That Makes You A Sap.

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – Episode: "That Makes You A Sap"

Release Date: July 7, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Platform: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the episode titled "That Makes You A Sap," hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a range of topics spanning historical analysis, contemporary patriotism, education, personal anecdotes, and political discourse. The episode intertwines thoughtful discussions with personal experiences, providing listeners with both insightful commentary and relatable stories.

Ken Burns on the American Revolution

The episode opens with a discussion on Ken Burns' forthcoming documentary about the American Revolution. Jack Armstrong shares his enthusiasm for Burns' portrayal, highlighting a key quote from Burns:

“The American Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ in all of world history.”
[00:58] – Ken Burns

Jack expresses appreciation for Burns' positive depiction of the Revolution, contrasting it with what he perceives as recent "wokeness" in historical interpretations. He remarks:

“People still think this...after the last, you know, four or five years of wokeness, it kind of was a little like knocked me down.”
[01:46] – Jack Armstrong

The Significance of the American Revolution

The hosts and their guest delve deeper into the importance of the American Revolution. Ken Burns emphasizes the creation of the concept of "citizen" and its global ripple effects:

“We had created in this moment a very brand new thing called a citizen.... And that has had powerful effects. It's going to set in motion revolutions for the next two plus centuries all around the world...”
[03:26] – Ken Burns

Jack and Joe discuss the Revolution not merely as a rebellion against the Crown but as a foundational experiment in self-governance and democratic principles. Joe adds:

“It instituted on earth an experiment in self governance and a lot of other incredibly important fundamentals like free speech...”
[04:24] – Joe Getty

Modern Historical Narratives and Patriotism Decline

The conversation shifts to contemporary historical narratives, critiquing movements like the 1619 Project and their impact on patriotism. Jack criticizes the focus on negative aspects of American history:

“The idea that, no, the revolution was to found slavery and make sure we could keep the whole slavery thing going... was the point of the revolution.”
[05:00] – Jack Armstrong

Joe references Jonah Goldberg's perspective on the American founding, underscoring its global significance and the success of its democratic experiment:

“The birth of the United States of America was not merely the most important geopolitical event since the fall of Rome...”
[05:19] – Joe Getty

They discuss recent Gallup polls indicating a decline in American patriotism, particularly among Democrats and Generation Z. Joe highlights:

“Only 36% of Democrats say they're extremely or very proud of America. The lowest number ever recorded...”
[15:04] – Joe Getty

Jack agrees, attributing the decline to a cultural shift where expressing pride in the U.S. is met with shaming:

“We've created a culture, especially at our schools, where you should be shunned or embarrassed to feel good about the United States.”
[15:29] – Jack Armstrong

Education’s Role in Shaping Patriotism

The hosts emphasize the critical role of education in fostering patriotism. Referencing Ronald Reagan's farewell address, they stress the importance of teaching history based on significance rather than current trends:

“We've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion, but what's important... Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
[18:21] – Joe Getty

Jack echoes the sentiment, advocating for conversations at home to instill American values:

“Tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let them know...”
[18:56] – Joe Getty

Personal Anecdotes: Vacation Adventures

Interspersed with serious discussions, Jack shares entertaining stories from his recent vacation to Florida and New York. Highlights include:

• Ozzy Osbourne’s Final Concert:
  Jack recounts attending Ozzy Osbourne's tribute concert, noting the presence of iconic figures like Metallica, Aerosmith, Dolly Parton, and Sir Elton John:

  “40,000 fans packing a British soccer stadium for Ozzy Osbourne... at the end thanking fans for decades of support.”
  [20:23]

• Jet Ski Mishap and Chess Hustler Encounter:
  Jack narrates a humorous yet eventful experience involving flipping a jet ski, sustaining a knee injury, and meeting a peculiar chess hustler named Henry in Washington Square Park:

  “Henry walked away from it saying, this is the coolest thing I've ever done in my life... Part of the deal, you sign.”
  [29:05]

Political Discourse: The "Big Beautiful Bill"

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing the "big beautiful bill," presumably a major legislative package championed by former President Trump. The hosts discuss its implications, funding allocations, and criticism from various quarters:

• Economic Impact:
  Jack critiques the bill's financial repercussions, particularly its contribution to the national debt:

  “Including the number that's constantly thrown out of how much this is going to add to the deficit.”
  [32:58] – Jack Armstrong

• Diverse Reactions:
  The discussion includes perspectives from economic experts and commentators, highlighting both praise and concern:

  “Newt Gingrich... an enormous policy bill about taxes, regulatory processes, badly needed reforms and spending cuts.”
  [35:14] – Jack Armstrong

  “Larry Summers... the biggest rollback in the social safety net in our history... grotesque.”
  [35:41] – Michael

• Partisan Perspectives:
  The hosts examine how the bill is perceived across the political spectrum, noting bipartisan reactions and potential long-term effects on the country's fiscal health.

Closing Remarks

Jack and Joe wrap up the episode by reflecting on the day's discussions and teasing future topics. They reiterate the importance of understanding history, fostering patriotism, and engaging in meaningful political discourse to shape the nation's future.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ken Burns on the Revolution's Importance:

  “The American Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ in all of world history.”
  [00:58]

• Joe Getty on Patriotism Decline:

  “Only 36% of Democrats say they're extremely or very proud of America. The lowest number ever recorded...”
  [15:04]

• Ronald Reagan’s Influence on Education:

  “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
  [18:21] – Joe Getty

• Jack Armstrong on Cultural Shifts:

  “We've created a culture, especially at our schools, where you should be shunned or embarrassed to feel good about the United States.”
  [15:29]

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This episode of "Armstrong & Getty On Demand" offers a blend of historical analysis, commentary on current societal trends, personal storytelling, and political evaluation, providing listeners with a comprehensive and engaging experience.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

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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 he's Armstrong and Getty.

[Ken Burns]

The American Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ in all of world history.

[Jack Armstrong]

I loved hearing that Flipping on Face the Nation. Got back from vacation and they had Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker, the most famous documentary filmmaker who's ever lived on there to talk about his new documentary about the American Revolution which is coming out in November. But they interviewed him for 4th of July weekend and him presenting it in. This is a fantastic thing that happened. For world history terms, it's just what my whole life that was normal, but after the last, you know, four or five years of wokeness, it kind of was a little like knocked me down. Whoa. People still think this.

[Michael]

Well, I don't want to get off on this tangent too much, but I find myself a little bit surprised as Ken Burns has been a little Howard Zinish for me in recent years. But I'm glad to hear. Maybe he's just a canny businessman and he knows who's going to watch these, this documentary. But I love what he's saying.

[Jack Armstrong]

I hate to be that a cynical.

[Michael]

Well, that makes you a SAP. Before we get into the more of the interview. Well, I don't want to steal his thunder. We'll do that first. Then I've got another great quote that's similar sort of sentiment.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, we missed fourth of July with you while we were gone on vacation. So we're, we're catching up a little on that sort of talk here. And here's Ken Burns talking about his documentary.

[Michael]

You call the, the revolutionary period a civil war.

[Ken Burns]

Was that always your conception of the rev? How did you come to think of it that way? I think because there are no photographs and there's no newsreels and they're in, you know, stockings and breeches and powdered wigs, there's a sense of distance from them. I think we also are so proud, rightfully of the power of the big ideas that we just don't want to get into the fact that it was this bloody civil war, patriots against loyalists, disaffected people, native people, enslaved and free people within it, foreign powers that are ultimately engaged in this is a big world war. By the end, I think we perhaps are fearful that those big ideas are diminished and they're not in any way. They're in fact become even more inspiring that they emerge from the turmoil.

[Jack Armstrong]

Why not roll on, then we'll discuss.

[Michael]

Michael, how should we think about the.

[Ken Burns]

Declaration of Independence, this period in America.

[Michael]

In our present day?

[Ken Burns]

First of all, I think the American Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ in all of world history. I mean, it turned the world upside down, which is the cliche. Before this moment, everyone was a subject essentially under the rule of somebody else. We had created in this moment a very brand new thing called a citizen. And this has had powerful effects. It's going to set in motion revolutions for the next two plus centuries all around the world, all attempting to sort of give a new expression to this idea that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. And that's a big, big deal in world history.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And hearing Ken Burns say that and cbs, you know, going along with it shouldn't be like cold water being splashed in my face. But it was and I was happy to hear it.

