The Gulf Of Armstrong & Getty

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "The Gulf Of Armstrong & Getty"

Release Date: January 8, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Produced by iHeartPodcasts

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I. National Security and Territorial Expansion

Discussion Overview:
Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into the strategic importance of Greenland and the Arctic region, proposing the annexation of Greenland and Canada. They argue that such moves would bolster national security by reducing the presence of Chinese and Russian ships in these critical areas.

Key Points:

• Annexing Greenland and Canada: The hosts suggest that incorporating these territories would enhance national security and address trade deficits with Canada. Jack Armstrong emphasizes, “Greenland and the Arctic in general is going to be of enormous... strategic significance in the next 50 years” [02:03].

• Renaming the Gulf of Mexico: They propose renaming it the "Gulf of America" to assert greater control over oil drilling and immigration issues. Jack states, “We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America” [00:46].

• Infrastructure Enhancements: Plans include “Gold plating” the Bahamas, turning them into premier tourist destinations [01:11].

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong: “We’re not letting that happen.” [00:36]
• Joe Getty: “All over the place.” [00:30]

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II. Political Philosophy and Cynicism

Discussion Overview:
The conversation transitions into a critique of political cynicism and the moral dilemmas faced by leaders. Armstrong and Getty explore how cynical attitudes towards government and leadership affect national morale and decision-making.

Key Points:

• Cynicism vs. Realism: Jack Armstrong contends that cynicism often stems from intellectual laziness, advocating for skepticism and realism instead. “I reject everything. I'm smarter than everyone.” [03:42].

• Moral Manipulation: Armstrong warns against morally inclined arguments used by corrupt individuals to mask malicious intent. He cites Hakeem Jeffries as an example of a leader using patriotic rhetoric despite questionable motives [05:49].

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty: “I’m pretty cynical about government.” [04:21]
• Jack Armstrong: “You’ve got to be aware that evil, cynical people use moral arguments because they know you are a moral person.” [06:35]

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III. Election Legitimacy and Party Politics

Discussion Overview:
Armstrong and Getty critically analyze the legitimacy of election processes and the impacts of partisan politics on governance. They reference tweets and statements by political figures to illustrate their skepticism.

Key Points:

• Election Denialism: The hosts discuss the prevalence of election denialism within the Republican Party, highlighting tweets from political figures that cast doubt on election integrity [08:18].

• Judiciary Influence: They express concern over the manipulation of the judiciary for political gains, referencing the appointment of Supreme Court justices and the undermining of legitimate governance [09:42].

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong: “He is an election denier extraordinaire.” [09:42]
• Joe Getty: “I got a Jimmy Carter nugget.” [25:38]

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IV. Government Efficiency and Federal Workforce

Discussion Overview:
The duo critiques the efficiency of the federal workforce, questioning the allocation of resources and the impact of sudden policy changes on businesses and everyday life.

Key Points:

• Federal Workforce Criticism: Armstrong and Getty express frustration over federal employees receiving time off for events like the passing of Jimmy Carter, arguing it reveals systemic inefficiencies [24:33].

• Small Business Impact: They highlight the detrimental effects of unexpected closures on small businesses, emphasizing the broader economic repercussions [25:11].

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong: “Imagine the CEO of Home Depot announced they’re closed next Thursday.” [25:11]
• Joe Getty: “I didn’t like his policies, but seemed like a nice guy.” [27:57]

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V. Transportation and Vehicle Safety

Discussion Overview:
The hosts discuss advancements and safety concerns in automotive technology, particularly focusing on Tesla's self-driving features and the installation of safety measures like bollards in urban areas.

Key Points:

• Tesla's Smart Summon Issues: They highlight the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's concerns regarding Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, which has been implicated in accidents due to detection failures [17:45].

• Urban Safety Measures: Armstrong underscores the importance of installing bollards to prevent vehicular attacks, criticizing the slow implementation of such safety measures in cities like New Orleans [19:33].

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty: “If I press the button for my Tesla to come to me and it backs into somebody.” [17:45]
• Jack Armstrong: “Until we have common sense truck control... we can expect more such deadly attacks.” [22:47]

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VI. Societal Changes and Cultural Criticism

Discussion Overview:
Armstrong and Getty critique the cultural and societal shifts that have taken place since the Jimmy Carter administration, particularly focusing on changes in masculinity, consumer behavior, and societal norms.

Key Points:

• Shift in Masculinity: They lament the decline of traditional masculinity and the rise of more androgynous cultural figures, associating it with a broader societal decay [28:52].

• Consumer Frustrations: The hosts express frustration with modern consumer practices, such as mandatory service charges in restaurants and inefficiencies in service industries [23:22].

