Other Than Bodily Functions, We Can't Go Any Lower

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Other Than Bodily Functions, We Can't Go Any Lower"

Release Date: February 12, 2025
Hosted by Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Produced by iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the February 12, 2025 episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into pressing political and social issues with their characteristic blend of humor and incisive commentary. Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the duo navigates topics ranging from constitutional crises and government spending to the antics of Elon Musk and the rising inflation rates. The episode is marked by engaging dialogues, listener stories, and sharp critiques of current events.

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Constitutional Crisis and Government Spending

00:50 - 03:04

The episode opens with Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty discussing the concept of a constitutional crisis in the context of current political maneuvers. They analyze comments from JD Vance and the implications of government restructuring efforts.

• Jack Armstrong observes, "I use that expression yesterday and it occurred to me nobody ever does a shallow dive. Why not? Or a medium dive. It's always deep." [01:14]

• Joe Getty counters by clarifying true constitutional crises, emphasizing, "A constitutional crisis would be if one of the branches refused to go along with whatever the decision ends up being." [02:47]

The hosts critique the notion that ongoing governmental actions constitute a constitutional crisis, arguing that such checks and balances are inherent to the system. They express skepticism over the feasibility of significantly downsizing a bloated federal government, highlighting resistance from politicians who view government jobs as sacrosanct.

• Joe Getty remarks, "Why would America have your back if you might lose your job any more than when 10,000 people are fired from Facebook or people get laid off at GM or anywhere else?" [04:04]

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Elon Musk's Political Maneuvers

09:00 - 14:45

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Elon Musk's increasing involvement in politics. The hosts discuss Musk's recent activities, including his social media antics and potential political ambitions.

• Jack Armstrong humorously notes, "Disruptor in chief, Elon Musk, who apparently has adopted the alias, at least he changed his social media handle to Harry Balls..." [09:57]

• Joe Getty adds, "But I don't know if he's going to take this high role in the government, be the focal point..." [10:37]

They critique Musk's tweet about democracy being destroyed by a "judicial coup" and mock his attempt to nickname himself, highlighting the absurdity of such actions in serious political discourse.

• Jack Armstrong sarcastically states, "I was just looking at the video of... Big Balls... with a perfectly straight, you know, very concerned face." [13:58]

The hosts express concern over Musk's influence and question the efficacy of his unconventional approach to leadership and governance.

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Inflation and Economic Policies

14:45 - 17:32

Armstrong and Getty shift focus to the economic landscape, particularly the rising inflation rates reported at 3% in January.

• Joe Getty summarizes, "Inflation picks up speed rising to 3% in January..." [14:45]

They scrutinize the Inflation Reduction Act, originally the Build Back Better Act, attributing the uptick in inflation to its implementation.

• Jack Armstrong voices his concerns about potential tariff implementations by Trump, stating, "I'm concerned that if he does impose those tariffs on steel and aluminum, that's gonna be super inflationary and that's gonna be bad." [15:30]

The discussion underscores the challenges of controlling inflation amidst policy changes and highlights the complexities of governmental economic strategies.

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Listener Stories and Experiences

25:20 - 31:48

A compelling segment features listener Joe Getty sharing his frustrating experience with banking regulations stemming from the Patriot Act.

• Joe Getty recounts, "I hate the federal government... I can't open a bank account for a 13-year-old and as his parent I got, I gotta prove who he is because you can't take my word for the fact that he's my child..." [26:58]

Armstrong and Getty use this anecdote to illustrate the pervasive mistrust and bureaucratic hurdles imposed by federal policies, reinforcing their critique of government overreach.

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Media and Political Satire

32:00 - 35:16

The hosts navigate through various media headlines, offering satirical takes on political figures and current events.

• Jack Armstrong mocks the Associated Press, saying, "Trump says he's not going to allow the Associated Press into the press pool because they won't refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America." [35:02]

They also cover topics such as Marco Rubio's name change to "Jack Cass," further highlighting the absurdity they perceive in contemporary political theatrics.

