I Have To Apologize To Flaming Bags Of Dog Poop

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: I Have To Apologize To Flaming Bags Of Dog Poop
Date: November 12, 2025
Host(s): Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Producer: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty is a lively, passionate discussion focusing on widespread failures in the American education system, including declining math and writing proficiency among university students, particularly at the University of California San Diego. The hosts dive into issues of grade inflation, the fallout of pandemic-era policies, and the role of teachers unions—specifically targeting Randy Weingarten’s new book and leadership. The conversation is peppered with characteristic humor, side anecdotes, and ties to current news, including brief forays into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, campus trends, viral Starbucks merchandise, and U.S. military maneuvers near Venezuela.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Target's New Employee Policy Satire

[00:57 – 01:46]

• The episode opens with humorous commentary on Target's recent requirement for employees to engage with customers—highlighting both the awkwardness and potential overreach.
• Jack Armstrong: "I don't think an employee to ever be within four feet of me. That's pretty close. That's like arm's length."
• Sets the comedic tone and foreshadows deeper concerns about bureaucratic solutions to larger problems.

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2. Shocking Decline in Basic Math Skills Among College Students

[02:03 – 07:57; 24:02 – 26:13]

• Deep dive into a report showing many UC San Diego students in remedial math cannot answer grade-school-level questions.
  • 87 students couldn’t do first-grade math.
  • Only 75% could do third-grade math; 19% could solve eighth-grade problems.
• Extended incredulity over how students "make it in" or "out" of high school and college with such gaps.
• Repeat critique of grade inflation and the abandonment of standardized testing.
  • Joe Getty: "Universities in our country get 30 times more government cash than in the 50s (inflation adjusted)... For much less results."
• Causes examined:
  • Dismantling of standardized tests.
  • Social promotion and pandemic-related excuses.
  • Admission of underprepared students for equity reasons, per California’s LCFF program.
• Jack Armstrong: "The worst thing you can do is take a kid unprepared and throw them into the shark tank of an elite university... Or give them a degree having learned nothing."
• [24:02] They share actual test questions, e.g., “Sarah had nine pennies and nine dimes. How many coins did she have?”—which only 79% got right.
• [26:13] Real examples: Valedictorians overlooked, underprepared students admitted; Chinese nationals taking spots; widespread confusion about the admissions process.

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3. The Vicious Cycle of False Educational Attainment and Political Ramifications

[09:06 – 11:09; 27:18 – 28:01]

• Discusses how students with weak academic foundations—and who are pushed through by grade inflation—emerge into adulthood unprepared, blame capitalism or the system, and become susceptible to certain political movements (e.g., Zoran Mumdani).
• Joe Getty: "They think they got a college education just like their parents. Can't get a job? Must be capitalism."
• The notion of the system failing students and then scapegoating the economy/politics rather than addressing the root issues.

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4. Teacher's Unions and Randy Weingarten’s Book

[12:53 – 17:06]

• Jack lampoons Weingarten’s book title, Why Fascists Fear Teachers, calling it “a flaming bag of dog crap sold as a book.”
• Critiques book’s strawman arguments (e.g., school choice conspiracies, racism allegations) and Weingarten’s pandemic-era actions.
• Discusses misleading statistics and Weingarten’s attempts at image rehab after extended school closures.
  • Jack Armstrong: “If ever a flaming bag of dog crap was sold as a book, this is it.”

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5. Campus Madness, Grade Inflation, and “Snowflake” Culture

[03:02 – 03:21]

• Preview of future discussion on Harvard’s grading controversy: “Everybody gets As all the time. We gotta stop that.”
• Commentary on how grade inflation undermines standards and expectations.

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6. Solutions, Social Justice, and the American Dream

[28:01 – 31:31]

• Quote: “Let me offer you my definition of social justice. I keep what I earn, and you keep what you learn. Do you disagree? Then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you and why.” — cited from Walter Williams (quoted by Thomas Sowell) [28:12]
• Advocacy for transparency about real American success stories; dispelling myths about the “rigged” nature of the U.S. economy.
• Hard work, effort, and initiative—more than privilege or inheritance—are core to most people’s success stories.

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7. Miscellaneous & Notable Rift Segments

- Epstein Scandal Resurgence

[21:09 – 24:02; 42:13 – 42:26]

• Commentary on Michael Wolf’s new claims about Jeffrey Epstein and Trump, casting doubt on the credibility and timing of these revelations.
• Weariness expressed about the relentless return of the Epstein story: “If you’re listening and thinking, wow, that’s weird, I accidentally downloaded something from four months ago... No you didn’t.”

