Tuesday, February 4th, 2025 Today, Congressional Democrats stormed the USAID building to protest its shutting down but they were stopped from entering and held a press conference outside saying they’ll block unanimous consent of all State Department nominees until USAID is opened; federal employee unions are suing to block Elon Musk’s access to Treasury payments; another lawsuit is filed by the ACLU over Trump’s invasion language saying it violates asylum laws; another judge signals a plan to further block Trump’s spending freeze; Trump has signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund so the US government can buy TikTok; Mexico’s tariffs will be delayed one month; a union official says Education Department employees were placed on leave for taking a DEI training during Trump’s first term; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
Tuesday, February 4th, 2025
Today, Congressional Democrats stormed the USAID building to protest its shutting down but they were stopped from entering and held a press conference outside saying they’ll block unanimous consent of all State Department nominees until USAID is opened; federal employee unions are suing to block Elon Musk’s access to Treasury payments; another lawsuit is filed by the ACLU over Trump’s invasion language saying it violates asylum laws; another judge signals a plan to further block Trump’s spending freeze; Trump has signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund so the US government can buy TikTok; Mexico’s tariffs will be delayed one month; a union official says Education Department employees were placed on leave for taking a DEI training during Trump’s first term; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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Democratic Senator Says He Will Stall Trump Nominees Until USAID Is Back - Alexander Ward | WSJ
Judge puts another block on Trump spending freeze - KYLE CHENEY and JOSH GERSTEIN | POLITICO
Good Trouble:
An EEOC administrative judge sent an email to her leadership and cc'd all of her colleagues this morning - “...I will not cower to bullying and intimidation if upon reflection, you feel like now would be a good time to take a vacation and resign from your position. Please reply all to this email and put I'd like to occupy Mars in the subject line. We'll take this as notification that you're resigning your position as acting chair. P.S. Happy black History Month.”
Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you’re going to do, or just vent. I’m always here to listen.
Check out muellershewrote.com for my interview with a systems security expert about the massive breach at opm.gov caused by Elon Musk
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Um, MSW Media Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Today, congressional Democrats stormed the USAID building to protest its shutting down. But they were stopped from entering and then held a press conference outside saying they're going to block unanimous consent of all State Department nominees until USAID is open. Federal employee unions are suing to block Elon Musk's access to treasury payments. Another lawsuit has been filed by the ACLU over Trump's invasion language, saying it violates asylum laws. Another judge signals a plan to further block Trump's spending freeze. Trump has signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund so the US Government can buy Tick tock. Mexico's tariffs will be delayed by one month, and a union official says Education Department employees were placed on leave for taking a DEI training during Trump's first term. I'm Allison Gill.
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
Well, it's Tuesday.
It is Tuesday. I'm so tired.
It feels like December 9th, but it's Tuesday.
Yeah, it is early February. This is the shortest, the shortest month of the year, but also, uh, one of the one, one of the more important ones. We're celebrating Black History Month, and I hope everyone, regardless of what the fuck is going on in the federal government, raises black voices in this world. You know, do something on social media, post about a historian that gay, you know, contributed to something in society that we all need and use and love. Unless I'm wrong, I believe a black woman actually created the system that we use for gps. So if you're running around your car trying to find somewhere, you can thank a black person for that. It's just, it's, it's mind blowing what they're trying to do. But I said this about pride, and I'll say it about, you know, Black History Month and every other DEI holiday that we celebrate. It comes from within. We're still going to celebrate it. You can't take that away from us. So be loud and be proud about it and raise black voices as much as you can.
Absolutely. Happy Black History Month, everybody. Thanks for that. So it's already been a long week, and it's just Tuesday, so we have a lot of news to get to. Uh, but first, we do have some quick. All right, first up from Reuters, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday ordering the creation of a sovereign wealth fund within the next year, saying it could potentially buy the short video app TikTok. If created, the sovereign wealth fund could place the US alongside numerous other countries, particularly in the Middle east and Asia that have launched similar funds as a way to make direct investments with government dollars. Your dollars. Now, Al Gore wanted to create one a long time ago. He called it the lockbox. Do you remember?
I don't, but now I'm learning.
