I Am At The Bottom Of The Totem Pole

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: I Am At The Bottom Of The Totem Pole
Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Notable Contributor: Katie Green

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Overview

This episode blends sharp wit, social commentary, and the duo's trademark banter, tackling issues ranging from aging protest movements and the Epstein case to the reality of doing business in California, ongoing equity debates in education, and even breaking giraffe news. Amid serious discussions on geopolitics and cultural trends, the hosts continually infuse irreverence and observational humor, making this episode both engaging and thought-provoking.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Protest Culture: Old Hippies & Young Activists

[01:16-02:13]

• Hosts’ tongue-in-cheek “General Managers” of the day are “90-year-old white hippies” and “angry young 21-year-old women.”
• Jack and Joe riff on the generational overlap in protest culture, poking fun at the motivations of both groups.
  • “Old hippies trying to relive the civil rights era and youngsters who just want to yell about something because they really ought to be getting laid and getting jobs, but they're not doing that.”—Joe Getty [01:26]
• They question the impact of noisy protestors and highlight the professionalization of demonstrations, referencing paid protestor practices.

2. Social Etiquette and Selfish Conversation

[02:16-03:17]

• Observational bit about how people ask “How are you?” mainly to talk about themselves.
  • “Because that's why you ask. Because you want to tell them how things are going for you.”—Jack Armstrong [02:40]
  • The interplay exposes levels of (accidental) selfishness in everyday chit-chat.

3. Epstein Case & Power Dynamics

[03:57-06:18]

• Anticipation of Congress reviving the Epstein case.
• Joe delves into the history of Epstein's preferential treatment, underscoring how wealth and connections manipulate justice.
  • “Be the richest guy in Manhattan and have lots of powerful friends because that gets you some really cush treatment.”—Joe Getty [04:51]
• Armstrong and Getty analyze motivations behind special treatment: transactional (favors), threatening, or emotional (desire for association).

4. Ukraine War & Geopolitical Theater

[06:32-09:02]

• Massive Russian attack on Ukraine, skepticism about ceasefire prospects.
• Joe highlights the UN Security Council farce, with Russia and China supposedly overseeing Ukrainian security.
• They discuss Putin’s trolling suggestion to repeat the 1994 Budapest agreement—seen as intentionally provocative.
  • “That was 100% a troll.”—Joe Getty [08:49]

5. Newsom, California, and Business Hostility

[20:01-23:26]

• Play and discuss the Bed Bath & Beyond CEO’s viral statement about refusing to do business in California due to regulations, taxes, and crime.
  • “California has created one of the most over regulated, expensive and risking environments for businesses in America.”—Jack Armstrong (quoting CEO) [20:24]
• Highlight the net loss of private-sector jobs vs huge growth in government jobs—calling the state’s economic health into question.
  • “How does one state gain 300,000 government jobs in a year?”—Jack Armstrong [23:09]

6. California Education & Equity

[23:36-25:56]

• Critique of California’s new math guidelines, which they argue lower standards in the name of “equity.”
  • “The California mathematics framework is built on the ideology that equity means... lowering standards for everyone.”—Joe Getty [24:50]
• Link to how educational policy, particularly in public (government) schools, can be a vehicle for ideological indoctrination rather than excellence.

7. Media and Cultural Framing

[25:56-28:10]

• Criticism of the New York Times coverage framing Trump’s museum directives as “making diversity taboo.”
• Armstrong’s recent museum experience:
  • “Every plaque you read has something about climate change or colonialism. Everything. You can't read about... an ancient beaver without getting hit with something...”—Jack Armstrong [26:37]
• Discussion of how even mainstream institutions have become agents of political ideology.

8. Tech & AI Market Fluctuations

[14:43-15:19]

• AI and Big Tech are driving the market, but skepticism arises after new reports: most companies see little ROI.
  • “95% of companies polled had not seen returns on their AI investments. And that made everybody freak out.”—Jack Armstrong [14:50]

9. Pop Culture, Weird News, and “Shreking”

[17:22-18:01], [34:27-34:49]

• The team learns about the new dating term “shreking”—dating someone you're not attracted to, believing they’ll treat you better.
  • “Everything doesn't need a name. Being a bad person is just being a bad person.”—Joe Getty [18:01]
• Brief but hilarious carnival cruise brawl over chicken tenders at 2 AM.
• Major “giraffe news”: scientists recognize four distinct giraffe species.

10. Evolution and Perspective on Time

[30:01-33:19]

• Armstrong shares how his son is fascinated by evolution; they discuss the new realization of multiple giraffe species and the complexity of biological evolution.
  • “Human beings can't even conceive really of a thousand years... So the idea that we could conceive of 350 million years is hilarious.”—Joe Getty [32:23]
• Fun fact: We are closer on the timeline to the T-Rex than the T-Rex is to the Stegosaurus.

