You're Europe... So Stupid!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "You're Europe... So Stupid!"

Date: October 21, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Producer: Katie Green
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

The Armstrong & Getty Show dives into the chaos of headline news with irreverence and pointed analysis. This episode centers on the U.S. government shutdown’s public indifference, a thwarted mass shooting at Atlanta airport, identity politics in global leadership, media narratives, and the complexity of international conflicts—particularly in Ukraine, the Middle East, and attitudes towards Europe. The hosts mix humor, cultural critique, and their signature skepticism about institutions and "groupthink."

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Government Shutdown: Widespread Indifference

(01:06 – 02:34)

• The government shutdown has reached the second-longest in U.S. history, yet most Americans (outside of federal employees) appear unfazed.
• Media largely sidelines the shutdown except for stories casting political blame.
• Quote:
  • Jack: “It happens so many times that people are just like, what? There’s still a government shutdown? ...if you’re not [a government worker], it’s just nothing. Nobody’s talking about it.” (01:06)
  • Joe: "Even the mainstream big papers aren't reporting on it... political theater and everybody knows it." (01:32)
• They speculate public attention won’t return unless holiday travel is affected.

2. Thwarted Atlanta Airport Mass Shooting

(02:58 – 04:58)

• Details on a man detained before carrying out a planned mass shooting at Atlanta airport.
• The hosts credit swift action to a family tip and police, consider the mental health/social contagion aspects.
• Quotes:
  • Jack: “...how many people in that airport at that time... who lived rather than died because of that tip off. It's just stunning to think about.” (03:55)
  • Joe: “Another unhappy loser who decided to commit suicide, but his suicide would not be noticed... unless he can do something spectacular, taking several people along with him.” (04:15)
• Ties to larger discussions of copycat behavior, mental illness, and social fads.

3. Social Contagions & Media Fads

(04:58 – 06:32)

• Joe draws lines from mass violence to other “social contagions” like adolescent transgenderism and anorexia, calling them passing cultural fads with serious consequences.
• Armstrong cites historical examples, such as early-20th-century bombers, which eventually subsided without obvious interventions.
• Quote:
  • Joe: "It's a social contagion entirely, a fad. Although this fad led to people taking powerful castrating chemicals and mutilating their bodies. It's horrifying." (05:03)
  • Jack: "...people blowing stuff up in the late 1800s...it was a fad for a while over the world... And it just went away as a social contagion. It's weird." (06:12)

4. Identity Politics & the First Female Japanese Prime Minister

(06:32 – 09:12)

• News of Japan's first female prime minister spawns analysis of U.S. media framing—especially NPR’s focus on her conservative stances negating her “progress” as a woman leader.
• The hosts mock the idea that only left-leaning “firsts” count, and highlight the irony of identity politics.
• Quotes:
  • Jack: "A first female prime minister ever...doesn’t count unless she takes the attitudes that NPR thinks a woman should have..." (07:01)
  • Joe: "It’s not about diversity. It’s about people who think like them." (07:28)
  • Joe: "Identity politics is one of the most insulting, disgusting things ever introduced by mankind. My God, reject it, please. It’s horrible." (08:16)
• Discussion widens to gender roles in marriage (who keeps what last name), with added banter from Katie Green.

5. Amazon Web Outage & Hidden Tech Vulnerabilities

(10:44 – 12:13)

• A major Amazon Web Services outage impacts a huge chunk of the internet.
• Hosts express surprise at Amazon’s dominance (37% of the cloud).
• Speculate about the potential for hostile actors to target such infrastructure and the possible downplaying of security breaches.
• Quotes:
  • Jack: "They're nearly 40% of the websites. That's their big money maker. Who knew that?" (11:27)
  • Joe: "Of course, that's the sort of thing you would say [if it was actually a hack]." (11:42)

6. “Lead Story” Headlines with Katie Green

(14:21 – 17:48)

• A rapid-fire rundown of major headlines including the Atlanta airport threat, Ukraine war, U.S. immigration enforcement, Amazon outage, US-China trade, gas prices, and an amusing study about men's intimidation tactics.
• Satirical mention from Babylon Bee: "Homeless man made fun of by other homeless men for not having an iPhone 17." (17:37)

7. Sports, Europe, and National Decline

(19:29 – 21:44)

• Playful banter about the baseball playoffs leads to commentary on French humiliation after a Louvre robbery.
• Joe draws an extended metaphor comparing France and England to underachieving former classmates at a reunion:
  • Joe: "France and Britain are just...that friend that you see at the 20th reunion that things are not going well at all." (21:22)
  • Jack: "You leave the reunion, you're walking to your car, you realize he sleeps in his car. That's France." (21:40)
• Sets the stage for the episode’s memorable refrain: "You're Europe... so stupid!"

