Are You Blind, Man?!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "Are You Blind, Man?!"

Episode Information:

• Title: Are You Blind, Man?!
• Release Date: February 20, 2025
• Hosts: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
• Guest: Katie Green
• Description: The official, On-Demand podcast of The Armstrong & Getty Show! Accept no substitutes!

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. The hosts set a humorous and informal tone as they dive into today's topics amidst a dimly lit studio environment.

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Fashion Trends: The Decline of Style and Desexualization

Discussion Highlights: Jack Armstrong initiates the conversation by lamenting the current state of fashion, particularly focusing on the prevalence of wide pants and high-rise jeans among young women.

• Jack Armstrong [00:56]: "These wide pants these children wear today, I just, I can't understand it."

Joe Getty extends the critique, suggesting that such fashion choices are part of a broader trend to desexualize individuals, likening it to designs from a "Marxist system."

• Joe Getty [02:00]: "It really looks like something designed in a Marxist system to desexualize everybody."

Guest Insight: Katie Green joins the discussion, validating the hosts' frustrations by sharing her personal experience with high-rise jeans.

• Katie Green [02:47]: "Katie, not only are they awful, but I'll tell you, I've worn the high rise jeans before. Try sitting down in those babies."

The trio debates the impact of these fashion trends on self-expression and attractiveness, concluding that the current styles obscure individual appearances and reduce social interactions.

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Political Turmoil: Trump's Stance on Ukraine and JD Vance's Critique

Main Topic: A significant portion of the episode delves into former President Donald Trump's controversial comments on Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as Senator JD Vance's critical views on current U.S. Ukraine policy.

• Joe Getty [04:15]: "Has anybody figured out exactly what the, what the, what the goal is here? What we're doing, what he's doing... "

Joe Getty provides an overview of Trump's statements, highlighting the confusion and mixed messaging surrounding U.S. foreign policy.

JD Vance's Critique: The hosts analyze JD Vance's Twitter post, which outlines ten reasons why the current Ukraine policy is flawed.

• Joe Getty [08:48]: "Sending a bunch of links to articles through the years and Twitter threads and such, including one from J.D. vance, who spells out in 10 steps or so why the current Ukraine policy is so bad."

Noah Rothman's rebuttal from the National Review is also discussed, emphasizing the complexity and multifaceted nature of the Ukraine conflict.

• Noah Rothman [09:34]: "I cannot for the life of me say how Russia's war in Ukraine bears even a passing resemblance to Iraq..."

Trump's Statements: The podcast features excerpts of Trump's recent remarks from Miami, where he criticizes Zelenskyy and claims to be successfully negotiating peace with Russia.

• Donald Trump [17:56]: "Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left... We're going to be able to do it."

Analysis: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty express skepticism and confusion over Trump's assertions, questioning the feasibility and coherence of his proposed foreign policy strategies.

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Domestic Concerns: Deficit, Social Security, and Public Safety

Deficit Crisis: An unidentified speaker (likely a guest or caller) passionately discusses the looming deficit crisis, warning of dire consequences if immediate action isn't taken.

• Unnamed Speaker [10:24]: "If we don't solve the deficit, there won't be money for medical care. There won't be money for Social Security."

Joe Getty supports this viewpoint by outlining the potential cuts to national defense, healthcare, disaster relief, and other critical areas.

• Joe Getty [10:58]: "There will be no money for national defense. There will be no money for sick people... We'll be broke."

Public Safety and Progressive Policies: The conversation shifts to the impact of progressive policies on public safety, homelessness, and the handling of transgender individuals in public spaces.

• Unnamed Speaker [11:10]: "We'll be starving or homeless people in trans bathrooms if that's your where you like money to go..."

The hosts critique the prioritization of funding, arguing that essential services are being neglected in favor of culturally progressive agendas.

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News Highlights: High-Speed Rail and National Issues

California High-Speed Rail: Katie Green presents a new poll indicating continued support for California's high-speed rail project, despite significant concerns.

• Katie Green [12:26]: "Polling shows a new Emerson poll came out yesterday. 54% of Californians still think the bullet train... is still a good expenditure of state funds."

The hosts express frustration over the project's delays, exorbitant costs, and feasibility, labeling it as a "boondoggle."

• Unnamed Speaker [13:23]: "There's a vast increase in costs... it's the biggest boondoggle and maybe the history of taxpayer money..."

Trump's Approval Rating Claims: Katie Green addresses CNN's fact check of Trump's assertion that Zelenskyy has a 4% approval rating, clarifying that actual ratings are significantly higher.

