Dua Lipa & Microplastics

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: Episode Summary – "Dua Lipa & Microplastics"

Release Date: May 6, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Platform: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Air Traffic Control Crisis and Government Inaction

The episode kicks off with Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delving into the persistent issues plaguing the United States' air traffic control (ATC) system. Highlighting a recent incident at Newark Airport, Armstrong emphasizes the dangers posed by outdated infrastructure.

• Key Incident:
  At [02:21], Armstrong discusses a critical failure where Newark Airport experienced a 60 to 90-second radar outage, affecting communication with incoming aircraft and leading to significant delays for the 40,000 daily passengers.

• Government Response:
  Armstrong criticizes the government's lack of initiative, stating at [03:22], “Nobody in government willing to say, this needs to be fixed. Here's what needs to be fixed. Here's how we're gonna fix it. Let's do this.” He contrasts the current Secretary of Transportation’s proactive stance with previous administrations that deflected blame onto airlines.

• Systemic Flaws:
  Getty supplements by questioning the longevity of these issues, pointing out at [04:01], “How has it been this bad for this long? They got computers running floppy disks,” underscoring the systemic neglect and inefficiency within the ATC system.

2. President Trump’s Commencement Speech and Leadership Philosophy

Transitioning from infrastructure woes, the hosts pivot to President Trump's recent commencement address at the University of Alabama, offering insights into his leadership ideology.

• Life Philosophy:
  Armstrong references [01:46] Trump's speech as an "incredible distillation of Trump's life philosophy," noting provocative points like "get a hot wife" and "trade her in when you get tired of her." While acknowledging the controversial nature of these remarks, Armstrong suggests that Trump conveys genuine beliefs beneath the sensational statements.

• Media Interpretation:
  At [05:56], Armstrong criticizes the media for focusing on Trump's more outrageous comments while neglecting his sincere viewpoints, promising listeners a deeper exploration of the speech's substantive content.

3. The Hypothetical Diddy Trial: Legal Intricacies and Media Impact

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to a fictional trial involving Diddy, exploring themes of law, media perception, and societal norms.

• Case Overview:
  Starting at [07:39], Armstrong outlines the trial where the government alleges that Diddy "invited others into his bedroom," insinuating potential sex trafficking activities. The hosts discuss the complexities of proving such charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

• Jury Dynamics:
  Armstrong shares his jaded view of the jury system, likening it to a "system designed by geniuses to be implemented by idiots" ([15:05]). He recounts personal experiences of witnessing irrational jurors, highlighting the challenges in achieving fair verdicts.

• Media Sensationalism:
  The hosts critique how media coverage might sensationalize the trial, potentially distracting jurors and influencing public perception with explicit evidence, as discussed around [09:01].

4. The Met Gala: Fashion Extravaganza and Cultural Commentary

Shifting gears, Armstrong and Getty provide a satirical take on the Met Gala, weaving in pop culture observations with their signature humor.

• Fashion Critique:
  At [17:12], Armstrong describes the event as “super rich adorned in bizarro fashions, completely drowning in their own self-regard,” drawing parallels to dystopian narratives like "The Hunger Games."

• Personal Anecdotes:
  Getty humorously recounts Armstrong’s attendance at high-profile after-parties, including encounters with celebrities like Dua Lipa ([28:19]). Their playful banter underscores the superficiality they perceive in such extravagant gatherings.

5. Economic Policies: Tariffs and Trade Wars

The discussion returns to pressing economic issues, specifically tariffs and their impact on trade.

• Tariff Debate:
  At [14:21], Getty references Mark Halperin’s analysis, stating that "there are really two stories, the tariff story and everything else." He expresses uncertainty about the long-term effects, noting the disruptive potential if tariffs proceed as predicted.

• President Trump's Stance:
  Armstrong speculates on Trump's possible bluffing tactics regarding tariffs, suggesting they might be a maneuver to secure better trade deals rather than a genuine economic strategy ([25:54]).

6. Medicaid Politics: Entitlement Programs Under Scrutiny

Armstrong and Getty address the contentious debate surrounding Medicaid, emphasizing its expansion and the political battles it incites.

• Political Tug-of-War:
  At [27:17], Armstrong warns about the "upcoming battle over Medicaid," describing it as a "money spigot" that has outpaced other entitlement programs in growth.

• Policy Implications:
  The hosts predict that Republican opposition will intensify, framing Medicaid as a state-sponsored scam rather than its foundational intentions, and anticipate heated political discourse ([27:17]).

