They Didn't Raise Themselves

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand
Episode: "They Didn't Raise Themselves"
Release Date: August 11, 2026
Host: Jack Armstrong
Main Guest: Jason Rance (Seattle Red 770am)

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the pressing social and political issues facing America in 2026, with a focus on the shifting political landscape in Washington state and beyond, the erosion of traditional values, and the unintended consequences of recent progressive policies. Jack Armstrong and guest Jason Rance analyze the organizational prowess of the far left, the complacency of conservatives, the rise of inexperienced political leaders, and the fallout from policies on policing, education, and public life. The discussion ties together big-picture concerns about the country’s direction with cultural anecdotes and current headlines.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise of Far-Left Influence in Local and State Politics

• [02:50]–[03:17] Jack Armstrong opens by lamenting extreme ideologies gaining traction: "Abolish the police. Abolish ICE, Abolish borders, Abolish the Senate, Abolish the Constitution. It's an extreme political ideology that is gaining traction. The Democrat leadership has lost control."
• [04:12] Jason Rance explains the risks Washington state faces:
  • Three conservative-backed initiatives to counteract new income tax efforts, safeguard the Bill of Rights (after the legislature reversed a public vote), and ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports.
  • Seattle’s rising crime, homelessness, and the election of inexperienced leaders like socialist Mayor Katie Wilson.

QUICK QUOTE:
"We're certainly not going in the right direction... All three [initiatives] poll on the side of conservatives because I don't think they're viewed as political issues, at least not inherently." — Jason Rance [04:46]

2. Consequences of Ideological Policies on Public Safety

• [07:55] Comparison of Seattle’s leadership to other progressive cities, with San Francisco cited as returning to "sanity" after electing Daniel Lurie.
• [08:28] Vancouver, WA, stops enforcing shoplifting and drug offenses due to systemic issues with public defender shortages. The change traces back to decisions by the liberal-leaning Washington State Supreme Court that reduced maximum caseloads for public defenders, constraining prosecutors and leading to uncharged, released offenders.

NOTABLE ANALOGY:
"It's kind of like going on a diet... it's really easy to destroy and lead to this rise in crime. It takes a long time to go back to normal." — Jason Rance [08:28]

3. Far-Left Organizational Victories and Conservative Complacency

• [10:18]–[11:05] Armstrong and Rance applaud the left’s strategic takeover of “invisible” but powerful positions (school boards, prosecutors):
  "It was ingenious that they ran their candidates for district attorney, county attorney... that was a stroke of evil genius."
• Discussion about low voter turnout, especially in primaries and local elections, and the left’s disciplined mobilization of their base and new voters.

QUOTE:
"We cede power to folks who hold minority viewpoints and yet they have control over the legislatures, they have control over the culture because we've allowed them to take over." — Jason Rance [13:04]

4. Barriers to Reclaiming Civic Institutions

• [12:08]–[12:16] The outsized influence of teachers’ unions in school board elections and the pervasive problem of voter apathy or ignorance in down-ballot races.
• [13:04] The damage of voter defeatism on the right:
  "There are too many people on our side who have decided to give up because they think the system is so corrupt that they can't win elections. But you're handing over the election to the left."

5. Cultural Shifts and Overprotection in American Upbringing

• [38:41]–[39:35] University of Michigan ends first semester grades to ease student mental health, which hosts argue will only further infantilize young adults.
• [40:28] New York Times story about parents being investigated for letting children play unattended—examples cited of absurd overreach in child protective interventions.

QUOTE:
"The mental health crisis isn't the disease, though, it's the symptom of the disease... they're just putting a salve on the symptom and ignoring the disease, which is that our 18-year-olds get to college not able to absorb a B if they get a B." — Jack Armstrong [39:35]