• Katie Green [14:41]: "CNN Fact Check. Trump claims Zelensky has a 4% approval rating when it's above 50%."

Other Headlines: The episode touches on various other news items, including:

• Hamas's Atrocities: Discussing the release of bodies by Hamas and the international response.
• Technology and Employment: Chipotle's use of AI to hire 20,000 workers for the burrito season.
• Elon Musk and Social Security: Allegations of Social Security benefits being cut for Revolutionary War veterans.

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Listener Feedback: Mailbag Segment

Color Trends: A listener from Berkeley questions the decline in color usage in media and products, noting a preference for blacks, whites, and grays over vibrant colors.

• Listener [31:09]: "Everything not natural is getting less colorful. Why is that?"

The hosts plan to explore this trend in future discussions, linking it to broader cultural shifts towards minimalism and uniformity.

Speech Restrictions in Germany: Paolo raises concerns about Germany's speech restrictions, arguing that cultural dilution through rapid immigration is prompting desperate government interventions.

• Unnamed Speaker [23:00]: "Restricting speech is a desperate attempt to maintain their traditional culture."

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty critique the emphasis on diversity over unity, labeling it a "moronic Marxist idea."

Ukraine Policy Critique: Matt from Idaho shares his frustration with Trump's handling of Ukraine, advocating for a shift in U.S. foreign policy.

• Matt [34:23]: "He was in Miami last night and these are some of the comments he made."

Prison Strike in New York: J.A.F.K. from New York highlights the ongoing strike in state prisons, attributing it to progressive policies and poor enforcement leading to increased violence and disorder.

• J.A.F.K. [34:32]: "All but two of the state prisons here in New York are on strike..."

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Inspirational Quote of the Day

Abraham Lincoln:

• Joe Getty [31:36]: "The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty."

This quote encapsulates the episode's recurring theme of conflicting perspectives on freedom and governance.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The podcast wraps up with reflections on the complex and often contradictory nature of contemporary political and social issues. Armstrong and Getty emphasize the importance of clear definitions of liberty and the challenges posed by diverse viewpoints.

• Joe Getty [32:00]: "Human beings. What are you gonna do with them?"

Listeners are encouraged to engage via mailbag submissions, contributing their insights and questions for future episodes.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Jack Armstrong [00:56]: "These wide pants these children wear today, I just, I can't understand it."
• Joe Getty [02:00]: "It really looks like something designed in a Marxist system to desexualize everybody."
• Katie Green [02:47]: "Katie, not only are they awful, but I'll tell you, I've worn the high rise jeans before. Try sitting down in those babies."
• Donald Trump [17:56]: "Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. Got to move."
• Joe Getty [31:36]: "The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat... sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty."

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Overall Insights:

"Are You Blind, Man?!" presents a blend of humor, frustration, and critical analysis as Armstrong and Getty navigate through fashion critiques, intense political debates, and pressing domestic issues. The episode underscores the complexity of modern societal challenges, emphasizing the need for clear communication and coherent policies in an era marked by rapid change and polarized opinions.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Foreign.

[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]

Live from Studio C. It is a dimly lit room to live in the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. And today, little Friday under the tutelage.

[Joe Getty]

Of General Manager Rapid Change. Oh, wow. Dizzying. Good Lord, what's next? Oh.

[Jack Armstrong]

That might be your funniest ever. General Manager Rapid Change. Okay, would you like to explain?

[Joe Getty]

Well, sure. What, what's, what's to explain? Are you blind, man? Everywhere you look, domestically, internationally, just everything's in like wild flux. Name anything that's stable. Even though the Major League Baseball, they're talking about idiotic rule changes, that's all too much fashion.

[Jack Armstrong]

These wide pants these children wear today, I just, I can't understand it.

[Joe Getty]

The high rise jeans. Oh, you know what? This government should have stepped in there just again, too much change.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're not flattering. That's what I don't get. I'm amazed people, particularly young women, don't want to display what they look like. Just kind of surprising to me that they want to be gonna wear something that makes it impossible to know what they look like. So I don't, I'm just. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

It really looks like something designed in a Marxist system to desexualize everybody. Or I did, trust me, I. My word on what looks good on women can be trusted. Like the very tablets that came down from God Almighty in the hands of Moses.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would not lie right about that. That's kind of weird that. That fits a bit of a cultural moment. You know, the last month with Trump, aside of the, you know, no genders and all this sort of stuff in that young women up until like a year ago were wearing jeans that were all about making it very clear what you look like.