7. Sports Analysis: Evolution of Basketball Strategy

In a lighter segment, the hosts examine the transformation of basketball, particularly the surge in three-point shooting.

• Game Dynamics:
  Getty observes at [19:14], “The sport has changed so much. There was a record set last week in three-pointers.” He laments the decline of traditional playstyles, questioning the strategic pivot towards excessive long-range shots.

• Strategic Concerns:
  Armstrong suggests that teams may be blind to the inefficiencies of their strategies, attributing it to overreliance on data without contextual understanding ([20:13]).

8. Mailbag: Listener Interactions and Social Commentary

The episode's latter half features a mailbag segment, where listeners' questions and comments are addressed with characteristic humor and critical insight.

• Microplastics and Birth Rates:
  Listener John raises concerns about microplastics affecting men's reproductive health ([33:58]). Armstrong counters by linking the rise of plastics and feminism, albeit humorously dismissing the biological implications ([34:49]).

• Public Funding of Religious Schools:
  Paolo questions the state funding of religious charter schools, prompting Armstrong and Getty to advocate for robust school choice policies that ensure curriculum standards without endorsing state-sponsored religion ([37:15]).

• Consumerism and Parental Frustrations:
  Discussions around consumerism surface through anecdotes about excessive purchases of pencils and the implications of such habits on family dynamics and trade relations ([26:30]).

9. Closing Remarks and Future Topics

As the episode wraps up, Armstrong teases upcoming discussions on Medicaid battles and historical parallels between the Cane Mutiny novel and the American jury system ([12:54]). The hosts encourage listeners to engage via email for future mailbag topics, reinforcing their commitment to addressing diverse and often controversial subjects.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong at [03:22]:
  “Nobody in government willing to say, this needs to be fixed. Here's what needs to be fixed. Here's how we're gonna fix it. Let's do this.”

• Joe Getty at [04:01]:
  “How has it been this bad for this long? They got computers running floppy disks.”

• Jack Armstrong at [15:05]:
  “It's a system designed by geniuses to be implemented by idiots.”

• Jack Armstrong at [27:32]:
  “Excess consumerism, blah, blah, blah. I don't agree with him. Well, I agree with them philosophically, but not governmentally.”

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Conclusion

In this episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty navigate a diverse array of topics, blending political critique, cultural commentary, and humor. From the inefficiencies of the air traffic control system to the evolving dynamics of basketball and the intricacies of Medicaid politics, the hosts provide a comprehensive and engaging analysis. Their candid discussions, peppered with sharp wit and notable quotes, offer listeners a thorough understanding of contemporary issues, all while maintaining an entertaining and accessible format.

Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here, Armstrong and get it live from Studio C, senor.

[Joe Getty]

A dimly lit room be put in the bowels of the Armstrong and Yeti Communications compound. Hey, y'all. Tuesday we're under the tutelage of our general manager today.

[Jack Armstrong]

Who is your local air traffic controllers.

[Joe Getty]

Why is that? Our general manager.

[Jack Armstrong]

Our nation's idiotic, antiquated, dysfunctional, dangerous air traffic control system is under scrutiny. And by golly, the Secretary of transportation, in contrast to the last one, it was useless. He says he's going to fix it. We're going to have a major overhaul, bring it into the 21st century.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, I'll believe that when I see it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I believe it. I believe it firmly. There is a guy in The White House, Mr. Non Believer, was willing to shake things up. I was reading about the contrast between Pete Boot, Edge, Edge, who kept trying to blame the airlines for the miserable state of our air traffic control system. And Trump's guy is saying, no, this is terrible. We've got to rebuild it that we've got to take on that challenge. It's great.

[Joe Getty]

That is, that is good. But how has it been this bad for this long? The stories yesterday of. Well, fill us in on the headline story that, that got this conversation started yesterday.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, there was a loss of radar availability for 60 to 90 seconds at the incredibly busy dysfunctional Newark Airport right outside New York City. And 40,000 pass carries 40,000 passengers a day. And it left the control tower unable to communicate with any incoming aircraft, which led to all sorts of chaos and fear and then cascading delays for like.

