Let Love Bloom!

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Let Love Bloom!"

Date: September 17, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty
Special Guest: David Drucker (The Dispatch)

EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode dives into the aftermath of the high-profile assassination of Charlie Kirk, its impact on American politics, and the tone of current political discourse. Special guest David Drucker unpacks why Utah's brand of politics—embodied by Governor Spencer Cox—doesn't translate nationwide. The hosts also share lighter moments discussing scams, inspirational stories, and personal anecdotes, all while maintaining the show's signature wry banter.

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MAIN SEGMENTS & KEY DISCUSSION POINTS

1. The Assassination of Charlie Kirk and the American Political Climate

[01:28 – 04:03]

• Governor Cox's response declared the assassination "an attack on the American experiment," sparking both praise and criticism.
• Jack Armstrong introduces David Drucker for deeper analysis, mentioning Drucker's new home at The Dispatch and their philosophy of avoiding premature reactions and clickbait.

Notable Quote:
“This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk. But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment.”
– Governor Spencer Cox, quoted by Jack Armstrong [01:28]

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2. The Unique Political Culture of Utah & Governor Cox

[04:03 – 08:16]

• Drucker explains why Utah’s political landscape allows Republicans like Cox (and Mitt Romney) to be critical of Trump and still thrive—unlike most states.
• Utah Republicans, though supportive of Trump overall, maintain a Reagan-era sense of decorum and are more open to criticism within the party.

Notable Quote:
"You can be critical of Donald Trump in Utah and win a Republican primary. Now, I don't think that you can be an opponent of Donald Trump and win … But they will brook criticism, and they will see that as a sign of leadership."
– David Drucker [06:17]

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3. Why "Conciliatory" Republicans Struggle Nationally

[08:16 – 12:05]

• Drucker doubts that Cox’s “decent” tone could win over primary voters elsewhere, especially against combative populists like J.D. Vance.
• Republican voters want a "fighter," often overlooking Trump's provocations because he’s seen as defending their interests.
• Both parties have increasingly adopted each other’s aggressive political tactics, a shift from “rules and decorum” to “do whatever it takes.”

Notable Quotes:
"Republicans...say to themselves, well, he's a fighter. He's fighting for us. He is not allowing the Democrats to do the sort of unfair things..."
– David Drucker [09:13]

"The broader analytical point I was making was Republicans in a sense said, well, if you can't beat them, join them."
– David Drucker [12:02]

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4. The "Race to the Bottom" in Politics

[12:05 – 14:25]

• Both sides believe the other plays dirtier, perpetuating endless escalation.
• Drucker uses a marriage anecdote to suggest healing might require someone to "punt" on keeping score, but doubts either side is willing.
• Armstrong expresses pessimism about improvement.

Notable Quotes:
"Both Republican operatives and Democratic operatives...consistently tell me the other side plays dirtier than us. I wish we played as dirty as them, then we would win as much as they did."
– David Drucker [12:29]

"If you look at the United States of America like an extended big family, we never punt. Neither side ever punts. You go for it on fourth down, always."
– Jack Armstrong [13:56]

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5. News Oddities & Human Interest

[16:58 – 19:44]

• Hosts riff on Pepsi’s new “natural” dyes in Doritos and Cheetos (“health-conscious chips for people who eat Doritos!”).
• Rant about “energy bars” masquerading as healthy snacks but essentially being candy bars.
• Recurring reference to viral video of a young woman, Lulu Gribbin, hitting golf balls after a shark attack left her with one arm and one leg. The hosts are both awed and humorously self-deprecating.

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6. Scam Emails: Jack’s Ukrainian "Girlfriend"

[21:26 – 24:39]

• Jack shares an ongoing saga with a scam email romance and reads hilariously over-the-top lines from the messages.
• Joe Getty suggests, tongue-in-cheek, that Jack lets “love bloom” and admires the sophistication of modern scams.

Notable Quote:
“Maybe soon you and me will be walking in a beautiful park, holding each other's hands and talking, dreaming. Life is so short, and we should value every moment of it. I'm sending you my air kiss and waiting for your answer with impatience.”
– “Ukrainian scammer” email, read by Jack [24:18]

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7. Joe Getty Checks in from Monterey Peninsula

[24:50 – 29:43]

• Joe is away on a golf trip with friends, shares humorous tales of being “overserved” and the traditions of an elite golf club.
• They riff on cocaine’s alleged return (in the news), with Joe riffing on the “downside” of the drug in signature cranky-dad style.