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty: “Our cars were awful. I mean, just horrible pieces of crap starting like in the late 70s.” [28:10]
• Jack Armstrong: “I listen to music for other reasons, but to each their own.” [29:09]

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VII. Artificial Intelligence and Human Relationships

Discussion Overview:
The conversation shifts to the burgeoning relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on interactions with chatbots like ChatGPT and the societal implications thereof.

Key Points:

• Human-AI Relationships: Getty shares anecdotes about individuals forming emotional connections with ChatGPT, reflecting on the potential psychological and societal impacts [31:16].

• Future of AI: Armstrong anticipates exponential growth in AI capabilities, expressing concerns about its influence on future generations and societal structures [33:09].

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Getty: “They like, stand out against the other people and I don’t even know what it is.” [15:02]
• Jack Armstrong: “If you want to know who’s going to be running the world... look at who’s making babies.” [33:26]

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VIII. Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

Discussion Overview:
As the episode concludes, Armstrong and Getty share personal anecdotes and express concerns about societal trends, ultimately emphasizing the need for unity and resilience.

Key Points:

• Personal Anecdotes: The hosts share light-hearted moments, such as talking about pets and local events, to balance the heavier topics discussed [34:00].

• Call for Unity: They stress the importance of overcoming divisiveness and negativity to strengthen societal bonds [36:04].

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong: “We also need to be stronger together by overcoming an addiction to divisiveness and negativity.” [36:02]
• Joe Getty: “I hate that whole thing.” [23:22]

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Conclusions and Insights

Armstrong & Getty provide a critical examination of contemporary political and societal issues, blending humor with sharp commentary. Their discussions range from national security and governmental efficiency to cultural shifts and the rise of artificial intelligence, offering listeners a multifaceted perspective on current events. Notably, the hosts emphasize the importance of vigilance against political manipulation, advocate for strategic territorial expansions, and caution against the potential pitfalls of human-AI relationships. Their call for unity and resilience underscores a central theme: overcoming divisiveness is essential for societal progress and stability.

Overall Takeaway:
The episode serves as a potent mix of political critique, societal observation, and cultural commentary, urging listeners to remain informed, skeptical of manipulative rhetoric, and proactive in addressing the multifaceted challenges facing the nation.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• [00:36] Jack Armstrong: “We’re not letting that happen.”
• [02:03] Jack Armstrong: “Greenland and the Arctic in general is going to be of enormous... strategic significance in the next 50 years.”
• [05:49] Jack Armstrong: “That ought to disturb you if it doesn't.”
• [09:42] Jack Armstrong: “He is an election denier extraordinaire.”
• [17:45] Joe Getty: “If I press the button for my Tesla to come to me and it backs into somebody.”
• [22:47] Jack Armstrong: “Until we have common sense truck control... we can expect more such deadly attacks.”
• [28:52] Joe Getty: “Our cars were awful. I mean, just horrible pieces of crap starting like in the late 70s.”
• [33:26] Jack Armstrong: “If you want to know who’s going to be running the world... look at who’s making babies.”
• [36:02] Jack Armstrong: “We also need to be stronger together by overcoming an addiction to divisiveness and negativity.”

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Note: This summary is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the podcast episode for those who have not listened to it, capturing the essence of the discussions and key insights shared by the hosts.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. We need Greenland for national security purposes. You look outside, you have China ships.

[Joe Getty]

All over the place.

[Jack Armstrong]

You have Russian ships all over the place. We're not letting that happen.

[Joe Getty]

You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at.

[Jack Armstrong]

What that looks like. And it would also be much better for national security.

[Joe Getty]

We're spending hundreds of billions a year.

[Jack Armstrong]

To take care of Canada. We lose in trade deficits. We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, Gulf of America. Which, why, why didn't we do this a long time ago? That's the only thing I thought when he said, yeah, obviously we should call that the Gulf of America.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're going to plate the Bahamas in gold. Gold plated islands. There'll be many people are saying they'll be the most beautiful islands. So just to summarize, we're annexing Greenland and Canada and renaming the Gulf of Mexico. And I'm in favor of all three.

[Joe Getty]

So I heard a Greenland politician on NPR today talking about, yeah, we got Chinese ships right after our shore. They're surveilling us on a daily basis. And he was all for some sort of falling under the umbrella of the United States.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's absolutely necessary. We've talked about it a couple of times today, including at length, I think, during hour one. But yeah, Greenland and the Arctic in general is going to be of enormous. I mean, you can't even comprehend how enormous strategic significance in the next 50 years. And yeah, what is Denmark gonna defend the free trade around the world? No, we are. And so we've got to reevaluate our relationship with Greenland in what form that takes. Who knows?

