Peace in the Middle East

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Peace in the Middle East"

Date: September 30, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode zeroes in on the extraordinary—if tentative—breakthrough in Middle East peace negotiations, centering on a Trump-brokered plan that has garnered unprecedented global support, with only Hamas left to weigh in. The hosts also discuss the cratering of American support for Israel, the challenges of contemporary media and academia, and the ongoing cultural and political rifts in the U.S., with characteristic humor and candor. Additional conversations explore the nature of human resilience, military reforms, America’s homelessness crisis, and broader societal changes post-Covid.

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Main Theme

Historic Prospects for Peace in the Middle East
The central discussion revolves around the surprising and broad-based support for President Trump's latest peace proposal in the Middle East—a plan that appears to have united the most divergent voices in U.S. and international politics, leaving only Hamas as the holdout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Trump Peace Proposal: Near-Universal Support

• Key Details:
  • All major political groups and countries (NPR, MSNBC, Washington Post, Fox and Friends, Lindsey Graham, Netanyahu, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia) support the Trump plan, with Hamas as the lone entity yet to agree.
    "[T]he claim is that they're huddled and gathered and trying to decide what they want to do here. They've got to realize, wow, this is gonna look bad if we say no to this. Given what I just said. I mean, when NPR is, 'boy there's a lot to like here'...Wow, that is something." —Joe Getty [03:00]
• Peacekeeping Force:
  • A multinational peacekeeping force (Indonesia, Italy, and others, led by Tony Blair) is to be stationed in Gaza. Notably, the U.S. would not be directly involved militarily.
• Unprecedented Unity:
  • Media and political personalities across the spectrum, including Tom Friedman (NYT) and Fox News, are signaling support for the deal. “Only Trump could get all these Arab leaders on board with a plan like this because they respect him so much and listen to him...” —Joe Getty [09:32]
• Cautious Skepticism:
  • The hosts suspect Hamas will accept the deal only superficially and regroup as a guerrilla force later, given their stated objectives and ideological long-termism. “I think what they will do is accept it on the surface and melt into the Palestinian territories and reconstitute as some sort of guerrilla force and then attack when the moment is right.” —Jack Armstrong [04:24]

2. American Attitudes Toward Israel Shift

• New Polling:
  • NYT/Siena poll: Only 19% of Americans strongly support providing military and economic aid to Israel; this represents a historic low. “Only 19%...with 20% somewhat support. So you’re way under half...The biggest number is 35% strongly oppose. For young people, it’s 70%.” —Joe Getty [07:12]
• Media Coverage's Role:
  • The hosts argue that persistently inaccurate and biased media coverage since October 7th has dramatically shifted American perception against Israel. “It’s been utterly, obscenely inaccurate, one-sided and bizarre.” —Jack Armstrong [08:05]
• College Influence:
  • University environments, particularly departments focused on the Middle East, are criticized for strong anti-Israel/anti-Semitic attitudes shaping student sentiment. “Four of the seven [guiding Columbia's Middle Eastern studies department] are avowed anti-Israeli, anti-Jew activists.” —Jack Armstrong [08:40]

3. Navigating Political & Human Complexity

• On Trump’s Style:
  • Trump’s disregard for precedent is viewed as both his greatest asset and flaw. His boldness allowed for the peace proposal’s unique support, yet poses risks elsewhere. “Trump’s great strength is that he will do anything. He will chuck all precedent and tradition...It’s also his great weakness.” —Jack Armstrong [10:39]
• Personal Tendencies:
  • The hosts riff on human flaws, shame, and positive thinking—juxtaposed with Trump’s apparent lack of regret or self-doubt. “He is like an NFL cornerback. He has the ability that if he gets burned for a touchdown, you just put that out of your mind...I wallow in my mistakes. I regret them till my deathbed.” —Joe Getty [12:21]
  • Memorable banter about being human and the difficulty of life. “Being human, I tell you what, ain’t easy.” —Joe Getty [16:26]
    —A crowd favorite, destined for a t-shirt.

4. Cultural Shifts: Post-Pandemic and the Death of Reading

• Societal Change:
  • The hosts ponder whether Covid forever altered American society or merely accelerated ongoing titanic shifts. “Did Covid break us...or is it true that there are a bunch of...human being changing things going on? Like we’re at an inflection point...” —Joe Getty [33:34]
• Literacy and Attention:
  • They cite articles about the collapse of reading in the smartphone era; a major, underappreciated shift. “Since the smartphone came on the scene...it [reading] disappearing again.” —Joe Getty [34:09]

5. Homelessness, Drug Addiction & Social Policy

• Ground View:
  • A stark interview with a homeless woman in Portland lays bare the failings (as perceived by hosts and their interviewee) of compassion-first city policy. “It’s a piece of cake, really...they feed you three meals a day, you don’t have to do [anything] but stay in your tent or party...get high, eat...that’s all you do all day long, every day. I’m being honest.” —Junkie Gal [23:12]
• Host Reaction:
  • The hosts argue current policies incentivize addiction rather than recovery.
• Policy Prescription:
  • Enforcement of all laws, including anti-camping and drug statutes, would introduce consequences that could force positive change.