11. Listener Engagement & Mailbag

[35:32-40:12]

• Thoughtful mailbag segment, including corrections from eagle-eared listeners and discussions of educational history, social justice, and geopolitics.
  • Humorous "official start" oversight and mock sanctions.

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Notable Quotes

• On Protesters’ Motivation:
  “You lure them, you dupe them, you swindle them into sharing their feelings first to give you permission. I would argue that is far worse.”—Joe Getty [02:49]

• On California’s Business Climate:
  “This decision isn’t about politics, it’s about reality.”—Bed Bath & Beyond CEO [20:01]
  “California's job growth has been dominated by government and government dependent jobs... while they lose 154,000 in the private sector.”—Joe Getty [22:36-23:01]

• On Education Policy:
  “The California mathematics framework is built on the ideology that equity means... lowering standards for everyone that they're going to eliminate any ability to achieve in math, to take advanced math. Everybody's going to be mediocre in math in the name of equity.”—Joe Getty [24:50]

• On Media Framing:
  “Every plaque you read has something about climate change or colonialism or white people taking over something.”—Jack Armstrong [26:37]

• On Evolution:
  “Human beings can't even conceive really of a thousand years. So the idea that we could conceive of 350 million years is hilarious.”—Joe Getty [32:23]

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Additional Memorable Moments

• Paid protesters:
  Discussion about how many protests are now staffed and subsidized by professional organizations and paid participants.
  "We pay people to show up to protests and yell. That's what this is."—Jack Armstrong [11:18]

• Dating Trends:
  The term “shreking” generates both bewilderment and debate over whether being practical in dating is actually wrong.
  “Doesn't that seem right? Maybe just a good idea. No, getting past just looks...” – Jack Armstrong [17:48]

• Listener Corrections:
  Listeners not only spot a missing “official start” to a previous episode but send in an in-depth analysis of a supposed “racist dog whistle,” spoofing hyper-vigilance in modern culture [36:46-39:13].

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• Protesters & Protest Culture: 01:16–02:13, 10:02–11:19
• Epstein and Justice: 03:57–06:18
• Ukraine War Analysis: 06:32–09:02
• California Business Climate: 20:01–23:26
• California Education & Equity: 23:36–25:56
• Media and Museums: 25:56–28:10
• AI & Tech Markets: 14:43–15:19
• Shreking & Dating Trends: 17:22–18:01, 34:27–34:49
• Giraffe/Evolution Discussion: 30:01–33:19
• Mailbag & Listener Feedback: 35:32–40:12

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Tone & Language

Armstrong & Getty are characteristically irreverent, blending skepticism and satire. Their tone swings between playful cynicism and serious cultural critique, maintaining levity even as they tackle tough topics.

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This episode is a wide-ranging look at contemporary American anxieties: from culture war skirmishes, economic malaise, and political theatre, to odd news and the vagaries of modern courtship—always filtered through the Armstrong & Getty combination of sharp insight and relentless ribbing.

Transcript

[Joe Getty]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Commercial Announcer]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

And now here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong.

[Joe Getty]

Live from studio C. Senor.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's little Friday. Deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and getting communication compound. Hey y'. All. Today we're under the tutelage of our.

[Joe Getty]

General manager, 90 year old white hippies.

[Jack Armstrong]

90 year old white hippies. Hard to imagine why that is. Our general manager.

[Joe Getty]

They are joined as co general managers by angry young 21 year old women. Okay, the twin towers of protest in America. Old hippies trying to relive the civil rights era and youngsters who just want to yell about something because they really ought to be getting laid and getting jobs, but they're not doing that.

[Jack Armstrong]

90 year old hippies should be out trying to get sex.

[Joe Getty]

No, the youngsters, I just said very clear.

[Jack Armstrong]

I thought I got confused there. Really at the end I got confused.

[Joe Getty]

Although Certainly if the 90 year olds want to, you know, engage In Sweet Sweet 11, they should with the help.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of some sort of pill that we should probably be endorsing like every other host in America.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, there does seem to be a hot market for that.

[Jack Armstrong]

There does seem to be, doesn't it?

[Joe Getty]

Particularly how.

[Jack Armstrong]

What, How y' all doing? You excited, huh? About today, the weekend and everything and everything going. Thing. How are things going? You know, we never talk. How are things going for you?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, that's good.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then you, you don't really listen. You just. Okay, you wait for the space where they stop talking and then you jump back in.

[Joe Getty]

Right. How you are. Because that's why you asked.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's why you ask. Because you want to tell them how things are going for you. Because something either bad that you want to explain or something really good just happened in your life but you're just.

