Bruce, You're Not Helping

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "Bruce, You're Not Helping"
Date: January 29, 2026
Podcast Host: iHeartPodcasts
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dive into two dominant stories: escalating tensions in Minneapolis following a police shooting amid ICE operations and national protests, and the looming threat of U.S. military action against Iran following widespread government crackdowns on protesters. The show weaves in critiques of recent cultural responses, notably Bruce Springsteen's new protest song, and examines media portrayals, political leadership, and societal reactions to current crises. The tone is irreverent, sharp, and sprinkled with humor, but anchored in concern for escalating violence and political polarization.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Minneapolis Unrest, Bruce Springsteen’s Protest Song, and Media Narratives

• Holman’s Role and Minneapolis Chaos

  • Tom Holman, experienced immigration enforcer recognized under both Republican and Democratic administrations, was sent to ease unrest in Minneapolis.
  • The city is gripped by violent protest, including direct attacks on ICE and Border Patrol agents, vandalism, and open street fighting.
  • Observers warn of a “ripe” situation for further bloodshed if tensions aren’t calmed.
    • "If things can't get calmed down, there's a chance for some crazy, makes the history books, bloodletting one direction or another. I really don't want that to happen." – Jack [07:40]

• Springsteen’s New Protest Song ‘Minneapolis’

  • Jack reads and comments on lyrics from Bruce Springsteen’s new song about recent Minneapolis protests.
  • Hosts agree the music is compelling but critique the lyrics as heavy-handed, likening them to parody.
    • "To me, like somebody jokingly wrote a mini Bruce Springsteen, you know, parody." – Jack [02:44]
    • "'Bruce, you're not helping.'" – Joe [13:54]

• Public Reaction and Parody

  • Text from a listener harshly criticizes Springsteen, dubbing him “Bruised String Cheese.”
    • "Bruised String Cheese is the most overrated blowhard phony at best." – listener text [14:26]
  • Joking asides about Springsteen/Kid Rock/Kanye collaborating in retaliation, mocking current musical and celebrity culture.
    • "We need a response. Kid Rock, we're looking to you." – Joe [05:24]

• Misreporting and Media Framing

  • Media narratives are scrutinized for downplaying the violence or misrepresenting individuals involved.
  • Debate arises on the importance of portraying the full nature of individuals (e.g., the protester involved in the shooting was not simply a "Boy Scout").
    • "If your news coverage was end to end with he was a Boy Scout who rescued puppies... let’s include he spit on cops and kick cop cars." – Jack [03:59]

• Escalating Threat of Violence

  • Host describes violent attempted break-ins at hotels housing ICE agents, police unable to maintain security, and open calls by leftist groups (Antifa et al.) to descend on Minneapolis.
  • Fears of true chaos if agents are forced to defend themselves with firearms against mobs.
    • "If they ever got in there, those guys are gonna have to defend themselves, and it’s gonna get really, really ugly." – Jack [08:43]

• Difficulties of Honest Discourse

  • The hosts lament the polarization and dishonesty in coverage—from both sides—regarding organized agitators and legitimate protest.
    • "Why is it so difficult to recognize that both those things are true?" – Joe [10:53]

2. Law Enforcement, Firearms, and Individual Responsibility

• Perspective from Law Enforcement and Citizens

  • Email from a former combat engineer and firearm carrier emphasizes handling police encounters safely even when legally armed.
    • "Your legal right to carry a weapon goes out the window when you start fighting cops or otherwise commit a crime." – listener Will [33:26]
    • "When law enforcement made contact with me, I placed my firearm on the ground, got on my knees and placed my hands on my head to signal to the police that I'm disarmed and I'm not a threat. Because getting shot ain't on my bingo card." – listener Will [32:44]

• Key Distinction

  • Hosts and listeners agree: Legality is not the only factor—confronting law enforcement while armed can lead to fatal consequences regardless.
    • "Can you take a concealed handgun to a federal agent operation legally? Yes. Should you inject yourself into that situation while armed? Probably not." – listener Drew [31:03]

3. Politics, Political Appointments, and Media Overreaction

• Kirsti Noem and Political Drama

  • The story of Kristi Noem is used to illustrate media exaggeration of DC personnel drama and the fleeting public attention to such events.
    • "It doesn't land that way with the people, I don't think... Who even remembers that happened? Who freaking cares?" – Jack [06:58]

• Antagonism and National Rifts

  • The show critically assesses escalating tensions—comparing the current mood to volatile historical situations, cautioning against further polarization and violence.

