Not So Civil Economy and a 'Take It Down' Bill | 03.12.25

In this episode of 'The Civil Union', hosts Alex and Ryan discuss their personal experiences over the weekend, including a local soccer game and recent movies such as 'Mickey 17' and Pamela Anderson's performance in ‘The Last Showgirl’. The podcast then shifts focus to political issues, analyzing Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico, his unpredictable policies, and the implications on the economy. They also discuss the potential censorship implications of the Take It Down Act, endorsed by Trump. The episode concludes with Bernie Sanders' tour across the Midwest aiming to regain Democratic alignment and representation, emphasizing the need for more active engagement from Democratic leaders.

00:00 Introduction to the Civil Union Podcast

00:37 Weekend Recap: Sports and Movies

06:06 Political Discussion: Tariffs and Economy

11:09 Trump's Impact on Colleges and Free Speech

15:50 Game Time: Red State, Blue State, or No State

22:44 The Take It Down Act

27:10 Bernie Sanders' Midwest Tour

28:45 Democratic Party's Need for Representation

34:45 Conclusion and Social Media Links

Music: What's The Angle? by Shane Ivers -

https://www.silvermansound.com

Transcript

0:07

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. I. 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 this has been a very busy week or weekend. I feel like we had a lot going on. City played on Sunday, which was great. We actually won for the first time, um, in a while actually. Yeah. I was so happy to see them actually score some points. So that was cool. Like three of'em I think. Right? Three points. Zero to three. Three points. Yeah. We take three points home'cause we won. Um, everyone played really well. And you know what's interesting is all the points we got were all from newer players that were signed. Between last year and this year. So it's promising. It's very promising. That's awesome. Also, on Friday I have this new thing where I've been going to the theater. I have this like monthly membership with Almo Drafthouse. So I've been trying to go to make it worth it, and we installed Mickey 17. It's this new Robert Patson movie. You know, we're on this twilight kick lately this year. I don't know why. But anyway, he's actually a really good actor and he plays this like. Doppelganger movie where he's like multiples of him and Mark Ruffalo ISS in it. He's really good. He actually plays this character that's very like Trump-esque, which is very timely. I mean, this movie had to have been filmed. I. A year or two ago, and it's just really interesting how the timing comes out. This, what was it called? Mickey 17 or Mickey 18. Uh, they usually suck after the second one, don't they? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, it's not a 17th movie, Ryan. It is a. Number one movie, but it's Mickey 17 because he's like, he's like, he dies. He's like a little, he's like a clone. And anytime he, they, you know, humanity uses him to test things and then he dies and then comes back as Mickey three, and then Mickey four, and Mickey five. So this movie, the iteration he's on is. Mickey 17. Interesting. Yeah. Anyway. Did you like it? I really, really liked it. You know, the director did OK J, which was that Netflix movie about the big cow that was like all fictional, but it was really, really good. So if you liked OK J, you'd like Mickey 17. And the guy, the director, did Parasite I'm pretty sure, which was like the best picture award winner a couple years back, which was also a really good movie. also, we have a group of friends and they. All started watching that new Meghan Markle documentary, or I guess it's not a documentary, it's like a reality show where she cooks. Is that right? Do you, did you see that? I mean, I didn't watch it, but yeah. I guess she's cooking now or something. Yeah, she's cooking and decorating. I guess she's trying to have like a Martha Stewart moment, or maybe like a Joanna Gaines moment. I, I don't know what she's really trying to do with this, but you know, I've never been a. Big fan of Meghan Markle. I think that's an unpopular opinion. Why? Why is that? I don't know. She just seems really fake to me. Like I don't, she just seems like there's a lot of flags. There's a lot of flags around her and I, but I will say I do fully support how she stood up to the monarchy. But isn't she like Megan Sussex now? Because I saw some blip when like Mindy Colle was like asking her, and she's like, well, I'm a Sussex now. And it's like, oh, okay. Megan SUEx. So should be Su Sussex Su Megan Su Sussex. Yes. It's, I saw that clip too. You know, that's the, those are the things I'm just like, eh, cringeworthy. But I do think she, I do think what the monarchy did was real, I think there were too many outlets, news sources that were kind of appeal reporting on the same stuff. Even in the uk, you know, other countries that make it seem like she actually was dealing with stuff. So, I mean, I get that and I. Fully support her with that. And I