You Still Know It's A Computer, Right?

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: You Still Know It's A Computer, Right?
Date: October 24, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Notable Guest: Anastasia Bowden, Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation

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Episode Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty is a lively mix of pop culture, politics, law, and technology, delivered with the show's signature irreverence and humor. Jack and Joe, alongside frequent contributors Katie and Anastasia Bowden, discuss everything from tabloid rumors about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, to the controversy surrounding a Senate candidate’s Nazi tattoo, to Charles Murray’s spiritual journey. The episode’s central throughline is the human (and legal) complexity at the intersection of culture, belief, and technology—culminating in Jack’s musings on AI’s attempts at human-like conversation, which inspires the episode’s title.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pop Culture & Tabloid Musings

(00:14–01:36)

• The episode opens with jokes about NFL star Travis Kelce's investment in Six Flags, rumors about Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship, and tongue-in-cheek speculation about tabloid hoaxes.
  • Jack Armstrong: “When are Travis and Taylor getting married? … Surely after the football season.”
  • Katie: “The Internet was taken by a hoax… Travis and Taylor are apparently booting some other couple out of the wedding venue for the one that they want.”

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2. Political Money & Party Dynamics

(02:01–03:39)

• Katie reports that major Democratic donors declined invitations to a Kamala Harris-headlined fundraiser, with colorful rejections and demands for substantive policy before more donations.
• Discussion shifts to which factions are gaining ground in terms of donations—progressives like AOC and Ro Khanna versus establishment Democrats.

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3. Senate Candidate Tattoo Scandal

(03:42–08:42)

• The hosts dig into the controversy around Graham Platner, a Maine Senate candidate sporting a large Nazi “Totenkopf” tattoo.
  • Jack Armstrong (03:48): “I just… I figured it was smaller. It’s pretty dang big.”
  • Katie (04:31): “This guy has the down to earth working class white guy look the Democratic Party is desperate to have… But the more everybody finds out about this guy, the more loathsome he appears.”
• Platner’s background: attended an expensive Connecticut boarding school, associated with far-left organizations, and espouses radical positions like abolishing prisons and “all cops are bastards.”
• The tattoo’s awkward coverup (now a “morbidly obese Celtic wolf”).
  • Katie (06:57): “That’s the trouble with altering tattoos. It doesn’t always go that well.”

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4. The Question of Belief: Charles Murray’s Spiritual Journey

(09:13–16:02)

• Jack introduces Charles Murray’s new book, Taking Religion Seriously, chronicling Murray’s intellectual and personal journey to Christianity.
  • Jack (11:19): “He’s got this new book out because he has become not only a believer in God, but a full on Christian. And he tells the story in this book.”
  • Murray’s thesis: there are “types” of intelligence; being able to perceive God may be akin to musical or emotional intelligence.
    • Jack (13:24): “He believes that there’s a similar sort of thing for God. Some people are able to feel it, perceive it much more easily, and some… are tone deaf to God.”
  • The book is described as highly readable and relevant to smart, successful, “typically secular” people.
    • Katie (15:44): “I’m just super fascinated with the idea that perceiving God is a talent, if you will, or a form of intelligence or perception.”

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5. AI, Chatbots, and Human Cues

(16:02–17:58)

• Jack discusses asking his AI assistant, “Grok,” if it believes in God, reflecting on AI’s tendency to mirror user beliefs.
  • Jack (16:49): “It’s weird though… that she quite possibly went with, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s got to be something else out there’ when she’s perceived that that’s my belief.”
  • Katie (17:10): “Just going to see how far to the end of the leash you’ve got. You still remember this is not a real person, right?”

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6. Supreme Court Watch with Anastasia Bowden

(19:21–27:03)

• Gun Rights Case: The Supreme Court is considering rights of people with drug use histories to possess firearms.
  • Joe Getty (19:58): “They’ve granted their second gun rights case of the term… doubly controversial because it has to do with guns and possession by people who are on drugs.”
  • Debate over whether being a “drunkard” or addict should negate certain constitutional rights.
    • Jack (21:32): “I don’t lose my right to peacefully assemble because I’m a drug addict… What other rights do I lose because of that sort of thing?”
• Insurrection Act & National Guard:
  • Ongoing court cases about presidential powers to deploy the National Guard in states during unrest.
  • Contrasts between rulings in Chicago vs. Portland based on perceptions of local violence.
• Presidential Tariffs:
  • Court to consider whether the President has undue unilateral power to impose tariffs.
    • Joe Getty (25:22): “That’s traditionally Congress’s job… And yet he’s invoking these statutes that are pretty wishy-washy and broad.”
  • Discussion of executive overreach in both the Trump and Biden administrations.