4. International Affairs: U.S. and Iran

• Building U.S. Military Pressure

  • The U.S. is positioning the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group near Iran amid crackdowns by the Iranian regime, intensifying threat rhetoric.
  • Trump administration demands: halt uranium enrichment, limit ballistic missiles, stop funding proxy groups (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis).
    • "A permanent end to all enrichment of uranium... limits on the range and number of ballistic missiles, and an end to all support for proxy groups..." – reading NYT [21:11]

• Iran’s Capability and Historical Parallels

  • Discussion of Iran's resilience post-Israel strikes (still 2,000 mid-range missiles).
  • Hosts draw parallels to U.S. intervention in Venezuela, questioning if a similar “yank the leader, scare the regime” tactic could work in Iran.
    • "Can that work again somewhere? Is it going to work in Venezuela long term? Who knows?" – Joe [25:13]
  • They wonder if Americans are prepared for casualties if direct conflict erupts, suspecting the public hasn’t followed the buildup.
    • "If it turned into a hot war… you end up with a dozen, 20, 80 soldiers killed… I think the reaction might be what the hell are we doing fighting Iran?" – Jack [25:42]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Springsteen’s Protest Song:

  • "I listened to the song on the way to work today... But the lyrics are, to me, like somebody jokingly wrote a mini Bruce Springsteen, you know, parody, but, you know, whatever." – Jack [02:44]
  • "Bruce, you're... you're not helping." – Joe [13:54]

• On Media Misrepresentation:

  • "If your news coverage was end to end with he was a Boy Scout who rescued puppies... Well, how about, let's include he spit on cops and kick cop cars and tried to get in the way of them doing their jobs. He's that guy, too." – Jack [03:59]

• On Political Drama:

  • "It doesn't land that way with the people, I don't think... Who even remembers that happened? Who freaking cares?" – Jack [06:58]

• On Potential Violence:

  • "If things can't get calmed down, there's a chance for some crazy, makes the history books, bloodletting one direction or another." – Jack [07:40]

• Listener Wisdom on Armed Protests:

  • "When law enforcement made contact with me, I placed my firearm on the ground, got on my knees and placed my hands on my head to signal to the police that I'm disarmed and I'm not a threat. Because getting shot ain't on my bingo card." – listener Will [32:44]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:56 Title explanation; overview of Holman’s background
• 01:56 Springsteen song lyrics reading and critique
• 02:42 Commentary on protester violence, changing perceptions from video
• 03:59 Media portrayal of individuals in police confrontations
• 06:00 Jokes about Kanye, Kid Rock, and cultural responses
• 07:40 Warning of possible historic bloodshed if tensions not eased
• 09:22 Minneapolis officials refusing cooperation with ICE
• 10:08 Honest assessment of protest groups: righteous locals vs. organized radicals
• 12:24 Airs clip of Tom Holman (‘Border czar’ on Minneapolis operations)
• 13:48 Listener reaction: “Bruised String Cheese” insult for Springsteen
• 15:08 Katie Green’s news headlines recap
• 17:30 Iran: U.S. and Trump military posturing, death tolls in crackdown
• 19:28 Iran’s missile arsenal and implications of escalation
• 21:11 U.S. demands for Iran; Reading NYT reporting
• 23:28 Iran’s complicated internal leadership dynamics
• 24:50 Historical context: Venezuela comparison, danger of overconfidence
• 25:42 Public perception and consequences of possible war casualties
• 31:03 Listener email on legal/actual risks of armed protests
• 32:44 In-depth listener story on safely handling firearm encounters with police
• 33:26 Email emphasis: Rights evaporate when you resist not comply with law enforcement
• 34:52 Recap: emails, reactions, China and U.S. socialists, misc. headlines
• 36:16 Closing notes: upcoming topics, exercise, show reminders

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Conclusion

“Bruce, You're Not Helping” is an episode that moves swiftly between topical outrage, cultural satire, and candid warnings. Armstrong & Getty apply their signature blend of sarcasm and realism as they dissect the week’s chaos: from Springsteen’s protest song and misreading of the Minneapolis unrest, to urgent warnings about the volatility of U.S.-Iran relations. Blunt listener insights illustrate tensions around the right to protest, media distortions, and the hazards of underestimating how quickly unrest can turn deadly. The hosts' closing tone is anxious but intent on clarifying the murky, contentious state of American public life.

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Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human. Broadcasting.

[Joe Getty]

Live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Joe Getty]

Live from Studio C. Say, senor, dimly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty communications compound. And hey, on little Friday, we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sorry, we're going with a title for the show these days.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sorry, we have a title now, but.

[Joe Getty]

All right. It's old habit, hard to break.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Today's show is entitled Iran. Iran so Far Away. Or Holman, Sweet Holman.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stay with us. They're both good.

[Joe Getty]

That's fantastic.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Tom Holman's a guy that they. They sent to Minneapolis to calm things down. How many people know that? He. He's been doing immigration stuff since the 80s under different administrations, including under Barack Obama. He was given some presidential award or something like that for his effectiveness with deportation. Because Obama deported a lot of people.

