December 9, 2025 • 17 mins
In this episode of Good News for Lefties, we bring you a collection of inspiring stories that highlight resilience, activism, and accountability in the face of adversity. A significant breakthrough occurs as Trump-appointed Judge Rodney Smith orders the release of previously secret grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein, following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This pivotal moment marks a step towards transparency and justice in a long-overdue investigation.
In a powerful display of community solidarity, hundreds of residents in Portland, Maine, rallied to support Deering High School student Joel Andre and his family, currently detained in Texas. The protest, organized by youth activists, emphasizes the urgent need for humane immigration policies and showcases the strength of collective action.
We also celebrate the release of LaShawn Fitch, who has fought tirelessly for his freedom after being wrongfully convicted. His story of perseverance and plans to start a nonprofit demonstrate the power of hope and the importance of justice reform in our society.
Additionally, we highlight the remarkable achievement of drag queen and environmentalist PattyGonia, who raised over $1 million for outdoor diversity initiatives while backpacking 100 miles in full drag. Her efforts not only promote environmental awareness but also support the LGBTQ community in the great outdoors.
Lastly, we discuss the pushback against restrictive clean energy policies in Ohio, where residents are mobilizing to reverse local bans on renewable energy projects. This grassroots movement could serve as a model for other areas facing similar challenges in the fight for sustainable energy solutions.
Join us for these uplifting stories and more as we continue to spread positivity and advocate for change!
Today's Sories:
Federal Judge Orders Release of Epstein Grand Jury Documents
Hundreds of students, community members rally in support of detained Portland immigrant family
White House Deletes Video Using Sabrina Carpenter Song She Slammed As 'Evil'
NJ man granted clemency walks free with plan to fight for prison justice | News From The States
Pattie Gonia raises $1M for charity hiking 100 miles in full drag
This Ohio county banned wind and solar. Now, residents are pushing back. | News From The States
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/good-news-for-lefties-daily-news-for-democracy--6256627/support.
In a powerful display of community solidarity, hundreds of residents in Portland, Maine, rallied to support Deering High School student Joel Andre and his family, currently detained in Texas. The protest, organized by youth activists, emphasizes the urgent need for humane immigration policies and showcases the strength of collective action.
We also celebrate the release of LaShawn Fitch, who has fought tirelessly for his freedom after being wrongfully convicted. His story of perseverance and plans to start a nonprofit demonstrate the power of hope and the importance of justice reform in our society.
Additionally, we highlight the remarkable achievement of drag queen and environmentalist PattyGonia, who raised over $1 million for outdoor diversity initiatives while backpacking 100 miles in full drag. Her efforts not only promote environmental awareness but also support the LGBTQ community in the great outdoors.
Lastly, we discuss the pushback against restrictive clean energy policies in Ohio, where residents are mobilizing to reverse local bans on renewable energy projects. This grassroots movement could serve as a model for other areas facing similar challenges in the fight for sustainable energy solutions.
Join us for these uplifting stories and more as we continue to spread positivity and advocate for change!
Today's Sories:
Federal Judge Orders Release of Epstein Grand Jury Documents
Hundreds of students, community members rally in support of detained Portland immigrant family
White House Deletes Video Using Sabrina Carpenter Song She Slammed As 'Evil'
NJ man granted clemency walks free with plan to fight for prison justice | News From The States
Pattie Gonia raises $1M for charity hiking 100 miles in full drag
This Ohio county banned wind and solar. Now, residents are pushing back. | News From The States
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/good-news-for-lefties-daily-news-for-democracy--6256627/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Good News for Lefties and America. Hello, and thanks for
joining this edition of Good News for Lefties. I'm Beable
for Rockland, your host, ready to help you swap out
doom and gloom for hope with uplifting stories for anyone
who believes in making America a better place for everyone.
(00:27):
To help us spread the positivity. If you enjoy the show,
please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or your
podcast platform of choice, and share this episode with a friend.
It helps more lefties like you hear more good news
stories and stay positive and motivated for the days ahead. Now,
let's get to some good news headlines designed to brighten
(00:47):
your day. Trump appointed Judge Rodney Smith of the US
District Court of Southern Florida has ordered the release of
previously secret grand jury transcripts from two thousand and five
and two thousand and seven investigations into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The move was spurred by the passing of Representatives Thomas
(01:10):
Massey and rocannas Epstein Files Transparency Act. This comes after
weeks of resistance from Donald Trump that culminated in him
switching course and caving to demands to release the files.