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7. Canada–US Tensions Around the World Series

(28:23–31:20)

• North American sports rivalry gets amped up amidst diplomatic tensions; hosts predict Canadian fans will boo the US anthem at the World Series in Toronto.
  • Jack (28:46): “I think… you’re not gonna be able to hear a note. It’s gonna be deafening booing of the US national anthem… which is kind of interesting.”
  • Fun with Canadian stereotypes and puns:
    • Katie (31:04): “If excuses were mooses, the whole world would be Canada.”

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8. Tech & Product Oddities: Shoes, Scooters, and AI Memes

(33:30–35:26)

• Nike’s soon-to-release “robot shoe” with powered assist prompts philosophical musing.
  • Jack (33:56): “What’s the point of running a faster mile with the help of a motorized shoe… unless you’re running from bears?”
  • Discussion of e-bikes and scooters for exercise or convenience.
    • Katie (35:26): “This is going to end up with a concussion, please.”

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9. NBA Gambling Scandal & Sports Integrity

(36:29–38:15)

• Conversation about game-fixing, gambling scandals, and their existential threat to pro sports.
  • Katie (36:59): “This is DEFCON 1. This is nuclear league holocaust.”
  • Firm belief that perceived lack of integrity could doom an entire sport.
  • Reference to suspicious NBA game footage:
    • Jack (37:41): “He’s coming up 10ft short on shots… It’s pretty hard… to imagine why he’d make that pass.”

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10. Humor, AI Video Memes, & Closing

(38:15–39:31)

• Jack shares about surreal/funny AI-generated videos on SORA, including a Maury Povich-Style “You are not the father” video featuring Stephen Hawking.
  • Jack (39:16): “He throws off his neck brace, stands up from his chair, dances a little, runs off. It was an act all along.”
• Closing reminder to catch the next hour via podcast.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Katie (03:08): “Want to know who is winning the Democrat civil war? Follow the money.”
• Katie (06:57): “Platner’s new tattoo depicts what might be charitably described as a morbidly obese Celtic wolf drawn by a six year old child.”
• Jack (13:24): “[Murray] believes that there’s similar sort of thing for God. Some people are just able to feel it… some people are tone deaf to God.”
• Katie (15:44): “Fascinated with the idea that perceiving God is a talent.”
• Jack (17:44): “You’re going to ask me once a week: you still remember this is a computer, right?”
• Anastasia Bowden (19:53): “No oral arguments, but they're still working hard. And as you said, they've granted their second gun rights case of the term, which is kind of remarkable.”
• Jack (28:46): “We've never had this level of animosity between Canada and the United States before.”
• Katie (31:04): “If excuses were mooses, the whole world would be Canada.”
• Jack (33:56): “What’s the point of running a faster mile with the help of a motorized shoe… unless you're running… from bears?”
• Katie (36:59): “This is DEFCON 1. This is nuclear league holocaust.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce Rumors: 00:14–01:36
• Democratic Fundraising Troubles: 02:01–03:39
• Senate Candidate Tattoo Scandal: 03:42–08:42
• Charles Murray’s Book on Religion: 09:13–16:02
• AI’s God Conversation: 16:02–17:58
• SCOTUS Upcoming Cases with Anastasia Bowden: 19:21–27:03
• Canada vs. US World Series Tensions: 28:23–31:20
• Nike Robot Shoe & Tech Oddities: 33:30–35:26
• NBA Gambling Scandal: 36:29–38:15
• AI Meme Humor: 38:15–39:31

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Final Thoughts

The episode expertly weaves high-profile news, legal debates, and philosophical musings, all wrapped in a witty, conversational style. Jack and Joe’s banter, Katie’s sharp asides, and contributions from Anastasia Bowden make this a richly entertaining listen—accessible even for those unfamiliar with the week's headlines. Even as the hosts circle cosmic questions of belief and the boundaries of technology, they never lose their down-to-earth, skeptical, sometimes zany tone: “You still remember this is a computer, right?”

For more details, subscribe to Armstrong & Getty On Demand.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live.

[Jack Armstrong]

From the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at.

[Joe Getty]

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

[Katie]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Group of investors that includes Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce announced this week that it has purchased shares of Six Flags and wants to push the company to improve its amusement parks. Said Kelsey. Hear me out. Seven Flags.

[Jack Armstrong]

Didn'T have my microphone. When are Travis and Taylor getting married? Do we know anything about that? After the football season. Surely after the football season he can't have a. I don't.

[Katie]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then was there an announcement over the weekend that she's pregnant? Did that turn out to be true or not?

[Katie]

I don't know that either. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

You don't even know if Taylor Swift's pregnant or not. Do you know, Katie, did you hear that?

[Katie]

I saw one report.

[Jack Armstrong]

It must not be true or I would. We would have all heard it by now.

[Katie]

Yeah. That the Internet was taken by a hoax. And then I also saw another report that Travis and Taylor are apparently booting some other couple out of the wedding venue for the one that they want on the date that they want.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't doubt that that sounds like.

