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Amica Insurance
At Ameca Insurance, we know it's more than just a house. It's your home. The place that's filled with memories. The early days of figuring it out to the later years of still figuring.
Joe Getty
It out.
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Ashley Iaconetti
Ashley Iconetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast. Did you know that Future Health can help make weight loss resolutions come true? Future Health makes access to qualified doctors that know GLP1s easier than ever and for less than $3 a day. Get started with a quick 3 minute survey at try FH.com try FH.com try fh.com Future Health is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at provider's discretion. Results may vary. Sponsored by Future Health Broadcasting live from.
Jack Armstrong
The Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the.
Ikea
George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.
Jack Armstrong
Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.
Ikea
Zendaya's here. Zendaya, you were incredible. Incredible in Dune. Oh my God I woke up for all of your scenes. You were so good. And challengers girl. Oh my God, it was so good. I mean, that movie was more sexually charged than Diddy's credit card. I mean, seriously. Oh, no, no. I know, I'm sorry. I'm upset too. The after party's not gonna be as good this year, but we have to move on. I know Stanley Tucci freak off just doesn't have the same ring to it. But no baby oil this year, just lots of olive oil. O.
Joe Getty
So comedian Nikki Glaser hosting the Golden Globes, which you didn't watch last night, which is a precursor to the Oscars, which you will not watch.
Jack Armstrong
Not at gunpoint.
Joe Getty
But the whole P. Diddy thing, everybody there in the audience probably knew what was going on at those parties. Maybe had friends who went. And similar to Harvey Weinstein, they all just kept their mouth shut because that's the way that industry is, I guess.
Jack Armstrong
At the risk of going off on a time consuming tangent, I think the takeaway from this, those jokes, and she's a comedian, she makes jokes about things, including uncomfortable, maybe, you know, implied jokes, which is fine. Not too many years ago if you were to ask a co worker out, right? Or you were out for drinks and said, you know, we ought to get coffee sometime. I really enjoy talking to you. You were a monster. How dare you use your male patriarchal privilege or power or something. Something, something. You're part of rape culture. Believe all women. Believe all women. Something, something. And now a guy who was sanctioning and. And enforcing rape after rape is a punchline that everybody giggles at, you know, kind of uncomfortably, but they're giggling. I think the takeaway is the woke Hollywood passion of the moment. Is. Is just fine to mock and ignore. It's just fine. Speaking of which, thinking of things to be. Speaking of things to be mocked and ignored, I will tell you just to establish my bona fides as a reporter on this story. The Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy out with a warning that alcohol, any consumption of alcohol is a cancer risk. And there should be warnings on the labels. And beware, beware, beware. I am a drinking man. I enjoy the pleasures of alcohol on a regular basis, a daily basis, more or less. Although I've been sober for the best part of a week just to reset the body and the mind. And so I am very, very curious.
Joe Getty
How you liking it?
Jack Armstrong
I like it a great deal, actually. Yeah. I don't look at it as not drinking. I look at it as sobriety. And the opportunity to do different things in different ways and just let my poor liver rest for a minute. Ever since my upbringing in the 80s, playing rock and roll and everything, there were drugs everywhere and drugs on campus like crazy. And I always hew to the philosophy of know what you're putting in your body and be saying, be smart about it. Don't be the moron who just takes something because somebody offered it to you. And alcohol is the same way. I'm really curious to know the good and bad of alcohol. So I dug into this. Here's what you need to know.
Joe Getty
The good is people are less boring and everybody's hotter. That's the good.
Jack Armstrong
Oh, and I don't hate being here. Not here, but there.
Joe Getty
The good of alcohol is. I don't hate this gathering near as much as I would if I didn't have alcohol.
Jack Armstrong
I see Jesus at the right hand of God way back in the day saying, hey, hey boss, what are we going to do, dad, dad, what are we going to do for the introverts? Is there anything we can do for him? Well, I suppose we could make it so that when, when fruit fermented, it made you feel less angsty.
Joe Getty
It's funny, a friend of mine who's doing dry January had a big social gathering. They had to go and they texted me. This is so boring, it's killing me.
Jack Armstrong
Anyway, where were we? Ah, yes, the Surgeon General. So the Surgeon general said alcoholic beverages should carry cancer warnings to increase awareness that drinks are the leading cause of preventable cancers. Are a leading cause. I should say that would take an act of Congress. But he said in his statement, alcohol is a well established preventable cause of cancer, responsible for about 100,000 causes, cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States. Yet the majority of Americans, Americans are unaware of this risk. They say alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the US after tobacco and obesity. Link between alcohol consumption cancer risk has been established for at least seven kinds of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box. Murthy said. Okay, now the perspective for women consuming less than a drink per week, meaning.
Joe Getty
You'Re a non drinker if you consume less than a drink per week. Well, I consider you a non drinker.
Jack Armstrong
Well, yeah, yeah. The absolute risk of developing an alcohol related cancer is around 17% of what? It doesn't make clear. That risk increases to about 22% for women consuming two drinks a day.