[Joe Getty]

Polite enough to not. Or, or is that actually a higher level of selfishness instead of just saying I would like to tell you about this and telling you, you, you, you lure them, you dupe them, you swindle them into sharing their feelings first to give you permission. I would argue that is far worse.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think you're right. Than just walking up and saying, you know what? Yesterday I had a kidney stone or something.

[Joe Getty]

Hurt like hell, was crazy. You ever had one? It's terrible.

[Jack Armstrong]

Buddy of mine had a kidney stone the other day. He was, he had problems. He couldn't figure out what it was. Went to the doctor a couple times and then all of a sudden he passed a kidney stone. Which, wow, is a, A very calm term for something that I guess is not that calm. I've never done it before, but past sounds like, sounds easy. Just like, you know, I passed.

[Joe Getty]

Sure, I passed a test. I passed a car on the highway and then I passed a kidney stone.

[Jack Armstrong]

Only one of them did I do while screaming. From what I understand. He even sent me a picture of it. He held it in the palm of his hand and sent me a picture.

[Joe Getty]

How kind.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Congress is coming back here pretty soon. Do you know that? And apparently a couple of the really big issues when Congress comes back are Russia, obviously, Israel, which announced today, approved, by the way, actually legally approved the government new settlements on the west bank, which is going to be an issue for Congress for some reason. And Epstein, Epstein is going to be back. According to people who follow politics. The only reason it died down is because Congress left town. They're going to come back and all the, all that demanding files and stuff is going to return. I just, I have no stomach or interest for it, but I suppose it'll be in the news.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. The only aspect of the Epstein case that really interests me at this point and I came across a great report on it. These folks went to the trouble of documenting all of the law enforcement and prosecutorial sweet deals and back slaps from the entire history of the first reports of his, you know, young girl perversions. And I would just recommend this to you if you are a pervert and an exploiter of young women, be the richest guy in Manhattan and. Or the richest guy in whatever part of Florida he was in and have lots of powerful friends because that gets you some really cush treatment.

[Jack Armstrong]

Really, legally speaking, like you do something wrong, you get preferential treatment. That's what you're saying.

[Joe Getty]

A lot of, yeah, we'll take care of this. Or you're right, she's a crackpot, don't worry, but we'll make this go away. Or when, when just all the evidence Is there? And. And it's time to go to trial. The sweetest sweetheart deal ever fashioned in the history of. Of justice in Florida for the guy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Which became absolutely scandalous. And then the. The prosecutor ended up in Trump's cabinet, which was oddly.

[Jack Armstrong]

And when the really, really rich get special treatment, is that mostly because of leverage they have what they can do for you? Is it some sort of emotional, we want to be their friends or think they're better than us, or is there something like that?

[Joe Getty]

I think you've done a lovely job running down, like, the three biggest aspects of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So some of it's what they can.

[Joe Getty]

Do for me, what they can do to me, and it would be really cool for him to like me. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So some of it's transactional, some of it's emotional. Interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And kind of emotional, transactional. Like, I'm running for reelection next year. The richest guy in town is my buddy now. Right. So it'd be really cool if he likes me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Overnight, one of the largest attacks by Russia on Ukraine since the entire war began.

[Joe Getty]

How's that peace process coming along?

[Jack Armstrong]

600 missiles, drones, rockets, whatever, fired at Ukraine. I heard a number of reports today which I find almost humorous if it weren't for the fact that people were dying. And this is an awful situation, but where they say it's really going to damage the hopes for a ceasefire.

[Joe Getty]

All right.

[Jack Armstrong]

How long do we pretend that one side has any. I heard somebody say yesterday, you know, one of the problems with this whole ceasefire peace plan is neither of the sides in the war have any interest in stopping fighting. Neither side.

[Joe Getty]

Certainly not, you know, given the other side's red line demands. No, no. And by the way, it's, you know, 2020 hindsight at this point, but Lavrov showing up in that Soviet Union CCCP sweatshirt, that was the moment. You should have known it was over. Absolutely over. Lavrov made a statement yesterday that, oh, yeah, peace deal, peacekeeping, that sounds great. I think the UN Security Council, the permanent members of the UN Security Council ought to figure that out. Oh, that's right. We're one of the members and China's one of the other members. So us in China, we will come up with a security plan for Ukraine. Sounds good. That was Lavrov's message yesterday. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And as you pointed out yesterday, and I didn't hear anywhere else, Putin suggesting the agreement be the same place that the last agreement from 1994 was made between Russia, the United States and Great Britain about how, hey, hey, hey, we'll we'll give up your nuclear weapons and we'll take care of you. We'll support you.

[Joe Getty]

We'll protect you.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll protect you. That from 1994. Putin suggested the exact same meeting location. You're the only one who mentioned that. That obviously was on purpose. That obviously was a, like a Joe. A troll. It was a troll.

