Not So Civil Town Halls and 2nd Amendment Protections | 03.19.25

Navigating Political Storms and Local Adventures

In this episode of 'The Civil Union' podcast, Alex and Ryan, a married couple in a conservative state, delve into their hectic week which included severe weather, tornadoes, and a soccer game. They disclose a recent mayoral election and their support for candidate Kara Spencer, touch on Women's History Month by highlighting 'Chef Mel's Sauce,' and discuss the GOP's avoidance of in-person town halls amid backlash. Democrats' struggles and shifting political landscapes, as well as contentious topics like gun rights and health statistics removal, are explored. They also play 'Red State, Blue State, No State,' examining bizarre state laws, and wrap up with news on Tesla's stock drop, Trump's tariff plan, and Pepsi's acquisition of Poppi.

00:00 Introduction to the Civil Union Podcast
00:54 Weekly Recap: Weather, Tornadoes, and Soccer
05:18 Women's History Month and Supporting Local Businesses
07:02 Political Landscape: GOP Town Halls and Democratic Challenges
10:32 Democratic Party's Struggles and Future Concerns
19:12 Autopen Controversy: A Deep Dive
23:03 Red State, Blue State, No State: Game Time!
28:01 Gun Rights and the Second Amendment
32:04 Tesla's Stock Plunge and Trump's Policies
34:32 St. Patrick's Day Tariff Impact
35:50 Healthy Soda Wars: Pepsi Buys Poppi
37:32 Conclusion and Social Media Plugs

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 are here to make sure they're heard. All right, well, we're back for another episode of the Civil Union Podcast. Uh, please make sure also to give us a follow on Instagram or TikTok,, at our name, which is the Civil U. That's just with the Letter U. So go ahead and do that as you're listening to us right now. Thank you. Alex, how has your week been? Week's been good. Crazy as always. We've had, I mean, this weather is back and forth. I feel like it's been cold, it's been hot, it's been tornadoes. I know if, if you know us at all personally, you know that we have very even full weeks around here. Um, so. So I, when we started this podcast, I think there was probably like 12 inches of ice outside. And, and then this past Friday, the Midwest and the the south, they all had a severe weather outbreak. And so we literally had tornadoes Friday night. Um, tornado hit probably five to 10 minutes south of where we're at, and so I was out there filming it, of course, with the hail. I did bring us down to the basement. So I will say that. Um, but it was, it was a wild weather week. Yeah. Ryan is the bill of twisters in this household, and I am that wife of his, that's like holding the umbrella in the rain, like, where did I get myself into the therapist? Yeah. I, Melissa, her name was Melissa. I wait for Ryan to tell me what to do. And I do it. He told us to run into the basement. I was like, okay, it's serious. And the next thing I know, he's opening the basement door, filming the storm. Um, but that's the type of person he is when it comes to storms. Yeah. It was also a game day week, so we knew the tornadoes were coming Friday night, so we got all the grocery shopping done. And since it's a game week, usually Saturdays are packed with everything. And uh, so we got the grocery shopping done, went and had sushi. Watch the tornadoes roll by and then it was a soccer game on Saturday and, and we won. That was a great, great game to see live. So yeah, it's been, it was our first win in a very long time, especially at home. It was a really fun game. I, I mean, even with it raining, I think we've become immune to it and there's like levels and it really wasn't that bad. It was good. It was great and it was great to see everyone. We also tried a new venue before the game. We usually go to Pepper Lounge, but we went to a different place called Marquee and it was a great. Space. Oh, it was so nice. Yeah, so I'm excited for the next game. Actually, you know, during the game randomly I had two people message me. One has just moved. We, we met her in Oklahoma and she just moved to the Illinois side of St. Louis. And then another one was an old boss of mine, um, who lives in New York and she has friends coming to visit. This summer and she asked if ARD was still safe. And so, you know, of course I told them everything there is to do. But I was like, you know, you don't necessarily wanna walk, you wanna take an Uber?'cause there is some sketch places around St. Louis still. There still is. And the population has. Done nothing but declined since the 1950s out of St. Louis. It's like we will have multiple mayors come in and try to clean up the city, but the population keeps shrinking here and it, it just, it, it kind of upsets me because there's so much to do here and it's a great. Cost of living here and just everything. But it's still kind of sketch some places. And so now the mayor Sharra Jones is up for reelection and I think Kara Spencer is her another Democratic running against Sharra Jones. And so I saw the Democratic Party is supporting Kara Spencer, uh, to become the next St. Louis mayor, which I guess that election