Happy Valentine's Day! You're Fired!

Summary

Summary of "Happy Valentine's Day! You're Fired!" Episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Podcast Information:

• Title: Armstrong & Getty On Demand
• Host/Authors: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
• Description: The official, On-Demand podcast of The Armstrong & Getty Show! Accept no substitutes!
• Episode: Happy Valentine's Day! You're Fired!
• Release Date: February 14, 2025

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Introduction

In the "Happy Valentine's Day! You're Fired!" episode, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty explore the complexities and societal pressures surrounding Valentine's Day while intertwining these themes with current events, including federal layoffs and political controversies. The episode offers a blend of personal anecdotes, listener stories, and in-depth discussions on relevant news topics.

Valentine's Day: Tradition vs. Reality

Critique of Societal Expectations

Armstrong and Getty open the episode by questioning the significance placed on Valentine's Day within relationships. Armstrong shares his skeptical view on the importance of the day for long-term relationships:

Jack Armstrong ([03:15]): "I personally have never known a long term successful relationship that took Valentine's Day seriously."

He argues that overly prioritizing Valentine's Day often correlates with unstable relationships, contrasting with his observation of successful long-term partnerships that treat the day casually.

Personal Anecdotes and Listener Stories

The hosts delve into personal experiences and listener-submitted stories that highlight the emotional toll of Valentine's Day traditions, especially from school years. Armstrong recounts a poignant story about a fourth-grade student whose negative Valentine's Day experience allegedly set him on a troubled path:

Jack Armstrong ([37:28]): "He went on to a life of crime and prison. And she believes it's all because of this."

Getty echoes similar sentiments, discussing how mandatory Valentine activities in schools can lead to feelings of exclusion and emotional distress among children.

Impact of Commercialization

Armstrong criticizes the commercialization of Valentine's Day, particularly in industries like restaurants, which benefit financially from the holiday:

Jack Armstrong ([21:30]): "Valentine's Day Stop it. 25 years in restaurants writes this test... on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day you can. The restaurants just print money."

He emphasizes that the pressure to celebrate Valentine's Day is often driven by profit motives rather than genuine emotional connections.

Federal Layoffs and Government Downsizing

Current State of Federal Employment

Shifting focus from Valentine's Day, Armstrong discusses the recent wave of federal layoffs affecting thousands of employees, particularly those within a one- to two-year probationary period. He compares this trend to the private sector's frequent layoffs, arguing that federal employees are not immune to economic downscaling.

Jack Armstrong ([04:37]): "Why would federal employees be immune to that?"

He criticizes the civil service protections, questioning their relevance and effectiveness in the current economic climate, suggesting that they may be outdated and hinder necessary government efficiency.

Anecdotal Evidence

Armstrong shares an anecdote about a federal employee who experienced abrupt layoffs with minimal notice, highlighting inefficiencies within federal agencies:

Jack Armstrong ([04:24]): "My boss apparently doesn't realize this happens every day outside of this particular federal agency."

This story underscores the disconnect between federal practices and private-sector norms.

Political Controversies and Eric Adams

Justice Department and Mayor Eric Adams

A significant portion of the episode focuses on New York City's Mayor Eric Adams and recent actions by the Justice Department. Armstrong and Getty analyze Adams' strong stance on immigration and the Justice Department's decision to drop charges against him, suggesting possible political motivations behind the move.

Jack Armstrong ([07:25]): "Eric Adams, if you get fully on board with the whole booting the illegals out of New York, which I'm all for, you can't let him get away with being a criminal."

Resignation of a Senior Attorney

The hosts discuss the resignation of a senior conservative attorney from the Justice Department in protest of the dropped charges, highlighting internal conflicts within federal agencies.

Jack Armstrong ([07:50]): "She is as conservative as you can get. And conservative means the law is the law."

This resignation is presented as a significant indicator of deeper issues within the Justice Department.

European Immigration Issues

Rise of Far-Right Parties

Armstrong and Getty examine Europe's handling of immigration, expressing concern over the rise of far-right parties due to inadequate responses to public sentiment on immigration control.

Joe Getty ([32:07]): "If you ignore the masses of the people, you as like a mainstream political party... they are going to get power and juice."

They draw parallels between European political dynamics and the Trump-era Republican Party in the U.S., suggesting that ignoring public demands can lead to the empowerment of extremist factions.

