The A&G Replay Tuesday Hour Two

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: Episode Summary – "The A&G Replay Tuesday Hour Two"

Release Date: December 31, 2024
Host: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand
Episode: The A&G Replay Tuesday Hour Two

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1. Happiness Rankings and Generational Differences

In this episode, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into recent Gallup polls revealing the United States' decline in global happiness rankings. For the first time, the U.S. has fallen out of the top 20 happiest countries, dropping to 23rd place from 15th the previous year. A significant factor driving this decline is the stark contrast in happiness levels across different age groups.

• Jack Armstrong highlights the disparity:
  "Americans over 60 are some of the world's happiest. We place in the top 10 for the over 60 crowd while those under 30 are among the most miserable in the developed world." [01:27]

• Joe Getty concurs, emphasizing the generational gap:
  "And I'm looking to see if I found the right article about why people in Scandinavia are happier... It's having better expectations." [07:34]

Despite the overall ranking drop, older Americans (60+) enjoy high happiness levels, mirroring trends in countries like Canada. Conversely, younger Americans (under 30) rank 60th, pulling down the national average significantly. This generational divide underscores a broader societal issue affecting the nation's well-being.

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2. Causes of Low Happiness in Young Americans

The hosts explore various factors contributing to the unhappiness of younger Americans. Social media overuse, political polarization, and elevated expectations are identified as primary culprits.

• Jack Armstrong reflects on personal observations:
  "My kids complain more about their lives and feel like my life sucks more often than I did as a kid, even though they've got easier lives with more stuff." [04:33]

• Joe Getty expands on the psychological impact:
  "The disconnectedness of young people... it's the empty calories of online connections." [03:26]

They argue that social media creates unrealistic standards and fosters a sense of inadequacy among the youth. Additionally, economic pressures and the perceived financial instability imposed by older generations exacerbate the sense of dissatisfaction.

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3. Global Perspective on Happiness

Armstrong and Getty compare the U.S. with other countries to understand cultural influences on happiness.

• Joe Getty cites studies on Finnish happiness:
  "The Finnish culture is... if you have enough, you should be satisfied. Complaining about not achieving financial dreams is frowned upon." [06:55]

• Jack Armstrong summarizes the top 10 happiest countries:
  "Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway." [12:58]

The discussion emphasizes that lower expectations and cultural satisfaction play pivotal roles in maintaining high happiness levels. In contrast, the U.S.'s focus on consumerism and material success breeds discontent among younger populations.

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4. Political Commentary: Vladimir Putin's Election

The episode transitions to international politics, specifically Vladimir Putin's fifth presidential term in Russia.

• News Segment reports:
  "Vladimir Putin winning a fifth presidential term. Over 87% of the vote." [15:31]

• Jack Armstrong critiques the outcome:
  "He wouldn't go. It's a landslide... must be his position on capital gains tax or something." [15:51]

The hosts express skepticism about the legitimacy of the election, highlighting suppression of opposition and lack of fair voting practices. They draw parallels between historical Russian autocracy and modern-day Putin, suggesting a persistent trend of dictatorial governance.

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5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Critique

A significant portion of the conversation centers on the hosts' criticism of DEI initiatives within educational and corporate settings.

• Joe Getty discusses Professor Owen Anderson’s lawsuit against Arizona State University:
  "He found something troubling. It engaged in race blaming... I could not in good conscience continue such a racist training." [19:09]

• Jack Armstrong shares personal experiences with DEI debates:
  "I was for merit-based immigration and one of the progressives said, 'merit-based is a dog whistle for racism.' I didn't even know how to respond." [19:34]

The hosts argue that DEI programs undermine meritocracy and promote anti-white sentiments, labeling them as racially divisive and counterproductive. They advocate for merit-based systems and criticize DEI as a facade for systemic racism and political agendas.

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6. Media Honesty and Political Narratives

Armstrong and Getty critique the current state of media integrity, particularly focusing on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC.

• Jack Armstrong recounts a personal story about media misinformation during the 2012 election:
  "After the election wasn't close, my brother concluded that he was being lied to by Fox News." [31:06]

• Joe Getty comments on media manipulation:
  "One side of the media is utterly dishonest and nothing to see here." [35:06]

The hosts express frustration with biased reporting and the failure of mainstream media to provide reliable information, leading to public mistrust and mass disillusionment.

