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Joe Getty
Broadcasting live from.
Jack Armstrong
The Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the.
Joe Getty
George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.
Jack Armstrong
Armstrong and Getty and now here's Armstrong and get.
Tulsi Gabbard
First of all, the plane crash, a Black Hawk helicopter being flown by some of the best pilots on Planet Earth crashes into a domestic flight and everybody's dead. 60 some people. You're probably aware of that, but they have declared no survivors and it looks like it's just a human error Thing which happens now in that the worst air disaster. Actually the first commercial air disaster in two decades.
Jack Armstrong
Oh, yeah, two decades. It's been a very long time. It's amazing. This is how good we are at this. It's a horrific story.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
It's beyond tragic. Unthinkable.
Tulsi Gabbard
What are your feelings on the constantly showing the. Because somebody had their phone out and got a video of when they crash happens.
Jack Armstrong
What is that? It's just the way of the world.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah. I'm not sure you should be showing that over and over again. Here, here's the moment. 60 Some people lost their lives. Yeah. All right.
Jack Armstrong
You know, as Don Henley put it years and years ago in his 80s 90s classic Dirty Laundry about the news business. It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry.
Tulsi Gabbard
He was mostly mad because so many stories were being written about him having an underage girl at a party at his house.
Jack Armstrong
Well, he was still right.
Tulsi Gabbard
Different topic. They've got some hearings, more hearings going on today to confirm people RFK juniors going to be questioned more, even more about being Secretary of Health and Human Services. You got Tulsi Gabbard, former senator from Hawaii. Is that right? Who wants to be the DNI Director of National Intelligence. That puts you over all of the different intelligence stuff. That's something we created after 9, 11, another layer. I'm not sure that was the right idea or not. And then you got Cash Patel, who wants to be the FBI director because Trump's firing the old guy, his 10 year term not up, but getting a new guy. And they've all said some interesting things already. Are you willing to say what you just said off the air about Tulsi Gabbard? Are you some sort of keyboard warrior who won't stick your neck out and something or other?
Jack Armstrong
I don't remember. What did I say? I said several things.
Tulsi Gabbard
I think she's used a term whack.
Jack Armstrong
Job or crackpot or something like that. Yeah. I think she's got some very odd beliefs. She is adamant that her loyalty should not be questioned. I think it's her judgment more that should be questioned and what she actually believes and doesn't believe. She has such a history of repeating Bashar Al Assad talking points and then Kremlin talking points and then excusing everything Edward Snowden did because some of what he did was probably pretty defensible. And there are other things that she has. So she has more baggage than, you know, princess on a cruise there. You know, she. She talks a great game. How about somebody who doesn't have all sorts of this wackadoodle stuff in her background. That's what I'm asking for. And I am willing to go into detail.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yes, she is part of the Tucker Carlson orbit. Would that be fair?
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah. Okay.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. So I mean, we could go into all sorts of detail about this and we will. After hearing from Ms. Gabbard herself, one questionably has strengths and she's right about a lot of stuff. I'm sorry, were you saying something hot? Oh, thank you for that.
Tulsi Gabbard
I think that plays a role.
Jack Armstrong
So her opening statement had some really good stuff about how Trump's election mandate has broken cycles of failure and we need to restore trust in the intelligence community and how bad they've been. Amen to that, sister. I mean, I do not disagree with that assessment at all. She went on fairly persuasively.
Cash Patel
46 Michael for too long, faulty, inadequate or weaponized intelligence have led to costly failures and the undermining of our national security and God given freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. The most obvious example of one of these failures is our invasion of Iraq based upon a total fabrication or complete failure of intelligence. This disastrous decision led to the deaths of tens of thousands of American soldiers, millions of people in the Middle east, mass migration, destabilization and undermining of the security and stability of our European allies, the rise of isis, strengthening of Al Qaeda and other Islamist jihadist groups, and strengthening Iran.
Tulsi Gabbard
So he thinks the intelligence community wasn't wrong about weapons of mass destruction. They fabricated it.
Jack Armstrong
Which is a well, she said either fabricated or completely wrong. I'm not sure we have that truth. So again, she's absolutely right about that stuff. I don't disagree. That doesn't make her the right person for the job necessarily. But she goes on.
Cash Patel
Here are just a few other examples. The American people elected Donald Trump as their president not once, but twice. And yet the FBI and intelligence agencies were politicized by his opponents to undermine his presidency and falsely portray him as a puppet of Putin. Title one of FISA was used illegally to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page using a Clinton campaign funded false dossier as their so called evidence. Biden campaign adviser Tony Blinken was the impetus for the 51 former senior intelligence officials letter dismissing Hunter Biden's laptop as disinformation specifically to help Biden win the election. Former DNI James Clapper lied to this committee in 2013 denying the existence of programs that facilitated the mass collection of millions of Americans phone and Internet records, yet was never held accountable. Under John Brennan's leadership, the CIA abused its power to spy on Congress to dodge oversight, lied about doing it until he was caught, and yet has never been held responsible. Under Biden, the FBI abused its power for political reasons to try to surveil Catholics who attend traditional Latin Mass, labeling them as, quote, unquote, radical traditionalist Catholics. Personally, just 24 hours after I criticized Kamala Harris and her nomination, I was placed on a secret domestic terror watch list called Quiet Skies. Sadly, there are more examples.