Political Implications

The hosts discuss the potential long-term political consequences in Europe if immigration issues are not addressed effectively, predicting a surge in far-right political influence.

Joe Getty ([33:06]): "It's just like the story of Trump and the MAGA crowd resting the control of the Republican Party away from the old mainstreamers..."

This analysis underscores the importance of responsive governance to maintain political stability.

Personal Reflections and Emotional Impact

Emotional Responses to Societal Norms

Both hosts share personal reflections on how societal norms around Valentine's Day have impacted their emotional well-being. Armstrong discusses his empathy towards listeners who have experienced exclusion during Valentine's celebrations.

Jack Armstrong ([37:47]): "I have a weird personality type where I get like I. I'm bothered if other people are upset."

Getty adds to the conversation by describing his discomfort with seeing others distressed over Valentine's traditions, emphasizing his inclination to support those around him emotionally.

Impact on Relationships

The discussion highlights how rigid societal expectations can strain personal relationships, advocating for more authentic and pressure-free interactions.

Advertisements and Sponsorships

Throughout the episode, various advertisements are interspersed. However, as per the summary guidelines, these sections are skipped to focus solely on the content-driven discussions between Armstrong and Getty.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

In wrapping up the episode, Armstrong reaffirms his stance against the overemphasis on Valentine's Day, advocating for genuine emotional connections over obligatory celebrations. He criticizes the commercialization of the holiday and urges listeners to prioritize authentic relationships.

Jack Armstrong ([43:15]): "So several things that Vance said have made news... If you don't want that, be honest."

The hosts conclude by encouraging listeners to reflect on their personal values and resist external pressures that detract from meaningful relationships.

Notable Quotes

• Jack Armstrong ([03:15]): "I personally have never known a long term successful relationship that took Valentine's Day seriously."
• Jack Armstrong ([04:37]): "Why would federal employees be immune to that?"
• Joe Getty ([32:07]): "If you ignore the masses of the people, you as like a mainstream political party... they are going to get power and juice."
• Jack Armstrong ([21:30]): "Valentine's Day Stop it. 25 years in restaurants writes this test... on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day you can. The restaurants just print money."

Overall Insights

The episode skillfully weaves together personal stories and critical analyses of societal and political issues. Armstrong and Getty provide listeners with a candid exploration of how traditions like Valentine's Day can impact personal relationships and emotional well-being. Simultaneously, they engage in thoughtful discourse on federal employment practices and European political dynamics, offering a multifaceted perspective that resonates with a diverse audience.

By addressing both emotional and political themes, the hosts deliver a comprehensive discussion that encourages listeners to question societal norms and remain informed about current events. The integration of listener stories adds a communal aspect, fostering a sense of shared experience and understanding.

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This summary captures the key points, discussions, and notable quotes from the "Happy Valentine's Day! You're Fired!" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened to the episode.

Transcript

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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's Armstrong. And get it from Studio C. A dimly lit room different than the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. And today we are under the tutelage of Valentine's Day. If this is not the perfect Valentine, this is the important thing. If the person you're in a relationship with doesn't go 100% all out on Valentine's Day, you should break up today because clearly. Stop. Isn't that the message we're being sent? No. By Hallmark movies and cards and whatnot.

We need to break that.

Yeah, well, we've been working on that. I don't know how many years you been with us. Two years. Yeah. So Joe and I been. Joe doesn't say this. He's nicer than me. Joe's not here today. But I say this every single year. And it's just my anecdotal evidence. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I personally have never known a long term successful relationship that took Valentine's Day seriously. I've known hundreds and hundreds of people who took Valentine's Day very seriously. And they had horrible relationships or they fell apart. They were always in and out of relationships. But I've never known a single long term successful relationship that took Valentine's Day or any of these other things very seriously.

Yeah, I can see what you're saying.

That's just my personal experience.

Yeah.

Um, so I need to have a.

Conversation with my husband because he too.

See, this is the problem, though. You can get into a relationship and they pretend they don't care about Valentine's Day, but they secretly do. And then you don't do anything. And then they're all hurt and. But again, that gets to what I was saying a little bit earlier. He.

He went all out this year.

That's. And that's nice. Maybe, you know, I don't know. I don't know.

No, it's very sweet. But it's like, dude, I got you. I got you a card and a box of meat hearts.

Meat hearts?

Yeah, you know, like those candy hearts that have stuff written on them.