[Joe Getty]

All right, if only we had a woman to consult. Katie Green joins us.

[Katie Green]

Katie, not only are they awful, but I'll tell you, I've worn the high rise jeans before. Try sitting down in those babies.

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah, there's that, but I don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Even mean the high rise, just the wide pants.

[Joe Getty]

Every. They're very, very loose.

[Jack Armstrong]

The bottoms, I mean, you're. You could be, you could be between £85 and £185, and you would look exactly the same in all the jeans that college girls wear today.

[Katie Green]

It's all about the mystery. It's all about the mystery, Jack.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it wasn't for the past 15 years. So I just.

[Joe Getty]

Well, the mystery is never solved because they never take off their jeans because everybody's asexual.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe that's it. Maybe it's the. I don't want a date. I don't want anybody to talk to me. I'd rather meet a bear in the woods than a strange man. And I'm going to wear these big, formless.

[Joe Getty]

Right, exactly. And they are actual Marxists in many cases. So I think, I think I had the answer there long before most of the discussion. But anyway, I hadn't even thought about that.

[Jack Armstrong]

You got to write a long essay for the Atlantic on Marxist clothing and the youth of today.

[Joe Getty]

I'll get Chat GPT to do it for me. I'll put my name to it.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good idea. So has anybody an excoriating op ed? I just read from the Wall Street Journal, second day in a row on Trump's plan and the things he's saying about Zelensky and Ukraine. Has anybody figured out exactly what the, what the, what the goal is here? What we're doing, what he's doing, I'm.

[Joe Getty]

Figuring out more and more. Honestly, I did a bit of a deep dive into the argument in favor of his position. And it is, as usual with Trump, a combination of some good points and an explanation of them that's so horrific nobody who doesn't know precisely what he's talking about has any idea what he's talking about.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, is it three dimensional chess? Is that what's happening here?

[Joe Getty]

All chess is three dimensional. No, not exactly. Not exactly. It's a policy of, as we discussed yesterday, some degree of, you could call it rapprochement with Russia or just not driving Russia into the arms of the axis of A holes. That's part of it. And the other part of it is that there were some fairly little talked about, written about, not totally on, not totally ignored, but mostly ignored negotiations a couple of years ago to end the conflict. And the story is the Ukrainians kind of like the deal and the US told them, no, don't take this deal with Russia. And that seems to be what Trump is referring to. Okay. And it's difficult. I mean, you could, you could absolutely teach a year long college class on all of this because, I mean, among some of the other claims is that the US staged a coup that overthrew the freely elected government of Ukraine back in 24, which I find to be a fairly ridiculous description of the Kremlin's puppet regime being tossed aside. Yes, with the help of the west, because the Ukrainian people really wanted to lean more towards Europe and democracy and justice and the free market and the rest of it, as opposed to Putin's kleptocracy in that former Soviet republic. And they then actually held elections in which Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected, for better or worse. So there are multiple layers. There are multiple stories to each layer, multiple points of view. And again, Trump needs to put J.D. vance out front to explain this.

[Unnamed Speaker]

We'll have to talk about that more later with the full. Because it's roiling the world.

[Joe Getty]

It. It absolutely is. And as I was trying to babble out, it is such a mix of fact, opinion, propaganda, historical guesswork, it's difficult to pin down.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Well, I, for the first time, I heard somebody hint at. So I mentioned the other day, Mark Halpern wrote, and I haven't seen this anywhere else. It's one of the reasons I like Mark Halperin's writing is he's got tremendous sources of stuff that. But I'd never heard this anywhere else. I read it on the air the other day. He said, you can't go anywhere in Washington, D.C. with talk of this grand bargain that includes Greenland, Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, China, US all of it coming together. Everybody's talking about this thing. And I heard David Ignatius the first time on the Washington Post this morning saying there is talk of a grand bargain that would include China. And so that's the first time I've heard anybody even hint at it. But according to Halperin, that's what everybody's talking about behind the scenes. So that must play a role in this. Somehow. I don't know why it has to be so secret that nobody, that, that Trump's taken so much fire from so many different directions, including a fair number of people in his own party.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, virtually everybody. But I, I came across this, and we've got a listener who either spent like 70 hours compiling information or is crazy into this or has a role in this. But anyway, sending a bunch of links to articles through the years and Twitter threads and such, including one from J.D. vance, who spells out in 10 steps or so why the current Ukraine policy is so bad.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Would the current, the current Ukraine policy of just give them barely enough to survive?

