She's Famous For Her Sugarplums

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "She's Famous For Her Sugarplums"

Episode Information:

• Title: She's Famous For Her Sugarplums
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts (The Armstrong & Getty Show)
• Release Date: January 17, 2025

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Overview

In the episode titled "She's Famous For Her Sugarplums," hosts Jack Armstrong and Katie Green engage in their characteristic blend of humor and political commentary. The discussion centers around the impending inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the President of the United States, the influence of billionaires in politics, the nationwide ban of TikTok, and various current events. The hosts also interact with caller inputs, adding a dynamic layer to the conversation.

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1. Donald J. Trump's Inauguration and Presidency

The episode kicks off with the hosts discussing the imminent inauguration of Donald J. Trump, highlighting the anticipation and logistical challenges surrounding the event.

• Inauguration Details:

  • Katie Green mentions, “Now we are under the tutelage of our general manager, Donald J. Trump,” reflecting the unexpected role Trump is taking on prior to officially assuming the presidency.
  • Jack Armstrong humorously notes, “[...] when we return to work on Monday, he will be the President of the United States. [He] will suppress the size of the crowd...” [02:14]. This underscores the hosts' skepticism about Trump's presidency.

• Crowd Expectations:

  • Katie Green anticipates a large turnout, saying, “I’m expecting it to be enormous,” [02:49], while Jack Armstrong sarcastically remarks on the logistics of hosting millions in cold weather [02:52].

• Security and Logistics:

  • The hosts paint a vivid picture of the inauguration's atmosphere, discussing the harsh weather conditions and security measures expected, blending humor with genuine concern.

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2. The Influence of Billionaires and the Oligarchy Debate

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the role of billionaires in American politics and whether their concentration of wealth poses a threat to democracy.

• Katie Green's Challenge:

  • Katie challenges Jack to argue why the concentration of billionaires' wealth is concerning, stating, “I have zero fear of this. [...] I don’t … understand the argument for why I should be even the slightest worried about billionaires” [03:35].

• Jack Armstrong's Response:

  • Jack attempts to construct a counterargument, acknowledging the difficulty in opposing something he views as unproblematic. He later formulates, “similar to Bernie [Sanders]. You have that much concentrated wealth and power in a few people [...] directing US policy to their whims” [23:22], highlighting fears of an oligarchy where a handful of individuals wield disproportionate influence.

• Debate Highlights:

  • The hosts dissect the notion of oligarchy, referencing discussions from political figures like Bernie Sanders and the differing perceptions of billionaires aligned with Democratic versus Republican causes.
  • Katie emphasizes the media's portrayal, questioning why billionaires attending the inauguration without a clear negative narrative is seen as problematic.

• Notable Quotes:

  • Jack Armstrong: “[...] if a billionaire does something good, why don't you say that's good and if they do something bad, say that's bad and I don't like it” [30:14].
  • Katie Green: “Bernie is a socialist. He doesn’t think billionaires should exist. That is a nut job attitude” [25:11].

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3. Nationwide TikTok Ban and Supreme Court Ruling

The hosts delve into the political maneuvering surrounding the TikTok ban, anticipating the Supreme Court's forthcoming decision.

• TikTok Ban Implementation:

  • Jack Armstrong announces, “a nationwide ban of the social media platform TikTok is set to take effect on Sunday” [08:00], expressing skepticism about the platform's future.

• Chinese Communist Party’s Perspective:

  • The episode anticipates an upcoming discussion featuring statements from Chinese Communist Party officials praising TikTok, which Jack describes as “compelling stuff” [31:10].

• Supreme Court Ruling:

  • Katie Green mentions the Supreme Court ruling’s imminent release, hoping to provide their listeners with insights and potential misinterpretations [32:04].

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4. Current Events and News Highlights

The hosts provide a roundup of significant news stories, weaving in their commentary and humor throughout.

• Israel-Hamas Ceasefire:

  • Jack Armstrong discusses the approval of a peace deal, remarking on media coverage and the potential release of hostages [09:59].

• Biden’s Pardons:

  • Joe Getty highlights President Biden’s commutation of nearly 2,500 non-violent drug offenders, prompting Jack to criticize the justice system’s handling of such cases [32:27].

• SpaceX’s Starship Rocket:

  • Joe Getty reports on SpaceX losing its Starship rocket during a test flight, with Katie Green expressing confusion over its implications [34:15].

• Mark Zuckerberg’s Controversy:

  • Jack Armstrong and Katie Green discuss Zuckerberg’s comments on toxic masculinity and the implications of his actions, reflecting on his role in media and technology [34:24].

• Miscellaneous News:

  • The hosts touch on various other stories, including wildfires in California, Elon Musk’s federal endeavors, and humorous takes on societal trends like “toxic masculinity.”

