Dips, Nuts & Jerky!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Dips, Nuts & Jerky!" - Detailed Summary

Release Date: March 13, 2025

In the "Dips, Nuts & Jerky!" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve deep into a multitude of pressing topics ranging from impending government shutdowns and tariff policies to international conflicts and economic indicators. This comprehensive discussion offers listeners a blend of political analysis, economic insights, and personal anecdotes, all delivered with the hosts' characteristic humor and candor.

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1. Government Shutdown and Tariffs

[00:32 - 05:00]

The episode opens with a tense discussion on the looming threat of a government shutdown. Joe Getty expresses skepticism about the actual impact of such shutdowns, questioning their effectiveness and relevance to the general populace:

Joe Getty: "Is there just for who? Are there people that care about these shutdown conversations where they talk about it endlessly and write about it endlessly and then nothing ever happens?" [00:32]

Jack Armstrong concurs, criticizing the media's obsession with political gridlock:

Jack Armstrong: "The major media is completely beltway obsessed." [01:18]

Transitioning to economic policies, the hosts analyze Mike Dubke from BlackRock's stance on tariffs, presented by the Trump administration. Joe Getty highlights Trump's commitment to long-term economic strategies despite short-term challenges:

Joe Getty: "In Donald Trump, we've got a politician that actually is doing what we claim we've wanted for years, looking past the next election." [02:13]

Jack Armstrong adds perspective on Trump's broader economic agenda, emphasizing his focus on border control, combating "woke" initiatives, and addressing inflation:

Jack Armstrong: "Trump ran on really three things... prices, inflation, the economy... he's gambling with his presidency the way he's viewed throughout history." [03:36]

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2. Consumer Spending and Economic Indicators

[05:00 - 11:25]

The conversation shifts to consumer behavior, citing data from Circana and the Wall Street Journal. Joe Getty notes a significant decline in convenience store sales, with staples like rice cakes and refrigerated products seeing a drop of up to 7%:

Joe Getty: "I noticed the other day when I was buying my weekly supply of rice cakes how much the price had moved." [05:55]

Jack Armstrong elaborates on the broader economic concerns, referencing Doug McMillan of Walmart, who observes stressed consumer behaviors and reduced spending across income levels:

Jack Armstrong: "Consumers making less than $50k a year are pretty constrained on discretionary spending." [07:05]

The hosts discuss the implications of these trends, questioning the sustainability of current economic policies and their long-term effects on the American populace.

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3. International Affairs: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

[12:33 - 22:45]

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dissect Vladimir Putin's aggressive military strategies and the improbability of a ceasefire:

Jack Armstrong: "Putin was there on the front lines... nothing more than a temporary timeout for Ukrainian soldiers." [17:04]

Joe Getty emphasizes Russia's determination to reclaim Ukrainian territory, highlighting the involvement of North Korean troops and the brutal tactics employed:

Joe Getty: "Russian military took back the biggest town after taking several villages and appears to be on the verge of booting all the Ukrainians out of any of Russian land." [17:06]

The hosts speculate on the future trajectory of the conflict, expressing doubts about diplomatic resolutions and the potential for escalation into broader conflicts:

Jack Armstrong: "Putin has no intention of a peace settlement at this point. He's on the front foot, he's gaining ground." [21:24]

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4. Philippines Politics

[28:38 - 35:23]

Shifting focus to Southeast Asia, Armstrong and Getty explore the tumultuous political landscape in the Philippines. They discuss the downfall of Rodrigo Duterte, infamous for his brutal war on drugs, and the rise of Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr., drawing parallels to his grandfather's dictatorial regime:

Jack Armstrong: "Powerful families are an ugly, stupid thing in a democracy." [28:45]

The discussion highlights the internal conflict between President Bong Bong Marcos and Vice President Sarah Duterte, the latter threatening assassination against the former:

Joe Getty: "She said she had asked a hitman to assassinate the President along with his wife and the speaker of the country's House of Representatives." [34:53]

This power struggle underscores the fragility of democracy in the Philippines and raises concerns about future stability and human rights.

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5. Domestic Issues and Social Commentary

[11:25 - 28:38]

Interwoven with political discourse, Armstrong and Getty share personal anecdotes and social observations. They discuss declining sales in luxury markets, with Joe Getty recounting an empty experience at Neiman Marcus:

Joe Getty: "I looked at some stuff. I didn't buy anything... place was empty." [08:43]

The hosts also touch upon issues like media sensationalism, referencing the excessive coverage of sports injuries and political funding for transgender youth:

Jack Armstrong: "They used an emergency $500,000 infusion to transgender youth to protect." [30:17]

Humorously, they discuss the inefficacy of products like the Roomba, blending everyday frustrations with broader societal critiques.

