You're A Table Full Of Pimmels

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "You're A Table Full Of Pimmels" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: February 18, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Distributor: iHeartPodcasts

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Main Discussion: Germany’s Crackdown on Online Hate Speech

In this episode, Armstrong and Getty delve deep into Germany’s recent stringent measures against online hate speech, examining the implications for free speech and democratic values both in Germany and globally.

Early Morning Raids and Government Actions

The conversation kicks off with an account of early morning raids conducted by German police targeting individuals accused of hate speech, threats, and inciting violence online. These actions aim to curb the proliferation of racist content on the internet.

• Joe Getty [02:05]: "It's 6:01 on a Tuesday morning, and we were with state police as they raided this apartment in northwest Germany."

Defining Hate Speech and Its Enforcement

Armstrong and Getty scrutinize how Germany defines and enforces hate speech laws, expressing concerns about the broad and often vague criteria that could stifle legitimate discourse.

• Jack Armstrong [07:07]: "In what sense was it racist? Who is it racist against? Give me the specifics."

Critique of 60 Minutes' Portrayal

A significant portion of the discussion criticizes a recent 60 Minutes report that portrayed Germany's actions in a positive light. Armstrong finds the report's stance troubling and misleading.

• Jack Armstrong [03:07]: "The 60 Minutes report was gleefully, weirdly, troublingly positive about the idea of restricting free speech if it's the wrong speech."

Free Speech vs. Censorship

The hosts debate the delicate balance between protecting free speech and preventing hate speech. They argue that excessive restrictions can lead to authoritarianism and suppress dissenting voices.

• Ryan Seacrest [07:54]: "How can you say all that? Free speech has its limits."
• Jack Armstrong [08:02]: "Everybody understands that there are certain limits, but they are extremely limited limits."

Historical Context and Misinterpretations

Armstrong refutes claims that free speech was weaponized to conduct genocide in Nazi Germany, emphasizing that Nazi regime's actions were fundamentally authoritarian and not a reflection of free speech principles.

• Jack Armstrong [34:24]: "Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide."
• Joe Getty [34:26]: "The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian."

Impact on Democracy and Public Discourse

The discussion highlights how Germany's approach to regulating speech could undermine democratic values by creating an environment of fear and self-censorship, reducing public participation in discourse.

• Joe Getty [19:48]: "Half of the Internet users in Germany are afraid to express their political opinion and they rarely participate in public debates online anymore."

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JD Vance’s Controversial Speech at Munich Security Conference

A focal point of the episode is Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he criticized European governments as internal threats to security, overshadowing external threats like Russia or China.

Vance’s Assertions and European Backlash

Vance argued that the real threat to Europe comes from within its own governments rather than external actors. This stance was met with strong opposition from European allies, particularly Germany.

• JD Vance [25:13]: "The threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor."
• Jack Armstrong [26:14]: "More analysis of the back and forth to come. But let's get JD Vance in his own words."

European Leaders’ Responses

European leaders, especially from Germany, labeled Vance’s remarks as a direct assault on their democratic principles, reinforcing the tension between differing views on governance and free speech.

• Ryan Seacrest [26:14]: "A prominent German politician told me that was a direct assault on European democracy."

Implications for US-European Relations

The episode explores how Vance’s speech has strained US-European relations, with European diplomats viewing the comments as a challenge to their internal policies and democratic integrity.

• Juan Makers [33:01]: "It's a humiliation for the United States and a confirmation that this administration isn't on the side of the democracies."

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Free Speech in Practice: Practical Examples and Ethical Concerns

Armstrong and Getty provide real-world examples to illustrate the complexities and ethical dilemmas surrounding free speech regulations.

Case Study: Andy Grote’s Raid

The hosts discuss the 2021 case of Andy Grote, a local politician in Germany who faced a police raid after a tweet calling him "a pimmel" (a derogatory term in German). This case exemplifies the extreme measures taken against perceived hate speech.

• Joe Getty [11:51]: "A 2021 case involving a local politician named Andy Grote that captured the country's attention."

Public Reaction and Censorship Debate

The episode highlights public reactions to these raids, questioning the fairness and consistency of enforcing such laws and the potential for abuse in silencing dissent.