6. Potential Pushback and Signs of Hope

• [45:55]–[48:58] Thirteen states have reformed child neglect laws to allow reasonable independence, with a federal “Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience” bill introduced. Still, a long way to go to reverse the over-controlling parenting trend.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the long-term damage of progressive policies:
  "Digging our way out of the holes that's created... we need to win back those offices and then spend years undoing this stuff we do." — Jack Armstrong [10:18]
• On the challenge of inspiring conservative turnout:
  "Elections don't need to be stolen if people aren't voting. Even if you were to believe that the tallies are being manipulated... make it more difficult for them to steal anything, if that's what you truly believe... I think that we are losing because we don't get out the vote." — Jason Rance [13:04]
• On the national culture of overprotection:
  "We have a serious problem ... we’re raising a nation of veal calves." — Jack Armstrong [39:35]
• On progressive leadership credentials:
  "All they know is what they learned in their soc classes at college, supported by mom and dad. Still, it's just shocking to me that these people get elected." — Jack Armstrong [06:12]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 02:50–04:12 | Opening critique of extreme progressive ideology and introduction of Jason Rance | | 04:12–06:41 | Analysis of Washington State’s political direction and ballot initiatives | | 07:55–10:18 | Consequences of progressive leadership models and comparison of city outcomes | | 10:18–14:15 | Far-left organizational strategy and conservative apathy | | 14:15–15:39 | Discussion on comfort, civic decline, and youth engagement failures | | 19:11–23:28 | Iran, Hormuz Strait, and international standoffs | | 29:29–32:00 | WNBA controversy and gender ideology critique | | 37:46–39:35 | Voter registration concerns and noncitizen voting | | 38:41–39:35 | University of Michigan abolishing first-semester grades | | 40:28–42:17 | Parental rights vs. CPS overreach in “free range” parenting | | 45:55–48:58 | Reform trends in child neglect laws; hope for childhood independence |

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Tone & Style

The conversation retains Armstrong & Getty's signature blend of sarcasm, bluntness, and exasperation with modern trends—especially regarding progressive policies, civic disengagement, and the fragility of the next generation. The show balances humor with grave concern, using analogies, cultural criticism, and current events to make larger points about American decline and the urgency of local and individual action.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

Armstrong & Getty, with guest Jason Rance, sound the alarm over the growing influence of far-left activists in American politics, particularly at the local and institutional level. The episode critiques the outcomes of this ascendancy—rising crime, unqualified leadership, and new policies undermining both public safety and personal responsibility. The hosts contend that many problems (from law enforcement to education to family life) stem from both complacency and a culture of overprotection, warning that turning things around will require long-term focus, voter mobilization, and a renewed commitment to core values and civic participation. A common refrain: the next generation’s challenges are not their fault alone—adults “didn’t raise themselves,” and responsibility for renewal falls on everyone.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

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Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Abolish the police. Abolish ice, Abolish borders. Abolish the Senate, Abolish the Constitution. It's an extreme political ideology that is gaining traction. The Democrat leadership has lost control.

[Jason Rance]

They know it.

[Jack Armstrong]

And people like Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez Hong in Wisconsin, Abdul El Sayed in Michigan. You talk about the big tent. The Democrat Jewish attorney general of Michigan cannot even go to her party's nominating convention because she says I won't be safe there because of the supporters of Abdul El Sayed. It is not hyperbole to suggest that we are in a battle for the Constitution of the United States and the way that Constitution has given us such a wonderful way of life, so much opportunity, so much safety. And nobody knows that better than our colleague Jason Rance, who holds down afternoon drive on one of the great conservative radio radio stations in America, Seattle Red 7:70am Jason joins us now. Jason, how are you, my friend?

[Jason Rance]

I'm doing well. Thanks for having me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Excellent. Oh, it's a pleasure. I'm so glad you had a little bit of time. You based out of Seattle. You're a man of the Pacific Northwest, which is one of my favorite places on Earth. My daughter lives not very far from you. Watching the progressives damage your state and city is painful, and it's got to be painful for you, but at the same time kind of energizing, help people understand what Washington state looks like, in what direction it's headed these days.

[Jason Rance]

We're certainly not going in the right direction. The biggest fight right now is, well, there's actually quite a few fights coming into this election. We've got three initiatives on the ballot that have been forwarded by conservatives. One is to reverse course for the 12th time on an income tax the Democrats keep trying to impose on all of us. They have completely rigged the system to make it as difficult as humanly possible to get rid of this income tax, but we're obviously going to fight for that. The other two issues, one having to do with the Bill of Rights, which no longer exists in the state of Washington after voters passed it, the Democrat legislature said now we're going to just reverse course on what the voters wanted. And the final one would ban transgender Girls, Girls from competing against biological girls in high school sports. All three poll on the side of conservatives because I don't think they're viewed as political issues, at least not inherently, that these are issues that regardless of how one identifies politically, can say, yeah, this is not something we want in our state. Democrats continue to ignore it. So now it's going to the people. Seattle specifically, we're seeing an increase in crime again. Homelessness is getting out of control. And we have a mayor who's a socialist, who's never held a real job in her life. And she's not handling this position very well to the point where even left wing media is calling her out for incompetence.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Katie Wilson, the mayor of Seattle, reminds me of Francesca Hong, the woman child who wants to be governor of Wisconsin. They're kind of cut from the same cloth. Dreamy. I mean, at least Francesca Hong has been a cook. I mean, she's had a job. Tends bar now and again, but kind of that dreamy. All they know is what they learned in their soc classes at college, supported by mom and dad. Still, it's just shocking to me that these people get elected.