Joe Getty
Oh my God.
Jack Armstrong
So wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. So you go from a non drinker at 17% to a two a day and you get to 22%.
Joe Getty
And there's probably a margin of error with the, the whole, the whole thing just because of all research. You know, it takes a while to.
Jack Armstrong
Right, so it's less than a third of a tiny number. For men, the risk increases from 10% to 13%.
Joe Getty
Wow.
Jack Armstrong
That again, less than a third.
Joe Getty
We learned this a long time ago doing this job. When you hear the drive by health study stuff, this is the most common thing they do. It's an increase of not much to tiny bit more than not much. And then all the media runs with it is a big deal. Coke can call you. I remember when soda was a Coke. Coke can call you as a cancer. And you know, so lab rats who were force fed 60 cases of coca Cola all day long had a slightly larger chance of getting cancer than those who drank none. Okay, that is not worth mentioning at all yet. It can be a big story or.
Jack Armstrong
If something or other causes a third higher incidence of cancer. And the, just to take a ridiculous example, but the incidence of cancer is, is 1 in 10,000. Well, a third higher is 1.3 out of 10,000. Which you know, cancer is no joke obviously, but I find it hilarious. Moderate drinkers have. Note he had cancer, he gets to make that joke. Moving on. Moderate drinkers have a 1.8 fold higher risk of developing oral cavity and throat cancers. Now I will tell you this. Esophageal cancer, if you are a heavy drinker, and we'll get into this in a bit, some of the mouth and throat cancers, if you are a heavy drinker, there is a significant risk for terrible forms of cancer. A person I cared about very much passed away from one of those cancers and, and he knew his way around alcohol. We'll, we'll leave it there. But esophageal drinking, alcohol at any level is linked with an increased risk of developing cancer in the esophagus ranging from 1.3 fold higher, just a third higher for light drinkers to five fold for heavy drinkers. So just don't be a heavy drinker.
Joe Getty
How do they define heavy drinker in this study? You know, you know, I don't think.
Jack Armstrong
They nail it down exactly.
Joe Getty
Their idea, heavy might be a Tuesday afternoon in my opinion.
Jack Armstrong
But yeah, well, and, and God bless you for it. And by the way, all of these numbers, all of them are absolutely dwarfed by cigarettes, clearly. But obesity, obesity, what are we talking about alcohol at all for?
Joe Getty
No kidding. No Kidding.
Jack Armstrong
So great perspective. Moving on, sort of. From Alicia Finley, who writes for the Wall Street Journal and is terrific. She points out Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has done more to politicize science and erode trust in public health leaders than anyone other than Anthony freaking Fauci. And he did it again with the alcohol cancer stuff. Again, worth knowing. Heavy drinking increases your risk. Two weeks before he shot off his mouth, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a congressionally mandated RO review of the recent evidence on the health effects of moderate drinking or up to one drink a day for women, two for men. It's more than 200 pages of findings run counter to Murthy's 22 page report. And they got absolutely no attention, or practically no attention in the press. The academies found insufficient evidence to support a link between moderate drinking in oral, pharyngeal, esophagus, laryngeal and other cancers. It did find a slightly higher risk of breast cancer with moderate drinking, but also a lower risk of death generally and from cardiovascular disease specifically compared with never drinking.
Joe Getty
You also should factor in enjoyment of life.
Jack Armstrong
Boring. Most people are.
Joe Getty
And my life didn't suck as much, so you gotta factor that in.
Jack Armstrong
And Finley points out that for some cancers, quote, evidence shows that this risk may start to increase around one or fewer drinks per day. Notice the operative word, may.
Joe Getty
No kidding. Wow. So I was gonna blame the media. Most of the time. This is a media thing. You can't blame the scientists. It's their job to study. You know, do pop tarts give you cancer or something like that? And then they, they, they, you know, somebody does a study on that and they put out a study that's got a tiny increase. And then the media acts like it's a big deal. That's not the scientist problem, but in this case, you get the freaking surgeon general trumping up these numbers and making noises like it's a big deal.
Jack Armstrong
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Joe Getty
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Jack Armstrong
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Joe Getty
Now. I admit I could not have told you if you just said who's the Surgeon General? I wouldn't have been able to come up with the name off the top of my head. Is, is Oz gonna be The Surgeon General? Dr. Oz?
Jack Armstrong
He's HHS, isn't he?
Joe Getty
I thought that's what RFK Jr. Was going to be. We actually, we should nail that down.
Jack Armstrong
He gets inaugurated in 14 days. What are you going to do in the interim with that knowledge? We'll figure it out.
Joe Getty
We'll have that for you when you come back. Many of you are screaming at the radio, hey you knuckleheads. This person's this and this person's that. But I wonder how they feel about this. Warning labels on booze or whatever. The New Orleans terrorist attack. How big a deal is this? Do we have terrorist cells active in the United States or whatever? FBI Director thinks so, the government thinks so. Bunch of stuff on the way. I hope you can stay here.