Yeah, the lockbox, it was all over the news and it was supposed to protect Social Security payments when we had a budget surplus. Yeah. Hm. And, uh, Republicans made fun of him for that. But of course, I'm sure they're all very fine with Donald Trump's sovereign wealth fund to try to create US State owned media.
That's exactly what it is. Because if they own the platform, they can censor what gets put out into the, uh, ethos. All right, this one's from NBC. Daisy. After announcing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump agreed to delay them for one month after leaders from Canada and Mexico announced moves to ramp up security at the borders, averting, at least for now, tariffs that could have driven up prices for US Consumers and stalled those countries economies. It's important to note, by the way, though, that Trump was demanding Mexico send 10,000 troops to the border, but Mexico sent 15,000 troops there in 2019. So of course they're going to make it sound like he got this. This was already in the works. Uh, there's more than 10,000 troops all the time there. Yeah.
Heart of the deal. I demand 10,000 troops or I'll put tariffs on you. We have 15,000. Okay, then.
Thank you for doing what I said. I'll, um, back off for a month.
What a dumbass. He probably saw the stock market tumbling, is down like 6, 700 points, and he was like, oh, how does he. I don't know. You know what, Whatever.
I love that you just said 15 things. Didn't finish one sentence, but a lot of us know what you meant.
Yeah, yeah. You followed me that whole way. Sure did. There wasn't a complete thought, so.
Not at all.
Also, dozens of employees who attended a diversity training course that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos encouraged during Trump's first term have been placed on paid leave as part of Trump's targeting DEI programs, according to a union official that spoke to NBC News. Sharia Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents hundreds of Education Department employees, said at least 55 of them had been placed on leave as a Friday evening and that she expected the number to grow as she learns more. Again, if you've been placed on DEI administrative paid leave, you have 15 days to object with an informal grievance. Ask your union rep or check out our template@millershirote.com.
You are doing the Lord's work, my friend. Thank you.
Oh, thank you. Um, it's. I. I said, you know what? Running a whole media company, I have too much free time. I'm gonna start a non profit on top of it.
Don't do that right now.
You got to do it. You got to do the work. And, and I'm really impressed by our Democratic leadership today in Congress. What they did today, you know, you and I have been like, dude, please do something, say something, block something, file an article, write if they do something right, make it loud, make it big. And they did that today. And we're going to talk about that in the hot notes. Hot, uh, notes. So first up from the Wall Street Journal, you know, super liberal Wall Street Journal Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii. Is it shots or shots? Do you know?
Uh, I. I'm going to say shats might be shots.
Anyway, he's a Democrat from. He's not sure why you asked me. I Fair, fair. I'm sorry, Ex girlfriends.
Even though we've never dated, I'm like, all right, then forget it.
Oh, my goodness. He's an incredible senator, and I'm always only reading his name. I'm never hearing it pronounced. So Democrat from Hawaii. He said he's going to place a blanket hold on all of Trump's State Department nominees until the administration's attack on the leading US Foreign assistant agency ends. A, uh, move that threatens to stall Trump's ability to get his foreign policy team in place. I love this Shots. Threat came after Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency, aims to close the U.S. agency for International Development. The agency's existence as an independent government organization is codified in federal law. Over the weekend, Doji Dodgy staffers forced their way into USAID's headquarters in Washington, gained access to classified information for which they have no clearance, and closed up the building to employees on Monday. The Senate typically speeds up the confirmation of many nominees through a unanimous consent process that bypasses a formal vote if no senator objects by objecting. Shotz's hold would halt the Senate's ability to move nominees quickly, requiring Senate Majority Leader John Thune to use precious floor time to advance the president's picks through the slow, more cumbersome confirmation process. Quote, I will oppose unanimous consent, he told the Wall Street Journal. I will vote no. I will do maximal delays until this is resolved. Shots Move would leave several bureaus and offices without senior leadership complicating U.S. diplomatic efforts and the administration's ability to speak with a clear voice about its foreign priorities. Like, if he had his nominees in there, they'd be able to speak with a clear voice about foreign priorities anyway. Representatives for the White House and State Department didn't return requests for comment. Holds are commonly used, uh, as a tactic by lawmakers to secure their policy preferences during the Biden administration. You'll remember Tommy Tuberville blocked Defense Department nominees because he opposed the Pentagon