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6. Economic Policies and Media Reporting

[13:17 - 17:06]

Returning to economic themes, the hosts critique media reporting on inflation. Scott from Healdsburg, California, provides insight into the misconception that reduced inflation equates to lower prices:

Joe Getty: "When it was Biden, they pretended the rate of inflation going down means prices have dropped." [12:33]

Jack Armstrong laments the media's previous lack of understanding, applauding the recent accurate portrayal:

Jack Armstrong: "The mainstream media finally suddenly understand how inflation and prices work." [13:33]

This segment underscores the importance of accurate economic reporting and its impact on public perception.

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7. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

[35:23 - End]

In their concluding remarks, Armstrong and Getty reflect on the interconnectedness of domestic policies and international conflicts. They caution against isolationism, stressing that withdrawal of American influence could lead to global instability:

Jack Armstrong: "The withdrawal of American power will lead to some sort of calm neutrality... but instead, a mad feverish rush to fill that vacuum with the lusts of evildoers." [24:08]

As the episode winds down, the hosts emphasize the need for strategic engagement to maintain global order and protect democratic values.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Joe Getty: "Who's this for? Is it just who? Are there people that care about these shutdown conversations..." [00:32]

• Jack Armstrong: "The major media is completely beltway obsessed." [01:18]

• Joe Getty: "In Donald Trump, we've got a politician that actually is doing what we claim we've wanted for years, looking past the next election." [02:13]

• Jack Armstrong: "Putin has no intention of a peace settlement at this point. He's on the front foot, he's gaining ground." [21:24]

• Joe Getty: "She said she had asked a hitman to assassinate the President along with his wife..." [34:53]

• Jack Armstrong: "The mainstream media finally suddenly understand how inflation and prices work." [13:33]

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Conclusion

"Dips, Nuts & Jerky!" offers a robust exploration of contemporary political and economic challenges, both domestically and internationally. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty provide listeners with insightful analysis, peppered with humor and personal stories, making complex issues accessible and engaging. Whether discussing the intricacies of tariff policies, the volatility of consumer spending, or the volatile politics of the Philippines, the hosts maintain a balanced perspective, encouraging listeners to stay informed and critically engaged with the world around them.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio Studio, the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Now, as the President defends bends his.

[Joe Getty]

Tariffs over on Capitol Hill, the government is inching closer to a shutdown after Senate Democrats announced they will. That's enough. I can't even hear anymore. And I don't want to lose the whole audience. I don't want to lose a whole audience. My only question on the whole shutdown is who's this for? Is it just who Are there people that care about these shutdown conversations where they talk about it endlessly and write about it endlessly and then nothing ever happens? And even if something does happen, it's for a couple hours and nobody ever remembers it. I mean, it just has no impact on anybody.

[Jack Armstrong]

The only part I remember is how stupid and phony it is. The efforts to gin up people caring about it. Yeah, yeah. I just think, you know, all of us lack self awareness sometimes. The major media is completely beltway obsessed.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, I was watching.

[Jack Armstrong]

They don't understand that their audiences are not nearly so. I mean, we care, but we're not obsessed.

[Joe Getty]

I flipped on Fox and Friends this morning and I had to keep fast forwarding and fast forwarding and fast forwarding to get through, I don't know, 25 minutes of government shutdown back and forth before he got anything I could possibly care about. Who's this for?

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, so you think American politics are screwed up. I need to tell you about Filipino politics right now. Later on in the hour, if I wrote this into a book, like a novel, the editor would say, joe, you got to rework that part because it's too crazy. That would never happen in the modern world. So stay tuned for that, if you will. Closer to home, some economic stuff. Oh, that's right. I wanted to hear. This is Mike Dubke, who's an official with BlackRock, the giant investment firm. He's among several folks that the Trump administration is trotting out to say, hey, the whole tariff thing, don't be afraid of it. It's going to pan out fine.

