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The Daily Beans
TRO-lapalooza (feat. Claudia Yoli Ferla)
00:48:27
Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 Today, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has denied Donald Trump’s bid to continue withholding federal grants; Donald fired the USAID inspector general one day after the IG released a report criticizing the dismantling of the agency; Judge Amy Berman Jackson has reinstated Hampton Dillinger as special counsel after Trump wrongfully terminated him; a federal judge in Boston expanded the restraining order against Trump cutting aid to the National Institute of Health; Trump has issued an order for a massive reduction in force of federal workers; Kash Patel lied to Congress when he said he didn’t have anything to do with the FBI and DoJ purge; a judge has ordered the CDC, HHS, and FDA to restore deleted web pages with health information; thousands of Danes have signed a petition to buy California from the United States; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:00]
Alison Gill
MSW Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Today, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has denied Donald Trump's bid to continue withholding federal grants. Donald fired the USAID Inspector General one day after the IG released a report criticizing the dismantling of the agency. Judge Amy Berman Jackson has reinstated Hampton Dillinger as special counsel after Trump wrongfully terminated him. A federal judge in Boston expanded the restraining order against Donald Trump, cutting aid to the National Institute of Health. Trump has issued an order for a massive reduction in force of federal workers. Kash Patel lied to Congress when he said he didn't have anything to do with the FBI and DOJ purge. A judge has ordered the cdc, HHS and FDA to restore deleted web pages with health information. And thousands of Danes have signed a petition to buy California from the United States. I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:18]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [01:24]
Alison Gill
Ah, hello. And on behalf of California. Yes, please. Denmark purchase the United States.
- [01:30]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, my God.
- [01:31]
Alison Gill
From the United States.
- [01:32]
Dana Goldberg
Trust me, I've honestly, and I don't mean to be like, devil's advocate. The moment that happens, Trump will make it so that our California passports aren't allowed in any other states. Like, it would be a disaster. Even though I would be all for it.
- [01:46]
Alison Gill
Yeah, no, I mean, it's not going to happen. Just kind of a fun tongue in cheek.
- [01:50]
Dana Goldberg
I know. So good.
- [01:52]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And it's also really against the Constitution. But anyway, lots going on on today. Much of it is going to be covered on today's brand new episode of cleanup on aisle 45 with Harry Dunn and me, including an update on the Treasury Payment systems restraining order. You know, that's where Musk and his Doge bags got access to like 4 trillion, $5 trillion in government spending. The charges have been dropped against Eric Adams in exchange for him, you know, rescinding New York as a sanctuary city.
- [02:25]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, boy.
- [02:25]
Alison Gill
Yeah. What a dick. There's a plea deal for Steve Bannon. No trial, no jail for Steve Bann. I'm super bummed. We talk about that on cleanup. And a pardon, of course, of Rod Blagojevich. And so it's just a fire hose of shit. Also, the reinstatement of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, who has a very cool name to the Office of Special Counsel after Judge Amy Berman. Jackson. Amy Berman. Judge Jackson, if you're nasty, found that he was probably wrongfully fired by Donald Trump because you got to have cause, right, in order to fire that person. So he's back in his job temporarily while they Hash things out in court.
- [03:02]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And also a federal judge in Boston, Allison, expanded his restraining order against Trump, cutting the National Institute of Health. It was just for 22 states that filed, but the judge has made that nationwide. And Trump just issued an order calling for massive reduction in force for federal workers, asking agency heads to cut anyone that's not essential or required to be there by law.
- [03:24]
Alison Gill
Yeah, and that's a massive order to cut a massive amount of jobs from the federal government. It's huge. It's sweeping. And he's going to say, he said that for every four that leave, you can only hire one. So there's going to be a. I'm sure a lawsuit any second now if there's not already against that. Also, Kash Patel lied during his confirmation hearing. I'm so shocked. I know who and when. He made a pinky swear, I guess that he didn't have anything to do with the purge of the FBI agents. And Senator Wyden sent a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz at the Department of Justice saying, hey, bro, I have credible evidence from multiple sources that Kash Patel was part of that. He was in on it. He heard all about it. He knew all about it. We'll see what ends up happening. I'm sure the Republicans won't give a shit, and they'll still put him in charge of the FBI, but, you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens. So lots going on there. And Andy McCabe and I, by the way, we're going to break that down in a lot more detail. Read a lot of the detail from Senator Wyden's letter on the next episode of Unjustified. All right, so, yes, there is a lot going on. We're going to break it down for you, obviously, with appropriate profanity. Thanks for listening. Do you know what, Dana? We have tens of thousands of new listeners to this show alone.
- [04:45]
Dana Goldberg
That's incredible. And I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that Blue sky allows outside links, because I know so many people are like, we just found out about you through Blue Sky.