Notable Quote:
“If you want a drug that turns you into an A hole...do a little cocaine. Turns you into a complete raving jackass of a person.”
– Joe Getty [28:24]

• Sweet moment: Joe’s daughter Delaney May's birthday, recalling announcing her birth live on air 26 years ago.
• More golf discussion: shoutout to the viral one-legged golfer and the inspiration she provides.

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8. Ongoing Charlie Kirk News and Public Reaction

[30:54 – 34:36]

• Discusses the 71-year-old man who allegedly tried to distract police after the Kirk shooting (“It's hard to believe they're not in cahoots”).
• Joe observes the disturbing celebratory reactions among some young people to the assassination, calling it a sign of “ugly nihilism.”

Notable Quotes:
"I think that sort of ugly nihilism is more common than we imagined."
– Joe Getty [33:13]

“It's just so easy to go down the road of the tit for tat. They did this. We'll do that back and forth.”
– Jack Armstrong [34:42]

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9. TikTok's Algorithm & Policy Update

[37:39 – 40:37]

• The TikTok/China divestment deal is under debate: whether the all-powerful “algorithm” will stay the same in the U.S. or be replaced.
• Hosts compare a possible algorithm change to rebuilding a “historic” restaurant: “It’s not the same.”

Notable Quote:
"It's going to have the same name, but if it has a new algorithm, it's not TikTok, it's just something else."
– Jack Armstrong [39:31]

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MEMORABLE MOMENTS & QUOTES

• “[Utah Republicans] look at politics with a Reagan era sense of rules and decency and decorum.”
  – David Drucker [05:55]
• “If you look at the United States...like a big family, we never punt.”
  – Jack Armstrong [13:56]
• “Sometimes you have to know when to punt.”
  – Rabbi Jimmy Kessler, via David Drucker [13:45]
• “Turns you into a complete raving jackass of a person.”
  – Joe Getty on cocaine [28:24]

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TONALITY

The episode seamlessly blends sobering political analysis with rapid-fire wit and satirical observations, characteristic of Armstrong & Getty. Moments of irreverence and self-deprecation (scam romance, junk food rants) leaven the heavier themes of political tribalism and polarization.

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TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• [01:28] Governor Cox's remarks on Kirk assassination
• [02:25] David Drucker on at The Dispatch, philosophy of reporting
• [04:32] Why Utah's politics are different (Drucker explains)
• [08:16] Can Cox's style succeed nationally?
• [09:09] The "fighter" mentality in GOP voters
• [12:05] Race to the bottom: both sides blame each other
• [13:45] Drucker’s marriage advice analogy
• [16:58] Cheetos and Doritos “health” story, energy bar rant
• [21:26] Jack’s scam email “romance”
• [24:50] Joe Getty tuning in from Pebble Beach area, golf stories
• [30:54] The suspicious old man at Kirk shooting, campus reactions
• [37:39] TikTok/algorithm debate

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CONCLUSION

This packed episode features sharp insights about the current hazardous state of American politics, the uniqueness of Utah’s GOP environment, and the challenges of achieving conciliation. In trademark fashion, Armstrong & Getty balance heavier commentary with laughter, oddball news, and personal anecdotes. Listeners gain a richer perspective on political polarization, current events, and the absurdity of modern life—all with a sly smile.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[B]

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[C]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio.

[A]

Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[B]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[C]

Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[D]

This is, this is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk. But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack.

[A]

So that's Governor Cox from the other day after the Charlie Kirk assassination of Utah. And he got a lot of play and a lot of attention across the country and a lot of people thought he sounded like a rock star and then came across one of our favorite pundits who thought that ain't gonna work. So we thought we would talk to that pundit, favorite friend of the show, David Drucker. David Drucker is with the Dispatch, a senior writer, author of In Trump's Shadow, the battle for 2024 in the future of the GOP. David Drucker, welcome back to the Armstrong and Getty Show.

[C]

Yeah, good to be back.

[A]

How do you like the Dispatch, by the way? I'm one of the founding joiners. I paid the big check right off the bat so I could be a lifetime member. That's how much I like the Dispatch. But how do you like working there?

[C]

We appreciate it. I think we're building something really great here.

[A]

I agree.

[C]

They give me the freedom to report news, to report good stories, they invest in campaign travel, and I just can't say enough about what I think we're building here. But also the sort of trust they give me to pursue really good stuff. And the fact that we just don't do clickbait. Nothing that we think is clickbait.

[D]

Right.

[A]

Yeah, I know, I know. Steven. Jonah, One of their things is, and I see this every time there's a big giant breaking story like Charlie Crook's assassination, you don't see a bunch of comments immediately out of people with the dispatch. They wait until, you know, facts come out and things settle down a little bit before you start shooting your mouths off or tweeting your mouths off.