These are all M E E T.

No, M E a T. Meat.

Yeah.

Okay. So you know the candy hearts that have writing on them, like the little.

Chalk that are made out of chalk? Yes.

Right. These are pieces of beef jerky that look like those and they have little things written on them and they're called meat hearts.

Awesome. Oh, fantastic. Wow. That's cool. So, a lot in the news today. We have some interesting people to talk to. But I was going to the sub general manager. Happy Valentine's Day, you're fired. Which is fortunately or unfortunately. Fortunately, if you believe we need to cut government in size and scope, which we absolutely do, unfortunately, on some individual basis. Because it sucks losing your job. And I'm sure there are people that work very hard and tried very hard and everything like that that are losing their jobs. But I personally know, once again, my anecdotal evidence of federal agencies where they have laid people off. And it's in the news today. The letters are going out. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people across the country getting the nod that they are being let go. Most of them at this point are in the. There's a one year or two year probationary period. I understand it's different depending on your agency or whatever. At a certain point you get all these civil service protections once you're in government and it's almost impossible to fire you. Why we offer those. Well, I know why the government voted. It's the government. They, of course they voted for themselves to have civil service protection. But why we offer those, I have no idea. None of the rest of us have this in any world. Maybe college professors, but other than that, none of the rest of us have this. Here, here's, here's an example I've got for you. And I will not say what agency this is or where it came from. Department downsizing. Uh, this is a person who was talking to their boss yesterday who works in a federal agency that I know. Uh, a number of people in our area offices are downsizing. This person said, my boss has never worked in the private sector and is very upset. Said they only had only were able to give them a couple of days notice before they were fired. Really? That never happens to anyone else. And this person said, my boss apparently doesn't realize this happens every day outside of the, this particular federal agency. Yeah. So, you know, welcome to the real world to a certain extent. I mean if you. Again, on an individual basis, it sucks losing your job. And I guess this particular boss said some of these people moved for this job. The only reason they moved here. Yeah, that happens all the time too. People move to a job and they're there for a week, a month, two years, five years, 10 years, whatever. And then out of the blue you get fired completely out of your. No fault of your own. Sometimes you're working hard, you're doing a good job, they just decide to go a different direction or you know, the company's failing or like in traditional media, everybody in traditional media, legacy media, has been downsizing for years. Radio, television, newspapers. I can't tell you how many Black Mondays, Black Fridays we've had around here. Haven't we all? And where we've all survived, thank God, but where emails go out and you start getting the. The nod that all across the country, people are being let go and you wonder who's next? It happens all the time. Why would federal employees be immune to that? Or don't. Or don't. Or don't have to deal with the reality of, geez, I picked up my family and I moved here for this job, and I thought it was going to be my career, and now it's gone. But it's happening all across the country today. So again, happy Valentine's Day. You're fired. Is our. Is our life is like a box of chocolate? Yeah. Yeah. I one time in a relationship that did not work out, actually making my point with someone who took Valentine's Day very seriously, attempted to go out to eat. The one time in my life I've tried to go out to eat on Valentine's Day, it is a nightmare. I don't know how y'all do it. And a lot of you do it because it took me, I don't know how long to find a restaurant that had any. I waited until like, three days before Valentine's Day. I didn't realize it was impossible and it was nearly impossible to find one reservation at an awkward time at a restaurant far away. But though you can't park in the parking lot and there's not enough room in the restaurant in the waiting area, and you're standing outside, perhaps in the rain and the cold, and you maybe are dressed up, but it just. It just seems miserable. Absolutely miserable. But, hey, knock yourself out if that's your plan tonight.

Can't wait to go to dinner later.

Have a good time. The restaurants make a lot of money, so I don't know. As Joe always points out, for profit companies installing expectations on us is not the way it's supposed to work. And I wonder, and I'm going to tell an amazing Valentine's Day story here in about 20 minutes. It's. It's. It's hilarious. It's heartbreaking. It reminds you of what Valentine's Day was like when you're a little kid. I dreaded Valentine's Day all through grade school and then high school. And, like, why. Why do our schools put this pressure on all the children and make it seem like, boy, this is a very, very important day. And if you don't have someone that's going to give you something and care about you. Oh man, you are a loser. That's the message I felt like they were putting out in school.

