I Have Tusks

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand – Episode: "I Have Tusks"

Release Date: March 21, 2025
Host/Authors: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the "I Have Tusks" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty navigate through a week’s worth of eclectic topics, blending humor with sharp commentary. From peculiar viral clips to pressing societal issues, the duo delivers their signature blend of wit and insight. This summary captures the episode's key discussions, notable quotes, and the dynamic interaction between Armstrong and Getty.

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Week in Review: Cow Clips of the Week [00:31 - 02:04]

The episode kicks off with Armstrong and Getty reviewing their traditional "Cow Clips of the Week." This segment showcases quirky viral moments and news snippets, setting a humorous tone.

• SpaceX Endeavors:
  Jack Armstrong [00:42]: “SpaceX crew 10 climbing through the skies above a Falcon 9 rocket.”
  Joe Getty [01:46]: “Send me now. Yes.”

• Tesla Dealership Attacks:
  Jack Armstrong [02:04]: “Tesla's spray painted in Massachusetts. We have to make them really afraid.”
  Joe Getty [02:07]: “Shots fired at this Tesla dealership in Oregon.”

The hosts highlight the increasing tensions surrounding high-profile companies and their CEOs, particularly Elon Musk.

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Main Discussion: "I Have Tusks" Clip Analysis [04:28 - 09:39]

The centerpiece of the episode revolves around a viral clip featuring an individual with extensive facial piercings, humorously referred to as having "tusks."

• Description of the Clip:
  Katie [04:28]: “It's a dude dressed as a woman, and she's got one of those nose rings and that looks like two hooks coming out of his nostrils.”

• Hosts' Reactions:
  Jack Armstrong [07:12]: “Completely aside from the trans issue, that person had tusks... They have tusks.”
  Joe Getty [08:10]: “Look at his schnoz. He's got like various studs stuck in various locations around his nose.”

The discussion delves into societal perceptions of body modification and self-expression. Armstrong references PJ O'Rourke’s take on piercings and tattoos, suggesting an inverse relationship between personal adornments and perceived interest levels.

• Notable Quote:
  Jack Armstrong [09:05]: “My message to the world is that I'm buttusked.”

The segment blends humor with a critical look at cultural trends, emphasizing the hosts' skepticism towards extreme self-modification.

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Educational Concerns: Chronic Absenteeism [17:06 - 23:24]

Armstrong and Getty shift focus to the alarming rise in chronic absenteeism among students, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Statistics and Impact:
  Joe Getty [21:11]: “Chronic absenteeism has skyrocketed since COVID... last year was well above the national average.”
  Jack Armstrong [22:46]: “Chronic absentee is more than 10 days, is that what you said?”

• Expert Insights:
  Jack Armstrong [23:24]: “The ability to read by third grade... is a reliable predictor of future success.”

The hosts express concern over the long-term effects of disrupted education, highlighting the critical nature of early literacy and consistent school attendance.

• Notable Quote:
  Joe Getty [23:35]: “So New York's now got just a crisis of, you know, I wonder if I could find that real quickly.”

This discussion underscores the broader societal implications of educational setbacks, particularly for vulnerable populations.

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Social Media's Impact on Teen Friendships [23:40 - 26:53]

The conversation transitions to the psychological effects of social media on teenage relationships.

• Research Findings:
  Joe Getty [24:06]: “Unmet expectations on social media are the primary cause of teen friendship conflicts...”
  Jack Armstrong [24:53]: “If I had the ability to actually see the party everybody was going to, it would have been brutal.”

• Emotional Consequences:
  Joe Getty [25:34]: “Seeing the girl you dated with some other guy... that’s just brutal.”

The hosts discuss how social media fosters feelings of exclusion, jealousy, and rejection, exacerbating conflicts among teens. They reflect on personal anecdotes to illustrate the challenges teens face in the digital age.

• Notable Quote:
  Joe Getty [26:06]: “What they found paints a concerning picture of modern teen relationships.”

This segment highlights the necessity for interventions and support systems to help teens navigate the complexities of online interactions.

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Political Commentary and Public Opinion [29:17 - 33:28]

Armstrong and Getty delve into current political issues, focusing on public trust in institutions and the impact of political decisions.

• Education Policy Critique:
  Jack Armstrong [19:03]: “National Education Association says the move will… None of those things.”
  Joe Getty [19:21]: “You're lying. I wonder why they would lie.”

• Public Trust Statistics:
  Joe Getty [31:21]: “Small business is the most trusted valued thing... 61%.”
  Jack Armstrong [31:35]: “If small businesses are the backbone of the country, what is talk radio?”
  Joe Getty [32:07]: “The following four are all positive. Negatives are balanced. The same. Organized labor, banks, higher education.”

