You Were Driving Down America's Happiness Rating

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: Episode Summary

Title: You Were Driving Down America's Happiness Rating
Release Date: March 26, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong
Co-Host: Joe Getty
Guest: Michael (Technical Director)

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I. National Security Concerns: The Signal App and Recent Breaches

The episode opens with Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delving into the controversial use of the Signal app by high-ranking officials. The discussion centers around a recent incident where sensitive information was allegedly leaked through the app, raising significant national security concerns.

Notable Quote:

Joe Getty [00:23]: "I always say you have to learn from every experience. I think it was very unfair the way they attacked Michael. He's a good person."

Armstrong and Getty express perplexity over why secure communication channels like Signal continue to be used despite their vulnerabilities. They highlight the ongoing debate about what constitutes classified information and the inconsistencies in handling sensitive data across political lines.

Notable Quote:

Jack Armstrong [02:18]: "I just like to know, putting aside partisanship... I'm curious about the way an administration actually functions." [02:18]

II. The Incident Involving Jeffrey Goldberg and Accidental Leak of Classified Information

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on journalist Jeffrey Goldberg's inadvertent leak of classified war plans through his use of the Signal app. The co-host criticizes Goldberg for sharing militant-strategy messages that detailed exact timing for military strikes, emphasizing the potential risks such leaks pose to national security.

Notable Quote:

Guest or Co-host [05:01]: "But then he was called a liar by a number of people... That is part of a new scandal." [05:01]

Jack Armstrong condemns Goldberg's actions, referring to him as "a liar and a coward," and underscores the danger of such information falling into the wrong hands.

Notable Quote:

Jack Armstrong [06:07]: "I just think the way you defuel this is to say... we won't do this anymore." [06:07]

III. Political Reactions and Implications for National Security Protocols

The hosts discuss the broader political fallout from the leak, noting that figures like Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth have publicly denounced Goldberg. They question the adequacy of current communication protocols within the White House and national security apparatus, urging for stricter measures to prevent future breaches.

Notable Quote:

Guest or Co-host [31:25]: "We have spent so much time and effort and money... this carelessness puts American service members at risk." [31:25]

Armstrong emphasizes the need for accountability and improved security standards, suggesting that admitting to mistakes is a step toward rectifying systemic issues.

Notable Quote:

Jack Armstrong [32:06]: "It's cool. Just try not to make a fatal one." [32:06]

IV. Critique of the World Happiness Report: Methodologies and Alternative Approaches

Shifting gears, the episode critically examines the World Happiness Report, challenging its validity and methodology. The hosts argue that the report's reliance on a single-question survey—asking respondents to place themselves on a happiness ladder from 0 to 10—is insufficient for accurately measuring national happiness levels.

Notable Quote:

Jack Armstrong [16:34]: "The obvious problem with this question... it simply compiles answers to a single question." [16:34]

They reference a study by economists David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson, who propose a more comprehensive approach by incorporating multiple indicators of both positive and negative well-being. This alternative method reveals a starkly different ranking of countries, challenging the conventional standings.

Notable Quote:

Guest or Co-host [22:18]: "They use both sides of the coin. I remember my sainted mother..." [22:18]

V. Happiness Comparisons: US vs. Finland and Within US States

The hosts explore the discrepancies between the official happiness rankings and those derived from the alternative methodology. Contrary to popular belief, Finland does not top the happiness charts when broader indicators are considered. Instead, several US states surpass Finland, highlighting regional variations in happiness within the United States itself.

Notable Quote:

Guest or Co-host [23:47]: "I'm a seven or eight, I think, currently." [23:47]
Jack Armstrong [26:27]: "West Virginia... about as happy as much poorer places like Sri Lanka and Mauritania." [26:27]

This segment underscores the complexity of measuring happiness and cautions against simplistic interpretations of global rankings.

VI. Heroic Acts Amid National Concerns: Kansas State Trooper's Rescue

Amidst the heavy discussions, the hosts briefly highlight a heartwarming story of a Kansas state trooper hailed as a hero for rescuing a six-year-old girl from an abductor. This narrative serves as a brief respite from the intense topics discussed, reiterating the valor of public servants.