8. Ukraine, Russia, and American/European Roles

(21:48 – 24:56)

• Criticism of Trump’s proposed deal-making over Ukraine (e.g., giving up territory for peace), and sharp critiques of Europe's lack of action and overreliance on the U.S. for security.
• Emphasis on the danger of appeasing aggression and the recurring theme of European weakness.
• Quotes:
  • Jack: "Hey, Europe... if the United States pushes for giving up the land, it's your land that's going to get grabbed up the next time." (24:20)
  • Joe: "We've had this socialism paid for by your security umbrella. We don't know what to do now." (24:37)
  • Jack: "You can't even keep Napoleon III's crown from being stolen. ...You're Europe, you're stupid. You're Europe, so stupid." (25:04–25:15)

9. Israel, Gaza, and Middle East Peace: Unrealistic “Phase Two”

(25:19 – 32:09)

• Analysis of the next steps for peace in Gaza post-hostage deal: new government, international stabilization force, and disarming Hamas.
• Armstrong & Getty lampoon the surface-level simplicity, comparing it to a Steve Martin joke about becoming a millionaire: "First, get a million dollars."
• Quotes:
  • Jack: "Step one, get a new government in Gaza. Okay, who's supposed to form that? ...who would even start that?" (27:44)
  • Joe: "...countries hesitant to send troops, fearful of engaging with Hamas. It's still a hot war zone." (27:20)
  • Jack: "How would any of these three things happen? I can't even imagine how possibly..." (31:01)
  • Joe: "The only way this ends is when Hamas is decimated." (31:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Identity Politics
  • Joe: “Identity politics is one of the most insulting, disgusting things ever introduced by mankind. My God, reject it, please. It’s horrible.” (08:16)
• On Europe’s Decline
  • Jack: “You leave the reunion... you realize he sleeps in his car. That’s France.” (21:40)
  • Joe: “You’re Europe. So stupid.” (25:04)
• On American Tech Infrastructure
  • Jack: “They’re nearly 40% of the websites. ...Who knew?” (11:27)
• On Unrealistic Policy Plans
  • Joe: “It’s like the old, what, Steve Martin joke from way back in the 70s. How to become a millionaire: first get a million dollars.” (26:05)
• On Mass Shootings
  • Jack: “It’s just so crazy to think about how many people in that airport at that time... lived rather than died because of that tip off.” (03:55)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |---------------|--------------------------------------------| | 01:06–02:34 | Government Shutdown: Why No One Cares | | 02:58–04:58 | Atlanta Airport Shooting Thwarted | | 04:58–06:32 | Social Contagions (Trans, Anorexia, Bombing)| | 06:32–09:12 | Identity Politics & Japanese PM | | 10:44–12:13 | Amazon Web Outage (Tech Vulnerability) | | 14:21–17:48 | News Headline Roundup (“Lead Story”) | | 19:29–21:44 | Sports Commentary & European Decline | | 21:48–24:56 | Ukraine, Russia, American & European Policy| | 25:19–32:09 | Israel/Gaza “Phase Two” Skepticism |

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Tone and Language

• Signature Armstrong & Getty: sardonic, conversational, irreverent
• Spirited banter and critique of media, politics, and institutional groupthink
• Language oscillates between biting sarcasm, humorous metaphor, and direct policy skepticism

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode delivers quick takes on pressing global news, questioning conventional narratives while poking fun at identity politics, media coverage, and Europe's perceived malaise. The show’s mocking refrain, "You're Europe... so stupid!" epitomizes the tone—combining comedic jabs with sincere concern about geopolitical consequences and Western complacency. Armstrong & Getty's discussions toggle between the deeply serious (mass shootings, war, peace prospects) and the playfully absurd, making the episode dynamic, topical, and highly opinionated.

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If you’re seeking an independent, unfiltered perspective on frontline stories and cultural fads—delivered with wit and skepticism—this is quintessential Armstrong & Getty.