Ikea
Armstrong and Getty.
Amica Insurance
At Amica Insurance we know it's more than just a car or a house. It's the four wheels that get you where you're going and the four walls that welcome you home. When you combine auto and home insurance with Amica, we'll help protect it all. And the more you cover, the more you can save Amica. Empathy is our best policy.
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Ashley Iaconetti
This is Ashley Iconetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Same as podcast. What if I told you that Future Health can help help you make weight loss resolutions come true? Long lasting weight loss results all for less than $3 a day. Find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just 3 minutes at try fh.com get started with a quick 3 minute survey at try fh.com try fh.com future health is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at providers discretion. Results may vary.
Select Quote
Sponsored by Future Health this new year I want to spend more time with my family, get healthier and make sure my finances are in order. That includes finally securing insurance. My friend recommended Select Quote They've helped more than 2 million people find coverage in the last 40 years. In 15 minutes, a licensed insurance agent found me a $500,000 policy for only $16 a month and my husband got a $500,000 policy for ONLY $18 a month. Plus we qualified for same day life insurance, no medical exam required and we recovered by the time we hung up with Select Quote Even if you have a health concern, be it high blood pressure, diabetes, diabetes, even heart disease, their experienced agents can find you the right life insurance policy at the lowest price. Make life insurance the first resolution you check off your list this year.
Jack Armstrong
Go to selectquote.com for your free quote. That's selectquote.com selectquote.com details on example right@selectquote.com.
Greenlight
This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app that teaches kids and teens how to earn, save, spend wisely and invest with your guardrails in place. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending with real time notifications. Join millions of parents and kids building healthy financial habits together on Greenlight. Get started risk free@greenlight.com iheart so we.
Joe Getty
Were just talking about the the fact that the current Surgeon General is talking about a warning label on alcohol like they have on cigarettes because of a study about cancer and everything like that. And we got into the conversation because. Because the current Surgeon General's in office for a few more days and the new administration takes over and we're talking about who's what now. And I didn't even remember. But one thing. Looking at the list of all Trump's nominees, there are so many layers of just the Health thing. And that's one of the problems we have is so RFK junior Is Health and Human Services Secretary as opposed to this guy who, Jay, however you pronounce his name, who's the head of the NIH National Institutes of Health. Okay, what is that compared to what RFK Jr is going to do? Then you've got Jim O'Neill who's going to be the health deputy. Then you've got veterans stuff around health, which is a huge part of the budget and a lot of the whole health infrastructure. Then you have a Surgeon general who's a different person and then an HHS secretary which has a bit. That department has a bigger budget than the Pentagon. And these are all different people. Ha.
Jack Armstrong
And you left out the Centers for Disease Control.
Joe Getty
Right, right. Left out cdc. So. And okay, I'll bet you get into one of those jobs and you'd think, how does this even Square with the 15 other giant organizations that are in charge of this?
Jack Armstrong
Also though, what if I did nothing?
Ashley Iaconetti
Right?
Joe Getty
Would anybody notice?
Jack Armstrong
Like for a year, I'm going to do nothing for a year and see if anybody says anything.
Joe Getty
I'm looking up at CBS right now, new alcohol warning. And they're taking it completely seriously. Joe is here to tell US no.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. Dr. Murthy claims that alcohol use, quote, not only abuse, is a leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, contributing to nearly a hundred thousand cancer cases, about to 20,000 cancer deaths each year. That estimate is based on models of associations from cherry picked observational studies. Even the report partially attributes only 17% of these estimated deaths to moderate drinking. So almost all of it's heavy drinking. And of the cancer deaths in 23, that would mean moderate drinking contributed to, contributed to 3400 or about 6/10 of 1%. Dr. Murthy's claims about alcohol's cancer risks are misleading but typical of his reports, which are intended to drive a political agenda. Then Alicia Finley from the Wall Street Journal explains. Let's review the role. First advisory in 2021 declared health misinformation a serious threat. It warned that, and I'm quoting, misinformation has caused confusion and led people to decline. COVID 19 vaccines reject public health measures such as masking and physical distancing and use unproven treatments. So there he was, cracking down on, among other things, J. Bhattacharya and the Great Barrington Declaration, which was right. Right about everything. The Surgeon General urged tech companies to, quote, strengthen the monitoring of misinformation, quote, prioritize early Detection of misinformation super spreaders and repeat offenders like Bhattacharya and his cohort there in the Great Barrington Declaration. And quote, redesign recommendation algorithms to avoid amplifying misinformation. In other words, censor Covid views that he and Fauci didn't like. Next came Murphy's 2022 report on workplace mental health, which was informed, quote, by the voices of many workers and unions. It was a push for a living wage before overtime, tips and commissions. Also family leave and all sorts of left wing workplace prescriptions. That was it. Then There was the 2023 advisory on our epidemic of loneliness and isolation, which came to the forefront of public consciousness during the pandemic. Never mind that Murthy's promotional loc downs caused the problem. To improve social connection, he advised increased access to public transit. What a load of crap. I'm so glad the Biden administration's about gone and I won't even get in. We don't have time for firearm violence. A public health crisis in America that recommended a ban on ill defined assault weapons, a restriction on concealed and open carry permits, and increasing criminal liability for shooting a firearm after being attacked. If you could have safely retreated. That's a quote. So not gang bangers and gunslingers in our cities that caused the vast, vast majority of the murders and which progressive prosecutors don't prosecute. No, it's somebody in their own home who's a scumbag is terrorizing. You can't shoot them if you could have retreated. That's Vivek Murthy for you. Goodbye. Don't let the door hit you on your healthy ass. Anyway, out.
