Michael, Bathe The Camel.

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Michael, Bathe The Camel
Date: August 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty tackle a whirlwind of topical issues ranging from the consequences of sanctuary city policies and illegal immigration, to the Democratic Party's voter registration crisis, political tactics in Ukraine and Russia, and media narratives shaping public opinion. With their signature irreverence and biting commentary, the hosts offer plain talk ("Big dude with a penis won the track meet!") and raise skeptical questions about the state of politics, culture, and media. The episode blends hard-hitting news analysis with wry banter and memorable asides—plus a little in-studio camel humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sanctuary Cities, Immigration, and Tragedy in Florida

[00:49 – 05:31]

• General Manager of the Day: Joe Getty names "Sanctuary cities and states" as the show's focus, setting the stage for a critical discussion.
• The Florida Truck Crash: Jack recounts the story of a fatal crash in Florida involving a commercial truck driver who was in the country illegally and unable to read English—and yet held a valid commercial driver's license, obtained in sanctuary states.
  • "So you got three sanctuary states and sanctuary cities who let this guy, who should never be piloting a giant gazillion ton truck..." – Jack Armstrong [01:51]
• Policy Critique: Both hosts are exasperated by policies allowing non-citizens with questionable qualifications to operate dangerous vehicles, arguing that illegal status granted privileges not available to citizens.
  • "They're going to elevate them, give them special privileges for being illegal." – Joe Getty [02:31]
• Public Outrage: Jack expresses incredulity at apparent double-standards.
  • "You people are so freaking crazy... How nuts is that?" – Jack Armstrong [02:35]

2. The Democratic Party's "Hemorrhage" of Voters

[02:57 – 10:18]

• NYT Coverage: Joe references New York Times reports on a voter registration crisis hitting the Democratic Party.
  • "There are 30 United States states... Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one of them between 2020 and 2024... They called it a hemorrhage." – Joe Getty [09:11]
• Preference Falsification & Cascade: Joe explains how a vocal minority can create an illusion of majority consensus through intimidation and media support, until a "preference cascade" happens and true sentiments emerge.
  • "A very vocal minority can convince a nation... that most people agree with me." – Joe Getty [05:31]
• Culture Wars Fallout: The hosts link this trend to Democratic stances on controversial issues—particularly trans rights and sanctuary policies.
  • "Big dude with a penis won the girls' track meet. Yay. I wonder why that hemorrhage is happening." – Joe Getty [10:09]

3. The Politics of Museums and Progressivism in Public Culture

[06:28 – 08:15]

• The hosts lampoon mainstream media and progressives for what they see as heavy-handed activism in museum exhibits.
  • "Our museums have become Marxist activist, you know, education centers, re-education camps..." – Joe Getty [07:08]
  • "Can I look at one fossil that doesn't mention one of those things?" – Jack Armstrong [07:08]

4. Memorable Banter – Catchphrases, Merchandise, and Camel Jokes

[08:25 – 10:44]

• The hosts reflect on inside jokes, like "Goats of Corruption," and the show's difficulty maintaining catchphrases.
  • "You're wearing a T-shirt that says goats of Corruption. And I have no memory of where the phrase goats of corruption comes from." – Jack Armstrong [08:28]
• Wednesday is "camel" day in-studio; Michael is (playfully) assigned the job of bathing the camel.
  • "Michael, that needs to be your job title from now on... Washing the camel. Bathing the camel before we bring it in." – Jack Armstrong [10:30]

5. Radioactive Shrimp News & Snackable Satire

[10:59 – 11:48]

• The FDA warns about potentially radioactive shrimp at Walmart—hosts joke about glowing teeth and "value".
  • "It's a great value because it's radioactive and most people want to not radioactive shrimp." – Joe Getty [11:20]
  • "Look, my teeth glow now." – Jack Armstrong [11:48]

6. Headlines with Katie Green

[14:20 – 18:20]

• Israel - Gaza Offensive: 60,000 reservists called up; hosts question Israeli politics and media biases.
  • "It's hard to get a fair assessment... the media is so anti-Israel." – Jack Armstrong [14:28]
• Crime & Data Manipulation: D.C. police allegedly misclassifying deaths to boost crime stats; major media scrutiny questioned.
• Border Wall Tactics: Painting the wall black to deter climbers discussed with skeptical amusement.
• ChatGPT Speech: People reportedly starting to "talk like chatbots."
• ADHD Medication Study: Raises questions for future exploration.
• McDonald's Combos: Fast food price drops tied to customer financial struggles.
  • "You decide... skip it when you run out of money." – Jack Armstrong [17:38]
• Babylon Bee Satire: Playful jab at political choices and social media algorithms.