[Jason Rance]

Well, the good news is, at least in Wisconsin, she'll win tonight. Hong will win the primary. She's not going to get elected. There's no one serious who thinks she stands a shot in Wisconsin for governor. It's the same thing in Michigan where, you know, privately Democrats will acknowledge, yeah, there's no way Abdul Al Said is going to win this. Too extreme for Michigan. The threat for Republicans would have been Haley Stevens. Different take in Seattle and Washington. Right. I mean, we are deeply, deeply, deeply blue. We are unapologetically blue. And Seattle is the worst of the worst. So you can get someone like a Katie Wilson or El Sayed or Hong, and they could, in fact win there. And that's the scary part where people don't look at these people at the local level where I'm from and say, okay, I guess I agree with them ideologically, but they don't have any experience. And I don't want to turn over the reins to a major city with a huge budget to someone like that simply because I agree with them ideologically. There's got to be someone else who I can align with, who actually comes with some experience. We don't vote like that and we suffer the consequences as a result.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've all watched San Francisco take a turn toward the sane. Daniel Lurie's the mayor there and he's no conservative, but he has he's the sort of fellow that you're describing. He can perceive reality and tell you about it. I see in Vancouver, which is one of the great places on earth that the police have been ordered to stop citing shoplifting and public hard drug use. I mean, doubling down on the absolutely corrosive policies that we've seen fail so miserably everywhere else.

[Jason Rance]

Well, and that's the sad part about all of this. This is 2026. This is in 2020 through 2023, where a lot of the defund police and the abolitionists had a whole lot decided to completely redefine what policing and prosecution meant and met. And we all saw the results of that. We saw crime skyrocket. Only recently in the last couple years have we seen those numbers to start coming back down to where they used to be pre Covid because, you know, it's kind of like going on a diet. It takes a very long time to lose like 10 pounds and then you go to Vegas for the weekend and then you gain 15. It's really, really, really easy to destroy our and lead to this rise in crime. It takes a long time to go back to normal. And that's what we've seen only for Vancouver to reverse course. And again, this was all by design, not to get too in the weeds. But the reason why they're doing this in Vancouver is because the Washington State Supreme Court, which is dominated by liberals, lowered the threshold for the minimum or, excuse me, the maximum cases that a public defender can hold. And every prosecutor outside of Seattle and King county said, we don't have enough, you know, defenders for this, for what you're asking. And if you change these rules, you're going to make it so that we can't actually prosecute. We're going to have to just release people. We're not even going to be able to charge them. And this is a direct result. They ignored all of the complaints coming from the prosecuting attorney's office because they're the ones who have to fund the public defender's offices. They just ignored all of that. They implemented the plan and now we're seeing the results. And again, this is not just specifically to Vancouver. If you go all around the state of Washington, you're going to see similar instances in which criminals are being let go because they just don't have public defenders to handle the cases.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're talking to Jason Rance. You know, Jason, occasionally I'll take off my patriot and concerned citizen hat and just put on my political science, you know, analyst hat and I'VE got to tell you, the far left were, it was ingenious that they ran their candidates for district attorney, county attorney, that sort of thing, county prosecutor, and got the Marxists in and took over the school boards while the rest of us were assuming that, well, everybody has the same values because we all grew up with them, we were taught them we love this country, blah blah, blah. That was a stroke of evil genius. But as you indicate, digging our way out of the holes that's created and we need to win back those offices and then spend years on doing this stuff we do.

[Jason Rance]

And generally conservatives and independents, to a degree, just by their definition of being an independent, not particularly organized. And the far left is, they are very organized. A lot of them do this professionally. They sort of live in this activist space. They take advantage of younger voters who, especially during primaries when the turnout is generally low. As long as you're organized, you bring out X amount of people depending on where it is you live, it's almost a guarantee that you're going to win in the primary. That doesn't always translate to general election win. Sometimes it does, but it doesn't always. And they've been able to take advantage of that. You combine and I'm glad you brought up specifically like school board races. Those also are just low turnout elections. Even in generals, you've got people who vote who have no clue who they're voting for. They look, oh, I like that name. I have an aunt named Susie. I'll vote for her. That's how they tend to vote on these races. Especially if you don't have any kids, you're not paying as close attention to it.

[Jack Armstrong]

And if they vote at all and the teachers and the teachers union vote to vote every single time, 100%.