6. Military Fitness & Modern Warfare

• "No Fat Generals":
  • Discussion of new defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive targeting out-of-shape military leaders sparks debate: Should all military personnel meet physical fitness standards, or can specialists be exempt? “Can you do the job that you were given?” —Jack Armstrong [30:07]
• A Modern Military's Needs:
  • Acknowledgement that computer talent and drone operators may not need traditional physical prowess.

7. Mailbag and Listener Engagement

• Angst over Political Retaliation:
  • Listeners are skeptical that appeals to norms will restrain mutual escalation between left and right.
• Cultural Stereotypes in Driving:
  • Playful but pointed discussion on how stereotypes stem from culture, not genetics, relating to differing driving habits among recent immigrants and the American-born.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Middle East Peace Deal’s Support:
  • “It’s unbelievable the support that this thing has. And the only entity that hasn’t said ‘yeah, we’ll go ahead’ so far is Hamas.” —Joe Getty [02:55]
• Cynicism Countered:
  • “Some chance is better than no chance.” —Joe Getty [21:36]
• On Media Influence:
  • “Israel is held to a standard of civilian protection and...nurturing of the civilian population of its adversaries that no force has ever been held to in the history of warfare.” —Jack Armstrong [09:13]
• Being Human:
  • “Being human, I tell you what, ain’t easy.” —Joe Getty [16:26]
• On Boldness vs. Caution:
  • “Trump...will chuck all precedent and tradition...it’s a mental exercise. We got the guy. We got him!” —Jack Armstrong [10:39]
• Honesty about Homelessness:
  • “That is so self-evidently true to anybody with any sense. I...wonder, is there anybody hearing that simple statement...who is persuaded by it?” —Jack Armstrong [23:58]
• On Societal Change:
  • “Did Covid break us or is it true...we’re at an inflection point with a bunch of different things going on?” —Joe Getty [33:34]
• Mailbag on Human Nature:
  • “Stop being so tender and naive...Democrats couldn’t give the first F about getting permission from the Rs to use any tactics.” —Listener email read by Joe Getty [36:43]

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [02:20] – Introduction of "Peace in the Middle East" as the General Manager (main topic)
• [02:55] – Listing global political/media voices supporting the Trump peace proposal
• [04:24] – How Hamas might "accept" the deal and regroup as guerrillas
• [04:42] – Details of the planned peacekeeping force in Gaza
• [06:23] – Trump’s ultimatum to Netanyahu if Hamas rejects the plan
• [07:12] – New polling shows historic lows in American support for Israel
• [08:40] – Columbia’s Middle Eastern studies department is run by anti-Israel activists
• [12:21] – Discussion on Trump’s style: boldness, lack of regret, NFL cornerback analogy
• [16:26] – “Being human, I tell you what, ain’t easy” — memorable quote
• [23:12] – Portland homeless woman interview: “It’s a piece of cake, really...”
• [27:10] – Policy suggestions: enforcing the law and consequences for addiction
• [29:35] – Military fitness discussion: value of brains vs. brawn
• [33:34] – Did Covid change American society at a fundamental level?
• [34:09] – The "death of reading" in the smartphone era
• [36:57] – Listener mailbag: skepticism about appeals to political norms

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Tone & Style

The episode balances light, freewheeling humor with earnest cultural and political commentary. Armstrong & Getty’s chemistry infuses serious topics with relatability and a distinctly skeptical, self-aware tone.

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Summary Takeaway

"Peace in the Middle East" is a wide-ranging, high-energy conversation centered on a possible historic breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the hosts exploring how global politics, media bias, and sweeping social changes are shaping public opinion and policy. The rare moment of political consensus around Trump's plan is marked by the hosts’ studied skepticism and hope, set against background themes of societal flux, human frailty, and the importance of adapting to relentless change.

Listeners are invited not just to observe, but to question the motivations behind headlines, policies, and their own assumptions about the world as it turns.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Announcer]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio.

[Announcer]

Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Crazy.

[Joe Getty]

Little, little tired kids and I were up late last night praying, a lot of crying. What around the government shutdown. Hoping that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh my God.

