09/04/26

Title

I’m Very Normal About a Few Things

Good morning! It’s Friday, September 4th.

Bring Your Manners to Work Day

…do I HAVE to? Like… for real? 

And now, the news.

ICE Officer Charged

-via NPR, MPR News, and AP News

Starting with the news that ICE Christian Casto has been charged by federal prosecutors with lying to investigators. About what? Well, in January Castro shot two Venezuelan immigrants in Minnesota during the administration’s Operation Metro Surge. 

Per the city cameras, one of the men was outside holding a snow shovel when the other man pulled up in a vehicle and ran towards the building. Seeing him running, the man with the shovel threw it down and also tried to get to the building. The first man slipped, and at that point, Castro jumped on him, and the two men had a brief struggle.

When they separated, the man who dropped the shovel helped the other up and they both made into the house but Castro shot at them through the front door. One of the men was hit in the leg. Following that, the agents deployed tear gas and, without a warrant, entered the home and took all four adults out. It was an hour before the man who was shot ever received medical care.

A full hour.

Castro claimed the two men beat him with a broom handle and snow shovel, but footage showed that that wasn’t the case. Which is the lie he’s being charged with.

That’s why people shouldn’t lie!

Don’t get me wrong, there are a million things he shouldn’t have done in addition to lying. But lying is also something people shouldn’t do.

Castro was in Texas for a spell, arrested but still in Texas… Minnesota asked Abbott to return Castro to the state, because people were concerned that once Castro was released, he would (ironically) flee for Mexico. 

However, he ended up turning himself in on Thursday.

Those Scoundrels!

-via AP News, Axios, The Hill, CBS News, and Washington Post

And let’s talk about Republicans! 

Now listen, before I do… I get it. I know. We both know what this show is and the vibe and all that. I’ve never tried to hide that, which I actually think makes me way more honest than all the rest of the news because at least I’m willing to admit that there’s a bias.

That said, I do genuinely try to be honest about both sides. Like, if the Democrats actually did anything, it would be a miracle AND it would be reported.

But right now the issue is… the Republicans are scoundrels! 

Starting with voting (relax! I’ll be good!)

First, Trump has asked the Supremes to lift a temporary restraining order that blocks key parts of his plan to get the USPS to help him do voter disenfranchisement.

Now, I’m telling you this to tell you but here’s what you need to know: a lower court has already put in a restraining order to prevent changes from happening. 

And that’s it. Right now, the change that’s been made is no change at all. 

I will tell you when there are changes. I’m very normal about a few things (you already know the list! Kelly Clarkson’s perfect pitch, Mandy Moore’s impending EGOT, the Padres are a hometown team that don’t need to win games because we already won your heart, and the fact that I am the 100% reason Ted Lasso season 4 is happening right now). 

Those are things I’m NORMAL about. Super super normal.

The only thing I’m a little hyper-focused on. Just a little bit. Is voting. 

If there are changes? I’ll know. And I’ll tell you. 

And the reason I’m telling you that is because I’m genuinely worried that all of these headlines are going to scare people out of voting. And in fact, with the fact that these changes haven’t changed anything, my biggest worry is that we’re going to see lower turnout from the general confusion around voting, rather than because of any voting law changes. 

So TL;DL (mom, that means “too long didn’t listen”… that joke doesn’t really work because, as my mom, you’re legally obligated to listen to me. Bummerrrrrrrrrr for you)

Next up!!

Missouri! The Missouri state Supreme Court is allowing the state to toss a gerrymandered map that favors Republicans in the midterms.

And instead, they will toss it to voters in November. Just like California, it’s now up to Missourianders (that’s what they’re called, right?) to decide their districts. And either way, it’s not going to take e333333333ffect until after the midterms.

Summary of those two stories? 

No changes yet!

Now, they’ve tried to steal your election through voting law changes and through gerrymandering. How else have those silly rascals tried?

Well, on Thursday, Virginia House Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (suh-buh-rah-man-yahm) (who is a Democrat) said he was informed by the DOJ that his phone calls in the spring were wiretapped.

The DOJ has not responded to this story. 

So – why this House rep and why spring?

Because back then, the DOJ was investigating Louise Lucas. Remember when I was just talking about redistricting? Well, Virginia did was California did – asked the voters if they wanted to redistrict. 

Voters said yes.

Then Trump was like uh oh!!!

And that is when Louise Lucas, the Virginia Senate President pro tempore (TEM-puh-ray), had her office raided.

Officials claim they were looking into an alleged bribery scheme in connection with the marijuana dispensary business she co-owns, which was also searched.

I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she was a leader in the fight to redistrict. Or the fact that, when the measure passed, she posted: "You all started it and we f***ing finished it."

She was not charged.

But that’s around the time that this wiretapping happened.

It also happened to be the same time that the Oversight Committee was calling on Pam Bondi to testify in the Epstein investigation.

