I Don't Care If The Mountain Dwarf Kicks The High Elf In His Magic Nut Sack

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand Episode: "I Don't Care If The Mountain Dwarf Kicks The High Elf In His Magic Nut Sack" Release Date: January 27, 2025

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Introduction

In this vibrant episode of the Armstrong & Getty On Demand podcast, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dive into a whirlwind of topics ranging from political discourse and cultural shifts to light-hearted confessions and pop culture anecdotes. Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, the duo engages listeners with their trademark humor and candid discussions.

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Confession Corner

[01:01] Jack Armstrong opens the episode with an intriguing confession segment, hinting at a personal admission that promises to stir conversation. With playful anticipation, Jack sets the stage for a series of outrageous confessions, adding a comedic twist to the segment.

• Jack Armstrong: “A good book informs us that confession is good for the soul. I need to confess a terrible thing. Embarrassing. I will feel the weight of society's disapproval, but I need it. I need it to reform. So stay with us.”

[13:23] Jack Armstrong masterfully escalates the tension by presenting increasingly absurd confession options, keeping both Joe and Katie on their toes.

• Jack Armstrong: “A. I, Joe Getty, have a second wife across town with whom I have two children. She is an illegal alien, and I keep her in line by threatening her with deportation.”
• Joe Getty: “What the hell did you do that ranks? Are you going to want to associate with you after this?”
• Jack Armstrong: “C. I had never seen Gladiator until this weekend. Wow. Whoa.”

The segment culminates in Jack admitting to never having seen the iconic film "Gladiator", eliciting laughter and light-hearted banter among the hosts.

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Debate

In a sharp critique of current DEI initiatives, [01:45] Jack Armstrong discusses the high fees charged by former Attorney General Eric Holder for civil rights audits. He expresses skepticism towards DEI, suggesting it represents a "neo-Marxist plot to take over institutions."

• Jack Armstrong: “DEI is not about diversity. It's about takeover. It's a neo Marxist plot to take over institutions by calling everybody a racist and cowing them into submission.”

The conversation delves into the perceived rollback of DEI programs, highlighting the financial motivations of consultants and questioning the true intent behind these initiatives.

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Dungeons & Dragons: A Cultural Shift

[04:10] Joe Getty and [04:14] Jack Armstrong explore the recent changes in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) rules, notably the shift from using "race" to "species" to describe different beings.

• Jack Armstrong: “They are no longer going to use the term race to differentiate between the different sort of beings in there. They're going to use species instead.”

The hosts humorously discuss the implications of these changes, touching on how traditional character traits are being decoupled from biological identities, much to the chagrin of long-time fans.

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Fashion Forward: Cashmere Out, Yak In?

Transitioning to lighter topics, [08:21] Joe Getty and [08:22] Jack Armstrong debate current fashion trends, particularly the resurgence of man-made fabrics over natural materials like cashmere.

• Joe Getty: “Man made fabrics being popular. Polyester doesn't wrinkle, shrink, or fade as much. It's just, there's a lot of advantages.”
• Jack Armstrong: “Cashmere is out. You might as well be wearing cotton, you plebeian.”

The discussion meanders through personal anecdotes about expensive clothing items, the practicality of different fabrics, and the humorous notion of a "$998 cashmere shirt" being "bulletproof."

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Celebrity Buzz: Obama and Aniston Rumors

The conversation takes a speculative turn as [11:04] Katie introduces the swirling rumors of a rumored relationship between Barack Obama and Jennifer Aniston.

• Joe Getty: “The Obamas splitting up and him getting with Jennifer Aniston, gossip wise, that would be an all-time hit.”

The hosts playfully contemplate the potential media frenzy such a revelation would ignite, showcasing their knack for blending humor with pop culture commentary.

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Political Spotlight: Interview with Kevin Kiley

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to an insightful interview with Kevin Kiley, Republican congressman from California's third district. Discussing the tumultuous first week of the Trump administration, the conversation centers on immigration policies, forest management, and the handling of wildfires in California.

[18:38] Kevin Kiley praises Trump's swift executive actions aimed at restoring border security and criticizes California's previous lax immigration policies.

• Kevin Kiley: “President Trump has not wasted any time in fulfilling that promise and bringing some sanity back to US Immigration policy.”

The discussion shifts to California's environmental policies, where [22:00] Kevin Kiley criticizes Governor Gavin Newsom's handling of forest management and water resources, attributing the state's catastrophic wildfires to bureaucratic inefficiencies and misguided regulations.

• Kevin Kiley: “When you look at the way California has managed its forests and managed its water supply, it is just the exact opposite of what both science and common sense say that we ought to do.”