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Notable Quotes

• Joe Getty: "We may have reached the end. I don't know. Like, yeah, other than bodily functions, I don't think we can go any lower." [12:49]

• Jack Armstrong: "Do not blunder ahead blindly. Think about what you're doing. Have a plan. Be smart." [18:21]

• Abraham Lincoln Quote: "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." [17:32]

• Jack Armstrong: "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." [17:03]

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Closing Thoughts

In wrapping up the episode, Armstrong and Getty emphasize the importance of informed discourse and critical examination of governmental actions. They encourage listeners to engage with the show’s content through feedback and participation.

• Jack Armstrong: "Armstrong and Gettyestrian. We approve of this program." [09:34]

• Joe Getty: "I say if you miss a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand." [35:02]

The episode concludes with a mix of humor and serious reflection, leaving listeners with ample food for thought on the state of American politics and governance.

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Summary

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand is a robust exploration of contemporary political issues, framed by the hosts' sharp wit and critical perspectives. From dissecting the nuances of constitutional crises to lampooning high-profile figures like Elon Musk, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty provide listeners with a thought-provoking and entertaining analysis. Their candid discussions on economic policies, government inefficiencies, and personal anecdotes about interactions with federal regulations offer a comprehensive look at the challenges facing modern America. Notable quotes and engaging segments ensure that both regular listeners and newcomers find value and insight in this lively podcast episode.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here, Armstrong and Gary.

[Joe Getty]

Live.

[Jack Armstrong]

From Studio C. Si, senor.

[Joe Getty]

We're in a dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. And today, midweek Wednesday, we're under the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Tiddledge Bauer, general manager, the mighty Doge.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. How do you.

[Jack Armstrong]

I almost went with the Constitution, which is in a crisis, I'm told.

[Joe Getty]

I want to talk about that. But yeah, the whole, the whole Doge thing continues. Well, it seems to be the hottest story in politics and it's one of the more interesting things in. We've seen happen in any administration.

[Jack Armstrong]

I agree. It's super interesting on a number of levels. I mean, the obvious is everybody knows the. Everybody with the New York Times. We'll get to that later. Knows that the federal government is incredibly bloated and complex and wasteful and the rest of it. So it's fun to see it cut down. The whole question of whether this is a constitutional crisis. It's not whether JD Vance said we will defy the courts. He didn' how all of that works, how spending works. It's all been very interesting for me doing a deep dive into it. I use that expression yesterday and it occurred to me nobody ever does a shallow dive. Why not? Or a medium dive. It's always deep.

[Joe Getty]

I often do shallow dives into many things. I'm a first paragraph guy. That's enough for me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. The constitutional crisis is getting thrown around a lot. It seems that when most people talk about a constitutional crisis, they mean if one branch does something and then the other branch, using the levers and powers given to them by the Constitution, corrects that. Like the trumps. I mean, the court with the president like happened with Biden and has happened with Trump or Congress or whatever they call that a constitutional crisis. It's the opposite. It's the Constitution doing exactly what it was designed to do. It's with the branches, you know, fighting against each other and it working out. That's not a constitutional crisis.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. And as I heard the brilliant Charlie Cook at National Review say the other day, when their guy does what our guy just did, that's a constitutional crisis now and must be dealt with and reigned. His power must be reined in. Right.

[Joe Getty]

A constitutional crisis would be if one of the branches refused to go along with whatever the decision ends up being. And then, and then what do you do that? Things could get difficult then and we haven't had that happen yet.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. And I mean it would have to be a Supreme Court ruling that's issued probably that is just openly defied. No, we're not going along with that. Enforce it if you can, to paraphrase Andrew Jackson back in the day. But I firmly, firmly believe there would be an enormous groundswell of this can't happen. This is an actual constitutional crisis that would cross party lines and it would be dealt with fairly swiftly, I believe. I think a president who did that would be impeached.

[Joe Getty]

So I keep saying it should say something to you the way these people are digging in over the idea of anybody cutting any jobs or any budget. I mean, they're like hair on fire. Four alarm fire. This is the worst thing that has ever happened, the idea of shrinking government. And it continues. And we got more clips from one of their shouting rallies yesterday, but I heard one politician, I don't remember who.

[Jack Armstrong]

It was.