• Jack Armstrong [09:52]: "That's hate speech. Sorry, we're going to take away your right to say any. To make any criticism that anybody could even implausibly claim is insulting."

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Additional Topics: Cultural Commentary and Modern Issues

While the primary focus remains on free speech and censorship, Armstrong and Getty briefly touch upon other contemporary issues, offering cultural critiques with their characteristic humor and skepticism.

Saturday Night Live Review

The hosts share their reactions to the recent Saturday Night Live 50th-anniversary special, discussing the show's sketches and guest performances with mixed opinions.

• Ryan Seacrest [40:13]: "I couldn't believe the star-studded audience."

Emoji Skin Tone Debate

A light-hearted segment covers the controversy over emoji skin tones, critiquing the perceived overemphasis on racial representation in digital communication.

• Ryan Seacrest [42:45]: "NPR had an article which I didn't click on and read that said some white people may choose the yellow thumbs up because it feels neutral."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Joe Getty [02:27]: "Free speech meets boundaries. Wow."
• Jack Armstrong [03:46]: "Margaret Brennan ... was so completely blind to the realities of the world."
• Ryan Seacrest [08:02]: "You just nullified the first part of your sentence with the second part of the sentence."
• Jack Armstrong [09:52]: "It's horrible."
• Joe Getty [34:28]: "There was no free speech in Nazi Germany."

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Conclusion

Armstrong and Getty conclude the episode by reiterating the importance of safeguarding free speech while being vigilant against its potential misuse. They warn against the slippery slope of authoritarianism that can emerge from overzealous censorship and emphasize the need for balanced regulations that protect both freedom and dignity.

• Jack Armstrong [37:14]: "It's just freaking frightening."
• Ryan Seacrest [37:14]: "A very, very frightening weekend from the standpoint of free speech."

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Takeaway:
The episode provides a critical examination of Germany's methods to regulate online hate speech, scrutinizing the broader implications for free speech and democratic integrity. Through detailed analysis and spirited debate, Armstrong and Getty caution against the dangers of excessive censorship and advocate for the preservation of open, nuanced public discourse.

Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Cindy Crawford]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now, here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Germany is cracking down. We were with German police as they conducted early early morning raids on citizens who'd been accused of hate speech, threats and inciting violence online in the United States. A lot of people look at this and say, this is restricting free speech. It's a threat to democracy. Free speech meets boundaries. Wow.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And yeah, you throw in the German accent, and that's really something. That's from 60 Minutes Sunday night, coming on the heels of JD Vance giving Europe a lecture about censorship and being anti free speech over the weekend.

[Jack Armstrong]

And as we will discuss, the 60 Minutes report was gleefully, weirdly, troublingly positive about the idea of restricting free speech if it's the wrong speech. Made even more notable their awful attitude by the fact that it occurred on the same day as this clip. Margaret Brennan talking to Marco Rubio on Face the Nation.

[Joe Getty]

He was standing in a country where free speech was weapon to conduct a genocide. And he met with the head of a political party that has far right views and some historic ties to extreme groups.

[Jack Armstrong]

Margaret Brennan, attempting to suggest that J.D. vance shouldn't have advocated free speech because free speech is what led to the genocide in Germany against the Jews, which is almost hilariously idiotic and so wildly inaccurate, it's barely worth the time to describ how incredibly inaccurate it was. Free speech under Hitler, when was that exactly? Asks every historian on Earth.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I know I'm Mr. Hyperbole, but I feel like that's one of the craziest things I've ever heard. One of the major Sunday show anchors say it is J.D.

[Jack Armstrong]

Vance. Unquestionably, J.D.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Vance was standing in Germany where the rise of fascism happened in a genocide and they weaponized free speech. What are you talking about?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God. Yeah, she's nuts.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I'm so lost on this. I don't understand their. Their worldview. I guess we'll learn more of this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I do. I can describe it to you exactly. It's the lust for power. If you control speech, you control everything else.