think they did the right move on. Moving to California, I read Prince Harry, Harry, right? Prince Harry, her husband. I read his document, or not documentary, but book, and I really, really like him. Um, it made, it opened my eyes on him. So I'll give the show. A moment. At first I was like, eh, it just seems so stupid. Well, e either people really like her or really hate her. Like there's no in between. I am completely indifferent when it comes to Meghan Markle or Meghan Sussex, but, um, like our friend is like really into her and is like planning a garden party, so I'm very excited for this. Future Garden Party And for the photos on Instagram. Just for the likes. I mean,'cause we're all gonna be looking real good. So I'm ready for that. I am too. I actually really hope they go through with this Garden party. If you are listening, you better go through with the Garden party'cause we are really looking forward to it already. Um, there was also, we had, this was a big movie weekend for us, I guess.'cause I also watched the last showgirl, which, uh, Pamela Anderson was the lead actress. Correct? Yes. Um, I walked into it thinking Pamela Anderson was. It and it turns out. Um, David, Jimmy Lee Curtis also co-starred, and she looked like a South city girl. I mean, you know, woman like, I mean, I was surprised she didn't get nominated for an award because her performance was just. On Mark. It was, it was funny. It was really good. I mean, it was really good. It took place in Las Vegas. Um, I mean, it was a movie we watched, so it was okay. I really, really liked it. It gave me Sophia Cap vibes, like Mary Antoinette vibes, like very like. Artsy and good cinematography. Pamela Anderson, I thought did great. I mean, I was expecting a little bit more, but she had her scenes and yeah. Jamie Lee Curtis, I mean, who knew if he put her under a different wig and put on some white lipstick that she would look so different. Yeah, that was, it was funny. It was a good, it was a good role for her, for sure. It was very good. Anyway. Alright, so let's move into our, our topics this week. Um, the first thing I wanted to talk about, which we've talked about this a lot more in detail in past episodes. I feel like this is gonna be a continuing topic. I'm so tired of even saying the word, but that's tariffs. The Trump administration has gone back and forth with this as of right now because, you know, he, he, he. Put them out there and then took'em back. But as of right now, there is a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico at a time when, you know, we are trying to cut our dependence from China. It's, I don't feel like it's the smartest move to cut ties with a low wage country like Mexico. And I understand that it's probably not the greatest idea or thing to support Mexico with low wages, but I mean, it is what it is and we, we get our products from there. So. I don't know. No, this president is absolutely unhinged and it, it's, it's really mind boggling how he'll first like enact tariffs and then he doesn't enact tariffs and then he like rolls back. Well, Canada's Prime minister, the new prime minister, I, I don't know the name of the Prime Minister, but he said that he was enacting what, uh, a hundred percent or no, was it 25% tariff on. The, um, electricity that we sell to Minnesota, that they sell to Minnesota, Michigan, and New York, which is gonna average out to each. Household and business up to an average of$100 per month. And he said, you know, we're not playing around here. We're not fucking around with this anymore. Like, we're not going, we can go to the bargaining table if you want, but this is just it. It needs to end. So like literally like. Five minutes ago there was some like breaking news report saying that Trump, Trump is like rolling back the tariffs, I guess on Canada or something. I dunno the story, I can't keep up honestly, but one thing about this whole economy thing, I don't really, I don't understand how this became such a talking point during the last campaign. The economy was in solid shape. With low unemployment. I mean, Biden's administration was cleaning up the effects of a pandemic. He was still, I don't, I think people forget how shattered our economy was, and Biden was really trying to fix it. Yes, it wasn't perfect, but the economy issues were not only American centered, I mean the, there were economy issues worldwide. I read the New York Times every week on paper, and I can tell you. It was kind of interesting to see how Europe and Germany and France, all of them were going through the same patterns we were when it came to economy. So it was not just an American thing. What Trump is bringing is high uncertainty and trust, and you cannot have a good economy with a president that has high uncertainty and trust. With the tariffs, Trump used what is called the IEPA or International Emergency Powers Act to enact these tariffs, which basically he called it a co, an eco economic emergency based off the crazy migration flows and fentanyl crisis, I mean. That's his basis for this