[Joe Getty]

A minute and a half. They couldn't talk to anybody or couldn't hear anybody, didn't know anybody was.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the pilots were just talking to each other saying, hey, I just heard that they've got no radar contact. Oh, really? Holy cow. Well, okay, so everybody was Just kind of improvising and then trying to stay safe during that time. But it is a beautiful example, which was why I got so animated and started literally pounding the table. It is a perfect example of nobody in government willing to say, this needs to be fixed. Here's what needs to be fixed. Here's how we're gonna fix it. Let's do this. No, they just collect their paychecks and shuffle their paper.

[Joe Getty]

Well.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

But getting to how long this has been going on. So then the stories throughout the day of, like, they got computers running floppy disks.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, so how many decades ago is that? The 80s?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Administration after administration has just kind of kicked the can down the road, to cite the cliche.

[Joe Getty]

So that's the frustrating thing, and everybody should be frustrated. But even if you're a big government liberal, you should be frustrated by that. I'm not, but we spend so much freaking money on so many freaking things.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And you can't update a computer in air traffic control from something that uses floppy disks along the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Well, if there were three competing companies, private companies, and one of them was run that poorly, it would go away in the blink of an eye. It would go out of business, and good riddance to it, because it's a government monopoly. It continues with its awful, wasteful, dangerous dysfunction, you know, year after year.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

But not anymore.

[Joe Getty]

I say put them in Alcatraz. Whoever is in charge of that, put them in Alcatraz.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

That's my answer for everything.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trump doubled down. He said, you know who else will put in Alcatraz? Those judges who won't let us do our immigration reform.

[Joe Getty]

He said that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

I didn't hear that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Fill it up and then, like, go. Go upward. Make it four or five stories high. Whatever it takes.

[Joe Getty]

They're gonna put the judges in Alcatraz. I feel like that's a controversial statement.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. But he didn't mean it. Which brings me to another thing I'm kind of anxious to talk about, excited to talk about. Nobody paid attention other than a couple of snippets from. To Trump's commencement speech at University of Alabama. Matthew Continetti did. He watched the whole thing, and he said it was really an amazing distillation of Trump's life philosophy. And it struck me, in reading it, essentially, Trump goes through the 10 points he thinks are most important for being successful in life. Number one, get a hot wife. It struck me. And then trade her in when you get tired of her. It struck me that the media especially spends a Lot of time talking about stuff Trump clearly doesn't mean and then ignores when he says, all right, here's what I really believe. And he's clearly being sincere because it's not as exciting. But we'll go through that speech. I think you'll find it interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, that's cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

It won't be nearly as fascinating as the intricacies of air traffic control, but it'll be good.

[Joe Getty]

I. I think today's my last day. I think today's the day I finally die from this disease I've got. So I suppose anything I've got to say, I should say today, since I'm probably gonna die.

[Jack Armstrong]

How does it work with your last words? I mean, doing what we do for a living, you could say, okay, these are my last words. The only thing that matters is family and God. But then by contract, we have to keep talking, so. And you'd hate for your last words to be. We'll talk about Trump's commencement speech in just a minute. Stay with us. You know, that would be dumb.

[Joe Getty]

Trouble with the royal family. Those are my last words. That'd be horrible.

[Jack Armstrong]

The conclave stretches on. We'll bring you an update. Yeah, that would. That would be terrible. So let's just designate your last words, and I will. I will agree to promote them as quote, unquote, your last words.

[Joe Getty]

Right. That is it. Yes. Historians. Because historians have obviously will be writing about me. Would say his last words were highlights from the Diddy trial. Nobody knows what my last words are. My last words will be a list of the people I hate the most. That'll be mine. That's what I'm gonna go with.

[Jack Armstrong]

The enemy's list.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. Vengeance. Right. Right to the grave.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. That is healthy.

[Joe Getty]

Take that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Keep stoking those emperors. Clearly your last breath. Right.

[Joe Getty]

Hold on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right as they're lowering you, you should be muttering the names of those you hope to take vengeance against in the afterlife.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, and my fourth grade gym teacher.

[Jack Armstrong]

Him.

[Joe Getty]

Let's start the show. Officially, I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Jogetti on this. It is Tuesday month we in now, May 6, the year 2025, where Armstrong and getting. We approve of this program.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, let's begin then. Officially, according to FCC rules and regulations, the show starts at Mark. His lawyers are aiming to convince the jury the government is trying to police consensual sex by a swinger who they say invited others into his bedroom.

[Ad]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Geez. Yeah. Heavy hand of the law. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Consensual adult sex.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Friends and neighbors Getting together with a cradle lube and enjoying each other's company. What's wrong with that?

