Not So Civil Confirmation Hearings and Abortion Legislation | 01.31.25

Navigating Politics, Personal Stories, and the Pulse of Current Events

In this episode of 'The Civil Union,' Alex and Ryan start by touching on the Chinese New Year and their podcast's journey up to the third episode. The couple dives into engaging discussions about the current political appointments, and confirmations, including Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard. They address the slow implementation of Missouri's pro-choice bill and other passed measures. There's a candid conversation about the ongoing immigration raids and their societal impacts. They also discuss the nationwide implications of recent federal freezes. The episode wraps up with lighter news, covering exciting scientific discoveries and amusing stories about monkeys on the loose. Stay tuned for the latest political insights, personal anecdotes, and more.

00:00 Introduction to the Civil Union Podcast
03:18 Neighborhood Facebook Drama
05:40 Taylor Swift Theories and Super Bowl
08:14 Political Confirmation Hearings
17:47 Missouri's Political Paradox
20:58 Political Landscape and Abortion Legislation
23:48 RFK Jr. and the 'Who Said It' Game
27:07 Immigration Raids and Their Impact
33:36 Federal Ban and Government Shutdown
37:51 Lighter News: Scientific Discoveries and Escaped Monkeys
41:49 Closing Remarks and Upcoming Topics

Music: What's The Angle? by Shane Ivers -
https://www.silvermansound.com

Transcript

0:06

Welcome to the Civil Union, the podcast where politics meets partnership. We're Alex and Ryan, a married couple navigating life and debates in a conservative state. We bring you sharp insights, bold opinions, and honest conversations about the political issues shaping our lives, especially those living on society's margins. Tune in for real talk, a touch of humor, and plenty of passion, because when it comes to politics, every voice matters. And we're here to make sure they're heard. So starting episode three, finally. And I just want to say that our thoughts are with plane crash victims, the figure skating community and all their families and friends. It was just a horrible situation that happened last night. I was watching it as it went out or as it played on all the TVs. Yeah, I think it's crazy that they even had a video of it. It's really disturbing. I mean, it was the deadliest air disaster supposedly in like 20 years. So it's a pretty big deal. Yeah, very, very, very sad. So, okay. Moving on. It's the Chinese New Year and you know what? It's the year of the snake. So, shocking. Yeah, I, you know, this is our third episode and going into it, I do feel like we're starting to get the hang of things. I feel like we've been getting a lot of good feedback. We really appreciate all the feedback we have been getting because it does help us. But I do think there's a lot of people that are really pushing us to continue this. So it's great. I'm really excited that we're even here this week after the busy, busy week last week we had. Yeah. So did you see the new White House correspondent? Or have you seen her? No. I think she did her first like press debate. I guess it was a couple of days ago. I don't even know her name, but she's, she's really young. She has to be in her twenties. She's blonde, you know, she's very, very pretty. And I would be so proud of her if I was her parent, but she's with the wrong political party. But she made this, this post that kind of went viral on the left side where she misspelt the word correspondent. She only had it with one R. And so it was just kind of funny to see That happened that go down. Well, something with her too is, you know, White House correspondents need to be very well spoken. And from what I've heard, she's just not that like she keeps like going to her script, having one line for each response. Like she I've what I've heard of her is not very good so far, but we'll see. It's also a big day for you. When this podcast airs, it'll be a big day for you. Yeah, tomorrow, well, today, when this podcast airs, it will be my birthday, which is crazy. I'm very excited. Hey, happy birthday. Thank you. How do you feel turning to age older? I feel good about it. I like, I, you know, I don't mind aging, so I'm really, really excited. I'm not going to die. Disclose my age, but I will say that I'm just I'm very excited. It's going to be a very low key day. I'm not doing anything too crazy and that's exactly what I need right now. So it's perfect. So you're at the age where you don't disclose your age. I mean, do people disclose their age after 30? I don't know my only favorite part about you turning. Is that we're like, technically two years older for like two months. And I just, it's my favorite part about it. Only for two months, only for two months. Hey, are you a part of any of the neighborhood Facebook pages or like community heat communities in like the area? I am a part of a couple of them, but I also don't get on Facebook too much, but yes, when I do, they're very exciting. I think I'm like a administrator for one of them. I really don't know what that that gives you, but people are just like absolutely crazy. Okay. So like yesterday, like I, I see a post and there's this guy who says, can't believe there's still snow on the ground after 20 plus days. Like literally that was the post and. I was like, I thought I was, I thought