[Joe Getty]

The deal with Grandmar Denmark is fairly recent. That's what this politician was talking about on NPR. I didn't know about that. I think 56 or something like that. How the hell did Denmark end up with Greenland?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, and we'd looked at buying it or something to that effect a couple of times and it just didn't go through. But it's not that crazy. I mean, it's 56,000 people. It's an enormous mass of land and frozen fresh water, mostly of again, incredible strategic importance. And it's not like we're gonna run roughshod in there and burn it like Sherman on his way to Atlanta or anything like that.

[Joe Getty]

I think we make it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or the sea, I guess.

[Joe Getty]

ATV park. That'd be awesome.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, Lord. Anyway, so more on that to come, I'm sure, in the days ahead. But as usual, Trump, he left it vague enough. It sounded kind of loopy, but when you dig into the details, pretty great. Canada is not going to become part of the United States. He's just dicking with them. Pardon me? He's trolling them as part of going into trade negotiations. The Gulf of America, though. You got me a hundred. What the hell is it? The Gulf of Mexico, Please. We surround it as much as they do. If there's oil drilling, we're doing it. Maybe you're not in favor of that, but if something goes wrong in the Gulf of Mexico, if there's a natural disaster, a hurricane, an oil spill, whatever, who cleans it up? The cartels? No, the United States government.

[Joe Getty]

Although, as we said yesterday, when you change the name of something like that, who do you call the map people? Or. I mean, it's the. What is the system for that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and what does that mean exactly? I mean, I could call it Jimmy the Gulf or the Gulf of Armstrong and Getty or whatever. What significance does that have?

[Joe Getty]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, okay. Anyway, so I don't. Like. I'm against cynicism in general because often it is laziness. It's. I reject everything. I'm smarter than everyone. Everything everybody says is stupid. I mean, that's like adolescent intellectual laziness. You gotta be skeptical. You gotta be a realist.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, but that. That was. You portrayed that as like an overall life philosophy. Obviously, that would be bad. I'm pretty. I'm pretty cynical about government. I mean, you're way ahead of me. I'm past skeptical into. My assumption is you're bad and a thief.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're already in Greenland ahead of the 101st Airborne, Jack. That's exactly what I was going to point out. And the. Oh, my God. I gave up the classified plans. They briefed me. I swore I wouldn't say anything, so. And I'm so sorry.

[Joe Getty]

So, got airborne rangers going to land in Greenland saying, now what am I supposed to do? There's nobody here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, they're sailing right now.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no.

[Jack Armstrong]

I did it again. Oh, I'm so sorry.

[Joe Getty]

Who am I supposed to fight? There's nobody here.

[Jack Armstrong]

One of the most telling, devastating, sickening parts of Mark Leibovich's brilliant book, this Town. We've talked about this more than once. But when he is talking to a couple of political consultants, heavyweight political guys, like campaign director type guys, as they're gonna do an appearance on a talk show and job with each other, argue with each other and call each other and the rest of it, and they're, they're good buddies. They're laughing and yucking it up in the green room. Then they're going to go off to the cocktail parties and the private schools and the, you know, rich parts of D.C. metro that they all live in. And one of them says, and this is the classic definition of a gaffe, he says, accidentally says the truth out loud. He says something to the effect of somebody's not in on the joke or they don't get the joke. And Leibovich has to try a couple of times to, to get them to admit what the joke is. And finally the guy says, the joke is that we're patriots.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, that is disturbing.

[Jack Armstrong]

That ought to disturb you if it doesn't. Well, again, you're already there, and I congratulate you for your realism. And so one of my missions, one of my many jihads, is to help people understand that while morality and decency and patriotism and all those things are really important, and I'm not saying cynical about them at all, you've got to be aware that evil, cynical people use moral arguments because they know you are a moral person, and they use those to win the day and then do evil things. And you've got to be aware of when people are doing that. It's, it's like the old saying, and it's been used about Islam around the world. When, and you know, to paraphrase it, when we're in the minority, we will shout about free expression because we don't have the power. When we have the power, because that's, that's your principles. When we have the power, we're going to suppress free expression because that's our principles. You've just got to understand that as people are hitting you with moral arguments. For instance, Hakeem Jeffries, very, very bright guys, the minority leader of the Senate of the House. Now, he took over from Nancy Pelosi, liberal from New York. But he was speaking on the House floor after the election of Mike Johnson as the speaker a couple of days ago. And he said, and I quote, two months ago, the American people elected Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States of America. And then they, they, the Republicans clapped. He said, thank you for that very generous applause, which is kind of funny, says it's okay. There are no election deniers on our side of the aisle. You see, one should love America. One should love America when you win and when you lose, that's the patriotic thing to do. And that's the America that House Democrats will fight hard to preserve because we love this country.

