It's Nightstick Time!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand Episode Summary: "It's Nightstick Time!"

Release Date: May 8, 2025

Introduction

In the "It's Nightstick Time!" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosted by iHeartPodcasts, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a myriad of pressing topics, ranging from campus unrest and higher education woes to the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. Released on May 8, 2025, this episode offers listeners a comprehensive discussion filled with insights, notable quotes, and sharp commentary.

1. Commemoration of VE Day and Historical Reflections

The episode opens with a reflection on the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany:

• Jack Armstrong remarked, "How about 80 years ago today we saved the world by defeating Nazi Germany." (01:30)

• Joe Getty echoed the sentiment, noting, "It's VE Day, as they say, right." (01:38)

The hosts emphasize the significance of this historical milestone, juxtaposing it against contemporary issues.

2. Campus Unrest and Higher Education Challenges

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the turmoil within elite universities, highlighting Marxist influences and student protests:

• Joe Getty expressed frustration, "This pattern... Antifa was terrorizing Portland night after night...," (02:52) drawing parallels to current campus protests.

• Jack Armstrong criticized the lack of disciplinary action, stating, "Some of the answers were similar to the past... The college president agrees with the students. If they had their way, they'd be 30 years younger and in the library spray painting 'worldwide indifferent' on the wall." (04:18)

The hosts argue that universities prioritize appeasing students over maintaining order and academic integrity, citing rampant AI-assisted cheating and a declining focus on genuine education:

• Joe Getty highlighted, "College kids at some of the elite universities... they use AI to cheat... They use AI to cheat on... they think their classes are a joke." (05:29)

3. Katie's Headlines: A Rundown of Current Events

Katie Green presents a series of news headlines, each accompanied by Armstrong and Getty's commentary:

• China Tariffs and Trade Tensions

  • NBC News: Trump remains steadfast on not softening China tariffs.
    • Jack Armstrong: "How are you going to negotiate if you don't stand firm on your side?” (15:07)
    • Joe Getty: Discusses the chaos caused by tariffs, including halted production and dropped imports.

• Illicit Activities and Government Oversight

  • New York Post: Allegations against Kilmar Obrego Garcia related to human smuggling.
  • Breitbart.com: Doge deactivates 500,000 government-issued credit cards amidst an expanding audit.
    • Jack Armstrong: "Half a million government credit cards floating around..." (16:17)

• Social Media and Safety Concerns

  • Bloomberg: FTC claims Instagram's algorithms suggest groomers to minors.
    • Joe Getty: Reacts with disbelief, "I'm sorry, what?" (16:24)

• Environmental and Public Safety

  • Daily Mail: Invasive Asian needle ants from China threaten 19 US states.
    • Joe Getty: "First Covid, then this. Thanks, China." (17:21)

• Public Incidents and Celebrity News

  • USA Today: Injuries from a pirate fan's fall at PNC Park.
    • Jack Armstrong: Critiques the lack of dignity in media portrayals of accidents. (17:36)

• Political Satire

  • Babylon: Trump renames San Francisco Bay as "Gulf of Criminals."
    • Jack Armstrong: "That's hilarious." (18:09)

4. The Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Social Implications

A substantial segment of the podcast delves into the implications of AI on human relationships and societal norms, particularly focusing on Mark Zuckerberg's vision:

• Discussion Points:

  • Zuckerberg's proposition that AI will supplant human friends and therapists.
  • The hosts express concerns over AI's role in "deadenning souls" and diminishing genuine human interaction.

• Notable Quotes:

  • Joe Getty: "Mark Zuckerberg is, at the very least, his most able imp, his most able assistant. I don't doubt for a second what you're saying." (26:58)
  • Jack Armstrong: "The drums are one thing... the conversation cannot be tolerated." (10:03)

• AI as a Replacement for Traditional Services:

  • Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty share personal anecdotes about using ChatGPT, highlighting its superiority over traditional search engines in certain contexts.

• Concerns Over AI Companionship:

  • Joe Getty: "My vision is that most of your friends, if not all, will be AI... you think they're Satan and they go backward and connect the dots and explain it." (16:44)

The hosts critique the erosion of human-to-human connections, advocating for traditional social interactions over AI-mediated relationships.

5. Mailbag: Listener Feedback and Additional Insights

The Mailbag segment features listener comments addressing various topics:

• University Protests:

  • Jonathan from Fort Scott, Kansas: Critiques the chaos and financial burden of elite universities, referencing student activism and anti-Semitism concerns.

