All I Want To Do Is Be Angry & Self Righteous

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "All I Want To Do Is Be Angry & Self Righteous" Release Date: May 12, 2025 | Host: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the May 12th episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a spectrum of pressing topics, blending international politics, media analysis, social issues, and cultural shifts. This detailed summary encapsulates their discussions, notable quotes, and the insights shared, providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven't tuned in.

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Mother's Day Reflections

[00:58] Jack Armstrong opens the episode by reflecting on Mother's Day, highlighting divergent views on its celebration. He remarks:

"Maybe I'm off base and we'll throw that out to you, the listener, later. Did you want a break from your kids on Mother's Day or did you want to spend time with your kids on Mother's Day?"

This introspection sets the tone for exploring varying societal perspectives.

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International Politics: Xi, Putin, and Military Parades

The hosts transition to global affairs, focusing on the significant military parade in Moscow where President Xi Jinping stood alongside Vladimir Putin. They express concern over the display of solidarity among authoritarian leaders and the reimagining of historical narratives.

[02:26] Martha Raddatz, reporting for ABC, describes the event:

"This Week it was a massive display of military muscle... more than 11,000 Russian and foreign troops marching across Moscow's Red Square..."

[03:00] Jack Armstrong critiques Putin's portrayal of World War II history:

"Putin... rewrote history to credit the Chinese for taking the lead in turning back Japan in World War II... Completely made up."

[04:01] Joe Getty emphasizes the dangers of historical manipulation:

"Orwell tried to teach us just being played out... He who owns history owns the present. He who owns the present owns the future."

The discussion underscores the alarming trends of authoritarian regimes reshaping history to legitimize current agendas.

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Ukraine Conflict and Peace Negotiations

The conversation shifts to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, focusing on the failed attempts at ceasefire talks. President Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire without preliminary discussions is met with skepticism.

[04:26] Joe Getty describes the geopolitical tension:

"A totalitarian pole, if you will, in a bipolar world."

[06:03] Jack Armstrong speculates on the potential failure of peace talks:

"I feel like he could easily and understandably provoke Zelinsky into an emotional outburst... he hates me too much... He's too much of a Nazi."

The hosts express doubt about the sincerity of Putin's intentions, highlighting the complexities of achieving peace amidst entrenched positions.

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AI and Misinformation: The Macron-Cocaine Video

A segment on artificial intelligence and misinformation examines a viral video purportedly showing Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders involved in illicit activities. Armstrong and Getty dissect the authenticity and implications of such deepfake content.

[10:12] Jack Armstrong shares skepticism:

"It had that AI look to it... I'm sure soon that will be gone and you won't be able to see that."

[12:01] Joe Getty discusses the impact of propaganda:

"Russian propaganda... how to design it, how to seduce people."

The hosts caution listeners about the escalating sophistication of AI-generated misinformation and its potential to sway public opinion.

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Gun Owner Insurance: Benefits and Pitfalls

The discussion moves to the burgeoning market of insurance tailored for gun owners, illustrated by a case from the US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA).

[15:35] Joe Getty narrates a Wall Street Journal article:

"...the number of Americans buying self-defense insurance has surged, with around 2 million people signed up."

[16:36] Jack Armstrong critiques the concept:

"That's why all the European leaders got together there in Kiev... there are going to be some hardcore sanctions coming toward Russia."

The hosts debate the practicality and ethical implications of insuring individuals against self-defense incidents, questioning whether it contributes to a more securitized society.

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60 Minutes Exposé: Government Fraud and Cybersecurity Threats

A significant portion of the episode focuses on a revealing report from 60 Minutes, where Martha Raddatz discusses rampant government fraud exacerbated by cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

[21:24] Martha Raddatz states:

"We're approaching three quarters of a trillion per year that gets stolen mostly by foreign countries."

[27:09] Jack Armstrong reacts with disbelief:

"All of our personally identifiable information... is available on the darknet and can likely be purchased."

[29:02] Joe Getty highlights systemic issues:

"They don't safeguard it at all. Not really."

The hosts express frustration over the sheer scale of financial fraud and the apparent ineffectiveness of governmental safeguards, emphasizing the role of foreign adversaries in exploiting these weaknesses.

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Shift in Work Culture: From Employee-Centric to Demanding

Armstrong and Getty explore the evolving dynamics of workplace culture, noting a stark shift from valuing employees to demanding greater productivity amidst economic uncertainties.