[Joe Getty]

That sounds good.

[Jack Armstrong]

I agree with every word he said. But. And it's such an interesting to me, moral dilemma, conundrum, thought provoking situation when you've got a gun drawn on a serial killer who's about to attack somebody and he says, whoa, murder is wrong. He's right. But you probably ought to shoot him.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. Where are you going with this with the Joaquin?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you've got somebody completely immoral expressing a moral argument that you agree with in order to get ahead. And what do you do? What do I do? Since I agree with every word Hakeem Jeffrey said. But I know what a hypocrite he is. To wit. March 22, 2017. And I quote, these happen to be tweets with legitimacy of Trump's presidential election in doubt. His lifetime appointment of the Supreme Court can wait. Filibuster. Gorsuch. Stop. Gorsuch. February 16, 2018. The more we learn about the 2016 election, the more illegitimate it becomes. America deserves to know whether we have a fake president in the Oval office. Russian interference. September 28, 2018. Lie more than any administration in the history of the public cheat 2016 election. Russian interference steal one or two Supreme Court seats. When will Republicans put country ahead of party? August 13, 2020. It's now clear the effort to destroy the post Office is part of a continuing conspiracy to steal the election from most corrupt administration in American history. I remember that entire crime family must be held accountable then. November 2020. History will never accept you as a legitimate president. 2014.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sorry, a funny twist on that. If I could go back in time. He wins again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. September of 21. Republicans hijacked the judiciary by stealing two Supreme Court seats. And now they want us to respect illegitimate decisions from these people. October of 22. Right wing extremists are publicly plotting to steal the next presidential election. And on and on. He is an election denier extraordinaire. He's one of the kings of it, making the moral argument to us that how dare you? You should never, ever do that. You can't be cynical enough about these people.

[Joe Getty]

No, you can't. No, you can't. And I took in a fair amount of information about the founding and the Constitution and stuff over the break. And I was having those thoughts. I mean, were they just a better class of people than us? Did our culture decay to an. To an extent where we can't have people that actually care more about the country than their party? Politicians have always been politicians. I don't know. I mean, the podcast I was listening to, for instance, one example of how quickly things can turn. I mean, we had the Bill of Rights and free speech being number one. And it was just a couple of years later that the sitting president and Congress passed a law outlawing saying anything.

[Jack Armstrong]

Bad about the country. Right. It was the Alien and Sedition Acts. One of the worst things that's ever passed in the country was the founding generation themselves.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So I don't know, maybe that's just a state of humanity.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's the seduction of power. Power makes you do perverse things. I think part of the answer to your question, and that was the exception, but I still think part of the answer is they, they were so close to overcoming the crisis of oppression by Britain and fighting for freedom than the articles of the Confederation falling apart. Anybody who was like openly power hungry and, and damaging the country. I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Lincoln. And one of the great Supreme Court justices said, look, if the Constitution doesn't live in the hearts of the people, there's no army, there's no laws, there's nothing that can save it. And if it does live in the hearts of the people, there's nothing that can end it. And we're at a point now where, especially in our political class, we are so rich and so comfortable and there's so much power and money at stake and we're so safe that that impulse of you dare not threaten the health of this country has given way to the opposite. Nobody cares about the health of the country. We're great. We'll always be great. Grab what you can.

[Joe Getty]

Right? There's going to be a lot of money passed through my hands or my area and I want to get.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm going to get mine. Yeah, like the Biden family. They got rich, got their 24 LLCs going, laundered the money, got away with it. Hell, the guy got elected to the White House. I am too.

[Joe Getty]

If you have any thoughts on that, because I wonder about that all the time. Is that just a different breed of people or has it always been this way? Text line 415295 KFTC ARMSTRONG and GETTY.

[Jack Armstrong]

A nutrition study analyzed the health benefits of various ultra processed foods and drinks and scientists have revealed that you lose 12 minutes of your life every time you drink a Coke. What? Explains why Coca Cola changed their slogan from taste the feeling to get your affairs in order.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, 12 minutes per Coke. So four of them and I've lost, you know, an hour practically. I guess I grew up and I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Have five minutes per cigarette. So if I wash down my. My cancer stick with a Coke. Wow, that's rough.

[Joe Getty]

I am trying to cut back on the ultra processed. Anything that comes in a plastic bag, I am, I'm making a definite effort to have less. Hey, Katie, I need you to do something because it's going to factor into the end of this little conversation. Will you get the Google definition or the dictionary definition of neurotic for me? Because I think that's what I am. I don't know if I'm neurot or a misanthrope. More one of the two. Anyway, so I was going to mention this. This is all leading to that. Didn't watch the Golden Globes the other night, but one of the biggest winners was the movie the Brutalist, which I don't even know if I'd ever heard of, but I won a whole bunch of dang awards. Do you know about the Brutalist or have you seen it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Just the headline.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

I had exactly the same reaction.