[Joe Getty]

Standing there and screaming, I am counting on the American to have our backs, we civil servants to have our backs and protect us. And I thought that's the, that's the weird relationship some people have with the government or you think we should have with the government. Why would America have your back if you might lose your job any more than when 10,000 people are fired from Facebook or people get laid off at GM or anywhere else? Why, no, we shouldn't be You. You, half the country and all the people in government think it's a different thing. That it's some sort of. I don't even know how to describe it. Like holy should never be messed with job for some reason.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right. Just so valuable and sacred. It must not be molested in any way. I tell you what and weird view.

[Joe Getty]

Though, I don't have it at all. Where does it come from? How do you end up thinking that? Oh, I got to tell my story about. Oh, I got. I'm on some sort of watch list for something I said at a bank yesterday about the government. I have to tell that story later.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I'd say you pretend that that's the case, that it's sacred and untouchable because that is your constituency that keeps you in power, that contributes to your wealth. That's your peeps. And that's fine. That's how politics.

[Joe Getty]

But I know plenty of people who aren't politicians who think that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I know. Oh, oh, yeah. Well, there's plenty of voters who feel.

[Joe Getty]

The same way or government people shouldn't lose their jobs.

[Jack Armstrong]

They have an incredibly naive and dopey view of the people and the government and the relationship between them which I cannot comprehend. I don't know where it comes from, this never ending faith that government does what's true and right as efficiently as possible at all times. And my God, we're lucky to have every single quote unquote civil service on the job. It helps me sleep at night. I mean, seriously, what color is the sky in your world? Yeah, I had one more point I was gonna make. It struck me as very worth making, but it was flitted out.

[Joe Getty]

I'll talk while you're thinking. A long press conference Elon had in the Oval Office yesterday with his, you know, dark maga hat on, his Doge hat on, and a cute little kid in tow and answering questions and everything like that. It's interesting. I mean, I'm not frightened that Elon some sort of code dictator or something like that, but it's, it's unique, there's no doubt about that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, so I do too, completely. Excuse me. It occurred to me what I was going to say and it factors into some great audio we're going to play for you later on in the show. But two things. Number one, the extent to which Democrats will, will sacrifice anything, including America's children, on the altar of being anti Trump, Trump derangement syndrome is just amazing. I mean, if, if they damage the little kids, you know, by not letting them go to school for a year plus, that's evidence enough. But to be saying we need huge, bloated, wasteful government in effect, who's with us? Don't you understand? There's very, very little constituency for that. And, and they're, you know, some of the stunts they're pulling and constitutional crisis and, and, and there's a new chant that they're engaging in that's not arable. We've had to bleep it. It just, it's increasingly desperate. It's like the jilted lover who's gone past a stalker and has killed a cat and he's just, just desperate for some sort of attention and none of it's working and it's increasingly just flailing and foolish. Look, if you want to oppose Trump, that's fine. That's how our system works. Go right ahead. But it's getting increasingly frantic.

[Joe Getty]

So what's the body chant that we can't play or say on the air?

[Jack Armstrong]

We have to be, we can play.

[Joe Getty]

What do they say?

[Jack Armstrong]

We can just play it.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, well, I guess it's bleeped.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yes.

[Joe Getty]

Or should I sit down Should I sit down?

[Jack Armstrong]

It's up to you. I'm standing 16. There we go. Here it comes, everybody. This is going to be exciting.

[Katie Green]

I just, I, I've been told I have 30 seconds. So I am going to tell you that we do have to. I don't swear in public very well.

[Jack Armstrong]

But this is the wrong conflict. Yes, yes, we have to.

[Joe Getty]

I'm going to tell you that we do have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stop playing clips, Michael. Let's just not play any clips unless we can play the correct.

[Joe Getty]

Well, let's do this next segment. We start the show officially, we're getting all off track here, but I want to know what, can you tell me what the body chant is? Is it Trump just flat out wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Got a collection of Democrat wow people.

[Joe Getty]

That's quite a chance, Trump.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. It's more than a chance, it's, it's a vow. That's their new slogan.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, that's the new whip inflation.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now or make America great again, Trump.

[Joe Getty]

We had the whole let's go Brandon thing, but it wasn't, wasn't people in government chanting it. The F. Joe Biden that I remember, it was football stadiums and stuff like that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right. Well. And they had the decency to change.