Notable Quote:

Jack Armstrong [17:13]: "A Kansas state trooper is being hailed a hero for rescuing a six-year-old girl." [17:13]

VII. Closing Thoughts and Light Banter

In the closing segment, Armstrong and Getty engage in light-hearted banter, reflecting on personal anecdotes and societal observations. They touch upon topics like social media influencers' impact on happiness and the absurdities of modern culture, maintaining the show's signature blend of humor and commentary.

Notable Quote:

Guest or Co-host [29:21]: "A lot of our cultural influencers are not living the kind of lives that are going to make you personally happy." [29:21]

The episode concludes with humorous exchanges about everyday life and a nod to listeners to engage with the show through merchandise and feedback.

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Conclusion

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand provides a multifaceted discussion covering national security concerns related to digital communication, critiques of global happiness metrics, and reflections on societal well-being. Through engaging dialogue and insightful commentary, Armstrong and Getty encourage listeners to question prevailing narratives and seek deeper understanding of the issues at hand.

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.

[Joe Getty]

I always say you have to learn from every experience. I think it was very unfair the way they attacked Michael. He's a good person. The main thing was nothing happened. The attack was totally successful. It was, I guess, from what I understand, took place during. And it wasn't classified information. So this was not classified.

[Guest or Co-host]

Wasn't classified information. That I don't know what's classified and what's not classified seems to be an ongoing question in our country. Depending on which party's on the wrong side of having boxes in their garage next to their Corvette or in the bathtub at Mar a Lago or on a private server in New York if you're Hillary or whatever. We keep hearing different stories about what's classified and what's not. Were they war plans or not? It seems pretty clear. But before we get to that, based on today's news. But here's a little more Donald Trump.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know anything about signal. I wasn't involved in this, but I just heard about it and I hear it's used by a lot of groups. It's used by the media a lot. It's used by a lot of the military, and I think successfully. But sometimes somebody can get onto those things. That's one of the prices you pay when you're not sitting in the Situation Room with no phones on. Which is always the best, frankly.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah. And I don't understand why they don't do that more often. I mean, I got to believe prior to 15 years ago, didn't they all have to get together in a room more or less?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. You wouldn't use a landline for that sort of thing. No, I wouldn't think so.

[Guest or Co-host]

Was it just that I feel like that kind of comes with the job. If I'm CIA director or Secretary of State, I get called in on Saturdays at 2. Cause we're gonna discuss the biggest military attack of the administration. And you gotta be there in person. You can't beat your son's soccer game jumping on the phone real quick to text or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I have worked in zero administrations. I would love to hear the answer to this question. Putting aside partisanship and raw for my side or boo for the other side, I would just like to know. The idea being, yeah, I'm running around doing my job and my real life, but the National Security Advisor wanted to update us and let us know that the weather is clear and things are looking good. I don't think you need to be called in to scare for the, you know, the Situation Room to get that sort of update. I think it's appropriate that I don't have any idea they have a way to communicate.

[Guest or Co-host]

I'm both shocked and not shocked, given our current plan political climate, I guess it's not shocking. But why can't we get an answer on all of this stuff? What's classified, what's not classified? What are the penalties for this? When are you supposed to use this Signal app or not? The CIA director says everybody uses it. Lots of people say everybody use it, have been used. Other people say it's outrageous. It's ridiculous that anybody even considered using it. Okay, well, those are two very polar opposite points of view, and one of them is true, I assume.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or even the story that, no, there was an update in February that went out that said, no, the Russians have figured out a way to hack Signal. Don't use it anymore. Well, clearly somebody didn't hear it. I find it impossible to believe that Marco Rubio, Right. Got that update and said. Said, yeah. Well, I really like Signal, though, so I'm gonna go ahead and take my chances. I just don't buy that.

[Guest or Co-host]

I'm surprised I haven't heard from Marco in this whole thing because he's a very serious guy. The fact that he was on there as part of that makes me think that it is done regularly, or he would have said no. What are we doing here?

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm just guessing. I'm just guessing. I have a feeling Marco, who is very serious and very buttoned up, is horrified and pissed off at Mike Waltz and. Or his staff for this misstep. And so he wants to. He doesn't. He. He does not want his name to be anything but a name on the, you know, the list of people who.

[Guest or Co-host]

Are involved, wants to stay out of it, so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, exactly. Keep his distance.