paying troops so they could travel for abortion care. Senator Ted Cruz also slowed down the state confirmation process because former President Joe Biden allowed Germany to complete a pipeline to receive Russian energy. And, uh, you'll remember also several really insurrectiony seditiony senators blocked all of Biden's US Attorney nominees, particularly the one in DC, and it took until November of 2021 to get him in there to head up the January 6th investigation. Shotz's move shows that Democrats are stepping up their efforts to block dodgy's attempts to dissolve US aid, and it signals a greater willingness to push back on the new president. Democratic lawmakers Monday gathered at the agency's Washington headquarters to protest the Trump administration's proposed closure of US aid. Democratic senators said they've spoken with Republicans in recent days over what actions, if any, they might take to reverse the administration's actions against usaid. And for now, they say there's little they can do legislatively, especially because the organization's existence already is delineated in federal statute. You can't pass another law. There already is one shot. Said he expects the judicial system may at least temporarily stop Dodgy's attempts to close U.S. aid. Quote, you cannot wave a wand and eliminate a department established by federal law, so it will be reversed by a court, he said. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat, said he was in touch with a group called Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit organization that would be willing to take up USAID's cause. The best venue may be filing a lawsuit in DC's federal court, he said. On Monday, USAID personnel woke up to an email barring them from showing up for work. The agency's personnel were instructed to work remotely, except for officials with essential functions who have been directly contacted by senior leaders. The email indicated that employees will receive more instructions later.
Thank you so much, my friend. This one is from Cheney and Gerstein at AH, Politico. A federal judge expressed concern Monday that the Trump administration is continuing to implement a blanket freeze on federal spending despite two court orders to posit during ongoing lawsuits. U.S. district Judge Lauren Alicon said some non profits continued to be hampered by the freeze and still couldn't access promised funding, an obstacle she said appeared to be a direct result of the Trump White House's week old freeze. That's despite Ala Khan's ruling last week, along with another federal judge in Rhode island blocking the White House from implementing the funding freeze. While litigation is pending now, Alekan said she was prepared to issue another broader block on the White House's policy by Monday afternoon, a short term victory for nonprofits who say the Trump administration's rushed effort may have crossed legal boundaries. I think there's a good chance it did. The, uh, Department of Justice argued that Alicon had no authority to continue blocking the spending freeze. Not only has the order already been rescinded by the White House's Office of Management and Budget, argued Justice Department attorney Daniel Schwee, but federal agencies have authority to make their own decisions regarding spending that don't depend on OMB's order. It would be inappropriate for the judge to effectively superintendent spending by the executive branch. This is again, what the lawyer said. But Alicon rejected that premise, saying some programs appeared to have been frozen solely because of the original freeze, with no evidence that any agency had made any independent decision. Alicon also appeared to reject DOJ arguments that the existing block from the judge in Rhode island was sufficient reason for her to stand aside. The issue roiled Washington last week when after OMB issued a memo directing federal agencies to put a hold on all spending other than Medicare and Social Security. Well, after an outcry, OMB withdrew the memo entirely. But hours later, really, really, really, really fucking sketchy. White House Press Secretary Caroline. Leave it. Is that what we're going with? Leave it?
I think it's Levitt.
It is Lovett, but you like leave it.
I like leave it.
We'll call her Caroline Levitt because that's her name. Contended that the withdrawal of the memo had no effect on the spending freeze, which she said was still in effect. Which caused a restraining order. Right. Wasn't it? Or some sort of a, uh, order against the entire administration. Like whatever she said was bullshit. And the judges were like, no.
Yeah. A different judge was like, I got to put a restraining order on you.
Yeah, well done, press secretary. Well done.
Yeah. And you know, there's a lot of people who still aren't receiving their funding. You, uh, know, I just shared a story of someone who said they're an elderly veteran who received a call telling them their housing program is frozen and it's going to cost them 550 bucks a month. And this person also received military retirement and Social Security retirement, which are likely at risk, and also SNAP and Heap and Medicaid. So this is impacting people on, uh, the ground. This freeze, it needs to be lifted. And this was the thing I'm watching, right. Is Trump going to defy court orders? Right. Because the courts are our last little guardrail here.
Sure is.