[Joe Getty]

It to let's go Brandon. Right, let's start the show officially. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It's Wednesday, January, February 12th, the year 2025. Armstrong and Getting. We approve of this program.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's begin then officially, according to FCC rules and regulations. Here we go. Leaping forward at mark now, the disruptor in chief, Elon Musk, who apparently has adopted the alias, at least he changed his social media handle to Harry Balls tweeted this morning, democracy in America is being destroyed by judicial coup. An activist judge is not a real judge.

[Joe Getty]

All right, so is it so Elon Musk when he's only the world's richest man and the guy who owns Twitter. Him, him, him doing the, the childish jokes is I, I, I find them fascinating and hilarious. But I don't know if he's going to take this high role in the government, be the focal point, have the media talking about him being co president and all this sort of stuff. He should change his Twitter handle to Harry Balls.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's a great deal to be said on this topic, certainly.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sure he, well, he actually tweeted out how much he enjoyed the mainstream media having to say that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that sort of trolling is absolutely delightful. But this is unprecedented or at least very rare in our Republic. You have to go back to when Alexander Hamilton christened himself Hugh Jass during the Constitutional Convention. I guess he was. Was he dead by then? Anyway. Oh, God.

[Joe Getty]

I do have to tell my story about what I said about the government at the bank. That's a good one. Okay, I know I'm on some sort of list now. I mean, seriously. Honest to God. He contacted someone and I'll be. Our News of the Day huge press conference going on with Elon explaining what they're doing at Doge. And I think a lot of you are gonna really, really love it. I know I do. It's fantastic. How about we take a look at how we spend money?

[Jack Armstrong]

Plutocrat, billionaire. And him.

[Joe Getty]

And him saying, yeah, we'll get things wrong, we'll go too far, and then we'll let it back in. We'll do. We're going fast. We're going to go fast when we try to fix things, too. Just the way we're going to do it. Is he president? Anyway? We got lots on the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stay with us. Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

I am going to tell you that we do have to. I don't swear in public very well.

[Jack Armstrong]

But we have to.

[Katie Green]

Trump, please don't tell my children that I just did that.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I'll tell you, I'm from Jersey.

[Joe Getty]

So I look a little different. I say Trump. Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Well, we've been talking about this for years. The coarsening over language and the race to the bottom. We're almost at the bottom. I think once we're to the. You come out on the Capitol steps and you just say, oh, yeah, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is there a step beyond that? You just squat and poop on the stage and point at it.

[Joe Getty]

Or.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't. This is. I think we are at the lowest common denominator in American politics.

[Joe Getty]

We may have reached the end.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. Like, yeah, other than bodily functions, I don't think we can go any lower.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and then play just the first part of the Dana Bash clip. We opened with Michael 18, I believe now Disruptor in Chief Elon Musk, who apparently has adopted the alias. At least he changed his social media handle to Harry Balls. Tweeted this morning. We are truly idiocracy.

[Joe Getty]

When I was an eighth grader, I would have really enjoyed all this.

[Jack Armstrong]

He spells it B O with like a line over it. Like it's some different language. L Z.

[Joe Getty]

I think if I was on cnn, I would have said Harry Bowles. I'm not exactly sure how he wants you to pronounce it. But I. I get what he's going for.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

But I. While I'm laughing on the inside, I'm crying. I just. I just.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know what you mean.

[Joe Getty]

It's. It's not.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is not the best way to accomplish things now on either side.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was, I was just looking at the. The video of. It was like last week on CNN when the guy who went by the moniker Big Balls, whereas. Right. I don't know, the. The guy that everybody was talking about for a cup of coffee and how the lady on CNN was saying that he went by the online moniker Big Balls, with a perfectly straight, you know, very concerned face. And I loved one of the. I think it may have been Clay Travis, fellow radio guy, podcaster, dude, credit where it's due, who said, I think CNN just exists to be mocked at this point. That's really their only useful purpose.

[Joe Getty]

Right. We gotta mention this news. The inflation numbers are out and they're not good or. Well, it depends on how you look at it. But inflation picked up, speed rising to 3% in January. It ticked up. Now, you gotta remember, these are the numbers what happened in January. Trump took over the 20th. This is being credited to the lasting policies of the Inflation Reduction act, which, as Byron York and the Washington examiner reminds us, in case you didn't know, the Inflation Reduction act was not intended to reduce inflation. It was originally called Build Back Better act. It was $2.2 trillion. The name change was only PR. It was really the Green New Deal. And it got shoved through and. And we're still living with it.