[Joe Getty]

Well, no, no. He would characterize it more as attempt to spread democracy and freedom, etc. And oppose Putin and bleed him dry in a proxy war.

[Unnamed Speaker]

That's our current policy.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that's the way they describe it. Okay, that's, that's what I was trying to communicate to you there's virtually no aspect of this that doesn't have like three different strong opinions about how to describe it or what facts are salient.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I'm not sure stands I'm not sure standing up for an already existing democracy is the same as spreading democracy. Like when we went into Iraq in Afghanistan.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, I would agree. In fact, Noah Rothman of National Review responded JD Vance's 10 point post with for the life of me, I can't see how Russia's war in Ukraine bears even a passing resemblance to Iraq, save for the subtextual argument Ukraine's critics seem to have internalized that America is the bad guy. But you know, I'd be Happy to share JD Vance's 10 point post next segment or what?

[Unnamed Speaker]

We should do that later. Absolutely.

[Joe Getty]

At the bottom of the hour.

[Unnamed Speaker]

It's one of the biggest stories in the world, no doubt about it. And depending on how it turns out, it could be a really big story. We should start the show officially before we run out of time. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. How did it already get to be what, Thursday, February 20, the year 2025, where Armstrong and Yeti and we approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Let's begin then, officially. Here we go. According to FCC rules and regs. Here we go at mark.

[Unnamed Speaker]

If we don't solve the deficit, there won't be money for medical care. There won't be money for Social Security. We either solve the deficit or all we'll be doing is paying debt. That's got to be solved. It's not optional. America will go bankrupt if this is not done. That's why I'm here.

I want to replace the national anthem. Nah, nah. Pledge of allegiance in all our schools all across the country, where they still do that. With that, I want to take out the Pledge of Allegiance and put that in. I think it might be important right now that every school child here first thing in the morning, we're going broke. We're going to go broke. We're not going to have anything if we don't change direction. It's just math.

[Joe Getty]

Maybe flesh it out a little bit. There will be no money for national defense. There will be no money for sick people. There will be no money for disaster relief after the hurt hurricanes hit. There will be no money for anything. We'll be broke.

[Unnamed Speaker]

We'll be starving or homeless people in trans bathrooms if that's your where you like money to go, but wherever, whatever.

[Joe Getty]

Is that two different things or do you have Homeless people in trans bathrooms. No matter what your priorities are too.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Much for there won't be any money. And when there ain't no money, there ain't no money. I don't know if you've ever been broke, but there ain't no money. There ain't no money.

[Joe Getty]

Give generously to the fund to get trans people into junkie bathrooms.

[Unnamed Speaker]

So we have mailbag and headlines this hour. More news of the day. Lots of stuff going on I hope you can see around.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Just came across another headline I should have sent you. Katie, we'll get this on later. I need to do some breathing exercises before. Before we do the headlines. I know, Joe. Joe hasn't seen this yet. I sent Katie what might be the most depressing headline as a California taxpayer that I've ever seen in my life. So I need to. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Calm down a little bit. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Before it's all gonna be all right.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Before she does the headlines. Here we go.

[Joe Getty]

It's probably not going to be all right, but anyway, your breathing exercises, but. Yes.

[Katie Green]

I don't want her to pass out. Joe, work with me here.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, Sorry. Let's figure out who's reporting what. We've rejiggered the schedule. Now is the time, friends. Now for the lead story with Katie Green. Katie?

[Katie Green]

All right, Jack, hold on. Ktla. Majority of Californians still support high speed rail project.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Polling shows a new Emerson poll came out yesterday. 54% of Californians still think the bullet train using my finger quotes, is still a good expenditure of state funds.

[Joe Getty]

Excuse me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I got to take this call. Yeah, yep, Joe here. Yep. Mm. Yeah, I'll tell him. Okay, thanks. Bye. That was James Madison. The experiment of self government has failed. It's now over. It's been ended. So, anyway, good to hear from the father of the Constitution.

[Unnamed Speaker]

And even if you don't live in California, you should be depressed at how people don't pay attention or people are morons or. I don't. I don't. I. I'm having trouble absorbing this information.

[Joe Getty]

My brief thesis would be if you make the government big and complicated enough that people can't comprehend it, you have the COVID to do whatever you want in terms of milking the treasury for yourself and your cronies.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Let me read one thing from the poll and then I'll let you get back to the other headlines. The wording of this really bothered me. Despite uncertainty over its budget and timeline.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no.

