Plague Taxis!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Plague Taxis!"

Date: August 19, 2025
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: Jack Armstrong (A) & Joe Getty (B)
Episode Summary Prepared By: [Your Name]

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Episode Overview

In this high-energy episode, Armstrong & Getty delve into the ongoing diplomatic negotiations over the Ukraine conflict, highlighting both the complexity of the situation and skepticism over Russian intent. The hosts use vivid metaphors and candid language to question whether Vladimir Putin is interested in real resolution and reflect on the immense challenges ahead (“the hard part”). Other key topics include international security guarantees, American domestic policy debates (notably mail-in voting), the culture on college campuses, homelessness and drug policy reforms in San Francisco, and updates on gender-affirming care policies in major California hospitals. The episode is rich in sharp wit, pointed skepticism, and trademark banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ukraine Negotiations: The “Hard Part” Begins

• Backdrop: Recent historic White House diplomacy aiming to resolve the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
• Hosts Question Putin’s Intent:
  • “Does Putin have any interest in any of this? Has anybody checked? Because there's a chance he has no interest in this whatsoever. And if he doesn't, does any of this matter at all?” — Joe Getty [01:36]
  • The hosts argue that Western analysis wrongly assumes Putin wants peace; he may, in reality, have no intention of ending the conflict or may only pretend to negotiate for tactical advantage.
  • Metaphor Used: Negotiations compared to arguing over wedding decorations when the bride may never intend to say yes [03:24–06:45].
• Trump and Security Guarantees:
  • Trump has floated the idea of U.S. “backup security guarantees” for Ukraine, alongside European powers [04:12–05:11].
  • The hosts stress this is “a pretty big deal” and a significant shift from previous U.S. involvement.

2. Deep Skepticism Over Real Progress

• Doubt About Putin–Zelensky Meeting:
  • The emotional and psychological toll:
    “I just can't believe that Putin and Zelensky are gonna be in a room together, alone. It's brutal to contemplate...” — Jack Armstrong [07:10]
    • The hosts call out the horror of expecting Zelensky to meet or shake hands with Putin after recent Russian atrocities, such as missile strikes on civilians.
  • “Can you imagine if somebody did that to the U.S.…and our president was forced to go shake his hand and beg him for a deal?” — Jack Armstrong [07:52]
• Manipulation & Media Strategy:
  • Discussion about Putin’s likely psychological gamesmanship if a meeting takes place [08:15–08:56].
• Hot Mic Moment:
  • Trump conveying belief that “Putin really wants to… for me, he wants to do a deal” — hosts are incredulous and concerned about Trump’s trust in Putin [09:26–10:06].

3. Security Guarantees: What Does Commitment Mean?

• Analysis of what U.S. and European “guarantees” might actually involve:
  • Reference to John Bolton explaining such guarantees could mean direct military action if Ukraine is losing badly [04:23].
  • Anticipation of interviewing military analyst Mike Lyons in the next hour for a deeper dive [20:00].

4. Domestic Politics: Mail-In Ballots & Political Polarization

• Trump’s Position:
  • “Mail in ballots are corrupt. …You can never have a real democracy with mail in ballots.” — Donald Trump (clip) [10:52]
  • Hosts pivot to discuss the constitutional basis for states managing voting and the challenge of changing such systems [17:56–18:04].
• Satire: Referencing a Babylon Bee joke about banning mail-in ballots and “undue hardship on dead voters” [17:36].

5. News Rundown with Katie Green [13:46–17:36]

• Zelensky–Trump Meeting Coverage
• Media Critique: Exposing how media sometimes misreports causes of civilian casualties in Gaza.
• Culture Wars: Firing of a Yosemite park ranger over a transgender flag, AI commentary from Geoffrey Hinton, and the renaming of cable news channels.
• Health & Culture:
  • Cheese and nightmares,
  • Young men taking testosterone supplements (“T-maxing”),
  • Political satire on mail-in ballots.

6. College Campus Culture: Self-Censorship & Indoctrination [20:21–23:53]

• Findings:
  • 78% of students self-censor on gender, 72% on politics, and 80% admit to writing work that does not reflect their true views to align with professors.
  • “You give them a chance and they will tell you what they really think. …We're on the cusp…of a huge move toward the youngsters recognizing what's being done at colleges. It's not education at all, it's indoctrination.” — Joe Getty [20:49]
  • Importance of “preference falsification” leading to possible “preference cascade” if students realize they’re not alone in their beliefs.