[Jason Rance]

And that's where the organizational stuff comes into play. And that's on us, right? I mean, the people are listening. I guarantee you there's a huge number of people who didn't even vote. And if they did vote, they didn't vote on every single election. And if they did vote on every single election, I guarantee you they didn't do enough research on all the candidates before they decided to vote. And that needs to change.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, we got to keep brow beating them in anyway. That's what people tune in for. A good solid brow beating. To your point about organizing, you remember when Barack Obama first came on the scene and we were told he was a community organizer and 3/4 of America said, what the hell's a community organizer? But they know on the left and you know, the irony is what we're calling for is individualists of the world unite. I mean, it's just not in our nature. But we'd better and quick.

[Jason Rance]

Yeah, Again, we cede power to folks who hold minority viewpoints and yet they have control over the legislatures, they have control over the culture because we've allowed them to take over. We know when we poll individual topics, defund police is a perfect example of that. Open borders. We know where the American people, regardless of their political ideology, stand. They are against police defunding, they are against open borders, and yet they're not voting. And if we can't inspire them to vote. And some of that, by the way, is on conservatives in particular, who I think send a bad message about elections being stolen. I think systems can be rigged to make it difficult to win. I hold that view. But elections don't need to be stolen if people aren't voting. So even if you were to believe that the tallies are being manipulated behind the scenes, make it hard for them, then go ahead and vote and make it more difficult for them to steal anything, if that's what you truly believe, and I don't believe that. I think that we are losing because we don't get out the vote. And there are too many people on our side who have decided to give up because they think the system is so corrupt that they can't win elections. But you're handing over the election to the left.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jason, I agree with you 100%. I think it's an absolutely great point. Perhaps the most corrosive force in politics or running a country is comfort being comfortable because you stop doing the work. And our generation. I'll take the blame. I don't think we did a good job of convincing our children how important liberty is and limited government and how sacred our rights are because we assumed we got comfortable. We assumed everybody agreed. But keep preaching the good word, Jason. Love it. Big fan. Jason Rance, host of the Jason Rance show on Seattle Red. 7:70am in the afternoon, where we're honored to be on in the morning. Thanks a million, Jason. Good to talk to you.

[Jason Rance]

Thanks for having me. Appreciate you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Jason's also. I didn't want to kiss his butt too much, but he's a terrific writer and appears on Fox News semi regularly, that sort of thing. I don't know how he finds the time and energy. This mess is all I can take, combined with, you know, family responsibilities in. In having something like a personal life. But anyways, terrific, Terrific guy and a hell of a talent. So, so much more to get to. Hope you can stay around if you can. As always, subscribe to the podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand. Armstrong and Getty,

[Ashley Aetti]

This is Ashley Aetti from the Ben and Ashley Eye. Almost same as Podcast Ben. I've been reflecting a lot lately on how many big life moments our listeners have experienced with us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's pretty wild.

[Ashley Aetti]

They've watched us go from dating shows to engagements, weddings, babies, buying homes. Every stage comes with new decisions.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Ashley Aetti]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Happy ending, zero tears. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

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[Jack Armstrong]

a quick look at the situation in Iran. The Gulf of Hormuz, I'm sorry, the Straits of Hormuz, et cetera. Here's Keir Simmons on NBC.

[Jason Rance]

The stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran demanding what would amount to billions of dollars before it will stop attacking commercial ships in the str. And President Trump now pushing back the president, pointing to decades of deadly Iranian attacks on US Soldiers, what the UN calls Iran's alarming increase in executions of Iranian protesters, and Iran demanding more concessions than the previous ceasefire, including that the US Military leave the region. The renewed standoff suggesting the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen anytime soon.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you had the alleged agreement and that's fine, Michael, we won't use that other clip. You had the alleged agreement that keeps getting put off and rescinded and it's just a joke. And the Iranians come back with a yeah, well, we need you to withdraw all your forces and pay us billions of dollars in reparations and never attack us again, and never attack our proxies again. And we want Air Force One and Utah. I mean, just making hilarious demands. And Trump responded yesterday with, yeah, well, we want reparations for every soldier you've killed, all the damage all your proxies have done, all the attacks through the years, starting with the embassy in 1979. And as a professional wise ass, I appreciate the wise assery of it, but it's really not getting us anywhere except signaling to them that they can f right off. However that leaves us where we were yesterday, I think. A handful of headlines real quickly to give you a description of where we are. The Journal says Gulf states accept a new normal in Hormuz. Iran is in control. Oil and gas exporters dislike the emerging deal to reopen the waterway, but see it as the least bad option. Persian Gulf energy producers are concluding that Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz will become permanent, disrupting their oil and gas exports and global energy supplies indefinitely. The problem is they worry the alternative, going back to war, would be worse. That's true, unless the US and the Gulf states and the world decided the Islamist supremacist violence, terror exporting lunatics of Iran need to be defeated once and for all. And I don't think I see that well around. The National Review writes Iran is rewiring its proxy network. They mentioned that the IRGC goons are going out into the axis of resistance, the Gulf states, you know, just all over the place, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, wherever their proxies ooch about, you know, Hamas is certainly on that list. And they're teaching them new methods of organization and fighting and decent. Essentially, they're teaching them how to organize into smaller, decentralized cells outside the traditional militia hierarchies that they've always used to make the network more resilient and less vulner, vulnerable to decapitation strikes. They're describing it as strategic integration in Iran. So they're trying to rewire because they want to continue to fight for Islamic supremacy all over the region and all over the globe and harden themselves against the ability of the west to fight against them. Another headline, iran's mysterious ruler signals a hard line on Trump with new leadership. Evidently, according to our intelligence guys, Weird Beer Junior is still alive, badly injured, but he's still wasting oxygen by breathing. But he has, to the extent that he's in charge, he has appointed absolute murderous hard asses in domestic security. So if anybody so much as suggests, hey, the US has kind of a point, you will get tortured to death. They've gone harder hardcore than the folks that machine gunned all their citizens in the streets. And finally, Trump's blockade keeps the economic pressure on Iran. That appears to be our strategy. We're going to squeeze them economically till they give. But will they give?

