May 5, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode of 'Civil Union,' hosts Alex and Ryan discuss a variety of topics from the humorous experience of AI-generated dating ads to the serious issue of political engagement in conservative states. They delve into the challenges faced during a town hall meeting with Senator Chris Murphy and the importance of greater political representation for millennials and Gen Z. The episode also highlights the concerning proposed cuts to funding for a federal suicide prevention hotline and the need for younger leadership in the Democratic Party. Additionally, Alex and Ryan play a Golden Girls-themed game and touch upon the significance of Older Americans' Month, focusing on the potential impacts of budget cuts on social security and Medicare. The discussion wraps up with insights into Amazon's battle with new tariffs on Chinese imports and their potential cost implications for consumers.
00:00 Introduction to the Civil Union Podcast
00:55 AI Boyfriends: A Hilarious Social Media Trend
06:27 Attending a Packed Democratic Town Hall
11:26 The Need for New Democratic Leadership
15:33 David Hogg's Push for Change in the DNC
19:22 Challenges Facing the LGBTQ+ Community
24:08 Golden Girls vs. Golden Resistance Game
30:03 Older Americans Month and Social Security Concerns
34:07 Amazon and Trump's Tariffs
37:37 Closing Remarks
Suicide Prevention Hotline:
Text/Call: 988
988lifeline.org
The Trevor Project:
Text: 678-678
Call: 1-866-488-7386
TheTrevorProject.org
Music: What's The Angle? by Shane Ivers -
https://www.silvermansound.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
welcome to the Civil Union, thepodcast where politics meets
partnership.
We're Alex and Ryan, a marriedcouple, navigating life and
debates in a conservative state.
We bring you sharp insights,bold opinions, and honest
conversations about politicalissues shaping our lives.
Especially those living onsociety's margins.
Tune in for real talk, a touchof humor and plenty of passion
(00:31):
because when it comes topolitics, every voice matters
and we are here to make surethey're heard.
Piss off bro.
I ain't some show pony there.
Satisfied.
Ain't fighting over you mate.
Fine.
Maybe I'll smash a bloke if hegets too close.
Shut up.
Chat's done.
We're going pub.
(00:52):
Don't make it weird.
Oh my God, I have no idea what Iclicked or how I even got on
this.
A log rhythm on Facebook.
But I now have these AIgenerated humans trying to date
me.
I wish I could show this videobecause this guy is not bad
looking for ai.
(01:13):
So it's an app where you type asentence and he or she is
supposed to respond in this ad.
The first sentence type says,show me your muscles, and he
responds with this.
Piss off, bro.
I ain't some show pony there.
Satisfied.
The last two sentences are fightfor me and take me on a date.
(01:35):
Ain't fighting over you, mate.
Fine.
Maybe I'll smash a bloke if hegets too close.
Shut up.
Chat's done.
We're going pub.
Don't make it weird.
That's so funny that you foundthese things.
They don't pop up on my socialmedia at all, so I wonder what
you're searching to get these AIgenerated boyfriends on your
feed.
It's hilarious.
He'll, he'll smash a bloke andwe'll go public because we're
(01:57):
we're dating and secrecy.
Then I get this loser, advertiseto me, listen to this one.
Hey, handsome.
You lonely, bored.
Just need someone who actuallylistens.
I'm your AI boyfriend.
No games, no ghosting, no, sorryI fell asleep.
Just instant replies.
Late night whispers.
Okay.
It would be hilarious if an AIboyfriend ghosts you.
(02:20):
I mean, they probably ghost JDVance, but what do I know?
I could totally see JD Vancehaving an AI relationship, like
having this on the side.
But anyway, he sounds, you know,like he's got emotional depth
and perfect recall, which, so Iwould say if we want to name him
anything.
Thing.
Let's name him what everymillennial dreams of and
(02:41):
emotionally available with asoftware update.
I would bet.
I would bet on a digitaldivorce.
If you did this and you had anAA boyfriend, I would bet on a
digital divorce within a week,and you crawling back to me,
your real human husband fasterthan your AI boyfriend could
update his firmware.
Uh, well maybe that's true.
(03:01):
We'll find out.
Let's find out.
You wanna find out?
Yeah, pay for it.
Let's see what happens.
Well, welcome everyone.
Hope everyone out there is doingwell.
Alex, I think it has rainedabsolutely all day today.
It literally has.
I feel like, you know, we weretalking about gonna Seattle.
I feel like Seattle came to us.
I feel so bad for the dogs whenthey have to go out and go potty
(03:24):
and just all of that.
It's just, if you look at theradar, it's just been like
stationary right over like theentire metro area.
I secretly love it though.
I, I sleep so much better whenit's cloudy.
I hate sunlight unless I'm at abeach or a pool.
I don't want sun.
I'd rather have it cloudy.
(03:44):
It's better for your skin.
You don't age as badly in cloudyweather and you get humidity.
It's nice little humidity.
It's not hot.
It's not hot rain.
It's like cold rain.
So it's great.
I think, yeah, it, you know, St.
Louis had the wettest.
April ever recorded in 135years.
Last month, just last month, webroke a record.
(04:05):
It's wild.
It's been a very wet spring.
I could believe it.
We've had a lot of rain.
Hey, did, did we change ourInstagram handle, Alex?
We did.
Instagram's weird where like yousign up and certain profiles
like usernames aren't availableor whatnot.
Well, now I was able to get our,our username more accurately.
Kind of to what it we are.
(04:26):
So our new Instagram handle andour TikTok, TikTok handle's the
same.
It's called the Civil Union Pod,POD.
That's again the civil Unionpod.
Pretty simple and it's all thesame on our Instagram and our
to, so just look it up.
Great job.
I'm very, very happy.
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
(04:46):
Yeah, because I was noticingwhen we were like.
Commenting on things.
It just said Civil U.
And it's like if no like thatdoesn't really show and we need
it more up and center.
So I think changing, it'll begood.
So I almost want to purchase ablue check mark.
It's like$1 for the first monthand then it goes to like.
$15 a month each monthafterwards.
I mean, is it worth it?
(05:09):
I don't think we need a bluecheck mark to prove we're
legitimate, but what are yourthoughts?
So I know on Twitter or X, whenthey made us start paying for
blue, blue check marks on there,it was very controversial.
'cause you could tell whenpeople were paying for it and it
was kind of like, Ugh, God,you're such a loser.
You're paying for your own checkmark.
(05:29):
But I will say.
On platforms saturated with somany profiles I found at least
on Instagram, which is differentthan X, I found out on Instagram
when I go back and read commentson these public posts that we
comment on, my eyes, go to theprofiles with blue check marks.
I don't know why.
I think because we've just beenconditioned on Twitter to react
(05:49):
to those profiles as legitimate.
So I do think maybe on Instagramit would.
Help.
Ugh.
I just don't want to spend moremoney.
Everything costs money nowadays.
Everything costs, costs, money,everything.
You see those commercials wherethey're like, you have 20
subscriptions and you only knowabout five of'em.
We can help you delete them.
And it's like, I think that allthe time.
(06:10):
I'm like, God, how manysubscriptions do we have?
And I'm like, no.
I know.
Basically everything we pay for,but it's still racks up.
I do too.
I always go to my little Applething and I look at the
subscriptions and I'm alwayslike, can I don't want to
Canceling?
Yeah, I'm always canceling.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Same.
Yeah.
So what have we been up to?
Well, there was a town hallorganized by Democrats where US
(06:31):
Senator Chris Murphy, flew infrom DC to speak to voters out
in Chesterfield, Missouri.
We get there and the turnout wasmassive.
Just a lot of people, a lot ofolder people, more than 1200
people showed up.
In fact, the turnout was solarge, they opened an overflow
room.
The 4:00 PM start time on aFriday afternoon is just tough
(06:56):
altogether, especially for usworking class people.
Alex and I scrambled to getthere.
I was allowed to leave work alittle early.
We battled traffic,thunderstorms, anything you can
think of.
And you know what?
I was kind of pissed.
After all the work we've donethe last decade, the main event
room reached capacity.
(07:18):
We were just herded like cattledown a long hallway past the
event room just to watch localdemocratic leaders speak from a
freaking TV screen.
When, when does a Democraticparty take the hint and start
hosting town halls outdoors, oreven under large pavilions where
(07:38):
anyone, and I mean anyone canattend.
Are they scared of MAGA showingup?
We need democratic leadersstanding on tables, in my
opinion, or on the backs of, youknow, truck beds with, with that
big speaker thing.