[Joe Getty]

It was 100% a troll. Oh, you're gonna sign a security agreement with the West? Why don't we go back to Budapest and sign that? Vladimir, that was a hundred percent a troll.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I don't understand how more people didn't pick up on that.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. They lack my acute powers of something or other. Not finishing sentences, obviously, but. I am ill, Jack. I am ill. I'm sick.

[Jack Armstrong]

How's your cold going?

[Joe Getty]

Just before I leave on vacation. Why am I being punished, probably for the terrible things I've done.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're like Trump. You got to do a bunch of good things to get into heaven. You're at the bottom of the totem pole.

[Joe Getty]

I am at the bottom of the totem pole, yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's start the show officially. I'm Jack Armstrong. He Jo Getti on this. It is Thursday, August 21st, the year 2025. We're Armstrong and getting. We approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, then let's start. Officially, according to FCC rules and regulations, the show comes at mark. So we're going to ignore these stupid white hippies that all need to go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Home and take a nap because they're.

[Joe Getty]

All over 90 years old. And we're going to get back to.

[Jack Armstrong]

The business of protecting the American people and the citizens of Washington, D.C.

[Joe Getty]

Stephen. Steven. Stephen Miller. I, I, I hate to criticize. Sometimes you come off a bit harsh.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was Stephen Miller. Okay, and what was he specifically talking about there?

[Joe Getty]

He was talking about the protesters who were barely interrupting JD Vance and Pete Hegseth's appearance at the National Guard headquarters at the D.C. union Station, the big train station. They're bringing them burgers and stuff. Will play some audio later, but you got a. You got a handful of protesters bellowing. Or as the Washington. Was it the Washington Post or the. Oh, my gosh, was. Who was it? I want to, I want to slur the right people. Oh, the Wall Street Journal reporter. Protesters drown out top Trump advisors Visiting troops in Washington. Yeah, you got like 15 people yelling at the top of their lungs in a train station with marble and, you know, the hard reflective surfaces ever. You know how loud those places get. So, yes, those dozen hippies or whatever it was were loud. We need to get away, we need.

[Jack Armstrong]

To get away from the idea that the, a bunch of people yelling, interrupting something means anything whatsoever.

[Joe Getty]

Well, we had the interview with the professional crowd organizer guy last week or a couple of days ago, whenever it was, who said, oh yeah, demand is absolutely surging since this National Guard stuff, it's up 400% year over year. We pay people to show up to protests and yell.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what this is.

[Joe Getty]

That's what a lot of it is. And even if it were 100% sincere. So you got 10, 20, 40 people who are pissed off. Great. I woke up pissed off. That doesn't prove anything. You got a nation of hundreds of thousands of people afraid of crime every single day. The fact that 30 people think the National Guard is bad. Okay, great. This is America. You get to say so. God bless you, friend.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got more on that story and a whole bunch of others for you. A bit of a tech sell off as some not quite as rosy AI stories came out yesterday. And AI and like five tech companies are driving pretty much all these stock market records you're hearing about all the time. And the bloom is off the rose on the whole AI thing, at least for this 24 hour period. We'll talk yesterday. We'll talk a little bit about that. We got Katie's headlines on the way and a bunch of other stuff. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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[Jack Armstrong]

We gotta redo that bed, bath and beyond. Story, the CEO of Bed, Bath and Beyond just blasting California as a place you don't want to do business, which is pretty interesting. Also, what the hell is going on? I'm sure.

[Joe Getty]

I'll tell you what's going on. You've ruined the state of California. You and your party. Back to you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it was ruined before he got here. This is a party.

[Joe Getty]

And also he's, he's, he is taking the baton and run with it though. Give him credit.

[Jack Armstrong]

There is major giraffe news today that we need to get into later. Major draft. Maybe the biggest giraffe news in thousands of years.

[Joe Getty]

That was the one square on my bingo card I was sure I would not get today. And there it is. Major giraffe news.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Katie Green]

Right before that you said, I'm sure, Katie, and which. No, incorrect.

[Jack Armstrong]

Won't know what you're talking. I guess I didn't finish that sentence. No, I was saying I'm sure Katie doesn't have this, but there is major draft news today.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Way to not have the major giraffe news, Katie. Well, the last. Let's figure out who's.

[Katie Green]

Okay, go ahead.

[Joe Getty]

Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's leak stories. Katie Green, what were you saying?

[Katie Green]

The last big giraffe story was April.

[Joe Getty]

The giraffe.