[Joe Getty]

Escaping post war Europe, a visionary architect comes to America to rebuild his life, his career and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, he settles in Pennsylvania where a wealthy and prominent industrialist recognizes his talent. It's all in the execution, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

So welcome to our country.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, all that sort of stuff. So it sounds like it's really, really good. Denzel Washington ended up losing. He set some sort of record by being nominated for a certain number of times for his role in Gladiator 2, which I have seen and I saw with my kids over the break. Henry and I watched the first Gladiator, which I'd forgotten how great it is. And it is now in my top, certainly my top five all time movies. What an amazing movie that is. But Gladiator 2, not as good in a whole bunch of different ways. Denzel Washington was fantastic. The really great actors, they like, stand out against the other people and I don't even know what it is.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would agree. And it's amazing. Particularly that doesn't mean I want to hear their opinion about anything other than acting.

[Joe Getty]

Although I would agree with most of what Denzel Washington has to say.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. Well, a lot of movie acting is so weird because it's just you and the camera, and it's just. You're not reacting to people, just. Anyway, but it's an art form.

[Joe Getty]

Certainly. Yeah, but here's what happened. Going to the theater. Well, what's a neurotic? Tell me what a neurotic is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you would. You would have something called neurosis, which is a mental condition that is not.

[Joe Getty]

Caused by organic disease involving symptoms of.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stress, depression or anxiety, but also not a radical loss of touch with reality. The way I always heard it described in psych class was that if you're a psychotic, you're. You do not perceive reality as it is. If you're neurotic, you perceive it correctly, but you come to the wrong conclusions.

[Joe Getty]

And I don't think that's what I am. I'm a misanthrope. I hate all humanity. Maybe that's it. But anyway, so for this movie theater, you had to, like, have book your seats ahead of time or whatever. Okay, fine. We get to the movie theater and there's nobody there. It's literally empty. We go in, we sit down. Shortly before the movie starts, you know where I'm going here? Three people come in in an empty movie theater and walk in and sit right in front of us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my Lord.

[Joe Getty]

So I wanted to ask the guy if we could go outside not to fight him, but to interview him, because I want to know more about his life. I want to know, what do you do for a living? Are you married? Do you pay taxes? What other views do you have that makes you so freaking insane that in an empty movie theater you would sit right in front of the only people in there?

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, yeah, I'm the same. First I would be just insane with annoyance, then I would think, I want to know more.

[Joe Getty]

Right. What the hell goes on in your mind that you did that? And it makes me crazy. I mean, it makes me more crazy that he exists and wondering about him than the fact he was sitting right in front of me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nothing spitballs in the back of the neck can't cure. The technology is head turning, allowing your car to come to you from anywhere in the parking lot through Tesla's phone app and the touch of a button, no driver inside. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is raising concerns about the actually smart summon feature in an estimated 2 1/2 million Teslas, saying it is launching a probe over reported problems of failing to detect posts or parked vehicles, resulting in a crash and the operator not having enough time to react.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that would suck. If I press the button for my Tesla to come to me and it backs into somebody. Now that has changed my afternoon. First of all, there are, what do you say, 2 million Teslas in the whole country. That's a tiny number even with it being the most popular electric car out there. The new software update on the self driving. Really good. Smoother than it's ever been. But somehow I got it on an old lady setting. Today I was coming to work. It's like, what? How slow are we gonna go? How much? How many car lengths do we need to leave here, you old lady. I got to change it. Or it was a student driver with the teacher with them. That's what it was driving like.

[Jack Armstrong]

Currently taking driving tests.

[Joe Getty]

I need to set up for aggressive man on the way to work. That's what it needs to be said at.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it's a grudge against humanity.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, exactly. The car thing reminded me a term I heard yesterday. You're going to want to know this. You know how put a pin in it has been big for a while. If you're in your boardroom setting or whatever, you got to talk the lingo. We're going to park the car on that and come back to it later. I guess that's a thing now. Parking the car.

[Jack Armstrong]

Too many metaphors.

[Joe Getty]

No longer putting a pin in. We're going to park that car. We'll come back to it. So if you want to sound cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sounds annoying.