[Ryan Seacrest]

But how does that work in a democracy? Don't you? The other side gets to do it, too, when they're in charge Again, I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hate even going to that argument because then it makes it a conditional thing. Well, for practical reasons, I guess you're right. I won't limit free speech. I don't even want to go there.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's horrific. Horrific. And how you get there in a democracy. The other thing is you declare an emergency. Happens all the time. Both parties. This is Trump's doing it right now, and I don't approve of it. There are half a dozen different emergencies he's declared which are highly questionable for the purpose of gaining emergency Powers, I hate it on both sides. We need to stop. Anyway, back to 60 Minutes. Do you want to ringlean our way through the cliffs? Doesn't really matter. We can start with 80. Michael.

[Joe Getty]

It's 6:01 on a Tuesday morning, and we were with state police as they raided this apartment in northwest Germany. Inside, six armed officers searched the suspect's home, then seized his laptop and cell phone. Prosecutors say those electronics may have been used to commit a crime. The crime? Hosting a racist cartoon online. At the exact same time across Germany, more than 50 similar raids played out part of what prosecutors say is a coordinated effort to curb online hate speech in Germany.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And the one guy points out, maybe it'll be in one of these clips, the 7,000 cases or something that they investigated last year. Wow, that's a. That's a lot. In a country much smaller than the United States. Imagine what that would look like in the United States. And hate speech, of course. The. One of the problems with hate speech being who's determining its hate speech, who's making the judgment on that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Sharon Alfonsi, very helpful. He just saved us the trouble and told us the cartoon was racist. Putting aside whether, you know, you should limit free speech on the basis of quote, unquote, racism anyway, but, yeah, what did it say? In what sense was it racist? Who is it racist against? What? Give me the specifics. You're asking for the right to censor me and you just say, take my word, it was terrible.

[Ryan Seacrest]

This part is amazing.

[Joe Getty]

What's the typical reaction when the police show up at somebody's door and they say, hey, we believe you wrote this on the Internet.

[Jack Armstrong]

They say, in Germany, we say, das wit moi molsugmar saagen durfen.

[Joe Getty]

So we are here with crimes of.

[Jack Armstrong]

Talking, posting on Internet, and the people are surprised that this is really illegal.

[Joe Getty]

To post these kind of words. They don't think it was illegal.

[Jack Armstrong]

They don't think it was illegal. Then they say, no, that's my free speech.

[Joe Getty]

And we say, no, you have free speech as well. But it also has its limits.

[Ryan Seacrest]

See, I don't. I can't. I've got to accept that. It's just true that obviously smart people in charge of things can say words like that. How can you say all that? Free speech has its limits.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, then it's not free speech.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You just nullified the first part of your sentence with the second part of the sentence.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, everybody understands that there are certain limits, but they are extremely limited limits. People like this just say, hey, because there are Limits.

[Ryan Seacrest]

There.

[Jack Armstrong]

There can be more limits. And I will decide what limits there are.

[Cindy Crawford]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, that's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which I respond, no, you don't get to decide. No freaking way.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Control your soul's desire for freedom, they say in China. This part amazed me. I was unaware of this.

[Joe Getty]

It's illegal to display Nazi symbolism. A swastika denied the Holocaust. That's. That's fair. Is it a crime to insult somebody in public? Yes. Yes, it is. And it's a crime to insult them online as well?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

The fine could be even higher if.

[Jack Armstrong]

You insult someone in the Internet.

[Joe Getty]

Why? Because in Internet, it stays there.

[Jack Armstrong]

If we are talking here face to face, you insult me, I insult you.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, finish.

[Jack Armstrong]

But if you. In the Internet, if I insult you.

[Joe Getty]

Or a politician that sticks around forever.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah. So she says to these three people, there's a fine if you insult someone. And they all just say, yeah, like, you know, of course, what. And what defines an insult?

[Jack Armstrong]

And folks, keep in mind, remember, we're still in the era, certainly on university campuses and in government and some other places where if you are insulted, that's proof that the other person has done wrong. You remember, I didn't mean that to be racist. It doesn't matter what you meant. It's how I received it. So you give the person receiving it the carte blanche to declare whatever they want to be insulting or hurtful or racist or abusive of Islam or whatever, and therefore, that falls within. Well, that's hate speech. Sorry, we're going to take away your right to say any. To make any criticism that anybody could even implausibly claim is insulting. It's horrible.