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Major Analysis Segments

7. Ukraine-Russia Conflict – The Prospects for Peace

[19:32 – 32:38]

• Massive Russian Attack: Russia fires drones and missiles at Ukraine, signaling increased intensity and little appetite for peace.
  • "Despite all the good feeling... Russia, if anything, is intensifying its attacks." – News Reporter [19:32]
• Is Peace Possible?: The hosts dissect why Putin likely has no interest in talks with Zelensky; logistical and ideological demands make peace talks a non-starter.
  • "Putin's not meeting with Zelensky. It's not going to happen." – Joe Getty [20:13]
  • "He has no morals, he has no emotions, he has no bleeding heart... He's just a cold calculator." – Joe Getty [31:04]
• U.S. and Allies' Dilemma: Aid to Ukraine weighed against "prolonging" the meat-grinder dynamic and the risk of depleting U.S. military stockpiles.
  • "Are you doing anything other than just prolonging it?" – Jack Armstrong [21:59]
  • "If the Ukrainian people say, yeah, we'd rather have the history written that we held out..." – Joe Getty [23:14]
• Putin's Calculation: Analysts agree Putin is stalling for maximal gains, unwilling to negotiate unless Ukraine surrenders—meetings would expose him as the true obstacle to peace.
  • "A meeting with Zelensky could bring an unwelcome moment of truth. That's when he's got to take off his mask." – Joe Getty [30:27]

8. Trump as a Global Power Broker

[24:43 – 27:52]

• Trump's Influence: Hosts discuss Trump's unprecedented dominance on the world stage; dynamics with other leaders, reliance on flattery, and the symbolism of being called "Mr. President" by world leaders.
  • "He is astride the world in a way... I mean, for better or worse, if you hate him, you hate that, and if you like him, you like that." – Jack Armstrong [25:38]
  • "Trump needs more flattery than most leaders... But unless you have the position of power, they don't do it." – Joe Getty [27:10]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Illegal Immigration and Driving Licenses:
  • "You're illegal. Well then we'll let you operate this dangerous equipment. We wouldn't if you were a US-born citizen. How nuts is that?"
    — Jack Armstrong [02:35]
• On Museums and Radical Change:
  • "Our museums have become Marxist activist, you know, education centers, re-education camps, if you will."
    — Joe Getty [07:08]
• On Media Narratives:
  • "The so-called mainstream media, when somebody says, hey, whoa... that's a sudden radical change, is branded as the agent of sudden radical change for opposing it."
    — Joe Getty [07:44]
• On Culture Wars and Party Exodus:
  • "You keep talking up trans bathrooms and sanctuary cities and good luck with that."
    — Jack Armstrong [10:01]
  • "Big dude with a penis won the track meet. The girls track meet. Yay. I wonder why that hemorrhage is happening. It's mysterious."
    — Joe Getty [10:09]
• On Radioactive Shrimp:
  • "My shrimp's radioactive and I agree with Joe. It is a great value. I'm getting a little, a little dose of radioactive, probably clear some things up."
    — Jack Armstrong [11:27]
• On How Power Works:
  • "You can't compel people to flatter you unless you have a position of them needing something from you."
    — Jack Armstrong [27:22]
• On Putin:
  • "He has no morals, he has no emotions, he has no bleeding heart... He's just a cold calculator."
    — Joe Getty [31:04]

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Segment Timestamps

• Sanctuary cities & Florida truck crash: [00:49 – 05:31]
• Democratic Party "hemorrhage" & culture war fallout: [02:57 – 10:18]
• Museums as activism: [06:28 – 08:15]
• Inside jokes, camel banter: [08:25 – 10:44]
• FDA’s radioactive shrimp recall: [10:59 – 11:48]
• Headlines with Katie Green: [14:20 – 18:20]
• Russia-Ukraine conflict, peace prospects: [19:32 – 32:38]
• Trump on global stage, leadership dynamics: [24:43 – 27:52]
• Putin/Zelensky meeting feasibility: [29:11 – 32:38]
• ChatGPT-influenced language teaser: [32:38 – 32:59]
• Mailbag (audience feedback, DEI in schools, grocery store failures): [34:15 – 38:35]

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Takeaways

• The episode offers a sharp, critical perspective on current policies and political trends, especially around immigration and progressive cultural issues.
• The hosts view the Democratic Party as losing touch with mainstream voters due to niche activism and out-of-step positions.
• The Ukraine-Russia segment is notable for its sober assessment of the conflict: that current strategies may only prolong suffering without shifting outcomes, especially if Putin remains intractable.
• Segments about media, academia, and government programs are framed as examples of systemic dysfunction, often sparking satirical or incredulous responses from the hosts.
• Throughout, Armstrong & Getty deliver their unique blend of brash humor, skepticism, and occasionally poignant cultural criticism.