is on April 8th. And, um, so I'm gonna say it right now, I am supporting Kara Spencer, she's LGBT. And I need a new, a new face to come in and try to clean it up. I mean, we keep getting just. We hit good mares, but nothing ever changes and I'm ready for change. Speaking of, you know, I think we live in an area where, or we kind of live in our own little bubbles and we go to the same places. And you know, this past week with the game, it pushed us to try something new and we went, actually went to a Sard bar. We never go to Sard. And it was actually a lot of fun. You know, it was kind of like, oh, this is something different for us. What are we getting ourselves into? And it was. A really good time. What was the name of that bar called? Eat Crow. Eat Crow. And they served food. It was great. And I actually plan on probably going there after games more often. But you know, I think we get in the mindset, and especially here in St. Louis, it's like a small town. You get, you just kind of go where you're comfortable. But it was nice to kind of try something different and get out of our comfort zone a little bit. Yeah. So also March is Women's History Month, and so, there's this. Really good spaghetti sauce that I love so much, and it's called Chef Mel Sauce. They, it's sold at Schnucks and she's actually, she's a woman-owned business. She's also LGBT. And uh, the sauce is just, it's my favorite sauce. I mean, I have jumped from different St. Louis brands and I always go back to Chef Mel Sauce. And so I was reading her Instagram, I follow her on Instagram, and she, she says, here's some facts. Here in the United States, women own approximately 40. Percent of all businesses, yet somehow only 2% of venture capital funding funding goes to women. That's why so many of us bootstrap our businesses to life. We work our butts off and live it every day. We have a vision. We chase it down. We succeed here in the us. Over 12 million women owned businesses employ over 10 million workers and generate almost$2 trillion each year. This International Women's Month, oh, it's. International Women's Month, I've partnered. Chef Mel has partnered with Schnucks to lower the price of my sauce by$1. A portion of those proceeds will go to breast cancer research to support women everywhere. If you're not near a Schnucks, but you still want an award winning sauce, check out chef mel sauces.com/where to find to figure out where you can support this woman. Owned business today. That is not an ad. I just, I love the sauce and I thought I would, uh, give it a little shout on in this podcast. So I like that. It is a good sauce too, and there's so much out there. So try Chef Mel. Yeah, there we go. Okay, so, uh, let's get into some topics here. Okay. So a, a recent story has revealed that. Richard Hudson chair of the House, GOP's National Republican campaign arm has advised Republican lawmakers to steer clear of in-person town halls. Why? Because they're FA facing significant backlash from voters upset about cutbacks made during this Trump's presidency. If you haven't seen it, I'm sure you have on social media, there's these videos of tense town halls. That have gone viral because people are just frustrated and they're really mad about what's happening. I mean, even MAGA supporters are facing. Huge losses to income because they're losing their jobs. Democrats are calling the GOP out for Hudson's advice about no longer hosting these in-person town halls suggesting that it's a sign that Republicans are afraid to face their constituents. Here in Missouri, CD two, me and Alex live in Congressional District two. We're still waiting for Anne Wagner to host a town hall. In fact, I don't think she's ever hosted a town hall since taking office in since like 2012. How do you get elected in an office and not do a town hall? I would feel like that's like a mandatory thing you would have to do. It's been so Jerry Mander to where. You know, she's always going to win it feels like. So we need a strong candidate to stand in. So, yeah, that's crazy that, you know, that's, people think gerrymandering is just about voting, but people don't like, I, I don't think that like gerrymandering actually. Is also a disservice to the political people in office because they are just getting, they get comfortable because they can get comfortable because of the gerrymandering. That's a very interesting point. I never would've thought that. Uh, what's interesting about that, about the town hall backlash too, is that, and you kind of mentioned this, it's not only. Being done in democratic districts, it's happening across the board. You know, also in Republican ones there are, people are just not happy. There are areas that are heavily support that heavily supported. Trump voted for Trump, and even at those town halls, people are showing up and voicing the concerns. You know, Trump didn't realize. Well, he, he's dumb, I think, which I mean, he didn't even think about it. But getting rid of government jobs, a lot of those people are in red areas. I mean, even where we used to live in Oklahoma, tinker Air Force Base was in a very