[Ryan Seacrest]

So somebody posts. The chancellor is a moron. I assume that would be a crime. Maybe you didn't post it. Maybe you just did this.

[Joe Getty]

If somebody posts something that's not true and then somebody else reposts it or likes it, are they committing a crime?

[Jack Armstrong]

In the case of reposting, it is.

[Joe Getty]

A crime as well, because the reader.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can'T distinguish whether you just invented this or just reposted it. That's the same for us.

[Ryan Seacrest]

So when I was listening to that one, I was thinking about. It was an official Biden Harris campaign ad that we had playing in the United States. Donald Trump threatens a bloodbath if he loses, which was absolutely a lie and misinformation. On the side that 60 Minutes is on. Would you consider that a crime or only when it's coming from the other side? You see, that's where the rubber meets the road on this whole thing and it gets, you know, unworkable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I happen to have a couple of articles, think pieces, etc that point out how incredibly one sided this is. It's just a lust for power. The other thing that really, and it's funny we're talking about one of the most fundamental human rights that any human beings ever enjoyed. But you know what annoyed the crap out of me was when they're. And I'm not sure if we have these clips, but they were talking about the fines, which are fairly heavy. I mean, it's thousands of dollars in fines and multiple offenses can put you in jail, but some people just have their ph and their laptops confiscated for good and they don't get them back. And Cheryl Fonzie said, your phone, wow. Because everything's on there. That is tough. And she was amused at the idea of these people who indulged in what the Germans are calling hate speech, getting their devices taken away and not getting access to them anymore.

[Ryan Seacrest]

She thought that was funny, an insensitive joke. They come and take your laptop in your phone and you don't get it back. And to a certain crowd, that's awesome. This story I found amusing.

[Joe Getty]

But it was a 2021 case involving a local politician named Andy Grote that captured the country's attention. Grote complained about a tweet that called him a pimmel, a German word for the male anatomy. That triggered a police raid and accusations of excessive censorship by the government. As prosecutors explained to us in Germany, it's okay to debate politics online, but it can be a crime to call anyone a pimmel, even a politician. So it sounds like you're saying it's okay to criticize a politician's policy, but not to say I think you're a jerk and an idiot. Exactly. Comments like you're son of a bitch. Excuse me for these words has nothing to do with political discussions or a contribution to a discussion.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That's amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's. It's one of the great canards that sensors use. Here's an example, right, Where I'm censoring something reasonably right. And then you're supposed to extrapolate from there. Therefore, I trust you to censor whenever you want. F you. No. And you are a pimmel. You're like the table full of pimmels.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Right. I kept thinking that as they used various examples, I thought, yeah, it'd be nice if you could censor that and not other stuff. But once you open the door, then you start making choices and who's making Those choices, it gets out of hand really, really fast.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

We'll have to play some more of this from the 60 Minutes. When we come back, some more amazing stories. But we all lived through this in the United States, so we know how off track this can get so fast. When it was basically against the rules to say, you know, I think the virus probably came out of that lab, you couldn't say it for a couple of years.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Or you would be punished. Maybe not by law enforcement in the ways we're used to, but you would be punished by proxy by the government.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And cbs, it would seem, and many others. A lot of college professors want it to be against the law to post misinformation.

[Jack Armstrong]

And again, misinformation, like if you get the inoculation, you can still get Covid and you can still spread it. That is dangerous misinformation.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Wow, it's scary.

[Jack Armstrong]

100 true.

[Ryan Seacrest]

They're so enthusiastic about it there in Germany. And then we got. And then CBS is enthusiastic about it too. That is freaking frightening. We got a lot more on the.

[Cindy Crawford]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

SNL 50th anniversary special that I watched the whole thing of on Sunday night. I was highly amused.

[Jack Armstrong]

I had to stop like a lot of people after an early sketch. I went back to it later, but it was incredibly annoying.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I couldn't believe the star studded audience. Oh my God. That was. That was quite the collection of famous people in one room. We're focusing a little bit on 60 Minutes from Sunday night because it was one of the more astounding things I've ever seen. And I've watched practically every 60 Minutes episode of the last 40 years. That was just crazy. CBS's enthusiasm for cracking down on free speech. And they're sort of like portraying Germany's model is. Isn't this fantastic how they'll arrest you if you insult somebody or if you put a cartoon somebody doesn't like on.