[C]

Yeah, it's a philosophy with us and sometimes we've had to move quicker. After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the president at that time a presidential candidate in Butler, Pennsylvan, we moved very quickly to at least post the news and probably moved quicker with our follow up coverage the next day. But in general, we like to make sure we know what we're talking about or that we don't sort of report anything in the heat of the moment that then just turns out to be all wrong in terms of the context. Context is a very big deal with us.

[A]

So I have a pretty healthy dose of bipartisan disgust with politics all the way around and the, you know, just the tone of things for, for quite a while now. And be nice if we can calm that down. And it kind of fits it with what I saw you saying the other day. I don't remember where I caught you, but you were a little not so fast on Governor Cox of Utah, even though I liked what he had to say. You don't think his tone is going to work in our current politics, is that correct?

[C]

No, no, I don't think I meant that. I think what I was probably, of course, like, you have been sort of providing so much analysis that I don't totally remember everything I said, but I think what I think the discussion you're probably referring to was a question of whether or not Governor Cox's approach to politics can, can, can travel beyond Utah. And I think I was trying to make the particular point that one of the reasons you can have a Governor Cox who is a Republican in Utah is because the incentive structure that he gets from Utah Republican voters is different than Republican voters in other states.

[A]

So I love this, I love this angle. Explain that to us.

[C]

So, and I'm not saying not, I'm not saying necessarily every single Republican leaning state would reject Governor Cox in a Republican primary. But if you're looking for reasons why, for instance, in 2018, Mitt Romney was able to win a Republican primary being exactly who he was critical of Trump at times, enough that people noticed, so it was a regular thing, but was still able to be the overwhelming favorite in a Republican primary. The reason Governor Cox has been able to succeed in Republican politics in Utah, despite being critical at times enough that everybody notices of President Trump, is because Republican voters in Utah, although they're, although they are supportive of Trump and there is a strong, you know, like sort of MAGA faction or populist or just pro Trump faction of Republicans in Utah. The broad Republican electorate in Utah is basically a very, very Republican state by the numbers. They look at politics in a sort of Reagan era with a Reagan era sense of rules and decency and decorum. You know, they look at even the issue of illegal immigration, they look at a little bit differently in that they want a secure bor. You know, they believe in more immigration and they believe that immigrants, even illegal immigrants, should be, you know, treated not necessarily as criminals unless they are criminals. And so you can be critical of Donald Trump in Utah and win a Republican primary. Now, I don't think that you can be an opponent of Donald Trump and win a Republican primary in Utah. They still would prefer Trump as president because he's a Republican and more likely to push conservative policies and support conservative values. But they will brook criticism, and they will see that as a sign of leadership. And yes, there are Republicans in Utah that will run against that or speak out against that as being insufficiently conservative and too critical of Trump when we should be critical of the Democrats instead. They will say, but Utah is just a different sort of place. And it gives Governor Cox, you know, and I'm not taking away from his willingness to speak out in this way. But what I am saying is he does not have to now look over his shoulder in a primary for future office, should he choose to run for another office after his time as governor is up. And he does not have to worry about a complete revolt of the Republican Party in Utah because of the things that he has said.

[A]

Do you think he has any interest in running for president, like trying to beat out J.D. vance for the nomination?

[C]

Well, I don't know because I haven't asked him. And I never put it past the idea that somebody that rises to the level of governor or senator, you know, let alone dog catcher, doesn't have it in their head that they should be president. I don't know that a Republican like Governor Cox can win a Republican primary against a combative populist like J.D. vance or, you know, pick somebody else, because I think Republicans broadly and Particularly when you're looking in a lot of these early states, but even beyond that, have would prefer somebody that is less conciliatory and appears to be more of a fighter.

[A]

Right. That whole fighter thing.

[C]

So one of the. Yeah, I mean, I think one of the reasons that a lot of Republican voters may at times look past Donald Trump's provocative language and behavior, even though they don't agree with it, is because they say to themselves, well, he's a fighter. He's fighting for us. He is not allowing the Democrats to do the sort of unfair things that we believe for years they were doing and that the more sort of rules, following decorum, following statesmanlike Republicans were allowing them to do this idea of traditional conservatism where we're gonna, again, I mean, Democrats will look at this differently. Right. But like if you're an old school conservative of the Reagan mold, Reagan was plenty of fighter. I mean, let's not forget that. But in this idea that, listen, there are just rules we don't break, and even if they break them, we're going to argue that they shouldn't have broken the rules, but we're not going to do what they do. That's just out of fashion right now. If you look at how Republicans conduct themselves, broadly speaking, meaning lawmakers and the president, they really have adopted many of the tactics of the left and the Democratic Party, at least those that the Democratic Party and the left practiced, you know, in my lifetime in the 1980s and the 1990s and the early aughts that Republicans used to complain about. And now what they've, what they've done is adopt those tactics and you know, whether it's boycotts or cancel culture or stretching the bounds of executive authority by the president, I mean, in all these ways.