Joe Getty
I was in Washington D.C. when the terrorist attack in New Orleans hit, so. Man, they sure ramped up security there. Oh, I got to talk about New Year's eve in Washington D.C. also. That was something. I know a bunch of stuff on the way and you can Text us anytime. 415295, KFTC. If you miss a segment or an hour, you can get our podcast. It's Armstrong and Getty on demand. You should subscribe. And then you'd get it every single day.
Jack Armstrong
That's an excellent idea. That's your new New Year's resolution.
Joe Getty
Exactly.
Ikea
Subscribe Armstrong Getty.
Amica Insurance
Every day, our world gets a little more connected, but a little further apart. But then there are moments that remind us to be more human.
Jack Armstrong
Thank you for calling Amica Insurance.
Joe Getty
Hey, I was just in an accident.
Ikea
Don't worry, we'll get you taken care of at Amica.
Amica Insurance
We understand that looking out for each other isn't new or groundbreaking. Breaking it's human amica Empathy is our best policy.
Ashley Iaconetti
This is Ashley Iconetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast. What if I told you that future health can help you make weight loss resolutions come true? Long lasting weight loss results all for less than $3 a day find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just 3 minutes at try fh.com get started with a quick 3 minute survey at try fh.com try fh.com Future Health is not a healthcare services provide. Meds are prescribed at provider's discretion. Results may vary.
Greenlight
Sponsored by Future Health did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending. With real time notifications, kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely and parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place, Try Greenlight Risk free today@greenlight.com iheart this.
Select Quote
New year I want to spend more time with my family, get healthier and make sure my finances are in order. That includes finally securing life insurance. My friend recommended select quote They've helped more than 2 million people find coverage in the last 40 years in 15 minutes. A licensed insurance agent found me a $500,000 policy for only $16 a month and my husband got a $500,000 policy policy for only $18 a month. Plus, we qualified for same day life insurance, no medical exam required, and we recovered by the time we hung up with Selectquote Even if you have a health concern, be it high blood pressure, diabetes, even heart disease, their experienced agents can find you the right life insurance policy at the lowest price. Make life insurance the first resolution you check off your list this year.
Jack Armstrong
Go to selectquote.com for your free quote. That's selectquote.com selectquote.com details on example rate@selectquote.com.
Ikea
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Joe Getty
Inside run for Gibbs still going to the goal line Number four on the night, A night to remember Crown that guy ties the Lions record for touchdowns in a game maybe in a season a lot of years. The Lions stomped the Vikings as what they were calling the most consequential last game of the season in NFL history because they were playing for the winner got the number one seed in the NFC home field advantage throughout. The loser is the five seed and plays next week. That was a pretty consequential game, but wasn't even close of playoff football is upon us.
Jack Armstrong
Hela Hela.
Joe Getty
Yeah, no kidding. The you can google it anywhere but the the brackets are all set for next weekend.
Jack Armstrong
I hope everybody had a good holiday time. I hope you had a little time off to relax. I did. It was fantastic. Spent most just family time. I did a little golf.
Joe Getty
I did half of that time off. No relaxing.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. Oh, it was very, very relaxing. A lot of good visiting and played a lot of cribbage, that sort of thing. Also, I had an experience that inspired me. I've been writing songs again and I written what I believe to be in. Katie, you might enjoy this. The worst Christmas song of all time. It's based on a true story. I'm still working on the melody. It's a little rough. I went to urgent care on Christmas Eve to get a tick removed. It burrowed into my skin the way you burrowed into my heart. That's just. That's all I got so far.
Joe Getty
Oh no, that's based on a true story.
Jack Armstrong
Based on a true story. Yes. Urgent. Urgent.
Joe Getty
Wow. This is so urgent care for a tick. What was that? What was that reality show that was.
Jack Armstrong
Hot for a while with the little.
Joe Getty
Heavy girl and everything like that and Mama June.
Jack Armstrong
What was that? Here comes Honey Boo Boo, right? Yeah. Yeah.
Joe Getty
You have very Honey Boo Boo lifestyle going on here where on Christmas you're going to the urgent care to get a tick removed.
Ikea
If someone gave me a pop quiz.
Joe Getty
Of who on this show was going.