[35:00] Joe Getty reflects on recruitment strategies:

"...kids being recruited straight out of high school for $75,000 a year jobs in welding..."

[36:30] Jack Armstrong criticizes the disregard for work-life balance:

"If you can concern yourself with work life balance, you should consider yourself among the more privileged workers..."

[37:07] Jack Armstrong comments on corporate attitudes:

"We always talk about the spending is the point... I'm surprised those people don't out the, the fraud."

The hosts lament the decline in employee-centric policies, attributing it to economic pressures and a lack of legislative reform on labor issues.

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Concluding Thoughts: Anger and Self-Righteousness in Modern Society

As the episode winds down, Armstrong and Getty contemplate the pervasive feelings of anger and self-righteousness in contemporary discourse.

[32:13] Joe Getty muses:

"We're gonna fight the power... all I want to do is be angry and self righteous."

[37:27] Joe Getty adds a personal touch:

"And that's not to say it's a bad idea or you shouldn't. You just have to keep it in perspective."

The duo underscores the importance of maintaining perspective amidst societal frustrations, advocating for balanced responses to the challenges discussed.

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Conclusion

"All I Want To Do Is Be Angry & Self Righteous" presents a multifaceted exploration of global politics, media integrity, social insurance trends, cybersecurity threats, and shifting workplace cultures. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty offer critical insights, peppered with relatable anecdotes and sharp commentary, making it a compelling listen for those seeking to understand the undercurrents shaping today's world.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong [00:58]: "Did you want a break from your kids on Mother's Day or did you want to spend time with your kids on Mother's Day?"
• Martha Raddatz [21:24]: "We're approaching three quarters of a trillion per year that gets stolen mostly by foreign countries."
• Joe Getty [37:07]: "We always talk about the spending is the point... I'm surprised those people don't out the, the, the fraud."

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For the full experience, listen to the episode on iHeartPodcasts.

Transcript

[Advertiser]

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[Joe Getty]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

I do want to talk about Mother's Day yesterday. Had a little exchange yesterday which made me realize different people have different views of what Mother's Day should be, how it should be celebrated or honored. And I don't know, you know, you have a tendency to think that the way you see things is the way most people see them until you meet evidence to the contrary. Maybe I'm off base and we'll throw that out to you, the listener, later. Did you want a break from your kids on Mother's Day or did you want to spend time with your kids on Mother's Day? Seems to be quite the diverging opinion on that to me. There are six to seven major news stories happening right now with developments on like an hourly basis, which is really quite extraordinary to me. Among the biggest things that happened over the weekend was President Xi sitting next there, there next to Vladimir Putin in Moscow watching the giant military parade with tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers marching in front of them there in Red Square to show the solidarity between the commie Chinese and the commie slash dictator Putin, along with North Korea and all the other bad players in the world. That is a frightening situation. Here's Martha Raddatz reporting on it yesterday on abc.

[Martha Raddatz]

This Week it was a massive display of military muscle. More than 11,000 Russian and foreign troops marching across Moscow's Red Square, all under the gaze of Vladimir Putin and his special guest, China's President Xi. Tanks, artillery and missiles rolling before them.

[Joe Getty]

And fighter jets soaring above.

[Martha Raddatz]

There are troops from all over the.

[Joe Getty]

World here in Red Square today, but.

[Martha Raddatz]

The largest contingent of foreign troops from.

[Jack Armstrong]

China, the biggest chunk of the foreign troops from freaking China sent up to Moscow so they could march in the parade. And then this weirdness which escaped most people, I think Vladimir giving some sort of speech where he completely rewrote history to credit the Chinese for taking the lead in turning back Japan in World War II and winning that front. Just a completely made up. Where did that come from? Different view of the way World War II ended. So now it was, it was Russia stopping the Nazis and it was China stopping the imperial Japanese. That's the way Putin presented it to the cheering crowd.

[Joe Getty]

It's so interesting to watch everything Orwell tried to teach us just being played out. It is so important to own history that he who owns the past owns the present. He who owns the present owns the future.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I always go back to that caught on Mike or on purpose exchange between Xi and Putin last couple of years where she said to Putin, the world is about to change and we're going to drive those changes. I mean, he believes, they believe they can end this whole US Western Europe led global order thing and turn the world around and be in charge.