[Joe Getty]

Praying that it wouldn't happen. And I put my kids to bed and they were sobbing and they said, will it be all right, daddy? And I tried to assure them that it will be okay, but I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's weird coming to work. The street's empty, no car. This is boarded up. It's rough.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, live from Studio C, a dimly lit room. A dimly lit room deeper than the bowels of the Armstrong and GY communications compound. And hey everybody. Today under the tulid last day of September, under the tutelage of our general.

[Jack Armstrong]

Manager, peace in the Middle East.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, I'm so excited.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's over. That was crazy, wasn't it? That thousand years of conflict be damned.

[Joe Getty]

That was crazy, wasn't it? That's funny. Yeah. You can either talk about the 10,000 years of conflict or the 70 years since 80 years since Israel was founded. I'm really excited.

[Jack Armstrong]

Islam been around again.

[Joe Getty]

Has Islam been around since about the year 700?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what I thought. Yeah. Okay, so we're looking at to carry the one about 800 years. 1800 years. It's not even close. My math is terrible. Back you.

[Joe Getty]

So here's what's really amazing thing of what I've heard today that are in favor of Trump's peace proposal that they're presenting to Hamas and Hamas is really the only entity that hasn't given the thumbs up on this so far. People that are in favor of it, npr, msnbc, the Washington Post, Trump obviously, Fox and Friends, Lindsey Graham, Netanyahu by all appearances, Netanyahu, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia. It's unbelievable the support that this thing has. And the only entity that hasn't said yeah, we'll go ahead is so far is Hamas. And they, the claim is that they're huddled and gathered and trying to decide what they want to do here. They've got to realize, wow, this is, this is gonna look bad if we say no to this. Given what I just said. I mean, when NPR is, boy, there's a lot to like here. That's what I heard this morning. Wow, that is something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. It will be very interesting to see what happens next. I, my, my knee jerk instinct is that they will find a way to, to reject it because they are bent on nothing but the destruction of Israel.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think think they can reject it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think what they will do is accept it on the surface and melt into the Palestinian territories and reconstitute as some sort of guerrilla force and then attack when the moment is right. Keeping in mind that Islamists look at thousand year timelines maybe, but there is.

[Joe Getty]

Going to be a peacekeeping force made up of a whole bunch of different countries there in Gaza for the foreseeable future, made up of Indonesia and Italy and a bunch of different countries, not the United States. The two eyes, they call them, run by Tony Blair. Trump's name is going to be on the name of the, I think it's called the peace force or something like that. But Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, is going to be the guy running the whole thing. And it's, it's, it's quite the thing. I haven't been this optimistic about the Middle east maybe ever in terms of something good happening.

[Jack Armstrong]

Given the apparent support of the Gulf states, the Arab world in general, it does seem a hell of a lot more promising. I just fool me 17 times. Shame on me. Is my attitude going in.

[Joe Getty]

This is a big one though. This is right up there with, with Carter, Beggin and Sadat back in the day, or Clinton, Yasser Arafat and Omar Herbert, whoever he was working at the time. This is one of those really, really big moments and opportunities. Now, famously, I forget who said it, Kissinger or somebody. The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. But we'll see what happens here. And the thing is, and we'll play this Clip later But Trump said now if Hamas doesn't agree to it, Ben Bibi, you can do whatever you got to do and you have the full backing of the United States. That's what he said yesterday, standing no next to Netanyahu. Do what you got to do and you have our full backing. Wow, that's.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just really like the way you went through the Israeli prime minister's name like you were at a restaurant singing Happy birthday to somebody whose name you didn't recall. Emar over birthday of an Happy birthday to you or at work.

[Joe Getty]

He's thinking happy birthday to somebody at.

[Jack Armstrong]

Work and you realize oh geez, that's.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know, we really should know her name. I think we've worked together for like 18 years.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you smile and you move your mouth law and say happy birthday. Happy birthday. I had another thing to say.

[Joe Getty]

What was the other thing I was gonna say something about the oh, so there's new polling out just released yesterday. New York Times Sienna Poll support for Israel is the lowest it's ever been in, you know, modern polling, like since the 70s or whatever on our attitude toward Israel only. Only 19% of Americans strongly support providing military and economic aid to Israel. At this point, only 19% with 20% somewhat support. So you're way under half and it's always been the majority of the country was in favor of supporting Israel economically and militarily and now it's way under half. You've got 30. The biggest number is 35% strongly oppose for young people. It's 70%.

[Jack Armstrong]

70% story about support for Israel. It's a story about propaganda and how it works.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It's amazing Israel has any support given the News coverage since October 7th.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's been utterly obscenely inaccurate, one sided and bizarre.

[Joe Getty]

Starting like that.

[Jack Armstrong]

One of the most astounding things I've ever seen.

