Do Not Pet The Butt Sniffer

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode Title: Do Not Pet The Butt Sniffer
Release Date: July 28, 2025
Host/Authors: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Producer: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Traverse City Knife Incident: Second Amendment in Action

The episode opens with a discussion about a disturbing incident in Traverse City, Michigan, where a 42-year-old suspect, Bradford James Gilley, embarked on a stabbing spree at a local Walmart. The hosts delve into the nuances of the event, highlighting the role of armed citizens in thwarting such threats.

• Jack Armstrong (02:03): “He’s a nut job obviously and stabbed a bunch of people. But for people who lean right and pro second amendment, it bothered many of us that the stories didn't include that a good guy with a gun was yelling drop the knife, throw it away.”

A guest expert praises the actions of the armed individual who confronted Gilley, emphasizing the importance of responsible gun ownership.

• Guest Expert (02:03): “I was shocked that ABC News actually did talk about that and even had a quote from the sheriff saying those folks did everything absolutely right. I can't praise them enough.”

The conversation underscores the significance of the Second Amendment in personal and public safety, advocating for the recognition of armed citizens in crisis situations.

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2. Ohio Adopts Flat Tax: A Shift in Taxation Policy

Jack Armstrong introduces a significant tax policy change in Ohio, where the state has become the sixth to adopt a flat tax system, moving away from the traditional progressive tax model.

• Guest Expert (04:38): “So they're the sixth state to revise their tax code. Adopt a flat tax because in Ohio, it became the 15th state total to abandon graduated or progressive income taxes in favor of the flat rate model.”

The hosts discuss the implications of a flat tax, highlighting its simplicity, predictability, and potential to encourage economic growth by eliminating disincentives to earn more.

• Jack Armstrong (06:27): “Yeah, and the ultra ultra rich are the ones that can take advantage of that other people can't. You're just stuck.”

The guest expert elaborates on how flat taxes can reduce loopholes and promote fairness by ensuring everyone pays the same percentage of their income, regardless of earnings.

• Guest Expert (06:49): “It's the proverbial figuring out your taxes on a postcard.”

The segment concludes with a critical view of progressive taxation, suggesting that flat taxes are a more equitable and efficient system for both individuals and businesses.

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3. Trump's Executive Order: Tackling Homelessness and Public Disorder

The hosts examine President Donald J. Trump's recent executive order aimed at empowering state and local governments to address homelessness and public disorder.

• Guest Expert (09:31): “Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to empower state and local governments to remove bums and junkies from the nation's streets.”

Jack Armstrong shares a personal anecdote to illustrate the impact of public disorder, expressing frustration over the increasing visibility of individuals exhibiting dangerous behavior in public spaces.

• Jack Armstrong (09:56): “I was telling my kids this stuff makes me so angry. I tell my kids my entire life on Earth, I never saw one human being like that, not one. Until, like, 15 years ago. Now I see them every day, all day. How is that possible?”

The discussion focuses on the implications of reversing judicial precedents and ending consent decrees that previously limited local governments' authority to manage public disturbances. The executive order emphasizes redirecting funds towards treatment facilities and excluding support for drug injection sites.

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4. The Burbank "Butt Sniffer": A Case Study in Recidivism

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the bizarre and troubling case of a serial sex offender in Burbank, known colloquially as the "Butt Sniffer." This individual has been arrested multiple times for intruding into women's personal spaces to sniff their buttocks.

• Katie (13:14): “A crime alert tonight from Burbank Police. They've arrested a serial sex offender again and they fear many more women may have been victimized by this man.”

The hosts express frustration over the offender's repeated releases and subsequent reoffenses, questioning the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in handling such cases.

• Jack Armstrong (15:05): “He's been doing this for a while. Thank God for Tick Tock.”

The guest expert connects this case to broader issues of recidivism, referencing a scientific study that categorizes individuals who repeatedly engage in harmful behaviors despite penalties.

• Guest Expert (37:19): “This global study identified three distinct decision-making types... Compulsive individuals who persist in harmful behavior despite both.”

Jack Armstrong and the guest explore potential solutions, including unconventional ideas like utilizing the offender's olfactory skills in security roles, while also critiquing societal and systemic failures that allow such individuals to continue offending.

• Jack Armstrong (16:55): “Do not pet the butt sniffer.”

The segment underscores the challenges in rehabilitating individuals with compulsive and potentially cognitive impairments that drive their criminal behavior.