The United States seeks to unseal the grand jury materials
in this case and publicly release them, as well as
lift any pre existing protective orders that would prevent the
(01:31):
Department of Justice from releasing the materials. Smith's order reads
smith Sordier reads, the Act applies to unclassified records, documents, communications,
and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Galaine Maxwell.
The order doesn't set a deadline for the release of
the documents, which will be redacted before being released to
(01:52):
the public. The White House deleted a video it posted
to its Twitter account earlier this week that used a
sabrine A Carpenter song set to footage of immigration authorities
detaining immigrants, which prompted the singer to hit back and
call the video evil and disgusting. The video is no
longer available on the White House's Twitter account, and although
(02:14):
it is still up on TikTok, the audio of Carpenter's
song is no longer available. It's unclear why the video
was taken down, though some artists have previously complained about
the Trump administration's use of their music and forced it
to take down such posts on copyright grounds. Carpenter slammed
the White House in a response to its since deleted
post that has garnered one point seven million likes. This
(02:38):
video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me
or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda. The video
was set to an edited version of Carpenter's song Juno,
which repeats the line have you ever tried this one?
And each time the line is repeated, the video showed
a different clip of ICE officers detaining immigrants, some of
(02:59):
whom were handcuff chased, and held to the ground. In November,
singer Olivia Rodrigo slammed the White House for using her
song All American Bitch in a video urging immigrants to
self deport. Don't ever use my songs to promote your racist,
hateful propaganda, Rodrigo said in a social media comment. Singer
(03:19):
Jess Glynn criticized the White House for using the viral
Jet two holiday TikTok sound, which includes her song hold
My Hand, in a social media video about ice deportations.
This post honestly makes me sick, Glenn said, stating her
music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity, never about
(03:39):
division or hate. The band MGMT said on Instagram. In October,
it issued a takedown request to the Department of Homeland
Security for the unauthorized use of its song Little Dark
Age in a propaganda video of ICE agents detaining protesters.
The video is still available on Instagram, but no longer
contains the song. Before we get back to the news,
(04:03):
I want to tell you about an important podcast called
This Week Again, hosted by Suzanne Posel. It takes a
humorous look at politics and current events one week at
a time. It's a funny, angry, progressive, sarcastic, hilarious podcast
that drops every Sunday, and, in my opinion, is the
largest single repository of creatively insulting names for Donald Trump.
(04:28):
Mango Mussolini and Orange Julius Caesar are just the beginning.
So if you want to recap of the week and
you want a laugh into the bargain, listen to This
Week Again with Suzanne Posel on this platform or wherever
you listen to podcasts. That's This Week Again with Suzanne
Posel s U S A N N E p O
(04:50):
S E L. This Week Again, Listen, Laugh, repeat. Hundreds
of people in Portland, Maine, showed up to protest for
Daring high school student Joel Andre and his family, who
were now detained at an immigration facility in Texas. Students
(05:12):
and teachers walked out of class and were joined by
local and state officials and other community members to protest
in Portland. Border agents in New York detained the mother
and her three teenaged children in November after the family
attempted to seek asylum in Canada. An immigration judge had
issued a deportation order for the family in February, and
(05:34):
their appeal for asylum in the US was denied in October.
Court records show the family is originally from the Democratic
Republic of the Cargo and first entered the US in
twenty twenty two. According to US Customs and Border Protection,
the mother, Kareem Belinda Mabezi, and the oldest sibling, nineteen
(05:55):
year old Olivia and Mabilla Andre, are currently detained in
Texas at the Dilly Immigration Processing Center. According to the
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detaining Locator System, the system
doesn't track people under eighteen years old, and therefore it
doesn't capture records for the two high schoolers, though they
are believed also to be at that facility during the protest,
(06:18):
which was organized by the youth activist group Voices for Portland,
Maine Students. Attendees marched along Congress Street from Monument Square
to City Hall. Speakers called for broad changes to immigration
policy to one that centers individual humanity and shared stories
about how their classmates bettered their community. Casco Bay High
(06:38):
School teacher Carrie Hurleihey said Joel Andre's sister at Stefania
Andre was consistently the first student in her room each morning.