[Guest or Co-host]

So the way this unraveled, the Atlantic guy, Jeffrey Goldberg, puts out a few of the messages in his article yesterday just to, like, have receipts that I was actually on the thing. And the. The White House confirmed those are real. He didn't give much more than that. I think for reasons of national security, he thought, you know, wouldn't do us any good to put out more of this stuff. But then he was called.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what he said specifically. I didn't want to endanger any troops or operations.

[Guest or Co-host]

But then he was called a liar by a number of people. Tulsi Gabbard and others. Walls and Hegseth. You know, no war planning was mentioned in the. That text thread, so Gold.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nothing classified.

[Guest or Co-host]

So Goldberg puts out more today, and put this out, for instance, in the Atlantic today, and I'll just read this. Pete Hegseth team Update time now 1144 Eastern. Weather is favorable. Just confirmed with CENTCOM. We are a go for mission launch. 1215 F18's launch, first strike package 1345. Trigger based. F18, first strike window starts. Target terror is at his known location. Show should be on time. Target terrorist. So you're announcing that a particular person you're targeting to kill, probably that video we all saw. The guy driving down the dirt road that then disappeared is just announced in this text that we got a beat on him, and this is when we're gonna bomb him. That's probably not something that should be out there in any way, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm guessing, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Guest or Co-host]

14. 10 more F18s. Launch second strike package 1415. This is when the first bombs will definitely drop. Et cetera, et cetera. Sure sounds like war plans to me. And, I mean, if. If this had even gotten out a little, that guy that was on the car on the dirt road probably wouldn't have been out in the car on a dirt road. He'd have thought, man, we gotta get, you know, heads down for the next however many hours till we figure out what's going on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, at least they had the restraint to just call him terrorist target as opposed to, you know, Muhammad, Muhammad, 1, 2, 3 Houthi street, you know? Right. But. Yeah, and. And the fact that Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, was in Moscow using this app that Moscow has learned to hack when every single, you know, blink of his eye is being surveilled. I just. It's. It's. It's sloppy, and it was a mistake, which they've said. But I just. As we were discussing earlier, I don't understand why they went with Jeffrey. Goldberg's a liar and a cheat. He is, by the way. He's a liar and a coward. But there's no. Nothing classified. There are no war plans when he had them. I just think the way you defuel this is to say, hey, you know what? We really messed up. We won't do this anymore. But it was a successful strike against a righteous target.

[Guest or Co-host]

I think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Leave it. Leave it.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah. As a political matter, there's always the legal part I don't know about. So if you. If you admit there are war plans on, there are you absolutely in violation of something that puts you in jail.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although you don't have to say that. I think you could make the statement as short as I did. It was a mistake the way we handled that communication. We will not repeat that mistake. It was a successful strike. We have learned and we'll move forward. That's it.

[Guest or Co-host]

I don't know why you couldn't say. Because this seems to be the case. Look, we're all using signal all the time. Maybe we decide now this is a bad idea. Somebody figured that out. What's the best system for this? And we'll start using that. Okay. I think he'd get a pass for most of the public on that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I do too. I don't know why they went with the strategy if it's not calculated and premeditated. Well, that's. That's a new scandal. You got to be more disciplined and smart than that. But I don't know the answer to that question. I look forward to. To finding out just because I'm curious about the way an administration actually functions. I still love Mike Waltz. I think he's a very smart guy. I think his views on foreign policy are terrific. Marco Rubio. I could not be happier with a choice for Secretary of State than Marco. Pete Hegseth. Jury's still out. I like a lot of his instincts. So hey, just learn from your mistake and move forward. The denials are silly.

[Guest or Co-host]

Here's a perfect place to put this so I don't have to bring it back up again. I have talked about how I think I've changed my mind on really hating that we've been footing the bill for Europa for all these years. Because I think we get great benefit on calling the shots and them going along more or less with our worldview because they need us so much. And that when. When Europe has its own military defense to the extent that they can ignore us, we might be pretty shocked how often they go along with China instead of the United States on different things. And we're used to the all of Europe more or less going along with us. They might all of a sudden decide, you know what. What's financially beneficial to us. China and. And for stupid Euro reasons, they'll think China is no world threat. Let's do business with China anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah, we had to practically beat them over the head to not install Huawei gear in all their sensitive communications applications, which is so monumentally stupid I can't even believe it was happening.