[Ashley Aetti]

Armstrong and Getty this is Ashley A Netti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast Ben. I've been reflecting a lot lately on how many big life moments our listeners have experienced with us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's pretty wild. Wild.

[Ashley Aetti]

They've watched us go from dating shows to engagements, weddings, babies buying homes. Every stage comes with new decisions.

[Jack Armstrong]

The milestones are the fun part, but the planning is where things get real.

[Ashley Aetti]

That's why Klarna stands out. Klarna gives people smarter tools to help manage everyday money with flexible ways to pay cash back that builds automatically everything in one place and support that makes everyday decisions feel less overwhelming.

[Jack Armstrong]

Since life moves so fast, the right tools can help you feel more confident. Download the Klarna app today or visit klarna.com to learn more. California Resident Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance law license and MLS number 1353190 Klarna balance account required to be eligible for cashback points Limitations, terms and conditions apply.

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[Kyle MacLachlan]

hi, it's Kyle McLaughlin, host of what Are We Even Doing? You know, I've always believed the way you start your morning sets the tone for for everything that follows. That first cup of coffee isn't just a routine. It's a ritual. That quiet moment before the day really begins. That's why I appreciate DE'. Longhi. For over 50 years, they've combined Italian craftsmanship, thoughtful design and innovation for homes around the world as the number one espresso machine brand in the world. They bring that same expertise to an espresso experience that feels effortless and makes mornings a little more delicious. The machine looks beautiful in my kitchen, but it's also incredibly simple to use a quick espresso before heading out the door or a cappuccino on a slower morning. It turns an everyday moment into something worth savoring. Dare I say, a damn fine cup of coffee. Right now. You can save 10% off your purchase at DeLonghi.com with code Kyle at checkout. After all, if it's not Italian, is it even espresso? To learn more, visit delonghi.com

[Jason Rance]

Sad news from California.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jackie, of the beloved bald eagle duo Jackie and Shadow, watched by millions on the Big Bear live feed, died about three weeks after being attacked by two other bald eagles and taken to a rehab facility. She raised six eaglets over the years and was believed to be 14 years old. First of all, eagles don't have names. Secondly, if that's what happens in nature, that's what happens in nature. I could blame California being soft on crime for this horrific crime. But it was interesting. Katie was telling us, I think it was off the air yesterday that the vet center where the eagle was being cared for was just so inundated by calls and people showing up that they could barely do their thing. Yeah, the people were showing up not only at the center but at the care that people that were taking care of their homes, somehow they found their, their, you know, their residents. This whole thing, I mean, it's, it's sad and I get it. But like you said, nature took its course.

[Jason Rance]

Jackie, you here?

[Jack Armstrong]

Where's Jackie? Oh, geez. Again, Mr. President, coincidentally, Jackie has passed. Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't. I get we need the soft hearted and the overly emotional in humanity I believe in balance and that sort of thing. But look, there is no crueler bitch on earth than Mother Nature. Pardon my frank terminology. A and B, while there aren't that many bald eagles in. Where was Jackie? Big Bear. Big Bear. Southern California. Yeah, beautiful part of Southern California. I've just been. I'm just back from Alaska where I can report that they're like crows. There are a lot of of them. A hell of a lot of them. So if eagles did what eagles do and Jackie's dead, that's just the way it goes. Again, I think you missed the lead. The eagle is dead, so. And I'm sure I'll get angry emails about how insensitive I am. No, I just. I like nature and I understand human beings don't get to tell nature how to be nature.