The discussion critiques the negative perceptions of institutions like Congress and the media, juxtaposed against the high trust in small businesses and the military. The hosts express skepticism towards educational reforms and highlight discrepancies in public trust metrics.

• Notable Quote:
  Joe Getty [32:33]: “It couldn't be more screwed up.”

This analysis reflects the hosts’ concerns over declining trust in critical institutions and the broader implications for societal cohesion.

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Final Segments: Closing Thoughts and Humorous Interludes [33:28 - End]

As the episode nears its conclusion, Armstrong and Getty share personal reflections and engage in light-hearted banter.

• Pet Names Discussion:
  Joe Getty [05:18]: “Yeah, she calls me honey.”
  Katie [05:40]: “We have two. One we made up, sweetheart. And babo.”

• Humorous Anecdotes:
  Jack Armstrong [16:45]: “As a guy who drives a Tesla, I'm wondering if anything will happen but to me get my car keyed or yelled at.”
  Joe Getty [30:19]: “That's one of the great T-shirts of all time.”

• Final Thoughts:
  Jack Armstrong [34:09]: “Trying to figure out what to do with my teenage boys on a Friday night...”
  Joe Getty [34:25]: “I'm going to a minor league hockey game tonight... grown men will punch themselves in the face.”

The episode wraps up with the hosts sharing their plans and musings, maintaining the engaging and relatable rapport that defines Armstrong & Getty.

• Notable Quote:
  Jack Armstrong [35:16]: “God bless America.”

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Conclusion

"I Have Tusks" offers listeners a blend of humor, critical analysis, and personal anecdotes. Armstrong and Getty adeptly navigate a range of topics, from viral internet clips to serious societal issues like education and mental health. Their engaging dialogue, punctuated with memorable quotes and relatable insights, makes for a compelling listen that resonates with a broad audience.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong [09:05]: “My message to the world is that I'm buttusked.”
• Joe Getty [19:21]: “You're lying. I wonder why they would lie.”
• Joe Getty [26:53]: “Who's the guy who said that famous phrase?”
• Joe Getty [31:21]: “Small business is the most trusted valued thing... 61%.”

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For more insights and discussions, visit armstrongandgetty.com.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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. All right, who's in charge here? It just dawned on me. We're all excited about a clip before the show. Show started was almost the opening clip. It lost out to JD Vance calling Kamala drunk for reasons that you can guess, but we haven't played it at all. Now who's in? Seriously, who's in charge? Well, your name's on the show, you jackass. Fair point, fair point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you make a good argument.

[Joe Getty]

But we need to get to that clip. I can't wait. But first, it must give way to many other clips. Oddly enough, it's the Friday tradition. It's time to take a fond look back at the week that was its Cow Clips of the Week. Hello, stranger.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wakey, wakey.

[Joe Getty]

It's really come as quite a shock to me. Isn't that amazing? This is Cow Whips of the week.

[Jack Armstrong]

SpaceX crew 10 climbing through the skies above a Falcon 9 rocket.

[Katie]

And splashdown crew 9 back on Earth.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and speaking up for the women folk in space, you don't have to worry about, you know, support Garmin or anything, you know, your boobs float. Send me now. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

The FBI is investigating what it calls a targeted attack.

[Joe Getty]

Shots fired at this Tesla dealership in Oregon.

[Jack Armstrong]

Tesla's spray painted in Massachusetts. We have to make them really afraid. And what's happening now with Musk is making them very afraid.

[Joe Getty]

There's some kind of mental illness thing going on here because this doesn't make any sense. What's the plan if Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire?

[Jack Armstrong]

Bad news for this world.

[Michael]

Vladimir Putin did not agree to the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Unconditional US backed 30 day ceasefire plan. It looks like more than 350 people were killed. This according to the Palestinian health officials in Hamas. We cannot have a world with the.

[Katie]

Ayatollahs with their finger on the nuclear button. Venezuelan gang members arriving to his country overnight, marching into prison.

[Joe Getty]

I don't care what the judges Think.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming. I think at a certain point, you have to start looking at. What do you do when you have a rogue judge? Just say no, and then you'll know that I'm wrong. Just say no and you'll know that I left.

[Joe Getty]

First it was Elon Musk with the chainsaw. Now President Trump taking a sledgehammer to.

[Jack Armstrong]

The Department of Education. I'm a firm believer that President Trump will run and win again in 2028, as we'll see what the definition of term limit is. I'm a leader.

[Joe Getty]

I made my money all by myself.