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Bunch of Puritans, right? Poor Diddy being persecuted.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's the defense, huh? Well, and he's got a hell of a team of lawyers.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, yeah, we. If you're old enough to remember O.J. you know, you have some really good, expensive lawyers. It's amazing what they can come up with.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're gonna hear himself said that the colors of justice are not black and white. The color of justice is green.

[Joe Getty]

If you're that. Thanks, O.J. if you're on that jury, are you going to hear and see some pretty sexy stuff?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's gonna be hardcore porn.

[Joe Getty]

Really?

[Jack Armstrong]

In short. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's accurate. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I suppose there'll be a bunch of women and men there describing in great detail what they did or were forced to do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and remember, dude kept loads of video.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Partly to enforce omerta. Is that silence? The code of silence. Yeah. So. Yeah. And. And if it's entered into evidence, you got to let the jury see it.

[Joe Getty]

Huh? That'd be easy to get distracted as a juror. Oh, that's right. This is a trial.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Yes. It could cause unwanted emotional and physical reactions as you're trying to figure out whether this guy's a monster who, you know, compelled people to perform various acts and sex trafficking. So you.

[Joe Getty]

She probably shouldn't. Like, if you're on the jury and you finally get to your first deliberation, you get in there in the room and say, let's just start with what was your favorite part? I'll tell you what my favorite part was.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, we'll get to deliberating in a minute.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, let's just start. It's just everybody layout. What was your favorite part?

[Jack Armstrong]

What do you think was the hottest part?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll bet it's. It ends up just being troubling.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it will be, because there's so much violence and drugging and everything like that. It's gonna. It's gonna turn pretty sick pretty fast, I think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. Given his violence against women and testimony to that effect, I wonder how many.

[Joe Getty]

Famous people are worried about their names and pictures and videos all of a sudden coming up in this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe a good number. Yeah, yeah. Certainly. If you're a New York hip hop mogul, or adjacent to them, perhaps a pop star, movie star, girlfriend, wife.

[Joe Getty]

Even if you're not, like, somebody who does horrible things, you don't Particularly want to be have your name and face attached to some of those parties if people otherwise didn't know you were, you know, adjacent to that lifestyle.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Yeah. I don't have a firm grasp, no pun intended, on charge you with a.

[Joe Getty]

Thousand bottles of baby oil to have.

[Jack Armstrong]

A firm grasp on anything very slippery. I don't have a firm grasp on the list of folks who might be called to testify or identified. But yeah, it'll be, it'll be notable, sure.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And then I'm always confused with the jury stuff. So do you have to. You can't find people that don't know anything about it. You have to find people who basically say, I've heard about it, but I don't care.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just, I've heard a lot of open mind.

[Joe Getty]

I think I could.

[Jack Armstrong]

I really do. Oh yeah? Yeah. Well, for one thing, I consider it like a sacred vow under the Constitution. So, yeah, I got the idea that, yeah, he's kind of a perv and may have done these things, but now the government has to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. That's an easy proposition to internalize for me anyway.

[Joe Getty]

And what did our reporter just say there? It's just some, it's some adults engaging in consensual sex. Quit being such a brood.

[Jack Armstrong]

So it's funny, a couple of things just clicked into my head. One of the themes of the Cane Mutiny, which I just read, the classic World War II novel, which is just, you think you're reading a great book, then you get to the end and you realize you've been reading a really, really great book.

[Joe Getty]

Cool. I've never read it, I don't think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just, it's. Again, it's an incredibly compelling narrative. And then the theme kind of gets flipped on its head at the end and the author, I'm not going to give away too much here, but the author essentially says, yeah, how do I. I don't want to spoil this. Even though it's a many several generations old novel, because you're taken on an emotional intellectual journey very much like the characters in the novel. And then at the end you learn something as they're learning something. I, I will just say that. And I found it absolutely fascinating and, and just an author that brilliant ought to have the reputation does.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, the book is three quarters of a century old. I think you get a pass for spoilers on books that old. But it's up to you.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. I, I'm, I'm thinking about our relationship with the good folks in the audience. They're thinking the Cane Mutiny. I've never read that. I'm going to read. I don't want to ruin it for them.

[Joe Getty]

Ahab never catches the whale.

[Jack Armstrong]

What?

[Joe Getty]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, I tell you what, I will reveal the odd parallel between the Cane Mutiny and our jury system right after this.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, we got like news of the day, headlines, mailbag, all this stuff. Trump's serious about the whole paying illegals to get out of the buying a plane ticket and giving them some cash to have him get out. Kirsty Noem says one person has taken advantage of that program so far. One like the number one.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, it's a start. An acorn, oak tree, etc.