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7. Light Banter: Gym Experiences

In a lighter segment, Jack Armstrong shares his experiences with joining a gym, leading to humorous exchanges about gym attire and exercise routines.

• Jack Armstrong jokes about his workout gear:
  "I didn't know this. My son got a pair of these really long shorts... those are Capri pants." [29:06]

• Joe Getty teases about Armstrong's fashion choices:
  "You wear long pants under protest only because it's cold." [30:07]

This banter provides a relatable and entertaining break from the heavier topics, showcasing the hosts' camaraderie and down-to-earth personalities.

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Conclusion

In "The A&G Replay Tuesday Hour Two," Armstrong and Getty offer a multifaceted discussion on national happiness disparities, cultural and generational challenges, political dynamics both domestic and international, and a strong critique of DEI initiatives. Their analysis underscores the complexities of modern American society, emphasizing the need for cultural realignment and media accountability. The episode balances serious discourse with light-hearted moments, making it engaging for listeners seeking insightful and candid conversations on pressing societal issues.

Notable Quotes:

• "Americans over 60 are some of the world's happiest." – Jack Armstrong [01:27]
• "The disconnectedness of young people... it's the empty calories of online connections." – Joe Getty [03:26]
• "Merit-based is a dog whistle for racism." – Progressive Debater [19:34]
• "One side of the media is utterly dishonest and nothing to see here." – Joe Getty [35:06]

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For more insightful discussions and detailed analyses, tune into Armstrong & Getty On Demand and stay informed with perspectives that challenge the status quo.

Transcript

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[Joe Getty]

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 and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Katie brought us a story earlier that the United States has dropped out of the 20 happiest countries every year. They put out this list. Gallup does the polling. I hate this sort of question because I don't even know how I would answer it myself. I mean, if you just walked up to me and said, are you happy? A lot of days I'd say no. But if you put it in the context of being an American, I'd say, well, yes, yes, all things being equal living in the United States, yes, I'm.

[Joe Getty]

Happy, kind of annoyed right now, but do I have a good life? Yes, I do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? But here's the behind the numbers. This is the first year ever they've broken it down by age. And something interesting popped out. In a gaping disparity, Americans over 60 are some of the world's happiest. We place in the top 10 for the over 60 crowd while those not.

[Joe Getty]

There yet, but I hope to be.

[Jack Armstrong]

While those under 30 are among the most miserable in the developed world, our under 30 crowd ranks 60 seconds.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

In terms of happiest people in the world. And that's been, and it's true for a lot of your western countries, like Canada is very similar. Their young people are ranked 58. So top 10 for the over 60 crowd for the under 30 crowd, 62nd. Pulling down the overall score, where we've dropped out of the top 20 for the first time ever. They don't have a smoking gun for why young people are so unhappy. They said it's due to a combination of many factors ranging from political polarization to overuse of social media. Yeah, the resentment maker. Social media.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and trying to fill their emotional nutrition needs with the crack cocaine of likes and retweets and. Well, nobody's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, then if you looked into a bunch of other stuff that they're not coupling or having sex or getting married or all these different things. Yeah, okay, fine. But. So you said you had your thoughts. Some thoughts. What are your thoughts?

[Joe Getty]

And. Well, boomers and Gen X are also stealing their money because all of the money we're spending right now is going to have to be paid for through taxes at some point.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's very true. And they should be unhappy about that, but I don't think it's on their mind.

[Joe Getty]

I think you're probably right. Yeah. I just. I am so concerned with the disconnectedness of young people. And you're not connected. If you're connected online, that's different. It's like the difference in gauges of wire or the thickness of a water pipe or something like that. You feel like you're engaged, but you're not. You're not getting the incredibly important neurological nourishment of actually being with other human beings. Whether friends looking each other in the eye, talking to them, having sex, holding somebody in your arms, all of this stuff matters. And I swear to God, all the online stuff is. It's empty calories. It's the candy that makes you feel full and you have no appetite to take in your meat and potatoes and vegetables. I will go to my premature grave shout.