it was just small talk, you know, neighborly talk. And I wrote, yeah. And it's supposed to get up in the forties and it's supposed to rain. So all of that will be like melted away. And then he just like responds to me. Like he liked the post. And I thought I was good. I was like, Oh, okay. And then like two minutes later, he's like tagging my name with a screenshot of like the city ordinance, like saying that snow can't be on sidewalks. And yeah. And his comment was like, I'm a jogger. And I can't tell you how many times I had to run around the sidewalk and, you know, go around the snow and everything. And it was just like, It's like, at this time period, do we really need more to complain about? Are you really trying to find things to complain about? Talking about snow? Well, so then I commented, I was like, Oh, sorry, I didn't know this was getting political. And then he responds to me, he's like, Political! What's making this political? I, I literally, I had to block him. I just can't do it. I will say, I don't ever get on Facebook, but when I do, I literally just look at the neighborhood pages because they bring me so much entertainment when I'm on Facebook. It's very entertaining. Very, very entertaining. And then, like, there's, like, people who post anonymously. That's always fun because they're always spilling the tea. But you know, as an administrator for one of them, I can see who you are. So, or it's always the people, the people that have the biggest voices are the ones that have like no profile photo. It's like the just basic graphic. And you're like, okay, well they're hiding behind something here. Right. People are so comfortable to hide behind their screens these days. And, and they loved complaining, even though after everything that has gone on, people just love to still complain. But. This, I mean this administration, I feel like I've aged like 10 years. I think I said that last week. But I am so ready for a new Taylor Swift album. I mean, me too. I don't want a rerecord, I want all new material. She supplied us with, she has supplied us with five albums since 2019 and four rerecord as well within those years. I mean, I know she was like super busy. Obviously, but I just need her to keep releasing albums to help me get through these four years. Have you heard the new theory about her, like, Louis Vuitton thing? Have you heard this? No. So, you know, she's getting some flack because she's been wearing a lot of Louis Vuitton, I guess, to all these, like, Kansas City games. with Travis Kelsey. Like if you watch what she wears, everyone's obsessed with it. Anyway, this is theory. You'll have to look it up. And it's funny that this gets in my algorithm. I blame you because this is, this is what I see on my social media. But there's someone out there saying Alex, his name's Alex day, but his Louis Vuitton, they're saying maybe room in 55. The 55th day of the year is February 24th. 224, which is 112 divided by two times two, which is I guess there's a 112 theory out there too, which this fits. And then on February 24th of last year at her reputation tour was the one the first time she did a double track. With track nines, Coney Island and Should've Said No and double track 15's New Year's Day in Peace. And if you add those two numbers together, you also get 24. And she had her piano malfunction on that same show. And no one knows what sound came out of the piano, but it wasn't a piano sound. It was like a random weird sound that she made, like made a note of. And then, Taylor Swift fans are crazy. But and then they said, the start of the tour, the clock 24. So there's this idea that there's going to be something on February 24th and reputation is 55 minutes long as well. Do you know who's going to the Super Bowl this year? I actually really absolutely don't. It's the Kansas City Chiefs. Oh, that makes sense. And the Philadelphia Eagles and Taylor Swift is from Pennsylvania and we all know she goes to the Kansas City Chiefs game. So it'll be interesting to see who she roots for. I didn't Kansas City win last year. Yeah. This is their third consecutive one. So I think they're going to break a record, but this isn't a show about Taylor Swift. We're here to talk about politics. It's time to move on. Moving on. So this past week, well, and last week we've been dealing with the city of confirmation hearings. Last week was obviously Pete Hegseth, and he got confirmed for Secretary of Defense. And then this week, we've had Tulsi Gabbard Thursday, RFK Jr., Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, just to name a few. But there's been quite a bit of activity with the confirmation hearings. One of the biggest biggest people that really kind of going into this was the most controversial was Tulsi Gabbard, who was getting confirmed for Director of National Intelligence. She was, has a big history with, with the gays. I mean, she's been anti gay for a while. What's interesting about her is she used to be a Democrat and she's from a very Hawaiian state. Yeah, I don't understand. I know she's from Hawaii and we absolutely love Hawaii, but like I don't know how you can be like a Democrat and then you're like running for like the presidential nominee like she was on like one of the nominees. Yes, she supported Bernie Sanders after she dropped out. Well, and then now she's a Republican as of like last year. It's so weird. How does