Anyway... 0 And 2

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode Title: "Anyway... 0 And 2"
Release Date: October 17, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

---

Overview

This episode covers an extensive range of timely topics, weaving together sharp political commentary, cultural reflections, and signature banter. The main focal points include the indictment of John Bolton, classified information mishandling scandals, shifting norms in U.S. foreign policy (particularly regarding Venezuela), the legacy and passing of Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, and discussion around CBS News' new direction under Bari Weiss. The hosts maintain their irreverent, sardonic tone throughout, combining skepticism with wit and personal anecdotes.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. John Bolton Indictment & “The Classified Information Problem”

(00:27–10:40, 13:01–13:23)

• Bolton’s Indictment: The show opens with reactions to the news that former National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted for mishandling classified information, allegedly through book disclosures and diary entries.
• Political Norms Shift: The hosts reflect on how such indictments, once shocking, have become commonplace.
  • [01:13] Jack: "This never ending race to the bottom that we've got going on in our politics... not even shocking, really."
• “Classified” Overreach: Both hosts lament how the U.S. system indiscriminately labels information as classified, leading to selective weaponization for retribution.
  • [01:44] Jack: "...everybody seems to treat it as classified stuff is not that big a deal—until you get caught."
• Media Coverage Skepticism: Critique of CNN’s framing, accusing the network of exaggerating for drama, and making the offenses sound more terrifying than merited.
  • [03:59] Guest: "Load of crap. She characterized several things in ways that made them sound scary."
• Broader Context: They compare Bolton’s case to that of David Petraeus and others, noting how "violations" often include things of no tangible risk.
  • [07:51] Jack: "Random notes from a meeting that wouldn't mean anything to anybody. But they're classified. Whatever."
• Problem with Prosecution Motives: References to the Wall Street Journal likening the prosecution to Soviet-style “show me the man and I'll show you the crime” tactics.
  • [10:38] Guest: "...stinks of what Joseph Stalin's head of secret police once said..."
• Iranian Hacking Angle: The case's timeline was allegedly influenced by U.S. intelligence penetration of Iran, potentially compromising sensitive sources due to the prosecution.
  • [11:57] Guest quoting MSNBC: "...the case didn't go forward in the Biden administration... because officials were concerned about revealing that penetration. The Trump administration has made a different calculation."

---

2. Death of Ace Frehley and the KISS Legacy

(14:39–18:32)

• Announcement: Jack shares the news of Frehley's death and recalls KISS' cultural impact.
  • [14:39] Jack: "Ace Frehley has died... passed away peacefully, surrounded by family..."
• Nostalgia & Commentary: The hosts joke about their lack of personal KISS fandom, mocking the band's perceived teenage rebelliousness and lauding Gene Simmons' unapologetic capitalism.
  • [17:07] Guest: "Gene Simmons... was one of the first guys in rock music to say selling out? Are you kidding? That's why I'm here."
• Business Paradox: Gene Simmons’ business acumen juxtaposed with his outlandish stage persona.

---

3. Bari Weiss at CBS News & the DEI Debate

(18:08–19:19, 34:01–39:30)

• New Direction at CBS: Discussion about Bari Weiss, former NYT writer and current head of CBS News. Highlights her independence and quick move to fire a senior executive seen as emblematic of “woke” culture.
  • [35:40] Jack: "She's not the sort of person that's going to be muzzled. Not a freaking chance, in my opinion."
  • [36:44] Jack: "...they eliminated that position because that shouldn't even be a thing."
• LGBTQ Representation Double Standard: The hosts sarcastically note the lack of activist celebration for Weiss’s appointment due to her moderate/independent politics.
  • [19:16] Guest: "First LGB person to run network news like that. Not a peep out of activists. Not a peep. Why? Cuz she's the wrong kind of lesbian."
  • [37:40] Guest: "Anybody who calls her a conservative is inaccurate... She's all over the map."
• DEI Skepticism: The elimination of the CBS “moral, ethical, and legal" division is praised as a return to substance over performative politics.

---

4. U.S. Foreign Policy: Venezuela, MAGA, and “America First”

(20:22–33:27)

• Escalation vs. Venezuela: Coverage of recent U.S. strikes against "drug boats" off Venezuela, including large-scale military posturing.
  • [21:44] Jack: "B52 bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons... doubt we're going to nuke Venezuela..."
• Regime Change Logic: The hosts dissect the rationale for regime change, referencing Cold War logic but questioning if it aligns with “America First.”
  • [24:26] Guest: "Can you put regime change in Venezuela neatly into America First? I can, actually."
• Risks/Consequences: They speculate about military pushback, potential casualties, and historic resentment from U.S. interventions.
  • [25:43] Jack: “How’s MAGA gonna react to 25 Marines dying as we take the beach there in Venezuela for regime change?”
  • [29:03] Jack: "...you boot out Maduro and then there are three years of civil war..."
• Historical Parallels: Reflection on U.S. interventions in Latin America and varying perspectives on their legitimacy.