The interview concludes with Kiley outlining the Republican priorities, including border security, economic revitalization through regulatory reform, and tax relief measures.

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Sports Talk: Football and Refereeing Woes

[31:10] Kevin Kiley briefly interjects with commentary on the Kansas City Chiefs' recent performance, leading into a discussion about the challenges of officiating in football.

• Joe Getty: “I never understood how they do it.”

[31:14] Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty lament the seemingly biased refereeing decisions, humorously attributing the Chiefs' success to favorable calls rather than skill.

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Cultural Conversations: Navigating Transgender Issues

The episode touches on sensitive cultural topics as [33:09] Joe Getty shares a personal anecdote about interacting with a transgender individual in a professional setting. The conversation navigates the complexities of societal acceptance and personal discomfort, reflecting broader debates on gender identity and inclusion.

• Joe Getty: “I just wondered about that so that you haven't. And it would appear just natural human reaction. You're kind of off put by a woman with a beard.”

[35:00] Joe Getty underscores the tension between personal sentiments and societal expectations, highlighting the challenges of discussing such topics in both public and private spheres.

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Conclusion

Wrapping up, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty reiterate the breadth of topics covered, from political upheavals and cultural shifts to personal confessions and societal debates. The episode encapsulates the dynamic interplay between humor and serious discourse, offering listeners a comprehensive look at contemporary issues through the lens of Armstrong and Getty's distinctive conversational style.

• Jack Armstrong: “Stay here, Armstrong and Getty.”

Listeners are left with thought-provoking discussions interspersed with laughter, embodying the essence of the Armstrong & Getty Show—a blend of insightful commentary and relatable banter.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong [01:01]: “A good book informs us that confession is good for the soul. I need to confess a terrible thing.”
• Jack Armstrong [02:25]: “DEI is not about diversity. It's about takeover. It's a neo Marxist plot.”
• Joe Getty [04:10]: “Geeks, listen up. D&D has new rules.”
• Jack Armstrong [08:22]: “Cashmere is out. You might as well be wearing cotton, you plebeian.”
• Kevin Kiley [18:38]: “President Trump has not wasted any time in fulfilling that promise and bringing some sanity back to US Immigration policy.”
• Kevin Kiley [22:00]: “When you look at the way California has managed its forests and managed its water supply, it is just the exact opposite of what both science and common sense say that we ought to do.”

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This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand offers a comprehensive exploration of pressing political issues, cultural evolutions, and personal narratives, all delivered with the hosts' characteristic wit and candidness. Whether you're tuned in for the in-depth political analysis or the lighthearted confessions, Armstrong and Getty provide a compelling listening experience that resonates with a diverse audience.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

A new study suggests that people can live longer by eating oatmeal for breakfast.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. That was hilarious.

[Joe Getty]

I feel the same way a lot about a lot of health recommendations. No, no. The host for Saturday Night Live and musical guest was Timothee Chalamet, who plays Bob Dylan in the movie. And Henry and I went to see that movie on Saturday night. And I want to talk about that a little bit later. It's one of your best picture nominees, nominated for eight Oscars. And I got some thoughts also later this hour.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've decided. I haven't decided. A good book informs us that confession is good for the soul. I need to confess a terrible thing. Embarrassing. I will feel the weight of society's disapproval, but I need it. I need it to reform. So stay with us.

[Joe Getty]

There you go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Shocking. Shocking admission.

[Joe Getty]

You need to feel the weight of society's disapproval. Awesome. Got a tear in your pants. Society wants your pants intact. We're gonna talk to one of our favorite Republican politicians who was there when Trump and Gavin got together in California on Friday. And that happened after we got off the air. So let's get an update on that later this hour.

[Jack Armstrong]

So just touching on a couple of news stories, a handful of news stories worth mentioning. I would love to go in depth into some DEI stories, but that would take at least the whole segment. But I'll just give you a little tease for later. You remember old Eric Holder, don't you? Of course. Obama's attorney General. Do you know what he's been up to lately? He's been making up to $2,300 an hour for his law firm to do civil rights audits. In other words, to make sure your DEI is deie enough. And now with this giant rollback, he and others are scrambling to figure out how they will next scam money off of unsuspecting corporate heads.

[Joe Getty]

He's getting money? How much an hour?

[Jack Armstrong]

Up to $2,300 an hour. As in a diversity civil rights auditor, whatever the hell that is.

