Sorry Blind-o, You Got It Wrong!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand - "Sorry Blind-o, You Got It Wrong!"

Release Date: July 16, 2025 | Host: iHeartPodcasts

In this engaging episode of the "Armstrong & Getty On Demand" podcast titled "Sorry Blind-o, You Got It Wrong!", hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dive deep into a range of topical discussions, blending political analysis, sports commentary, and societal observations. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing the key points, insightful debates, and memorable quotes from the episode.

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1. NYC Mayoral Race: A Tight Contest

The episode opens with a critical analysis of the New York City mayoral race, highlighting the competitive polling numbers and the dynamics between the leading candidates.

Key Points:

• Polling Insights: Recent Harris X poll shows Mumdani at 26%, Cuomo at 23%, and Sliwa at 22%, indicating a highly competitive race.
• Media Influence: The hosts discuss the New York Times' sudden favorable coverage of Cuomo, speculating it may be a strategic move to influence the Democratic Party's prospects.
• Candidate Strategies: Mumdani is portrayed as maneuvering to consolidate support among independents to prevent vote-splitting, potentially boosting his chances.

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong [01:06]: “Think twice if you think the mayoral race in New York City is over.”
• Joe Getty [02:48]: “If you've got the edge, you know, X amount of time before the election, I'll drop out then. It’s definitely in play.”

The hosts express skepticism about Cuomo's leadership, with Armstrong labeling him a "scumbag" across various facets, and critically examining Mumdani's socialist-leaning policies, such as advocating for community land trusts and the abolition of capitalism.

Impactful Quote:

• Joe Getty [05:55]: “We can establish community land trusts to gradually buy up housing on the private market and convert it to community ownership.”

2. MLB All-Star Game: Innovations and Reactions

Shifting gears, Armstrong and Getty delve into recent changes in Major League Baseball, focusing on the introduction of "Swing Offs" and robot umpires during the All-Star game.

Key Points:

• Swing Offs: A new tiebreaker method where players engage in a home run contest to decide the game's outcome if tied after nine innings.
• Robot Umpires: Automated systems are now used to call balls and strikes, aiming to enhance accuracy and reduce human error.

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty [13:27]: “Schwarber in the air to center field headed towards the wall and dead center. That's huge for the National League.”
• Jack Armstrong [16:34]: “Sorry blind. Oh, you got it wrong.”

The hosts express mixed feelings about these innovations. While they acknowledge the attempts to make the game more exciting, there's concern about the implications of removing human judgment from umpiring decisions.

Insightful Observation:

• Jack Armstrong [17:10]: “Did they do it quickly, though? That's what I hate about challenges in all sports.”

3. Foreign Policy and International Relations

A significant portion of the discussion centers on recent geopolitical events, particularly the reported phone call between former President Trump and President Zelenskyy concerning potential strikes on Russian cities.

Key Points:

• Trump-Zelenskyy Call: Allegations emerged that Trump asked Zelenskyy about the possibility of targeting Moscow or St. Petersburg with military strikes.
• Policy Implications: The conversation touches on the broader U.S. stance on military support and the industrial capacity to sustain prolonged military engagements.

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong [19:23]: “I don't understand that question.”
• Joe Getty [23:31]: “We can expend arms in a week that would take us three, four years to replace.”

The hosts critique the potential rush into military actions without adequate industrial readiness, highlighting concerns over the U.S.'s ability to support extended conflicts.

Impactful Quote:

• Joe Getty [24:05]: “Our ship building is the best and most extreme example. It’s completely atrophied as an industry.”

4. Community Development vs. Preservation: A Local Perspective

The conversation transitions to the tension between development and preservation in small towns, using Manchester, Kentucky as a focal point.

Key Points:

• Economic Growth vs. Heritage: Debates arise over allowing development projects, such as subdivisions, versus maintaining agricultural land and the town's heritage.
• Conservative Values Clash: The hosts explore how differing interpretations of conservatism—ranging from pro-growth to preservationist—fuel these debates.

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty [25:27]: “They’re like selectivists. They’re like, no, we have to deal with the big problem first.”
• Jack Armstrong [28:55]: “It's happening right now in the town I live. I'm anti-growth, even though it doesn't really make sense.”

The discussion underscores the complexity of balancing economic development with the preservation of community identity and the environment.