• Historical Context on Clerical Celibacy:

  • Discussion on Martin Luther's critiques of the Catholic Church's celibacy policies, linking historical reform movements to contemporary issues.

• Demographic Observations:

  • Jonathan: Observes declining birth rates influenced by societal trends towards fewer children.
    • Jack Armstrong: Agrees, noting, "If you have fewer babies around, there's less baby fever." (37:00)

6. Conclusion and Final Remarks

As the episode wraps up, Armstrong and Getty reinforce their stances on the discussed topics, urging listeners to critically evaluate the directions in which societal institutions and technologies are headed. They emphasize the importance of maintaining genuine human connections and caution against over-reliance on artificial intelligence.

• Jack Armstrong: "We're still living in a world without a pope ain't easy." (08:56)

• Joe Getty: "We Protestants have been calling out the Catholic Church on the issue for over 500 years." (36:53)

The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to engage with the content, submit feedback, and stay informed through the Armstrong & Getty On Demand podcast.

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Key Takeaways:

• Higher Education Crisis: Elite universities face significant challenges due to student activism, Marxist influences, and declining educational standards.

• Trade and Tariffs: Ongoing trade tensions, particularly between the US and China, are causing economic disruptions and price hikes.

• AI's Societal Impact: The rise of AI poses questions about the future of human relationships, with concerns over AI replacing genuine human interactions.

• Listener Engagement: The Mailbag segment highlights diverse listener perspectives, enriching the conversation with real-world insights.

Notable Quotes:

• "They have created their own little monsters and now they are reaping the rewards of having done so." — Joe Getty (07:13)

• "Night Stick time." — Joe Getty (10:14)

• "The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 2:41 local time, May 7, 1945." — Joe Getty (34:16)

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand provides a robust examination of contemporary issues, urging listeners to reflect on the state of institutions and the trajectory of technological advancements.

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Please note: Timestamps are indicated in the format (MM:SS) corresponding to the transcript provided.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio.

[Advertiser]

Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Joe Getty]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty live from Studio C Senior, a dimly lit.

[Jack Armstrong]

Room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Yeti Communications compound on Little Friday. It is Thursday and today we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[Joe Getty]

Which one would you prefer? Militant college students or Yee?

[Jack Armstrong]

How about 80 years ago today we saved the world by defeating Nazi Germany.

[Joe Getty]

What is this? The olden days? That is a good one. It's excellent. And you reminded me I have a freedom loving quoted today on that very topic. Yes, indeed. It's VE Day, as they say, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which was the bulk of the whole World War II thing for, you know, a long time.

[Joe Getty]

So not to discount the fighting in the Pacific, certainly.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. So 80 years ago today on that. That's exciting. And then what were your other two options for a general manager? You got Kanye's. Kanye's new album with About Hitler. That's kind of a good timing.

[Joe Getty]

His. He puts the hit back in Hitler. It's the new smash hit everybody's dancing.

[Jack Armstrong]

To across the nation puts the hit back in Hitler. That's pretty funny.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, and then terribly distasteful.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then the friggin. I was watching this. I got into this yesterday afternoon and couldn't stop watching videos of the college kids or Marxists from other campuses or who knows they're going to end up being that took over the library there at Columbia. Just ridiculous that this is going on. Absolutely ridiculous. Arrest everyone. Kick every single one of those kids out of school. And it will end. It will go away. You won't have this problem anymore. It's easy to solve.

[Joe Getty]

It is so familiar, isn't it? This pattern. I remember it so distinctly when Antifa was terrorizing, terrorizing Portland night after night, week after week, month after month. And we said, don't you dare, Michael. Don't you dare. He wants to play the night after night clip. No, no, I won't. All right, but so, and, and I remember saying at the time to Ted Wheeler, the mayor, Ted, you cannot passive your way out of this. It will not end. They will keep pushing and p. And pushing. And that was absolutely correct and it finally had to be stamped down. You get your bullhorns, you cops. You say you have 60 seconds to assemble at the exits and begin an orderly exit or else you will be charged with criminal trespass. Any students found in violation of criminal trespass laws will be evicted from this college by order of the president of the university. And then you just line them up and you cuff them and you check IDs and you enforce that law. It will be over in the blink.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, absolutely. The 80 some arrests. So they did arrest quite a few people. But how many students are they going to kick out? Are they going to finally start kicking students out of freaking school?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, arrests are insane. Nothing. Arrests are promises, right, which are cheap and charges or something evict or what do you call it? Expulsions. That's something, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Because it's obviously a badge of honor for a lot of those kids to get arrested and hauled off by the man. I mean they're chanting, printing worldwide intifada and tearing up the library, defacing it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that's right, ma' am. The timing's everything, Michael. The consequence free arrest is the catnip, it's the porn. For these self important deluded little children, that's like the one thing they want more than anything else. Good lord, how do people not see that?