---

5. Media Critique & Identity Politics

(38:03–39:30)

• Activism & Hypocrisy: Comment on how diversity arguments are often about power, not principle, illustrated by selective acknowledgment of achievements by individuals like Bari Weiss.
  • [39:03] Guest: "They claim to love diversity and inclusion unless it is somebody of a moderately conservative maybe bent."
  • [39:30] Guest: "All they care about is power. They are liars."

---

6. Miscellaneous & Cultural References

• Baseball Ties: Recurrent references to Dodgers games and Venezuelan baseball, connecting sports metaphors to political discussions.
  • [31:06] Guest: "How can a beautiful country with oil riches be condemned? Poverty forever. Communism, that's how. Anyway. Oh, and two."
• Anthropology Brief: Discovery of a 4,200-year-old skull in Indiana prompts playful jabs at “Land Acknowledgement” conventions.
  • [39:30] Jack: "...they found a famous 4,200 year old skull in an Indiana riverbed..."

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On classified information:

  • “Right, exactly. And the interesting one about this, look...I'm not claiming, I'm not claiming with any authority that is the case here, but it's definitely that sort of environment.” – Jack Armstrong [02:30]
  • “She characterized several different things in ways that made them sound scary. How scary were they? … It’s all left vague and kind of exciting sounding. Well, that was a load of crap.” – Guest [04:00]
  • "This indictment looks pretty serious." – Guest quoting Professor Jonathan Turley [07:27]

• On U.S. interventions:

  • “If a quasi communist bus driver goon can take Venezuela by force, why can’t the superpower next door? … But if it reflects our interests, what’s the point of being a superpower if you can’t boot out the dictator and install a great legitimate regime?” – Guest [26:46]
  • “...you boot out Maduro and then there are three years of civil war between rival factions. That makes life pretty miserable.”—Jack Armstrong [28:39]

• On Bari Weiss and the culture wars:

  • “First LGB person to run network news like that. Not a peep out of activists. Not a peep. Why? Cuz she’s the wrong kind of lesbian.” – Guest [19:16]
  • “She’s not the sort of person that’s going to be muzzled. Not a freaking chance, in my opinion.” – Jack Armstrong [35:40]
  • “All they care about is power. They are liars.” – Guest [39:30]

---

Important Timestamps

• [00:27–10:40; 13:01–13:23]: Extended Bolton indictment discussion
• [14:39–18:32]: Ace Frehley/KISS segment
• [18:08–19:19; 34:01–39:30]: Bari Weiss at CBS News and DEI
• [20:22–33:27]: Venezuela, military action, and regime change arguments
• [39:30–40:17]: Final reflections on identity politics, ancient American history

---

Tone and Language

The episode maintains Armstrong & Getty’s trademark blend of sarcasm, skepticism, and colloquial directness, freely mixing political insight with dark humor and pop culture asides.

---

Summary

This episode is a whirlwind tour of America's political, cultural, and media landscape, blending pointed commentary about the “race to the bottom” in national security breaches with musings on rock legends, the paradoxes of identity politics, and the old narratives driving new American interventions abroad. The hosts stress-test conventional wisdom, challenge media narratives, and lampoon the excesses of both left and right, leaving listeners with plenty to ponder—plus a few good laughs.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at.

[Joe Getty]

The George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Guest/Commentator]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

So, President John Bolton was just indicted by a grand jury in Maryland.

[Guest/Commentator]

Do you have a reaction to that? I did know that. You tell me for the first time. But I think he's, you know, bad person.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think he's a bad guy. Yeah, he's a bad guy.

[Guest/Commentator]

Too bad.

[Jack Armstrong]

But that's the way it goes against.

[Guest/Commentator]

That's the way it goes. Right? That's the way it goes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I.

[Joe Getty]

What, have you reviewed the case against him?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, I haven't, I haven't, but I just think he's a bad person. Donald Trump reacting to the news that his former national security adviser, John Bolton had been indicted yesterday mostly for having classified information that he mishandled and putting some in his book and that sort of thing. Before we hear a little more on.

[Guest/Commentator]

This.

[Jack Armstrong]

This never ending race to the bottom that we've got going on in our politics, because this is like not even shocking, really. Whereas you go back a decade, it would have been amazing to indict a national security advisor on anything, let alone classified information or something. But.

[Guest/Commentator]

Well, national security advisor, ambassador to the UN and a couple of other high positions and a guy whose credentials as a rock ribbed American patriot are just unquestioned.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. But we do have the whole everything is classified and everybody seems to treat it as classified stuff is not that big a deal until you get caught. And then the letter of the law is way different than the way people seem to act with their classified information. You know, see Hillary Clinton email server, all kinds of different examples out there. Trump, Biden and everybody else, everybody takes classified instrument information home, puts it in the backseat of their car, stores it in the garage, puts it on, you know, group text calls or whatever.

[Guest/Commentator]

Right. But then when you need to hammer somebody, you can get them for the equivalent of going 2 mph over the speed limit.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, exactly. And the interesting one about this, look.