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5. Israel's Aid to Gaza: Unraveling the Truth Amidst Misinformation

In a comprehensive analysis, the hosts tackle the contentious issue of humanitarian aid in Gaza, examining claims and counterclaims regarding the distribution and theft of aid by Hamas.

Jack Armstrong criticizes media outlets for their portrayal of the situation, highlighting how information is often skewed to fit preexisting narratives.

• Jack Armstrong (21:00): “I've seen those videos and pictures my whole life. Oftentimes finding out that they're phony or exaggerated or from five years ago.”

The guest expert references an article by Maddie Friedman, which discusses the complexities of discerning truth in conflict zones plagued by propaganda and misinformation.

• Guest Expert (25:24): “Maddie Friedman wrote a great piece... how sane citizens... are supposed to know what's true and to do the right thing?”

They delve into specific instances where media reports have either exaggerated or misrepresented the realities on the ground, such as the misidentification of a malnourished child whose condition was due to genetic disorders rather than starvation caused by blockades.

• Guest Expert (23:11): “The boy... suffers from a muscle disorder and other grave genetic conditions unrelated to starvation.”

The discussion emphasizes the importance of critical media consumption and the challenges faced by journalists in conflict zones where information is a weapon.

• Guest Expert (29:38): “The international press isn't the answer... really no information coming from Gaza can be taken at face value.”

The hosts advocate for a nuanced understanding of the situation, recognizing the roles of both Israeli policies and Hamas's actions in the humanitarian crisis.

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6. Listener Engagement and Closing Remarks

Throughout the episode, listeners are encouraged to interact via text lines and social media, sharing their thoughts and experiences related to the discussed topics.

The hosts wrap up the episode by reinforcing their stances on the issues covered, emphasizing accountability, justice, and the pursuit of truth in media reporting.

• Jack Armstrong (35:33): “So I lean way toward Israel's the good guy and Gaza slash the Palestinians are the bad guys.”

The episode concludes with a reminder of the importance of staying informed and critically assessing the information presented by various media outlets.

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Notable Quotes

• Jack Armstrong (02:03): “He’s a nut job obviously and stabbed a bunch of people. But for people who lean right and pro second amendment, it bothered many of us that the stories didn't include that a good guy with a gun was yelling drop the knife, throw it away.”

• Guest Expert (06:49): “It's the proverbial figuring out your taxes on a postcard.”

• Jack Armstrong (09:56): “I was telling my kids this stuff makes me so angry. I tell my kids my entire life on Earth, I never saw one human being like that, not one. Until, like, 15 years ago. Now I see them every day, all day. How is that possible?”

• Guest Expert (25:24): “Maddie Friedman wrote a great piece... how sane citizens... are supposed to know what's true and to do the right thing?”

• Jack Armstrong (35:33): “So I lean way toward Israel's the good guy and Gaza slash the Palestinians are the bad guys.”

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Conclusion

In this episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty navigate through a series of pressing issues ranging from local crime and tax policy to international humanitarian crises and media misinformation. Through insightful discussions and expert opinions, they emphasize the importance of accountability, informed citizenship, and the critical assessment of information in today's complex socio-political landscape.

Transcript

[Michael]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George.

[Joe Getty]

Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Throw the knife back. Throw it away.

[News Anchor]

Dramatic new video shows good Samaritans confronting alleged knife wielding suspect outside a Michigan Walmart just moments after police say he went on a stabbing spree targeting people at random. Police identifying the suspect as 42 year old Bradford James Gilley, saying he entered the store in Traverse city just before 5pm on Saturday and began attacking people starting near the checkout area with his folding knife that has a three and a half inch blade. Gilly, now facing terrorism charges, I have that very knife.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's a nut job obviously and stabbed a bunch of people. But for people who lean right and pro second amendment, it bothered many of us that the stories didn't include that a good guy with a gun was yelling drop the knife, throw it away. Drop the knife, throw it away. Just he wasn't just like randomly apprehended by people yelling at him to put away his knife. See, he had stabbed 11 people and was trying to stab more. You wouldn't have been able to yell at him to get him to throw away that he threw away the knife because like dude, dude, a good dude, a former Marine who happened to have a gun was pointing at it and telling him drop the knife or I'm gonna shoot you.

[Guest Expert]

I was shocked that ABC News actually did talk about that and even had a quote from the sheriff saying those Folks did everything absolutely right. I can't praise them enough. Really.

[Jack Armstrong]

I didn't see any reports that included that a guy had a gun and did the right thing with it.