[Jack Armstrong]

This guy could kick most of their house.

[Joe Getty]

I do. Hi, I'm Melanie.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm studying the unseen Body and creative spaces. Erasure and exposure of the queer. Yeah.

[Michael]

Do we have jobs for that? Yeah, it's called Starbucks. Oh.

[Jack Armstrong]

What is he going to do next with this rat? He ate it.

[Joe Getty]

This is it. Oh, my God. When I'm talking, you're not talking. No, when I'm talking, you're not talking.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ah. That was Alec Baldwin's wife there at the end. Oh, my God. Oh. How does he do that?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, just nails on a blackboard. Yikes. Those previous clips were completely inaudible, which is odd for an audio feature, but it's creative.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, I don't even remember what the clip was. That almost was the opening clip today.

[Joe Getty]

Does it need any setup? Clip 16. Katie, I think you brought this.

[Katie]

It's. It is a dude dressed as a woman, and she's. Or he's got one of those nose rings and that looks like two hooks coming out of his nostrils. And. Yeah, it's. He's a mess.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

In case you need to load him up in a truck. And you can use a stick with a hook on it. It's very handy.

[Joe Getty]

A nose ring. Exactly. So this is it.

[Michael]

Hey, Sweet peace. So I thought I'd explain something. When I say I'm a woman, I'm not asking if you'll pretend I fit your definitions of a woman. I'm saying I'm a woman. You should add that to your definitions of womanhood now. Yeah. Does that make sense?

[Jack Armstrong]

Nope.

[Joe Getty]

No, thanks.

[Katie]

Also, don't call me sweet pea.

[Joe Getty]

No, sir. Hard. No.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got a question for you. I'll start with Katie. Katie. Well, I'll start with Michael. Michael, do you have something your wife calls you or you call your wife that is like a pet name?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, she calls me honey.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, That's a good one. That's a classic.

[Joe Getty]

Classic sure, Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, you don't have to answer this question, obviously, if it's too personal, but do you call her something every.

[Joe Getty]

Once in a while? I'll call her sweetie or something like that. Okay, my queen. That's a good one.

[Jack Armstrong]

Katie, do you have something like that with your husband?

[Katie]

Yeah. There. We have two. One we made up, sweetheart. And babo.

[Jack Armstrong]

Babo. Which one of you is Bobo?

[Katie]

The both of us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Both of you?

[Katie]

Oh, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, cool.

[Joe Getty]

It's a. They're a throuple.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, exactly. Oh, geez. Okay.

[Katie]

How about you, Joe?

[Joe Getty]

For us? Oh, no. I would never dignify that prying question with an answer. You should, though. There are no less than half a dozen each, probably.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh?

[Joe Getty]

Many, many, depending on the mood and the situation. Yeah, but of course, yeah. Been together forever.

[Jack Armstrong]

Depending on the mood. So, like, in a certain. Like, later tonight, couple of drinks, Friday night, stallion might be what it is.

[Joe Getty]

Probably. Yeah. Yeah. Or she just calls me Thor. Makes references to hammers. I don't bring the thunder. Thor. Yeah, yeah. Oh, what was that sound? Wow. And she's miles away right now. I heard my eye. My wife's eyes rolling. That's amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's just when. When you mentioned that. That gentleman saying sweet pea, I mean, because for some people it might be sweet pea.

[Joe Getty]

Play that. That big fella again, would you? Michael?

[Michael]

Hey, sweet pea. So I thought I'd explain something. When I say I'm a woman, I'm not asking if you'll pretend I fit your definitions of a woman. I'm saying I'm a woman. You should add that to your definitions of womanhood now. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

No sense. Haven't changed my mind. I'm not. See, I know what a woman is. I'm. I'm fairly confident. Fairly. I'm 100 confident in my know of what's a woman and what's not. And you ain't. You're a fella. So there you go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, you can.

[Joe Getty]

At least we were able to settle this.

[Jack Armstrong]

You can lead a horse to water by their nose ring, but you can't make them drink the. The Kool Aid of whatever this is. Yes, Katie.

[Katie]

Oh, I'm just giving you both a nice visual of what this fine gentleman looks like.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let me check that picture.

[Joe Getty]

He looks like Stephen Tyler Verosmith in his younger days. Perhaps you are a fella, sir. You can. Dude looks like a lady. Not coincidentally. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Those are practically horns. That's not just this way. That's not your smaller nose ring. That's a. Those are Horns. Those are tusks. He has tusks.

[Joe Getty]

Look at his schnoz. He's got like various studs stuck in various locations around his, his nose.