[Joe Getty]

A totalitarian poll, if you will, in a bipolar world.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's a little more from that Martha Raditz report.

[Martha Raddatz]

Russian officials will not talk about the.

[Joe Getty]

Number of Russian soldiers who have been.

[Jack Armstrong]

Killed in this war.

[Martha Raddatz]

By some estimates, some 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed fighting in Ukraine, numbers the Russians deny.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the lower estimates are 200,000 dead. We lost 70,000 in Vietnam over between 60 and 75. A long period of time. We still talk about it. It wrecked our politics for decades. We have a giant memorial toward it. They've lost three to maybe four or five times that many, depending on whose numbers you use in three years.

[Joe Getty]

And many more than that. Grievously injured and removed from the battlefield. Yeah, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And just an astounding development there. And that parade was just, oh, it's disturbing, man.

[Joe Getty]

As we were discussing last week, it's a very, very different culture, Russia. They venerate dying in battle and being a martyr for the cause. And, and your family is, is drenched in honor if, if you lost somebody. And, and actually they're, they're working very hard to bring veterans back from the front and give them cushy government jobs, get them in legislatures, that sort of thing, because they know that the brutality and futility of a lot of their service could embitter them and, and, and be a force in Russian society. That would be destabilizing, they say, in the stability business.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Putin said he will not agree to a cease fire unless they have a meeting. So Trump tried to do a little judo on that and say, okay, fine, there's a meeting Thursday. Istanbul, Turkey. Zelinsky immediately jumped on board and said, I'll be there waiting for you. So Zelinsky says he's going to be in Turkey, in Istanbul, sitting at a boardroom table, waiting for Putin to show up on Thursday. We'll see how it plays out.

[Joe Getty]

So, yeah, Zelinsky said, look, there's no peace talks without a truce. We got to stop killing each other before we talk. And, And Putin said, no, no, let's just get together and talk. Trump said, y. Yeah, we got to have talks before a cease fire, apparently. And so Zelensky said, okay, that's great. I'll be in Turkey on Thursday. Show up either I'm ready. So how this ends, nobody knows. And how Trump interprets it and how he adjusts his policies because of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you think Putin doesn't show up? I don't know why he. I feel like he could easily and understandably provoke Zelinsky into an emotional outburst that makes it look like, you know, so Putin can play. Look, he's a. He's, he's too, he's too angry. He hates me too much. He's too, too much of a Nazi. Oh, that's the other thing they kept going on and on about at the big celebration over the weekend was how they're continuing to fight the Nazis and de Nazifying Ukraine after having beaten the Nazis in World War II. What the hell are you talking about?

[Joe Getty]

Just goes to show you how idiotic the, the narrative, the rhetoric can be around this sort of thing. Are there some far rightists in Ukraine? Yeah, yeah, there are.

[Jack Armstrong]

So. Well, it's going to be interesting to see. So you don't think it's going to happen, the meeting? So if the meeting doesn't happen on Thursday, what's the next step? Trump and JD have both made it pretty clear, I think that, look, this is like your last chance, Putin, to show you have any interest in trying to negotiate a peace. And that's why all the European leaders got together there in Kiev over the weekend. And if Putin doesn't show up and shows no interest, there are going to be some hardcore sanctions coming toward Russia like this next weekend.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, Putin has only made the most pathetic and inadequate of gestures toward peace because he's not interested in peace. He doesn't want to stop the killing. He wants to keep killing and keep acquiring land. So, no, I think the sit down with Zelensky would expose him. He would feel like he was maneuvered into the. That. And Putin, Putin doesn't do. Oh, I just got maneuvered. He just doesn't do that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I think Trump and the European leaders are serious about these sanctions and everything. So that'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I want to get into this AI video though. If you haven't seen it, we'll explain it to you right after this.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

So have you, Joe, seen the actual roughly 45 second video that supposedly Macron meeting with the leader of Germany and England and Poland. They sit down at a, at a little table in a train, I think.

[Joe Getty]

It is, and apparently somebody unexpectedly came in.

[Jack Armstrong]

Somebody left a baggie of cocaine on the table and Macron grabs it real quick, he thinks, with nobody looking. And sticks.