The protest was spearheaded by Casco Bay seniors Heavy Jones
and Caroline Chong, who began the rally with chance including
no Hate, no fear, Refugees are welcome here. For seventeen years,
(07:02):
Lashan Fitch has fought for his freedom, saying he never
participated in the two thousand and eight murder in Eatontown,
New Jersey, that landed him behind bars on a forty
year prison term. Thursday, he was released from Southwood State
Prison to an impatient, joyful crowd of family and other
supporters after Governor Phil Murphy commuted his sentence last month.
(07:23):
He was one of two hundred and eighty three people
to get clemency so far under a sweeping initiative Murphy
began last year. Although he walked out of the prison
doors two hours later than scheduled, he loitered in the
cold sunshine across the street to hug loved ones, FaceTime friends,
give a speech, change into an outfit his mom brought,
(07:44):
make sure boxes of legal paperwork got into the right car,
use about his future, and do any other number of
things besides leave. I'm not going to stop until my
name is exonerated, Fitch said, I've been helping brothers with lawsuits.
I've still got three four pending lawsuits against prisons right now.
(08:04):
So just know this, this is just being written. We
still going, We're moving forward. Fitch's fervor is unsurprising to
anyone who knows him. At New Jersey State Prison in Trenton,
he became a paralegal and eventually director of the Inmate
Legal Association, a prisoner run group in some prisons that
helps incarcerated people with court filings. He's filed grievances, sued
(08:27):
the state, and spoken out publicly over everything from better
computer access for incarcerated people to solitary confinement, two pandemic
restrictions that lingered long after the crisis ended. He suspects
he was transferred from Trenton, where he'd spent most of
his incarcerated time, to South Woods, the state's largest lock up,
as retaliation for his prison activism, so he sued over
(08:50):
that too. There's so many deserving brothers and sisters that
need the opportunity that I get today, he said. The
state has increasingly trended toward leniency for Jumie in criminal trouble.
Fitch was seventeen, just one year older than his son
is now when the murder that derailed his life occurred.
He's thirty five now. Soon he will join his father,
(09:11):
Anthony Robinson's remodeling business until he can resume his legal work.
He aims to be a lawyer, though that is not
news to his family. He represented himself at his twenty
fourteen trial after he lost faith in his assigned council.
He also wrote a book titled A Prisoner's Plight that
he hopes to get published, and he plans to start
a nonprofit called Justice for Jersey and a podcast to
(09:34):
feature the stories of those granted clemency. Up next, a
listener suggested story back in a Minute, and Now a
listener suggested story from Nelson in Santa Rosa, California. Beloved
drag queen, performer and environmentalist Patti Egonia raised one million
(09:54):
dollars in less than a week, all while backpacking one
hundred miles in full drag in a video announcement shared
earlier this week. Patty, whose offstage name is when Wiley,
launched the initiative, starting about one hundred miles north of
San Francisco, where she backpacked along the coast until she
reached the heart of the Bay Area for her final
(10:16):
drag show of the year. Her gofund may passed its
one million dollar threshold, she shared in an update from
the trail at mile ninety two. A caption on the
video shared that over thirty one thousand donors contributed to
the campaign, with the average donation size coming in at
thirty dollars. Eight organizations specifically dedicated to diversifying the outdoors,
(10:37):
as Patty described it, will be the recipients of this funding.
She has also made headlines for her support of LGBTQ
plus National Park Rangers, even going so far as to
raise a giant trans pride flag in Yosemite earlier this year.
Thanks so Much for that story, Nelson, I appreciate the
follow up. If you have thoughts, ideas, or more good
(10:59):
news to share, we'd love to hear from you. Call
or message us at two zero two six five six
six two seven to one, drop us a line at
beowulf at two squared Media Productions dot com, or send
it to us at good News for Lefties on Facebook,
Instagram or Blue Sky. Restrictions on solar and wind farms
(11:19):
are proliferating around the country, with scores of local governments
going so far as to forbid large scale clean energy developments. Now,
residents of an Ohio County are pushing back on one
such ban on renewables, a move that could be a
model for other places where clean energy faces severe restrictions.
Ohio has become a hotspot for anti clean energy rules.
(11:42):
As of this fall, more than three dozen counties in
the state have outlawed utility scale solar in at least
one of their townships. In Richland County, the band came
this summer when county commissioners voted to bar economically significant
solar and wind projects in eleven of the cow eighteen townships.