[Michael]

I remember when for a long time, the notion again, the Howard Zinnish down with American Ocean, was it wasn't a revolution, it was just a rebellion. I mean, the colonists not happy with the Crown and they decided they wanted a different government and it came to blows. And no, I mean, it instituted on earth an experiment in self governance and a lot of other incredibly important fundamentals like free speech, that had not been tried. Yeah, it was a rebellion against the Crown, but in favor of trying something wildly new, which is perhaps the most successful experiment that's ever been done.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and to take it further than that, the fact that the 1619 project held sway there for a couple of years and unfortunately still does in your freaking schools, your school's library. The idea that, no, the revolution was to found slavery and make sure we could keep the whole slavery thing going, that was the point of the revolution.

[Michael]

And that was.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was the prevailing view there for like a year.

[Michael]

To people with the megaphones of society. Yeah. Education and media. It's an obscene suggestion. Absolutely obscene. You know, I'm Going to hit you with this real quickly from Jonah Goldberg, then we can get back to the interview. I just don't want to steal all of his thunder. The birth of the United States of America was not merely the most important geopolitical event since the fall of Rome or the most important intentional political event ever. Because Rome's fall wasn't exactly a planned out exercise. It was the signature catalyst for the real world realization of very various Enlightenment principles like democracy, human rights, free speech and representative government. The unfolding success of that experiment over the subsequent two and a half centuries, with America becoming the single most influential and powerful country in the world, lends even more weight to the momentousness of the American founding. And it certainly ranks among the most consequential events in all of human history, political and non political alike, no doubt.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean that to, to argue against that is. Well, it's crazy. You can't. I hope it's over, but you can't look at enough. That period we just came through the whole George Floyd 1619 Project, tearing down the statues, which I saw some of in New York, all that sort of stuff, just craziness. We lost our minds. Thank God that didn't win the day. At the time it felt like it was going to win the day.

[Michael]

Right, right. And if you're fighting against it, good for you.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I'm so excited that Ken Burns thought, you know, I'm going to do a documentary about the American Revolution and present it as a good thing, like a great thing, like one of the greatest things that ever happened to human beings.

[Michael]

Right. As I've said many, many times about religion and a dozen other subjects, if you ask human beings to be in charge of something, it's going to get screwed up. That's the way we are. But that doesn't diminish the greatness, the wonder of the founding of the country and the principles on which it was founded. Yeah, human beings were in charge, so we did a bad job of it, but it's still a wondrous thing. Do you want to do the other one or the other clip or. No, we didn't.

[Ken Burns]

So what happens here is, I suppose you could, you know, miss the point and say it's a quarrel between Englishmen, but it is the beginning of something absolutely new in the world. And that is something to celebrate and to understand too, that it comes out of so much division that's going on between the States. People in New Hampshire and Georgia are. They're from different countries, they believe different things that you could have the divisions of loyalists and patriots. You could have this. All the things that are roiling in these columns, and understand that out of that, we could still figure out a way to come together.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Making the point that we've always been divided, very divided over various subjects at various times. And so what we're doing now is not something new. They do get into a conversation that I really liked about the importance of people like, you know, being into this, caring about it, paying attention to what's going on. And, you know, so I think that's the different thing that people are missing is the lack of civic engagement that we have. So we're arguing about things in a nonsensical way that I don't feel like was always our nation's history.

[Michael]

Yeah. I don't know. Politics is always grubbier in the moment than when we look back on it in history and more stupid. The thing that troubles me, and I was just going to say to set up the next segment, is if you think, well, Ken Burns is back to being a patriot, so everything's fine. Absolutely not. There's a new Gallup poll out about patriotism, pride in the United States, and the numbers particularly. Are you going to bring me down?

[Jack Armstrong]

I had brought myself up listening to the Ken Burns interview, thinking, wow, I can't believe this is on network television. That they're even okay saying out loud the American Revolution was a good thing and the Founding Fathers did something great for humanity. Because I can't remember the last time anybody said that out loud on network tv. I was so excited about that. Now you're gonna bring me up.

[Michael]

It's gonna be like a good movie, Jack. I'm gonna slap down your childlike enthusiasms, and then we'll bring it back around.

[Jack Armstrong]

Moving down.