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5. Audience Interaction and Lighthearted Segments

Interspersed with serious discussions, Armstrong and Getty maintain their signature humor through jokes, memes, and listener contributions.

• Memes and Jokes:

  • Katie Green shares a meme featuring a rainbow fire hydrant with the caption, “there’s no water, but look how pretty it is,” prompting both hosts to comment humorously [35:00].

• Listener Calls:

  • The episode includes calls from listeners sharing personal anecdotes, jokes, and comments about attending the inauguration, adding a relatable and entertaining dimension to the show [17:16 - 21:42].

• Meme of the Day:

  • Joe Getty presents the “Meme of the Day,” a satirical take on feminism, which the hosts discuss with amusement [35:00].

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6. Philosophical and Ideological Discussions

The hosts engage in deeper conversations about political ideology, media influence, and the balance of liberty and governance.

• Federalist Perspectives:

  • Joe shares a quote from Federalist No. 70, critiquing the modern bureaucracy and questioning accountability within government structures [14:07].

• Ideology's Impact:

  • Jack Armstrong philosophizes on the dangers of ideological rigidity, comparing it to “putting your hand on a hot stove burner” [14:26].

• Freedom of Speech:

  • Discussions touch on the First Amendment, lobbying influences, and the challenges of ensuring responsible governance amidst concentrated wealth [25:15].

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Conclusion

"She's Famous For Her Sugarplums" offers a comprehensive mix of political analysis, current events, and humor. Jack Armstrong and Katie Green navigate complex topics like the influence of billionaires and impending political changes with their trademark wit, making the episode both informative and entertaining. Listener interactions and lighthearted segments provide a balanced listening experience, ensuring that even those unfamiliar with the show can grasp the key discussions and insights.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Katie Green [03:35]: “I have zero fear of this. [...] I don’t … understand the argument for why I should be even the slightest worried about billionaires.”

• Jack Armstrong [23:22]: “You have that much concentrated wealth and power in a few people with a direct connection line to the presidency and the entire executive branch. They will become a star chamber of the ultra wealthy, directing US policy to their whims.”

• Jack Armstrong [30:14]: “If a billionaire does something good, why don’t you say that’s good and if they do something bad, say that’s bad and I don’t like it.”

• Katie Green [25:11]: “Bernie is a socialist. He doesn’t think billionaires should exist. That is a nut job attitude.”

• Katie Green [14:07]: “Insane how that influences people to do things that are indefensible.”

• Jack Armstrong [14:26]: “It's the equivalent of putting your hand on a hot stove burner. It just, it's crazy how that influences people to do things that are indefensible.”

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This detailed summary encapsulates the essence of the "She's Famous For Her Sugarplums" episode, providing readers with a clear understanding of the discussions, key points, and the hosts' perspectives.

Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

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[Joe Getty]

What if I have lots of forms?

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[Joe Getty]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Joe Getty]

Now that's what I'm talking about.

[TurboTax Representative]

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[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's Armstrong live from studio cc. Senor, it's Friday.

[Katie Green]

Woohoo. Dimly.

[Jack Armstrong]

You got a bigger weekend planned than I do.

[Katie Green]

Oh, geez. If I listed my weekend, it would be hilarious. And then I'm gonna drop him off at this thing and then I'll stop by the grocery store.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lover boy said it best. Everybody's working for the week.

[Katie Green]

Actually, I'm gonna have three teenage boys Saturday night. Sam's doing a sleepover. So that'll be. That'll be fun. I don't know what that's gonna be. It's loud. Loud is what I'm guessing. It's gonna be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Challenging would be my guess. It's going to be challenging.

[Katie Green]

I wouldn't be worried about that at all, but his brother's got this horrible OCD situation where he is horrified by this event of other people being in our home, and it's just gonna be. I don't know. I don't. I haven't exactly figured out how I'm gonna make it work. I might have to get a hotel room and run back and forth or something. But anyway, how y'all do. Welcome to the show. And today we are under the tutelage of our general manager, Donald J. Trump.

[Jack Armstrong]

Who will be president Monday again.

[Katie Green]

So that amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's crazy. It's insane. Who the hell.

[Katie Green]

Why is he the general manager today? Monday, obviously he will be, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, when we return to work on Monday, he will be the President of the United States.

[Katie Green]

Not till noon.

[Jack Armstrong]

What do. We're all going to bed with visions of Melania's sugar plums dancing in our heads.

[Katie Green]

I was just.

[Jack Armstrong]

Famous for her sugar plums.

[Katie Green]

Monday at noon, the feels like is 8 degrees. So at noon, when Trump becomes president, all those people standing outside. I was at the Inauguration for Trump last time around. And I'm glad I'm not this time because I don't want to stand there in eight. Eight is cold.