Transcript

[Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Show Intro/Outro Announcer]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now, here's Armstrong and Getty live from Studio C, senor, a dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. Hey, it's Tuesday, and we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[Joe Getty]

Everything. Everywhere, all the time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. Just like that movie.

[Joe Getty]

It's a conceptual general manager.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know how you love those. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Just looking at everything going on and everything. We're supposed to be, like, riveted by too much. Too much.

[Jack Armstrong]

We have now tied for the second longest shutdown in government history. And I, for one, am devastated. So I think that's one of the reasons it's going to keep dragging on is I just. It happens so many times that people are just like, what? There's still a government shutdown? I even know that. Unless you're a government worker and then it's a thing, you know, and you might miss a paycheck and all that, sort of. But if you're not, it's just nothing. Nobody's talking about it. Nobody's paying attention. Right.

[Joe Getty]

I read the always funny and snarky Andrew Stiles in the Free Beacon yesterday. I almost kept it around, but he said something snarky about how nobody's paying attention to the shutdown because it's boring and nobody cares and it's just political theater and everybody knows it and even the mainstream big papers aren't reporting on it. And I thought, really? And I went to the Washington Post and I scrolled like, seven, eight stories down, and there was nothing on it yet. I'm sure they covered it. New York Times has been on it a bit because they're still trying to, you know, cast Trump as the villain in it. But yeah, even the. A lot of the Bigfoot media is like, yeah, this is stupid.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, it's the second longest one ever. So I did hear somebody saying it could be.

[Joe Getty]

Let's go for the record. Come on, America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that would put us into the two more weeks. There was some talk that they could extend till Thanksgiving because of the way the, you know, Congress breaks for holidays and stuff like that. You have. You have air travel disrupted over the busiest traveling week of the year. And that will get people's attention?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah. Well, not only that, but people missing out on seeing their loved ones or. Or having their get togethers cut short and stuff like that. That hurts. I mean, that really hurts. I'm late to a business meeting, that's inconvenient. I gotta make apologies, blah, blah, blah. I don't get to see my kid. That's a drag. New York Times number one story. Government shutdown with no clear end poses new economic threat.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, speaking of airports, how about that mass shooting that they stopped at the busy, busiest airport in the world, the Atlanta airport yesterday. Yeah, Looks like this guy, his plan was he brought some very deadly guns and lots of bullets and was gonna walk in there when it was bus and just start killing people like people do now and then. Somehow I still don't quite understand the story of how his relatives knew he was gonna do this or all that.

[Joe Getty]

But feared something crazy ugly was gonna happen.

[Jack Armstrong]

To the point that you called the police and knew anyway. The cops spotted him walk in, went over, started questioning him, then put him on the ground, went and checked his truck. Sure enough, there's the guns, there's the bullets, but it looked like he went in there to see, okay, lots of long lines. Was gonna go back out to his truck, get his gun and start killing people.

[Joe Getty]

Good Lord.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know. Good Lord. It's just. It's so crazy to think about how many people in that airport at that time. 5 people, 10, 20 people who lived rather than died because of that tip off. It's just stunning to think about.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and another unhappy loser who decided to commit suicide, but his suicide would not be noted, would not be noticed. Nobody would care unless he can do something spectacular, taking several people along with him. That's the new, you know, Overton window possibility for angry losers.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the suicide is the point, and that's the way he wanted to go out. Man, that is just horrifying. Glad they caught him, though. Maybe we'll get.

[Joe Getty]

We move beyond this.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. Maybe we'll get better at recognizing, you know, that person, friend of mine, relative, whatever, has got serious mental problems. And they're talking about killing Charlie Kirk or shooting up an airport or whatever it was. And we'll be more on top of it, I guess.

[Joe Getty]

I hope so. And. Or it goes away as quickly as it came mysteriously. You know, one of the most interesting things I've observed in my lifetime, a couple of things, is the. Well, of course, the social contagion of transgenderism, especially among adolescent girls. It's. Those numbers are plunging. Now, if you didn't hear, we talked about that last week, I think it was because it's a social contagion entirely, a fad. Although this fad led to people taking powerful castrating chemicals and mutilating their bodies. It's horrifying. But it was pointed out in discussing that the anorexia social contagion there for a while.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I can't remember. Is that the 90s maybe, where anorexia among adolescent girls just exploded and then it just went away.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was like your.