So we'll keep an eye on that for you from, uh, our friend Sarah Burris at Raw Story. Three employee unions that represent federal workers are suing to stop Elon Musk and his collection of non government aids from accessing the personal information in the Treasury Department. Payment Systems alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation for Government Employees and Service Employees International Union filed their lawsuit on Monday. That's what Politico legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein said. Quote, federal laws protect sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse, including by barring disclosure to individuals who lack a lawful and legitimate need for it. That's what the group says in the filing. The suit goes on to specifically target Trump's new Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant, saying that he's allowing access to personal information without following the law. Quote, within a week of being sworn in as The Treasury Secretary, Mr. Besant placed that civil servant on leave and granted dodgy affiliated individuals full access to the bureau's data and the computer systems that house them. He did so without making any public announcement, providing any legal justification or explanation for his decision, or undertaking the process required by law for altering the agency's disclosure policies. That's what the filing said.
Thanks so much. And this one's from Maria Sachetti at the Post. Immigrant advocacy groups. On Monday, they filed the first major lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's claim that there is, quote, an invasion on the US Mexico border to justify summarily expelling migrants without giving them a chance to apply for asylum. Lawyers argued in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington that Trump is trampling on decades old federal laws and international treaties that allow anyone who sets foot on US Soil to apply for humanitarian protection. Trump declared an emergency on the U.S. southern border, uh, a billion times since we've met him immediately after taking office, and has invoked an executive power that he says enables him to suspend admission to foreigners he deems, quote, detrimental to U.S. interests. Huh. Uh-huh. Trump used the same power, Section 212F of the Immigration and Nationality act, during his first term to bar foreigners from certain Muslim majority countries and, uh, from becoming the United States under a travel ban. His supporters say he's on solid footing because after multiple legal challenges and rewrites of the ban, the Supreme Court upheld it five to four. Uh, let's not go by the Supreme Court to decide whether or not Trump is doing the right thing these days. But lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigrant justice center, and others leading the lawsuit said the Supreme Court never ruled on whether the travel ban authorized the president to block people from seeking asylum. The ACLU says Trump is overriding Congress, which he seems to be doing a lot lately, in which, as we know, Congress passed laws allowing migrants to apply for asylum once they set foot on U.S. soil. The lawsuit challenges a Trump proclamation on January 20th titled, quote, guaranteeing the state's Protection against invasion, which invokes 212F to shield states from an invasion of undocumented immigrants. Opponents of the proclamation say the president's order illegally exposes migrants, including children traveling without their parents, to swift deportation to countries where they could be persecuted. And I quote, this proclamation is an unprecedented power grab at the expense of Congress. The president cannot simply wipe away the system Congress meticulously created to provide safety for desperate people fleeing persecution. This is from ACLU lawyer Lee Gellert. He said that, or. I'm sorry, I actually don't know the gender of Lee. Uh, Lee said that in a statement. Even in the Muslim ban during his first term, President Trump did not try to eliminate asylum. That's because that's a fucking Project 2025 initiative. And this is a quote. If this proclamation is upheld, he added, it will mean any president can simply declare an invasion and all pathways for asylum just disappear. Poof. The White House and the Justice Department, which defends the government in such lawsuits, did not immediately respond. Shocking. Asylum is a humanitarian protection for people who fled or fear persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinions, or other reasons that make them a target. The principles were shaped in the aftermath of World War II, when the United States turned away the SS St. Louis, which is a ship carrying passengers that were fleeing the Holocaust, leaving many to return to Europe. And unfortunately, they perished in that war. Lawmakers cemented the protections in the 1980 U.S. refugee act after the Vietnam War prompted hundreds of thousands of people from the country to flee to the United States. Trump officials argue that times have changed and that immigrants and smugglers have been exploiting the the asylum system for years in the US Southern border, using it as a proxy to enter the United States illegally to work. Trump's border czar Tom Homan said at a National Sheriff's association conference in Washington on Saturday that the asylum system is so clogged with false asylum applications that immigrants can live and work in the United States for years without fear of deportation. They simply, and this is a quote, they simply don't qualify for asylum. That's what Homan said, and that's what he told the sheriffs who applauded Trump's plans. The lawsuit is one of several legal actions targeting the Trump administration's new immigration policies, including his efforts to end birthright citizenship for the children's of non citizens and foreign visitors, and his halting of the US of A Customs and Border Protection app on the southern border to schedule appointments for migrants seeking protection in the United States. He's taking away as many routes as he can to citizenship for people that are actually trying to come in lawfully.