Alex, you use one at every game.
Game, what do you call it?
Oh, uh, A megaphone.
A megaphone, yes.
We need democratic leaders onthe backs of truck beds with
(08:01):
megaphones speaking to the vastamount of voters that are coming
to see these candidates.
It's so important.
I will say that I don'tnecessarily know if they even
thought how many people weregonna show up.
Like yes, it was frustrating'cause we couldn't find a seat
or a spot in the main room, butI don't think anyone was aware
that this many people would showup.
(08:21):
And it's kind of been a trend inthe nation.
But the area they had, it wasthis hotel out in the county and
you know, we had to park, noteven in the main hotel parking
lot, we had to park in anotherlot and there were like three
lots around that venue.
And all of them were.
Filled.
I mean, there was trafficgetting off the highway just for
this event.
I mean, it was, it was insane.
So it's, it's, in a way, it's agood thing, but we definitely
(08:44):
need to tweak the way we want torun town halls to bigger venues
now that we know that we'regonna have that, that amount of
people show up.
A hundred percent.
I totally agree.
You know, when I mentioned likestanding on tables and truck
beds, I, I think of that scenein the movie Norma Ray played by
Sally Field, where she was like.
On a table in a factory that sheworked at holding a, a sign with
(09:06):
the word union and big blackletters.
Do you know that scene I'mtalking about?
No.
But you know, every Sally Fieldmovie, I think you've seen every
movie of hers do like her.
She, you do like stealmagnolias.
I mean, come on.
Oh, and Homeward Bound.
And Homeward Bound.
You could cat sassy, sassy.
Anyways, we need Democrats doingthat, holding up big signs with
like the word union or vote forme on it.
(09:28):
Anyway, we, we saw Chris Murphyspeak and it was okay.
Nothing we haven't already seenor heard before.
He did do very well.
The town hall was filled withall Democratic elected leaders
throughout CongressionalDistrict two.
Each one gave a speech beforeChris Murphy spoke, And every
speaker would have the crowdchant.
(09:51):
Where's Anne Wagner if you don'talready know who Anne Wagner is.
She's been the US House ofRepresentative for Congressional
District two in Missouri since2012.
She's never held a town hall.
The National Democratic Party isnow starting to.
Let's be honest, care aboutMissouri, the flyover state, if
(10:14):
you will, The DNC largely leftMissouri voters after Barack
Obama lost by about what, 8,000votes in 2008.
So was Anne Wagner even invitedto speak at this event?
Doubtful.
Would she have shown up?
Absolutely not.
In the past, I don't rememberany democratic leaders hosting
(10:35):
town halls.
Not here.
At least, you know, we staywell-informed.
We would've shown up if therewere town halls.
They certainly didn't during the120 days, Kamala had to prove
herself as a winning candidatefor president.
So these town hall situationsare a little disheartening for
me because now we're hostingtown halls.
(10:55):
Now we want to get in touch withconstituents because of what's
happening up in dc smoke andmirrors.
And while I'm, I'm very happywith my current elected State
House of Representative RayReed.
The entire Democratic party,local and national needs a
shakedown.
We need a restructuring.
(11:16):
We should hear and try tounderstand what David Hog has to
say.
More on that on the next story.
My point of telling ourlisteners across this country is
this, we need a new generationof leaders.
I've said it before, I'm sayingit again.
It is time for the millennialsand Gen Zs to come through.
(11:36):
It's time for us to takecontrol.
Just look at this mess.
The Republican party is fuckingaround with our futures here.
We're the ones that have toclean up this destruction.
Trump and his Band ofBillionaire Thieves have
created, I completely agree witheverything you have to say.
I mean, while the second largestlabor force is the Gen Xers,
(11:57):
which would be basically anyoneborn between 1965 and 1980.
The largest labor force is nowthe millennials or those born
between 1980 through 1996.
You and me are included in that.
We should be focused on thosewho are helping our economy
steam through these chaotictimes.
(12:19):
We should be very focused onwhat the millennials kitchen
table looks like.
What bills are we facing?
What issues are we facing?
Do we really care if ourneighbor is married to another
member of the same sex?
Probably not.
We don't please take nodisrespect to those who are
older and closer to retirementhere because I do really respect
(12:43):
the ones that did show up to theChris Murphy thing'cause they
were quite a bit of them.
And I always find that reallycool that there is an older
generation that is liberal andwanting to help us out.
But we hundred percent only see,we only see progress when there
is change.
Yeah.
So did you know the currentHouse of Representatives is made
of only 16% of millennials andGen Zers?
(13:05):
Roughly 1% of the Senate isrepresented by the millennial
generation.
That's for both parties.
If you want change, if you wantto get out of debt.
If you want to fix immigrationissues instead of just deporting
people to an El Salvadorianprison, now more than ever it is
(13:25):
time to focus energy and effortson getting a new mindset, a new
era of Democratic leaders.
While I do think there is ahealthy Republican party out
there.
Somewhere, maybe outer space.
It's healthy to disagree andstill create a non-biased plan
for things that don't take awayour human rights.
(13:48):
It's also not a bad idea tofocus our energy on protecting
planet Earth.
The climate, we only get one.
Speaking of planets, Alex.
Happy.
Almost 25th birthday to BritneySpears's.
Oops.
I did it again.
Album.
Ugh.
Changed my life.
I wish she could release anotheralbum.
You know, she went to Mars.
(14:09):
I mean, you know.
She did.
Yeah.
You probably get the reference.
You're millennial, you get it.
Yeah.
There was a cute guy there.
He brought her the heart of theocean.
Yeah.
You know, if Britney Spears wereto release an album right now,
she would hit jackpot.
If Britney Spears was in placeof Katy Perry going to space, I
think people would've actuallybeen on board with it.
I think people would reallyappreciate a new Britney in
(14:30):
their life.
I know I would.
We need that.
If she did her version, couldyou imagine this, if Britney
Spears did her version of an.
ERA'S tour that was like a fourhour concert with her whole
discography.
Especially today where peopleare just itching for a pick me
up.
Could you imagine what Britneyera would you be, do you think?
(14:53):
Oh, era.
Blackout, for sure.
Yeah.
That was my favorite album.
Blackout was a good, that's avery rebellious one I feel like
I would do.
Yep.
I think I would be glory orcircus.
Hmm.
Okay.
We should start asking peoplethat What Britney Spears era are
You think about it?
Huh?
What album are you?
I don't know.
Anyway, you know, do you thinkshe would've done like a dancing
(15:15):
video if she was up there?
I.
In that outer space trip whereKaty Perry went and Gale King
did.
Absolutely.
She would've been whipping herhair with the knives.
Yes.
Floating in air, in theanti-gravity.
Anyway, okay.
N New subject.
Here we go.
Democratic National CommitteeChair Ken Martin said the, that
the party officers should bebanned from taking sides and
(15:38):
primaries.
Ken Martin beefed up the dramabetween him and DNC Vice Chair
David Hog clapping back at Hog'sPlan to raise cash for
candidates going afterdemocratic incumbents.
David Hog Rose the prominenceAfter surviving the 2018 school
shooting in Parkland, Florida,both Martin and Hogg were
(15:59):
elected by DNC members earlierthis year.
Martin said he's drafting up aproposed bylaw to require the
DNC office to remain neutral inall democratic primaries.
This comes after David saidhe'll raise millions of dollars
through a political actioncommittee to support challengers
running against longtimeDemocrat incumbents who are in
(16:22):
very blue congressionaldistricts.
Hog says the party needs ashakeup.
He wants leaders who wouldbecome more aggressive towards
Trump while also connecting withyounger voters.
You know what?
It needs to happen.
Absolutely.
All David Hogg is wanting to dois challenge the dead weight of
this party that has been able tosit comfortably in various
(16:43):
positions throughout thiscountry.
He wants to challenge them bysupporting candidates who may
come in and want to actuallyshow.
Up.
He's not acting dirty.
He's just giving people afighting shot at running against
established politicians whoalready have a team and campaign
money in their coffers.
And I don't see anything wrongwith it.
(17:05):
Honestly.
There is nothing wrong in givingsomeone a push.
There is nothing wrong withchallenging these politicians.
I think it holds'em accountableand wakes them the F up.
If you want to retain your seat.
Fight for it.
Just because hog may supportsomeone doesn't mean he's trying
to push a politician out.
(17:26):
You know what I find interestingabout all this too, is I thought
Ken Martin would come in andreally change the DNC, and maybe
he still will.