[Joe Getty]

And a coke spoon too, right? Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I didn't see the spoon part even though I've watched the video and they say it's a spoon. He grabs a little baggie of white powder and. Well, I'll just, I'll read the retweeting of this. This is from some doctor guy who's fairly well respected. Guys got over a million followers on Twitter who tweeted this version of it out developing McCrone, Starmer and Mertz caught on video on the return from Kiev. A bag of white powder on the table. McCrone quickly pockets it. Mertz hides the spoon. No explanation given. Zelinsky, known cocaine enthusiast, had just hosted them. Connect the dots. I thought it was laughable. I mean it had that AI look to it. For one, for one thing, to me, just that kind of little herky jerky AI look, that stuff has. I'm sure soon that will be gone and you won't be able to see that. But the number of people that responded just to our re playing of it on Twitter, who looks real to me, or I think it's real, or that's clearly real, or I've seen it from different angles. Hey, guys, it's real.

[Joe Getty]

Post truth world, man. We are. It's through the looking glass. Yeah, yeah. McCrone and merits and Zelinsky are all coke monkeys. That's right. That's why they're getting together, right? To do a little blow. Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's why they got together with Zelensky was because it's about their personal cocaine use. I mean, that just seems like such a ridiculous premise.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, but if you're primed to believe that, and desperate's the wrong enthusiastic about believing anything negative you hear, because Russian propaganda, which is highly skilled, it's like, it's interesting. A engineer buddy of mine, we've discussed it at fair length. The fact that Russia is technically very, very adept in the sciences, you know, the cosmonauts, blah, blah, blah, but they can't manufacture. They just, for whatever reason, they've never been able to become a manufacturing power. They are very, very, very good at propaganda, at psyops, how to design it, how to seduce people. What constituencies within a country are most susceptible to our talking points? How do we seduce them? They're very skilled at that and they' pretty eager ears in the West.

[Jack Armstrong]

So this particular doctor with a million followers that retweeted it is one of those scientists who got fired for speaking out about COVID stuff early on, which I was on his side on mostly. But regardless, that doesn't make this real. And so what I wonder about this stuff is, do people actually believe it or is it like the flat earthers who get kind some sort of. I don't quite understand it. They don't fully believe it. They just get a kick out of the what if it was aspect of it for some reason.

[Joe Getty]

No, I don't understand the psychology of it quite. I think it's like if you really dislike your neighbor, you're willing to believe any story about what a bastard they are. It's that. And they're. They're anti Zelensky. You think they're pro Putin.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the support of Europe and all those billions of dollars and perhaps soldiers and everything like that is all because their personal cocaine use.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, they're a bunch of coke monkeys. That's why they're all increasing their military budgets, having you know, bringing Finland into NATO. That's right. It's just, it's, it's ridiculous.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, any thoughts on that text line? 415295KFTC.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

American Airlines has introduced a new first.

[Jack Armstrong]

Class option called Flagship Suites that features privacy doors, a cool touch pillow and a lie flat bed. American Airlines get pregnant with us.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, wow, wow. All right, maybe I'm an older fella. It just sounds like a nice opportunity to grab little shut eye. Anyway, so I thought this was interesting. Wall Street Journal with an article about a guy, he's. Somebody's been stealing from his, his lot next to his home they're building, et cetera. So he camps out with an AR15 and sure enough, somebody shows up, wakes him up, shines a light in his face yelling bluey. He fires at him. The intruder runs away bleeding. What happened next, Jack?

[Jack Armstrong]

What happened next is.

[Joe Getty]

The twist shows the benefits and pitfalls of a fast growing insurance market catering to gun owners who want protection if they kill or injure in self defense.

[Jack Armstrong]

I gotta get this. There's so many people I want to shoot, so wow.

[Joe Getty]

Probably best not to air that sentiment. Rushing back to his house, Mr. Houston, that's his name or Huston followed the directions on a post incident card from the US Concealed Carry association, which is one of the leaders in this insurance field. He called 911 and his wife called the company's 24 hour hotline. Within an hour, a USCCA attorney called to represent him. Now interestingly, there's a bit of a twist. After this guy's arrested and charged with attempted murder, he says the USCCA lawyer told him the case was a tough one. You probably ought to plead guilty to a lesser charge, he said. What now? And he found a new lawyer who got the charges dismissed. Even though USCCA also paid for the new lawyer. Houston quit his membership shortly after the two year legal saga ended up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, so that's my first thought is it's you're, you're either legally justified in shooting them or you weren't.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right, right. Although you know, it is a lawyer's job to say we might win, but it doesn't look great. Maybe you take the safe bet. That's what lawyers do sometimes. But this guy says I knew I was innocent. There was no way I was going to take a guilty plea. Which is again a bit of a twist on the story, but the number of Americans buying self defense insurance, call.