5. Tragic News: Tennessee Mayor's Death

The hosts report on the mysterious death of a 53-year-old former mayor in Tennessee, raising questions about the causes and circumstances.

Key Points:

• Cause of Death: The medical examiner ruled the death accidental, citing cocaine and Kratom use alongside heart disease.
• Kratom Concerns: An exploration of Kratom as a substance used to mimic opiates, its legality, and potential health risks.

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty [33:12]: “It's being used to mimic opiates.”
• Jack Armstrong [34:15]: “It's not similar to Jenkum. And don't look that up.”

This segment highlights the emerging issues surrounding synthetic drugs and their impact on public figures and communities.

6. Health Speculations: Trump's Physical Condition

Armstrong and Getty touch upon rumors regarding former President Trump's health, sparked by images showing what appears to be bruising and swollen ankles.

Key Points:

• Public Speculation: The hosts question the authenticity and implications of the photos showing Trump with possible health concerns.
• Medical Uncertainty: Acknowledgment that without official medical reports, it's challenging to draw conclusions about his health status.

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong [37:06]: “It looks like the bruise you can get if they stick that needle on top ...”
• Joe Getty [37:42]: “Yeah, it could be a number of things. I'm not a doctor, Jack.”

7. Upcoming Segments and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Armstrong and Getty tease an upcoming segment featuring a pro athlete discussing the meaning of life and happiness, promising valuable insights applicable beyond sports enthusiasts.

Closing Remarks:

• Jack Armstrong [38:18]: “You don’t have to be a sports fan for it to be applicable to your life.”

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Conclusion

In "Sorry Blind-o, You Got It Wrong!", Armstrong and Getty provide listeners with a multifaceted discussion spanning local politics, national and international affairs, sports innovations, and societal issues. Their candid analysis, punctuated with sharp wit and critical insights, offers a thought-provoking listen for anyone interested in the intersection of politics, community development, and contemporary societal trends.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live.

[Jack Armstrong]

From the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at.

[Katie]

The George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Joe Getty]

Panera has partnered with the beauty brand Holler and Glow to offer two lipstick, inspired by the restaurant chain's Mac and cheese and signature bread bowls. Less popular, their broccoli and cheddar breath mints.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lip balm based on their macaroni and cheese. Huh.

[Joe Getty]

What does that even mean?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Mac and cheese flavored.

[Jack Armstrong]

You. You kiss someone and you think, I am starving all of a sudden.

[Joe Getty]

So, Mark, Katie, have you sampled any of these wares? Are you aware of this? No, I'm just thinking, you kiss a.

[Jack Armstrong]

Girl and you're like, macaroni and cheese, cheddar. So Mark Halpern writes in his newsletter today, think twice if you think the mayoral race in New York City is over. For a couple of reasons. The New York Times suddenly favorable Cuomo coverage after they pounded him all primary season. Maybe the New York Times has decided it's not good for us in New York and politically for the Democratic Party to have this guy win. So now they're boosting Cuomo and Mumdani.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And this new Harris X poll that came out that had Mamdani at 26, Cuomo at 23, Sliwa at 22.

[Joe Getty]

Interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

The problem being, is Sleewa, the Republican candidate?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, he's the perennial Republican.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, so that doesn't have anything to do with the independent, then. So Adams is at 13. So Cuomo, the scumbag. The sc. I mean, there's a scumbag through and through. Ethically, politically, sexually, every kind. And then his politics, every manner of being. He's a horrible human being. But he'd better be better than Mumdani. He's trying to get a deal going that, hey, come like, a month out. Whoever's leading among independents, everybody else, get out of the race. All right? So you have a chance to win, so you don't split the vote. And then Mum Downey cruises to victory. I don't know if he can get Eric Adams to agree with that, but if he did, obviously, because Adams is an independent, too. You add those two independent numbers together, and you're at 34, and you'd be in first place.