[Joe Getty]

The deporter in chief. I remember that. It was outrageous.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Holman was running the thing under Obama and got an award for it. I don't know how many people are aware of that. Anyway, we'll hear from him in a little bit. He's going to try to settle things down.

[Joe Getty]

But more importantly, he didn't throw on the Nazi coat, did he?

[Jack Armstrong]

What's that?

[Joe Getty]

Because you can't throw on the Nazi coat. Just leave the long coat in the closet. All right. It's a potent reminder of her unfortunate past.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, so are you ready for this?

[Joe Getty]

Sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

Through the winter's ice and cold down Nicolette Avenue. I was listening to the new Springsteen song that just came out yesterday that he wrote about Minneapolis. A city of flame fought fire and ice neath in occupiers boots. You're gonna like this lyric. King Trump's private army from the DHS guns and to their coats came to Minneapolis to enforce their law. Or so the story goes.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, powerful stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Against smoke and rubber bullets. In the dawn's early light, citizens stood for justice. Their voices ringing through the night. And there were bloody footprints where mercy should have stood. And two dead left to die on snow filled streets. Alex Pretty and Renee Good.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, it's a good rhyme.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, wow. I listened to the song on the way to work today. It's a really good sounding song as Bruce Springsteen is among the best crafters of songs who've ever walked in planet Earth. And he's really, really good at it. But the lyrics are, to me, like somebody jokingly wrote a mini Bruce Springsteen, you know, parody, but, you know, whatever. I just find the whole thing. And now. And now today, if you're not aware of this new video came out late in the day yesterday of the poor dude that got shot last week getting in a melee with the officers and spitting on them and kicking their car and all kinds of stuff.

[Joe Getty]

Kicked out their tail light.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the. The look of him has slightly changed in the last 24 hours.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, he was a militant, violent opposer of ICE in their activities. It's just worth noting. I was just reading something in the dispatch which was. Which has become indistinguishable from MSNBC in some of their coverage, talking about how he was just passively protesting the activity they did, trying to help. Oh, it was. It was shameless.

[Jack Armstrong]

Even with. Even without yesterday's video.

[Joe Getty]

I'm not sure when it was written, but yeah, it was. Like I said, it was indistinguishable from something you say in the New York Times.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, you always got the, the. Any of these shootings that ever happen, you've got the, The. The legal question, which is very important, but you've got the political thing, which is also very important. Now, it doesn't change the legality of things a whole lot, probably, but in terms of the politics, I think it changes it a lot. I mean, you can't claim it doesn't mean anything what kind of guy he was. If your news coverage was end to end with he was a Boy Scout who rescued puppies. Well, you thought saying that meant something. Well, how about, let's include he spit on cops and kick cop cars and tried to get in the way of them doing their jobs. He's that guy, too.

[Joe Getty]

He was spoiling for a fight and he brought a gun with him for the fight. Now, was he intending to use it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or what was this in his mind?

[Joe Getty]

Nobody's quite sure, but yeah, please. The whole, you know, puppy rescuing Boy Scout thing is just. It's. It's propaganda.

[Jack Armstrong]

A little more here.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy. There's more here.

[Jack Armstrong]

In our home they killed and roamed in the winter of 26 we remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis. There you go. And then at one point, he incorporates the chanting into the chorus, which is actually pretty cool the way he does it. Ice, Go home. The choir singing and everything.

[Joe Getty]

We need a response. Kid Rock, we're looking to you. Okay, we need a counter song or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although he's he's apologized, so maybe he's off this Kanye. Kanye could come.

[Joe Getty]

Who knows? You got to check. Day by day comes back. Yeah, I know about Kid Rock versus Springsteen.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think Kanye's the one to fix this. He's the one that settled things down. Oh, my God.

[Joe Getty]

Conway's house. Yesterday he's wearing an SS uniform. You go. Today he's apologizing and giving generously to Jewish schools. And who knows?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, he did an interview over the weekend. In addition to the apology, he put out Kanye west apologizing for the way he treated Jews in the black community and saying it's because it was bipolar and his car wreck and all this stuff. And it might be true, but he also has an album coming out in like a week, so.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't put the timing on that.

[Joe Getty]

It doesn't have a sequel to the Heil Hitler song, does it?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, no, no.

[Joe Getty]

Is it too late to edit that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Out or go in a different direction?

[Joe Getty]

Little Kanye Kid Rock collaboration would be interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely.

[Joe Getty]

I'd like to see that or hear that cross pollination.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely fantastic. You know, I was thinking about the. Kirsty Gnome situation. I've always thought that Washington, D.C. in the, in the media makes way too big a deal out of firing people. And, like, it's a huge, you know, whoa, you really got him. You made them fire somebody. What a setback for this or that. And they just doesn't. It doesn't land that way with the people, I don't think I'll give you a for instance. Matt Gaetz being appointed Attorney General and then the howls and everything. People went crazy and he pulled the name. Yeah, we gotta win. We had to pull. Who even remembers that happened? Who freaking cares? It doesn't make any difference whatsoever.