Tulsi Gabbard
I don't know the Catholic Church one, but all the rest of that we are aware of. And wow. I mean, that is a list of a whole bunch of things that should have gotten way more attention. Absolutely outrageous. Somebody should have paid a price for, but did not. I agree with everything she said there.
Jack Armstrong
Right.
Tulsi Gabbard
Unbelievable. Remember that whole thing when we found out that was it the NSA or CIA was spying on our senators without them knowing of it? I mean, how. The fact that they got away with that is just amazing to me.
Jack Armstrong
Right. And I don't know how interested you are in some of the details of the resolution in favor of dropping all charges against Edward Snowden and the history of the Bashar al Assad stuff and the weird religious group she grew up in and has been associated with and their methods of making money, and it's all just very strange stuff.
Tulsi Gabbard
What's the name of the religious group she's associated with? I don't know that story.
Jack Armstrong
Click over here. It is the Science of Identity Foundation, a sect tied to a direct marketing firm accused of running a peer pyramid scheme in several countries.
Tulsi Gabbard
Wow. But she grew up in that.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. And is has referred to the leaders as her guru dev, a Hindu term that is frequently translated as divine teacher. She is described a guy who serves on the board of this offshoot that runs a giant pyramid scheme as her uncle.
Tulsi Gabbard
So she's still in. She's not one of those people that grew up in a culture and looks back on it and thinks, what the hell are my parents thinking? She's still into it.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. It's a. It's a very odd religious group. Gabbard's follower parents were followers of this Butler guy. They raised Gabbard in the group. Some adherents mixed Butler's toenail clippings into their meals as a sign of devotion.
Tulsi Gabbard
Hold on. You gotta, like, throw down some cones so we slow down and get in the right lane before you launch that. Say that again.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. This guy who founded this spiritual group, Chris Butler, who she has described as her divine teacher, let the. The group, some adherents, mixed Butler's toenail clippings into their meals as a sign of devotion. Well, that is his shoes as prayer totems. Yes.
Tulsi Gabbard
Using your shoe as a prayer totem, to me, is nothing compared to mixing toenail clippings into your meals.
Jack Armstrong
Sure. That's. That's your lead. No doubt that's your lead story.
Tulsi Gabbard
Holy crap.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, it's. It's very, very odd. And to the extent that she still believes all of this or is really, really into it and science of identity, this. This group, which sounds Scientology. E. Maybe in some ways, but did.
Tulsi Gabbard
You or did you not eat toenail clippings in your morning oatmeal? Oh, please answer the question yes or no. Let the record show she will not answer the question yes or no, whether she toenail clippings with her oatmeal.
Jack Armstrong
The sect seems to get its funds from this direct marketing firm accused of running a pyramid scheme in several countries. And she hired a PR group to. To play down the connections earlier in her career. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. Yeah, go ahead. I was just going to make my ultimate point.
Tulsi Gabbard
I was going to say you're right about all these things with the last couple of days. So these people lay out stuff that's absolutely 100% true. Doesn't mean they're the person that. The only person that can drive home that point, though. I mean, she just did a laundry list there of some horrific things that have happened in our intelligence community. Just horrific things. The spying on Trump with a faked up FISA warrant. There should be 15 people drummed out of government, maybe in prison over that.
Jack Armstrong
Please. I agree with everything she said there. But, Jack, true or false, Rosa Parks was the first person, first black person told to give up her seat on a bus. And that's why she was the big test case.
Tulsi Gabbard
Right.
Jack Armstrong
So the. The point being, I thought maybe you would jump in there.
Tulsi Gabbard
What's your.
Jack Armstrong
She was selected as the. The test case because her character was unimpeachable. She was the person for the job because you could not throw any dirt at her. You could not weaken her or the case with any of her many sins. Tulsi Gabbard is right about this stuff, but she is not clean enough. She's. She. There are way too many question marks. Edward Snowden revealed something. She introduced a. The resolution in Congress calling for the feds to drop all charges against Edward Snowden, for instance. Snowden, who revealed the NSA's bulk collection telephones record was illegal and unconstitutional. She's 100% right about that. But Snowden pilfered and distributed to our enemies an enormous cache of secrets that were awful in their effect for the United States, for Britain, for the Five Eyes Alliance. There's a reason he went to Russia and was immediately made a citizen and hailed as a hero.
Tulsi Gabbard
So I, man, even some of this more complicated stuff I never even looked into because how do you get past the Bashar Al Assad stuff? I mean that's damning enough to me and that that's.