I am? We kind of touched on this last week about how, like in relationships, people flip, but I just don't understand how people flip and, and she's not the only one. RFK Jr. Also flipped. RFK used to be a Democrat. He used to be pro abortion. And then all of a sudden, just in the past, like five years, he's kind of flipped as well. It's very strange to me. But super weird, Tulsi Gabbard, you know, she has a lot against her. It's surprised. I'm surprised she her confirmation hearings on Thursday didn't get as much news as they probably should have. And people didn't go after her as much during her confirmation hearings, because she has a lot of crazy things going on with her with not only did she meet a dictator al Assad, but I mean, she also defended Putin and His attacks on Ukraine. I mean, she basically said it was Ukraine's fault that Russia attacked them. And she's just she's known to be in favor of these big dictators. And she also has a history of believing false information that is being pushed out by those countries. I mean, she's just this woman, if she becomes director of national intelligence, will be able to decide what is classified. And what is declassified? And what is shared with our allies? Like, it just seems very counter to what her history is as a person. And at her confirmation hearings on Thursday, she really kind of just circled around all these questions pointed to her. I mean, it didn't really go anywhere. So I'm not, not quite sure where we stand with Tulsi Gabbard. But I do know some Republicans also really hounded her at her confirmation hearings on Thursday, too. Who? Who else got nominated that Pete guy? How do you say his last name? Yeah, he was confirmed. He had a lot of, yeah, allegations against him. Three senators, Republican senators voted against him. But with Pete Hex, that's what is interesting too, is with him, actually had to come and tie break the vote. It is only the second time in history that this has happened with a congressional nominee that a, that a vice president had to come and break the tiebreaker the other time that this happened was another trump nominee Betsy Devoy. So, or Betsy DeVos, yeah, DeVos. But yeah, I mean his, his, Pete's viewpoints of women in the military should alarm people. I mean, he's going to make waves that he mean, he basically thinks women's position is at the house. They are there to raise the kids. I mean, he has such an old school. He doesn't want women in combat. I think he's really gonna, really gonna push for that too, which is scary. It's always thrilling to see the Lisa Murkowski Senator in Alaska and the Susan Collins up in Maine. They're both Republican senators, how they just break away and vote against The nominees and which is also weird who also voted because three Republicans voted against his nomination, Mitch McConnell in Kentucky. That was a weird one, but I'm, how old is Mitch now? Is he approaching 90? Mitch McConnell is as old as an alligator. I mean, he is so old, but the thing with Mitch McConnell, which I find very interesting. Yeah, he has been beating to his own drum this year and I'm kind of enjoying it. Not that I enjoy him, but I'm enjoying that he's breaking away a little bit because he has no, no Fs to give at this point. He's not up for reelection. He's kind of just doing his thing. He was horrible with Obama. Oh, he was horrible. So like, so Pete got nominated and JD Vance like broke that tie vote. And so Pete told reporters the first day to expect like executive orders. And Monday morning we woke up with four new executive orders, reshaping our military. We were like, Which were signed by Trump, obviously. One of them included reinstating with back pay service members who were discharged from not receiving the COVID 19 vaccine. And of course, of course, he's been going after the DEI programs, which we, me and Alex were gays. And we didn't know what DEI even stood for like three weeks ago, by the way. So all this talk about DEI, it's just, it's kind of crazy. It's just something for them to complain about. But of course Trump is. Blaming the D are gutted the D I program for the military, which, which by the way, with that plane crash last night at the press conference today, did you see the press conference? No. Oh no. But I heard about it. Yeah. Trump like blamed Biden and the D I program for the plane crash. Are you fucking kidding me? That's nuts. Anyway. So another order. That was signed for gutting the military or reshaping the military. Is that he went after the trans population again? Like what is this fascination with the trans community? Yeah, it's so strange. Yeah. So I did a little research here and out of 2. 