Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: A&G Replay Friday Hour One
Date: November 28, 2025
Host(s): Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty
Special Guest: Jason Owens (Ret. Chief, U.S. Border Patrol)

Episode Overview

This “best of” replay blends Armstrong & Getty’s quick-witted banter with wide-ranging cultural observations, economic discussion, and a deep dive into the realities and challenges of border security featuring former Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens. The episode moves seamlessly from language humor and generational anecdotes to sharp commentary on the U.S. economy, social norms, and the shifting complexities at America’s borders.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Language, Punctuation, and Social Cues

• Semicolons: Use and Misuse
  • Jack highlights Kurt Vonnegut’s take: semicolons are "showy"—used mainly to signal one’s education.
  • "Two thirds of people say they know how to use a semicolon. Two thirds actually don't." — Jack (03:55)
  • Joe discusses practical function: “To me, it takes the same role as dot, dot, dot…a soft period, stronger than a comma, but not quite the full stop of a period.” (04:20)
• Student Drivers and Social Understanding
  • Humorous discussion on etiquette toward student drivers and the value of patience.
  • Jack: “I do. I pull around in front of them, brake check them, then I roll coal on them. I do everything.” (12:41)

2. Economic Anxiety and Class Divides

• Consumer Spending Under Strain
  • Consumer spending sustains the U.S. economy—yet now, half of it is driven by the top 10%.
  • Jack: “The burden of consumer spending is…on a small number of people.” (05:00)
  • Discussion of the Michigan Index of consumer sentiment; notable drop among the middle class from 70 to 55 (where 100 is neutral), reflecting increased economic anxiety. (06:00)
  • “While the wealthy prosper, middle class Americans increasingly feel the pinch.” — Jack (05:48)
• Investment Worries & Market Jitters
  • The hosts joke about stock market volatility and retirement worries.
    • “If you miss the drop by a day and the rally by a day, you will lose out on an enormous amount of wealth.” — Joe (09:07)
    • “Should I be a hardcore long term investor guy?” — Jack (08:35)

3. Border Security: History, New Realities, and Cartel Control

[24:04] - [36:21]
Guest: Jason Owens, Former Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol

• How the Border Has Changed
  • Owens explains shifts from mostly Mexican, male labor migration to a broader demographic.
    • "Back in the 90s... most folks came from Mexico... single adult males... find work, send remittances... and then they'd try again." (25:00)
  • Post-9/11, the border mission and public awareness changed—security took precedence over economics.
• Cartels’ Dominance
  • "Make no mistake about it, the cartels control everything that's coming across illicitly across our borders… people, illicit substances, money—you name it." — Owens (28:04)
  • Cartels have pivoted from marijuana to fentanyl and human trafficking.
  • In one small Texas sector, cartels made "$30 to $35 million a week on human trafficking alone"—over "$1.5 billion a year in one sector" (31:04).
• Challenges for Mexican Authorities
  • Mexican officials face direct threats: "The life we're living down here is very different… gun battles in the streets, people murdered, dismembered… there are legitimate threats to their families." — Owens (31:57)
• Northern Border and National Security Challenges
  • "Most people don't think about… there’s 4,000 miles of border between us and Canada… and thousands of miles of coast… we even share a coastal border with Russia." (33:03)
  • About 90% of Border Patrol force is deployed on the southern border. Lack of persistent surveillance means vast unknowns about cross-border activity.
    • "There’s a lot of spaces out there where we don't have that situational awareness…" (35:03)

4. Cultural Commentary & Social Norms

• Stereotypes and Political Correctness
  • Hosts riff on the ironies of permissible versus taboo stereotypes:
    • “You can point out [a group’s] strengths…but not weaknesses. And it makes no sense whatsoever that any group could have only positives and no negatives.” — Jack (14:16)
    • Joe highlights changing leftist positions on identity and stereotyping (15:00–15:45).
• Social Pressure for Braces and Cosmetic Norms
  • Nearly 70% of U.S. kids get orthodontic work; only about one third genuinely need it.
  • "It's cosmetic for two thirds of them...At some point we decided everyone needs perfectly straight, bright white teeth." — Jack (17:00-18:10)
  • Socioeconomic status magnifies the pressure; higher incomes see near-universal orthodontic use.

5. Humor in Daily Observations

• Vanity Sizing & Fashion Trends
  • Petite women resorting to buying children’s clothes due to “vanity sizing” and shifting fashion trends.
  • "The average American woman weighs about 170 pounds, which is 30 pounds more than in 1960..." — Joe (41:45)
  • Hosts joke about statistical outliers: "Bill Gates could walk into a bar and change the average net worth. A 50,000-pound woman is not going to roll into the bar or probably the buffet." — Jack (42:33)
• Plastic Surgery Mishaps
  • Dissection of “Brazilian Butt Lifts” and their dangers—both medical and olfactory.
  • Joe: "Once you have death, infection is kind of irrelevant." (43:52)
  • Jack: “What is that cologne you're wearing? Black Plague? No… Dead Raccoon? No, that's my BBL surgery gone wrong.” (45:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Semicolon. That would all be amusing.” — Jack (10:45), riffing on punctuation humor.
• “In June, middle-class confidence gave out and the [Michigan] index went down a lot. And this concerns economists, of course. Everything concerns economists and they disagree on everything.” — Jack (07:25)
• Jason Owens (Border Patrol): “That’s not narcotics. That’s nothing but human smuggling in one sector of nine across the southwest border… unlimited resources, and nothing but time to sit there and think about how they're going to defeat whatever security measures we have.” (31:04)
• “You have to respect and, and empathize with the situation that [Mexican authorities] are in…they literally deal with, at times, gunbattles in the streets, people that are being murdered, dismembered. There are legitimate threats to their families.” — Owens (31:57)
• "Beautiful the way you are, right?" — Joe, on resisting unnecessary cosmetic procedures (45:42)

Important Timestamps

• 03:42 – Semicolon jokes and Vonnegut quote
• 05:00–07:12 – Consumer spending and economic anxiety
• 09:07 – Investing and stock market fears
• 10:09 – Trump-Netanyahu tapes hypothetical
• 12:11–14:24 – Student driving, stereotypes, and social boundaries
• 16:37–20:25 – Braces, cosmetic dental pressures
• 24:04–36:21 – Interview: Jason Owens, Border issues & cartel influence
• 40:15–45:48 – Women’s vanity sizing, BBL surgery dangers

Tone and Style

Armstrong & Getty blend conversational irreverence and sharp satire with earnest inquiry, especially during their border security interview. Humor is central—both as cultural critique and coping mechanism. Personal anecdotes and pop culture references keep the discussion dynamic, while guests add expertise and gravitas without atmosphere-heavy solemnity.

This replay hour captures the Armstrong & Getty show’s trademark: an ongoing dialogue between the news, American life, and the quirks and anxieties defining our age.