- [04:54]
Alison Gill
Yeah. So welcome to the laguminati, all those new listeners and make sure that you send in your good news. We have this thing at the end of the show where we read listener submitted good news and you can submit all kinds of cool photos. You can do that@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. All right, we have a bunch of news to get to today. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, before we get to this first story from NBC, it was really interesting on Blue Sky, Will Stencil put out a little post and he, he was talking about the fact that, you know, Trump and Musk and his Doge bags are going around and they're canceling just contracts everywhere. Like it's nuking them into orbit is what, is what Will Stencil said. And let me just read you his post on Blue sky says, I just got a tip from a guy at FAA you'll never believe who is still getting new government contracts while all the contracts that the Department of Education and USAID and other agencies are being nuked from orbit. Well, I actually went in and looked up like I wanted to see all of the SpaceX contract awards. I found 13 contracts awarded to SpaceX since December.
- [06:09]
Dana Goldberg
Wow.
- [06:09]
Alison Gill
Totaling $77 million. I've posted them all on my Blue sky page. So you can go and check that out. All right. Now let's, let's get to the, let's get to the hot notes here because first up from NBC. A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's bid to pause a lower court's order that temporarily halted a massive freeze in federal funding. A judge in Rhode island on Monday blocked the funding freeze and ordered the government to immediately restore frozen funding. In its ruling Tuesday, a three judge panel for the 1st U.S. circuit Court of Appeals wrote that, quote, the defendants do not cite any authority in support of their administrative stay request or identify any harm related to a specific funding action or actions that they will face without their requested administrative stay. Now, Trump's Justice Department sought two different kinds of pauses on U.S. district Judge John J. McConnell's restraining order barring the government from continuing to implement its sweeping freeze on funding and another ruling that found that the government had violated the order. Lawyers for the DOJ contended in part that Judge McConnell's order was just too vague. But the appeals court suggested that you should, they should be patient. Just be patient, quote, we're confident the district court will act with dispatch to provide any clarification needed with respect to, among other things, the defendant's contention that the February 10th order bars both the president and much of the federal government from exercising their own lawful authorities to withhold funding without the prior approval of the district court. That's what the appeals court wrote on Tuesday. It said both sides should submit further arguments on the government's request for a stay, pending a full appeal by Thursday. The administration has asked the appeals court to rule on the full stay request by Friday, so I don't know. We'll see. But you know, this is also where one of the judges had decided that Trump was in violation of the restraining order because he had still had some funds frozen from the federal government.
- [08:10]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, it's all a mess. It is. This next story is from CNN. The inspector general of the U.S. agency for International Development. Well, he was also fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of Trump's administration's efforts to dismantle the agency. This is a source familiar. This is what they told cnn. Paul Martin was informed by an email from the deputy director. I'm surprised it wasn't a tweet at this point from the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel Tuesday evening that his position as inspector general of aid was terminated, effective immediately. A spokesperson for the USAID Office of Inspector General confirmed Martin's termination and said no reason was given for his ouster. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. I'm sure they haven't gotten that Martin had served as inspector general since December of 2023. In a report Monday, the USAID OIG said that the Trump administration's reduction of U.S. aid personnel in its sweeping freeze on foreign assistance had made it more to track potential misuse of US Taxpayer funded humanitarian assistance. Now, as we know, this is a breaking story, so we're going to be updating it as we get more information as soon as it's available.
- [09:25]
Alison Gill
Thank you. Thank you for that. And yeah, I think the inspectors general are also folks who have to have for cause termination. So I, maybe we'll see a lawsuit from Mr. Martin. Also from CBS, a federal judge Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration to restore web pages and data that had been scrubbed in compliance with Trump's executive order on gender ideology. While litigation moves forward, U.S. district Judge John Bates agreed to grant a temporary restraining order. It's, it's restraining order palooza, by the way. Right now we got more restraining orders than Matt Gaetz at a skating rink right now. So John Bates agreed to grant a temporary restraining order sought by a group of doctors called the Doctors for America, which argued that its members use the websites when treating patients and conducting research. The nonprofit organization said that the removal of the web pages by the Department of Health and Human Services and its components violated federal law. Bates found that the challengers were likely to succeed in their claims on the merits that the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and FDA acted unlawfully when they stripped medical information from public facing websites. It bears emphasizing who ultimately bears the harm of the defendant's actions. Everyday Americans and most acutely underprivileged Americans seeking health care. That's what the judge wrote. Citing declarations from two doctors filed in the case, Bates said, if they, quote, cannot provide these individuals the care they need and deserve within the scheduled and often limited time frame, there's a chance that some individuals will not receive treatment, including for severe life threatening conditions. The public thus has a strong interest in avoiding these serious injuries to the public health. His order directs the agencies to restore earlier versions of their websites by 11:59pm Tuesday. It comes after Bates held a hearing on the matter on Monday, signed on his first day in office. Mr. Trump's executive order on gender ideology stated that the US recognizes two sexes, male and female, and it directed agencies to remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology. Days after the president issued his order, the Office of Personnel Management issued a memo ordering all agencies by 5pm on January 31 to take down all websites, social media accounts and other public facing media quote that include or promote gender ideology. In response to the memo, the CDC and FDA took offline numerous web pages and data sets, including recommendations on how physicians should treat sexually transmitted infections and adult immunization guidance. While the wording on some websites was adjusted to adhere to Trump's directive allowing them to stay online, other information like Data from the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System was removed completely. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance system gone. The agency said in a banner on its main website that it was, quote, being modified to comply with President Trump's executive orders, unquote. Doctors for America filed its lawsuit against the health agencies on February 4, alleging they violated federal law, the one that governs the agency rulemaking process and another that requires federal agencies to ensure that the public has timely and equitable access to their public information. The group argued in court papers that its members relied on the scrubbed information to provide treatment, conduct research and inform public health responses on topics like youth risk behaviors, adolescent health and hiv. Doctors for America said some of its members were already experiencing challenges as a result of losing access to that information, especially from the cdc. In one instance, it said a Chicago based physician who works at a clinic serving low income immigrant families could not consult the CDC's website for resources on how to address chlamydia outbreaks at a local high school and bolster STI testing and prevention efforts. Another doctor, who is also a researcher at the Yale School of Medicine, said in a declaration she lost the ability to consult CDC resources about prescribing treatments. Quote, these doctors time and effort are valuable, scarce resources and being forced to spend them elsewhere makes their jobs harder and their treatment less effective. That's what the judge wrote. He said the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and FDA face a minimal burden if required to store access to health resources which have been available to the public for years. Quote, there's nothing in either the OPM memo or the record. And indeed, defendants proffered no information at the hearing to suggest restoration of the removed web pages would pose a burden on the agency's ability to engage in their work. Similarly, there's no information to suggest that restoring public access would even interfere with the agency's ongoing efforts to conform those resources with the president's executive orders. There's no burden, bro. This isn't hard for you. Basically, like, you have to show that it's, you know, like if somebody subpoenas you and they want every email you've sent since 1989, you can say that's overbroad and burdensome.
- [14:31]
Dana Goldberg
Totally.
- [14:32]
Alison Gill
And it is. But putting the websites back up like they were, no, sorry, it's not. The order from Bates comes as Mr. Trump's face numerous setbacks in the court stemming from lawsuits targeting his administration's actions. On Monday alone, five different judges took action that favored challenges to Mr. Trump's directives on birthright citizenship, a freeze on federal funding cuts to how medical research grants are funded, and his deferred resignation program.
- [14:59]
Dana Goldberg
All right, thanks, Allison. And last in this segment is from ktla. In response to President Donald Trump's continued musing about the US Acquiring Greenland and Denmark, Danish citizens have launched their own effort to purchase America's most economically prosperous state. An online petition seeking the quote, denmarkation of California seemingly garnered nearly 200,000 signatures with a pitch to Danish citizens that purchasing the Golden State would provide them with more sunshine, dominance in the tech industry, limitless avocado toast and easy access to Disneyland, which organizers say would be renamed to honor fairy tale author and poetry Hans Christian Andersen. This whole thing is fantastic. And I quote, have you ever looked at a map and thought, you know what Denmark needs? More sunshine? Palm trees and roller skates. Well, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality. That's what the petition organizers wrote on an online page. Danes who signed the petition are encouraged to chip in for the fundraising goal of $1 trillion give or take, which organizations say would cost every citizen of the Scandinavian nation approximately 200,000 DKK, or roughly $28,000. Seems like a good investment for the low, low price. Yeah. Executives from Lego and the cast of Danish political drama Borgin would negotiate the deal on behalf of the Scandinavian nation, and organizers said that they would throw in a lifetime supply of Danish pastries to sweeten the deal. Hell yes, it's the best fucking article. The petition is a tongue in cheek rebutt Trump's fixation on acquiring Greenland. And this is, as we know, it's a Danish territory, which he says is critical to America's national security interests. Is it? Republican legislators have also highlighted Greenland's access to natural resources like oil, gas and minerals as reasons. Aha, the US should prioritize acquiring the territory. The Danish Prime Minister called Trump's desire to obtain Greenland absurd, which led to the President canceling a trip to visit Copenhagen during his first presidency. Greenland's own leader mute. Help me out here.
- [17:16]
Alison Gill
Go ahead, mut eged.
- [17:19]
Dana Goldberg
All right, we're going to go with that. Echoed the statement saying it is not for sale. Since returning to office, Trump and his allies have renewed calls for Greenland to join the US with the President even saying the majority of Greenland citizens want to become American citizens. Do they? Although a recent poll of its citizens found that was not even close to true. While it's obvious that Denmark has no realistic designs of obtaining California, the petition plays on some long held disdain between the Golden State and the Trump administration. California voted overwhelmingly in support of the Democrat challenger in the last three elections featuring Trump. And Governor Gavin Newsom has spent time in recent weeks organizing legislative priorities to resist the President's agenda. Trump, meanwhile, has referred to California as, quote, a failed state. Really? Because I'm here and we're doing fine now. Losing California, which in itself is the fifth largest economy in the world, would be disastrous for the US it's one of the few states in the union that sends out more federal taxes than it receives and is also crucial component of the nation's agriculture, energy, tech, transportation, information and entertainment sectors. Just to sum up the last paragraph, we support red states.