[Jack Armstrong]

It murder insurance, we don't need another damned insurance racket liability laws, you know.

[Joe Getty]

You don't think. So I tell you what, I'm gonna pay a few bucks a month and if anything ever happens, I gotta put a hole in somebody. But it just keeps a lawyer. I got my legal coverage growing.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's so it's guns and now we're gonna. Then you're a guarantee. Then there's going to be a sidewalk, a special sidewalk liability law in case somebody trips on your sidewalk and a special, I don't know, kitchen liability in case you have guests over in the kitchen and they hurt themselves. It'll just keep going and going well.

[Joe Getty]

And my property is heavily booby trapped as you know, with various punji sticks and flamethrowers, et cetera. About 2 million people have signed up for this, according to industry executives, some of whom estimate their membership has doubled in the last five years. Offers the insurer offers a range of services including bail and criminal defense lawyers. Well, I also cover the cost of litigation.

[Jack Armstrong]

I hope this is the last gasp then that pushes us over the edge to where we finally do some sort of tort reform in this country where we can't keep suing the bejesus out of everybody all the time for everything because we gotta fix that.

[Joe Getty]

It just has to happen. I feel about tort reform like I feel about losing 30 pounds. Really important. Really ought to happen. Not gonna happen. And, and I, I don't mean to sound like a quitter that I'm not on your side or anything because I am. But I just, it's. Lawyers are in charge of everything. They're. It's. Look at the legislatures. Well then we're doing local federal. Yes, that's correct. Yeah, exactly. You've finally woken up.

[Jack Armstrong]

30. So if you had your ideal weight, you would lose 30 pounds, roughly.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, that'd be really good for me. But yeah, so much good food and wine.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's a big, big, giant weight loss study came out over the weekend. We could touch on that. It's. I thought it was kind of interesting actually.

[Joe Getty]

Touch on it and I ignore it. Sounds good to me. All sorts of big news to get to today. It really is a wild news day. Hollywood doesn't need a tax subsidy. And other stories.

[Jack Armstrong]

How much we got ripped off during COVID You got to hear this story.

[Martha Raddatz]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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[Martha Raddatz]

To be honest, Elon Musk coming out and saying there is a huge amount of fraud. I welcome that message completely because finally someone is actually saying this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thank God 60 Minutes did this story last night. Even though they made me so angry I was yelling out loud a couple of times. Thank God. So hold on a second.

[Joe Getty]

He's got the whooping cough.

[Jack Armstrong]

Freaking whooping cough. Which I'll talk about later. You do not want to get whooping cough.

[Joe Getty]

I don't want it.

[Jack Armstrong]

But this story about fraud on 60 Minutes, which we're going to spend a fair amount of time on right here, is absolutely amazing.

[Joe Getty]

Coming up, I want to bring my whole self to work has turned to the beatings will continue until the morale improves and boy, that didn't take long. Stay tuned for that. But getting back to 60 Minutes, I think I know what annoyed you so much. But I will tell you this. They did a story on enormous government fraud, a significant share of which you're about to hear, which would tend to reinforce a fairly trumpy slash Republican view of the world. Shocked by that. Then a great story on unbelievable scientific advancements dealing with spinal injury and then a nice piece about Jamie Lee Curtis and her career and blah blah, blah. It was not obnoxiously activistly left wing.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. Very classic 60 Minutes last night.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And this first story is so important. Just roll on with the next clip. There Michael, is this woman who has been screaming about fraud in government her whole career and getting no attention.

[Martha Raddatz]

I believe the government is losing between 550 billion and about 750 billion a year. We're coming up close to the 1 trillion dollar amount is lost every year.

[Jack Armstrong]

To fraud a year. A trillion dollars. We're coming up on a trillion dollars a year of fraud.