Almost immediately, residents formed a group called the Richland County
(12:05):
Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development to try and
reverse the stricture. By September, they notched a crucial first victory,
connecting enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot
next May, when Ohioan's head to the polls to vote
in primary races, residents of Richland County will weigh in
on a referendum that could ultimately reverse the ban. It's
(12:27):
the first time a county's renewable energy ban will be
on the ballot in Ohio. Brian McPeak, another of the
group's leaders and a manager for the local chapter of
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, sees solar projects as
a huge job opportunity for the union members. They provide
a ton of work, a ton of man hours. All told,
(12:48):
more than forty three hundred people signed the petition, though
after the County Board of Elections rejected hundreds of signatures
as invalid, the final count ended up at thirty three
hundred eighty, just sixty more than the required threshold of
eight percent of the number of votes cast in the
last governor selection. That's a wrap for today's edition of
(13:08):
Good News for Lefties. For more on today's stories, Please
follow the links in the notes for today's episode. If
these stories brighten your outlook, please help us spread the
word by rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts or
your podcast platform of choice, and share this episode with
a friend. A big thanks to our production team Roosevelt Hein,
Aaron Watson, and Gillian Cunningham for making all of this
(13:31):
possible behind the scenes. I'm baiable Rocklin, weird name. Good
news for lefties and America.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Here's what you've been missing on the Stephanie Miller Happy
Hour podcast. Great Gutfeld on the double tap boat strike.
It's just better for us to kill them in the ocean,
make them shark feed, be done with it. We played
Megan Kelly yesterday saying she likes to watch this. She
hopes it's slow. That they lose a limb and bleed.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Out, disgusting. They're all discussed this.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Happened to our country, seriously.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Like that half of it. They've lost their souls, They've
sold them out. I don't know the highest bidder, but
we talked about this on the beans. The admiral that
actually approved this, he's I hate to say it. You
can't say I'm just following orders anymore. These are legal,
unconstitutional orders. You are also responsible in committing more crimes.
That's why those six senators and those representatives put out
(14:37):
that video that says you don't have to follow unlawful orders.
That's what the video was for.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah, I mean, as we keep saying the Abu grab
soldiers went to jail, Nazis went to jail. You're right,
I was following orders. Has never cut it. But yeah,
this justin said of Gutfeld, why is this rhetoric allowed
on TV presented as news. We need a full reboot
of morality in this country. It's beyond embarrassing at this point.
These are the people that are always lecturing us gays
(15:02):
on morality right, absolutely, and it really is. It's not
partisan anymore. It's just good and evil.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I was thinking about that the other day when everyone's like,
don't say us and them, we have to come together. No,
there isn't us into them.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Now.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
There's us that believe that people should not be just
getting killed in the middle of the oceans, that believe
that trans people should have the healthcare they need, that
believe that black people shouldn't be shot in the streets.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Subscribe to the Stephanie Miller Happy our podcast on Apple Podcasts,
Stephanie Miller dot com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
And in case you missed it, here's this good news headline.
Campbell's has dismissed an executive who allegedly referred to the
soup company's products as being made for poor people and
denigrated its Indian employees. Martin Bally, who was the vice
president of Campbell's information technology department, was recorded making the
(16:01):
alleged comments by another employee. Campbell's made quote highly processed
food and quote shit for fucking poor people, Bally reportedly
said to a former employee, Robert Garza, according to a
wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Garza, allegedly referring to Campbell's
employees of idiot heritage, Bally said, fucking Indians don't know
(16:25):
a fucking thing like they couldn't think for their fucking selves. Garza,
who was a security analyst at Campbell's, told a news
outlet he recorded Bally when he met with him to
discuss his salary and felt something was not right. He
is now suing the company for unfair dismissal and is
(16:45):
alleging that Bally made racist remarks, admitted to being under
the influence of drugs at work, and retaliated when Garza
tried to make a complaint about him. In a statement,
Campbell said Bally had been dismissed, adding this behavior does
not reflect our values and the culture of our company,
and we will not tolerate that kind of language under
(17:06):
any circumstances.
Good News for Lefties and America. Hello, and thanks for
joining this edition of Good News for Lefties. I'm Beable
for Rockland, your host, ready to help you swap out
doom and gloom for hope with uplifting stories for anyone
who believes in making America a better place for everyone.
(00:27):
To help us spread the positivity. If you enjoy the show,
please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or your
podcast platform of choice, and share this episode with a friend.