[Joe Getty]

Longest journey, one step, etc. Yes, all on the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stay here. Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

Mark Halperin writing that really there are two stories, really only, I mean, if you're following politics, how this tariff thing turns out and everything else. Those are the two stories. That's how big the tariff thing is. It's that and everything else. I mean, this is going to be insanely disruptive if it goes the way most people predict.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

And it's going to start landing soon.

[Jack Armstrong]

And nobody's sure exactly how it's going to go though who means what, how long it's going to last. It's just question marks. Pile on question marks. So a couple of things. First of all, one of the themes, one of the interesting things said in the Kane mutiny is by one of the officers who was explaining to another guy, look, the United States Navy is a system designed by geniuses to be run by idiots. In other words, it's designed so that even if there's an idiot in a position, it continues to function and minimizes the damage done by the idiot. I go further down that road because it's really interesting, but that's what was said the jury system. And I've had the privilege and the really interesting experience of serving on a handful of juries and being in a couple more jury pools. It is a system designed by Geniuses to be implemented by idiots. Every single jury I have been part of and it's just been two or three have had people on there who scared me. They were incapable of rational thought. So I understand.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I have, I assume. You have to assume that that's always the case.

[Jack Armstrong]

I, more often than not, I would guess, you know, the multiple of anecdote does not equal data. But the more I saw, the more disturbed I was. There are some people who react completely emotionally. They can't think critically. They're easily swayed by their own prejudices to the point that you think this person is an idiot. And prosecutors know this. And so that's why jury selection is so important. And they're looking for things you wouldn't even guess. They just want people who can listen to evidence. Anyway, I'd go into detail, but we're pressed for time. Can't wait for Katie to get back tomorrow so she can handle the news headlines during this segment. Number one, because it's fun. Number two, it's less work for us, but a handful of things going on, big stories. First of all, we've got one guest per hour for our four hours to talk about the Met gala and the fashions, the incredible outfits we saw there.

[Joe Getty]

God, that is. The coverage that that gets is just incredible.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is. So for those familiar with a reference, it's a reenactment of the capital from the Hunger Games movies.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I've never seen that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Super rich adorned in bizarro fashions, completely drowning in their own self regard, living in a world that's so foreign from the rest of ours, it's unrecognizable from either side.

[Joe Getty]

Well, right. And it fits in with a theme I've mentioned like in the last week or so about the number of people in America that don't want to live that lifestyle. And the people who live that lifestyle don't believe it. Trust me, I don't want to be at the gal at the Met. It's not because I'm jealous or anything like that. I sincerely actually don't want to be part of that crowd. And not. And not out of any sort of reverse. Makes me cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just think it's ridiculous because you don't know what designer to go with Armani or Givenchy.

[Joe Getty]

So all your talk about it, you're not making me feel like I'm left out or anything. Trust me.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Israel proved plans to seize all of the Gaza Strip. Germany's in chaos because their newly formed government just got voted out. Essentially, it's really pretty interesting and some really fun conclave history if you're into the Pope. Coming up. Stay with us. More to come. Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

It's off to brown Bridges there they hold it, they grapple. It's over the next of one. What a comeback and a game one win for New York.

[Joe Getty]

Couple upsets last night. Denver upset OKC and the Knicks upset the Celtics. Game one of the semifinals. Great games. Knicks were down by 20. But here's the interesting thing. I'm watching more basketball because I'm sick. I'm seeing more, but the sport has changed so much. There was a record set last week in three pointers. The Celtics beat it last night. They lost by one basket in overtime. Missing 45 three pointers. The game is just so different. People come flying down the court on a fast break. Doesn't matter if there's no defense under the basket. You could get wide open shots of any length. Everybody takes a three pointer as if that's the only option. That's just the way the game is now. And I don't know why they've all decided that's a good idea. Why there isn't a team that has said, hey, you know, for the last 80 years of the sport, you throw it to a guy who makes a 12 footer and it's a, it's a gimme every single time.

[Jack Armstrong]

But they data, they don't data. They've all done the cybermetrics thing. They've analyzed if we take a certain number of three point shots. So we're more likely to win.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I have to assume they know more about it than I do. But they missed 45, three pointers. That's amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Jack is a student of warfare. You'd be certainly familiar with this concept. If the defenses evolve to, you know, defend against that philosophy. That's when you shake it up. I would think so. You know, maybe you're right. You're actually ahead of your time.