[Jack Armstrong]

But.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So starting at 3% inflation.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I'm concerned about Trump's. Some of Trump's tariff ideas, if he actually goes through with them. And we actually have a really good helpful checklist of where all these things are at this point. The blizzard of activity out of the Trump administration because. Tough to keep track, especially with various legal actions and suits and rulings and the rest of it. But I'm concerned that if he does impose those tariffs on steel and aluminum, that's gonna be super inflationary and that's gonna be bad. And I just, I don't see any particular need for it. And we can talk about protectionist policies later. But I'm just. I'm so concerned that the not necessary stuff is going to screw up the effort to do the good stuff, the really, really good stuff. Because you have to remember steel and aluminum goes into, like, every single product manufactured in America from cars to Dishwashers to everything else. And so I'm a little concerned about that.

[Joe Getty]

So the Wall Street Journal's couple paragraphs on the inflation news out today, which is getting a lot of attention. Obviously inflation has now been around these rates for some time. Might not be coming down, says one of their economists say quote, the bigger than expected increase in prices last month reflected higher prices for used cars and auto insurance, according to the Wall Street Journal. And overall the price increases were more than economists had expected. So there you go. We have mailbag on the way. How does that look?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, it's outstanding. Great. Freedom loving quotes of the day from birthday boy Abraham Lincoln as well.

[Joe Getty]

If you want to comment on any of the news today or Anything, text line 415295K.

[Jack Armstrong]

FTC Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Abraham Lincoln would be 216 today had he not been murdered by John Wilkes Booth.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's great. That's. What is that a conundrum? A paradox? Is that that which is true and yet false or something?

[Joe Getty]

Nonsense.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's your freedom loving quote of the day from birthday boy Abraham Lincoln, whose birth I missed sharing by one day because my sainted mother was impatient. Apparently there are so many to choose from. Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is to be on God's side. For God is always right. He also said, you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

[Joe Getty]

I've tried it. Doesn't work. He's right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Tried it repeatedly. Yeah, I love this one. Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. That was an interesting. What is that? Provoking one.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, you're provoking my thoughts. What is that? What is that? What's the point of that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Do not blunder ahead blindly. Think about what you're doing. Have a plan. Be smart. Jack is looking.

[Joe Getty]

You sure that's what he means?

[Jack Armstrong]

Thought provoked? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Because that will make the job go much more quickly and efficiently.

[Joe Getty]

I just wondered if.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you. What do you. Six hours seems like an awful long sharpening.

[Joe Getty]

Six hours seems like an awful long time to cut down a tree. If you told me I've tree in this scenario.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huge.

[Joe Getty]

I'm gonna give you three days to clean this studio and I'm gonna think it's gonna take me like half an hour. So I guess I'll spend the first two and a half days, I don't know, killing time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Label this part of the segment. Jack argues with the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln and perhaps is best known other than the House divided speech is you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

[Joe Getty]

It's pretty good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mailbag. Feel free to correspond if you'd like. [e-mail] thanks everybody who sent along birthday wishes. I will reply to all of you as soon as I can. My life has been madness the last couple of days. Note from C. Busy really enjoyed the One More Thing podcast yesterday about my birthday and related topics. It's not as it's not as dopey and self indulgent as it sounds. That's Armstrong and getting One More Thing. You might as well subscribe, but thank you very much for the kind words. Barry from Thailand weighing in. Not his most eloquent or persuasive email, but I like that it points out. Well, he asks. Please answer me a question first, he says. A lot of expats in Thailand are big Musk fans. We call ourselves Musketeers. Please answer me a question. If crazy Maxine Waters and her fellow Democrats had been allowed in the Department of Education building, what would they have done inside? What would be accomplished? And the answer obviously is they wouldn't have done anything. They wouldn't have accomplished anything. It was a flailing, frantic publicity stunt to try to look like they're the brave resistance again.