[A]

And so and people, I can just hear people texting or saying to their radio right now, yes, and now. And we control all three branches of government from doing that. So it's been successful.

[C]

Yeah, no, I think so. And look, I think, you know, Republicans look at it this way too. I mean, to be, and I didn't, I don't think my other comments were unfair. But you know the old saying, to be fair, they watched Bill Clinton have an affair in the Oval Office and lie about it. And Democrats didn't have any problems with that. They never complained about it. They never said Bill Clinton should resign. They never said it was wrong. They basically were tribal. Well, Bill Clinton's our guy. He's doing a good job. Voters seem to like the job. He's doing, look what we've won because of Bill Clinton. And so that's okay. And from a conservative point of view, they've seen all sorts of things like that. And so I'm not saying the right answer is therefore to act like them. But if you talk to Republicans, they're going to say, why are you on our case? Democrats have been doing this for years. The broader analytical point I was making was Republicans in a sense said, well, if you can't beat them, join them.

[A]

Right.

[C]

That's what they did.

[D]

Right.

[A]

How do we, whether it's political violence though, just, you know, X's and O's tactics in politics, how do we stop the race to the bottom though? Each side thinks the other side fights dirtier than them. So we need to adopt their tactics. Both sides think that. I mean, so where do you. Yeah, I mean you don't go anywhere good with that attitude.

[C]

It's the biggest consistency in my 20 plus years of covering politics. Both Republican operatives and Democratic operatives, never mind elected officials, consistently tell me the other side, the other side plays dirtier than us. I wish we played as dirty as them, then we would win as much as they did.

[A]

That's incredible.

[C]

The only way, the only way that any of this stops is if somebody or both sides stop keeping score and just stop. You know my, and this is, I don't normally do personal anecdotes here, but I feel like it's like the best analogy I have some years back, four years ago, whatever, we were celebrating my in laws 50th wedding anniversary. And anyway, the rabbi who married my wife and I is a relative a couple times removed, something like that. Jimmy Kessler who passed away since. But Rabbi Kessler was there and we were asking him because he had been married 50 plus years and I think my wife or I asked him like, how do you do it? We've been married at this point maybe 10 years, nine years, I don't know. How did you get to 50 plus years? And he just looked at us and he said sometimes you have to know when to punt. And that sticks with me because, you.

[A]

Know, that's good marriage advice right there. If nobody does anything else from this, that is a good marriage advice.

[C]

Yeah. But if you look at the United States of America like an extended big family, we never punt.

[A]

Neither side ever punts. You go for it on fourth down, always.

[C]

Yeah. I mean if that's not to say that what, the assassination of Charlie Kirk wasn't a distinct act with this, with, with the, the suspect doing it for distinct political reasons. But when I'm asked the question, where does this end? Well, it either ends very badly or at some point people stop keeping score and say stop.

[A]

Yeah, okay.

[C]

Well, I, that's all I know.

[A]

I'm afraid we're out of time. David. I don't know if I like our chances, at least in the short term on that, but appreciate your talk today. David Drucker of the Dispatch. Thanks for coming on.

[C]

David Anytime. Thank you.

[A]

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[B]

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[D]

Get this. Pepsi is replacing the artificial dyes in Doritos and Cheetos with colors made from beets, radishes and paprika. It's perfect for all those health conscious.

[A]

People who eat Cheetos and Doritos. Right. That's a decent point. If you're a person who wants to eat Doritos. And I eat crap all the time. Everybody who listens knows that the fact that there's a dye in there that 1 in 8 million people could get some kind of cancer from is not, you know, Come on, you don't worry about that sort of things. You're eating freaking Doritos. Which reminds me, we had the conversation the other day, Joe and I, about energy bars. They call them energy bars or, you know, it's a candy bar with a different colored wrapper on it and they. Not all the time, but most of the time it's just a dang candy bar and they put a, like a green wrapper and a stalk of wheat on there and act like, you know, it's not a candy bar.

[E]

They, they say it's a protein bar.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

And there's 20 grams of protein and like 35 grams of sugar.