[Joe Getty]

Right. I hear a lot of you. I have a psychic connection with you. And you're like, oh, for God's sake, he's the mayor of a city. It doesn't matter. Number one, it's the most important city in America. It is probably the most important city on earth. Secondly, just a quick rewind. If you're killed by politics, broadly speaking, you're much, much more likely, history would tell you to be killed by your own government than a foreign invading force or whatever. And the 20th century, where more people were killed by governments than ever before. It was quite a century. Communism was unquestionably, by far the leader in snuffing people over politics by the tens of millions. Okay, the Democratic Party is to some extent, and to what extent is the question, to some extent embracing Communism. And to some extent young Democratic voters are shouting in the streets, up with communism. They call it by different names, but that's what they mean. This is of enormous importance just to see how far this has gotten and if it can be stopped, if our young people can be reached. Anyway, end of scrape. Do you have more on the, the polling, or shall we leap into phase two? Nope.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's just pretty interesting that it's that tight. I mean, within three points.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, that's. That's completely up in the air. Especially if even two of those candidates can come up with some sort of deal. Yeah, if, if you've got the edge, you know, X amount of time before the election, I'll drop out then. It's, it's definitely in play. Anyway, the great Nelly Bowles of the Free Press doing some very amusing writing as well on this topic, I should say, is she starts with how mom Donnie claimed to be both Asian and black or African American on his application to Colombia. And it's very amusing, but I'll skip ahead. She writes, zoran Mudami is the perfect millennial because our people know that you can't get into college identifying as white. And even worse than white, even more damning is that you identify as Asian. If you identify as Asian on a college application, your SAT has to be entirely perfect. You have to have personally physically saved 15,000 orphans. And your dad needs to have lifted the Bodean Bodleian libraries onto a cargo ship and delivered it to Princeton's campus. A very intellectual reference there, historical, blah, blah, blah. But you need to be a miracle worker. Anyway, you still probably won't get in. It's a personality fit thing, you see. Uh, so he would have been a fool to check the Asian box. He goes into the details, but he's the perfect millennial because he supports this sort of system. But then it then exploits it however.

[Jack Armstrong]

He can, which is the key to communism. The people at the top Know how to exploit the system or game the system.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. Anyway, some other choice tidbits from New York City's future mayor. Policing is something that does not create safety, says Zoron. He's big on defund the police. He's big on we need social workers, not cops. Okay, great. Uh, the end goal is seizing the means of production, he said. That's just marks.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's pretty communism.

[Joe Getty]

Y. Here's another quote. We can establish community land trusts to gradually buy up housing on the private market and convert it to community ownership, says Zoron. Remember that one. And remember, he's a proud democratic socialist of America. And their platform does say, quote, we fight for the abolition of capitalism. So, yeah, it's no surprise that he's fighting for the abolition of capitalism. Now, I found this really, really interesting. Oh, did I lose it? Gosh dang it. I've got too complicated a thingamajigger here.

[Jack Armstrong]

You hate that.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, here it is. So that that thing about they're going to buy up housing and have communal housing. The government's going to run housing. This is super interesting. This is from the Free Beacon. New York City public housing is known for dreadful living conditions and high violent crime rates. And they describe a visit Hillary Clinton made to New York City Housing authority units in 2016 in which she was just horrified. That hasn't stopped Zoran Mumdani from pledging to expand public housing by targeting negligent, quote, unquote landlords and placing their properties under public control. Mumdani says the policy will turn poor quality housing into safe homes. So you're gonna seize up anything he says is poor quality and put the government in charge of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Does he have any power to do most of these things he wants to do as the mayor?

[Joe Getty]

Boy, the constitution or bylaws of New York City's Meridom. I don't know. I know he has a lot of discretion. Witness Giuliani and the good things he did.

[Jack Armstrong]

The fact that that's his inclination is bad enough. But I just, I haven't heard much about what the mayor of New York has the power to do in terms of can you kick out the grocery stores and make them government run as the mayor?

[Joe Getty]