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For listeners seeking plain talk on today's big news, laced with irreverence and memorable one-liners—even when the topics turn grim or absurd—this episode reflects Armstrong & Getty at their most characteristic.

Transcript

[Announcer]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Producer/Station Announcer]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty live from Studio C. Senor.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is a what? Dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty communications compound. It's hump day. That's why we have a camel in the studio. And today we're under the tutelage of.

[Joe Getty]

Our general manager, Sanctuary cities.

[Jack Armstrong]

And states.

[Joe Getty]

And states. Thanks, Humpy. Yeah. When are we going to get to the bottom of this? Can you have jurisdictions within a country that had just announced. Yeah, we're not cooperating with federal government. Yeah, well, so we. This issue, but just this issue.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we haven't talked about that horrible wreck down in Florida. The truck driver who made the illegal unturned killed an entire family in a minivan. Who turned out to be illegal. When I first heard that I thought, okay, that sucks. Obviously guy wouldn't have been in the country if we had enforced borders. So then maybe. Well then you obviously don't have the crash with him any way. But did his illegal status have anything to do. Yes, it had a lot to do with it. So he gets a commercial driver's license, he gets tested after he gets arrested, killing these people. He can't read a lick of English, he doesn't know any street signs or anything like that. He got passed in Washington state, New Mexico, he got pulled over, he got a ticket, they let him go with the fact that he couldn't speak English, read English, anything like that, allowing him to continue to get his commercial driver's license and California somehow passed him. So you got three sanctuary states and sanctuary cities who let this guy, who should never be piloting a giant gazillion ton truck go and get the license out of some sort of weird. I can't even wrap my head around it. They're illegal. So we're going to let them drive, use equipment they shouldn't use as a.

[Joe Getty]

So we're going to give them a much better deal than any native born citizen or citizen in general or anybody with a green card.

[Jack Armstrong]

What?

[Joe Getty]

They're going to elevate them, Give them special privileges for being illegal.

[Jack Armstrong]

You people are so freaking crazy. Do you realize how crazy you are? The idea somebody's a criminal but illegal, you let them go or somebody can't shouldn't be operating certain pieces of equipment. Oh, you're illegal. Well then we'll let you operate this dangerous equipment. We wouldn't if you were a US born citizen. How nuts is that?

[Joe Getty]

Completely. And it's absolutely at the heart of a couple of New York Times pieces at the top of the fold today. Their lead stories are the Democratic Party faces a voter registration crisis. People are fleeing the Democrat Party as fast as they can. It is in free fall. Some of the statistics are just astonishing because of their significance. I mean, it's self evident why it's happening. I think, you know, we've talked about the whole preference falsification and where, you know, the, the bullying, 10, 15% can convince everybody else that the majority agrees with them because everybody is just kind of quiet and, and afraid to speak out. I think there's a. And then when it gets revealed the reality of it, you get what's called a preference cascade and everybody comes out and says, wow, wait a minute. I never believed that.

[Jack Armstrong]

All of us didn't.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, I think the Democratic Party is seeing that right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's true. And I agree on a whole bunch of the issues. Not illegal immigration. People have been out and loud and proud about illegal immigration for a long time. I can't believe that it continues the way it, the way that it continued the way it did. And man, this, this story is gonna drop hard today. You know, for places that reported. I imagine that. Ms. Is that the new channel Ms. Now? I, I doubt Ms. Now is even going to do this story, but the Secretary of Transportation is out making a lot of noise on FOX anyway about this whole sanctuary law around truck drivers, for instance. It's so crazy.

[Joe Getty]

There's.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's got to be like an 9010 issue. I'll give you 80, 20 at the best. But not even just going to say.

[Joe Getty]

Let'S put it to a, to a vote are be close. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So nuts and, and obviously horrible. A whole family was killed by this guy who should have never been driving a semi truck. So if your kid or brother born in the United States wanted that job, probably couldn't have gotten it.

[Joe Getty]

No, no. He's functionally illiterate. I can't give you a commercial driver's license.

[Jack Armstrong]

God dang it. That's a maddening story.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, it is.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it's just so crazy. There's no argument for it. Some of the stuff you can at least see their argument. I don't see the argument at all for.

[Joe Getty]

I could read it to you if you'd like. I don't have it in front of me, but it was essentially. Well, a driver's license is a bridge to being able to work and support themselves and, and, and, and enjoy the American dream. So we want to give that to them. All right. Anyhow, I think we all need to have some sort of compulsory two page explanation, so everybody gets it, of how a very vocal minority can convince a nation of 340 million people, at least, you know, half of it, that most people agree with me. That whole anti racist thing, the DEI thing, what percentage of Americans thought, yeah, I better go along with this. Like a year after George Floyd. It was a lot, it was a majority, but it was activist lunatics.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the mainstream media, or I guess do you call NPR mainstream media? The, the pushback, for instance, on Trump trying to change the museums, I mean, it's portrayed in every news outlet I see is just horrific attacks.