[Joe Getty]

It really hurt Trump's momentum on Capitol Hill. Whatever.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nobody remembers or cares. So if he, if he pulled Kristi Gnome, there'd be like one day of coverage acting like it's a huge deal. He'd put somebody else in and we'd move on. But I think that would be a good idea.

[Joe Getty]

Speaking for myself, I would prefer a non numbskull in the role because she's.

[Jack Armstrong]

She is.

[Joe Getty]

She's utterly over her. Over her head. She's in a position she can't handle.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll tell you one. If you're. If you happen to be listening and wondering, talking about this again. One of the reasons I think it's worth talking about is there is. If things can't get calmed down, there's a chance for some crazy. Makes the history books, bloodletting one direction or another. I mean, it is just. It's just ripe for that sort of thing. And I really don't want that to happen. And that's on my mind because I saw a video and then an interview with one of your. He was either ICE or border patrol outside the hotel some of them were staying in night before last when that hotel had been attacked. And they're breaking windows and fighting cops. They're fighting Minneapolis police force cops. I mean, beating them on the streets and trying to get into the hotel to get to the ICE agents and the border patrol agents smashing out of the window, spray painting, you know, gas bombs going off. And it's just. It's just absolute chaos. And if they ever got in there, there's gonna be. I mean, those guys are gonna have to defend themselves, and it's gonna get really, really ugly. Anyway, this guy standing outside one of the hotels where there were not like any police force at the time, he's bloody, his face is bleeding, and he's talking to reporters like, where the hell are the police on this situation? As people are trying to bust into the hotel. I mean, it's nuts, and it's a nuts situation. And so Holman gets sent there, and his thing is, help us out. Help us go into the jail and get the bad guys, and then we won't need, you know, a giant team of cops to protect ourselves against the protesters to get in there and all these incidents happen and everything like that. And then Fry. The mayor makes an announcement late in the day yesterday. We are not going to help you. We will not help you in any way.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

What the hell is that?

[Joe Getty]

Well, on the other side of the. The scale, too, which you touched on, and I've got to check, like, Andy no's Twitter feed, because nobody reports on this. The hardcore leftist organizations, your antifa types and. And Marxists on their social media feeds, it's saying, come to Minneapolis, warriors. Now is the time. Let's get this going right. Nationwide, internationally. They're trying to get people to go to Minneapolis and do things like smash up the hotels and punch the ICE guys in the face and the rest of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you end up with a situation where they overwhelm the police at some time and people are. People like that you're just talking about are pouring into a hotel full of, you know, border patrol agents or whatever who have their guns in there, probably, and they got to defend themselves. It's going to be a crazy situation.

[Joe Getty]

You know, people talk about norms in society, which is sometimes just as habits. And one of the most stupid norms in like all of human society is that if you're more or less in favor of the protesters, you pretend that there are no organized bad guys, agitators. And if you're against the protesters, and this extends like to the regime in Iran, you claim it's all organized, you know, Marxists or. Or Jews or Americans, in the case of the Iranians or whatever. And you know, I. It's just so tiring and stupid. And you would think there would be at least some segment of media and human beings in the middle who could say, as we've been saying, look, you got some nice righteous people in Minneapolis who don't like this. They're whipped up, they're actually citizens. And, you know, just. Who don't like it, right? They're righteous protesters. I think they're wrong in a lot of cases, but there they are. And you have the hardcore Marxist crew. Why is it so difficult to recognize that both those things are true? I don't get it. Because then it's. It reminds me in a way of the. The bums and junkies problem. I refuse to use the term homeless because their primary problem is not the lack of a fixed address, that they're junkies. If you're in favor of a more compassionate approach, you never concede that it's mostly junkies, which means you can never solve the problem.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm looking at one quote from Tom Holman, which we're about to hear because he's speaking as we went on the show today. Border czar Tom Holman warns left wing groups funding attacks on ice. Justice is coming. Oh, boy. I don't know when the context of it, but good.

[Joe Getty]

You've got militant, violent, organized Marxist groups breaking laws. They should be brought to justice.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, let's start the show officially. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. How did it already get to be Thursday? The week is almost over. January 29th, the year 2026. We're Armstrong and getting. We approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, let's begin. Officially, according to FCC rules and regulations, while Bruce works on his song about Lake and Riley and all the other women raped and murdered by illegal immigrants.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good one.

[Joe Getty]

Here we go at mark.

[Jack Armstrong]

All we want is to talk to the person that local and state law enforcement authorities locked in a jail cell. They chose to lock this person up. That's who we want to talk to. The public safety threat. So the argument is that protects victim witnesses of crime. It's bunch of crap. It's crap.