[Jack Armstrong]

And coincidentally, just like an hour earlier, there had been another one of those hearings in Congress where they're questioning various presidents of colleges about their anti Semitism and how they're dealing with their Marxist students and whatnot. And some of the answers were similar to the past, kind of wishy washy. We have strict policies, but have you ever punished anybody? Well, we have strict policies. Have you ever punished anybody? So the problem is the university agrees with them. That's the problem with all of these universities. The college president agrees with the students. If they had their way, they'd be 30 years younger and in the library spray painting worldwide indifferent on the wall.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. You know, it strikes me that I think we may be talking about the symptom and not the disease. I came across an absolutely terrific analysis of college kids at some of the elite universities and how they all cheat with AI constantly, even on things like the assignment was tell me a little bit about yourself and what you hope to get out of this class. They use AI to cheat on that. And the reason is they think their classes are a joke. The school is a joke. It's a place to make connections. It's a place to meet chicks or guys, to find the co founder of your company to get the degree and go make those connections in the real business world.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or we've eliminated the idea of even thinking about what you're going to do later. You just, you're there for. Well, yeah, being a pain in the ass.

[Joe Getty]

The one thing you're not there for is an education.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, exactly.

[Joe Getty]

Which is just. It really ought to make you stop and think.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't.

[Joe Getty]

How far can any human enterprise get off track? This far, apparently.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know it's weird because on one hand I don't care about the elite universities. Neither one of my kids are going to go to them. Every time they embarrass themselves like this, I'm happy to hear it. I want them to be torn down more. I want people to have less respect for those places.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

So it's a positive every time I hear this stuff out of Harvard or Columbia or Princeton or wherever. But on the other hand, we can't let Marxists run the world.

[Joe Getty]

No, and I don't think we will. I agree with you completely. I was struck in watching those videos that this is fabulous. This is going to force the university's hands. They have created their own little self righteous monsters. And again the kids did not raise themselves. You've got to keep that in mind even as I curse them. They have been indoctrinated since they were very little kids at the government schools under our noses folks and you know, shame on us. But they have created their own little monsters and now they are reaping the rewards of having done so. And the more monstrous little monsters become, the closer I think we are to sanity and a solution. I mean Lord knows these little dip S's aren't going to win the day and change the country. Although we're going to have to reckon with a couple generations of them filtering through the system. Some of them slowly coming to their senses and breaking through their indoctrination to sense what reality actually looks and smells like. Some of them never will. They will be your Bill Ayers nutjob radicals until they're finally in the grave. But what are you going to do?

[Jack Armstrong]

I would think at some point parents who are paying ridiculous amounts of money to send their kids there would be like, hey one, I need my kid to be able to go to the library and study for finals because that's what was going on yesterday and to this degree now comes along with a lot of scrutiny of I don't want to hire this kid unless they can prove they're not a Marxist. So I would think enough parent at some point but that that'll take a while, that that'll be a slow result. That'd be a lagging indicator.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I think it hurts us that we're not northeasterners, that we don't feel culturally that reverence for the Ivies and that desperation to get your kids into them because that way their ticket is punched. And so to a lot of parents, the idea of them actually getting an education, etc. Etc. It's kind of beside the point.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're still living in a world without a pope ain't easy.

[Joe Getty]

Plus hopeless.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got a comment.

[Joe Getty]

Hopeless after all these years.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got a comment on that. But first we better start the show officially before we get in trouble with the Trump administration. I'm Jack Armstrong, he's Joe Getty and I mean they send us our orders as a lot of you text on a regular basis. It also what we can talk about and what views to take. I'm Jack Armstrong, he's Joe Getty on this. It is Thursday, May 8, V. E Day, the year 2025, or Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Send the white smoke up the chimney. Michael. We have a show and it begins precisely according to FCC rules. Regs at. Mark. Excuse me. I'm trying to study for my bipoc Gender queer studies final. I'm having trouble concentrating.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm trying to study for my bipoc Queer studies genders final.