[Guest Expert]

Not one. Like I say, my mouth was agape. I couldn't believe it. So that's a good thing. Among other good things that are happening. It's Joe Getty's the Glass is Half Full. Halfway through that sentence, I decided it needed a name.

[Jack Armstrong]

The glass is half full. You know, one glass is half full. Story is I just saw 170 million people in the country are under a heat watch. That's half the population. How about the other half where I live? It's extraordinarily cool. It's like the coolest it's been in 30 years. That's a glasses half full. We're loving climate change over here.

[Guest Expert]

Now, Michael, you were quick on the draw with the theme song there, even though I decided on it mid sentence. Do you have the life threatening Heat dome song?

[Jack Armstrong]

Life threatening Heat dome.

[Guest Expert]

I'm still searching for that. We're searching for wide program Mike.

[Jack Armstrong]

We went to all the work to get a life threatening heat dome jingle and we don't have it. But the heat dome will be over before we ever get to use it.

[Guest Expert]

We had Elton John and Tim Rice write it. We had the Disney orchestra that does all their movies record it for us. It costs $400,000. No. All right. You'll find it. Anyway. So it struck me in preparing the program today that there were a lot of things that made me happy, which is extraordinarily rare as most of its misery and frustration. But I've mentioned this a couple of times. Ohio has just joined the rising flat tax revolution since the middle of 21. And I did not know this, I think because the media is loathe to admit it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, you're using a term that. I'm not sure everybody knows what it is and are excited about it. What is a flat tax?

[Guest Expert]

Yeah, it actually comes out in the next sentence or two, but. So they're the sixth state to revise their tax code. Adopt a flat tax that because in Ohio became the 15th state total to abandon graduated or progressive income taxes in favor of the flat rate model. Meaning, for instance, in Ohio, you pay 2.75% of your income as income tax. Doesn't matter if you make a little money or a ton of money, because if you know anything about percentages, the more you make, the more you pay. It's just the same percentage as everybody else. Now why does this matter? Well, it matters for a number of reasons. A flat tax levies the same income tax rate on every household and business regardless of income. Progressive income tax structures, by contrast, tax different income levels at different rates, getting higher and higher as your earnings get higher and higher. The graduated progressive model, which is popular among liberals and progressives, creates disincentives to earn more since every dollar gets taxed at a higher rate at certain thresholds. And it gets worse. Progressive income tax systems like the federal one, encourage taxpayers, lobbyists, accounting firms, policymakers to push for loopholes, carve outs exceptions to offset the progressively higher tax rates. And of course those loopholes favor the masses and the powerless. No, of course not. They favor the well connected and they deem some government favor businesses more equal than others, to quote Orwell, creating economic winners and losers across the tax code. It's just who lobbies the best.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, and the ultra ultra rich are the ones that can take advantage of that other people can't. You're just stuck.

[Guest Expert]

Right, right. And because flat tax systems do not impose marginal tax increases, they encourage economic activity, investment, higher earnings. The growth generates more wealth and more savings. Fixed flat tax rates are simple and predictable. So you know without an accountant or a tax attorney, what you're going to be paying.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm surprised.

[Guest Expert]

It's the proverbial figuring out your taxes on a postcard.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm surprised 15 states have adopted this that you. That the other side couldn't demagogue it because it's so easy to demagogue.

[Guest Expert]

Well yes, I mean it has been, but it's easy to counter demagogue too. Hey, if I make 10 times as much, I will pay 10 times as much. I've got all sorts of statistics I was going to bring about the, with the new tax laws and stuff, the disproportionate amount of income the top say 20% has, or 10% or 1%, but they pay even more proportionately in income tax. And so number one, of course they benefit more from tax reform. But two, the idea that the rich aren't paying their fair share is just absolutely hilarious. I think it's pretty easy to, to, to counter demagogue. Finally, flat taxes are harder for state legislatures to raise without voter approval because voting taxpayers know exactly what percentage of their earnings will be siphoned off to the public offers. And legislators who want to raise that percentage will need to justify and explain it to all taxpayers. I've advocated for the flat tax or the fair tax, which is just a small variation on it for Years and years and years and will continue to do so. Anyway, more good stuff. Read a great analysis of the Trump administration's deal with Columbia University trying to clean up the university system. And it's really good and a really good framework. They essentially said, you're paying fines for violating the law all these years, coming to a settlement, and we're going to keep an eye on you. So you got to follow the law about racial discrimination and the rest of it going forward. Even as Harvard's former president, Larry Summers, was willing to concede this was the best possible deal Columbia could have hoped to score. Its academic autonomy is preserved, the funding streams restored, and all it had to do was stop breaking the law. So you go, Donald J. You go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Glass is half full.