[Joe Getty]

Well, so much of what we do, as we've been saying for years, is performative. And whether it's that, that or Elon, I think Elon's just getting his jollies. But Elon, renaming himself on Twitter Harry Balls for a day or whatever, it's just so much is just like to fire people up and get attention and ow, yeah, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it's all so quickly and readily reported to the entire globe via the Internet, every one of these idiotic. I mean, that Maxine Waters, who is a half wood at best, bellowing outside the Department of Education, didn't deserve three sentences of ink in any decent newspaper back in the day. But you know, it's pretty good video. So we also have Moving along note from Miles, a longtime friend of the Armstrong and Getty Show, a former colleague of ours, uh, he's pointing out that yesterday Supervisor Jim Desmond in the San Diego County Board of Supervisors introduced a letter in support of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Couldn't even get a second. It was defeated 2 to 1. Jim being the the one San Diego, California standing or San Diego County. Anyway, standing tall to allow men to compete and beat the crap out of women in women's sports. What a brave stance. That.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, that's interesting. I just saw some pol. Now this was up on Fox, but polling around this broken down by party. We'll have to get that later. But it's. Well, it's what you think it would be. Most people think it's ridiculous.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. Anybody sane does. Speaking of men's and women's, note from John, who talks about his sons enjoying hunting. And he says, I don't really give a crap about it. It's fun, but it's more about hanging out with dudes that aren't the P word. Guys that work with their hands. Farmers, mechanics, welders. I don't disparage anyone's path unless you're a commie. You don't have to be able to work with your hands as a mechanic to get my praise. Just be a dude and know how to use a screwdriver.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, man. Yeah, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

A lot of that's upbringing, but if you do not know righty tighty, lefty Lucy, that's why I. You're. You're a man in training.

[Joe Getty]

So my kids, we got new furniture for their bedrooms and we went to Ikea and if you know anything about ikea, you know you have to put this stuff together. And I helped them move the boxes in the room and I said, you're gonna put it together and. And Henry put it up for a long time. I said, you're gonna learn to do this. You cannot have a girlfriend someday who asks you to assemble an end table and you say, I don't know how that's not an option.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, indeed. That's some good dadding right there. Well done. Speaking of Elon Musk, once again, I love this note from Jess and Wiley, Texas. New York Times reports that Elon Musk is operating in deep secrecy, quote, unquote and quote, descending upon agencies like a spooky vampire. She writes, and basically making crap out up about everyone and goes into some details. You gotta be real precious. Oh, well, it has to do with the US aid and that he'd said people have been taking kickbacks and a lot of people in the bureaucracy somehow had managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position. Without explaining how he'd made that assessment. I have more examples of that sort of thing in a bit. But you gotta be real precious to think there's Nobody taking kickbacks at usaid, in the very least getting lavish stipends. Um, I'm pretty jealous of Elon right now. Calling biatches out is one of the ultimate joys in life.

[Joe Getty]

I'm also the, the, the, the, the reaction by so many that Elon, you know, there are going to be examples out there. He's gonna, he's, there are people that are gonna need their food that they're not all kinds of examples of people getting screwed by the government on a regular basis. Remember the VA scandal? I mean, it happens all the time when these agencies are supposedly doing their best. So if a guy's cutting waste and, or attempting to cut waste or Trump's attempting to cut waste, and you get some occasions where somebody who deserved to get their meal or wheelchair or whatever doesn't get it, it's not like that never happens anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Yeah. And in a broader sense, what they're claiming, those who are yelling about this, most of it's performatives we've been discussing, but those who are shouting about, well, this program does some good as both the President and Elon Musk have made it clear, well, that stuff will get funding. Just give us a minute. So they are in effect making the argument that we must reign in the grotesque, horrifying, irresponsible overspending of the federal government with zero inconvenience or disruption to anyone. Which is, when you say it out loud, just a ridiculous point of view.

[Joe Getty]

So I think I can tell this story shortly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. And then I, I think our frequent correspondent Paolo has absolutely nailed the drop in fertility and reproduction.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, really?

[Jack Armstrong]

Nailed it.

[Joe Getty]

If we ought to do that at a kickoff next hour, because that's a.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good topic, that's fine with me.