entire dramatic situation. One interesting point too to make about these tariffs is a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel. That's kind of where this is going. And this actually supposed to start Wednesday, so I guess I. The day this podcast comes out, Trump did have this tariff with his first administration, but when Biden became president, his administration worked with allies to change this into a type of quota. So it kind of softened it up a bit. It was on the actual material, not products necessarily. But now Trump has made it clear this 25% tariff is across the board. This means this will affect a wider range of products directly. So higher costs will definitely go up on furniture, patio furniture, sporting equipment, I mean bicycles. Anything that is made of aluminum or steel, it will. Go up. Scott Biant, treasury secretary has said, I don't even know if I said that name right, but he basically said there will be a detox period. So there, that's their excuse. Short-term pain for long-term gain is what is being thrown out there on,, conservative news channels. But there was an article I read comparing this to the Reagan administration and what he did with the economy, but. Reagan did that over a three year transition, and that was a whole different time period. My question is, are people willing to wait three years to go through this? Again, do people have that patience, especially with a round of elections in two years? I don't think so. And I'm really curious to see how, where this goes. I think people wanted a quick fix. They voted for Trump because of the economy or the egg prices supposedly, and they, they expected this on the up really fast situation. And I don't know who actually thought Trump equaled better economy, but that guy is way too unstable to have created a stable economy. Yeah, exactly. Another area this Trump administration is causing issues is with colleges. He's really shaking it up. Trump is basically trying to strong arm colleges like he's doing with countries, but he's making them bend the knee. He's threatening 60 universities right now with penalties of possible antisemitism. What this really is, is a battle on free speech. These campuses were a site for some protests, which I'm sure everyone remembers last year with Israel. You know, the Gaza conflict, all that, the protests that were going on on college campuses, whether you are for or against that movement is not the point. The point is, should a president be able to strip funding from schools because of it? Yeah, I mean, illegal protest. Remember that tweet he had or, yeah, that wasn't a tweet, it was something, but on truth social, and I was like, what exactly is an illegal protest? I mean, that's what you're supposed to do as, as a citizen in this country. It's a free country. I. Free speech, you know, you should be able to protest something. So yeah, it's Well, and I've never understood why people have issues with college students protesting. I mean, that's the time in your life where you're supposed to do that kind of stuff. And if they're gonna do it on a college campus, I'd rather them do it on a college campus than in the streets. It's like when people do protesting on the streets, it's looting and freaking out and, oh my god, disturbance. But when people do it on college campus, not all of them, not all of them, not all of them, but when people do it on college campuses, I feel like that's a great. Area for that type of speech to take place. I don't know. Trump canceled$400 million in federal funding right now to Columbia University, and a big story I was looking at was that he attempted to deport a recent Columbian, a Columbia graduate who led protests there, a federal judge in Manhattan. On Monday, I believe, ordered him not to be removed from the United States for now. So it's an ongoing case. Yeah. He's currently being held in a Louisiana detention center right now. It's absolutely wild. I mean, what kind of implications would this, these, I mean,$400 million is a lot. What kind of implications will this? Go what funny cuts have on college institutions, and I don't mean that in a physical aspect. I mean that in like our idea of what college is supposed to be. I mean, they, they're breaking down the idea of that we are at a time where there is significant change in the education system in this country. We talked about this a little bit last week when we went to that. Restaurant, it was called the Cookout or something in Nashville. We were around all these college students and we talked about how this generation has, how much they've been through, and how that kind of maybe has affected the way they approach school. I mean, they, they remote learning all this. It does seem there is a restructuring of. Traditional college outlook. The younger generation, especially due to COVID-19, has a different outlook on what is actually needed for their careers. They aspire to want kids who always wanted to be. Lawyers are now looking into trade schools. I mean, the idea of learning remotely has tired so