[Katie]

Exactly the sort of story that would be printed, whether it's true or not. Exactly. Or whatever. Tabloid stuff. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gotta take a crib back to Costco. Coming up. I started in on a book last night. One of the greatest social scientists of the last half century writing a book about how he came to be Christian recently. Charles Murray, who we've had on the air before and talked about a lot. It's really interesting. So I'll talk about that next segment.

[Katie]

Yes, indeed. Looking forward to that. And then at the bottom of the hour, we'll be talking to a fabulous person from the Pacific Legal foundation about what the Supreme Court is up to as they are still in session. A couple of political notes real quickly. I thought this was kind of amusing. Major Democratic donors turned down the DNC's requests to hold a fundraiser in San Francisco hosted and headlined by Vice former Vice President Kamala Harris. Michael, I meant to ask you to get your favorite Kamala clip ready. Most of the donors rejected the request upon receiving the invitation. One donor replied with a profanity laced rejection. Others said they didn't want to give the party money.

[Jack Armstrong]

That would be known as F. No profanity.

[Katie]

Lace. That would be the F. No is. Is one profanity. Apparently there are quite a few. Others said they didn't want to give the party money until it produced, produces substantive plans to win. Win elections. Those who declined told the national party they had commitments and couldn't make it work.

[Jack Armstrong]

Blah, blah, blah.

[Katie]

Not that shocking. Who would go to that? Uh, and then this from Gabe Kaminsky in the Free Press. Want to know who is winning the Democrat civil war? Follow the money. Big name progressives like AOC Ro Khanna, you know the list. Jasmine Crockett, they are raking in the money. Your moderates, your old schools, your Chuck Schumer types. Not at all. And where the money flows, the politics flow.

[Jack Armstrong]

All important. I want to hear about the Nazi tattoo.

[Katie]

Okay. All right. Jack is impatient for the Nazi tattoo.

[Jack Armstrong]

I love this story.

[Katie]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just, I guess partially is because I just saw the picture for the first time. I figured it was smaller. It's pretty dang big tattoo on his chest.

[Katie]

Yeah, this, this character, Graham Platner, he's a socialist. He's like, like Zoram Mandani. He's part of the Democratic Socialists of America party. Whatever. Odd dude. He was a Marine turned lobsterman or oysterman, I think, in Maine. Got the beard, got the rugged look. Don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's got the order. Don't order oysters if you're thinking of lobster. Very different things. Oh, yeah.

[Katie]

Very, very different dish. Anyway, this guy has the down to earth working class white guy look that.

[Jack Armstrong]

The Democratic Party is desperate to have.

[Katie]

Because they're losing the white working class in particular, not to mention every other working class, because they're the party of elitist Ivy League university women. Anyway, so this guy, he looks great. And he announced he's going to run for Senate. And like Beto o' Rourke character, everybody fawned over him, pronounced him the new hope and blah, blah, blah. But the more everybody finds out about this guy, the more loathsome he appears. Including the fact that he has a Totenkop or a death's head tattoo, a big one on his chest. It was adopted by Holocaust perpetrators during World War II. The guy specifically involved in the Holocaust. Now, he claimed earlier, not long ago that. Nah, I was in the Marines. We were drunk. We just wanted to get a tough looking tattoo, skull and crossbones, that sort of thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, my. My uncle was a Marine. He had a bulldog with a bones crossed it sort of thing. Wearing a helmet and a spiked collar or something like that. Yeah, something Marines do.

[Katie]

Right. But acquaintances of this guy have said no, he told us exactly what it was. He knew exactly what it was. He's had it for years, and he was proud of it. So you got that again because he was a conservative. If he was a Republican, it would be on the front page of every paper in America. Every politician, every Republican who went to so much as a ribbon cutting at a new Little League field would be asked to disavow this guy. But as it is, you might not have heard the story.

[Jack Armstrong]

True. But unless he's an idiot, he must not think it's tied into Nazi belief or you wouldn't. I mean, every. Every day when you shaved in the mirror, you'd be looking at your big, giant tattoo thinking, you know, if I want to be a senator, I probably don't. Probably shouldn't have this.

[Katie]

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know this. There are two more angles to this worth mentioning. Number one, and I think I'm quoting Andrew Stiles here in the Free Beacon. Graham Platner, the bearded socialist running for US Senate in Maine, has unveiled the new tattoo he got to cover up, the Nazi skull on his chest in place of the Totenkopf. Platner's new tattoo depicts what might be charitably described. Charitably described as a morbidly obese Celtic wolf drawn by a six year old child.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's the trouble with altering tattoos. It doesn't always go that well.

[Katie]

It looks like, yeah, morbidly obese, or the. I'm sorry, Celtic wolf is pregnant with quadruplets or something. It's really absurd. Practically hilarious. But again, the more it comes out about this guy, the more loathsome he. He appears.