Yeah. And legally. If you say that anyone who sets foot, um, under law on U.S. soil has the right to claim or apply for asylum, then if you take that away just because you think they're lying without giving them due process, that's a, that's illegal. You can't do that. You, you need more judges to get their asylum claims heard faster.
Yeah.
Is what you need. That's the way to fix that.
I just saw some articles too, in, um, this. Not to end the section, but Native Americans are being targeted because, and they are, and let's just say it, because they're, they're too brown for the people of ICE to feel like they're actually might be citizens, uh, of this country. Which is fucking hilarious because Native Americans are the only people that are not immigrants to this country. Um, so there's a problem there. Please. If you're listening to this and for some godforsaken reason, you get a knock on the door, you ask to see a signed warrant by a judge and make sure that everything they're showing you is legal. Do not open your door to these people. Have them show it through a screen in any other way you can. Do not open these door. Do not invite these people in.
Yep. Don't even open the door. Don't even open the door.
Nope.
It can't come in without a warrant. And some of these warrants aren't real warrants.
Right. Sorry, Warren, thank you for the correction. Yeah.
To gain entry, you know what I mean? Like, I've seen different ones and, um, there's a lot of stuff on the Internet about we just show you what an Actual warrant.
Looks like a lot of them are just trying to use deportation papers and pass them off as warrants to make sure that if they do that, you see that it's not an actual warrant and it's not signed by a judge. We're just protecting you. Um, I imagine there are some listeners. I also imagine there are some people that are gonna get fucking targeted unconstitutionally because they look too brown or they don't speak the way they're supposed to speak. If you live in America, like, just be careful out there, please. I have friends that are going across the Texas border because she's a doctor, she's a gynecologist. And so she also has been working with, um, certain hospitals where they, they have, uh, in Texas and New Mexico, Well, New Mexico abortion's legal, so she goes back and forth and now she's got to carry her papers with her because she is of Hispanic descent and she's American citizen. It's just mind blowing.
Mhm. Yeah. I live 15 minutes from the border and I know, uh, tons of people who have just gone back to Mexico because they're terrified. Yeah, they're terrified. All right, everybody, uh, it's time for some good trouble. What are you guys doing? All right, so today I want to report on some good trouble that's happened. An EEOC administrative judge sent an email to her leadership and cc'd all of her colleagues this morning. And Dana, her email says, good morning, Andrea. Apparently no one in leadership is willing to ring the alarm bell, so it falls upon one of us to do it. The tactics you're employing and actions you've taken in lockstep with this new administration are illegal and unconstitutional. You are not fit to be our chair, much less hold a license to practice law. I will not participate in attempts to target private citizens and colleagues through the recent illegal executive orders. I swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States and the Commission serves the people of the United States. If you want to continue following the illegal and unethical orders of our President and the unelected leader of doge, that's on you.
Wow.
As I said in the email I sent to my colleagues yesterday, which was mysteriously deleted not only from their inboxes, but from my sent box.
Wow.
I know I take great personal risk in sending out this message, but at the end of the day, my actions align with what the EEOC was charged with doing under the law. I will not compromise my ethics and my duty to uphold the law. I will not cower to bullying and intimidation if upon reflection, you feel like now would be a good time to take a vacation and resign from your position. Please reply all to this email and put I'd like to occupy Mars in the subject line. We'll take this as notification that you're resigning your position as acting chair. P.S. happy black history Month.
I love it. I love it.
Eeoc. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These are the folks who decide cases, like, I don't know, people who are wrongfully terminated from the government for discriminatory purposes because maybe they have ptsd, some. Something like that.
Yep.
You know, or a disability. I know a lot of folks who are remote and telework are applying for reasonable accommodations. I encourage you to do that. And you would normally do that through the reasonable accommodation section of your agency. And then if you're retaliated against for asking for a reasonable accommodation for your disability, that's where something like the EEOC comes in. That's where you file a grievance and say, I was retaliated against because I need to work from home, because I get migraines, uh, because an IED blew up next to me in Afghanistan, for example. That's what these good people do. So. Excellent email. Thank you for sending it. Um, that's an anonymous. By the way, uh, their name was blocked out, so I'm not sure if, uh, who wrote it, but, uh, it was well written, so I wanted to share it with you. I thought it was some pretty good, good trouble.