7. San Francisco & Progressive Policy Reversals [23:53–29:44]

• Homelessness: City has sharply increased arrests/citations for illegal lodging, leading to cleaner streets [24:52]. Hosts mock critics who claim this is merely displacing the homeless.
• Drug Policy: San Francisco shifting away from “harm reduction” as an end in itself and back toward aiming for recovery.
  • Sharp critique: “What began as a campaign to keep people alive…has devolved into a philosophy that no longer considers recovery as necessary or even desirable.” — Joe Getty [26:26]
• Gender-Affirming Surgeries for Minors:
  • Major California hospitals have paused or reduced gender-affirming surgeries for under-19s due to political and social pressure [31:14], described as a positive reversal by the hosts.
  • “Can you imagine executing those confused wishes? Or just monsters?” — Joe Getty [32:14]
  • Affirmation for “gay little fellas and butch girls: You're exactly the way you ought to be.” [32:29]

8. Return of the Cold (Literal & Metaphoric “Plague Taxis”) [29:44–31:06]

• Lighthearted chat about the return of cold season as kids head back to school.
• “There's a nice sales lady around here. Calls kids going to school plague taxis.” — Joe Getty [31:04]

9. Listener Feedback & “Mailbag” [34:09–38:17]

• Stories of parent protest against drag queen events in elementary schools.
• Discussion of Florida's new curriculum about the history and dangers of communism.
• Satirical “Book of Gavin” segment lampooning California’s political leadership and policies.

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Notable Quotes

• “Does Putin have any interest in any of this? Has anybody checked? …If he doesn't, does any of this matter at all?” — Joe Getty [01:36]
• “It's not as if it is inevitable. If you wrestle manfully enough with the issues and negotiate skillfully and generously…you will come to an agreement. It's possible…the parties…have no overlap here. …Is that not the most likely outcome?” — Jack Armstrong [05:59]
• “I just can't believe that Putin and Zelensky are gonna be in a room together, alone. It's brutal to contemplate…” — Jack Armstrong [07:10]
• “Mail in ballots are corrupt. Mail in ballots. You can never have a real democracy with mail in ballots.” — Donald Trump (clip) [10:52]
• “You give them a chance and they will tell you what they really think. …It's not education at all, it's indoctrination.” — Joe Getty [20:49]
• “Plague taxis.” — Joe Getty on kids returning to school and spreading germs [31:04]
• “Can you imagine executing those confused wishes? Or just monsters?” — Joe Getty re: gender surgeries on minors [32:14]
• “You're exactly the way you ought to be. Have a great life. …Don't let those sickos hack you up.” — Jack Armstrong [32:29]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Theme and Main Topic Introduction: [00:32–01:20]
• Deep Dive: Putin’s Intentions & Negotiations Metaphor: [01:20–06:45]
• Putin–Zelensky Face-to-Face Discussion: [07:10–08:10]
• Trump’s “Security Guarantee” and Hot Mic Analysis: [09:26–10:42]
• Mail-In Voting Debate/Trump Clip: [10:52–11:36]
• News Rundown with Katie Green: [13:46–17:36]
• College Campus Self-Censorship: [20:21–23:53]
• San Francisco Policy & Drug Harm Reduction: [23:53–29:44]
• Gender Treatments for Minors Policy Changes: [31:14–32:52]
• Return of the Cold/“Plague Taxis”: [31:04–31:06]
• Listener Mailbag: [34:09–38:17]

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Memorable Moments

• The “wedding” metaphor for the Ukraine negotiations—arguing over details when one party never intended to commit—recurs throughout the episode with wry humor.
• “Plague taxis” as a nickname for schoolchildren returning with germs is a fan-favorite quote.
• Searing critique of “harm reduction” drug policy morphing into enabling addiction instead of aiming for recovery.
• The satirical “Book of Gavin” Bible-style reading mocking California’s leadership.

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Tone and Style

• The episode is characteristically irreverent, skeptical, and candid, blending substantive geopolitical commentary with comedic metaphors and biting satire.
• Hosts frequently break up complex policy analysis with personal anecdotes and asides, creating an engaging and accessible flow.

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For Further Listening

• The next hour is set to feature military analyst Mike Lyons for a deep dive into the real-world military implications of U.S. and European security guarantees for Ukraine.
• Ongoing coverage of domestic policy shifts, particularly in blue-state cities backing away from progressive extremes.

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For new listeners: This episode is a quintessential example of Armstrong & Getty’s trademark blend of realpolitik, cultural critique, and comedic banter. If you want an irreverent but insightful take on world affairs, U.S. politics, and the state of American culture—this is a must-listen!

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[B]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio Studio at.

[A]

The George Washington Broadcast Center.

[C]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[B]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and get it.

[A]

Live from Studio C. Si, senor.

[B]

We are in a dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound on a Tuesday, and under the tutelage of our general manager. The hard part. The hard part. Oh, our general manager is a concept.