many of them out. They're rethinking what they want out of school. With that said. And that uncertainty created from the pandemic. We now are facing uncertainty with what kind of funding colleges and universities can rely on. Some universities are having hiring freezes, which means no more professors coming through. Some universities have shut down research. Um, there's actually a building, I was talking to my coworker. We were walking out, there's an entire building on the WashU BJC campus that is. Closed. They closed it. There's no cars in the parking lot, and those workers were given no notice. They walked in the work and it was shut down. It's a building that is owned by WashU, which is Washington University here in St. Louis, and they had to shut it down because of the lack of funding. Less people may be able to go through PhD programs. They're also finding a lot of people are being turned away from PhD programs. What does that have to do when it comes to, you know, a year and two from now when we need people in specialized um, jobs? There's not gonna be people graduating from these PhD programs. There's a trickle down effect to this that we'll start seeing years from now. But the main takeaway is when support for education is threatened, like it is with this administration. And throw in an unstable economy, higher tuition, remote learning fatigue from the younger generation. All this could de the academic institutions in this country. A big part we rely on for research on a number of sectors. So I don't think people are realizing big picture here with this subject. And there are gigantic implications that we're gonna see from these things. And we're only, what, three months into this administration. So we're doing a little something differently this week, is we're gonna do a different game usually every week. We do. Who said it? And I thought I'd switch it up. It's gonna be called Red State, blue State, or No State. Okay, what does this entail? You're gonna be my, you're gonna be my player. So basically I'm gonna say a policy or a law that is real or fake. And you have to tell me whether you think it's from, if it's real, whether it's a blue state or a red state, or if it's a no state, which means it's fake. Interesting. Okay. Alright, let's do it. So first one. This state officially recognizes Sasquatch as an endangered species in 1969. Red State, blue state, or no state? They recognized it as a endangered species. Yes. I'm gonna say blue State.'cause that sounds like Washington. That's correct. Are you looking outta my hand? I think you are. I'm turning my, I'm not really not turning screen around. Alright, next one. A state senator once proposed a bill to rename climate change as weather discomfort in all official documents. Red state, blue state, or no state? No State. Red state. Can you guess what state? Um, it's a red state you said? Yeah, I'm gonna say Texas, Florida, same thing. Okay. Well close enough. Same thing. Yeah. It was a supposedly in 2015, not surprising. Uh, local politician once proposed a bill to create a national unicorn day to boost national pride. Red state, blue state, or no state? I'm going to say no State. Red state. A red state, huh? Yeah. Wyoming. Wyoming. Really? Yeah. Which, you know, I actually am all on board for that. I think that would be so fun. National Unicorn day. Could you imagine how many like tours would go to Wyoming? Just to like celebrate that? Yeah. Yeah. That would be like a moment I think they should go through with it. All right. This state it, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sundays. Red State. Blue State, or no state? I'm gonna say Red State. Correct. Red State, Alabama. Oh, you gotta, let me guess the state. I was gonna say Louisiana, but Okay. Alabama. This old law actually prevented people from stealing horses because that ice cream cones were used as a distraction for the who. I think that's kind of funny, huh? Um. Alright. Because they eat them? Yeah. Oh, okay. Or they follow the person. I have no, I don't really know how that would work, but it makes sense.'cause you could see a horse liking waffle cones. Yeah, I guess. I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. It's the almost random thing. Yeah. Alright. This state tried to pass a law. Requiring all public parks to have free wifi. Red state, blue state or no? State? Blue State. Okay. What state? New York. California. California, okay. Same thing. Yeah. Which, you know what's interesting is there's a park here. I used to do homework in parks when I was in college.'cause I had to get outta my dorm, my apartment. And I feel like there's a park right around the corner from my house that had wifi. I think that's like a thing. It's a thing. Yeah. So I don't know. Alright. A governor once announced they would replace the state's official animal with a mythical creature because it would attract more tourism. No state. I was, that's true. No state false. But that would be very entertaining and I would be on board with that. Alright. An attempt to reduce crime. This