red area. So you're affecting people in your own party when you're getting rid of jobs like that. Did you see that video that was trending as well of JD Vance? He got booed at, attending a performance at the Kennedy Center. I mean. Everywhere they go, they're feeling backlash. These, these politicians are feeling the heat and they don't care. They're blindly arrogant. They, they, they just smile that video of him, you know, JD Manz just, just laughed and was kind of waving. It's like you were so arrogant. It makes me sick. Yeah. You know, and this didn't happen before. We've had plenty of Republican presidents in office and even democratic ones, and you don't see the amount of tents. Pushback from public crowds as much as you've seen from this presidency. The first one, the second, the second Trump second time, like, it's just, it's crazy to see how much the public, the general public dislikes these people. I just don't know how they kept winning. Elections. It blows my mind. Now while we see the GOP avoiding these tough conversations, democratic, this is another problem. Democratic approval ratings are plummeting to historic lows, unlike during Trump's first term, where. Compromise was more common. Democratic voters today are saying two to one, that they want their leaders to fight for our values instead of trying to find middle ground, even if it means things get stuck in gridlock currently. Only about 27% of voters have a positive view on the Democratic Party. This is the lowest rating in NBC polling since 1990. Many Democrats are just fed up and want this party to stand firm on key issues, even if it risks losing bi bipartisan progress. And we're seeing real frustration directed towards Senate leaders like. Chuck Schumer, especially after he cited with Republicans on the procedural move to that threatened government funding. just a few years ago, a majority of Democrats wanted their leaders to work with Trump for consensus. But now nearly two thirds believe it's time to prioritize our principles. So what does this mean for us all and the future of this party? Let's just face the facts. The political landscape has to be worrisome for every Democrat, the current leaders, in my opinion. I. Have been null, void, and almost mum on what's happening in dc and we must also realize what is at stake, not just the 26 midterms, not the 28 election. Come 2030, after the census is completed, the Electoric College is going to shift sharply to the right. Democrats are becoming passive and that lack of energy. Dissipates any sort of fight that could come from civic resistance, and that's what we need right now. We need civic resistance, but why would anyone act when your leaders aren't acting? Are Democrats waiting for something to happen before they start taking action? Are they waiting for 2026? Are they thinking, we'll just let this build until 26 in hopes that we can swing some seats back? I mean, that's a risk. The problem with that is people are starting to get disgusted with them standing idly by. There was genuine fear. Being felt by people in this country. There's genuine distrust and people are all fighting or disgruntled in their own little bubbles. No one's actually building a resistance because no, they're all just kind of focusing on their own issues. What's that line? Um, people say. We are weak alone, but united, we are stronger together, or something along those lines. This is the time for Democrats to have a united opposition and they are dropping the ball completely. There's a lot of people I. Ready to fight. A lot of people are starting to wanna act, but everyone seems to be waiting and holding pins, just waiting for someone to tell us what to do. Waiting to tell us, okay, time to charge, but that's not happening. Yeah, exactly. So why, why is the electoral college going to shift sharply to the right in 2030? Well, people are leaving traditionally Democratic strongholds like New York. Illinois and California, and we need to understand what's behind this shift. In 2023 alone, California saw a net loss of around 268,000 residents, while New York lost about 179,000. Illinois has seen a decline in population for its 10th year running. So why is this happening? One major factor is the skyrocketing costs of living from childcare to housing. Many folks just can't afford to stay in these states and are moving to places where living costs are more manageable. Democrats are trying to shake off this elite image and shift focus towards kitchen table issues, but many of us are still waiting to see. See the real action on this front. What's interesting when you say elite issue too, that was something that was born out of trying to find clarity on why Harris lost the election in November. There was. So many discussions on the why and one of them being the image Democrats, toted didn't end up working for them. This elite stature, the look that they're better than. I mean, there were so many articles back in November about this issue, what Democrats needed to do to fix it, and now. We're here and it's gone. Quiet. Silence breeds resentment. Silence breeds contempt. They