[Joe Getty]

Museums. That's the headline.

[Jack Armstrong]

And if you've been to any of these museums like I have in the last year, I mean, you know that they're just ridiculous. You read the plaques and you're, you spend your entire time walking around these beautiful museums rolling your eyes, reading all these plaques. All right, climate change, all right, white supremacy, all like colonialism. Can I look at one fossil that doesn't mention one of those things?

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. It's utterly out of control. It's absurd. Our museums have become Marxist activist, you know, education centers, re education camps, if you will. Anybody who's been to one knows that. And yet the so called mainstream media, when somebody says, hey, whoa, whoa, how did that happen? Well, it's the great. Is there a name for this? Speaking of things we all ought to be familiar with, where you introduce a sudden and radical change and then somebody who says, whoa, whoa, that was a sudden radical change is branded as the agent of sudden radical change for opposing it. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's pretty clever though. It's the old dipsy doodle.

[Joe Getty]

It's the old double reverse. I don't, I don't know what it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is, but it's like, no, no, no.

[Joe Getty]

No, no, no, no, no, no. It used to be, you tell me about the mammoth and how much it weighed and how long ago it lived. Now you're telling me that it died because a global warmer will never come back because of global warming, or if it comes back, it'll be nake.

[Jack Armstrong]

And.

[Joe Getty]

By the way, white supremacy. Something, something that's a radical change. Don't, don't you say I'm attacking museums to say, I just want to know.

[Jack Armstrong]

About the freaking woolly mammoth bastards. So we've, we have so many catchphrases. That come and go. We're terrible at sticking with our catchphrases.

[Joe Getty]

I wish we could get better at that. But yes, Michael, you're to blame.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're probably too old to change at this point. But you're wearing a T shirt that says goats of Corruption. And I have no memory of where the phrase goats of corruption comes from.

[Joe Getty]

That was Jonathan Turley's description of the Bidens. Goats of corruption. Family corruption. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. That.

[Joe Getty]

Come on. Right, right. Come on.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was picturing the bleating animal that clears weeds on your highway overpass.

[Joe Getty]

No milk giving, delicious meat bearing beast of the barnyard. Yes. No, no. Now, hey, so I got to hit you with this because I had to grab it real quick. But back to the New York Times thing about how the Democrats are just hemorrhaging voters. That is the New York Times description of the situation. There are 30 United States states, Jack, that track voter registration by political party. 20 of them just say, we don't care what party are. Just register. So Anyway, of the 30 states that track voter registration by party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one of them between 20 and 24, 2020 and 2024. And often by a lot. Every single one had Republican gains. Well, no, that's not true. Some of them just stayed the same. But every single one had a drop in Democratic registration. They called it a hemorrhage. And two paragraphs later, the stampede away from the Democratic Party.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you. You keep. You keep talking up trans bathrooms and sanctuary cities and good luck with that.

[Joe Getty]

Big dude with a penis won the track meet. The girls track meet. Yay. Yeah. I wonder why that hemorrhage is happening. It's mysterious.

[Jack Armstrong]

Big dude with a penis. I wasn't.

[Joe Getty]

That's right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wasn't expecting that phrase in the opening segment, perhaps.

[Joe Getty]

No, it's time for plain talk. All right.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's plain talk.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Perhaps we should start the show officially. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty. The worst part of Wednesdays is having the camel in the studio. I mean, can. Michael, that needs to be your job title from now on, along with your job. Washing the camel. Bathing the camel before we bring it in.

[Joe Getty]

Smell is.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is Wednesday, August 20, the year 2025, or Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Here we go then. Officially, according to FCC rules, regulations, the show starts at Mark.

[Announcer]

The FDA is warning consumers not to eat certain shrimp sold at Walmart that may be radioactive. The Shrimp were sold under the Great Value brand and have a Best buy date of March 15, 2027. The FDA says they could contain a radioactive isotope and is telling consumers to throw them away. An investigation is now underway.

[Joe Getty]

It's a great value because it's radioactive and most people want to not radioactive shrimp.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, big deal. That's what I say, Michael. Big deal. So my shrimp's radioactive and I agree with Joe. It is a great value. I'm getting a little, a little dose of radioactive probably clear some things up.

[Joe Getty]

I got damn, honey, this non radioactive shrimp is 14.99 a pound. But whoa, the isotope shrimp is 4.99 a pound.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, I had it for dinner last night. Look, my teeth glow now. So we got lots of news to talk about. Russia hit Ukraine with one of the biggest attacks in weeks. Psychologically, what is Putin trying to pull off there with the negotiations? I just heard some hilarious analysis. It wasn't supposed to be hilarious analysis on News Nation about the whole Putin Ukraine thing. That is true in its own childlike way.