[Joe Getty]

Not went away completely. It's a terrible condition, but it went away by, you know, the numbers it became. It went back to being a very, very small people. Group of people with a very serious problem.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I don't know how you stop that from catching on and becoming the thing.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I realize hope is not a plan, but I hope this social contagion somehow meets a similar end. I don't know how.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've talked many times about the book, the Bomb Makers Club, I think the Dynamite Club. It was about people blowing stuff up in the late 1800s, early 1900s. And then it went away. But it was a fad for a while over the world. It was just like, how are we going to stop this? And it just went away as a social contagion. It's weird.

[Joe Getty]

That's not.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's not studied enough or understood enough. Did you see that Japan elected this ultra right conservative woman as their first female head of the country?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I was just reading about that first prime minister.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I was listening to NPR's coverage of it and of course they went identity politics because that's what the left does. And their point was it's a woman for the first time, but she's voting just like the men. Her attitudes are the same of the men. So no progress made. So no progress made. So a first female prime minister ever in one of the most powerful countries on earth doesn't count unless she takes the attitudes that NPR thinks a woman should have to have. How do you like that? Women, you're not allowed to think for yourself. You have to have a certain set of beliefs or it doesn't count as a woman. That's so crazy.

[Joe Getty]

Do you get it now? It's not about diversity.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. It's not.

[Joe Getty]

It's about people who think like them.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's the same way as very wise.

[Joe Getty]

A lesbian center lefty, the first LGBTQIA LMNOP plus minus over the power of three to ever run a major new. No, you didn't hear a single word about it. Because she's not a super progressive. It's not about diversity. That's a lie.

[Jack Armstrong]

Psych. When was it Larry Elder was running for governor in California as a conservative. And no, no credit for anything of being black there. It's just he was the, the black face of white supremacy or whatever he.

[Joe Getty]

Was called by the LA Times. LA Times, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's just so crazy. Only white men get to make their own decisions. Everybody else, you have to vote your group or you're not. You don't get any credit for your being part of your group.

[Joe Getty]

That's the real white privilege, especially among men is everybody thinks, oh no, they'll look at the candidates and the issues and they'll decide which candidate is best for them. Everybody else, you're supposed to vote in blocks like sheep. Otherwise you're the wrong sort of Hispanic, you don't count as a woman. You're not a fully fledged lesbian. Right. Identity politics is one of the most insulting, disgusting things ever introduced by mankind. My God, reject it, please. It's horrible.

[Jack Armstrong]

This first female Prime Minister of Japan, among the things, she believes she's against gay marriage. I mean, she's not going to be able to outlaw it, but she, she doesn't believe in gay marriage. She doesn't think. She's against the idea of two names between a married couple. You need to have the. Take the man's name.

[Joe Getty]

Really.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, all kinds of stuff like that. She's very, she's very traditional.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I don't, I don't care about those things. I want Japan to build up a formidable military because they're going to need it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't, I don't really care. But when you come across a couple who. She stayed with her name, you don't do it. There's not just a little bit of.

[Joe Getty]

A. Hmm, that's interesting. I don't, I don't judge. I'm not a judgmental person.

[Jack Armstrong]

My thing is what else comes with that package? That's what. Usually what I think that particular instance doesn't bother me. But I'm thinking, what else comes with that package?

[Joe Getty]

The fabulous Katie Green. Katie.

[Katie Green]

The bizarre thing that I saw recently online were men taking women's last name.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's what I just. That's a weird one.

[Joe Getty]

I just realized that all they're taking, if you know what I'm saying. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just realized that recently with White Stripes, Jack White's last name is something else. He took his. He took the drummers last name when they got married.

[Katie Green]

Balls in the purse.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, right. That's why I think what else comes with that package? That's not the only thing here going on.

[Joe Getty]

I know who's the quarterback and who's the receiver? All right. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wouldn't say that.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, let's start the show.

[Jack Armstrong]

Judgmental. Whatever. Now that we've.

[Joe Getty]

Whatever works for you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Done that damage. Let's start the show. Officially, I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on It is Tuesday, October 21st, the year 2025 or Armstrong and Getting. We approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, speaking of pitchers and catchers, I wish the Mariners had been a little more effective. Condolences to the CTAC area fans. How disappointing. I was rooting hard for him. What are you gonna do? Congratulations, Blue Jays and Toronto and the good people.

[Jack Armstrong]

George Springer. What a home run.

[Joe Getty]

America's 51st state. What? All right, let's begin. Now, officially, according to FCC rules and regs.