[Jack Armstrong]

Does he have what these are actual, like, positions as opposed to tattoos? Because one of the problems with your tattoos and these sorts of things is like the Nazis, they took some of their imagery from other cultures and historical things, and maybe you like the original version or, or you think it looks cool and you don't have any Nazi belief. Ah, that sort of stuff. I never know what to but.

[Katie]

Right. But this guy, one more personal note before we get to some of the things he's espoused. He's really worked hard to pass himself off as the working class Mainer. That's how he describes himself. He attended for school, an elite boarding school in Connecticut that costs upwards of $75,000 a year.

[Annastasia Bowden]

Whoa.

[Katie]

Its alumni include Supreme Court justices, CIA directors, Chris Wallace, the veteran news anchor.

[Jack Armstrong]

You went to a $75,000 a year school as the working class Mainer guy.

[Katie]

Okay, yeah, yeah. Let's see. He's also a member of the same group, the socialist rifle association, whose members, according to prosecutors, were involved in the July 4th attack on ice, which brought terrorism charges in a series of bombings of Tesla. He, like his fellow Democratic Socialists of America, believe in emptying the prisons, opening the borders. All cops are bastards. The rest of it he's mum Donnie with a blonde beard.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although I do remember saying this sort of stuff about Fetterman and then he got elected and turned out. I agree with a whole bunch of stuff. He thinks after his stroke, you think that. You think that's what it is. You think he had a stroke and it like changed his worldview?

[Katie]

I think that was part of it. Interesting how much of it only he could tell you, if indeed he could tell you. But yeah, I think that probably whether it was neurologically or psychologically, I think it changed him in some way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Want to talk a little bit about God? Going to ask you all, do you believe or not and why? The Bible and that's the question. Need a full answer on that. Do you believe or not and why? That's the wow.

[Katie]

What if I don't choose to address that because you demand it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Because of this book I got into last night. It's really, really interesting stuff I think everybody will like.

[Joe Getty]

That's coming up Armstrong and Getty.

[Annastasia Bowden]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Interesting timing for this new book. If it turns out to be true that churches are filling with people re interested in religion or baptisms are way up or all these various stories that we've heard over the last couple of weeks or months. Guy named Charles Murray with a new book out called Taking Religion Seriously. We've had Charles Murray on a number of times over the years. He's Most famous for his book the Bell Curve or Coming Apart, Jonah Goldberg called him the most important social scientist in America of the last half century for a lot of things that he's done and written. He's one of the most famous, one.

[Katie]

Of the rare ones who will tell the truth no matter who likes it or not.

[Jack Armstrong]

One of the most famous libertarians in the world also. But he's got this new book out because he has become not only a believer in God, but a full on Christian. And he tells the story in this book. I was actually listening to an interview with him and I started into the book last night. He grew up kind of going to church but not really thinking that much about it. Then he went to Harvard and realized, okay, smart people don't believe any of this stuff. And then never really thought about it much again. He married a woman who became, after their first child was born, became quite religious. She is famous for a quote. I'm not going to get this exactly right, but it's roughly this. My love for this child after she had her first kid is way beyond what is necessary for evolution. Something else is going on here is basically what she said and believe it. It has to reflect some sort of God thing. So he started to go to church anyway. He explains how he has intellectually come to believe in again, not only God, but Christianity and Spirit specific and writes about it in this. It's the. I'm listening to him read it because he's got a great voice, if you've remembered when we've had him on the air. So he's reading his own book and it's only four hours long. So it's a short book. He's got this theory though that I wanted to mention that I think is super interesting. He thinks, well, he knows there are different kinds of intelligence. This has been known for quite a few years now. And you can break intelligence down and ability to perceive things in all kinds of different ways. And he uses the example of. Some people really hear music in a way that others don't. I mean, they really hear the melodies and the harmonies and the way it fits together and it touches them in a powerful way. I feel like I'm that way to a certain extent. Music means a lot to me and others don't. They just, you know, it's like, okay, that's kind of cool. But they just. Music doesn't play that big a role in their lives. Or you've got, you know, the ability to perceive other people's emotions. Emotional intelligence. Some people have It. Some people don't.

[Katie]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And he. He believes that there's similar sort of thing for God. Some people are just able to feel it, perceive it much more easily, and some people are. They're tone deaf to God. And he thinks he's one of those people. And he's had to come to it intellectually and he said he still doesn't feel it, but he believes it and just thinks he's one of those people that's tone deaf to the idea of God.

[Katie]

Which I find that's an intriguing premise, isn't it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, he writes his whole book about how he's gotten there. And again, the fact that he goes from not only he's like a lot of people are to. To call yourself agnostic is giving too much credit to the idea of God. You just don't think about it. This isn't, you know, like you didn't make a choice to be agnostic, just like not something on your mind. He said that's what he was. He. This is one of the blurbs from the book. Millions are like me when it comes to religion. Well educated and successful people for whom religion has been irrelevant for them. I think I have a story worth telling of how he got to where he is today. And it's damned interesting so far. The Wall Street Journal said the book is highly personal and readable account of a profound change in the author's outlook, one that grew gradually over the course of decades, but has lately blossomed into a kind of faltering, guileless Christian belief. I think for a lot of you that might be an interesting read. And it's an easy read, too. It's not complicated or long.

