Strings Attached (feat. Stephanie Ruhle)

Summary

The Daily Beans - Episode Summary: "Strings Attached (feat. Stephanie Rule)" Release Date: January 15, 2025

Host/Authors: Alison Gill & Dana Goldberg

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Introduction

In the January 15, 2025 episode of The Daily Beans, hosts Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg delve into a myriad of pressing political and social issues. From high-stakes confirmation hearings to groundbreaking international ceasefire deals, the episode offers listeners a comprehensive overview of the latest developments shaping the progressive landscape.

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Major News Highlights

1. Jack Smith's Final Report Released

Alison Gill opens the episode with the release of Volume One of Jack Smith's final report. This report has significant implications for former President Donald Trump, suggesting that Trump "would have been convicted if he hadn't been elected" ([03:02] Alison Gill).

2. Patriot Front Ordered to Pay $2.7 Million

Dana Goldberg informs listeners about the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, being ordered to pay over $2.7 million to a Black musician for a 2022 attack in Boston. Despite no assault charges, the lawsuit filed in 2023 resulted in a clear victory for the musician ([04:11] Dana Goldberg).

3. Michelle Obama Skips Trump's Inauguration

A notable absence is highlighted as former First Lady Michelle Obama opts out of attending Donald Trump's inauguration. This marks the second time in two weeks she's missed a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses, alongside attendees like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton ([04:19] Alison Gill).

4. Mike Johnson Ties Wildfire Aid to Debt Limit

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced discussions about linking California Wildfire aid to the debt limit increase. This controversial move aims to "deliver Trump a debt ceiling increase sooner rather than later" ([05:20] Alison Gill).

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In-Depth Discussions

1. Pete Hegseth's Confirmation Hearing

The Senate Armed Services Committee's confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, becomes a focal point. Alison and Dana dissect the intense partisan split, with Democrats raising serious concerns about Hegseth's past comments on women in the military, allegations of sexual misconduct, and his stance on the Geneva Convention.

• Notable Quote: Senator Jack Reed stated, "the totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as a secretary of defense" ([07:00] Alison Gill).

Despite the backlash, Hegseth remains defiant, dismissing the criticisms as a "coordinated smear campaign in the left wing media" ([06:29] Dana Goldberg).

2. Debt Limit and Wildfire Aid Strategy

Dana elaborates on the GOP's strategy to leverage disaster relief funds for California Wildfires by making them contingent upon raising the debt ceiling. This tactic, met with bipartisan pushback, underscores the heightened political maneuvering surrounding fiscal policies.

• Notable Quote: Rep. Doug LaMalfa mentioned, "it may have no choice but to pursue that option" ([13:09] Dana Goldberg).

3. Biden's Ceasefire Deal in Gaza

Alison reports on the tentative ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas brokered by the Biden administration. The deal outlines a phased approach to hostages' release and infrastructure rebuilding in Gaza, with implementation slated under Trump's incoming administration.

• Notable Quote: Jake Sullivan noted, "I think the pressure is building for Hamas to come to a yes" ([13:27] Alison Gill).

4. House Anti-Trans Athlete Bill

The episode covers the House's passage of a GOP-led bill banning transgender athletes from participating in women's and girls' sports at federally funded institutions. With a narrow vote of 218-206, the bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate due to its close margins and potential filibuster.

• Notable Quote: Alison emphasizes the critical nature of the Senate vote, stating, "Senate Republicans have 53 seats. Typically that would mean that at least seven Democrats would need to vote with Republicans to hit the 60 vote threshold" ([19:33] Dana Goldberg).

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Interview Segment: Stephanie Rule on Economic Impacts of Trump's Policies

Alison Gill welcomes Stephanie Rule, host of The 11th Hour and NBC News Senior Business Analyst, to discuss the economic ramifications of Trump's policies and cabinet selections.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):

   • Stephanie explains the challenges of implementing a business-like approach in government, contrasting profitability in business with the government's mandate to ensure safety and security.
   • Quote: "Government and business are two very different things. The government's function is to ensure that people are physically safe, financially secure and socially free." ([26:01] Stephanie Rule)

2. Debt Ceiling and Wildfire Aid:

   • The strategic linking of wildfire aid to the debt ceiling increase is scrutinized for its potential to stall essential disaster relief.
   • Quote: "House Republicans have yet to decide on a path forward for addressing the debt ceiling in the coming months, with many fiscal conservatives opposed to doing so at all without steep corresponding spending cuts." ([15:18] Dana Goldberg)

3. Mass Deportation Costs:

   • Discusses the financial and logistical nightmares of proposed mass deportation plans, highlighting their impracticality and potential societal harm.
   • Quote: "The cost of mass deportation and the legality of around it, huge challenges." ([34:06] Stephanie Rule)

4. SEC Chair Appointment:

   • Criticism of Paul Atkins, Trump's nominee for SEC Chair, is voiced due to his pro-crypto stance and potential conflicts of interest.
   • Quote: "It's a red flag that they are currently conflicted, that they are deep partisan in an issue that will affect consumers across this country." ([36:14] Stephanie Rule)

5. Climate Regulation Elimination:

   • The removal of climate regulations is analyzed for its direct impact on insurance companies and homeowners, emphasizing the real-world consequences of deregulation.
   • Quote: "Climate change is real... Insurance companies are doing the math... they cannot afford to pay out these claims." ([40:47] Stephanie Rule)

Stephanie concludes by urging listeners to remain vigilant and make informed decisions about where they spend their time and money, emphasizing the influence of corporate dollars in politics.

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Good Trouble: Call to Action

Alison and Dana encourage listeners to engage in political activism by "writing and calling your Democratic senators to ensure they vote no on the anti-trans athlete bill." This segment underscores the podcast's commitment to social justice and political engagement.

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Good News: Listener Submissions

The hosts share heartfelt and uplifting messages from listeners, celebrating personal victories and community support:

• Shoutouts: Listeners express gratitude for the podcast, share pet photos, and recount positive experiences with government programs like ACA, student loan forgiveness, and more.

• Notable Submission: Shannon, a listener, shares her transformative experience with student loan forgiveness, highlighting the positive impact on her family's well-being and expressing frustration with opponents of the policy.