[Joe Getty]

In Donald Trump, we've got a politician that actually is doing what we claim we've wanted for years, looking past the next election. He believes in tariffs. I'm not a particular fan of these tariffs either, but he's actually putting his money where his mouth is and trying to say, look, this is a long term solution. We finally have got to do it. So either folks are going to get behind that and move forward or we're just going to jump back in and create certainty for the markets. But that doesn't necessarily create a economy that's going to be better for the country. That's the best spin I've heard. And spin's not always a negative connotation. It's just, you know, you're way you're portraying. Yeah, it's the way you're portraying the story that, yeah, everybody's always talking about. We got to quit just playing for the next election, the next midterm or the next presidential election. We got to think long term on this stuff. And, you know, this is what he's doing. Whether it's going to work or not, I don't know. But he is definitely playing the long game.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. And I appreciated that clip because it's a very Armstrong and Getty esque way to approach it. New listeners all the time and we thank you for being here. Hope you enjoy yourselves.

[Joe Getty]

Who are you listening to before Bongino? You miss him? Or Glenn Beck? Maybe you're listening to Glenn.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe Bon Jovi maybe got tired of music in the car.

[Joe Getty]

We replaced them and you're probably a little angry about that. But now we're here and I think if you get some time, as we always say, give it a little time. If you don't like it, give it some more time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. But anyway, we're neither never ending cheerleaders for Trump, even when he does stuff we think is dumb, nor are we, you know, Trump derangement syndrome types. You just kind of call them as we see them. But I appreciated that because he said, look, I don't exactly agree with the tariff stuff, but here's what he's doing and you got to admire that. I want to keep my ear out for Mike Dubke. I like the cut of his jib. Anyway, the, the whole tariff thing, I will say this just as a, like a sports analyst talking about their, you know, they've committed to the passing game even though their two best receivers are injured. Trump ran on really three things. The border check, getting rid of the woke stuff, check as fast as he can. He's doing a good job so far. And three, and maybe this ought to be number one, prices, inflation, the economy, the hurt in your pocketbook. And in the short term at least he is really gambling because there's a very good chance that prices are gonna rise in the short to medium term because the whole tariff thing, which is turning into bit of a trade war whether those tariffs stay in place and for how long? Hard to say.

[Joe Getty]

Well, his belief is we're such the giant 400 pound gorilla that we will win every trade war. Isn't that his belief? Over time?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Everybody will back down.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. After a period of disruption, as he said, there are some captains of industry who are normally very Trump friendly who are saying, hey, we make investments that pay off in decades, not in quarters or years. And we need some level of certainty, please. So we'll. But that's what Mike Dubke was saying, that creating certainty doesn't necessarily create a better economy over the long term. So we'll all find out together. I found this very interesting. Shoppers are skipping on cigarettes, Doritos and Twinkies. U.S. convenience store sales fell 4.3% by volume year to year, February to February. Let's see. According to market research firm Circana, among snacks purchased in these stores, rice cakes dropped most sharply. Man. This is a detailed survey followed by dips, nuts and jerky.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I noticed the other day when I was buying my weekly supply of rice cakes how much the price had moved.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah, people are buying fewer of them. I like dips, nuts and jerky. It sounds like. Hey, honey, did you like the new men's club? You went to the meeting. Please, It's a bunch of dips, nuts and jerky.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Refrigerated products dropped by about 7% by sales volume, which is damn significant. Chocolate candy fell by 6% the lower.

[Joe Getty]

But I haven't had an egg in a month and I'm dying over here.

[Jack Armstrong]

The lower tier of consumers, folks with less money, are seriously cutting back on purchases. Let me navigate over to this, which is a similar tale is from the Wall Street Journal Journal. Consumer angst is striking all income levels. Signs of weakness are showing up in spending on everything from basics to luxuries. This is interesting because it was no more than a few weeks ago. We brought you the story that the top 10% of incomes in the United States are driving like 56% of consumer spending, something like that. Way outsized even by comparison with what's normally going on.

[Joe Getty]

And they have a tendency to spend when the stock market's doing well and pull back when it' not. Even though it's not like actually affecting your cash flow today, it's just the way you feel.

[Jack Armstrong]

So American consumers, according to the Journal, have had a lot to fret about so far this year between never ending tariff headlines. I'm not sure how much the average consumer, particularly like your bottom 20% quintile, pays attention to tariff headlines. I don't know. Stubborn inflation. That's true. And most recently fresh fears about a recession. These concerns seem to be hitting spending by both rich and poor across necessities and luxuries all at once. In an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago in late February, Walmart Chief executive Doug McMillan, no politician, he. I mean that's if you want to know what's going on with the American consumer, I don't know if you can do better than asking the guy from Walmart. He said budget pressured customers are showing stressed behaviors. They are buying smaller pack sizes at the end of the month because quote, their money runs out before the month is gone.