- Starbucks Bear Cup Fad

[19:32 – 21:06]

• Lighthearted segment about the viral Starbucks “bear cup”, eBay resale mania, and the hosts’ nostalgia for honey bear dispensers.
• Quote: “It’s glass! Do you drink coffee out of it? Unless you put a little sweater on him, like a koozie.”

- U.S. Military in Venezuela

[37:59 – 42:13]

• Analysis of the USS Gerald Ford’s strike group near Venezuela, Venezuela’s mobilization of 200,000 troops, and speculation on U.S. intentions.
• Jack Armstrong: “With a regime like Maduro’s, part of his concern is real. But whipping up nationalism is the greatest gift to a dictator.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Modern Admissions:
  “How the hell did you get into the university?” — Joe Getty [04:30]

• On the Standard of a University Education:
  “Churning out college graduates that were similar-ish to high school graduates in the 50s. Probably not even that.” — Joe Getty [02:55]

• On Failed Reforms & Unions:
  “So you graduate—how’d you get out of high school if you can’t do first grade math?” — Jack Armstrong [11:33]

  “The left in the teachers unions would have us fail these kids from age 5 through 18, completely fail them... and then make it all up at age 18.” — Jack Armstrong [11:40]

  “If ever a flaming bag of dog crap was sold as a book, this is it.” — Jack Armstrong [12:53; 17:21]

• On Blame and Capitalism:
  “They think they got a college education just like their parents ... and now I can’t get a job. It must be the system.” — Joe Getty [10:10]

• On “Social Justice”:
  “Let me offer you my definition of social justice. I keep what I earn, and you keep what you learn. Do you disagree? Then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you and why.” — Quoting Walter Williams [28:12]

• On the American Dream:
  “It would blow up to a large extent, the ridiculous idea that the fix is in and only the privileged few white people make money.” — Jack Armstrong [29:54]

• On Effort:
  “There’s nothing that takes more effort than effortlessness... If something looks effortless, there was a lot of effort behind it.” — Jack Armstrong [31:31]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:57–01:46 | Target's smile policy parody | | 02:03–07:57 | UCSD’s remedial math crisis & education funding rant | | 09:06–11:09 | The two catastrophes of admitting/advancing unprepared students | | 12:53–17:06 | Randy Weingarten's book & teachers union critiques | | 19:32–21:06 | Starbucks bear cup viral story & honey bear anecdote | | 21:09–24:02 | Jeffrey Epstein, Michael Wolf, and Trump allegations | | 24:02–26:13 | Actual basic math questions UCSD students couldn't answer | | 28:01–31:31 | Social justice definition, success stories, hard work | | 37:59–42:13 | U.S. military deployment near Venezuela analysis |

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Tone & Language

The episode blends pointed criticism and satirical flair, with Armstrong & Getty’s classic mix of incredulity, sarcasm, and moral outrage. The hosts often reference their own families, personal experiences, and stay grounded in anecdotal evidence while tying in national narratives.

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For Listeners

If you missed the episode, this summary delivers the hosts’ urgent concerns about the state of education, their deep skepticism toward certain political and union figures, and their belief in individual responsibility and hard work—delivered with both righteous anger and trademark humor. Expect a heated, fast-paced ride skewering the status quo, seeded with both serious policy analysis and good-natured parental nostalgia.

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Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio.

[Joe Getty]

Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Guest or Contributor]

Well, some business news. Target has a new 104 policy which requires employees within 10ft of customers to smile and wave and employees within four feet to start a conversation. Customers like what happens within one foot. Right now, every Target employee's goal is to stay at least 11ft away from customers.

[Joe Getty]

Smile. Nothing wrong with that. I fair number of Target employees, at least at my local Target, who I don't really want to have to answer any questions and are just trying to finish stocking the shelf and why don't you leave me alone? That said, somebody I think maybe have picked up on that and decided, hey, if there's a customer near you, you need to smile. I don't want, I don't think an employee to ever be within four feet of me.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's pretty close. That's like arm's length. How am I that close to you? Yeah, I'm squeezing past them for some reason in that scenario.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And if you get within two feet, I want you to laugh uproariously. All right, now get to work.