[Unnamed Speaker]

There's absolute certain a majority of Californians still say the California High Speed Railroad project is worthy of state funding despite uncertainty. You mean the fact that like, we were supposed to have it years ago and it's. And they haven't laid any track yet and it's never going to happen and it's cost five times as much and it's the biggest boondoggle and maybe the history of taxpayer money anywhere in the world, Anywhere in history. Despite that, you mean you're still in favor of it?

[Joe Getty]

The cost balloons over and over and over again. The uncertainty is how far it will balloon. I'm not sure I would just call that uncertainty, you morons.

[Unnamed Speaker]

There will never be a bullet train. They're not even claiming it's a bullet train anymore.

[Joe Getty]

It's a regular speed train, Jack. You just need to go out in the streets, ask people their opinion. If they say, yeah, I'm still in favor of it, beat them with your fists. That's the only way to get over this. Katie, back to you.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Oh, my God.

[Katie Green]

CNN Fact Check. Trump claims Zelensky has a 4% approval rating when it's above 50%.

[Unnamed Speaker]

The only part I don't get of the if, if there's a strategy here, maybe it's a strategy that I could even kind of understand. And then you throw in Trump's personality on top of it because there's no reason you have to belittle Zelinsky to pull off the strategy, is there?

[Joe Getty]

No, he's doing that because he's butthurt that Zelinsky argued with him.

[Unnamed Speaker]

You don't have to call him a, you know, a cut rate comedian. 4% approval. How does that help anything?

[Joe Getty]

No, as I've said many times, what is wrong with Trump will be the undoing of what's right with Trump. It's like watching a slow motion train wreck. Meanwhile, I just hope more and more of the good stuff happens because there's a lot of great stuff happening.

[Unnamed Speaker]

High speed train wreck or regular speed train wreck?

[Joe Getty]

No, no, no.

[Katie Green]

Slow motion train wreck from the telegraph. Hamas parades, coffins of child hostages in disgusting spectacle.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Oh my God, I got so mad at NPR today. And that happens? Almost. What does you always say about listening to npr?

[Joe Getty]

I listen to it to punish myself for the bad things I've done.

[Unnamed Speaker]

So Hamas released the bodies of people they had murdered, including a mom and two babies. Hamas murdered a couple of babies. They release the bodies, they parade them around. They do their usual big flags of Hamas support and everything like that, belittling everybody and everything. NPR called it Hamas with once more a show of strength as they release bodies to the Israelis. A show of strength right now?

[Katie Green]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

It's been claimed by some sympathetic to the the Hamas cause that, well, they were killed in Israeli airstrikes, most likely. Well, by every standard of law that exists on the planet, the abductor is responsible for that outcome. Please. That's true.

[Unnamed Speaker]

It's still Hamas's fault and no reason to believe that's true.

[Katie Green]

From Reuters, Trump says he's considering returning 20% of Doge savings to Americans and.

[Joe Getty]

Need to dig into this. It's the perpetual motion machine of people's approval for the program.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Post. Chipotle. Chipotle will use AI to hire 20,000 workers for burrito season.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Awesome.

[Katie Green]

And from the Babylon B, cruel, Elon Musk cuts off Social Security benefits for thousands of Revolutionary War veterans.

[Joe Getty]

Beautiful. Yeah.

[Unnamed Speaker]

We got more Doge stuff and lots of headlines and mailbag on the way.

[Joe Getty]

All this hour, so stay tuned. Armstrong and Getty.

[Unnamed Speaker]

As we mentioned earlier in the week, with some polling, Trump's the most popular he's ever been in his political career. It'll be interesting to see if there's any political price to pay for this new angle. He's taking on wrapping up Ukraine. So he called, said Ukraine started the war and Zelinsky is a dictator and all that stuff 48 hours ago. And we speculated yesterday that he might walk that back, that maybe he was shooting out his mouth. Apparently not. He was in Miami last night and these are some of the comments he made.

[Donald Trump]

A dictator without elections. Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. Got to move. Got to move fast because that war is going in the wrong direction. In the meantime, we're successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia. Something all admit that only Trump is going to be able to do in the Trump administration. We're going to be able to do it. I think Putin even admitted that Biden never tried. Europe has failed to bring peace and Zelensky probably wants to. Maybe he wants to keep the gravy train going. I don't know what's the problem, but he hasn't been able. He's very upset that he wasn't invited. He could have come if he wanted to, but that he wasn't invited to Saudi Arabia. But he's been working for three years. There's never been even meetings or phone calls to stop this war. It's a horrible thing.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I see. That's nonsensical to my ears.