There's still a lot of timethere, but we are at a time
where things need to change.
What was working before isn'tworking anymore.
We talk about it all the time.
I don't think it has been for awhile.
We have a member.
Now, who is the first to be fromthe Gen Z generation?
(17:48):
That's David Hogg, and I thinkit's really important not only
for the DNC, but for the imageof the DNC to support this
member.
Obviously you felt it wasneeded.
He should be a part of the boardof the DNC, so maybe.
You should listen to what hewants to do because sparring
with him and threatening him, itisn't a good look.
(18:12):
You know, especially us beingthe millennial generation and
being the largest workinggeneration out there, we need
more representation and we'repoor.
I mean, let's be honest here,like we all have, we're all
drowning in student loan debt.
If you're lucky enough to buy ahouse, you got a mortgage
(18:33):
payment to worry about interestrates.
If your car goes out, you gottaneed to get a new car.
You need to pay insurance.
I mean, it's just cost aftercost after cost, and you got
inflation and the tariffs now.
And it's like we need to be therepresentation of that
generation so we get our voicesheard.
There are a lot of.
(18:53):
Young men Republicans out therein their twenties.
I don't ever remember that.
Like, usually historically it'slike you're, you're a liberal,
you're a democrat when you're,you're younger and then you
slowly, slowly become moreconservative as you get older.
But it's just, it's uh, it'sflipped the script really.
Um, anyway, so, Hey, love islove, Alex.
(19:17):
It is.
Love is love.
I just wish, yeah, I just wish,like Republicans use their
hearts more instead of their,their Tiny Brains Elite budget
draft plans to cut funding to afederal suicide prevention
hotline dedicated to helpingplus youth.
Advocates say this proposal toeliminate funding for the 9 8 8
(19:39):
line will increase more deaths?
Yeah.
Republican leaders don't likeminorities sharing the same
rights as them.
I, I really, truly believe that.
So they will bat no eye atripping anything LG plus related
apart the hotline.
Provides federally fundedsupport to anyone dealing with a
mental health crisis, and Godknows Americans need it more now
(20:03):
than ever before.
In fact, the line typicallyfields almost 800 calls a month.
In just 10 days.
As the presidential electioncame to a head, they received
roughly 5,500 calls.
Wow.
They were prepared for the callsto spike.
Given that the LGBTQ pluscommunity and specifically the
(20:23):
transgender population has beena subject of debate.
Yeah, so this hotline received2100 contacts per day in
February alone.
That tells you how scary it isfor minorities since its
creation by the Bidenadministration and.
2022.
(20:43):
The hotline has provided 1.2million crisis contacts with
lifesaving services.
We here at the Civil UnionPodcast believe in factual
studies.
Studies prove that suicide ratesare disproportionately higher,
um, for plus youth.
And you do also have to thinkhow many lives will be affected
(21:06):
by this.
They are turning their backs onthousands of people.
They are telling them in themost brutal way possible that
their lives don't matter enoughto fund, to protect or to save.
You know, in a time when trans.
And LGBTQ plus youth are beingvilified in communities across
this country in a time when theyare feeling unwelcome and shut
(21:29):
out.
This is absolutely heartless.
This is happening in a politicalclimate.
I.
Where bills are passed to erasequeer identities and spaces from
classrooms and communities whereaccess to gender affirming care
is being ripped away, and wherehateful rhetoric is being
spouted every day, like it'sjust normal comments on social
(21:50):
platforms.
And I wanna be clear, thisrhetoric has become.
A deadly soundtrack in thesekids' lives.
Could you imagine being a kid intoday's social media society?
It's insane.
And then we wanna shut down theone phone number they could call
the one lifeline some of thesekids have when their household
doesn't accept them.
(22:11):
We need more lifelines, notfewer.
If the cuts become a reality,they would be effective October
1st.
If you or a loved one isstruggling or in crisis, help is
available For now.
You can call or text nine eighteight, or you can chat online at
9 8 8 lifeline.org.
(22:32):
One thing I had found too whileresearching for this story, it's
important to note too, theTrevor Project will also still
be available to those in need.
You can get to that by going tothe Trevor project.org.
Texting 6 7 8 6 7 8.
Or calling 1 8 6 6 4 8 8 7 3 86.
(22:53):
We will be sure to add theselinks and phone numbers to our
description of the episode, solook at that and you can get
these I these, this information.
You know, I have a side topicquestion after this story that
we just did.
Do you say.
LGBTQIA plus community.
Like how as a gay man, like whatdo you say?
(23:14):
What do you prefer?
Initially it was LGBT, and thenit was L-G-B-T-Q.
Um, then it becameL-G-B-T-Q-I-A, and now it's just
LI think as long as you're justmaking sure you're.
welcoming and accepting everyonein that title.
So you could say LGBTQ plus, I'msure you could say plus LGBTQIA
plus.
(23:35):
Well, like what, what is the Iand the A stand for?
I don't even fucking know.
Intersex.
Oh, what is the a?
You know, I, I just say plus,and that's where I stand and
that's okay.
You know, I get it.
But that's just how I'm, that'swhat it is.
Plus.
There's a lot of identities outthere with it.
(23:55):
I think as long as you areputting the plus, you are saying
there's more than just the LGBTcommunity.
Yeah, we are all inclusive hereat the Civil Union Podcast.
Hey, I think it's game time,babe.
It is game time.
What is it?
This week?
So, okay, so for this edition ofWho Said It, I wanted to throw
(24:17):
it back to the old sitcom era.
Golden Girls Edition.
Hey.
Which I love.
Golden Girls.
Yeah, I thought the four women,Dorothy Rose, blanche, and
Sophia, and who would be them inthe political world today?
So I came up with theseparallels.
Okay.
Hear me out.
Hillary Clinton would beDorothy.
(24:38):
Both are direct, tough,pragmatic.
Jill Biden would be Rose.
Both are good hearted andcharming and innocent.
Harris would be blanche.
Both are confident, charming,and carries herself with
sophistication.
And then Nancy Pelosi would beSophia.
Oh, Sophia, yeah.
(24:58):
Both are mother figures withsharp wit and unafraid to speak
their mind.
So, so what's the game?
Could you, first of all, couldyou imagine all those women
under one roof?
I would love Kamala Harris.
What would their wallpaper looklike?
What would their decor looklike?
I'd just be really carefullyinterested about that.
Anyways, for this edition, I'mgonna give you a quote.
(25:19):
You tell me whether you thinkit's the Golden Girls or the
Golden Resistance.
Then for an extra point, guessthe person who said it.
Okay.
Oh God.
Is this a long one?
It's 10 questions.
Alright.
Quote one.
You'll have to excuse my mother.
She suffered a slight stroke afew years ago, which rendered
her totally annoying.
(25:41):
Golden Girls are goldenresistance.
So wait, what's the goldenresistance?
All the other women.
Hillary, Jill.
Oh, okay.
Nancy or Harris.
Okay.
Well the first one is definitelyDorothy.
Yes.
Yeah.
Good job.
Golden girl.
Yeah, Dorothy.
Alright, you got two points Thattime alright, next quote.
My mother would say to us, Idon't know what's wrong with you
young people.
(26:01):
You think you just fell out of acoconut tree.
You exist in the context of allin which you live and what came
before you is that.
A golden girl or Goldenresistance?
Golden resistance.
Who said it?
Kamala?
Yeah, that one was easy.
I knew it was gonna be easy, butI just wanted to include it.
I actually wanna be recorded.
Say you think you just fell outof a coconut tree.
(26:24):
Alright, next quote.
If I wanna knock a story off thefront page, I just change my
hairstyle.
Golden Girls or GoldenResistance?
Oh, golden Resistance.
Who do you think it is?
Nancy Pelosi.
It is Golden Resistance.
It was actually Hillary Clinton.
Ah, okay, so you got one point.
Alright, number four.
(26:45):
Isn't it amazing how I can feelso bad and still look so good?
Golden Girl or GoldenResistance?
Golden Girls Who?
Blanche.
Yeah, that's one of her mostfamous lines.
Alright, number five.
Well, nobody ever believes mewhen I'm telling the truth.
I guess it's the curse of everydevastatingly beautiful woman,
(27:07):
golden girl, or Goldenresistance.
I'm gonna go with Golden Girls.
Okay.
Who said it?
I am gonna go with Blanche,correct?
Yes.
You got nine points so far?
Okay.
Nine.