[Guest/Commentator]

I'm not claiming, I'm not claiming with any authority that is the case here, but it's definitely that sort of environment.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So you got the whole retribution thing going on, if that's what this is. So comey, the FBI director, he is a scumbag, liar, creep. Uh, still might be retribution. That is not cool. But, you know, at least there's some karma in there. Then you got the Letitia James woman. Nobody thinks that case would have ever been brought against her if it weren't for Trump being off. But she's getting a taste of her own medicine too. Bolton, all he did was bad mouth the president, I think. Yes. And yeah, yeah, so that seems like a slightly different category. But anyway, here's how CNN treated the story yesterday.

[Guest/Commentator]

Some of the things in These documents.

[Joe Getty]

Those 18 counts essentially correspond to individual pieces of information that would be top secret, classified or individual documents. Those 18 counts reveal things like information about foreign leaders. Intelligence of the US Was collecting about foreign attacks. One was revealing intelligence where a foreign country was considering specific force against another country. So really high level stuff there that the prosecutors say John Bolton should have.

[Guest/Commentator]

Known that he shouldn't have kept even.

[Joe Getty]

To himself on an unsecured place.

[Jack Armstrong]

What's your exasperation?

[Guest/Commentator]

Load of crap. That was. She characterized several different things in ways that made them sound scary. How scary were they? How specific were they? What leaders? What was the time period, period involved? Was there any real or imagined potential damage to the US national interest because of those specific disclosures? It's all left vague and kind of exciting sounding. Well, that was a load of crap.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, like I said, every one of these classified cases ends up being this conversation of the. That was classified, but what was it and how big was it?

[Guest/Commentator]

Descriptions of foreign leaders. Vladimir Putin is taller than Benjamin Netanyahu is a description of foreign leaders, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you're arguing with that CNN's going out of their way to make Trump's case?

[Guest/Commentator]

No, just to make it sound exciting and top secret. I just. That that was, that was nothing. They gave me nothing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, I've been bothered by all these classified stories. I feel like clearly we need to take a look at the way we classify information and 100%. But the CNN goes on.

[Guest/Commentator]

We've spoken to people who believe maybe there is more strength to this case than the ones we've seen against people like the former FBI director or the.

[Joe Getty]

Attorney General for New York, given the.

[Guest/Commentator]

Emails and the information that they have their hands on. Now that I'm less exasperated. Exasperated by that one. That is entirely possible. Although she mentioned a couple of very, very different cases there. Um, we'll just have to wait and see. But it's also worth remembering the left despises John Bolton. The only time they ever gave him anything other than, you know, hatred was when in his book he said he didn't think Trump was very sharp, didn't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Think he was qualified to be president. And then he got on all the Sunday talk shows and treated like, you know, A wise veteran of the D.C. circuit when they absolutely hated him when he was working in the Trump administration.

[Guest/Commentator]

And before that for decades. They hated him.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, because he's, he's pretty. What's the term they always use? Neo. Connie. He kind of likes to get involved in other countries attacking them and whatnot.

[Guest/Commentator]

Well, the left hated him well, for that. And also because he's a patriot and believes in projecting American military power.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I want. I haven't heard this, so I was wondering what Jonathan Turley, he is the law professor from Georgetown. George Mason, whichever one it is, one of them fancy colleges and George Washington, he's always on.

[Guest/Commentator]

Fox.

[Jack Armstrong]

And this is what he said about the case.

[Guest/Commentator]

Two arguments will not work in that courtroom. One is that this is all old, classified information. It doesn't matter if it's old or brand new. If it's still classified, you violate the statute. The other argument is that everyone does this, that this is, as Abby said, everyone has diaries. Well, that's not going to fly either in that courtroom. I mean, that, you know, he's going to try with. As Justice Comey is going to try and James is going to try to bring up a vindictive prosecution claim and also a selective prosecution. So both of those. Generally, courts do not go for those. If you have a viable criminal case that comes out of a grand jury, they tend not to want to look at motivations. This indictment looks pretty serious.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that, that's why we gotta. We gotta figure out this whole classified information thing and come up with a category that actually means this would damage the country. And if you start playing fast and loose with that, you should be in trouble. But just the meeting, random notes from a meeting that wouldn't mean anything to anybody. But they're classified. Whatever. Yeah.

[Guest/Commentator]

And even they were classified, but now everybody knows it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. One of the reasons, one of the many reasons I'm bothered by this whole thing is I heard David Petraeus on a podcast the other day. He was actually doing the Telegraph podcast that I listened to about the war in Ukraine. David Petraeus, he was the guy in charge of our entire war on terror in the Middle East. Four star general. He's brilliant. I was listening to him on there and thinking the fact that he got caught with classified information, he was sharing with his mistress. Again, one of these stories that technically was true, but did it do any damage to national security? I don't think that it did. And he can't be part of our government anymore as one of our most.

[Guest/Commentator]

Brilliant warriors out there. So here's the probable Bolton defense. It's not. Well, the stuff Turley mentioned might be part of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

He had it hidden. His mustache. That. That's a pretty good defense.

