The A&G Replay Friday Hour One

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: The A&G Replay Friday Hour One

Episode Date: July 3, 2026
Podcast Host: iHeartPodcasts
Featured Hosts: Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty, Michael
Special Guests/Callers: Brett Baer, Jared Isaacman

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Overview

This episode is a curated “replay hour,” highlighting some of Armstrong & Getty’s most interesting and amusing content from recent months, as well as bits from their “One More Thing” podcast. The main themes include a satirical examination of stereotypes around fatherhood in pop culture and media, skepticism of “gentle parenting” techniques, sharp critiques of progressive governance—particularly around economic policy in states like California, Washington, and Colorado—and humorous, sometimes gross anecdotes. Politics and culture commentary is delivered in the show's trademark irreverent, insightful, and conversational style.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

The 250th Birthday of America (00:02–01:18, 18:13–18:57, 32:21–33:09, 38:42–39:06)

• Multiple plugs throughout the episode for America’s 250th birthday, with guests like Brett Baer and Jared Isaacman sharing their 4th of July plans (Baer: working in DC for coverage; Isaacman: leading an F5 fighter jet flyover).
  • Quote, Brett Baer (00:12): "Brett Baer I will be working. I'll be in Washington because it's a big, big day."
  • Quote, Jared Isaacman (00:18): "I plan to be flying in an F5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors, along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital."

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Stereotypes of Fathers & “The Berenstain Bears” (01:28–07:36)

• Alex Berenson article: Jack highlights Berenson’s take on how media over decades has painted fathers as “hapless fools,” with examples from the Berenstain Bears and sitcoms.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (01:28): “The idea that father knows best is long gone… for decades, if not generations, the media has stereotyped fathers as goofy, hapless fools…”
  • Discussion of how the paradigm shifted from “questioning authority” to now simply “punching down” at men and fathers.
• Opinions that the “incompetent dad” trope is not in line with reality—hosts note most fathers in their lives are actually involved, responsible, and loving.
  • Quote, Michael (05:19): “I don't even think I've met that dad.”
• Critique of stereotypes for both blue- and white-collar dads, and how academia/media paint only the “feminized, gentle” parenting dad as positive.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (06:21): “In other words, the only good dad is a mom…these lies, and they are lies, have real consequences.”

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The Value of Everyday Parental Heroism (07:36–10:37)

• The crew reflects on how true heroism is in “the grind”—the steady, uncomplaining, day-in and day-out providing for families.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (08:45): “Often heroism is the day after day grind...No, it's just gutting it out.”
• Commentary on “toughness,” contrasting the poser “tough guy” with the genuine toughness of consistent sacrifice.
  • Quote, Michael (09:55): “The steady living life, denying yourself the pleasures of life, you know, to provide for your family—way more toughness than an individual fist fight.”

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Satire and Critique of “Gentle Parenting” (10:43–13:11)

• Jack reads from a Brown University description of “gentle parenting,” which eschews punishments in favor of empathy and communication, and satirically offers an example of a “gentle” response to child misbehavior.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (12:20): “You’ll behave as I wish because I’m your father. Period.”
  • Quote, Michael (12:36): “Once you’re a parent, that is a very good reason for you to do something. Because I said so.”
• The hosts argue that children benefit from a clear family structure and expectations, not endless negotiation.

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Gavin Newsom, California Politics, and National Ambitions (13:42–21:52)

• Discussion of Gavin Newsom’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, California’s “colorful” reputation, and political prospects.
  • Jokes about California as “wackadoo,” references to “chakra doulas,” “meth dealers,” and “millionaires tax.”
  • Quote (Guest Impersonator, 14:28): “From the meth dealers of Riverside to the shapely Armenians of the Glendale Galleria...Governor Gavin D. Newsom...present to you...with the 2026 FIFA, Skydance, Paramount, Netflix, Warner Bros. Big Ass Lipton Cup O Peace.”
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (15:44): “Doesn't that portray Gavin Newsom as the leader of a wackadoo state?”
• The hosts doubt Newsom’s electability on a national scale, given California’s many visible problems and national reputation.

Gavin Newsom’s “Bubble Politics” and Softball Interviews (20:17–22:44)

• Frustration that Bill Maher gave Newsom a “softball” interview, not challenging questionable claims about California’s high-speed rail project costs.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (21:31): “Gavin was just flat out lying…231 billion. He said, oh, that's not true at all. He's just a liar.”
• Commentary infers the era of political accountability is diminished; a politician’s side only hears their message, not pushback.