[Joe Getty]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, it's amazing. And you almost have to credit them because if you're not yet hip to this, DEI is not about diversity. It's about takeover. It's a neo Marxist plot to take over institutions by calling everybody a racist and cowing them into submission. It's a credit to them. As a capitalist, I must admit how they're all Getting rich even as they're trying to get Marxism going. You almost have to tip your big furry Russian hat to them that they're managing to have it both ways. Pretty impressive. Uh, the Columbia negotiation, did you follow that over the weekend? Columbia said they would not take their criminals back, and Trump threatened them with giant crippling tariffs, the ejection of their diplomats. What else? There are a whole bunch of different threats. And the communists, literally. He was a communist activist as a younger man. President of Columbia backed down, said, we would be delighted to welcome the countrymen back into the bosom of Columbia.

[Joe Getty]

Actually offered to send their planes up here to get them.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you can use our military planes. Whatever you'd like to do. Mr. President would just be Marvi with us, so feel free. But there are all sorts of stories about DEI and how it's being rolled back, and there are some hardcore, you know, people hanging on, and there are also some going further, like the game. Dungeons of Dragons has announced, for the first time in a very long time, a decade, some new rules, which include.

[Joe Getty]

Uh, oh, D. And D has new rules. Geeks, listen up.

[Jack Armstrong]

They are no longer going to use the term race to differentiate between the different sort of beings in there. They're going to use species instead.

[Joe Getty]

All right?

[Jack Armstrong]

And some character traits have been divorced from biological identity. A mountain dwarf is no longer inherently brawny and durable, and a high elf is no longer intelligent and dexterous by definition.

[Joe Getty]

God, I'll tell you what. Thank God my son is through his D and D stage when he was doing Dungeons and Dragons and wanted me to play with him all the time, like, to get him ready for his big Saturday match. God, you talk about something I struggling to even go along with enough as a parent. That was rough.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, not your groove, huh?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God. Dang it. And the number of, like, grown men who are so into that. Fine. You know, I got mental stuff you wouldn't like either, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa. Yeah, I think it's a lot of. It's, like, a lot of things in life. Like, you know, golf is more fun when you get kind of good at it because you just don't have to struggle with everything nearly so much.

[Joe Getty]

But, no, no, I don't think so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I just. I don't care if the mountain dwarf kicks the high elf in his magical nut sack. I just don't care. I know. Anyway, in other news, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back the Keystone XL pipeline. Danielle Smith, who is a bit of a cutie and is the premier of Alberta, Canada, said the Other day, she would like to restart conversations with the Trump administration about reapproving the, the football that's been political football been kicked back and forth, that is the Keystone XL oil pipeline. And she says, hey, there's no reason not to hook this thing up and get the oil flowing. Especially because if you dig into it as we have and many of you have through the years, it's a great idea. It is better for the environment. It's just doubling down on fossil fuels. And that's why the activists were against it. We're gonna be using fossil fuels for generations, friends, generations more, barring some sort of completely unforeseen splitting the quark technology that's coming down the road. So I'd love to see that happen.

[Joe Getty]

If fusion gets going, fine, we'll stop using fossil fuels. But until then, I didn't catch this last week and neither did a lot of people because things were coming so fast and furious. You really couldn't keep up with everything that was happening in the first 100 hours of the Trump administration. But Matt Taibbi, a journalist we follow, a definite lefty, but not. What would you call people like this, like him and Bill Maher, they're, they're good old fashioned liberal Democrats, but not progressives. Liberal, but not progressives, maybe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fair enough.

[Joe Getty]

Matt Taibe has 2 million Twitter followers. Anyway, he tweeted out. Lost amid the controversies of the week last week was the fact that the new administration mandated a sweeping probe of the entire intelligence community. If things coalesce, according to my understanding, and he's a good reporter, something like a second church committee is company coming. It will be a fascinating year. The church committee, which looked into the CEI, FBI and everything like that in the 70s, looking back on the abuses of the 60s and the early 70s, like a real big thorough, hey, what are we doing and are we okay with this? And Taibi thinks that that's going to happen again, which might be overdue, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I think that sort of thing is an absolute requirement given the fact that an intelligence agency is a very uncomfortable reality in an open society. I'm not saying it's unnecessary or shouldn't exist or shouldn't spy or engage in whatever nefarious activities they do. But it is absolutely the sort of thing you have to watch very, very carefully in a free society. So I welcome that. I love Matt Taibbi. He's brilliant, he's funny, he's insightful. But if you asked him, hey, how was that ham sandwich you had for lunch? He would write you 5,000 words. Jack here more into fashion than I do. But cashmere is out. Cashmere. You might as well be wearing cotton, you plebeian. The new fashion brag for men yak.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, really?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Everybody laughs at the yak. Why? It's a big fuzzy beast and it's fun to say the name. Say it with me, Yak.

[Joe Getty]

But evidently, where does cashmere come from? I have one cashmere jacket. I don't know where cashmere comes from.