[A]

That's right. We're going very high minded here, very intellectual, as in, comma, here comes the hard part.

[B]

What are we talking about?

[A]

Oh, the negotiations over the fate of Ukraine. The diplomacy that took place yesterday was very impressive, very interesting. The more I look into it, the deeper I dive, the more interesting it becomes. But now the hard part.

[B]

God, I'm looking at the television. Some of the pictures out of that thing are really something. I mean, that's quite the historic meeting in terms of the group of power that came together at the White House in a way that has never happened in the history of the world.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Really wild. I was watching some analysis on News Nation today, and the guy said, and I don't think enough people are saying this, Does Putin have any interest in any of this? Has anybody checked? Because there's a chance he has no interest in this whatsoever. And if he doesn't, does any of this matter at all?

[A]

Well, right. You have to at least partially accept the premise that he wants to end this and fairly quickly if he can.

[B]

I'm not sure he does. And if he doesn't have any interest at all, are you practically at square one in terms of forcing him to end it, or do you just walk away?

[A]

What a great question. I don't know. Because from Putin's point of view, it's not like he has two choices. Go along with the Trump plan or keep fighting. No, he has six or seven choices. I mean, various shades of doing this, agreeing to that, violating that in six months, you know, stringing along the negotiations that start.

[B]

I don't think, I don't even think most of the analysis approaches it as if he has two choices. Most of the analysis seems to approach it as this, as if he's on board with wanting this to end. And it's just how, you know, what the, what the construct of the ending looks like. It's like he has one choice, is the way it's being presented, that he's already chosen. He wants it, and everybody wants it, and it's just, what does that look like? And he hasn't made any noises whatsoever. That is an interest at all.

[A]

No. There's probably a long Russian word for pretending to agree. So other sides show cards.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, which is, I think, what happened here. Not that it's a bad thing, but he was just curious to say, all right, what will they cook up? Let's find out.

[B]

We're just delaying like a man and a woman and she's. They're having a bit of an argument over, you know, are they going to have flowers on the table at the wedding or just out front. And that's a lot of money. And. And she's never said yes. Maybe she's not going to say yes. You're arguing about stuff. Doesn't matter if she doesn't say yes. And I think that's might. Might be where we are on this now. Trump did say just a little bit ago, and we'll play some clips and called into Fox and Friends that something along the lines of I hope Trump is good and if he's not, it's going to be. It's going to be ugly and whatever ugly means.

[A]

Putin.

[B]

Putin. Yeah, Putin. Trump said Putin. I hope he's gonna be good and if he's not, it's gonna be ugly.

[A]

Well, the whole question is security guarantees. I mean, which Trump threw out for the first. Yada, yada, yada, Security guarantees. That's an enormous. Putin's gonna have some strong opinions about, to say the least.

[B]

Trump threw out, for the first time ever, the idea of the United States being part of a backup security guarantee. So that's a heck of a thing. And Wall Street Journal writing about that today. We'll get to that later. But man boots on the ground of European countries, I guess, France and Great Britain and security. Backup security guarantees from the United States. I saw former. What was Bolton under Trump National Security advisor. Saw him on one of the talk shows last night saying guarantees from the United States of British and French troops are if they get. If they're getting their asses kicked, we. We come in and fight also. That's what that means. And so that's a pretty big deal. That's a long way from where we were a year ago.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And. And the question of what exactly Zelensky will agree to or get his country to vote for, since that's what their constitution says. I mean, that's an enormous open question, too. It's huge. We've just. And then there's the, you know, to continue to your wedding, you know, metaphor. And there's the Question of kids, which we'll. We'll decide down the road anyway.

[B]

No, no, no, no.

[A]

Wait, wait, wait. Right. So now comes the hard part. Yeah, I. That.

[B]

That's an understatement. If the. If the. If. If she has no interest in getting married whatsoever. It's not the hard part. It's like, what are we doing here? And I'm not sure Putin has any interest in ending this.

[A]

Well, Right. It's an interesting point. It's not as if it is inevitable. If you wrestle manfully enough with the issues and negotiate skillfully and generously long enough, you will come to an agreement. It's possible the parties actually will get together and decide. We have no overlap here. We have no common ground. None. And we despise each other. In fact, is that not the most likely outcome?

[B]

You agreed on the kids and the flowers and the caterer and how big the guest list was going to be, but you're a no on getting married. Yes, I'm a no. Well, then what was all that? I don't know. You're the one who brought it up.

[A]

A troubling metaphor. Disappointing.

[B]

I didn't start the conversation about flowers and catering. You did, so I went along with it. But I never said I had any interest in getting married.