Jack Armstrong
To get a tick removed over break, it wasn't Joe. Yeah, right. I try to be surprised.
Joe Getty
Who is going to be disappointed in their chardonnay? Joe. Who is going to get a tick removed?
Jack Armstrong
Who's got a parasite? Well, so I know, you know, you outdoorsy types are thinking, you don't need to go to urgent care. Here's the. Here's the deal. I assume I. I get out of the shower. I'm walking out of the shower with my. My Arnold Schwarzenegger like physique just glistening in the water. You can imagine it. And my bride who's in there said, is that new? And she like, points to my side and I've got like a nasty looking sore. And I'm like, like, yeah, what the heck? Because I was totally unaware of it.
Joe Getty
Is that a new sore? Is that, like mixed in with all your other older sores or.
Jack Armstrong
Absolutely. Actually, I. I've been so carved up by my dermatologist, it looks like I've been in a gunfight. So. But anyway, so, yeah, it turns out to be a tick. And, you know, we. We administered the various getting ticks out techniques. And you're like, all right. And she said, all right, now I can get it. And she uses the tweezers and just manages to like, pull its legs off. So off to the urgent care I went. It was terrible, terrible, terrible.
Joe Getty
Torturers. Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
How long it was there? Probably not long. Okay. I actually think I remember when it got on me.
Joe Getty
Baxter through the woods since his last coon hunt.
Jack Armstrong
Ain't nothing wrong with.
Joe Getty
He's back in the holler making shine. And he went on a coon hunt and he got ticks.
Jack Armstrong
Of course, he was wearing his daddy's breeches because he's got none of his own. No. So anyway, that was an unfortunate. And you get there and of course you're thinking, oh, good, there's only two people in front of me. Then inexplicably, you're still sitting there in 45 minutes. But anyway, so that was fine. It was dealt with. And then we moved on with our lives and I took a bunch of antibiotics to make sure I don't get Lyme disease.
Joe Getty
Oh, boy. You don't want that.
Jack Armstrong
No, no, no. I hear it's a horror.
Joe Getty
Antibiotics can keep you from getting Lyme disease. I didn't know that.
Jack Armstrong
If you jump on it in time. There's one particular that they recommend as a prophylactic, which I hammered down. So this.
Joe Getty
So the New Orleans guy. We got some texts about the alcohol thing, but I'll. I'll save that for A little bit later, the new should it have a cancer warning thing. New Orleans guy. So this. I was on the East Coast. We're in Washington D.C. for New Year's Eve, which we went to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. I was trying to figure out where to go eat and we went fairly early so we were able to get in. Everybody was super dressed up. We were dressed like tourists and felt kind of out of place because, you know, a lot of women in little black skirts and high heels and guys and suits and stuff because it was New Year's Eve and they're wanting to be special and we were dressed like tourists. So luckily we were eating early and getting out of there. The bill was insane. I had no idea that that place was so expensive. Anywho, we get, we get back to the hotel early. My kids like on New Year's Eve to eat junk food. And we flipped around the channels and watched all the TV shows. We're watching. We're watching Dick Clark's rocking New Year V New Year's Eve with Ryan Seacrest and flipping over to Anderson Cooper getting drunk with his gay buddy on CNN where they do vodka shots all night long and all that sort of stuff and flipping around and they just giggle and just spout nonsense and mostly wonder who watches this crap other. Other than like the really really sad who have no friends and I don't even know who could possibly be watching this stuff.
Jack Armstrong
Could it be that the entire audience for the show is ironic?
Joe Getty
I wonder that myself.
Jack Armstrong
Every single person is wondering who the hell watches this.
Joe Getty
Almost, almost every musical act is either the has been like, you know, the Jacksons were on the rock of New Year's Eve, for instance.
Jack Armstrong
Some Jackson.
Joe Getty
I mean everybody's 80 or some up and comer you've never heard of. Anyway, it's New Year's Eve at the hotel and it turns 2025 and nobody's keys were. So every single person coming back to their room at this giant hotel couldn't get into the room. And there's like two security people with passes, you know, the, the, the key. They'll get into the room. So they had to go one by one, every single human to their room to get them into their room. What a Y2K sort of stupidity thing that is for a major hotel chain. How could you make a mistake like that? Where, oh, we have a new system. We didn't think it'd ever be. Not 2024. We didn't think of programming its own any. Anyway, minor norms, right. But so we get to Bed. And we missed hearing the story till the next morning about the guy ramming his Ford F150 Lightning into the crowd that he had rented and killing a whole bunch of people and turned out to be isis. And then, however many hours was later, the Tesla, another electric vehicle blowing up or attempting to blow it up there in Las Vegas in front of Trump Tower. And for a while there, the media coverage really had them linked.
Jack Armstrong
Right. In fact, they said specifically they were linked for a moment.