[Michael]

But then at the end. At the end, Michael will be moving up. Thought that was clear again. I am gonna take a flamethrower to that thing, I swear to God.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, so I was. I mentioned this earlier. I was at the Museum of Natural History in New York, and they first time I'd been there since they took down the Teddy Roosevelt statue. That was like the iconic front view of that very famous museum. Teddy Roosevelt on his horse. And the fact that they took it down because there were, like, native people walking along the horse, and that symbolized white men did. My question I was asking my kids, they. They got really tired of my rants over vacation. But, like, did that help a single human being taking down that statue? Did that help one human in any way? Was there anybody ever, by the way, that ever walked by that statue and was hurt? 1. I'm looking for one human being that was damaged by the existence of that statue.

[Michael]

No. I could make a counter argument.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's so crazy.

[Michael]

Yeah. That it actually benefited people. Many people, including native people. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, Joe's got his pole to bring us down and then he's gonna bring us back. Up next, Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

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[Ken Burns]

The American Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ in all of world history.

[Jack Armstrong]

Love hearing that from Ken Burns about his new documentary because it's true. And it's amazing how little we teach it anymore. I remember when David McCullough, the historian who wrote the real popular books, John John Adams in 1776 and those great great books, very accessible. And he said we can never learn enough about these people in this period. I mean it's the whole thing, it's.

[Michael]

The whole ball of wax. And yet we've let especially our education system and some other of the institutions run by the left pervert that story and teach young people most tragically the opposite, that it was an act to perpetuate slavery by evil people and racists. And it's regrettable and it should have never happened. I mean, it's an obscene thing to teach the young people of this. This country.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or you just leave out all the good stuff and focus on the bad stuff, which is. Ken Burns actually said that in his interview on cbs. He said. I'm pretty sure that's where he said it is. Imagine if you did that with your spouse or whoever. All you do is you focus on their negatives as opposed to all the positives that they bring.

[Michael]

Yeah. John Fund wrote a great piece for the National Review, and it's entitled Orwellian Ly enough, When we forget our history, we risk our future. But based around the fact that a new Gallup poll shows that the partisan gap on basic patriotism is now the width of the Grand Canyon. And more troubling than the partisan gap to me, although that's troubling enough, is the youth gap we have. As my athletic trainer Dave often says, you get what you train for. You sit around all day. That's what your body's gonna be good at, sitting around all day. Well, if you teach your young people to hate their country, they're gonna hate their country. Gallup reports that Americans have become less patriot patriotic over time. That difference is primarily driven by Democrats. Only 36% of them say they're extremely or very proud of America. The lowest number ever recorded barely more than a third.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is so crazy.

[Michael]

Among Generation Z, which is those adults born in 1997 or later, only 24% of Democrats are extremely or very proud of the United States. Under a quarter more Gen Z Democrats say they have little or no pride in being American. That's 32% to 24 over extremely or very.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, we all know the reasons for this. I was about to jump, but we all know the reasons for this. We've created a culture, especially at our schools, where you should be shunned or embarrassed to feel good about the United States.

[Michael]

Yeah. You would be mocked and shamed for that.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, and your librarian told you this and your second grade teacher and you know, it's just the culture.

[Michael]

Yeah. So only 36% of Democrats say they're extremely or very proud. By comparison, 53% of independents express a great deal of pride in their country, though this. That is seven points down from the most recent poll before it. But again, that is a. What is that? A 27%, 29% more than Democrats. That's shocking. National pride among Republicans registered at 92%, which is up from 85% in Gallup's measurement last year. So there's obviously a, I don't know, 5 to 10% shift based on the politics in the direction of the country at any given time. I wish they could craft the question in a way that that got past that, but. But they haven't. And then Fund gets into the fact that there are many possible explanations for the general decline in patriotism, from poor economic prospects for young people to greater partisan rancor. But surely one factor is that public schools and many private schools now rarely teach civics or a positive view of America's. America's founding. New Cato Institute poll reveals a shocking level of ignorance about US history and our government. More than half did not know why the American colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 couldn't even come up with a coherent explanation. Young people the least likely to know. With 2/3 of 18 to 29 year olds expressing ignorance. Maybe that explains why 53% of Gen Z also support writing a new constitution. It's easy to want to scrap something when you don't even know the value of what it is or what it's about, right? And then my favorite, maybe my favorite part of this. And we could get more into the poll numbers because I've got the, the whole poll in front of me. But then he gets into Ronald Reagan's farewell address in 1989. There are a lot of young folks on the right who, who can't stand Reagan. They think he's a relic of the past and his ideas are irrelevant. Here are some of the things he said. We've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion, but what's important. If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result ultimately in an erosion of the American spirit. And we're absolutely feeling that.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, I would say.