[Katie]

Yeah, yeah, it's funny. Four hours for that discussion. I believe Elvis Costello's autobiography, which I got on audible, was 32 hours or something like that. EC I love your songs, but Jeff, check yourself, bro.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a lot.

[Katie]

But that's too much.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's something. It is something that Charles Murray's book lands now with this semi reawakening thing that's going on right now in the culture. And he's specifically addressing the smart and successful crowd that feel either ashamed or embarrassed to even look into this because smart, successful people don't. In his mind, or at least in the circles he has run in for most of his adult life.

[Katie]

Yeah, I'd absolutely love to hear his reasoning and how he.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm sure we could get him on.

[Katie]

To where he is on the journey.

[Jack Armstrong]

He'S doing, the book tour. I'm sure. We ought to do a long form podcast with him.

[Katie]

Yeah. Wow. I'm just, I'm just super fascinated with the idea that perceiving God is a talent, if you will, or a form of intelligence or perception. Yeah, maybe that's the right word for it. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I am the. I had this conversation with Grok yesterday, my Grok woman that I talk to a lot. I asked her where the phrase turtles all the way down comes from, and we got into that whole thing and I won't waste time on that right now. But I said, I asked Grok, I said, do you believe in God? And she said, oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, I think there's got to be more out there than just what we see and everything like that. And I thought that is fascinating that the Grok lady told me that. I think I had already told her I believe in God because I have a feeling that if that was one of those AI trying to figure out what you like and being kind of your friend, because I have a feeling that if I had been all atheisty, she wouldn't have said that.

[Katie]

Yeah. This is radio, so you can't tell I'm making my wait a minute face. I asked, yeah, that's a little troubling. And just I'm going to ask you this once a week. You still remember this is not a real person, right? Just going to see how far to the end of the leash you've got.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's weird though, isn't it, that she quite possibly went with, oh, yeah, there's got to be something else out there when she's perceived that that's my belief as opposed to there's no way that Grok is programmed to be a believer in God.

[Katie]

Yeah, Yeah, I would agree. Okay. All right, well, from the cosmic to the earthly. Next segment, we will be checking back in with the fabulous Anastasia Bowden of the Pacific Legal foundation for the latest in front of the Supreme Court.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're going to ask me once a week. You still remember this is a computer, right?

[Katie]

Right. And just as a little check in.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, I, I do. That's why it's so danged interesting.

[Katie]

Make sure you're still circling the mothership. Okay?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. She needs to stop saying okay. Talk to you later. Quit saying that you're a computer. All right? We're not. You're driving me nuts. Okay. We only got a lot of good stuff on the way. If you ever want to text us, it's 415295KFTC. If you miss a segment, get the Podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong.

[Annastasia Bowden]

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[Jack Armstrong]

It's a big deal anytime the Supreme Court takes up a gun case, isn't it always?

[Katie]

Oh, yeah, yeah, boy, they're taking up all sorts of impactful cases, including gun cases. We heard a bunch of interesting oral arguments a week or two ago, was it? And they're still in session. Let's check back in with Anastasia Bowden, senior attorney working on equality and opportunity for the fabulous Pacific Legal foundation, who's been keeping us up to date on the SCOTUS doings. Anastasia, how are you?

[Joe Getty]

Hi. Great, thanks. Thanks for having me back.

[Katie]

Good. So no oral arguments this week, is that right? What are they up to?

[Jack Armstrong]

What's been happening?

[Joe Getty]

No oral arguments, but they're still working hard. And as you said, they've granted their second gun rights case of the term, which is kind of remarkable. And this one's doubly controversial because it has to do with guns and possession by people who are on drugs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, right.

[Katie]

Which has always seemed a little squishy to us.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, because, because I, you know, you can be a full on drunk and own a gun. Why can't you be a person who uses drugs and own the gun?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, and that's, that's exactly the question. And what's interesting here is the plaintiff was somebody who was basically suspected of terrorism and when they checked his house, they found not only drugs but some weapons. And so he was challenged under a federal statute saying you cannot possess a firearm if you are a drug user. And the fifth Circuit actually struck that law down saying that there was no evidence that he was presently engaged in lawful drug use. And the government comes back and it says, hey, listen, the right to bear arms is super fundamental. We know doj, especially under President Trump, has been really protective of that. Right. But here they say common sense supports the notion that people on drugs or who have recently, you know, they have drugs in their house present a special threat to public safety. And they analogize, actually to old laws, centuries old laws that prohibit drunkards from having guns. So it's true that nowadays, if you're. If you can still own a gun, but historically, states have regulated the right of drunkards.