[Joe Getty]

It's crap. I got most of that. Mr. Homan is a fine, fine law enforcement official. He's got a bit of a speech impediment, I guess, sometimes makes him slightly, you know, difficult to understand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's a little more Springsteen for you. One more.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, God. He won't relent.

[Jack Armstrong]

Their claim was self defense, sir. Just don't believe your eyes. It's her blood and bones and these whistles and phones against Miller and gnomes. Dirty lies.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, powerful stuff. Does he sing anything about her lip filler so much collagen swells her lips.

[Jack Armstrong]

Distracts me from her swaying hips or something. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

It's on top of my head. Shooting dogs and kicking cats.

[Jack Armstrong]

Christina.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know Ain't where it's at. I don't know. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. The football coach never actually had a gun.

[Joe Getty]

Bruce, you're. You're not helping.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got Katie's headlines on the way. Stay here. Armstrong and Getty was just ringing, reading and singing the lyrics to the new Bruce Springsteen Minneapolis protest song. Not everyone liked it. We got this text. Bruised String Cheese is the most overrated blowhard phony at best. His music is predictable, knowing and pretentious. What a whiny douche wad poser. That's not a good review.

[Joe Getty]

What did he call it?

[Jack Armstrong]

It was a two word cheese.

[Joe Getty]

What was the first name?

[Katie Green]

Bruce?

[Jack Armstrong]

Bruised String Cheese.

[Joe Getty]

Bruised. Yeah, Bruised Spring.

[Jack Armstrong]

How? It was like the old spinal tap thing. It was a two word review.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, let's figure out who's reporting what is lead story with Katie Green. We're almost out of time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Before we begin.

[Katie Green]

Oh my goodness. The big networks. ABC new video appears to show Alex Preddy clashing with agents 11 days before the fatal shooting. NBC border czar Tom Homan speaks in Minneapolis admits immigration operations could be improved. And the New York Times Freddie shooting aftermath leaves Homeland Security department in turmoil.

[Joe Getty]

Like many bad things, there are a number of reasons why they happened. And looking merely at one side or the other, it's probably not a good way to approach it.

[Katie Green]

From Reuters. Trump warns Iran to make nuclear deal or next attack will be far worse.

[Joe Getty]

They've got quite the battery of missiles. More than I'd been led to believe. We'll talk about that later.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. You know, we should talk to Mike Lyons about this. See how big it would be.

[Joe Getty]

Love that. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

From the Wall Street Journal, dow to cut 4,500 employees in a overhaul. Who is the Dow?

[Jack Armstrong]

Like Dow Chemical.

[Katie Green]

Dow Jones Industrial.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, sorry. Okay, okay.

[Katie Green]

New York Post. I nearly had a core gasm in my fitness class. The triggering exercise I now need to avoid.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, so if you work the core too much, you can actually reach Blue Bliss. Interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Almost easier ways.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what, that's what I. Yeah, there are more pleasurable ways. I have to go to the gym. No, no, you don't. Actually. That's what I call it. Reaching bliss.

[Katie Green]

Reaching.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Okay. Classy.

[Katie Green]

From study finds dirty diaper duty makes parents less grossed out by bodily messes.

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah, of course. You get used to it. Part of life. Everybody poops, like the classic book says.

[Katie Green]

And finally, the Babylon Bee. Foul smelling substance used in spray attack on Elon Omar identified as Somali food.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, no.

[Joe Getty]

Belligerent turns on those bigotry.

[Jack Armstrong]

So it turned out to be apple vinegar, water cider.

[Katie Green]

Apple cider vinegar.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. Something. Yeah, it's a weird thing to put in a syringe and squirt on a congressperson and then spend like 15 years in prison for.

[Joe Getty]

I would agree. And yet what's a normal thing to squirt onto the blouse of a congresswoman?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you know, I don't want anybody to get hurt, but I would think you're trying to hurt them or something.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

What are you trying to do now? You're going into prison? I don't know. What did you accomplish there, you weirdo?

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Jack Armstrong]

The US Military is fortifying its position in case of a potential strike on Iran. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is now in the Indian Ocean. President Trump has threatened military action over Tehran's crackdown on anti government protesters. Rights groups report at least 5,500 have been killed, with an additional 17,000 deaths still being reviewed. Allies are urging the US not to strike. As you mentioned the other day, this might actually be the biggest murdering of protests protesters in history or modern history.