Jack Armstrong
I wish I had more of the facts in front of me but. And again her, her explanation of it is quite reasonable. She thought the whole. A couple of things. Number one, the Iraq war and then the idiotic half cocked intervention in Libya that Obama and Hillary Clinton did was just half thought out. Dopey American messing with the Middle east which was causing destabilization and refugees and the rise of guerrilla groups and the rest of it. She was right about that. But she went on to suggest that Bashar Al Assad was really just a nice guy trying to run his country and blah blah, blah, and just went way overboard like she does with almost everything. And one more thing, Mark Warner, who, you know, he's, he's a Democratic senator, he's reasonable some of the time, pointed out that the specific verbiage of the DNI law says that they must have extensive experience in the intelligence community and she doesn't. It might be as simple as that.
Tulsi Gabbard
Man, that laundry list she had though of abuses by our intelligence community though, that's pretty damning. Wow, when you hear them all back to back like that and all of those 100% true and underappreciated certainly by the mainstream media. We got a lot more on the way.
Joe Getty
Armstrong and Getty.
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Tulsi Gabbard
I keep checking. Sheets are still a one and a half point favorite for a Super bowl coming up. Kids lost ground in learning during COVID Not a surprise we're not gaining it back. And the latest nationwide proficiency score card is out and it ain't good and it should be a bigger story.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, it absolutely should. Also coming up, more details on Tulsa Gabbard and Bashar Al Assad. Just to be fair and it's toenail eaten. Apparently we've lost Jack. Yeah, because I absolutely want to be fair and I understand a lot of attacks on MAGA People are unfair and the intelligence community is crazy and dishonest and the rest of it. I just think there's a better sheriff to run things than her. The latest Internet trend, Jack, because everything's got to be an Internet trend, is shockingly being responsible. They're calling it no buy 2025 in which by or by bu y.
Tulsi Gabbard
Okay, that's good.
Jack Armstrong
Good clarification. Those are homonyms, as we say in the hominy business business. The trend is to reduce spending and pay off debt. Amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty, individuals are cutting back on non essential purchases, focusing on using up existing products and implementing strategies like Project Pan to minimize spending.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah, I don't know about this trend. Can I just whistle the national anthem with a mouthful of eggs or something?
Jack Armstrong
Does it have to be this one's not nearly as much fun as that, Jack, so. And of course it's hot on Instagram and TikTok as everything is people displaying instead of what they've bought now, great it is. They're displaying how they're buying nothing. The no buy 2025 trend encourages people to purchase as little new stuff as possible.
Tulsi Gabbard
I would love this if I thought it could catch on. It just, it runs counter to, you know, human nature of, you know, pleasure. But it'd be awesome if for whatever reason people decide no stuff is a bad buying stuff is a bad idea. Planning ahead is the best way to get pleasure. That'd be great if that happened. I just don't know if I believe it.
Jack Armstrong
Well, yeah, I think it's more specific than that. And I found myself wondering whether this is another example of how the breezes have definitely changed in America because a lot of it when they get in the specific examples is this gal, Rachel, part time nurse, stay at home mom, she came across these no buy videos and she wanted to pay off her family's $10,000 credit card debt and she and her husband wanted to stop living paycheck to paycheck. So she's cutting out hair treatments, manicures and unnecessary purchases like new water bottles. Uh, it's been very empowering to live within our means. They paid down their debt and and are living like financially responsible human beings.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah, all those things you just mentioned, you probably shouldn't be buying if you're got a $10,000 credit card bill.
Jack Armstrong
Absolutely. So again, it's kind of goofy and jivey that it's a TikTok trend like everything. But if the trend is people living within their means, reducing their debt and getting rid of luxuries they can't afford. I'm not going to condemn it.
Tulsi Gabbard
How about the trend of how long can you hold your hand over a candle? I think that'll probably get more owling.
Jack Armstrong
You remember howling Good Times Armstrong and.
Rob Smith
Getty on January 27 it is international Holocaust Remembrance Day. We remember the great horrors, the evil of the Holocaust. Millions and millions of Jews were slaughtered during the Nazi reign of terror. Now today we are witnessing the rise of global anti Semitism, the constant attacks on Israel, showing us that it is more important than ever to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust and to ensure it never happens again. We have proudly partnered with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Now they provide food, shelter, safety to so many Israelis in Israel as they fight against radical Islamic terrorism in our time, including those remaining Holocaust survivors. Your donation today will help provide food, water, medicine and other bare necessities to Jewish communities. Go to their website at supportifcj.org, that's supportifcj.org or call toll free 888-488ifcj 888-488ifcj.
Joe Getty
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Yeah, that's the Code Armstrong on Prize picks to get $50 instantly when you play $5. Win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks just for playing, guaranteed.
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That's right. Remember the Code Armstrong. Download the Prize Picks app. Prize Picks run your game must be present in certain states. Visit prizepix.com for restrictions and details. Worse than reading Barely hanging on in math, if you look at reading proficiency.