[Joe Getty]

I just came across this. I thought this was really good writing. About again. And then I was reading this piece today about how there are really only two political stories out there, the tariff story and everything else. That's how big the whole tariff thing is because of if it goes the direction most people are predicting, it'll be the only story maybe on the planet alone in the United States.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then we'll be dealing with shortages of both pencils and dolls. President right.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, do you have that Colbert joke? Play that Colbert joke about the dolls. It's just too good.

[Jack Armstrong]

The crazy continued on Air Force One when Trump doubled down on the dollies.

[Joe Getty]

15 year old girl doesn't need $37. She can be very happy with two or three.

[Jack Armstrong]

Buddy. A 15 year old girl is not going to be happy with two or three or four or five dolls because a 15 year old girl isn't happy with anything.

[Joe Getty]

And if you, like me, are a parent of a teenager and I have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Boys, I have boys.

[Joe Getty]

It makes me feel better to hear that because it's just like how am I failing so badly that he's constantly miserable?

[Jack Armstrong]

Boy. And it's, it's notably different with girls too. There's a special.

[Joe Getty]

Oh my God, if it's another level of that I can't even imagine.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's, it's difficult to describe, you.

[Joe Getty]

Know, and I don't know how many 15 year old girls want dolls even in their best moods. It's a toy for a younger set.

[Jack Armstrong]

But yeah, but the point remains, chief. Excess consumerism, blah, blah, blah. I don't agree with him. Well, I agree with them philosophically, but not governmentally.

[Joe Getty]

But here's the writing I was talking about. They're talking about Trump's inner circle and everything like that. And Elon Musk, you know, Stephen Miller, a variety of people around him. While there's no doubt that these vote. These folks are very wealthy and very professionally successful in tech and other endeavors. As one close observer of the cohort told me Monday night on the topic, they really believe they know everything and you'd be amazed at how little they actually know. This is a thing I talk about a lot because I've observed this in my life over and over and over again. Anybody that success? Not anybody. But most people who are successful in any area of life think they know everything about every other area also. It's just the way we're built, I guess.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I'm sorry, who are we talking about here?

[Joe Getty]

Specifically the people around Trump. The inner circle of.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh really?

[Joe Getty]

Of geniuses who say this is going to work out your lutnix your Elon's, your whoever who have jumped on board. And that has been my experience. And this in this person, anonymously telling Mark Halperin they really believe they know everything, you'd be amazed at how little they actually know. And I think that's quite possibly the case with some of these people who have come in. And then he goes on to say one of history's great errors, that far too many smart people don't know that the Halberstam title of the famous Vietnam War book, the Best and the Brightest, was meant ironically. Smartest folks in the world who presided over many, many mistakes and dumb decisions.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. You know, it's funny, a little closer to home. Jack and I have been discussing this for many, many years, having had a long, mediocre career together, and that is that as we rose up from, from small towns to medium to big towns to giant, you know, number one media market in the world or in the country, certainly we had expected that we would see higher and higher levels of competence. Intelligence, creativity, just effectiveness, in short. And there wasn't none of that. But there wasn't nearly as much as we thought. And there were plenty of dopes and ineffective people and fools at the, at the highest levels. They were just wrong about stuff. And it's so difficult, I think, for most Americans to imagine, for instance, the incredible dishonesty and incompetence of the Biden White House. You've got a senile fool. I mean, he's always been a fool.

[Joe Getty]

Come on.

[Jack Armstrong]

But a senile fool Announcing unconstitutional programs, denying what was clearly true, steering the ship of state directly into an iceberg, all so they could hang onto their jobs for one more term, get the old man through the election, then we'll, you know, we'll figure out what to do.

[Joe Getty]

That.

[Jack Armstrong]

But the important part is we keep our jobs. Yeah. Yeah. The West Wing of the White House was those people. And it's not impossible to believe. Trump's got some people around him who may be a little overconfident about one idea or another.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, as I have said over and over again, and I mean it, I want to be wrong, I will happily say, look. Wow. They knew what they were doing all along. I shouldn't have doubted them. Look at me. I'm an idiot. I'm fine saying that. Six months from now, a year from now, if this all turns out right. I sure hope it does.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I just might. My great hope is that a lot of the tariff talk is bluffed to get better trade deals because our trade deals, many of them are bad and can be improved. And all the stuff about oh, I love tariffs, we're gonna, we're gonna solve the budget, we're gonna pay off the debt with tariffs. We're gonna onshore all the manufacturing. That's, it's a bluff.

