Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "I'm Allowed False Hope You S.O.B."

Date: October 16, 2025

Guest: Tim Sandifer, Goldwater Institute

Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty welcome constitutional attorney Tim Sandifer of the Goldwater Institute for an in-depth, candid discussion about the U.S. Supreme Court’s new session, pivotal cases (including parental rights, gun rights, vaping, and tariffs), and the broader impact of legal philosophies on American society and personal freedom. With a trademark blend of humor, clarity, and plain talk, Sandifer demystifies complex constitutional issues, critiques the legal profession, and passionately advocates for individual rights and limited government.

Key Topics & Discussions

1. The Supreme Court's Schedule & Case Selection

[01:29 – 02:40]

• Why the Supreme Court takes a summer break:
  Sandifer notes, “The justices like their summer vacation time. They get to go on these junkets to foreign countries where they teach classes ... and it's just the way things have always been done.”
• Case selection process:
  The Court only takes about 1% of the cases submitted; it only requires four justices’ votes to hear a case – not a majority – out of nine.
  • "They can choose to take a case or not... they only take about 1% of all the cases that they are asked to decide." — Sandifer [02:40]

2. Parental Rights & Schools Concealing Information

[02:52 – 07:30]

• Current controversy:
  Sandifer discusses his institute’s petition to the Supreme Court regarding schools that aid children’s gender transition and conceal this from parents.

  “Schools are supposed to be ... teaching them reading, writing, arithmetic and history ... Instead, they’ve taken this aggressive approach to withhold information from parents ... Psychosexual development of a teenager is something a parent needs to be there to help a child through.” — Sandifer [04:10]

• Quote from the Court:
  “Parents’ rights do not end at the schoolhouse gate.” — Sandifer, discussing a previous Supreme Court decision [06:38]

• Broader implications:
  If the Supreme Court rules for parental rights in these cases, the precedent could affect more than just trans-related issues, extending to all situations where schools might conceal crucial information from parents.

3. The Philosophical Roots of Public Education's Role

[07:30 – 09:18]

• Sandifer references Woodrow Wilson’s notion that “the goal of the school is to make the child as unlike the parents as possible,” pointing out the progressive era idea of schools shaping children into “good citizens” as defined by the state. This, he argues, risks overriding parental values.

  “The progressives thought of public education as a means of shaping the minds of kids. ... Wilson has this speech where he says that the goal of the school is to make the child as unlike the parent as possible. That is so crazy.” — Sandifer [07:44]

4. School Choice and Parental Control

[08:34 – 09:18]

• Sandifer champions school choice and the “Empowerment Scholarship Account” in Arizona as effective ways for parents to regain control.

5. Gun Rights Case: Property Rights vs. Second Amendment

[11:05 – 12:38]

• Hawaii law under scrutiny:
  Law requires explicit permission from private property owners to bring a firearm onto their property.
• Complexity:
  ~"It's kind of a clever way of preventing people from carrying guns anywhere."~ — Armstrong [11:51]
• Sandifer’s worry: This may weaken firearms rights, but he acknowledges property owners’ rights to control what happens on their premises.

6. The Vaping Case & Freedom of Speech

[16:41 – 18:55]

• Oregon law:
  Public health rules make it illegal to package vaping products in a way “that might be attractive to minors.”
• Sandifer’s challenge:

  “Under this law, he cannot even put a picture of a cherry on a box of cherry-flavored vaping liquid. The state has said that is illegal. Well, that obviously violates your freedom of speech.” [17:53]

• Broader concern: Empowering bureaucrats to decide what is “attractive” or what speech is permissible.

7. The Role of State Constitutions

[18:55 – 19:50]

• State constitutions can be more protective of individual rights than the federal constitution, but federal oversight (especially via the 14th Amendment) remains crucial.