are not working fast enough or loud enough for anyone to think any differently of them. They've had three months to lick their wounds and get back to work, but by being quiet, by making it seem they are above all the craziness of what's going on, all the firings, all the rising prices, they, they are in fact playing right into the hand of that image of them being elite. I. It's been over 130 days. Since the election, and I'm not alone in saying it's time to see some action. Yeah. Looking ahead to the 2030 census, it's important to note that states that overwhelmingly supported Kamala Harris could end up losing house seats and electoral college votes while states that Trump won. May gain them. Imagine if the election results from 2024 were to repeat in 2032. Even if Kamala were to pick up key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, she could still find herself on the losing side. Overall though, the leadership is just non-existent. At the moment, I'm not seeing it anywhere. I see Bernie Sander doing a tour. I see a OC wanting to do a tour. Tim Walls went to Iowa and spoke, you know. But what I'm seeing right now on my social media, and I'm not watching TV every day, I'm not watching the news reels every single day. I'm seeing real journalists wanna be journalists, influencers, people who are progressives. speaking out on their social medias, creating these little gifts or whatever, or these memes and posting about it because they're upset. These are the people we need to focus on because these are the next leaders of this party. Because right now I don't see anyone making any type of change at the moment. And that needs to change. Absolutely. Like at this moment. So I'm fed up as a democratic. Voter, I am fed up. It's time for change. We need new leaders. Let's, let's work on it. Let's get there. So, agreed. Yeah. Alright. So, recent, well just, just a couple of days ago, trump took the truth social and wrote the quote, the pardons that sleepy Joe Biden gave to the unselect Committee of Political Thugs and many others are hereby declared void vacant and of no further force of effect because of the fact that they were all done by an auto pen. The reports. Of the auto pen usage originated from a March six X post by the Oversight project, which is an investigative arm of the conservative think tank of the Heritage Foundation. That was the same group that authored the project 2025 bill, or, you know, what was it? It wasn't a bill, it was a. It was a like a book or like a project? It was a A project? Yeah. Yeah. Like a, like a statement of what they were gonna do. Yeah. Which they are doing right now. They've enacted Project 2025, but basically saying that whoever controlled the autopen, controlled the presidency. Let's not forget, the Heritage Foundation and its oversight project have a reported history of spreading misleading political information. The reports are not. Credible evidence demonstrating Biden's purported frequent use of an auto pen, given that the digitized version of official documents from the US government all use the same image of the president's signature regardless of who is in office. I wanna say something real fast. Why? When did, why? Why do I have? I've never even heard of Autopen. I mean, I know that's a thing. We did it for our mortgage, things like that. There's, everyone has digital signatures that they've done in their life, but. I mean, it sounds like Trump, this administration is grasping for anything they can to disrupt the news cycle. I mean, they are literally grasping at straws at this, in this section. I mean, it's a pin literally, but I know. Why are we having to talk about auto pins? It's just nuts to me. It is wild. However, according to CNN, Biden used an auto pin to sign at least one piece of legislation, although he wouldn't be the first president to do so. Presidents have signed documents using signature. Copying devices since Thomas Jefferson in 1804. Barack Obama reportedly was the first to sign actual legi legislation using an auto pen in that was in 2011. Fox News claimed it examined more than 20 Biden era executive orders documented on the federal register's office between 21 and 24, and found that each had the same signature. While it's true that many of Biden's executive orders carry a signature matching the one posted by the oversight project, the National Archives team said that official documents use a copy of the president's signature from one graphic file. At the beginning of each administration, the White House sends a copy of the President's signature to the office of the Federal Register, which uses it to create the graphic image. Neither the oversight project or Fox News provided evidence that his pardons, biden's pardons were auto pin signatures. Other than the fact that the purported signatures looked different from the signature Biden used in a letter announcing he would drop out of the presidential race last year. Fox News also noted that many of Donald Trump's executive orders from both his terms also used the same exact signature, which would be Autopen. So if. Autopen is null void. We