[Joe Getty]

Starting like that first week when New York Times and everybody else went hog wild with the Israel Bombs Hospital kills 500 which turned out to be untrue at every level. And that was the beginning of a long slew of those kind of stories that were untrue. So it's amazing Israel has any support at all. And then you combine that with what their college kids are are being taught in their schools. Oh yeah, but that's a problem regardless of the why it's a problem that support has cratered for Israel in this country.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. I would agree. I don't even know where to start. The media sucks, the colleges Suck. I was just reading about Columbia University. You remember how their Department of the Middle east is under some sort of federal supervisorship as part of the agreement with the Trump administration. Free Beacon just ran down who's on the committee that guides that department. And four of the seven are avowed anti Israeli, anti Jew activists. I mean, serious. October 7th was the proper response of the oppressed to the colonial oppressor types running the department. So, yeah, the kids don't support Israel because they have no idea what the truth is, as Israel is held to a standard of civilian protection and indeed like, nurturing of the civilian population of its adversaries that no force has ever been held to in the history of warfare. Going back to like three cavemen, two of them thrown rocks at a third guy.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and of course, if the United States had been attacked the way Israel was, or Germany was, or France or you name the country, they would have laid waste to whoever did it. Absolutely. Back to positive stuff. I think it's just amazing that you have all those entities. I mentioned NPR and Fox both saying, yeah, this is a good deal, this is a good plan. Hamas should say, yes, this is amazing. I just was listening to MSNBC Morning Joe as I was driving to work and they were talking about, this is one case where Trump says, only I can do it. It's true. Only Trump could get all these Arab leaders on board with a plan like this because they respect him so much and listen to him partially through the help of his son in law, Jared Kushner, and all the work that he's done over the years. It's just incredible when the Washington Post is saying that sort of thing and Fox and Friends, it's just.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. It's funny, I was deep in thought about this very topic yesterday, how Trump's great strength is that he will do anything. He will chuck all precedent and, and tradition, including a hell of a lot of kind of timid. Let's not just mess with anything and cause any trouble. Let's just take a very cautious approach to this. And he doesn't give a damn. It's also his great weakness. And I think, you know, he does some, some real damage where it doesn't need to be done. But I don't know, some days I wonder, is, is it even possible to get the recklessness over here? The recklessness is the wrong word, the utter lack of fear over in this sphere and not have it over here where a little caution would probably be warranted? I, I don't know. But, but, you know, it's It's a mental exercise. We got the guy. We got.

[Joe Getty]

You keep trying to drag me back into bad news. This is good news. This is a good thing that is happening. No Trump, he can't be fixed.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, whatever. I thought I was making a good point. Hope somebody enjoyed it. But he.

[Joe Getty]

But, like, you know, the. You're going to give him a platform. This won't work with Putin and the red carpet, nothing came out of that. But this one. Something comes out of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, but the thing with Trump is that the deal with Putin ought to be a horrifying humiliation. But he's like, nope, he's a lion scumbag. It did no good. On to the next thing.

[Joe Getty]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

And I'm sure the next. Well, I don't have to be sure. The next thing's every bit as bold as the Putin gambit.

[Joe Getty]

God.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which is telling Ukraine. All right, here come the heavy arms. Use them however you want.

[Joe Getty]

I wish I had that ability. I don't. He is like cornerback. He's like an NFL cornerback. He has the ability that if he gets burned for a touchdown, you just put that out of your mind. You go on and you have a positive attitude about the next play. I'm not like that. I wallow in my mistakes. I regret them till my deathbed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good. That's what they say in golf, too. You got to have the memory of a goldfish. You had a bad shot. What? Bad shot?

[Joe Getty]

I don't remember it. Yeah. That's awesome. That'd be an awesome way to live life. I can't do that. Oh, I really screwed that up. Just like I always screw everything up. And just like I'll probably screw things up in the future. That's the way I think.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is not bold.

[Joe Getty]

No. Not positive. No. It's not possible.

[Jack Armstrong]

Got to regain that positive mojo. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

We need to start the show. I like you, Jack. A lot of shame. Yes, exactly. Roll around in my mistakes. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is. How did it already get to be the last day of September, the year 2025, where Armstrong and getting. We approve of this program.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then the greatest thing about shame is that you become ashamed of your shame, and it's like anxiety. You start to be anxious about your anxiety. Oh, boy. Being human. I tell you what ain't easy. All right, let's begin officially now, according to FCC rules, regs, here we go at Mark. From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this war fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win. Unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit.

[Joe Getty]

Pete Hegset addressing all the generals today.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's one of the best things I've ever heard.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, we got to play more of that later. And somebody go back. Hanson, do this. Write down Joe's quote from right before we played the clip. That has got to be the quote of the show, the quote of the day, maybe the quote of the year.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, that would be unprecedented.

[Joe Getty]

That is a good one.