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Progressive Policy Critique: Seattle, Washington, Socialism, and Taxes (22:44–30:36)

• Focus on Seattle’s socialist mayor Katie Wilson, who lives on a $10k/year allowance from her parents and is combative about driving away wealthy taxpayers.
  • Quote, Katie Wilson (25:01): “I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are like super overblown. And if the ones that leave, like, bye.”
  • Hosts and the Washington Post criticize this arrogance and misunderstanding of wealth creation.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (26:26): “She has no idea how wealth is created. She believes many things to be true, particularly on the topic of economics that simply are not true.”
  • Cites Thomas Sowell: “What do the poor most need? They need to stop being poor. And how can that be done on a mass scale except by an economy that creates vastly more wealth?”
• Discussion of increased taxes leading to the exit of wealthy individuals and corporations (ex: Howard Schultz, Starbucks, Microsoft); critique that such realities are seldom acknowledged out loud.
  • Quote, Michael (29:02): “That’s the most annoying part of this whole thing...they had to pretend [Walgreens, Schultz] it wasn’t because of policies.”

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Free Market vs. Redistribution: Broader Reflection (30:36–32:17)

• Old and new generations at “May Day” socialism rallies are mocked. Hosts question how anyone, particularly older people who've witnessed communism’s failures, can remain enthusiastic about socialism.
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (30:36): “It is the political version of a five year old saying, let's eat candy all day with absolutely no concept of how disastrous that would be.”
• Analysis of policies causing businesses to exit progressive cities and states, referencing Colorado as a new “California nightmare” for entrepreneurs.

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Humorous & Gross Tangents (33:30–38:38)

• The team debates whether to share “the grossest thing I’ve ever heard,” leading to a medical story about “boob mold” under a patient’s breasts—played for gross-out laughs with signature Armstrong & Getty banter.
  • Quote, Michael (36:06): “There was a tremendous amount of mold growing underneath her boobs...that’s what was causing her to smell so bad.”
  • Quote, Jack Armstrong (36:35): “Sub booble mold. I'll bet the...scent...the aroma was...That’s a bad way to be. Moldy.”
• Reflection on how the human sense of smell adapts and stops noticing persistent odors.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jack Armstrong (06:21): “The only good dad is a feminized, gentle parent...In other words, the only good dad is a mom.”
• Jack Armstrong (12:20): “You’ll behave as I wish because I’m your father. Period.”
• Katie Wilson via Jack Armstrong (25:01): “I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are like super overblown. And if the ones that leave, like, bye.”
• Jack Armstrong (30:36): “It's the political version of a five year old saying, let's eat candy all day with absolutely no concept of how disastrous that would be.”
• Michael (36:06): “There was a tremendous amount of mold growing underneath her boobs.”

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Noteworthy Timestamps

• 01:28–07:36: Stereotyping Fathers and “The Berenstain Bears”
• 10:43–13:11: Satirical Readings on “Gentle Parenting”
• 13:42–21:52: Gavin Newsom, California Politics, and Presidential Ambitions
• 22:44–26:26: Seattle’s Socialist Mayor, Taxes, and the Wealth Exodus
• 30:36–32:17: Socialism Rally and Old-Fashioned Economic Logic
• 33:30–36:41: “Grossest Story Ever” – Boob Mold Conversation

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Tone and Style

• Sarcastic, humorous, and conversational, with the hosts riffing off each other's commentary.
• Willing to tackle both serious political critique and light, even crass, comedic diversions.
• Candid, pointed skepticism toward progressive economic and social policies, with abundant real-world examples and pop culture references.

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For New Listeners

If you’re new to A&G or missed this episode, expect a mix of sharp, often sardonic commentary on current affairs, cultural critique, and lively back-and-forth on everything from political theater to weird personal anecdotes. This hour is especially strong in challenging popular narratives about parenting, progressive economics, and “bubble politics” in major blue states—all with an eye toward America’s history and future. If you prefer your political analysis light on dogma and heavy on wit, Armstrong & Getty deliver, with plenty of offbeat asides for good measure.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Guaranteed Human on New Troy Podcast we're celebrating America's 250th birthday and I asked my guests how they're spending their 4th of July.

[Brett Baer]

Brett Baer I will be working. I'll be in Washington because it's a big, big day.

[Jared Isaacman]

Jared Isaacman I plan to be flying in an F5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors, along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital.

[Joe Getty]

Listen to new on the iHeartRadio app Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Show Announcer]

Broadcasting live from the abraham lincoln radio studio at the george washington broadcast center, jack armstrong and joe getty, armstrong and jesse.

[Jack Armstrong]

And now here's armstrong strong and get ready. We have assembled painstakingly some of the more interesting, funny, amusing, insightful things that have happened over the past few months. And some stuff from the Armstrong and Getty One More Thing podcast. It's the Armstrong and getty replay.

[Michael]

One day till the big 4th of July celebration.

[Guest or Caller]

250 years. Booyah. Take that France, America.