[Joe Getty]

So we did this story yesterday. There have been some bitter arguments on the Internet as to the. Not the authenticity of these numbers, but the way they're portrayed. I'm gonna give the new version of this, but it's still really bad. So you see, San Diego had to add a second remedial math class because they've got so many people coming in who can't do math. Before we get to the stats, how about this one? Universities in our country get 30 times more government cash than they did in the 50s. That's inflation adjusted. 30 times as much money going to universities from taxpayers than in the 50s. And we all know for a fact that the results are much less. We're probably churning out college graduates that were similar ish to high school graduates in the 50s. Probably not even that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Yeah. Oh, by the way, later on Campus Madness update, including the hilarious controversy at Harvard over there. The university saying yeah, we got to start having grades. Everybody gets A's all the time. We got to stop that. And the little snowflakes are going crazy over it. Anyway, that's for another time.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, great. Inflation is one of the reasons for what they think happened here. The report shows that nearly one in five students, UC San Diego, failed to meet entry level writing requirements. One in five. The deterioration goes across many, across, goes across many different, you know, reading, math, science, all that sort of stuff. But the report focuses on the decline in math skills. Skills in particular. They recently tested a group of their students. Now, it's originally portrayed, and I'm not exactly sure which is true, it was originally portrayed as this was all students entering UC San Diego. The correction on X Twitter is that it only applies to the kids that are in these remedial math classes. Okay, that would be better. But even if it's true, it's stunning. How would you have remedial math classes at a major university where you get these results? 87 of them can do grade one math.

[Jack Armstrong]

82, 113 of the people in your.

[Joe Getty]

Remedial math class that can't do first grade math. How the hell did you get into the university?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and, and we're not talking about, you know, Jones County Community College. This is the University of California at San Diego, an alleged elite university. And I remember back in my applying to university days, the idea that you can't do math up to the standards of a six year old, you would not have gotten in on any program.

[Joe Getty]

Well, how'd you get out of high school?

[Jack Armstrong]

How'd you get out of first grade?

[Joe Getty]

Well, well. So again, I'm not sure which is true, whether this was all the students or just the remedial math classes. But even best case scenario, it's horrifying. So 82% of them could do second grade math. Only three quarters could do third grade math. What are you in third grade?

[Jack Armstrong]

Eight years old? Eight or nine. Yeah. What are you doing in third grade? Multiplication tables. A quarter of you, I don't think.

[Joe Getty]

You'Re into multiplication tables yet. But anyway, even if you are, you're at a, you're at a university of college campus.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And a quarter of you can't do that. So a third can't do fourth grade math. You can do about 50% that can do fifth grade math. About 50% can't do fifth grade math. That would be like multiplication and long division stuff. I mean, I've just, I've got a fifth grader.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah. So I Mean, it ain't hard stuff. I mean, it's pretty damned remedial. And half the kids all accepted into.

[Jack Armstrong]

The university.

[Joe Getty]

Having graduated high school, I assume can't do math at that level. You get to 8th grade math, only 19% of people could do 8th grade.

[Jack Armstrong]

Math, but they were admitted to a major, allegedly elite university. Why is it a DEI thing? Is it, I mean, the, the like the social grievance studies programs, you don't need any preparation. You're there to sit and be indoctrinated so you don't need to leave to bring any skill to the table or any, you know, skill set. I mean, the why is, is almost as interesting a question as the how the F, Although I think we know how the heck this happened. More on that in a moment.

[Joe Getty]

On all education stuff, the educators have the out of blaming the pandemic and there is a dip in the pandemic crowd. But as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, when the nation's report card came out, the trend lines were down for decades. It accelerated a little during the pandemic and now it continues to go down. So we're headed that direction anyway. That's a, that's a bad way out of this conversation to claim it was the pandemic. Another reason, according to this researcher, is the elimination of standardized test requirements which helped schools claim everybody's up to grade level and they can pass everybody and get the government funding they want. And with high school grade inflation, where the percentage of people that get A's and B's is skyrocketed over the years, not that the abilities have skyrocketed, just the number of A's and B's that they hand out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. And the whole social promotion thing where you get moved on to the next grade no matter if you learned anything or not. And then at the point that, I mean, because math in particular you build, your next skill is built on the, the foundation of your previously learned skills mostly. And so yeah, if you got out of third grade not having mastered or come close to third grade math, you are finished as a person learning math. In most cases.

[Joe Getty]

This is a California thing, but not surprising, a major cause, according to this person, Steve McGuire, major cause at UCSD in particular, they point to a significant increase in students admitted from lcff. That's local control funding formula schools, which are California public schools in which 75% of the school's total enrollment is composed of students who are identified as either eligible for free or reduced price meals or English lunars or Foster youth. So these are schools with either troubled kids or poor kids or whatever. And you have to admit a whole bunch of them because, you know, equity and inequity and all these different sorts.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of things, thereby setting them up to fail miserably in college because they are at a place they can't cut it. Two choices. And Roland Fryer, the great Harvard economist, black man, Coleman Hughes, another great black thinker, Thomas Sowell, has pointed this out. All sorts of people have. The worst thing you can do is take a kid unprepared and throw them into the shark tank of an elite university because they can't handle it. I think there's a worse thing you can do.