[Katie Green]

The one that was live streamed while she was pregnant for like four months.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, there's a completely different version of the long neck turbovore that we need to get to later.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Katie Green]

Starting with Breitbart.com China sends foreign Minister to India seeking ally against Trump's bullying.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Katie Green]

From The Financial Times, US tech stocks hit by concerns over future of AI boom.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So there's 1 to 2% drop in some of your big tech companies yesterday. All off of this MIT paper that came out showing that 95% of companies polled had not seen returns on their AI investments. And that made everybody freak out. And then also Sam Altman of OpenAI saying the other day, which I think we had, that people are a little over excited about the whole productivity of AI thing happening real soon. So that's got companies spooked.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Having like others like him touted the incredible promise of it for a very long time to raise money. Right. Huh.

[Katie Green]

This drove me nuts. They make it sound like a bad thing. From the Wall Street Journal. Trump's law and order push in D.C. looks a lot like an immigration raid. And in this article they make the point that nearly half the arrests have been illegal immigrants.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, as long as we're in town.

[Katie Green]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's a poll out today, 8020 against Trump's takeover of the Washington D.C. i don't know what the how they worded the questioning or how good the poll is, but that's the poll being cited on all your major news networks.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder what percentage of the population knows that the Constitution gives the federal government the right to run Washington D.C. and or apportion out self management to locals as it sees fit. That's the, that's the flowchart. It's not the opposite way. Guys.

[Katie Green]

They did it again. From the Washington Post, DHS adds Nebraska's Corn Husker clink to ice detention centers.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, the Corn Husker. That's the new cleverly named detention center. That's a bit of a stretch.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I'd say.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Times, Eric Adams advisor suspended from campaign after giving cash.

[Jack Armstrong]

To reporter yeah, he's got a bit, a bit of that problem of that around him. Him and him and his friends.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it's weird. He's surrounded by criminals and con men.

[Katie Green]

I wonder why the cash was handed over in a crumpled up bag of sour cream and onion chips.

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw that.

[Joe Getty]

It's one of my favorite chips. I haven't enjoyed those for a long time. It's a good chip.

[Jack Armstrong]

If somebody hands you giant amounts of cash stuffed into a potato chip bag, there's a decent chance something is untoward is going on.

[Katie Green]

USA Today the new dating term shreking sounds innocent, but it's not what you think.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think anything. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

What. What do you think? I think that shreking is?

[Katie Green]

Do you want me to blow it or you want me to send it to you?

[Jack Armstrong]

Go ahead. What is shreking?

[Katie Green]

It's when you date someone you're not attracted to because you assume they're going to treat you better.

[Joe Getty]

Well, what?

[Jack Armstrong]

Doesn't that seem right? Maybe just a good idea. No, getting past just looks to somebody that's going to treat me nice. Seems like being grown up and smart not shreking.

[Joe Getty]

Everything doesn't need a name. Being a bad person is just being a bad person.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Post. Disturbing video captures moment Wild Carnival cruise ship brawl breaks out over chicken tenders.

[Joe Getty]

Running low and I'm so hungry.

[Katie Green]

Is it two o' clock in the morning and there's a lot of people involved?

[Jack Armstrong]

2 o' clock in the morning. I wonder what other factor There was at 2 o' clock in the morning that we've learned Seasickness.

[Katie Green]

And finally the Babylon Bee getting out of hand. Newsom orders aid to shoot off his ear.

[Jack Armstrong]

So back to shreking. You think it makes them bad people? That they're choosing someone who will treat them nice over looks?

[Katie Green]

No. They're purposefully looking for someone that they're not attracted to, assuming that the good treatment will follow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, that's an interesting idea. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Being a bad person, I don't know what that is.

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[Bed Bath & Beyond CEO]

As a capitalist myself, I want to do business in all 50 states and I want to do business with all people of all political parties. That's part of being a capitalist. But what I don't want to do is put my shareholders, my employees and myself in a situation where we're regulated to a zero and we don't want to spend $100 million coming into California and then find out that the state's going to take it all and waste it all.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got a fair amount of attention yesterday, the CEO of Bed Bath and Beyond putting out this statement. We will not not open or operate retail stores in California. This decision isn't about politics, it's about reality. California has created one of the most over regulated, expensive and risking environments for businesses in America. It's a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open and harder to deliver value to customers. The result? Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply can't sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth and it goes on and on and on with things that are very true about why California usually finishes 50th out of 50 on any sort of business climate ranking every year.