Nine.
Quote six.
I hope he comes.
I wanna punch him out.
This is my moment.
I've been waiting for this.
(27:28):
I wanna punch him out and I'mgonna go to jail and I'm going
to be happy.
Golden Girl.
Or Golden Resistance?
Oh my goodness.
What a golden resistance to itis that I'm gonna go with golden
resistance.
Correct.
Okay.
Who said it?
Okay, so there's the choices areKamala, Nancy, Hillary, and who
else?
(27:48):
Jill.
Jill Biden.
Jill Biden.
No way is it?
No, no, no.
Oh, okay.
Is that your guess?
You, yes.
I'm gonna go with Jill.
It was Nancy Pelosi.
Damn Speaking about Trump in2022.
And I find that so funny thatshe said that.
All right, number seven.
It's time.
I gave something back to thechicken community.
A chicken once Saved my life.
(28:09):
Golden Girl or GoldenResistance?
Golden Girls Who?
Rose?
Yes.
Okay, so hold on, I'm trying tokeep your points added up.
We're at 10, 11, 12.
Alright, quote eight.
It's not easy being a mother.
If it were easy fathers would doit.
Golden girl or goldenresistance.
Golden resistance.
(28:29):
Wrong.
Damn golden girl.
It was Sophia.
Sophia, okay.
All right.
Number nine.
Life is difficult and if you sitaround waiting for fun to show
up, you'll find yourself goingwithout it more often than not.
Oh, that's a golden girl.
One or golden resistance.
I'm going with resistance,correct?
Who?
(28:50):
Oh, uh.
I'm going to go with Hillary.
It was Jill Biden.
Jill Biden, the serious one.
You know, I don't know many JillBiden quotes.
I couldn't find any funny ones.
She's always very serious, whichis fine.
Yeah, but that's why it makesher Dorothy.
That's what makes her Dorothy.
Yeah, that's true.
All right, number 10.
(29:11):
Last one.
You're at 13 points.
I thought about boiling him inoil, but I have never doubted my
decision to stay Golden girl orgolden resistance.
Wow.
I'd be shocked if it was agolden resistance.
I'm gonna go with Golden Girls.
It's a golden resistance.
Okay, well, let me guess.
Uh oh my gosh.
(29:31):
Uh, Hillary.
Correct?
It was, I feel like she would dothat.
It was an interview she had.
She was talking obviously aboutBill Clinton.
Bill.
Wow.
I thought about boiling him andboy, she's talking about her
husband.
Yeah.
Geez.
I mean, do you blame her Anyway,what would she do to her AI
boyfriend, I wonder, type thatmessage.
So outta 20 points, you got 14.
(29:54):
Amazing.
Which is great.
Alright.
Alright.
Hey, that was fun, Alex.
Thanks.
Always is.
Good job.
Um, so, so we, we ran with theGolden Girls quotes and golden
resistance quotes because Maydid, you know, may is Older
Americans month.
It's a national observance torecognize contributions and the
contributions of older adults inthe United States.
(30:17):
It's a time to highlight agingtrends, reaffirm commitments to
serving older adults and to.
Encourage community engagement.
The theme for 2025 is flip thescript on aging.
Just how old is old?
Well, according to, I don't knowwho made it up.
Old is young.
Old.
There's young, old, middle, old,oldest old, young.
(30:39):
Old is considered 65 to 74.
Middle old is 75 to 84, andoldest old is 85 and older.
This month is a good reminder tocontinue to think about aging
Americans.
Voters elected in administrationwith plans to completely shut
down agencies that have built onhelping those older adults,
social security, Medicare,Medicaid, all on the chopping
(31:03):
blocks.
Remember when I said love islove earlier?
Love is clearly not on the mindsof this administration.
Neither is gratitude.
From all the years of hard laborput forth by people 60 and
older, how dare we evencontemplate chopping the
resources that our parents andour grandparents depend on when
these resources are cut you, I,everyone will have to find a way
(31:28):
to support our aging familiesmore now than what you're
already doing.
Hey, maybe the Billionaire Bandof Thieves clubs will give us
$5,000.
Alex, they wanna give$5,000 topeople who have babies.
You know?
Did you hear that one?
That's true.
I think, I think I actuallywanna create an Instagram story
where people can anonymousanonymously, like vote on their
(31:49):
hospital bill after they gavebirth to a baby.
Because I think I know somepeople that had to pay a lot
more than that, even withinsurance.
I think having a baby is likepretty expensive.
It is expensive.
I think for adoption it took 20or 30 grand and I think having a
baby in hospital, it kind ofequals out to that too.
That is just wild.
But$5,000 to have a baby, I.
Interesting.
(32:10):
We just had a township meetinglast night about this whole
subject, and we had someone fromthe Missouri Budget project
speak on this topic of how theremay be changes to what is given
in funding the Medicaid,Medicare, and social security
when it comes to how much thefederal government plans to give
to states and whether stateswill have to front more of their
finances.
To the older population becauseof that.
(32:30):
You kind of touched on this, butone thing that stuck with me and
is important to note, justbecause you are not 60 or older
doesn't mean that this doesn'taffect you.
If states are given theresponsibility to pay for these
things, states that are alreadyin debt due to budgets being
mismanaged and unbalanced sincec.
(32:51):
Where do you think that moneywill come from?
It will have to come fromsomewhere, maybe from money that
would actually go to fixed roadsor facilities you use.
Money may have to come fromcutting state jobs.
Even.
You need to renew your driver'slicense next year or the year
after that, or get a permit.
Marriage license.
If they cut staff, that meanslonger wait times at those
(33:12):
offices or cutting office hours,which means when you get off
work at four, they'll probablyalready be closed.
It may not directly affect youand your health, but everyone
will see these financial burdensstart to mount up.
On top of that, I think we allstrive to want to reach old age.
And be able to have our hardwork pay off.
I mean, I know I do, and I thinkolder people who don't have the
(33:33):
ability to work anymore shouldbe supported.
It's sad that these cuts andthis administration's lack of
gratitude would make their livesharder.
If you have a grandparent, wouldyou want them to struggle to get
their medications or basics likeaccess to healthy food?
I think with everything goingon.
It's easy to focus on issuesthat are right in front of you,
(33:54):
but it's important we stand forthis just as strongly as we are
standing up for other issues.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's very important.
So next story is a little bitdifferent.
We're gonna kind of switch gearshere.
If you shop on Amazon, thisstory would be interesting,
which let's be honest, isprobably everybody.
You know, I've tried to stopshopping on Amazon.
(34:14):
I really do, but the convenienceof it makes it really hard.
I've definitely lowered theamount I use them, and I try to
borrow books from the libraryover getting them through
Kindle, because there was amoment where I was even doing
that.
But anyway.
Here's the tea.
Amazon was allegedly planningthe slap a warning label on its
site, telling shoppers exactlyhow much Trump's new tariffs on
(34:36):
Chinese imports were jacking upprices.
Bezos basically shots fired withthis administration, but no
surprise, the White House didnot vibe well with that.
Trump's press team called it apolitical stunt.
Here's Caroline Levitt speakingon the matter.
(35:52):
Then things got even juicierTrump personally called up Jeff
Bezos and pretty much said theback off shortly after that.
Amazon reversed course claimingthey never planned a show.
Tear of costs on listings.
Oh my goodness.
Trump, no surprise to anyone,posted a victory lap on his true
(36:13):
social platform.
So what's actually going on?
These tariffs are part ofTrump's 2025 campaign, which
we've touched on previous.
Episodes, but Trump is pushing anew round of pressure on China,
including up to 145% tariffs andending a longstanding rule that
lets small Chinese shipmentsunder$800 skip customs duties.
(36:37):
That's a huge deal for brandslike Sheen and Temu and Amazon.
These tariffs could make a tonof everyday stuff more
expensive.
And while Amazon.
It might absorb some of thesecosts.
Smaller platforms and sellerswon't have that luxury.
Trump is trying to look tough onChina.
(36:57):
Amazon's trying to dodgepolitical drama.
I guess they really like theirfront row seat at the
inauguration and we're stuck inthe middle paying the price.
Yeah.
We're stuck on the lower fuckingend because we have to pay the
price.
Yep.
If we make things, I actuallyright now.
Think that the final vestvessels without non-tariff
(37:20):
charges are currently arrivingat seaports across the country
right now.
This will hit us in a few monthsguaranteed.
Great.
I'll start looking forward.
Yeah.
Forward to that guys.