Joe Getty
Right. And then the FBI early on said that they were investigating three other people that had placed bombs somewhere. And so it was starting to look like a fairly big plot there in the early hours. Joe and I are big on the. Don't believe anything you hear in the first 24 hours on any of these sorts of things, which is more true now than it was the first time we ever said it. There's almost. There's almost no reason point in reacting to any of the stuff you hear on these kinds of stories. School shootings, mass shootings, terrorist attacks, whatever. Because so much of it turns out to not be true, wouldn't you say?
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, it might be true, but it might not. It's practically random. It's a coin flip.
Joe Getty
There's certainly no point in going off on a. Like both presidents did some long screed about the information at the time, because who knows how it's going to turn out? Turns out they're not linked at all. The FBI now says, and I know a lot of you don't believe it, that they're covering for something. But the FBI now says that they're not looking for three other people placing pipe bombs, just that dude. Although it does look like that dude was inspired by isis. And are they still calling it a terrorist attack? I know that went back and forth a couple of times.
Jack Armstrong
Well, at first the FBI was adamant that it was not some local gal and the local police girl. Why are no men in charge the police agencies anymore?
Joe Getty
Same police chief Oakland had for a cup of coffee and was run out of town because she sucked when she was a police chief in Oakland, ends up the police chief in New Orleans. How the hell does that happen? How are you so bad at your job that you get run out of Oakland as a black woman and you go to New Orleans and get to be the police chief?
Jack Armstrong
What, as a black woman?
Joe Getty
You're telling me there's no other candidates than somebody who failed horribly at their job in Oakland?
Jack Armstrong
Evidently I was in a coma when the constitutional amendment passed that said we can't possibly have a white male running a major city police department. It's just, it's, it's utterly impossible at this point. You couldn't get one through.
Joe Getty
How about.
Jack Armstrong
Which is really idiotic.
Joe Getty
How about the thousands of black women, if you want to stick with that theme, who don't suck already. Good lord. Anyway, your point was originally she did what?
Jack Armstrong
Well, the FBI was adamant that this was not a terrorist attack. Not, it's a Muslim fellow, but it's not terrorism. And you know, it's just, just, it's ridiculous. The posturing. It brings to mind the horrifying British story, which we'll get to next hour, about the rapes of the young girls. But what was the point I was driving toward? It seemed significant at the time. Blah, blah, blah. Oh, so this guy, it's interesting. It reminds me of a lot of ills in our society these days. This was a miserable failure of a guy with a bad life who wanted to take it out on somebody. And I think he embraced the ideology of ISIS because it's all about hurting, hurting and being self righteous and having a purpose and that sort of thing. And so he decided to kill a bunch of people in service to isis. What good did. It's just the futility of it is what makes me insane. You didn't strike a blow for isis. You didn't do anything but kill innocent people, you moron.
Joe Getty
Yeah, that's why I wanted to bring this up, because I was thinking just a lot of the reading and podcasts I was listening to over the break about various periods through history, whether it was a form of the Constitution or French Revolution, which I just can't stop being interested in all this sort of stuff. Just a very big picture cultural. What is our problem here in the west, not just the United States, Western civilization. The decline of Western civilization and the lack of purpose and unhappiness is clearly a theme that runs through so much of it and explains so many different things. Our politics, the way we structure our lives, all these different sorts of things. And while I, I do believe there is absolutely such a thing as militant Islam that plenty of people around the world sign on to because they actually believe the Quran when it's described the way these nutjobs describe it, blah, blah, blah.
Jack Armstrong
Right.
Joe Getty
A lot of the stuff that happens in the United States is just what you described. Sad people with sad lives who don't have another purpose like charity or God or whatever it ought to be be. And so they look for the closest thing at hand that will let Them manifest their frustrations and hurt people because they're so unhappy.
Jack Armstrong
Right. And it takes all sorts of different forms. You know, I'm reminded in odd way of the sudden onset gender dysphoria among adolescent girls. It's not that there's an explosion in transgenderism. It has nothing to do with sex or call it gender, if you like. It has to do with. With puberty and indoctrination and angst and porn and all sorts of stuff. It's not that all of a sudden little girls are turning into little boys. That's the last thing that's happening.
Joe Getty
Yeah. I can't believe I left that example out. That explains that. Also, just a lot of people who are sad and purposeless and confused and lonely and all those different things that we didn't used to be. So that's the big, biggest problem, bigger than ISIS even, is the overall Western civilization. People are just unhappy with lives. And, you know, a lot of you think it's when religion went away in our secularization. You might be right. But whatever it is, that's the big thing that needs to be fixed that would solve all these different things.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, Yeah. I think the religion thing is a factor. If you were to pick, say, arbitrary number five, five things that gave people purpose in their lives. Religion is one. Raising a family absolutely was probably number one, but certainly number two and, you know, you know, getting yourself just a couple of luxuries.
Joe Getty
Number three, a social influencer. A social media influencer.
Jack Armstrong
Oh, that's right.
Joe Getty
That's a new thing.