[Guest or Co-host]

Right. And Germany signing on to the pipeline deal with Russia and all that sort of stuff. So we've already seen what they're capable of doing, even when we are applying their security, when we're not God, who knows how many bad deals they'll make that are bad for us. Anywho, one other side to that is, and I heard this on a podcast yesterday, so I brought it up. In 1960, United States had 40% of the world economy GDP. 40%. Pushing half of world GDP was US it's now 24%, which is still great, which is still amazing for one country. But maybe you can afford to protect 500 million euros, not the dollar figure, but the population Europeans, the way we used to. Maybe it's just math.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. You know, Gerard Baker, who's a terrific writer, has an editorial today in the Journal about what we're talking about, essentially our relationship with Europe. And he's spending a lot of time in Europe these days for various personal and professional reasons. But he points out that Europeans are, to a or woman, alarmed and energized at the same time with the Trump things he said and done. J.D. vance's statement on the very Signal app. We're talking about President Trump's shock treatment of the sensitive parts of Europe's anatomy. That's a hell of a way to put it. Again, they're alarmed and energized. The word you hear from business and political leaders over there is that whatever the effects of Mr. Trump's presidency on America, he has provided the incentives for them to make Europe great again. Convinced that the US Is no longer a dependable ally or, you know, generous sugar daddy, depending on how you look at it.

[Guest or Co-host]

I don't like that terminology, the dependable ally terminology. How about it's more we aren't gonna. It'd be like, like your 25 year old who lives in your basement saying, I guess he's not a dependable source of housing anymore. My parent. Yeah, he doesn't have to be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right, exactly. But putting that aside, Baker points out that you, yeah, maybe the US Is no longer as dependable, but Russia is an ever more dependable adversary. They are finally decades late getting serious about developing the means for their own survival. And he goes into a bunch of different examples, including Italy, for God's sake. That's all energized and saying, yeah, we got to build up our armed forces and do they have any? And as I've been saying all along, this might be a rough period in which the relationship changes. We've all had relationships in life that had to change. And the period of them changing can be uncomfortable. But putting aside your argument for the moment, because it's a really interesting one that we're better off being the sugar daddy because we call all the shots. Europe could, you know, over the course of the next 10, 15 years, become an ally worth friggin having.

[Guest or Co-host]

Wow. That if we had right now, they're.

[Jack Armstrong]

They'Re the fuzzy little Pekingese dog that we're saying beware of dog to the Russians. Beware of that dog. Please.

[Guest or Co-host]

You have any thoughts on this text line 415295 KFTC Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Well, guys, the White House just announced that they are now seeking corporate sponsors.

[Jack Armstrong]

For this year's Easter Egg Roll.

[Joe Getty]

Seriously, how bad is the price of.

[Jack Armstrong]

Eggs when the government needs a sponsor?

[Joe Getty]

When asked if it's appropriate to sell sponsorship at the White House, Trump said, it's actually called the Papa John'.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mentioned. Yes.

[Guest or Co-host]

I heard a story in the news about how they're stopping eggs at the border. People are trying to smuggle eggs in because they're worth so much. Again, how many eggs do you go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ahead and smuggle them? I don't care.

[Guest or Co-host]

I know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mentioned this the other day, but it's worth digging into just a little bit. They mentioned that March 20 is the International Day of Happiness. No, it's not. Shut up.

[Guest or Co-host]

What?

[Jack Armstrong]

You can declare that if you want, but that's why that world Happiness index always comes out on March 20th. All right, the International Day of Happiness.

[Guest or Co-host]

So it was last Thursday. I missed it, which makes me unhappy.

[Jack Armstrong]

And Yasha Monk, who writes for Free Press, like a lot of us reacts the same way every year. Finland is ranked the happiest country in the world, while the US falls to its lowest ever position. And this guy happens to have spent a fair amount of time in Scandinavia, and the Scandinavian countries are always the happiest. And he says, I have to admit I've been skeptical since I first came across it because I have family in both Sweden and Denmark. I've spent a fair amount of time there. And while Scandinavian countries have a lot of great things going for them, they never struck me as pictures of joy for much of the year. They're cold and dark. Their cultures are extremely reserved and socially disjointed. When you walk around the admittedly beautiful centers of Copenhagen or Stockholm, you rarely see anybody smile. Copenhagen, would these really be the happiest places in the whole world?