[Ashley Aetti]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I'm not going to dwell on this, I promise. The whole WNBA controversy that really heated up when this Dijonay. Is that her name? Dijonay Carrington poleaxed Sophie Cunningham in the head and it was a Flagrant 2 foul, as they say in the basketball business, which meant she got ejected. And then she went to the locker room, Ms. Carrington, and, and messaged out on her app of choice, White Privilege Indiana. Anyway, and everybody's like, what the hell are you talking about? You practically killed this woman and you got ejected. It has nothing to do with race. Well, she has broken her silence, Katie.

[Kyle MacLachlan]

Oh, good.

[Jack Armstrong]

She said, quote, I already spoke with people who potentially will have the agency to create the change that I'm hoping comes about. About from not just this incident, but ones in the past that are obviously going to be coming up in the future. Probably. Okay, so you talk to a bunch of woke, you know, black supremacist, white hating people who convince you that yes, we're, we're working to tear down the patriarchy, blah, blah, blah. Okay, great. My God, you professional racists. And then this one more, um, one more note on the wnba, just because I thought this was really good writing. All it took to collapse an entire sect of gender ideology was two alpha males declaring they identify as women and entering the WNBA draft. I'm going to show you the genius of what they did. The two ex NBA players, Enos Cantor Freedom and Royce White, didn't argue against the absurd premise that gender is fluid. That's a losing play. The better play is to enter the illusion and destroy it by taking the illusion to the logical extreme. So that's exactly what they did. They embraced the premise that gender is fluid and took. Took it to the logical extreme. By declaring for the WNBA draft now, they are forcing liberals to face the absurdity of their own ideology. Gender ideology's core claim is that sex is irrelevant and identity is sovereign. Trans women are women. Self ID is enough. Now the wnba, which is in many ways a major liberal institution, faces a big dilemma. They have to either a allow the two to enter the WNBA draft and admit women is just a female and this is absurd and will destroy the product. It will just be another men's league or b draw a line and say they don't qualify. That concedes self ID is not enough and biology matters. This would be a public abandonment of the progressive doctrine. Either path burns the ideology to the ground, which is hilarious. Take notes everyone. Two dudes literally just made one of the greatest persuasion plays of the decade. Which by the way, the Armstrong and Getty show has been calling for for years. Years we've been asking somebody to do this and they have perhaps not answered our call, but they've answered the obvious call. And I could not be more delighted to quote you from our group chat. Christmas has come early. Yeah. Oh yeah. I'm so excited about this. Let's bingo bango bango. A couple other stories. This is unbelievable. The Wall Street Journal often they're their reportage is liberal because they hire these yahoos from the Columbia School of journalism, these 26 year olds who are steeped and indoctrinated and the rest of it and they probably try to straighten them out a little. But you get crap like this and this is actually, it's a really good it's an important article. It's about when Trump declared last month that US elections were vulnerable, claiming that a quarter million non citizens were registered to vote code. A day later, Department of Homeland Security said the striking number actually just covered four states. And you probably heard this New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill knew her state had a problem because of what she called a glitch in the motor voter mechanism, where when you register to vote, or to drive rather to get a license, you're automatically registered to vote, but you have to check a box am I a citizen or not? And she claims, and this may well be true, true, that the the software registered people to vote whether they were citizens or not. And even if you selected no, it would register you to vote anyway, even though you're not supposed to. The number of those who voted was relatively small. Say these reporter ettes and I think it's one dude in the Wall Street Journal and I only point out their sex because women are undeniably, you know, in, in terms of percentages, more progressive than men. So whenever I see a, and maybe this makes me a bad person, but whenever I see a byline that has three women writing on it, I think, oh, there's a good chance it's going to be kind of progressive. But and if it's not, it's not. And I admit so, but this is. So you remember how there's no voter fraud and there are no foreigners on the rolls and we don't have to worry about it. Well, for instance in New Jersey, she the governor has admitted there are a little under 7,000 non citizens registered. Registered just in the space of a year. 7,000. But only about 400 voted. Okay, so now we're up to Jon Stewart who was very smug about this point, as were lots of progressive commentators. So there are hundreds who voted just in New Jersey and I don't know this to be true. There are sources in the administration who think the numbers are high, both the non citizens and who voted. But even if we were to take Mikey Sherrill at her word, almost 7,000 registered and 400 or so who voted. That's a hell of a long way from voter fraud is practically it's incredibly rare in America, which we've been told over and over and over again. The DHS went on to name New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania and California as the states Trump alleged in his address address his address to have a quarter million noncitizens on their voting roll. The states have responded to the DHS saying the agency has provided no methodology, proof or details they can use to verify its claim. State officials also say that without access to the full voter rolls, DHS can't make any accurate assessment of non citizen registration. But they don't want to give that information to the feds to check because they fear that that private voter information will be misused by the federal government. The angle of this Wall Street Journal article that annoyed me so much is they think that DHS doing this is going to hurt people's faith in elections and that they're really, they're casting doubt on these states and gosh, they can't be trusted with, with the voter rolls. And says Francisco AGU Aguilar, the Democratic secretary state of Nevada, quote, I feel like I'm in a UFC chokehold. Everything we have to do has to be perfect. Yeah, like not have non citizens on the rolls. If they're on the rolls, kick them off and don't let. Wow, it's Unbelievable. And motor voter has been the law in California. Effortless voter registration in one form or another has been the law for a very, very long time. But there has been no mechanism to check the validity of the people, or at least none that they've used. So it'll be really interesting to see how this hashes out. This is a perfect example of, I wish Trump would keep, would stop doing stupid stuff stuff so he could do the really, really smart stuff. Like, look, folks, we've had tens of millions of people come into this country, many of them illegally. A lot of states have practically no barrier to register for the vote. We probably ought to take a look at our voter rolls. I mean, that's not, that's not a belligerent thing to say. That's not a racist thing to say. It's not even a conservative thing to say. It's just a sane thing to say. And if the Trump administration is making these states fess up like Mikey Sherrill in New Jersey.