should be able to cancel our student loans, right? I mean, if this is true, then this is definitely true for us. I'm pretty sure all of mine were auto pin signed, so, but um, so. In 2005, president George W. Bush asked the Justice Department to determine whether signing legislation passed by Congress with an auto pin is constitutional. Given that the US Constitution dictates that presidents shall sign bills into law. The government's lawyers at that time determined that the president. quote, need not personally sign the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill He approves and decides to sign a bill to become law End quote, the president may direct a subordinate to affix the president's signature to a bill. Though Bush never used Autopen, Obama was the first president to do so. The claim that Biden used Autopen to sign official documents may be somewhat true, but it lacks context. so the pardoning of the select committee who investigated the J six riots might be able to breathe a little bit sigh of relief, but with this unrelenting dictator in office, who knows what will come next. That's an interesting story and you know, I it's, it's one of those many stories that are being thrown out there by this administration and it's being picked up by news cycles and it just is absolutely ridiculous that it's even a talking point. Biden did auto pin, other presidents did Auto Pin, who cares? You know what I mean? Like Trump just needs to back off of this whole subject. It's so stupid. This week we're gonna continue the game that we did last week. Uh, we usually do who said it, but Red State, blue State, no state. We got a lot of great feedback from that. So I'm gonna do it again. Um, are you ready to play this week's? Red State? Blue State? No. State. Yeah, sure. Alright, so I came up with new laws and policies, some being fake, some being real, and if they're real, you have to tell me whether you think it's from a red state or blue state. So first one, this state prohibits bars from running happy hour drink specials. Red state, blue state, no state, no state. It's actually a blue state. Massachusetts. Massachusetts, yeah. I, and it's interesting, I would think happy hour drink specials would bring great eco economic stuff into the state, but whatever this state requires inflatable pools that are 24 inches deep to be registered with local authorities to ensure safety. Red state, blue state, or no state blue state. Red state. Oh, and you have to let, let me guess the state. I'm gonna guess Florida. Yeah, because Florida, they would have a bill on inflatable pools. This state introduced a policy where residents can earn a tax credit for performing a pay it forward act of kindness, such as buying someone coffee, red state, blue state, or no state. Wait, what was it again? This state introduced a policy where residents can earn a tax credit for performing a pay it forward act of kindness, such as buying someone coffee, you know, I'm gonna say it's a red state, no state. Which, you know, I actually like that policy. I, I kind of. Saw that come up as an idea, and I was like, that would be a cool idea. I don't know how it would be enacted or how you could keep track of it, but it's still a kind of cool idea. I remember working at Starbucks and people would come to a drive through and pay for the person ahead of them or behind them or whatever it was, which was cool. I wonder if people still do that. I, anyway, this state made it illegal to use a Molotov cocktail to catch fish. Red State, blue state, or no State, blue State, red State. Texas. Texas. You gotta let me cuss the state. Oh, sorry. Fun fact though also in Missouri, it's illegal to fish with dynamite, which is kind of the same thing as a motov cocktail. And I don't know where these policies have to be written for. You know who is doing that? Who is catching fish with dynamite or motov OV cocktails in Texas? Well, Texas, I mean, come on. Yeah, it's not that far. I love the arsenal. This state created a ban that says any individual found using their cell phone within a hundred feet of a historical site will be fined$500 for disrespecting the past. The idea of this is to preserve the authenticity of historical experiences. Red state, blue state, or no state, red state, no state fake law. Moving on. This state passed a law requiring every household to rescue at least one pet. The state would cover the fee and provide a tax break. Red State, blue state, or no? State? Oh, I love that. I'm gonna say it's a blue state, no state. Oh, but isn't that a cute idea? Yeah. I think that'd be a good idea for states to do that. You know how many people would adopt or rescue animals if they got a tax Credit. People will adopt kids for the same thing. This state has a law that makes it illegal for a woman to marry the same man more than three times. Red state, blue state, or no? State? Blue state. Mm-hmm. Red state. What state? Arkansas. Kentucky. Oh, I was close. In this state, it's illegal for individuals under 21 to take out household trash if it contains even one empty alcohol container. Red state, blue state, or no