Tulsi Gabbard
Those who are at or above proficiency.
Jack Armstrong
In fourth grade, 2019, 35%, 2024, only 31%. And for eighth graders, 34% in 2019, 30% now. So trying to crawl back, but really not getting there. When you look at attendance is a big part. Obviously the pandemic pushed people out.
Tulsi Gabbard
They weren't there to attend.
Jack Armstrong
The school has never really recovered from that.
Tulsi Gabbard
Attendance continues to be low.
Jack Armstrong
They're having trouble getting people to simply be there. In addition to that, they noted in this that fewer kids are reading for fun. They're just not reading, so the comprehension is lower.
Tulsi Gabbard
There is so much there. I mean, I had planned in my head what we're going to talk about, but there are a couple of topics there that are their own. Damned interesting topic. The absenteeism that has skyrocketed since COVID for whatever reason. No, nobody went to school for a couple years because the government wouldn't let you. I think maybe the worst thing our federal government has ever done, once you get past like the slavery area era. But the worst thing our government has ever done is shut down the schools and not let kids go to school for no good reason. And they knew it was no good reason. Oh, it's so maddening. But we won't get sidetracked on that. Why have kids still not gone back? What's going on? It's a parent's decision. You can't blame the kids.
Jack Armstrong
All right, I was just going to say you can't. Yada yada yada. As they say, kids didn't go to school from COVID and now they're still not going to school. I mean, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Not in any family I know or hang out with unless they chosen to homeschool their kids because of what they observed during COVID So that seems odd to me. That speaks to a cultural norm in certain segments of society that got changed where they just, they were never that into education for their kids anyway. And if the kids don't want to go to school, they just don't make them.
Tulsi Gabbard
I would like to see that broken down by race to see if there's a racial difference or economic difference because we're about to get into some of those numbers. And then in the other topic he threw there at the end that I wasn't planning on talking about, Kids don't read for fun anymore. Yeah, I have a lot of trouble with that with my kids. I push them really hard to read. They grew up in a household where mom and dad read constantly. I still do, but you're different than me. Or lying to yourself if you don't admit as an adult that it's harder for you to read a book now than it used to be because your attention span is so much shorter. What do you think it's like for your kids who never had a long attention span? They've only known these blah, blah, blah, blah, super fast world of quick things.
Jack Armstrong
Right. But they're not reading even short magazine articles about like their hero video gamers or anything like that. They're just not reading at all.
Tulsi Gabbard
They're watching videos about them.
Jack Armstrong
Right? Exactly.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah. I don't know. I don't know if anything can turn that around either. Interesting. Okay, then back to the.
Jack Armstrong
Here I'm going to put out coffee mugs that say this. They won't sell, but they're right. They're one of the most truth based coffee mugs ever sold. Mankind has invented pleasures mankind can't handle.
Tulsi Gabbard
Right. And now we're gonna have VR porn. I'm gonna have a coffee mug that says Coffee makes Mondays better. I'll bet mine sells better than yours.
Jack Armstrong
That one hurt my heart.
Tulsi Gabbard
So we had the story a couple of days ago. This got a lot of headlines that kids haven't caught up from the learning loss of the pandemic. What a shock. How is that supposed to happen? I mean, I don't know. I don't understand. Unless you're going to invent more hours in a day or make everybody go to full school all summer long or something. We weren't doing that well before, which is the main point of this whole conversation. And you're going to catch up from a couple of years in the case of California and not going to school and zoom. School was basically not going to school. And you're going to catch up. How? How are you going to jam in two years of loss into the last two years along with the stuff that obviously you'd have to learn those years to stay on track.
Jack Armstrong
Right. I mean, you've got two distinct and really troubling layers to dig through here. You've got the COVID effect on schools and students, which is enormous and disastrous. And I think you're right. I think it is the greatest sin by our federal government and its allies. They inherited slavery and nobody knew how to end it. This was an affirmative sin committed by the government. But anyway, so you got all the COVID complexities of it, and then you've got the underperformance of our government schools going into Covid and after it. I mean, for instance, we've been talking about fundamental principles in a variety of contexts. And if you don't get those right, you're wasting your time or you're going to waste your time. You're really undermining yourself. And a fundamental principle of the classroom. Teachers, can I get an amen? If you don't have control of the classroom and a reasonable level of discipline, your school is not going to be effective or is going to be significantly less effective. We need to cure that. I mean, there's so much slack we needed to take up before COVID that we haven't. How are we going to take up the slack to make up for the COVID learning loss? To the extent that you even can? We have multiple problems.
Tulsi Gabbard
Absolutely. Which we're about to discuss more of.
Greenlight
But.