[Michael]

And then getting back to his speech a couple paragraphs later, he was far too practical to believe that the job of reintroducing the study of self government could be left to the schools alone. Quote, all great change in America begins at the dinner table. And this is the part I really wanted to get to, to bring everybody back up again. So tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let them know and nail them on it. That would be a very American thing to do. Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same. Friends, we're all in a fight for the hearts of our children, our young people and our young adults who under our watch got indoctrinated in this awful poisonous anti American philosophy. Fight back. Let's get them a lot more on the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you miss a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand Armstrong.

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[Michael]

A big send off for the man who called himself the Prince of Darkness. 40,000 fans packing a British soccer stadium for Ozzy Osbourne, the 76 year old black Sabbath lead singer in his final concert tribute Saturday from rockers Metallica and Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, as well as Dolly Parton and Sir Elton John. Osborne at the end thanking fans for decades of support.

[Jack Armstrong]

Dolly Parton why is Ozzy such a big deal? He just, I don't know, he has no place in my life.

[Michael]

Ozzy Osborne Black Sabbath scene is kind of the founding fathers of heavy metal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay.

[Michael]

A lot of heavy rock that people have loved ever since.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right.

[Michael]

You know, it overstated to say like a Chuck Berry ish figure, but something like it. It's all a bit much for me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Dolly Parton was there, so we were on vacation all last week, which if you're a fan of the show, you probably noticed. I went to Florida, south beach for a couple of days, then went down to Key west, rented a house. We were down there for a couple of days. Interesting. I Talked to a number of people who worked at restaurants and whatnot while I was in Florida, and they were talking about how awesome it was during COVID in Florida to be in their industry because people were coming from all over the country because they didn't shut down. They shut down for a couple of weeks total. Then we're up and running like it was normal.

[Michael]

While the restron death sentence. I remember that right.

[Jack Armstrong]

While the rest of the country was acting like, you can't do that. Everyone will die. They're talking about how awesome it was down there. And I doubt that these servers were, like, conservatives. I mean, they could have been, but they. They looked like liberals. I mean, they're island hippies with, you know, things through their nose and. And, you know, the usual. But, yeah, it's just really interesting that that happened. Part of the country said, yeah, we're gonna pretend it's not happening, and everything was fine. It's just. It's crazy sometimes.

[Michael]

Counties that are practically side by side took wildly different approaches, and when one worked way better than the other, the people who went with the bad approach said nothing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Drove or flew back up to New York because it was too hot. We just got too hot with too much beach sun. Sam and I flipped our jet ski. Rented jet skis, a double jet ski. And I was somehow. We flipped it. He was driving. And that ended up costing me a lot of money because if you flip it and ruin the motor, then you got to pay for it. Part of the deal, you sign. And so that cost me a lot of. But so we flipped it, and I was panicked about trying to get it turned back up, forgetting the warning they had made about all the barnacles in the bottom and stay away from it, and sliced my knee open so bad and was bleeding all over the place. And I'm glad a shark didn't come eat us, because that would have sucked anyhow.

[Michael]

Oh, agreed. Yeah. That would be a terrible thing to happen.

[Jack Armstrong]

We just getting eaten by a shark.

[Michael]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we.

[Michael]

How does it look, by the way? How's your knee look? Is it healing okay?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's the same knee I hurt on my motorcycle wreck, so I have no feeling in it because it damaged it so much. And so I couldn't even tell that I got myself. I was just bleeding all over.

[Michael]

Well, I was gonna say, because ref rash is a thing, and I don't know if barnacles are similar, but if you, like, scrape yourself on a reef.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Michael]

There's so much microbial life in there. My Brother, healthy, strong naval officer. He got re refresh, and it was horrible to get rid of.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, they told us about that. Some trip we took out to see a reef in Key West. I don't remember they're telling us about that. Anywho, so we fly up to New York because it was too hot and decided to do something else, and we go and we spend several days in New York, and we're at this park where all the people are playing chess, just like I'd seen in movies. Do they do that in cities all across the country, or is that local to New York? Do they do that in Chicago? You're a Chicago guy.