[Michael]

Now more of the Armstrong and Getty Replay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Take that France. I thought this was wonderful. None of this is anything we haven't talked about, but Alex Berenson wrote a piece for the the Free Press that fathers are not mothers and he writes about and we have decried this for the longest time, the the stereotyping of fathers in the last 50 years or so. Maybe he says it starts practically at birth. He remembers reading the Berenstain Bears for his kids and in every book hardworking, practical mama ran the house, she cooked, clean, took care of the cubs, pot bellied entitled dopey Papa got in the way. He was surprised at how unsubtle the message was, and it shouldn't have been. The idea that father knows best is long gone and for decades, if not generations, the media has stereotyped fathers as goofy, hapless fools who depend on their super hero wives to pay the bills and take care of their kids.

[Michael]

When did they write Berenstein Bears? Because I actually had this conversation over the weekend as we're trying to nail down when did the turn happen where all the sitcoms TV shows portrayed dad as a just really more in the way than helpful you did. The family tried to succeed despite dad being in the way all the time. Early 90s sometime because you know you had Huxtable in the 80s with the Cosby Show. Somewhere in the 90s the dad became mostly a detriment to the family. Thank God mom can overcome his idiocy and sloth and everything to make the family work.

[Jack Armstrong]

The Berenstain Bears actually started in 1962 and stretched on for years and years after that. I think that's when it became. When you're talking about, like, omnipresent. And I was thinking about this very thing, having read that paragraph back in the actual, really male dominated, paternalistic culture of the earlier part of the century and everything, the idea of skewering that was a way, you know, humor does this. It questions power and it suggests changes that might be good. And it was fine during the Father Knows Best era or whatever to poke a little fun at dads and their foibles. But then it passed some sort of weird tipping point where it became not a challenge to authority, but like punching down in. In the way that a lot of progressivism is that men are stupid and toxic and must be kept down and fathers must be mocked at all costs, because to let up on that beating would be to embrace the patriarchy. I guess it's like, you know, you still see all these programs for women in college and trying to get women to college and women in the law and stuff like that. And like, women dominate undergrad and grad school and law schools. And it's like, all right, when do you stop punching? Or when do you just admit it's something different? And I think that happened with dads. Anyway. He points out that meanwhile, feminist academics crank out research claiming fathers coast in married households where both parents work. They don't do any of the child caring or housework or blah, blah, blah. And he points out he knows lots of folks, middle, upper middle class, suburban, urban families. He knows, he said nobody conforms to that stereotype. He doesn't know anybody who dies.

[Jared Isaacman]

I don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Much less everybody. Oh, no, I. No, not at all. Me neither.

[Michael]

I don't even think I've met that dad. Nope.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Anyway, he says in all the families he knows, childcare is split mostly equally. Sometimes when the fathers are the primary wage earners, they get a break a little bit. Same split occurs in reverse, though, when the women of the house make more, et cetera, et cetera, you in your home. This may not be the case. This is not about everybody. This is true for everybody. It's just that the stereotype is far, far from accurate. And then he goes into some stereotypes. The blue collar dad, the emotionally distant blue collar dad who hardly notices his daughters and whose interest in his sons begins and ends with their ability to put a perfect spiral on a football. But other than that, Blue collar dad ignores the job entirely. Meanwhile, the white collar dad he describes. Where. Where is that? I can't remember. Where the hell is that? It doesn't matter. But the point is, in both cases, that is uninvolved, pretty much useless. And throughout academia, Hollywood and the media, the only good dad is a feminized, gentle. Oh, there it is. If the white collar dad father is a fool who tries but fails to share parenting, his blue collar counterpart ignores the job entirely. So at least white collar dad's enlightened enough to know he should try. But he's still an idiot and a buffoon. Throughout academia, Hollywood and the media, the only good dad is a feminized, gentle parent who never raises his voice, is always ready with a hug, and never lets his kids take a risk or get hurt. In other words, the only good dad is a mom. And here he gets to the point. These lies, and they are lies, have real consequences. They discourage men from being fathers and they discourage fathers from being the kind of fathers they want to, can and should be. I believe that completely. Then he goes into, you know, some of the, some of the things to embrace as a dad that I also thought were terrific, you know, have. And he goes into a bunch of detail. Have fun, don't complain. Children complain. You're stoic, be tough, reject gentle parenting. And it's idiocies. Yeah.

[Michael]

The underappreciated part I think is. Is probably the stuff that's difficult to identify because you don't understand the way you just absorb it, being around you. And that would just be that seeing someone who doesn't complain much gets. Just the getting up and going to work every day, just that without ever mentioning it. But what that puts into your brain as a. Oh, this is what people do without even thinking about it. It's just like it's built in subconsciously to your mind. This is what my life is going to be because this is what I've seen my whole life. There's. There's no value too high you can put on that as a, As a. Just forming a worldview for a person.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. I would agree this is kind of a, A tangent, but I remember when I was a lad or a young man, I had a boy's. I don't know. Do we get the harp for that? Yeah, I can see kind of a fuzzy coming into focus. Me as a young fellow with the harp.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

It will be a loud glass.