[Jack Armstrong]

Holy cow.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, that's brutal.

[Jack Armstrong]

That'll suppress the size of the crowd and Sean Spice will have to come up and make clear that it was actually 50 million people.

[Katie Green]

I'll bet it's going to be a really big crowd. I'm expecting it to be enormous.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's true. I mean, if there's anybody who's going to show up in feels like eight and stomp their feet and try to stay warm, it's the good, honest folks of the, the, the heartland of the country.

[Katie Green]

People do it for freaking football games. If you do it for a football game, you do it for your, you know, your, your guy becoming president, I assume.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got a project for you.

[Katie Green]

I want you to start thinking on it now because then you won't have to do it till later. I want you to do this. I want you to use your brain and rhetorical skills.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay?

[Katie Green]

I want you to make the argument. I know you don't agree with this, so you gotta think about how the other people think about this, but it's driving me nuts, the coverage of the billionaires being there. The three richest men in the world will be sitting together at the inauguration. Joe Biden the other night talking about an oligarchy.

[Joe Getty]

Are.

[Katie Green]

Are we already? Make the argument for me, because I don't understand it at all. I want to hear you with your skills, make the argument for why I should be even the slightest worried about billionaires and their wealth and their power or anything like that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Because I don't understand the argument at all. I have zero fear of this. I mean, zero of my things I'm concerned about with this country. How rich Elon is or Bezos is not on my list.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I'm going to have to labor long and hard, but I will, I will squeeze myself inside of AOC's tight white dress and, you know, metaphorically speaking, mentally speaking, and try to craft that argument for you.

[Katie Green]

Well, if it'd be more comfortable, you can get into the sensible fitting pants and probably very comfortable shoes of Bernie Sanders and do it that way.

[Jack Armstrong]

And his delightful homemade mittens.

[Katie Green]

Here's the other thing. So we, we came up with this plan the other day, the current confirmation hearing going on right now. Kristi Noem of South Dakota to be DHS secretary. We think all the Democrats should sit there with a dog in their lap, a puppy petting a puppy's. Head.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're gonna shoot this dog, Madam Governor? Yeah. What if it barked? Uh. Oh, then you'd better shoot it or something, huh? And Germany.

[Katie Green]

And I've seen her sitting Fido.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trust me.

[Katie Green]

Please sit.

[Jack Armstrong]

She's in the room.

[Katie Green]

I've seen her sitting there. They made a mistake. Also, they should have had somebody in a dog costume sitting right behind her, right over her left shoulder. The full dog mascot costume.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I hate it, but I love it. Oh, God. Now, how far you go? Can. Can it be a dog costume with, like, fake blood on it? Oh, sure. Is that too far? I'm just picturing a congressman saying, oh, my dog just wet the floor.

[Katie Green]

How should I handle this, Christy?

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Katie Green]

Suppose I shoot it. Is that what we do? That's how we.

[Jack Armstrong]

Chick boom. Oh, here you go. Just have the dog have X's for eyes sitting in. In the front.

[Katie Green]

You think it's going to come up in the hearing? Will somebody bring it up? The dog shoots. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Guaranteed. Yes.

[Katie Green]

Is. I don't, I don't really have any idea of her level of competence or anything like that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Zero.

[Katie Green]

I've never looked into her background or anything. She's governor of a very, very tiny state. That doesn't mean she's not qualified. But I don't know anything about. Man, that is a big job. I was just listening to a run through. That's the, obviously the border, which is a huge thing. And Trump's promising this deportation that everybody wants, and that'll be a major thing to deal with. The Secret Service is under the Department of Homeland Security, and they had a rough year. And so she's got to get a handle on it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Torn down and rebuilt practically. In fact, insiders have said that very thing. It's just so rotten. It read, it needs a rebuild, which is a hell of a, you know, fixing the airplane while you're flying it situation.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. And then also all kinds of different things with, you know, the terrorist attack and you had in New Orleans, or the person blowing up the Tesla or whatever it's going on, various terrorist concerns and that's all falls under that umbrella.

[Jack Armstrong]

Plus disobedient dogs coast to coast.

[Katie Green]

Right. I wonder if that's what she finds relaxing, like when she's stressed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, oh, gee, no, that's. That's too much.

[Katie Green]

Somebody bring me a disobedient dog.

[Jack Armstrong]

Barbara. That's too much. No, you crossed the line there. We were all having fun and then you had to turn it sick.

[Katie Green]

Did she shoot a dog or just a goat? She shot A goat.

[Jack Armstrong]

What was the cricket. The dog.

