Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 Today, the conservative President of South Korea invoked martial law which was quickly voted down by Parliament; TEN current and former Fox News employees tell NBC News that Pete Hegseth’s drinking is a problem as at least six Republican Senators tell NBC they’re not comfortable supporting him; the Trump transition team has signed the agreement with the Justice Department allowing FBI background checks to begin - but will it make a difference; Elon Musk has lost his bid to get his $56B bonus check from Tesla; the judges in the Hunter Biden cases have dismissed all the charges following the pardon; the Supreme Court will hear arguments today on Tennessee's efforts to ban puberty blockers and hormones for trans teens; a Wisconsin judge strikes down a Scott Walker era attack on union rights; and Allison delivers your Good News.
Wednesday, December 4th, 2024
Today, the conservative President of South Korea invoked martial law which was quickly voted down by Parliament; TEN current and former Fox News employees tell NBC News that Pete Hegseth’s drinking is a problem as at least six Republican Senators tell NBC they’re not comfortable supporting him; the Trump transition team has signed the agreement with the Justice Department allowing FBI background checks to begin - but will it make a difference; Elon Musk has lost his bid to get his $56B bonus check from Tesla; the judges in the Hunter Biden cases have dismissed all the charges following the pardon; the Supreme Court will hear arguments today on Tennessee's efforts to ban puberty blockers and hormones for trans teens; a Wisconsin judge strikes down a Scott Walker era attack on union rights; and Allison delivers your Good News.
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and a big shout out today to Helix Sleep. Helix is offering 20% off site wide plus two free pillows with any mattress purchase when you go to helixsleep.com DailyBeans hello and welcome to the Daily Beans for Wednesday, December 4th, 2024. Today, the Conservative president of South Korea invoked martial law, which was quickly voted down by parliament. 10 current and former Fox News employees tell NBC News that Pete Hegseth's drinking is a problem, as at least six Republican senators tell NBC they're not comfortable supporting him. The Trump transition team has signed the agreement with the Justice Department allowing FBI background checks to begin. But will it make a difference? Elon Musk has lost his bid to get his $56 billion bonus check from Tesla. The judges in the Hunter Biden cases have dismissed all the charges following the pardon. The Supreme Court will hear arguments today on Tennessee's efforts to ban puberty blockers and hormones for trans teens. And a Wisconsin judge strikes down a Scott Walker era attack on union rights. I'm your host Allison Gill. Hey everybody, Happy Wednesday. The first episode of cleanup on aisle 45 is out with Harry Dunn and me, so I hope you give it a listen. It's free wherever you get your podcasts and if you want to support what Harry and I are up to, you can get ad free versions of the show when you sign up to be a patron@patreon.com aisle45 pod that's a I S L E45 P O D I think we're going to have really good shows going forward in the future. Judge uh Norika has dismissed all the charges against Hunter Biden pursuant to the full pardon issued by Joe Biden. Those are the Delaware charges, the gun charges and Donald Trump's transition team has signed the MOU with the Justice Department. MOU is a memorandum of understanding paving the way for the team to seek and FBI background checks on the president elects appointees. The agreement announced by the Trump team on Tuesday outlines the terms of cooperation between the transition team and the Department of Justice, marking a significant step in preparation for the incoming administration. Although is he going to order these background checks if they're automatic, they go to him, Is he going to give a shit about them or just throw them in the trash can like he did during his first Term with folks like McEntee and Kushner and like, way more than that. And will the FBI be able to, if they find crimes, look any further? Or will it be like the Kavanaugh tip line where they just aren't looking any further into it and just give it over, uh, to Donald Trump? And will the Senate, you know, who does confirmation hearings, will they be getting the results of these FBI background checks so that they can use them in the confirmation hearings? Or is Trump going to completely circumvent the confirmation hearings and advice and consent of the Senate by using recess appointments, by getting Mike Johnson in the House to vote to go into recess? And if, you know, if the House and the Senate disagree, the tiebreaker is Trump. So that's out the window. Or if they can't get the House to vote for this and recess appointments, will he just shove in interim, you know, acting people into these positions without advisor consent of the Senate under the Federal Vacancies Reform act, which he violated 10 ways till Sunday during his first term. So, you know, yay. But also, we can't rely on norms we haven't been able to for the last eight years. I mean, we did, we could rely on them when President Biden was in office and is in office, but not anymore. So, anyway, he signed the thing, but I don't think it makes a liquor difference. His signature isn't worth the paper it's signed on. And Trump's pick for DEA has withdrawn himself from consideration after just a couple of days because conservative Republicans are actually mad at him for enforcing COVID lockdowns during the pandemic. So he's not horrible enough, I guess. And Harry and I are going to discuss this in more detail on next week's cleanup on aisle 45 as we go over these picks. And, you know, I don't know that Heg, Seth, by the time you listen to this podcast, he may have already withdrawn his name for consideration for Secretary of Defense. And I'll tell you why a little bit more in the hot notes. And speaking of hot notes, we'll get there in a second. But I wanted to encourage you all to go to my, uh, substack. It's called Mueller She Wrote Dot Com. It's called the Breakdown. I have released another chapter of my unpublished book. It's called the Star Thrower. I hope you enjoy it. It's free, by the way, but I would love it if you would go and read it. All right, now, let's get to the news. We have a lot of it to get to. So let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, next up from the Associated Press. The South Korean government early Wednesday lifted the martial law imposed by far right President Yuk Yeol during a tense night of political drama in which troops surrounded parliament and lawmakers voted to reject military rule. Police and military personnel were seen leaving the grounds of parliament following the bipartisan vote, and the declaration was formally lifted around 4:30 in the morning during a cabinet meeting. Yoon, who appeared likely to be impeached over his actions, imposed martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate, quote, anti state forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communists in North Korea. Sound familiar? It should. Less than three hours later, parliament acted with National Assembly Speaker Woon Won Cheek declaring that martial law was invalid and that lawmakers, would, quote, protect