[Jack Armstrong]

Even without the online stuff, expectations is a big thing and lifestyle and everything like that. And I think about my own kids who are not online yet, and they do. I was thinking about this last night. My kids complain more about their lives and feel like my life sucks more often than I did as a kid, even though they've got easier lives with more stuff. I'm sure that I complained more than my dad did, even though I had an easier life with more stuff. He grew up without electricity or plumbing and worked all the time. But I'll bet I complained more and my kids complain more than me. So, I mean, what is that whole dynamic? I mean, you know, what you see around you, what all your friends have.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, that's that's big and easy times make for. For soft people. But. And I don't, you know, exclude myself from that description also. And this is one of the most power, powerful forces in political systems that people don't talk about expectations. Expectations are everything.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely. But I'm thinking about. And part of it is where I live, but like spring break is coming up and several of my friends there. My, My kids have several friends that are doing unbelievably cool things. We're not. And so we're not going to Hawaii for two weeks. No, we're not.

[Joe Getty]

Right. And everybody knows only the coolest thing anybody else is doing because of the nature of, you know, social media. The other aspect of this that I find so interesting. We talked about this at length. I remember last year at some point when Finland again topped the list and I can't remember if it was the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or somebody did a long in depth or it might have been the Atlantic, come to think of it doesn't matter did an in depth study of why the Finns are quote, unquote, the happiest people. And they're not the cheeriest or anything like that. It's that the Finnish culture is. If you have enough, you should be satisfied. And to run around complaining that you're not achieving some sort of financial dream is frowned upon. In Swed, they just. I'm sorry, in Finland, they just have a much more close to the bone. If you have the basics, that's enough, you should be great for culture.

[Jack Armstrong]

The yearly happiness list. The happiest countries in the world and the United States fell out of the top 20 for the first time ever, falling to 23rd place. We were 15th last year, driven by a large drop in the happiness of Americans under 30. For the over 60 crowd, we're in the top 10. We're among the happier countries on earth. But for those under 30, we're 60 second, pulling down the overall score.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Our young people living in the land of opportunity and it still is, are miserable.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I'm looking to see if I found the right article about why people in Scandinavia are happier. I remember it's. It's just a. About the fact that they're more down to earth. They. They. They're satisfied. It's a cultural thing. You're brought up to believe. If you have what you need and you have people in your life you care about, that's what happiness is. And that's all you need to aspire to. So are they Happier because they have, quote, unquote, lower expectations, better expectations. I think that's part of it anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Some people would say, well, they've settled for less than they should want out of life. That is what some people.

[Joe Getty]

Family and satisfaction. Yeah. Stupid fins.

[Jack Armstrong]

This has got to be something to be actually concerned about though, from a political standpoint. Don't you. There will be not a real revolution, but a revolution in our politics if our under 30 crowd is this dissatisfied with their country or their, their just their lives.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. You know what occurred to me, and it should have before, but I'm a bit of a slow wit, is that the kids are being indoctrinated every day. That this country was built on systemic racism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia. It's a rotten country. Global warming is gonna cook them alive. All sorts of gloom and doom indoctrination as opposed to the much more positive education of the past. Even when maybe it was overly rosy, but it gives you a different attitude. Am I wrong? I'm not wrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, you're. You're absolutely right.

[Joe Getty]

And I'm reminded of another study that just came out, quote, unquote, woke people are much more likely to be unhappy, anxious and depressed, according to a new study.

[Jack Armstrong]

That doesn't shock me in the least. Not exactly sure why. I mean, it's just my personal experience. But why is that?

[Joe Getty]

Well, the findings published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology suggest other Western nations may see similar patterns among their socially consciousness citizens. The author, the senior researcher, remarked the woke discourse has worked its way into Finnish discourse as well, skipping ahead to the business part of it. In the end, their final Critical Social justice attitude scale identified seven truisms of woke people. They asked him, if white people have on average a higher level of income than black people, it is because of racism. If you answered yes to that, they give you woke points. University reading list should include fewer white or European authors. The answered yes to that, they give you woke points and the woker people. Then they asked about mental health and happiness and that sort of thing. And it was just absolutely striking. The difference among the people, higher prevalence of anxiety and depression and people who believed in the statements that I made. More broadly, they found that those who identified as left wing were most likely to report lower mental well being in general.