[A]

Yeah. And a whole bunch of fat and it's chocolate and caramel and peanuts and it's just like any other candy bar. The one I grabbed at the grocery store last night said all natural and artificial flavors. Okay, well, yeah, I'm sure there are some natural flavors in everything. I don't think everything is 100% artificial. That's funny. All natural and artificial flavors. What? Okay, fantastic. So the one legged chick playing golf, I keep see that up on television, wondered what that was. She's the poor girl that got her leg bit off by a shark.

[E]

Yeah. And leg.

[A]

Oh wow. She's, she's hitting a golf ball with one arm and one leg.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Lulu Gribbin, that's her name. And she's actually, she's launching something called Lulu Strong and it's going to help, you know, amputees get into sports here.

[A]

She's not entering an ass kicking contest, is it? Because the legend has it that's a bad idea. It's very tiring. At least that's what the legend is. Incredibly exhausting. Well, good for her. I just, you know. Yeah, obviously good for. She's overcoming something I can't even imagine. But man, I think I just decide my golfing days are behind me and.

[E]

She was 15 years old when this, when she got attacked by the shark.

[A]

Horrible, horrible. Amazing that she lived through that. But. So you sure it's the same person? Because the woman I saw up there, I noticed the one leg because she hits the ball and then she has to hop afterwards just from the momentum of the swing. But she's swinging with one arm too.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

She should challenge all other one legged, one armed people to a golf match. I'll bet she could beat him.

[E]

Oh, I'm sure of it. Yeah, I think, I think it's the same one because she's going to be on one of our big morning talk shows this morning, so.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[C]

Cool.

[E]

Probably.

[C]

Why.

[A]

Yeah, good for her. We're going to talk to one Joe Getty coming up in a little bit. He's going to play golf with both legs and both arms that he has because he's got him. Because he's got him. And he's going to call in in just a few minutes and we'll talk about, I don't know, whatever we're going to talk about then a couple. We got to get to the other explosive part of the hearing yesterday with Cash Patel that people are loving to hate and a bunch of other stuff on the way. So I hope you can stay here.

[C]

Armstrong and Getty.

[B]

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[A]

Before we get to our special guest, Joe Getty who will reveal why he's not here today and all that sort of stuff, I need to tell the story either now or later about this Ukrainian woman that has fallen in love with me and keeps emailing me.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And yeah, it's quite the story.

[E]

That can't be a scam, right?

[A]

No, it's obviously a scam, but it's. It's pretty entertaining. And mostly what I'm getting out of it is, do people actually fall for this? And, and if they do, how incredibly sad is that? I'll have to read you some of the emails. I mean, they're so over the top. Anyway, we'll get to that later. Currently though, we need to welcome the Getty half of Armstrong and Getty to the show. Joe. Getty Joe.

[D]

Hey, during these ugly times, I suggest you let Love Bloom write that gal back.

[A]

Oh, I responded initially to keep it going. So I don't know how she got. She. I'm sure there's no she involved. If there's even a human involved, it might just be a bot, but you know, it's some scamsters, but there was not. So somehow they got my email and knew I was a male. So this is a person portraying themselves and they include pictures and she's like 20 years old. Appears to me you're a little young for me. This hot Ukrainian woman who has fallen in love with me just from my picture. Somebody showed me your picture and I just couldn't stop thinking about you. And so I thought I would email you and think if they see if there's a chance we could be together or something, would you please correspond with me? And, and I. And, and there were no links so, you know, to click on or anything like that. So I thought, I don't think I can do myself any harm here. So I just made like, yeah, sure, go for it. I emailed back and then since then I just get these regular emails about how in love she is with me and everything like that. It's been going on for quite a while. Today's was though, she is so sad that she has not received my letter. I've been waiting by the mailbox every single day and now I'm sad because I came to the Internet cafe and I haven't found your answer in my email or a letter in my mailbox. Maybe you were busy and did not have the time to answer. I was an art gallery today and I saw a painting of a man and a woman holding hands and I thought of you and me and how we could spend the rest of our lives holding hands like this.

[D]

Wow, that's good stuff.

[A]

Are there people that fall for this? Because I Assume the next step is either a hyperlink that, you know, hacks into my computer or some sort of ask for money.

[D]

Right. I'm impressed by the sophistication of it, though. I mean, how long ago was it that it was just, I am being a Nigerian prince for you. I have your lottery winnings.

[A]

Yeah. I wonder what the ask is going to be, though. Probably just a link. I don't know.