[Jack Armstrong]

This isn't always true, but I remember PJ O'Rourke who passed away a couple of years ago, saying that the number of piercings, tattoos, etc, inversely related to how interesting you are. And I've found that to be a case on a. The case on a number of occasions. Not always true, but sometimes it is a. I'm trying really hard to have something to offer the world, but I ain't got nothing.

[Joe Getty]

I, I don't want to be cruel because there are a lot of fine folks who have various adornments that they enjoy and, and blanket indictments are, are. Well, they're, they're inaccurate, which is. I. PJ was not entirely wrong though.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no.

[Joe Getty]

If you want to express yourself, express yourself. Don't like stick something through your whatsits. I mean, you can if you want.

[Jack Armstrong]

My message is to the world is that I'm buttusked. That's. That's what I'm trying to say to the world.

[Joe Getty]

I have tusks. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So it, there's an inverse relationship between how interesting you actually are. We. We have some experience with a character who had multiple gimmicks. Slash, look at me, look at me, look at me's. And if you were to engage that individual in conversation, you would find it was a great deal like conversing with, I don't know, a barnyard animal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Glass of milk?

[Joe Getty]

Yes, a glass of milk. If you prefer a cat.

[Jack Armstrong]

A couple of interesting pieces in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal today that I wanted to mention before we run out of time for the week. Pretty, Pretty good. I think you'll like something that was called a lie by political fact. That is couldn't be more true that.

[Joe Getty]

Elon Musk fact checking doesn't check facts. But we got a lot of disturbing.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got a lot of good stuff on the way. I hope you can stay with us, Armstrong and Getty.

[Michael]

Hey. Sweet peace. So I thought I'd explain something. When I say I'm a woman, I'm not asking if you'll pretend I fit your definitions of a woman. I'm saying I'm a woman. You should add that to your definitions of womanhood now. Yeah. Does that make sense?

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, so completely aside from the, the trans issue there is that that person there had tusks. They had a big thing through their middle of their nose and two Tusks coming out.

[Joe Getty]

And they consider themselves a. An elephant American.

[Jack Armstrong]

There are different levels of adornment that have become more acceptable, you know, in the last couple of decades, obviously, and we've all grown used to it. I mean, they're. When I was younger, if a woman with a tattoo had. This might be shocking to you, Katie, because you're younger, but I worked at this country bar. If there had been a woman who had a tattoo, everybody in the bar would have been talking about it, like, if she had a tattoo. Because you just never, ever, ever saw a woman with a tattoo.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Weird. It would have seemed crazy. And now it is as acceptable as anything could possibly. And being fine, I have no problem with that. And similar with some of the piercings, that would have been incredibly craz, you know, this thing through the nose or whatever. Now you see it all the time. But there I still find the gauges in the ears, which you had, Katie. I did pretty enough. So just. Just because you're starting to deform yourself at that point. I've seen the. The. I have seen in person the lumps under the head where you get horns, I guess.

[Katie]

Oh, yeah, they're implants, like silicone implants that they put right under your skin. And.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I don't know, it looks like.

[Joe Getty]

You'Re some sort of devil child.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know at what point you're deforming yourself to the extent that you ought to be under the care of state because you're harming yourself. But you gave us an example, Katie, of someone you worked with.

[Katie]

Yeah, I worked with someone years ago who used to do this suspension training, if I'm remembering properly. But they would go to these meetings and put giant fish hooks through the top layer of their skin, just behind their shoulder blades. One right. Right in the middle of the back. And then, I believe, like, two in the, like, your love handle area. And then someone would pull on the rope and you would suspend and hang from the ceiling. And, you know, I'd see him at work and they'd have bandages all over their back. And I guess, you know, it's. I guess it's part of, like, some witchcraft thing, but. Oh, my goodness.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, it's a witchcraft thing. I was going to ask, do they claim then that.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you.

[Jack Armstrong]

You have no idea how freeing it is. I mean, it just. It really releases the stress of a day to hang there for a while, and then the toxins in my biome, in my stomach, and everything gets better when I hang from the ceiling by Fish hooks through my back.

[Katie]

Right. And like, when I say fish hooks, I mean like deep sea sport fishing fish hooks, not like the little tiny ones. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Well, I'd actually prefer that if I'm suspended in such a way. If you're doing that this weekend, I. I will teach you to play golf for free. It's frustrating at first, but I think you'll enjoy it very much. And it's better for your health than being lifted aloft like you're a recently landed bass. No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Walking around huffing paint out of a sack would be a step up.

[Joe Getty]

Don't know about that. Wow, that's crazy. So it was like a witchcrafty thing as opposed to a sexual thing, or was it kind of both?