state introduces a no drive policy for anyone under 25 on weekends. Red state, blue state, or no state? Wait, what is it again? In an attempt to reduce crime, this state introduced a no drive policy for anyone under 25. On weekends. I don't, did someone really do this? I would say it's a red state. Am I right? No state. No state. Okay. But. What kind of policy? I mean, what kind of effects would that have? That's actually not, that would be interesting. Like if they made people under, not under 25, not be able to drive on weekends. Like Yeah, like no semis on the weekends. That'd be great. Wow. That's, it's true. The point A to point B much faster. I think in Europe, semis are only allowed to travel on certain days and in certain lanes. I know why Germany that Germany. Yeah. Germany.'cause your family used to live there. Yeah. All right. Next one. A local politician once proposed, turning all public school cafeterias into fine dining restaurants to improve student nutrition, red state, blue state, or no state to fine dining In a public school? I'm gonna say no. State, blue state. A blue state. Interesting. Where was that at in, uh, let me think. Um, I'm gonna say. Vermont, California. Oh, California. And you know, I think that's a great idea.'cause when you go to college, the food court is made up of, some colleges have like actual like restaurants in there. At my high school, we had off-campus option when you were junior and senior. And so me and my friends, we would always go to Macalester's or Panera literally every day for lunch because it was like the same cost as your lunch. It's always gonna be St. Louis Spread Company in St. Louis. Oh, that's true. Yeah. They changed them mall though. I think it's no longer. Well, we did Mac Real Thing Wellers more because MacAllister, you could go eat and then you get that big cup of tea free refill, and then we would bring it back to school and it would last us the rest of the day anyway. Last one. A politician once introduced a bill to require every citizen to attend one community service event per month to foster Unity. Red state, blue state, or no state? Wait, repeat that again. A politician once introduced a bill to require every citizen to attend one community service event per month to foster unity. Red, blue, or no state? I'm gonna say it's a blue state. No state. No state. But that would be a great policy. I'm just saying where do these no states come from? Do you just make them up? Yeah. Okay. I mean, think about, I should be a politician if these are the ideas. Yeah. I mean literally. But I think if you made every single person, let's say work for a food bank, you know, every month or a homeless shelter or pick up trash on the highway, I mean, there are so many community service things that people could do that would, I think that would be great. Not only to like meet people, but also to see like what goes in the community. And I don't know. Yeah, was good. Competition is listening. Maybe you should run with that one. You're gonna be a policymaker one day. I know I should. That was a fun one. We gotta do that one again. Yeah. All right. Moving on to some dark news. No, not really dark news, but, last week we actually mentioned this story as well. Melania Trump spoke on this. I guess her speech wasn't memorable because I honestly didn't hear anything about it afterward. Or that tells you how dense the news cycle is, that there is so much going on. It's hard to keep up with everything. But anyways, there's a bill out there that should raise some flags. And I mean this, seriously, I, I kind of went over a win case, WYNN, the, the hotel in Vegas about how the effects of that will be with journalism in the media. I went over that a couple episodes ago. This is kind of. With that. I don't think it's real. It really is at the moment. Um, being picked up by big news medias right now, which is very confusing. But there is a bill out there being do endorsed by Trump and his wife called the Take It Down Act. Trump and a supporters are saying they are in support of it. The bill addresses. It doesn't address an actual issue, which is non-consensual intimate imagery, or NCII also known as something we all probably have heard, revenge porn. The tech industry has had better movement of this recently encountering this issue, but I guess congress doesn't feel it's enough. Senators Ted Cruz and Democrat, Amy Klobuchar are making it to where a website is legally liable if they don't take down anything someone says. Is NCII, within 48 hours, you're probably like, okay, what's the big deal? Well, because this bill is so broad and there's not really any safeguards, it opens up the opportunity for abuse. I, I don't think I will state this right now. I don't think Amy Klo Shire had bad intentions with when she came onto this bill, but obviously there, it needs to be refined. Congress you would think, would say this Bill violates the First Amendment. It's basically forcing websites to take down content without any court review and because there are no safeguards, but the