8 million military members and estimated, they don't. I don't actually release these numbers, but it's estimated that between 2 to 15, 000 members, active members in the military, are trans. You know, that's not even a percentage point. It's half of a percentage point. Like, what are we really doing here? Aren't there bigger things to tackle? I feel like the trans subject is just being weaponized by Republicans, and it's like, you know, we, gays were weaponized years ago, before that it was African Americans, now it's trans, and what people don't understand is, the trans community Yes, they're there. They're just keeping to themselves. Let them keep to themselves. Let them do their thing. Let them be who they are. Like, that's great. And I love it. Like, why do they have such an issue? And right before my last. I said, aren't there bigger things to tackle? Well, oh, they're tackling things. That's for sure. I mean, it's just nuts. I mean, I think the word unprecedented is like the word of the decade. Like if there's one word to describe everything that has gone on in the last eight years and let alone since 2020 unprecedented and like this administration. This second term of Trump is just unprecedented. There is this idea that we're going towards an autocracy. I mean, if you look at other authoritarian countries leaders in those countries value loyalty more than expertise or competency. And if you look at these confirmation hearings, that's a running trend here. Trump has been pushing people that are really Only loyal to him. They have no experience in these roles. Pete Hexeth was a Fox news person. RFK Jr. Has really is the least last person you would want as house secretary, but they, but they are loyal to Trump. And so there's this idea that that's the direction we're going in. It is kind of unsettling because it's ringing true. Who else is getting nominated? There's also going to be Kash Patel, who is being nominated for FBI director, Pam Bondi, who is being nominated for attorney general. Yeah, Pam Bondi, by the way, I lived in Florida for a few years and she was, and I was there during her first run for office. I don't remember what it was. I think it was attorney general or something, but she's so, she was like. Not only is she an election denier, she was like on this anti gay crusade for like the longest time before she was even known nationwide. Like, she does not like the gays. It's crazy because it feels like this has already been all over the news. It feels like it's been forever. And there are a total of 25 cabinet confirmations, which means we're only at the tip of this whole journey, not looking forward to the rest of it. I mean, but it's also important to note just moving forward. It's also important to note there is discussion with Gabbard, especially that they should be make, they should make her, vote public or in private. There's this, there's this argument. Many of Trump's supporters want it to be public primarily only because they know that making it public will pressure any GOP senator who is considering opposing her nomination. So keep an eye on that and see what they do. So let's, let's transition here to the great state of Missouri. We, we love Missouri, but, uh, we, we, we, we love Missouri, right? We do, we do, we love Missouri. But I just don't understand why Missourians keep voting for democratic sponsored issues yet. We keep electing these. far right, like not even middle of the road Republicans. It's just boggles my mind. Like, so this past November Missourians passed a pro choice bill that basically would codify the right for a woman to seek a medical abortion in, in the state. The vote passed by 52 to 48%. All our Republican legislators have taken office yet. No providers as of today are providing legal medical abortions at the, at this very moment. How, how is this even legal? Like we. Both know that if an anti gay marriage or a ban on drag queen performances bill came up and passed in November, that would have been outlawed the very next day. These Republicans are moving very, very slow to even let people get abortions right now. It blows my mind. These, these Missouri Republicans are fighting to make Missouri once again, the most pro life state in the nation right now. And we also saw how that, how that works. And 22 we were the, actually the first state that banned abortions right after the Roe v. Wade I mean, the politicians in the state, it is very interesting that people vote for them in office because they are working against what their constituents actually are voting for. You know, the Missourians for Constitutional Freedom raised more than 31 million dollars to And it all went to TV ads and things, while the opposite pro life section of that movement, I think like a third of that was raised. I mean, that shows you what kind of support is there in the state. And the fact that this was passed as law, yet the, they're, they're trying to handcuff this subject and do what they will with it. And it's going against what everyone's wanting. And it just makes no sense. how they are able to do that. It just boggles my mind. But this isn't the first time, by the way, that Missourians have voted in favor for a Democratic styled bill. Back in August of 2020, Missourians voted even more blue for the expansion of Medicaid. It won by 53%, yet the ex governor Mike Parsons basically killed the voters passage saying it was just too expensive. Also last November, we passed a bill to increase the minimum wage and the right for all workers to earn paid sick leave. Yet the Missouri Republicans once again are also trying to dismantle that bill. It, it, it's crazy how. They're so for like good elections, thorough elections, every vote matters. Yet when we vote in favor for democratic style issues, they won't even. legalize the bill. It blows my mind. Well, and these politicians are going to get backing from the national government. I mean, the walk of life walk for life was last Friday, and they had huge movements in San Francisco and DC and Trump and JD Vance made appearances. I mean, they are making it known where