[Joe Getty]

I know.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want to sound. They're all, I don't want to be in the meeting. I don't want any of it. Hey, speaking of cars, though, I wanted to get this on and this is getting no attention. I'm glad CBS News touched on it. But the FBI, who has currently covered itself in In Glory and others had been telling the city of New Orleans for years, you have got to put up the bollards, those stout columns that stop people from driving vehicles up on sidewalks. Washington D.C. is full of them.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're riding those scooters around to go everywhere last week. But you have to weave in and out of those things because they're. They're in a building in at least the touristy part of Washington D.C. that doesn't have those on every sidewalk.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? But a 2017 report by the city of New Orleans identified Bourbon street as a potential terrorism target, citing FBI warning. Excuse me. And. And they installed some. But over and over again they've been told, you've got to do this. And the local and state government, really, it's the city and county that are in charge of it have been terribly, terribly slow about it, have ignored the recommendations, have had money, not spent it.

[Joe Getty]

I haven't been.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then all those people got run down.

[Joe Getty]

I haven't been to Bourbon street in years. One of the great party districts in the world. But I had two people after that attack say, yeah, the last time I was at Bourbon Street, I thought, wow, they don't have any of those polls here. I'm not sure I would have noticed that. It's not sort of thing that's on my radar. But two different people said that they had been there and thought, wow, they don't have any of those polls here that stop me.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wouldn't have noticed that either, I don't think. And it's a damn shame that anybody ever does think that, but we live in the world.

[Joe Getty]

Well, going further down, that conversation has listened to a podcast about this, and it's clearly true. And whenever you have these conversations, you get accused of giving terrorists ideas. But I have a feeling they're pretty good at it on their own. If you're going to start using cars as weapons, man, there's. There's no. There's no stopping that. You could have a coordinated drive through school parking lots attack in 20 different cities this afternoon if you wanted to, and there's nothing. There's no way you could ever stop all the things or every local parade or. Or fair or wedding or. I mean, just there are endless gathered crowds. Is my point. That you could drive a car through anytime. There's no stopping that. What stops it is. Thank God. Hardly anybody is murderous. Thank God, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

It's murderous intent. That's what changed in society, not guns. Although there are a hell of a lot of guns. But I got this note from Todd that I enjoyed. I think he will, too. Guys, you're absolutely right that the choice of vehicle for the New Orleans terrorist attack was not random. That's weird. The FBI said immediately after the attack, this is not a terrorist incident. Incident. How odd. Anyway, the use of the vehicle was not random. It was indeed no ordinary truck. It was a Ford F150 Lightning, a fully automatic electric assault truck that delivers twice the kinetic force of an ordinary civilian truck. It has as much mass and makes as much power as military trucks designed for the battlefield in states like Texas. You can rent these trucks without any kind of background check or waiting period, just like the terrorists did. I was surprised, said witness Dan McPhee. I was surprised that vehicle was able to get as far as it did. That's because he's thinking of ordinary vehicles, not military grade assault trucks. Until we have common sense truck control. Until we prioritize people's safety instead of appeasing the powerful truck lobby, we can expect more such deadly attacks.

[Joe Getty]

Right? I think parody, sir. I get the parody there. It is something that these electric vehicles like my sedan, weighs as much as a big SUV and has a thousand horsepower. I mean if you're going to want to ram a crowd from a short distance, that's a vehicle for it. He made the right choice.

[Jack Armstrong]

A couple other follow ups via email. Polly went to the French Laundry not long ago and the server came up and said, hey, there's a 20% service charge already. So the tip is taken care of.

[Joe Getty]

Because I had this discussion. I was at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Washington D.C. it had the 20% charge on there and I asked the question, do you tip on not? I've spent a fair amount of time googling this. There is no agreement on this whatsoever among people who work at restaurants, don't work at restaurants. People that are regular goers to nice restaurants. Now by law, if it says we've added a 20% gratuity, they have to share that with the people. But if it just says 20 service charge, that might just go to the restaurant in some cases. And you got to tip on top of that. Obviously, if that's going to the restaurant and I tip 20% on top of it, you've added 40% to my meal and I ain't eating here under any circumstances. I don't care how good your food is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Unless you're going to serve me a steak for $11, then go ahead and heap another 40% on top of that. But that is not happening.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

On another topic, the Jack you were railing yesterday about Biden on a week's notice giving the entire federal workforce Thursday off to mourn the passing of Jimmy Carter, who's God bless him, been in heaven's waiting room for now several years.

[Joe Getty]

I know he can't explain anything at this point, but a younger Joe Biden explain to me why federal workers get the day off and taxpayers go to work to honor Jimmy Carter. I mean, what, what's the theory behind that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, two notes on that. Number one, Kevin from Placerville with a great point. Hey, big Freedom Simple Jack, you discussed Biden's rather my issue with it isn't the cost is we'll be paying for those workers whether they're at work or not. No, my issues, my issue is with what this action reveals about what Those workers were doing such that a pop up holiday like this even makes sense or is even possible. Imagine your local mom and pop small business learning all their workers would be out sick one day next week.