[Katie]

It definitely more witchcraft than. Than sexual.

[Joe Getty]

Is a witch.

[Katie]

Very. The crowd that. That did this, very goth, dark personalities and.

[Jack Armstrong]

And they call them suspensions.

[Katie]

Yeah. I mean, oh, boy. The blood. The blood. Because, you know, they would show pictures like, oh, check this out. You know, it's like, oh, I don't want to see that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So amateur psychoanalysis on this is just. You're incredibly lonely. You feel like a nobody. That'd just be my guess.

[Katie]

Yeah, but it's a thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and it's. It's a natural impulse for younger people to want to suspend themselves from the ceiling.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure.

[Joe Getty]

By fish hooks. Yes. No. To be seen as. Or to see themselves as bold or adventurous or unafraid. I would suggest there are better avenues to pursue that sort of fulfillment than having yourself lifted like you're about to have your throat cut at a chicken factory. You know, whatever.

[Jack Armstrong]

This. If I ever get to have a TED Talk, this is what I would like it to be. And I've. I've done. I've had this screed many, many times. But I wish you could convince everybody, really, and certainly teenagers, you want to be like the average person, and that's the last thing you want to be when you're a teenager is like the typical person. But the. The typical person doesn't go to jail. The typical person graduates high school. The typical person gets a job. The typical person supports themselves. The typical person isn't a drug addict. The typical per. I mean, all the things that are like your average typical person that you're trying so hard not to be are things that are going to make your life so much freaking better.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

You want to be that typical person. You just do. Typical person gets married, has a home, has kids, etc. Etc. Those are the happy people.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. If you want to grow a long beard or, you know, get a couple of tats or, you know, go ahead playing a metal band, enjoy yourself. But, you know, the. The mainstream is the mainstream for a reason. A lot of it's because it's a better idea.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, right.

[Joe Getty]

Then it's not that we lack imagination, friends. It's that we've tried the other stuff and it's a bad idea.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I tried everything. I haven't tried that. I haven't suspended myself even once.

[Katie]

I want your reaction to the photo I just sent you, Jack.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want to see it. Is it gonna gross me out?

[Katie]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

It's about like you'd expect. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God.

[Joe Getty]

It's pretty icky. Where's the dude getting suspended in the fashion that we.

[Katie]

Yeah, discussed.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, wear sock shoes like we were talking about last hour. You want to be really out there cold, wear sock shoes. You'll go through a phase. It'll be like when I had a perm and wore parachute pants. Really? No harm done.

[Joe Getty]

No harm done. The world's leading Leo ser imitator in 1986.

[Jack Armstrong]

Luckily, pre smartphone, no pictures of this exist.

[Joe Getty]

He knows he can dance. You know he can dance.

[Jack Armstrong]

But yeah, no permanent damage. No blood. No nobody was worried for my mental health.

[Joe Getty]

At least he's being lifted up by his back and not his front. I mean, that would be really uncomfortable.

[Katie]

Oh, the front is also.

[Joe Getty]

No, Katie, say it ain't so.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I assume when you talk to those people, if I. If a guy like me, a square like me, were to say you're mentally ill, that's exactly what they want. They want a person like me, you know, middle aged dad to say they're mentally ill. Typical of that kind of guy. You know that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I get it. You got to go through it. Just don't. Don't do the super crazy stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, if I come home and my kids are hanging from the ceiling by fish hooks, I'm gonna feel like I failed. I gotta tell you. Armstrong and Getty on the first day of college basketball's banner tournament. A technical foul on Louisville's coach Pat Kelsey as the Cardinals tried to claw their way back against Creighton. Turning into an ugly moment as someone threw a water bottle onto the. Announcers immediately reacted to the brazen measure. Come on, I could have done some real damage. Was a full water bottle. The University of Kentucky police quickly identified the individual who caused the disruption and removed them from the Facility.

[Joe Getty]

You've got people setting fire to Tesla dealerships. I'm sorry, I. Yeah. Don't chuck bottles, you bottle chuckers. But, yeah, sorry, no outrage left.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Drag him out of the stadium. We're done.

[Jack Armstrong]

I agree.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I'm scanning the sound sheet, and I'm kicking myself. It's. Sometimes we have too many assets, and I did. You know, it gets lost, and the stuff you need gets lost in the forest. But. Got a lot of great clips about ending the Department of Education. We were talking about that earlier. For instance. Just. We'll just touch this quickly. 32. Jackie Heinrich, Fox News.

[Jack Armstrong]

The nation's report card shows Math proficiency.