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Boy, that was this a heavyepisode.
Uh, we've had heavier.
I thought it was fun.
Yeah, it was fun.
The game was fun.
Yeah.
Hey, Alex, what is our Instagramhandle and TikTok handle again?
(37:43):
I, what is it?
The Civil Union Pod.
Civil Union Pod.
The Civil union pod on Instagramand TikTok.
I mean, if you already followus, you're just gonna see an
update, but if you don't followus and you need a search for us,
the civil.
Union pod and our email is theCivil Union twenty5@gmail.com.
Yes.
That's perfect.
(38:03):
Yes.
All right everyone, thank you somuch for listening.
Uh, we hope you are doing okayand you get through your work
week.
So have a great one.
Have a good one.
Bye bye.
welcome to the Civil Union, thepodcast where politics meets
partnership.
We're Alex and Ryan, a marriedcouple, navigating life and
debates in a conservative state.
We bring you sharp insights,bold opinions, and honest
conversations about politicalissues shaping our lives.
Especially those living onsociety's margins.
Tune in for real talk, a touchof humor and plenty of passion
(00:31):
because when it comes topolitics, every voice matters
and we are here to make surethey're heard.
Piss off bro.
I ain't some show pony there.
Satisfied.
Ain't fighting over you mate.
Fine.
Maybe I'll smash a bloke if hegets too close.
Shut up.
Chat's done.
We're going pub.
(00:52):
Don't make it weird.
Oh my God, I have no idea what Iclicked or how I even got on
this.
A log rhythm on Facebook.
But I now have these AIgenerated humans trying to date
me.
I wish I could show this videobecause this guy is not bad
looking for ai.
(01:13):
So it's an app where you type asentence and he or she is
supposed to respond in this ad.
The first sentence type says,show me your muscles, and he
responds with this.
Piss off, bro.
I ain't some show pony there.
Satisfied.
The last two sentences are fightfor me and take me on a date.
(01:35):
Ain't fighting over you, mate.
Fine.
Maybe I'll smash a bloke if hegets too close.
Shut up.
Chat's done.
We're going pub.
Don't make it weird.
That's so funny that you foundthese things.
They don't pop up on my socialmedia at all, so I wonder what
you're searching to get these AIgenerated boyfriends on your
feed.
It's hilarious.
He'll, he'll smash a bloke andwe'll go public because we're
(01:57):
we're dating and secrecy.
Then I get this loser, advertiseto me, listen to this one.
Hey, handsome.
You lonely, bored.
Just need someone who actuallylistens.
I'm your AI boyfriend.
No games, no ghosting, no, sorryI fell asleep.
Just instant replies.
Late night whispers.
Okay.
It would be hilarious if an AIboyfriend ghosts you.
(02:20):
I mean, they probably ghost JDVance, but what do I know?
I could totally see JD Vancehaving an AI relationship, like
having this on the side.
But anyway, he sounds, you know,like he's got emotional depth
and perfect recall, which, so Iwould say if we want to name him
anything.
Thing.
Let's name him what everymillennial dreams of and
(02:41):
emotionally available with asoftware update.
I would bet.
I would bet on a digitaldivorce.
If you did this and you had anAA boyfriend, I would bet on a
digital divorce within a week,and you crawling back to me,
your real human husband fasterthan your AI boyfriend could
update his firmware.
Uh, well maybe that's true.
(03:01):
We'll find out.
Let's find out.
You wanna find out?
Yeah, pay for it.
Let's see what happens.
Well, welcome everyone.
Hope everyone out there is doingwell.
Alex, I think it has rainedabsolutely all day today.
It literally has.
I feel like, you know, we weretalking about gonna Seattle.
I feel like Seattle came to us.
I feel so bad for the dogs whenthey have to go out and go potty
(03:24):
and just all of that.
It's just, if you look at theradar, it's just been like
stationary right over like theentire metro area.
I secretly love it though.
I, I sleep so much better whenit's cloudy.
I hate sunlight unless I'm at abeach or a pool.
I don't want sun.
I'd rather have it cloudy.
(03:44):
It's better for your skin.
You don't age as badly in cloudyweather and you get humidity.
It's nice little humidity.
It's not hot.
It's not hot rain.
It's like cold rain.
So it's great.
I think, yeah, it, you know, St.
Louis had the wettest.
April ever recorded in 135years.
Last month, just last month, webroke a record.
(04:05):
It's wild.
It's been a very wet spring.
I could believe it.
We've had a lot of rain.
Hey, did, did we change ourInstagram handle, Alex?
We did.
Instagram's weird where like yousign up and certain profiles
like usernames aren't availableor whatnot.
Well, now I was able to get our,our username more accurately.
Kind of to what it we are.
(04:26):
So our new Instagram handle andour TikTok, TikTok handle's the
same.
It's called the Civil Union Pod,POD.
That's again the civil Unionpod.
Pretty simple and it's all thesame on our Instagram and our
to, so just look it up.
Great job.
I'm very, very happy.
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
(04:46):
Yeah, because I was noticingwhen we were like.
Commenting on things.
It just said Civil U.
And it's like if no like thatdoesn't really show and we need
it more up and center.
So I think changing, it'll begood.
So I almost want to purchase ablue check mark.
It's like$1 for the first monthand then it goes to like.
$15 a month each monthafterwards.
I mean, is it worth it?
(05:09):
I don't think we need a bluecheck mark to prove we're
legitimate, but what are yourthoughts?
So I know on Twitter or X, whenthey made us start paying for
blue, blue check marks on there,it was very controversial.
'cause you could tell whenpeople were paying for it and it
was kind of like, Ugh, God,you're such a loser.
You're paying for your own checkmark.
(05:29):
But I will say.
On platforms saturated with somany profiles I found at least
on Instagram, which is differentthan X, I found out on Instagram
when I go back and read commentson these public posts that we
comment on, my eyes, go to theprofiles with blue check marks.
I don't know why.
I think because we've just beenconditioned on Twitter to react
(05:49):
to those profiles as legitimate.
So I do think maybe on Instagramit would.
Help.
Ugh.
I just don't want to spend moremoney.
Everything costs money nowadays.
Everything costs, costs, money,everything.
You see those commercials wherethey're like, you have 20
subscriptions and you only knowabout five of'em.
We can help you delete them.
And it's like, I think that allthe time.
(06:10):
I'm like, God, how manysubscriptions do we have?
And I'm like, no.
I know.
Basically everything we pay for,but it's still racks up.
I do too.
I always go to my little Applething and I look at the
subscriptions and I'm alwayslike, can I don't want to
Canceling?
Yeah, I'm always canceling.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Same.
Yeah.
So what have we been up to?
Well, there was a town hallorganized by Democrats where US
(06:31):
Senator Chris Murphy, flew infrom DC to speak to voters out
in Chesterfield, Missouri.
We get there and the turnout wasmassive.
Just a lot of people, a lot ofolder people, more than 1200
people showed up.
In fact, the turnout was solarge, they opened an overflow
room.
The 4:00 PM start time on aFriday afternoon is just tough
(06:56):
altogether, especially for usworking class people.
Alex and I scrambled to getthere.
I was allowed to leave work alittle early.
We battled traffic,thunderstorms, anything you can
think of.
And you know what?
I was kind of pissed.
After all the work we've donethe last decade, the main event
room reached capacity.
(07:18):
We were just herded like cattledown a long hallway past the
event room just to watch localdemocratic leaders speak from a
freaking TV screen.
When, when does a Democraticparty take the hint and start
hosting town halls outdoors, oreven under large pavilions where
(07:38):
anyone, and I mean anyone canattend.
Are they scared of MAGA showingup?
We need democratic leadersstanding on tables, in my
opinion, or on the backs of, youknow, truck beds with, with that
big speaker thing.
Alex, you use one at every game.
Game, what do you call it?
Oh, uh, A megaphone.
A megaphone, yes.
We need democratic leaders onthe backs of truck beds with
(08:01):
megaphones speaking to the vastamount of voters that are coming
to see these candidates.
It's so important.
I will say that I don'tnecessarily know if they even
thought how many people weregonna show up.
Like yes, it was frustrating'cause we couldn't find a seat
or a spot in the main room, butI don't think anyone was aware
that this many people would showup.
(08:21):
And it's kind of been a trend inthe nation.
But the area they had, it wasthis hotel out in the county and
you know, we had to park, noteven in the main hotel parking
lot, we had to park in anotherlot and there were like three
lots around that venue.