[Jack Armstrong]

Another funny animal. The goat does it really A special sort of goat. Yeah. The cashmere goat, I believe. Yeah. And if I'm wrong, please write a scathing email. I'm wearing an Illinois hoodie. Okay, I. What the latest fashion brag is. I just, I would not.

[Joe Getty]

You know what I'm excited about, and I was trying to explain this to my kids, is the return of man made fabrics being popular. So Joe and I are old enough that we grew up in the 70s where everybody was wearing, you know, polyester and nylon and all that sort of stuff. But then it became very uncool and you had to wear cotton. And it's been cotton for a very long time now. Back the advantages of, of the man made polyester stuff. They don't wrinkle, they don't shrink, they don't fade the same way. It's just, I mean, there's a lot of advantages.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know why we gave up.

[Joe Getty]

On it back in the day, but I'm happy that it's back. And like, my son wears lots of stuff that would have been forbidden when I was a young cool person.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, what's interesting is in the world of golf, I know one guy is a good friend, a terrific guy. He insists on wearing cotton shirts. He is the only one. He is one of like five people on earth. It's, it's all about the synthetics. Yeah, they just breathe, they keep their shape, they stay cleaner, the rest of it, but they're not made of yak. Jack, the lumbering bovine that grunts rather than moos in the wilds of the Tibetan plateau, evidently puts out very, very, very soft hair woven into your $249Brown Yak shirt is the sort of thing, uh, you're supposed to brag about. Or here's a gorgeous gray $998 cashmere shirt. A thousand dollar shirt. It better be bulletproof. Anyway, if you like to brag about stuff, it's yak. Yes, Katie.

[Katie]

Well, I mean, do these shirts look any different from like a normal Shirt would. I'm. I'm trying to picture. Is this like a big fashion statement or is it just the material that we're talking about?

[Joe Getty]

Probably both.

[Jack Armstrong]

It looks like something you would get from L.L. bean to wear in New Hampshire between October and March.

[Katie]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

It just looks like a nice warm over shirt.

[Joe Getty]

My, my cashmere suit jacket that was insanely expensive. If I had paid full price, I bought it used. You can wad it up in a ball and use it for a pillow and then just unwad it and it looks exactly the same, which is pretty handy. I find.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is amazing.

[Joe Getty]

I find that to be a nice trait of the whole thing.

[Katie]

When Jack, when Jack shops for clothes, he sees this fiddle double his bedding first.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. If I'm on the Amtrak and I'm hammered out of my mind and make this a pillow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Every sport coat is also a pillow.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Well, I used to have to plan ahead like that and it would have been very handy.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I need to make a shocking confession for which I will be mocked and berated. And I can take it.

[Joe Getty]

And we need to nail down is the Barack Obama Jennifer Aniston rumor. I don't think we can nail down if it's true or not, but does it have much. Are many people talking about this? I've come across several places. Katie's nodding her head yes. It's a thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

You two are working that desk and you can have it.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you gotta admit that would be a big deal. That would be a big deal. The Obamas splitting up and him getting with Jennifer Aniston, gossip wise, that would.

[Jack Armstrong]

Be an all timer hit.

[Joe Getty]

Oh yeah, that would be huge. Trump would comment on it. Oh, that'd be good stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, he would comment on it a lot. Oh, and also there's a long leg.

[Joe Getty]

Matt. He is. He is.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what she practically right. He's irresistible. Plus, we're going to be talking to the fabulous Kevin Kiley, Republican congressman from California at the bottom of the hour.

[Joe Getty]

About Trump meeting with Gavin and whatnot. All on the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stay here, Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Things move so fast in the news world now. Trump coming to California and meeting with Gavin. Seems like it was two months ago, but it was Friday and it happened after we got off the air and I don't really know how it went down. So we're gonna talk to somebody who was there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, indeed, the fabulous Kevin Kiley. Plus I wanna talk to him about some of the immigration stuff and the executive orders and the rest of it. He is a rising star in conservative politics, and he deserves it. A lot of good stuff to get to this hour in the next couple hours. Hope you can stay around. We had a conversation last week that I was very uncomfortable with, and I felt very guilty about it because I concealed a truth during the conversation. Confession being good for the soul. I am here to confess it. But like all good confessions, they work best in a multiple choice format. And so I am going to give you multiple choices. But to up the ante. To up the ante, each of the choices will get successively more evil.

[Katie]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you have to choose which one I am actually guilty of.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Katie]

I'm so uncomfortable right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

A. I, Joe Getty, have a second wife across town with whom I have two children. She is an illegal alien, and I keep her in line by threatening her with deportation.