[Guest or Co-host]

I wish it got portrayed more as, look, it's cold, dark, et cetera, et cetera. But they have a culture of saying, yeah, I'm happy. That's what I'm impressed by.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. They define happiness as I have enough, which is different than the American definition, which is interesting and a really interesting discussion to have. And we talked about this, I think last year when it came out. At length anyway. But he says to honor the release of this year's report. I finally decided to follow my hunch and looked into the research on this topic more deeply. What I found was worse than I'd imagined. To put it politely, the World Happiness Report is beset with methodological problems. To put it bluntly, it's a sham.

[Guest or Co-host]

All of these always are. I don't care whether it's the best college or the best state or whatever the hell it is. They're always. The criteria are always stupid.

[Jack Armstrong]

So it is a small sample size. Turns out that the World Happiness Report is not based on any major research effort. Far from measuring how happy people are with some sophisticated mix of indicators, it simply compiles answers to a single question. As to comparatively small samples of people in each country. Here is the one and only question. Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you feel personally you stand at this time? And the obvious problem.

[Guest or Co-host]

I remember answering this question a couple of years ago and I think I was a three at the time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Boy. The obvious problem with this question, commonly known as the Cantrell letter, is that it doesn't really ask about happiness at all. We know from many surveys people tend to give very different answers to questions about what makes them satisfied with their lives and their questions about whether they're feeling good in the moment.

[Guest or Co-host]

Now this is all about expectations. This has nothing to do with happiness. And, and we're being told in expectations that unless you have free health care or a giant house or all these different kinds of things, you're famous. Your, your, your life is sucks. So yeah, you're gonna have to be further down the ladder than the Finns apparently, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

The happy, cheerful, laughing Finns. Armstrong and Getty. A Kansas state trooper is being hailed a hero for rescuing a six year old girl. Officials say that during a traffic stop, the trooper arrested a man who had an outstanding warrant for allegedly kidnapping the child. The trooper was then able to calm the girl and get her to tell him her real name. Authorities say the girl had been with the man for over A month while he was on the run. Wow.

[Guest or Co-host]

I don't know all the details of that story, but thank God it played out that way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Guest or Co-host]

I want you to restate because everybody hears this every freaking year that Finland is happier than the United States. And then a whole bunch of socialists try to explain to us why it's because of socialism that they're so happy.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, it's because that international happiness index that comes out once a year is completely bunk in terms of methodology. And it asks a single question that really doesn't define happiness. It's, you know, where are you on the ladder of possible lives you could have right now? Are you near the top, near the bottom? Right.

[Guest or Co-host]

Which I find interesting. So it's a scale of 1 to 10. It's a ladder with 10, 10 steps. And 10 is like the life you have always dreamed of. And so where are you currently?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Your best possible life or. Yeah, I don't.

[Guest or Co-host]

Because I remember. I remember when we talked about this, became aware of it several years back, I was like a three or something. I think it was like right after I found out I was getting divorced. And that was pretty accurate about where I felt like I was where I wanted to be and everything like that. But first of all, those things can change.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and I remember we, we all decided as a staff that you were driving down America's happiness ratings. So we berated you to be happier. We screamed at you until you, you complied and were happier.

[Guest or Co-host]

But then, yes, Michael, I remember that time, but. And we were just talking a little bit ago about how Finland or some of these countries or whatever, maybe they just have different expectations. I mean, because expectations is the whole ball game. And I wanted to give this stat before we got into more of that. I just read this yesterday. The median income for a full time male worker in 1960 was $5,400. Adjusted for inflation, it was 45 grand. So the median full time male worker in 1960 made $45,000 a year in today's wow Money. But the average, the median house was 1200 square feet, one bathroom for five people, because that was the average size. And one car, which is the way I grew up, right? One car, one bathroom, small house. And we would have described ourselves as happy. That group, I don't know if they described themselves as happy, but other people looking at them would describe them as, they shouldn't be happy. In a house that small with one bathroom and one car, how could you possibly be happy? So again, it's all about expectations.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I think it was the New York Times who, when they're not being shameless liberal crap merchants, do some really good journalism, went into the Finland thing and that's exactly what they said. No, it's a culture of I have enough, therefore I am satisfied. You learn that from the time you're a little child. If you are Mr. I've got to have more, more, more in Finland. That's just. You're, you're out of your mind, culturally speaking. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. The Other side of the Coin As Monk, the journalist here in the Free Press, writes two distinguished economists, David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson, we'll just call them BNB Jack like they're a Bar Craig radio show, set out in a recent paper to discover what would happen to the world happiness rankings if they looked at a more reasonable and broader range of indicators. And what they found is, not surprisingly, a totally different picture. Instead of relying on the old Cantrell ladder of life satisfaction, they asked the folks to consider eight survey questions. The first four questions measured different dimensions of positive affect, meaning well, for instance, asking whether response and respondents experienced enjoyment, smiled or laughed a lot and felt well rested the day before.