[Jack Armstrong]

So let's go to the bottom of the list of happiest countries, see if we notice a trend here. First of all, Haiti was the 11th least happy country. I'll bet that number has gone down since the poll was taken.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, who's. Who's under?

[Jack Armstrong]

Haiti, Yemen, South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Syria. Tens and tens. It tends it.

[Joe Getty]

Tanzania.

[Jack Armstrong]

There you go. Burundi. And dfl, as they say, the least happy place in the world, Central African Republic. Where are almost all of these places? Well, they're all either in the Middle east or Africa, and most of them are in Africa. That's rough. I mean, you go. You go up from the bottom 10, you get a lot of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Chad, Niger. There's a lot of unhappy African countries. That is horrible. That is a rough continent.

[Joe Getty]

I haven't brought this up for a while, and I don't recommend you do it because there's no point, really, unless you're really, really into this stuff. But if you wanted to take a half an hour or an hour to look into the various conflicts that are going on in Africa right now and how the fight is being fought and what is happening to civilians, including children in those conflicts, it will haunt your dreams perhaps for the rest of your days. It makes, like, Western warfare seem civilized and not that bad.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's horrible. And so you've got that entire continent that is almost entirely very bottom of happiness and. And income and all kinds of other things which, you know, it's all tied together. But here's your top countries. You notice anything in common with those? Starting at. We'll count down the top 10. I didn't actually count them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Any list this long that's not numbered, how long would it take you to number it? Gallup. Anyway, here's your top 10 happiest countries. Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. Then Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Obviously, cold weather makes people happier. No, but there's. There's a lot in common, first of all, with the area for most of those countries and certain. And certainly the government with the other ones thrown in. That's something. In the United States, we're happier than Ireland, but not quite as happy as Austria. All those countries, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, all in the top, you know, six or seven. What is your number one thing you think they have in common? What you just said, expectations or.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, having rescanned in the last 10 or 15 minutes some stuff I've read about this. Yeah, it's. It has to do with expectations and culture. If. If your culture tells you the truth, which is the best thing you can aspire to is a good circle of friends, loving family relationships, and satisfying work. Imagine if we heard that message over and over again instead of you need to have lips and boobs like a Kardash you or a six pack ABS and a $300,000 Mercedes to be happy. It's the only way to be happy. You ought to spend your life pursuing those things. What a difference that would make in our young people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I would say I don't know how to break out of this.

[Joe Getty]

As long as social media, you can only do it. You can only do it on an individual basis. Culturally, no. The country's doomed in terms of consumerism and chasing things that'll never bring us happiness. I just think, you know, I can pitch it on the radio show. You can. We can pitch it to the people we care about, and that's as good as you can do. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[News Anchor]

Vladimir Putin winning a fifth presidential term. Appearing on TV thanking his supporters with over 87% of the vote. Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia and his allies calling for protests with her taking part, casting a vote for her husband. Putin claiming he agreed to the idea of releasing Navalny just days before he died. Thousands more demonstrators causing long lines at polling locations inside Russia as well as around the world. Many spoiling their ballots or voting for other candidates. Rights monitoring group saying more than 70 people have been detained, though none of this affecting the outcome. President Putin has already scheduled a victory parade in Moscow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did they say the percentage here? I know I heard somewhere 88% was his vote total. So he won in a landslide. He wouldn't go. In a way, it must be his very popular. Must be his position on capital gains tax or something that people like. One American reporter was able to ask a question yesterday, which I was kind of surprised by. Dig one of Putin's answers.

[News Anchor]

Mr. President, journalist Evan Gershkovich spent this election in prison. Boris Nadeshdin, who opposes your war in Ukraine, wasn't allowed to stand against you. And Alexei Navalny died in one of your prisons during your campaign. Mr. President. Is this what you call democracy? That's life, Putin said, and in his answer suggested he had agreed to release Navalny on the condition he never returned to Russia. Days later, his outspoken opponent was dead.

[Joe Getty]

Putin said you can't snuff somebody and then say, that's life. No, no.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, how cold is that? And they have six year presidential terms, whatever the hell that means, right? Or why they even pay attention to that. But anyway, if he serves that term, he will be the longest serving. Is it longer than Catherine the Great or is it Just in modern times. Longer than Stalin. And what a. What a history.