[Joe Getty]

Well, what's. What's. Okay. What's striking about this is you clearly didn't do that, but you're going up the line. They're going to get worse than that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Okay. Anybody want to go for A or you want to go on? You want to roll the dice? Anybody?

[Joe Getty]

Michael, clearly that's not true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. All right. B. I am now and have been for 30 years an active member of the American Communist Party and have been working to subvert the Constitution with every ounce of my energy up to and including acts of violence and sabotage.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. So I think. I think you've laid a really good premise here because you've given us two very bad choices. Obviously not true.

[Katie]

Whatever's coming.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or are they?

[Joe Getty]

What the hell did you do that ranks?

[Katie]

Am I going to want to associate.

[Joe Getty]

With you after this? Exactly.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know, comrade. Perhaps again from a conversation last week in which I concealed the truth or possibility? C. I had never seen Gladiator until this weekend. Wow. Whoa.

[Joe Getty]

You saw the movie Gladiator?

[Jack Armstrong]

My Secret shame.

[Joe Getty]

Gladiator 1.

[Jack Armstrong]

I nodded along with every conversation. Are you not entertained?

[Joe Getty]

Ha. Well, I assume Russell Crowe. I assume you went along with the fact because I watched it with my son Henry a couple of weeks back before we went to Gladiator 2. He loved it and it reminded me how much great it was. And I said it might be in my top three movies of all time.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I did not, at that moment reveal. You know, I've never seen that movie.

[Kevin Kiley]

Wow. God.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because I knew the derision that would rain down upon.

[Joe Getty]

Were you probably okay 20 years ago.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

You were in the middle of raising kids, so. No, of course you didn't see that movie, because I have A house full.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of babies, including a one year old.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I didn't see anything between, I don't know, whatever years, 2010 and like a year ago.

[Katie]

I am impressed, Joe, because you carried on a full blown conversation about that movie as if you. It was one of your favorites.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you know, I read a lot, so I, I pick up clues from the, you know, context and stuff like that. But, you know, Jack, you make a good point. I remember roughly when the movie came out. Hey, dude, you got to see this. It's great. It's an unbelievable movie. Great guy, Villa. It's like two and a half hours long. And my response is, ye, yeah. Two and a half hours of entertainment.

[Joe Getty]

Or if I'm gonna have a couple, two, three hours, I'm gonna spend it silently staring at a screen when you could hang out with your wife or do something. I mean, yeah, not gonna happen.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and as it turns out, it's an amazing act, you know, a piece of cinematic art. It's also an absolutely heartbreaking story of a father's loss. And so, no, I wasn't really in the mood for that. But it's, it's brilliant. It was fun. Now I got to see the second one. Although you told me there's a bunch of gender bending madness.

[Joe Getty]

Second one is good, but it's not, it's not the work of art that the first one is. And nobody could do what Russell Crowe did. I don't know what magic he had there, but it was something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Tommy, you like gladiator movies?

[Joe Getty]

God. Speaking of heart rending makes you miserable. We saw a preview Friday night at the Dylan movie I want to talk about later. Why would you want to go to this movie? It's supposed to make you scared and miserable. But talk about that later.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is, is it for people who haven't fully engaged in life and they need to experience those things vicariously.

[Joe Getty]

That's what I was actually wondering. We're going to talk with Kevin, Kylie, one of our favorite politicians, about all the big things that are going on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stay with us. Armstrong and Getty, as far as the first week is go, gone. I'm told that from Republicans not only on Trump's team, but also on Capitol Hill. Promises made, promises kept. They are very thrilled with how this first week went. From terminating federal diversity programs to deporting immigrants on military aircraft. President Trump aggressively begins his first week.

[Joe Getty]

Back in office with a blitz of executive action. Oh, my God. That scary music thing with Martha Rad is from terminating. Doing away with diversity in America. Yeah. Ending dei. Yeah. A lot of people are in favor of that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Military airplanes in a blitz. Okay. Yeah, we get you.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, practically everybody's in favor of booting out the illegal criminals. So why are you using your scary music?

[Jack Armstrong]

Indeed. Let's talk about that in other matters with Kevin Kiley, who serves California's third District in the House of Representatives. Kevin's bio points out that he is dedicated to using his position to promote fiscally sound policies to reduce our inflation, increase choice in education, responsibly manage our public lands to preserve our beautiful forests, and prevent catastrophic wildfires. In which we will get to that topic. Indeed. Kevin, how are you, sir?

[Kevin Kiley]

Doing well, thank you very much. Good to be with you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Excellent. And likewise, it's good to talk to you. So your take on the first week of the Trump administration and specifically the scary, scary deportations that Martha Raddat seems so concerned about?