[Joe Getty]

That'd be fine if it works. And besides, you all have too many pencils anyway. I'm disgusted by the number of pencils you people have. I look at you, you know, come out of your ears, out of your pockets.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh sure, floorboard.

[Joe Getty]

There's pencils everywhere.

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly. Yeah. That actually factors in a mailbag, weirdly enough. Yes. Michael, Jon Stewart has a funny clip about Trump and his view of toys. They don't need to have 250 pencils, they can have five. Trump has such a depression era view of what kids play with in 2025. Kids don't need 20 sets of those hoops you hit with a stick as you go down the street. Just one hoop is Jim Dandy. So he used some odd examples. The point being, yes. Cheap Chinese goods and consumerism, et cetera.

[Joe Getty]

Right. I'm on board.

[Jack Armstrong]

Coming up later, I'm working on crafting this in a way that does not drain your life force from you and make you wish for death. The upcoming battle over Medicaid is so important and it is going to be some of the worst, most stupid demagogue politics you've ever seen in your life. In fact, it's already begun. The Republicans are coming after your Medicaid. Medicaid is a scam. Not, not at its core, but it's become this money spigot state government scam that needs so desperately to be straightened out. And it, the, the amount of growth in Medicaid dwarfs all the other Social Security type programs, the entitlement programs. Really important. We'll try to explain it in a way that is, is understandable.

[Joe Getty]

What did you get, what time did you get back from the Met gala last night? I know. You wore your giant Statue of Liberty costume.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh like 2:30 in the morning, right? Yeah. Well, I went to an after party then. An after after party. I was at JD's Jay Z's after party. We talked a little about Diddy, but you kept your voice down and I.

[Joe Getty]

Saw you with a Kardashian. Al Sharpton. Yeah, some 25 year old pop singer I didn't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Duo Lipa. We danced a lot and she tried to make a move. It was late, she was drunk. I said no, no, I'm Married? No. Hey, this has been fun, but hands off, sweetheart. And I knew it was time to go home.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. You don't want to get yourself in trouble. So we got Mailbag coming up next day here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and get.

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[Joe Getty]

This is a good text we got. Sean Diddy Combs is guilty of one thing. He loved too much and way too weirdly.

[Jack Armstrong]

To continue our discussion from the last segment, longtime friend of mine, friend of the show, Mike the lawyer in Chicago says there's an incredible bias in the legal community of big city lawyers against country lawyers. They think they're smarter and better because they make more money. But there's also saying among lawyers with wisdom that says somebody tells you I'm just a country lawyer, you're probably going to lose. They're just as bright, if not brighter than so many city lawyers center.

[Joe Getty]

That's funny. I got a friend who moved from California to Tennessee and his kids, he's not a Californian, he's from the Midwest actually. But he moved his family who had grown up in California to Tennessee, small town. And his kids thought they were going to walk into school and be so far ahead all and they were so far behind all the other kids.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah.

[Joe Getty]

He said everybody in California thinks they're smarter than everybody else, but they're not.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. How interesting. Yeah. Some of the best, most talented people we've ever known in the radio business decided, no, I'm going to make my life and raise my children in Cincinnati or, you know, Jolie Illinois or whatever. They're every bit as talented and smart as anybody else. They just made a different life choice. Anyway, here's to you and your life choices, friends. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day from the great Patrick Henry. The liberties of a people never were nor ever will be secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. Oh man. Patrick, Patrick, Patrick. Best that you're resting in peace right now, you have no idea. The transactions of our rulers are so incredibly opaque and complex. It would take a lifetime study to understand 1/1,000th of them. Mailbag well, we'll keep trying. Drop us Note mailbagarmstrongetti.com is our email address. Mailbagarmstrongetti.com on the topic of the Rock reopening Alcatraz is a prison. Alvin in Berkeley right there by the Rock says Nancy Pelosi can see Alcatraz from her mansion on Russian Hill. Should she be worried? I hope so. Eco Nancy Pelosi at Alcatraz. I love it. Back to the Kentucky Kentucky Derby Horse not to beat a dead horse, but writes Kevin, I was thinking what could be even more appropriate than a horse named Sovereignty to win the Kentucky Derby under our current political climate would have been the horse named Journalism Win, only to have been disqualified later for doping while beaten ridden by an illegal alien MS.13 gang member with a Free Palestine neck tattoo. That's about the state of journalism. Yes, Journalism. The horse performed well, better than Journalism the Profession, but it did not win. If Journalism the Profession ran in the Kentucky Derby, it would have stumbled out of the gate and crawled to the finish an hour after the other horses had won or finished. There's nothing but Congress with a lower approval rating than Journalism right now. Let's see. Different topic Trump's Dolls and Pencils Eric, who is a construction guy, says Dare Big Freedom and Jack the what does that say? I don't know. On the topic of abundance and pencils, I use the pencils from our home for my professional fence gardening layout stuff and I get the idea sometimes they disappear because he's using them for work. This irritated the princess. I turned to Amazon, where I purchased 300 pencils for a few ducats. I proceeded to add pencils to every possible place in our home. We need to keep our trade relations with China so it can continue to troll my wife. Or we could be adults. So she she was griping at him for their lack of pencils, so he bought 300 of them and sprinkles them everywhere. That is some good marital trolling right there.