[A]

What did we spend on the invitations again?

[B]

Hey, that's your deal. That was your whole idea. I want to get married. I really think I don't even like you by speaking of that. I just can't believe that Putin and Zelensky are gonna be in a room together, alone.

[A]

It's brutal to contemplate, isn't it? Just the. The. The. The hatred, legitimate from Zelensky's side.

[B]

Oh, and how would you not have deep hatred for that guy? You would think the best thing I could do for my country is if I could attack him in time to stick my thumbs through his eye sockets and scramble his brain. That'd be the best thing I could do for my country.

[A]

Require unusually long thumbs. But I see your point. Yeah. Yeah. Do they shake hands?

[B]

Oh, my God. How could you possibly shake hands with the. Putin sent a missile into an apartment complex yesterday, killed a whole family, including a little girl. I mean, how could you shake hands with that guy?

[A]

Well, and they've abducted 20, 30, 40, 50,000. Nobody's quite sure how many Ukrainian children. Can you imagine if somebody did that to the U.S. friends, and then our president was forced to go shake his hand and beg him for a deal.

[B]

And stand side by side for a picture. No, it's Impossible to imagine we wouldn't do it.

[A]

I know a lot of you that would fight to the death before you watch that scene.

[B]

Right. I don't know. And so I think what I heard today was that Putin asked for the one on one with Zelensky. I think he's asking for that with the idea of all that this will be something. How's he gonna react to this?

[A]

Oh, yeah. And Putin has tv, boy, let's get it on.

[B]

Putin has all the cards in terms of trying to make Zelensky nuts.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I mean, if he sits down and talks. Yeah. And talks about how, you know, you started this war or any of that kind of crap, or we're only bombing military installations or just any of the lies that he throws out. God, it'd be impossible not to lose your head.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

God, what the. Would the security look like there?

[A]

How's school enrollment in Ukraine? It's great. In Russia, we got lots of great new kids.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Yeah. Teaching them all about Russia and how it's one country with Ukraine and teaching them the language to Russian, of course. God, that seems berserk. You should go berserk.

[B]

Yeah. I just. I can't imagine that that's happening and Trump's talking about it like it's going to. Wow.

[A]

How about.

[B]

Well, let's. Well, before we take a break. So the. The hot mic moment, I suppose, if you follow the news. Everybody's heard it. So Trump's talking to Macron as they're getting ready to sit down and everything like that, and he says to Macron something along the lines of, yeah, I talked to him, and I think he really wants to. For me, he wants to do a deal. I think Trump's out of his mind.

[A]

Thinking that Putin, or is that easily.

[B]

Manipulated, thinking that Putin, as a personal favor to Trump, is willing to do some sort of deal because of Trump's, you know, because of their bond.

[A]

That's scary.

[B]

It is scary. I don't know how Trump could possibly think that.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Now, I did hear one other report that Trump was livid on the plane back from Alaska on Friday. Felt like he'd really been jerked around, that Putin had led him to believe that he was interested in doing something and then got there and wasn't interested in anything. I don't know how you got led to believe. I mean, we all. We don't know what exactly they're saying on all these phone calls. They were on the phone together for 40 minutes yesterday. But what. Why do you believe this guy? He's a freaking snake.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, unless we want to end up in an FCC gulag, we probably ought to start the show officially.

[B]

I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is Tuesday, August 19th, the year 2025. We're Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[A]

And the show begins officially. Now, according to FCC rules and regs.

[B]

At Mark, mail in ballots are corrupt. Mail in ballots. You can never have a real democracy with mail in ballots. You know that. We're the only country in the world. I believe I may be wrong, but just about the only country in the world that uses them because of what's happened. Massive fraud all over the place. Okay, so we just threw out another really, really controversial hot topic.

[A]

Wow. Yeah, a little head fake there and, and drove toward domestic policy, eliminating mail in ballots, I assume aside from people who actually need them, you know, troops serving overseas, etc. But yeah, that'll be a, that'll be a big one and we can certainly.

[B]

Discuss all the ins and outs of that a little bit later and whatever other news of the day there is, and there's, there's a fair amount. There is, there is always. But that, that meeting at the Oval Office yesterday was just absolutely mind blowing in terms of its significance and power all gathered together in one place. Some of the analysis that exists out there from all the smart people, we can pass that along to you. We'd like to hear from you. Text line 415295 KFTC ARMSTRONG and GETTY.

[C]

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[B]

Tad today they are the first place.

[A]

Dodgers bandwagon jumping fake fan. That's what I say.

[B]

I'm too, too busy to root for teams that lose. I think you got that kind of time.

[A]

Wow. Wow, that's great. That's exactly what being a fan is. Being a fan.