[Kevin Kiley]

Well, I mean, you know, he is fulfilling his promises, and I don't think anyone should be at all surprised. It's not like he was ambiguous about the change that he thought the country needed. And, you know, when you look at the situation at the border, the absolute disaster of the last four years, the president was very clear that we need a clean break, we need a reset, we need to prioritize border security once again. And that's a big reason why he was elected. And so he, you know, has not wasted any time in fulfilling that promise and bringing some sanity back to US Immigration policy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Insanity is a great word for it, because it's as if we'd been in some sort of dream or a fog, because it's not like the immigration policy was. I don't know, the corporate tax rate ought to be changed by 2% because that would yield a better curve indicator of blah, blah, blah. No, we were permitting illegal aliens who'd committed crimes to stay here for reasons nobody can explain. It was crazy.

[Kevin Kiley]

That's right. I mean, the numbers are just so far beyond anything we had ever seen before in terms of the millions and millions of people that were allowed to just walk right in without any understanding on our part of who they even were. Folks who are on the terrorist watch list we know got in, and California, of course, is that it made things even worse by saying, come on, here you get free health care. We're a sanctuary state, so we'll do everything we possibly can to interfere with federal immigration enforcement. So, you know, the Trump administration has come in and I think with an understanding of how much damage there was to undo. And that's why I think they've been with this sense of urgency and have not been at all hesitant to, you know, restore some common sense to our policies.

[Joe Getty]

So you're a California congressman. California's had the worst disaster in its state's history. We were making a lot out of the drama on Friday before Trump got here, that Gavin Newsom had been reaching out to Trump, not hearing from Trump. Trump was gonna land. There was no scheduled meeting then. Gavin was gonna show up there and try to meet. How do you think that whole thing played out, and what's your take on all that?

[Kevin Kiley]

Well, I think that the President was incredibly gracious, you know, Gavin Newsom, since the moment that Trump was first elected. I mean, probably even before that, Newsom has, you know, basically spent, you know, the majority of his time, or a good amount of his time taunting President Trump, trying to, you know, build his own national profile by going after President Trump. It's been one stunt after another. And so, you know, the President has every reason to not have particularly warm feelings towards Gavin Newsom, not to mention the fact that Gavin Newsom has been absolutely destroying so many things in California, the largest state in the country, and that's caused a lot of problems for the federal government as well. So, you know, when you saw Newsom there kind of standing awkwardly on the tarmac waiting for the president, you know, you wouldn't have been surprised, maybe, if the president had been a little cold towards him, but he wasn't. He said, I want to work with you. This is important for us to work together to fix this, to get help to folks who need it. And so I thought he was very gracious. But the important thing is that we need to make sure that we enact the sort of policy changes for California that are gonna be necessary to make sure that these things don't keep happening again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Read my mind. I was just gonna say, you know us, we're more than willing to make an ideological point and try to pitch it to the good people, but we also just try to understand what's actually going on. And, you know, in that spirit, how could policy have yielded a different outcome in the disastrous LA fires? What went wrong? That. I mean, Mother Nature is going to do what Mother Nature does, but what did human beings get wrong?

[Kevin Kiley]

Well, what didn't they get wrong? I mean, it's probably the better question. When you look at the way California has managed its forests and managed its water supply, it is just the exact opposite of what both science and common sense say that we ought to do. And so, you Know, our forests are just staggeringly overgrown. Millions of acres with so much fuel there that's turned them into tinder boxes. And a big reason for that is not only that Gavin Newsom actually cut the fire prevention budget, but we have these just crazy laws that stop us from removing trees, from removing vegetation, from clearing out areas around power lines and everything else. And you know, they even had one project in the Tabanga Canyon where they're trying to update these 100 year old wooden power lines and with fire resistant material. And the California Coastal Commission came in and said, no, stop that. There's a rare plant around here, you're not allowed to do it. And so then when it comes to water, you know, we haven't built new water in this state in decades, really. State water storage, that is, since the state water project, as the President has talked about. We have these just absolutely mind boggling laws and regulations that require water to be diverted and sent to the ocean. I mean, we have more than enough water that comes to us by the grace of God, but we just waste it. And so those are the two sort of key policy areas that we saw play out in the LA fires when we saw obviously the conflagrations themselves and then the inability to respond to them with the immediacy that was required because of water not coming out of fire hydrants, reservoirs that were empty. So, you know, a lot of us have been talking about these things for a long time and in fact my district has suffered several truly catastrophic wildfires as well. But now just the sheer shock and scale of these fires has really captured the world's attention. Hopefully this can be a turning point where we start doing things in a more sensible way.