[Jack Armstrong]

What's that?

[Joe Getty]

Being human. The exact way you said.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know what I said.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, if you could write that down, Hanson. I want to repeat it exactly after the break. It was perfect. That's what we need to have on a T shirt.

[Jack Armstrong]

I also like to point out I think I more or less nailed the Bibi and Trump peace deal yesterday, that it would be very solid and good, but demand all of the hostages immediately or you will suffer complete obliteration. We are through blanket around.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, I didn't think you'd be able to get all of the lefties on board too though. And all those Arab countries. That is something.

[Jack Armstrong]

I am surprised by that.

[Joe Getty]

We've got Katie's headlines on the way and a bunch of stuff. Stay here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

I'm excited about Major League Baseball playoffs starting to the wild card stuff which I don't quite get. The wild card thing. Like the Dodgers, they won their division, but they now they got to play a three game series in the wild card. I don't quite understand how that works.

[Jack Armstrong]

They the weakest division winner.

[Joe Getty]

They're the weakest division winner, but yeah, yeah. The east coast is all about Yankees, Red Sox, three game series, which will be hugely important to that side of the country. Any who wanted to get this on, this is what Joe said before we started the show officially. I think this, this might qualify for the quote of the year.

[Jack Armstrong]

Being human, I tell you what, ain't easy.

[Joe Getty]

That is fantastic. I'm gonna put that song, I'm gonna put that in my kitchen. Being human. I'll tell you what, it ain't easy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Being human I tell you what, ain't easy ain't easy. It sounds like the sort of thing you see on a dish towel at a gift shop that you can buy friends.

[Joe Getty]

Maybe it resonates with me because after one of the many bad things that I've created for myself happened to me a couple of years ago, a friend of mine said life is hard and it was very helpful to have something to say that you're right. It is, it is for everyone. It just is. Life is hard. Being human. I'll tell you what, it ain't easy.

[Jack Armstrong]

I tell you what ain't easy.

[Joe Getty]

That's a good thing to remember. I want my kids to go out into the world, you know, recognizing that then you'll be less shocked when the various bad things that happen to you happen to you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that's what I always taught my kids, that the things you dream of doing and achieving the vast, you know, the overwhelming likelihood is it's going to take longer and be harder than you can imagine, but you can still do it. So if it seems like, hey, this is taking longer and is harder than I thought it would be, that's fine, don't worry about it, just keep grinding. Here's your the lead story without Katie Green, who is off today, just a handful of headlines. We've touched on some of them, blah, blah, blah. Shut down. Go ahead, shut it down. I refuse to talk about it. Although politically speaking, the Democrats who are less popular than paper cuts at this point are really gambling.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I don't know, I don't know if it makes any difference. The idea of who gets blamed. Does anybody get blamed by the big picture 30,000 foot view of the government shutdown. I was thinking yesterday is just, our government's just dysfunctional. This shouldn't happen. I mean, I'm not worried about it, not gonna talk about it, but it shouldn't happen. They should have their act together. They should pass a budget on time, which never happens anymore, hasn't happened in like two decades or something. It's just we're dysfunctional.

[Jack Armstrong]

You got your big peace deal. Trump, Netanyahu, all the Arab states and Hamas that we are talking about. It'll be super, super interesting to see what happens in the next 72 hours. Oregon and the city of Portland suing the Trump administration in an effort to block the DEP to the Oregon National Guard to Portland. Got a great clip from a junkie in Portland coming up next half hour. It's absolutely fabulous in its way. How much time do we have, Michael? Oh, 30 seconds. Let's see. How about Trump administration announced plans to increase coal production. Rollback regulations. Yes, let the energy flow. And finally this from the Babylon be wife frustrated that husband doesn't realize she wants him to be quiet and also talk to her and also leave her alone and also come talk to her. Oh, how do you like this one? Idiot Noah builds an ark when he could have just paid more taxes to stop climate change.

[Joe Getty]

Trump addressing all the military leaders right now. We'll have highlights of that later in the show.

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[Joe Getty]

I'm looking at the CBS headline up there waiting for Hamas response after Trump presents peace Plan. I'm really excited about watching this. This is like a, this is a high level historic geopolitical story right here on which direction this is gonna go. Oh, and I forgot to mention on that list of people who, who think this is a good plan and Hamas should take it, Tom freaking Friedman of the New York Times. So he thinks Trump's plan is good. So does Fox and Friends. I mean when does that happen? That is something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, I.

[Joe Getty]

Can they walk away from it? It's been, you know, done it in decades past.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Can they find a way to walk away from it? Because then the reason I torture the phrase or the syntax is that you could see an immediate acceptance and then they find a way to walk away in the days and weeks that come and months. But who knows? A chance is better. No chance.