My negative feelings towards Valentine's Day started my freshman year in high school. I had a crush on this guy. Thank you, Gladys. And the, the school had this program for where for like 2 bucks you would fill out a piece of paper and put your money in an envelope. And then at some point during the day, somebody would show up in that person's classroom with a rose.

Right. They're doing that at my son's high school, I think.

Oh my God. Okay, so first of all, flower gram.

They'Re calling it or Candy Graham or something like that.

The flower grammar. I was the only girl out of our girl group that didn't get a rose. And I was mortified, embarrassed, and it was just like, why, why did that happen?

Right?

You know, Ah, this is bringing up bad feelings, guys.

Yeah, yeah, I, I got quite a story about that. I'll tell later, later this hour. So we got clips of the week coming up a little later. Let's start the show officially because I got another newsy thing to jam in. I'm Jack Armstrong. Joe Getty's taking the day off because he had his big birthday a couple of days ago and all his kids are in town and he's celebrating a birthday with a four day weekend. I am Jack Armstrong and it is Friday, the day of love, February 14, the year 2025. We are strong and getting. We approve of this program. We'll start the show. When should we start it? How about it, Mark? Hey, fool.

This is Mr. T. And I want to wish everybody a happy Valentine Day. From one sweetheart to another, sweetheart.

Love you.

Love you, babe. Wow, we've been using that clip for a very long time. That's Mr. T, star of the 80s. Some of the news that happened overnight that I want to get to all the. The layoffs will get into some of the departments and places around the country where they're laying people off and maybe agree with it, maybe you don't. What's going on with Eric Adams, the mayor of New York is quite the story. They dropped the charges against him. I think he's absolutely a crook. But he has decided, man, getting the illegals out of New York's the most important thing ever. So MAGA world is jumping on supporting him even though he's a crook. The most interesting thing is the senior person in the Justice Department there in New York resigned in protest yesterday she said, I'm quitting if we're dropping charges against this criminal with as solid evidence we have, I'm out. And she wrote a scathing letter that we can get into a little bit later. And she had four underlings that went with her. And so you're probably thinking, well, this is some sort of New York lefty or whatever. She is a federal society card carrying member. She clerked for Antonin Scalia. She is as conservative as you can get. And conservative means the law is the law. And you, you, you know, you buy the ticket, you take the ride on breaking. And she does not like this. She believes. Well, she didn't specifically say this, but the belief among many is the Trump White House through the Justice Department made it relatively clear. If not, you know, you don't have to state it out loud for a quid pro quo. Made it clear that, hey, we'll find a way to drop these charges against you. Eric Adams, if you get fully on board with the whole booting the illegals out of New York, which I'm all for, booting the illegals out of New York, you can't let him get away with being a criminal. So we got a lot more on that coming up. I mean, the fact that this very conservative attorney resigned yesterday in protest I think should mean something. Uh, we'll see, we'll see how it gets portrayed politically because there's the legal aspect and there's political aspect on all these stories. Obviously. Got a lot of good stuff to get to today. Clips of the week on the way in, just a few. Uh, Here's a text line. 415295 KFTC Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Unknown]

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Oh wow. There you go. Keep it going. Kind of yacht rock Valentine's Day songs that'll be perfect today. Loot raws huh? That voice is a panty dropper, as they say. Of course people say I'm like sitting.

Here loving this song, Jack. It's a panty dropper.

How coarse is that? I've heard people use that term and I didn't appreciate it. Oh, you're back on Tick Tock. I guess everybody, huh? Apple Store and the Google Store. You can get the Tick Tock app again. I haven't looked into why that happened or whatever, but yeah, you can get Tick Tock again.

So Pam Bondi told them that there won't be a penalty if they put it back in the stores. So they went with it.

So the band's over or. All right, well, more on that later. But first, we need to do this. We do it every Friday. It's. We call it cow. It's an acronym for a fond. Look back, clips of the week.

We're going to stand up.

Here we go. I don't want to be here. Doesn't that sound crazy? In just the last month, more than 20 million birds have been impacted by bird flu.

This is one of the most severe flu seasons in the United States in the last 15 years.

Two suspects loading hundreds of dollars worth of eggs and other breakfast foods into a white van.

[Joe Getty]

President Donald Trump pledging to enforce the ex 25% tariff on all steel imported.

[Unknown]

Into the U.S. pennsylvania teacher Mark Fogel is all smiles.

He says he is thrilled to be back on US Soil.