[Joe Getty]

We really enjoyed last week. I was trying to find the actual tweet, but I can't find it from Gavin Newsom where he talked about, we're, we're getting rid of regular the, the regulatory red tape and the bureaucratic mess so that you can. Hello. Why only Now California finishes 50th out of 50 every single year and all kinds of business friendliness. Why is it okay now? Why wouldn't have been okay before?

[Kevin Kiley]

That's such a great point. You know, why hasn't he made this a priority for actual prevention? It's great that, you know, we can, maybe we'll see what he' actually doing. But it'd be nice if he had thought ahead a little bit and said maybe we should do these things in order to prevent fires from actually happening. And you know, what's worse is that he actually had been going around in the first early years of his governorship saying, oh yeah, I'm doing all this forest prevention work, we're doing all this fire mitigation work. And then someone looked at it. It was actually Capitol Public Radio, the NPR affiliate. They did an investigation and found that he was completely making this up, that he was exaggerating the work they were doing by a factor of seven. They said it was a staggering 600%, that he exaggerated the work that was being done. And again, this isn't, shouldn't have come as a surprise that this is a major risk because we've even, we've had fires, catastrophic fires again and again and again in this state. And unfortunately it's cost us so much in terms of loss of life of property, in terms of the insurance crisis that has absolutely spun out of control.

[Joe Getty]

I hate to interrupt, but I found his tweet and I just know you'd like it so much. His actual tweet. Goodbye red tape. Goodbye bureaucratic nonsense. What, are you kidding me?

[Kevin Kiley]

Nonsense.

[Joe Getty]

Are you kidding me?

[Kevin Kiley]

This is his own bureaucracy, right?

[Joe Getty]

You've been in charge, Your party has been in charge of the state forever. Goodbye bureaucratic nonsense. Have the balls to say that.

[Kevin Kiley]

Unbelievable. Not to mention he's been governor for what, over six years now? And by the way, it's not goodbye. I don't know what he's actually doing. I've seen he's suspended a few laws, but these are only temporary suspens suspension. They're not going goodbye. If you wanted to go goodbye, then that would require him to actually be proactive, have legislation and work with the legislature.

[Jack Armstrong]

Humankind has never seen a politician run against their own record like Gavin Newsom would have to. Kamala Harris was a good warm up act.

[Kevin Kiley]

Yeah, because everyone now recognizes how terrible the record was. So he has no choice. And it's on every issue. By the way, as you mentioned, California is last in so many things. Let's look at homelessness, Newsom. I think we recently hit the 20 year anniversary of Newsom's 10 year plan to end homelessness in California. Every year he gets up there and tells us homelessness in California is such a disgrace. It's a problem. No one is more responsible for the homeless crisis we have in California than Newsom himself. So the way you put it is exactly right. It's like he has this habit of continually running against his own record because that's really the only option he has available.

[Jack Armstrong]

We need to talk more about that sometime down the road. We know you're pressed for time, but just real quickly, the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives fairly nar majority. What are the top priorities we ought to be looking for?

[Kevin Kiley]

Well, I mean, there's, there's a lot. We actually are meeting at the conference today and President Trump is joining us and we're sort of laying out what the next few months are going to look like. And so we have this opportunity with what's called the budget reconciliation process, where you can actually get a lot of big ticket items done at once. And so I'd say the big three right now are, number one is the border. We will obviously the president taking executive action, but we want to put the changes into statute as well. So a future Joe Biden or mayorkas or whoever couldn't come in and put our country through again what we just went through. Second thing is the economy. You know, getting common sense regulatory reform and promoting energy independence and other tools we can use to drive down costs and revitalize the economy. And then three is probably the tax cuts that we would need to extend from 2017 and do so in a way I'm working on to see that actually California get some much needed tax relief.

[Jack Armstrong]

Finally, Kevin Kiley represents California's third District. Kevin, always a pleasure. Keep fighting the good fight. We'll talk again soon.

[Kevin Kiley]

Will do. Thank you very much.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, there are a couple of things that may have gone by so quickly. People didn't catch them or didn't fully comprehend them. First of all, the utility company said, hey, these old antiquated wooden poles are going to snap in a high wind. And if they do, the power lines are going to ignite all the brush and it's going to burn all these people out of our homes, out of their homes. And the California Coastal Commission, which is as close to a monarchy as exists in the United States today, said, no, you cannot. For there is the besotted milkweed that grows in abundance there, your poles. And we will not have you stepping up on them. And so they could not replace the poles. That's insanity.

[Joe Getty]

Second is, it really is crazy though. The environmental wackos are wackos. It's the same thing with why the, the Santa Cruz Pierce got washed away. Because for years and years and years they've been, they've been knowing they got to shore up that really old historic landmark. But there's some sort of special clam or something that was on there. Barnacle. It's just nuts.