Absolutely. And we gotta. We gotta do that. We're gonna give you every single episode. We're gonna give you a way to fight back in small ways and big ways. You're gonna find a way. So we're gonna keep bringing it to you.
Yep. And, uh, every once in a while, we'll just be reporting on someone else's amazing good trouble. So thanks. That's what this was today, everybody. We have good news to get to, but we have to take a quick break, so stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. I'll be honest. Sticking to healthy habits can be real tough, especially when life gets busy. But AG1 has been a game changer for me. It's become part of my daily routine for self care. One simple scoop in the morning, and I know I'm giving my body all the foundational nutrition that it needs to thrive. And what I love most about AG1 is how easy it is to stay consistent. It's just one delicious drink that supports my immune system, my energy, uh, overall well being. And I've noticed a real difference in how I feel. I'm more energized, I'm more focused and just better. So here's the thing. AG1 isn't just for me. One of my closest friends and I have made it part of our morning routine together and it's become a little ritual that keeps us both on track. Plus flavors this good, yes, it actually tastes amazing. Is something we both look forward to. So if you've been looking for a simple way to prioritize your health this year, AG1 is it. It's the kind of habit that sticks because it's easy to pick up. It's so easy to incorporate into your day. And that's why I've been partnering with them for so long at AG1. And right now AG1 is offering new subscribers a free $76 gift. When you sign up, you'll get a welcome kit, a bottle of D3K2, and five free travel packs in your first box. So make sure you check out drinkag1.com DailyBeans to get this offer. That's drinkag1.com Dailybeans to start your New Year's Eve on a healthier note. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news everyone? Then good news everyone. And if you have any good news confessions corrections you want to correct me on our Democratic senator from Hawaii's last name pronunciation, send that to us. If you have a shout out to a loved one, a friend, a spouse, a family member, some great community organizers, uh, maybe uh a great like your local indivisible chapter and some of the work that they're doing or if you want to give a self shout out. We love those. A small business in your area, area that you think could use a boost or your small business. What are you making? What are you creating? We want to know about it and shout outs to government programs whether it's Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, uh, like we were talking about earlier heap snap, um, Section 8, the PACT Act. Some great VA health care that you've gotten. Um, send it all to us including and especially student debt relief. @dailybeanspod.com Click on Contact and all you got to do to get your submission in is attach your pod pet tax, pay the pod pet tax. That's a photo of your pet and if you don't have a pet, an adoptable pet in your area will do. We can try to help find them a forever home. If you don't have that any Animal photo. Really? And if you don't have that, of course you can send in your baby photos, whether they're your babies or you as a baby or a random baby on the Internet pictures. And uh, of course we also are accepting bird watching photos, which can be an actual bird, um, because I know we have some really prolific birders here that listen to this program. Or it can be a photo of you and your loved ones flipping the bird at a Trump owned property or a Trump leased property. So send it to us dailybeatspot.com click on contact. First up, Steve F. No pronouns. I have mastered a new skill, one that I'm sure could not be done by the orange Tater Tot or any of his junk drawer candidates. I know the bar is low though. I'm proud to have memorized all the words to the Daily Beans theme song. I've included two of my rescue dogs. Both. Both of them lost their battles with cancer over the last two years. I'm so sorry, Steve. The first is Maya, who's always the leader of the pack. The other is Dakota, the husky. She was the sweetest. I still have 13 rescue dogs. I was thinking to include them all as a pay it forward for anyone else with good news, but no pet of their own. However, there's a limit on how many I can send through your portal. We do have a suggestion from our producer Steve, that you send a group photo.
I love that our producers, like get 13 dogs in a photo to stand still at the same time. No problem.
Totally normal and reasonable to do.
I love our producers. Mhm.
Thank you both for all you're doing to bring an easily understandable rundown on the important news. Look at these beautiful babies.
Gorgeous. No, feel like I just turned into a husky. Gorgeous. Rawr.
Rawr. Thank you so much, Steve.