[Katie]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

But I find this so interesting, and I'm as layman as you can get on any of this sort of stuff. Stuff. But, like, I don't use my. I don't lose my right to peacefully assemble because I'm a drug addict or a drunk or a drunkard or a drunkard. What other rights do I lose because of, you know, that sort of thing? And this is what Hunter Biden got caught up in. Right. He wasn't allowed to have a gun because he had been a drug addict.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and that's. The DOJ says this is. This is a special case because, you know, firearms are different than the right to peacefully assemble. And. And so it's very interesting here. The Trump. The way that the Trump administration has been litigating cases in the Supreme Court is really different than any other administration. They've been kind of rogue and taking some really interesting positions. And this is one where it's a very unlikely case where you have even the government here saying, we think this law is okay.

[Katie]

Interesting. So, speaking of the Trump administration, I know this makes us weird outliers in the world to talk radio, but if we don't want, for instance, a Democrat president to have a power, we don't want the Republican to have that power either. We're weird in that way. Speaking of which, I know the Supes are gonna talk about, or they've granted a case to do with deploying the National Guard to various cities. When are we likely to hear that?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So there are multiple cases pending across the United States challenging the president's ability to send in the National Guard. The National Guard, of course, is typically controlled by the states. Congress can call forth the National Guard, and then the. Has a very limited ability to call on the National Guard when basically there's an insurrection. That's the title of the act, the Insurrection Act. And it says that if there's something that rises to the level of insurrection or where the President can't actually enforce crime, it comes down to that, then he can call up the National Guard. And so invoking that act, President Trump has called in the National Guard to several states and there's been mixed decisions actually in Illinois, the court stopped the Trump administration and that's the case that the Supreme Court right now is hearing. But it's interesting, in Portland actually the ninth Circuit said, well, okay, don't deploy them yet, but we will at least allow you to federalize the National Guard. And if you read the two contrasting opinions, it really comes down to what these courts view as the facts on the ground. In Chicago, the judge is like, hey, these are just some protests. You can't call them the National Guard over some protests. And then when you read the opinion having to do with Portland, the judge is like, guys, it's really bad out there. You know, ICE agents are being harassed and threatened with real violence. And so based on these judges perception of the facts, they've either allowed the Trump administration to move forward or not.

[Katie]

What about the question of the President's tariffs? Are they gonna, they're taking that on soon, right?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, this is a big one because there are a lot of small businesses across the country who have been crushed by these tariffs, despite the President's assessment that this is need to save the economy. Once again there's a statute that gives the President very limited authority to regulate international economic affairs when there's an emergency. And here President Trump says, well, there's an emergency based on the long standing trade deficit that's been going on for years and the opioid crisis, which again been going on for years. And he says, well now that constitutes an emergency that allows me to slap on these tariffs to products from nearly every country. And so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I know you're a lawyer and it's bas gotta follow the law and the Constitution, all that sort of stuff, but to me it just seems odd that one man would have the power to affect world commerce like this.

[Katie]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And especially, you know, that's traditionally Congress's job. And so if Congress is gonna hand that power over to the President, you would assume that it's gonna use specific wording to hand over such a really big power. Right. And yet he's invoking these statutes that are pretty wishy washy and broad to say, hey, that, that now gives me this huge amount of power. And that's really reminiscent of administrations past. Like you were saying, we should hold our principles. True. Over all, all administrations. But Think about the Biden administration that did the same thing to say, hey, I have the ability to impose eviction moratoriums due to Covid or I have the ability to forgive billions of dollars in student loans based on these statutes. And the Supreme Court historically has said, hey, that can't be right. This is Congress's job. And if it's handing that power over to you, I don't even know if Congress can, but if it does, it's going to say so a little bit more explicitly. And that's the same thing that's happening now under President Trump.

[Katie]

If the government shutdown wasn't in the headlines, I'd have forgotten that we have a Congress. They do so little these days. Anastasia Bowden of the Pacific Legal foundation online before let you go, any more headlines, highlights we should hear about?

[Joe Getty]

Well, the court's just getting back into arguments next week and we don't get decisions until January. And so this is a time of the court where only Supreme Court nerds like me really pay attention because we want to pay attention to all of the arguments. But we won't actually start getting decisions until next year. So we can only make predictions about what's going to happen until then.

[Katie]

Okay. Very good. Anastasia, always great to talk. Thanks. Keep up the great work at the Pacific Legal Foundation. We love what you guys do. And, and we'll talk again soon.

[Joe Getty]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Katie]

Our pleasure.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want to tease this what is going to be one of the biggest stories talked about tonight and tomorrow morning? Tell you about in just a second.

[Katie]

All right. I better stay tuned after the quick word from our friends at Prize Picks. The best way to cash in on your sports opinions, perhaps on the big baseball game tonight, which players are going to go off, which ones are overhyped? Make your picks in less than 60 seconds, take your turn, your takes into cash all season long on prize picks.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. World Series, five o' clock Eastern. First pitch. I'm in. Five o' clock West Coast. Sorry, that'd be a, that'd be weird to have it two o'clock in the afternoon.