[Joe Getty]

I have come to a strong conclusion slash position on this topic and I wonder how it aligns with the good folks at News Nation who are doing good news these days. If you're not familiar with their act.

[Jack Armstrong]

I look forward to that. Maybe we'll get to that segment after next because next we got headlines with Katie Green.

[Joe Getty]

So stay here.

[Producer/Station Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Oh boy, I can't wait to hear your what did you say you came to a conclusion or an epiphany or something?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, about the alleged upcoming Ukraine Russia talks. Yeah, I just, I let, I just did the math in my head as.

[Jack Armstrong]

I did Joe did the math on the Ukraine war.

[Joe Getty]

The math of competing needs, desires, demands, absolutes, etc, and sometimes it just doesn't pan out. Anyway, more on that to come. Got a lot of stuff to talk about. Who's reporting what Sleet story with Katie Green. Katie, take it away.

[Katie Green]

Alrighty. Starting with NBC Israel approves plan for Gaza City takeover and call up of 60,000 reservists.

[Jack Armstrong]

60,000 reservists, wow. I would like to know what the politics are in Israel on that right now. You know, it's hard to get a fair assessment of that because the media is so anti Israel.

[Joe Getty]

Well, in the mainstream media line at least today, is that the majority of Israelis want a settlement that brings the hostages home. Well, yeah, I'm sure they do. Well, they do.

[Jack Armstrong]

And whatever reporting that was, that.

[Joe Getty]

Any.

[Jack Armstrong]

Any, any takeover of Gaza will result in the deaths of the hostages. Yeah. And not taking over Gaza will also result in the deaths of the hostages. But then Hamas will still be there.

[Katie Green]

From the return of the sausages.

[Jack Armstrong]

Return to the sausages.

[Katie Green]

The sausages. From the Free Beacon. Quote, danger to public safety. D.C. police misclassified deaths as accidental to drive down murder numbers.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And again, the media is doing their best to ignore this story. There are now multiple lawsuits either settled or pending, in which D.C. cops are saying, hey, they're ordering us to fake up crime reports to make the stats look better. Meanwhile, the Washington Post, the New York Times just blithely continue reporting that crime is down 30% in one year somehow. So Trump's crazy. Oh, my God, their dishonesty is unbelievable.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Post. Southern border wall will be painted black to make it, quote, even harder for people to climb. What Krissy Noem says they're painting it black so it gets so hot people can't climb it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's an interesting theory. Yeah, they ought to make it whatever my cyber truck's made out of, man, that's something I didn't know. In the sun, that thing gets hot as a griddle. Like if.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. If you put your arm out the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Window, like at a drive through or something like that, and touch your arm on the side of the truck. Yeah, yeah.

[Katie Green]

From the Washington Post. It's happening. People are starting to talk like chat GPT.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, I need that story. Send that story to me. I need to read that Story.

[Katie Green]

All right, from study finds ADHD medications tied to fewer crimes, accidents and substance abuse problems.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, we probably ought to get into that story too.

[Katie Green]

From CNN. McDonald's is cutting prices of its combo meals to convince its customers that it's affordable again. So they're going to be dropping prices 15% and then they're going to have a $5 breakfast deal and an $8 combo meal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, people have stopped eating breakfast, specifically at fast food joints. And economists say that means people are running out of money because that's the first thing you give on is the early morning hitting the fast food place. You decide.

[Joe Getty]

I'll start.

[Jack Armstrong]

Skip it when you run out of money.

[Katie Green]

And finally, from the Babylon Bee man officially voting for whichever political party will get the videos of the male Vikings cheerleaders off of his social media feed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Katie Green]

No, I saw them 15 times yesterday.

[Jack Armstrong]

Easily. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, they're agile little fellas, I'll give them that. Springy little acrob.

[Jack Armstrong]

Bendy little dudes.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Tell you what, Minnesota, if you think that's what your fans want, it's private enterprise.

[Jack Armstrong]

You go find agile little fellas. Oh my God. Okay, we got some news on the way. Stay here.

[Producer/Station Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Commercial Announcer]

This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains and overpriced furniture with washablesofas.com featuring Anabe, the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly pricing. Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Annabe's pet friendly stain resistant and interchangeable slipcovers are made with high performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud like comfort of hypoallergenic, high resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life. Now through Labor Day. Get up to 60% off site [e-mail] Every order comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees. Every penny back. Shop [e-mail] offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[News Reporter]

270 drones fired at Ukraine. 10 ballistic missiles killing eight people. 16 of those drones were not intercepted. 4 missiles made it through air defenses as well. This is the biggest aerial attack on Ukraine since the 31st of July. So this certainly sends a message that despite all the good feeling that might have been vibrating through the White House, yet Russia, if anything, is intensifying.