[Katie Green]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Hey, yeah. Which again if you don't remember briefly for. For rural people it's as common as anything could be for that situation to occur.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. If you have a completely out of control farm dog, you don't take it to the Petsmart for you know, 15 weeks of obedience training and that sort of thing. And maybe you should drop us a note. Email.

[Katie Green]

Joe at. I ain't reading it. We should start the show officially before we get into trouble. TikTok, the ban happens on Sunday but the Supreme Court ruling supposed to come out any minute and we'll jump on that when it happens and see what they think about that.

[Jack Armstrong]

The most interesting thing I've come across in that discussion later in the show cool Chinese Communist Party officials in their own words about TikTok and what a great tool it is for them.

[Katie Green]

Wow. I want to hear that. I'm Jack Armstrong, he's Joe Getty on this. It is Friday, January 17th, the year 2025 where 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 into action at mark. A nationwide ban of the social media platform TikTok is set to take effect on Sunday. Well, well, look who has to come crawling back to network television for their entertainment. Maybe I'll. You like dances, right? I hope 60 minutes is too long for your attention span. That's a Good point. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

60 Minutes. Look who's coming back to CBS on a Friday night, huh?

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Crawling back.

[Katie Green]

And speaking of entertainment, one of my favorite sports pundits said this will could be one of the best games of the decade. Two time MVP Lamar Jackson and getting on the Baltimore ratings taken on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills this weekend on Sunday. That's going to be a game. I can't wait for that one.

[Jack Armstrong]

Linebackers on both teams crying themselves to right.

[Katie Green]

Quarterbacks that can run over linebackers. That's awesome.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I'm so. Oh, I'm supposed to cover the halfback coming out of the backfield for past and deal with Lamar Jackson.

[Katie Green]

I quit. How does mailbag look? It's.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's good. Plus we have clips of the week coming up.

[Katie Green]

Wow, that is a lot of information that we have coming your way. Here's our text line 415295KFTC. Armstrong and Getty the committee that had to allow the peace deal to go through in Israel has voted and said yes. Now it goes to the full vote, whatever that is. But they expect it to get through. Hostages may be returned starting on Sunday, including some Americans, which will be a good look for Trump coming into office.

[Jack Armstrong]

Will America, because of the discomfort of our media, continue to ignore the fact that our countrymen have been abused, tortured, beaten, raped, starved?

[Katie Green]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sorry to turn it dark, but I just. I'm continually amazed at how the ideology of certain newsrooms colors their coverage and interpretation of what should be fairly straightforward. That's the wacky thing about ideology. Anyway, we have a great freedom loving quote of the day coming up. Plus mailbag. But right now it's time to take fond look back at the week. That was cow clips of the week and foul.

[Unnamed Caller]

Listen, we're all better off and we're working together.

[Jack Armstrong]

Give me a joke. I have seen it all now.

[Joe Getty]

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thank you. Credit for this, Mr. President. You or Trump. Is that a joke? A security achievement carried out by Al Qassam brigade will remain a source of pride for our people and our resistance that will be passed down from generation to generation after it struck a fatal blow to the enemy.

[Joe Getty]

Former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth in the hot seat.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want women. I don't want moms. What's wrong with a mom, by the way?

[Joe Getty]

You know what that sounds to me.

[Jack Armstrong]

That you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the. In the leg. Senator, I was falsely charged, fully investigated and completely cleared. How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job that it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm? Pause. I get bilingual protests, which is, I think is an inch too cool.

[Unnamed Caller]

The president has.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know what we should be worried about. Ms. Bondi, please answer my question right now.

[Katie Green]

You are aware of the roof?

[Jack Armstrong]

And child, listen, I want y'all to.

[Katie Green]

Know I am no child.

[Joe Getty]

Do not call me a child.

[Jack Armstrong]

I am no child.

[Katie Green]

It was like a hurricane. It just was shooting. Like a blowtorch. Like a blowtorch. Mother Nature owned us.

[Joe Getty]

We are screaming to be properly funded to make sure that our firefighters can do their jobs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do they fail you?

[Katie Green]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Looking back, would you have taken that trip overseas? You know, I am gonna focus today.

[Joe Getty]

On what we know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Does the buck stop with you?

[Unnamed Caller]

I mean, you're governor of California.

[Jack Armstrong]

Everybody know will be the mayor of California. We're all better off. We're all better off. We're all better off and we're working together. This is what you vot and if that surprises you, you weren't paying any attention.

[Unnamed Caller]

An oligarchy is taking shape in America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy.

[Katie Green]

They push us super hard to take down things that were honestly were true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now I don't fully understand Chinese culture at all. Free, Luigi. These fans know I drink light because it's less filling and it tastes great. Good seats, huh? You're in the wrong shape, Budd. Come on.