[Jack Armstrong]

The Internet or if you engage in misinformation and disinformation. I would characterize it as 60 Minutes gets an enthusiastic lesson from the Germans on how to crack down on irresponsible speech.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Here's a little of the German authorities laying out how it works.

[Joe Getty]

Josephine Balon is a CEO of HAY D a Berlin based human rights organization that supports victims of online violence in the United States. A lot of people look at this and say, this is restricting free speech. It's a threat to democracy. Free speech needs boundaries. And in the case of Germany, these boundaries are part of our Constitution. Without boundaries, a very small group of people can rely on endless freedom to say anything that they want, while everyone else is scared and intimidated. In your fears that if people are freely attacked online that they'll withdraw from the discussion. This is not only a fear. It's already taking place already. Half of the Internet users in Germany are afraid to express their political opinion and they rarely participate in public debates online anymore. Half of the Internet users.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I honest to God, I was listening to this in my car. I had to pull over my car and replay that. I was so amazed at what that woman just said. So first of all, she says, without boundaries, a small group of people could control the conversation. And with boundaries, a small group of people controls the conversation. And I mean, come on. Obviously. And then she says, what did she say? It flitted out of my mind. What was the next thing she said? Damn it. I got so worked up over the first part. How does she not understand that?

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[Ryan Seacrest]

A few people control the conversation. Then you argue against them, but. So you're suggesting a small group of people control the entire conversation. Oh, the second part was if you have. There are people out there that are intimidated to put things online because somebody will say something mean to them. So you want rules where everybody's intimidated to say what they think because they'll end up find her in jail. What are you talking about?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And just as an American, the history of who gets ruined and run out of their career and harassed and doxed because they made a politically incorrect comment many years ago. Yeah, it cuts both ways, doesn't it?

[Ryan Seacrest]

And then, and then this little part here where this politician was talking about how she had been insulted online or wronged online and how she handled it. The little one. 80 the B this court said, in.

[Joe Getty]

Case of public servants which have public office and jobs, it's public interest that their personal rights are protected because otherwise no one would go for these jobs, you know, that would harm democracy. After all this, are you seeing less hateful comments now on your social media feeds? Yes, there are less hateful comments. And there was one tweet which says, don't say that to her. She will take you to court. You might sue them. I might sue them.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And Sherry Fonzie was just like, oh, you might sue them. Huh? Isn't that great? Somebody said something negative about you online and you'll sue them. That's fantastic.

[Jack Armstrong]

J.D. vance's fabulous speech in front of the Euros. In a related story, Stay with us, Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

In Munich this week, Vice President J.D. vance stunned America's European allies by saying it is their governments and not Russia or China that represent the biggest threat to security in the region. The threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, and we're going to get a little more of what JD Said in Europe. And he's talking about this free speech stuff we're talking a lot about at this hour because it's, well, one, it's a really, really big deal and Joe and I are really into it. But I continue to be shocked. We got a text from somebody who said, yeah, I saw the promos for 60 Minutes and I just assumed they were going to take a somewhat adversarial approach as a news outlet to what they're doing in Germany. But no, they were cheerleaders for the fact that Germany is censoring all kinds of speech, which is interesting. But anyway, to J.D. vance's attack on Europe, which the Europeans did not take. Well, specifically the Germans, he gave this speech in Munich. This is from the Financial Times. A prominent German politician told me that was a direct assault on European democracy. The senior diplomat said, it is very clear now Europe is alone. When I asked him if he now regarded the US as an adversary, he replied, yes, this senior German diplomat.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. More analysis of the back and forth to come. But let's get JD Vance in his own words. First. We'll flesh out the thing you already heard. 92. Michael. The threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America. Oh, that just added one half a sentence. All right, next clip. And speaking up and expressing opinions isn't election interference even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential. And trust me, I say this with all humor. If American Democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk. But what German democracy, what no democracy, American, German, or European will survive, is telling millions of voters that their thoughts and concerns, their aspirations, their pleas for relief are invalid or unworthy of even being considered.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, I remember if he said it in his speech or just an interview afterwards, the rise of some of these parties on the right is because they're not getting. Their voice is not heard in any way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, indeed. That was the point. I was gonna get to a little more of. J.D. if you were afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your own people, then there's nothing America can do for you. Among the problems he went on to list were governments dismissing voters concerns, shutting down their media, and violating the basic liberties of the religious. And as Jack points out, and I've said so many times, if you either instill enough fear or you actually regulate it to the point that your mainstream can't express what your people are feeling. Parties are gonna rise up on the far right or the far left. They're gonna express those feelings. And people who normally wouldn't be attracted to them are gonna say, finally, that party speaks for me. I'm going with that party. Yeah, but they're neo Nazis. I don't care. They're the first party that says what I feel. If you want extremism, suppress people's speech, tell them what's not acceptable to say. That's how you get. That's how you get extremism.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, to a certain extent, that's how Trump got elected. I mean, the people that vote for him, despite the flaws that they don't like. It's like you constantly see reality not being your reality not being expressed in mainstream media. It's very angry.