[Michael]

Oh, gosh. It's. I. When I picture it, I picture it in New York.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I think it's a New York thing, and I need to do some research because I don't really know what it is or how it works. Like, do they make. How do they make money or do they make money or what. What's exactly going on there? I've just seen in movies where all the people are playing chess in these parks. Well, my son is obsessed by chess, as I've talked about several times, although he's still a beginner. And. Or he. The whole time on the trip, he said, I want to play chess in the park with one of the. One of those guys. I want to play chess. So he really wanted to do that. So we're walking through Washington Square park after we watched the weird hippie chick do her art that I talked about earlier. Get the podcast if you didn't hear that. And. And he said, there's a guy, he's not doing anything. I want to go play chess with him. I said, okay. So we go over there, and it's. I very quickly figure out that this guy, he's probably 60, old black guy, he sounds exactly like Tracy Morgan from Saturday Night Live. So when I'm doing my impersonation, if it sounds like that, that's why. Because that's what the guy sound like. He's hammered drunk. Just hammer drunk, sitting there at the chess table. And he said, what's your. What's your name? Henry. What's your rating, Henry? And Henry told him, I don't know, whatever his number is on his rating, because you get a chess rating when you're on chess.com. oh, yo, beginner. Okay, Henry. Well, then I will play you. I will give you a lesson. Dad, $5 for a lesson. I. Okay, fine. And. And he sits down there, and it was just one of the most amazing Interesting things I've ever witnessed. Henry walked away from it saying, this is the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. But it was so strange. The guy was so drunk, for one thing. He had the really drunk guy eyes, you know, where they're like really glassy.

[Michael]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And watery. And he kept shoving, shoveling these. He had a paper bag with him. He had brought sandwiches from home. This gets to the. I don't know what these people are doing. If they make money doing this or. Is this your job? I mean, I guess you play them for money. I don't. I don't know.

[Michael]

A good friend of the shows, a friend of mine just texted. The New York chess hustlers usually play for a few bucks. They're usually very good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was unbelievable. As drunk as this guy was, he started. I'm going to give you a lesson, Henry. You'll remember this the rest of your life. First of all, number one, get 1001 chess moves. Get the book. And he names the guy. Dad. Buy him that book. Okay. And they set up the chess pieces and they start to play. Let me see how good you are, Henry. So they play for a little bit. And Henry would go to make a movie. Henry, put it back. Henry. Henry, put it back. No, Henry, think about it. Henry. And so. So then we do that. So, okay, so let me give you a lesson. And so then he gives him a lesson and. And he's sitting back and he's shoveling this sandwich that he made into his mouth. And parts of it are getting in his mouth, but most of it's not. And the rest of it's just like fall his shirt and onto the chessboard. And he'd have to wipe the chunks of sandwich away as he's moving the chessboard around. At one point, he kicks over his half a bottle of Miller Light and it sits over and rolls between my legs. I mean, he's just. He's a. He's a drunk. Like, he seems like a homeless guy.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't even know what's going on there. Henry, I'm gonna give you a lesson now. The best guy in the park, that guy over there with the sunglasses on, he's the best player in the park right now. Nobody will play him again. Which gets to my. If nobody will play you because you're so good, how do you make any money? I'm not sure how this works.

[Michael]

You gotta wait for somebody strong. My chess playing friend also pointed out that it's a thing among chess Enthusiasts. There are pick. There are videos of grand masters going undercover and playing these guys and appreciating how good someone.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, this dude was amazing when Henry was actually playing him, how fast he would move and how he saw the whole board was. To be as drunk as he was in the hot sun was really quite amazing. Was he really drunk, or do you.

[Michael]

Think this was part of the hustle?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, he was drunk. I know. I know a drunk guy when I see it. He's just. He was very drunk. And there weren't many people playing chess. It was mostly dudes sitting at empty chess tables waiting for somebody to come play him for whatever reason. Anyway, so his lesson was. Henry, let me ask you a question. You're home by yourself, and outside the door, there was a gorilla and two dogs. Okay, a gorilla and two dogs.