[Joe Getty]

Interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

McDonald's said its most recent earnings call in its most recent earnings call that the fast food industry has had a sluggish start to the year in part because of weak demand from low income consumers. And that is echoed across the US fast food industry. Sales to low income guests down by double digit percentage in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year. And things don't look much better on the higher end. American consumers spending on the luxury market, which includes high end department stores and online platforms fell 9.3% in February from a year previous, worse than the 5.9% decline in January.

[Joe Getty]

And I was in the Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills a couple of weeks ago on my birthday and wow, Mr.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fancy over here.

[Joe Getty]

I looked at some stuff. I didn't buy anything. I didn't realize I had a, like a cafe in there. I had a salad. It was one of the best salads I've ever had. But anyway. Oh yeah, place was empty and there were so many sales clerks around, I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thought how do they turn a profit.

[Joe Getty]

On a place like this when you got like a hundred salespeople just standing around waiting for a customer to come in and buy some really overpriced crap.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's the anti Home Depot. Hello? Hello? Hello, Hello. Can you help me find this screw? Oh, oh well, at a place like.

[Joe Getty]

Neiman Marcus, the sort of person that goes there, they, they expect someone to be there to help them answer a question immediately. But I don't know how you turn a profit on that. And you know when it's down 10%. God, I would think those places you talk about something that's elastic in terms of purchasing, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Costco, whose membership p. Fee paying customer Not Pfang. That's not a word. Fee paying customer base skews higher income said last week that demand has shifted toward lower cost proteins such as ground beef and poultry. Members are Being very choosy. And the Kohl's CEO said consumers making less than 50 grand a year are pretty constrained on discretionary spending. But added, quote, it's also pretty challenging for those making less than 100 grand. Between 50 and 100. Obviously they just gave Wall Street a weaker than expected sales forecast.

[Joe Getty]

I should explain this briefly. You know what I do at a place like Neiman Marcus? I try on a certain brand of something to see what size I need and then I find it on ebay, used.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whether it's, you know, lightly used by some fashionista who changes what they wear every three, four, five months or somebody who's, who's gone to meet God.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, some of it's dead people, but. And I can't, I don't know who you are that buys these things full price, but somebody must.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I guess so. I, the airlines, they quote as well that customers are pulling back on air travel. Could be interesting times economically ahead for the rest of 2025. We'll see. Yeah, well, and I guess, you know, the point politically is that Trump is gambling with prices and the economy, perhaps for wonderful long term reasons. We'll leave that up to y'all to decide individually. But at just the time when things are looking a little shaky. Right.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, he's gambling with his presidency the way he's viewed throughout history. And I mean, he's not just doing the easy expedient what's going to make the most people happy thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

That's for certain.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and it's all about me, Jack, you know that. And he's also gambling with our ability as conservatives to get done certain really, really great things. Because if the Republicans get murdered in the midterms because the economy has gone, you know, sideways, that's, that's going to hurt getting rid of the DEI and the idiotic regulations, at least to some extent. So I'm, you know, I'm rooting for it to work out for obvious reasons. I'm also a part of the economy. I'm a consumer, as we all are.

[Joe Getty]

Russia has said no, basically to the ceasefire deal. I don't know where that leaves the world. And a bunch of other stuff on the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty read that the maker of the Roomba vacuum has substantial doubt.

[Joe Getty]

The companies can survive.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's not that the Roomba sucked, it's just that it didn't suck enough.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I only tried the first generation Roomba and did not have much success with it. And I haven't tried the previous improvements. Maybe they're better.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Yeah, I, I had a, you know, probably third generation, something like that. It's pretty good.

[Joe Getty]

There's just so much stuff you had to pick up and rearrange your room and everything like that to use it. I felt like it didn't save me time over just pushing my vacuum around.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I keep threatening to unleash it in a part of our house where we don't go very often, but I haven't done it yet. And that kind of, that's, you know, that tells you everything you need to know. Right. Oh, quick, I'm sorry. I had one more note I wanted to throw in on the economic stuff we were talking about and I forgot. Great note from Scott in beautiful Healdsburg, California. Wednesday's. He's talking about the top of the hour. Network News reporter Kelly O'Grady did a story on the lower than interest expected inflation. Those numbers that came out yesterday.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And she made sure to point out that a reduction in inflation doesn't mean a reduction in prices. Wow. The mainstream media finally suddenly understand. Understands how inflation and prices work. Where was that reporting for the last four years?

[Joe Getty]

No Franken. Kidding.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did the MSM replace DEI training and trans messaging with financial training and Jim Cramer reruns? That's hilarious.