[Jack Armstrong]

So in response to what Vance just said and more that we haven't played, the German defense minister said that Vance's words were not acceptable, which beautifully made Vance's point. There was the veep of the United States arguing that the Europeans had become far too comfortable telling people what they could and could not say. And instead of developing a counter theory, the first official to issue a rejoinder told him he shouldn't have said that. Thank you for making my point for me, hair official, sir. Unbelievable.

[Ryan Seacrest]

One of my favorite pundits said, in Europe, especially in Germany, you have basically two choices. Either you agree with the prevailing narrative on issues like Covid climate, immigration, Trump, in which case you are a responsible, kind democratic and all the other approving adjectives and everything is fine in your life, or you question or disagree with the direction on any of those things and think that your leaders might not be getting it right, in which case you're a populist. Populist or racist, you're uneducated, of course, you're fire far right or far right, and you're a threat to the country and your views need to be taken off the Internet or shut down or find if you express them in public.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Marco Rubio was interviewed on Face the Nation by the absolute idiot Margaret Brennan. That would get me a jail time in Germany for. No, she, it's, it's astonishing her lack of wisdom. It's like a some girl who was raised in the woods like Nell and doesn't have the power of speech. She appears to be a normal intelligence, but is so completely blind to the realities of the world, she just doesn't make any sense. But she interviewed Marco Rubio and I want to get to her most infamous and idiotic clip. But first, this about the speech in general.

[Joe Getty]

94, I want to ask you about what happened in Munich, Germany, at the security conference. Vice President Vance gave a speech and he told US allies that the threat he worries about the most is not Russia, it is not China. He called it the threat from within. And he lectured about what he described as censorship, mainly focusing, though, on including more views from the right. He also met with the leader of a far right party known as the AfD, which as you know, is under investigation and monitoring by German intelligence because of extremism. What did all of this accomplish other than irritating our allies? Why would our allies or anybody be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Irritated by free speech?

[Joe Getty]

And by someone giving their opinion. We are, after all, democracies. The Munich Security Conference is largely a conference of democracies in which one of the things that we cherish and value is the ability to speak freely and provide your opinions.

[Jack Armstrong]

And so I think if anyone's angry about his word, they don't have to agree with him.

[Joe Getty]

But to be angry about it, I think actually makes his point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whether it's the American left or, you know, in the past, the right or the Europeans. It's like talking to somebody who doesn't understand steam. There's a boiling pot and there's steam pouring out of it. And they say, don't worry, I'll take care of the steam. And they clamp the lid down, and then they're astounded by what happens next. Unbelievable lack of wisdom. And then, Jack, unless you wanted to jump in there, this. Which should go down in broadcast infamy for the rest of time.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, I was just gonna point out Jonathan Turley wrote a column in the New York Post yesterday. Vance rightly excoriates Europe. What values are we defending? And compared the speech to Reagan's. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall speech in its possible importance for the. The culture of free speech and different points of view. But he also, what Bill Kristol of cnn, who used to be at the Weekly Standard and his dad is one of the fathers of conservatism or whatever said, said the speech was a humiliation for the United States and a confirmation that this administration isn't on the side of the democracies.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I read that. Wow.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Absolutely amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