[Joe Getty]

I think there's a worse thing you can do. You could pass them through the university, give them a degree and, and then send them out in the world with them, thinking, I'll be able to support.

[Jack Armstrong]

Myself, I'll be able to pay off these enormous debts because I have an important and valuable university degree, having been defrauded by the university and that's what I was going to get to. So you have two choices. Number one, throw them in the shark tank as described moments ago, or two, so inflate grades that the kids get through the university having been totally unprepared, doing very little work and learning almost nothing. My God, we need to tear this down to the studs.

[Joe Getty]

And this gets to what you're talking about yesterday. Then you get these college graduates who don't know that they got a bad education. How would you know that? They think they got a college education just like their, their parents and grandparents did. And look at the results that they got. And now I can't get a job. It must be capitalism. It must be the system. And that's why people voted for Mamdani.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, as was pointed out in that brilliant essay we, we had a couple of days ago. Yeah. They get out into the free market. They were told that they had SK worth a certain amount, at least enough to pay off their college debt. And when it turns out that no, they actually have a worthless degree, they're not told that. They're told capitalism is the problem, the system is the problem. It's exploitive. And in a very closely related story, I mean, it's the same story. After the break, I want to bring you news of American Federation of Teachers Presidents, Randy Weingarten's new book.

[Joe Getty]

I do want to talk about that, but I was just, it just popped in my head what you're always saying. We need to go Way back earlier in the development of kids to deal with these situations. Dealing with it at the point you're at the university. What?

[Jack Armstrong]

How did you get out of fifth grade?

[Joe Getty]

Not being able to do first grade math.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Well, how'd you get out of first grade without being able to do first grade math? Back when I was a kid. I mean that. It's nuts.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you graduate. How'd you get out of high school?

[Joe Getty]

You can't do first grade math.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the left in the teachers unions would have us fail these kids from age 5 through 18, completely fail them while they feather their own nest and then make it all up at age 18 as they're admitted into an elite university. That is perverse. It's idiotic.

[Joe Getty]

I can't believe I have to say this, but we have Epstein more Epstein stuff to talk about. Lord, this is going to be the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Story like a punch.

[Joe Getty]

It's going to be the story for a couple of days. So lots on the way. Stay here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

The actual math test is out from UC San Diego. Some of the questions and what percentage of people got them right or wrong. We might have to get into that later because it's pretty interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

So perhaps you would like to leave a flaming bag of dog excrement on your neighbor's front porch. But you lack such an item. You could go with Randy Weingarten's new book instead. Why Fascists Fear Teachers, Public Education and the Future of Democracy. If there was ever a flaming bag of dog crap sold as a book, this is it. Why Fascists Fear Teachers. Who are these fascists? We'll get to that in a moment. So obviously the title is designed to be eye catching and attract readers. But by now, as this review puts it, the word fascist just is thrown around routinely. The book's title, Public Education the Future Democracy, is more significant, deceptive. The book's purported intention is to argue for public schools crucial role in our democratic society. But it offers very little in the way of education policy or ideas that would truly benefit teachers or God. Forbid students. The real aim is.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, Randy Weingarten played the major role in keeping the schools closed during the pandemic, for instance.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I'm sorry, the American Federation of Teachers president for years and years and years. The real aim is made clear. It devotes most of its pages to attacking her political opponents, especially, especially supporters of school choice and defending the interests of the American Federation of Teachers, her big rich union. She starts out claiming 90% of American kids attend public schools. Not so fast. It was a little over 81% of four years ago at the beginning of COVID So. And that's before the expansion of universal school choice in states like Texas and New Hampshire. Half of American children now have access to school choice, so the number is far, far lower than the 90% she claims. So it's appropriate the book would start off with Lies. As it continues in that vein. Weingarten characterizes the school choice movement as a conspiracy organized by Christopher Ruffo, Moms for Liberty and other hard right wing activists, quote, a plot to destroy education.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I'd be all for that based.