[Joe Getty]

Fine.

[News Reporter]

It's a tax.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and as I said yesterday, a number of times I feel like nobody's checked in on whether Putin has any interest in ending the war.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that's exactly where I was heading with my. My conclusion slash prediction. Putin's not meeting with Zelensky. It's not going to happen. He has no interest in it. He's never specifically said he would do it. The Kremlin immediately pushed back on Trump and company's pronouncements the other day and said, for instance, Ukraine has to disarm before a meeting. What? Wait a minute. There's zero chance of that. Not to mention Putin has been ranting for some time about how Zelensky's illegitimate and a Nazi and Ukraine doesn't even exist as a country. And just half a dozen other reasons why he would never meet with a puppet of the West. An illegitimate leader and a puppet of the West.

[Jack Armstrong]

So a friend of the Armstrong and Getty show. I won't mention him because he didn't. I don't know if he wants his name attached to this, but he was texting with Joe and I yesterday and he said, for the record, my opinion on Russia, Ukraine has not changed since day one. Mike makes. Right. Just like Rubio said, it's going to be a meat grinder, and Russia's got more meat to grind, and they will keep grinding until they get what they want. Unless we're actually going to go fight alongside the Ukrainians, all we're doing is prolonging it and costing more lives. Same will be true for Taiwan. Sadly, I don't know if I can disagree with that take, even though I don't want it to be true at all.

[Joe Getty]

Well, the only counter argument I have is that you can essentially, you can change that math by aiding them with weaponry, logistics, intelligence. At some point, though, they just need dudes.

[Jack Armstrong]

But. But are you doing anything other than just prolonging it?

[Joe Getty]

If you don't, that's always your hope. That's why you hold out. You hope the other side's gonna give.

[Jack Armstrong]

Up, but they aren't. Russia's not.

[Joe Getty]

Or are they? No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, no, I don't think they are. And if they don't, I mean, because I haven't.

[Joe Getty]

I.

[Jack Armstrong]

This hasn't been my thinking on this at all. At any point during the war, the idea that you're getting more people killed, you're prolonging it. But now I, that I might, I might be there if Putin is helping. So here's the analysis they had on News Nation this morning from some very young, attractive blonde woman who I thought was being a simpleton but at the same time she, you know, out of the mouths of babes, she might have just been raped.

[Joe Getty]

Babes ought to be quiet, be seen, not heard.

[Jack Armstrong]

She, she, at one point toward the end of her little reporting, she said, on the other hand, it's possible that Putin actually believes what he has said, that Ukraine is part of Russia and he has no intention of ever stopping this war. And yeah, he might just believe. No, Ukraine's part of Russia and I'm going to do whatever it takes. We're a very big country. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get what I want.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. I just, I think where I differ from our learned friend is that if the Ukrainian people say, yeah, we'd rather have the history written that we held out till we couldn't possibly hold out anymore, thank you very much. And then if they are our ally, then we keep helping them. Yeah, yeah, we don't decide just more people will die. There's no point in that.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, I wouldn't, I'm definitely not.

[Joe Getty]

Unless it's, and I'm sorry, just one more thought, those of you are screaming, but we're depleting our arms when we ought to be pivoting toward China. It's a good argument, solid argument.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't, Yeah, I don't know how real that is. Some reporting out there shows that we're giving the, the last generation of all these different armaments to Ukraine or giving it to European countries to give to European Ukraine and then replacing the stuff with the better higher tech stuff in our arsenal. In some cases, you know, they're getting, they're getting chat GPT4 of, of weaponry and we've got chat GPT5 now, that sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. My only objection to that is I've read some pretty solid accounts that our replacement rate is just way, way, way too slow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, I hope, I hope Hex that's on top of that.

[Joe Getty]

It's too busy doing pull up contests with RFK Jr.

[Jack Armstrong]

In the jeans.

[Joe Getty]

Wearing jeans.

[Jack Armstrong]

Was Hegseth wearing jeans?

[Joe Getty]

No, RFK was, RFK Jr. Was wearing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jeans as he did pull ups yesterday as a 70 year old man. So I feel like after a couple of days out of really one of the most extraordinary meetings in the history of everything. Do you see the pictures that came out of there. New York Post had him yesterday. Some. Some photographer that was in the room with Trump and all those world leaders and Rubio, Secretary of State's there and everybody. It's really something. I mean, Trump's sitting there at his desk in the Oval Office surrounded by many of the most powerful people in the world that aren't President Xi or Putin. Everybody else pretty much. And. And, you know, they're just listening to him talk. It's really quite wild.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, he is.