[Michael]

Are you slimmer?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well played. Well played. Oh, am I slimmer. Handsome as a devil. Anyway, what Was I saying? Oh, that's right. I had a boy's view of heroism. And there are certainly heroes like this. The rushing into a burning building to save somebody, you know, the hero in battle, which is absolutely a legitimate sort of hero. But I had not really comprehended the idea that often heroism is the day after day grind because there's no burst of adrenaline and clarity of purpose. No. It's just gutting it out.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And what's more heroic than that?

[Michael]

I know I've talked about this before. Well, that's what Richard Nixon was talking about earlier in that clip we played with his dad. But I've talked about this before, the whole tough guy thing, where I have known some guys who are really into being tough guys. It's funny, most of them that I'm thinking of were not dads in the traditional sense. I wonder what that's all about. But anyway, it was the tough guy was who could beat up who.

[Guest or Caller]

No.

[Michael]

And they were also people that weren't great at getting up and going to work every day for their whole lives. That is what requires toughness. The going to just the steady living life, denying yourself the things, the pleasures of life, you know, to provide for your family. That's way what requires way more toughness than an individual fist fight. But that is not what's portrayed by some doofuses I've known in my life who consider themselves tough.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, same is true of you moms too. 100% sure. It's carrying the load and carrying it and carrying it and carrying it that's heroic.

[Michael]

Yeah, I. That always goes without saying. I just. Since yesterday was Father's Day.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, indeed. You in the mood for a blast at gentle parenting?

[Michael]

Sure, always.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's how Brown University of course explains it. Gentle parenting is all about the parent child relationship. Parents are meant to display empathy, respect and understanding by communicating and connecting with their children. Contrary to many other styles of parenting, punishments are not part of gentle parenting. They are seen as unnecessary, disruptive to the parent child bond and as training children to an external reward rather than to their own internal emotional and moral compass.

[Michael]

Has this worked for anybody?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, never. Here's an example, a specific example again from Brown University. And boy, I take all my marching orders from Brown. They offer a potential speech to a gentle father that he might give to his son. Because you never hold anybody accountable for what they do. You just sympathize with them. So son hurls a toy at his sister.

[Michael]

I've seen that sort of thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

You were mad. So you threw your toy at your sister. But throwing your toy could hurt your sister. Let's think of some other things we can do when we're feeling mad that wouldn't hurt anyone or anything else. And he writes Again, no. 2 huge mistakes. First, you imply being mad might justify throwing the toy. You're offering an excuse for an unacceptable action. More broadly, you're implying to your child that you need to justify your demands for him to behave as you wish. You do not. You'll behave as I wish because I'm your father. Period. Then, through time, whether your stewardship is wise and justified becomes clear. But no, you don't have to justify your orders every time you give one.

[Michael]

Yes, that's why, before you become a parrot, you can't imagine yourself saying, because I said so. But once you're a parent, that is a very good reason for you to do something. Because I said so. It's a very good reason.

[Jack Armstrong]

And of course, that doesn't mean you're acting arbitrarily. Means your children need to understand that. You may discuss choices with them and consider what are reasonable objections they have. But once you've given them an order, you expect them to follow it. Your family has a chain of command. You are at the top. Period. Period. With kindness and patience and compassion. But you're at the top most of

[Michael]

the time, maybe 98% of the time. But I can't claim. Claim always.

[Jack Armstrong]

The game was just about over.

[Michael]

Did you have to mention that? Now, I'm sorry.

[Show Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty. The armstrong and yeti show.

[Michael]

So Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, is obviously running for president. He's got a book and he's out doing a tour and talking about America. That's what every single person who's run for president has done in my lifetime. So he's on Jimmy Kimmel last night. We played you a clip earlier that was actually about the politics of the state and everything like that. But they opened with this. I didn't know Seth Meyers. I didn't know Seth Meyers had a brother, but Seth Meyers has a brother that looks a lot like him who happens to look like Gavin Newsom, who does a Gavin Newsom impersonation on the Seth Meyer Show. So Seth Meyer's brother came on as Gavin Newsom to Gavin Newsom on Jimmy Kimmel last night. And they did a bit where they gave the real Gavin Newsom an award. And then this is the. And Gavin Newsom, by the way, standing there the entire time looking incredibly uncomfortable with some of these jokes Gov Gav

[Guest or Caller]

for your tireless work in uniting the people of Cali, from the meth dealers of Riverside to the shapely Armenians of the Glendale Galleria, from chakra doulas and yoga thems to farmers market furries and rollerbladers with gluten sensitivities, Governor Gavin D. Newsom, in association with the Wounded Waymos project and the three remaining original members of Incubus present to you Governor Gavin C. Newsom, with the 2026 FIFA, Skydance, Paramount, Netflix, Warner Bros. Big Ass Lipton Cup O Peace.

[Jack Armstrong]

Unbelievable. Wow. Believable. What is that made of?