[Joe Getty]

Well, you almost got it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I'm sure it doesn't make much sense.

[Joe Getty]

You haven't been studying clearly.

[Jack Armstrong]

The drums are one thing. The tearing down the shelves and spray painting the walls with the intifada starts here and that sort of thing cannot be tolerated. Unbelievable.

[Joe Getty]

Night Stick.

[Jack Armstrong]

But so quickly before we take a break so there's plenty of time for Katie's headlines. One of the.

[Joe Getty]

Gotta go Buddy Rich on him. Jack. I'm sorry to be br. Brutal, but it's night stick time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Buddy Rich, one of the famous drummers from like the 40s and 50s.

[Joe Getty]

John Bonham, Neil Peart, you pick your favorite Phil Collins. Phil Collins. Get back to class now.

[Jack Armstrong]

You do the famous Phil Collins riff on everybody's head. Barbaric. Now you.

[Joe Getty]

All right? Oh, there he goes.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm dying still.

[Joe Getty]

We're all dying, Jack, slowly from time.

[Jack Armstrong]

What? One of the main parts of this job Joe and I have is trying to figure out what we think is actually interesting to you. And it requires a number of things. And part of it is you take in, you know, a whole bunch of media from other places, and, you know, sometimes they're. They got the stuff that's interesting, sometimes they really don't. I mean, our first boss, Ken, was pretty good about, you know, we get to decide what's the important story. Nobody else has to decide. Like, I flipped on Fox and Friends this morning, and I actually kept fast forwarding and kept time 12 full minutes before they did anything other than pulp coverage.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I just don't believe. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't believe y' all are that interested. I don't believe y' all are hanging on second by second. Updates on the Pope, where you need a quarter of an hour to start your day before you get into any other news story. There's a lot of them.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Well, well. And if you would like that, you know, that's great.

[Jack Armstrong]

Go.

[Joe Getty]

Go seek it out and enjoy it. And. And we'll meet you later. That's fine. Look. Yeah, that's fine.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can't imagine it in as serious a tones as you can imagine.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Still no pope, as you can see. People are gathered. The black smoke came up, and at this moment, we do not have a Pope. Let's go live to. Like, what? All right. India attacked Pakistan again last night with the strongest attack in a half a century between two nuclear powers that have.

[Joe Getty]

Been bristling forever because Pakistan attacked them. Huh.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trump's announcing a big trade deal with Great Britain today. You got XI in Moscow where they've got their big celebration going on while Ukraine's trying to attack Moscow and has been very successful for several days. So that could be very exciting if that goes down in the middle of it anyhow. Or you can talk about black smoke and the Pope. I mean, how many times did I see the news story yesterday if there was a pigeon up by the smokestack? All right, okay, fantastic.

[Joe Getty]

Again, to each their own.

[Jack Armstrong]

Pulp pigeons, which is not a bad band name. So we got Katie's headlines.

[Joe Getty]

You mentioned a good one.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mailbag got a bunch of other stuff. I'm dying of tuberculosis. All happening today. Our text line. 415295 KFTC.

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[Jack Armstrong]

So I'm at the grocery store yesterday buying toilet paper. Somehow it run out of toilet paper. You should never let that happen. It's down to the last roll. So I'm at the grocery store buying in toilet paper and I buy a big thing of the softest, best stuff they have because you know what? I didn't work.

[Joe Getty]

Yourself. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I didn't work my whole life to use sandpaper.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh?

[Joe Getty]

You deserve this.

[Jack Armstrong]

So anyway, I get up there and I'm checking out and he said, man, you want to buy a couple? Because we're really raising prices on a lot of stuff next week everything's going to shoot up. And I said because of the tariffs and the kid working there said, I don't know why, but I have to go in and redo all the prices next week. It's going up a lot. So I thought, who? That's interesting. So that's about the time I'm going to start noticing. Kind of like during COVID when inflation hit.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Wow. Way to get on the streets and do some first person reporting. Well done. I have a personal assistant who I tell what I need from the store and he sends his assistant.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you're personal assistant has to try eight different brands of toilet paper and then give a full report.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah. Written. Yeah, yeah. And if he tries to use AI, I'll detect it. I want a personal report. All right, We've got a lot to talk about.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's do it.