[Guest Expert]

I think some of the negotiations as Trumps are unnecessarily abusive, but as long as we get to the good stuff. And speaking of the good stuff, this also got practically zero reporting happened at the end of last week. Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to empower state and local governments to remove bums and junkies from the nation's streets. The order ending crime and disorder on America's straits because it has to, as.

[Jack Armstrong]

In the disorder is a good word.

[Guest Expert]

Yeah. It directs the attorney General to, quote, reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that have hindered local government's ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves and others, per White House fact sheet. According to the document, the order issues a number of other directives, including redirecting funding to make sure vagrants causing public disorder or who are seriously mentally ill are moved into treatment facilities.

[Jack Armstrong]

God. There was a guy yesterday, we were waiting to get into this diner to get pancakes. Who was this guy out on the street, clearly a danger to himself or others. Just everybody was just hoping he didn't. They didn't catch his eye and he came our direction. What kind of way is that to live? I was telling my kids this stuff makes me so angry. I tell my kids my entire life on Earth, I never saw one human being like that, not one. Until, like, 15 years ago. Now I see them every day, all day. How is that possible?

[Guest Expert]

So it might have caught your ear, the phrase to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees. How do you reverse a judicial precedent exactly? Well, according to the document, it issues a bunch of directives. The order requires the AG to work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Transportation to prioritize grants for states and municipalities to enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, urban squatting and track the location of sex offenders. It's the old government purse strings incentives and disincentives. I don't love it, but you know both sides use it. The order redirects funding to ensure that individuals camping on the streets and causing public disorder and that are suffering from serious mental illness or addiction are moved into treatment centers, assisted outpatient treatment and other facilities orders discretionary grants for substance use, disorder prevention, treatment, recovery that do not fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use. And the order stops sex offenders who receive homelessness assistance from being housed with children allows programs to exclusively house women and children.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fantastic.

[Guest Expert]

Yeah, I love it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we've got to get to later this hour. You said you got some stuff on straightening out, which appears to be one of the big stories of the day as I look at my bank of televisions. Starvation in Gaza. What's true and what's not true around that?

[Guest Expert]

Yes, including one photo I guarantee you've seen. Highly misleading.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I heard about that one. But we've got to get to the Burbank butt sniffer. That's a big story. And thank God he has been apprehended. What a weird story. That's on the way. Next. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

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[Katie]

A crime alert tonight from Burbank Police. They've arrested a serial sex offender again and they fear many more women may have been victimized by this man. His previous victims tonight are furious. The man keeps being arrested and being released.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well that's really the key to the story, But I don't want to take all the fun out of it. We'll do that at the end. That's what we do. We take the fun out of fun stories. So you got this. You're just trying to enjoy yourself at the Nordstrom Rack on a beautiful day in Burbank and get a good deal on a name brand. Good. And you turn around as a woman, and there's somebody crouched behind you smelling your buttocks. What's going on there? He's been doing this for a while. Thank God for Tick tock.

[Mikayla Witter]

It's a 2023 tick tock that went viral.

[Michael]

I was so freaked out when I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Turned around and saw him literally under me.

[Mikayla Witter]

A woman confronts a man at a Barnes and Noble for getting uncomfortably close. Standing, seeming to sniff her.

[Michael]

What are you doing?

[Joe Getty]

Timeless.

[Mikayla Witter]

That's Mikayla Witter. She posted the video, frustrated after watching him walk around targeting other women. It turns out that man, Kelise Crowder, is a registered sex offender with a rap sheet that includes burglary and peeping into people's homes with kids inside.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the TikTok video got him in the big trouble because you had video evidence of him crouching down behind a woman at a Barnes and Noble. He said he was trying to tie his shoe. I'll fill any details we don't have here. Here's a. Here's a police. And then a victim.

[Police Officer]

He eventually worked his way into the women's section, found a loan shopper, and started dipping. Some of the same behavior, getting close to her, uncomfortably close, crouching down as if he was trying to buy some or check something out or look at something.

[Michael]

So I've heard up to 20 women, you know, and what's happened to them, and they're all scared, and I know the feeling.