[Guest/Commentator]

That's. No, no. That is. I can't. No, no. Um. What was I gonna say? Ah. And I don't know with certainty that there aren't countervailing facts that make this meaningless. Until you know the facts, you don't know the truth anyway. Mr. Bolton. The allegation is that Bolton wrote diary entries that included classified information, then transmitted those on eight occasions to individual one and individual two, who are his wife and daughter. Neither had clearance to handle classified material, although the indictment makes no claim that they did mishandle it in any way. They just read it and thought, oh, interesting. Mr. Bolton is likely to claim that he had every right to keep a diary based on his memory to write a book. Jimmy Carter's NSC advisers big new. Brzezinski wrote extensive journal entries that informed his memoir back in the day. The indictment makes much of the fact that the information Mr. Bolton is accused of mishandling did not appear in his book after his draft was reviewed by the White House. But the review process exists. Safeguard national secrets, and Mr. Bolton subjected himself to it. Prosecutors will have to prove Mr. Bolton knew his diary notes contain national secrets rather than being recollections that would be subject to review before becoming public. Who knew that those were two different things. And the prosecutors also make much of the detail that one of Mr. Bolton's accounts was hacked by Iran. But Mr. Bolton disclosed that to the FBI and worked closely with the bureaus that sought to counter the Iranian efforts, blah, blah, blah. So he says, look, everything you're talking about was reviewed by the White House before my book was published. And I told the FBI the minute I realized I was hacked, you know, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board says this all stinks of what Joseph Stalin's head of secret police once said, you show me the man, and I'll show you the crime.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the Iranian hack angle of it is pretty interesting. And there was a guest on Joe Scarborough's show this morning I want you to hear in just a second. But since we're talking about hacks, whether it's Iran or Russia or whoever hacking into your stuff, there's a way to deal with that. Webroot. It's a really good idea. Every day there's a new way to trick you out there. From tech scams to data breaches. It's hard to keep up. But that's why this Cyber Scaries month, you need Webroot Total Protection.

[Guest/Commentator]

You got your lightning fast antivirus, you got identity, identity theft protection, dark web monitoring, secure vpn. You've heard about that. You've thought it was a good idea. Unlimited cloud backup. Are you kidding? Webroot Total Protection helps defend every part of your digital life. And that wasn't even the whole list.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I also like that they've got the, the. I want to emphasize the fact UAs, US based customer support, you need a little help. You get somebody on the line, it's somebody here in the United States, not on the other side of the world. You can't understand.

[Guest/Commentator]

So change October from cyber scary to Cyber secure with 60% off Webroot total [e-mail] Armstrong runs crazy fast. Doesn't interfere with your system at 60% off for a limited time, but only when you go to webroot.comarmstrong. that's webroot.com armstrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So the Iranian hack angle of this story of the John Bolton indictment from MSNBC this morning. The FBI has known about this for a long time, and that's true. This arose in the Biden administration. But what seems to be the case is that they did not know the extent of what was in at least one of his email accounts until they discovered that Iran, they discovered the material that Iran had hacked through a US Intelligence penetration of Iran. That's according to my reporting. And that's one of the reasons this case didn't go forward in the Biden administration is because officials were concerned about revealing that penetration. The Trump administration has made a different calculation. They're okay with revealing it. They've revealed it now to the Iranians. So whatever penetration they had is now shut down. That's how badly they wanted to prosecute John Bolton. And that's where you can ask questions about whether this case should have gone forward. Well, that's interesting. And you can make the argument either direction on that. Sometimes it's a good idea to keep it a secret that you've hacked into somebody. Sometimes it's good to let them know that, hey, we, we can, we can get in and listen to everything we've seen, everything you've got.

[Guest/Commentator]

So, yeah, well, and I'm remember, I'm reminded rather of another major hurdle in talking about cases like this is that they'll say, hey, this guy had highly classified information that's dangerous. Oh, yeah, really? Tell me about it. We can't. Cause it's highly classified and dangerous. Just Take our words for it.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've got our two hour retrospective on Ace Freely, the guitar player from Kiss. Coming up will cover his entire life, his childhood. Why the Les Paul to make up everything among other things on the way.

[Guest/Commentator]

Stay with us Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Joe Getty]

Time for a sofa upgrade. Visit washablesofas.com and discover Annabe where designer style meets budget friendly prices. With sofas starting at $699, Annabe brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquid simply slides right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high resilience foam lets you choose between a sink in feel or a supportive memory foam blend. Plus our pet friendly stain resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality. For price. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today with no risk returns and a 30 day money back guarantee. Get up to 60% off plus free shipping and free returns. Shop [e-mail] Authors are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Jack Armstrong]

His founding member and lead guitarist Ace Frehley has died. His family says he passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, after a recent fall at home. Freeley helped to form the iconic rock band Kiss back in the early 70s. He was a Grammy nominee and a Rock and Roll hall of Famer. Ace Frehley was just 74. You gotta be pretty old to have actually lived through the heyday of kiss. Kiss. I am pretty old. So I did. I was never really a Kiss guy, but man, my friends were in grade school.

[Guest/Commentator]

Here's a little perspective that you're hinting at. After 30 years with the band, he left in 2002, which was 23 years ago.

[Jack Armstrong]

A quarter of a century ago. Yes.