[Joe Getty]

And he would call them by their first names and they would call him Mr. President. That dynamic was noticed by a number of people. Trump can't remember people's names. That's. I'm not sure it was as much power play as. And we've have Jim here. Jim does good work. The guy's like the Secretary of Labor, everybody, but it's just Trump. So back to you.

[Jack Armstrong]

He. He is astride the world in a way. I don't remember anybody being. I mean, for better or worse, if you hate him, you hate that, and if you like him, you like that. But he just.

[Joe Getty]

I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whether it's the tariffs or the pulling all these countries together and with the war and just. And just dominating the news flow on everything all the time.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is just stunning. I mean, I thought, I thought that was true first term. It's true. This now in a way that globally. It's just amazing.

[Joe Getty]

Right. He is an activist president in a way we have not seen. So what do you think?

[Jack Armstrong]

This. I'm all over the place here. What do you think of this narrative that. Well, everybody's figured out flattery is the way you get to him, and so, you know, bending to his name isn't. I, I don't quite get that, because isn't that what happens with everybody who reaches a position of power? You do it because you. They're powerful enough. You need something from them or you need their approval. You wouldn't do it otherwise. I mean, I could demand people call me Mr. President, but they're not going to because they've got. I got nothing to give you.

[Joe Getty]

That'd be weird. Yeah. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got nothing to offer them.

[Joe Getty]

Trump needs more flattery than most leaders. That seems obvious to me. Okay, fine, praise him over and over and over again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fine. But unless you have the position.

[Joe Getty]

You brought it up.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no. But unless you have the position of power, they don't do it.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I, I still feel like it's a. I. You're still. You're still the big dog. Whether it's you, like flattery or not. I mean, you can't compel people to flatter you unless you have a position of them needing something from you, whether it's the tariff stuff or the war stuff or whatever. He is the 5,000 pound gorilla on the world stage. There's no doubt about it.

[Joe Getty]

That's a bfg. So the question of whether Putin would actually get together with Zelensky at all is now the hot topic in the halls of power, in spite of the kind of fait accompli feel of the meetings the other day. On Tuesday, for instance, Russian officials, including old Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister who gave little. Yes. Who.

[Jack Armstrong]

We didn't mention this. Who showed up Friday in Alaska in a CCCP jacket, the Soviet Union jacket.

[Joe Getty]

Big Soviet Union logo on the chest. I mean, that's, that's not symbolism. That's just a statement. We're the Soviet Union and we're gonna restore the Soviet Union. Wow, that's. Yeah, again, that's not symbolism. That's a statement. So anyway. Oh. Kamila Lavrov said plans for any contact between the officials should be laid out with the utmost care. Other Russian officials ridiculed Zelensky as an unserious politician. He seems pretty serious to me. And then you got the demand that Ukraine disarm before a meeting. That's not a negotiating ploy, that's a rejection.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah, that's a way to get out of the meeting. But why doesn't Putin want to meet with Zelensky? Ah, I felt I was. I'm horrified by the idea of those two guys getting together in a room. I feel like it's. There's more to lose there for Zelinsky than Putin.

[Joe Getty]

Let's see this analysis.

[Jack Armstrong]

What am I missing on this? Because I feel like if Zelinsky's got to go into a room and shake hands and smile with Putin, that helps Putin more than it hurts Zelinsky. So why doesn't Putin want to meet with him?

[Joe Getty]

Let's see, a couple of things. Putin has said a meeting between the two leaders should come at the end of a peace process and more as a formality to sign necessary documents, quote, this is Putin a couple of months ago, I'm ready to meet. But if it's some kind of final stage, so we don't sit there endlessly dividing things up, but bring this to an end. But we'll need the signature of the legitimate authorities. And then, most important, a meeting with Zelensky could end the delicate dance Putin has performed around Trump's peace efforts to avoid more punishing sanctions. The criminal leader has to has professed his desire for peace while escalating offensives so have won Russian troops important gains. And a summit with Zelensky could bring an unwelcome moment of truth. That's when he's got to take off his mask.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. So it would make it clear to the world that he's the obstacle to peace and he doesn't want that.

[Joe Getty]

In that he has no desire for peace and wouldn't permit it. Yes. Now that's an obstacle.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, so far he's been able to portray it and sometimes with Trump's help, that Zelinsky is the obstacle to peace. Right. And if Putin and Zelensky sit down, that whole charade might be over is what he's concerned about. Obviously. I guess, at this point.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, that's laying your cards on the table. Time. And Putin has no intention of ending it.

[Jack Armstrong]

No.