[Joe Getty]

And as old as Biden.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. What a history that Russia has. I was reading yesterday reminded that the Romanovs, the various czars.

[Joe Getty]

Hold on, Covid.

[Jack Armstrong]

That, I guess includes Peter the Great, but the Romanovs, who ended up up against the wall, the whole family. Mom, dad and the kids, you know, executed by firing squad up against the wall in 1918. That was the end of a 300 year period of that family running Russia. So Russia's never really. There's a tiny blip where it kind of seemed like it there in like the late 90s, early 2000s, where it seemed like it might be a functioning democracy. But it didn't last long.

[Joe Getty]

No, it's. It's a cultural norm through the centuries. That they have a dictator, essentially, that.

[Jack Armstrong]

They have secret police spying on them, that they turn neighbors against each other, that they have gulags or, you know, work you to death in some Siberian prison. It's always been that way.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. And it's the naivete, frankly, and optimism of the American people that think we can spread democracy because it's such a great idea to places that have never had it. But that's hard. As you've made the point. Many people have made the point. It took hundreds of years to bake it into England, specifically. Hundreds of years of slow change. And even if you say, well, we got the Internet now, so things move more quickly, I still think it would take a good solid 50 years of slow transition from that sort of culture to one of representative democracy. Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

THE Armstrong and GETTY Show Are you done with dei? Try mei. Merit, excellence and intelligence. That means we only hire the best person for the job. We seek out and demand excellence. And we unapologetically prefer people who are very smart. We treat everyone as an individual. We do not unfairly stereotype, tokenize, or otherwise treat anyone as a member of a demographic group rather than as an individual.

[Jack Armstrong]

You remember we did that awful, awful onstage debate thing with a bunch of progressives that, that devolved into just awfulness. But I, I always remember this because I'd never heard this before because I've, I'm a big on merit based everything. I want everything practically to be merit based. And we're talking about immigration, actually, and I was for merit based immigration and one of the progressives said, oh, everybody knows that's just a dog whistle for racism about, really, merit based is dog whistle for racism. That's the first time I'd ever even heard it. I didn't even know how to, how to respond to that charge.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that's a committed progressive. They call everything racism. And a huge percent of the population says, oh my God, I'm not a racist. I'll just be quiet.

[Jack Armstrong]

But is that one of the reasons that DEI is pushed as opposed to merit based, is the theory that it's racist somehow?

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah, I mean, you always have to differentiate between the true believers, the activists, and the useful idiots. Useful idiots actually think they're doing the right thing for the right reason. The activists are just trying to overthrow the system and they call everything racist so they can, you know, make it stop. Or they call people racists to get them out of the way because you're not as a corporation or a senator or what, you're not going to employ a racist. So you call everybody a racist to get rid of them anyway or to win every argument. It's, it's so lazy and stupid. I can't believe they've gotten over as far as they have, but they have anyway. Owen Anderson is the name of a professor at Arizona State University. We talked to him a couple of months ago. He and our friends at the Goldwater Institute are suing Arizona State University. And Owen wrote a great piece for National Review. Since we've talked to him already, I won't quote much of it, but I want to quote some of it. He's been teaching philosophy and religious study for more than two decades, and now Arizona State is all of a sudden requiring all professors to take DEI training. And he says, I'm in favor of each of those terms, diversity, including intellectual diversity, equity, if that means equality, opportunity and inclusion, helping people from all backgrounds succeed at the university. But that's not what it means. Owen. Every word the neo Marxists use is code to win the day anyway. But he says, when I began the mandatory training, I found something troubling. It engaged in race blaming, warning of the supposed problem of whiteness, and encouraging judgment of people based on their skin color. I could not in Good conscience continue such a racist training. And the idea that you have to. It's mandatory. It's like their fire safety and no sexual harassment training. You have to take this anti whiteness training. And so he and Goldwater are suing the university and I think they have a really good chance of winning.