[Joe Getty]

So when it was Biden, they pretended the rate of inflation going down means prices have dropped. Why aren't you happy now? It's Trump, you point out. Well, that doesn't mean the price isn't good. Okay, all right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well. And as Scott also points out, they either knew how it works and were lying or selectively reporting or were completely ignorant of the topic and suddenly they're, they're wise to it.

[Joe Getty]

Please hear about the woman who ran off the road, broke so many of her bones and she was trapped in her car for an entire week before they found her. And she's alive now. That's quite the story there. In fact, that's funny. I mentioned it in there. I see her see the story up on TV right now. We'll have that a little bit later. And Russia ain't gonna agree to a ceasefire, I don't think. But I'm texting my youngest the other day, my 13 year old, Henry, and like, you know, get ready to go. I'm gonna be home in a second. We're gonna go to the grocery store. And he responds, old Kinderhook. Which I didn't know what that meant. Maybe you know what that means, Joe? I don't know. Yeah, okay. I didn't know what it meant. Anyway, I said what? That was that. So when I got home, he explained it to me. It's from an episode of the Simpsons. Well, that's not where it originated. That's where he came across. Episode of the Simpsons, where people are talking about. I forget what they're talking about. They're throwing around a whole bunch of abbreviations. You know, FBI, CI, CIA, APA or whatever, and. And Moses. All right, that's it. No more abbreviations. From now on, it's Old Kinderhook around here.

[Jack Armstrong]

And.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, Martin Van Buren ran for president in 1940 on. OK, old Kinderhook. He was from Kinderhook, New Jersey, New York, wherever he's from. And it became a thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay.

[Joe Getty]

As an older Kinderhook. Like, you know, he's a good man of the people sort of thing. The opposition who ended up winning Harrison's campaign used okay to mean the way people generally use the word okay. Like, he's okay. His first term was okay, but that's not good enough. So, anywho, it became used on both sides of the campaign, and both shades of meaning survive.

[Jack Armstrong]

How interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, nobody's exactly sure where okay came from. It could go way back to the Greeks or Native Americans. There's a lot of confusion over where it actually started, but it definitely was used as Old Kinderhook at that time. I just thought it was funny that my son hit me with that. I. I had no idea what he was saying.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, Clever lad.

[Joe Getty]

Old Kinderhook. And that's a pretty good. You know, you can picture that in modern politics. That's pretty good. So they try to use an abbreviation. You capture that abbreviation, turn it into a negative. The Harrison campaign, who ended up winning, except their candidate was the oldest person ever elected president at age 68. And then he gave his famous speech in the cold and died in a month. But 68, that'd be a young president now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, no kidding. I appreciate Mo's stance. As you know, I'm staunchly against silent letters, and I'll tell anybody who will listen.

[Joe Getty]

From now on, it's Old Kinder Hook around here. That's funny. How about Putin showing up to the front lines yesterday in military garbage to. To cheer on the troops and make it to me just ultimately clear that he plans to keep fighting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Doesn't that the best response gonna be? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Well, who knows?

[Jack Armstrong]

And Filipino politics. Holy crap, are they screwed up.

[Joe Getty]

Stick around.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you can't, grab the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand. Armstrong and Getty, Vladimir Putin said there is that first of all, the Russians want to kick all of the Ukrainians off their territory and also create a buffer zone in that area, which obviously could take months of combat operations to do. So the Russians right now feel that they have the edge on the battlefield and that they are not going to be pressured or rushed into any sort of ceasefire agreement.

[Joe Getty]

Well, we've finally gotten our first response from Russia after Ukraine agreed to the US plan for a ceasefire. You know, Marco Rubio and both he and the President yesterday saying, hey, the ball is in Russia's court. Well, Russia responded finally, we'll get to that in a second. But yesterday the Russian military took back Sudsa Sudza, the biggest town held by Ukraine in the Kursk region, which is in Russia. If you remember, Ukraine had gotten into Russia and taken some of their territory. Well, Russian military took back the biggest town after taking several villages and appears to be on the verge of booting all the Ukrainians out of any of Russian land. And Putin was there on the front lines in his military fatigues, acting like a wartime leader and not acting like a guy who's looking for a ceasefire, certainly. And the response to from a Russian negotiator. Senior aide to Vladimir Putin said this is nothing other than a temporary timeout for Ukrainian soldiers and nothing more in his rejection of the ceasefire proposal. Our goal is a long term peaceful resolution. Steps that imitate peaceful actions are not needed through victory.