democracy with the people. In all, martial law was in effect for about six hours. The president's surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition. And the leader of Yoon's own party now Lee Jae Myung, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300 seat parliament, said the party's lawmakers would remain in the assembly's main hall until Yoon formally lifted his order. Wu applauded how troops quickly left the assembly after the vote. Quote, even with our unfortunate memories of military coups, our citizens have surely observed the events of today and saw the maturity of our military. That's what Wu said while announcing his plan to lift martial law. Yoon continued to criticize parliament's attempts to impeach key government officials and senior prosecutors. He said lawmakers had engaged in, quote, unscrupulous acts of legislative and budgetary manipulation that are paralyzing the functions of the state. Jong Le, a democratic lawmaker, claimed that security camera footage following Yun's declaration showed that troops moved in a way that suggested they were trying to arrest Lee Woo and even Hon Dun Hung. That's the leader of Yun's People Power Party. That's the far right party. Officials from Yun's office and Defense Ministry did not respond to request for comment. Early Wednesday, seemingly hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon's impeachment. Now. Some protesters scuffled with troops ahead of the lawmakers vote, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage. At least one window was broken as troops attempted to enter the assembly building One woman tried to unsuccessfully pull a rifle away from one of the soldiers while shouting, aren't you embarrassed? Under South Korea's constitution, the President can declare martial law during wartime warlike situations or other comparable national emergency states that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order. It was questionable whether South Korea is currently in such a state. This is what I'm worried about with our incoming administration. A declaration of the Insurrection act, which you can only do when there's a rebellion or an invasion. But the language, the rhetoric that Trump has used in, you know, during this campaign and in the past, when he, when he declared that some jurisdictions, um, back in his first term were anarchic jurisdictions, which therefore allowed him to send the military out. Remember the unmarked vans and the low flying helicopters, unmarked cops. Yeah, I remember that. And then, you know, he's been saying, we're under invasion from the open borders, we're under invasion. These radical Marxist communists, et cetera. This rebellion, we have to quash it. He's using that language. That was all in that letter yesterday from Blumenthal and Warren, those two senators, to, um, to our Secretary of Defense and President Biden. But, yeah, this, this emergency state, this didn't exist here and it didn't exist in South Korea. It doesn't exist here. But I'm very concerned about there being a declaration. Right. And so that's why we get to Pete Hegseth in a minute, who was all for invoking the Insurrection act, but Esper wasn't, remember? And he got fired. And then McEntee made sure to, when he hired Chris Miller, the new Secretary of Defense that was there when the attack on the Capitol happened, that he was cool with the Insurrection act, but apparently it never happened. So anyway, that's kind of where we are. But, you know, also Trump wanted to send the military against American citizens that were peacefully protesting during the George Floyd protests. He was like, shoot him in the leg. Department of Homeland Security was like, no. And then, so then he, he got other federal police agencies like Bureau of Prisons and the national park and stuff to go out and do this stuff unmarked. Right. So what will he do this time? I'm going to go back to the article here. When martial law is declared in South Korea, special measures can be employed to restrict the freedoms of press, the freedom of assembly and other rights, as well as the power of the courts. The Constitution also states that the President must oblige when the national assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a majority vote. Following Yoon's announcement, South Korea's military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause social confusion would be suspended. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said this and the military said anyone who violates the decree could be arrested without a warrant. Right here we call that suspending habeas corpus, right? And I, I've talked about that as well, and I'm concerned about it. In Washington, the White House said the US Was seriously concerned by these events. In Seoul, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden's administration was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean government. Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said there was no effect on the more than 27,000 U.S. service members based in South Korea. They're not confined to base or under any type of curfew now. Soon after martial law was declared, the parliament speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to come back to the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to remain calm and hold their positions. And all 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. At one point, television footage showed police officers blocking the entrance of the national assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building. An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the assembly grounds while two or three helicopters circled above the site. The leader of Yin's conservative People Power Party called the decision to impose martial law wrong. Lee, who narrowly lost to yoon in the 2022 presidential election, said Yoon's announcement was illegal and unconstitutional. That's his own party. I don't think the Republicans in Congress would stand up to Trump the way Yoon's party stood up to him. Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help rebuild and protect the country from falling into the depths of national ruin. He said he would eradicate pro North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order. I will eliminate anti state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country, he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate, quote, some inconveniences. I've heard that here too, I think, Elon Musk said. Oh, yeah, economically it's going to be bad for a while, but you know, you're just going to have to get over it. Uh, it's for the best now. Yoon, whose approval rating dipped in recent months, has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition controlled parliament. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon's party has been locked in an impasse with the Liberal opposition over next year's budget. The opposition has also attempted to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as their favorite for the next presidential election in 2027. Now, during his televised announcements, Yoon also described the opposition as shameless pro North Korean anti state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens. But he didn't elaborate. Now, Yoon has taken a hard line on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, departing from the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae in, who pursued inter Korean engagement. Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals. Oh, again, interesting. So your far right leader who called for martial law and thinks his opposition are communists and will ruin the fabric of the nation is also embroiled in scandals involving his wife and top officials. Hmm. Hm. Yoon's move was the first declaration of martial law since the country's democratization in 1987. The country's last previous martial law was in October 1979, following the assassination of a former military dictator, Park Chung Hee. Sidney Sealer, Korean chair at the center for Strategic and International Studies, argued that the move was symbolic for Yoon to express his frustration with the opposition controlled parliament. He has nothing to lose, said Seeler, comparing Yoon's move to the Hail Mary pass in American football, where he'd hoped for a slim chance of success. Oh, so he's embroiled in scandal, problems with women declaring martial law, Far right enemies are communists. We're under invasion, destroying the fabric of the nation, and he has nothing to lose. The similarities are pretty stunning. Yoon faces likely impeachment now, a scenario that was also possible before he made the bold move. That's where we differ. We don't have an opposition party in charge in our Congress, and, uh, impeachment is a dream here in the United States. Natalia Slavny, research analyst at the Stimson Center's 38 north website that focuses on Korean affairs, said Yoon's imposition of martial law was a serious backslide of democracy that followed a worrying trend of abuse. Since he took office in 2022, South Korea, quote, has a robust history of political pluralism and is no stranger to mass protests and swift impeachments. That's what Slaveny said, citing the example of former President Park Goon Hee. That's the country's first female president who was ousted from office and imprisoned for bribery and other crimes in 2017. So keeping an eye on this. But the parallels are pretty stunning. And given that letter, like I said, that Senators Warren and Blumenthal sent yesterday, I am worried for what's going to happen here. So we have to stick together. Community, community, community. Next from Courtney Cubie at all at NBC News, Pete Hegseth, that's Trump's pick for defense secretary, drank in ways that concerned his colleagues at Fox News. According to 10 current and former Fox employees who spoke with NBC, two of the people said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegfest time as a co host of Fox and Friends Weekend, which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol in him before he went on air. Those same two people, plus another, said that during his time there at Fox News, he appeared on television after they'd heard him talk about being hungover as he was getting ready on their set. Now, one of the sources said they smelled alcohol on him as recently as last month and heard him complain about being hungover this fall. None of the sources with whom NBC News has spoken could recall an instance in which Hegseth missed a scheduled appearance because he'd been drinking. Quote, everyone would be talking about it behind the scenes before he went on the air. That's one former Fox employee says. On Sunday night, the New Yorker detailed concerns about Hegseth's drinking at two jobs. We all talked about that. According to the New Yorker, Tim Parlor, a lawyer for Heth, responded, we're not going to comment on outlandish claims laundered through the New Yorker by a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr. Heg's. Get back to us when you try your first attempt at actual journalism. All right, Tim, well, now we've got Fox News. Is that good enough for you or nah. Is it another left wing witch hunt like that darn judge in Rudy Giuliani's case who happened to be appointed by Donald Trump? This account of Hegseth's time at Fox News is based on NBC News interviews with three current and seven former Fox employees, all of whom asked not to be named. Three current employees said that his drinking remained a concern up until Trump announced him as a choice to run the Pentagon. And that's at, ah, which point? That's when Hegseth left Fox. So the three current employees said, yeah, it was a problem until the day he left. Quote, he's such a charming guy, but he just acted like the rules didn't apply to him. Ooh, Acting like the rules don't apply to you is not a good fit for the head of the fucking military. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team said. These disgusting allegations are completely unfounded and false. Anyone peddling these defamatory lies to score political cheap shots is sickening. As a decorated combat veteran, Pete has never done anything to jeopardize that and he's treating his nomination as the most important deployment of his life. Unquote. Tim Parla Tour referred NBC News to the statement from a Trump spokesperson. Fox didn't respond to request for comment. The former colleague's description of Hagseth's behavior while he was employed at Fox News raises new questions about his ability to carry out the round the clock duties involved in managing the Pentagon and its 3 million civilian and military employees. A sec deaf a Secretary of Defense is generally working at all hours and might need to respond to a crisis that arises suddenly at night or on a weekend. Remember when everybody flipped the fuck out when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went to the hospital for a minute and you want to put this guy, you're cool with this guy in charge of the Pentagon? In February 2023, while traveling in Manila on the kind of trip that often requires socializing with high level officials, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was awakened at 3am local time for a phone call about a Chinese spy balloon. That's just an example. Similarly, the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel began around midnight Eastern time and the Department of Defense is responsible for protecting US cities and infrastructure from potential airborne threats similar to the 911 attacks. At any time, day or night, the Secretary of Defense must be available to be called upon to decide whether a civilian aircraft should be shot down. And ah, the wrong decision either way could mean death of innocent people. Quote, for the sake of national security, I really hope he stopped drinking. That's what one former Fox employee said, quote, he should not be Secretary of Defense. That's another former Fox employee. His drinking should be disqualifying. In 1989 the Senate rejected then President GHW's nominee to be Defense Secretary. That was John Tower. We talked about that yesterday. As a co host, Hegseth needed to be at work early on weekend mornings for a show that began at 6am Eastern time. His female co hosts would come in around 4am to prepare and have their hair and makeup done. Male co hosts typically arrive around 5 or 51545 minutes before they go on air. One current and two former Fox employee said they felt like they needed to babysit him due to his drinking and late nights. Quote, we'd have to call him to make sure he didn't oversleep because we knew he'd been out partying the night before. Another person said, morning TV is stressful, and more times than not, Pete made it even more stressful. Okay, all right. So if he's fucking stressing out people on morning television, no good