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Conclusion

In closing, Alison Gill reiterates the importance of staying informed and active in political discourse. She promotes the free audio version of Jack Smith's report and previews upcoming content, including the next episode of Clean Up on Aisle 45 and future discussions on The 11th Hour with Stephanie Rule.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Alison Gill ([03:02]): "I'm very excited about that."
• Senator Jack Reed ([07:00]): "The totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as a secretary of defense."
• Rep. Doug LaMalfa ([13:09]): "It may have no choice but to pursue that option."
• Jake Sullivan ([13:27]): "I think the pressure is building for Hamas to come to a yes."
• Stephanie Rule ([26:01]): "Government and business are two very different things. The government's function is to ensure that people are physically safe, financially secure and socially free."
• Stephanie Rule ([34:06]): "The cost of mass deportation and the legality of around it, huge challenges."
• Stephanie Rule ([40:47]): "Climate change is real... Insurance companies are doing the math... they cannot afford to pay out these claims."

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Stay Connected: For more updates and detailed analyses, visit mswmedia.com and follow The Daily Beans on their upcoming social media platforms.

Transcript

[Alison Gill]

MSW Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Today, Merrick Garland has released volume one of Jack Smith's final report. Pete Hegseth faced off with Democrats during the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. Biden has closed a deal between Hamas and Israel to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages. House Republicans have passed an anti trans bill that will endanger Americans. White supremacist group the Patriot Front has been ordered to pay millions of dollars to a black musician for a 2022 attack in Boston. Michelle Obama says she's skipping Trump's inauguration. And Mike Johnson is in discussion about tying Wildfire Aid to the debt limit. I'm Alison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Alison Gill]

Ah, hey, Dana. Happy Wednesday to you as well, my friend.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you.

[Alison Gill]

It's been a long week.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yes.

[Alison Gill]

And it's only Wednesday, so.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yes, it has.

[Alison Gill]

We have to kind of buckle in for what's coming. I am happy to announce that I think we will be able to launch our own little behind the beans social media platform for patrons. So that, that's fun. People don't have to stay on Facebook, my friend. My, my bestie's been working on this non stop and I think we'll be able to launch it by Inauguration Day.

[Dana Goldberg]

So I'm, that's amazing.

[Alison Gill]

I'm very excited about that. Also, we have a new episode of cleanup on aisle 45 that's out. Harry Dunn and I interview Olivia Troy. And the gloves come off because she used to be friends with Mike Waltz, who is now doing loyalty interviews as part of the presidential transition with the National Security Council members. So asking who they voted for and all that stuff. We talked a little bit about it yesterday, but we, we talk, we go in depth with Olivia Troy on today's cleanup. Later in the show, I'll be talking with the host of the 11th Hour, Stephanie Rule, and we're going to be talking about the economic impacts of Trump's policies and staff picks. And also for patrons, Harry and I are going to be hosting a mega happy hour Q and a this Friday, January 17, p.m. pacific, 7pm Eastern. It's also going to be kind of a birthday celebration for me because I'm, I'm not going to be celebrating my birthday on my actual birthday, which is January 20th.

[Dana Goldberg]

We're still going to be celebrating you.

[Alison Gill]

Thank you. But I was thinking about maybe, maybe Dana, we should do some like, counter programming to the inaugural. Like just put a live webcam on a dumpster fire or someone's cats that.

[Dana Goldberg]

Would be much more interesting than the inaugural.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, I could set up a kitty cat webcam.

[Dana Goldberg]

Why not?

[Alison Gill]

We could try that.

[Dana Goldberg]

But please, no dumpster fires before. I don't need a live cam of any fires right now. So let's do kittens or something that'll make people happier.

[Alison Gill]

Very excellent point. All right, so we have so much news that we have to get to today before we do good trouble, before we talk to Stephanie Rule, before we get to listener submitted good news. So much news, in fact, that we have to do some quick hits. And to make a long story short, first up, Jack Smith's final report says Trump would have been convicted if he hadn't been elected. The first free episode of the audio version is out. As I promised, I was up in the wee hours of the morning as soon as the report came out, which was just after midnight Eastern time last night. So I wanted to get that first audio version episode out. It is out. It is in the feed, the Jack podcast feed. You can listen to it for free instead of reading it if you prefer. And Andy and I are going to go over the key points, all the new stuff that's in the report on this weekend's regular episode of the Jack podcast.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much, Allison. Patriot Front, which is a white nationalist group, they were ordered Monday to pay more than $2.7 million to a black musician for an attack that occurred in Boston. Although no charges were ever filed in relation to the assault, Murrell filed a lawsuit against the group in 2023 and clearly won.

[Alison Gill]

That's amazing. Those dudes.

[Dana Goldberg]

Indeed.

[Alison Gill]

$2.7 million. I can't believe assault charges weren't brought against them, by the way.

[Dana Goldberg]

I know.

[Alison Gill]

Well, yes, I can. And former first lady Michelle Obama is going to skip the inauguration of Trump, the second time in two weeks that she's not attended a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses. But Obama, GW, Bill Clinton, they'll be there. So she also, she wasn't at Jimmy Carter's funeral is what they were saying. So I, I actually hope she's okay. Like, I'm not sure. There's not been any reason given for her not attending the inauguration. At first I was like, fuck, yeah, I have five. But I'm like, well, maybe I'm. I'm just hoping she's all right.

[Dana Goldberg]

I agree. It's. I would say it's a little bit unlike her. Not necessarily the inauguration, but definitely the funeral. So. And last, in this little section, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that flags at the US Capitol they're going to fly at full staff during President elect Donald Trump's inauguration next week. He says they'll be lowered again after the ceremony. And I also don't mind the optics and visual of that. We knew that he was going to do this with the flags in the Capitol. When I say don't mind the optics and visual, I mean of the flags going back to half staff after Donald Trump becomes president again.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And I thought for sure that it wasn't up to these guys, but apparently it is up to Mike Johnson.

[Dana Goldberg]

Gross.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, it is.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's just so damn disrespectful. And, you know, it's all about show and his ego. And I would say the exact same thing if we happen to be swearing in Kamala Harris, because I guarantee Kamala Harris would not be requesting these flags to go up to full staff.

[Alison Gill]

Of course not. And nobody would think less of her inauguration if she did.

[Dana Goldberg]

Nope.

[Alison Gill]

Anyway, I just wanted. Bunch of horrible people. All right, we have to talk about Pete Hegseth because his confirmation hearing was on Tuesday. So let's start with that in the hot notes. Hot notes, all right. From Alex Seitz Wall that NBC Pete Hegseth pitched himself as a change agent to lead the Defense Department while Democrats excoriated him as unfit for any military leadership post in the first confirmation hearing of President elect Donald Trump and his incoming Cabinet on Tuesday. I would take it a step further to say he's not even qualified to enter the military as a private. He, like at the. He won. He.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, I would agree.