[Jack Armstrong]

He left unspoken, right, the complete conquest of as much of Ukraine as we can, then the, you know, demilitarizing of their military.

[Joe Getty]

Well, also unspoken is the, I think we're winning and we're gonna win, so why would we stop?

[Jack Armstrong]

And as long as Kim Jong Un is willing to sell us 20 year old machine gun fodder, we're doing okay.

[Joe Getty]

God, that's brutal. Moscow, part of their plan has been. Moscow insists on keeping it minimum 18% of Ukrainian territory, about the fifth of the country that they took. It wants to reverse policies that have sidelined Russian cultural influence in Ukraine, preclude the country's membership from NATO, which has already been announced by, you know, our Sec Def and other people. And Zelenskyy and his government have to go.

[Jack Armstrong]

The Russians said, which you don't get.

[Joe Getty]

To decide that Zelensky has said he would step down if it, you know, led to peace.

[Jack Armstrong]

But yeah, but the Russians, that's not what they mean. They want to install a puppet regime, right?

[Joe Getty]

Or eventually, if not immediately. Well, how do you think this is going to play out. So Trump's guy is over there now somewhere meeting with Russians apparently. And how do you think this is going to play out? Is it any point, at any point, is the President, Marco Rubio, anything, anybody going to put any pressure on Russia and say, hey, this is a bunch of crap and you know, it's, if you don't come up with something better than that, full sanctions, blah, blah, blah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, I can't answer your question because that X, that variable, that unknown is huge. Now, what does Trump slash the United States do? Say, what's the strategy now? What was, you know, to those who thought he was playing, you know, some three to seven dimensional chess by beating up Zelensky, perhaps with Zelensky's permission, to really bring Putin to the table, et cetera, et cetera. I have no idea what the next step is. Putin, and I've been saying this from the beginning, has no intention of a peace settlement at this point. He's on the front foot, he's gaining ground. It would be insane for him to come to the table unless he is forced to the table. And whether there's the will to do that remains to be seen.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Now we heard those economic stats yesterday about Russia, which are pretty horrible, 40% inflation and a variety of things. But you don't know what to, to what extent Putin's being shored up by China or will be shored up by China or Iran or whoever is willing to help them out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and because we have a at least semi rational form of government and elections, I think Americans tend to underestimate the extent to which foreign leader dictators specifically can be not entirely rational. And I don't mean psychotic, but like when we found out Xi Jinping is a committed communist. He's not pretending to be because that holds the country together. The Communist Party. No, he believes in communism. Stalin, you know, certainly the early leaders of the Soviet Union, they thought they were right about, you know, Marxism in the history of mankind and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And Putin actually has czarist impulses to reassemble the greatness of the Russian empire. I believe that firmly.

[Joe Getty]

And for those of you who don't want us to be involved in Ukraine and think it's not our business. I just, I just feel like World War III is more likely if, if we had forced Zelensky into peace. And Russia, you know, they're just going to regroup and then try to take another chunk of Ukraine or the whole thing, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, 100% are one of the Baltic states and in China. Speaking of China, Xi Jinping's doing the same thing. Constantly probing for weakness in the sea, on land, all over Asia and the oceans in that part of the world. Every single day he has his navy, his armies, his secret agents, whatever, probing to see what the reaction of the Western world's gonna be and pushing and pushing and pushing. And, you know, you need not be a PhD in history to understand when people like that find weakness, they thrust. They don't say, oh, sorry, no, they go as far as they can, as fast as they can. The withdrawal. See, here we go. You're a neoc here, Reagan. You're an old boomer. Generation X, you bastards. Anyway, there is a fantasy, and I'm not saying we can't have a transition to a different world order, because the world order is always changing. And I. I have a pretty open mind about this stuff. But the one thing that bothers me about some of the new, more isolationist spheres of influence, conservatives, whatever you want to call them, is they have an incredibly naive view in my mind. Talk me out of it if you can, that the withdrawal of American power will lead to some sort of calm neutrality.

[Joe Getty]

Yep, a lot of people, as opposed.