[Guest or Co-host]

That's kind of interesting. I don't know if I put how often I smile or laugh on my list of determining whether or not I'm content.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not sure, but are happy. The next four questions measure different dimensions of negative effect. They ask respondents whether they experienced sadness yesterday, whether they worried during a lot of the day, whether they experienced anger, whether they were in physical pain.

[Guest or Co-host]

None of that for me. Scowl. How many times did I scowl yesterday?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, but I. I kind of like them looking both sides of the coin. I remember my sainted mother, Famous famously was one of the hardest laughs in America to get, right? We would be watching something hilarious and she would just smile slightly. I'd say, mom, that's hilarious. She'd say, that was very funny.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah, that's funny. Some people.

[Jack Armstrong]

She would respond. She would oh, yeah, I maybe not smiled or laughed a lot, but was very amused and pleased and happy.

[Guest or Co-host]

Doesn't mean they didn't enjoy it as much, I don't think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Exactly. So anyway. But they use both sides of the coin.

[Guest or Co-host]

What?

[Jack Armstrong]

Blanche Flower. I'm sorry. What BNB in the Morning found is striking. Responses to the Cantrell ladder barely seem to correlate with expressions of either positive or negative feelings. Denmark, for example, came to on the top of the ranking in the Cantrell ladder. But like most other Scandinavian countries. Denmark did much worse on both metrics of positive effects, such as how likely respondents have been to smile or laugh. There are 111th out of 164.

[Guest or Co-host]

You think you're in now? Wait till we take Greenland.

[Jack Armstrong]

Come on, Michael. That is the co host joke of the day tied together both humor and relevant headlines. And they were also super high on negative measures. Whether they'd worried a lot, they were 93rd out of 164th. As a result, the rankings presented by these guys looks totally different than the more famous version published by the un, which is really almost enough to ruin it in my mind.

[Guest or Co-host]

No kidding.

[Jack Armstrong]

If I hear the UN is in charge of this, I think, ah, right. It's either a scam or a ripoff or both.

[Guest or Co-host]

Where are you on the Cantrell's ladder, do you think? Where would you put yourself?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, pretty high.

[Guest or Co-host]

I'm a. I'm a seven or eight, I think, currently.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Gosh. Well, I. The cancer ladder's stupid, but probably 8ish. 9ish, I guess. But I like this other measure more. There are many things I'm very, very happy and satisfied with. There are things that I worry about a lot. But all right, so. So it's very, very different. Finland, for example, falls to 51st place. Conversely, countries like Japan, Panama and Thailand. Thailand. None of which do especially well on the official ranking. Would you like to take a shot at Panama? As long as we're here, Mr. Trump. Anyway, they suddenly appear a lot happier. All of them are ranked above Finland and other supposed top performers.

[Guest or Co-host]

I'm not sure. I find this pretty complicated to try to get into anyway, because I've talked about this a lot with my own personality and I was discussing this with somebody the other day who has a similar personality to me, like kind of cranky bitches a lot. But like in real life, I mean, like in reality. Oh, no, things are going to be fine for me. I always think things are going to be fine for me. Always have, always will. But I complain a lot and think everything's going to help, but I think things are going to be fine for me. I think I know people are the opposite or just kind of cheerful and happy, everything like that. But just everything sucks. So I'm not sure I don't even know how to rate those things.

[Jack Armstrong]

I called myself the world's most cynical optimist the other day. My son calls me the world's most conservative hippie, which is probably. There's a songwriter who I've been really into lately and I think it's a color. Carl Wallinger. He was with a band called Back Rack. No, I'm over my Back Rack phase. So I've gotten rid of all my tuxedos. I bought like 20 tuxedos. No, but I like him because he's kind of a hippie and he's aghast at the world as he observes it. He's passed now, but he's got a sense of humor. And he says this really sucks. And then he laughs, which I think is important. Anyway, how about the United States? Turns out that happiness varies widely across America, which was just bleak in that stupid Cantrell lad or poll. And some of the parts of the country are seemingly the happiest in the world. Once you break the United States into our states, it becomes clear some are actually doing quite badly. West Virginia, for example, if it was a country ranked 101st out of 250 countries and states, it's about as happy as much poorer places like Sri Lanka and Mauritania.