[Joe Getty]

At 39% in fourth graders, 28% for.

[Jack Armstrong]

Eighth grade in reading, fourth graders, 31% proficient eighth graders sitting at 30%. But the National Education association says the move will, quote, hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive. None of those things.

[Joe Getty]

It won't do any of those things.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, none of those things are going to happen.

[Joe Getty]

You're lying. I wonder why they would lie. Is it because they don't want to use their great, compelling, honest arguments? Are they keeping them fresh for Sunday? No, it's because that's all they have. Play. Play. Satan. Why do we always assume Satan is going to be a dude? That's sexism to me. Satan can assume many forms, including that of the ovaried.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's not been my experience. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

35. It is an assault on knowledge. It is an assault on what our kids need. Curiosity, Innov.

[Jack Armstrong]

Confidence in the future.

[Joe Getty]

That's what's so stunning about this Randy Weingarten, who has to have her horns filed down every three months to keep them from being visible. She is Satan in human form.

[Jack Armstrong]

I honestly don't know how she sleeps.

[Joe Getty]

At night, because she has no conscience. She is a sociopath.

[Jack Armstrong]

She. You'd have to be.

[Joe Getty]

Mm. Yeah. Yeah. Millions of children suffering. You know, I was just reading a piece. Didn't mention it on the show yet, but New York City's absentee numbers. It's the biggest school district in America. Their chronic absenteeism has skyrocketed since COVID The best anybody can figure out is kids and families either got out of the habit of sending the kids to school, or the message was just sent unmistakably that we do not value your attendance at school. It's not that big a deal. Deal. We'll pretend to educate you on video. It's not working at all. We're still going to keep you out of school for reasons you and your parents don't quite get, but it sent an unmistakable message. And so New York's now got just a crisis of, you know, I wonder if I could find that real quickly. Yeah, Numbers, Right. But the numbers are shocking.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I've wondered about that. Because it's nationwide. That's a problem. What is that? Psychologically? I think it might be, like, foreign. It's a macro version of, you know, like you go on a diet or you're hitting the gym every day. And then when you break that streak, oh, my God, it can be hard to get that streak going again. It might just be that.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder.

[Jack Armstrong]

We. We just had the discipline of sending our kid to school all the time and the kids going to school all the time, and then we just broke that streak, and we just can't get it back.

[Joe Getty]

Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal, who's a terrific writer and actually concerned about poor kids, minority kids, black kids, whatever, and not pretends to be for money and power, like Randy Weingarten, who I might have mentioned is Satan. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10% or more school days in a given academic year. I mean, that's one day every two weeks. That's a lot. Climbed from 25% before the pandemic, which ain't great, to 35% last year, well above the national average. Broken down by grade level, the chronically absent rate for the last school year was 41% for kindergarten, 35% for first grade, and about 32.5% for second grade.

[Jack Armstrong]

Kindergarten doesn't matter that much, but the habit would be a problem. You don't want to make the habit of not going, but. But wow, that's something. So chronic absentee is a more than 10 days, is that what you said?

[Joe Getty]

Yes, sir. Oh. And more than 10%.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. That is something.

[Joe Getty]

And Riley points out, and it's an excellent point, and this makes the COVID cruelty all the more cruel. He says, and I quote, the figures are especially alarming because educators have long known that the ability to read by third grade, when a child goes from learning to read to reading to learn, it's worth repeating. They go from learning to read to reading to learn is a reliable predictor of future success in everything from high school graduation to avoiding the criminal justice system.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

And you sat millions and millions and millions of kids out at that critical point so you could extort more money and power. And for the poor, desperate parents and.

[Jack Armstrong]

Pretended like the zoom thing was worth a crap.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. Anyway, okay. Speaking of America's youth, I thought this was really interesting how social media expectations are destroying teenage friendships. And this is the sort of thing I must sit humbly by and be taught about as I don't have a lot of interactions with teens these days. Good. Huge, huge amount in the 90s and 2000s.

[Jack Armstrong]

It'd be weird if you did at this point outside of some sort of, I don't know, mentoring program or something.