And all of them were.
Filled.
I mean, there was trafficgetting off the highway just for
this event.
I mean, it was, it was insane.
So it's, it's, in a way, it's agood thing, but we definitely
(08:44):
need to tweak the way we want torun town halls to bigger venues
now that we know that we'regonna have that, that amount of
people show up.
A hundred percent.
I totally agree.
You know, when I mentioned likestanding on tables and truck
beds, I, I think of that scenein the movie Norma Ray played by
Sally Field, where she was like.
On a table in a factory that sheworked at holding a, a sign with
(09:06):
the word union and big blackletters.
Do you know that scene I'mtalking about?
No.
But you know, every Sally Fieldmovie, I think you've seen every
movie of hers do like her.
She, you do like stealmagnolias.
I mean, come on.
Oh, and Homeward Bound.
And Homeward Bound.
You could cat sassy, sassy.
Anyways, we need Democrats doingthat, holding up big signs with
like the word union or vote forme on it.
(09:28):
Anyway, we, we saw Chris Murphyspeak and it was okay.
Nothing we haven't already seenor heard before.
He did do very well.
The town hall was filled withall Democratic elected leaders
throughout CongressionalDistrict two.
Each one gave a speech beforeChris Murphy spoke, And every
speaker would have the crowdchant.
(09:51):
Where's Anne Wagner if you don'talready know who Anne Wagner is.
She's been the US House ofRepresentative for Congressional
District two in Missouri since2012.
She's never held a town hall.
The National Democratic Party isnow starting to.
Let's be honest, care aboutMissouri, the flyover state, if
(10:14):
you will, The DNC largely leftMissouri voters after Barack
Obama lost by about what, 8,000votes in 2008.
So was Anne Wagner even invitedto speak at this event?
Doubtful.
Would she have shown up?
Absolutely not.
In the past, I don't rememberany democratic leaders hosting
(10:35):
town halls.
Not here.
At least, you know, we staywell-informed.
We would've shown up if therewere town halls.
They certainly didn't during the120 days, Kamala had to prove
herself as a winning candidatefor president.
So these town hall situationsare a little disheartening for
me because now we're hostingtown halls.
(10:55):
Now we want to get in touch withconstituents because of what's
happening up in dc smoke andmirrors.
And while I'm, I'm very happywith my current elected State
House of Representative RayReed.
The entire Democratic party,local and national needs a
shakedown.
We need a restructuring.
(11:16):
We should hear and try tounderstand what David Hog has to
say.
More on that on the next story.
My point of telling ourlisteners across this country is
this, we need a new generationof leaders.
I've said it before, I'm sayingit again.
It is time for the millennialsand Gen Zs to come through.
(11:36):
It's time for us to takecontrol.
Just look at this mess.
The Republican party is fuckingaround with our futures here.
We're the ones that have toclean up this destruction.
Trump and his Band ofBillionaire Thieves have
created, I completely agree witheverything you have to say.
I mean, while the second largestlabor force is the Gen Xers,
(11:57):
which would be basically anyoneborn between 1965 and 1980.
The largest labor force is nowthe millennials or those born
between 1980 through 1996.
You and me are included in that.
We should be focused on thosewho are helping our economy
steam through these chaotictimes.
(12:19):
We should be very focused onwhat the millennials kitchen
table looks like.
What bills are we facing?
What issues are we facing?
Do we really care if ourneighbor is married to another
member of the same sex?
Probably not.
We don't please take nodisrespect to those who are
older and closer to retirementhere because I do really respect
(12:43):
the ones that did show up to theChris Murphy thing'cause they
were quite a bit of them.
And I always find that reallycool that there is an older
generation that is liberal andwanting to help us out.
But we hundred percent only see,we only see progress when there
is change.
Yeah.
So did you know the currentHouse of Representatives is made
of only 16% of millennials andGen Zers?
(13:05):
Roughly 1% of the Senate isrepresented by the millennial
generation.
That's for both parties.
If you want change, if you wantto get out of debt.
If you want to fix immigrationissues instead of just deporting
people to an El Salvadorianprison, now more than ever it is
(13:25):
time to focus energy and effortson getting a new mindset, a new
era of Democratic leaders.
While I do think there is ahealthy Republican party out
there.
Somewhere, maybe outer space.
It's healthy to disagree andstill create a non-biased plan
for things that don't take awayour human rights.
(13:48):
It's also not a bad idea tofocus our energy on protecting
planet Earth.
The climate, we only get one.
Speaking of planets, Alex.
Happy.
Almost 25th birthday to BritneySpears's.
Oops.
I did it again.
Album.
Ugh.
Changed my life.
I wish she could release anotheralbum.
You know, she went to Mars.
(14:09):
I mean, you know.
She did.
Yeah.
You probably get the reference.
You're millennial, you get it.
Yeah.
There was a cute guy there.
He brought her the heart of theocean.
Yeah.
You know, if Britney Spears wereto release an album right now,
she would hit jackpot.
If Britney Spears was in placeof Katy Perry going to space, I
think people would've actuallybeen on board with it.
I think people would reallyappreciate a new Britney in
(14:30):
their life.
I know I would.
We need that.
If she did her version, couldyou imagine this, if Britney
Spears did her version of an.
ERA'S tour that was like a fourhour concert with her whole
discography.
Especially today where peopleare just itching for a pick me
up.
Could you imagine what Britneyera would you be, do you think?
(14:53):
Oh, era.
Blackout, for sure.
Yeah.
That was my favorite album.
Blackout was a good, that's avery rebellious one I feel like
I would do.
Yep.
I think I would be glory orcircus.
Hmm.
Okay.
We should start asking peoplethat What Britney Spears era are
You think about it?
Huh?
What album are you?
I don't know.
Anyway, you know, do you thinkshe would've done like a dancing
(15:15):
video if she was up there?
I.
In that outer space trip whereKaty Perry went and Gale King
did.
Absolutely.
She would've been whipping herhair with the knives.
Yes.
Floating in air, in theanti-gravity.
Anyway, okay.
N New subject.
Here we go.
Democratic National CommitteeChair Ken Martin said the, that
the party officers should bebanned from taking sides and
(15:38):
primaries.
Ken Martin beefed up the dramabetween him and DNC Vice Chair
David Hog clapping back at Hog'sPlan to raise cash for
candidates going afterdemocratic incumbents.
David Hog Rose the prominenceAfter surviving the 2018 school
shooting in Parkland, Florida,both Martin and Hogg were
(15:59):
elected by DNC members earlierthis year.
Martin said he's drafting up aproposed bylaw to require the
DNC office to remain neutral inall democratic primaries.
This comes after David saidhe'll raise millions of dollars
through a political actioncommittee to support challengers
running against longtimeDemocrat incumbents who are in
(16:22):
very blue congressionaldistricts.
Hog says the party needs ashakeup.
He wants leaders who wouldbecome more aggressive towards
Trump while also connecting withyounger voters.
You know what?
It needs to happen.
Absolutely.
All David Hogg is wanting to dois challenge the dead weight of
this party that has been able tosit comfortably in various
(16:43):
positions throughout thiscountry.
He wants to challenge them bysupporting candidates who may
come in and want to actuallyshow.
Up.
He's not acting dirty.
He's just giving people afighting shot at running against
established politicians whoalready have a team and campaign
money in their coffers.
And I don't see anything wrongwith it.
(17:05):
Honestly.
There is nothing wrong in givingsomeone a push.
There is nothing wrong withchallenging these politicians.
I think it holds'em accountableand wakes them the F up.
If you want to retain your seat.
Fight for it.
Just because hog may supportsomeone doesn't mean he's trying
to push a politician out.
(17:26):
You know what I find interestingabout all this too, is I thought
Ken Martin would come in andreally change the DNC, and maybe
he still will.
There's still a lot of timethere, but we are at a time
where things need to change.
What was working before isn'tworking anymore.
We talk about it all the time.
I don't think it has been for awhile.
We have a member.
Now, who is the first to be fromthe Gen Z generation?
(17:48):
That's David Hogg, and I thinkit's really important not only
for the DNC, but for the imageof the DNC to support this
member.
Obviously you felt it wasneeded.
He should be a part of the boardof the DNC, so maybe.
You should listen to what hewants to do because sparring
with him and threatening him, itisn't a good look.
(18:12):
You know, especially us beingthe millennial generation and
being the largest workinggeneration out there, we need
more representation and we'repoor.