[Joe Getty]

No way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, major financial hardship. Losing even one day's revenue in a month could put them under. Even for a larger business, it would be an issue. Imagine the CEO of Home Depot announced they'll be closed next Thursday. That the CEO is fired by the board before the end of the day Friday. You see the point? And you won't be able to make any. You won't be able to see any difference in all in what the federal government accomplishes. Isn't that revealing? Doge can't come soon enough.

[Joe Getty]

I got a Jimmy card Carter nugget. I will park the car and get back to here in a little bit.

[Jack Armstrong]

Stop saying that. And then Rich in Groton, Connecticut says, can you let Jack know that if he wants to take Thursday off for morning the President, he has my permission. Last time I checked, you guys aren't hourly and you're not going to get docked if you miss Thursday from the radio ranch. True. Then he says, meanwhile, I'm going to let some members of my crew off. But seeing how I work in a field in which we rotate a third of the crew to be on watch 24 7, 365, I can only do so much. He is in a military type profession. Then he says, and I don't this is okay, I agree with you guys. The federal government's too bloated. People get away with essentially doing nothing. When you go on your rants about all the time off we get, the military hears you. And for me, I'm listening to two guys complaining about how cold or hot it is in the studio, hidden behind the veneer of a microphone and ragging about how much time I get off. I'll remember that next time I'm deployed over Christmas or have to help my buddy because he just missed the birth of his child overseas.

[Joe Getty]

I don't think when we talk about federal employees working, we're talking about the military. That's not what's in my mind. Yeah, somebody sitting at a desk who's doing nothing of any good whatsoever.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Rich, I will tell you this, my friend. First of all, you're right. I mean in what you're saying and certainly saying about the military. But if you think when we rail against government workers, we're talking about active duty military, you don't know us very well.

[Joe Getty]

That's not what anybody's Talking about.

[Jack Armstrong]

When they talk about, oh, no, Rich, come on, buddy. And then I went to the trouble of looking it up. When you include state and county governments and there are 24 million government workers in the United States. 24 million. There are 1.3 million active duty military. When we say government workers, we're not talking about freaking active duty military. Obviously, that is a category all its own. And I will take off my glove and slap you on both sides of your face for daring to suggest otherwise. I agree with you, but come on, that's just hurtful, dude.

[Joe Getty]

So I'm not a hater of Jimmy Carter. I didn't like his policies, but seemed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like a nice guy, incredibly misguided, and he really interfered with American foreign policy. Post office, someday I'll bore you with the details, but it was way out of line. Way, way, way out of line.

[Joe Getty]

Really a low point for our country, though, that period having. I would live through it as a child, just so much about it. So you had Nixon and Watergate. So that was, you know, obviously rough to find out your president could do that sort of stuff. And then whatever was going on in the nation that Jimmy Carter kind of symbolized, it was the beginning of men being wusses. Became very popular for, like, your actors, singers to be very wussy, androgynous, feminine types. And if you're not old enough, you don't know that this is when it really started.

[Jack Armstrong]

A lot of this and traditional masculinity was shamed, which is the other side of that coin.

[Joe Getty]

Singers, actors, that sort of stuff got very feminine. There's so much like soft rock that was like the limpest most. There's no way you could possibly ever get an erection listening to those songs. I mean, it was just so. It just sucked the man.

[Jack Armstrong]

I listen to music for other reasons, but to each their own.

[Joe Getty]

Our, our. Our cars were awful. I mean, just horrible pieces of crap starting like in the late 70s. And then Jimmy Carter gave his famous malaise speech, they call it, even though he never used the word malaise, but the country was in a malaise. And he's. He sat there and talked about turning your thermostat up and sitting in a cold house in the. In the winter, in a hot house in the summer and pay lower bills. And the actual term that he used was the age of limits and how we all need to have more limits on the various things that we do. And when it was really a, hey, the good times are over. Yeah, we all have to live kind of sad lives from Here on out speech. Actually watch the speech the day after he died to revisit it. And just how did we get that far off track? Just. Just in kind of just. We lost our mojo as a country. Did that happen again under Biden is one of my questions. May. It may have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Was heading in that direction, I would agree. I mean, in the wake of Vietnam and then Watergate and race riots and assassinations and crappy economy, the Arab oil embargo, the gas crisis, rampant inflation, we were down and out. We were, you know, we were sleeping outside the bus station, living rough as a country.

[Joe Getty]

One of the museums in D.C. at the Smithsonian, they had a pict of Carter with the 55 mile an hour sign there. He was smiling. The age of limits. We're only going to drive 55 miles an hour on interstates. And they had one of the old speedometers from cars back then. The speedometers back then only went up to 85 to try and encourage you to drive slower. I mean, just.

[Jack Armstrong]

What a federal mandate.