8. Goldwater Institute's "Right to Try" Achievements

[21:52 – 22:32]

• Milestone:
  Goldwater Institute’s advocacy allows terminally ill patients to access medicines not fully FDA-approved:

  “Our greatest achievement really is right to try, which is legislation signed by President Trump ... if you are a terminally ill patient, to access medicine that has been approved for safety but not yet fully approved for sale by the FDA.” — Armstrong [21:58]

• Memorable moment:

  “How about I'm allowed to in my final days alive as a human being to have some false hope, you son of a bitch.” — Sandifer [23:09]

9. Legal Academia & Ideological Leanings

[23:24 – 24:45]

• Sandifer critiques the law school system for being “way left,” misunderstanding justice as mere equality rather than fairness, and churning out progressive lawyers and judges who have “never seriously considered the alternative.”

10. Eccentric State Constitutions

[25:37 – 26:28]

• Fun facts about “wackiest” state constitutions:
  Montana’s is “pretty bad” and Hawaii includes “the law of the splintered paddle.”
  Alabama’s is “the worst... several hundred pages long... every little last detail of state law embedded in it.”

11. Trump’s Tariffs & Supreme Court Role

[26:47 – 28:42]

• Sandifer argues Trump’s tariffs are “totally unconstitutional, totally illegal,” as the founding fathers specifically wrote the Constitution to prevent one person from imposing taxes unilaterally.
• Likely outcome: The Court will probably resolve the issue on statutory rather than constitutional grounds.

12. The Supreme Court’s Reluctance and "Judicial Restraint"

[29:56 – 31:55]

• Sandifer worries the Court hides behind “judicial restraint,” letting governments violate rights to avoid appearing “activist.”

  “The idea that judicial activism is a serious threat is wildly overblown. Congress and the president violate your rights on an hourly basis in this country. ... Courts have very little power. All they can do is pronounce what the law is ... That was never intended to be that way.” — Sandifer [31:06]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Schools Concealing Information:
  "Psychosexual development of a teenager is something a parent needs to be there to help a child through. And the schools are saying, no, no, you shouldn't have a say in the matter." — Sandifer [04:10]

• On Parental Rights Extending Beyond Picking a School:
  "It can't be the case that your rights as a parent end once you send your kid to the public school and then they can do whatever they want." — Sandifer [06:24]

• On Bureaucratic Arrogance and Medical Choice:
  "You might give them false hope." / "How about I'm allowed to in my final days alive as a human being to have some false hope, you son of a bitch." — Sandifer [23:07–23:09]

• On Law Schools:
  "They teach a corrupted notion of what justice means. They think ... justice means equality. Justice does not mean equality." — Sandifer [24:17]

• On Supreme Court Passivity:
  "I'm worried about them getting things wrong. ... Courts have very little power. All they can do is pronounce what the law is. Congress and the President can resist them very powerfully." — Sandifer [31:06]

• On Limited Government:
  "The less the government is involved, the less it matters whether they get it right or wrong, because they're not deciding for me." — Armstrong [33:50] "I believe in freedom because I don't trust other people to be ... to make the right decisions for my life." — Sandifer [33:57]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |----------------|--------------------------------------------| | 01:29–02:40 | Supreme Court calendar & tradition | | 02:52–05:42 | Parental rights cases & school secrecy | | 07:30–08:34 | Progressive philosophy in public schools | | 11:05–12:38 | Gun rights vs. property rights (HI law) | | 16:41–18:55 | Vaping regulations & free speech | | 21:52–23:17 | Goldwater Institute’s “Right to Try” case | | 23:24–24:45 | Law schools’ ideological leanings | | 26:47–28:42 | Tariff legality & Supreme Court review | | 29:56–31:55 | Judicial restraint & Supreme Court limits | | 33:03–33:50 | The case for limited government |

Final Takeaways

• Tim Sandifer presents a lucid, sometimes impassioned argument for limiting government power and placing more decision-making in the hands of individuals and parents.
• The Supreme Court’s choices and slowness are scrutinized, especially regarding timely, controversial issues like parental rights, gun laws, and executive authority.
• The episode closes on advocacy for individual autonomy and wariness of both bureaucracy and the unchecked proliferation of laws.

  “Their mistakes should be confined to their own lives. They shouldn't be allowed to inflict their mistakes on my life. That's the argument for [freedom].” — Sandifer [33:57]

For fans seeking the heart of Armstrong & Getty’s legal and cultural commentary, this episode is both rich in constitutional substance and infused with the show’s signature wit and skepticism toward authority.