[Guest/Commentator]

And then came back and then left again. And then whatever he did.

[Jack Armstrong]

So there's some Kiss song.

[Guest/Commentator]

I always thought it was idiotic as a kid. Some of my friends were huge Kiss fans. I was utterly contemptuous of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

He thought it was. Yeah.

[Guest/Commentator]

I thought, what is. This is stupid.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you don't want to rock and roll all night and party every day? Is that what you're saying?

[Guest/Commentator]

Not really. I need to take the weekends off.

[Jack Armstrong]

They don't call you Dr. Love. So there's. There's some Kiss song that my brother, who's a huge music fan, says has Got the greatest guitar, one of his favorite all time guitar solos in it, which would be Ace Freely. But I don't remember which song it was. I got to check that out today because I don't remember being wowed by any Kiss songs really. I had one more Kiss, one final note.

[Guest/Commentator]

I thought that because of teenage pretensions, not because it's necessarily true. If you enjoyed it, you enjoyed it. Good for you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, sure. But Hanson said that because our executive producer Hanson lived in San Diego, very big chunk of his life and Ace Frehley lived there. And he said you'd see Ace Freely at the mall regularly. Like there he is in the Nordstrom, which is kind of funny if you're of a certain age that you know, the master of doom and the devil and corrupting children, everything. There is an old man standing at Nordstrom, you know, looking for a new pair of comfortable pants.

[Guest/Commentator]

Oh, I thought he was working there.

[Jack Armstrong]

He might have been working there.

[Guest/Commentator]

No, Michael, no. So wrong. So wrong. No, he was, he was a rock star. Back when rock stars made crazy money. Yeah. Although certainly as many an NBA and NFL players proved, if you want to squander it all, you certainly can.

[Jack Armstrong]

Man, we talk about that a lot. But with streaming, you make no money on your, your albums or like that. But back in the day, Kiss, they had to be crazy raking in the money at some point.

[Guest/Commentator]

Partly because Gene Simmons, their bassist, the dragon looking guy with the tongue and the blood and everything, absolute genius entrepreneur. And he was one of the first guys in rock music to say selling out. Are you kidding? That's why I'm here. And in terms of merchandise especially. Oh, they, they taught Disney how to merchandise.

[Jack Armstrong]

And which is what's interesting about that is that the guy who would bite down on these red capsules to make it look like he had blood streaming out his mouth during what? Why is that appealing during a concert? Didn't drink at all or do drugs and is just a businessman.

[Guest/Commentator]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. A businessman wearing 12 inch high boots.

[Guest/Commentator]

And skulls on his knees, faces. Exactly. Yes. Spitting fake blood.

[Jack Armstrong]

Correct. That's correct.

[Guest/Commentator]

And it sold like crazy.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, I would say. And I can, I can remember it with this being so dangerous and everything. For my friends who are listening.

[Guest/Commentator]

That's right, right, right, right. Anyway, we don't have much time, do we? I had a couple of notes on Barry Weiss's early days running CBS News. One of the first ones real quick is that they were talking about the hostage deal and the Hamas deal and the rest of it in Gaza. And she proposed an idea roundtable panel with former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo and Anthony Blinken.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Guest/Commentator]

And everybody's like, no, you can't book them. And we don't really do roundtable political discussions. Can you imagine? And she said, no, I'll make a couple of calls. And by the a couple of afternoons later, the three panelists had initially agreed to sit down for an interview hosted by Nora o'.

[Jack Armstrong]

Donnell.

[Guest/Commentator]

Which is a brilliant idea. Second thing that I really, really wanted to get to back to the whole thing that Marxists, you know, we don't have time for this and I don't want to rush my way through it, so I'm not going to. You can't make me. I'll give you a hint. Barry Weiss, Lesbian First LGB person to run network news like that. Not a peep out of activists. Not a peep. Why? Cuz she's the wrong kind of lesbian.

[Jack Armstrong]

Excell.

[Guest/Commentator]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Let'S be real Life happens. Kids spill, pets shed and accidents are inevitable. Find a sofa that can keep [e-mail] Starting at just $699, our sofas are fully machine washable inside and out so you can say goodbye to stains and hello to worry free living. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics, they're kid proof, pet friendly and built for everyday life. Plus changeable fabric covers let you refresh your sofa whenever you want. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa anytime to fit your space, whether it's a growing family room or a cozy apartment. Plus they're earth friendly and trusted by over 200,000 happy customers. It's time to upgrade to a single stress free, mess proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save that's washable sofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Guest/Commentator]

Regime change may or may not be on the table, but the President says the US Is at war with Venezuelan drug traffickers.

[Jack Armstrong]

We are certainly looking at land now because we've got the sea very well under control.

[Guest/Commentator]

Just yesterday, the Pentagon launched another strike on an alleged drug boat off Venezuela's coast. This is the fifth such strike in recent weeks that have killed more than 20 suspected narcotics terrorists in international waters. The President talking about the campaign against narco traffickers from Venezuela.

[Jack Armstrong]

Narco terrorists, which is an important term.