[Joe Getty]

I remember when I was that way with the kids when they were little. I get so frustrated over there was never a binky around when I needed one. I wanted to have so many binkies in the house that you walked ankle deep in binkies from room to room, so there was always one at hand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mm, let's see. Mess writes Dear Angie, this includes a coarse word for testicles, and I apologize for using it in advance. Once again, you two have paraded around the unwelcome idea that microplastics and men's balls are the reason for declining birth rates. Say nay. I blame American chicks. Think about it. Plastics started taking a foothold in the 60s. Feminism took a stronger foothold in the 60s. The timeline for both fits. But are other species also showing the precipitous decline in birth rates? Have baboons lost their desire to mate? Are raccoons invulnerable to having plastic in their balls, even though they wallow around in our dumpsters? And are the men in Afghanistan and every other Neanderthal country somehow more resilient to the microplastics implanted? No, but they all do lack feminism.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I don't know about that point, but, yeah, it doesn't seem to be affecting the birth rate of your.

[Jack Armstrong]

Your.

[Joe Getty]

Your hell holes for whatever reason. And they got as much plastic, if not more. Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Yeah. I don't. That's an interesting thought. I don't know, but I appreciate the note. How about this John with no H rights, guys. Oh, omg. He writes he listened to the podcast yesterday. I have officially been lectured more by you than my own mother about having kids sooner rather than later. I'm starting to get antsy over here, listening to the podcast. Let's not make this a regular thing. No, I was not hectoring anybody to have kids. Have kids younger. I was just saying that having Judy and I had our kids young by today's standards. And you never hear anybody advocating for the ways in which that's really, really good. I'm not saying it's better. I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying that nobody ever explains the advantages of it for some reason. Because you're going against the tide, I guess, or the.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. I think the advantages seem obvious. And I did it the other way around.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, let's see. Do we have time for this? Yeah, we do. Excellent. Frequent correspondent Paolo writes. Guys, there's some controversy over the public funding of religious schools. I should mention I've got some trumpy emails here for Mailbag, but we've talked enough about Trump this this hour, so kind of skipped them for now. We'll get to them later. But there's some controversy about the public funding of religious schools because that could amount to state sponsored religion. That would not be good. And he quotes the New York Times. The main question in the case is whether the First Amendment permits states to sponsor and finance religious charter schools. In other words, the Supreme Court is deciding whether charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately run are fundamentally private or public. And Paolo says that's fine question, but why does it matter? The relevant question is how do we most effectively teach children the things that we all agree are important for them to learn and not impose a state sponsored religion while we're doing it? How about this? There's this three R's set of things. Everybody agrees we want children to be taught. Any school certified to teach that required curriculum can teach it. The state will provide schools to teach that curriculum and only that curriculum. Public schools or it will call those. In addition, the state will pay any school certified to teach the required curriculum some fixed amount and the school self certified will be measured by testing whatever means are appropriate to ensure they're effectively teaching anything else they teach. Beyond that is what is required is between the parents in the schools. It doesn't add up to the state sponsoring a religion.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that I agree completely.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. School choice, friends. School choice. More and more states are moving more and more in that direction and as we discussed several days ago, the data so far is glowing. School choice works.

[Joe Getty]

So if you miss a segment or an hour, you can grab our podcast. It's called Armstrong and Gettysburg on Demand. We got a lot more news of the day and there's lots happening to come, so stay here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Ad]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24,7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.