[B]

So I don't know, I used to be super into that sort of thing, but now that I'm not, it just, I can't even imagine how I ever was. It's like being a fan of a band and then getting angry if another band puts out a good album. I mean, I just, I don't, I don't understand.

[A]

He's a monster, folks. He's no American. I don't, I don't know. I just don't know. Yeah, let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the lead story with Katie Green. Katie.

[D]

All right, starting with abc quote, truly a significant step, Zielinski says of White House meeting with Trump.

[B]

Again, it is very significant. If Putin has any interest in this also, and if he doesn't, I'm not sure we accomplished anything.

[A]

Well, and to, you know, rephrase that, if Putin has any interest in anything that would have any interest for the Ukrainian side.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I mean, even if he thinks, yeah, we could probably come to a deal and all I want is 40% of Ukraine, well, it's over.

[B]

And no troops in the country.

[D]

From the Free Beacon, the Associated Press suggests Gazan evacuee died of starvation without ever mentioning that she suffered from leukemia.

[A]

Yeah. There is a hell of an expose in the Free Press on the absolutely systematic use of people suffering from other diseases in major publications and broadcast network to illustrate Israel's cruelty. Even though it has nothing to do with that, knowingly. It's not two examples, it's dozens.

[B]

Is it knowingly or is it just they don't do their homework?

[A]

I think it's they don't bother checking Hamas feeds it and they gobble it. Right, right, right.

[D]

From the Washington Post. As more National Guard units deploy to D.C. local officials are questioning the need.

[B]

Yeah, I just saw that. Other red strikes states are sending troops to hundreds of them. Wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

You guys remember that trans flag that popped up in Yosemite?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

From NBC. Park ranger fired after draping transgender flag on Yosemite's El Capitan.

[B]

I'm good.

[A]

Good.

[B]

It's not your job. You obviously care more about that issue than being a park ranger. We'll find somebody else who's mostly interested in being a Park Ranger.

[D]

From Breitbart.com Godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton wants machines to, quote, care for us like we are their babies.

[B]

What the hell does that mean?

[A]

He was saying you're an odd duck.

[D]

Yeah, like letting them take control is how we're going to survive AI.

[B]

Wow. Okay, send that to me. I want to read that.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

From the New York Post, DOJ to start handing over Jeffrey Epstein files to Congress.

[B]

Oh my God, that's still a thing.

[A]

What does that even mean?

[D]

From the New York Times. Goodbye msnbc. Hello, Mississippi. Now.

[B]

I saw that. So it's not, it's called. When's the start being called that? Now already. It's called Ms. Now. Nobody watches these channels anyway. Only radio hosts talk about them.

[D]

It just said that they're changing it this year.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

They're losing all the assets of NBC News though. So what? Emergence. I mean, nobody watches it now. Yeah, I mean it's NBC held on to, was it Telemundo but got rid of msnbc. If you'd want to an idea of.

[D]

The pecking order there from the Wall Street Journal. Your late night cheese fix might be linked to your nightmares.

[B]

Oh, that's funny. We gotta talk about that.

[D]

Study finds young men are T maxing testosterone.

[B]

What's that?

[D]

They're saying kids, like young teenagers are upping their testosterone levels by like taking supplements.

[B]

How do they get them as a kid?

[D]

It's called T maxing.

[A]

Are they those phony supplements that don't actually do any good? I'll have to dig into that.

[D]

And finally, the Babylon Bee Democrats say mail in ballot ban will place undue hardship on dead voters.

[B]

I don't know what I think about the mail in ballot. I, I, I generally I would like voting to go back to just we all go stand in line on one day, but I don't know if we're ever going to get there again.

[A]

Well, the problem with all of it is that it's determined by the states right in charge of voting, so. Right.

[B]

As it should be.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, we'll get into that more. All those topics. We can delve into it to a certain extent. That I thing was nutty. So more details on the way and a whole bunch of different stuff if. I hope you can stick around and if you can't, you want to get a segment or an hour, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[A]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[C]

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[B]

Last night New bike, used bike, bought a bought a bike. I'm gonna become bike riding guy. Be one of those guys who wears a really skin tight clothes walks around the Starbucks.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

I'm not actually, but I pictured.

[A]

You more shirtless, over tanned, messy, probably stolen bike guy. Right. You're going like Tour de France riding a kid's bike.

[B]

I'm somewhere in between. I'm going and probably jeans, tennis shoes and a T shirt. But I am on a real bike, not a. Not a child's bike. I took out of someone's backyard.

[A]

The suburban gentleman look.

[B]

Exactly. That is.

[A]

Why not. That's perfect.