[Alison Gill]

The Senate Armed Services Committee has typically been one of the least partisan on Capitol Hill, but its members split cleanly along party lines Tuesday as Democrats grilled Heg Seth on his past comments on women in the military and allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, and that he doesn't want to follow the Geneva Convention, which they got him to admit, which was quite scary, and that he wouldn't. He wouldn't commit to not sending troops after American citizens. It was awful. In his opening remarks, Hegseth said he would restore the Wario etho, the warrior ethos, whatever that is, and rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence if confirmed. But Democrats on the committee raised a long list of objections. Their concerns included an accusation of sexual assault, allegations of financial mismanagement of nonprofit veterans groups that he ran, his past opposition to women serving in combat, and his lack of experience running a large. His lack of experience running a small organization. I think the most he's ever been in charge of. He said was like 100 people. Hegseth dismissed the attacks as a coordinated smear campaign in the left wing media and refused to engage in questions about their specifics. Quote, the totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as a secretary of defense. That was Senator Jack Reed, top Democrat on the panel, who said Heth will be the first defense nominee he will vote against after almost three decades in the Senate. Quote, unfortunately, you lack the character, composure and competence to hold the position of secretary of defense. The contentious hearing, which was interrupted several times by protesters less than an hour after it began, set a tone that is likely to be present at the dozen hearings also scheduled this week as senators race to help Trump fill out his administration ahead of his inauguration Monday. Actually, it should say as Republicans help jam through his picks before the FBI paperwork comes back on them.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

Hegseth declined to meet with Democrats on the Armed Services Committee, except for Reid, suggesting he's more focused on consolidating support among Republicans than winning significant bipartisan backing. He cannot afford to lose many GOP votes in the narrowly divided Senate, though. The FBI background check on Hegseth, which the chairman and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee received late last week, does not include interviews with the woman he sexually assaulted, allegedly, or with Hegseth's ex wives, plural. And that's according to three sources with direct knowledge of the contents of the report. So this sounds like a Kavanaugh kind of FBI background check. Hegseth said that the relation was consensual of that assault, and his lawyer said he strongly felt he was a victim of blackmail. He was the victim of blackmail and innocent collateral damage and a lie that the complaint was the complainant was holding on to to keep her marriage intact. Then Senator Tim Kaine noted that the relationship occurred when Hegseth was still married to his second wife and shortly after the birth of a child resulting from a separate affair between Hegseth and another person. Quote, I'm shocked you would stand here and say you were completely cleared when you can so casually cheat on your second wife and cheat on the mother of your child you had fathered two months before. @ each one of your weddings, you've taken an oath to be faithful. Is that correct? Just like you would take an oath to be faithful to the Constitution. As Secretary of Defense, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has championed victims of sexual assault in the military, pressed Hegseth on how he could lead an organization where about 18% of active duty troops are women and a large portion are Democrats. Tammy Duckworth, former Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs when shot down in Iraq, raised her voice as she pressed Hegseth to answer the questions he tried to evade. Quote, you say you want to keep our forces strong by not lowering standards for women. She said, then let's not lower our standards for you. And at one point when Hegseth was asked about the alleged rape, he said, I'm not a perfect man. That should just be disqualifying on its face.

[Dana Goldberg]

The whole thing was disgusting. Tammy Duckworth's questioning of him, despite his in incredibly morally corrupt personality and human being that he is, he has zero idea when it comes to military things, where countries are located, who's a part of what coalition. It was embarrassing. I'm so glad that she just to see him questioning that. And then the Republicans, this guy on the other side going senators show up drunk every night to do a vote. Are you going to get rid of those? And if, if, if, you know, we're going to dismiss every senator who cheats on his wife. I'm grateful for mine, forgiving me or I might be in prison. I'm like, what the Mark Wayne Mullen.

[Alison Gill]

The guy who said that Matt Gaetz partied too much.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh my God.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And then Sheehy who was like, tell me how, what's the caliber of the pistol that you carry in and how many bullets does the car.

[Dana Goldberg]

How many push ups can you do, Sir?

[Alison Gill]

I did three sets of 47. Did you hear that? Did you catch that? 47. What a lick spittle. But I do just want to thank the Democratic senators on the Armed Services Committee who stood up and fought today despite the odds.

[Dana Goldberg]

Absolutely.

[Alison Gill]

Despite the fact that he will probably get pushed through and confirmed. But they stood up and fought for the American people today. And I, I appreciate that.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, absolutely. Allison. This one's from Politico and this one infuriates, obviously because I'm in this area right now. It's just disgusting. The fact that they're holding money hostage is basically what's happening. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed two reporters Monday that there's been some discussion of tying California Wildfire aid to a debt limit increase after GOP members raised the issue with Donald Trump in several meetings at the President elect's Florida resort this weekend. The notion that Congress could make the release of disaster relief dollars conditional upon also agreeing to raise the debt ceiling. It's already facing pushback from some Democrats and I wish it said all but many California Republicans, including Rep. Doug LaMalfa, said in a brief interview Monday that they may have no choice but to pursue that option. Given the potential urgency around addressing the Los Angeles fires, paired with the reality that the nation could default on its borrowing authority in a matter of months, linking the two issues together could bring a larger coalition of support to the table from both sides of the aisle and allow Johnson to deliver Trump a debt ceiling increase sooner rather than later. Notice that that was the function, to deliver Trump a debt ceiling increase rather than sooner than rather than later instead of getting help to the wildfire sooner rather than later.

[Alison Gill]

And not to mention, when Democrats are in power, they never want to raise the debt ceiling. Never. And they will try to default and threaten government shutdowns. And now they're like, now we're not going to send you money to the wildfire areas unless you raise the debt ceiling so we can have our tax break for wealthy people.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's disgusting. Lamov also noted, however, that it will, quote, take a little time to assess the damage in California and estimate how much money will be needed on top of the hundred billion dollars Congress made available for natural disasters at the end of last year. He added that a bipartisan negotiation over wildfire aid and the debt ceiling could actually be a positive exercise for lawmakers early in the year, but it could also be complicated and quickly grow unwieldy. LaMalfa, the chair of the Congressional West Caucus, said he expects lawmakers from states that were hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including North Carolina, to also press for more federal disaster relief money if wildfire aid is also made available. Ultimately, House Republicans have yet to decide on a path forward for addressing the debt ceiling in the coming months, with many fiscal conservatives opposed to doing so at all without steep corresponding spending cuts. Johnson, who's a Republican from Louisiana, has pushed to include a debt limit increase as part of the massive budget reconciliation bill Republicans are pursuing to enact new border security, energy and tax policies. But several House Republicans during their Sunday night dinner with Trump at Mar a Lago specifically raised the pitfalls of addressing the debt limit in reconciliation packages. That's according to two House Republicans who were in the room and were granted anonymity to share details of a private conversation. Trump also appeared open to raising debt limitations as part of a government funding bill Congress must pass by March 14 to avoid a shutdown. This is all from one Republican now, johnson told reporters. We'll see where it goes, acknowledging that he personally supported putting conditions on California Wildfire aid, he said. That's my personal view. Off on your personal view.