[Jason Rance]

Jersey.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good.

[Jason Rance]

Not.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jeez. No, I'm sorry. Not good. Great. All right, Katie, you're a new mom. These are two closely related stories. Okay, headline number one. University of Michigan drops first semester grades. First semester in college you will get no grades. It's just pass fail to curb mental health crisis. Oh, for the love. The pilot program aims to ease pressure on freshmen and help them adjust to the demands of college. How does that help them adjust to the demands of college? That's doing the opposite, isn't it? Well, they, they are arguing that you ease them in because they're in a new place, they've not been in college. They got a roommate, they got the professors. They're not used to it. They're stressed, they're scared, they're anxious and we can't give them grades or they'd freak out.

[Kyle MacLachlan]

Out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Does the real world ease us in?

[Kyle MacLachlan]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, see, that's, that's the thing and that's one of the aspects of progressivism that I don't understand. Although. Well, I'm going to get to the second closely related story in a second. This is, this is the, the mental health crisis isn't the disease, though, it's the symptom of the disease. And everybody's arguing about the symptom and treating the symptom. I mean, they're putting essentially a little hydrocortisone on the idea that the kids and they're all, most of them are legally adults. Although haw, haw, haw. If you know many 18 year olds, they're just Putting a salve on the symptom and ignoring the disease, which is that our 18 year olds get to

[Kyle MacLachlan]

college

[Jack Armstrong]

not able to absorb a bee if they get a B. Yeah. And that, I mean that is a hot house flower. That is a veal calf. And Katie, long before you joined the show, I tried to get going the nation that we're raising a nation of veal calves. And I was right and I continue to be right and I'm an activist against it. But we have a serious problem. Here's your related story story and and it takes the right angle on this story in the New York Times. Should letting children play alone outside be a crime? Some parents have been surprised to find themselves in the legal system's crosshairs. And they of course open with an individual gal and her husband who let their son, their six year old son ride his scooter to the playground. That's like right over the there.

[Ashley Aetti]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

And ride back on his scooter. Well, some gal saw this kid doing that, stopped him, questioned him, followed him in the car and then reported him to the the county Division of Family and Children Services. This is I think in Georgia. Wait, reported him for on what ground? Yeah, it's in the Atlanta area. See the official inadequate supervision for a child, child neglect essentially. And these parents who believe in free range parenting, which I do and did when I was raising my kids, are just aghast. They're astounded. And the case manager explained that a complaint had been filed that she would need to inspect their home and interview their son at school. School. And the case manager actually said to them when we were growing up, our parents would be like, oh, you know, go ahead, it's fine. But now he would have to be like 13 to Scooter himself to the park that's right around the corner. And Mr. Pleasance, that's their name, said Thirteen. Is that the law? Quite sensible. And the case manager said, I mean they're going to consider that inadequate supervision for him to go completely by himself because anything could happen. Right. He's extremely vulnerable at that age. Okay, we need to take a break. We'll be back in a second. We're going to make the obvious tie between those two stories and give you a little bit of good news on that front. So thank God. Stay here. Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Ashley Aetti]

This is Ashley from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast. Ben, I've been reflecting a lot lately on how many big life moments our listeners have experienced with us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's pretty wild.