state? No state, red state. This falls under the category of illegal possession of alcohol. Hmm. What state is it? I don't remember actually what state that was, but it was a red state. I didn't write it down. You're supposed to have the answers. I know. And I just noticed I didn't have one. What's going on here? Alright, last one. Last one. This state has a law that allows minors to open carry firearms as long as they are homeschooled. Red State, blue state, or no state? Definitely a red state. No state. I made it up. Ugh. I was talking to my coworker about that one last night and she was like, that would be really scary, but also believable. I'm like, yeah, I bet you there is a state out there that does allow that'cause that's the country we live in. Speaking of these crazy policies, real and fake. One subject that is, and also speaking of the last policy that I made up, one subject that is probably one of the most contentious, no matter the state is gun rights or the Second Amendment This week, if you go to the Department of Health and Human Services website, which I did all statistics on, gun violence has been taken down. It actually reads. Page not found. Uh, by doing this, Trump is pulling the wool over everyone's eyes. He wants to hide the statistics and literally say nothing to see here. Trump also in early February, placed an executive order to expand on the Second Amendment instructing the surgeon General to evaluate all actions the Biden administration did to restrict firearm rights and undo them. Gun legislation is hard to come by in this country. It seems like it takes the worst events to make any sort of movement. In 2022, for example, after Valdi, which was an elementary school shooting after the grocery store shooting in Buffalo, which was live streamed on Twitch, Congress finally passed gun legislation for the first time in 30 years. Trump is clearly backtracking all of it. It's funny to me. People are so up in arms, literally about their gun rights being taken away, and they want to blame mental health. They want to blame the system, but Trump doesn't support red flag laws, which is exactly connected to the mental health issue. He already in the past has threatened to cut funding to those programs along these lines. All these actions set a precedent. Not only wiping away work that was done previously, but also paving the way for the dismantling of safety measures in place to help with gun violence in this country. When the government started using the term, gun violence is a public health issue. It was meant to reflect the impacts of shootings on whole communities, including suicides and open up solutions to these violent acts beyond. Law enforcement and firearm restriction policies. By framing it as a public health issue, it allowed for greater funding into research, into preventive measures, including into mental health, including research into what needs to change and undeserved communities to prevent gun violence. By taking away the label of it being a public health issue, this administration is actually going against their quote. It's a mental health problem, not a gun problem argument. We, we live in a time where. I wake up for work, scroll the news, and I see the word shooting. Scroll by like it's any other news story embedded with all the rest of the news stories. Half the time I see it, I scroll by it and I don't even read it because my brain has become so accustomed to seeing shooting that I don't even, it doesn't even phase me. And then I'm like, oh, wait, how many people were injured? It has become so normal. It's not even a talking point anymore on the news when trying to pick up news stories for this episode, it was hard to kind of. Waddle through all the noise. There is so much to sort through. There's so much happening. What makes something important? I think something like this about gun issues. We need to continue to talk about it. We need to continue making a point of highlighting things that main news media can't, because this is still important and this administration is going to strip down a ton of gun laws. In the next four years, and we need to know about it because it's going to affect everyone when we start seeing shootings go up. Because more than likely with a lot of these red flag laws being taken away, they will, because mental health issues are not being addressed, communities are not being helped. What are the implications of that going to be once it becomes warmer outside, which statistically tends to bring out the crazy, so we will see what that means going forward. So CNBC is calling the stock losses from Tesla, the Tesla Chainsaw Massacre. I thought that was just absolutely brilliant. That headline, whoever wrote that, I give you like major props. That was great. But year to date, the stock prices have dropped some 35%. There was actually, I was looking when you posted this, the test saw Chainsaw Mascar. I looked it up and there's a photo of Elon Musk waving a chainsaw when he would get, I guess was back at c. As CPAC back in February. It's hilarious when it's tied to that title. Trump stated Violence against