[Alison Gill]

What a piece of shit. All right, next up from Margaret Brennan at cbs, a draft deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and hostages release has been agreed to in Princip and if all goes well, will be finalized by Israel and Hamas. This week. Arab and U.S. israeli officials said this to CBS News. If final details are approved and the Israeli government also votes to approve it shortly thereafter, implementation of the deal could begin this weekend, US and regional sources said. That means President Biden's long sought ceasefire deal could come together in the final days of his presidency and incoming President elect Donald Trump would oversee its implementation. Sources tell CBS News that the parties have begun drafting public statements of success and hopes are high on all sides. In Doha, the talks have been underway for the past few weeks and we're continuing Tuesday. Biden's top Mideast advisor, Brett McGurk had been in the region for the better part of a month working to close this deal, coordinating on a regular basis with Steve Witkoff, who had been tapped by Trump to be the special Middle east envoy. Witkoff was in Israel over the weekend for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Qatari prime minister is set to meet Tuesday with Mossad Director David Barnia to help finalize the details of the agreement. While the Biden administration has been drafting a detailed plan for the so called day after the Israeli withdraw in Gaza, its implementation and enforcement would be left to Trump. Privately, U.S. officials acknowledge this plan for governance is aspirational and it would be up to the Trump team to help shape the future of Palestinian Gaza and pressure the Netanyahu government and Hamas to adhere to the deal. Quote, I think the pressure is building for Hamas to come to a yes. And I think Israel also has achieved a huge amount of its military objective in Gaza and therefore they're in a position to be able to say yes, that's Jake Sullivan. Sullivan said Israel and Hamas had been close to a deal before and things fell through. But on Monday there was a, quote, general sense that this is moving in the right direction. The new deal consists of three phases. According to a copy viewed by CBS. During the first phase, which would take place over 42 days, a ceasefire would happen. Hamas would release 33 women and children hostages as well as hostages over 50. And for each woman or child hostage returned to Israel, Israel would release 30 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. Hamas would release all hostages over 50 years of age. And Israel would release 30 Palestinian prisoner for each 50 or older. That release is released from the other side. On the first day of that ceasefire, Hamas would release three hostages. On the seventh day, Hamas would release four. Thereafter, Hamas would release three hostages taken from Israel every seven days, starting with the living and then moving on to return the bodies of those who have died during the exchange of hostages and prisoners. There would be a complete ceasefire in Gaza to allow aid to enter the draft. Viewed by CBS News said this International aid groups the United nations would resume operation in Gaza and reconstruction of its infrastructure like water and electricity and sewage. That would all begin. There would also be negotiations over the next phase of the deal. The second phase would involve the release of all the Israeli male hostages and the withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza. The third phase, which would be partially negotiated during earlier phases, would include the exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and prisoners, the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza and the opening of its borders.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much Allison. This last one is from cnn. The House voted on Tuesday to pass the GOP led bill that would ban transgender athletes from women's and girls sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions. The legislation is expected to next be taken up by the GOP controlled Senate. The House vote was 218 to 206 with two Democrats voting in favor and one Democrat voting present. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Queller of Texas were the two Democrats who voted for the bill and Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina was the present vote. Republicans put a tax on Democrats over transgender issues front and center in competitive races during the last election cycle, including at the top of the ticket with President Elect Donald Trump, and I would like to say they put lies about transgender issues at the forefront.

[Alison Gill]

Thank you.

[Dana Goldberg]

In the aftermath of Trump's White House win, some Democrats have said their party must do more to address potential voter concerns, concerns that they have literally made up. This isn't the first time Congressional Republicans have advanced this piece of legislation. During the last session of Congress, House Republicans passed the bill by a vote of 219 to 203 down strict party lines, but it was not taken up by the Democratic led Senate. Now Republicans are bringing it back to the Senate under GOP control. Now it's not clear if the bill will be able to pass the Senate and likely face an uphill battle in the chamber due to the tight margin of bipartisan control. Senate Republicans have 53 seats. Typically that would mean that at least seven Democrats would need to vote with Republicans to hit the 60 vote threshold to advance a bill subject to a filibuster. What Scares me is that unfortunately, several Democrats voted in the Senate to allow a bill to go through to pass that said children of military people, if their children are trans, they do not have access to health care for their trans children. Democrats signed it and it went through. So I am a little nervous about this 7 seat, you know, swing on this one, to be honest with you.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I'm going to agree with you on that. And that brings us to today's good trouble.

[C]

Hey, we're getting trouble.

[Alison Gill]

Yes. Pretty simple today for good trouble, your mission, should you choose to accept it, write and call your Democratic senators. Make sure they vote no on this bill.

[Dana Goldberg]

You know, one of the things that I heard was AOC say, how are you going to enforce this? If this has a bill has to be enforceable? Because if you have a bill that's not enforceable, then you allow anything, anything to be used to enforce this. So that's what's scary about this is what, what are you going to have grown men walking into restrooms, checking gender, you know, checking genitalia with the, with these athletes. Any, any girl that happens to look more boyish, tomboyish is going to be to being what a trans could be a trans boy. Any boy that happens to have long hair like this is absurd. The whole thing is, I don't think you understand how many CIS kids, if you are worried about protecting them. And I know some of you listening have opinions about trans girls playing sports. I understand that. But I hope that you understand enforcing a bill like this is actually going to put more CIS girls in danger than trans athletes because there are many more CIS athletes that are going to go through gender checks. Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

When I was nine, I was mistaken for a little boy a lot.

[C]

Me too.

[Alison Gill]

What are they gonna ch like a grown man is gonna check my genitals. And I'm not gonna be traumatized by that.

[Dana Goldberg]

Even if it's not a grown man, Even if it's a woman.

[Alison Gill]

Anybody? Yeah, it's.

[Dana Goldberg]

So I want people to really think about this. If they for some reason are like, yeah, this is a win for, you know, women's rights and safe spaces for women. It's not. It's putting our kids in danger.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, absolutely. So call your senators, tell them to vote no. That's the good trouble for today, everybody. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to be right back with the Host of the 11th Hour, Stephanie Rule. And we're going to talk about the financial impacts of some of the Trump policies from Project 2020. Five and his staff picks. So stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.

[Dana Goldberg]

We'll be right back.