It helps more lefties like you hear more good news
stories and stay positive and motivated for the days ahead. Now,
let's get to some good news headlines designed to brighten
(00:47):
your day. Trump appointed Judge Rodney Smith of the US
District Court of Southern Florida has ordered the release of
previously secret grand jury transcripts from two thousand and five
and two thousand and seven investigations into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The move was spurred by the passing of Representatives Thomas
(01:10):
Massey and rocannas Epstein Files Transparency Act. This comes after
weeks of resistance from Donald Trump that culminated in him
switching course and caving to demands to release the files.
The United States seeks to unseal the grand jury materials
in this case and publicly release them, as well as
lift any pre existing protective orders that would prevent the
(01:31):
Department of Justice from releasing the materials. Smith's order reads
smith Sordier reads, the Act applies to unclassified records, documents, communications,
and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Galaine Maxwell.
The order doesn't set a deadline for the release of
the documents, which will be redacted before being released to
(01:52):
the public. The White House deleted a video it posted
to its Twitter account earlier this week that used a
sabrine A Carpenter song set to footage of immigration authorities
detaining immigrants, which prompted the singer to hit back and
call the video evil and disgusting. The video is no
longer available on the White House's Twitter account, and although
(02:14):
it is still up on TikTok, the audio of Carpenter's
song is no longer available. It's unclear why the video
was taken down, though some artists have previously complained about
the Trump administration's use of their music and forced it
to take down such posts on copyright grounds. Carpenter slammed
the White House in a response to its since deleted
post that has garnered one point seven million likes. This
(02:38):
video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me
or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda. The video
was set to an edited version of Carpenter's song Juno,
which repeats the line have you ever tried this one?
And each time the line is repeated, the video showed
a different clip of ICE officers detaining immigrants, some of
(02:59):
whom were handcuff chased, and held to the ground. In November,
singer Olivia Rodrigo slammed the White House for using her
song All American Bitch in a video urging immigrants to
self deport. Don't ever use my songs to promote your racist,
hateful propaganda, Rodrigo said in a social media comment. Singer
(03:19):
Jess Glynn criticized the White House for using the viral
Jet two holiday TikTok sound, which includes her song hold
My Hand, in a social media video about ice deportations.
This post honestly makes me sick, Glenn said, stating her
music is about love, unity, and spreading positivity, never about
(03:39):
division or hate. The band MGMT said on Instagram. In October,
it issued a takedown request to the Department of Homeland
Security for the unauthorized use of its song Little Dark
Age in a propaganda video of ICE agents detaining protesters.
The video is still available on Instagram, but no longer
contains the song. Before we get back to the news,
(04:03):
I want to tell you about an important podcast called
This Week Again, hosted by Suzanne Posel. It takes a
humorous look at politics and current events one week at
a time. It's a funny, angry, progressive, sarcastic, hilarious podcast
that drops every Sunday, and, in my opinion, is the
largest single repository of creatively insulting names for Donald Trump.
(04:28):
Mango Mussolini and Orange Julius Caesar are just the beginning.
So if you want to recap of the week and
you want a laugh into the bargain, listen to This
Week Again with Suzanne Posel on this platform or wherever
you listen to podcasts. That's This Week Again with Suzanne
Posel s U S A N N E p O
(04:50):
S E L. This Week Again, Listen, Laugh, repeat. Hundreds
of people in Portland, Maine, showed up to protest for
Daring high school student Joel Andre and his family, who
were now detained at an immigration facility in Texas. Students
(05:12):
and teachers walked out of class and were joined by
local and state officials and other community members to protest
in Portland. Border agents in New York detained the mother
and her three teenaged children in November after the family
attempted to seek asylum in Canada. An immigration judge had
issued a deportation order for the family in February, and
(05:34):
their appeal for asylum in the US was denied in October.
Court records show the family is originally from the Democratic
Republic of the Cargo and first entered the US in
twenty twenty two. According to US Customs and Border Protection,
the mother, Kareem Belinda Mabezi, and the oldest sibling, nineteen
(05:55):
year old Olivia and Mabilla Andre, are currently detained in
Texas at the Dilly Immigration Processing Center. According to the
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detaining Locator System, the system
doesn't track people under eighteen years old, and therefore it
doesn't capture records for the two high schoolers, though they
are believed also to be at that facility during the protest,
(06:18):
which was organized by the youth activist group Voices for Portland,
Maine Students. Attendees marched along Congress Street from Monument Square
to City Hall. Speakers called for broad changes to immigration
policy to one that centers individual humanity and shared stories
about how their classmates bettered their community. Casco Bay High
(06:38):
School teacher Carrie Hurleihey said Joel Andre's sister at Stefania
Andre was consistently the first student in her room each morning.