[Joe Getty]

Certainly could be, yeah. Surpassing Tiananmen Square significantly as the blazing guns were sent to many, many cities in Iran and mowed people down.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although I don't know how much that has to do with the fact that we've got the aircraft carrier headed there. And Trump has warned that time is running out for Iran to negotiate a deal in its nuclear program or face an attack by the United States. In response, Iran said they've got their fingers on the trigger. The Wall Street Journal reporting that despite June's 12 day war where Israel pounded the hell out of Iran Tehran has an estimated 2,000 mid range ballistic missiles left that can reach across the region and strike as far as Israel. I did not know that any attack by the United States could quickly escalate. Despite President Trump's preference for decisive use of force. That doesn't turn into a regional conflict. As I said yesterday, taking on the United States is a bad idea in a war for anybody, especially a smaller country like Iran. On the other hand, if you think the jig is up like this is we're gonna get overthrown, I'm gonna die in the street anyway. Might as well take your shot and hope you can get him gusted back down, Right?

[Joe Getty]

Right. And you know, even if you win a game 15 to 2, if those numbers indicate lives lost, it's, it's a terrible cost. And during the June tussle with Israel, 86% of the Iranian ballistic missiles were intercepted. Keeping in mind, as Jack mentioned, they've got a couple of thousand of them, but 28 people were. And then in June, Israel neutralized about 70% of the missile launchers, leaving only like 100, but they definitely have potential to hurt and kill a number of people. On the other hand, I appreciate the fact that the Trump administration and Marco Rubio, who I think is underrated, is not continuing the Biden, Obama, we'll just let you pretend to negotiate and run us around interminably till you have nukes. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Don't you have a message for the Iranian leadership? Don't.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God, it's so sickening to hear. It makes my skin crawl.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mr. Trump, in a message yesterday, explicitly compared the buildup of forces near Iran to what he built up near Venezuela late last year, just ahead of the operation that seized Maduro. Trump gave no specifics about the deal he was demanding on nuclear weapons, saying that only that a massive armada was headed toward Iran and the country should make a deal. But the United States and European. Now, now I'm reading from the New York Times and David Sanger's reporting. But the United States and European officials say that in talks they have put three demands in front of the Iranians. A permanent end to all enrichment of uranium and disposal of its current stockpiles, limits on the range and number of ballistic missiles, and an end to all support for proxy groups in the Middle east, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. That last one is a heck of a thing.

[Joe Getty]

That would be a. An old dog learning some seriously new tricks.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, or becoming a completely different thing. That'd be like an old dog becoming a cat. But I thought this was an interesting paragraph, and it's true from David Sanger, notably absent from the demands and any of the truth social posts and everything. Any reference to the protesters, which is in theory what started this whole thing, with Trump promising in past social media posts to come to their aid. But he hasn't mentioned the protesters now in several weeks and certainly didn't mention them yesterday with all the, you know, you need to do this, you need to do that. He didn't say anything about protesters.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Certainly the humanitarian horror at the murder of all those poor people. And multiples of the numbers we threw out earlier are in jail, being beaten, tortured, starved, whatever, who knows? And more will be hunted down. So on a humanitarian level, it's absolutely awful. But the significance of the protesters, geopolitically was that they indicated there was sufficient energy to overthrow the regime, but they needed a little help, which we weren't in a position to give. And I'm not saying that necessarily would have been successful. Just that was the significance of the protests. So now that the protests have been killed out, killed away, and jailed, or what way would the strike that might have tipped the scales weeks ago do any damn good at this point?

[Jack Armstrong]

This is interesting. So an official who was deeply involved in the interchanges told the New York Times that this guy Aragachi, he's the foreign minister that we're dealing with, is pretty heavily constrained because in the complicated Iranian system, there's constant jockeying between the Supreme Leader's office, the Revolutionary Guard, which is its own power center, the office of the President, which is a weird thing there. It's always been a mystery. And, and, you know, and then all the decisions in theory, have to be made by the Supreme Leader, ayatollah Khamenei, who's 86 years old, by the way.

[Joe Getty]

And he's gaining on Joe Biden.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you could have a situation where the Ayatollah is thinking, yeah, maybe now's the time to back off the whole nuclear weapons thing. And the Revolutionary Guard is saying, no, we're not doing that, or vice versa. Who knows?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Iran watchers will tell you and have for years. Nobody's really sure exactly how it works inside their halls of power.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it's quite possible they don't know or it changes. Yeah. It's not. It's not a consistent thing. It's a who. Who seems to upper. Have the upper hand this week.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, this could.

[Jack Armstrong]

This history is weird, you know, And I, I love, I love.

[Joe Getty]

That'd be a great title. For like a super big selling book about history. History is weird, but if you're kind.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of like a drive by, get the headlines person on history, you hear like all these really big things, but there's often like a couple of lead up things that are super fascinating that, that get left out. And like you could see this unfolding where we go to war with Iran, they still have the ability to fight back. I mean it's a full, it's a pretty serious war for a week, two weeks, whatever, and history will forget that. We're all emboldened by what happened in Venezuela a couple of weeks ago. It just went so smoothly and so easily that it made us think, wow, we can do anything. And, and then we got ourselves into this.