- [18:34]
Alison Gill
Yeah.
- [18:35]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, that's what we do. So while the prospect might sound enticing for some Californians who are interested in the perks of Danish lifestyle, including bike centric infrastructure. Yes please improve public transit. Yes, please socialize, healthcare, baked goods and hike. H Y G G E Someone write in and tell me how to pronounce that. Hi. Not even a political adversary like Trump would Let the Golden State go without a fight. The same message organizers hope to convey with the petition. So that's going to force Trump to go? California is important to the United States. No, And I quote, as for the will of the citizens, well, let's face it, when has that ever stopped him? Meaning Trump? That's what the petition reads. In the meantime, California is in favor of becoming new Denmark. We'll just have to settle for a day trip to Santa Barbara county, home of the Danish capital of the usa.
- [19:30]
Alison Gill
Nice. I like it.
- [19:32]
Dana Goldberg
Great article.
- [19:33]
Alison Gill
That's great. What a great petition. Did you hear about the Republican representative who wants to change the name Buy Greenland and change the name of Greenland to red, white and blue land?
- [19:42]
Dana Goldberg
Stop it right now.
- [19:43]
Alison Gill
Yeah, yeah.
- [19:45]
Dana Goldberg
Guys are morons.
- [19:46]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I would. At first I thought it was an Onion article. No, I read the bill. Yeah, yeah, it's figures. All right, everybody, we have a really special guest today, and we're going to talk to her after the break. She's the executive director of Move Texas. Her name is Claudia Yoliferla, and we will talk to her in just a minute. Stick around, we'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Have you ever wanted to learn more about wine but didn't know where to start? Or maybe you've tried, but just. It felt overwhelming? That's where Naked Wines comes in. They've completely changed the game for learning about wine without having to take a whole class or anything. And what I love most about Naked Wines is how easy they make it to enjoy high quality wine and affordable, too. There's no commitment, no membership fees. You can pause or cancel anytime. It's perfect for someone like me who wants great wine without the hassle. Plus, their selection is always top notch. Whether you're into bold reds or crisp whites or something in between, they've got you covered. And let's mention the value. Let's talk about that. Because with Naked Wines, you're not just getting great wine, you're getting it at an incredible price because you're supporting independent winemakers directly, cutting out the middleman. You cut out that market markup that comes with traditional retail. Saves you up to 60% off what you would spend in the store. So it's a win win. You get amazing wine and the winemakers get support they need to keep doing what they love. One of my recent favorites is the Dunneling North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc. It's a 2024 wine. It's crisp, it's elegant, it's refreshing. Everything you want in a soft Blanc. It's filled with bright passion fruit citrus flavors. Makes it the perfect choice for a sunny afternoon or a cozy evening. It even sips like a breath of fresh air. It's wonderful. So if you're ready to dive into the world of wine without being overwhelmed, you got to give Naked Wines a try. They've been building relationships directly between winemakers and you for the last 15 years, and it shows. It's the perfect way to elevate your wine game without breaking the bank. So now's the time to join Naked Wines and the Naked Wines community. Head to nakedwines.com DailyBeans Click Enter Voucher and put in code DailyBeans all one word for both the code and the password for six bottles of wine for just $39.99 with shipping included. That is a discount of 100 bucks off your first six bottles. Again, go to nakedwines.comDailyBeans and use the code and password DailyBeans for six bottles of wine for $39.99. You'll be glad you did. Hey everybody, welcome back. Our next guest is doing the good Trouble. She's the executive director at MOVE Texas, a non profit organization cultural and political power of young people in Texas. She is a dedicated community organizer. She was born in Venezuela, raised in El Paso and she is a proud DACA recipient and community organizer. Please welcome Claudia Yoli Ferla. Claudia, welcome.
- [22:27]
C
Hi Alison. Thanks for the invite.
- [22:29]
Alison Gill
I'm so happy to talk to you today. You're really doing some incredible work. Can you tell us a little bit about MOVE Texas and what yalls mission is?