[Ashley Aetti]

They've watched us go from dating shows to engagements, weddings, babies, buying homes. Every stage comes with new decisions.

[Jack Armstrong]

The milestones are the fun part, but the planning is where things get real.

[Ashley Aetti]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Since life moves so fast, the right tools can help you feel more confident. Download the Klarna app today or visit klarna.com to learn more. California Resident Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance law license and MLS number 1353190 Klarna balance account required to be eligible for cashback points. Limitations terms and conditions apply.

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[Cindy Crawford / Various Advertisers]

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[Cindy Crawford / Various Advertisers]

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[Kyle MacLachlan]

hi, it's Kyle McLaughlin, host of the what Are we even Doing podcast. You know, my favorite part of the morning is that first cup of coffee. Coffee. A small, quiet ritual that sets the rhythm for my day. That's why I appreciate DE'. Longhi. For over 50 years, they've combined Italian craftsmanship and thoughtful design. And as the number one espresso machine brand in the world, they make it effortless. Just a damn fine cup of coffee in your own kitchen. Right now you can save 10% off your purchase at DeLonghi.com with code Kyle at checkout. After all, if it's not Italian, Italian, is it even espresso?

[Jack Armstrong]

I took my younger daughter, the coffee achiever, as we call her. That was an old, old ad campaign. But I took her to the University of Michigan to do a campus visit. We hit a couple of midwestern universities. She was curious about them. And the University of Michigan is an elite, elite, elite university. Even when we were there, they had all sorts of woke nonsense everywhere. And I was like, oh my God, it's worse than I'd heard. And this was years ago. They announced the other day that they were canceling all grades for the first semester of college for all kids in all majors because the kids were freaking out. They're having a mental health crisis. They couldn't take being graded in college, which it would be very easy to just mock the little snowflakes and I'll mock them a little bit, but they didn't raise themselves, as Jack famously always said says. And the idea that you were so fragile you couldn't take grades your first semester at college is hilarious to me because I remember my first semester at college quite vividly and how much fun and how wild it was and how, you know, the classes were interesting, the work was hard, but the idea that you shouldn't grade me because I can't take it. I mean, I just, it's, it's incompetent. It's like trying to explain to me how it would work if there was no gravity. I just can't even understand it. And as Katie and I were just discussing, the New York Times Vault Places has an article entitled should letting children play alone outside be a crime. And it goes into some specifics about some folks who have gotten busted, quote, unquote, not arrested per se, but investigated by their local child protective services for child neglect for letting their kid go to the park. Sometimes it's six year old, sometimes an eight year old, sometimes a 12 year old year old. But here's the somewhat good news. More and more people and states are waking up to what we've done to our children by constantly supervising them and managing them. Thirteen states have either created new, less restrictive child neglect laws or amended existing ones. And there's a bipartisan federal bill, the Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in May. But this we have a, that's 13 states. We have a long, long, long way to go. And they get into the history of how this trend started. There's two forces, fear and control. Fear with the kids, pictures on milk cartons and one or two really high profile cases. Even though stranger child abduction is incredibly rare, incredibly rare. Plus this need to control our kids, to get them ready for what we see as an increasingly competitive society, they've got to be in organized activities all the time or else they're not going to get the scholarship, they're not going to go to college where they can't take getting a grade, etc. It's a crazy trend and a terrible one. More on that. Lots of good stuff in hour four.

[Cindy Crawford / Various Advertisers]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jason Rance]

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[Jack Armstrong]

After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds.

[Jason Rance]

Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan.

[Kyle MacLachlan]

Hi, it's Kyle McLaughlin, host of what Are We Even Doing? You know, I've always believed the way you start your morning sets the tone for everything that follows. That first cup of coffee isn't just a routine. It's a ritual. That quiet moment before the day really begins. That's why I appreciate Delonghi. For over 50 years, they've combined Italian craftsmanship, thoughtful design and innovation. For homes around the world. World as the number one espresso machine brand in the world, they bring that same expertise to an espresso experience that feels effortless and makes mornings a little more delicious. The machine looks beautiful in my kitchen, but it's also incredibly simple to use a quick espresso before heading out the door or a cappuccino on a slower morning. It turns an everyday moment into something worth savoring. Dare I say, a damn fine cup of coffee. Right now you can save 10% off your purchase at DeLonghi.com with code Kyle at checkout Checkout. After all, if it's not Italian, is it even espresso? To learn more, visit delonghi.com.

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