The protest was spearheaded by Casco Bay seniors Heavy Jones
and Caroline Chong, who began the rally with chance including
no Hate, no fear, Refugees are welcome here. For seventeen years,
(07:02):
Lashan Fitch has fought for his freedom, saying he never
participated in the two thousand and eight murder in Eatontown,
New Jersey, that landed him behind bars on a forty
year prison term. Thursday, he was released from Southwood State
Prison to an impatient, joyful crowd of family and other
supporters after Governor Phil Murphy commuted his sentence last month.
(07:23):
He was one of two hundred and eighty three people
to get clemency so far under a sweeping initiative Murphy
began last year. Although he walked out of the prison
doors two hours later than scheduled, he loitered in the
cold sunshine across the street to hug loved ones, FaceTime friends,
give a speech, change into an outfit his mom brought,
(07:44):
make sure boxes of legal paperwork got into the right car,
use about his future, and do any other number of
things besides leave. I'm not going to stop until my
name is exonerated, Fitch said, I've been helping brothers with lawsuits.
I've still got three four pending lawsuits against prisons right now.
(08:04):
So just know this, this is just being written. We
still going, We're moving forward. Fitch's fervor is unsurprising to
anyone who knows him. At New Jersey State Prison in Trenton,
he became a paralegal and eventually director of the Inmate
Legal Association, a prisoner run group in some prisons that
helps incarcerated people with court filings. He's filed grievances, sued
(08:27):
the state, and spoken out publicly over everything from better
computer access for incarcerated people to solitary confinement, two pandemic
restrictions that lingered long after the crisis ended. He suspects
he was transferred from Trenton, where he'd spent most of
his incarcerated time, to South Woods, the state's largest lock up,
as retaliation for his prison activism, so he sued over
(08:50):
that too. There's so many deserving brothers and sisters that
need the opportunity that I get today, he said. The
state has increasingly trended toward leniency for Jumie in criminal trouble.
Fitch was seventeen, just one year older than his son
is now when the murder that derailed his life occurred.
He's thirty five now. Soon he will join his father,
(09:11):
Anthony Robinson's remodeling business until he can resume his legal work.
He aims to be a lawyer, though that is not
news to his family. He represented himself at his twenty
fourteen trial after he lost faith in his assigned council.
He also wrote a book titled A Prisoner's Plight that
he hopes to get published, and he plans to start
a nonprofit called Justice for Jersey and a podcast to
(09:34):
feature the stories of those granted clemency. Up next, a
listener suggested story back in a Minute, and Now a
listener suggested story from Nelson in Santa Rosa, California. Beloved
drag queen, performer and environmentalist Patti Egonia raised one million
(09:54):
dollars in less than a week, all while backpacking one
hundred miles in full drag in a video announcement shared
earlier this week. Patty, whose offstage name is when Wiley,
launched the initiative, starting about one hundred miles north of
San Francisco, where she backpacked along the coast until she
reached the heart of the Bay Area for her final
(10:16):
drag show of the year. Her gofund may passed its
one million dollar threshold, she shared in an update from
the trail at mile ninety two. A caption on the
video shared that over thirty one thousand donors contributed to
the campaign, with the average donation size coming in at
thirty dollars. Eight organizations specifically dedicated to diversifying the outdoors,
(10:37):
as Patty described it, will be the recipients of this funding.
She has also made headlines for her support of LGBTQ
plus National Park Rangers, even going so far as to
raise a giant trans pride flag in Yosemite earlier this year.
Thanks so Much for that story, Nelson, I appreciate the
follow up. If you have thoughts, ideas, or more good
(10:59):
news to share, we'd love to hear from you. Call
or message us at two zero two six five six
six two seven to one, drop us a line at
beowulf at two squared Media Productions dot com, or send
it to us at good News for Lefties on Facebook,
Instagram or Blue Sky. Restrictions on solar and wind farms
(11:19):
are proliferating around the country, with scores of local governments
going so far as to forbid large scale clean energy developments. Now,
residents of an Ohio County are pushing back on one
such ban on renewables, a move that could be a
model for other places where clean energy faces severe restrictions.