[Jack Armstrong]

On where it is right now, you know, honestly. Yeah, I see your point. The real drivers of the choice movement, they point out, however, are parents like Virginia Alden Ford, a black low income mother in Washington, D.C. who grew frustrated watching her son struggle in public school and help create the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, the nation's first federally funded voucher initiative. But yeah, she's a conspiracy nut. Sure, Randy. Let's see. Weingarten also insists that vouchers are devised by whites to undermine desegregation. Oh, it's racism. Probably systemic racism. This isn't just wrong, it gets the history completely backward. In fact, some teachers unions fought against vouchers because they facilitated integration. Weingarten claims she is, quote, willing to work with anyone who wants to actually address the problems facing our public schools. But she refuses to engage with school choice advocates who propose concrete and constructive options for students underserved by traditional school districts. Then she denigrates religious schools whose very purpose is indoctrination. That's a quote. This animus causes her to overlook the many advantages of faith based education, such as the Catholic school effect, which has been demonstrated to benefit disadvantaged minority students in particular, has to do with high expectations and discipline and that sort of thing. The biggest deception in Weingarten's book is her portrayal of her role. Jack, you love this. During the pandemic, I quote, I led the AFT in developing a concrete plan to reopen schools as Quickly and safely as possible. When, of course, Weingarten and her union colleagues kept children, American children out of schools until the government approved her request for a $750 billion federal age package. Federal aid package. To feather their nest and hire more administrators and more union members. Unbelievable. The book is primarily an attempt to rehabilitate Weingarten's image after she backed the longest school closures in American history, which yielded the largest drop in student performance ever recorded.

[Joe Getty]

Not to mention the emotional turmoil.

[Jack Armstrong]

And she mentions the aforementioned fascists like ourselves in her title. Replace facts and critical thinking with propaganda that romanticizes the nation's past.

[Joe Getty]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely obscene. You know, I gotta. I gotta apologize to flaming bags of dog crap. Comparing them to this book. It's insulting.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that's really maddening. I mean, we've talked about this a lot and I. I hate her so much.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you think she actually believes she's.

[Joe Getty]

Doing the right thing for kids, or did she abandon that a long time ago?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. She could. There's no way.

[Joe Getty]

There's no way she possibly thought keeping the schools closed was the best thing for the kids. Not a chance she actually believed that.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. Unless her own evil and her need to, you know, explain it has. Has perverted her own mind to the point that she can't recognize truth. She's like O.J. simpson who thought he didn't kill his wife.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. What a horrifying human being.

[Traffic/Weather Reporter]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

We'll get to some of those math problems that University of San Diego students couldn't do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Among other things. Coming up, Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Guest or Contributor]

You guys, it's Veterans Day and tonight's audience is made up entirely of veterans, active military, and their families and friends. Welcome to the show. I thank you for all the sacrifices you have made fighting overseas while the rest of us are at home fighting over bear shaped cups at Starbucks. Thank you very much. I've never been to a war zone. However, I have been to a Waffle House at 2am and that's pretty real. I've never been stuck in a foxhole. However, one time, my Uber driver picked me up in a Mini Cooper.

[Commercial Voice]

That was.

[Guest or Contributor]

I'm in the front and back seat.

[Joe Getty]

So what's the deal on the little bear thing at Starbucks, Katie? You had that story for it keeps popping up in my news feed.

[Co-Host or Contributor]

Well, you know those old honey dispensers that are in the shape of a bear?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Co-Host or Contributor]

It's a cup that looks just like that, and it's got a little green hat, and it's glass, and it's from Starbucks. And there's all of this drama of people saying the employees are taking them for themselves. And I looked online over the weekend, and one was on ebay for, like, $450.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Wow. Hey, when little Jack, Joe, Mike, Michael is born. Well, and maybe a few years down the line, I got to come and teach Drew my favorite. One of my favorite dad bits that I used to do at the table, the breakfast table with my kids. We'd have the honey bear, and, you know, he'd be like, you know, a third empty. And I would do him as a little character. I would move him around and look at the kids, and I'd say, what are you looking at? When you look at me like that makes me so mad. I get madder and madder. And I would squeeze it, and the honey would rise up like he's turning red. Anyway, I was a crit looking at me. Then I turned looking at my other kid, and they'd squeal, and I'd make the honey bear mad at them, too. I was a good time.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, I love that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the honey bear.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Co-Host or Contributor]

My favorite was a post online of a woman who had just gotten one, and it showed the ring camera of her walking out of her house and her dropping it.

[Joe Getty]

It's glass.

[Co-Host or Contributor]

It's glass.

[Joe Getty]

And do you drink coffee out of it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Because.

[Co-Host or Contributor]

Yeah, it looks like it's for iced drinks, probably.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Because you don't want to drink coffee out of that. The hot coffee would burn your hand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Co-Host or Contributor]

Unless you put a little sweater on him, like a koozie.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, wouldn't that be cute?