But here's the really interesting part to me, and it's the reason I brought this up. It's just another example of how classroom, particularly leftist classroom theories sound great. To a 19 year old with no life experience and certainly no business experience and no understanding of how business works or how real estate works. They are really great Cons. Communism is a giant con job. Socialism is too. But they get into how. Local real estate pros say what Mamdani's talking about will make already subpar housing even worse. New York City. Let's see, I'm quoting an article by John Levine here. The New York City government already acts as landlord to more than 520,000 residents who live in the city's famously decrepit public housing. The municipal government's own New York City Housing Authority watchdog noted last year that the NY Housing Authority remains substantially out of compliance with several mold and leak requirements, adding that 83% of verified mold complaints involve large mold growth. The watchdog also deemed housing Authority buildings, quote, out of compliance in waste management and pest control. Thomas Sowell would be, yes, I know, or Tim Sandifer or Milton Friedman. There's no competitive pressure on the government housing authorities to be better than anything. So they suck. They're the worst. Mold, rats, bugs. Oh no, you better clean that up or you'll go out of business. Except they can't possibly go out of business. One more little bit. Supercharging that authority will only exacerbate the problem. New York Apartment Association CEO Kenny Burgos added, quote, the buildings that are in the worst shape right now are co owned by the city. And I think Mamdani will soon learn that these high violation counts are typically a product of the lack of revenue to cover the. And not because. And he's talking about private units. Not because owners decided to run buildings poorly. So you've got these, what do you call them, negligent landlords. And this guy's saying, look, you have fixed the prices, you've installed rent controls, you haven't let us take in enough revenue to do the fixes you want us to do. And Mamdani's solution is to let the government take it over and run it. Good Lord. It's a great con in the classroom. Anybody who's lived a couple of years knows, oh, that'll never happen.

[Jack Armstrong]

So AOC invited him to DC today to try to get more big Dems on his side. It'll be interesting to see if the power in the Democratic Party is able to stop him because they realize it's not good for them nationally to have him as the poster child for the party. Or if the AOC wing, which is, you know, highly motivated by a lot of energetic young people, wins the day.

[Joe Getty]

So Mamdani had this big meeting with a bunch of New York movers and shakers. I think it was yesterday. Maybe the day before. But he said he will discourage the term globalize the intifada because there are a lot of folks there who had a lot of trouble with it. And evidently he got a huge backlash from his own side for even saying that. But he said no. All it means is that we need to everybody around the world to stand up for the poor Palestinian people. That's all it means.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay? Major League Baseball had its All Star game last night. They had their first ever swing off which sounds like something Diddy would do. What is it? Swing off? They they also used robot umpire for the first time. The robot umpire which comes out on the field and waves its arms, that is an out. You get out of here and then you kick sand on its metal feet and then it.

[Joe Getty]

That was a strike. One more word out of you, you get the thumb.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because that's the way robots talk.

[Joe Getty]

Certainly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, that and other stuff on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Katie]

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[Joe Getty]

Schwarber in the air to center field headed towards the wall and dead center. That's huge for the National League. Schwar bombs in the All Star Game.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ho ho.

[Joe Getty]

The swing with the hat trick.

[Jack Armstrong]

Look out Chop.

[Joe Getty]

National League takes the lead four to three. Unbelievable.

[Jack Armstrong]

So new rule in the Major League All Star game as they continue to try to make that something people will watch or Major League Baseball in general because it's been struggling for years. Even though I love the sport, it's just pretty slow paced by modern standards and people seem to really really like lots of offense in their sports. See the NFL. Anywho now they have if you're tied at the end of the night at the to Nine innings. Instead of. You just keep playing, which I always loved. You have a swing off, and you get your best hitters out there and try to hit home runs. It's kind of like the home run derby at the end of a game. And the National League prevailed over the American League.

[Joe Getty]

I've always thought that was ridiculous in sports. That did it. Like soccer. All right, we're tired of playing this game. Let's play it entirely different game, just with the same equipment.

[Jack Armstrong]

And a hockey does it with their shootouts, which are exciting, but you're right, it is a kind of a different.

[Joe Getty]

Sport at that point, and not in the playoffs. Hockey would never do that in the playoffs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, they don't. I didn't know that. One other cool thing that they did is they had the pitcher miked while he's on the mound. In this particular instance, Clayton Kershaw, who I just saw pitch at Dodger Stadium a couple weeks ago, had really good seats. I got to. He came out and stretched on the field. I got a thought. It was interesting because you could stretch anywhere. I don't know why he came out and stretched right in. The only person out there on the field rolling around, pulling his head, leg behind his head and stuff. They had him miked on the mound. Here's just a little bit of that.

[Joe Getty]

What do you want, Smolty? What do you want?

[Jack Armstrong]

Cut her in, slide her in.

[Joe Getty]

I don't throw a cutter. Gonna make a mess.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was short. How about this?

[Joe Getty]

Splitty Break out. This is so weird talking to you guys. Holy cow.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would like to have seen more of that. I'll have to check that out. That's funny.