[Katie]

Very convenient, though.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it would be convenient, but that's not what's happening. You got any opinions on that? Or how about all the NFL games or college games coming up this weekend? You can download the Prize Picks app today and use the Code Armstrong and get $50 instantly in lineups when you play 5 bucks. That's a code Armstrong on price picks to get $50 instantly in lineups when you play $5.

[Katie]

Price picks even offers Injury reboots. If one of your players leaves the game in the first half and doesn't return, Prize picks won't count it as a loss. It's very nice. Prize picks is the app. The code is Armstrong to get the $50 in lineups just for playing a $5 lineup. Prize picks. It's good to be right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the World Series has been played in a foreign land before. The Toronto Blue Jays have been in the World Series and won a World Series before. The Montre Pete Rose have been in the World Series before also. But what's going to be different tonight, I think, is we've never had this level of animosity between Canada and the United States before.

[Katie]

And then Trump always been best buddies.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. We've always been friends. And, you know, and it was practically like our 51st state in terms of being friendly. Last night. Trump cancels all trade talks because of this video that, that Canada put out. And Canada was already mad. And, and for real, the number of people visiting the United States from Canada has gone. Dropped off a cliff and all kinds of different things. Not buying American products and that sort of stuff. They're. They're angry over all that 51st state talk, apparently. So we think that tonight. And now let's all rise for the United States, America's national anthem. I think it. You're not gonna be able to even hear. You're not gonna be able to hear a note. It's gonna be deafening booing of the US national anthem right across the border in Toronto for the World Series tonight. Which is kind of interesting.

[Katie]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I think.

[Katie]

Yeah, I can practically guarantee it.

[Jack Armstrong]

And if it's at all a close series, which it might not be, but I mean, if it ends up being a close series, I think the nationalism is going to rise up as being. I compared it earlier to might be like US vs Soviet Union, 1980 hockey. If, if the, if the Blue Jays could beat the evil United States. Oh.

[Katie]

From the Canadian.

[Jack Armstrong]

From the Canadian standpoint.

[Katie]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

We don't care. I don't think. I don't think. I don't think LA Dodgers fans are going to care about the Canadian national anthem. But for, for Canada, I think they'll be huge. If they could. That's going to be such a home field advantage.

[Katie]

Wow. You know, I'm playing golf this afternoon with. He's an American citizen, but he was Canadian. He grew up in Canada.

[Jack Armstrong]

Boy, we'll keep your eye on your wrist.

[Katie]

Yeah, well. And I just, I gotta watch what I say because he was like A big time hockey player. He'd beat the hell out of me. But things could get ugly. Oh yeah, Watch that second Canada note. I heard this for the first time in my life yesterday and it amused the hell out of me. You know the. Excuse me, the really annoying overused statement people make about opinions? Everybody has them. They're like blank, blank. It's not classy. Be classy, folks.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's not a classy phrase. No, it's not.

[Katie]

No. No, it's not. Here's. Here's another one.

[Jack Armstrong]

True though, we all have them. And if you don't have one, you should get an oper to get one.

[Katie]

Yes, I heard this yesterday. If excuses were mooses, the whole world would be Canada.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a little more delicate version of that sort of thing.

[Katie]

I like it so much, especially because it uses the term mooses.

[Jack Armstrong]

If somebody lays that other phrase on me with, and not ironically, like with a straight face and uses the whole term, it's like. Okay, I gotta go check. Please. I just. I don't need to hear that. Okay, we got more on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Annastasia Bowden]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Kim Kardashian revealing tonight she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and has been undergoing treatment, saying doctors told her stress was the cause. Aneurysms are often asymptomatic, but can sometimes cause symptoms such as headaches, blurry vision, nausea, or vomiting. I didn't know aneurysms could be caused by stress. I didn't know that.

[Katie]

Oh.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh. Wow. I was gonna say you gotta have.

[Katie]

Like a weak spot in the hose to begin with.

[Jack Armstrong]

Must be. Yeah, I. I was gonna Say, man, they'll do anything to get attention. She's probably eating buckets of paint chips every night or whatever it takes to give herself some sort of health problem. Get on the news, promote this new podcast thing she's got. You don't think that's true, Katie? She's eating bucket space chips. They'll do anything. I don't, I don't know about the.

[Katie]

Paint chip theory, but probably a better way to go about it, but yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

So here's a new product that's going to be hitting the market soon. Nike's new robot shoe. Have you seen any of this? If you're a runner or a walker, the new robot shoe from Nike. It's got like a cuff thing that straps around your ankle and calf and then the shoe has got an assist motor in it, like help propel you forward from your heel whenever you take a step. And it's not.