[Joe Getty]

I would love to hear somebody really, really learned talk about the way power works in Venezuela and how it works in Iran and, and what it, if you did the same thing in Iran, you yank the Ayatollah out by his beard as you've suggested, maybe you bring the IRC to its knees, you humble them completely and then you go with the what appears to be the very strange current plan of Venezuela, the don't make me do it again policy and just quit being dicks. And so now they've come to heal, at least to some extent. But it's the same people in charge. So can that work again somewhere? Is it going to work in Venezuela long term? Who knows?

[Jack Armstrong]

But if it turned into a hot war and they get some missiles off at some of our bases and you end up with a dozen or yeah, but we end up with a dozen, 20, 80, you know, soldiers killed, I wonder how the country's gonna react to that. I think the reaction might be what the hell are we doing fighting Iran? Because people haven't been paying attention to the lead up.

[Joe Getty]

Right. And well, even if you are paying attention to the lead up though, I would like to know exactly what we're trying to accomplish.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it'd be nice if they said it out loud. I think our, our main enemy for the last half century who's killed more American service members than any other entity on planet, is at its weakest point and here's a chance to take it out. But we haven't said, we haven't said that out loud.

[Joe Getty]

To prevent many more deaths in the future would be the rationale. But I would like to hear the rationale. And it needs to be, since you were talking about the polit of it and American support it, it would need to be clearly enunciated.

[Jack Armstrong]

I Think if I'm the Ayatollah, I get Simplisafe because I think, good God, they're going to come yank me out by the beard any moment now. If I have the Simply Safe system right now with the AI powered cameras outside my palace and can spot real threats like Seal Team 6, maybe I should stop this whole metaphor analog enjoying it and instantly alert live agents. Because that's what happens with Simply Safe at your home.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, because some of those other services, they like give you a notification, right? You got a camera and they tell you, hey, there's somebody outside your house and you're asleep or in the gym or in a meeting or on a plane or whatever. No, Simply Safe, they have the live agents that take action when the intruder's still outside. Before they smash your windows, they talk to them through the camera, let them know they're being watched, police are on the way, they can blast the siren, light them up with spotlight. It is so much better. And right now, no long term contracts, of course. They earn your business every day. You can get 50% off any new system this month only. It's a great time to upgrade to security that actually helps stop crime before it starts. Go to SimpliSafe.com Armstrong that SimpliSafe.com Armstrong there's no safe like Simply Safe.

[Jack Armstrong]

So there's that. That could end up being the dominant story for quite a while if we end up attacking Iran. But who knows, we might talk to Mike Lyons either today, tomorrow, get an idea of what their military capability actually is there in Iran. It's a big country, 90 million people. They've been involved in military stuff for a long time on a regular basis. So it's not like they're not used to fighting.

[Joe Getty]

Right. So coming up, I'm really excited about Mailbag. We have a couple of insightful, knowledgeable emails about the fracas in Minneapolis, specifically the shooting of the, the nurse fella, Alex Preddy and that whole fracas. Really good stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Cool. Look forward to getting into that. And if you haven't heard the latest, the latest video that came out from the, the, the gentle, peaceful protester and what he was doing a week ago. That's pretty interesting. If you haven't been on top of that, we'll get to it. Stay here. Armstrong and Getty Seahawks currently about five point favorites, four and a half point favorites in those Super Bowl. That's what the betting line is currently.

[Joe Getty]

Have I mentioned it's all about the matchups? I think I did work that in. Yeah. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. Continuing our series from Ben Franklin. The last two, Today and Tomorrow will be about aging. Both terrific. This one is really interesting. He's talking about the idea of social programs for older people, pension programs in effect. And he said, I fear the giving mankind a dependence on anything for support in age or sickness. Besides industry and frugality during youth and health tends to flatter our natural indolence, to encourage idleness and prodigality and thereby to promote and increase poverty the very evil it was intended to cure.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, the founding fathers understood human nature in a way that we ignore. Well, right.

[Joe Getty]

Their highest priority was understanding human nature and being realist.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you set up a welfare state for the old, some people are going to live their lives and not the best way. Counting on that.

[Joe Getty]