Oh my goodness. Quick shout out, uh, to a friend of mine, if I may, before I get to the next one. Just wishing. And we're going to do a time lapse because it's today as we're recording this. So Kelly, happy birthday. Your birthday's today. She's a big fan of the Beans, listens to us every day and is doing her best she can to stay sane through all this. You're going to hear this a day late. So happy belated birthday, Kelly. I love you. All right, this next submission is from anonymous pronoun she and her Greetings Beans queens. This is a good news shout out and thank you all rolled into one. One of the things I promised myself after the election was to Pick a local volunteer opportunity and schedule monthly volunteer shifts. I don't have a lot to donate financially, but but I can donate my time. Last Friday was the first scheduled volunteer shift at the Oregon Food Bank. I took a vacation day from work and I already have another scheduled for February. As I drove to the food bank, I was listening to Friday's Daily Beans and I got teary eyed. Listening to Dana talk about doing everything we can, it felt like such a perfect confirmation that I was doing the right thing. Anonymous, you are doing the right thing. And let me just say, you also just took a day off work, a vacation day, which is money out of your pocket to go volunteer. That's a big deal. As my pod pet tax, I'm sharing a photo from the end of the volunteer shift showing what we accomplished. There were about 30 volunteers working in a cold room repacking 58, oh my gosh, 5,866 pounds of frozen potato cubes into two pound bags. Eight bags to a box in a little over two hours. According to the OFB calculations. That's 4,889 meals. 158 meals per volunteer. That's awesome. Good. So good news. Shout out to all the food banks and volunteers and thank you to Dana for your words on Friday. They were exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right moment. And Anonymous, you are very welcome.
That's so amazing. Look at this. Yeah, 366 pounds.
That's amazing. I mean it's volunteering for something that you believe in, even if it's just a few hours a week. It makes all the difference in the world.
It really does. I remember when a bunch of beans, uh, listeners, a bunch of the Leguminati went up, um, when we had our show in D.C. and we did, ah, volunteered at a food bank and we had such a good time. Um, so thanks for doing this and thanks for sending this in. Next up is from Anonymous. No pronouns. A confession. Toward the very end of the Unjustified podcast, I cried as I could hear the break in Mr. McCabe's voice. Were the sacrifices of so many public federal employees seemingly in vain? I'm here to tell you that they were not. The truth is, my family benefited from wic. When I was a child, I was given free school lunches. I could enjoy reading and learning in those libraries. I was able to go to school without having to pay additional tuition. We had a roof over our heads thanks to low income housing. Every step of my life, my government was there to help me and saved me from oblivion. I lived in my car while attending college and working three jobs, but I got grants and loans from you so I could. You kept us safe and made sure we could live in a healthy environment. I wish I could thank all those federal and public workers who helped me along the way. I graduated magna cum laude. I worked at several great jobs along the way and volunteered through my life to give back as much as I can. I've recently fallen ill and it's not clear for a path forward. Ag DG and Andy McCabe, could you just please give the loudest shout out to all our government workers, including you, that I've always thought of them fondly and I'm forever grateful for their service so that I could have this amazing life for Pet Tax Here's a picture of our rescues. Just the middle one is still with us. He. He's our perfect talkative angel. Oh, look at these beautiful babies. What a beautiful submission. Anonymous I will pass this along to Andrew. It was hard, um, that was a hard show to, to record and I. It was tough, tough to listen to.
So thank you for that and Anonymous um, I hope whatever illness has, um, fallen upon you, um, is pain free as possible and that you're comfortable. And I hope that path forward that doesn't seem to be there right now just suddenly shows itself. But we are sending you a lot of love from the beans. All right. This is from Holly B. Pronouns, she and her most enchanting bean queens. Good morning. You two are without peer and I heard your call for good news. Ask and you shall receive. I wrote in a few months ago about my grandmother's children's book, Jackie Boy and the Sea Folk. I remember. And how it is now in print after nearly a hundred years in a Category 5 hurricane. Do you remember the beautiful illustrations? Yes, I do. I know you are avoiding Amazon, but it is also available at Barnes and Noble now, uh, for the economy of space. I didn't go into all of the fascinating layers. The most unusual was my grandmother herself. The word I use for her is intrepid. But my cousin Larry, he made the illustrations come to life. Says she was a badass. Both are correct. Just a tiny list of women's occupations sang, uh, at ah, La Scala as the colatura soprano. Is that right? Ballet.