Tulsi Gabbard
So I got into this last night again. So the, the story a couple of days ago was we have not regained ground. Then the new more numbers came out yesterday, nationwide proficiency scores. And we should link the. I got the website. I'll send it to you. Hanson. It's pretty handy. You can go in there and pick your state and then pick your school district or county and compare it to the rest of the state or the rest of the country. But it's universally not good for the most part. And so I, I came to it through the New York Post. They're talking about New York City. You, most of you don't live in New York City or have your kids in. But it's the biggest school district in America and their numbers aren't much different than the national average. So it's, it does have some information for us. Only a third of NYC fourth graders deemed proficient in math, even though they spend tons of money in New York City, way more than they ever spent, adjusted for inflation per student than ever in history when the numbers were much higher. So don't, don't even start down the road if they need more money. That that's a non starter as a conversation. Only a third of NYC fourth graders deemed proficient in math despite the sky high spending. Only 33% of big apples in Big Apple kids In math, only 28% in reading last year according to results. And again, these numbers are only slightly different than the national averages. They're a little below in New York City, even though they spend more money than everybody else than the national averages. But this is about where everybody is. And I thought, well that's damned interesting and we've talked about this a lot. Here's the version of the story today that, that I think is being left out a lot. And many paragraphs down on the NPR site they get to this. COVID 19 isn't all to blame. A longer view of 4th graders math scores and student achievement more broadly shows those scores have been stagnating and declining for years prior to Covid. It sped up during COVID but they've been going down for a long time and getting off track on Covid caused this. And how do we bounce back is really missing the boat if they've been dropping off year by year for quite some time. Math scores peaked around 2013. Multiple education researchers told NPR they aren't sure why. That is the multi trillion dollar question, says an education researcher at the University of Washington who has studied pandemic learning loss. One thing we know is that fourth grade math performance improved around the same time as the no Child Left behind thing that George W. Bush brought in in 2002. Now I know lots of teachers that hated that. I don't, I don't have an argument one way or the other. I know a lot of teachers that hate that, at least statistically, things got better when no Child Left behind hit. And then when those requirements were phased out in about 2012, math scores, all scores, specifically math scores even worse, all started dropping and have been dropping ever since. Even without Covid.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, it gets a little complicated in that you have no Child Left behind, which was, you know, some mostly good ideas and some weaknesses. But then Goodhart's law interceded Jack, which you've talked about a lot, where you have objective standards. Well, people figure out how to manipulate those objective standards. They start to teach to reach those standards or cheat to reach those standards or whatever. And they're not so worried about the, the, the learning and at that became just so clear. America chucked those standards because they were being abused so much. But it worked for a while.
Tulsi Gabbard
Well, the, the problem is, it's funny, I was having this conversation with a psychiatrist the other day. It's very difficult to get down to one variable to ever test anything. So you're, you know, you got this going on and that going on. So you got like four variables. How do I know if this pill is working or not working when I got all these variables? That's the way it is with the school stuff. There are so many variables going on at the same time. The one child left behind thing might have nothing to do with it. It also coincides fairly decently with kids getting smartphones. Okay. That's not a minor thing to present.
Jack Armstrong
Entertainment devices in their pockets. Gee, I wonder if that had any effect on education. Come on, are we adults here?
Tulsi Gabbard
It also coincides with the Great Recession. They don't really spell out how that would fit in, but. But it is roughly the same time that scores started going the wrong direction. Increased access to smartphones and tablets, obesity going up while that was going down. Does that have any effect? I don't know. But you do have a lot of variables involved.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, I think the Great Recession thing is more coincidence than an explanatory, but okay.
Tulsi Gabbard
I think you certainly can't underappreciate the fact that the score started dropping roughly the same time as smartphones becoming prevalent in the schools. That one. That one seems easy.
Jack Armstrong
If I might further cloud the waters. You also had an influx of millions of people who don't speak English legally and illegally flooding into government schools.
Tulsi Gabbard
And what point did we start having Pride Month? Where every single day you have an assembly and talk about the role of gay this or that in every classroom. Taking time from teaching other stuff and.
Jack Armstrong
Literally lessons about you're probably transgender. And that's wonderful. In the government schools, all of that came along at roughly the same time. Or all kinds of abandonment of core principles.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah, all kinds of non reading and writing core stuff that. That has crept into schools over the last decade or so. And then this. I wanted to get on breaking it down by race. And then it gets really complicated here. Percentage at or above proficiency, basic proficiency nationwide, Asian kids, 89% at or above basic proficiency. Nine out of 10. That's pretty impressive.
Jack Armstrong
White supremacy.
Tulsi Gabbard
Black, half Hispanic, 61%. This is basic proficiency. You get to the proficient, which is where they would like you to be, a little. Little higher standard. God, basic proficiency has got to be low.
Jack Armstrong
I mean, the standard, they ought to call that functional. Barely functional.
Tulsi Gabbard
If you get into actually proficient, where you probably want your kid to be. And it's probably not that high a standard anyway. For Asians, 63% of kids. For black, 10% of kids.
Jack Armstrong
Oh, my gosh.