Well, right. As opposed to, look, if I'm going to have a decent old age, I need to be frugal and I need to work hard. And everybody knows that there are no exceptions. Everybody knows that every day of their lives. Or you flatter their natural laziness and encourage, you know, wild spending and. Well, laziness. Well done, Ben. Well done. Mailbag Drop us a note mailbagarmstrongandgetti.com often I will lead up to the featured emails, but I want to make sure there's time for them. So here we go. On the topic of the unfortunate shooting of Mr. Pretty in Minneapolis, two emails of note this from Drew the Millennial regarding the shooting in Minneapolis. People seem to struggle with two concepts, what should happen and what will happen. Also, what you can and what you should. Can you take a concealed handgun to a federal agent operation legally? Yes. Should you inject yourself into that situation while armed? Probably not. You're not interacting with a piece of paper that has a law written on it. You're confronting a fallible human being just as capable of making mistakes as you are. So it doesn't matter if the law says it can or cannot happen. The law is only as reliable as the people enforcing it. So should that man have been shot? Probably not. Will you get shot if you do what he did? Pretty good chance, yeah. You're putting your lives in the hands of other flawed human beings. Avoid that when you can. You know what, Drew? The Ben Franklin, you know, great, great grandson.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good one. I've said that sort of thing to my kid, ending with that sort of statement. Avoid that if you can.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, indeed. And then this terrific note from Will from Sacto guys, your coverage of the shooting, the man in Minneapolis with firearms seems misguided in some ways. I agree 100% that you should be able to protest while armed. You know, and we've gone over this. It's just one of the difficulties of not listening to every minute of the show is we can't take on every single angle of every single story every single time it comes up.

[Jack Armstrong]

And what is your excuse for not listening to every minute of the show?

[Joe Getty]

Exactly my point. Yeah, yeah. What were you doing that was more important? Anyway, back to Will Sexual cd. Who can blame you? Was it the new Bruce song? All right, more on that to come. But he writes, carrying a firearm carries special responsibilities. I have three times pulled a legally carried firearm on people. Once I saved a woman, was getting beaten to death. Once I saved my ex wife £90 from a 250 pound man who tried to attack her.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

I'm £150 five' four. She may have died if I didn't have a firearm. I've been pulled over three times by local police or the CHP while legally carrying. I have served as a 12B combat engineer for eight years and I have extensive training and understanding of how to act when you have a firearm. In each of these cases, once law enforcement made contact with me, I placed my firearm on the ground first.

[Jack Armstrong]

You spit on the cop, kicked out.

[Joe Getty]

The tail lights and tried to fight him? No. When law enforcement made contact with me, I placed my firearm on the ground, got on my knees and placed my hands on my head to signal to the police that I'm disarmed and I'm not a threat. Because getting shot ain't on my bingo card. If I was ever armed and law enforcement tried to arrest me, even if I was innocent, the last thing I'm doing is resisting arrest. This man had a firearm, actively got in the face of officers in their legal duties and then when detained, fought them to the point it took like six cops to subdue him. Your legal right to carry a weapon goes out the window when you start fighting cops or other otherwise commit a crime, there will be no tears or sympathy from me. You don't fight cops. You accept your arrest and you fight it in front of the judge with a lawyer. Even unarmed. Fighting cops is something you do when your IQ is below freezing. And believe me, I cannot stand government or police abuses. All this, plus the fact that these officers are routinely attacked. Are you taking chances when it's your life and your ability to be a father to your kids when it's in a situation where agitators are attacking you. You can't hear anything because their whistles. You're subduing an aggressive male who is armed and is reaching for his holster. Maybe that's. That's when you're fighting somebody, it's hard to, you know, interpret what our motion is doing. What. But. And then you hear a shot go off me. I'm turning that man into Swiss cheese in like three seconds. And I wouldn't even feel a moment of regret or sorrow for doing so. I'm coming home to my family after my deployment that I go on to make my country safer. The armed man who gets in my face can enjoy the rest of time. Six feet under. That's some cold stuff. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I think you probably would feel regret.

[Jack Armstrong]

Honestly, I think you probably should.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You absolutely should. But at the same time, it illustrates the many steps down the road of. This is really, really stupid. This guy took.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, now that we've seen the video that came out yesterday, and we can talk more about that later, but spitting on cops, kicking the car. I mean, you were not a peaceful protester. You were an active, interventionist, aggressive, you know, a part of the whole melee.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. And on a different topic, I love this from JT and Livermore. We mentioned that the Democratic Socialists of America are actively pursuing ties with the Chinese Communist Party to promote anti imperialism against the U.S. jT writes. Wait, what? The Democratic Socialists are working with China on agenda based on anti imperialism against the US wtf?

[Jack Armstrong]

China.

[Joe Getty]

The country that's flexing its imperialist ambitions against Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan. The country making and militarizing islands in the Pacific Ocean. The country supporting Russia and its imperialistic attack and takeover of Ukraine. How stupid are these people? Well, they are stupid, jt, but they're also friends of convenience in the way that revolutionaries always have been. We need to bring down the power. You want to bring down the power? Hey, we want to bring down the power. You know, we're going to have to fight it out amongst ourselves when the revolution's over, but we both know that, and it's just the way it goes, so. Yeah. Yeah. And the mayor of New York belongs to that party building active ties to Chinese Communists.

[Jack Armstrong]

What are the best exercises to keep your old age the way you would like to be those last years of your life? New York Times, an interesting article. Maybe we'll get to that a little bit later. Something that's not controversial or frightening or depressing. If you missed a segment of the show, one of our depressing segments. Get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.