[D]

Well, money. Well, really, she's gonna have you wire her money because, you know, she needs it to. Whatever. Her mother has cancer.

[A]

To come to the United States and be with me.

[D]

Yeah, that, too. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Soon you and me will be walking in a beautiful park, holding each other's hands and talking, dreaming. Life is so short, and we should value every moment of it. I'm sending you my air kiss and waiting for your answer with impatience.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Wow. That's good writing.

[A]

Anyway, she's really into me, you gotta admit.

[D]

Well, who can blame her? Sorry.

[C]

Hello, Jack.

[A]

I won't blame her. Yes, love happens in weird ways. It does. It's unpredictable. So why are you not here today? I couldn't help but notice when I walked into the studio, you were not here.

[D]

Yeah, well. Excuse me. Greetings from scenic, foggy, chilly Pebble Beach, California.

[A]

One of the most famous golf courses in the world. Is that what you're saying?

[D]

Yes. Yes. As a matter of fact, I'm down here for an annual trip with a bunch of good old buddies to play golf for three days, and the skullduggery has already begun. We were out last night having a nice meal and a few drinks, and just when I was aware that I'd had plenty, another drink mysteriously appeared in front of me, bought by my arch nemesis, Jim, who is clearly trying to cripple me and reduce my capabilities on the golf course by successfully making me significantly hungover this morning.

[A]

I hate to hear that you were overserved.

[D]

Well, but what's a gentleman to do? A fine, perfectly good drink appears in front of them. What am I going to do? Pour it out or pretend to sip at it? No, certainly not. I'm going to drown down it like Kool Aid and regret it in the morning.

[A]

So you're playing Pebble Beach Golf Course?

[D]

No, sir. No.

[A]

You're playing a Dipper golf course.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, we're playing it. Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

[A]

And that's a private one.

[D]

Yes, it is.

[A]

Yes, and hard to get on.

[D]

You will not be admitted if you appear at the gate.

[A]

What would it cost to become a member there?

[D]

Let's not throw around, you know, rude monetary figures.

[A]

What have you heard?

[D]

It's, it's significant.

[A]

A lot.

[D]

It is six figures for sure.

[A]

To join.

[D]

Yes, sir. That's the COVID charge.

[A]

Wow. And you know somebody who gets you on there? Is that what happens?

[D]

Yeah, yeah. An old, old friend. Yeah, I've been coming down here for years.

[C]

It's.

[D]

It is spectacular. I mean, it sits. There are two courses, they sit right between pebble beach and Spanish Bay. For folks who know the area, right on the ocean.

[A]

Does it make pebble beach look like a putt putt course?

[D]

Like a muni? Yeah, like an eight dollar muni. No. You know, pebble beach has some magnificent holes and if you've ever played it, a number that are fine. MPCC is pretty much spectacular. Stemmed astern. But I'm a lucky fella.

[A]

And, and have you ever, have you, have you played it? Well, when you've played it in the past?

[D]

Varies. Yeah. Up and down, you get distracted by the scenery. Honestly, it's just so pretty. But who knows? Golf is a stupid game. A waste of time and money and, and a good walk spoiled, as Twain, as Twain put it. So, so we'll see. You know what I was excited about this morning? To read in the Journal? That cocaine come back to the U.S.

[A]

We did all those stats. Isn't that funny? The day after we had that conversation about, wow, young people are doing hard drugs again, blah, blah, blah. It's the purest and cheapest. It's been in forever.

[D]

Right. And, and I love that the use on the west coast has increased like 154% or something like that. And on the east coast not so much. But la, I'm looking at you. Really, with the cocaine again. So is that what you've been through this you remember the suburban dads and moms ruin their family finances and the crackheads on the street, do you not remember that? Well, the young people don't.

[A]

So is that what you're doing today to get back in the game? You're a little hungover, a little tired? Be you ready for the first tee?

[D]

A couple lines, yeah. You know, a lot of golf courses, they have tees out for you or you know, ball mark repair tools or whatever. Yeah. The better courses have lines of blow if you, you know, need a little pick me up.

[A]

Fantastic.

[D]

I've said it a million times. And if there are any young people listening, if you want a drug that turns you into an A hole. Pardon me, do a little cocaine turns you into complete raving jackass of A person.

[A]

What's the appeal then?

[D]

It makes you feel like you're the king of the world. That's what they tell me. The druggies? Yeah, it just. You feel like the master of the universe, which. And full of energy and you want to chat with people and pretend to listen to them, then chat more.

[A]

And it's just so feeling like the king of the world would make you an a hole. Because lots of people who think they're the king of the world are a holes. Well, yeah.