Tulsi Gabbard
How about that? Hispanic, 22, white, half. What is that all about? I mean, I know if you're Ibram Kendi, how you explain it, but how do you actually explain it?
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's. There are a number of explanation.
Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah, yeah.
Jack Armstrong
A lot of things. Does your culture reward, revere learning or not? I mean, start there. How can you not start there?
Tulsi Gabbard
That's the last place you're gonna start.
Jack Armstrong
Oh, I know, I know. Which, which is, you know, it means you're doomed. Now let's. We need to confront this problem, but not any aspect of it that makes us feel uncomfortable.
Tulsi Gabbard
And what's, what's surprising to me about that is I think most white families I know look at the Asian families and think, good, yeah, go ahead, knock yourself out. We ain't doing that. So, I mean, think that they're taking it too seriously. So fine.
Jack Armstrong
If there were a way to ascertain attitudes among various ethnic groups, which is broad brush painting and it's, you know, of limited usefulness, but a time saver. But if you were to do that, though, speaking of white and Asian people, I'll bet you'd have a damn near exact correlation with test scores. To what extent do you think your kids should make education a priority? How much do you help them? How much work do you do? How often do you talk to them about education? You would see a near perfect correlation. So why are we wasting our time pretending like it's not the case?
Tulsi Gabbard
Right.
Jack Armstrong
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Tulsi Gabbard
Yeah, Patrick Mahomes only needs one yard to win. So I'm looking at these other stats. Barkley had that 60 yard run for the Eagles the other day. One run. Will he rush for more than 112 and a half yards? More or less on that one, for instance. It's really fun. Download the prize picks app today and get going.
Jack Armstrong
Yep, Just by playing a $5 lineup, they will deposit $50 into your account. Download the Prize Picks app Today. Use the Code Armstrong to get 50 bucks instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Again, it's the Prize Picks app. The code is Armstrong. It is easy. It is fun. Prize Picks Run your game.
Tulsi Gabbard
Oh that's right, we're still on the air.
Jack Armstrong
Yes we are.
Tulsi Gabbard
More of the hearings are going on. Tulsi Gabbard being questioned to be dni. Cash Patel being questioned to run the FBI. Anything jazzy happens, we'll have it for you.
Rob Smith
Stick around Armstrong and getty on January 27, it is international Holocaust Remembrance Day. We remember the greatest horrors, the evil of the Holocaust. Millions and millions of Jews were slaughtered during the Nazi reign of terror. Now today we are witnessing the rise of global anti Semitism, the constant attacks on Israel, showing us that it is more important than ever to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust and to ensure it never happens again, we have proudly partnered with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Now they provide food, shelter, safety to so many Israelis in Israel as they fight against radical Islamic terrorism in our time, including those remaining Holocaust survivors. Your donation today will help provide food, water, medicine and other bare necessities to Jewish communities. Go to their website@supportifcj.org that's supportifcj.org or call toll free 888-488ifcj 888488 ifcj today.
Joe Getty
When it comes to playtime, never let your squad down. Unlock elite gaming tech@lenovo.com Push your gameplay beyond performance with 13th gen Intel Core processors. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search and head to lenovo.com lenovo.
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Morton buildings annual Sales Event Building Value Days is on now until the end of February. That means you get the best for less. Morton Buildings are built stronger, last longer and look better. If you need a garage stall, barn or storage for vehicles, rv, boat or collectibles, or even a shop for your farm hobbies or car restoration projects or anything in between, visit MortonBuildings.com to take advantage of their discounted sales event pricing. They use quality materials and expert craftsmanship with an industry leading warranty to ensure your addition is enjoyed by generations to come. Morton buildings is 100% employee owned and they have thousands of satisfied customers. That means they're the industry leader you can trust. Don't wait. Take advantage of the Building Value Day sales event. Visit MortonBuildings.com today. Certain restrictions apply. This offer may not be available in all states. To qualify for discount order must be placed between now and February 28, 2025. Contact your local Morton office for more details or visit mortonbuildings.com.
Jack Armstrong
What are you looking for in a new smart TV? 4K picture quality, high quality and immersive sound. A sleek design. All of those are givens, but only the new Roku Pro series has all of those and the Roku streaming experience an award winning OS. Get fast easy access to all your app like iHeart where you can stream all your favorite music, radio and podcasts all day and regular all inclusive trips to Roku City. The new Roku Pro series a smart TV built by the streaming pros One of the dumbest phrases in military history is our diversity is our strength. Our diversity is not our strength. Our unity and our shared purpose is our strength and our the Pentagon is excited to get back to that core mission. It's happening rapidly.
Tulsi Gabbard
The services are responding and those that don't want to respond can work somewhere else.
Jack Armstrong
So diversity, equity, inclusion will not be a part of the Defense Department not a minute long. Amen. Pete Hagseth Go get them Pete. Reforming the Department of Defense Love everything I've heard so far.