[Jack Armstrong]

A little sweater on your bear and a sweater. They have fur. Perverse.

[Joe Getty]

So I think I've nailed down the Epstein thing for today. The Epstein story today is there are these supposed letters that Jeffrey Epstein wrote to Michael Wolf. And I don't know if you remember this name or not. We've had him on before. He's written a whole bunch of Political books over the years. And they're usually, they, they, they always sound like crap to me. I've never read one. They're always full of, they're not, they're though that genre of not taking super seriously political books that come out. But one side really loves them because it usually is very partisan. Yeah. And anyway, so he's claiming Jeffrey Epstein wrote him these, these letters and we're all just learning this now. All right, maybe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, he, Michael Wolf, the political author. Remember I looked up some of the titles. Something fury. There was the Fire and Fury inside the Trump White House. That was a huge thing for the lefty media to grasp on and have this guy on with his anonymous source stories of really crazy stuff that happened. And I just, I, I, I've, I've taken him as a crap author before this even happened. So he's claiming he got these letters from Jeffrey Epstein months before Epstein killed himself. If he got the letters after him, that'd be weird. In which he had written to Wolf saying that Trump had told Epstein to stop recruiting young girls from the spa at Mar a Lago to re to groom and abuse.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Trump talked about that a little bit.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, yes, yes. That has been reported to other places.

[Jack Armstrong]

But although the groom and abuse part I think Trump didn't say, he just didn't appreciate his employees being poached. Right.

[Joe Getty]

So this guy Wolf takes it a step further in the letters that he claims he has that Trump actually knew what was going on over there and did nothing about it. So that's the Epstein story of the day. And as I've mentioned several times, MSNBC is talking about it a lot and Congress back concession starting tomorrow that it's all about the Epstein thing now the Republicans can't hide it any longer. They found a way to shut down Congress for 40 days, but now the Epstein stuff's going to come out. I thought that story was as dead as Jeffrey Epstein, but apparently so.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you are listening to the podcast later today and you're thinking, wow, that's weird, I accidentally downloaded something from four months ago. No, you didn't. It's just, it's, it's one more probably last ditch effort to squeeze something out of the Epstein story.

[Joe Getty]

So this is allegedly, and I think it's true, it's coming from good sources. But I'll say allegedly because I don't know that it's true. This is some of the math questions that they had in the remedial math class at UC San Diego that kids couldn't answer. For instance, only 75% of the people in the remedial math class at UC San Diego, you got accepted into a major university. You graduated high school. Obviously. Seven plus two equals what? Plus six.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

75% got it right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, that is. That's shocking. I mean, that is the most basic basic math. Mathematics.

[Joe Getty]

Sorry, this is seen as a grade two question. Second grade question. 91% got it right. But that means 9% didn't get it right. What's 66 plus 44? I mean, it's just like very basic math. Anyway, we'll go to some. That they. They found a little harder. Sarah had nine pennies and nine dimes. How many coins did she have?

[Guest or Contributor]

Well.

[Joe Getty]

79% people got right.

[Jack Armstrong]

One out of five admitted to an allegedly elite university in California. And I've told the story before. My kid had amazing grades and is very, very bright. And I think she was told to pound sand by the University of California system. The valedictorian of her class, young female, daughter of immigrants, person of color, unbelievable extracurriculars. Not admitted to the UC school of her choice. Didn't have room for her. But they have room for people who couldn't do math.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

What.

[Joe Getty]

What is going on there? I've got. I've got an acquaintance whose kids went to some of the UC classes when UC schools. How did they get in? I don't think they make a lot of money. Is that. Is that the whole thing? You gotta plead.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's why there's so many Chinese nationals. I don't know. Well, this the valedictorian girl I'm talking about, her family was a very modest means. I. I'm flabbergasted by the whole thing. I emerged from that process just completely confused about how the whole thing worked.

[Joe Getty]

Huh.

[Jack Armstrong]

I should have claimed my name was Xi Jinpong and. And my daughter Delaney was, you know, whatever. Come make us up some fake Chinese name. Of course I would have been charged, you know, the rack rate.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know what to do with this information.

[Jack Armstrong]

Tear the government schools, including the universities, down to the studs and start over again. I don't know how that would happen. I don't expect it to.