[B]

We're going to talk to our favorite military analyst Mike Lyons next hour. Perfect timing since a lot of U.S. security guarantees and NATO security guarantees. Well, not NATO, but NATO country guarantees were brought up yesterday and we need to talk to a military guy about what that would look like, what that actually means. So I'm looking forward to that conversation.

[A]

Right? Indeed. So switching to the domestic scene, at least temporarily, there are a number of stories that show enormous progress towards sanity. We were talking yesterday about an absolutely blockbuster report in the Hill about how vast majorities of college kids don't believe the garbage they've been indoctrinated in, but they're afraid to say it.

[B]

That is one of the more important things for people to know that I can remember. I mean this is important information.

[A]

Yeah, and we hammered this pretty good yesterday. But 78% of students told us they self censor on their beliefs surrounding gender identity, 72% on politics in general, 68% on family values. They value what are traditionally known as family values, but they dare not speak it on college campus. And more than 80% said they'd submitted classwork that misrepresented their views in order to align with professors. You give them a chance and they will tell you what they really think. And we're on the cusp, I think, of a huge move toward the youngsters recognizing what's being done at colleges. It's not education at all, it's indoctrination. But those poll numbers were stunning and, and, and encouraging.

[B]

Well, the important thing to me though is just realizing that as human nature, that we're all so susceptible. I don't know about all, but so many people are susceptible to this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Of keeping your mouth shut if you think most people don't agree with you. I keep my mouth shut in most social situations about political stuff, but.

[A]

Right. Well. And the whole concept of a preference distortion, which I find so interesting that you, because everybody around you is silent, you think, oh, I'm probably one of the only people who believes this. They agree with the powerful people who are telling us all what we ought to believe. But no, you're all sitting there thinking the same thing. Yeah.

[B]

And I don't know how many times probably everybody's had this situation where that is going on and somebody says, you know, I'm a gun owner and. Me too, me too. And oh, geez, okay, so we're not all.

[C]

That'S.

[B]

Or whatever the topic is.

[A]

And that's the crazy thing, you know, to. If you find yourself in college and thinking, you know, this, this stuff about, you know, the gender bending madness, a man can just become a woman and that's really a woman. And all the other stuff they teach these poor kids, all the critical theory stuff. If you have the courage to stand up and be that rebel and think, you know, what 10% of us are together, I'm going to stand up and say, so then all of a sudden 85% of the class is on your side. You are a rebel. But, you know, you're not nearly as alone as you think.

[B]

Yeah. You can't blame people, though.

[A]

I mean. Oh, I'm not blaming them at all.

[B]

First of all, everything that's been presented to all of us led us to believe that this is what most people on college campuses thought was this stuff.

[A]

Well, that's part of the insidious plot. That's what propaganda is.

[B]

Sure. And telling everybody, including the teachers who are going to grade you, that they're wrong. Completely wrong is not always your best move, right?

[A]

Oh, yeah. Well, that's why 80% of the kids submitted work that they didn't believe because they had to get some, get their grades and move on in life. Nearly four out of five.

[B]

I don't believe this, but I'm gonna pretend I do to get along. That's amazing.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, but that's, you know, that's indoctrination, especially of youth is all about fighting unfairly and bullying and convincing kids that everybody believes it and anybody who dissents is a bad person. So, yeah, I don't blame the kids at all. No, I want to fight against the evildoers who are bullying them anyway. More good news. And if San Francisco's doing it, it's going to spread. San Francisco has embraced a new tool to clear homeless camps. I've noticed city officials pointing to cleaner streets as evidence that more active approach is working. I feel like my reporting say it's cruel and nasty.

[B]

I feel like my reporting with my own circumstances was leading the way long before the Wall Street Journal or others picked up on this. On the East Coast, San Francisco's a complete. If you haven't been in a long time, it's a completely different looking city than it was a year ago. It's amazing.

[A]

Indeed, between July of last year and July of this year, the city arrested or cited more than 10, 80 people on illegal lodging charges. That's over 10 times the number of arrests during the same period a year earlier under the progressive former administration.

[B]

Last time I was in downtown San Francisco, I saw a homeless person. 1. And that person was being talked to by somebody from the city about how you got to get out of here.

[A]

So the residents and business owners complaining about safety as encampments grew have finally been heard. Now, of course, the activists say you're merely shifting the homeless population around the city and putting homeless people at greater risk. Shut up, Alabama need to shut up, drug addicts. Yeah, yeah, shut up. So San Francisco is doing a good job. It is possible, even under some of the bizarre court rulings recently. And also, and this is out of San Francisco as well. Once seen as a model of progressive drug policy, San Francisco stands now as a morbid example of how harm reduction has gone astray. That's. This is one of the shibboleths, one of the gods of the left is that you've got to help junkies do drugs safely and comfortably.