[Alison Gill]

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[C]

Hey there. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. Happy New Year.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, Happy New Year to you. I am so glad you're here because I have been very, very concerned since the election, really? About?

[C]

I don't know anybody who is. That's weird.

[Alison Gill]

Only about one thing, though. No. About the economic impact of a lot of these Project 2025 policies, a lot of the Cabinet picks that he's choosing. And I wanted to ask you your thoughts, because every time you run your business analysis, I'm, like, riveted because it's so clear and it makes so much sense. And I wanted this to be kind of broken down in layman's terms, which you are an expert at. So let's start with the Department of Government Efficiency. Right. Or dodgy. Yeah. Because I'm very concerned about, obviously, they're already walking back some of their promises on how much money they're going to cut, you know, how they're going to gut the government. How is that going to impact our economy? I'm thinking about the loss of jobs. I'm thinking about, like, there's a million different things.

[C]

So I think, as it relates to doge, don't get your knickers in a twist just yet. I think that a lot of the ideas the DOGE guys have are not dissimilar to sort of your classic, you know, tech entrepreneur, finance guy, kind of libertarian, survival of the fittest views of sort of, well, can't we take a business approach? And lots of people love this idea in the abstract. Like, you know what? Government never seems to work properly, and they are always running these big, big deficits. We need a business approach. But here's the problem. Government and business are two very different things. Right? For a business, your goal is to optimize profitability, right? While pleasing your shareholders, while making sure your employees don't quit and making sure people buy your stuff. The government has a completely different mandate. Right. The government's function is to ensure that people are physically safe, financially secure and socially free. Right. It's the government's job to. To create a framework so we can live successfully and thrive. Right. That framework is not compatible with how do I operate like a business and optimize things. Now, that being said, yeah. I think we would all agree that the government's too fat. And I think when people say, well, look where the country shifted to, or a lot of the things the DOGE guys want to do, people like the idea. They think the government doesn't function and there's too much fat in Washington. And in theory, you're darn right there is. However, the panic people are feeling like they're going to Gut the government. Everyone's going to be out of work. Like, don't get so worried just yet, because at the end of the day, DOGE has no power. Right? DOGE is. I'm not going to say it's a fictional agency, but it has no mandate, it has no teeth. Even the president, who has executive power, much of the things they want to do, one group of people get to decide. And that group of people are the members of Congress. Okay. And we see it while they're trying to go through budget reconciliation. So, sure, there are lots of people in this world, more math focused people that would say, the Social Security system's bankrupt, we are running out of money. We need to have entitlement reform in theory. Then when you actually go to put that into practice, people across the country who've been paying in to the Social Security system are saying, like, hell, I'm gonna do that. So all of these lawmakers that, you know, want to have a meeting with Elon Musk, and they think he's so cool and they think he's so smart, and they are afraid that he will finance a primary challenger. All of that is true. What they're more afraid of is going to their home district and saying, I'm cutting all of these programs and I'm going to cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. So I think these five weeks are getting a lot of people distressed because you're watching all sorts of folks kind of yucking it up down at Mar a Lago, where the incoming president has been crowned, and they're having parties and they're buying drinks. This whole party is gonna start next Tuesday after the inauguration, when Donald Trump is likely on a plane or locked away, heading to Davos to kind of run his victory lap with business leaders. But that's when Congress is going to work. And just yesterday, I met with a former Trump administration official who said that the last time around, from sort of December 15th on, nobody except Trump and his family were even at Mar a Lago. Sort of. That incoming administration was working with Congress to figure out, what do you want over here? What do you want over there? Because I want to get these corporate tax cuts. And so just this idea that we had this sweet, we, meaning Republicans, that, you know, we had this sweeping win. We're going to get everything done. They won by the narrowest of margins. And, and, and when we actually see them put DOGE into practice, let's see when it happens. Right. Like, one of the first things they want to do is demand that Federal government employees go back to work. They could be very successful at this. We're actually seeing it happen. Corporate America, mid sized businesses, small businesses across the country are putting in place that their employees go back to work. And we know, we hear from people in government in Washington. It's been a huge challenge for cities like Washington D.C. because federal employees haven't come back to work. Now, many employees might not like it or they might not return to work. So that could be something we see Doge push early on that we might see at least from the employer, not employee base, we might see big support for that. Like the government will go first in kind of doing the dirty work and demanding this because there's all sorts of corporate leaders that in the last three years have been trying to get their employees back and have not been able to.

[Alison Gill]

You mean like from home telework into back to the office?

[C]

Correct. And we have seen a shift, right? We saw a shift in the last few years that employees for the first time in a very long time had a lot more power. We saw, you know, unions negotiate some of the best deals they had in American history in the last few years. We're now seeing that shift. And it's interesting because Joe Biden, you could easily argue, was the most pro union president in history. And by and large he had support from union leaders, but not union rank and file. And now you're starting to see the employers that shift back, they're getting more power. And so I think we could see early on Doge be kind of leaders in pushing this idea to get employees back to work. But I think that is going to be met with support from corporate leaders and I don't know how it's going to work out. You know, a few years ago there was huge fear that employees were just going to quit and look for remote work elsewhere. We don't see evidence of that much. We're seeing more and more employees, unfortunately, whether they like it or not, go back to the office.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, yeah. And I think you bring up a really good point because like Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Donald Trump, they don't have to contend with being reelected.

[C]

Correct.

[Alison Gill]

But Congress does. And this is where I'm trying to see, because I remember Mike Johnson at one of the, I don't know, Republican House candidates fundraising parties saying, oh yeah, we're going to end that, you know, project or whatever. We're going to shut down this, you know, stuff from the inflation Reduction Act. And the guy's like, no, no, no, no, no, we want to keep that. We want to keep that. These congresspeople have to get reelected. So it's going to be very interesting to see how they pull that off.

[C]

You bring up such an important point and I'm not saying the sassy. He is lame Donald Duck. He is a lame duck president. He's got two years before the midterms and he cannot run again. And all these lawmakers need to. And while they are worried about Elon Musk primary thing primaring them, remember a lot of those far right primary challengers didn't win.

[Alison Gill]

No. Yeah, no, you're right now. So that's gonna be a struggle and it's gonna be interesting to see how it plays out with the razor thin margins in Congress, obviously. But I also wanted to talk a little bit about this mass deportation plan that would just cost billions and billions of dollars. We saw a bunch of private prison owners snatch up land down in Texas and Arizona and start building these facilities. We're seeing a lot of that in preparation for this. But in like practically like in practicality, I just don't see it working out the way that the people who voted for Trump are hoping that it's going to work out, mainly again because of the bureaucracy is just so big and there's so many hurdles to get past. I think it'll be a failure, which would for me be a success because I don't want it to be to work. But what are your thoughts on the like just the costs of this type of mass deportation? Again, they're supposed to be the stewards of taxpayer dollars. They want to cut, you know, spending in the government, but not this. It's mind boggling.