Tesla dealerships also will be labeled domestic terrorism and perpetrators will go through hell. I mean, did you Every photo of Trump with Musk under that, in front of that White House with the stupid Tesla. Musk with his stupid black MAGA hat wearing all black. Where did he think wearing all black is cool or something? It's just so, it's so entertaining. This, this also comes at the the backwards era that we're currently living in, where Trump and his supporters are shouting like drill, baby drill and, and undoing legislation that had electric vehicles becoming more accessible in the market. So I'm just, I'm kind of confused. Like, I don't know, like, first of all, we wanna drill because we want more oil and gas. Yet, yet, the world's richest man is complaining about his stock losses on Tesla and now. Trump is doing a photo op of a Tesla in front of the White House. It's so, so odd. It's so strange. You know, I saw two cyber trucks today. One when I was driving to work and one when I was coming home. Those things are just. Weird. They're weird looking. I don't like'em. I don't like them either. And I do feel bad for anyone who owns a Tesla because they, unfortunately, the thing is, yeah, I feel so bad for'em. Well, I mean, people bought electric vehicles because they had good intentions of trying to help, you know, less gas, things like that. And Teslas are unfortunately the best electronic vehicles on the market. We've been in them with Ubers and you know, Lyfts, and they're really, really cool. It's just unfortunate that. Musk is a fucking psycho, you know? And now he, now everyone's like, oh my God, I own a Tesla. It's like, oh, that's sad because he, I know literally probably paying on it month to month, and here they are having to deal with it. I would have a, I would literally put a bumper sticker on mine and be like, I didn't vote for him. Sorry. Anyway, so you know, Trump's tariff tax plan that could increase imported alcohol costs by some 200%, and in celebration of St. Patty's Day this week, here's what that could mean for your favorite St. Patty's Day pints of Guinness in California. Right now, the average cause for a pint of. Guinness is 9 35, and with that tariff enacted, if it goes through, it would be 28.05. Uh, Missouri. Right now it's at six 70. That would jump to$20 and 10 cents. Texas right now is at seven point 70. That would jump to$23 a pint. And I also have Illinois down. So Illinois that right now is at. 7 95 for a pint of Guinness, and that would jump to 23 point 85 for a pint. That is insane. And it makes me very upset because I don't drink alcohol. I've stopped drinking and one of my favorite NA beverages, Guinness makes a killer in a version of their Guinness. It tastes just like a milk guin. Yeah. You have in the fridge all the time. Actually. Always. And if I have to start paying.$28 for a four pack of Guinness or whatever it would be. This is just one Guinness. I would be curious what four pack would be. No, it's for paint. Well, how much is a paint set? I think a. I have no clue either. I think. I don't either it can, I don't know. But regardless, I'm gonna be upset'cause that's my favorite NA type of beer to buy. So pepsi joins the Healthy Soda Wars and buys Poppy for$1.6 billion. Poppy's founders launched the brand back in 2018. That was the same year that Rival OP was founded. I haven't s. Had these sodas, but I see them in the fridge, so either Alex or one of the dogs are drinking them. I, I swear I read the nutritional value on, on these packagings, and I swear there's just a lot of sugar in them, isn't there? No. So if you're gonna rank'em, and me and my coworkers have ranked them, Ali Pop is way better than Poppy. Poppy is in like. A normal soda section.'cause they don't have to be refrigerated because they are just, they have benefits of regular soda, like they less sugar and stuff. They have like fake sugar and whatnot. But op, I prefer over Poppy because OP actually has like, um, microbes in it kind of like, um. Like, uh, kombucha has, and for that reason it has to be always refrigerated. So you can only find OP in the refrigerator section, but it's good for your gut. Op actually is good for your gut and OP has less sugar in it than soda. I've had the root beer flavor and the classic vintage cola are my favorite probably flavors. They're really, really good. I think the Sprite version is really good too. There are just alternatives to your normal soda poppy. It's not surprising that Poppy is being bought by Pepsi.'cause Poppy is less healthy than Oli Pop. I prefer Oli Pop. Yeah. The healthy soda market is really, really, uh, growing. It's been growing for a while now, but I, I stick to my Pepsi Zero. I love the zero. It's so weird that it tastes the same and it's zero. I. I don't understand it. But anyways, so that's it for us right now. Um, thank you for listening and we'll be back in a few days, I'm sure. Um, give us a follow at Instagram at the Civil U, that's just with the letter U. Follow us on TikTok 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 the Civil Union, twenty5@gmail.com. Thanks guys. Thank you.