[Michael]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

They knock down the door and they come in the house. What do you do, Henry?

[Michael]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

I call my dad. You don't have a phone. Henry, what do you do when the gorilla and the two dogs come in your home? And it was just like this the whole time? So wild.

[Michael]

Take the dogs and punch the gorilla.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, I guess I worry about the dogs because I can't fight a gorilla. No, Henry. Henry, that is wrong. What is the biggest threat, Henry? The gorilla. That's right. The gorilla is the biggest threat. So do you see where my queen is right now? That is your biggest threat. Get rid of the gorilla, Henry. And so Henry moved and got rid of the queen. Now you don't have to worry about the gorilla. Do you see where my two dogs are, Henry? And it was just like that through the whole thing. This went on for, like, 45 minutes. It was incredibly entertaining and really interesting imagery to try to figure out some chess strategy for a few bucks. For five bucks, please.

[Michael]

That's the best money you've ever spent your life.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did the entertainment alone, let alone the chess lesson, it was really so. It was like out of a freaking movie. And I thought, what are you. I mean, his clothes. He looked like a homeless person. I mean, his shoes had holes in them. He smelled bad. He's spitting his sandwich all over. He's hammered drunk, but. But brilliant at chess. I just. So I don't know what's going on there.

[Michael]

Yeah, I think we've all known people like that, whether they're musicians or writers or what have you, that they have an incredible level of capability at one thing, but not so much on life skills or hanging out to a job, for instance. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or don't want to.

[Michael]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

For whatever reason. God dang it. That was interesting. Like I said, Henry walked away from saying that was the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. He really, really liked it. Both the chess lesson and just the entertaining flair of the whole thing was so again, like straight out of a flipping movie.

[Michael]

Well, the downside was you didn't get a chance to talk about the big beautiful bill on the air since you were on the on your vacation. On our vacation.

[Jack Armstrong]

Didn't come up in conversation with anyone. I'll tell you that.

[Michael]

A roundup of different people, many of them conservatives and their takes on that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Massive Henry, a gorilla is in your home. You're gonna worry about the dogs first think about it. Henry. I don't know to try to imagine that. Anyway, so you keep spitting sandwich all over. I don't know what to say.

[Michael]

The dogs are happy with the sandwich leavings. So a bunch of different folks, especially on the right side of the aisle, what they think of the big beautiful bill. I found it interesting. I think you will too. Stay with us. Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

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The bill fulfills some of the President's key campaign pledges like no taxes on tips and overtime, and it extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts at a cost of $4 trillion, much of that going to the wealthiest Americans. The bill dramatically increases funding for immigration enforcement, allowing the administration to nearly double immigrant detention capacity and allocating more than $100 billion to ICE border enforcement.

[Ken Burns]

It also guts Biden era clean energy protections and student loan forgiveness programs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh my God. There's there's so much. Including the the number that's constantly thrown out of how much this is going to add to the deficit. And I'm sure it is going to add a lot of money to our, our national debt rather. Hello? Did everybody hear that or did I have a.

[Michael]

Just you.

[Jack Armstrong]

One of Trump's guys was on, I think Face the Nation saying those numbers are from the CBO are wrong. The CBO is wrong all the time. They're wrong about Obamacare, they are wrong about the Trump stack cut the first time around. And nobody ever holds them to account on the fact that they're wrong. I don't have any idea.

[Michael]

So for what it's worth, that news report was the living embodiment of Twain's, you know, statement that if you don't watch the news, you're uninformed. If you do watch that stupid report, you're misinformed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Michael]

I mean, that was terrible. Virtually every phrase of it was, was prejudicial. I thought this was interesting. This is the opposite. The good folks at the Free Press put out a dealio where they talked to a bunch of their writers and thinkers and people who are not under their umbrella. But they reached for their overall impressions of the so called big beautiful bill. They touch on some of the main provisions. An extension of the 2017 tax cuts, an increase in the debt ceiling of $5 trillion. Tax deductions on tips, overtime and loans for cars made in America. Those they're limited, they phase out. They're temporary. Blah, blah. New work requirement of 80 hours per month for Medicaid and caps on Medicaid provider taxes, which is a giant complicated scam. As we've talked about work requirements for food stamps, an additional $350 billion in spending on defense and border security, an end to some tax credits for green energy, but not enough. Among other things. The salt deductions has grown, which is disgusting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I don't know. Where did they end up on The SALT deductions?