[Joe Getty]

I got it on the dvr. I can't wait to watch it. Oh, that's wild.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then last night, they tried for the first time something that might be a regular part of every game starting next year. Your robot empires. So I think it happened as early as the second inning. There was a pitch called a ball, and the catcher tapped the top of his head, which is how you signal. Any player can do this. You signal that you want the robot umpire to take a look at it. You get so many challenges per game. Catcher taps his head. Robot umpire says, that was a strike, not a ball. Guy gets sent to the dugout. And there were five challenges, four successful throughout the game. So four times the umpire called a baller strike. And then the robot said, sorry, blind. Oh, you got it wrong.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, wow, wow. There's no need to go with that sort of insulting, you know, verbiage. Much, much higher than it was in the regular season. So far I don't have that stat in front, but how does that make you feel as the umpire when the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Robot says, nah, you got that one wrong. That gonna give them the yips like it does in the NFL where they're all afraid to call anything because how it's gonna come out.

[Joe Getty]

It certainly could. They're moving in the direction of only robot. I'm sure this is a transitional period, but yeah, it could give you the. The yips. God, I would think so. Of course, last night the umps are like, it's the freaking All Star game. Nobody cares.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did they do it quickly, though? That's what I hate about challenges in all sports.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, it's very quick.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. Because you have an exciting play in the crowd. Cheers under review and then you wait 10 minutes and find out. Yes. What were we cheering about? I remember what happened.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Did the ball contact that imaginary. You know, parallelogram or not is a lot simpler than did the defensive back contact the receiver such as that? That would materially blah blah, blah. Or was it mutual blah blah, blah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Was the ball out before his knee hit the ground? So you might. They might go all robot umpires. Interesting. Then it'd just be instantaneous. Ball or strike.

[Joe Getty]

I like the idea of requesting a pitch. All right, Clayton, nail him right in the back. Fastball high and tight. Show them who's boss inside of the place. Yours, babe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Boy, see him in person right in front of me at Dodger Stadium. I realize how big these guys are. He is a huge dude indeed. We got some interesting news to get to. We probably should. That's coming up next. If you missed a segment, get the podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg Foreign.

[Katie]

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[Joe Getty]

President Trump flatly denying reports he asked.

[Jack Armstrong]

President Zelenskyy whether he could strike deeper into Russia.

[Joe Getty]

Trump saying Zelenskyy shouldn't target Moscow and that the US Isn't planning to give him long range missiles.

[Jack Armstrong]

Who knows what's true and what's not there? So somehow it leaked out yesterday with the actual transcription of the phone call between Trump and Zelensky on Forth in which Trump asks Zelensky, could you hit Moscow or St. Petersburg? Which I don't quite understand the question. And Zelensky said, yeah, if I had the right weapons. Well, of course, I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

It's like you're buying an airplane from somebody. He says, can you fly to Florida? That's why I'm here. That's what we're doing here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I think it's more like could you eat a steak for breakfast? Yeah, if somebody gave me one.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, I don't have one handy. I just, I don't understand that question. But anyway, so Trump was asked about it later because it seems like a pretty big deal given that Biden was hardcore no strikes into Russia and then some limited with Trump. But we haven't been big in the United States on pushing them going on the offense. And that would really be going on the offense if you start tri striking the Capitol and we provide them that equipment. But Trump was asked about it and denied it and said he didn't. But whether that's true or not, who flipping knows? I'm, I'm reading this book I keep mentioning by author named Toll. It's the the third in a trilogy about World War II ending in the Pacific because we're coming up on the 80th anniversary and I just thought I would look into that. But there's so much stuff even now in the 2000 and 20s with new information that is looked at differently and how decisions were made and what was known and what was true and what was a feint and what was an argument between. It's similar to the pause and was it Hegseth or Elbridge Colby or whoever behind it or did Trump order those sorts of things? Aren't even known about 80 years ago with FDR and the Pentagon then.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's really hard to nail this stuff down.