- [22:39]
C
Absolutely. And I'm actually going to take it a step back and share a little bit about me beyond just the biography that you read. And how does my story also connect to the larger mission of this amazing organization MOVE Texas that I have the privilege of leading every single day. But a bit about me. I'm originally from Caracas, Venezuela. Like you mentioned, I grew up in El Paso and my mother really came to this country with nothing but a suitcase and a dream. Growing up undocumented meant always trying to find that sense of belonging and in many ways living in fear that at any moment ICE could come knock on our front door and in a second shatter our sacrifices and our dreams. And it was really El Paso, this beautiful border community that unfortunately has been in the headlines over the last few years for the wrong reasons that helped her raise me. It was a community like El Paso who taught me about the fact that our community was safer not not despite of Immigrants, but because of immigrants like my mother and like myself. And it was really in community of other young people around me as we were fighting for the protections of the DACA program, where I found my own voice, my own purpose and my own power as an organizer. And I've dedicated pretty much my entire career in the last 10 years ensuring that young people have the resources and the tools and the support needed to ensure that their voices and their lived experiences and that their power, right, is front and center when we're talking about a conversation on democracy. And so much of my own story and the story of so many young people are really at the heart of MOVE Texas. MOVE Texas is an organization that works to build the political power of young people in what is one of the youngest and most diverse and most engaged states in the nation. Right? One out of every three eligible voters in Texas is a young person person. And MOVE Texas started by a few passionate students 10 years ago who were debate like, we're in a debate club at the University of Texas in San Antonio. And they said, hey, we have this really important city council election happening this year and we really should ensure that our peers and our classmates here at the UTSA campus can access their democracy. Essentially, the theory of change was simple. Registering young people to vote. Over the years, we've grown into a statewide organization that focuses on civic engagement. So we do still facilitate voter registration conversations all across the state. We are an organization that also builds the power of young people through our issue advocacy campaigns. And we like to throw it down on conversations around democracy, climate, justice, as well as gender justice. And more importantly, we're an organization that builds the power of young people by investing in them as leaders. Because what we envision our true theory of change to be is that it's not just about those first time voters. Right? It's about building lifelong organizers that this movement needs and about a fight. Right. For a democracy that reflects and includes all of us, regardless of our socioeconomic background, regardless of our race, regardless of our gender, and even regardless of where we're born. Because for so many of us young people, when we're seeing all of these conversations around policy, it's more than just policy, right? It's deeply personal. And so that's MoveTexas in a nutshell. We're young and we're hot.
- [26:00]
Alison Gill
Well, I love it. And I'm so glad that you started out with your story and your backstory. I was going to ask about that specifically because, you know, it's so important that we bring our lived experiences into our community organizing. It helps us focus on the kind of democracy and organization that we want to see, and it helps us kind of bring it down to our community level. And I wanted to ask you a little bit about that because right now especially, and we've been talking about this on the daily beans for a while, since the election, actually, how important community is going to be over the next four years. So talk a little bit about that before we get into. Because you know that's gonna lead into a conversation about othering and scapegoating and mass deportation and how that all fits together. So tell me a little bit about why it's so important that we really focus on communities and how we fit into them.
- [26:59]
C
So I'll start by saying that communities are essentially the formula for how we fight back fascism and authoritarianism, which is what is literally happening in this country today. And Texas is a great example of that. Right? We've lived under the last 30 years under the same conservative regime, right? A regime that has targeted our freedom to vote in the state, our freedom to choose if and when we want to have a family, our freedom to leave behind a livable planet for generations to come, and our freedom to just be our full selves and love whoever we want to love. And that is the reality of what we have faced in a state like Texas over the last 30 years. And I think that so many of the things happening nationally. Right. Are interconnected with the fight for Texas. And there are a lot of lessons to be learned and from Texas organizing. It was through community organizing and through community building that young people at MoveTexas have been able to register over 150,000 young voters and bring them into the fold in our democracy over the last decade. It was because of community and community organizing that organizations like MOVE Texas have been able to pass over 60 pro voter reform bills. Yes, in Texas, in 12 of the most populous counties in our state. And it's because of young people that we were able to flood the halls of power during our last legislative session in 2023 and bring over 350 young people in community to tell a loud and clear message at the youth at the Capitol that this building that is often making decisions about our schools, decisions about our lives, decision about our futures, decision about our bodies does not belong to the politicians, the lobbyists and the special interest groups, but it rather belongs to us, the everyday single person here in the state in Texas. And that is through community. Right? It is community organizations and communities across this country that right now are making sure that other people understand, you know, what are their rights, that other people are becoming aware of what's happening nationally and how all of these executive orders, which are meant to create confusion and chaos, actually impacts their lives, but also it's community who is essentially teaching and bringing others into the fold and who is essentially building that roadmap for how we fight back.
- [29:20]
Alison Gill
Right? Because democracy and building those coalitions isn't about a one and done election. It's an ongoing lifetime, full contact sport. And so it's very, very important, this work that you're doing. And I really, I have to applaud you for it. I want to get in now to what this regime, this administration is doing with regard to its othering. It's scapegoating. We've seen this language before in other authoritarian regimes, and we are seeing it now. And, you know, we have, we have Donald Trump going on TV and saying that he won the youth vote by 36 points, which is just patently false. How does that impact, how does that kind of disinformation impact the youth in Texas? Like to be like, no, we didn't. And then also how is everyone feeling? And not just feeling about, but also pushing back against the othering, the scapegoating that's happening because we've seen it. They blame with the. We can talk about the legal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, who were accused of doing whatever with people's pets or however you want to put it. But all that scapegoating and the dehumanization of communities and marginalized communities, talk about that.