And Vance's greater point, geopolitically speaking, was that, hey, dudes, you're not listening to your people. That steam is building up. It's expressing itself in whether the AfD in Germany or whatever parties that you Marine Le Pen in France in ways that you don't like. So how about you let people release that steam and you listen to your people, otherwise you are going to crumble, and we will not have you as allies anymore because you have crumbled. So it is a very, very practical strategy. It's not just like he was making a rhetorical argument because he likes to argue. He sees our allies falling apart and then this again, this moment. You know, if I was going to limit free speech, I would revoke CBS's license to broadcast based purely on the sheer stupidity of clip 96.

[Joe Getty]

He was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide. And he met with the head of a political party that has far right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that. That the censorship. I disagree with you specifically about the right. No, I have to disagree with you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide.

[Joe Getty]

The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nazi regime that happened to also be.

[Joe Getty]

Genocidal because they hated Jews and they.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hated minorities and they hated those that they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews.

[Joe Getty]

There was no free speech in Nazi Germany.

[Jack Armstrong]

There was none.

[Joe Getty]

There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were a sole and only party that governed that country.

[Jack Armstrong]

So that's not an accurate reflection of history.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The phrase weaponized free speech is something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and tag me, Marco. I want to jump in here. Far from being an example of free speech weaponized to conduct a genocide, Germany under Hitler was engaged in precisely the sort of democratic authoritarianism that Vance was condemning. It was exactly the opposite of what the ninny Margaret Brennan suggested. He was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to commit a genocide. Good Lord, what an ignoramus.

[Ryan Seacrest]

What Jonathan Turley calls the haymaker from Vance's speech is when he said, if you're running in fear of your own voters, there's nothing American can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything you can do for the American people that elected me and Donald Trump. If you're running in fear from your own voters, there's nothing America can do for you. And that's what they're doing with the censorship. They don't like the point of view of a big chunk of their countries, and so they're trying to outlaw that point of view, which is not gonna work.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Their inability to deal with steam, as I described it before, is partly practical because the steam is rising because of their policies, namely rampant immigration, open immigration from the Muslim world especially, and also economic policies. But the other part of it is ideological. They are so intensely uncomfortable with the conversation about, hey, we've let all these people who do not share our values, they do not share our culture, in fact, they despise our culture and they've been tasked with overturning it in the name of Sharia, for instance. This is not good. They are so intensely uncomfortable with that for political correct reasons, to use the cliched old phrase, that they can't even permit it. And so they cheerfully inform a cheerful Sharon Alfonsi on CBS that, well, free speech has its limits. We must. We must corral it so nobody says anything rude and we will just clamp that lid on and that'll get rid of the steam. Well, good luck.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And let me guess, you could say practically anything about people on the right and that wouldn't be considered rude or an attack or anything like that. That's just fact. Those are just facts.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah, it's entirely one sided.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That is really something. What a very, very frightening weekend from the standpoint of free speech.

[Jack Armstrong]

But you know, getting Back to Reagan's Mr. Gorbachev speech, I think Turley's not overstating how important it is to go to their homes. Say that out loud in front of the world. Y'all are committing suicide because you don't listen to your people.

[Ryan Seacrest]

If you got any comments on that, you could Our text line is 415295KFTC.

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[Sports Announcer]

This Saturday, February 22nd at 1:30pm Eastern, it's the Pro Volleyball Federation's first all match. The league's biggest stars will clash in a can't miss event hosted in the indie metro area, home of the indie Ignite. Catch every serve, spike and save live on cbs. Don't miss this historic showdown of volleyball's finest. The Pro Volleyball Federation All Star match this Saturday at 1:30pm Eastern on CBS. Be there.

[Jack Armstrong]

A fun fact.

[Ryan Seacrest]

A person born during the first season.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of Saturday Night Live could today be.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Easily dead of natural causes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now you're going to see a lot of familiar things tonight. Musical guests, sketches, cameo appearances, the news.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And this is the monologue. Traditionally the weakest part of the show yet. The monologue is like a rent controlled tenant.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's not going anywhere even though it's stinks.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I thought the Saturday Night Live show was really, really entertaining. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was the opening. So they opened with Paul Simon in a musical thing with the hot it girl of the time, that Sabrina Carpenter woman who shows up everywhere. It's funny how the whole it girl thing is. Is for real.