[Joe Getty]

There's a lot of Arab countries on board with trying to make it go through. If they sign on to it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. I hope they're all committed. I mean, truly committed for the long term. But again, you know, some chance is better than no chance. Enough on that for now. Pete Hegseth has vowed to get rid of the fat general. Stay with us for live coverage of the precedent breaking meeting at the Pentagon.

[Joe Getty]

Do we have fat generals? Oh, that reminds me, have you seen the trailer for Nuremberg?

[Jack Armstrong]

No.

[Joe Getty]

It's focused on Guring, the Nazi who lived through the aftermath and was put on trial. I thought of that because he was a big fat general and played by Russell Crowe and it looks like. Looks flipping fantastic.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll bet.

[Joe Getty]

Like a really great movie. I'm looking forward to that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Yeah. All right, let's. Let's turn to this. The. The city of Portland and the state of Oregon are suing the Trump administration, saying, don't send the National Guard here. We've turned things around. We don't have nightly violence anymore. It's just like every other night. Radical leftists who terrorize federal employees. And by the way, if you send the troops, then people will go crazy and there will be violence. So you just have to let Portland Portland. Okay.

[Joe Getty]

Let Portland Portland.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll have to see how that goes. But this is great. This is an interview of a tent dwelling junkie gal in Portland describing how life works for her and people like her.

[Joe Getty]

Was it like being homeless in Portland?

[Junkie Gal]

It's a piece of cake, really. I mean, that's why you probably got so many out here, because they feed you three meals a day you don't have to do but stay in your tent or party or if you smoke a lot of dope, you can do that. What else? What else, Melissa?

[Jack Armstrong]

What else?

[Junkie Gal]

I say I'm being interviewed. Yeah, that's really it. It's like you wake up, you go eat a blanche, get high, go eat a blanche for lunch, get high, go eat dinner, get high. And that's all you do all day long, every day. I'm being honest.

[Joe Getty]

I appreciate the honesty. Yeah, it doesn't feel like that's really helping anybody.

[Junkie Gal]

It's not. That's why you see all the tents.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is so self evidently true to anybody with any sense. I. I find myself wondering, is there anybody hearing that simple statement of what is obviously true who is persuaded by it? Or are they so, like, steeped in their cultish beliefs about compassion and whatever that. That they don't even hear her?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, my headphones must have cut out. I missed the part where she talked about, it's because of home prices that I'm out here on the street, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

In the patriarchy or whatever. Name for me, please, if you will, the recovery program. Be it private and expensive, for movie stars or AA or whatever that says. Look, if your loved one is an addict, make it as easy as possible for them to continue. If they need money, give them money. If they need to miss work, call the boss and make an excuse for them. Just don't do anything to make them uncomfortable in being junkie. Name that program for me, please. I'd love to hear about it. That is the official program of the Blue Cities of America, and it's insane. Well, and. And it yields exactly the results you'd think it would.

[Joe Getty]

She reminded me of a guy I got to know about probably 15 years ago. I don't know what happened to him. He's probably dead anyway. He was a street person, a drunk. I don't know if he was doing drugs or not. I know he was a drunk. And he talks about how easy it was to be homeless in the town where I live. He says, oh, it's so easy. They have so much food, so many different places. If I'm on this end of town, I eat here. If I'm on that end of town, I eat there.

[Jack Armstrong]

And, yeah, never get arrested, certainly for drug offenses or just, you know, unleashed pit bulls, pooping in the street, fornicating, leaving needles, stealing, whatever. So that isn't, you know, a disincentive.

[Joe Getty]

So what are you? What am I abdicating? Starve people until they get their act together.

[Jack Armstrong]

Enforce the law. You know, I don't mean to be flip, but enforce the law, all of them. You see somebody breaking the law, cite them, arrest them, whatever. Including camping in the park, which is illegal. The Supreme Court took the teeth out of the disastrous Grants Pass ruling. I don't remember precisely how toothless it is. As toothless as that junkie gal, perhaps. I don't know. But you can enforce the law now, so do it. And it's compassion, you know, enforce drug possession laws for Hard drugs, needles, the rest of it. Enforce it all. Make it really sucky to be a junkie. You know what people think? They'll think, this sucks. I don't want to be a junkie anymore. And you'll have saved their life. What do you not get about that? No, no, no. We need to give them safe facilities and needles and tents so then they can seek treatment and seek rehab. Because there they are, sitting in a nice tent in Portland, getting high with all the friends all the time. They eat, they drink, they're merry. And someday, what? Their tent will spring a leak, and that will make them want to get rehab, which usually doesn't work. Oh, boy.

[Joe Getty]

So your teas, Pete. Hegseth said no fat generals. What is that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Rooting out the fat generals. Can't have fat generals, Jack. Do we have big old fat tubs of lard leading our troops who are.