for the Pentagon. I mean, it goes without saying. I know. I'm preaching to the choir, Heg says, huh? Sometimes arrived within only 20 minutes to go before the show. And that's according to three sources. They would stress out his colleagues. I said, heg says makeup would sometimes need to be done while he was on set because of his late arrival, and it left his colleagues with, uh, such a small amount of time. The sources could not say whether his lateness was caused solely by drinking. The whistleblower report detailed in the New Yorker alleged repeated instances of Hegseth drinking heavily at work events, including a team outing to a strip club in Louisiana. We talked about that. Hegseth drank heavily at some social events with Fox news colleagues as well, according to two former employees, with one of the former colleagues saying he would get, quote, absolutely wasted. Last month, the Monterey, California, police department released records of a 2017 investigation into an accusation that Hegseth sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room following a republican women's convention. We, um, talked about that. Jane Doe believes someone may have slipped something into her drink. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing, uh, in anything, really. Quote, this police report confirms what I've said all along. That's Tim Parla tour. Last month, this incident was fully investigated, and police found the allegation to be false, which is why no charges were filed. That's not true. Tim knows better. Heth has also confirmed that he paid the woman an undisclosed settlement. Parlour Tour previously told NBC News that he ultimately decided to enter into the settlement for a significantly reduced amount. He and. And he. This is the sneaky part here, right? He can't release the amount. She can't say the amount. So he can come in and lie and say, oh, yeah, we went into the settlement for a significantly reduced amount because it was the height of the MeToo movement, but he didn't really do it. So you know what, Tim Parlator. Now it's Fox News. Now it's Fox News saying he drinks too much. So what do you got to say about that? And also, this is, uh, just sort of, uh, breaking right now. As I was putting together the script, Pete Hegseth is in peril as Senate Republicans grow increasingly concerned over the allegations of drinking and his treatment of women. As many as six Senate Republicans, perhaps more, are currently not comfortable supporting Hagseth's bid to lead the Pentagon as these new revelations about his past continue to be made public. Three Republican sources with direct knowledge of his nomination process told this to NBC News. Given Republicans slim Senate majority in the next Congress, Hegseth, a former Fox News host, can only afford to lose three GOP votes. So it's not looking good. That's why I said at the top of the show, by the time you are listening to this, he may have already withdrawn. Oh, and I got a text message. Is it about a withdrawal? Nope, not yet. Okay, so put him next to a head of lettuce. I think he's, he's on his way out. And then we can see the horrors of the new nominee. Yay. All right, next up from cnbc, this is kind of a brighter story for you. Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost his bid to get his 2018 CEO pay package reinstated when a Delaware judge upheld a prior ruling that the compensation plan was improperly granted. This was the $56 billion bonus. It was the largest compensation plan in US history for a public company exec. Tesla said in a post on social media, um, Twitter, actually, which Musk owns, that it plans to appeal the ruling. Musk, in a separate Twitter post, called the ruling absolute corruption. Yeah, the fact that you can't get a 50 cent billion dollar bonus, that's the absolute corruption, not the fact that you're getting $56 billion. Right, okay, I got it. Now it's. And, um, by the way, 56 billion pittance. Okay. Compared to what he's going to make at doggy with Vivek Ramaswamy and a criminally immune Oval Office. So, I mean, this is good news. But, um, anyway, yeah, absolute corruption, Elon, sure. In January, Chancellor Kathleen McCormick voided the pay plan, ruling that Musk had individually controlled Tesla and dictated the terms of his own compensation to a board that didn't fairly negotiate. She called the process leading to the approval of that pay plan deeply flawed. Following the opinion, Tesla conducted a shareholder vote in June at its annual meeting in Austin, asking investors to ratify his CEO pay plan. Musk's attorneys attempted to sway the judge to reverse her opinion after the trial, leaning on the results of that vote. Quote, even if a stockholder vote could have a ratifying effect, it could not do so here. That's what the judge said were the court to condone the practice of allowing defeated parties to create new facts for the purpose of revising judgments. Lawsuits would become interminable. So, very good, judge. As part of the judge's opinion, um, McCormick approved a $345 million attorney fee award for the lawyers who successfully sued on behalf of Tesla shareholders in order to avoid this pay plan. Quote, we're pleased with the Chancellor's ruling, which declined Tesla's invitation to inject continued uncertainty into court proceedings, and thanked the Chancellor and her staff for her extraordinary hard work in overseeing this complex case. Those are attorneys from Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger, and Grossman, the firm representing the plaintiff. Following the January decision, Musk lashed out at the Delaware court. Posting on X Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware. Tesla then held a shareholder vote to reincorporate in Texas and officially shifted its state incorporation there. Musk has also moved the state of incorporation for his defense contractor company SpaceX to Texas from Delaware. Despite the legal setback, Musk has seen his net worth jump considerably in recent weeks. Excluding all of the options wrapped up in the pay package, Musk is more than $43 billion richer since Trump's election victory in November. Tesla shares have soared 42% in the four weeks since the election. And on optimism that Musk's coziness with the incoming President will lead to policies favorable to his companies, Tesla stock Musk still holds is worth close to 150 billion, based on Monday's closing price. That alone, not including his SpaceX stuff, would put him among the world's wealthiest people. Equilar estimates that at, uh, today's stock price, Musk's 2018 package would have risen to be worth 101.4 billion. All right, and finally, from Raw Story. More than a decade after it sparked massive protests in the State Capitol, a Wisconsin judge on Monday Strzock down a controversial law that effectively ended public sector collective bargaining in the state. So that's been Strzock down. In his final judgment, Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost crossed out 85 sections of the 2011 law known as Act 10, which was championed by then Republican Governor Scott Walker. Frost's ruling restored the union rights of teachers, sanitation workers, nurses, and other public sector employees. Quote, After 14 years of battling for our collective bargaining rights, we are thrilled to take this step forward. That's Rocco DeMarc, a building service worker for SEIU Wisconsin. And that's what he said in a statement. This