[Joe Getty]

Which actually I'm going to be getting involved with and I can't wait. But anyway. Unmet expectations on social media are the primary cause of teen friendship conflicts in the modern day. Disappointment from friends not responding or engaging as expected leads to stronger emotional reactions and arguments, more so than the pressure to be constantly available. So number one, you post something, your friends don't like it, they don't reply to it or whatever, you feel abandoned, you feel rejected. And then visual content on social media amplifies the feelings of exclusion and jealousy. Teens are more likely to feel left out or rejected when they see friends active online or spending time with others, triggering emotional stress and increasing conflict.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can't imagine that as a, as an unpopular high school kid, if I had had the ability to actually like see the party everybody was going to in videos of it and everything like that, oh my God, that would have been brutal.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think it's any better for a reasonably popular high school kid. Oh, look, there are my three best friends doing something. Why did they lose my number? That'd be terrible.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And then with the whole dating thing, the ability to see, you know, the girl you dated for two weeks now with some other guy.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you know, they're together, to just deal with it, you have to see it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Oh. So new research from a university reveals how this digital pressure, wanting to, to constantly be available, among other things, is creating stress that leads to real world friendship competition conflicts for teens. They tracked 1200 teenagers over six months to understand how social media affects their friendships. What they found paints a concerning, concerning picture of modern teen relationships.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I, I do interact with teens a lot, having a couple of teenagers, but it doesn't mean I'm any better prepared to help them navigate this since it didn't exist when I was young at all.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Yeah. Yeah. So it's, it's the pressure of constantly being available. But even more so than that, disappointment when friends aren't available to them and the feeling of missing out, rejection and the rest of it. Fomo. Yeah. Yeah. Gotta unplug the Internet. I would really miss googling who is the batting champion in 1983.

[Jack Armstrong]

But I'll get a sports almanac like he used to have, and I'll look.

[Joe Getty]

It up, or I'll argue with my friends, and we'll laugh and call each other names over a couple of beers and never come up with the right answer and not care.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? And everything will be fine.

[Joe Getty]

You know what? We. I had one of those. It was just last night, I was hanging out with some fellas and a good buddy of mine. He's a good guy, but we couldn't remember. Oh, what was it? We were. I can't remember what we couldn't remember, but it was something like that. It was sports Trivia question. Sport was sports. Yeah, give me the sport.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want to hear the question. Golf, basketball, baseball, football.

[Joe Getty]

All right, you know how it goes. The minute I said, probably not bowling. The minute I stop thinking about it, it'll pop into my head.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whoever you think I am, it's bowling.

[Joe Getty]

Who is the guy who said that famous phrase? But it was something like that. And. And before I could stop him, he Googled it. No, no, no. I. I want to be tortured by this until I can come up with the answer. Oh, I remember. It was, what golf course in the eastern U.S. the Philadelphia area has baskets instead of flags on the poles that mark where the hole is the pins?

[Jack Armstrong]

And why do they do that?

[Joe Getty]

It's just an old, quaint tradition. But I was like, oh, no, no, is it? Before I could stop him, he Google it. Oh, it's Blankety. Yeah. I was like, oh, how many people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are aware of sand greens? I brought this up to somebody the other day, and they'd never even heard of such a thing.

[Joe Getty]

I was astounded by it. When we first met in Kansas and you told me about them, I was like, wait, what? What?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know if they have them anywhere else but in Kansas, because it was so dry and it was so difficult and unrealistic to try to have green grass stay alive. For green greens, the greens were just.

[Joe Getty]

A big sand pit, but they were like, you got to play golf pressed crusty sand or kind of.

[Jack Armstrong]

But you basically just. You drew a groove in the sand with your putter and then putted the ball down the groove, and it went in the hole. It basically just eliminated putting from the sport. It allowed you to have a golf course and play golf, but you couldn't have putting, which obviously is a very important part of the sport, but it just wasn't realistic to have green. So they didn't.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, again, I was. I was amazed by that. It was like hearing from a weird culture where they drink cat's blood or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Something like that at the turn.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, anybody thirsty? It's hot day. Cab's blood. Cat's blood. Cat. We'll finish.

[Jack Armstrong]

What's that?

[Joe Getty]

Before we break, do you want me to play? The full Pete Weber clip is very good.

[Katie]

I forgot how good this was.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is one of the all time legendary bowlers. He just bowled a strike or a 300 or whatever he did.

[Joe Getty]

But yeah, he won the game. Yeah, he became the champion.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, a strike to claim it and he got it. That is why I did it.

[Katie]

I got five.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you kidding me?

[Joe Getty]

That's right. Who do you think you are? I am. Who do you think you are? I am.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's right. God damn it.

[Katie]

God dang it.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you can get T shirts that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Say whoever you think you are.

[Joe Getty]

I am. Who do you think you are? I am.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's one of the great, great those things of all time.

[Joe Getty]

We'll finish strong next Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

As a guy who drives a Tesla, I'm wondering if anything will happen but to me get my car keyed or yelled at.