[Joe Getty]

Right. He, he makes like a passing nod of the, the head toward crime as well. But you know, that's a huge problem for retail too. The fabulous Katie Grimes of the California Globe happened to write an article pretty recently, how to Kill a State in Five Easy Steps, the gist of which is California is one of only five states that haven't recovered to pre Covid job levels. And even the partial recovery is entirely dependent on government jobs. California center for Jobs in the Economy recently reported California's job growth has been dominated by government and government dependent jobs and health care and social, social assistance, blah, blah, blah. Today, California ranks toward the bottom in attracting all newcomers from other parts of the country. California lost more than 200,000 net migrants 25 or older. Then it was only illegal immigration that made that number look not as bad.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, that's an interesting thing. So California's got a couple of things that prop it up in ways that the numbers would be much worse. So the, the outflow of people for the first time in the state's history that started a couple of years ago would be much, much, much worse if you, if you took out illegal immigration and then the same with the economy. You take out a couple of giant tech companies that are the biggest in the world that just happen to be in California, and then you ain't got much.

[Joe Getty]

Well, listen to this. Since September of 22, when Gavi had the state on full lockdown, more than virtually any other state, although, you know, similar to other blue states, California lost a net 154,000 jobs in the private sector. Okay. Lost 154,000, gained 361,000 in the government sector.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, what a.

[Joe Getty]

According to California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office last year, which is dominated by Democrats even though it's, it's Nonpartisan, how does.

[Jack Armstrong]

One state gain 300,000 government jobs in a year? What are they, what are they doing.

[Joe Getty]

While, while they lose 154,000 in the private sector, so you too can have this sort of stagnation, government bloat and overspending vote Gavin Newsom 2028.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, government doesn't make money, so I don't know how you can sustain that because the salaries have to be paid by people outside of government.

[Joe Getty]

Right. You know, if the Gavi bashing was going to continue, I've got some other great coverage of the Brand new guidelines for math teaching in Cal Unicornia.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is gonna make me unhappy, isn't it?

[Joe Getty]

Well, I don't. I don't have to do it now. No, not at all.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think your goal is every day to come in there and make me.

[Joe Getty]

Unhappy, make everybody angry. That's point. They said, I'm angry. I want everybody. I'm like a drunk. I'm drunk. I want everybody to be a drunk. I'm pissed off. I want everybody pissed off. No, but my point in even bringing it up, and it's about what you'd think. The California mathematics framework is built on the ideology that equity means. Well, it means lowering standards for everyone that they're going to eliminate any ability to achieve in math, to take advanced math. Everybody's going to be mediocre in math in the name of equity. And we can get into this in more detail later. It's an absolutely insidious, insidious philosophy in the land of Silicon Valley and tech jobs. It's like the tech center of the universe. The Marxist government is trying to make it impossible to achieve in stem. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Plus, it makes nobody happy. It doesn't make the kids on the lower end happy or the upper end happy. Nope, nobody's happy.

[Joe Getty]

No, it's. It's a miserable, miserable, suicidal philosophy. And. But my point in bringing it up is, is not that. Well, it's. It's kind of to annoy you into action, but. But to realize, even as the Trump administration has made fantastic progress in rolling back a lot of the woke crap, a lot of the post modernism, neo Marxist equity crap, it is still on the march in education and media, for that matter. You know what you want to hear the New York Times lead story on their website. The number one headline you [e-mail] today, in Trump's ideal picture of America, diversity is taboo. It's about Trump trying to reign in the Marxist Smithsonian Institution and how all of our museums have become like leftist teaching centers. So in Trump's ideal picture of America, diversity is taboo. Here's the subhead that's a fair.

[Jack Armstrong]

Using the fair assessment.

[Joe Getty]

Using the full power of the federal government, President Trump has promoted a vision of America that challenges the legitimacy of the black experience. Perfect example of a Mott and Bailey argument. Or as I prefer, Castle and Courtyard, because nobody knows what a fricking Mott and Bailey are. But anyway, so you have these museums that are, you know, the toast of the world, the Smithsonian Institution, and, you know, a lot of great museums in America. Well, They've all been taken over by Far left.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can attest to this having been to them recently.

[Joe Getty]

Please, in detail, constantly rolling my eyes.

[Jack Armstrong]

As you go through. Every plaque you read has something about climate change or colonialism or, or white people taking over something or other. Everything. You can't read about, you know, an ancient beaver without getting hit with something about climate change or colonialism.