I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now.

[Joe Getty]

President Trump saying that if Hamas doesn't.

[Unknown]

Release those remaining hostages, then he thinks that cease fire deal should be canceled. Let hell break out. I don't want to spend an hour applying glitter on my face so that you will hear and see.

[Joe Getty]

For best in show, I choose the.

[Unknown]

Giant schnauzer Monty, who has used the.

[Joe Getty]

Unfortunate nickname Big balls.

[Unknown]

Big balls here.

Which side are you on? The world's richest and unelected man.

We do need to delete entire agencies.

It is an attempt to take the funding and take the rights away from each and every child.

[Katie Green]

You're either with the union or a scabby Musk bloodhound.

[Unknown]

He doesn't need this, you know.

He's abused by you people every day. Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

[Joe Getty]

We don't live in a democracy.

[Unknown]

We live in a bureaucracy. He wants us to bow to him, but we want him in jail. United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome. You view Ukraine as an equal member.

[Joe Getty]

Of this peace process?

[Unknown]

It's an interesting question. The Eagles trying to get it. And they have on a fumble by.

Mahomes, his third turnover.

Eagles have got a pit six. It's Cooper de Gene.

The greatest Eagles team in modern history. Eagles fans savor it and rejoice.

Fantastic cow. Hanson Hansen puts cow together at at great laborless, laborious pains. Joe is going to join the show just in a few minutes when we come back. But. But how about text line instead of mailbag? We got a bunch of texts on different topics that we brought up already. My neighbor got laid off a year ago along with 10,000 others from one software company. We all remember last year when Intel, Facebook, they started laying off people by the thousands. Yeah, I know government workers are getting the letter today that they, they're fired, but it happens to people. It happens.

It just happens to everybody.

Happy Valentine's Day to Katie, from another girl who didn't get a rose, carnation or candy gram at school.

Thank you.

We got the text that schools that do do it now. When my kids were younger in grade school, they did, but it was mandatory. You had to get one for everybody and you weren't allowed to put your name on it or something. Well, so then we went so far the other direction that they were meaningless. So it was just complete. It was a meaningless, like task you had to do. It was basically just filling out a list of names and nobody got any feeling out of it whatsoever. So I'm not sure that's the right answer either.

No, the right answer is to just stop it.

And Valentine's day. Stop it. 25 years in restaurants writes this test. Texture, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are humongous moneymakers beyond belief. Customers will put up with anything and pay super inflated prices. 10 to 20$20 more per entree. Endless weights and people will just put up with it. I won't, but enough people will that on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day you can. The restaurants just print money. So there you go. And I hope you have a good time tonight. If you go out to eat, man. Friday night and Valentine's Day. Whoa. My son's got a Valentine's Day dance at the high school tonight. I got to talk about that later. Joe joins the show. Other news of the day on the way. If you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Joe Getty]

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[Joe Getty]

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If you haven't seen that video, it is amazing. This giant whale, like it's cgi, comes out of the ocean and swallows this guy in his kayak. And then somehow it like, I don't know, it's like a hairball in his throat and the whale kind of coughs. It Out. And he's out. And the whale goes off. But it's just. Holy crap. Yeah. You would think you were dead. Anyway, welcome to the Armstrong and Getty Show. It's just me today. It's funny, we got a text yesterday with somebody saying if you have trouble telling the difference between Jack and Joe, Jack's the dumb one.

Oh, geez.

But joining the Armstrong and Getty show today is Joe Getty, who can be heard nationwide on a radio station near you on a very popular podcast called Armstrong and Getty on Demand. Here's Joe Getty. Joe.

Yo, yo. You know what I always say. You hate to get swallowed by a.

Whale, especially the day before Valentine's Day.

Yeah, yeah, I'm. I'm. I just got home. I was behind. I was sure I was going to be home five minutes ago. Got behind guy who does 22 miles per hour in a 30 zone, right? Like all the way through the hood and all. So I ran.

That's why I carry. That's why I carry a ball of. A bag of ball bearings in my car, so I can throw those at the windshield.

I've always been a cue ball guy.

You're gonna drive too slow, you're gonna have dents in your car. That's why I look at it. Joe is not here today because he had dipped himself in red paint for Valentine's Day and is having an allergic reaction.

But, yeah, it sealed up all my pores and went toxic.