[Michael]

If you so is that a shot at California or Gavin Newsom? Or does it? Or in terms of running for president, is it all the same thing? If you say from the meth addict meth addicts of Riverside to the yoga

[Jack Armstrong]

thems, I mean chakra doulas, yes.

[Michael]

Doesn't that portray Gavin Newsom as the leader of a wackadoo state?

[Jack Armstrong]

At the very least, if you weren't listening, was it last hour we played another clip from Newsom on Kimmel in which he was saying the only reason people criticize California is they've got California derangement syndrome because they watch Fox News and they just focus on the negative and California is actually the greatest place on earth. I mean, everybody loves it all the time.

[Guest or Caller]

Wow.

[Michael]

Okay, so it was at the end of the interview that you were just talking about that Kimmel had the Newsom impersonator come out on stage and give this award. Oh, I like this. It opened with I'm so psyched to be here for the Newsome twosome. I mean, I just came from a ribbon cutting sesh at a shelter for non binary Chihuahuas. I don't think it helps because, you know, the Republicans used to hang San Francisco around Nancy Pelosi's neck as do you want a Nancy Pelosi style America San Francisco? Well, I think that the same thing can be done with California and Gavin Newsom and Jimmy Kimmel certainly helped that cause there.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think I read this and I'm sure you heard it. Mark Halpern, when he was talking to Gavi, he was quite pointed. He said, I don't think you're going to end up running for president. Or if you do, you're going to run briefly, then get out because there's too many people who don't like you.

[Michael]

Really? I didn't catch that part.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah, yeah. I was surprised how blunt it was.

[Michael]

I know because I watch Gavin Newsom or Mark Halpern's podcast a lot. He's not big on Gavin as a likely nominee or president. He doesn't, he doesn't think Gavin's the guy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Why?

[Michael]

I'm not exactly sure why.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just because being.

[Michael]

Having California around your neck is an albatross.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, the ads, right. Themselves. Like the, the clip we played, I think it was yesterday of the. The montage of Gavin claiming for 24 years how he's gonna solve the homeless problem this year. I mean, it was hilarious by the end of it.

[Michael]

I, I bet we've been saying this for years. I think all you would need, and I could do it this afternoon. I wouldn't even have to drive very far. All you need is 60 seconds of footage of tent after tent after tent after drug zombie wandering through the street. California. Don't even just put it in. California.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can we sprinkle in some products locked up in all the stores and some smash windows and then. And with a long, close shot of human feces on the paper, just. It's controversial.

[Show Announcer]

I know.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's an eye grabber. You can't ignore it.

[Show Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

This is Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and a proud American citizen. I'm celebrating America's 250th birthday on my podcast, Newt's World, with 15 special episodes. And I've got some great guests. Walter Isaacson, Jonathan Turley, Brett Baer.

[Brett Baer]

I will be working because it's a big, big day. I'll be in Washington and have all kinds of coverage through the day of America 250.

[Joe Getty]

Rachel Campos Duffy.

[Guest or Caller]

There's nothing like American music. We're the home of rock and roll. We're the home of rap. We're the home of pop music.

[Joe Getty]

Eric Metaxas, Jared Isaacman.

[Jared Isaacman]

I plan to be flying in an F5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors, along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital.

[Joe Getty]

The story of the national anthem and the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Join me and let's celebrate America's 250. Listen to Newt's World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Show Announcer]

The Armstrong and Getty show.

[Guest or Caller]

California is dominant. We also have seen the last three years population growth. We've got to update our talking points. We've seen a 9% decline in unsheltered homelessness. Got to update our talking points. We've seen a 60% increase in permits for housing. We've got to update talking points. I'm very proud of the state of California.

[Michael]

Was that edited Hanson, or is that actually the way he presented it?

[Jack Armstrong]

So he presented it.

[Michael]

Interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's obnoxious.

[Michael]

I saw an ad and anti Gavin ad by one of the gubernatorial candidates over the weekend. I guess where it does that whole California is the fourth biggest economy on earth thing. If it were its own country, which you say is misleading, and I've always wondered about that. We should, we should go deep on that someday. But it also went with, if California was its own country, it'd be about the most expensive country on earth. And here's why that I thought was really interesting. We should get into that later.

[Jack Armstrong]

Be like living in Monaco. So Gavi boy was on with Bill Maher. And I think a lot of us were excited about that. That the great reformed liberal, the great speaker of truth to power, Bill Maher, would rake Gavi over the coals. But no, it turns out they're buddies and he just softballed him. And it was incredibly disappointing. This was at least something.

[Michael]

Gavin, you got to get rid of the train.

[Guest or Caller]

The train.

I say this as a friend.

[Michael]

You got to let that train go.

[Guest or Caller]

It's up to $231 billion.

That's not, that's.

[Joe Getty]

It's not.