[Katie Green]

I must be in the product. By the way, outside of here, did you hear any coverage of Mark Zuckerberg, third richest man in the world, saying the Biden administration pressured us to take down true things? I didn't hear it anywhere. Wow, I take in a lot of news. I didn't hear anybody talking about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm pretty sure I came across it. The Free Press was talking about it.

[Katie Green]

How is that story, I think on.

[Jack Armstrong]

The conservative side of things? Free Beacon talked about it, but no, no, and, and, you know, it's incredible. Not to interrupt your rant with my rant, but the fact that members, working members of the media would be like, yeah, yeah, First Amendment, yeah, I've heard of that. Anyway, yeah, I got stuff to do and not have any interest in defending it. Seriously, getting back to the theme of ideology makes you do the equivalent of putting your hand on a hot stove burner. I mean, it's just, it's crazy how that influences people to do things that are indefensible. Insane.

[Katie Green]

So when Trump stands up and says they're the enemies of the people, the press back there in the back of the room, I hate when he does that. I don't think he should do that. But that's an outrage and democracy is nearly over when he does that. The Biden administration calling up one of the biggest media mouthpieces in the world and screaming at them and threatening their very livelihoods if they don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Telling them what they can and cannot.

[Katie Green]

Print and that's just not even. Doesn't even make the news.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I didn't, I didn't hear about that. Un friggin believable. That's why we come in every day and do what we do, I guess. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. I love this. Sent along by alert listener Joe. Thanks, Joe. He's quoting the Federalist number 70. There was a concept of multiple executives, not a president, a president, but two or three, I guess, kind of co presidents, council, if you will. And in Federalist 70, they wrote one of the weightiest objections to the plurality in the executive is that it tends to conceal faults and destroy responsibility. And Joe writes, in the modern age of bureaucracy, exemplified by the ongoing California fire crisis, the ability to identify who is responsible is made incredibly vague. KJP gets to direct questions to another sub office of the executive to avoid answering. Gavin Newsom says the buck will not say the buck stops with him. We have built an absurd bureaucracy that has so many offices doing multiple job jobs. Who is responsible for managing disasters in this country? It's supposed to be the president, governors, mayors, but they will never admit to it. That's an excellent point, Joe, and well said. Mailbag. You may drop us a line anytime. Mailbag at Armstrong&getty.com let's see. Michael misses Katie's meme of the day and sent along his own Michael in Washington. It is a brightly colored, beautifully painted rainbow fire hydrant. And the caption is, there's no water, but look how pretty it is. Beautiful. Beautiful.

[Katie Green]

Devastating.

[Jack Armstrong]

Dave writes. Hey guys, speaking of the hot cabinet picks, could Pam or Christy be the new Ginger or Marianne? Oh, see, that's the sort of sexist tripe we don't need on this show. Dave, do better, be better. That's a tough Marianne. Clearly. By the way, all night long. Let's see, where were we? Zabo writes semi frequent correspondent Zabo. Jack, you've never tasted strawberry ice cream?

[Katie Green]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

You don't know how to barbecue. You take off your coat like a girl. Katie and Joe are right. You're from an isolated tribe that throws spears at airplanes when they fly overhead and think a Polaroid camera has stolen your soul. Throws spears at airplanes. That's pretty funny. And we don't have time for Auggie, who actually saw you in the parking lot of the radio ranch. He was at the ranch to do some technical work and was gonna ask you to see your pie eaten fork. You always have a thread.

[Katie Green]

I would have happily showed it to you. Biden just did a bunch of more pardons and commutations we should tell you about on the way out the door.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

We had a childish joke on the One More Thing podcast the other day featuring a common expression. Somebody texted me. Friend of mine texted me actually this morning. If I owned a doggy daycare, I'd call it D's Mutts. That's pretty good name.

[Jack Armstrong]

I like that. That's funny. I would never forget it.

[Katie Green]

No, that's fantastic.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Yeah.

[Katie Green]

And we got this text here at the radio station. I got awarded a ticket for the inauguration. I know you went Four years ago, actually eight years ago for Trump's first term. I was wondering if you could talk about the security and what it was like to be there. I'm very excited to experience this. I got my ticket from Adam Schiff of all people. Interesting. I'll also be attending Trump's victory parade at the Capitol One Center. It's going to be real cold, but you know, what are you going to do? 8 degrees the feels like at noon and you got to get there pretty dang early to deal with the lines and the security and everything like that and imagine the security.

[Jack Armstrong]

What do you mean by that? Like an hour early, three hours early?