[Joe Getty]

I Don't want to steal or thunder, but a lot of the story had to do with or at least a significant amount with the fact that the safeguards are pathetic and inadequate and everybody knows it because it's just not a priority. Yeah, you bust your ass to pay your taxes and yeah, we take your money from you or you go to jail. But yeah, once we have your money now, we don't safeguard it at all. Not really.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is a both party problem too. I mean. Oh yes, because if one party made this a big deal of this enough when they were in power, they could do something about it.

[Joe Getty]

They're trying, I think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just keep going. Michael.

[Martha Raddatz]

When most people think of government fraud, I imagine they're thinking somebody is claiming disability benefits when they're not actually eligible, somebody collecting food stamps when they're not actually eligible. And are those the biggest offenders? Not at all. Not by a long shot. What we're really talking about is nation state actors. We're talking about organized crime rings, we're talking about using vast amounts of stolen Americans identities to monetize them for, you know, criminal activity.

[Jack Armstrong]

So when Covid happened and they were throwing around trillions of dollars like crazy and opening up all these various programs, lots of people jumped on. It's similar to what happened in California with the biggest fraud in California state history, where prisoners from other states start applying for small business handouts and everything like that and got them to the tune of gazillions and gazillions of dollars. This, well, this next little clip from her will make you mad.

[Martha Raddatz]

In 2020, Miller was appointed to an independent watchdog committee that tracked how Covid relief money was spent. So we could tell right away it's like, oh well, that's all going to get stolen. You saw it coming? Oh yeah. I mean, it was like they threw money in the air and just let people run around and grab it still.

[Joe Getty]

In favor of tax increases.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you let that hang there for a while. It's like they threw money up in the air and let people run around and grab it. What is it with lefties? I do not understand the whole I care about the downtrodden. I get caring about the downtrodden, but I don't get the whole I care about the downtrodden. I'm willing to throw money at it and then not pay the slightest bit of attention at all ever to where the money goes or if it does any good.

[Joe Getty]

I believe this in my heart. There is a huge motivator. Let me, let me structure the sentence like this. Self congratulations may be the most important factor in good old American left wing politics. I'm not talking about like Che Guevara Marxist politics. I'm talking about we need to help the downtrodden. Let's not blame the victims. We have to have programs in place, blah, blah, blah, well meaning folks. But their own self congratulations is all they require. If they feel that emotional feeling that they're looking for, they don't bother with any follow up. They don't care about any follow up. In fact, follow up ruins their buzz. Going through the accounting and realizing, oh my God, there's waste, fraud and abuse in this program. Holy cow, we got to roll up our sleeves, take a deep breath and get to work because this is bad. No, that kills their buzz.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, we always talk about the spending is the point because it goes to, you know, connected people, cronies, whatever, you know, family members that are on fake boards. I'm surprised those people don't out the, the, the, the fraud. More like, hey, you know, Biden families or whatever. It say, hey, hey, hey, that million dollars went to some criminal in China. It's supposed to go to my uncle who's on this fake board. I'm surprised they're not keeping track of it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I mean they wouldn't say that out loud, but you'd think, yeah, they'd become anti waste activists. Although they would. They would be caught in their own web, I think. So they can't. A little more from Linda Miller, righteous speaker of truth.

[Martha Raddatz]

The most egregious part is that a lot of the people who stole that money were foreign adversarial nation states. So who are they? Who are you talking about? We're talking about China, we're talking about Russia impersonating Americans in a lot of cases.

[Joe Getty]

That's right. We are enriching Xi Jinping and Vlad Putin and his goons and oligarchs even as we're opposing them.

[Jack Armstrong]

This FBI guy. Roll on.

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[Joe Getty]

Even if it's illegal, and then get a cut.

[Jack Armstrong]

The governments get a cut and then this. I find this particularly fantastic because we all, if we. Hold on.

[Joe Getty]

Sorry about that.

[Jack Armstrong]

If we have to give our Social Security number, we look around, we make sure nobody hears it. If we have to key it into a pin, we put our hand over the pin pad so nobody possibly sees our Social Security. Because the most important thing you do is make sure nobody gets a hold of your Social Security number. This from 60 Minutes.

[Martha Raddatz]

Brian Vorndren is head of the FBI's cyber division. He says these digital gangs are armed with a very important weapon. Is it true that the Social Security number of just about every single American is available for sale on the dark Web?

[Jack Armstrong]

That is a true statement.

[Advertiser]

All of our personally identifiable information, name, date of birth form, addresses, Social Security number is available on the darknet and.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can likely be purchased.

