04/02/25

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, April 2nd.

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

Great, let me put you onto something… make your PB&J however you like… and then toss that bad boy on a pan and cook it like a panini.

Delicious.

And now, the news.

Election Night

-via NY Times (Wisconsin) and NY Times (Florida)

Starting with some important state elections!

Election night baybee!

Starting in Florida, where there are two US House seats up for grabs. Now, these are deeply red seats so the Republican wins weren’t a surprise, but you gotta look for at those numbers. How much did the Republicans win by?

And in Wisconsin, the big story is the state Supreme Court race. I mentioned this last week, but Elon has spent millions pumping money into this race, using the same games he used in Trump’s election.

Because in Wisconsin, there are two stories.

One is the story of the state – gerrymandering, election laws, union strength, healthcare, and abortion rights will all be decided in the court in the evenly split Wisconsin. A loss for the Democratic-supported candidate is devastating for the state and the future of Democrats.

But it’s also the story of the moment – tonight, in Florida and in Wisconsin, is the first real test of Trump’s strength in the Republican party. How are voters reacting to Republicans under this fascist and authoritarian regime?

So what happened?

In Florida, the seats made available by Michael Waltz (he of the started the signal group chat with the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic fame) as well as Matt Gaetz (he of the was almost the attorney general but investigations into his alleged sex trafficking and sex with a minor tossed him out of the race so now he’s just some guy in Florida that Kevin McCarthy hates fame) were previously considered to be safe Republican seats. Waltz and Gaetz each won their seats in 2024 by more than 30 points.

Well, as of this recording, with 92% of the vote in, Randy Fine won Waltz’ seat by 11.5 points, and with 89% of the vote in, Jimmy Patronis won Matt Gaetz’ seat by 11.6 points.

Solid wins, sure, but not as big of a margin. Which is nice. Though time will tell what this actually means.

But let’s talk about Wisconsin, where all of my stomachaches currently reside…

Booker Filibuster

-via AP News

And hey! On that note… Cory Booker!

Because I’ve decided, just now, in this moment, that now this is going to be a motivating episode… Cory Booker has broken a Senate record by holding the Senate floor for, as of this recording _____ hours.

_____ hours without going to the bathroom or sitting down.

Cory… are you okay? I guess that’s what he’s been training for in all those TikToks where he’s running and walking and talking.

The filibuster began Monday night at 7 PM, with Booker promising the hold the floor for as long as he was “physically able.”

In his speech, he warned of a “looming Constitutional crisis,” proving that he understands the urgency of the moment. And also… that he doesn’t listen to this podcast.

Because the Constitutional crisis is already here, my friend.

Also… sometimes we call it the Constitush.

To be fair, that was from a constituent. So maybe he’s a fan.

Booker did yield for a few questions from Democrats, who asked questions in order to give him a break. However, when he did, he continued to mention that he was not giving up the floor.

Among the many things he said in the filibuster, one thing I want to particularly call out is this: “Moments like this require us to be more creative or more imaginative, or just more persistent and dogged and determined.”

We’re here. We’re in this.

And we are going to have to fight in a way many of us just haven’t before. It’s going to take all of us, giving everything we have, to be able to look back and say things were really bad, things were really scary. It was almost the end… but because we took action, we still have a democracy.

And this filibuster is proof of exactly that.

As a nice bit of history, this filibuster beat the previous record held by Strom Thurmand, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes in 1957. For what? Asserting that a bill protecting Black voting rights in this country was unconstitutional.

During his filibuster he ate malted milk tablets, diced pumpernickel break and small pieces of ground steak.

All to make sure that Black Americans did not have the right to vote in this country.

And 68 years later, a Black man from New Jersey (who is a vegan so he doesn’t even need your weird milk tablet Strom), broke that record to fight for the future of this country.

In reference to that filibuster, Cory said - “You think we got civil rights one day because Strom Thurmond — after filibustering for 24 hours — you think we got civil rights because he came to the floor one day and said, ‘I’ve seen the light.’ No, we got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it and John Lewis bled for it.”

Sometimes we are the best version of ourselves.

I know right now it doesn’t feel like it. I know right now it feels like our leaders are the worst versions of themselves. In their actions or, sometimes, their inaction.

But if we’re looking for the helpers, this is a reminder that they do exist.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

Because Cory Booker mentioned him, let me leave you with this quote from John Lewis: "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”

I hope Cory gets a good vegan meal and some good vegan sleep. (I don’t know what vegan sleep is. You could tofu instead of sheep, maybe?)

I also hope you get a good meal and some good vegan sleep. Rest up – we have a country to save.

I’m also proud of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

But more than that. Because you are also a toasty icon… I’m proud of you.