[Joe Getty]

And context matters a lot. I mean that conversation between Trump and Zelensky, if that was in the midst of a bunch of hypotheticals. Just trying to get the idea of, you know, just each other and the possibilities. And that's, that's very different than I have a plan to or I want to help you to.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure. He denied it pretty strongly though. Right. And then one more. This, this is some analysis on the whole 50 day pause. Despite what President Trump says about the length of that time being significant, it does provide a sort of quite a lengthy period in which the Kremlin can continue to pursue its military tactics in Ukraine without facing any immediate consequences or any further consequences. It wouldn't be till after that 50 day period is over that it faces tariffs or secondary sanctions on countries that do trade in its oil. And if you're in Kie death right now, facing a daily nightly barrage of drone strikes and missile attacks, it must seem like an eternity. Yeah, that is a common critique of a lot of people that this 50 day pause for Putin is like, all right, I can keep doing this for 50 more days.

[Joe Getty]

Well, particularly given that really disdainful stuff that Lavrov said the other day. I mean, that doesn't sound like goodwill to me or good faith, rather.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lavrov came out and said, was asked about the 50 day pa. The 50 day pause. And after 50 days you'll get hit with the big sanctions. And he said 24 hours, 100 days. We've heard it all. 50 days, whatever.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I also heard the point made yesterday and I thought it was a good one. The idea that this is showing China something or scaring China, the idea that we're willing to push back or supply weaponry to Ukraine, you know, and we would do the same for Taiwan and that China might be looking at this and saying, wow, they're going to use even more of their depleted Patriot missiles to fight that war.

[Joe Getty]

Cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good luck. Keep it up.

[Joe Getty]

Keep it up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, good luck when you're taking us on in Taiwan.

[Joe Getty]

Right, exactly. I happened to hear that commentary and it was an excellent point. We can expend arms in a week that would take us three, four years to replace. Why does it take our industrial capacity? Well, because we've been at relative peace for so long, haven't needed this stuff. Our ship building is the best and most extreme example. It's completely atrophied as an industry. We can hardly build ships at all.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, like the bunker busters we dropped on Israel. It'll take a couple of years to replace those.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

We didn't drop them on Israel. That'd be a news story.

[Joe Getty]

We dropped them on Iran. Oh, I misunderstood the directions. Whoops. Yeah, sorry. That's A very dark joke. Which brings me to a broader topic. Unless you have more on that you want to hit, it was funny. I was thinking about how to present this and it was amusing to me and a little frustrating during certain periods of the MAGA movement that traditional Republicans would be accused of being rhinos because they weren't sufficiently supportive of Trump Trump, when in fact they were like literally espousing the principles of the Republican Party for the last 150 years. I'm not a rhino, I'm an actual Republican. But it's just become an all purpose insult. Like neocon for instance. But a lot of the battles over foreign policy, whether it's the, the, the expansive American involvement people, what would you call, is there a nickname for that? That's not neocon, which has become like fascist. It just means everything. I don, I don't know what, I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Don'T know what the term is. For the people that want to get.

[Joe Getty]

Involved, we'll call them involvementists.

[Jack Armstrong]

The other side they call restrainers now. But I don't want you call the.

[Joe Getty]

Involvementists restrainers as opposed to isolationists or somebody used a different term for like your Elbridge Colby people. They're like selectivists. They're like, no, we have to deal with the big problem first. Then the big problem is China. We can't get distracted by all these lesser theaters and get depleted to deal with China. It reminds me of the chess lesson your son got in the park with the gorilla Henry. That's right. Don't deal with the two yapping dogs. Deal with the gorilla Henry. And Elbridge Colby is saying China is the gorilla. So what is conservatism in foreign policy? What does it mean to be a conservative, a patriot? You know, it's, it's tough. There are different interpretations of, of what that means. I came across a domestic example of that same conundrum. And occasionally I get hit with this stuff and it makes me feel bad because I just can't decide. Manchester, Kentucky, which is right like smack dab between Nashville and Chattanooga and Huntsville, Alabama.

[Jack Armstrong]

How far which are, is it from Hogsnipple?

[Joe Getty]

It's. You can't get there from here and take you all day, pack a lunch. But so it's, it's poised. It's in the perfect position between a bunch of boom towns to become a boom town itself. Heavy agricultural. It's a town of, I can't remember, a couple of thousand people, that sort of thing. Few thousand people kind of place I grew up. Yeah, exactly. And just in A weird twist. Well, here's the problem. You've got like half the town that is staunchly pro growth. If farmers want to sell their farm to a developer and the developer is going to put up a subdivision, there is no more conservative value than property rights and the free market.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely.