[D]

And people who are doing cocaine just prattle on and on about nothing and it makes you selfish and you just want more cocaine. And it's. Yeah, it's, it's not good. I've seen the dynamic play out many times and it does not turn you into a good person. But what time is it? Speaking of young people, if I might indulge myself for Armstrong and Getty OGs who've been listening since the beginning. You may recall me calling in from the hospital announcing the birth of kid number three, the fabulous Delaney May. That was 26 years ago today.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Make us all feel old.

[A]

Wow. I don't know if that was helpful.

[D]

Happy birthday, Little D. Although she is in class law school and not listening to this drivel.

[A]

Have you seen the one legged girl hitting the golf ball? It's making the rounds today. It's on all the TV shows.

[D]

Just saw it up there again.

[A]

Yeah, it's very big. She's the poor girl who got her arm and leg eaten off by a shark last year. Oh, yeah, and she's got a golf thing going now and she's on the, you know, speaking circuit to, you know, help you overcome your challenges. I mean, if you're playing golf with one arm on one leg, you're overcoming challenges, there's no doubt about that.

[D]

Oh, God, I can't imagine she has a prosthetic. I imagine I initially just literally pictured somebody playing golf on one leg and you would have to have spectacular, spectacular balance.

[A]

Well, she, she, yeah, that's what she does. She, she hits the ball and then she bounces a lot to stay on. Oh, really? Yeah.

[D]

Oh, I've got to see that. God, that, that's, you know, honestly, you know, the whole speaker circuit, overcoming your difficulties thing. I mean, I'm old and bitter, so it's, it's almost half a cliche, but imagine the courage and patience.

[A]

Oh my God.

[D]

It takes it really. It actually is inspiring.

[A]

So, got a question for you. I want to ask your opinion on this before you have to go, okay? Nurse your hangover. I don't know if you've heard this or not. So do you remember after Charlie Kirk was shot, they immediately had an old guy on the ground and thought he was the shooter and then he got cleared? Well, the story that is out now, that old guy yelled, it's me. I did it. I shot him immediately after the shooting to distract. He says his own words to distract the police from the actual shooter. Is it even conceivable that a 71 year old man could come up with that plan in a nanosecond like that? I just, I find that very difficult to believe.

[D]

Well, yeah, that's an interesting point. Slash question.

[A]

This is gonna drive conspiracies forever, obviously, because it's pretty hard to swallow that. I know what I'll do, you think, in like two seconds.

[D]

Well, he says it was to help the killer escape.

[C]

Right.

[D]

I suppose you could cook that up quickly. I mean, I've known I would never cross my mind. Well, you're not nuts. You know, I've known a couple of people in my life who are very, very bright and very, very cuckoo. And I wonder if this is just that guy is just that. So you think, do you actually think they cahoots or just that it's hard to believe they're not.

[A]

It's pretty damn hard to believe they're not.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, I don't, I don't know. I took the story on at face value, but I agree. It's. It's odd. You know, it's bothered me because of course a bunch of old guys are sitting around watching Fox News getting angry at the world. Is that the, the video is coming in from around the country of in particular college campuses where it's not like two or three people acting happy, it's a dozen, it's 20 dancing around and mocking Charlie Kirk and laughing.

[A]

That's weird.

[D]

Yeah, yeah. And the demographic composition of those people is, is interesting too, but it's. I think that sort of ugly nihilism is more common than we imagined.

[A]

Well, what's the demographic?

[D]

Well, obviously it's a lot of young people. There were several predominantly black crowds that were just having a huge laugh about it, which is not to suggest that black people in particular are callous to this sort of thing.

[A]

But I don't remember him having a racial angle to any of his stuff.

[D]

No, no, he didn't. I just think he is seen as part of the white establishment, the, you know, the patriarchy, the, you know, the powers that be.

[A]

Wow, that's disturbing.

[C]

It.

[D]

It really is.

[A]

I don't think.

[D]

On the other hand, it'd be hard.

[A]

To name a person that I would get gleeful about finding out they got shot in the neck and they're a parent of young children. I can't even come up with anybody hardly.

[D]

No. I mean, even the worst criminal. I'd much prefer they're dealt with through the judicial system. But, yeah. Yeah, it's. It's truly sick and nihilistic and kind of disturbing. On the other. I'm sure you've heard that there have been thousands, thousands of applications to form New Turning Point usa. Chapters across campuses all across America. High schools and colleges which, God willing, will be the legacy of poor Charlie Kirk. That his message got through and grew and grew even after he was gone.