Some antibiotics will take care of that. Let me hit you with the news story of the day, because I haven't mentioned it yet, and I can't believe it's not getting more attention than it is. Interview with the Wall street journal out today. J.D. vance says that the U.S. if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, the US will hit Moscow with sanctions and potential military action. And Vance specifically asked if the option of sending US troops to Ukraine if Moscow failed to negotiate in good faith is absolutely on the table. Right.

Yeah. He said he refused to take anything off the table. Why would he?

Seems like a big deal.

Well, yeah, it's a big deal in and of itself, although I doubt very seriously that that would happen.

So do I.

It also suggests rather strongly that Secretary of Defense Hegseth went off the reservation the other day making statements specifically saying Ukraine's not getting their territory back. We're not going to back militarily. It's up to the Euros if they want to, but we're not in. You know, that was. I'm not sure what Happened there.

This interview is just out today. I haven't really had a chance to go through social media or whatever and see how MAGA is reacting to the MAGA president who is super non intervention. Get out of all the wars guy saying, no, no, no, no. War will continue and we'll support it and we might even put troops on the ground. So I don't know if everybody's just reacting with no, we won't or.

Or what.

Right.

Well, then headset, quote, unquote, clarified his comments yesterday, telling reporters that, quote, what conc. Made or what concessions will not be made will be up to the president. Okay, all right. But you just made a few. So interesting to see how that dynamic unfolds.

If Biden had said that or idiot Kamala Harris, people's heads would be exploding.

Oh, yeah.

But partially because you might believe that they would actually do that. Like I said, I don't know if anybody believes we would put US Troops on the ground in Ukraine. So I don't know if it's a threat politically or a threat to Putin. Putin probably thinking, no, you won't.

Right. So actually, it's funny. That's the one thing I wanted to talk about jumping on briefly today. And I will charge all of our corporate partners for a full day's work.

Oh, that's what you're doing. You're like, if a kid goes to school for, I think, three hours, it's counted as a day. So you get your federal funding. That's what you're doing. You're coming on the show just long enough to be counted as a day of work.

Well, I prepared for five hours to make this brief appearance.

If he's on the air for 15 minutes. Oh, really? It's like lawyer, too. You talk to a lawyer for a certain amount of time. It's a full quarter hour.

That's right. That's right. You should have read the fine print. But. So several things that Vance said have made news. And then there's a preview out of his speech that he's going to give in front of the big European leadership group, or whatever they call it. And some of the particulars are super interesting, but I found myself thinking, when was the last time we got a preview of the remarks Vice President Harris was going to make? Right. What would they say? She's going to prattle on like a psychosis patient, you know, on a tequila binge. Nobody cared what she said ever. But anyway, I loved what he said about Europe because I've been kind of hot on this Lately, Europe, how they're really cutting down on free speech. They're hardcore. We're going to get rid of misinformation and disinformation and any speech that would offend any ethnic or religious group. And. And the Russians are interfering with our elections too much. And Vance said a couple of things that I thought were great. He said, if your democratic society can be taken down by 200 grand worth of social media ads, then you should seriously think about how strong your grip is or how strong your understanding of the will of the people actually is. I think it's a great point. And then he went hardcore about the rampant immigration in Europe and how here's a quote, keeping far right party. This is not a quote, keeping far right parties that campaign against migration out of government coalitions is curtailing the will of the people who've repeatedly been asking for more border control. He said, quote, I think unfortunately the will of voters is being ignored by a lot of our European friends, which is exactly what I've been going on about. If you ignore the masses of the people, you as like a mainstream political party and say that's impolite. We don't want to say that the people who say that it be they Far right, the AfD party in Germany or whatever, they are going to get power and juice. And if you don't want that, be honest. And then it clicked in my head as I was eating my delicious biscuits and gravy that you had biscuits and gravy for breakfast? Oh, hell yeah. With the fried, fried chicken.

Oh, wow. Decide to have a light breakfast before you start the day?

Oh, yeah, just a little morsel does, you know, take the pangs away. Anyway, it occurred to me this is just like the story of Trump and the MAGA crowd resting the control of the Republican Party away from the old mainstreamers, you know, for better or worse, because they ignored what so much of America, particularly working class in middle America, was bellowing. Hey, global isn't working for us. It's hurting us. All we're getting is false promises from you and judgment and ugliness from the left. So. So we're not buying what you're selling anymore. And Trump came along and he said, no, I hear you loud and clear, you're right. And goodbye, control of the Republican Party. It's going to be just like that in Europe if they don't quickly start listening to their people about immigration.