[Joe Getty]

And for instance. And it's divided into these two camps, there's a weird twist where the mayor may have gotten rubbed out. Whoa, we'll get a twist in a second. So, anti. So there's a moratorium against development. Anti. Moratorium signs at a local meeting read, vote like a conservative. Less government, less rules. It ought to be fewer rules, fewer regulations, lower taxes. That's a pretty damn good description of conservatism. Oh, but wait a minute. The other side responds with, historically, conservatism has emphasized order, prudence, stewardish stewardship, a deep respect for heritage. It's about preserving traditional values in communities, not selling them off for short term gain. It's about being more careful.

[Jack Armstrong]

True.

[Joe Getty]

And that's not a bad description of conservatism either.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I don't know if it's got to fit a definition, but I've lived in towns where this sort of thing was going on and I always thought after the fact, because this stuff almost always happened because there's so much money involved, didn't we like the town? The reason we liked living here is because it was a small little bird without traffic and the big Walmart at the edge of town that put everybody out of business. Now why was everybody so excited about this?

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah, and to that point about the Walmart, these towns are dying. A lot of these towns are dying young. People are moving away, there are no jobs, there's no growth, there's no prospects. And so the pro growth people are saying, look, this is just the way of the modern world. Aesthetically, it's sickening to me. I just speak the words farmland being, you know, plowed to build subdivisions, and it makes my heart hurt.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know, me too. It's happening right now in the town I live. I'm anti growth, even though it doesn't really make sense. But the hospital where both my kids were born, where I walked out of, where they were born in the morning and looked out over this field and thought, wow, I'm a father now, or I'm a father again or whatever that field is now, all houses and apartments as of like six months ago. And it just makes my heart hurt.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, it's there. There are a range of every political philosophy, like in conservatism Are you a libertarian conservative or are you a. You know what? Would you. You read more about this stuff these days than I do. But are you more a Burke or a. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, there's also kind of a. And I can easily fall into this. Just kind of a knee jerk. Keep things the same.

[Joe Getty]

Sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

That doesn't really have a strong argument other than I like the way it is now. Or was.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I mean, here's a guy who speaks eloquently about this land here. I'm attached to it 100%. Generations. His family's farmed the country since the 1800s. I don't know how much of my family's blood, sweat and tears are in this land. And you know, you could say, well, that's some real nice poetry there, son. But, you know, it's. It's just land. Here's a guy whose family has farmed there for generations who's fought to build a subdivision near the other guy's property. He's incensed by the new rules. Quote, they took all the landowners rights away. It's tough.

[Jack Armstrong]

If I had a chunk of land, I actually do have a chunk of land. If I had a chunk of land that somebody wanted to buy for a hell of a lot of money to put up houses, it'd be hard to say no.

[Joe Getty]

So the mayor, who is pro growth. Oh, if you're a deep thinker or a shallow thinker, you just like to shoot off your mouth. Drop us a note. What, what do you think of this battle? Where do you see, where do you see yourself coming down on that question? Mailbagarmstrongygetti.com is the email address mailbagarmstrongetti.com? cause it's a tough one. Or if you prefer to text 415295 KFTC one more time, that's 415295, KFTC.

[Jack Armstrong]

I remember we had this conversation. So business people tend to, you know, they, they, you know, like Trump developers. They like to see buildings go up, everything like that. So Joe and I had moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, 30 years ago, or whatever it was. Geez, 30, 32 years ago, 33 years ago. But we got there and our, our new boss was driving by this big new mall that had gone up. And he said, this was just a cow field, like two years ago. Isn't this amazing? And I was like, I like cow fields.

[Joe Getty]

I don't like malls.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not. He was so excited that it was a mall in a giant parking Lot. He thought that was cool. As a business guy, it made my heart hurt that that used to be a beautiful cow pasture.

[Joe Getty]

By the way. A memo to America Charlotte is now gigantic. It is a massive important into banking and other things. Metro area. There's no need to say North Carolina anymore. It'd be like saying New York. New York. People know what you're talking about. It is an important place. Anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

It wouldn't have become that if you'd have hung on to all those cow pastures.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. So good or bad? 53 year old former mayor who was pro growth found dead in the back seat of his car in his driveway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Tennessee Bureau of investigation took over confiscated evidence and quietly closed the case. They're not required to release investigative material. The medical examiner ruled the death accidental, citing cocaine and Kratom in the mayor's heart. Heart blood plus heart disease.