[Guest or Co-host]

How come? Ran out of cigarettes?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, rampant unemployment and death from overdose, I think. Probably Jack, but the cigarettes too. But some other US states are, according to these guys, among the happiest in the world. Seven of them. Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska.

[Guest or Co-host]

You live in freaking paradise.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's part of it, yeah. Although you got anesthesiologists chucking their wives off cliffs lately. Listen to the podcast. I think it was hour two or three. But anyway, they're at the very top of the list, meaning that their residents are happier than those of the happiest country in the world, so called, which turns out to be Taiwan, which is East Asia, obviously, not Northern Europe. All in all, the residents of 34 US states plus DC have higher average levels of happiness than do the vaunted Finns with their quote unquote happiness. That UN poll is stupid. This one is more interesting.

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, it's driven by a couple things. First of all, the UN loves anything that could diminish the United States, even though we fund the whole damn thing. And. And the mainstream media loves anything that diminishes the United States. If the mainstream media every single year can say, once again, the United States is not a very happy country, you know, because of income inequality or we don't have enough trans bathrooms or whatever the complaint is.

[Jack Armstrong]

And to paraphrase, well, not Chevy Chase, but the guy who wrote the original Vacation article, a National lampoon in the 70s. Everybody around you might be whistling Zippity Doo Dah out there hind end, but if you're experiencing really tough times. What the hell does it matter?

[Guest or Co-host]

Vice versa.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're living in a happy, happy state. Or vice versa. Yeah, so anyway, just start ignoring that stupid, stupid poll. Or better yet, when it comes out next, next March 20, which is international Happiness Day, go ahead and poo poo it to your friends and neighbors.

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, and I just wish there was more focus on if, if somebody's happy because their expectations are reasonable or they emphasize the, you know, correct things for being happy. Let's talk about that as opposed to, I mean, if somebody's unhappy because they're not famous. I don't give a crap that you're unhappy.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's something. Who cares how countries are ranked? What makes you happy in a lasting way? And how do I attain that? I mean, that, that is, that is. That is Mount Everest next to the, you know, dirt clod that is that idiotic pole. What brings actual happiness. Why don't we talk about that all the damn time? Well, because there's very little money to be made in it as opposed to, you know, defrauding us, bamboozling us into thinking X, Y and Z will bring us happiness.

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, you, you don't. You buy a lot more stuff if you're convinced that that will make you happy. There's no doubt about that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Again, I say ding.

[Guest or Co-host]

And a lot of our cultural influencers are not living the kind of lives that are going to make you personally happy.

[Jack Armstrong]

So how many Instagram influencers that are just smiling and beautiful and happy all the time have to off themselves before America gets the idea?

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah, for all its attention for baby boomers when they were 22, sex, drugs, and rock and roll is not actually the best plan for long term happiness. It's good for an afternoon.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's. It's occupied several weekends of my life. But no, I wouldn't want to make it a lifestyle.

[Guest or Co-host]

We'll finish strong next Armstrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

And get.

[Guest or Co-host]

Jennifer Aniston was out to eat with Pedro Pascal last night in Hollywood. Oh, that bothers me for some reason. I don't know. I think of Rachel as Rachel, and I kind of, you know, have a crush on her like lots of men have throughout history. And I don't like him, so I just didn't like seeing that.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the Mandalorian and Rachel getting together is just. It's too much for you?

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah, I don't like it. I saw one interview with him where I thought he was a jerk and just. I can't stand even see his face anymore, which I shouldn't See his face? He's a Mandalorian.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Guest or Co-host]

Here's the media freaking out over the whole story of the day yesterday. It's obviously a very serious mistake on.

[Jack Armstrong]

The part of whoever included Goldberg in.

[Guest or Co-host]

This highly classified chain of command messaging that went on that involved war plans. The idea that instead all these Trump deputies were hanging out chatting on signal instead, that is very noteworthy, and that's going to raise a lot of red flags.