[Joe Getty]

So, on the one hand, we're being ordered to believe that Zelensky hasn't participated in any conversations. Meanwhile, I've got folks sending all sorts of information that indicates that the US Pressured Zelensky not to come to an agreement that he wanted to in 2022.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I'd never heard that before, so I don't, I got nothing on that.

[Joe Getty]

But, yeah, the Turkey talks, Istanbul talks.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Well, also the whole using the term dictator as a pejorative, which it should be a pejorative against Zelensky, but not.

[Joe Getty]

Putin, who's not critical of Putin. Zelensky is barred from having elections during wartime according to the Ukrainian constitution.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Well, yeah, yeah, I, I just don't understand the strategy. And like I said earlier, if, if, if Trump wants to come out and those of you who agree with him want to come out and say it's a regional dispute, it's Europe, it's, we don't live there, it, at least that's an intellectual argument, and I don't agree with it. I think we have national interest in how it turns out. But it's an argument to say we have no business in that. To say Ukraine started and Zelensky is a dictator and all that. I don't know what the hell that is.

[Joe Getty]

No, I'm just utterly flabbergasted.

[Unnamed Speaker]

And that he's in it for the money. He's, he's in it for. It's amazing he hasn't died yet, him and his family. So many of his friends and countrymen have died horrible deaths or been raped or beaten or whatever. He's in it for the money.

[Joe Getty]

What? Well, and 90% of the money never leaves the United States. It just goes to armaments. I mean, and again, if you want to make the. It's the military industrial complex continuing this because they're making so much money. Okay, that's fine. Again, that's an argument, but that's happening simultaneously with Zelensky is keeping the money and he's on a gravy train. So which one is it? Those are, they're diametrically opposed. Your two arguments. There's, there's so much, you know, fog going on here. Got this note from Ann with many, many links and, and opinions. Some more factual, some a little wishy washy. And it's interesting, the links to Twitter accounts, including this one dude who's quoted a great deal and he has like something like 370,000 followers on Twitter, for what it's worth. But I took several minutes to scroll through his Twitter feed for a very long time or, you know, many, many, many different entries and posts and quotes and links and that sort of thing. And it's uniformly anti us, anti Israel. You know, once in a while, somebody mad at us says, you guys act like Israel can do no wrong. Which is not true. I don't act like that, speaking for myself. And they do wrong all the time. It happens in war, and we've acknowledged it. But this point of view is the America can do no right. It's the woke. Right.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I'm amazed you were able to get past that. I can't handle that. That's what point of view the. You act like America does no wrong. Well, I'm done talking to you if, if you say that to me.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I said Israel, but yeah, yeah, it's just a false argument. But no, I was, I was saying that to draw the contrast with a lot of the quotes from the people here. They're the America can never do any right. Israel never is right crowd. They're the anti American woke. Right. And it's, it's interesting. Some of the stuff about the negotiations in 22, the, the PE in Istanbul, I think it was, are kind of interesting. But again, you know, it's. There's a lot of the blind fellows describing the elephant going on here. One man's advice is another man's pressure is another man's dictate, if you will, when you're talking about what happened at a complex set of negotiations. Anyway, I promised this from JD Vance, this Twitter post from 23. From September of 2023. So what's that? A year and a half ago? And this is when he was a senator. The same idiots who pushed the most aggressive posture in Ukraine. You and I'm not sure who he's addressing exactly. Maybe Noah Rothman, but did the same in Iraq also. You. And just let Noah respond to that. He says, I cannot for the life of me say how Russia's war in Ukraine bears even a passing resemblance to Iraq, save for the subtextual argument. Ukraine's critics seem to have internalized that America is the bad guy. Anyway, is he making some sort of neocon we need to be everywhere all the time argument? Okay, I wish he'd fleshed it out. But number two, the bizarre and reflexive World War II analogies. If we don't stop him here, never. Neville Chamberlain also said, JD And I love JD Vance in a lot of ways, but you could say those are reflexive World War II analogies, but they're not bizarre in what way are those bizarre analogies?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Three seem pretty damn spot on.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And I'm surprised at how rag taggy his arguments are. The defense of the policy in terms of generic institutional deference and international norms rather than concrete American interest. Now, J.D. vance is an exceptionally bright guy and I don't get how he glosses over how international norms are a concrete American interest.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Absolutely freaking lutely. The world order as it is has benefited us so much for the past 75 years. 80 years.