Well, what's, what's the German guy's name? Schultz. Hold on.

Merits.

It's actually the way I. Oh, darn it. It's the damn bird flu. I sneezed and I felt like I heard a bird like sound come out.

Yeah, that's weird. Mertz. Fred the listener pointed this out. It's Friedrich Mertz.

Oh, really?

Which is for friend fans of classic tv. Fred Mertz from the Honeymooners.

But anyway, the guy that runs Germany yesterday. So somebody in Germany, if you didn't hear the story, rammed a car into a bunch of people and hurt a whole bunch of people. And he's from Afghanistan and seeking asylum. And everybody's seeing it as a, you know, a jihadi terrorist attack sort of thing. At least in initial reports. A guy still alive, he used a Mini Cooper. You know, I'm glad it was a little car. Probably be dead people if it had been a big truck like happened down in New Orleans.

Yeah, that struck me for sure.

If you're gonna ram a giant crowd trying to hurt people, the Mini Cooper is the odd choice.

It's Europe. You can't find big, you know, good point. SUVs and trunks.

Good point. But the, the quotes out of various politicians about it was way different than at least we've done the last 20 years where we say things. Well, the one thing with the biggest fear I have is a backlash against Muslims. Remember that after one of our horrifying terrorist attacks.

Why, I oughta.

I believe that was out of our secretary of defense at the time. But there was no that kind of talk out of high level public officials in Germany yesterday. It was, we have a serious problem with Muslim jihadists and we will root them out and they will pay the highest price. And I thought, wow, they, they are way further toward dealing with this than, than we have been.

Yeah, for all of Germany's faults, they're kind of into being German and you know, it's. Britain is ashamed of its history. And their Brits, many Brits, are ashamed of being Brits and are gladly giving their way, their country belter way to foreign invaders out of some weird misplaced guilt. But I don't think the Germans are going to put up with that. And they're famously very, very polite people until they're, you know, invading Poland. And so I think it took a lot to get them to say, hey, we don't like this. In fact, we hate it and we're going to do something about it. But that, that worm has 100% turned and the next, you know, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20 years are going to be crazy. Interesting to watch.

So I had teased a funny, tragic valentine's Day story that I'm going to tell. I will get to an hour two at some point. I can give you a preview while you're here. Just a bit of it. It's. It's grade school. It's fourth grade and it's old school. Fourth grade. Valentine's Day, like we were talking about with Katie earlier, which had its positives and negatives. They've. They've so watered it down. In the modern schools you don't have the really hurt feelings of the little boy or little girl who gets left out. We also don't have any of a good feeling of anybody expressing any, you know, feelings of a crush or something like that. That could be pretty powerful too, like emotional socialism. Yeah. They just watered it down. Every bring in a valentine for everybody. Nobody, no names, just hand them all out. So everybody gets exactly the same thing from everybody. And it's got no personality whatsoever. So it's just, it's just a homework assignment. It's like a busy work homework assignment.

So for better checking a box. It's very Soviet.

But. But Valentine's Day, at least the schools I went to as a kid was very emotional. Lord of the Flies.

I mean Machiavellian.

It was rough. You got an example. I'll tell the story an hour too, like I said, because I know this person. And they are horrified to this day. They say if there's one thing in their life. Life that they could go back and change, it would be this. Oh, the way they treated the overtures from this little fourth grade boy that they believe. And the kid cried all day in class.

Oh Lord.

Can you imagine? I mean if you're. You wouldn't cry in fourth grade as a boy in front of everybody unless you were really upset because you. It'd be an horribly embarrassing.

Yeah.

He went on to a life of crime and prison. And she believes it's all because of this. And it's always believed.

Probably so.

Almost certainly.

Yes.

That is so awful.

That is so awful.

Wow.

If she won't have me, then society can't have me. I'm turning to the dark side. I get at age nine or whatever you are in fourth grade, 10.