[Joe Getty]

Expected to be leading mean. It's a bad example. Do we have fat generals?

[Jack Armstrong]

Apparently. I'm not aware of any personally, but Mr. Hegseth. Secretary Hegseth seems to think it is an issue.

[Joe Getty]

He's crazy fit, though. Do we all have to be as fit as him?

[Jack Armstrong]

See, is that. Is that. Is it about war fighting preparedness, which is a stance I am 100% in favor of, or is it just a super fit guy who's really judgmental? People who aren't well, don't appreciate it.

[Joe Getty]

People who are going to have to carry backpacks and guns through the desert or the jungle or wherever we're fighting obviously need to be fit. But I certainly don't want to bar the genius computer guy who has never been able to do a single push up in his life and has no interest in trying from being in the military. If he's a genius computer guy can.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can fly a fleet of AI Drones like a ringing a bell?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is there.

[Joe Getty]

Is there a way to incorporate that and are they thinking about that?

[Jack Armstrong]

On the other hand, if you need one of those big C130 cargo jets just to get two or three generals to the front lines because they're so fat, that's no good either.

[Joe Getty]

I just always remember this mom I knew. She was a mom of one of my son's best friends. She was in the FBI at the time, but she had been in the military, and she thought the standards for physical fitness were ridiculous that she had to meet. And she did meet at the time, but she thought they were ridiculous because she was a computer person. And she said, if it gets to me, having to physically fight Somebody we've already lost. Right. If whatever horde of Chinese troops or Russians or whoever have gotten to me in the basement running computers, you know, we got bigger problems than whether or not I can do 25 push ups. And I got to agree with that. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think we ought to have cores of people who have zero potential to get in combat.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And you don't have to do a single push up. I know for a lot of people it's on my mind because I was just doing the physical fitness thing with a bunch of boy Scouts over the weekend and I was the guy writing down on the clipboard. There are people that just quite a few people that can't do app push up and I don't know if they ever will in their lives.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Wow. You know, reasonable fitness slash health, I think is okay to demand.

[Joe Getty]

Sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know if it comes down to it, you can, you are good drone pilot, inventor, crafter, coder, whatever. I don't know, drink your energy drink and vape. If you're good at it, sit there in the basement and do it.

[Jack Armstrong]

We have a five word standard here at the Armstrong and Getty Pentagon. Can you do the job that you were given?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Probably narrows the various things you can go into in the military if you're can't do a push up and you vape all day long. But you know, you knew that beyond.

[Jack Armstrong]

The drone force, be a mouse clicker, that's fine. We need mouse clickers.

[Joe Getty]

Absolutely. Yeah. I wonder for Ukraine. I'll bet there's great examples in Ukraine of guys who smoke cigarettes and drink beer, but they're putting together drones in the garage that are amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. It's a such a different time, militarily speaking, than it was even 20 years ago. And a year from now it's going to be different than it is right now. So, yeah. Reimagining just the constitution of our forces and, and obviously how they fight is going to be a never ending process. As I've said many times, it's not the amount of change that's making everybody insane these days and making demands on our military. It's the pace of the change that's so unprecedented.

[Joe Getty]

So we got to tell you about this. Like if you're drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, vaping all day long and everything like that and then you pass away, who's going to get your house or your Money or your 401k or whatever, do you have that planned out with a will and trust do you know what.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

Fire because we are the war Department. Godspeed. The last words from Pete Hegseth we'll play some of that Kicking off hour two. I'm not exactly sure what that means. We got Mailbag on the way and a bunch of other stuff. Hope you can stay here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

Is it just my imagination or a lot of people's imaginations? Did Covid break us somehow because it was such a disruptor in our lives? Or is it true that there are a bunch of like human being changing things going on like we're at an inflection point with a bunch of different things going on right now. Doesn't it feel that way? Like major titanic tectonic shifts happening in a bunch of areas?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes to all of those things.

[Joe Getty]

I think just because I got an example I'm going to get to later the Atlantic and then another publication together on the death of Reading on how this has just been a seismic shift since the smartphone came on the scene for the first time in 300 years, since reading became a thing of it disappearing again. And it's really interesting and I think 100% true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day about change. You've inspired me. Here's a couple for you. One the oh so quotable Winston Churchill to improve is to change. To be perfect is to change Often. He was a big advocate of as he often said, when the facts change, my opinion changes. Consistency for consistency's sake is silly. But then I like this one from Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of General General Electric. That's right. Yeah. Change before you have to.