[C]

So the cost of mass deportation and the legality of around it, huge challenges. But something I think we do have to come to terms with. The country has shifted right when it comes to immigration. Now, that doesn't mean that the country has shifted to we all want mass deportation, but I think all sorts of voters who don't have a political affiliation and even some who lean who are left leaning. Like, look at places like New York where you had areas like the Bronx, you had areas in New Jersey, in Long island that are forever voting blue start to turn red. The sentiment around immigration in this country has shifted. And while we could say that it's morally reprehensible that the governor of Texas and the governor of Florida put migrants on those buses and sent them to different cities, it was a big political win for them. So I don't necessarily think we are going to get the mass deportation plan that Donald Trump threatens. But remember, even Donald Trump's threat works for him to an extent. Like we will likely see the numbers go down and we saw the numbers of people crossing go up when Joe Biden won. And so I don't know that Donald Trump is going to enact mass deportation. It would be hugely disruptive, hugely damaging, cost prohibitive. It would hurt our labor markets, it would hurt our economy. But Donald Trump's taking a stronger stance on immigration, I do think will be met positively by more than half of the country.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, I think it's more of a just the thing about getting elected than anything else which now has happened. And again, like you said, he's a lame Donald Duck. Let's shift gears a little bit. Talk about the SEC chair. I believe his name is Paul Atkins that has been tapped by Donald Trump. Crypto fella. Yes, sec. Talk about, first of all, just basic stuff. Why is the SEC there and why would you put Paul Atkins in charge of it?

[C]

Well, I mean, it's funny. Cryptocurrency is something that for years Donald Trump thought was silly nonsense, funny money, Ponzi scheme made no sense. And a lot of people feel that way. A lot of people are pro crypto. But I think even though those who are pro crypto would be pro smart regulation. And I think it's fair to say that the current SEC chair, Gary Gensler, was extremely, extremely conservative on all things crypto. And then you had the likes of an Elizabeth Warren, and I think it's fair to say she's anti crypto. And so there is sort of this middle constructive lane of finding a way for crypto to be a success in the future. But you can't forget one of the reasons it was funny. Eric Trump has this somewhat famous line that after January 6, when banks weren't willing to deal with the Trump family, that's when they got into crypto. Is that not telling? When those who have good reputations and who have know your client values and ethics don't want to do business with you and crypto is waiting in the dark corners for you, it means it's not good. And it's dangerous that you're putting someone who is super, super pro crypto. I mean, we saw more crypto corporate dollars in this election than we have ever seen before. And let's be clear, they gave money to VP Harris and they gave money to Donald Trump. Much like those who are super invested in artificial intelligence, the future of crypto is largely decided by regulation Donald Trump does not actually have any ideology as it relates to crypto. He now has business interests in it, that he and his family now have their own crypto exchange. And it will be telling if we see this big push into crypto without any regulation. And what happens when the crypto universe loses all their money? Will there be a safety net for them the way the FDIC is for traditional banks? It's very, very dangerous. Listen, we all love to have no guardrails when we're teenagers at the party, and then when all the furniture gets broken and thrown in the pool, then we're crying and saying, who's going to help me before my parents get home? The landscape we're about to enter with crypto could be dicey. And having somebody who is so outwardly pro crypto is one of the things we should pay close, close attention to. All of these people joining the Trump administration, it's not necessarily a red flag that they have business experience. It's not necessarily a red flag that they're very wealthy. It's a red flag that they are currently conflicted, that they are deep partisan in an issue that will affect consumers across this country.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. And I also wanted to ask you because this kind of feeds into. The final topic I wanted to talk about is, like, the elimination of climate regulation that we're going to see over the next four years and how that impacts things. I think one of the biggest guardrails, because we've seen this happen before for, is consumer buying power. For example, California buys the most cars in the universe, so we are actually the ones who kind of set the emissions standards. How is this going to go, the battle between the consumer power and what Donald Trump wants to do with this? Because, as you know, I live in Southern California right now, we're fighting raging wildfires. And Donald Trump has shown in previous administrations he doesn't want to send money to areas that didn't vote for him. He had to be told by Olivia Troy, hey, Orange county actually voted for you, bro. You need to. Oh, well. Oh, in that case. So I want to just get your thoughts a little bit on that sort of consumer power versus what the policies. Trump is going to try to implement that battle.

[C]

That's like his current stance on TikTok. Oh, I hate TikTok. Oh, the Chinese own it. They're done. Oh, wait. TikTok worked for me. The election, I'm into it. I think the best way for me, at least, to look at climate and climate regulation and business, take ideology out of it. If you want to, if you want to believe in climate change and I don't want to believe in climate change, put that aside. Look at the insurance companies and look what they're doing. So when the insurance companies cancel policies, it is because they believe that the risk is so high in that area that there will be a natural disaster, whether it's a tornado or a hurricane or a fire, that the numbers don't work out, that they cannot afford to offer these policies to people.

[Alison Gill]

It's kind of like pre existing conditions.

[C]

Yes, yes. So there's a direct link. So you can say like, oh, this is all silly nonsense. No. Right. It's why you're seeing. Right. Insurance companies aren't just canceling policies willy nilly. Right. So California in the 1980s, the long story. But, but put a cap on how much insurance companies could charge. Like put a cap on insurance premiums and then fast forward insurance. You know, climate change is getting worse. Winds are getting higher, temperatures are going, winds are increasing, temperatures increasing. And insurance companies are doing the math. They can only charge X, but the likelihood that something like wildfires will happen is now Y. And it has gotten so high that, that they're saying the math doesn't work out, that we can afford to pay out these claims. So then the, the liability will fall on that of the state and things are about to get really, really complicated. And I understand that people have this gut reaction to be really mad at insurance companies. That's totally fair. In the same way that it's infuriating dealing with healthcare insurance. But in terms of homeowners and fire insurance and climate change, those companies are paying attention to climate change and they're paying attention to regulation. And that lack of regulation, which will lead to more climate related natural disasters will then impact one's ability to get insurance and buy a home and live in that state that you know and love, I. E. A California or a Florida. Florida. So call it climate change or not, go try to get insurance on your house and you'll know if you've got regulation in your state.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, 100%. And like you said, take the politics out of it. I mean, Rick Perry got rich on wind energy and then wanted to eliminate the EPA down in Texas. So it's, if you follow the money, it kind of, it starts to make a lot more sense. You know, the insurance companies know, the Pentagon KNEW in the 1990s, I was in the military. They're like, we gotta reinforce Norfolk. We got problems down in Orlando. Climate change is real sea Levels are rising. And so, yeah, that's. You look to stuff like that. Army Corps of Engineers, insurance companies, people who are actually guardians of money. It changes, I think now more than ever.