victory brings us immense joy. Our fight has been long, but we're excited to continue building a Wisconsin where we can all thrive. Quote. We realize there may still be a fight ahead of us in the courts, but make no mistake, we are ready to keep fighting until we have a seat at the table again. Act 10 basically weakened the power of public sector unions in Wisconsin by only permitting them to bargain for wage increases that didn't surpass inflation. It also raised what public employees paid for health care and retirement. It ended the automatic withdrawal of union dues and required workers to rectify their union votes every year. The law had a major impact on the Wisconsin workforce. Between2022, no state saw a steeper decline in its proportion of unionized employees. No state. A drop that nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum partly attributed to Law 10. Unions say that the law has caused a crisis for the state's education workforce as 40% of new teachers leave within six years due to low pay and unequal wage systems. There's also a 32% vacancy rate for state corrections officers. And of course, Act 10 had an exception. Certain public safety employees, such as police and firefighters, were exempt from the collective bargaining restrictions. So not the cops. Now, Judge, this is a, quote, Judge Frost's ruling is a monumental victory for Wisconsin working class. That's Democratic Wisconsin State assembly member Darian Madison speaking to Courthouse News. All Wisconsinites deserve the opportunity to live in a state that treats all workers with respect and dignity. Now, this isn't the first time Act 10 has been challenged in the court, but it's the first time since the state Supreme Court switched from a conservative to a liberal majority. Thanks, Janet Protozewitz. In 2023, since Republican lawmakers have promised to appeal Frost's ruling, the law's ultimate fate will depend on elections in April of 2025, which again will determine whether the court maintains its liberal majority. So this April 2025 crucial Wisconsin court election. All right, everybody, I have a pretty, um, harrowing story about the arguments happening in Supreme Court today. And so, uh, we'll. We'll get to that right after this quick break. But content warning, we're going to be talking about trans rights and, um, some of the challenges that have been faced in this particular case that's coming out of Tennessee, and it's being argued in the Supreme Court in front of this, uh, Supreme Court today. So we'll get to it. But I have to take a quick break, so stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody, it's Ag. We all know those days when cooking or grocery shopping feels impossible. That's Pretty much every day for me. But takeout sounds tempting. It adds up fast, especially with the family. Meal kits never seem practical until Home Chef. They make dinner easy, affordable and family friendly, turning stressful evenings into effortless, delicious meals everyone loves. Users of leading meal kits have rated Home Chef number one in quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe ease. 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I thought it was the stress of politics because at the time, um, you know who was in the White House and he's coming back, uh, so you want to be able to get sleep. And I thought it was that, but actually I was sleeping on a mattress made for someone else. That's why I, uh, love Helix. A friend introduced me because they were raving about the sleep quiz and the custom mattress that was tailored to their sleep needs. So I gave it a try. From the first night I felt the difference. I slept soundly. I woke up refreshed. Finally said goodbye to those nagging aches and pains. It was incredible from day one and I would never change it. I've been sleeping on it for since that first administration, as you all know, and it feels the same as, uh, when I slept on it the first night. So I would. But you know, I mean, think about it. You toss and turn, you wake up drenched in sweat. You're dealing with relentless lower back pain that was at me every night. My old mattress was doing me no favors, so I switched to Helix. Everything changed. So head to helixsleep.com dailybeans take their sleep quiz. You'll get matched to the perfect mattress and you'll get 20% off all mattress orders, too. And now my back pain is completely gone. I sleep cool and undisturbed. My Apple watch is telling me so. My sleep data has never looked better. Higher scores, longer cycles, truly restful nights. So right now helix is offering 20% off site wide, plus two free pillows with any mattress purchase. Just go to helixsleep.com dailybeans that's helixsleep.com dailybeans hey everybody. Welcome back. All right, again, content warning. We're going to be talking about the oral arguments in the Supreme Court today about Republicans in Tennessee who want to take away health care for trans teens. So let's talk about this. This is from Parks and Marimo at the Post. The Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider for the first time whether states can ban certain gender transition medical treatments for young people. A closely watched case brought by three transgender teens, their parents and a doctor, all seeking to ensure health care access that they say is critical. At issue is a Tennessee law barring transgender minors from using puberty blockers and hormones, treatments the state characterizes as risky and unproven. Lawmakers say the state should instead encourage adolescents to, quote, appreciate their sex, particularly as they undergo puberty, unquote. The court's ruling might have implications for more than a hundred thousand transgender adolescents living in Tennessee alone or one of the 23 other states that has banned using the drugs to treat minors with gender dysphoria. The question of whether and how to medically treat young people whose gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth has become a polarizing issue, one President Elect Donald Trump seized on in advertisements targeting transgender people during his campaign. The Supreme Court in 2020 extended employment protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, but it has yet to rule on the constitutionality of lower court decisions involving bathroom access, athletes and medical treatment for transgender minors like 16 year old LW. That's one of the Tennessee teens behind the case at the high court. Her parents, Brian and Samantha Williams, now drive her five hours to receive care in North Carolina from Tennessee. The teen started gender care treatments when she was 12 and said they have allowed her to, quote, get to be myself a little bit more. It took a huge stressor off my back, lw said in an interview. I have more friends now because I'm more confident and I'm more able to socialize. The Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union are both representing the parents and teens here, who are referred to in court filings by their initials or a pseudonym to protect their identities. The families say the Tennessee law amounts to unconstitutional sex discrimination and a broad restriction on treatments that nearly every major medical association says are appropriate and effective for minors. ACLU attorney Chase Strangio. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. Might be. Strangio, who is arguing on behalf of the families, will be the first openly transgender lawyer to present a case before the Supreme Court. Tennessee's attorney General, Jonathan Scurmetti, a UH Republican, says in court filings that states have long had the power to regulate medicine and that there is nothing unconstitutional about restricting the use of a drug for certain purposes, even when it can be used for treating other conditions or imposing age limits for health treatments when the risks and rewards are too uncertain. I don't get that at all. One potential wild card in the resolution of the case is the incoming Trump administration and the possibility that the next Solicitor general, who is John Sauer, the guy who argued in front of the Supreme Court that President Trump should be able to order Seal Team 6 to execute his political rivals and not be held accountable. That guy could flip the federal government's position to align with Tennessee's view. And if that were to happen, the court would allow the ACLU to continue challenging the law on its own, which could keep the justices on track to issue a UH ruling. By the end of June, LW said she began to suspect she was trans in 2019, when she was 11. She'd long felt as if she were drowning, but she didn't understand why. She wore baggy clothes to obscure her body and she panicked the first time she saw a few facial hairs above her lip. She was so uncomfortable in boys bathrooms she avoided ever using one at school and eventually she developed urinary tract infections After a cousin came out as trans, LW began researching on YouTube and Google. But she was scared, so she didn't tell her parents she thought she was trans until just after Thanksgiving in 2020, more than a year after she'd been first put a, uh, name to her feelings. Now, Brian and Samantha Williams both had gay friends, and they told LW they supported her, but neither felt comfortable immediately taking her to a doctor. LW was 12, and Brian worried the distress she might be feeling would be like could be caused by normal puberty angst quote. It's not like we took this thing lightly and just did it, Brian said. The family went to a progressive church, and the church had a therapist on staff who specialized in trans youth. So Samantha and, um, Brian signed LW up for counseling. After roughly six months, the therapist diagnosed LW with gender dysphoria and recommended a team of doctors at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital have a look at Vanderbilt. LW underwent tests, and then in the summer of 2021, her doctors prescribed the drug Lupron to stop her body from going through male puberty. The medication, which has been used for the last 30 years on patients who start puberty too early, is largely reversible, but it can affect a young person's bone density if it's taken long term without hormone therapy. The teen said she felt instantly relieved. To her, the benefits strongly outweighed any side effects. At the time, no state had banned trans adolescents from receiving the kind of care Vanderbilt's team offered. Doctors nationwide have been treating a few thousand young people a year with hormones and puberty blockers. And that's according to data compiled for Reuters, a tiny fraction of America's adolescent population. By the way, they faced little pushback. Not like almost none. Multiple peer reviewed studies have shown that the majority of trans adolescents experience satisfaction, confidence, and improvements in psychosocial functioning after such treatment. Almost as soon as LW left her first appointment, she asked to start estrogen. But her doctors and her parents decided to wait. LW went in for regular evaluations, and in September of 2022, more than a year after she started Lupron, her doctors agreed to prescribe estrogen. Hormone therapy made life feel possible in ways it never had before, L.W. said. She started hugging her family. She recorded music, built Lego models. She and her younger brother staged airsoft matches with other teenagers. Neighbors even told Samantha that LW talked to them for the first time. LW's journey felt personal to her, a singular distress followed by her own unique wins. But her time at Vanderbilt coincided with a, uh, historic rise in gender dysphoria diagnoses. In 2021, about 42,000 young people nationwide received diagnoses of gender dysphoria. That was nearly triple the number in 2017. That's according to data the technology company Comodo Health compiled for Reuters. The vast majority were not prescribed hormones or puberty blockers, the data shows. Still, as the numbers rose, lawmakers and activists across the country began to raise questions about gender clinics and the treatments DOCT were offering. The same month LW started Estrogen, the conservative podcast host Matt Walsh accused Vanderbilt of castrating, sterilizing and mutilating children for profit. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, promised to investigate Vanderbilt Hospital. And that fall, Walsh and a group of Republican state legislators held a rally to end child mutilation in downtown Nashville. Only Arkansas and Alabama had passed bans on transition related care at that point. But lawmakers in other conservative states signaled they intended to prioritize similar restrictions. In March 2023, Tennessee adopted the legislation, now before the Supreme Court, SB1. It prohibits healthcare providers from prescribing any puberty blocker or hormone for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify or live as a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex. Providers who violate this law, they can be fined $25,000 for each prohibited treatment, and they're subject to disciplinary measures and potential civil liability in private lawsuits. Throughout the hearings on the legislation, Republican lawmakers treated gender dysphoria as if it were an illusion. Co sponsor of the House bill described transitioning as a fiction and a fantasy. Another representative said, if you don't know what you are, a boy or a girl, a male or a female, just go in the bathroom and take off your clothes and look in the mirror and you'll find out. The Williams family watched the hearings, and Brian was infuriated. LW's dad, the lawmakers didn't know his daughter. He and Samantha had taken LW to experts. They'd had what felt like a million hard conversations, and they had followed the best evidence available. Quote, all of a sudden to have a state come down and say that that's not the right thing to do, that it's abusive, that it's wrong headed, it's just infuriating because I feel like I'm doing all the right stuff, that's what Brian said. After the bill became law, everyone in the Williams family agreed that discontinuing care was not an option. LW was happy in ways she'd never been before she transitioned. If she stopped taking puberty blockers and estrogen, her body would begin to go through male puberty. She told her parents. That was just too painful to even contemplate, let alone experience, and moving didn't feel possible. LW's brother cried every time he thought about leaving his friends. And Brian's elderly parents live in Nashville and rely on his help, too. That spring, Samantha saw an ACLU form that invited families to describe how they'd been affected by this legislation. She didn't imagine, as she filled out the form that she was signing up for a lawsuit that would eventually make its way to the Supreme Court. She only knew that she wanted to protect her