[Joe Getty]

Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's lead story with Katie Green.

[Katie Green]

Katie, starting with NBC News, ahead of key talks, Trump says he will not soften his China tariffs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I'm surprised when he gives answers like that. Will you consider lessening the tariffs on China? No. Is a big newsmaker. How are you going to negotiate if you don't stand firm on your your side? I mean, what.

[Joe Getty]

Oh yeah. If you announce going in. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll drop it at least 25%.

[Katie Green]

From the new York Post, Kilmar Obrego Garcia allegedly worked for a convicted human smuggler to transport illegal migrants.

[Joe Getty]

I have the Maryland father, the league coach. This is shocking revelation.

[Katie Green]

From Fox News U.S. air Traffic Control system overhaul to be unveiled amid major safety concerns.

[Joe Getty]

Love it. It's high time. Let's do it. Let's shake things up. Let's change things. We become hidebound and paralyzed with our bureaucracies and our systems. Let's shake it up.

[Katie Green]

From Breitbart.com Doge deactivates 500,000 unused or unneeded government issued credit cards as audit expands.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Half million government credit cards floating around out there because nobody keeps track. Nobody cares. Not their money.

[Katie Green]

From Bloomberg. FTC says Instagram suggested, quote, groomers connect with minors.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sorry, what?

[Katie Green]

Did Instagram. Their algorithm is actually driving minors content in the direction of people who are showing signs of being pedophiles on there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Doesn't surprise me. I mean, they've showed an interest in a certain kind of video and the algorithm picks that up.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, right. You know, Mark Zuckerberg said the other day, we ought to talk about this. My vision is that most of your friends, if not all, will be AI And I swear, when it turns out he is Satan and they go backward and connect the dots and explain it, you'll think, oh, how did I miss that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Zuckerberg said that the other day.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've got some real life examples of that too that are shocking to me. Yeah, well, I'll talk about that later.

[Katie Green]

From Daily Mail. Warning as venomous insect imported from China invades 19 US states.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, what is it?

[Katie Green]

It's called the Asian needle ant.

[Joe Getty]

Good Lord.

[Katie Green]

And they are ugly.

[Joe Getty]

First Covid, then this. Thanks, China.

[Jack Armstrong]

The Asian needle ant. And what does it do? It jumps up and pokes up my eyes. What's it do to me?

[Katie Green]

Precisely.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's it.

[Joe Getty]

Good.

[Katie Green]

From USA Today, Pirates fan describes injuries sustained in 21 foot fall at PNC Park. I've broken everything, but I'm all right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Have you seen the latest video of somebody released that was behind him? And this is the first really good video of how he went over. And then the picture that came out over the weekend of him laying on his back spread eagled in his little shorts. That's not a. Not a dignified look.

[Katie Green]

And finally, from the Babylon be Trump renames San Francisco Bay, the Gulf of Criminals.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's hilarious.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. We gotta talk about that Zuckerberg thing. You're all your friends are gonna be A.I. well, that's fantastic.

[Joe Getty]

They're not. No. Go to hell.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think he's closer to right than you are.

[Joe Getty]

No, he's Satan. You're worshiping Satan now, huh?

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[Jack Armstrong]

Ford announces sticker price is increasing by 2000 doll due to tariffs. Ford announced that yesterday. Two grand jump at once because of the tariffs is not minor. And I don't know if that was an attempt to get people's attention or just alert people to what's happening or what, but as I mentioned with my charming toilet paper story from a few minutes ago, I think we're all about to start seeing some price changes and the political fallout from that will be exciting to watch.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no doubt. Yeah, absolutely. Just a question of when, where and how much, but it ought to be beginning any second and more. You know what, why don't we go ahead and focus on that. I will just change around the order of what I was going to bring up. American importers are canceling orders and scrambling for alternatives. Chinese factories cut staff and offload goods. The Wall Street Journal reporting on a number of different companies, including your major toy importers, your Bubble guns and Super Soakers and all sorts of that sort of thing, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Tons and tons of pardon me, slip and slides.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, probably a classic fun now as in yesterday. But yeah, it's all made in China or virtually. You know, so much of it's made in China you might as well say that. And they're describing Trump's tariffs and the chaos it's creating for business people on both sides of the Pacific. One of the more notable parts of this article, I thought, is that Chinese factories halting production lines, furloughing workers, sideline goods are piling up in storage. And duke Galway, a 30 year old Chinese consultant who helps local exporters sell their goods on TikTok, which is still happening in the US even though there's a law that banned it. Trump, what are you doing? It's a Chinese intelligence agency spy tool. More on that later. Said many of his clients that sell cheaper custom made goods are simply instructing shipping companies to get rid of goods on the voyage to the us after the American customer said, we don't want them anymore. They're halfway across the Pacific. We don't care. We don't want them. So whether the goods are dumped into the sea or the sailors repossess them, I don't know. He said, wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, so I said, I've been saying for a couple of weeks, there's gonna be a day come where this is like the only story in the country, practically. Do you still think that's possible?