[Jack Armstrong]

To a mad feverish rush to fill that vacuum with the lusts of evildoers, be they Putin or Xi Jinping or Kim Jong Un or the mullahs and freaking around who are trying to get the nukes as fast as they can. Anyway.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, man, I heard a good podcast the other day of people making the argument. I never looked at it this way before, but the whole. We pay for everything. We pay for the U.N. we pay for the WHO, we pay for NATO. You know, we're. None of these organizations would be anything without us because we support so much of them is to our advantage and that we get to call the shots. So, I mean, it's expensive and it's, you know, unfair. Using my finger quotes in a certain way that we provide the. You know, we. We are the teeth in NATO and everything. I. But we get to call the shots that way. And if we're not, gave us the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Greatest economy in the history of the world.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, one more little piece of news here from the New York Times on what happened yesterday. The loss of Ukraine's toehold in Kursk, where at one point it had captured nary roughly the size of Los Angeles, would mark a significant defeat for Kyiv. Russia has thrown enormous resources into the campaign to recapture its territory, deploying North Korean troops and staring. Staging daring operations. One unit crawled Through a disused section of natural gas. Gas pipeline this week to outflank Ukrainian troops defending that big city with several dying of methane poisoning, according to pro Kremlin war bloggers. While they had North Koreans crawling through gas pipes to come up behind the Ukrainian troops.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Wow. You know, dying of methane poisoning is probably a better fate than they would have enjoyed if they'd emerged from the other end of the pipe.

[Joe Getty]

Right. God dang it. It's almost hard to believe that this still exists on planet earth in the year 2025. You know, human nature doesn't change. But you got, like you said, these 20 year old North Koreans who at the point of a gun are just being say, run that way, but they're shooting machine guns at me. Run that way anyway or I'm going to shoot you here. Would you rather be shot over there, shot over here and then crawl through this pipe? Where does it go? I don't know. Find out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

God, that's brutal.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's the Russian tradition going back hundreds.

[Joe Getty]

It is. It absolutely is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Young men exist to die in war.

[Joe Getty]

One more thing before we take a break. Volleyball practice last night, my son's volleyball team. I wasn't there, but guy's knee popped.

[Jack Armstrong]

Out of its socket. Oh, my right.

[Joe Getty]

He said it was pretty gruesome to see high school. High school, Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

A dislocated knee.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. He said it was just like nobody could look at it. And everybody was like. And immediately called 911 and you know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Have they gotten a dude on the team? I'm sorry? I mean a transgender. Oh, they are dudes.

[Joe Getty]

They are.

[Jack Armstrong]

That wouldn't work.

[Joe Getty]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're all dudes.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

So that doesn't work the other way. Which is funny, isn't it?

[Joe Getty]

But.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ooh, that is maybe an adult youngish looking, 24 year old.

[Joe Getty]

I don't want to see somebody's knee sticking out. He said it was just amazing how far out of where it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't even want to hear.

[Joe Getty]

I know. When he was telling me about it, I was getting late at it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I guess that was the end of practice. They shut down practice after that. And it's not like volleyball is, you know, football. You don't expect that sort of thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, indeed. Can we talk about something else? We're gonna have to institute a program of. Of I approve these little tales from real life in advance. That's disgusting. I, you know, gruesome football injury or whatever that they show three times on the telecast. I won't.

[Joe Getty]

I don't look either. Why would I want to see that? I have no interest.

[Jack Armstrong]

But somebody likes it. Most people must like it because that.

[Joe Getty]

Can'T be, can it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. Your crazy high dollar football telecasts, they know what their audience wants. They study it carefully.

[Joe Getty]

Remember the most famous injury and no football television.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not going to not have my approval to bring it up.

[Joe Getty]

I'm not going to talk about what happened, but just the coverage of it. Joe Theisman, which I've never seen, he was a quarterback and he got hurt and they just replayed it over and over and over again and there was a lot of pushback after that. Like, why did you keep showing this awful injury over and over again and. But it doesn't seem to have slowed down the media. They still do that. See right there where he plants his foot? Yeah, I get it. I know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Broken leg. Yes, yes, I get it.

[Joe Getty]

Why are you showing me this?

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, that's enough of that. Oh, so you think our politics are screwed up. You're gonna think I'm making up what I'm about to tell you about politics in the Philippines. And this is one of our most important allies in the region. Oof.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, can you imagine, like, you know, whenever you've accidentally hurt yourself, why would you ever want to see a video of that in slow motion?

[Jack Armstrong]

Never. Never.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, stay tuned.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Do you know who she is? Do you know who she is? You're better off not knowing. So that's Trump in the Oval Office with the. Do they have a prime minister in Ireland?

[Jack Armstrong]

There's a fancy Irish term for it, but yeah, that's what he is.

[Joe Getty]

And saying, you know, because Rosie O'Donnell moved to Ireland. Because Trump. Whatever.

[Jack Armstrong]

And put out a statement saying she's going to stay. Well, do we have it? We have it handy. Right 12 Michael.