[Guest/Commentator]

For legal reasons, right? Indeed. And making it clear that we're looking at perhaps attacks on land as well. As usual with Trump, he left several words out of the sentence, so you have to kind of interpret it. Here's a little more of the latest From Martha Raditz, ABC. Three nuclear capable B52 heavy bombers flew for hours in the Caribbean waters less than 90 miles from Venezuela. The move comes in the midst of a major US military buildup in the region of some 10,000 US troops, including Special operations helicopters, the kind used by Navy SEALs and Delta Force now conducting exercises in the Caribbean. The US Military has already launched at least five deadly airstrikes on what the administration claims are boats operated by drug cartels.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not plugged into what the most MAGA of MAGA people want, really, but I got to believe B50 twos flying over Venezuela wasn't on anybody's list of things when Trump got elected.

[Guest/Commentator]

Yeah, I too kind of have to guess at what the bulk of MAGA thinks. A bunch of different stuff usually, but yeah, it's looking more and more like Trump is serious about regime change in Venezuela. That's the bottom line.

[Jack Armstrong]

B52 bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. I doubt we're going to nuke Venezuela. That'd be a pretty earth shattering move.

[Guest/Commentator]

That would be controversial. Yeah, to say the least. And I'm scanning around various of my favorite thinkers trying to figure out what's going on here. I will tell you this just as an aside, then we can move on from it. But the blowing up the drug boats, which lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said, hey, what's, what's your justification again on that? Can you spell that out for us.

[Jack Armstrong]

A little bit or how certain are you that these drug boats were taken, were drug boats and they were headed to the United States? They could be fishermen or they could be drug boats headed to a different country. And that doesn't mean we get to kill them. So, yeah, it gets a little complicated.

[Guest/Commentator]

Oh, they can be drug boats going fishing. It's my day off of transporting drugs. I'm gonna see if I can lend me a tuna.

[Jack Armstrong]

I do enjoy a good halibut in between moving Fentanyl.

[Guest/Commentator]

That's right. Well, this is interesting. Admiral Alvin Halsey of the United States, who runs Southern Command, which includes the Caribbean, is cutting his four year term short and retiring after basically one year on December 12th. And it does not take a military, a JAG officer to figure out what's going on here. This guy thinks we cannot justify this. This is not legally justified under the laws of the United States and the laws of war. I don't want any part of this. I'm out. Well, I have to see what the fallout is from that. That's, you know, that's a supposition on my part, but I'm told by sources close to sources that the guy's reputation is sterling as a patriot and a warrior.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, since, you know, the MAGA thing at its root is, well, it's right there in the. It's called MAGA because it's an acronym. M A G A Make America Great Again. With America first being the old idea going back to the first term. Can you, can you put regime change in Venezuela neatly into America First?

[Guest/Commentator]

I can, actually, I can. Uh, and I, and I want to make that argument in a second. Let me tell you one more thing, just to kind of lay the groundwork. Uh, Venezuela is moving troops into position on the coast and mobilizing what Maduro, the, the truck driver, the communist the dictator asserts is a millions strong militia. In a display of defiance, the strongman's regime has cranked up its propaganda machine. On state television, blah, blah, blah. Announcers are telling Venezuelans that the US Is a rapacious Nazi like state that wants to dig its claws into the country's oil wealth, but that the Venezuelan military, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, are positioned to repel any invasion. Footage Jack has shown militia members, men and women, often elderly plump Venezuelans, running obstacle courses, crawling into barbed wires, firing rifles. The Venezuelan armed forces, which military experts say on paper number about 125,000 soldiers total, are shown marching around and moving ammunition boxes in and out of armored vehicles.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, I'm, yeah, I'm sure they have overstated their prowess in terms of their military resistance, but the people are.

[Guest/Commentator]

Ready for combat, ready for battle, vowed Maduro.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, the U.S. marines are going to wipe the beach with whatever resistance they get, but I was listening to a podcast just the other day about when Great Britain needed to invade the Falkland Islands. You lose people. I don't remember how many it was. Dozens. Hundred. Whatever. How's, how's MAGA gonna react to 25 Marines dying as we take the beach there in Venezuela for regime change?

[Guest/Commentator]

Right, right. So here's, here's the basic argument and it's, it's funny even when I was in college being told that this sort of thing was ugly, I didn't buy it. Exactly. During the, you know, the, especially the, the post WW2 era through, you know, I don't know, the 90s, the US supported some fairly loathsome regimes in Central and South America. And that earned us a bunch of resentments.

[Jack Armstrong]

The justification being we wanted a dictator that was friendly to us as opposed to communists usually.