[Joe Getty]

That's a good one.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is a good one. Yeah. That can avoid a lot of headaches in life and heartaches, etc. Mailbag drop us a note mailbagarmstrongandgetti.com I believe John was inspired by our junkie girl in Portland, Oregon. He is writing about Eugene, Oregon, which is just down the road. There's a group in Eugene, Oregon called the Burrito Brigade. They feed the homeless. The number of homeless keeps increasing. What they don't want, they dump in front of my building at work. Liberals feeding pigeons.

[Joe Getty]

Happy to be on in Eugene. Howdy, Eugene.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely. My son lives there.

[Joe Getty]

He gets to listen to you live.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I'm sure he listens every day.

[Joe Getty]

Hilarious. You don't think he does? No, I doubt it.

[Jack Armstrong]

He. He heard me every day of his life for the first like 18 years. And then intermittently during the college years.

[Joe Getty]

That's a decent point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Let's see. This is, um, we'll say Al Anonymous. Uh, what makes you think the left is waiting for the right to give them permission to trample our rights? Jack in particular keeps saying if we do X, the left will also do X when they have power. You think they're waiting for ours to do X first? Where have you been the last 50 years? If the D's want to try to silence talk radio, they'll not hesitate to do so. Whether or not the Republican chairman of the FCC made some threatening noises about Kimmel Stop being so tender and naive. I'm constantly saying that to Jack behind the scenes. Stop being so tender and naive. And the Democrats couldn't give the first F about getting permission from the Rs to use any tactics.

[Joe Getty]

You don't think we're in a two way race to the bottom? I just, I just, I just, I don't buy it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I, you're right. And I see his point in that any appeal to norms these days seems to fall on a lot of deaf ears.

[Joe Getty]

Well, you gotta hope that it has some appeal and if it doesn't, we're doomed. But that's the only way out is for one side to say, okay, we're gonna stop with this. We're gonna be grown ups. We're gonna hope that there's a majority of grownups in this country that are willing to back us and this is what we're gonna do going forward.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you're saying we need to walk into the bar that is American. Say norms. No, the Cheers reference, they're very exact. That was on like 40 years ago.

[Joe Getty]

50.

[Jack Armstrong]

When was that show on?

[Joe Getty]

The 80s.

[Jack Armstrong]

George Washington watched it. Anyway, moving along. What is that? The olden days. I know, sweetheart, you're so right. Nice note here from Paulo. Jack was making reference to.

[Joe Getty]

Is this another Jack kicking email? Did you pick only jacking?

[Jack Armstrong]

No. No. Yeah, me too. Maybe that'll be the theme tomorrow. No, actually it was your very gentlemanly discussion of the relative driving abilities of various ethnic groups.

[Joe Getty]

Right. I didn't name a particular group.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, you did not. You would never do anything so rude.

[Joe Getty]

Although I hinted it was the Irish.

[Jack Armstrong]

Paolo writes, guys, many racial and ethnic stereotypes are assumed to have some inherent, unbreakable connection to genetics. That's pretty much what racism is. But as I believe Joe has more than once pointed out, it's cultural differences that really matter. However, it's easy, easy to confuse racial and cultural factors because people the same race are often culturally similar, like a birds of a feather thing. But their shared culture makes them similar far, far more than their shared genetics. Then he says, and I read this only to point out how insensitive our listeners can be at times. He says about terrible Asian drivers. Many Asians in the U.S. especially the recently arrived, are not car centric. They come from places where many people do not drive at all or even ride very much in cars, where they observe people close to driving them. Close to them driving. To those people driving is not at all familiar. So they're often not very good at it. I know it's easy to believe. They look goofy and talk goofy, so of course they drive goofy. Not an accurate or fair assessment.

[Joe Getty]

I. I will not pile on this horrific stereotype.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, it sounds like. It sounds like Sydney Sweeney in the Eugenics to me. I mean, that whole. Remember that whole terrible episode which a journalist with the Wall Street Journal wrote about. It was an interview with the CEO of American Eagle, and they made one of the most stupid, culturally blind comments I've ever seen in journalism. Back to our question of how do you people not recognize this? Some people just do not have the powers of. Of perception of reality. I don't know. It's a blindness.

[Joe Getty]

Well, specifically to certain groups in the driving. My son's theory was because we drive county roads a lot, going to school and back in a certain group of people that will never pass anybody. It doesn't matter how slow the person in front of them is going is. They come from countries where you do not get out of line. You do not make decisions on your own. You do not, you know, take the reins and make. You know, you just don't do that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Keep your head down and do not come to the attention of the authorities for any reason. Right. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

That could be an interesting cultural way to look at it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Really interesting observation there. So a little racist, though. I'll be writing a letter. You're gonna write a letter.

[Joe Getty]

All right. We've got a lot more. Pete Hegseth giving a speech to all the generals. We'll have that in hour two.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. This is an I Heart podcast.