Jack Armstrong
Anyway, if you were to take the classic examples of what motivates me to get up in the morning and live a life of purpose, I think a lot of them, if not all of them, have been weakened or eliminated in a lot of people's lives. It's, it's. It's the unwe of. Of success, of being decadent.
Joe Getty
Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
Meaning fat and happy.
Joe Getty
Yeah. And just like I said, I spent a couple of weeks going through a whole bunch of different books and podcasts, and that was my conclusion, is all. Almost everything we talk about can be explained by that. Whatever is driving that, just the ennui, lack of purpose, not happy with your life thing that is happening in all of Western civilization.
Jack Armstrong
Here's the purpose that unites the country. Perfect timing, because they're a little shaky right now. It's time to take Canada or Greenland. 51st state. America's hat.
Joe Getty
Maybe we take Canada and Greenland. 52 states. Get to work on a pattern on the flag. We got to get the stars on there somehow.
Jack Armstrong
Well, first we've got to find Greenland. I think it's in the North Atlantic.
Joe Getty
We got a couple of texts about the whole alcohol thing. We got a bunch of other stuff to talk about. I hope you can stay here. Text line Be interested in what you think about what we just said. 415295 kftc armstrong and getty At Amica.
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Joe Getty
But what a horrible way to start the new year. And it points to the need to get the answers and to make sure it doesn't happen again. And I think that as more information comes out and the investigation is more fully completed, I think we'll have more of those answers. But, you know, clearly it's a dangerous world. And I think it's a reminder that we need to be doing everything we can at every level to keep the American people safe. Okay, that's the new majority leader, Republican John Thune. Meet the press there with that intro. One thing that I'm reminded, reminded of every time we go on vacation is how real life compares to media life. And we're in the media and we take in so much media that I even us who mock the media regularly, I think, you know, you get into the media life, the nation is on edge. I was out and about with people. I didn't run into a single person who seemed to be even slightly on edge. I was in Washington, D.C. which would be one of the biggest focus points of isis. If they could have any attack the day of the attack. And we were all in line for museums and restaurants and stuff like that. The idea, the idea that everybody's upset or on edge or happy, that it's just always so way overstated by media.
Jack Armstrong
That's such a great point. The nation is on edge. And you think, wow, okay, the nation's on edge. I'm supposed to be on it. Are you on edge? Were you on edge before they told you to be on edge?
Joe Getty
Nobody I knew was on edge. And we're. And the security was ramped up. That was definitely true everywhere at airports and DC and everywhere I was. But I didn't notice. There was no palpable on edge at all. The way they portrayed it on the news shows.
Jack Armstrong
Well, to the extent that anybody wanted this, I think I've re just solved everything. All of it. All of the angst and the depression and the insanity and the transgenderism and other than fundamentalist Islam, which has been a scourge for hundreds and hundreds of years. But it used to be our entire lives were taken in through our eyes and ears. Unless you occasionally got a letter from somebody. Now virtually all of our input is from around the entire globe via electronic means. It's making us insane, period. That's it. There's no more study needs to be done. Save your money.
Joe Getty
That very well could be it. We got these texts. Should mention, guys, the police chief of New Orleans is a white woman. The FBI special agent in charge of New Orleans. Orleans is a black woman. And she initially said New Orleans attack was terror related. Both, by the way, appear to be incompetent despite the whatever is in their skin that makes their skin a certain color.
Jack Armstrong
Yes, if you have testicles, you are not welcome in the highest echelons of law enforcement.
Joe Getty
That's a true thing.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, it's amazing. You know what? I'm not sure we have time to do this. The fella who blew up explosives inside the cybertruck in Las Vegas. Vegas. Evildoers, shooters, scumbags, cowards. We don't mention their names. I am gonna mention the name of Matthew Livelsberger, who was a decorated army special forces veteran. A beautiful guy, according to everybody who knew him, including fairly recently, who had all sorts of concussions in active duty and was displaying all of the signs of traumatic brain injury and that sort of thing. Thing, wow. And had some serious depression problems and he in back injuries and the rest of it. But he actually had a note that said, hey, this is not terrorism. It is a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives. He and he was dealing with guilt for the people he'd seen die and the people he'd killed. And it was just, it was a story about a troubled vet, not terrorism.
Joe Getty
That should get more attention. We'll talk more about that later. If you miss a segment, get the.
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Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "Don't Let The Door Hit You On Your Healthy Ass On The Way Out"
Release Date: January 6, 2025
In this episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosted by Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, the duo delves into the contentious topic of alcohol consumption and its purported links to cancer, critiques the politicization of public health messages, and explores broader societal issues contributing to unrest and violence. Throughout the conversation, Armstrong and Getty offer insightful commentary, blending statistical analysis with personal anecdotes to engage listeners.
Surgeon General's Warning
The episode opens with a critical analysis of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's recent statement warning that alcohol consumption is a leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States. Armstrong and Getty dissect the statistics presented:
Cancer Cases: Approximately 100,000 cancer cases annually are attributed to alcohol, with 20,000 resulting in deaths.