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Trump is getting trade deals set up as quickly as possible. They are going to announce today the framework of a trade deal with Britain. The numbers yet to be filled in, which means hardly a deal at all.

[Jack Armstrong]

At least in the numbers. I just looked at, Britain's like 3% of our trading. They're very little bit right.

[Joe Getty]

We're very big for them, not much for us. It's, they're easy, friendly and cooperative and haven't defied Trump in any way. That's why they're first through the door.

[Jack Armstrong]

What do I get? Great Britain spotted dick. I order that about once a year.

[Joe Getty]

Well, if you want spotted dick, get it from Britain, trust me. But look it up, it's a real thing. It's a dessert, allegedly.

[Jack Armstrong]

An unfortunate thing that can happen to a sailor after a long see.

[Joe Getty]

That's incorrect. That is not correct. What was I trying to say? Oh, so they're going to announce the framework of a deal, whatever that means. Any deal without the numbers filled in is no deal at all anyway. China is the source of 74% of the US's important toys and games, 87% of our Christmas decorations, even though they're godless.

[Jack Armstrong]

So nine out of 10 Christmas decorations made in China, not surprising.

[Joe Getty]

But excluding natural Christmas trees, obviously, 97% of our fireworks. With the Fourth of July Amir less than two months away, Americans imported a total of $440 billion of goods from China last year, according to the Census Bureau, anyway. And it goes from oil drilling press vices, calipers, industrial metal working products, super soakers, fake Christmas trees. It's just, it's so many things, as anybody who's tried to buy American has discovered in examining tags. So when, again, when it hits. Where it hits and how hard it hits is anybody's guess, but it's about to hit.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah, like, you know, like I was told yesterday, hey, you might want to buy two of those toilet papers because next week we're raising the price a lot. I think people are going to notice.

[Joe Getty]

So I'm curious about that. I don't believe we import our TP from China. I would have to look. I thought we have had domestic or like Mexican paper mills and that sort of thing, but I would have to check. But is that just a generalized raising of prices by the grocery store to.

[Jack Armstrong]

See, you know, I buy Dr. G's Booty Wipe. What, what is your brand? Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Chairman Cheese Clean Bottom. So moving along Zuckerberg's grand division, most of our friends will be a I.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is already happening. I don't think you understand how much this is happening. I luckily have a normal human being out there who has been like a reporter for me, sending me screen captions of their friends. They're horrified and amazed how many like average normal middle class people are turning to AI for companionship. Like people they would have never guessed are doing that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, I don't doubt it. I've heard your, your reports and I believe them.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm also, when I see them, I'm shocked. I'm like, really? Really? You're coming home from work after a long stressful day and you're having a conversation with a bot and it's comforting you and you're excited about it and you can't wait till next time.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, okay. So if I were, who would Satan's boss be? Depends on your, your interpretation of scriptures, I suppose, and your, your view of God and man. But if I were to like, maybe the old Satan quits and I need a new one and various demons come in to interview for the job. I'm going to sit them down and I'm going to say, understand, your job is to steal people's souls.

[Jack Armstrong]

Job one. Now you had one job.