their stance is. And there is a fear right now from pro choice the pro choice side about the fear of the Comstock Act, a dormant law from 1873 that criminalizes the shipping of any materials used in an abortion. This would include abortion pills. And Josh Hawley, here in Missouri, a Republican senator, wants to make it a requirement that women have to pick up abortion medication in person. So you put all this On top of each other and there it's just one form of support that's going to people are going to have to keep paying attention to this subject because it's going to get worse. Yeah. Speaking of Missouri being so pro life. Even though we're so quick to put someone to death that's in prison. One of our elected United State House of Representatives, I think his name is Bill Burr Burleson? Bill Burleson? I can't say his last name. I don't really care about him. He represents Missouri's 7th Congressional District, which is in like deep southwestern Missouri, so of course it's very red down there. But he introduced a bill to the United States Congress that Asking for the 14th amendment, which says something like, nor shall any state deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, et cetera, et cetera, you know he wants that amendment to say the right of life for each born and pre born. Human person, which would equate to if it got passed and in total ban on abortions throughout the entire United States, if it gets passed, I mean, and with how red our Congress is right now and how red our Supreme court is right now, it's, It's going to send shockwaves through the country if this actually goes all the way through it'll go up to the Supreme Court. So, you know, it'll be a few years and it is. I mean, I do want to know we are to gay men. Obviously, we're we have been supporting this. We've gone to marches supporting this, but you know, I cannot imagine how scary and Unnerving it would be to live. I mean, I'm I'm from Texas being in that deep state of Texas where it takes hours to get out even out of the state of Texas and then getting in Louisiana where you can't even get anything done there treatment wise. And then you go to Florida. I mean, to get any sort of Treatment or abortion, anything. If Josh Hawley does pass this thing where he wants people to pick up their abortion pills in person, the ramifications of that, if you are a woman in any sort of these states that are surrounded by other red states, it's scary and crazy and the costs that it takes to travel to even get your human, basic human rights met is https: otter. ai So this past week we saw Senate confirmation hearings of RFK Jr. I think he really wants to be like us state secretary of health and human services or something. We also saw his first cousin, former first daughter of the late president, John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy call him a predator. She said, quote, I've known Bobby my whole life. It's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because Bobby himself is a predator. I mean, he left a bear in Central Park, but With that let's play a little game of who said it. I'm going to read you a quote and you have to guess, Alex, you have to guess if Michelle Obama said it, who has absolutely nothing to do with the story, by the way or if RFK jr. Said it. Okay. Okay. All right, let's go. So here we go. First one, fast food was a rare treat snacking between meals was frowned upon. I mean, we all had our share of soda chips and desserts, but certainly not every day. Okay. And not at every meal. Who said it? I would say Michelle Obama. Ding. If we had a budget, we, I have a little dinger here, but we don't next. Good job. Thanks. All right. Who said it? So people literally get addicted to, you know, Donuts and packages and salted food and all the sugar and all these other ingredients. And they mass poisoned the American public. Who said it? I'm okay. I'm going to say RFK just because I don't see Michelle Obama saying mass poison. Yes. Good job. RFK Jr. said it. All right. Next one quote. Here we go. That's one of the things that the department of education ought to be doing is to make sure school lunches are healthy. Michelle Obama? RFK Jr. Seriously? All right. Here we go. Here's the next one. Parents are increasingly anxious as they see their kids developing diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure conditions that would have been unthinkable to find in children just a generation ago, Michelle Obama, or RFK jr. Michelle Obama. Yes. Good job. Another one. Here we go. Get yourself in shape. Start exercising. Stop eating processed foods. Michelle Obama, RFK. Interesting. Here's another one. We're currently spending billions of dollars treating obesity related conditions costs that many of your companies pay in the form of rising healthcare expenses. Expenses that will only continue to rise and affect your bottom lines. If we fail to act, I'm still going to run with Michelle Obama. Yes. Good job. What is that for? For you next. All right. And just imagine what number, here we go. And just imagine what that number would look like in 20 years from now. If we stand and let today's unhealthy kids grow into unhealthy adults who become employees of tomorrow, Michelle Obama. Yes, that's all I got. That was a fun little, who said it game. What did you get, like five? I think so. I wasn't counting. We really need to probably