I've got whatever word weird personality type where I get like I. I'm bothered if other people are upset. It's like if I, if I go to a party, which I haven't done in many, many years. But if I'm at a. And there's somebody alone in the corner, I have to go talk to him. I can't It's. Even if it's not my party, I can't stand the idea of somebody being over there, like not having fun. I feel like it's my responsibility, which is weird. But in. I never had any tragic Valentine's Day stories, but I saw them for other people and I'm bothered by those. I remember the girls that for whatever reason were not popular that wouldn't get any Valentine's. And we would make these like mailboxes for our desk and everybody go around and put the Valentine's in and the super cute popular girl, hers would be overflowing out of the box onto her desk. And then some of the quiet shy or whatever not popular girls would get nothing. And I would look at them and just think, this is the worst thing I've ever seen. This is so heartbreaking.

Horrible. Yeah.

Oh my God.

Why. Why did we do. It was. You know, it was funny. I was talking to my son last night about a couple of different cultural norms and how growing up, being raised by and among to some extent depression survivors and people who had lived through World War II and seen half a million, half a million men not come back and the wounded and blah, blah, blah. It's a very. It was a very different culture because it had to be. It wasn't just being a holes or bigots or whatever. When you're under threat, you behave in ways that are different than when you're perfectly comfortable. And every generation is kind of a softened echo of what came before it.

Yeah. I'm not sure we should have let candy and card companies force our schools into the emotional lord of the flies that we did for quite a few decades.

Amen to that.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you. We're here long enough. You don't have to count today as a vacation day.

Excellent.

So that is good news for you.

Excellent. I'm going to start drinking on the job. Technically.

We got Katie's headlines on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

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That's selectquote.com selectquote.com details on example [e-mail] digging the yacht Rock Valentine's Day music today. Michael Good stuff. I see the crystal raindrops fall and.

The beauty of it all is when the tinkly electric piano means only one thing.

Love. Love, love and or sex.

Or both. Yes, lovely, sexy love.

Joe. Joe is sticking around and then he's taking off because he always takes Valentine's Day off because it's the most important day of the year.

Yeah, not so much. I suppose we ought to jump right in. Who's reporting what? It's lead story with Katie Green.

Well, we'll Start with this one.

[Joe Getty]

It's at the top of all the.

[Unknown]

Websites today from NBC. Trump administration television tells federal agencies to fire probationary employees.

Yeah, Joe, you weren't here earlier, but I was talking about a somebody I know who was a meeting last night, their boss very upset that they had to lay off six people. And he was just horrified that saying these people had moved here for this job and now I'm laying them off.

That's rough.

It sucks for them. It does suck, but it happens all the freaking time.

From Breitbart.com HHS squandered more than $22 billion on migrants for vehicles, home loans and startups.

Good Lord.

With the budget as big as it is, HHS's budget is bigger than the Pentagon's budget. It's not surprising that that much gets wasted. Wouldn't surprise me a bit.

Who voted for that? Who would vote for that? When did Congress say that was a good idea? Holy crap.

From the New York Post. New York City Mayor Adams vows to reopen ICE office at Rikers island following meeting with Trump and border czar Tom Homan.

Boy. Interesting. Side by side today. So on CNN and msnbc, they're talking about a serious constitutional crisis that the President had his Justice Department drop the charges, find a way to lean on and drop the charges against Eric Adams if he would play ball on immigration. On Fox, they got Eric Adams sitting on the couch and they're all yucking it up and laughing about what? What I would have. What do you got planned for Valentine's Day?

Wow.

Wow. And I don't know if you've heard this because I know you're busy with your birthday week and everything like that, but that woman, that lead attorney who resigned yesterday in protest, she's a Federalist Society member. She clerked for Antonin Scalia. She's as conservative as you can get. She is not a progressive liberal person.

There are aspects of this story that are very, very troubling.

Yeah, that's true.

From Forbes, Elon Musk ex. Paying $10 million to settle Twitter era Trump lawsuit alleging citizen censorship.

When you said X, I thought you meant like ex wife. You meant Twitter. Yeah.

Yes, Okay, I know.

That's why I call it Twitter.

Right. From Newsweek. Woman who was missing for six months found giving birth on New York subway.

I saw the video of that.

Yeah, you family couldn't find her. Saw her on Tick Tock. And finally, The Babylon B RFK Jr sworn in on a raw 32 ounce.

Ribeye seems unlike.

He is so tan. Does he does. He is a tanning bed or does he do the spray?

It looks like the spray.

You think it's a spray?

I think so.

It's so dark. He must have thought, well, I'm about to be sworn in as a secretary. I better get good and tan. What? We've got more on the way. If you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand Armstrong and Getty.

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