[Joe Getty]

Liberal green energy dreaming unicorn riding weenie. Oh, I mean you right wing fascist mag loving racist climate denier weak. Exactly. Yeah. So this might be the perfect cap on the week recent Gallup poll. Did their usual probing of Americans try to figure out what they thought about what including their confidence in various institutions. Great deal. Quite a lot. Some are very little. And number one in America the most trusted valued thing that they asked about anyway was small business. 61%. I don't know how you don't have confidence in small business. They live and die by their performance. It's the ultimate American thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

You talk about a meritocracy.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Indeed. Yeah. Salute to you small business people. You're the seriously the backbone of the country. The military is certainly part of that backbone, Jack. It's a multifaceted backbone.

[Jack Armstrong]

If small businesses are the backbone of the country, what is talk radio? We the spleen. Spleen of the country.

[Joe Getty]

The femurs of the country.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right.

[Joe Getty]

Sure keeps us being from knees connected to pelvises. I mean how weird would that be? Anyway, number two 12 points down and barely half 49 is the military. 49 have a great deal, quite a lot. Some confidence, a great dealer.

[Jack Armstrong]

What does it mean to not have confidence in the military? Don't have the confidence for them to. Whoop up in a war or.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I don't know. Actually, there are areas in which I don't have confidence in the military. I think we've gotten kind of fat and lazy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I have. I don't. My confidence in the Pentagon is not that high. My confidence in the military is very high. I don't know. I don't know how other people look at this.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Yeah, that's. There's. There's a lot of nuance to that. One in particular. The police is net 34 positive.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good.

[Joe Getty]

You wouldn't get that idea from the news media. The medical system is net 6 positive. It couldn't be more screwed up.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. But an individual. It's kind of like the way we. Everybody hates Congress, but they like their own congressman. They vote for their own congressman over and over again. Like, the medical system is awful and. And. And terrible. And I. My doctor's fantastic and I've had him for years.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. Yeah. The following four are all, like, positive. Negatives are balanced. The same. Organized labor, banks, higher education. Boo. And the church. Or organized religion. Then you get into the negatives, and I wish we had time for all of it. The Highest negatives, Congress, 51% underwater.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well earned.

[Joe Getty]

Just ahead of newspapers.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, kids, it's that time again. Final thought with Armstrong and Getty. Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Let's get a final thought from everybody to wrap up the week. There he is, our technical director, Michelangelo Michael. What's your final thought? My wife and I, we do have pet names, but a lot of times.

[Katie]

We just call each other by our.

[Joe Getty]

Full legal name and Social Security number. That's good for accuracy. Avoids any confusion. Katie Greener, esteemed newswoman, has a final thought. Katie? Yeah.

[Katie]

You know things are getting serious when the first full name comes out. When I get a Caitlyn.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, boy. Oh, wow.

[Joe Getty]

Oh. Oh, boy. Yeah, that's like a Joseph. Yep. Oh, Jack. Final thought for us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trying to figure out what to do with my teenage boys on a Friday night. I drove by a park yesterday, and I was thinking about, man, those were good times when they were young. And I could just. Just go to a park, any park, stop there, kill a couple hours. They were thrilled. Now it's getting kind of hard to figure out what to do.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah. That is the challenge. My final thought, speaking of amusements, is I'm going to a minor league hockey game tonight. I can't wait. Because I love the sport of hockey. And if the action ever flags, grown men will punch themselves in the face or each other in the face for my entertainment, which sounds like a really good deal for me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Hit him with a stick. Hit it with a stick. And they will hit him with a stick.

[Jack Armstrong]

Awesome. Armstrong and Yeti wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Joe Getty]

So many people. Thanks. So little time. Thank you for being here. Be sure to click on armstrongandgetty.com Our Hot Links are fantastic. It's a bunch of things to read and look at and consider. Drop us a note if there's something you see over the weekend we ought to talk about. Send us a link mailbagarmstrongygetti.com and as long as you're on the website, pick up some a G swag for your favorite ang fan press perhaps it's you yourself man.

[Jack Armstrong]

Continues to be some really major news narratives going on around the world and around the country and we'll have the latest on Monday for you. God bless America.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. We're going to release the animal spirits. Oh my God. When I'm talking you're not talking. No, when I'm talking you're not talking. Yes, I think was the real wake up call for me and child.

[Jack Armstrong]

Listen, it's gone.

[Joe Getty]

And I think he's right about that in particular.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Michael]

Does that make sense?

[Joe Getty]

Well, I don't have, you know, four shots of vodka before every meeting. Whatever you say, daddy. We'll just leave it there on this Friday morning.

[Jack Armstrong]

Bye bye. Have a great Friday, you mother Armstrong and Gettysburg.