[B]

What's the look?

[A]

I get the clean needles thing. I get the impulse there.

[B]

What's the Theory on that, though, how's that supposed to end? That people will, on their own decide, you know what, I don't want to live in my own filth on the street at some point.

[A]

Yes, okay. Yes, exactly. Yeah. In fact, this gal who's the executive director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition called the. The shift in San Francisco away from the harm reduction quote, moronic and antithetical to what we know works. But the problem in San Francisco and other progressive cities is that harm reduction has become completely divorced from recovery. What began as a campaign to keep people alive long enough to recover from addiction has devolved into a philosophy that no longer considers recovery as necessary or even desirable. The question of whether or not harm reduction is successful comes down to whether it's treated as a gateway to recovery or as an alternative to it. So there you go. It has become an alternative to getting off of drugs.

[B]

What percentage. So I'm, I'm not a.

[A]

Financed by you, the taxpayer.

[B]

I'm not big on the, on rehabs and that sort of stuff because they are incredibly unsuccessful and nobody pays any attention to that. But of people that, I mean, that's just for regular people. Of people that are so far down the whole drug road that you're sleeping on the street next to another drug addict. How many of those people ever clean up, I wonder? 1%? Half of 1%? I'll bet it's very, I'll bet it's very, very low.

[A]

Yeah, I'm guessing, you know, a pretty good chunk of them continue using into their 40s, 50s, and then they succumb to, you know, the sort of thing middle aged addicts do. As, you know, a coroner once said in response to the question, who's your most common customer? They said, male, 50s, alcoholic, and I'm sure drug addict now, because that was, that was, gosh, 15 years ago, I think they would probably say, you know, middle aged drug addict or a young drug addict. Anyway, more good news, though, don't want to get focused on the bad news. Want to get focused on the fact that a lot of the insane policies of the left are being abandoned, even in places like San Francisco. Different topic, but kind of the same area. Boston Children's Hospital, the Harvard Medical Research and Training hospital that specializes in children's career, had previously insisted that they do not perform genital surgeries as part of gender affirming care on patients under the age of 18. But a journal of Clinical Medicine studies published a couple of years ago that was improved, blah, blah, blah, describes chest surgeries for those who were 15, as well as genital surgeries for those over 17. And the Trump administration has subpoenaed all sorts of information from them. And because of that, at least partly. And this is from the New York Times. Reload, please. There it is. Hospitals are limiting gender treatment for trans minors. Both of those phrases ought to be in quotes because they're made up even in blue states. Three prominent medical centers in California recently announced they would stop the treatments, citing pressure from the Trump administration and from. From sanity. So that's good. There's a lot of real madness being rolled back. Good progress domestically. Love it. Let's not focus on the. The grim stuff.

[B]

So you mentioned before the show you got a cold.

[A]

I do. It seems fairly mild. Oh. As most of my colds have been in the last, I don't know, decade.

[B]

Oh, good for you. I hate cold. I haven't had one in a long time. I've got. Maybe they'll remember that streak I had with whooping cough and colds. I was sick for like six months. I feel like. Like non stop.

[A]

It's horrible.

[B]

I've been sick in a long time. I have no idea why, though. I wish I knew why. If, like, I was doing something, washing my hands more or staying away from cretins or I don't know what.

[A]

But that one, that's a big one, you know? Yeah. I'm scratchy of throat and runny of nose and I want to lie down every. But no, it's probably not that.

[B]

But not.

[A]

You wish you were.

[B]

But not. You wish you were dead. Like bad colds can be.

[A]

Nah. Nah. And it's good because we're traveling overseas on Friday.

[B]

I can't believe I didn't pick up on the obvious. Why have I not been sick in roughly three months anyway? My kids are back in school. Oh, yeah. Oh, my kids have been out of school all summer long. That's why I haven't been sick. And now my kids are back in school, so welcome back the common cold.

[A]

Those clever little microbe messengers bringing home little microscopic notes from their friends.

[B]

There's a nice sales lady around here. Calls kids going to school plague taxis.

[A]

Plague taxis. Perfect.

[B]

I know. God dang it. Kids are back in school. So bring back the cold. Ah, hell. Well, that's just. You know what?

[A]

It occurs to me I should name names back to the transgender youth thing. Mutilating poor innocent children who are momentarily confused with either chemicals or knives. Children's Hospital, la. Shuttered center for Trans Youth Health and Development. Thank God. Stanford Medicine San Francisco Bay area has paused surgical procedures including new puberty blocker implants for those under the age of 19.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

And Kaiser Permanente, one of the biggest health systems in the nation with dozens of facilities in California announced it would pause gender related surgeries for patients under the age of 19. Can you imagine the sort of person who would mutilate a confused teenager, probably autistic, probably suffering from other emotional problems because they thought their desperate, desperate road to happiness might be some sort of sex change? Because they're confused children. Can you imagine executing those confused wishes? Or just monsters?