[A]

Yeah, and I hope they can keep it on the rails because, you know, there's a. There's a fair amount of bloodlust out there.

[C]

We're.

[A]

David Drucker and I were just talking about that. I mean, it's just. It's just so easy to go down the road of the tit for tat. They did this. We'll do that back and forth.

[D]

Right. You know, there is something easy about anger.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[D]

Anybody who's ever been angry knows it's a hell of a lot easier to stay angry than to calm down and work through a problem. Starting with me. So.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Anyway, a scale of one to ten, how hungover are you?

[D]

Oh, two.

[A]

Oh, two. Well, that's.

[D]

Yeah, I went to bed immediately, sucked down a bunch of water and I'm fine. I'm fine.

[A]

What does a 10 look like in your mind?

[D]

Oh, good Lord, it's. Well, it's been a very long time.

[A]

Are you crawling out of bed with a 10?

[D]

Do you remember that night in San Francisco? We were out till like 3am and on the air at 6. That was a 10.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

You are knee walking drunk.

[D]

I was. I should have been hospitalized, Michael. I regret it. And kids, remember old Uncle Joe's warning about cocaine. Overindulgence and spirits will do the same thing to you. Stay away. Have a nice cocoa.

[A]

You're not a drinker, Michael. It's not really how drunk you were, although that plays a role. It's the amount of sleep, water and food that you get in between the next thing you have to do that's.

[D]

Really definitely a factor. Yes.

[A]

That's Joe Getty, everybody. He'll check in again tomorrow. We gotta take a break. Stay here.

[D]

Armstrong and Getty.

[B]

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[D]

The Biden family has hit the financial skids. At least one organization tried to negotiate a lower rate for Joe's speaking gigs. The offer includes one round trip Amtrak ticket, a set of complimentary depends and a case of insurer. But but Joe's agent keeps stressing that Joe's a limited time offer.

[A]

Time's running out.

[D]

We just don't know when.

[A]

Those are age jokes about Joe Biden from Greg Gutfeld. That's what that is right now. I don't know if you know this, but Katie, Katie, the news lady, Katie Green. Her dad was a judge for a very long time. He's a retired superior court judge in Alameda County. That's where Oakland is. And we're going to talk to him in our three a little bit about the situation with the shooter in Utah and these kind of court cases and that sort of stuff. So that'll kick off our three. I hope you can get it. If you don't get the podcast, Armstrong, you get it on demand. I don't know if you've seen that a Tick Tock deal looks like it's going to happen. We are going to have a report on that a little bit later. The confusing part though is I can't always forget nobody on this show uses Tick Tock. You use Tick Tock though, right? You have it on your phone?

[E]

I do.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And you like it?

[E]

Yes. Yeah, well, somewhat. The algorithm's all screwed up for me, so.

[A]

What do you mean?

[E]

Feeding me a bunch of, you know, like we talked about this, I think on the One More Thing podcast for some reason I keep getting these mukbangs where people are just eating Obnoxious amounts of food like slobs.

[A]

Well, the algorithm is supposed to be like the best invented by anybody out there in terms of determining what you like. Apparently yours got thrown off somehow.

[C]

But.

[A]

Yeah, but the whole thing with TikTok is the algorithm, it's ingenious. Better than anything YouTube's come up with or Instagram's come up with, or anybody's come up with for keeping you engaged, figuring out the sort of stuff you're going to want to watch and click on. TikTok's really good at that. Well, so the big deal with the settlement with China hinges on the algorithm. And CNBC reported that they will keep more or less the same algorithm when it's in the hands of American corporation. But the Wall Street Journal says no, no, no, it's gotta be a completely different algorithm. Well, if it's a completely different algorithm, it's. It's like, have you ever. This happens a lot. You eat a historic restaurant and then on the menu they got information about the restaurant and it always says it burned down in 1820, then was rebuilt. And I always. Or you know, okay, well then it's not the same historic restaurant that Wyatt Earp shot somebody in or whatever the hell this place is famous for. It burnt down. You rebuilt it. It's a different place. It's just in the same spot. It's like TikTok. It's going to have the same name, but if it has a new algorithm, it's not TikTok, it's just something else. So that, that's the part I don't quite get. But at least it won't be a Chinese spy app anymore. Which is the thing that Congress, the reason Congress said it's got to go and why the Supreme Court voted nine. Zero that. Yeah, they upheld that law and everything. So we'll get more on that a little bit later. I do want to talk about the potluck I went to and the baked chicken that Henry and I made and how that went. It was. It was a much more difficult than it should have been. If you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[C]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[B]

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[D]

This is an iHeart podcast.