daughter and that she didn't want to feel helpless anymore. Tennessee gave families four months to wean their kids like LW off of medications. But in June, before the ban even took effect, Vanderbilt shut down its clinic. In June 2023, a district court judge temporarily blocked the law, saying it discriminates based on sex and treats some teens differently because they're transgender. The judge said the benefits of the treatments are well established and noted that Tennessee's law bans the medications for a very small subset of minors while making them available for adolescents who use them for other health issues. Quote if Tennessee wishes to regulate access to certain medical procedures, wrote U.S. district Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump nominee, it must do so in a manner that does not infringe on the rights conferred by the United States Constitution, which is of course supreme to all other laws of the land. A divided panel on the U.S. court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit soon reversed Richardson's decision, rejecting the family's claims of discrimination and allowing the state to enforce the law. While litigation continued, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton said, uh, the law regulates gender transition treatments for all minors, regardless of sex, and concluded that Tennessee lawmakers could have rationally determined that the law was an appropriate response to perceived risks associated with the treatments. Sutton, a nominee of G.W. bush, also said courts should be wary of intervening in a highly contested political dispute. Medicine Healthcare Judge Helene White, another Bush nominee, agreed with the majority that the Constitution envisioned states acting as laboratories for democracies to resolve political debates, but dissented from the majority ruling. When a fundamental right of freedom from discrimination is involved, experimentation has no place, she wrote. At the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who, by the way, is one of the most, if not the best lawyer I've ever seen argue anything in front of a judge, particularly the Supreme Court. She's asking the justices to return the case to the 6th Circuit to apply a more stringent level of review, which she says should be triggered by a law that discriminates based on sex. The state, she wrote, ignores the benefits of gender transition care and overstates the health risks. She also said the law stated the law's stated goal of having teens, uh, appreciate their sex is based on stereotypical understandings of gender and cannot be used to justify a ban. Skirmetti, the Tennessee attorney general, said the state has the authority to protect minors from risks of gender transition treatment and also uh, the federal government should not discount lawmakers concerns. He also objected to preloggers characterization of the law as driven by stereotypes. It is not unconstitutional discrimination. Scarmetti argued to say that drugs can be prescribed for one reason but not another. LW will be in the courtroom today, but she said she can't comprehend the gravity of the case that she's a part of. Mostly, she's tried to continue to live her life, you know, to live the life gender care has made possible. The day the ACLU filed its petition, she went to school. She went to high school, and she only told a few people in the Gender Sexualities alliance, or gsa, about the case. That night, she worried briefly that her name would be on a case that might be remembered along the same lines of Plessy v. Ferguson. That's the 1896 Supreme Court case that ruled it was constitutional for states to enact segregation. Eventually, LW decided it was out of her control and plus she had the driver's test for her learner's permit to worry about. So she set aside her fears and let her lawyers handle the hard parts. She's a junior in high school now. She DJed a party this Halloween. She has broadened her social life. She adopted a kitten the family named Mushroom. She wants to spend her free time traveling to look at colleges with aviation programs. But for now, she and her mother still make regular trips to get treatment in North Carolina. Traveling out of state for healthcare she'd rather get at home is arduous. Until recently, her mother had to take unpaid time off work, and LW has to call in sick to the magnet high school where she takes three Advanced Placement classes. Quote I hate taking days off school. It's like the worst thing ever, she said. I have very, very difficult classes, so I've got a lot to catch up on if I miss a single day. The drive used to take five hours each way, but Hurricane Helene washed out one of the roads they take. So now the journey will be much longer. That last sentence, the journey will Be much longer. All right, 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, good news. And you'll have to forgive me, I still have uh, some tears in my eyes from the last segment. Um, but we um, we have a lot of good news today to get to. And if you have any good news, send it into us. Just pay your pod pet tax, which means attach a photo of your pet. If you want us to guess the breeds in your shelter pup, we'll give it a shot. We got five for five I think like not this past, but maybe this past Friday a while, like recently. Uh, and we were very excited about it. So I don't know if we'll ever get that close again. And if you don't have a pod pet, you can attach an adoptable pet in your area. We'll see if we can find him a forever home for you. If none of that is going on in your area, then you could send us uh, a picture of any animal. We love them, we love animals. And then if you don't have any of that baby pictures always send or send. Send all of them. Send your baby pictures and your pet photos and an adoptable pet you can mix and match. We also love shout outs whether it's to a loved one, spous spouse, kid, uh, parent yourself. We love self shout outs and uh, small business in your area that could use a boost your small business. We have so many makers and creators and entrepreneurs that listen to this show. Truly incredible what your hobby is, what you like doing. Of course you flipping the bird to Trump Properties. We want all those photos, many as you can send in. I've got a few in my phone. And uh, then of course shout outs to government programs whether it's Social Security, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, um, Section 8 Head Start, Wicca, Snap, um, student debt relief. Send it all to us dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. Cathartic birdwatching. Good news is ahead according to my producer. So I'm very excited about this. This is from Susan. She and her here's my one finger salute in Las Vegas in 2019. Just an FYI, I thought it was appropriate that the picture was taken was uh, in the parking lot of a liquor store and a dildo shop. Seemed appropriate to me was near the tower. What the windows of this place look down on. It's not the strip. That's fucking amazing. And Susan, you know what that makes me think of, uh, that makes me think of four seasons total landscaping because it. It was between a crematorium and a dildo shop. So wonderful. An excellent manicure, too, here on this particular bird of the Trump Tower in Vegas in 2019. From Patty V. Pronoun. She and her. Here I am, pre election, honoring the orange menace in the way he deserves. We actually landed in New