[Katie Green]

Well, I don't know where they're going to be sitting, so it depends on that. I was up close with like a lot of the, you know, Congress people's families and stuff like that. I got there several hours before the thing started and the thing is very long, but man, you got, you gotta, you gotta. It's an all day sucker, no doubt. But I really cool experience from my standpoint. I just thought it was freaking amazing. I wouldn't want to do it every year. I remember when I was walking in, I ran into David Drucker, who we used to have on the air all the time. He's now at the Dispatch, was writing for the Washington examiner at the time. I ran into him coming out and I said, hey, why are you going that way? He said, I leave on Inauguration Day. It's my least favorite day of any four years in D.C. but he lives there because it's just such a crush of people. But I assume you're there for the festivity of hey, Trump's president now and you're excited about that. The inauguration will be fun. And then afterwards there will be hundreds of thousands of people that, almost all of them agreeing with you politically, packing the bars, restaurants and coffee shops and that'll be a festive time. It's like being at a ball game and all, you know, in your home, in your a home game and everybody's rooting for your team. That's what it's, that's what it'll feel like.

[Unnamed Caller]

Like.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, like in a giant College Town or 110,000 fans and everybody else wishes they had a ticket. Yeah, yeah. Do they have Porta Potties there? As an older man asking for a.

[Katie Green]

Friend, I remember lots and lots of Porta Potties. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can you imagine? It's whatever. What's it, what's the actual temperature going to be? Do you remember?

[Katie Green]

It's obviously very cold 21 with some wings.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's 21 degrees and you're a gal and you really need to relieve yourself. Can you imagine sitting down on a 21 degree porta potty toilet seat? Ay, caramba.

[Katie Green]

You can't. I know people who live and work there get jaded to the whole thing, but if you're a regular person, you're freaking watching a next president of the United States. We've only had 47. And you're looking around and you can see the, you know, the Lincoln Monument down there and Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and all that sort of stuff. I mean, it's historic. And the Capitol behind the person. It's a. You feel like you're part of history.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure. Yeah. And I think even if people don't intellectualize it, I think they feel in their bones. The fact that this mighty nation engages in a peaceful transfer of power every four years is a miracle. If you were to tell the rulers or the common people of old, they would be astonished.

[Katie Green]

Katie, before we move on, you wanted to rule in on sitting on a porta potty seat when it's 20 degrees outside.

[Joe Getty]

Sounds like hell.

[Jack Armstrong]

You would be, you would be concerned for the health of your cheeks.

[Joe Getty]

Absolutely.

[Jack Armstrong]

Frostbitten cheeks is no joke.

[Katie Green]

Oh, yeah. You could be thinking, I'll never, I'll never be able to have children now.

[Joe Getty]

Lifelong damage.

[Katie Green]

Yes, exactly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you certainly wouldn't want to wear a thong on the beach if you had like toilet seat shaped scars on your cheeks from, from the frostbite, imagine.

[Katie Green]

So different topic.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thank God, says the entire audience in unison.

[Katie Green]

I wanted Joe to make an argument for why I should be worried about the billionaires and being at the inauguration and being too close to Trump and whatever this oligarchy that Biden warned us about the other night. Bernie talked about this less yesterday with the Treasury Secretary or something. One of your confirmation hearings. Here's Bernie Sanders.

[Unnamed Caller]

We don't talk about this enough. And that is when you got three people on top who own more wealth. Wealth than the bottom half of American society. 170 million people. You know what? That's oligarchy. When you have massive concentration of ownership in our economy. Fewer and fewer corporations owning and controlling the economy, that's oligarchy. When you have more and more billionaires, whether it's Musk owning Twitter or Murdoch owning Fox or other billionaires owning newspapers, that's oligarchy.

[Katie Green]

Bernard Sanders. She didn't want to say Bezos in the Washington Post because they're on your side, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Katie Green]

You had to come with and where. Who's another conservative? Murdoch. Yeah, that's it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So.

[Katie Green]

Well, in what way? Well, what's the argument for? There shouldn't be billionaires. They've got too much money. This is an oligarchy.

[Jack Armstrong]

I will tell you this. A couple of things. Number one, if you are, if you hope to be a serious person, a person who of you. It is said, I don't always agree with him or her, but their point of view is always worth taking in. You need to be able to steel man the other side's argument. It's the opposite of a straw man where you construct a ridiculous parody of their argument that knock it down and feel all manly. You see it all the time.

[Katie Green]

It works. You've got to dismiss it like it's a bad idea.

[Jack Armstrong]

I tell you what, after a rough day, nothing I like better than beating the hell out of a straw man. But you know, you've got to construct a very strong argument as they would make it. I've got to admit, I'm finding this arg. This assignment very, very difficult because I find the arguments weak. What I would say is similar to Bernie. You have that much concentrated wealth and power in a few people with a direct connection line to the presidency and the entire executive branch. They will become a star chamber of the ultra wealthy, directing US policy to their whims. Oh my God, I did a good job. Evidently you know my argument. How would you stop?