[Joe Getty]

Oh my God. Yeah. Regular working American standard of living is quintupled in the post war period. Maybe more because of those international norms. Again, I'm just. He's a very bright guy, so I'm a little mystified by this. Moving along the belief that tough talk and suicidal depletion of resources is an effective deterrent rather than, say, not wasting thousands of lives, billions of dollars in much of our modern weapons of war. That's just an odd construction. It's as if he's, he's giving us two choices for deterrence, but it's. It was like he was drunk when he wrote this. Now if you want to make two separate arguments there that this effective deterrence, or what ought to be deterrence, is a suicidal depletion of resources. Now that I will listen to because it's scary how we have depleted our own weaponry to support Ukraine. But it's just. Again, it's a weird construction. And this one's weird too. The mission creep, from eliminating weapons of mass destruction to building a liberal democracy in Iraq, that was mission creep. But then he says, from stopping the Russian advance to reclaiming every inch of territory to toppling Putin in Eastern Europe.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Who was pushing for that.

[Joe Getty]

And stopping the Russian advance and reclaiming every inch of territory is the same mission. They invaded Europel them. That's not mission creep. I don't. I, I am just flabbergasted by this. The moralistic defense of our policies. Freedom, democracy, despite the fact that our client states are neither free nor democratic. I assume he's talking about Ukraine there. They're wanting to pivot to the west instead of Putin's totalitarian kleptocracy of Russia is not a good thing. I don't understand that. Is this legitimate? It appears to be. The fact. The failure of our policies. I'm sorry, the failure of our elites to acknowledge that our policies are enabling the persecution of historic Christian communities.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah, okay. That, that, that whole thing. Putin's somehow the savior of Christianity. That one I don't get.

[Joe Getty]

Y'all.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Are on your own on that one.

[Joe Getty]

I don't get that satanic. The fact that our policies unite our adversaries together. Iraq and Iran, then Russia and China. Now. Yeah, that's a legit argument. We can make that argument. There's a better way to approach it that doesn't drive Russia into China's arms. I mean, I might agree with you or disagree with you, but that's the valid point. 9, both letter will lead to massive refugee crises that destabilize European allies and threaten arms our security. I'm sure you and others will try to distance yourselves from the consequences of driving up food prices and migration pressures for the entire continent of Africa. And 10 both empower China. That 0.9 is. So he's saying just let Putin take Ukraine and that will stabilize food exportation exports from Ukraine.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Well, first of all, you're counting on the fact that Putin's gonna, would stop if, if he had not gotten any pushback. I mean, to the previous point that we're pushing Putin and China together by fighting him there. So if we hadn't fought Putin, it wouldn't have been a signal for Russia and China that you can take territory now. It's open season again. It's, it's the 19th century again. I don't understand how that is the case.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and again, I must say, for how much I love and I mean not like I'm in favor of I want to hold a parade for what Trump's doing to the DEI menace and an energy policy. Oh my gosh, listen to Doug Burgum talk about energy policy and the Secretary of Energy whose name I don't recall. Just fantastic stuff. It's great. But trying to explain what the hell he's doing re Ukraine, it's utterly incoherent. I mean, as I said before, the problem with Trump sometimes and this has made me insane when he was talking about doing the things he's doing now that I like is unless you know exactly what he's talking about, you have no idea what he's talking about anyway.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Well, I'm going to hit a little bit of the Wall Street Journal editorial. Their view of things, which is kind of the opposite of what JD V just said right after this simply save.

[Joe Getty]

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[Unnamed Speaker]

AI powered cameras, they catch the weirdos, the creepos lurking around in the backyard or by your garage or about to hop the fence or whatever. Can you catch them before they break in? Because actual agents are going to see this and be able to contact the police and speak to the burglars.

[Joe Getty]

Hey junkie boy, the cops are coming. They're going to get some stick work in if you don't hightail it. Get away from the house. I hope that's what they say. I doubt it, but if I were in charge, that's what they'd say. There's no long term contractor cancellation fee. That's fabulous. Monitoring plans start affordably at around a dollar a day 60 day satisfaction guarantee. Visit simplisafe.comarmstrong to claim 50% off a new system with a professional monitoring plan your first month. That's simplisafe.com Armstrong there's no safe like simply safe.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Well, I don't know where most of our audience, our entire radio or podcast audience is on this whole topic of the way Ukraine is being handled by, by Trump. I really don't know where y'all are. I know where I am. I know where the Wall Street Journal is in the New York Post, which are closer to where Joe and I are. But maybe I'll read from that next hour. We've got to get the mailbag coming up a little bit. I would like to hear from you. I have a feeling the most worked up loudest voices are the only people that text or email, which is always the case. But here is the text line. 415295 KFTC Armstrong and Getty. Everything not natural is getting less colorful. Why is that? I was com, I, I, I was kind of aware of it, really aware of it. Now that it's brought to my attention. We'll talk to that and come about that in coming hours. Really interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Can you just repeat that?