[Joe Getty]

I'm here in Ireland and it's beautiful and warm.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not physically. It's actually quite cold.

[Joe Getty]

Moved here on January 15th and it's been pretty wonderful. And when, you know, it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights.

[Jack Armstrong]

There in America, that's when we will consider coming back.

[Joe Getty]

And is that over the alleged transphobia? Trump cracking down. It's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Listen to gay marriage will be over. That's right. Transgender people hunted down in the streets by the secret police or something.

[Joe Getty]

NPR had a feature yesterday on mayors fighting back against the Trump administration. I think this mayor was Cincinnati. From Cincinnati. They had on. He talked about how we immediately before the inauguration had an emergency $500,000 infusion to transgender youth to protect. And I thought half a million dollars you found somewhere for an emergency injection into shoring up transgender youth, whatever the hell that means.

[Jack Armstrong]

Handing it out to your cronies. That's what it means.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God. And NPR was just so, so happy that that happened.

[Jack Armstrong]

Unbelievable. Cincinnati used to be such a sane, nice, conservative city. Anyway, so Rosie O'Donnell is in Ireland. Enjoy our delusional castoffs. Ireland. And we got this note from B. I wonder if Rosie's okay with the abortion laws in Ireland. Up to 12 weeks.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And only beyond that, if the mother's health is in serious question. According to amnesty.org 4000 women leave for England annually to get an abortion. Since Rosie's so concerned about freedom, wonder how she squares this. It's as if she's a dip ass who doesn't know what she's talking about. Barry Crazy. Anyway, speaking of foreign lands and their odd laws, the Philippines, you're familiar with the history of our relationship with them. Key In World War II, MacArthur I will return. The Bataan death march, all sorts of bases there, US Military bases there. It's a huge strategic asset for the United States. Very close to China indeed. China is bullying the heck out of the Philippines recently. And I've been rooting for the Philippines, US to back them up. Anyway, here's what's going on, politics wise. You remember hearing about Rodrigo Duterte, their old president, who announced this war on drugs. And he initially was very popular, but he sent his goon squads forth, some in uniform, some not, to seek out anybody who's selling drugs, doing drugs, looked at drugs, whatever, and depends who you ask. At least 10,000 people were killed in extrajudicial killings and maybe a couple of tens of thousands, again, depending who you ask. He just was killing anybody he thought had anything to do with drugs or was kind of inconvenient to his regime.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I was, I was going to say, do we believe that he was just like obsessed with the drug problem or was it just a cover to take out anybody you wanted?

[Jack Armstrong]

It would. It's hard to picture somebody who is sincerely interested in the health and safety of his people and willing to conduct 10 to 20,000 extrajudicial murders. No trial, no hearing, no warrant, no nothing. Just gunning people down in the streets. Anyway, so you got him. He's out of office now and they just took him into custody at the behest of the International Criminal Court, which we, the United States, ignores because of his crimes against humanity. Allegedly what we were Just talking about. So the guy who's now president has a great nickname, Ferdinand Bong Bong Marcos. I don't know if he's just really into the ganj or if it's some Philippine nickname, but anyway, yeah, exactly. He is the grandson, I think of the longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Imelda Marcos with his 7,000 pairs of shoes and all that. He's their grandson. His vice president is Sarah Duterte, the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte who committed all those killings and was just taken into custody. So tensions have been building for months between the president and vice president. Who are the two big powerful families. Powerful families are an ugly, stupid thing in a democracy. You don't want that. But anyway, she was starting to say that she fears for her safety because she thinks the president, the current guys goon squads are gonna take her out. So at a mid morning news conference and how did this not make the news much in November, she said she had asked a hitman to assassinate the President along with his wife and the speaker of the country's House of Representatives. I said do not stop until you kill them all. And he said yes, it's all hired, it's all arranged. If I disappear, he's gonna take out your whole family. That's the vice President to the President. Wow. Holy crap.

[Joe Getty]

So I've been following a little of the trial of the, the, the, the, the old guy who was killing all these people because he was pushing people out of helicopters and all kinds of crazy stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah, that was his favorite way to get rid of people because there's no paper trailer evidence. You just take them up in a helicopter and push him into the ocean. Wow. Now his daughter's the veep and threatening to rub out the president if anything happens to her. So you know as Chuck Schumer is lying and trying to start a government shutdown and they're a clapping bag. J.D. vance says this. It could be worse.

[Joe Getty]

Buy your champagne today. 200% tariffs according to Trump. Among other things we'll talk about in an hour three.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.