B (51:20)

Indeed. All right, this one's from Anonymous. Fed, no pronouns given. Hi, lovely beans Queens. It was so great to see you at the live show. In response to Earl's mom, who was lovely seating companion, as well as to another listener that expressed their frustration with Texas ID laws preventing their trans child from getting a driver's license and a gender that differs from their birth certificate, I thought I'd make a shout out for a government program that many of our trans and non binary friends and family can use right now. Passports the Biden administration has made changes in the passport application process as well as the passports themselves in order to change the gender marker on your passport, including the new X gender marker for non binary citizens. All you now need is to do is check the box on the application that says you want to change the marker. No court order, bullshit, medical evaluation or doctor's note required for those in Texas and other such anti trans states. You can also get a passport card. It only works for Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean cruise border crossings, but if you want an ID and evidence of citizenship that matches who you are, visit travel.state.gov and click on US passports. If you plan to travel internationally, it's also a great resource for looking up whether the country you're traveling to is friendly or hostile towards LGBTQ community or has other issues such as banning literature for a particular faith. The GOP have been trying to block these changes with bullshit quote common sense in passports bills but haven't been able to get them out of the committees. Thank goodness. So I urge who want to utilize this amazing service to apply now for podpet tax I submit Our Derpy Planet Express crew Fry and Leela. Fry isn't much of a lap cat but does like to be lap adjacent. Leela on the other hand is a total cuddle bug. Her belly isn't a trap per se unless you consider being stuck petting it for 30 minutes once you start. If that's a trap, thanks for all you do and let's vote blue down ballot to make sure these policy changes can become permanent. Amen to that that Anonymous said.

A (53:35)

Yeah yeah. Grab a passport. All you gotta do is check the box. No bullshit. Thanks Biden and Harris. Next up from Kevin C. Hey there longtime listener and now subscriber. Thank you Kevin C. I was inspired to subscribe after what MSM did to Biden before he dropped out. I want to let you know that as a nurse practitioner and RN I have a massive student loan. Bills I'm talking in the mortgage a month range at 7%.

B (54:02)

Wow.

A (54:03)

Anyway, Biden's save program cut that down to under $1,000 a month which has allowed me to buy a house and have a kid. I am now able to fund my children's 529 accounts. That's for college ensuring they will never have loans like I did. Kevin C. Thank you so much for sharing that. Thanks for being an NP and an rn. I always for my primary care Providers. I always choose nurse practitioners. So thank you so much for the. For your service.

B (54:27)

Absolutely. This one's from Mike. Pronouns. He, him, dear fellow. So, Sebaceans. Is that right? Yes. I'd like to share my thesis title, Cooperating Artificial Neural and Knowledge Based Systems in a Truck Fleet Brake Balance Application. Wow. The real world implementation of the system won an Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence honor from the International association of Artificial Intelligence and the American association of artificial intelligence. In 1988, its story became a section in a book published by MIT Press. Nice job, man. Soon after, I founded a chapter of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility dedicated to fair and humane use of AI as the darpa. DARPA and similar other projects had more marsh. Excuse me, Marshall applications. My thoughts, probably shaped by Asimov, Clark, Heinlein and Adams, were that AI should be used for good, not evil. I agree. This explains why I am not just comfortably retired. Instead of running vast social networks, empires, putting rockets in space and causing EVs to randomly and spontaneously compost for my Popette tax, I would like to launch the inaugural what bees is deescalated? That's the segment. To wit, the Russian sage that invaded my porch area proved so attractive to bees and wasps that I've let it take over as habitat for all of these anthrophyllatic. Anthropoc.

A (56:06)

You got me. All things anthropic. Maybe bees.

B (56:09)

Anthropomatic. Sounds like these beers are Bees are giving blow jobs, so I'm gonna say it's anthropic.

A (56:15)

Maybe like pollinators. I don't know.

B (56:17)

Yeah. Oh, could be just spreading their seed. Okay. All day it hosts dozens of busy guys gathering pollen nonstop for the good of their respective colonies. I start here with a couple of easy guesses for you. The photo's attached. What bees is dees? Okay, I think I know what I know. Like honeybees and then bumblebees. That's as far as I go.

A (56:40)

Honeybee. Yeah, that's what I. That's all I got. Bumblebee. Honeybee. We got it. Woohoo.

B (56:44)

We are one for one on what d bees is. Ds one for one. Let the game end here.

A (56:51)

Yeah. And. And not feing bees.

B (56:54)

Anthropic.

A (56:59)

Oh, good lord. Yeah, Nobody wants that.

B (57:02)

Maybe other bees want that.

A (57:04)

Okay, but you know, probably not. Anyway, before we get too far in the gutter. Yeah, seriously, we're gonna have plenty of that tonight at the debate with Don, so.

B (57:15)

And I forgot again. I just got excited and nervous. I'm gonna have a pizza With Xanax on top.

A (57:20)

A Xanax pizza.

B (57:21)

Xanax pizza. That's what's for dinner. Caviar's delivering.

A (57:26)

I think we're gonna have Jamaican mules and maybe some coconut cookies or some other kind of cool snack. But we'll be watching it together with the Framley. So I'm looking forward to talking about it tomorrow with you. And thanks again to Lee McGowan. Go get her book right now.

B (57:42)

Now.

A (57:42)

A return to common sense. Let's put her on the New York Times bestseller list. Let's make it happen. Great holiday gift. Seriously, do you do this? I just buy books all year that I'm gonna give to people at the holidays.

B (57:55)

I don't, but that's a brilliant idea.

A (57:57)

Yeah, I just. Then I have, like, a closet of books, and I'm like, all right, who best goes with what book? And then I just started handing them out to, like, a little library. All right, everybody, I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. And, of course, there's a new episode of cleanup on aisle 45 out today. You'll want to check that out. And do you have any final thoughts, my friend?

B (58:16)

I do not.

A (58:17)

All right, everybody, we'll be back tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, Take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family. Vote blue over Q.

B (58:26)

And please take everyone you know with you.

A (58:28)

Yes. And tell them all to go to vote.org and check their registration status and tell them all to vote down ballot all the way.

B (58:34)

I've been AG and I've been dg.

A (58:36)

And them's the beans. Refried beans. I like refried beans.