[Guest Expert]

I don't want to suck the fun out of it either. I'll let you do that at the appropriate time. But, yeah, the. The obvious point here is guys like this are not dangerous until they are.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Right. And you aren't gonna. Apparently, you're not gonna fix him. I mean, he. He gets out of jail for doing this, and he goes right back to it. I mean, he's got so many parts of his brain that don't work. Right. Even if you've got this irresistible urge, I would think, to do it, the sensible part of your brain would think, look, I already spent time in jail. It's really going to be hard to get a decent job, create a good life, find A woman, marry, have kids, settle down. If I do this again, you know, with a rap sheet already for this. So I'm going to, as much as I'd like to, I'm not going to go to the Nordstrom rack crawling my hands and knees up behind some woman.

[Guest Expert]

Looking at some shoes and start smelling.

[Jack Armstrong]

Her because of, you know, I've already seen the consequences of my actions.

[Guest Expert]

That reminds me, I came across a scientific study about that sort of person. More on that to come.

[Jack Armstrong]

But he does it anyway, just it's so uncontrollable or he doesn't get. Understand the consequences or how the whole thing works or whatever. And so he was at the, he was at the Nordstrom rack there in Burbank and some woman yelled at him or something like that. When the police get there, he had moved across the parking lot to the Walmart, was in the Walmart with more bargain minded shoppers. But I don't know if they have the same scent. That'd be the question to ask him. You notice the difference in smell between Nordstrom shoppers and Walmart shoppers?

[Guest Expert]

Can we put this guy on a leash at the airport and have him look for bombs or something, sniff out bombs or put him at the border, put him to work for the dea.

[Jack Armstrong]

Put him on a leash at the airport.

[Guest Expert]

Do not pet the butt sniffer.

[Jack Armstrong]

Combining two things he gets.

[Guest Expert]

Put the little vest on him. Do not pet.

[Jack Armstrong]

He gets to sniff people, which is his want, but he stays out of trouble. He earns a living, right?

[Guest Expert]

Win, win. Come on now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Katie, do you have a comment on this?

[Katie]

Absolutely not.

[Jack Armstrong]

How do you not get his teeth kicked in? When you turn around and there's some.

[Katie]

Dude there, that's my first thought is he is getting a roundhouse right to.

[Guest Expert]

The side of the head.

[Katie]

If I turned around and saw that. We're not doing this yelling, videoing. No, I'm just violence.

[Jack Armstrong]

Put him on a leash at the airport, have him earn his keep, convince him that bombs smell like hot women's buttocks or something. Whatever you got to do to motivate him. Wow.

[Guest Expert]

I'm not sure if that would work, but you're thinking outside the box. Are we going to play the last clip or no? Is that not.

[Jack Armstrong]

Played them all. We played them all.

[Guest Expert]

Did we?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So yeah, the. It's the age old story. Specifically In New York, L.A. chicago, places like that that where people get arrested over and over and over again for the same behavior. And you let them out because. Oh, like the email we had last hour because you think capitalism is making them do this or some.

[Guest Expert]

Bless having witnessed the passing of the three strikes your outlaws in Cal Unicornia then the rescinding of them more or less. The left never argues honestly about a guy like this. They'll always say he's going to jail for life or 30 years or whatever it was for stealing a pack of gum. No, it's for violating the law over and over and over again and proving there is no chance that person will become a non dangerous law abiding citizen. We don't have to let people commit 50 crimes as a society. We don't. It's okay to pass laws that say once you've made it clear you will not follow the law, you you don't get to be in society anymore.

[Katie]

The butt sniffer has been arrested 40 times.

[Jack Armstrong]

40.

[Katie]

40.

[Jack Armstrong]

How many times does someone have to demonstrate that they're not willing to be a functional part of society before you remove them from society? That's insane. And like Joe said, he'll hurt somebody at some point.

[Guest Expert]

Yeah, somebody will confront him or try to stop him and and he will commit an act of violence and then everybody will be like oh, he should.

[Jack Armstrong]

Probably go to J him on a leash at the airport. Joe solved it.