[Joe Getty]

But look, factor that. But factor this stuff in whenever you're thinking about, first of all, in inequality. You're going to have a lot of inequality if you have people going to really expensive universities and coming out not knowing anything, or people graduating from high school that shouldn't be graduating from high school because they're not capable of Going out in the world, making a living. They didn't get an education. Not their fault. Not their fault at all. In fact, you're screwing them. I mean, it's just absolutely horrific what we're doing to children.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. They are truly the victims. And then when they get out into the free market and fail miserably, what do they blame? The people who indoctrinated them since they were tiny little kids? No, they blame the free market. They blame. If you want to call it capitalism. Capitalism. And they vote for Zoran Mumdani.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Which leads me to this Thomas Sowell quote, which was floating around. I think you retweeted it. Well, it's on Thomas. So well. Quotes. It's actually a quote from Walter A. Williams.

[Jack Armstrong]

Who?

[Joe Getty]

I don't know this guy, but I like this quote.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, Walter Williams. Great columnist for many, many years. Great conservative black thinker.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Let me offer you my definition of social justice. I keep what I earn, and you keep what you learn. Do you disagree? Well, then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you and why that is so good. Why can't we have that conversation on a regular basis? Why that? Why isn't that like 90% of all presidential debates are all political debates, no matter what you're running for. How about this? I keep what I make. You keep what you make. Now, if you're saying you should get some of what I make, explain to.

[Jack Armstrong]

Me why, how much and why. Right.

[Joe Getty]

How much.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know what I would love to see break the bubble of indoctrination in the government schools, including universities, is, you know, just randomly select, I don't know, like, 10 people who have a net worth of a million dollars or whatever. You pick the figure. A million dollars, two million dollars, whatever. People generally in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and have them on some sort of compulsory TV show the little kids have to watch and the young adults explain how they made their money. And I think it would blow up to a large extent, the ridiculous idea that the United States, the fix is in, and only the privileged few white people make money or become successful and the American dream is dead and there's no reason to keep trying, which is Soviet current, Chinese, Russian propaganda, and always has been, but now it's repeated in our nation's schools. It makes me insane, because you think.

[Joe Getty]

Most of the stories would be something like, you know, I got out of college and I went to work for a firm, and I was working 60 hours a week, and I worked myself up to assistant to the general manager and Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I became a plumber and. And I really liked dealing with the customers and I was pretty good at it. And my boss was going to retire or I decided to open my own company and hired some of the plumbers I knew, blah, blah, blah. Now I've got guys under me and yeah, I make a really good living. It's been great. But just all those stories, I mean, you're going to get occasionally, oh, I inherited it.

[Joe Getty]

That's fine.

[Jack Armstrong]

Most people are out there. I don't begrudge them that. But there's so many great success stories that these kids never get exposed to.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm a salesman. I really like meeting people. I'm kind of outgoing and first I sold whatever aluminum siding, then I got into software and now I do cloud computing and I visit big corporations and blah, blah, blah. And yeah, the commissions are really good, but it's just because I like to meet people.

[Joe Getty]

It's like the version of. I've talked about this before, something I learned from YouTube. Musicians, really good musicians, practice like crazy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Were they born with more talent than me?

[Jack Armstrong]

Probably.

[Joe Getty]

Do they practice more than every day than I've ever practiced one day?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, just like insane work that they put into it that I've learned from YouTube. And I'm, you know, that's. That's the lesson you'd get from successful people. Oh, they worked really, really, really. They had a plan and then they worked really, really, really hard.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jot this one down. If you're a tattoo artist, maybe tattoo it on your own arm right now. I'll give you a second to get your ink ready. There's nothing that takes more effort than effortlessness. I would drop my mic, but it's attached to this rack thing here, so I can't.

[Joe Getty]

Something looks effortless. There was a lot of effort behind.

[Jack Armstrong]

It, generally for years and years.

[Joe Getty]

Interesting. Yeah. Any thoughts on any of that? Text line 415295 KFTC.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

I've been touting prunes now for quite a while. Jack Armstrong, Armstrong and Getty for California Prunes I was having a bit of a problem. My doctor recommended prunes. It worked, by the way, and it's turned into one of my favorite snacks of all time. So we're happy to talk about California Prunes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure, Delicious California prunes help with your digestion and gut health, but also your bone health, your heart health, healthy snacking for weight management, even improve your cognition. California Prunes.

[Joe Getty]

Go to California prunes.org if you want more information or how to buy some of their fantastic products. They're so good.

[Jack Armstrong]

California prunes.org hey there. Pat Walsh, Rose Numismatics and Coin Shop. You know gold and silver prices are on the rise so I always tell you about Roseville Numismatics and Coin Shop. They've been a partner on my show for several years. They tell me many people have been coming in recently to sell gold and silver items, making a nice profit on items they purchased in the past. So if you have gold, silver, platinum jewelry or rare coins, find out what.