[Guest or Caller]

It's not. We're doing. We're doing $119 million segment. We got it back on track. It goes back three administrations. I inherited a mess. We put it back on track. All the environmental work is behind us. We're actually laying the track. All the legal litigation, all the land issues are all behind us. We're actually making this project work. And so that's a fact now on the issue of California.

[Jack Armstrong]

So for whatever reason, of course it has.

[Guest or Caller]

And you can't make up for the past. I can only make up for my segment, literally and figuratively as governor over

[Jack Armstrong]

the last seven years, for whatever reason,

[Michael]

Bill Maher decided to not say this week, the California Bullet Train association on their own website said they had updated the total to whatever it is. 230.

[Jack Armstrong]

231 billion. Yeah. And experts who are like, if you're serious about building this thing even close to his promise, say it's going to be like 400 to 500 billion. So Gavin was just flat out lying. His own high speed rail Commission said 231 billion. He said, oh, that's not true at all. He's just a liar.

[Michael]

What does that mean?

[Jack Armstrong]

And then Trump, I wish I pushed

[Michael]

him on it because I'd like to have heard what Gavin would say about

[Jack Armstrong]

that Trump blasted out this long truth about how low rated Bill Maher is. Irrelevant. He's a weak and ineffective person. He was scared when he came to the White House and just terrible. Barely more talented than Kimmel. And Gavin's a liar, which is true. And look at la, San Francisco, the horrendous homeless problem over the railway catastrophe, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, so speaking of progressive, I'm not

[Michael]

sure being a liar works at all anymore as a thinking that'll bring somebody down. As I keep saying. I think Trump figured out and now Gavin figured out. Oh, okay, I get it now. Nobody, your own people never hear the pushback, so you don't have to worry about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, he just said something wildly untrue and got applause for it. So, yeah, I think you're right. It's bubble politics and he's a fairly, you know, expert practitioner of it. So, speaking of the progressive Seattle and its utterly fuzzy headed progressive dream world, rainy pine tree soaked waterfront brand of progressivism elected this woman child, Katie Wilson, in November. An avowed socialist who's been on an allowance of $10,000 a year from her parents because life is kind of expected. She's expensive. She's 40. 43. 43. A socialist who Mommy and daddy finance, which is honestly the history of most socialist thinkers, quote, unquote.

[Michael]

Oh, I went to the May Day celebration in my town Friday. I was driving by the park and saw all the communist flags and stuff like that. Oh, right, it's Mayday and I live in Davis, California, so of course there's, there's a gathering in the park. I'll have to talk about that later.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, please.

[Guest or Caller]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

So nine days after winning Seattle's November mayoral election, Katie Wilson joined the Starbucks baristas who were picketing and pledging to boycott the coffee conglomerate until the union gets its way. And then in March, not long ago, the chain said, yeah, we're closing five additional stores in Seattle, including four that had unionized. Poor financial performance, bad customer experience. And by the way, last week they announced, we're establishing our new corporate headquarters in Nashville and we're gonna invest $100 million and bring 2,000 jobs to Nashville and out of here. Goodbye. And the 43 year old Ms. Wilson, who gets the allowance from her mommy and daddy, is defiant about the consequences of her antagonism towards successful people who create value for society. That is a quote from the Washington Post editorial board. The Washington Post. Speaking recently at a Seattle university event, the mayor brushed off claims that taxpayers are going to respond poorly to higher Taxes.

[Michael]

I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are like super overblown. And if you know the ones that leave like bye.

[Jared Isaacman]

So.

[Jack Armstrong]

I will quote her and somebody, if you are skilled in calligraphy, please, please scratch this down in that fancy, fancy font. I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are like super overblown. And if the ones that leave like bye. And then cheers that sentence again. And if the ones that leave like bye. Oh boy. And then the Washington Post editorial. So does she, does she not realize that millionaires and billionaires pay the vast

[Michael]

majority of all the taxes?

[Brett Baer]

She.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that crowd, do they not know

[Michael]

the math on that or are they just being populists? And it plays well because most people don't know the math on that, that it's millionaires and billionaires that are paying practically all the taxes and without them you're doomed. And if you could, as has been pointed out many people, by many people, you could, you could confiscate all the billionaires wealth, just confiscate it all. And we still wouldn't make a dent in our overall federal problem with, with our entitlements.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. I'm reminded of the quote from Thomas Solo we hit the folks with just to open the show or toward the beginning of the show, what? And I'll hit you with it in a second. But the answer to your question, I think is that Katie Wilson has no idea how wealth is created. She believes many things to be true, particularly on the topic of economics that simply are not true. She has been, you know, there's always been the contrast between book smart and street smart. The problem in the modern day is that book smart is fictional. Book smart is utterly like in contrast to what happens in the real world on the street. So these people, these socialists come out with these ideas that are just harebrained. They don't make sense, they don't work. They've, they've been tested over and over again and failed over and over again. As Thomas Sowell said, what do the poor most need? They need to stop being poor. And how can that be done on a mass scale except by an economy that creates vastly more wealthy? Yet the political left, Katie Wilson has long had a remarkable lack of interest in how wealth is created. As far as they're concerned, wealth exists somehow. And the only interesting question is how to redistribute it. I think that's the long and short of it. She thinks like you're Jerry's Brown and you're you know, all sorts of progressives all over the place. That wealth just exists and the only question is how to divide up the pie. They never think about creating it because they can't. Back to the Washington Post. Her arrogance is increasingly typical of the state's political elites. In March, the pre the governor signed Bob Ferguson signed in a law millionaires tax that would add an additional 10% or so rate on incomes over a million dollars at once.