Ohio has become a hotspot for anti clean energy rules.
(11:42):
As of this fall, more than three dozen counties in
the state have outlawed utility scale solar in at least
one of their townships. In Richland County, the band came
this summer when county commissioners voted to bar economically significant
solar and wind projects in eleven of the cow eighteen townships.
Almost immediately, residents formed a group called the Richland County
(12:05):
Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development to try and
reverse the stricture. By September, they notched a crucial first victory,
connecting enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot
next May, when Ohioan's head to the polls to vote
in primary races, residents of Richland County will weigh in
on a referendum that could ultimately reverse the ban. It's
(12:27):
the first time a county's renewable energy ban will be
on the ballot in Ohio. Brian McPeak, another of the
group's leaders and a manager for the local chapter of
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, sees solar projects as
a huge job opportunity for the union members. They provide
a ton of work, a ton of man hours. All told,
(12:48):
more than forty three hundred people signed the petition, though
after the County Board of Elections rejected hundreds of signatures
as invalid, the final count ended up at thirty three
hundred eighty, just sixty more than the required threshold of
eight percent of the number of votes cast in the
last governor selection. That's a wrap for today's edition of
(13:08):
Good News for Lefties. For more on today's stories, Please
follow the links in the notes for today's episode. If
these stories brighten your outlook, please help us spread the
word by rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts or
your podcast platform of choice, and share this episode with
a friend. A big thanks to our production team Roosevelt Hein,
Aaron Watson, and Gillian Cunningham for making all of this
(13:31):
possible behind the scenes. I'm baiable Rocklin, weird name. Good
news for lefties and America.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Here's what you've been missing on the Stephanie Miller Happy
Hour podcast. Great Gutfeld on the double tap boat strike.
It's just better for us to kill them in the ocean,
make them shark feed, be done with it. We played
Megan Kelly yesterday saying she likes to watch this. She
hopes it's slow. That they lose a limb and bleed.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Out, disgusting. They're all discussed this.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Happened to our country, seriously.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Like that half of it. They've lost their souls, They've
sold them out. I don't know the highest bidder, but
we talked about this on the beans. The admiral that
actually approved this, he's I hate to say it. You
can't say I'm just following orders anymore. These are legal,
unconstitutional orders. You are also responsible in committing more crimes.
That's why those six senators and those representatives put out
(14:37):
that video that says you don't have to follow unlawful orders.
That's what the video was for.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah, I mean, as we keep saying the Abu grab
soldiers went to jail, Nazis went to jail. You're right,
I was following orders. Has never cut it. But yeah,
this justin said of Gutfeld, why is this rhetoric allowed
on TV presented as news. We need a full reboot
of morality in this country. It's beyond embarrassing at this point.
These are the people that are always lecturing us gays
(15:02):
on morality right, absolutely, and it really is. It's not
partisan anymore. It's just good and evil.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I was thinking about that the other day when everyone's like,
don't say us and them, we have to come together. No,
there isn't us into them.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Now.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
There's us that believe that people should not be just
getting killed in the middle of the oceans, that believe
that trans people should have the healthcare they need, that
believe that black people shouldn't be shot in the streets.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Subscribe to the Stephanie Miller Happy our podcast on Apple Podcasts,
Stephanie Miller dot com or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
And in case you missed it, here's this good news headline.
Campbell's has dismissed an executive who allegedly referred to the
soup company's products as being made for poor people and
denigrated its Indian employees. Martin Bally, who was the vice
president of Campbell's information technology department, was recorded making the
(16:01):
alleged comments by another employee. Campbell's made quote highly processed
food and quote shit for fucking poor people, Bally reportedly
said to a former employee, Robert Garza, according to a
wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Garza, allegedly referring to Campbell's
employees of idiot heritage, Bally said, fucking Indians don't know
(16:25):
a fucking thing like they couldn't think for their fucking selves. Garza,
who was a security analyst at Campbell's, told a news
outlet he recorded Bally when he met with him to
discuss his salary and felt something was not right. He
is now suing the company for unfair dismissal and is
(16:45):
alleging that Bally made racist remarks, admitted to being under
the influence of drugs at work, and retaliated when Garza
tried to make a complaint about him. In a statement,
Campbell said Bally had been dismissed, adding this behavior does
not reflect our values and the culture of our company,
and we will not tolerate that kind of language under
(17:06):
any circumstances.
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