[Jack Armstrong]

What's Kratom? Is this a new drug I don't know about?

[Joe Getty]

Is that that artificial marijuana stuff? K R a T O M. Can somebody look that up? K R a T O M. In the back seat of his car. He died of coke and whatever the hell this is in the backseat of his car in his driveway. Sounds suspicious to me, Katie. Kratom is. Or Kratom. I'm not really sure how you pronounce it, but it's being used to mimic opiates.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay.

[Joe Getty]

If you go into like smoke shops, you'll see all these different brands and they say Percocets, Hydrocortone, Oxycontin. And it's like if you buy that particular combination of chemicals, it mimics whatever those pills do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Similar to Jenkum. Look that up.

[Joe Getty]

Very similar. Well, plus there are various like CBD formulations that in. In places where pot is still illegal, chemists have figured out how to change the chemistry just enough that it no longer is illegal. Oh, and I wonder if this Kratom or whatever it is is a similar dodge.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's not similar to Jenkum. And don't look that up.

[Joe Getty]

I just looked up Jenkins and I don't do gentle kids.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, don't do that one, Katie.

[Joe Getty]

I already did. It's too late. I think this is the second time. I will say, jack, I'm going to hit you, dude, for the second time this week.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, I got more on the way to here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Katie]

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[Joe Getty]

Trump's tariffs will also cause tomato prices to skyrocket. A lot of people are concerned, so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Heinz put out a new commercial to address the situation.

[Joe Getty]

Watch this. Heinz wants all our loyal customers to know that as the cost of tomatoes rises, we'll try to keep our prices as low as possible. We're all in this together, Heinz. Oh, that's nice.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Well, here's another ad and this one's from Hunt's Ketchup. Check this out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good news.

[Joe Getty]

Our prices are staying put.

[Jack Armstrong]

Cause Hunt's ketchup is and has always been tomato free. That's right. With 0% tomato. 100%.

[Joe Getty]

Don't worry about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's so healthier than that hot dog you're putting it on. Oh, and fun fact, that little squirt.

[Joe Getty]

Of ketchup water, we invented that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hunt, thanks for buying us by mistake. No, that's nice.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thanks for buying us by mistake. Oh, my kids hate the squirt of ketchup water that comes out of the bottle first.

[Joe Getty]

It's so disappointing. And disgusting. Mustard too. It's terrible. It's gross. And you can shake the bottle as.

[Jack Armstrong]

Much as you want, but it's hard to avoid. So I remember if you're of a certain age, you remember the Drudge Report. That was the first thing I checked every morning for like a decade. I haven't looked at it in years actually. Why is Drudge so anti Trump? It doesn't matter.

[Joe Getty]

But he is falling out of some sort. I don't remember.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anywho, his big story today, Matt Drudge doesn't even run it anymore, does he? Then he sell it. Doesn't matter.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, he sold it.

[Jack Armstrong]

The the big story on Drudge today is alarming bruise on Trump hand and swollen ankles. Have you seen this? It's got a picture of it looks like a bruise on his hand. It actually looks like the bruise you can get if they stick that needle on top to get sort of a routine thing done if you're an old person, is what it looks like to me. The swollen ankles. If this is not a doctored photo. He's sitting down. His ankles are quite large. I don't know what's going on. There could be a doctored photo, though. Be very easy to do. Retaining water.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it could be a number of things. I'm not a doctor, Jack.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So Trump's swollen ankles. Let's see if that gets more coverage. Oh, yeah, go ahead. No, I was going to say, speaking of fluid, this is a very weird transition. It's one of my worst.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Just 30, Michael. I don't have time. I don't have time for my wordsmithry. I'm not going to cut it short and just spout it out. I can't.

[Jack Armstrong]

A pro, a pro athlete talking about basically the meaning of life or what makes you happy, or if you think.

[Joe Getty]

X, Y or Z is going to bring you happiness, you might want to listen to his words. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

You don't have to be a sports fan for it to be applicable to your life. So we'll get to that in coming hours. I hope you catch it.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. This is an iHeart podcast.