[Unnamed Speaker]

You know, nature has not changed. Sunrises, plants, that sort of thing. But everything else. We're less interested in colors. We like black, whites and grays. And there's a gazillion examples of this including movies, TVs, fashion, cars, everything. And it's been a steady move since like the early 1900s to get less colorful for some reason.

[Joe Getty]

How interesting.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I know.

[Joe Getty]

I will look forward to that discussion. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. Continuing on With Abe Lincoln. We'll go with Washington next week. This is one of my all time faves. The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Ah, that's a good one.

[Joe Getty]

And I think it's apropos to our previous discussion about the situation with Ukraine and Russia and Europe and the rest of it. There are people who seem to have very, very different definitions of democracy, liberty, etc. Human beings. What are you gonna do with them? Mailbag drop us Note mailbagarmstrongegetti.com My goodness, a lot to get to. Let's hit this German censorship we were talking about. Paolo writes on speech restrictions in Germany. You mentioned the German people like politeness and suggested that it could be maintained by cultural forces, certainly in the United States. Yeah, I don't want the government forcing people to be quote unquote polite because Orwell will tell us where that goes anyway. He says, I agree and I'd go further. The cultural forces that supported that politeness in the past have been diluted and altered by the rapid, unmanaged flux of people with very different cultural values. Restricting speech is a desperate attempt to maintain their traditional culture. That's diversity for you. Paolo, you are 100% correct. 100%. Now, maybe diversity is unavoidable in a nation of immigrants. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Our greatest strength is and has always been unity. Unity around certain principles, not diversity. Diversity is a challenge to that unity. Not that it's necessarily bad, but that moronic Marxist idea that diversity is our greatest strength. And if anybody ever insists anybody adapt to the United States or adopt our principles or, you know, assimilate, they're a racist. Good Lord, we let those lunatics drag us so far offline. I hope there's coming back. Anyway, moving along, uh, Sideshow Bob writes, I sure hope Taiwan gets the message from Trump and doesn't go out and start a war with China now. Oh boy, that's a little sarcasm right there. I had picked up on it right off. Congratulations. Thank you. Boy, a bunch of different reactions to the Trump Zelensky thing, as you might imagine. Bravo on calling Trump's BS re Ukraine for what it is, a steaming pile. From Matt, the Idaho farmhand, who's a very, very bright and well read guy.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Not that this would indicate anything about our audience, but was there a majority either way, on the mail you got.

[Joe Getty]

I didn't make a thorough enough look at it to render an opinion. Let's see. Oh, I thought this was so interesting. We got so many. Maybe we'll get to them later. But J A F K writes, I'm a longtime listener, originally from Cal Unicornia, but now in this dumpster passing as the state of New York. I know you're primarily talking about world events, blah blah, blah. I want to bring your attention to the fire that's happening in this dumpster state. As of right now, all but two of the state prisons here in New York are on strike. These men and women have risked life limit family for their jobs. They're fed up and finally standing up. They're out there on the line in freezing temperatures advocating for their own safety, all the while being called rogue officers who are illegally protesting the lack of safety within the walls of their facilities and are threatened with fines, jail time, loss of jobs from the state. I wish I had time to read all of this right now. The brief summary is the woke policies about crime and criminals and inmates combined with, well, lax enforcement of rules and all that has caused an explosion in violence and a complete loss of order within the prison system. And it's become incredibly dangerous because of the progressive policies. And that's why the CEOs, the corrections officers, are striking. Maybe we'll get into this in more detail later on. The greatest way, the 100% effective way to discredit progressive policies is to enact them. The problem is a lot of people get hurt.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah, we got some examples of that. Wall Street Journal pretty rough on Trump's handling of Ukraine today. But for some of you, if you feel like that's part of the whole financial, military, industrial complex, I suppose a lot more on the way. If you missed a segment, get the.

[Joe Getty]

Podcast Armstrong and get.