[Katie Green]

How would you. First of all, how would you stop the possibility of that? How would you limit the possibility of that any way within the Bill of Rights?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, no, no, it can't be done. There are a couple of like really good counterarguments against that. Even if you admit that it's true. One, what are you gonna do about it? If your net worth is more than $50 million, you don't get to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

[Katie Green]

Right. Or you're not allowed to talk to your senator or the President.

[Jack Armstrong]

And speaking of visiting Washington D.C. have you ever strolled along K Street and seen all the beautiful shiny buildings that are full of lobbyists? That sort of thing is already happening in spades every single day.

[Katie Green]

Obviously because of our bent. It' so much easier to. To take the other side of this statistically. First of all, just start here. There are more billionaires that donate to Democrats than there are donate to Republicans. That's just an unknown fact.

[Jack Armstrong]

So. And Bernie's against that. In his defense, he is utterly misguided. But Bernie Sanders is sincere. True.

[Katie Green]

Bernie is a socialist. He doesn't think billionaires should exist. That is a. A nut job attitude. But Biden is fine with the Democrat billionaires. He doesn't like conservative billionaires.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, Complete hip hop.

[Katie Green]

Or when billionaires switch teams. Because a lot of times billionaires are just going with whichever direction. C C Zuckerberg, maybe whichever direction. Okay, they're in power. Let's make them happy. Which, you know, is not a bad business model. But first of all, it's a lot like we mock. If it's going to be 100 degrees, everybody gets all excited. As opposed to 98. It's just a round number. I don't know why somebody who is. Whose net worth is $900 million is. You do what you want to do, but once you hit a billion, you're all of a sudden suspect. I got a kill, you've got a billion dollar. I mean, that just seems like. So if you got five guys in the front row that each have $300 million, don't need to think about them. It's the two billionaires over there.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just.

[Katie Green]

That's just silly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. You know, I think this is my final word on this, and it's a very handy thing to keep in your intellectual back pocket to bust out in case of emergency. And that is Jefferson's famous declaration not of independence, but that he would rather attend to the problems of too much liberty than too little. And there are so many things, like the billionaire argument, because it's, you know, it's reasonable to say, look, you got people with incredible wealth and power. They can direct the government in ways not. Not foreseen by the Constitution. It's absolutely true. But the cure would be worse than the disease. It's, you know, to unfortunately bring up Kristi Gnome again. My dog Baxter, God bless him, still hanging on. He's a fabulous dog. He's very bright. He's very willful. He is like a disobedient child. He will get away with what he can. And, you know, when I'm in the room, he's good, but at the minute I walk out of the room, he's like, all right, the boss is gone. Anyway. Anyway, I could certainly eliminate a lot of those problems by shooting my dog like I'm Kristi Noem. It would absolutely 100% cure those problems.

[Katie Green]

So you're gonna shoot billionaires, I'm sure. Follow you?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, no. What am I, Luigi, the. The psychopathic lunatic? No, I am not. No, what I'm saying is, gosh, it would be nice to not have those problems. But if the cure violates your fundamental beliefs, then you got to find another way. You've either got to live with it or be more clever about curing it. And one of the great sick tendencies of the left, especially, but not exclusively the left, especially if you want to look at history. But one of their sick tendencies is to say this is a problem and this is a solution to that problem. Therefore we must do it it. And the idea that we don't get to do that, we need to just put up with it or help a little bit. We don't. To give ourselves the power to cure that quote, unquote problem would make us monsters.

[Katie Green]

I'm not sure a lot of the media even has an argument. They just think, because I've seen a fair amount of news coverage where it's just Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg. Will all three be attending the inauguration on Monday. They are the three richest men in the world and they plan to sit together and they kind of look at you like, huh, isn't that scary? But with no follow up as to why it would be in any way. I don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. It's. It's just appealing to like not spelled out prejudices. It's like if you're in a group of racists and somebody brings up a black man, for instance, and somebody says something disparaging about them. Them. Nobody says, all right, now let's have a discussion of the positive and negative aspects of that person's character and whether that was deserved or not. No, they'll just snicker because they're racists and that's the way it is. It's just a tribal signaling thing.

[Katie Green]

I think they're way wrong on this. I think most people admire billionaires, wish they could be a billionaire, think it's cool. Imagine what it'd be like to be a billionaire. I know there is a crowd, college students or whatever, college professors who are just. Just the term billionaire. The idea of a billionaire makes him sick. But I think that's like a tiny percentage of the country, don't you?

[Jack Armstrong]

I would agree.

[Katie Green]

I don't think most people are bothered by it.