[Jack Armstrong]

All this information about a strike that happened was imminent. I think about all the different ways that people's lives were in danger.

[Guest or Co-host]

This is so utterly ridiculous. It's not only a national embarrassment, this is a national embarrassment. So that's enough to get the flavor of it, the national embarrassment and using a signal and everything like that. John Bolton, who was. What was he under Trump? Was he national security adviser?

[Jack Armstrong]

That is correct, sir.

[Guest or Co-host]

Not a Trump fan now, and Trump's not a fan of him anyway. He said yesterday it's inconceivable that the White House would not use the classified channels. We have spent so much time and effort and money over decades trying to make as secure as possible. This carelessness puts American service members at risk. If that's true, I'm as unhappy as him. Can we nail that down, people? Come on, somebody. It should be fairly easy. The CIA director said, yeah, as soon as I confirmed, they put this on my computer, and everybody uses it all the time. So is that true or not? Yeah. Can we get that figured out?

[Jack Armstrong]

No. How can we not get to the bottom of this?

[Guest or Co-host]

Is there no. Is there no anybody that we can count on to count call balls and strikes anymore? It says. Yeah, it's very common. Maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe Congress ought to write a law that this is okay or not, but people have been using it for classified information now for several years.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Or say that update that said it was hackable was part of a blizzard of information that all federal employees get, and many people missed it. That's what happened. I just. I'm fine. I don't mind my own side screwing up. That doesn't mean AOC should be the next president. It just means we need to do better. I'm not threatened by that. Hey, we made a mistake. Yeah, everybody does. It's cool. Just try not to make a fatal one admit me chorus to this history who prologue. Like your humble patience, pray gently to hear kindly to judge the final thoughts of Armstrong and Getty.

[Guest or Co-host]

Of course it works both ways. You can't claim there are no war plans discussed when we find out Absolutely. Were war plans discussed?

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Guest or Co-host]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, how about 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. Michael, what's your final thought?

[Guest or Co-host]

You know, I know a lot of.

[Jack Armstrong]

People don't like the digital coupons in grocery stores, but I use them a lot. Save a lot on my yogurt because I eat yogurt like every day. So I'm pro, you know, pro coupon. I love them. Katie Green, what's your stance on coupons? Or pick your own final thought?

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, love coupons. But my final thought is these people attacking the Tesla is my favorite part is that every Tesla has cameras all over it. Yeah. And the videos of them are all over the Internet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And people wearing masks out in a parking lot to key the car. Anybody's wearing a mask alone out of doors, it's because they're about to do something nasty. Masks are illegal in a lot of situations. Start enforcing a jack. I've jumped the queue. But what's your final thought?

[Guest or Co-host]

Funny you bring that up. I'm fighting the urge to get a cybertruck almost primarily because it's a big military middle finger to a certain crowd. And I've got so many people in my neighborhood that still have Harris Walls signs up. And I just feel like rolling by in the cyber truck would be so awesome.

[Jack Armstrong]

Giant trump flag of flapping Kid Rock jamming from the stereo.

[Guest or Co-host]

Do it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do it. Make your town great again.

[Guest or Co-host]

Make me unpopular again. Armstrong and Yeti wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Jack Armstrong]

So many people. Thanks a little time. Go to armstrongandgetti.com that's Hot Links. Oh my goodness, the clicks. So enlightening. So interesting. Pick up an ang hoodie or T shirt for your favorite AMG fan. Maybe it's you. Helps keep everybody on the staff during these difficult times. And let us know if there's something we ought to be talking about. [e-mail] I mean if your neighbor gets.

[Guest or Co-host]

A cyber truck, now that's a message, isn't it? See you tomorrow. God bless plus America Armstrong and Ghetti.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm gonna say this at risk of my job.

[Guest or Co-host]

I'd love to have hams for hands. That is very noteworthy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Was these crazy thinking. It's really come as quite a shock to me.

[Guest or Co-host]

This is a national emergency.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's true. Yep.

[Guest or Co-host]

Absolutely.

[Jack Armstrong]

So let's go out with a bang in the Greenlanders they got their fur up and that. Literally, they're furry people. It's so cold there.

[Guest or Co-host]

Have you seen the Hobbits? They're like Hobbits.

[Jack Armstrong]

Very much like that. But not just the feet. Very Harry on that high note. Thank you all very much. Armstrong and Gettys.