[Michael]

Oh my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

With the tax on the horizon, that's

[Michael]

when the CEO of Starbucks or the guy that started Starbucks announced he was leaving and claimed it wasn't related to that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that he and his wife are leaving Seattle for Miami. Florida has no state income tax. Schultz is right.

[Michael]

Because of the weather, he said.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking to a local TV station last year, Microsoft President Brad Smith acknowledged that, quote, I'm probably more worried right now about the business climate in Washington than at any point over the last 30 years. If other people are paying for jobs to leave and we're taxing them to stay, that will make everything harder. Hey, Brad, just say what you mean. I know you don't want to offend the stupid little socialists, but say it's going to drive business out of Washington. Yeah, I don't say that will make everything harder.

[Michael]

That's the most annoying part of this whole thing is when Walgreens closed its doors in San Francisco, it didn't say it's because of the policies. There's too many junkies on the street and we get robbed all the time. They had to pretend as well. There's cutbacks in a difficult economy, underperforming stores. Same as Schultz leaving Seattle. I remember when he made that announcement and he wouldn't say out loud. He pretended it wasn't because of the. No, it's a coincidence. This, this millionaires tax that you just passed that I'm moving to Florida. Say it out loud. Say this is an anti business. Doesn't make sense. Look, I'm a liberal Democrat, but this doesn't make any sense.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wish he'd have said it out loud. Right. You're driving jobs out. Finally, this socialism has failed everywhere. But its flaws are exposed much faster in free countries like the United States where individuals and businesses can simply leave for more welcoming jurisdictions. The question, and this is a question we've asked many times, is how much economic damage gets done before voters start electing politicians who reverse course.

[Michael]

Man, my kids were. We walked through the May Day celebration and they just kept asking you, how do these people Believe this because they've heard my screed forever that communism has killed more people than anything else on earth. More than World War II. Many more people killed by communism. Socialism as a, as a way to run your government. And you got all those people in the park. Would you like to help elect a socialist representative? People were yelling to me from tables, no thank you, you nut jobs.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is the political version of a five year old saying, let's eat candy all day with absolutely no concept of how disastrous that would be. The college kids been blessed the most who have disproportionately extracted by whatever skill more and more from the national wealth. They're gonna have to share more of that. That is one of the worst statements ever made my college by the four

[Michael]

term governor of California. I understand the young people that were at the May Day celebration, but there's a lot of older people there, including old people walking around with their signs like how you've been around for a long time. Where has this worked for you, this whole communism thing?

[Jack Armstrong]

You nut jobs. Human beings ability to ignore reality is unbelievable. Now Colorado gets a brief kicking from the Wall Street Journal. Entrepreneurs flock to Colorado. Now red tape is driving some vocal group of California software engineers and venture capitalists are increasingly grumbling that their tech haven in the Rocky Mountains is devolving into the place of their nightmares, California. You hear that Gavin? People who actually create wealth say the place of their nightmares is California. They talk about how during the 2010s, the Rocky Mountains from Boulder to Colorado Springs was dubbed Silicon Mountain. And now you've got a collection of more than 300 prominent business leaders who are saying out loud all year utopian regulations are hindering growth and dozens of companies are skipping town for more welcoming clives in Colorado. Same policies, same results, duh.

[Show Announcer]

The Armstrong and Getty Show. Get more Jack, more Joe podcasts and

[Joe Getty]

our hot [e-mail] this is new thing. Former speaker of the House and a proud American citizen. I'm celebrating America's 250th birthday on my podcast Newts World with 15 special episodes. And I've got some great guests. Walter Isaacson, Jonathan Turley, Brett Baer.

[Brett Baer]

I will be working because it's a big, big day. I'll be in Washington and have all kinds of coverage through the Day of America's Rachel Campos Duffy.

[Guest or Caller]

There's nothing like American music. We're the home of rock and roll. We're the home of rap. We're the home of pop music.

[Joe Getty]

Eric Metaxas Jared Isaacman.

[Jared Isaacman]

I plan to be flying in an F5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors, along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital, the story

[Joe Getty]

of the national anthem, and the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Join me and let's celebrate America's 250. Listen to Newts World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Show Announcer]

The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Michael]

You want at some point to hear the grossest thing I've ever heard?