[Joe Getty]

And look from his point of view. And you have to, you have to look at Putin and his motivations in a very like this same analysis you apply to an alligator. I mean, he has no morals, he has no emotions, he has no bleeding heart for the death of his, his men or anything like that. He's just a cold calculator. And he's thinking, I'm making gains on the battlefield. I mean, they're tiny and they're incremental at mind boggling cost. Which is Jack has informed us is the history of the Russian military. So his only goal at this point is to prolong that reality so he can make more and more gains.

[Jack Armstrong]

He also, I mean, because Trump has made noises, JD Vance has made noises in the last couple of weeks of you know what, or Ruby over the weekend, even, you know what. And if this doesn't work out, you know, nothing changes in the lives of the average American. We tried our best. So Putin has reason to think that maybe we say, ah, we tried and walk away from it, which would be a win for him.

[Joe Getty]

Right, Right. Final note. The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova went on the offensive yesterday to level accusations against Zelensky to justify Putin's own refusal to meet agreement over maximalist peace terms that Russia handed to Ukraine, according to Stanleyova, is likely to serve as Moscow's precondition for a meeting. So you need to surrender and agree to our terms for us to meet. It's not going to happen.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, we'll delve into that more. Delve? Wait a second. That's a word that Chat GPT uses all the time. Am I only using it because Chat GPT uses it? That's what the Washington Post is claiming today, that we're starting to talk like chatbots. So we'll get into that story a little bit later. We got Mailbag coming up next. I hope you can stay here.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Good morning, it's National Radio Day. How you doing there? Giving away a taco when you hear this sound? What? What? Later next hour, be caller six win a taco. Traffic on the fives. National Radio Day.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Wow. That was horrible. Let's see. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. Happy Radio Day to you. This one comes from Louis Ferdinand Saline, who I don't know his work, he's a Frenchman, but I like to quote vote. I've never voted. Oh, I'm doing a series on voting. By the way, I've never voted in my life. I have always known and understood that the idiots are in the majority and so it's certain that they will win. We could have gotten along.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's pretty good. You're in the majority, so what's the point?

[Joe Getty]

Mailbag, Feel free to reach out. Drop us a note. Mailbagarmstrongitty.com Guy Guys, first day back at school, writes Al Anonymous. We teachers had our first day of professional development yesterday and it was all day long. Dei. It has not gone away and in some places they're digging their heels in even Deeper. Parents and communities need to pay attention.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, man.

[Joe Getty]

It clear to me where Al is. Would not shock me if he was in Cal Unicornia.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, I have friends. They. They had their kids. Kids in a expensive private Catholic school. And it was woke af.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I wanna scroll down to this. I really don't have time to search for this. But the graphic was smaller than I expected it to be. Hey, Jack and Joe thought you might be interested slash appalled. This is a different note from Al. Different. Anonymous. In Cal Unicornia. You might be interested in appalled that they're now saying the quiet part out loud in teacher training. And it's a graphic up on a screen that talks about allyship. And the screen explains that what you're trying to do. There it is. I want to read it correctly. Allyship. When a person of privilege works in solidarity and partnership with a marginalized group of people to help take down the systems that challenge that group's basic rights. Equal access and ability to thrive in our society. So they say, yeah, we're tearing. Allyship being an ally. Okay. Yeah, they're. They say, yeah, we're trying to tear down the system, but they brand the United States Western civilization as well. It's a system of oppression. Right. So that's what we're taking down.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure. A lot of people in this system with a very high standard of living compared to the world.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Totally different note. Really nice note from Emily here. It's a picture of the memorial table for her dad who passed away, and it includes a stupid should hurt T shirt. Oh. So that's great. That's great. Sorry for the loss of your pop, but that's nice. Anyway, moving along, how does Prague, Czechoslovakia feel toward. Well, it's Czech Republic. Right. Feel toward Russia. Guys, I was in Prague a couple of years ago. I encountered these citizens expressing their feelings toward Russia. It is a fountain, a water feature in Yugoslavia. Oh, I'm sorry. Of. In the Czech Republic of two grown men, anatomically correct. Standing on the base of the fountain is a flag of Russia, and they are both urinating upon it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't. I don't know if I grasp the symbolism.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder if that's because the Soviet Union oppressed those poor people for generations. Moving along, guy. Good morning. Longtime listener writes Troy, I want to make sure you knew the government subsidized Sun Fresh grocery store in Kansas City closed several days ago. Local radio says $29 million invested in the city over 10 years. I yield the rest of my time. But f this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

And Mumdani is going to try that in New York City. Yeah. Kansas City tried government grocery stores. They squandered $29 million on it. It became a crime, choked, no food, Soviet style wasteland and closed.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you haven't heard any reporting on that. We've got a lot more to come. If you miss an hour, get to podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand.

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