[B]

Or people who are just effeminate gay boys or masculine gay girls.

[A]

Right. Who've been convinced by the activists. No, no. You've gotta have a surgeon cut on you to become who you really are.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

Well, I'm glad they showed me gay little fellas and butch girls. You're exactly the way you ought to be. Have a great life. Here at the the fascist conservative Armstrong and Getty Show. We accept you for you. Who you are. You're fine. You're like God made you. Don't let those sickos hack you up. Good Lord.

[B]

Yeesh. Okay, we're gonna get into the whole Ukraine thing and what security guarantees would look like from the and European troops and all that sort of stuff in our two we got mailbag on the way next. Stay here.

[A]

Armstrong and Getty.

[C]

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[A]

Com.

[C]

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[B]

I did not know this. I thought this was over. September Congress comes back to D.C. front and center right off the bat. Epstein crap.

[A]

Oh no.

[B]

Democrats are going to be able to force all kinds of different Epstein conversations. Republicans have enough stuff in their own party to want it to happen. It's going to be back in our lives again.

[A]

Perfect time for the freedom loving quote of the day based on Trump saying we need to get rid of paper or mail in ballots. Thought I'd go with the series of quotes about voting. Why not start off with the granddaddy the of them all? We're going to start with the showstopper Winston Churchill. The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter. Mailbag Drop us a note mailbagarmstronggetti.com Here's a nice note from Alien Anonymous My daughter started school last week in Oakland, California. On the third day of school they posted this flyer on the bulletin board. Note notice that the reading is for only pre K through first graders. It is a drag queen presenting to the little kids. Everyone can make their own rainbow. Also because they announced they will not have freaking believable. I was disgusted by this, writes Aileen. Also because they noticed they will not be doing a Grandparents Day this year, since some kids have no grandparents and future feel left out, we decided to keep our daughter out of school the entire week as a protest since they rely so much on attendance for funding. I may be blackballed for the community, but I want to stand for what's right. And then mentions our conversation yesterday and says I'm going to stand up and say what I believe. Hopefully a preference cascade takes hold here after you have preference falsification and people realize, wait a minute, I'm just going to say what I believe. And then they find out everybody agrees with me. That's what's known as a preference cascade.

[B]

Yeah, I can understand why people don't though, because I mean, you're hanging around with the other parents at the park, at the playground after school. You don't want to be the pariah or enemies with these people. But God, that is incredible. So you eliminate Grandparents Day because some kids don't have grandparents, but you're willing to have every kid exposed to the drag queen crap, right? Yeah, it's unbelievable.

[A]

I know. We need to shut down our entire education system and start anew. Speaking of which, Eric from Florida writes, florida's getting after it. Here's what students can expect in Florida schools next year. The coursework involves instructions on communist movements in places like Russia, China, Cuba, even the US Itself. According to legislative analysts, instruction must include age appropriate content about the the history of communism in the US and domestic communist movements atrocities committed in foreign countries under the guise of communism comparative discussion of political ideologies such as communism, totalitarianism, etc. The increasing threat of communism in the US and to its allies the economic, industrial, and political events that have preceded communist revolutions and the communist policies of Cuba and the spread of communist ideologies throughout Latin America. Good for you, Florida. Good for you. How much time do we have? Michael oh, this is so good. Do I have time for it? From Zack Reading from the Book of Gavin and it came to pass in those days that tidings went up, forth went forth upon X, which in times past was called Twitter. And lo, the people did marvel, for the saying was spread abroad, Behold, thy Savior hath arisen among thee. And they lifted up their voice and cried, surely, surely, Gavin Newsom of California's Risen, yea, even as the Christ of old. And then the people rejoiced and spake to one another, saying, behold, he shall deliver us from the orange Hitler, even the man called Trump, which reigneth as king in the White House of marble. I gotta skip a little bit.

[B]

Nice use of Spake.

[A]

And they and yet they regarded not the cry of the poor, neither the multitude of the homeless, nor the plague of strange powders and needles, neither considered they the broken hideways, nor the grievous cost of bread and dwelling. You know, I should finish this later.

[B]

I'm gonna start working in Spake more often. We're going to talk to Mike Lyons about what a US Security guarantee for Ukraine would look like, among other things, next hour. If you don't get it, get the.

[A]

Podcast Armstrong and Getty. This is an iHeart podcast.