I mean, let's be honest here,like we all have, we're all
drowning in student loan debt.
If you're lucky enough to buy ahouse, you got a mortgage
(18:33):
payment to worry about interestrates.
If your car goes out, you gottaneed to get a new car.
You need to pay insurance.
I mean, it's just cost aftercost after cost, and you got
inflation and the tariffs now.
And it's like we need to be therepresentation of that
generation so we get our voicesheard.
There are a lot of.
(18:53):
Young men Republicans out therein their twenties.
I don't ever remember that.
Like, usually historically it'slike you're, you're a liberal,
you're a democrat when you're,you're younger and then you
slowly, slowly become moreconservative as you get older.
But it's just, it's uh, it'sflipped the script really.
Um, anyway, so, Hey, love islove, Alex.
(19:17):
It is.
Love is love.
I just wish, yeah, I just wish,like Republicans use their
hearts more instead of their,their Tiny Brains Elite budget
draft plans to cut funding to afederal suicide prevention
hotline dedicated to helpingplus youth.
Advocates say this proposal toeliminate funding for the 9 8 8
(19:39):
line will increase more deaths?
Yeah.
Republican leaders don't likeminorities sharing the same
rights as them.
I, I really, truly believe that.
So they will bat no eye atripping anything LG plus related
apart the hotline.
Provides federally fundedsupport to anyone dealing with a
mental health crisis, and Godknows Americans need it more now
(20:03):
than ever before.
In fact, the line typicallyfields almost 800 calls a month.
In just 10 days.
As the presidential electioncame to a head, they received
roughly 5,500 calls.
Wow.
They were prepared for the callsto spike.
Given that the LGBTQ pluscommunity and specifically the
(20:23):
transgender population has beena subject of debate.
Yeah, so this hotline received2100 contacts per day in
February alone.
That tells you how scary it isfor minorities since its
creation by the Bidenadministration and.
2022.
(20:43):
The hotline has provided 1.2million crisis contacts with
lifesaving services.
We here at the Civil UnionPodcast believe in factual
studies.
Studies prove that suicide ratesare disproportionately higher,
um, for plus youth.
And you do also have to thinkhow many lives will be affected
(21:06):
by this.
They are turning their backs onthousands of people.
They are telling them in themost brutal way possible that
their lives don't matter enoughto fund, to protect or to save.
You know, in a time when trans.
And LGBTQ plus youth are beingvilified in communities across
this country in a time when theyare feeling unwelcome and shut
(21:29):
out.
This is absolutely heartless.
This is happening in a politicalclimate.
I.
Where bills are passed to erasequeer identities and spaces from
classrooms and communities whereaccess to gender affirming care
is being ripped away, and wherehateful rhetoric is being
spouted every day, like it'sjust normal comments on social
(21:50):
platforms.
And I wanna be clear, thisrhetoric has become.
A deadly soundtrack in thesekids' lives.
Could you imagine being a kid intoday's social media society?
It's insane.
And then we wanna shut down theone phone number they could call
the one lifeline some of thesekids have when their household
doesn't accept them.
(22:11):
We need more lifelines, notfewer.
If the cuts become a reality,they would be effective October
1st.
If you or a loved one isstruggling or in crisis, help is
available For now.
You can call or text nine eighteight, or you can chat online at
9 8 8 lifeline.org.
(22:32):
One thing I had found too whileresearching for this story, it's
important to note too, theTrevor Project will also still
be available to those in need.
You can get to that by going tothe Trevor project.org.
Texting 6 7 8 6 7 8.
Or calling 1 8 6 6 4 8 8 7 3 86.
(22:53):
We will be sure to add theselinks and phone numbers to our
description of the episode, solook at that and you can get
these I these, this information.
You know, I have a side topicquestion after this story that
we just did.
Do you say.
LGBTQIA plus community.
Like how as a gay man, like whatdo you say?
(23:14):
What do you prefer?
Initially it was LGBT, and thenit was L-G-B-T-Q.
Um, then it becameL-G-B-T-Q-I-A, and now it's just
LI think as long as you're justmaking sure you're.
welcoming and accepting everyonein that title.
So you could say LGBTQ plus, I'msure you could say plus LGBTQIA
plus.
(23:35):
Well, like what, what is the Iand the A stand for?
I don't even fucking know.
Intersex.
Oh, what is the a?
You know, I, I just say plus,and that's where I stand and
that's okay.
You know, I get it.
But that's just how I'm, that'swhat it is.
Plus.
There's a lot of identities outthere with it.
(23:55):
I think as long as you areputting the plus, you are saying
there's more than just the LGBTcommunity.
Yeah, we are all inclusive hereat the Civil Union Podcast.
Hey, I think it's game time,babe.
It is game time.
What is it?
This week?
So, okay, so for this edition ofWho Said It, I wanted to throw
(24:17):
it back to the old sitcom era.
Golden Girls Edition.
Hey.
Which I love.
Golden Girls.
Yeah, I thought the four women,Dorothy Rose, blanche, and
Sophia, and who would be them inthe political world today?
So I came up with theseparallels.
Okay.
Hear me out.
Hillary Clinton would beDorothy.
(24:38):
Both are direct, tough,pragmatic.
Jill Biden would be Rose.
Both are good hearted andcharming and innocent.
Harris would be blanche.
Both are confident, charming,and carries herself with
sophistication.
And then Nancy Pelosi would beSophia.
Oh, Sophia, yeah.
(24:58):
Both are mother figures withsharp wit and unafraid to speak
their mind.
So, so what's the game?
Could you, first of all, couldyou imagine all those women
under one roof?
I would love Kamala Harris.
What would their wallpaper looklike?
What would their decor looklike?
I'd just be really carefullyinterested about that.
Anyways, for this edition, I'mgonna give you a quote.
(25:19):
You tell me whether you thinkit's the Golden Girls or the
Golden Resistance.
Then for an extra point, guessthe person who said it.
Okay.
Oh God.
Is this a long one?
It's 10 questions.
Alright.
Quote one.
You'll have to excuse my mother.
She suffered a slight stroke afew years ago, which rendered
her totally annoying.
(25:41):
Golden Girls are goldenresistance.
So wait, what's the goldenresistance?
All the other women.
Hillary, Jill.
Oh, okay.
Nancy or Harris.
Okay.
Well the first one is definitelyDorothy.
Yes.
Yeah.
Good job.
Golden girl.
Yeah, Dorothy.
Alright, you got two points Thattime alright, next quote.
My mother would say to us, Idon't know what's wrong with you
young people.
(26:01):
You think you just fell out of acoconut tree.
You exist in the context of allin which you live and what came
before you is that.
A golden girl or Goldenresistance?
Golden resistance.
Who said it?
Kamala?
Yeah, that one was easy.
I knew it was gonna be easy, butI just wanted to include it.
I actually wanna be recorded.
Say you think you just fell outof a coconut tree.
(26:24):
Alright, next quote.
If I wanna knock a story off thefront page, I just change my
hairstyle.
Golden Girls or GoldenResistance?
Oh, golden Resistance.
Who do you think it is?
Nancy Pelosi.
It is Golden Resistance.
It was actually Hillary Clinton.
Ah, okay, so you got one point.
Alright, number four.
(26:45):
Isn't it amazing how I can feelso bad and still look so good?
Golden Girl or GoldenResistance?
Golden Girls Who?
Blanche.
Yeah, that's one of her mostfamous lines.
Alright, number five.
Well, nobody ever believes mewhen I'm telling the truth.
I guess it's the curse of everydevastatingly beautiful woman,
(27:07):
golden girl, or Goldenresistance.
I'm gonna go with Golden Girls.
Okay.
Who said it?
I am gonna go with Blanche,correct?
Yes.
You got nine points so far?
Okay.
Nine.
Nine.
Quote six.
I hope he comes.
I wanna punch him out.
This is my moment.
I've been waiting for this.
(27:28):
I wanna punch him out and I'mgonna go to jail and I'm going
to be happy.
Golden Girl.
Or Golden Resistance?
Oh my goodness.
What a golden resistance to itis that I'm gonna go with golden
resistance.
Correct.
Okay.
Who said it?
Okay, so there's the choices areKamala, Nancy, Hillary, and who
else?
(27:48):
Jill.
Jill Biden.
Jill Biden.
No way is it?
No, no, no.
Oh, okay.
Is that your guess?
You, yes.
I'm gonna go with Jill.
It was Nancy Pelosi.
Damn Speaking about Trump in2022.