[Joe Getty]

Right, exactly. It's become a drumbeat. They have become a drumbeat of leftist indoctrination. And Trump's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, I wanna know about the giant beaver. I don't need to hear about colonialism. How big was the thing? Right. And so, for instance, the, you know, the museum of the National African American Museum or the National Latinx Museum, which may or may not exist because a bunch of Latino scholars said, hey, this is incredibly insulting. It just casts us all as victims and pathetic. It's not what we are at all. We're strong and resilient and, you know, blah, blah, blah. Uh, so anyway, if you say, hey, you've turned museums into like Marxist reeducation centers, this guy Zolon Kano Youngs for the New York Times, with the endorsement of the New York Times says, oh, you're trying to deny the legitimacy of the black experience. No, I'm not. No, the black experience is fine and legitimate and let's talk about it. But you don't have to teach Marxism at every plaque in every museum. So you're denying the legitimacy of the black experience. All right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I want to get to this later, speaking of teaching, because school's starting again. A lot of teachers oppose lessons on gender. This gets to the thing, probably the biggest story we've had of the week. That study that came out that shows that lots of people are in agreement on these things, but they're scared to say it out loud because they don't know that they're in the majority.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. In fact, they assume they're in the minority until the dam breaks. Then. Then it's over.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I think it might be that way with teachers on a lot of this stuff that they're supposed to be teaching so we can get to that Pew study later.

[Joe Getty]

So a number of years ago, my sweet bride and I got a security system and it was very expensive and we ended up not using it because it was bulky and just. It was a pain in the ass.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ah, but you were probably locked into a contract so you couldn't get rid of it.

[Joe Getty]

That was the upside. We were locked into a long multi year contract. So we had that bill, that stupid bill every single month. Well, simply, simply safe home security improves on every single aspect of that. I. It just turns the world of home security upside down. Simplisafe's new active guard outdoor protection helps stop break ins before they can happen. And it's incredibly affordable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, about a dollar a day and no contracts. Because Simplisafe believes you're going to use the system and like it and want to keep doing it. And that's why they've been so successful. Best home security system of 2025 according to CNET.

[Joe Getty]

Ranked number one in customer service by Newsweek and USA Today. And listen to this. The crazy advanced AI driven and human monitoring plans start around a dollar a day. A dollar a day. Visit SimpliSafe.com Armstrong to claim 50% off your new system with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month [e-mail] Armstrong simplisafe.com Armstrong there's no safe like Simplisafe.

[Jack Armstrong]

You want the major breaking giraffe news?

[Joe Getty]

I do.

[Jack Armstrong]

My son's going to be really into this. He's super into evolution and species and genus and all that different sort of stuff for animals and humans. I have a feeling that's going to be what he ends up doing with his life because he's just endlessly fascinated by it.

[Joe Getty]

Has he ever fed a giraffe?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't think so.

[Joe Getty]

I think he should get a high priority. They're amazing. Their tongues are like a foot and a half long.

[Jack Armstrong]

Black is the ace of spades.

[Joe Getty]

So.

[Jack Armstrong]

It'S always been assumed that there is just one giraffe species because it's so unique as an animal. Turns out there are four distinct species of giraffe.

[Joe Getty]

Four. I'll be damned.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I need to look into that. There's no way they like developed separately. They must come from one common ancestor or something that like that and then split off. But different dog breeds are not different species. So I don't know. I'm gonna have to look into that. But it reminded me of when it was announced last year, something like that. There was. I think there are 23, or is it 32? Either way, it's a lot different examples of eyeballs independently coming into being as an evolutionary thing. It didn't all come from like one time. Miraculously an eyeball eyes became a thing and then it spread out into all the different beasts. Many, many, many, many different times. It just independently on its own became a thing, which I find fascinating.

[Joe Getty]

Right through evolution.

[Jack Armstrong]

You needed to See, and then something just happened over gazillions of years to where he ended up with sight. Anyway.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I don't, I don't expect that fish would have bred with gorillas. So it makes sense that it would have had to have or. No, no, no, no. I see what you're saying. Yeah. Because if you get close enough to the beginning.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Of the beginning.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Whether you think the good Lord directed that or not. Let's not get into that argument, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, let's get into it deeply.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think belief in, In, In. In God is at all, you know, oppositional to science. Me neither. I don't get people who do anyway. Yeah. That is absolutely fascinating.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. They're all going back to one thing. My son has got this cool giant poster in his room of all of the beasts of the world going down, down, down in a tree, down to, you know, basically one thing. And it's really interesting actually.

[Joe Getty]

So here's the truest thing I've ever said, just popped into my head. Somebody jot this down. Human beings can't even conceive really of a thousand years.

[Jack Armstrong]

No.

[Joe Getty]

For obvious reasons we're not built to. So the idea that we could conceive of 350 million years is hilarious. And, and, and contemplate the evolution of beasts across millions and millions and millions and millions of generations.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. My.

[Joe Getty]

Beyond our Ken.

[Jack Armstrong]

My son likes to use this example. He did this when we were at the dinosaur museum where he was so thrilled, he was like running around with his hands in the air shouting. He was so excited. But that we are closer to the T Rex on the timeline than the T Rex is to the stegosaurus.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Even though they're often put together in movies.