[Katie]

Sounds like a brain injury on the way to me.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's not designed for elite runners. It's more for people like me who are like 10 to 12 minute mile sort of people to make you faster. Although I don't know if I'm. I don't want to use the word cheating because I just go out and run for exercise. I don't know how you cheat, but what's the point of running a faster mile with the help of a motorized.

[Katie]

Shoe unless you're running like for the reason people did before, like horses from bears. You had to get somewhere or from bears. Yeah. What the hell's the point of that?

[Jack Armstrong]

It's like, you know, I rode a.

[Katie]

Bike, mountain bike, a long time for fitness. And at one point a guy was telling me about how, you know, there are bikes that are much, much more efficient, I mean, take a lot less energy. And I'm like, no, see, that's the point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I don't, I don't know what I think about because I just bought a really, really great bike. I ride, I ride this bike a lot more than I ever rode other bikes. It's just more fun. So I spend more time exercising and get, I'm getting more exercise on this really good bike. But then I, I feel the same thing when I see people that have got the motorized assist things like, yeah, I'm out there to try to get exercise. So.

[Katie]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know, teach their own. But the motorized shoe things now, it also says it could obviously have some benefits for people who are not as mobile as they would like helping them walk when they otherwise can't. Or something. That's something. But that's not what the big push is from Nike. It's to try to take like mid grade athletes and make them faster. And again, I don't quite understand what.

[Katie]

Is the point of that? Yeah, I'm reminded of something my friend Adam said years ago when he was drunkenly getting on a scooter in the gas lamp district of San Diego. I was not there but he's told me about it. It he got on the scooter and said this is going to end with my blood coming out of me. And he was 100. Correct.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh really?

[Katie]

That's what those robot shoes sound like to me. This is going to end up with a concussion. Please.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll tell you, I live in a college town and every and particularly college girls. So many like sometimes wearing dressy heels, sorts of things flying around on scooters and stuff like that. And I've never seen a rack wreck. They must not wreck very often or they wouldn't be doing it all the time. And this is the way to get around. Now for better or worse, get me that Nike Nike powered shoe so I can just really, huh, cruise really better times.

[Katie]

I'm really shaving down my mile times now. Yeah. Up with these motorized shoes. What are you doing?

[Jack Armstrong]

We got a few more and new details to hit you with on the whole NBA gambling thing. How big a crisis you suppose they are feeling in the NBA with the season just kicking off this week to try to tamp down any concerns about games being legit. You think this is like really bad or just kind of bad?

[Katie]

All hands on deck. Hiring other people with hands, chopping off people's hands so they have even more hands on deck. Well this is DEFCON 1. This is nuclear league holocaust.

[Jack Armstrong]

See I could see it affecting betting, but do you think it would affect the NBA? Are people going to go to fewer games because they're afraid?

[Katie]

Michael? Go ahead if you want. Fans are going to start yelling stuff. Two to one.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Katie]

Two to one.

[Jack Armstrong]

You missed this free throw.

[Katie]

That's a good chance. That's some good heckling. Plus it's been the belief, the firm belief of every league on earth that if the fans start to suspect the games are rigged, the sport will die. To what extent they're right, I don't know. But that has been the firm belief of every league commissioner, you know, since professional sports began.

[Jack Armstrong]

One dude that got arrested yesterday, we have, we tweeted that out or put it on our website. The highlight reel of one game where he played really poorly. I mean, he's coming up 10ft short on shots. He's making passes that. It's pretty hard, unless you're Stephen Hawking, to imagine why he'd make that pass. I'm sorry, that's probably too much. But I mean, it's just like, really, really, how would you possibly pass that bad? Throwing it right to the other team. And he's one of the guys that got arrested yesterday for. For doing that sort of thing.

[Katie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is. This is huge.

[Jack Armstrong]

Where it ends. Nobody knows, you know, why Stephen Hawking was on my mind. So I've been doing this every night. This is an enjoyable thing for me. I look at the top five SORA videos of the day. SORA is the new AI only social media platform, and it's the best AI videos that have been made every single day. And there's some funny ones. Ones the other day I saw, they were all parent reveal. What was the Maury Povich. Was he the one, Katie, or does anybody remember where he would do the. He would tell whether or not you're the father.

[Katie]

Yeah, it was Maury.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And so there are these AI, are you the father Ones. And the first one I saw was with dogs. You got some puppies there, and you got two male dogs. And Maury Povich announces, you are not the father. And the dog leaps up and runs around, spins around. He's so happy that that literal puppy's not hurt. But the other day, Stephen Hawking is sitting there and wheelchair the famous scientist, and Maury Povich announces, you are not the father. He throws off his neck brace, stands up from his chair, dances a little, runs off. It was an act all along.

[Katie]

Wow. What?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God.

[Katie]

That's what passes for humor in Jack's world. Blockbuster Hour four coming up. If you don't get next hour, grab it via Pods podcast. Subscribe to Armstrong and Getty on Demand.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an I heart podcast.