[Kevin Kiley]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And then the controlled burns. I've seen the Statistics. If the forestry experts came in and said, hey, this, this forest, the undergrowth is way too thick. This is a tinder box, it's going to go curblooey. We need to do a controlled burn to make sure it doesn't. If there no dispute, it takes you something like four years, three and a half, four years to get an approval for that. If the experts say it. If the environmental wackadoos come along and say, but the tufted titmouse, it'll take nine years in California to do what the forestry experts say must be goodbye.

[Joe Getty]

Red tape, goodbye bureaucratic nonsense.

[Jack Armstrong]

And finally.

[Joe Getty]

How do you have the nerve to say that?

[Jack Armstrong]

He's got balls like coconuts. Like you just said. Sorry for the frank talk, folks. We gotta do something about all these homeless. Wait, whoa, wait, wait. Just crazy. And then finally we need to do this. This must be our jihad. Make mayorkas. A term that is used for generations to describe a useless piece of garbage.

[Joe Getty]

There you go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is that bossier still giving you hell? Oh, yeah. My God, what a mayorkas he is.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, make it a slur.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gotta be. Come on, folks, join with us.

[Joe Getty]

I'm pretty unhappy that it looks like China's got a great AI thing going. Much better than we thought. It really has an effect on the stock market today. Maybe we'll talk about that more later. And a bunch of stuff. Stay here. I've got a busy day.

[Kevin Kiley]

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and so on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty, are they going to.

[Joe Getty]

Try the two person again? You know they will.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're three for three on fourth down in this half. Allen push from behind and I think he got it. The crowd here, the far side Judge says first down the way, he's stepping to the near side. Moving it back.

[Joe Getty]

They're both moving it back. They had it easily over.

[Jack Armstrong]

They brought it back quite a bit.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that was either the refs are favoring the Kansas City Chiefs, as a lot of the country thinks, or not. I don't know. I don't. I gave up on complaining about calls many, many years ago because doesn't get me anywhere either side. So there you go. Kansas City Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's one of the toughest things to do in the world of sports is spot the football properly when you got a huge pile of bodies.

[Joe Getty]

I never understood how they do it. I've never understood how they do it.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's their best guess.

[Joe Getty]

And then a lot of the other calls, the interference, you could call interference every damn time if you wanted to.

[Kevin Kiley]

Or.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. In this situation. I don't like that call because it's crucial. And so you let it go and just let him play, Jim, that sort of thing. I. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's got hold of both of his arms. What do you mean? He needs to let the other guy play.

[Joe Getty]

So this story that I'm going to try to tell very carefully so as not to damage our career or come off as an a hole. I guess so. I don't talk politics at home very much with my kids, believe it or not. I don't know if it's because I do it on the radio so much. I talk about how much I don't like government a lot. But I don't talk about cultural issues hardly at all for some reason. And maybe I should. I don't. Maybe I should more. I don't know. But I don't, I don't. I don't talk about cultural issues much at all. I do talk about wasteful spending and the really boring stuff that the kids hate hearing on a regular basis.

[Jack Armstrong]

I roll. I know it well.

[Joe Getty]

But we were in a, an environment, a for profit environment in where in which one of the employees that we were dealing with, I'm trying to be very vague here, was a trans man or trans woman. I never can tell which. Which is it what they were be what the person was before that it's what the person is?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, now theoretically.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, so it'd be a trans man.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't play that game at all.

[Joe Getty]

It would be a person who was at one point felt they were a woman or were declared a woman and now they feel they're a man, I guess is a woman with a behavior beard. It was a woman with a. Quite a beard. Clearly a woman, but a beard. And my kids were ooped out by it and didn't want to go there anymore.

[Jack Armstrong]

And natural reaction, it would seem.

[Joe Getty]

It's the only thing I can think of because I've never talked about that sort of stuff at all at our house. And they just have a natural. And I just wondered about that so that you haven't. And it would appear just natural human reaction. You're kind of off put by a woman with a beard. And I wondered, I don't know where that comes from, but what am I supposed, Am I supposed to convince them? No, no, no, we're gonna keep coming to this establishment because that's okay. And your weird feelings are somehow wrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Well, that's what the, you know, radical left has been pitching for a very long time. Yeah, I think it is worth noting that the radical left believes they have to indoctrinate children from a very, very young age to lose that negative reaction. That's why they do it, because they know they have to.

[Joe Getty]

I guess the question would be, is there something unique about my kids or is that a normal reaction? Normal, common. I don't know. Text line 415295 KFTC. If you missed a segment, get the podcast Best.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.