[Joe Getty]

That's a good topic, sure. So my 13 year old, and it matters what his age is, apparently wanted to open a checking account at the bank or an account at the bank because he's got enough money built up from allowances and birthdays and Christmases and he doesn't spend his money like his brother does. He saves it because he wants to be able to put it toward a car someday and that sort of thing. So he's got a decent sized chunk of money added up over the years and he'd been keeping it in his shoebox. And so he's going to open an account. And I remember when I opened an account when I was probably about his age, I started mowing lawns when I was 12, 13 and accumulating money and opening a bank account.

[Jack Armstrong]

Passage, I remember it myself on the.

[Joe Getty]

Way to the bank I did say to him, I said, you know, I haven't, I haven't been around the idea of opening an account for a bank in 40 years, something like that. So I don't know if the rules have changed but so in case something happens. But anyway, so we get it there sure enough and so we're trying to open this account and everything like that. And first of all, many banks, everything is. I don't know if it's because the government comes down on them so hard or something like that. They, they treat everybody like you're a wannabe terrorist. Like everything you do, it's like geez, lighten up. But anyway, he needs to have two forms of ID is where we ran into the roadblock. I said, what is a form of ID for a 13 year old? He said, they said, well, your Social Security card, his birth certificate. Okay, great. So I said the fact that I'm his dad isn't good enough. I can't vouch for the fact that he's my son and I have an account here and have had for 25 years and open an account for him. I can't do that. No, we need to. And I said is that a bank policy or a state law or what is that? Because I was thinking if it's a bank policy I'll go to a different bank. But it's a federal law, it's part of the Patriot Act. I said oh cool, of course. And he said well it's a federal. I said you don't need to explain the federal government to me. And I hate the federal government. I said. And then the guy looked at me like I was oh, he got wide eyed like oh you're one of those people. You're Timothy McVeigh. You're, you're, you're one of those people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, clearly I've heard about them.

[Joe Getty]

I said I hate the federal government. The Patriot Act's ridiculous. This is ridiculous. The fact that I can't open a bank account for a 13 year old and as his parent I got, I gotta prove who he is because you can't take my word for the fact that he's my child makes me child.

[Jack Armstrong]

Money laundering little mule for your militia, whatever you want to call him.

[Joe Getty]

The Patriot act was. So I was trying to explain it to Nery was so much crap that they jammed through. It's all because of 9 11. So you're going to stop the next 911 by making sure 13 year olds don't Open illegal bank accounts, I guess. Yeah, whatever. Even though their parent who you know is sitting right there. I hate stuff like that. And the, and the. But they were, they are. Their eyes got so wide when I said, I hate the federal government. And I was thinking if I was doing this same thing in my. In my. Where I went to college in Hays, Kansas, and I said, I hate the federal government. The teller would have said, yeah, me too. Don't you high fived you? I thought, what a difference.

[Jack Armstrong]

Amen to that, brother.

[Joe Getty]

But that just being. Oh, my God. You shouldn't say. She said, oh, she even gas. She gasped. The woman gasped. And her boss just looked at me wide eyed like, oh, were we about to have a fight?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, man.

[Joe Getty]

You have to have two pieces of id. Even though he's my kid, I just found that amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, here's. Here's the guy who retweets my quotes. Get ready to jot this one down and get it right, would you? Anytime the government says there's an emergency, there are two emergencies.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, but actually. Exactly. And I actually told my son because he was wondering. He was like, is that something you can't say out loud? I said, I told him the most revered Republican president of the last maybe century, Ronald Reagan, ran on the scariest words in the English language are, I'm here from the. I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. I mean, he ran on I hate.

[Jack Armstrong]

The government or I just saw a clip this morning. The. The government isn't the solution. Government is the problem.

[Joe Getty]

And the woman who was typing furiously after I said that because she was so horrified that anybody would say that, I said, you know, all the money in my account, I made that by going on the radio every day and saying, I hate the government.

[Jack Armstrong]

By the way, if the Justice Department is listening, or the FDIC or I don't. The CIA, the nsa, if they. I'm happy to testify against this monster.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sure I'm on some sort of terrorist watch list now. Yes, Michael, so wonder they didn't hit.

[Jack Armstrong]

The silent alarm on you and then, you know, cops show up or something.

[Joe Getty]

I would have been. I would have loved to talk to people and explain why it's okay for me to say I hate the government.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, no. We've got to surveil him for a while and go through his mail and monitor his phone calls. We've got the NSA working on it already.