- [30:35]
C
So I mentioned this earlier, but the point of all of these executive orders, Executive orders ranging from attacking our right to birthright citizenship, which is unconstitutional, it directly violates the 14th Amendment in this country, which is a cornerstone of our democracy. The executive orders also essentially calling for mass deportations, calling for ICE raids, amongst many other issues. The point is to create that fear, that point. The point of these is to create scapegoating. The point of this is to create confusion, is to create additional othering of community members that are just here, right, seeking, seeking a better life. And the, and the sad part about it, right, is that it's, it's, it's very intentional. It is designed, it has been designed under Project 2025 to create all of this, you know, to strike fear into communities and to essentially assault on people who are here seeking safety and opportunity. But what instead these politicians should be focusing on and every elected official from the highest office in our country all the way down to those local elected officials is actually addressing the real challenges in this country. Can we have a conversation about how terrible access to health care is in this country, about public education, making sure that our schools are well funded and that our students could actually learn, learn about their own history in the classrooms? And so many more things like climate, infrastructure, student debt, which is also a big issue for young voters, climate change, et cetera. And so, yes, the point is to create division. And unfortunately, the tool for that division is actually the disinformation machine that is controlled by the billionaire cronies that are in Trump's administration and who attended Trump's inauguration. Right. It's been, I think, really frustrating to see just how quickly false news on social media can circulate and how social media has also been weaponized. Right. Against our own very same communities who are speaking out in order to silence dissent. And I think again, even those who even support Trump, it is very important to also name that they likely also know and love somebody who is an immigrant. And so knowing nobody is safe. I think when we have a society that is this polarized, when we have a society that is this divided, nobody benefits on either side. And what we want to see and what the majority of the American people want to see are real changes and addressing the real issues that we face as everyday working class people.
- [33:22]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And also this kind of scapegoating makes all of us less safe because they're pulling agents from the Department of Justice and the FBI, from Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the dea. They're pulling local law enforcement, they're pulling all of the Foreign Agent Registration act agents, you know, all these people who investigate and take down actual bad guys to pull them out of their job and focus on the. A group of people who statistically, as proven, commit crimes at a much lower rate than Donald Trump, I mean, than native born Americans.
- [33:58]
C
But I would argue even creating division amongst our own communities. Right. I, you know, ever since the last, since the last election cycle, I fear sometimes telling people, hey, I'm from Venezuela, even people within, you know, that are allies in this space, because I think that that division, right, the rhetoric that we use to refer to immigrants, to women, to, to children, to people from all different kinds of backgrounds, it really, really, really deeply matters. And this is precisely why it goes back to the first question we talked about earlier around how community, right, is the formula for how we fight back against this rhetoric and how we fight back against this fascist and authoritarian regime.
- [34:40]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I agree. Would you do me a favor and let everyone know where they can find and follow you and Move Texas and support your organization.
- [34:47]
C
Yeah. So MoveTexas is on TikTok on Instagram, so you can just search us and you could also visit our website by typing movetexas.org awesome.
- [34:57]
Alison Gill
Thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it. I hope we have you back on to hear about more of the good work that you're doing in your community and also using that community to keep all of us safe from what is about to come down and what's already coming down. I really thankful for the work you're doing and I'm thankful for your time.
- [35:14]
C
Thank you, Alison, for the invitation. And if you're an immigrant hearing this, I have one last message for you. It's important for you to know that you are not alone, that there are leaders and organizations like MoveTexas who are fighting for your rights. And we want you to be a part of that fight with us. And more importantly, it's really crucial that you understand that you have rights under the Constitution, no matter what your immigration status is. And to all Texans and to the rest of this country that might be listening this, it's important for you to know that this fight is not just about immigrants. It's about who we are as a state and as a nation. And we must build community to reject policies that are rooted in fear, division, and stand together for a future where all people, regardless of their immigration status, are treated with dignity and respect. But thank you, Alice.
- [36:06]
Alison Gill
Thank you so much for that message, everyone. Executive director of Move Texas, Claudia Yoliferla. I appreciate your time today, everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news? Everyone? Then good news everyone. Good news, good news. Hey everybody. If you have any good news confessions, corrections, you want to play an animal guessing game like what the mutt? Find the cat opine on the bovine. What the hecwine? What the hell is in that shell? What's the model of your axolotl? The genius name of that game came from Dana Goldberg.
- [36:50]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you very much.