[Joe Getty]

Oh yeah. Just to summarize. And then there are dinosaurs for a little bit anyway. Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly. We got mailbag on the way and much more news of the day. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, apparently we're gonna have to go big on shreking. It is an actual thing. Both reading about it in USA Today and getting a text from someone I know about the dating world. And shreking is a thing. There are women out there shreking. So. So we'll have to talk about that next hour.

[Joe Getty]

Calculating beaches.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's an interesting idea.

[Joe Getty]

Oh boy. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. Continuing on our series about voting. Thought this was interesting. It was from fdr, of all people. But democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education. Interesting given our discussion of a few minutes ago where, for instance, the state of California, democratic supermajority is trying to ruin education. You know, achieve equity in math. Nobody achieves. Everybody gets a C in basic math and nobody does anything else. And did the founding fathers turn public schools into indoctrination factories?

[Jack Armstrong]

Did the founding fathers have a blind spot to government running education and getting twisted?

[Joe Getty]

I don't think they conceived of it. There wasn't any. I mean, public education was came about in the progressive movement of the early 20th century.

[Jack Armstrong]

How did schools work before then? I don't actually know this. I don't think there's a blind spot for me.

[Joe Getty]

I need to look established by the town fathers and parents or whatever. And all the students would chip. Right. And the parents would chip in to pay the.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go. And you would probably teach something reflective of your local culture.

[Joe Getty]

Well, right. Yeah. And the basics, obviously, but yeah. And the progressives made no bones about it in the early 20th century that public schools were an effort to teach the kids not to be like their parents. Woodrow Wilson said so quite, quite bluntly.

[Jack Armstrong]

I love it when people use the term, when we use the term government run schools because it's a better framing.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Mailbag, please send us a note. Mailbagarmstrongygetty.com maybe one day when Jack is on vacation or something, I'm gonna do an entire day of just reading emails, we had 150 at least that were clever, funny, insightful, ironic, surprising, whatever, and we just don't have time to get to many of them. But thanks for writing anyway. This is very important. It's a very special email from Ricky the Bricky, Jack, Joe, the rest of the crew. After careful review of the AG proceedings on 15 August 2025 last Friday, it has been determined that the show did not conduct its official start. An oversight by Mr. Jack Armstrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would. Oh my God. And nobody caught it.

[Joe Getty]

Under these circumstances, it is hereby determined that in the manner of a mailbag infraction committed by one Joe Getty, it was actually a cow. Clips of the week and subsequent administering of the buzzer, it is considered vacated and to be stricken from any and all permanent records. It's been further determined that Jack Armstrong, Michelangelo and Katie Green are guilty of conspiring to administer a buzzer punishment under false pretenses. That's right. Hitting me with the buzzer because I forgot about cow. You didn't start the show officially, sir.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, mine has a sanction from the fcc, right?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Damn it. Sean writes racist dog whistle from Joe. I feel in the spirit of allyship to the colonized. Yes, I just completed my yearly educator training in California. Oh boy. That I should point out something you said. You mentioned Frankenstein's monster and of course that's an accurate phrase. However, it is clear that your intention was to signal your patriarchal white, yacht driving, post apocalyptic beaver serving, privileged woman loving class to the rest of the listeners. The masses say Frankenstein or even a Frankenstein lording over the noble ignorance that you understand that the doctor is Frankenstein and not the monster is truly monstrous. Time to look in the mirror, my friend. You know Sean, I appreciate that being so over the top, stupidiculous, but. But a few, only a few years ago, or still in education, if you said I am offended and I said I didn't mean it like that, that doesn't matter. That your intent doesn't matter at all could get you branded a racist. Sure, a completely invented, neurotic, bizarre, out of nowhere offense at something inoffensive was proof that the person who spoke it is the bad person. If you don't understand how that's a tool of submission and domination and has nothing to do with justice or race, well then you're a fool, my friend, and I pity you. That was condescension.

[Jack Armstrong]

God.

[Joe Getty]

Say, how about this Jay, the fabulous JT in Livermore, I need you or somebody like Mike Lyons to explain to me why Putin needs to meet with Zelensky and or sign a new borders treaty. This isn't rhetorical. Putin, Russia have already shown that signing a treaty or treaty like agreement means nothing to Putin. The very reason Ukraine is in the bind it's in is because Russia chose not to honor several agreements. So why is anybody spending any effort to get them to sign a new agreement? What would that even mean?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, the Telegraph reported Yesterday there are 10 countries willing to send troops, 10 European countries. If you had a whole bunch of troops there, it would mean something because you violate that with 10 different Europe and NATO countries troops there.

[Joe Getty]

But well, and okay, and that's a good point because he says name one thing that would be different if the deployment of European troops. If Putin signed an agreement, it would establish what tripwire was in effect for them to fight back.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, absolutely. That's it.

[Joe Getty]

It's for them. It's not for Putin.

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Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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