[Jack Armstrong]

Save your money dear.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You can. Yeah, no kidding. Because there'll be another hot young blonde come along. But I liked her line about the famous Paul Simon George Harrison duet from way back in the day, like second season or something like that on Saturday Night Live. And she said I wasn't even born yet and neither were my parents. And I thought holy crap, that's true. Her parents were born yet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I thought the big giant musical number at the end about New York and everything with John Mulaney as an area. I thought, wow, that was some art. That was some amazing stuff there. Just really, really cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was shocked if you didn't see it, the extent to which it was new comedy.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

With just zillions of. I assumed it'd be a flashback show and it had some. But it was mostly newly produced stuff and a lot of it was really good. A lot of it was not. But that's the nature of, you know, that sketch comedy.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, that was a lot of their more famous sketches like the, the being abducted by alien stuff. And just, you know, anyway, they splayed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Need Meryl Streep as guest star.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, pretty funny. I thought Eddie Murphy doing Tracy Morgan standing next to Tracy Morgan was pretty dang hilarious.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, that was very funny.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And Keon Thompson say, you too, you could be related. And Tracy Morgan says, I don't see it. Oh, I laughed so hard at that show.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let me acknowledge briefly the infamous Doug thing where the punchline of the black Jeopardy sketch was that a Trump supporter, such a stupid racist, he won't even shake the hand of a black man.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

At which I turned it off for a while. I was like, no, sorry, you don't want me. Okay, bye.

[Ryan Seacrest]

So different topic here. Came across this on the NPR feed. So I don't use emojis, but the rest of you people do for some reason. And apparently if you do a thumbs up, there are six different skin colors you can choose for the thumbs up. There used to just be yellow, but now there's yellow. I don't know, slightly tan, more tan, even more tan. Brown and black are your choices. And it's like a paint chip you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Get at the hardware store.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And NPR had an article which I didn't click on and read that said some white people may choose the yellow thumbs up because it feels neutral. But academics argue opting out of the actual white guy thumb, I guess, signals a lack of awareness about white privilege akin to society associating whiteness with being raceless. So it's kind of the whole anti racist thing. If you choose the yellow guy thumbs up, it is a racist move because you're claiming there's a neutral or something. I don't know what it was, but I just found that quite hilarious.

[Jack Armstrong]

And everything is based on race all the time. So you need to pick an accurate skin tone and then acknowledge your white thumbs up supremacy. You know what, you people, you had your day and you're still having it in government to some extent and on campuses. But we're coming for you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We had this story a couple of weeks ago. It's obvious, but I hadn't thought about it before, but now I think about it every time I hear academics say or experts say. You got to remember that academics and experts are like depending on the what their expertise is, a hundred percent of them are progressives. Sometimes it gets down to as few as 98% of them are progressives. But so if you go to experts they're all on one side. So of course the experts say this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. Just remember this, if an expert's quoted, there's a good chance that is a professor. Professors are the media's favorite experts. And if it's a professor, it's going to be a progressive person almost always. So yeah, whenever you hear incredibly one.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Sided, experts think this is dangerous. Okay, so you ask progressives and nobody else. But that's hilarious. You're showing your white privilege if you don't, if you, if you use the yellow thumbs up. So think, think about that throughout the day.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just like the Simpsons, you evil.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Be funny racist bastard.

[Jack Armstrong]

Npr has that been defunded yet, please?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Not yet. Doge is working on it. We got a lot more on the way in some of the news of the day. They're meeting in Saudi Arabia right now about trying to wind down the war in Ukraine. Among other things, Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Sure feel like it.

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[Sports Announcer]

This Saturday, February 22nd at 1:30pm Eastern. It's the Pro Volleyball Federation's first All Star match. The league's biggest stars will clash in a can't miss event hosted in the Indy metro area, home of the Indy Ignite. Catch every serve, spike and save live on cbs. Don't miss this historic showdown of volleyball's finest, the Pro Volleyball Federation All Star Match this Saturday at 1:30pm Eastern on CBS. Be there.