- [36:51]
Alison Gill
And it can either be model M O D E L or mottle M o T T L E. What's the model of your axolotl? Anything at all send it to us. Also shout outs to a loved one, a small business in your area. Some great community organizing on near you. Some community that could use support your small business. We want to hear what you're making and creating. Also self shout outs are wonderful so toot your own horn. You can send that to us as well. And shout outs to government programs, whether it's Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act, SNAP, WIC, Section 8, Head Start, free school lunches for kids, great VA health care you've received, and of course student debt relief. You can send it all to us. All you got to do to get your submission in is pay your pod pet tax with a photo of your pet pet or a photo of any animal or an adoptable pet in your area and we can see if we can find them a forever home. We also do bird watching, which could be an actual bird, or you and your family and friends flipping off Trump properties. That's another way to get your pod pet tax paid. And if you don't have any of that, you can send us your baby photos. We absolutely love baby photos. You as a baby, your kids as babies. A random baby on the Internet. Send it all to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact first up from Jen Pronoun, she and her hello Beans crew. I'm a new listener, another new listener and a new patron who've discovered y'all on Blue sky after the election. See Dana, you're right. It's from Blue Sky.
- [38:13]
Dana Goldberg
I love it.
- [38:14]
Alison Gill
I listen to you every morning on the way to work. I'm so grateful for your compassion and humor during this ongoing shit show. Special thanks for the attention you give to attacks on the trans community. I am a child psychiatrist who works with and advocates for trans youth and it's been heart wrenching to witness the challenges the amazing young people I take care of have gone through the past couple of years. So thanks for being another voice for them. Jen, thanks for doing the work.
- [38:39]
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely.
- [38:41]
Alison Gill
Anyway, to the good news. I live in New Orleans and like much of the city have been invested in the amazing story of Scrim the dog. To try to summarize, Scrim is a previously abandoned dog who was pulled from a kill shelter to Zeus's rescues, an amazing rescue here run by Michelle Cher Ami. She spent months socializing him before he went to his adoptive home. He immediately broke loose and spent six months on the run around New Orleans, outsmarting traps, powering through tranquilizer darts, surviving the summer and a hurricane sightings would be relayed to volunteers who would scour neighborhoods by grid to no avail. In October, the city breathed a sigh of relief as he was finally captured safely, only to see him make a daring jump out of a two story window weeks later and go back on the run. He has since survived a freeze, an historic snowstorm and Kristi Noem's visit during the super bowl this morning, I got on Facebook to see that he had been captured safely again. I texted my mom who's been following his story from California and then thought the beans. Ladies need to know about Scrim. Many of us, while happy he is safe again from the city streets, cheered on his quest to remain ungovernable.
- [39:58]
Dana Goldberg
Oh my God.
- [40:00]
Alison Gill
He has become an unofficial mascot in New Orleans, capturing the grittiness, resolve and rebelliousness of a city that has survived so much and serving as an emblem of resistance in a place that voted more than 80% for Kamala Harris, yet remains largely under and unrepresented by our state and national politicians. I'm sure he will be well represented in Mardi Gras parades and costuming this year. For my podpad tax, I've included a couple pictures of Scrim as well as a pic of my own pack Bernard the cattle dog mix, Mac the German short hair pointer named for Dr. John Pierogi the Golden Retriever and Thibodeau the Rottweiler. They are the best boys anyone could ask for and luckily don't seem interested in taking after scrim. Also included links for Zeus's rescues. If you want to know more about Scrim, check out the articles written by Doug McCash. You won't be disappointed. Disappointed.
- [40:51]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you.
- [40:52]
Alison Gill
Do I love Scrim?
- [40:57]
Dana Goldberg
Yes.
- [40:58]
Alison Gill
Oh my gosh Jen, thank you for telling us about Scrim. I hadn't heard and now I have to know everything about him. Look at these precious doggies.
- [41:08]
Dana Goldberg
Oh these are fantastic.
- [41:09]
Alison Gill
Look at Thibod's like hehehe. I know he's plotting something. I love this. Thank you so much Jen.
- [41:16]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you indeed. This one's from Claudia Pronoun. She and her A good news story is about my 85 year old mother. As a teen and young adult she and I had a pretty rocky relationship. She was a straight laced Catholic mom with very ingrained notions about how a girl should behave and I was a punk rocker. She was constantly telling me to tone it down and not rock the boat. Meanwhile, I was doing my damnedest to sink the boat and figure out how to swim to shore. After I eventually moved across the country and oddly enough, putting that 2,000 plus miles between us changed how we treated each other. Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Or maybe we both grew up a little and realized we could have a conversation that involved give and take from both of us without one trying to one up the other. Over time we grew even closer and discovered that we actually had quite a lot in common. Of late, we've begun talking to each other about our political views. We don't agree on everything, of course, but we are agreed in our dislike of the current felon in the White House. I'm not gonna lie, I was shocked when she me that she was disappointed she hadn't heard about the 50. 50. The 50. 51 protest.
- [42:25]
Alison Gill
Yeah. 50 cities, 50 capitals. Oh, one protest one day. Yeah, yeah.
- [42:31]
Dana Goldberg
Until they were over because she would have made her sign and gone to join them. Then she used her most stern voice and said, that man is a ass. Coming from a woman who never ever cusses, kind of made me giggle. My pet tax is a picture of our foster dog Penny using one of our small dogs Henry as a pillow. Also in the photo is another rescue hobo. Not pictured are Abby and Odie because all houses should have five dogs and two cats.