count next time just so I can say I actually officially won. I like winning. Moving on to the next subject. So there is a lot happening in the world, but one of the things that I'm kind of. Seeing a lot of just because it affects me a little bit is these immigration raids. I mean, they are, they're going on throughout the entire country. One of the places that's really getting hit hard right now is Chicago. Governor J. D. Pritzker has come out basically stating his stance against it. I mean, he's going to not get in the way of it, but he's also not supporting it or going to help, you know, any sort of action moving forward when it comes to trying to deport people that aren't criminals. I think the main takeaway with all this is they're saying one thing. I mean, this is a running theme. I feel like with this presidency so far, they're saying one thing, but they're actually, their actions are showing another. They're saying they're not just going after just criminals, but or they're going to go after just criminals. But that's not the case. You know, they're going after people. They're scooping up people that are, have no criminal record that are actually working hard here in this country. And it's really striking fear amongst a lot of people in that community. People are scared and they're making it, they're making it this chaotic mess. Yeah. Just some of these stories that are just heartbreaking to hear and absolutely like crazy to hear like that this day and age that this is actually happening in America. So like for one story, I heard a grandfather was arrested for opening his door to ice. He thought one of his kids were hurt because he saw the police gear. Another kid, kid, basically he was 25 years old. Ice determined this kid was dangerous due to a past home invasion charge. And when they showed up to his front door, he wasn't there. You know where he was? He was working a, he was at work, a tax paying non citizen is working. And we went and basically we are deporting him. I mean, he's 25 years old. He went to school from preschool, graduated high school. So he's been here his whole life essentially. And they're deporting him. And when they deport him, he's leaving behind a five year old child. It's really sad. And then it's crazy how. Oh, and then the California Farm Bureau came out and released a report saying migrant farm workers are too scared to show up for work because they're scared of getting deported. So essentially the citrus harvest in Central Valley, California has come to a halt because They're scared. The migrant farm workers are scared to show up to work. And that is something that people are saying, is that this is going to affect the economy. I mean, the agricultural sector and construction trades primarily filled with immigrants. I mean, the USDA, a study back in 2022 showed that the majority of the workforce of farm workers are immigrants. This, if you take them out of the equation, you know, Trump is doing it. People voted for Trump because of grocery prices and all these things. Well, what do you think is going to happen when you start making people so scared that they're not coming to work in these industries? Things aren't going to be picked, things aren't going to be harvested, and prices are going to go up. And we are going to see the effects of this probably soon in our grocery store prices. And when people complain, give it a little bit, but when people start complaining about grocery prices, tell them, well, maybe you shouldn't have. Deported all these people or try to there's also talk, which I think is crazy. They're thinking of putting immigrants at Guantanamo Bay. There's this news, new story about them outfitting a section of Guantanamo Bay. That is not the same section that the prisoners are in. It's on another side of it. But they're wanting to put people out there that are being deported or between the deportation, and there's this argument that, okay, well, if they do that, how is that going to look? I mean, you're not going to be able to put women and Children out there or the facilities are going to have to be completely, you know, you know, Adjusted for that, but or they just gonna put all men out there. I mean, there's just a whole lot of red tape along with this idea, and it's gonna be very interesting to see how far Trump takes it. No red tape. He'll just sign an executive order. But yeah, it's it crazes. It's crazy to me that our government can't figure out a way to curb gun violence or stop school shootings. You know, I mean, it's just it's It's nuts, but let me also say we don't have an immigration problem. We have a pathway to citizenship problem. You can't tell me if we had millions and millions of white Caucasian European immigrants flocking here to America that we wouldn't have already created some sort of legislation to make the pathway to citizenship easier for white people. People for non citizens. I truly feel the immigration problem has strong undertones of racial discrimination. And we've always had racial discrimination in this country, our whole lives for actually our whole history. If you think about it and DEI programs. helped helped those situations. It helps you get a job if you were a non white, but a great applicant to work at this place of work. And we literally have a president that's overturning these DEI programs and all that BS. It just, it's really, really