Tulsi Gabbard
According to the Economist, Iran is screaming toward a nuclear weapon and Donald Trump is going to have to deal with that real soon. So a lot of these conversations about the Secretary of Defense are probably going to fall by the wayside and it's going to be what do you have to say about our current war with Iran? Or something along those lines.
Jack Armstrong
Although I will say this, the idea of all right, let's cut the crap, or prefer, if you prefer the term nonsense, we got to cut the nonsense. These are serious times. This DEI garbage, and it is absolute garbage has got to go. And thank God it's starting to go. I thought this was interesting, Ross, and.
Tulsi Gabbard
The idea that diversity is our strength in the military is the dumbest thing ever said.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, it's unspeakably idiotic. It's hard to believe anybody, any adult would would repeat it. And yet many do. And they should not be in charge. Rob Smith is a gay combat vet and has been posting on the Internet lately about transgender service people and Trump's order that they should not be in the service for a variety of reasons. Here's what a member of the LGBTQ plus minus over the power of seven community has to say about it. We'll start with 80. Michael first of all, number one, and.
Unknown Speaker
This is what a lot of people don't realize, there are upwards of 15,000 trans people that are serving, quote, unquote, in the United States military right now. The first thing that I'm going to tell you is that all of these people are non deployable. What that means is that if you are a transgender identified person that is, quote, unquote, serving in the United States military right now, you are non combat deployable. So these people cannot deploy to combat theaters when the United States is involved in any sort of conflict over.
Jack Armstrong
He gets a little repetitive here. So Michael, go ahead and fade that out and I want to get to.
Tulsi Gabbard
The next clip that's interesting.
Unknown Speaker
The vast majority of transgender people, when they separate from the United States military, do so by medically separating. This means that they are at 80 to 100% disability. And so now what that means is that taxpayers are on the hook for two to $300,000 per year annually of quote, unquote, transgender health care, which is also covered by the va. This costs American taxpayers to the tune of upwards of six figures per person.
Jack Armstrong
So you serve for a cup of coffee and have the taxpayers take up the bill for your transgender health care for the rest of your days under the va. One more, Michael.
Unknown Speaker
Gender dysphoria is a documented mental illness, which means that we have these people that are not only non combat deployable, they are also costing the US taxpayer $100,000 plus per year for their health care, and they also have a documented mental health condition. This is why Trump signed or is about to sign the executive order banning transgender people from the military, because the military is not a medical experiment. Taxpayers should not be footing the bill.
Jack Armstrong
For this and we don't have time to get into it. But he talks about some of the transgender people he served with and how they're all unstable. I'm not saying every single person is, but his experience was unstable, contributed negatively to readiness, to group cohesion in every way.
Tulsi Gabbard
Wow. And that was going on during the Biden administration and they knew that. But it looked so good to have the trans community in the military they wanted to continue it. Interesting.
Jack Armstrong
Armstrong and Getty.
Joe Getty
When it comes to playtime, never let your squad down. Unlock elite gaming tech@lenovo.com Push your gameplay beyond performance with 13th gen Intel Core processor. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search and head to lenovo.com.
Greenlight
Morton Buildings annual sales event Building Value Days is on now until the end of February. That means you get the best for less. Morton Buildings are built stronger, last longer, and look better if you need a garage stall, barn or storage for vehicles, rv, boat or collectibles, or even a shop for your farm hobbies or car restoration projects or anything in between. Visit MortonBuildings.com to take advantage of their discounted sales event pricing. They use quality materials and expert craftsmanship with an industry leading warranty to ensure your addition is enjoyed by generations to come. Morton buildings is 100% employee owned and they have thousands of satisfied customers. That means they're the industry leader you can trust. Don't wait. Take advantage of the Building Value Day sales event. Visit MortonBuildings.com today. Certain restrictions apply. This offer may not be available in all states. To qualify for discount, order must be placed between now and February 28, 2025. Contact your local Morton office for more details or visit mortonbuildings.com.
Tulsi Gabbard
Roku has what.
Jack Armstrong
You need to make your college home away from home feel more like your own. Make your dorm the place to be with Roku TV or bring a Roku streaming stick to easily access all your favorite free and premium content like iHeartradio. Stream your favorite playlist with the Roku Vibe setting smart light strips to sync your music to millions of colors and make your dorm feel more like you. Make your dorm the place to be with Roku TVs, streaming players and smart lights. Head to Roku.com or your favorite retailer to deck out your dorm.
Joe Getty
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Armstrong & Getty On Demand: Episode Summary – "I Believe You Used The Term 'Whack Job'"
Release Date: January 30, 2025
In the episode titled "I Believe You Used The Term 'Whack Job'," hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a range of pressing topics, including a recent tragic plane crash, the integrity of the intelligence community, political hearings surrounding key appointments, Tulsi Gabbard's controversial background, and the ongoing challenges within the American education system. This comprehensive discussion is interwoven with insightful commentary, notable quotes, and a critical examination of current events.