I don't know that word.
Colatura soprano. Uh, then the ballet in Covent Gardens, London. Taught French, German in Florida high schools and in the 1920s in English and Korea in the 1940s. Yeah, she is a badass. She was also answered General Perishing's call for bilingual telephone operators in France During World War I, a total of 223 women responded and formed an invaluable service as the, quote, signal corps of female telephone operators. They were nicknamed hello Girls and were the first American women soldiers. After the war, their service was forgotten. Some descendants of the hello Girls got together, uh, the World War I Centennial Commission and the Doughboy foundation and others that have been lobbying Congress for recognition of the hello Girls and their service. On December 18th, Congress passed the bill, and on the 23rd of that month, President Biden signed it. The hello Girls will be honored with the Congressional Gold Medal. How is that for good news? That's awesome. I hope that still stands. With what? Everything that's going on.
Well, uh, Biden signed it. Yeah.
Ah, I love these illustrations. I still thank you for bringing them back to us. This is just so cool. And your grandmother sounds like a badass. Indeed.
Yeah, look at her. She is intrepid. All that stuff she's done. What an incredible life. Thank you so much, Holly B. For that follow up. I love it. All right, Pepper. No pronouns given. Hello from the Pacific Northwest. Four miles from a border crossing into British Columbia, I can walk if I have to. My last two years have been challenging. After a 39 year respite from a breast cancer diagnosis at age 32 with three little boys to raise, it returned with a vengeance in 2023. Pepper, I'm sorry. Dress is real. Multiple surgeries, 16 chemo treatments kept my eyes on politics. Faded for a bit. I discovered UN podcast became part of my coping methods. I'm done with treatment. Actually have enough hair to combine. And while working hard to maintain some sanity through this clusterfuck of politics, your voices and laughter are part of my routine. Thank you. The good news is I'm still here. My vision is once again clear and my voice is loud.
Amen. Pepper.
I'm getting choked up.
I know.
Thank you.
I felt it. What a great way to end this episode.
Beautiful. Perfect. Wonderful.
Still here.
Thank you.
My vision is once again clear and my voice is loud.
I appreciate that so, so very much, Pepper. And, uh, thanks to everyone who sent in amazing good news. If you have some good news to share with us, anything at all, anything you can think of at all. We all need it so much. I, um, can't tell you how many times, uh, people reach out to me and say thank you for the good news. And I say, we got to thank everyone who sends in the good news. It's all you guys. So I Appreciate it. Send it to us. And, uh, you can do that@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. Uh, did I say at the beginning that I would be out for the next few days?
You did not. We're telling everyone now. Everyone. Dana does Daily Beans solo. That's what's happening for the next three days.
Dana does Daily Beans. That's like a. Uh-huh.
It's a really boring porn is what it is.
Yeah. It's like Deborah does Dallas, but without the doing.
Yeah, well, without the Dallas, actually.
Yes. Uh, but, um, I, you know, tell.
Them where you're going, though. You've got some fun coming up. Well deserved.
I'm taking a couple of days off to go on the Comic Con cruise with folks like George Takei and all of my friends at Comic Con. I've got a long history with, um, with the organization, and, um, so I'm going to go see about how that cruise is and how. How the. The cruise line does with interpreting what Comic Con folks are into. Uh, so it should be interesting. I'm just very excited to be at sea for a couple days with just a ton of super smart nerds. I love it. Those are my. These are my people. And I'm really, really looking forward to.
Hey, if I get to go cruising with the, you know, 2500 lesbians, you get to hang out with your Comic Cons.
So I'll let everybody know, uh, how it goes. And Dana, uh, will be holding down the fort. Uh, so I thank you so much, my friend, for covering me so I can get a couple of days. I don't know how much I'm gonna rest, but, um, get a couple of days off. So.
Yeah, I'm already preparing myself for the influx of corrections. Oh, no, mostly on pronunciation, so I'm okay with that.
Everybody, um, make sure you send in your baby photos for the next few days.
Yes, please. Baby animals. Baby photos. Baby animals. Just for.
All right, everybody. Dana, uh, will be back in your ears tomorrow. I'll be back in your ears later. Uh, so 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 Allison 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 Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information please visit mswmedia.com msw media.