Which – we need to get back to talking about! Trump is in the Epstein files!! We should be talking about that every single day! Just like we need to keep talking about the fact that House Rep Neal Dunn and Senator Mitch McConnell are still MIA.

Dude… politics aside, and I’m by no means saying the Democrats are perfect. I’m just saying… Republicans are a shady group!!

Well, that’s probably all they’ve done recently.

Oh wait! Sorry no that’s wrong.

Republican Thomas Ross is facing federal charges for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. So what was he gonna do? Give a couple loosies to a friend? (A saying I’ve only heard and passing and, MOM, I don’t even know what it means)

Nah

Dude planted coke and study buddies (mom, that means cocaine and Adderall) and on Louise Secker, his opponent (whom he beat) in the Republican primary. 

I mean… the other option was to just like… campaign well and want to help people.

But sure, I guess, this is also… AN option. 

Just to let it be known… the drugs were never planted because his campaign manager went to the police. So there ARE good people in this story.

And also… Ross won the primary but not the general so we can all only hope that he loses in the general because, and again I know nothing about his politics. I don’t like his party (at all) but I don’t know anything about this guy… but someone that does this? Does NOT deserve to be elected.

Ross is a member of the state House but, fun fact, our United States House is… in vaca again!! They had two more weeks of work planned and then they were like – eh. It’s not for me. 

Cool cool cool…. We pay their salary.

Gloria Steinem

-via NY Times

And ending on this… 

Gloria Steinam, journalist, feminist, and activist, died on Wednesday. 

She was 92.

My grandpa was 92 when he died and what I’d always say about that is… that’s a success story. 

92?? 

92 is a success story. 

And also… I immediately thought about Cecile Richards, who died on January 20th, 2025.

She had this great quote: “It’s not hard to imagine future generations one day asking: ‘When there was so much at stake for our country, what did you do?’ The only acceptable answer is: ‘Everything we could.’”

It’s not been… the best week and change. As far as, you know, the people we admire being alive. And a couple days ago I was reading an article about Miley Cyrus (calm down! I’m going somewhere!)

She goes by Miley now and news of the name change came out just a few days after Dolly Parton, her godmother, died. And everyone, in the article, was like “and how dare she!! Dolly just died!! It’s weird!! She’s just grieving exactly how I want her to so she’s wrong!!”

She made the name change ahead of her next album and honestly, those things need to be planned so far ahead of time that it probably was just bad timing. And I don’t know either of those women at all, but I have such a hard time believing that if Miley said “hey, maybe I’ll push the album and name change and all that” that Dolly would have said, “good, yes. Be sad for a long time and put everything on hold.”

I’m trying to imagine a world where I tell my grandpa, “hey in a few months we’re going to have a pandemic and actually I’ll be thrilled because I’d love a few months for everything in the world to stop while I deal with this.”

He would have been like: that’s dumb. Also… a pandemic???!!!! Why?? Certainly we’ll handle it well, right????

All of that to say – when Cecile Richards died, I did a whole episode just about her. And I said a lot of things (I often do), but also said this: 

She was also just a person.

A person who held deep beliefs and spent her life in service of those beliefs. 

It’s hard to imagine a world without her.

Gloria Steinam taught million of women how feel their own power. When she was born, women couldn’t serve in the military, get equal pay (which made since because we couldn’t even get our own bank account). We couldn’t be on juries and we definitely couldn’t get birth control.

And in that environment, she grew up and grew a voice. A voice that told us that that’s… BS.

We’re still not treated equally, but we get real mad about it. We know to yell about it. We, women, have power and we also… know it. And I don’t know what the world would look like if this incredibly brave, ballsy, loud as hell, woman didn’t spend her life trying to make sure we knew we could also be incredibly brave, ballsy, and loud as hell… 

And I brought up the Cecile Richards thing, and the Dolly thing, for two reasons.

One – when Richards died, it was the day Trump was sworn in again and I just remember thinking… I don’t want to do this again! And I DON’T want to do this in a world without Cecile Richards.

And it would be so easy to feel that way now.

But in the same way Dolly would have been furious if Miley had said, “I’m gonna hit pause for a while”… we are in this moment. We are in this wild and vital moment, where we can, where it is so possible for us, to right this ship. To start getting us back on track. 

And imagine telling this fireball – but first, we grieve.

She’d be furious.

A lot of people will be able to give you Steinam’s entire, very impressive, life story.

I encourage you to learn more about her. 

But instead, let me just say this… 

All gas. No brakes.

We are here. We have a voice. We are going to use it whether they like it or not. And frankly, because they won’t like it… I’ll be even louder. 

Obviously, I will end with a quote from Steinam. Which was IMPOSSIBLE – her career was literally having great quotes!

But here’s…. one of a million: 

“The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving.”

And that’s it. That’s the news.

And because I was raised by a loud woman. I started this podcast because of my friendship with a loud woman. I try my very best to be surrounded only by loud, ballsy, smart as hell women… I’m proud of you.