[C]

Of course I'm going to say this, but I really believe. Follow the money has never been more important. Right. Just take yourself back to the Citizens United decision. Okay. Year by year by year, every passing year, more corporate unlimited dollars being flushed into politics. Lawmakers are going to make decisions based on who pays their bills. Okay. And how they're getting elected. And now that we are seeing an unprecedented amount of corporate dollars in politics, we are going to see an unprecedented amount of corporate influence in the laws and rules and regulations that get set by our lawmakers.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, agreed. And I really look forward to your analysis in the coming four years. It's going to be more important than ever. And I appreciate you coming on today. Any final thoughts before we let you go? I think that sums it up.

[C]

No, I would just say pay attention. Right. People don't necessarily need to be in a state of despair. They don't need to be in a state of panic. Pay attention. And I guess the one thing I would say is if everything is a business decision from the government, remember where you spend your dollars and how you spend your dollars. Right. The one thing I would say is take a look at the changes that were just made at Meta in the last week. Right. We just took all the guardrails off because it's a short term, really good decision for Mark Zuckerberg.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right.

[C]

When Donald Trump is in office, Mark Zuckerberg doesn't want to have to fact check Donald Trump's posts. He doesn't want to have to take them down. He doesn't want to put a bar on the bottom that says this is not true. He made a short term business decision because he's got an FTC case that he wants to go away. My final thought would be pay attention to where you spend your time and spend your dollars. And remember, you are part of business decisions for those companies. And so if you want those companies, if you want those lawmakers to make decisions that suit you, think about where you're spending your time and your money, because that's what matters. Follow it. You are at the end of it.

[Alison Gill]

Yep, that's that buyer power I was talking about. That'll come to loggerheads. Thank you so much, everybody. Tune in to the 11th hour on MSNBC. It's really been an honor to talk to you. I've been watching you for so long. I appreciate Your time today. Stephanie Rule.

[C]

Alison, thank you so much for having me.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone? Then good news everyone. Good news. And if you have any good news confessions corrections, especially pronunciation corrections. I know we get a lot of stuff wrong, so we really appreciate those gentle corrections. You can send those to us along with any shout out that you might want to give to a loved one, spouse, kid, parent, family member, community member, a self shout out. We love self shout outs and shout outs to government programs like the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, the Head Start, Section 8, any government program that's helped you or a loved one, and of course student debt forgiveness. As you'll know, Biden just forgave another 150,000 people student debt. So if that's you, if you're one of them, let us know about it. We want to hear about it. Those are some of the most uplifting stories. And then of course, all you got to do to get your good news or shout out submitted is to submit your POD pet tax, which is a photo of your pet. And if you want us to guess the breeds in your shelter pup, let us know, we'd be happy to try. We're very terrible at it, but we love it.

[Dana Goldberg]

We do have fun.

[Alison Gill]

And if you don't have a pet, you can send us an adoptable pet in your area. We'll try to find him a forever home. And if you don't have that, any animal photo will do. Really? And if you don't have an animal photo to send, attach a baby picture. We absolutely love baby pictures, so send those to us. Pay your tax and you're in. You're in at the good [e-mail] and click on Contact. First up, Roaster Jack. Hello Ag and crew. I'm writing to let you know there is a coffee care package on the way as a thank you for being on the air through everything. I've drifted to and from other news pods, but I've always come back to yours. You do a great job and you're making a difference. Don't let anyone tell you different. I'm sharing a lounge pic of my two large dogs in one of their favorite places during winter. Camped out in front of our wood stove. Thanks a ton. And for some reason I'll ask the producers. I don't see the photos. Do you have photos in yours?

[Dana Goldberg]

I do not.

[Alison Gill]

All right. Well, we'll. We'll check on that. Because I want to see.

[Dana Goldberg]

I can already smell the coffee. I know if it's coming my way, not just yours. We'll find out.

[Alison Gill]

I'm excited. Excited. Every time I run into you, I'm like here. Like I have like a bag full of stuff of stuff people sent.

[Dana Goldberg]

So here is the next one from William Pronouns. He, him, Hi Queens, Oda, Beans. I hope this qualifies as good news, but I'm like to shout out the Daily Beans podcast. I've been a rabid at times politics fan, but eight plus years ago of beat down on Twitter turned all of my interest off. Then along came Blue Sky. It single handedly renewed my interest in politics and led me to subscribing to the Daily Beans podcast after not having anything resembling news from other outlets. Your podcast is the first one I listen to every morning without fail. It's refreshing and honest. And you swear. Thank you for giving me more hope than I've had in a while. My pod pet tax are my two Boston terriers, Albert the big guy and Maggie the little one. Albert was named after avant garde jazz saxophonist Albert Ehler and Maggie named after the Simpsons baby character. Both have since passed on and I miss having dogs terribly, but it's just not in the cards currently. Long story, keep doing what you do. I appreciate it very much and these little guys are so cute.

[Alison Gill]

Oh William, thank you. I'm sorry you've lost these babies and man, thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. Blue sky is pretty cool I gotta say. And any minute now, like I said, we're gonna have a brand new Daily Beans behind the beans only social media platform. So it's gonna be super leftist with a lot of swearing but it's gonna be a lot of fun so people don't have to stay on Facebook. Owned by Fuckerberg.

[Dana Goldberg]

Lovely.

[Alison Gill]

So thank you William. Thank you for those kind words. Next up, school librarian Ruth Pronouns. She and her java juice. Ladies, my good news is school is back in session. We had a heck of a winter storm. 12 inches of snow right before school was to return in January. Ugh. As a teacher and a mom, I was looking forward to going back to school. Thankfully the road crews have made it safe to return. Thank you road crews. My podpet tax, I provide you three photos. My 14 year old daughter enjoying the snow days. My house hippo. I painted her with a self claimed hilarious bikini. LOL. And my 6 year old orange chunk of Cat Crookshanks on his perch, me watching his tv, the front window. Thanks for all you do. Oh, beautiful daughter, beautiful hippo. And hey, Crookshanks.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my goodness. Thank you very much for the submission. Okay, this one's from Janelle. Pronouns she and her. Hello, queens of the beans and the entire amazing team that helps put us all somewhat sane in these crazy times. Longtime listener to an enthusiast of all three pods. Normally, I listen to the beans while walking. My bestest boy, Ollie. I changed it up a bit today by listening to Pete Hegg says confirmation hearing, insert gagging noise. As a female veteran, I'm sickened by this farce. I'm pretty sure any passersby who notice my very physical reactions have called the authorities to pick up the crazy lady before she hurts someone. To top it off, Ollie insists on making me walk past this ridiculous flag almost every day as pod pet tax. Please enjoy me doing some bird watching and my bestest boy doing what he does best.