[Joe Getty]

What I hate is the manager guy acting like it makes sense that we have A law that I can't vouch for my kid being my kid. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Two forms of ID for a child.

[Joe Getty]

Right when their parent is there.

[Jack Armstrong]

How about he says his name, then I say his name. Is that two forms of id? And if not, what the hell has the world become?

[Joe Getty]

I know. Anyway, we've got Katie's headlines coming up next.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

I guess in brief to my saying to the manager at the bank that I hate the federal government. Government. My feeling comes from, I don't know about everybody else's life, but I feel like my interaction with the government is either me giving them money or them stopping me from doing something I want to do 90% of the time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure, I appreciate maintaining a standing army, but yeah, I'm not day to day interactions.

[Joe Getty]

Obviously you're, you know, you're, you're going out of your way to be didactic if you don't understand that we all need roads and an army and that sort of stuff. But, but most of my interactions are me giving you money and I see around me it being wasted or you stopping me from doing something I want to do. That's most of no didact.

[Jack Armstrong]

I. Moving along, we have breaking news. J.D. vance has renamed himself Amanda Hugging Kiss. Stay with us for details. Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the lead story with a discouraged Katie Green.

[Katie Green]

Katie first from cnn. Wrongfully detained American teacher Mark Fogel meets with Trump after being released from Russia in a quote exchange.

[Joe Getty]

We got a bunch of clips about that, what Trump said, what the released teacher said. Hey, don't smoke marijuana in Moscow or whatever he was accused of doing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yep.

[Katie Green]

NBC ISIS has an army in waiting. And Trump's next move could decide whether it rises again.

[Joe Getty]

Why? Where's that from? I don't know that story.

[Katie Green]

NBA.

[Joe Getty]

I'll have to look at that.

[Katie Green]

I'll add it to the hot links from Breitbart.com Department of Education calls on NCAA and NFHS to revoke the titles and championships awarded to transgender athletes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you can't have dudes, women wearing winning women's titles. It's a very short ruling. In fact, that's it. Thanks for coming.

[Katie Green]

From News Nation, Kristi Noem fires four FEMA workers for paying New York City for hotels to house migrants in defiance.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of orders, as I understand it. Right, Right. Yeah. Tens of millions of dollars from the Wall Street Journal.

[Katie Green]

Inflation picks up speed rising to 3% in January. Daily Mail. One in five Democrats say Trump is doing a Good job. As his whirlwind start in office attracts new fans.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I meant to break down his high 53% approval rating. You break it down by various groups, it's pretty damned impressive.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is. And I would think, you know, in any other era of American politics, the Democrats would lay low, see how they could work with them, say to their constituents, hey, we're working with them when it makes sense, we're looking out for you and wait for nothing. Opportunity. Is it just that the fever pitch of day to day Internet fundraising, they're so behind this fiscal year. Is that why they're making these frantic gestures of where the resistance and F. Trump and the rest of it, why don't they just come to hell?

[Katie Green]

Down for a few months from the athletic. Kevin Durant becomes eighth player in NBA history to hit 30,000 career points.

[Joe Getty]

There was talk of him coming to the warriors up until the trade deadline just a couple of weeks ago, and that fell apart the last minute. And because he, he hates somebody on the warriors and wouldn't come play with them, they're going to take one last chance at winning a title with him.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Post, quote, I'm lucky to be alive after sustaining car crash injuries after tripping over my cat. This guy has a hairless cat. It bit him in the leg, he tripped, ripped, he ended up fracturing his skull, breaking a bone in his neck, two fractures in his spine, nine broken ribs and blood in his lungs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Goodbye, kitty.

[Joe Getty]

Don't have hairless cats. Is the lead there?

[Katie Green]

Exactly. Finally, the Babylon be exhausted media begs Trump to take a day off.

[Joe Getty]

God, I believe that. Do you see this?

[Jack Armstrong]

More breaking news. Marco Rubio has changed his name to Jack Cass.

[Katie Green]

Oh, gosh.

[Joe Getty]

Trump says he's not going to allow the Associated Press into the press pool because they won't refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fair enough.

[Joe Getty]

I say if you miss a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.