bill as it stands would also censor speech on unverified complaints because the bill is so broad, they can. Manipulate it to do that. The bill just passed the Senate recently and it's now headed to the house. Civil liberties groups have tried to raise awareness of this and have sent letters to senators to try to try to stop the bill. Um, you know, this then brings it to Trump. It makes him and Melania look like they are standing up for protecting people, having compromising imagery online. And obviously that sounds like a no brainer. No one's gonna argue with that. It makes it look like they care about the vulnerable community, but that's not the case. This bill is a Trojan horse. During his address to Congress, Trump even kind of said something that makes it seem like he has other intentions with this bill. He said, I'm going to use that bill for myself too, if you don't mind, because nobody gets treated worse than I do online. Nobody, I mean. To be clear, this Bill acts as a cens. Censorship free for all that the president openly plans and he just vocalized it last week to weaponize against his critics. It gives him another tool to silence the opposition. And no one seems to be batting an eye at it. This also ties into the win case. Like I said, these are direct attacks on free speech and journalism, and I honestly don't understand how either story, the win case and this bill aren't getting as much coverage. Oh wait. It's because Trump is a professional at pushing other news stories out. I mean, there are so many other things going on. It's very easy for us to get wrapped up in other things, but at this point. I want you to understand this bill will become law. It's gone too far deep. There's no, there's no turning back. But the Democrats, you know, they, they need to step it up. They, they are getting blinded by other issues, and I think this one is gonna be a big regret moving forward in this administration. I. So that's my, my little story for you, but look it up. It's called the, just to reiterate, it's called the Take It Down Act and really read into it because it, there's gonna be broad implications than just revenge porn like they're saying. Hmm. Interesting. Yeah. I'll have to look into that one last story for the week. I wanna touch on, um, you know, talking about Democrats doing something. Bernie Sanders has been touring the Midwest recently in a fighting Oli oligarchy tour, which I honestly wouldn't mind on a T-shirt. T-shirt. I'm picturing like a tour t-shirt with all the cities and towns with. On the back, that would be very fire or whatever the young kids are saying nowadays. Anyways, the Democrats are in the middle of finding their identity. Obviously, they need a rebrand. They need to listen and get a pulse on American values. Again, I think this is Bernie's attempt on doing that. By stopping in various working class parts of states throughout the Midwest. historically, the President's party loses a seat in the first midterms after general elections. right now the Republican's margin is razor thin. Bernie knows us, so he is attempting to target and swing seats back to the left before midterms next November. He's bringing in, it's impressive. He's bringing in thousands of people at. Every stop. I mean, some stops, there's 2000 some stops, there's 9,000. He's filling buildings with people. People are coming out. People want to hear what he has to say, and I have to give it to Bernie. He is 83 years old and I, and he's the only Democrat doing this, and I love that he's actually getting on the ground running a resistance, and it is a resistance to this presidency. He is. As of right now, the only elected progressive willing to mount a national campaign going to US House swing districts represented by Republicans. He's being strategic. Yeah, no, I agree. We need more, representation for, the Democratic party. Like they need to get out there. Our elected representatives need to go out there and they need to start hosting bigger, uh, you know. Bigger speeches, what do you call'em? Bigger need awareness. Bigger halls need. We need more town halls. We need more. More pushback from this party. I get that. We are on the losing end and we don't have any major, we don't hold any house right now or Senate. We don't hold any Congress. We don't hold the Supreme Court like we need some type of. Excitement. We need, we need someone out there speaking directly to their constituents and even their non constituents to get people to feel like everything's gonna be okay. Maybe. I mean, I'm so tired of seeing people post on Facebook and I guess maybe it's'cause my logarithm has changed so much because of this podcast and I, I keep seeing just. All these liberal friends that I have continuously posting and posting and sharing. You know, like all this stuff that I support, but it's like, it's so easy to do that behind the screen sitting on your couch. But we need people out there, trying to ramp up. The American population, the, the Democrats, I mean, 75 million people voted for Kamala. They've went out and