sad. Well, and this is going to sound a little bit off topic, but I swear to you, it's not. But if you look at like what's going on with January 6th people who they all got pardoned that that that starts this feeling that his supporters can kind of do what they want. And there is this fear that with everything going on with these immigration raids, will this spark a sort of vigilante vigilantism? Or how do you say where people that are supporters of Trump start reporting on? Businesses reporting that FBI that they're seeing, you know, immigrants here and there, like, is this going to be something that's going to be worse and more poisonous and just more chaotic? Because you have these people that are Trump supporters that think they can get away with everything. And they're going to start reporting people left and right throughout this entire country, quote, helping ice and being good citizens. I mean, where is this gonna go? It just is. It's very unsettling. And we'll see how you know, we'll see. Yeah, so I can't even remember what morning it was. I think it was Tuesday morning when the entire nation literally woke up to a federal ban on grants and loans, like everything was frozen. Everything from Medicare to like free school lunches, even charities were just froze. Like the Medicare site just went offline and it everyone lost their minds because they didn't know what was actually happening. I think with the freezes, what's going on too, and it's important to note is would, if there wouldn't have been the amount of people that stepped up in this country and went against it, what were Republican were Republicans really thinking they could get away with this? I mean, I think they really thought they could shut down all these places and it not knowing it affects nonprofits, charities, public service programs. I mean, a lot of people, even Republicans. pushed back. And because they pushed back, then the government kind of was like, Oh, well, oh, no, we didn't mean to do that. We actually meant this and this and we're not gonna do this with Medicare. And oh, we never had this. It's like they backtracked. But if no one would have pushed back, would they have even adjusted these, these, these freezes? Yeah, it was It was just a wild day to watch all the newsreels and all the posts come out and see like what people were saying and what the government wasn't saying and it was just absolutely frightening. And then we had Senator Chuck Schumer from New York. He came out and spoke and he called this a constitutional crisis. It really was. I mean, shit really hit the fan when, when this all went down. And by the end of the day, a federal judge in Washington DC put out a temporary stop of the ban so it could all get sorted out. The next day the administration said the ban was lifted. So literally this is exactly what we told you last week. That this was going to happen. This administration and Trump will put forth bill after bill, after bill, executive order, after executive order, and try to push through so many new laws just to see what they can get away with. It's absolutely frightening to see what is happening right now. Yeah, I mean, this has worldwide implications. It's going to affect Ukraine. It affects people in other countries. You know, Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through the federal government right now because of his fears of, quote, this deep state, this idea that they're running about this deep state. And it's honestly putting his interests above all his constituents in this country. I mean, he doesn't care. He doesn't care. And I mean, the CDC being taken down, that's going to affect us. If this bird flu situation ignites you know, there's so much going on that it's hard to wrap your mind around it. How much he's freezing, how much he's shutting down federal workers, even. I mean, they were given an ultimatum, basically, if they wanted to quit, they could, and they're going to get paid through September, but they, everyone's saying that's not going to happen. A lot of people are saying, do not quit. Quit because he's not going to be able to pay you the funding through the government has only has only been approved through March. There's no way he's going to be able to promise payments through September if there's no funds there to do that. They were asked to resign. They were asked to resign and they need to be like put on notice by February six, right? And if you gave notice before February six, you could get paid throughout to the end of September, but it's not going to happen. It's a complete wash. And what's very interesting is the email that was sent out was the same. Type of email that when that musk went sent out to all of the people that were working for Twitter The headline was fork in the road Which was what musk literally wrote in his email to all the staff on Twitter Which he had done last year if you remember so it's just very interesting how much musk probably had a hand in this And people who worked at Twitter at the time, or X, now are in these departments doing the same exact thing to now the federal government. Wasn't the subject line of the Trump email to the federal workers wasn't it the line, like, resign, or something? I think it was fork in the road, the same exact subject that was used in the Musk email. I mean, I would just sort of deleted it. They're so big on like not getting like