[Martha Raddatz]

That's chilling.

[Advertiser]

Yeah, it's very much a way of our lives though, right now.

[Martha Raddatz]

And purchased, I hear, for as little as two bucks a piece.

[Advertiser]

Yep, very affordable.

[Jack Armstrong]

What the hell?

[Joe Getty]

If it can be hacked, it will be hacked or more likely has been hacked.

[Jack Armstrong]

What the hell? And they had an example of an old couple in who lost their home in the Palisades area of Los Angeles and went to apply for their FEMA money and somebody had already grabbed it using their address, name, Social Security number. All their data had already grabbed their money so they could get their money. Now they're going through the I can't imagine paperwork headache of trying to straighten that out and get the money that they're owed by these various programs that we support because some, you know, Chinese, Russian, whoever, actors stole it.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I don't mean to drive everybody to murderous rage, but what's especially frustrating about all of this and all of these dollar figures is that, remember, you got attack on interest because we're borrowing that money. We didn't have it. It's. It wasn't in our wallets. We've got to run to the bank and borrow it now.

[Jack Armstrong]

One more clip and then we'll fill in some dots on this story.

[Martha Raddatz]

Last year, the FBI unraveled one of the largest digital fraud cases in U.S. history in which cybercriminals from around the world used stolen identities to pocket $6 billion in pandemic unemployment funds. $6 billion is an enormous, enormous amount of money. Why is the government a target for this type of fraud?

[Advertiser]

Because of the massive amount of money that exists in the federal government and.

[Joe Getty]

In the state government and the utter lack of interest in protecting it in a significant way, especially if it gets in the way of handing out scads of money and thereby winning votes.

[Jack Armstrong]

So just so you have this takeaway, this Linda Miller person who's been doing this for her career and is so frustrated that nobody's been paying any attention, says we're approaching three quarters of a trillion per year that gets stolen mostly by foreign countries. And just from the COVID relief money when that was just flying around. Like she said, it's like they threw it up in the air and anybody could run and grab it. She says is probably about a trillion of it was stolen. A trillion dollars. And as the FBI guy said, we're never going to get it back. There's no recovering this money. A trillion dollars.

[Joe Getty]

If we had a king, the prisons would be full of the bureaucrats who allowed this to happen. Monarchy now. How is this not. Let's, let's just call it good.

[Jack Armstrong]

How's this not like a, a big enough story for an entire party to emerge around?

[Joe Getty]

I just think the other side of the coin is so attractive to people, particularly low information voters. We're going to give you stuff. That's the party for me right there. That guy said he'd give me stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

My, my media nitpicking just to get it out of my system. Is that Cecilia Vega woman right at the very beginning of the story. Had to throw in. Elon Musk overstates how much waste there is, doesn't he? And the woman said, yeah, he does. So they had to throw out this red herring for their lefty viewer. Elon Musk isn't. We're not saying he's perfect or everything he did was good. Before we get to the biggest story you're gonna hear this weekend that a trillion dollars was stolen from the government.

[Joe Getty]

Elon Musk's numbers are fast and loose. On the other hand, this story that's really barely related.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nice red herring you had to throw in there for some reason to, to satisfy your lefty. I mean, what the hell was that? That makes me so angry.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder if they like edited the story together and somebody said, hey, this really comes off as supporting like Doge and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. We probably ought to throw in something for our soft headed again self congratulatory dumbass viewers. So that was uncharitable and I apologize for it.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what it was. I got, I got the thumbs down Friday from a girl in the crosswalk in my university town. I was in my cyber beast. She's walking in front of me and she looks at me and she gives me the two thumbs down as she walks across.

[Joe Getty]

Oh no disapproval.

[Jack Armstrong]

This privileged college girl at an expensive university in an expensive town unhappy with Elon Musk. So yeah, that's what 60 Minutes had to do. They had to throw in a little. Elon's not perfect. But now back to a very, very big important story that everybody should know a trillion Dollars got stolen.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. I like how the same. I'm sorry, I'm hung up on the cars. I like how the same people who are keying SUVs five years ago are now key vehicles. Just the important part is they're an angry activist and a revolutionary and they're gonna fight the power and it'll be a different power, completely opposite, in five more years. Because all I want to do is be angry and self righteous. I can't think I'm stupid.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wanted to roll down my window and say, you know, I have no opinion on what you drive your whole life. Whatever you drive doesn't make any difference to me whatsoever. Anyway. Make your.