[Alison Gill]

The flag.

[Dana Goldberg]

I love that. And. Oh, my God, the flag is ridiculous. It's just like if you. It actually looks like if you mix Trump with some sort of, like, action figure and Cobra Kai.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. Oh, my God. Oh, that's so dumb. The dog. I'm gonna focus on the dog. Adorable puppers. And yeah, Janelle, that hegseth hearing. I as you know, veteran, military, sexual trauma survivor. It was. I. I couldn't watch it. I started just following what Anna Bauer was live. Blue skying it, lives going it. Who knows biskying it. I don't know. Whatever you say. Because I just couldn't listen to him. He's just such a. Oh, it's just really triggering. Yeah, I'm with you, Janelle. Thank you for that submission, Sandy. Pronoun. She and her. I recently left my job in the corporate world because it conflicted with my values and was giving me a ton of stress. I want to thank the ACA for being an option for health care coverage while I find myself a position I can sleep with at night. Keep fighting the good fight, ladies. My podbet tax is Tucker, who is black lab dachshund mix rescued from a kill shelter in Alabama. Tucker is a certified therapy dog and brings smiles to everyone he meets. Yeah. A lab doxy mix.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my God, he's cute.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, he's a beautiful, sweet, sweet, sweet baby. And I'm with you, Sandy. I left a corporate job in 1999. 19. 2000. 2001. I was an auditor for a major corporation, saving the CEO and the shareholders millions and millions of Dollars. And I was like, I don't like this.

[Dana Goldberg]

Left my corporate job in the city working for the man every night.

[Alison Gill]

Yep, we like to do it nice and rough. Yeah. So I'm with you, Sandy.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. This one's from Dennis. No pronouns coming from Dennis. Oh, I know. Hello, Beans. Queens. I had a thought for some big time good trouble. I know it's wishful thinking, but Biden could use some of that presidential immunity to give Jack Smith report to a dozen or so world leaders under the pretense of intelligence sharing and international security. Probably just a pipe dream, but it may makes me feel a little bit better to play make believe if only for a moment. Here are a couple photos of the Squintin Tarantino and Beatrix Cato.

[Alison Gill]

Beatrix.

[Dana Goldberg]

I guess Beatrix Cato, Squintin Tarantino and.

[Alison Gill]

Beatrix Catto instead of kiddo. Oh my God. Excellent name. So kill Bill fan here. Look at the baby.

[Dana Goldberg]

Love it.

[Alison Gill]

And I love that it's squinting Tarantino because look at his one eye is all kind of funky. What a beautiful baby. All right, next up from Shannon pronouns she and her. Oh, by the way, yeah, that would be cool if. If Biden would like wield some immunity, but the Supreme Court would say that he doesn't have it right. A bunch of dicks. All right, Shannon pronoun she and her. Hi. I was a lucky recipient of student loan forgiveness under the Biden administration.

[Dana Goldberg]

Nice.

[Alison Gill]

It happened for me in November 2023. I had no idea it was happening, so it was like the best gift I've ever received. My payments were over $300 a month and I'd been paying for easily over two decades with no proof I'd ever paid a dime because the balance never seemed to go down. I went through this period of unemployment after a layoff, so at the time I was able to put the loan in forbearance, but interest still accrued. Mind you, these days I make pretty good money. But like anyone else, that was not my only bill to pay. So things were pretty rough at times. There was no wiggle room for me financially and of course I had been enjoying the relief of the COVID deferments on payments and was dreading the end of that reprieve. I can't thank President Biden enough for this. As I said, it was the greatest gift. Without that monthly student loan payment, I've been able to fix up things in the house, have a savings account and stop worrying about not being able to buy meds and groceries. I was able to give My doodle, Malcolm chemo when he was diagnosed with lymphoma and did so great through treatment. And we have many more adventures over the months. Included is the last picture I ever took of Malcolm. To those people pissing all over themselves about student loan forgiveness, I just say calm your asses down. It's not going to affect you. I'd worry more about Cinnamon Hitler's fucking tariffs because you're really going to need to be able to afford those fucking groceries when those hit you, you feckless twat waffles. Well said, Shannon. That's a beautiful. Fuck around and find out final statement. And look at the beautiful baby.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, man. I have to be honest with you. I am worried about these terrorists with the rebuilding of Los Angeles, Altadena, the Palisades, all of these supplies and materials that they need to get. I do hope that there is enough made in the area. And I have a feeling people are going to come out of, literally and figuratively, the woodwork to help these communities rebuild. But I do worry that these tariffs are really going to make it harder.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And I also worry about unfettered corporate landlords coming in. And they're already doing. Yeah, but which was, you know, lessons, best practices. Because this. They tried. They're doing that in Maui. Yeah. For the Lahaina Town fire.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. It's just disgusting.

[Alison Gill]

Despicable. Greedy faces ruin the world. We can't have nice things because of them. Dana.

[Dana Goldberg]

All about money.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, they're too. It's. It's a class war, not a culture war. These people. All right, that's enough. It's my sweary part. Apart from the good news. Thanks to Stephanie Rule. She's so awesome. Thanks for coming and talking.

[Dana Goldberg]

She really is.

[Alison Gill]

She's so smart about money and. And business and the economy. So it was really good to get her analysis of. Of what these Trump policies, how they're going to negatively impact us and where the guardrails are. So I appreciate her for that. Do you have any final thoughts today, my friend?

[Dana Goldberg]

Not today.

[Alison Gill]

All right. I just want to encourage everybody to listen to that free Jack Smith Volume 1 audio version. It's in the Jack podcast feed. Free for everybody. Wherever you get your podcast, I want to get it out to as many people as possible. Maybe go on a walk in the morning and listen to it. The way Jack Smith writes it, it's. He's really compelling and he's got a lot more chutzpah than Rob Mueller ever did. So I think you'll appreciate it. Thank you. So much for listening. Enjoy the new episode of Clean up on aisle 45 today with Harry Dunn and Olivia Troy and we will be back in your ears tomorrow for the Daily Beans. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health and take care of your family.

[Dana Goldberg]

I've been AG and I've been DG.

[Alison Gill]

And them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Alison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media.