[Michael]

40 grand with phase outs after you make like half million dollars a year.

[Jack Armstrong]

There is no reason, no good reason. There are plenty of bad reasons, including the fact that the bill passed. There is no good reason to put all of this disparate. Doesn't have anything to do with each other's stuff in one bill. There's just no good reason for it.

[Michael]

Right? Agreed. So they at the Free Press, they asked a bunch of thinkers what they thought of it in general. I'm just going to read you the headline and like the first two sentences of for time limitation reasons, among other things. But Newt Gingrich President Trump's one big beautiful bill is an amazing achievement on several grounds. First, it's an enormous policy bill about taxes, regulatory processes, badly needed reforms and spending cuts. The sheer scale of the bill is stunningly audacious.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, politics wise, it's absolutely amazing as I saw a bunch of quotes from Democratic strategists who were like, man, he is killing it. I mean, they basically say, I don't like the guy, but he is killing it in terms of this second term.

[Michael]

Larry Summers, Economist, former Treasury Secretary the biggest rollback in the social safety net in our history. It's an addition of trillions to the national debt. Needlessly risk certainly does not guarantee giving a million dollars on average to the richest 1 in 1000 families and paying for it by denying health care and basic social services like rides to doctor appointments, is grotesque. An expensive mistake, but not the last word, says Jason Furman, economics professor at Harvard and former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Too much deficit and debt, not enough protecting of the vulnerable, blah, blah, blah. But it could all change.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, back, Tyler.

[Michael]

Yes, go ahead.

[Jack Armstrong]

On the politics of it again, though, which is an enormous win. Even Dan Balz of the Washington Post, who we've had on, said, by any measure, passage of the bill represents a major victory for a president whose influence and dominance continues to expand. In a matter of weeks, he has brought a ceasefire between Iran and Israel after a massive bombing attack on Iran's nuclear sites, got a pledge from NATO nations to increase their spending on defense, has seen the financial markets hit record highs, and now can boast of legislation that fulfills many of his campaign promises. He is a political colossus. Brit Hume called him. He is one of the biggest deals in politics in a century.

[Michael]

Agreed. Yep. Undeniably. Tyler Cowen, who is an economist in a great free press columnist, says one of the most radical experiments in fiscal policy in my lifetime. I view the big beautiful bill of Trump as one of the most radical experiments. In essence, Trump has decided to push all of his chips to the center of the table and bet on the American economy. And he mentions, run up some big fat debts, but bet that we can grow our way out of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, the debt part of it is just when, when I was listening to a podcast yesterday, when Reagan did his big tax cuts, we were at 50% of GDP debt to GDP. We are now 150%.

[Michael]

Oh, wow. The president of the Manhattan Institute wants to know how real are the cuts? They're not. He doesn't think that the Fiscal sanity stuff is legit. Kyle Scanlon, economic commentator. A lot of people know his work online. Where's the strategy? The one big beautiful bill is a major restructuring of US Fiscal policy. Combines extended Trump era tax cuts with new deductions, blah, blah, blah. We have to look beyond its implications on just domestic policy. And he talks about how. And Elon Musk is big on this. He's starting a new political party. If you didn't hear this, he's like, we're going to be a geopolitical weakling if we spend ourselves into poverty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely. 100% percent true. And every president or politician decides, yeah, well, that's going to have to be somebody else's problem because I'm about getting reelected.

[Michael]

Yeah. Final headlines Repressed for time. Disappointing in its bottom line. Promising in its details. Promise in peril for Democrats. According to a Democrat, fiscal responsibility is dead, writes Charles Lane Free Press column.

[Jack Armstrong]

Clearly.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Has been dead for quite some time. We just were slow waking up to it.

[Michael]

Yeah. Yeah. And now it just doesn't really have a constituency.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Elon's gonna try. We should talk more about that. When he claims his plans are. How serious is about. I don't know. After he made that announcement over the weekend, Tesla stock dropped. I don't think they like him getting involved in politics again. Got a lot more on the way. If you missed a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Michael]

Armstrong and Gettysburg. This is an I heart podcast.