Risk Increase: For women, consuming two drinks a day elevates cancer risk from a baseline of 17% to 22% ([08:09] Jack Armstrong). For men, the increase is from 10% to 13% ([08:25] Joe Getty).
Critique of Statistical Interpretation
Jack Armstrong challenges the interpretation of these statistics:
"I find it hilarious. Moderate drinkers have a 1.8 fold higher risk of developing oral cavity and throat cancers." ([09:30] Jack Armstrong)
He argues that while the risks are statistically significant, they are relatively minor compared to other factors like smoking and obesity.
Alicia Finley's Counterpoint
Referencing Alicia Finley from the Wall Street Journal, Armstrong highlights discrepancies between Murthy's concise report and the more extensive National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine review:
"The academies found insufficient evidence to support a link between moderate drinking in oral, pharyngeal, esophagus, laryngeal, and other cancers." ([11:08] Jack Armstrong)
Finley points out that the broader review found only a slight increase in breast cancer risk with moderate drinking, alongside a potential decrease in cardiovascular mortality.
Media Amplification of Minor Risks
Armstrong and Getty discuss how the media tends to sensationalize studies that show minor risk increases, comparing it to historical instances like soda being labeled a cancer risk:
"Coke can call you a cancer. And you know, so lab rats who were force-fed 60 cases of Coca-Cola all day long had a slightly larger chance of getting cancer than those who drank none." ([09:30] Joe Getty)
Political Agenda and Distrust in Public Health
The hosts critique Murthy's approach, suggesting that it serves a political agenda rather than purely public health concerns:
"Murthy's claims about alcohol's cancer risks are misleading but typical of his reports, which are intended to drive a political agenda." ([11:08] Jack Armstrong)
They reference Finley's assertion that Murthy has eroded trust in public health officials akin to the skepticism surrounding Anthony Fauci.
Lack of Purpose and Mental Health
Transitioning from public health, Armstrong and Getty explore deeper societal problems contributing to violence and unrest:
"The decline of Western civilization and the lack of purpose and unhappiness is clearly a theme that runs through so much of it and explains so many different things." ([37:50] Joe Getty)
They argue that modern society's erosion of traditional sources of purpose—such as religion, family, and community—leads to widespread disenchantment and vulnerability to extremist ideologies.
Impact on Behavior and Violence
The conversation touches on how this societal malaise manifests in various forms, including increased susceptibility to extremist recruitment and mental health crises:
"It takes all sorts of different forms. You know, I'm reminded in odd way of the sudden onset gender dysphoria among adolescent girls." ([38:13] Jack Armstrong)
Incident Overview
Armstrong recounts a tragic New Year's Eve incident in Washington D.C., where a terrorist attack claimed multiple lives:
"But it points to the need to get the answers and to make sure it doesn't happen again." ([44:54] Joe Getty)
Media vs. On-the-Ground Reality
Despite heightened security, Armstrong notes a stark contrast between media portrayals of national anxiety and the palpable calm experienced personally:
"I was out and about with people. I didn't run into a single person who seemed to be even slightly on edge." ([46:10] Joe Getty)
Investigation Insights
The discussion reveals complexities in the investigation, highlighting initial misclassifications of the attack's motives and the psychological profile of the perpetrator:
"Matthew Livelsberger... had some serious depression problems and he in back injuries and the rest of it." ([47:05] Jack Armstrong)
Armstrong emphasizes the importance of understanding underlying mental health issues rather than simplifying motives to terrorism.
Jack's Tick Removal Experience
In a lighter segment, Armstrong shares a personal story about removing a tick, blending humor with a cautionary tale about outdoor activities:
"Here's the deal. I assume I get out of the shower... and I've got like a nasty looking sore." ([29:00] Jack Armstrong)
Reflection on Media Consumption
The hosts reflect on their media consumption habits, recognizing the gap between media narratives and personal experiences:
"You're supposed to be on it. Are you on edge? Were you on edge before they told you to be on edge?" ([46:20] Jack Armstrong)
Armstrong and Getty wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of critically evaluating public health messages and recognizing the broader societal factors influencing individual behavior and national events. They encourage listeners to seek balanced information and remain aware of the complexities behind headlines.
Jack Armstrong [09:30]: "I find it hilarious. Moderate drinkers have a 1.8 fold higher risk of developing oral cavity and throat cancers."
Joe Getty [08:25]: "And there's probably a margin of error with the, the whole, the whole thing just because of all research."
Jack Armstrong [46:20]: "The nation is on edge. And you think, wow, okay, the nation's on edge. I'm supposed to be on it."
Joe Getty [37:50]: "The decline of Western civilization and the lack of purpose and unhappiness is clearly a theme that runs through so much of it."
In "Don't Let The Door Hit You On Your Healthy Ass On The Way Out," Armstrong and Getty present a nuanced discussion on the intersections of public health, media influence, and societal well-being. Their thoughtful analysis encourages listeners to question prevailing narratives and consider the deeper factors shaping contemporary issues.