viruses on your computer, but that's, it's nuts. Okay, we need lighter news. Yeah. So we've gone through all that. We're going to touch on some lighter things here. So something I had read about, which scientists in Australia discovered a protein in a plant. oyster. This oyster is called a Sydney rock oyster. But in my mind, I'm thinking, like, think of what oysters look like, how gross they are. They like literally put a needle or a syringe in this little thing, took out this protein, and this protein can actually, they're finding, can enhance antibiotics, which doesn't, Sound like a big deal, but it is. That could be a game changer because if it can enhance antibiotics, that would affect all antibiotics with diseases and things. I mean, this could be a gigantic discovery that they just found. Do you like oysters? I used to like oysters, but now I don't like them. the idea of dying from them. So now I don't like eating them. I do too, but I don't know. They're scary. All right. What else you got? So now the next happy topic is in South Carolina last week, well, Last year, which I don't remember hearing about this, but 43 monkeys escaped a facility called Alpha Genesis last year. I guess a worker didn't put a door on right or didn't lock something right. And these monkeys all got loose. 43 monkeys got loose. And I guess they've been hanging around the lab in the forest. Forest or woods of that area, they've, for the last two months, they've survived a snow. I mean, they, they've, I guess, slowly been recaptured, but the last four monkeys got recaptured this past week. They've been recapturing them by enticing these little monkeys with. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which I find highly adorable. They were called rhesus macaques and there are these cute little brown monkeys. They're like the size of a cat. I looked up if we had them at the St. Louis zoo. We don't. A lot of zoos actually don't have these types of monkeys. They're known to be bred for research because these types of monkeys are actually. Which is very interesting and kind of crazy. These monkeys are 90 have a 93 percent match with their genes with our human genes. 93 percent match. That's kind of crazy to me. So they're used a lot in research. And I know, you know, that's sad. I know. And I know this is a bit dark, because basically, they've been recaptured, and they're now back in research facility. But I did learn that because they are used so much with research, many facilities that do use them maintain actually colonies of these monkeys. And so when they're done going to research, they are put back in these colonies or they are sent to sanctuaries once they're done with them. The only time that they are euthanized is if they're old, like really old, or if they obviously have significant health issues. But, you know, many facilities nowadays are transparent about their. Ethics because of just the nature of the whole thing. This, this reminds me, this is my second Florida story. Why, why did Florida come up so much today? When I lived in Pinellas County, which is like the little peninsula right next to Tampa Bay, there was a loose monkey. I guess it got loose from a house. Cause people keep crazy animals in Florida. And. It was on the loose. It had to have been like for three, four months and the monkey could just survive in Florida. And so every time they spotted the monkey, like it would be breaking news reports and there would be literally helicopters flying over with cameras. following this monkey. And you just see this monkey jump tree to tree to tree. It was, it was so entertaining to watch. And they, they ended up catching him. What's funny is in this, I think in Texas they had monkeys escape a zoo in Fort Worth or around the Dallas area or something last year too. It's like the year that last, I guess last year was the year of the monkey. I mean, all these monkeys escaped, but anyway. Yeah. So We're moving on to the closing section of our podcast. If you made it this far, we love you. Thank you for listening. Things to look and keep an eye out on for the next week and the next episode are the tariffs. I, I heard last I heard terrorists have kind of taken a second, second beeline story, I guess right now. They were supposed to start on February 1st or something. So I guess we'll see if that actually happens this weekend. And I guess we'll see if Tulsi or RFK jr. Gets, gets approved, nominated to be in their roles that they've been designated. And. Yeah, and I think we'll also have to look at, you know, when it comes to this crash, where the direction will go with this, with this investigation with air traffic controllers and things. I mean, the thing is with news right now, there's so much distraction. We'll see kind of what happens with what we actually can weed through with this administration, but we'll try our hardest and we'll try to bring that to you guys. All right. So That's it for us this week. Thanks for joining us again and listening. We'll be back on next week. Until then, be sure to give us a follow on Instagram at the civil you that's just the letter you and feel free to send us an email. Letting us know your thoughts, questions, what we got wrong, or anything you think we should discuss at thecivilunion25atgmail. com again, that's thecivilunion25atgmail. com. Thank you guys for listening so much. Thanks for listening. Bye. Bye.