[Joe Getty]

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[News Reporter]

In an abrupt reversal, Israel cleared the way for more aid to Gaza. The military air dropped food and supplies, but those pallets are a fraction of what's needed. The bulk of the aid is on trucks waiting to go. And in what could be a game changer, Israel says it will establish secure routes through the war zone so the trucks will no longer be shot at or looted. Gaza's misery has shocked the world, and international medical agencies say children, especially the poorest and those with special needs are suffering from acute malnutrition.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, there were some ugly pictures and videos coming out of that story over the weekend, if you're paying attention to it at all. If you're older and you've been following the news for a long time, though. God, I've seen those videos and pictures my whole life. Oftentimes finding out that they're phony or exaggerated or from five years ago. I don't know what's going on in this case, but I have been misled so many times over the years and I thought it was interesting. I was listening to NPR today and they for the. I've been saying this for months now. The first time I hear a story that even hints that Hamas might be bad guys will be the first time on npr. I mean, they just, Israel, horrible, horrible human beings. They never say anything negative about Hamas ever. But on NPR today, they actually allowed a spokesman for Israel on saying Israel claims that this is not what's happening, that they're trying to distribute aid and Hamas won't let them or steals it or shoots at them or whatever. And NPR did say we cannot confirm this report, but they allowed it on there. Which actually makes me think that it's more likely to be true, the fact that they allowed it on there at all.

[Guest Expert]

Right. Hilarious that they would use the phrase we cannot confirm this report, having breathlessly reported virtually everything that Hamas has told them now for several years. So there have been a couple of developments lately in which Israel said it would pause military activity in some densely populated parts of the Strip for a chunk of the day till further notice to establish safe routes for humanitarian aid. They're trying to get more aid in. But that all did little to quiet the charges that Israel has inflicted a famine on Gaza.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. I'm looking at the, I've seen so many of these videos. I'm looking at the video right now from Gaza. No matter what, whether it's Israel shooting at him or, and I don't think it is, or Hamas shooting at him or whatever is causing the problem. It looks like hell on earth to be in Gaza.

[Guest Expert]

Just agreed. Awful. If you took in any media or social media over the weekend, there's a very, very good chance you saw the haunting image of a mother in a hijab holding a skeletal child, an 18 month old boy wearing only a diaper with his spine and his his ribs clearly visible in his gaunt frame. During the story about how the cruel Israelis are starving the people of Gaza. By the way, on social media often the image was accompanied side by side with a black and white photograph of a Jewish child on the brink of death in one of Hitler's death camps. The message clear. Of course, the Palestinian boy is a symbol for mass starvation gripping the people of Gaza. The only problem is that the boy, and they know his name, who appeared on the front page of Britain's Daily Express on Wednesday and then on that of the New York Times on Friday, was picked up by the BBC, cnn, Sky News and countless others, in fact suffers from a muscle disorder and other grave genetic conditions unrelated to starvation. And that's according to CNN and the Independent investigative journalist David Collier. But of course, that information will never reach the countless people who saw and shared the image, nor will the fact that Muhammad's brother, that's the little fellow, the poor God bless his soul. I mean, I'm not making, you know, glossing over the fact that this poor little lad is clearly barely clinging to life. But anyway, his brothers cropped out of the widely circulated image appears healthy, as does his mother. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you might remember a story from. I don't think we talked about. It was a month or so ago. All the headlines everywhere were experts predict. I forget what it was. 15,000 dead in the next 48 hours from mass starvation and it just never occurred. So just somebody got that story out there and everybody reported it and that never happened. Not that it doesn't look like hell on earth, like I said, but what's your fix for this? What are you going to, I mean, it is absolutely.

[Guest Expert]

Hamas take charge again.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is absolutely awful. But what are, what, what do you do with this situation?

[Guest Expert]

Do various measures that will feed the people more adequately, even if it strengthens. Hamas would be the answer from the left and, you know, intelligence around the world. It's as simple as that. I'm going to be. Let me quote a little bit. Maddie Friedman wrote a great piece for the free press, very even handed, and he, he mentions that genuine misery can be put to use by practitioners of information warfare. And he makes it clear that this is a war. But the truth still matters. Amid the barrage of lies told by Hamas and its allies, how are we to know what is true? As Maddie writes in a blizzard of ideological fiction, how are sane citizens in Israel or anywhere else supposed to know what's true and to do the right thing? It's not an exaggeration to say we're seeing right now, as we're seeing right now that the answer to this question can be a matter of life and death.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, man, this has always been a story about the Palestinians and Israel about it was hard to know a true but now in the current information age. And it just occurred to me that what it leads me to do is ignore it. Which is, which is the danger for all these stories. I mean, not life and death ones, but just political stories in general. When you can't, you don't know what to believe. You just go, eh, well, I don't know it's true or not. So you just go on to something else.