York the day of the Madison Square Garden quote rally, which literally no one was talking about on the street. As I gave my salute in my, uh, Kamala shirt, many passersby applauded. Okay, so you're in a Kamala shirt flipping off Trump tower double barrel middle fingers, and people are clapping for you as you pose for this picture. This brings me so much joy. Thank you. Next up, it just says she. 60 years ago, my heart was broken in a way only a child could understand. At, uh, seven years old, I came home to find my puppy gone, given away by my mother without explanation. Like every day after school, I headed straight to the fenced backyard to greet my puppy, who in my innocence, was named Beanie. And he wasn't there. I could smell him as I shuffled his blankets to see if he was hiding in his little pink and yellow dog house. I went to the alley behind the house, in the alley, where I found Beanie's special plate tossed next to the backyard incinerator. I cleaned it and hid it in my bedroom closet until I went away to college. I didn't know it at the time, but that moment planted a seed. And decades later, I found myself drawn to rescue dogs, healing not only their wounds, but perhaps my own. That's how Tragic to Magic was born. A rescue and sanctuary for those who, like Beanie, deserve a second chance. Today, I am featuring Carlos, who keeps getting overlooked. I've m had him since he was abandoned on the street as a puppy, and he just keeps getting overlooked because he's high energy. We have weekly adoption events in the San Diego area and monthly adoption events in Seattle. You can find out all the information@tragictomagic.org oh, and by the way, all of my rescues and my dogs not only sleep in the house, they sleep in my bed. And I can still smell Beanie. Well, look at this great pup. This pup would make an excellent addition to a family. High energy especially. Thank you. She. I'm sorry about Beanie. Huh? Huh? So, everyone, this is Carlos, and you can find him attragic to magic.org Next up, from Max. Nada. No relation to Walt. Nada pronouns he and him hello lovely ladies of the Leguminati. Longtime listener here. I would like to express my appreciation for the whole MSW Media framily and all that you do. Especially in times like these. We've got to stick together and stand up for what we believe in. To all the new listeners I say welcome. So good to grow the Lagoominati. We will need the numbers over the years to come after reading your Star Thrower substack. Oh, you've already read it, Max, I'm in awe of what you've endured Ag. You rock. Seriously. And what a beautiful piece of writing too. If it should at some point become a book, I'd definitely buy it. My shout out today is a self shout out, uh, as I have signed up to be an election volunteer at the German election in February. It will be my first time doing that, but I've been inspired by so many Beans listeners who get to do great important work for democracy as Pod Pet tax. I give you sif. The breed is rather obvious. Uh, you have much faith in me. Oh, Max. Cuddling, uh, up with my cancer survivor mom. So much to be grateful for here. Thanks again for all the fantastic podcasts and all the rest that you do. Look at this beautiful photo. Hello baby pup. Hello. Hello Mom. Hello Max's mom. Thank you for being an election worker. And thank you for the kind words about what I wrote today in my substack from Marcia. She her I've listened to you for years. I even went back and listened to all the kitchen table days. But I've never submitted anything because I feel like the folks who submit good news have overcome amazing obstacles and are saving the world. I live in Vermont. It's beautiful and peaceful and one of the bluest states my whole family votes blue. Limiting the stress of holidays to whether I can roast a turkey without drying it out. I wake up every morning thankful for what I have and feel, uh, odd bragging about it here. However, you keep asking for submissions and I do have a question, so here goes. Like many people and the majority of Vermont, I went through a really low time after the election. Now, after listening to you and Molly Jong fast, I'm gaining back my sea legs and figuring out my next move. I sent postcards and texted likely voters all last year, but obviously it wasn't enough. As an illustrator, I would like to use my talents for more effective messaging, but I don't know where to start. I post on social media, but it's mostly to crickets. I'm wide open to suggestions. In the meantime, to follow up on your bird call, two of the images below are from the women's March, Washington, D.C. in 2017. We spent five hours standing earlobe to earlobe with half a million of our closest friends before we actually marched. Here's an image of my daughter expressing her liberal opinion of the new administration. Her bird is extremely emphatic. The second image is the banner that I made for the occasion, which we never got to use because it was eight feet wide and there was just no room. Lesson learned for the next one. The third photo is my pet tax of my German shepherd carrying around her favorite toy by the crotch. It might be, uh, take a bit to figure out where the toy ends and the German shepherd starts, but I think the photo is hysterical. While I'm at this, let me contribute my shit. Kids say story. My son was a verbally precocious 4 year old 26 years ago. His preschool teacher told me how one little boy was telling him a story at school. And, uh, my son asked if he was being facetious. The little boy asked him what facetious meant and my son said, quote, it's like when you puke and then say, well, that was fun. It's the best definition of facetious I've ever heard. And I've used it ever since. What an amazing four year old thing to say. What's, uh, facetious mean? What's like when you puke and then say, well, that was fun. Oh my God, Brilliant. I'm going to use it now too, Marcia. I hope you know. Okay. Yeah. I can't tell where the German shepherd begins on this, but that's pretty hilarious. That's a great picture. And wow, that is an emphatic bird. Pretty incredible. And your banner is fantastic. I'm sorry you didn't get to use it because there just wasn't any room, but I'm not sorry there wasn't any room. You know what I mean? That kid's got long ass. I hope this kid plays piano or guitar or something. That's, that's impressive. Anyway, thank you all so much for the good news. I needed it today. And, uh, if you get a chance, if you have some time, go grab some headphones, take a walk, and listen to the new cleanup on a 45. It's me and Harry. It's our first show. Uh, and, uh, I would love for you to give it a listen. Um, I appreciate Harry so much. He's a hero. It's, it's, it's interesting to meet your heroes and find out that they're better people than you could have ever imagined. So I hope you enjoy that. And I hope you enjoy my substack. If you aren't subscribed, it's free to subscribe. It really helps us out if you do. Um, that's Mueller. She wrote.com and of course, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. And again, let's see how long Pete Hegseth lasts. All right? Until tomorrow. 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 them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joel Reeder 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 Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information please visit mswmedia.com msw media.