[Jack Armstrong]

That'd be hard to stomach.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And he goes into a lot of the detail, but I think we're all up on the insidiousness of DEI for the umpteenth time. And all DEI programs everywhere, they exist immediately last week and somehow this flew under my personal radar. Senator J.D. vance, who is a fascinating guy, he did a long interview with the New York Times recently that I've got to read because he is a ball of contradictions. But anyway, he and Representative Michael Cloud introduced the Dismantle DEI Act. It immediately attracted 20 co sponsors in Congress. And as that's that. Oh, the editors of the National Review say we hope the momentum picks up. The bill would bar school accreditation agencies from requiring DEI in schools and stop financial agencies like NASDAQ in the New York Stock Exchange from instituting diversity requirements for corporate boards. It would also effectively rescind President Biden's 6-25-21 executive order which pushed DEI requirements and ideas into, quote, all parts of the federal workforce. What shocks me is how something so openly overtly racist hasn't been successfully challenged already, whether judicially or, or legislatively. I mean, the notion that, oh, only white people can be racist because they have the power racism. Actually they've defined the term racism and I could find it all the. Some of the big stupid blanking dictionaries have even done this. They have had the same definition of racism for 150 years. But now it's racism is a belief used by the most powerful in society to keep others down.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

So the idea that the black people who hate Asian people or the Chinese people who hate Japanese people or that, that they can be racist. No, that's impossible. Which is again idiotic. They point out the the executive order alone helps sustain an entire private industry of DEI consultancies and lobby groups, giving all federal agencies the power and the man state to contract for diversity insensitive trainings. How much has the government spent on DEI training? Keeping in mind that if they spent it, somebody got it. And the point is that they gave money to people who will always support Democrats. But it's insidious. I'm going to keep an eye on this dismantled DEI bill. Man, I'd love to see that pass.

[Jack Armstrong]

I Don't think, like, what percentage of Americans know that dei, those three words, what the actual result is, opposed to what you think the meaning is of them.

[Joe Getty]

Single digits.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's still pretty low. Yeah, it'll take a long time for that to soak into society where people realize diversity, equity, inclusion is not what it sounds like. Because at first blush you think, well, who could be against that?

[Joe Getty]

Well, right, yeah. Workers of the world unite. You know, throw off your chains. All of that stuff is rhetorically great. It's. It's really good, you know, political rhetoric, propaganda. It's persuasive. Marxists are good at that. Revolutionaries in general are good at that.

[Jack Armstrong]

That. I'm a little sore today. Went to the gym last night. Joined a gym, haven't I haven't been a member of a gym in decades. Or maybe I'm still a member of Gold's Gym somewhere and it's still charging my credit card every month after all these years. It's quite possible because it's really hard to quit a gym, as we all know. But I joined this gym because my son is working out with a coach, the football players are working out, and he's got to be there for an hour three times a week. So good for me. I'll be there for an hour three times a. But I'm. I was always a free weight guy when I was younger, but now I'm doing the machines. It takes me so long to figure out what, what each machine is for. They got like a hundred machines, this giant gym. And I walk around, I think, is that for your feet, for your hands, for your back? I don't know that, that thing looks like maybe you sit there? Sometimes I think I get on and am I, am I facing the wrong direction or am I supposed to.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah. Don't they all have like instructions, like right there on them?

[Jack Armstrong]

Some of them do, but some of them don't. And I think I don't even know what part of my body to put there and which way I'm supposed to face. Am I supposed to be lying down? I have a feeling somebody's gonna come by and I'm like working on my arms. They say, that's for your calves. I mean, I don't know what you're doing there.

[Joe Getty]

I don't even know how you got in that position. Yeah, you know, I've worked with a couple of trainers, physical therapists, and they all say, they say, I don't want you on that machine that just works on one muscle group. Well, you got to work on that muscle group and all the muscle groups that surround.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's. That's why.

[Joe Getty]

That's the integrated. Unless you got a specific.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's why free weights are so much better. Is. Is in general, but I don't know. I'm old and lazier. So machine. I was a lot of swole guys on the machine, so they must be doing something for them. Oh yeah.

[Joe Getty]

It's better than nothing for sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

Everything is better than nothing.

[Katie]

I want a Jack Armstrong workout video.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, well, a lot of it would be me walking around the machine. That's what I want. What the hell is this?