[Joe Getty]

I tell you what. All right, here's a little. Here's a little. I had a slice of key lime pie last night and I love key lime pie. Here's a little dessert for you, Michael. We're gonna go up to the, the rando section. Oh, this is, this is great. Here is a dad who does a great Joe Biden and he's, he's literally working on the meat on the grill. This is clip 15, Michael. And his daughter comes up to him.

[Jack Armstrong]

And says, hey, dad, do an impression.

[Joe Getty]

Of Joe Biden explaining the plot to Star Wars. So there's, there's a galaxy parked on the side of the. No, no. A long, long time ago. Back, back, back when I was working full time anyway, I was the head of the embassy. It doesn't matter. Long, far, far away. There was galaxy and there were robots. Robots. They were not the droids you were looking for.

[Martha Raddatz]

Come on.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's pretty good.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy. So the whole bring your whole self to work is turned into shut up and get to work in the blink of an eye. That story next Armstrong and Getty.

[Advertiser]

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[Joe Getty]

Classes that years ago were pushed.

[Martha Raddatz]

To the side in favor of coursework. Prioritizing test scores in STEM now seen as a huge opportunity. According to1 survey, 66% of all high schools now offer career education and it's being driven by economic demand.

[Jack Armstrong]

I have construction companies and I have.

[Advertiser]

Other employers coming to me wanting students right out of high school to be career ready.

[Jack Armstrong]

We need employees.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, we had a story last week about kids being recruited straight out of high school for like, you know, $75,000 a year jobs in welding and that sort of thing. Interesting how that's turned culturally. Speaking of which, you know, it's, it's partly the change, the amount of change that's making everybody crazy these days. It's also the pace of change. Like I remember it wasn't very long ago that we were telling the, the youngsters who are like bringing their whole selves to work and taking spirit days and the rest of it. I mean, because it seemed like employees had all the power and there was that employees short to it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Monday and I'll work half a day Tuesday and take Fridays off.

[Joe Getty]

I demand four day work days, two on Friday. Yeah. And we're trying to tell you, trust us, this will not last. Well, it has not. Not long ago, everybody's replaceable is the headline. The story the new way bosses talk about workers. Not long ago, bosses routinely praised workers as their most prized asset. Today, with a giant question mark hanging over the economy, less so today after the temporary maybe trade deal with China. But executives are pulling punches, pulling no punches and saying employees need to work harder, complain less and be glad they have a job. Work life balance is your problem, said Emma. Is it's greed or grid day or something. Emma Greed is not a good name for this article, but she's the co founder of the Skims shapewear company.

[Jack Armstrong]

I should ask my dad how many times in employers seemed concerned about his work life balance when he was a young man out there starting his work.

[Joe Getty]

Life balance is your problem, she said. Starbucks, after cutting in more than a thousand jobs, their new CEO Brian Nichols said remaining corporate staff need to step it up or and own whether or not this place grows. Jamie Dimon in a profanity laced internal meeting told employees lamenting a return to work mandate that he didn't care. I've had it with this kind of stuff. I've been working seven days a week since COVID I come in, where is every everybody else?

[Jack Armstrong]

Man, if you can concern yourself with work life balance, you should consider yourself among the more privileged workers in the history of work on planet earth. If it is even an option. That means you've got shelter and enough food and you can start to decide, you know, how much do I need?

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. And that's not to say it's a bad idea or you shouldn't. You just have to keep it in perspective. The shift in tone marks a shift in power. Now the companies are shrinking their white collar staff with jobs harder to find. Many workers are seeing perks disappear and their grievances ignored.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or that if you don't have the luxury of being concerned about work life balance, that you're somehow unique in the history of working.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. Yeah, let's Again, how many of our.

[Jack Armstrong]

Parents ever had the ever had it cross their mind?

[Joe Getty]

And interestingly, they they mentioned a 2023 episode where this one company told staffers leave pity City. Well, that comment, made in a video call, immediately went viral, sparking days of headlines and worker backlash. The CEO quickly apologized, said her comments were insensitive. Now it's like they're all saying it. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh. See how long this lasts? If you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Yeti on Demand.

[Martha Raddatz]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Advertiser]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many elves ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.