[Guest Expert]

Which as an aside has long been the goal of Soviet, then Russian disinformation not to convince us of anything in particular, but to make Americans so cynical about knowing the truth we don't even ask what it is anymore. Anyway, more on that another time. But so Matty's piece for the Free Press, he points out a couple of major incidents in this conflict, including the infamous Israeli clearly an Israeli rocket attack on the hospital, at least 500 dead. The new York Times headline reported that furious protests erupted, a mob burned a synagogue in Tunisia. Story completely fake, misfired Palestinian rocket landed near a hospital. Practically no casualties. And then he goes into several other examples of that sort of misinformation, skipping ahead to the key point. Very little of what is reported here, in other words, is what it seems. This is nothing new. And then he goes over a bunch of more examples. The transformation of truth telling institutions into ideological megaphones has had a high price for citizens in liberal societies and for the institutions themselves. As we're seeing at places like Harvard and npr, the feeling of being unmoored from objective reality, of rowing a boat through a choppy sea of lies and propaganda, is very much a feature of the present moment, not only in Israel, but one of the most awful prices was made clear this past week with reports of acute hunger in blaza. In a blizzard of ideological fiction, how are sane citizens supposed to know what's actually happening? And what he did in this essay, which I wish it wasn't quite so long I'd just read it to you. But he called a bunch of different colleagues who he trusts as human beings, veteran journalists, including Israelis involved in covering what was going on there and not like Netanyahu loving conservatives. They're just concerned with humans. It was clear in speaking to them that our plight as journalists is only marginally better than that of the average citizen. The consensus was that there are nearly no trustworthy sources regarding reality in Gaza. Certainly not the quote unquote Gaza Health Ministry, which answers to Hamas or Palestinian reporters intimidated by Hamas or the international organizations like the UN refugee agency unwra, embroiled in various forms of collaboration with Hamas. All of the above are engaged in a successful information campaign that uses Palestinian suffering, real and imagined, to catalyze international anger and tie Israel's hands. And the international press isn't the answer, he says. During my years as a reporter and editor for the ap, I saw coverage altered by Hamas threats to our staff, which the AP concealed from our readers. I know firsthand that really no information coming from Gaza can be taken at face value.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. And if you have a lot of reporters, because a lot of journalists lean anti Israel anyway, if they're, if they're predisposed to lean away from Israel anyway, sure, you'd go with the threat.

[Guest Expert]

And then just for credibility's sake, my word's not his. Matty points out that neither can we Israelis trust our own government, which has regularly misled the public about the war's progress, as governments do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaker Johnson responded to the whole starvation in Gaza thing yesterday on Meet the Press. We'll get to that right after this.

[Guest Expert]

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[Jack Armstrong]

So I lean way toward Israel's the good guy and Gaza slash The Palestinians are the bad guys. I lean way that direction. But if I was there and saw, you know, Israeli Z, Israeli soldiers shooting at people trying to get food or something, I'd be more than willing to report it. But it's interesting that that person said, it's hard if you're on the ground there to figure out what's true and what's not here. I don't know where Speaker Mike Johnson's getting his information, but this is what he said about efforts by Israel, with the help of the United States and others, to get food to these people.

[Speaker Johnson]

Israel, since this war began, has supplied over 94,000 truckloads full of food. It's enough food to feed 2 million people for two years trying to get that into Gaza. But Hamas has stolen the food, a huge amount. In fact, in 2024, the numbers are that Hamas profited over $500 million in stolen food aid that was supposed to go to these poor people who needed it. That's half of their budget. So this is a broken system. The UN Needs to work with Israel to make sure that the food is getting to the people that need it most.

[Guest Expert]

So, for what it's worth, the New York Times last week had a story that cited two Israeli military officials, didn't specify who they were, what rank, whatever, saying, we have no evidence that Hamas steals aid. And they went front page with that on the New York Times.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Guest Expert]

Most other officials in the country would contradict that and say, what the f are you talking about? But that's the situation we're in. People are desperate to get the sort of information that backs their preexisting point of view.

[Jack Armstrong]

But in this case, you've got an actor in Hamas who's demonstrated what they do for decades. So, I mean, it would be shocking if all of a sudden they've decided, well, I know in the past we've stolen aid, and that's how we became billionaires and why all our fighters are, you know, healthy, comfortable, of normal weight. They have plenty of ammunition, blah, blah, blah, and lots of money, and everybody around us is starving. I know that's what we've done for decades, but we decided in this particular instance, in this war to go ahead and distribute food and not steal it. I mean, that would be a shocking development.