voted against this craziness that's going on right now. So there is a need for it. I just don't know. I. Who's representing us right now. I mean, we had Ken Martin come to St. Louis in the state of Missouri. He's the what, the chair, the, the head chair of the DNC right now, the National Democratic Committee, I believe. That's what we call it. And so we had no knowledge of this. I mean, there was a private party that all the elected representatives were invited to and got to see him speak, but. I had no knowledge of it. And I've been volunteering for this party since 2016. I have gone above and beyond and since 2020, especially since the election of 24. And I had no knowledge that Ken Martin was even gonna be here, you know? And it's like, I don't know what I would've, what he would've said or whatever, but we need more. People representing us and talking to us, and people are thirsty. People are really, really thirsty. They're, they're scared and they need to have representatives that are going to tell them what's what. What their plans are and it would've been nice. I can tell you it would've, I would've been very interested to hear Ken Martin speak in a gymnasium somewhere. Like, I think he would've turned people out. Just because people are wanting to hear what he to say. Yeah. The Democrats wanna leave. I'm sorry to interrupt you. They, the Democrats want to leave this image of elite and they wanna focus on kitchen table issues while. I am not seeing that happen right now. I'm not seeing that. You know, like bills are still piling up on our kitchen table. People are still pissed off that, you know, our rights are gonna be ripped away. Families are getting ripped apart. You know, the immigration thing, the gay marriage thing, I'm sure that'll be overturned shortly. You know, so it's like, it's like we need. Something or someone to get out there and speak to us. And that's why we started this podcast essentially because I needed to, I needed a therapeutic way to speak and voice my concerns. And then also, you know, I. Uh, we need more podcasts out there too. I, I, I'm, I'm digressing. Go ahead. Yeah. Well, and, and I, and you know, and that's why I wanted to call this out'cause I, I really think it's, it's really cool that Bernie's the one doing this. He's the, probably the only one that could do this, but he, I, I really respect that he kind of did this on his own. He didn't have a team behind him other than his own, like actual people. But like he's, he was like, I'm going out and I'm going to talk to people and he's doing it. And I think that's. Honorable and great and I'm, I don't know why more Democrats aren't doing that. There is word a OC will be joining him on the road. She's spoken up about it. I think she's gonna go out with him a couple stops. And there is this argument that there aren't many other democratic leaders that could draw the crowds. Bernie is drawing anyway. I mean, Bernie is, Bernie is a popular person when it comes to certain people. Um, you know, there is also a group of Democrats that are potential. Runners for 2028, like Newsom, like Whitmer, like Shapiro. But they are so far, I at this point, reluctant, I think to step too far into the national spotlight just yet. And maybe there's, maybe, maybe there's a reason behind that. Maybe they're trying to tiptoe before they can put themselves out there.'cause that is, it is a risk. Put yourself out there at any, in any capacity. Um, and again, Bernie's kind of the one that can do it. I, I would be curious who else really could, but I, I like what he is doing. Um, I think people are already showing that they're ready to be plugged in. They wanna see action right now, so I'm really looking forward to see how this continues to form. And maybe who else other than a OC partners with Bernie maybe, or what other Democrat maybe has the guts to do a tour like Bernie is doing, so we'll see. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's not about drawing the crowds, it's not about the numbers and the crowds and how, how they draw them out. It's more about the people who do show up are the ones that. Are going to help you get elected. They're the ones that are gonna do the work and get, get the speeches out to their social medias or whatever. You know, it's, it's just, it's a, we, we need more representation from the Democratic Party and it is just not there right now, and it's actually pathetic and we need. We just need more from this party because right now there's nothing. It's just, it's blank out there. Yeah. I mean, they need to push, they need to push harder. Yep. But that's it for the week. That's a great way to end our week. I don't have any light news stories this week, so this is it. Um, but we will be back. Um, yeah, shortly. Yeah. So, um, make sure to give us a follow at the Civil U. That's just with the Letter U on Instagram and on TikTok. And, uh, if you want us to talk about something or if we got something wrong, give us, uh, an, send us an email at the Civil Union twenty5@gmail.com. Thanks everyone. Thank you guys.