[Jack Armstrong]

No.

[Michael]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, Michael, you get a vote, too.

[Guest or Caller]

Go ahead.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, no. You've betrayed me, Michael. And I know if Katie was here, she'd say, hell yeah, let's hear.

[Michael]

She would say that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you gonna. Oh, my God. I'm trying not to say this about. All right, I will say one more thing and then you can decide on it. I am a super big fan of the, like, lightweight Columbia makes good clothes. You know, I've got some stuff from what's the Other, Like, Eddie Bauer. It's like they call them guide pants or whatever. Super light, super stretchy, but they keep the damn bugs off you and the

[Michael]

sun off you, too.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, strategy number five. Use fans and spatial repellents in outdoor living areas. Fans, because they're not good flyers. Spatial repellents are devices that create a protective radius. These devices, also called spatial emanators. Thermacell makes one. I've always been skeptical that those are fake, but they often have rechargeable batteries and emit just a small amount of a chemical that will deter the mosquitoes from coming into an area. If you're going to be eating outside and staying in one place, I think that they can create an effective bubble of protection around. And again, these are entomologists who study mosquitoes. So I guess those things are real. What the heck? Catch me outside. How about that? There's a mosquito. Yeah. What have you decided?

[Michael]

So this is apropos of nothing other than me bringing up dirty people. And every time the story of people who aren't clean comes up, I think about this because I. I heard it firsthand. It was from the medical professional who told me the story. So it's firsthand, but you're hearing it secondhand. But it's always stuck in my head and it's really gross. And if you don't want to hear gross, turn off the radio for a little bit.

[Jack Armstrong]

I guess I have a bad feeling.

[Michael]

He had a very overweight patient that came in for some sort of health problem and and he always hated when she came in because. And he felt bad about this, but she smelled so horrible, it was difficult to, like, deal with her. I'll bet that happens a lot.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's. That's sad. Yeah.

[Michael]

Anyway, the problem was around her abdomen area, and her very, very large, big woman boobs were covering her abdomen area, so he had to ask her to lift those up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, boy.

[Michael]

And there was a tremendous amount of mold growing underneath her boobs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, boy. Boob mold. Oh, boy. No, you don't want that.

[Michael]

And that's what was causing her to smell so bad.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know about you folks. I was actually braced for something worse than that. What's worse? Feeling of relief.

[Michael]

Can you make up some? Make up something worse than that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I can't, but I won't, because I have restraint.

[Michael]

I don't think I can make up something worse than that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Boob mold.

[Michael]

Somebody whose boobs are so big and hang down and she doesn't clean herself that the mold is growing under there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sub booble mold. I'll bet it was. I'll bet the. The scent. The aroma was.

[Michael]

That's what he said. I could hardly stand to be in

[Jack Armstrong]

the room with her vomitus. The hell? An aggressive scent. Oh, golly. That's a bad way to be Moldy.

[Joe Getty]

What?

[Michael]

Moldy is the bad way to be.

[Jack Armstrong]

I had a twofer for you, the second half of which is quite cerebral. And it's an analysis of how the state of Utah is trying to deal with bums and junkies and not in the cal. Unicornia way of just. Or, you know, Seattle, Portland, whatever. Make them as comfortable and happy as possible. But they're running into all sorts of problems, which does not mean it's not worth doing. And we will talk about it tomorrow. I. Damn it, I swear we will. But I was going to pair it with this vagrant in the East Village of New York who has been called the smelliest man in New York City. He's a vagrant junkie with no control of his bodily functions. And he's become infamous in that part of New York. Wow. That's worse than boob mold.

[Show Announcer]

Yeah.

[Michael]

It's such a different thing, but yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

This description I will not read to you. Good.

[Michael]

Do they not.

[Jack Armstrong]

That which is heard cannot be unheard.

[Michael]

Do they not notice that themselves? Like a boom old lady. Then she in the car sometimes think, what is that? Is there a McDonald's wrapper in here?

[Jack Armstrong]

The fascinating thing about smell is the longer you smell something, the less you can smell.

[Michael]

True. Your mind compensates somehow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Smell rose. Smell a rose for 30 solid seconds and by the end it'll be like why was I so enthralled by that 30 seconds ago? It's weird.

[Michael]

Or having worked in lots of feedlots and, and stuff like that, it's, you don't even notice it at all, which is a blessing.

[Guest or Caller]

Yeah.

You.

[Show Announcer]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty the Armstrong

[Joe Getty]

and Getty show on New Troll Podcast we're celebrating America's 250th birthday and I asked my guests how they're spending their Fourth of July.

[Brett Baer]

Brett Baer I will be working. I'll be in Washington because it's a big, big day.

[Jared Isaacman]

Jared Isaacman I plan to be flying in an F5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital.

[Joe Getty]

Listen to Newts world on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.