[Joe Getty]

Exactly like Joe Biden jam. Exactly. Are you working out in jeans and cowboy boots or do you actually don athletic wear for that?

[Jack Armstrong]

I was wearing gymnasium shoes and some sort of khaki pants and a T shirt.

[Joe Getty]

Well, you wear long pants.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not gonna wear shorts. Nobody, no grownup should wear shorts. Nobody wants to see your old man legs.

[Joe Getty]

I know. Can you imagine, Katie? I've been working with this guy for like 32 years and it's still a wonder. Tony, I'm. You wear long pants that aren't sweatpants to the gym.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Khakis.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're wearing khakis.

[Joe Getty]

You may be the only guy in America who works out in khakis. Wait a second. With checking Europe. Yep. Same.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would rather you in shorts than khakis.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't think they wear a lot of shorts in Europe because they have class.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. I wear long pants under protest only because it's cold.

[Jack Armstrong]

Old men legs should not be shown to any. Nobody should have to look at that. I'm not telling you to wear Daisy.

[Katie]

Dukes, but throw on some basketball shorts.

[Joe Getty]

What is seen can't be unseen.

[Jack Armstrong]

I didn't know this. My son got a pair of these really long shorts. Like they go down below the knees. They're really long and wide. And I think. And he told me, he said, man, I got so many compliments on these today. Wall Street Journal had an article over the weekend that is the super cool forward thinking hipster shorts is the really long wide shorts for like up and coming CEOs and all that sort of stuff. According to the Wall Street Journal and whether you're like a rapper or a, you know, a go go, you know, you're the guy who wears tennis shoes with your suit. That kind of guy. Those are the shorts people are wearing. I guess I'm gonna let you know that 95 of the women that see those are calling them Capris behind your back. That's what I told my son. I said, how are those not capri pants? He said, we're to Capri pants. I said, those, Those are Capri pants.

[Joe Getty]

Girls wear them, son.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I don't know. Have you seen that out in public among the shorts wearing crowd?

[Joe Getty]

I have not.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, the Wall Street Journal is not, you know, I can't even name a magazine that would be for young super hip people. I mean, it's the Wall street freaking Journal saying, you know, their crowd. And I guess that's the shorts.

[Joe Getty]

All right. I'm not part of that culture either. Yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Wear your wacky shorts that people laugh at in a year.

[Jack Armstrong]

Those shorts with the high socks. Right. Is that like the thing? Right. So there's like no skin really, in between.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy. No, I'm talking about your Go go executives. Youngsters wear what the other youngsters are wearing. Go ahead. Why wouldn't you. It's fine. Yeah, but the, and you know, I see that stuff in the Wall Street Journal or somehow we got on GQ's mailing list and man, all that stuff. Okay, go ahead, wear that. It, it lasts for about a cup of coffee, but if that gets you ahead in your, your Wall street career, go ahead.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would agree. You look like a dunce if you're a teenager. Where were the other teenagers are wearing? It'll make you more friends and get you a girlfriend or a boyfriend or pick your subgroup. But, but past that point, why are you paying any attention?

[Joe Getty]

I can't imagine.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then are you reading articles in the Wall Street Journal to figure out what shorts to wear? I found that interesting also. Who's that for exactly? I would think the people that care about that sort of thing found out a different way than reading the style section of the Wall Street Journal.

[Joe Getty]

People who want fashion advice from the Wall Street Journal. I can't imagine how your brain works. Armstrong and Getty, the Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Jack Armstrong]

They were talking about ratings on MSNBC this morning, I think because, because CNN and MSNBC's ratings are so low. I'm looking up at Fox right now and there's Karl Rove. And it reminded me so my, my brother loathes Karl Rove. And it's because in 2012, during the entire election cycle between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, Karl Rove was going on TV every day explaining how Mitt Romney is going to win and the mainstream media is misleading you. And it's going to be hilarious on election Day when Everybody figures this out. And then after it wasn't even close, my brother came to the conclusion that he was being lied to by Fox News. That's exactly what is going on with that huge drop off on CNN and specifically MSNBC right now. Because after an entire election season of all those people laughing at the idea that Donald Trump could possibly get elected, and here's why the polls are wrong, and here's how. Here's how crazy it would have to. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Then you wake up on election day or the day after and find out, oh, you were all lying to me. Okay, that was all a bunch of crap.