[Joe Getty]

The job one is stealing people's souls. There's a lot of rigmarole. There's a lot of fire and brimstone, you pitchfork. There's a lot of stuff around the edges. But what we're here to do is steal people's souls. And the way you do that, some you can seduce, but the best way is to deaden their souls. So let's talk about deadening souls. And you know, if you were to accept that description of the work of the evil one, I think Mark Zuckerberg is, at the very least, his most able imp, his most able assistant. I don't doubt for a second what you're saying. And I get it. I've read some exchanges between real humans and AI, quote unquote, friends, where the real human says, hey, I'm really frustrated at work. My boss does this. And the AI gives them, you know, some. Some thoughts and approaches, a sympathetic ear and stuff. I'm not saying it's. It's insane. I'm saying it is as seductive as it is, because it's not insane. Well.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. I'm trying to accept it as it clearly seems to be human nature that we have to anthropomorphize. I never can say that word that was well done. This sort of conversation. And our brain just does it whether we want to or not.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And gives us, like, an attachment to it as if it's a person.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Whether that's good or not, definitely not. Is a completely different question, which you have helpfully answered. So Mark Zuckerberg wants you to have AI friends and AI therapist and AI business agent. In Zuckerberg's vision for new digital future artificial intelligence, friends outnumber human companions and chatbot experiences supplant therapists, ad agencies, and coders. AI will play a central role in the human experience. Facebook co founder said in a recent series of interviews.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thank you. Throughout two very different things there that he kind of lumped together as if they're similar. The AI will be the coders. Okay, fine, I can see agencies, but your friends and companions. Okay, now we're into something completely different.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Yeah, I think people are going to want a system that knows them well and that kind of understands them in a way that their feed algorithms do. God, he's a robot. He thinks people want a friend, computer friend that understands them the way our algorithms understand them. He said on a podcast last week he thinks the average person wants to have more friends and connections with other people than they currently do, and that AI friends are the solution. No, they're not. Real friends, real interactions. There have been giant leaps forward in programs in various areas, schools, groups, et cetera, who institute guidelines and plans that young people in particular interact on a human level together. Cell phone bans, outings to the woods, et cetera. People are rediscovering that. And not surprisingly, friends. I'm sure you're not surprised. Not surprisingly, they're reporting wonderful results. Doing precisely the opposite of what Satan. I'm sorry, Mr. Zuckerberg is suggesting. I'm horrified by this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, so probably need to divorce it from Zuckerberg because it's going to happen whether he. If he dropped dead today, it's still going to go forward. The fact that this exists out there. But I am interested. Does he actually think that that's a positive or is he only thinking, as a businessman, there's going to be trillions of dollars in this and I want to lead the way and make the money? He can't actually think people having fake connections is a leap forward of some sort.

[Joe Getty]

Sure he could. He's just. He lacks insight and he's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then he's a weird dude.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. I think there are a lot of people like him out there. For what it's. What was I going to say? Zuckerberg, Satan. Oh, he talks about like AI therapists.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? I know, I know, I know secondhand because I've like, I've seen the screenshots from friends who probably shouldn't be sending their friends screenshots. People who are leaning on the AI therapist thing or advice for their marriage or raising their kids and all kinds of different things and like feeling really deep connections here. That's the part that's weird, right?

[Joe Getty]

I would agree. That is a little bit troubling, the deep connections as if it's a human being that, that troubles me. Although the idea of an AI therapist I think is a good one, at least potentially speaking. Because just speaking for, for instance, my daughter.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, the real ones suck.

[Joe Getty]

Well, exactly. If you can get an appointment to find out they suck, you can't find out they suck for 140 days.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right.

[Joe Getty]

So yeah, to have somebody, a system that was, you know, useful in say, aiding somebody in self guided behavior. Cognitive behavioral therapy, for instance, if you know what it is. If you don't, if you know you do. If you don't. I would chat GPT it. Speaking of which, I will never Google anything again. I've really gotten into chat GPT. There are other systems that are probably every bit as good. I just had to choose one. I chose that one.

[Jack Armstrong]

So. So it's. Explain to me how that works. Do I have like an app that I go to and then I type in my question there instead of Google?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, okay. Precisely. I mean you can do all sorts of other things with it, but yeah, just for search, like ages ago. This is a silly example, but I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Had a. I want me with a dog face. Can I do.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, good lord, yes you can. You can if you would like. Yes, but I used it. I've been trying to find a particular loft in a golf club which is really hard because they don't make many of them. I had one years ago. I haven't found one since and I have tried to Google it and I get reams of useless ads and results from various golf club suppliers and salespeople and whatever. Just utterly, utterly useless. I used chatgpt just for fun this morning to see if I could find it and they said that club is almost impossible to find because they're usually manufactured with these parameters. We found you some stuff that's very close. Check this out. Wow. And it was night and day better than Google. Which brings us to. Because we're running out of time. AI's threat to Google just got real drop in search traffic is reminder technical advancement technological can displace long established tech giants and indeed for the first time ever, Google searches have dropped significantly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can you bring this up again later? I want to talk about. I would be more time because I think this is a really good topic and I think there's a lot of people like me that haven't taken the step you've taken that will today after we hear you explain how it works and this sort of stuff that's, that's really interesting.