Timestamp: [02:54] – [04:17]
The episode opens with the hosts addressing a devastating plane crash involving a Black Hawk helicopter and a domestic flight, resulting in the loss of over 60 lives—the worst commercial air disaster in two decades. Tulsi Gabbard expresses her sorrow, emphasizing the human error aspect and the unthinkable nature of the tragedy.
Jack Armstrong reflects on the rarity of such disasters, highlighting the high standards of aviation safety.
The hosts also critique the media's tendency to repeatedly show harrowing footage of such events, questioning the necessity and impact of constant replays.
Timestamp: [04:09] – [06:21]
Jack Armstrong references Don Henley's classic "Dirty Laundry" to critique the news industry's focus on sensationalism, especially regarding political scandals.
Tulsi Gabbard clarifies that Henley's frustration stemmed from negative media coverage of his personal life, though she quickly moves the conversation to political hearings.
Timestamp: [06:21] – [16:13]
The discussion shifts to ongoing political hearings related to the confirmation of RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard's potential nomination as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and Cash Patel's candidacy for FBI Director. Armstrong and Getty critically analyze the intelligence community's track record, citing numerous failures and politicization.
They delve into Tulsi Gabbard's stance on these issues, acknowledging some valid points while questioning her qualification for high-level intelligence positions due to her controversial beliefs and affiliations.
Notable Critique of Tulsi Gabbard:
Armstrong and Getty scrutinize Gabbard's background, particularly her association with the Science of Identity Foundation, a group accused of operating a pyramid scheme and engaging in bizarre practices.
Jack Armstrong [11:14]: "Some adherents mixed Butler's toenail clippings into their meals as a sign of devotion."
Tulsi Gabbard [11:55]: "She is described as a guy who serves on the board of this offshoot that runs a giant pyramid scheme as her uncle."
They further question her political judgments and affiliations, suggesting that her associations undermine her suitability for national intelligence roles.
Timestamp: [16:13] – [39:11]
The hosts transition to discussing the alarming decline in American students' proficiency in mathematics and reading, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They explore factors contributing to this decline, including the aftermath of the "No Child Left Behind" policy, increased access to smartphones, absenteeism, and cultural attitudes towards education.
Armstrong highlights the stagnation and decline in education metrics, noting a correlation with policy changes and societal shifts.
They delve into demographic disparities in educational proficiency, revealing significant gaps among different racial groups.
Armstrong attributes these disparities to cultural factors, questioning why certain communities do not prioritize educational achievement.
The conversation underscores systemic issues within the education system, emphasizing the need for comprehensive reforms to address both academic and cultural challenges.
Timestamp: [19:18] – [22:41]
Armstrong and Gabbard discuss emerging trends such as "No Buy 2025," a consumer movement aimed at reducing spending and paying off debt amid economic uncertainties.
They analyze the cultural implications of such trends, pondering whether they reflect a broader shift towards financial responsibility or are merely fleeting fads popularized on social media platforms like TikTok.
Timestamp: [43:44] – [46:32]
The episode touches on proposed reforms within the Department of Defense (DoD), particularly the removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which Armstrong and Gabbard vehemently oppose.
The hosts discuss the impact of transgender individuals in the military, critiquing policies that allow transgender service members and highlighting perceived negative consequences on military readiness and taxpayer costs.
They argue for the necessity of focusing on core military missions over what they term as ideological distractions.
Timestamp: [40:23] – [49:20]
Armstrong and Gabbard conclude the episode by previewing upcoming political hearings and appointments, expressing anticipation for further developments in the intelligence and defense sectors. They also briefly touch upon economic trends and societal behaviors, maintaining a critical stance on prevailing governmental policies.
The discussion wraps up with reflections on the discussed topics, reinforcing their critical perspective on the current political and social landscape.
Jack Armstrong [03:24]: "It’s beyond tragic. Unthinkable."
Tulsi Gabbard [11:55]: "She is described as a guy who serves on the board of this offshoot that runs a giant pyramid scheme as her uncle."
Tulsi Gabbard [37:04]: "Black, half Hispanic, 61%. This is basic proficiency. You get to the proficient, which is where they would like you to be, a little. Little higher standard. God, basic proficiency has got to be low."
Jack Armstrong [43:44]: "DEI garbage, and it is absolute garbage has got to go."
In this episode, Armstrong and Getty provide a critical examination of significant national issues, ranging from aviation safety and media practices to deep-seated problems within the intelligence community and educational systems. Their candid discussions highlight perceived failings and call for substantial reforms, particularly emphasizing the need for integrity within governmental institutions and a renewed focus on foundational societal values.
Listeners gain insight into the hosts' perspectives on political appointments, the influence of cultural trends on education, and the controversies surrounding defense policies. The episode serves as a platform for questioning established narratives and advocating for accountability and transparency in leadership roles.
Note: The transcript provided included numerous advertisements and sponsorship messages interspersed throughout the episode. This summary intentionally omits those sections to focus solely on the core content and discussions presented by the hosts.