[Joe Getty]

I hate that whole thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and again, Carter's leadership style, which Jack can attest to having watched the speech, was, yes, things are crappy. They will be crappy. We're crappy. I'm crappy. Let's all be crappy. And then Reagan came along. He's like, no way. Hey, we're a great country. Let's turn this bitch around. And you know what? The bitch was turned.

[Joe Getty]

That's the famous turn this bitch around speech that we've all heard. We will finish strong.

[Jack Armstrong]

Next, Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

We're talking to Ian Bremmer tomorrow after the show. And Ian Bremmer puts out his risks lists every year, and we always enjoy talking about it. Was it last year or the year before that? One of his risks slash predictions was the explosion of AI. I don't know if he feels like that came true or not, but it is going to in the future. Anyway, it reminds me, I heard from somebody yesterday. I wish I didn't have to be this vague. I wish, I wish I could have. I wish I could play the video they sent me or have them on the air to describe this. It was someone with a group of men who apparently are single, talking about how much they like the chat. GPT female relationships in completely sincere tones. I mean, then this person was blown away. Like, they called to tell me about it. I just got out of a meeting. It's unbelievable. Like really regular salt of the earth people, too. Not talking about. We're talking about. I. I got to be so vague, but like, very, very normal crowd. Yeah. And who were super into the chat GPT. Oh, the voice is so soothing. And, you know, they're always there for me and we have conversations and, And, And. And I miss them when we're. When we. When we don't talk and I can't wait to get home and, you know, have another conversation and all that sort of stuff. And they were just blown away by the. By. By the fact that there was a. There was a group of them in. In. In not the kind of world I would have expected it would latch onto.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I. I think we're. We're tracking with you.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

And whatever it is now, it's gonna be a thousand times better by June, quote, unquote better.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure. Yeah. More effective. I. I certainly care about the future because I have kids and, and someday grandkids, I think. But it. I hope. But if you want to know who's going to be running the world not in 20 years, but in like 100 years, don't look at who's got bombs. Look at who's making babies.

[Joe Getty]

Oh.

[Jack Armstrong]

And those people will run the world.

[Joe Getty]

In terms of the culture.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well. And just running the world. That's who will be on the world. People who have babies.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And people who are getting with porn and chat GPT aren't having babies.

[Joe Getty]

They are not. And. And that's. That's gonna. That's. That's going the wrong way, no doubt. Check your clock.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's time to stop Jack and Joe.

[Joe Getty]

They've gotta go.

[Jack Armstrong]

And if they don't, you can. They'll be back tomorrow.

[Joe Getty]

Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap up the show for the day. There he is, our technical director to lead us off. Michelangelo. Michael. I am the luckiest guy in the world. One of our cats has now got a habit of when I. As soon as I wake up, he meows, lays down, and lets me rub his belly. Purrs. Pets, it is the greatest way to start your day. It's the very first thing I do each morning.

[Joe Getty]

Fantastic. I had no idea where that sentence was going.

[Jack Armstrong]

Afraid there's gonna be peanut butter involved.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not a cat. Katie Green has a final thought for us if she can recover. Katie, I'm gonna recover and just say.

[Joe Getty]

I'm very grateful for all of our firefighters handling this situation in Southern California.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Hope you guys are safe. Jack, a final thought.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I was thinking about that whole thing with people getting into relationships with chat GPT people. I feel like I want to try, but I'm almost scared to because just to learn about it. What if, if I like it? What if I try it and like it? Think, you know what? This is kind of scratching me where I'm itching and it's, you know, it ain't gonna cost me anything.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh boy. Speaking of babies and that sort of thing, Most dangerous thing to be in the world is the world's oldest person. Tamika Atuka died last Sunday at the age of 116. Japanese woman born in May of 08. Lived through 21American presidencies. She was married for for 51 years and a widow for 45.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Who's killing the oldest people in the world off because they always die. Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Jack Armstrong]

So many people to thanks a little time go To Armstrong and getty.com pick up some a G swag, drop us notes. There's something we ought to be talking about. Send it along. [e-mail] the Hot Links are hotter than ever.

[Joe Getty]

World keeps spinning. We'll have plenty of news for you tomorrow. God bless America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. The country is on edge.

[Joe Getty]

I mean if anyone think that's bonkers.

[Jack Armstrong]

It'S like, well, lighten up Francis.

[Joe Getty]

It's true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you?

[Joe Getty]

Yup.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you know, we really need to.

[Joe Getty]

Pace ourselves if we're going to freak out.

[Jack Armstrong]

We also need to be stronger together by overcoming an addiction to divisiveness and negativity. Shut up. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. On that high note, the chair declares this joint session dissolved. Thank you. Bye bye. Armstrong and Gettysburg.