[Guest Expert]

Right, Right. So Friedman goes on to write, after saying, pointing out a bunch of examples where the Israeli military misled the media, he says he's. He's trying desperately to figure out what's going on, and he's talking to Palestinian and journalists who talk to Palestinians. One such journalist, Ohad Hemo, the Palestinian affairs reporter for Channel News, the country's most widely watched news program, who whose report last Wednesday and there's a link was shared widely. Food warehouses serving Hamas fighters are still full, he reported. And the crisis wasn't only Israel's fault. So it's a complex situation.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I'm sure it is. And I don't doubt that Israeli Israeli soldiers have done things that shouldn't be done in a what is becoming near total war. But Hamas has been using hospitals and mosques as their bases for years. Again, it would be in fitting with what they've demonstrated over decades to steal the food. It would be completely new behavior to not be stealing the food.

[Guest Expert]

All of this according to every journalist and politician on all sides of the question up until very, very recently. It is you know, I would never gloss over the suffering of people, particularly children, the innocent. But I think what we're seeing is an awful, murderous Islamist regime which tried to slaughter its Jewish neighbor now must be defeated completely. And in doing that, innocent people are going to suffer. That is a history of warfare.

[Jack Armstrong]

You can comment anytime. Text line 415295 KFTC Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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[Mikayla Witter]

Witter feels he never should have gotten the chance to victimize anyone else. Court documents show he was out on parole with a history of convictions for lewd conduct dating back to 2021.

[Michael]

It's crazy to think that someone like this, who is constantly stalking and violating these people is allowed to be out and about.

[Mikayla Witter]

We took those concerns to police, asking why he wasn't behind bars.

[Police Officer]

Yeah, I mean, obviously it's frustrating but we can do what we need to do.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is the Burbank butt sniffer who crawls up behind women and sniffs them. He has done this in the past, ended up in jail, was let out of jail immediately. He's at the Nordstrom rack down low behind a woman, claiming he was tying his shoes and apparently trying to catch the aroma of her hind end.

[Guest Expert]

Oh boy. Yeah, I could have left that on set. Anyway, so this guy gets arrested and turned loose over and over and over again. It's in. A funny coincidence, I had just come across a study about why some people keep making bad decisions even after they're punished. And this, this global study that involved a hell of a lot of people identified three distinct decision making types. Sensitive individuals who learn from punishment, that's normal people, unaware individuals who need explicit instruction, and compulsive individuals who persist in harmful behavior despite both. I know that we needed a study.

[Jack Armstrong]

But this guy, this guy's clearly number three.

[Guest Expert]

Yes, some people fail to connect actions with their consequences, while others understand the risks but can't change their behavior.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Guest Expert]

So either this guy's got a screw loose. And again, I think we, we as human beings make a mistake over and over again. The longer I live, the more I more firmly I believe this. We make the mistake over and over again, believing that other people, all other people, see the world as we do and process information in the way we process it. Like, I would like to talk to some ultra progressive, you know, Berkeleyite types, Madison, Wisconsin professors who are completely convinced of the progressive way of the world. And I just like to get inside their heads and see, you know, what, what color is the sky in your world? As the old saying goes.

[Jack Armstrong]

But how does that. So some of your like stealing from grocery stores. Your Madison professor would say, well, capitalism has caused these people to struggle, blah, blah, blah. So what's your angle on somebody who won't stop getting on their knees and sniffing women's butts? You put them in jail, you let them out, they do it again. That can't be capitalism causing that, can it?

[Guest Expert]

No, no. So the write up, I mean, because it doesn't make any sense. If capitalism were just completely at fault in an evil system institution by the evildoers above me, blah, blah, blah. But in executing a certain behavior, I just had terrible consequences over and over again, I would stop unless I thought I was righting wrong. But anyway, this big write up mentions, this research challenges common assumptions about human decision making and reveals that punishment resisted behaviors stem from specific cognitive cognitive deficits often rather than exclusively moral failings or lack of willpower.

[Jack Armstrong]

Again, I say this study needs to be he was at the Nordstrom Rack in Burbank. Then when he got caught, he ran over to the Walmart and did it. I want him to explain is there a difference between Nordstrom's Rack women and Walmart women that he knows?

[Guest Expert]

My Lord, maybe we can get back into this in hour four or something like that, because part of me suspects that this is progressive do Gooders seeking to avoid the idea of people taking responsibility for their actions, because that seems to be a big part of the left. But even if they're right, what do we do about as a society?

[Jack Armstrong]

What a nut job.

[Michael]

Armstrong and Getty this is an iHeart podcast.