And I find that so funny thatshe said that.
All right, number seven.
It's time.
I gave something back to thechicken community.
A chicken once Saved my life.
(28:09):
Golden Girl or GoldenResistance?
Golden Girls Who?
Rose?
Yes.
Okay, so hold on, I'm trying tokeep your points added up.
We're at 10, 11, 12.
Alright, quote eight.
It's not easy being a mother.
If it were easy fathers would doit.
Golden girl or goldenresistance.
Golden resistance.
(28:29):
Wrong.
Damn golden girl.
It was Sophia.
Sophia, okay.
All right.
Number nine.
Life is difficult and if you sitaround waiting for fun to show
up, you'll find yourself goingwithout it more often than not.
Oh, that's a golden girl.
One or golden resistance.
I'm going with resistance,correct?
Who?
(28:50):
Oh, uh.
I'm going to go with Hillary.
It was Jill Biden.
Jill Biden, the serious one.
You know, I don't know many JillBiden quotes.
I couldn't find any funny ones.
She's always very serious, whichis fine.
Yeah, but that's why it makesher Dorothy.
That's what makes her Dorothy.
Yeah, that's true.
All right, number 10.
(29:11):
Last one.
You're at 13 points.
I thought about boiling him inoil, but I have never doubted my
decision to stay Golden girl orgolden resistance.
Wow.
I'd be shocked if it was agolden resistance.
I'm gonna go with Golden Girls.
It's a golden resistance.
Okay, well, let me guess.
Uh oh my gosh.
(29:31):
Uh, Hillary.
Correct?
It was, I feel like she would dothat.
It was an interview she had.
She was talking obviously aboutBill Clinton.
Bill.
Wow.
I thought about boiling him andboy, she's talking about her
husband.
Yeah.
Geez.
I mean, do you blame her Anyway,what would she do to her AI
boyfriend, I wonder, type thatmessage.
So outta 20 points, you got 14.
(29:54):
Amazing.
Which is great.
Alright.
Alright.
Hey, that was fun, Alex.
Thanks.
Always is.
Good job.
Um, so, so we, we ran with theGolden Girls quotes and golden
resistance quotes because Maydid, you know, may is Older
Americans month.
It's a national observance torecognize contributions and the
contributions of older adults inthe United States.
(30:17):
It's a time to highlight agingtrends, reaffirm commitments to
serving older adults and to.
Encourage community engagement.
The theme for 2025 is flip thescript on aging.
Just how old is old?
Well, according to, I don't knowwho made it up.
Old is young.
Old.
There's young, old, middle, old,oldest old, young.
(30:39):
Old is considered 65 to 74.
Middle old is 75 to 84, andoldest old is 85 and older.
This month is a good reminder tocontinue to think about aging
Americans.
Voters elected in administrationwith plans to completely shut
down agencies that have built onhelping those older adults,
social security, Medicare,Medicaid, all on the chopping
(31:03):
blocks.
Remember when I said love islove earlier?
Love is clearly not on the mindsof this administration.
Neither is gratitude.
From all the years of hard laborput forth by people 60 and
older, how dare we evencontemplate chopping the
resources that our parents andour grandparents depend on when
these resources are cut you, I,everyone will have to find a way
(31:28):
to support our aging familiesmore now than what you're
already doing.
Hey, maybe the Billionaire Bandof Thieves clubs will give us
$5,000.
Alex, they wanna give$5,000 topeople who have babies.
You know?
Did you hear that one?
That's true.
I think, I think I actuallywanna create an Instagram story
where people can anonymousanonymously, like vote on their
(31:49):
hospital bill after they gavebirth to a baby.
Because I think I know somepeople that had to pay a lot
more than that, even withinsurance.
I think having a baby is likepretty expensive.
It is expensive.
I think for adoption it took 20or 30 grand and I think having a
baby in hospital, it kind ofequals out to that too.
That is just wild.
But$5,000 to have a baby, I.
Interesting.
(32:10):
We just had a township meetinglast night about this whole
subject, and we had someone fromthe Missouri Budget project
speak on this topic of how theremay be changes to what is given
in funding the Medicaid,Medicare, and social security
when it comes to how much thefederal government plans to give
to states and whether stateswill have to front more of their
finances.
To the older population becauseof that.
(32:30):
You kind of touched on this, butone thing that stuck with me and
is important to note, justbecause you are not 60 or older
doesn't mean that this doesn'taffect you.
If states are given theresponsibility to pay for these
things, states that are alreadyin debt due to budgets being
mismanaged and unbalanced sincec.
(32:51):
Where do you think that moneywill come from?
It will have to come fromsomewhere, maybe from money that
would actually go to fixed roadsor facilities you use.
Money may have to come fromcutting state jobs.
Even.
You need to renew your driver'slicense next year or the year
after that, or get a permit.
Marriage license.
If they cut staff, that meanslonger wait times at those
(33:12):
offices or cutting office hours,which means when you get off
work at four, they'll probablyalready be closed.
It may not directly affect youand your health, but everyone
will see these financial burdensstart to mount up.
On top of that, I think we allstrive to want to reach old age.
And be able to have our hardwork pay off.
I mean, I know I do, and I thinkolder people who don't have the
(33:33):
ability to work anymore shouldbe supported.
It's sad that these cuts andthis administration's lack of
gratitude would make their livesharder.
If you have a grandparent, wouldyou want them to struggle to get
their medications or basics likeaccess to healthy food?
I think with everything goingon.
It's easy to focus on issuesthat are right in front of you,
(33:54):
but it's important we stand forthis just as strongly as we are
standing up for other issues.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's very important.
So next story is a little bitdifferent.
We're gonna kind of switch gearshere.
If you shop on Amazon, thisstory would be interesting,
which let's be honest, isprobably everybody.
You know, I've tried to stopshopping on Amazon.
(34:14):
I really do, but the convenienceof it makes it really hard.
I've definitely lowered theamount I use them, and I try to
borrow books from the libraryover getting them through
Kindle, because there was amoment where I was even doing
that.
But anyway.
Here's the tea.
Amazon was allegedly planningthe slap a warning label on its
site, telling shoppers exactlyhow much Trump's new tariffs on
(34:36):
Chinese imports were jacking upprices.
Bezos basically shots fired withthis administration, but no
surprise, the White House didnot vibe well with that.
Trump's press team called it apolitical stunt.
Here's Caroline Levitt speakingon the matter.
(35:52):
Then things got even juicierTrump personally called up Jeff
Bezos and pretty much said theback off shortly after that.
Amazon reversed course claimingthey never planned a show.
Tear of costs on listings.
Oh my goodness.
Trump, no surprise to anyone,posted a victory lap on his true
(36:13):
social platform.
So what's actually going on?
These tariffs are part ofTrump's 2025 campaign, which
we've touched on previous.
Episodes, but Trump is pushing anew round of pressure on China,
including up to 145% tariffs andending a longstanding rule that
lets small Chinese shipmentsunder$800 skip customs duties.
(36:37):
That's a huge deal for brandslike Sheen and Temu and Amazon.
These tariffs could make a tonof everyday stuff more
expensive.
And while Amazon.
It might absorb some of thesecosts.
Smaller platforms and sellerswon't have that luxury.
Trump is trying to look tough onChina.
(36:57):
Amazon's trying to dodgepolitical drama.
I guess they really like theirfront row seat at the
inauguration and we're stuck inthe middle paying the price.
Yeah.
We're stuck on the lower fuckingend because we have to pay the
price.
Yep.
If we make things, I actuallyright now.
Think that the final vestvessels without non-tariff
(37:20):
charges are currently arrivingat seaports across the country
right now.
This will hit us in a few monthsguaranteed.
Great.
I'll start looking forward.
Yeah.
Forward to that guys.
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Boy, that was this a heavyepisode.
Uh, we've had heavier.
I thought it was fun.
Yeah, it was fun.
The game was fun.
Yeah.
Hey, Alex, what is our Instagramhandle and TikTok handle again?
(37:43):
I, what is it?
The Civil Union Pod.
Civil Union Pod.
The Civil union pod on Instagramand TikTok.
I mean, if you already followus, you're just gonna see an
update, but if you don't followus and you need a search for us,
the civil.
Union pod and our email is theCivil Union twenty5@gmail.com.
Yes.
That's perfect.
(38:03):
Yes.
All right everyone, thank you somuch for listening.
Uh, we hope you are doing okayand you get through your work
week.
So have a great one.
Have a good one.
Bye bye.
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