[Guest/Commentator]

That was my next sentence. Yeah, the reason you support a loathsome regime is that a more loathsome regime loyal to the Soviet Union is going to spread the tentacles of Soviet control throughout your neighborhood. And you can't have that. And if the only other alternative is a Bolivar or whatever, or what is his face in Cuba that, that Castro got rid of Somoza, is that Samoza? Anyway, if that's your only choice, that's who you back. And it is ugly and terrible, and terrible things are done. But you could make the argument in Venezuela. So you got Venezuela, which is, if you don't know the geography, I mean, it's on the northeast end, top of South America. It's a big beautiful country with oil wealth and you know, incredible real estate and the rest of it that's been taken over by force by a quasi communist goon who steals power and fakes elections, which is really kind of the Venezuelan people's business until it starts really affecting the United States in negative ways. And the question becomes, and different people have different answers for this. If a quasi communist bus driver goon can take Venezuela by force, why can't the superpower next door? Cuz it's not our country. Yeah, but if it reflects our interests, what's the point of being a superpower if you can't boot out the dictator and install a great legitimate regime? That's the argument. Of course, the counter argument is, yeah, you create a vacuum for power and then step in and you're gonna run the place, are you? You're gonna police the place, you're gonna take care of trinity or agua and the rest of it. You know, Pandora's box is open. But you know, the argument could be made. Maduro must go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you boot out Maduro and then there are three years of civil war between rival factions. That makes life pretty miserable.

[Guest/Commentator]

There could be, you know, on the promising end, there is a robust and very legit democratic resistance to Maduro that just wants to run a pretty US style democracy. But you know, that sort of thing's been claimed more than once.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's what we were hoping in Iraq and a whole bunch of different places. I'm not necessarily against this, just I, I have a memory of a woman and I don't remember what country she was from. She was from one of your South American countries, Central American countries that we got involved with back in the day. She was young, so it had to Be before her time. But anyway, she's standing in my kitchen. This was at a party at my house. That's. How long ago was there was a party at my house. Trust me, it wasn't my idea. But this woman was screaming at me at the top of her lungs, so passionately angry because I said something about, well, you know, we're trying to keep the communist out or something like that. And it was just her view of it, growing up with her parents telling this. Her. This, I suppose was we, you know, caused their country to be crappy by meddling in their elections.

[Guest/Commentator]

She might be right.

[Jack Armstrong]

She might be right because things don't always turn out the way you want.

[Guest/Commentator]

Right? And sometimes the communist leaning people are just kind of leftists and the power strike, the foreign policy, power structure in the US perceives that they would be likely to go for Soviet, you know, affiliation and influence. And so we gotta be safe and keep them out of power when really it would have been fine. They're just kind of lefties and we should have left it alone. This stuff is hard, you know, when.

[Jack Armstrong]

You'Re talking about south of the border countries during baseball season with the Dodgers in the playoffs, how can we not hear this? And who do you think is the richest person in Venezuela? The daughter of Hugo Chavez.

[Guest/Commentator]

Hello. Anyway. 02.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go.

[Guest/Commentator]

Yep. It makes you stop and think, Vin. God bless you.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wish when I was watching the Dodgers game last night during a little lull in the action, they had worked in some geopolitical. And why did Trump bomb those drug cartel people in the boat? Because you need to keep Fentanyl out of the United States. Anyway. Two strikes on the batter.

[Guest/Commentator]

How can a beautiful country with oil riches be condemned? Poverty forever. Communism, that's how. Anyway. Oh, and two. Anyway, Owen. Two, speaking of death, then we'll get back to. To Venezuela and the coming invasion. Wait. Oh, what? That was classified. I'm sorry, Mr. President. You got to get into Prize Picks. Basketball starting up, you got your football, you got your baseball playoffs. And Prize Picks is the easiest, most fun and simple experience playing daily fantasy sports. You just say at least two players. You pick two players, they're going to do more or less than the stat projection, easy as that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Prize picks now offers stacks, meaning you can pick the same player up to three times in the same lineup. If you want to pick more on Steph Curry, on his points, three pointers and assists, now you can pick all of them in the same lineup only on Price Picks. So download the Price Picks app today. Use The Code armstrong to get $50 in lineups after you play the first five dollar lineup and how bold you.

[Guest/Commentator]

Feeling how bold is up to you. If you want flexibility, choose Flex Play where you can get paid even if one of your picks misses. If you want the bigger pay, go for the power play. Whatever. Prize Picks is a great way to take your Put your takes to the test. Download the Prize Picks app today. Use the Code Armstrong to get 50 bucks in lineups after you play your first five dollar lineup. That's the code ARMSTRONG. $50 in lineups just for playing five. You don't have to be right. I'm sorry, you don't have to win. You get the 50 anyway. Prize picks. It's good to be right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the Marines should be easily. It should be easy for the Marines to establish a beachhead there in Venezuela. Shohei Otani loosening up may come in in the seventh inning.

[Guest/Commentator]

Yeah, the Marines are 49 point favorites in that matchup. But again, it would not be without bloodshed and horror and complications and the rest of it probably. It is entirely possible, knowing Trump's modus operandi, that what he really wants is for Maduro to say to the cartels. Because like in Mexico, the cartels are giant corporations. They have the ear of the government. If they pick up the phone and say, I need to talk to the President, the president calls them back. What Trump is looking for is Maduro to tell them, hey, you do anything you want with your drugs, but don't make them traceable to Venezuela or. Or lay low for six months.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is the goal. Yeah. Yeah.

[Guest/Commentator]

So we'll have to see how it plays out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, 0 and 2 anyway.