[Joe Getty]

They are worth now.

[Traffic/Weather Reporter]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, the team at Roseville Numismatics is professional, knowledgeable. 898 Douglas Boulevard in Roseville. Just knock on the door, tell them Patrick sent you.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Cloudy skies this morning.

[Traffic/Weather Reporter]

Partly cloudy into the midday through the afternoon.

[Joe Getty]

More clouds tonight Wednesday, highs in the mid to upper 60s. Currently in Sacramento, 54 degrees in the KFBK Weather Center. For news at the top and bottom.

[Traffic/Weather Reporter]

Of every hour, tuned to KFBK News Radio.

[Joe Getty]

The Sean Hannity show coming up at noon.

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

Enter it now.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Commercial Announcer]

The Armstrong and Getty show.

[Joe Getty]

The USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike.

[Jack Armstrong]

Group has moved into the Latin American region.

[Joe Getty]

President Trump ordered the deployment last month.

[Jack Armstrong]

Adding to the eight warships, nuclear submarine and F35 aircraft already in the Caribbean.

[Joe Getty]

The Pentagon says the move is to disrupt narcotics trafficking and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. The US military has carried out at least 19 strikes, like what you're looking at here, against suspected drug vessels killing at least 76 people. Yeah. It was forecast a couple of weeks ago that the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier was headed there, and it was described at the time as the world's biggest aircraft carrier. I assume that's still true. It is now there, and Venezuela is not going to take it lying down as they have mobilized 200,000 troops, according to their leader, Nicolas Maduro, and their Secretary of defense person. They got all kinds of stuff they're doing. The objective is to place the entire country's military arsenal in full operational readiness, said their Sec Def, or the equivalent there. The preparations include massive deployment of ground, aerial, naval, riverine and missile forces with the participation of all security forces and militia. 200,000 troops. So what sort of, what sort of an action? Well, first of all, we've got the sort of armada there, like we're invading the Philippines in 1944, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. What do you think? They got a lot of, like, not very well trained, not very well equipped lunkheads in their military, but their elite troops, many of whom have trained in Cuba, I'm told, with various other communist regimes, are pretty good.

[Joe Getty]

So.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I. I don't know. It's with a regime like Maduro's, part of his probably legitimate concern about what Trump has in mind. But the rest of it is you're whipping up nationalism, and the threat from outside is the greatest thing that can happen to a dictator.

[Joe Getty]

But what do you think Trump does have in mind?

[Jack Armstrong]

I do not know. Trying to. My best guess is sending a message through a variety of channels, including the obvious that we're discussing, that if you wanted to get rid of Maduro, we will help you keep order. Maybe because we're not invading Venezuela.

[Joe Getty]

You. You think that's off the table?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah, I certainly hope it is.

[Joe Getty]

Marines landing on the beach there. And.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then what? Oh, decapitate the Maduro regime and then occupy the country for the next 20 years.

[Joe Getty]

What's the aircraft carrier doing there?

[Jack Armstrong]

Flexing muscles? I don't know. Okay. This is one of my very, very small jihads. It's way back in the three hundreds. But it was funny Brett Baer mentioning all the ships and boats and everything. And a nuclear submarine. All of our submarines are nuclear. They are powered by nuclear power. That doesn't mean they're armed with nuclear weapons.

[Joe Getty]

Well, the problem is. Yeah. When people say aircraft carriers are nuclear craft.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

What's that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Aircraft carriers are nuclear craft. Probably.

[Joe Getty]

The problem is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Funny.

[Joe Getty]

The problem is when people say it, they're meaning to intend that it has something to do with nuclear weapons.

[Commercial Voice]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

And it does. So we really should fix that because it's not a minor quibble.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Of whether or not we're talking about putting nukes on the table.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Whatever question we're discussing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nobody talks about the power plant of destroyers and aircraft carriers and anything else. But, yeah, it's always nuclear submarine. Okay.

[Joe Getty]

Carriers. Aircraft carriers are strategic assets. And the United States uses its fleet of 11. We have 11, the most in the world, where the. We're the only country that had them at all not that long ago. But it's a big deal to have one of our major aircraft carriers down there by Venezuela doing whatever it's doing. Doing what? I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's ready in case of something.

[Joe Getty]

I don't want to talk about Epstein. I don't know. Talk about Epstein.

[Jack Armstrong]

I won't.

[Joe Getty]

The Democrats want to talk about Epstein.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nope.

[Commercial Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty. This is an iHeart podcast.