[Joe Getty]

And Google stock plummeted upon this disclosure.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that'd be a crying shame.

[Joe Getty]

I know it's sad.

[Jack Armstrong]

Google could go the way of Yahoo dominant to all of a sudden.

[Joe Getty]

Not MySpace, please. Yeah, a joke, a punchline.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've got mailbag on the way and a bunch of stuff. You have any thoughts on any of this? Text line 415295 KFTC.

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Armstrong and Getty.

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Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 247 access to to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm a giant World War II fan, as listeners know, but May 8th has never been in my head as a date that like I commemorate the way I do. Like June 6th or a lot of other days, December 7th. But Trump wants to change that and he made another announcement about that today.

[Joe Getty]

He's, he's, he's dying, folks. We're talking about VE Day, which actually is a local time, May 7th or the declaration of victory.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, well, Trump just announced like 10 minutes ago that he wants to rename May 8th V E Day in the United States.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, that's. We'll talk about it. I'm not sure the president ought to unilaterally do that sort of thing. We have a Congress. But here's your freedom loving quote of the day with a little description. So when the complete surrender of the German forces was received, the officers around Eisenhower tried out several grand statements, rough drafts for him to look at, hoping to come up with words worthy of the momentous occasion. But the supreme commander took a look at him, didn't like him, and he issued this statement instead. And here's your freedom loving quote of the day. The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 2:41 local time, May 7, 1945.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go.

[Joe Getty]

We did our job. I love that. I love that. Speeches and grand, eloquent, you know, mission fulfilled. Yeah, yeah. We set out to do it. It's done.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what I sometimes say in the bedroom.

[Joe Getty]

Good Lord. Mailbag. Worst thing you've ever said.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Drop us a note. Mailbag. No, say no.

[Jack Armstrong]

Long list.

[Joe Getty]

Say no more. Please, I'm begging you. Drop us a Note mailbag. @armstronginggetty.com Jeff writes on the topic of the Columbia University madness. More on that to come. Could you imagine spending $70,000 a year to send your kid to that school and having to deal with this chaos? Unmask antifa. That's the thing. They shut down the library and said if you're coming out, you're taking off your mask. We're arrest arresting you. We're identifying everybody in this library.

[Jack Armstrong]

All those to start idiots in there and their C is wrapped around their face. I don't, I don't. Some of them are Marxists. I think a whole bunch of them are the classic useful idiot. They don't know what they're doing.

[Joe Getty]

Sure. Yeah. Yep. Let's see. Star rights. Hey guys. Looks like my alma mater grew a pair. And in the heart of red Seattle, Blue Seattle, you mean Bravo University of Washington, Bravo and deport any foreign students on visas. The headline is University of Washington suspends 21 students after occupation of the engineering building they were occupying in protest of the school's ties to Boeing. Anyway, it's a pro Palestinian thing. Who knows what, what stupid garbage it is. On the topic of sin, celibacy and priests, you gentlemen writes KP have mentioned the horrors of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church with little reference to the 16th century Protestant Reformation. In case you were wondering, we Protestants have been calling out the Catholic Church on the issue for over 500 years. Follow the links below. You can read some quotes from the great reformer Martin Luther on the subject of clerical celibacy and all the harm it causes the Church.

[Jack Armstrong]

Interesting.

[Joe Getty]

If you've never read Luther, I recommend it highly. You'll be surprised at his sharp wit and irreverent sense of humor. I actually read some of it and it's really, really interest.

[Jack Armstrong]

Interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll check that out. I'm. I'm unaware of that.

[Joe Getty]

I will send you the links, senor. We will post them at Armstrong&getty.com Jonathan in Fort Scott, Kansas writes, Anyone ever mentioned that birth rates are falling just because there are a few babies around? Babies are so cute it makes others want them. Without that driver, it's a negative feedback loop.

[Jack Armstrong]

There would be less. There's less baby fever with fewer babies around, I suppose. Makes sense.

[Joe Getty]

Good point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. If you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand.

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Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Podcast Announcer]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care. You're listening to an I Heart podcast.