[Guest/Commentator]

Oh, and 2 anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, and two. Thank you, Vince. Ms. Vince Gully. I would listen to the Dodger game last night on the radio if he was calling it.

[Guest/Commentator]

I'm rooting for the brewers openly. Openly and proudly. I was, too.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was too, yesterday. I tend to root for the underdog, but now that it's 3. 0. Come on. Yeah, yeah.

[Guest/Commentator]

Well, I'm rooting for him all the more. There's a miracle comeback. They're gonna slay the mighty Goliath like David of old. Probably not.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we mentioned Barry Weiss earlier running CBS now and we're excited about that. She fired somebody yesterday. She's her first scalp, they called it. And trying to turn around things at that major network. I'm kind of excited about that. We got a bunch of stuff we can talk about. Hope you can stick around anyway.

[Joe Getty]

02 Armstrong and Getty tired of spills and stains on your sofa. WashablesOfAs.com has your back featuring the Annabe collection, the only designer sofa that's machine washable inside and out. Where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabrics. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensure ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Check out washablesofas.com and get up to 60% off your annabe sofa backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return, shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back Upgrade [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions.

[Guest/Commentator]

And finally, Kamala Harris claims some people have told her that she may have been the most qualified presidential candidate ever. Wow. She was told this by the author of the book Lies I Tell Drunk Chicks.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's always leaning on the calmless drunk thing. So we mentioned Bari Weiss, who runs CBS News now. She left the New York Times. She thought they were too woke and she was right. And then she started her own thing and became very successful and paramount, who owned CBS, offered her what, $150 million for Free Press. And now she runs CBS. And you know, people are wondering, well, they muzzle or what? I never was worried about that. She's not the sort of person that's going to be muzzled. Not a freaking chance, in my opinion. But anyway, she's there and she's already fired somebody. She fired this clot, Claudia Moline, who ran the division responsible for moral, ethical and legal implications at CBS programming. It's the first senior executive to leave since Weiss arrived and that person was seen to be part of the whole CBS caters to the woke side of things person. And that person is now gone.

[Guest/Commentator]

Very title stinks of.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. What is that?

[Guest/Commentator]

Well, sounds awfully close to dei.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's I she, exactly. I should say, because this is a better description of what happened, they eliminated that position because that shouldn't even be a thing. So yeah, there you go.

[Guest/Commentator]

Right. Speaking of Barry Weiss, as we mentioned briefly, I think it was, well, it was a little earlier, activists LGBTQ + minus IE2 spirit over the power of three activists haven't said a word about Barry Weiss making LGB history. I'm just going with those letters for the rest of my life at CBS News. Being the head now of CBS News.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an obvious one, but it escaped me of course, if she had been leading something else that they liked. The first LBGPQ took a plus person to ever run the whatever.

[Guest/Commentator]

Right. Right. But not a word about it because she's center left.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, she's a.

[Guest/Commentator]

She's not even. Anybody who calls her a conservative is inaccurate. She's all over the map like a lot of people are. You bring up an issue and she'll tell you where she stands. And like all most human beings, it's a little more complicated.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, she likes honest news coverage. That's the thing I like about her the best.

[Guest/Commentator]

And as long as that happens, I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can live with whatever your politics are.

[Guest/Commentator]

Right? Right. They claim to love diversity and inclusion unless it is somebody of a moderately conservative maybe bent. And here' here's another one for you. With their hope for finally Palestinian people having happy lives and getting rid of Hamas. The ceasefire now crowd is now the A ceasefire isn't liberation. A ceasefire isn't Palestinian. It was made without Palestinian voices. Israel is still committing a genocide, blah, blah, blah crowd and it goes back to the freedom loving quote of the day we wrapped up last. The first hour was Marxists just lie. The whole DEI thing is a lie. It's not about diversity. It's about more neo Marxists. We need more diversity. Look, there's some, a couple of black people, we'll have them on the board, I guarantee you. Those two black people are far left progressives. They use moral arguments to dress up getting more people who think like them on board. Barry Weiss is the wrong sort of lesbian. Lesbian. We had a great note from this legislator in eastern Washington state who's Hispanic who watched the progressives in the statehouse in Washington bust up her district because Republicans were winning it. They pretend they care about ethnic minorities. All they care about is power. They are liars.

[Jack Armstrong]

Different story in our waning seconds this hour. This is interesting specifically because it's Columbus Week. You know, he came here and discovered this big giant empty land that was America. They found a famous 4, 200 year old skull in an Indiana riverbed this week. So that changes the dates for when they think different people were in different parts of the United States. But there were people there 4,000 years ago. Not 400 years ago when Columbus landed, but 4,000 years ago in Indiana.

[Guest/Commentator]

And since the land changed probably hundreds of times in that time, the whole land declaration Is that what those are called? Yeah. It's going to be like an hour and a half long every time you start a meeting. So settle in. Everybody get comfortable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's interesting stuff.

[Guest/Commentator]

Talking to the Pacific Legal foundation in just a couple of minutes about the blockbuster Supreme Court session underway right now. Stay with us. If you can't grab the podcast, Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an I heart podcast.