- [43:03]
Alison Gill
Claudia, oh my gosh, thank you so much for this. I love it. That man is a ass. That's so wonderful. And yeah, that is interesting how you move away and become closer. So thank you so much for this beautiful photo. Next up, from Amy Pronoun. She and her Good morning beautiful beans babes. You are both awesome human beings. I want to thank you for being gentle about farmers who voted for Trump getting fucked over. I don't know why they would vote for him given what he did to farmers last time.
- [43:33]
Dana Goldberg
Yep.
- [43:34]
Alison Gill
But I'm sure they have their reasons. Now they're getting seriously shafted. Margins are ridiculously thin in farming. Equipment, fuel, parts, feed, medicines are all very expensive. As a small farmer, we have never broken even. I could feel the panic of the farmers who are having this rug yanked out from under them. I'm sharing a picture of my milking Devon calf that was born on New Year's Eve. Oh, See, if you hadn't told me the breed, we could have opined on the bovine born on New Year's Eve. She doesn't have a name, but she's super cute. Thanks again for keeping us going through this ridiculous mess. And now we have a new game. Everyone name the milking Devon calf.
- [44:14]
Dana Goldberg
There you go.
- [44:15]
Alison Gill
This baby. Oh, little moo cow. Yeah, boy. The farmers are taking it on the chin. And that's why we've always subsidized farmers. It costs more to grow and produce food than it does to make it like it's just. It's just an under underwater proposition all the way around. And so good on you for being a farmer. And I really hope that we can continue our. Our. You know, I mean, we just have this huge proud heritage of agriculture in this country. I hope we can keep it going.
- [44:42]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, me too. Thank you, Allison. This one's from Sarah, pronounced She and her. Hello lovely beans. My name is Sarah. She. Her and I have some good trouble to share. As you know, Google recently changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in Google Maps. Did you know that you can submit corrections to Google Maps? It's pretty easy. Just search Gulf of Mexico and when presented with Gulf of America, hit the three dots to the right to submit your correction. You can also submit a review. I gave the Gulf of America 1 star review and said that it was much better when it was the Gulf of Mexico. Then I deleted Google Maps, Google Calendar and Chrome off all of my devices. We have to let every company that bends the knee to Trump feel the pain. Losing money is the only way they will listen. Amen to that. Thanks for continuing to defend democracy and stand up for underdogs everywhere.
- [45:31]
Alison Gill
Awesome. So if you were all wondering why we didn't have a good Trouble segment today, it's because I knew Sarah's post was coming. And so that is your good trouble today. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go leave a one star review for the Gulf of America because it was better when it was the Gulf of Mexico. And click those three dots and submit a correction. Thank you for that, Sarah. Next up, from Kobe Z. Pronouns he and him. Hey podcasters. Get it like the coffee maker. Okay, I'll be quiet now. I want to shout out my mom. She listens on your podcast almost every day and it brings her so much joy. I'm 15 and I know I'm not exactly the best kid she could have asked for, but I do love her. I love her so much and I'm not the best at showing it. So I hope she listens to this episode on her way to work and it makes her day a bit better. Kobe C. We have two dogs and I'd like to submit them both. The black and white dog is cinder. She's an 11 year old mutt, mostly Chihuahua. The other one is six or seven years old, is a mutt named Hazel. She's really naughty and likes to bark her face off whenever a leaf falls on the ground. I love you mom and I hope you know how much you mean.
- [46:49]
Dana Goldberg
Oh I love this kid. Out mom. Kobe.
- [46:54]
Alison Gill
This is amazing.
- [46:55]
Dana Goldberg
To his mom. Oh my God.
- [46:59]
Alison Gill
Kobe C. You're an angel. Look at these beautiful doggos. He shouted out his Mom. Dana.
- [47:07]
Dana Goldberg
I know. That was so sweet.
- [47:10]
Alison Gill
I love you, Mom. I hope you know how much you mean to me. Oh, my God.
- [47:14]
Dana Goldberg
That's so bad.
- [47:15]
Alison Gill
It's the best. Yeah. All right. Thank you, Kobe Z. I appreciate you. Anybody else got a shout out? Send it to us. Good news. Send it to us. Some good trouble. Send it our way. Dailybeanspod.com Click on Contact. Thanks to the amazing Claudia Yoli Farla for talking to me today. Just doing incredible work, Move Texas. And I appreciate all of that work that she's doing. Do you have any final thoughts today before we get out of here?
- [47:38]
Dana Goldberg
I do not. Thank you, my friend.
- [47:40]
Alison Gill
All right, everybody, make sure to listen to cleanup on aisle 45. It's out today. Me and Harry Dunn, you don't want to miss it. It and Dana and I will be back in your ears tomorrow. 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. I've been AG and I've been dg 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.