[Jack Armstrong]

The politics of envy is incredibly powerful too. But yeah, I think, and this is crazy, maybe you want to jot this down. If a billionaire does something good, why don't you say that's good and if they do something bad, say that's bad and I don't like it. We'll go from There.

[Katie Green]

All right. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

They are, Elon trying to rein in the shocking, sprawling, idiotic growth of the federal bureaucracies. That's great.

[Katie Green]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I care what his net worth is.

[Katie Green]

I think it should be pointed out more that the 1, 2 and 3 richest people in the world are all Americans who made their go of it from scratch in the United States of America because you can.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Great point.

[Katie Green]

We have got Katie's headlines on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

Now, a lot of days we come in hot. Really good stuff first hour, then fizzle out the next three hours just barely hanging on. But today we have good stuff coming up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I am so excited to get to the Chinese Communist Party in their own words talking about how important TikTok is. This is by a thousand miles, the most significant relevant thing you will hear about the TikTok discussion which has mostly been useless and irrelevant and, or inaccurate. It plus ripped out of. I mean it's like too good to be real. It's like from a suspense movie. A woman making a 911 call and the clever operator. How do I, I don't want to give away too much. Enabled her to describe what was going on in front of the bad guy without the bad guy knowing. They conducted a two way ruse. This clever 911 operator and the victim. Compelling stuff next hour.

[Katie Green]

The Supreme Court's supposed to rule on the TikTok thing today, so maybe that'll happen while we're on the air and we can misinterpret it. And rail certainly. Also Trump just got off the phone with She. I don't know if that was one of your headlines, but Trump talked to she this, this morning, I guess, and I imagine we'll get details on what their conversation was about.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what she said. Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the League story with Katie Green.

[Joe Getty]

Katie, starting with cnn. Israeli security Cabinet approves ceasefire and hostage deal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, belatedly. But, and now let's, let's hope a few beleaguered souls are released before it all falls apart. Because it will.

[Joe Getty]

From the Washington Post, Trump selections for top jobs advance despite initial controversy.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, because it's always, it's, it's always like this. It's mostly made up most, it's mostly made up the controversy, an attempt to get clicks or they, they overvalue how interesting these things are there in D.C. whatever.

[Joe Getty]

From ABC News, Biden pardons nearly 2500 non violent drug offenders. He is now the President with the Highest number of pardons in history and.

[Jack Armstrong]

Commutations of horrific multiple child murderous sentences. We have a justice system, right? We have laws, we have judges, we have juries.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, I wish he'd make some statement on particular laws that he thinks are just wrong. And the Congress needs to go back in and rewrite these laws because these people violated the laws probably many, many times to actually end up with a long prison term. So why are you commuting them?

[Jack Armstrong]

He's just doing the bidding of his far left activist Caval. He's the federal Gavin Newsom just turning criminals loose because he believes in it.

[Joe Getty]

From Fox News, $2 million California home spared from the wildfires is destroyed by a landslide.

[Katie Green]

Oh, boy. There's been a lot of talk of when the rains come, all that ash and dirt and everything like that. And yards disappeared, vegetation gone. Who knows what the landslide situation is going to be.

[Joe Getty]

From NBC SpaceX loses its Starship rocket in test flight, but catches its booster after the launch.

[Katie Green]

I don't know what that means.

[Joe Getty]

When they did it last time, when.

[Katie Green]

That came, what means they. What the would they lost a spaceship like this?

[Joe Getty]

The actual starship Starship.

[Katie Green]

Does anybody know where it is? No, nobody knows where it is or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just see it last.

[Joe Getty]

From business. Insight fighter Zuckerberg, lawyer skewers his quote toxic masculinity and neo Nazi madness as he drops meta as a client.

[Jack Armstrong]

Go ahead.

[Katie Green]

Zuckerberg has toxic masculinity. Well, you have a low bar for masculinity.

[Jack Armstrong]

And he's a jiu jitsu fighter, Jack. He's actually a hard ass in real life. He was telling Joe Rogan that the other day. He's the real mark.

[Joe Getty]

From the New York Post. Burger King employee fired after kids meal comes with a surprise side of cannabis. She dropped her weed in the kids meal. All right, I'm bringing back the meme of the day. It is a clearly a liberal woman up top. And the captain under the photo says, as a dedicated feminist, I'm using my mother's last name instead of my father's. And underneath it is that picture of Leonardo DiCaprio, like he's cheersing. And he goes, so you mean you used your grandfather's last name?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good one.

[Joe Getty]

Finally, the Babylon B firefighters hang crying Jimmy Kimmel from helicopter to drop tears on the wildfire.

[Katie Green]

Oh.

[Jack Armstrong]

I liked it. Jack doesn't have the spine to enjoy that sort of harshness. I do. Wow.

[Katie Green]

We've got more to come. If you miss a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.