[Joe Getty]

The kick in the gut. It is a kick in the gut mitt. I think you need to add the delicious icing of this to that cake. And that would be the absolute hair on fire, hyperbolic. He's Hitler, fascist. There will never be another election. Blood running in the streets. And then the next day, there's Joe Biden, you know, shaking hands with the guy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right?

[Joe Getty]

Come on.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's true. So you combine those two things. Things.

[Joe Getty]

Cut the crap.

[Jack Armstrong]

You combine those two things, and you would have to, like, reorient yourself as to what you're gonna pay attention to or care about because, oh, you guys didn't actually care.

[Joe Getty]

And.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you were lying. So. Okay, now I need to find something else to do with my time. So I'm still reading Bob Woodward's wars, and there's some. Those books are so flipping good. It's a shame nobody reads them because nobody does. But the right into the part where the Ukrainian war is about to start in this book. And Biden had just gotten off a long phone call, the longest phone call he'd ever had with Putin. They were on the phone for an hour on a Sunday morning, and Biden was really laying into him about how what a horrible idea it would be to invade Ukraine and everything like that. Putin was explaining why, why, why he had to do it. And you're planning to put nuclear weapons. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, Biden gets off the phone and says, he effed it up. He f ed the whole thing up. And the people around him are like, what are you talking about? And he's like, barack, he effed the whole thing up by doing nothing. In 2014, when Putin went into Crimea, all he did was signal to Putin that he can get away with anything. Barack f this up. And I thought, how is that not a headline out of the book? The fact that Joe Biden lays at Barack Obama's feet the responsibility for Going into Ukraine. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

You got one side of the media that's utterly dishonest and nothing to see here. He said something mean about Trump on page 230, and then the other side of the media doesn't read Woodward, so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right. I thought that was really interesting, that that was Biden's response. He's a jackass. You know, he might be rewriting history in his own memory. I have no idea. But. But he portrayed it as he was pushing Barack Obama. We got to push back or Putin will think he can get away with anything. And that doesn't sound like Joe Biden to me. And his response afterwards, I don't know, but I thought that was interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah, I realized the irony of it, that the feckless, gutless Joe Biden is calling his boss Barry feckless and gutless. But the man who is fng, if you will, he's the last guy who wants a problem shoved down the road to him. You know what I mean? So that's, you know, if you were like a strong and decisive guy, you would say, yeah, Barack Obama's a coward and he F'd this up. And now I've got to deal with it. I'm going to deal with it. Well, and the difference being Biden says, yeah, I'm just gonna say, don't, don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

And to Joe Biden's credit, I mean, compared to Barack Obama, I mean, he was Eisenhower in terms of supplying Ukraine with an ability to push back because Barack Obama.

[Joe Getty]

Correct.

[Jack Armstrong]

Barack Obama did nothing. Got him into the chapter right now where we sent over CIA Director Burns to talk to Zelensky. This is right before the invasion happens, and sits down with him and says, look, it's going to happen like next week, and this is what they're going to do. And Zelensky doesn't believe it. And all the European, major European leaders don't believe it. Part of it is because we couldn't lay out all the information we had because we actually had a human being in the Kremlin. So that's where we were getting our info. So we couldn't, like, lay out how we know how we knew this, but we knew it was going to happen. And Zielinski was like, surely not. It can't. Or maybe, you know, his. His. He was hoping it couldn't be true because it's just horrifying. Burns said, they're going to roll in here and their first job is going to be to try to kill you. So what is your security situation like? They've got. They're going to come straight to Keev. It's going to take them like six hours. They're going to be sending out out special forces throughout the city hunting for you, trying to kill you. Can you imagine getting that information from the CI Director of the United States? Holy crap.

[Joe Getty]

I would say just completely overwhelming.

[Jack Armstrong]

As a former YouTube star who's now President of the country. Good Lord, that would be some info to get.

[Joe Getty]

I don't care. You might be the the most seasoned Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That would still be overwhelming. The Armstrong and Getty Show. Get more Jack, more Joe podcasts and our hot [e-mail].