[News Reporter]

Here we go at Mark AWS serves 37% of the cloud computing market. It is the number one cloud services provider. This is also Amazon's biggest moneymaker. So in total, just from the outage that we saw, one expert told me that he estimates the financial impact of this is going to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

[Jack Armstrong]

So that was news to me yesterday. I had no idea what's the percentage of websites that are part of Amazon is Amazon's running 37, she said, who knew?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I, I remember a buddy of mine in tech told me a while back that Joe, Amazon is a web company. It has a little retail operation as kind of a side hustle.

[Jack Armstrong]

I didn't know that at all. They're nearly 40% of the websites. That's their big money maker. Who knew that? I didn't. Yeah, I'll be darn. And so if they go down, that's what China will attack. Amazon's web center, probably.

[Joe Getty]

And it was said to be a fairly mundane technical update problem, not a Chinese hack. Of course, that's the sort of thing you would say.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that could. That could be true or not true. Were they going to admit that they got hacked by China and have the stock price go down or whatever, or let China know whatever and.

[Joe Getty]

Or the White House might have reached out, said, hey, keep this quiet. Blame some sort of technical glitch, say you're on top of it. We're working hard on, you know, operation, you know, Panda Mittens or whatever, and we don't want it out.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it might be the smart thing to do to. To not let us know.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. Yeah, I'll let the spooks worry about that.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got Katie's headlines on the way. Lots of good stuff to talk about. What was it there was one, one tease.

[Joe Getty]

One of the most important and persuasive pieces of analysis of analysis of how America is going sideways and why that's come along in a long time. We're going to share that with you an hour or two. It is fairly mind blowing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I can't wait to hear that. And phase two of the whole peace negotiation in the Middle east thing like that hasn't been getting enough attention. Phase two is a difficult one. We'll run through that a little bit later. Katie's headlines next. Stay here.

[Show Intro/Outro Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Announcer]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Really lot of good, interesting stuff today. Hopefully it'll be a good, interesting show and not just, you know, replicating boring talking points about the shutdown or whatever else the mainstream media is doing.

[Joe Getty]

Nah, if you want that, go elsewhere. Plenty of places to get here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Plenty of places to go.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, a lot of great stuff to talk about. Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the lead story with Katie Green.

[Katie Green]

Katie, Jack, no joke today.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now. Oh wow. What? I got beat down.

[Katie Green]

I feel like you need a buzzer if you forget. Now we'll start with ABC like you guys were talking about. Man arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot up Atlanta airport.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, man, he had an AR15 in his truck, lots of rounds of ammunition. Went in to see where all the long lines were. Would have been easy pickings, man. Glad that didn't happen.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Times on Ukraine and Russia, lots of talk, but little has changed.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I'm still mystified by Trump's approach.

[Jack Armstrong]

Don't get it, you know, Mark Halperin said in his newsletter today, he said, quoting Donald Rumsfeld, you make peace with the dictator you have, not the dictator you want. I think suggesting that this is the only way you're going to get a deal with Putin is the giving up land or whatever. He ain't going to give up otherwise. I mean, you can talk about what's right and wrong and everything, but I don't know. I don't know.

[Katie Green]

From Breitbart.com Trump's DHS arrests more than 480,000 illegals in nine months. Seven in ten are criminally convicted or charged.

[Joe Getty]

That's a pretty good percentage.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Then on that note from the New York Post, Don Lemon urges, quote, black and brown people to buy guns during illegal immigration crackdowns.

[Joe Getty]

Apparently Don Lemon's still alive.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

From the Associated Press. Massive Amazon cloud outage has been resolved after disrupting entire Internet use worldwide.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wonder what caused it.

[Katie Green]

From Reuters, Trump downplays Taiwan risk in China talks and expects a fair trade deal.

[Joe Getty]

All right, that's positive happy talk. That's the Trump method. That's fine. Our relationship with China is going to be impossible and difficult, you know what I mean? For now, until forever.

[Jack Armstrong]

And at some point they're gonna move on Taiwan and the world ain't gonna do nothing. That'd be my guess.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Wow. Terrible. He's given up. The demographic problems in China. I was just reading about them again. They're astonishing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just.

[Joe Getty]

You can't even believe those numbers are true. We'll hit that in a little bit.

[Katie Green]

From the Washington Examiner. National average gas prices fall below $3 a gallon, the lowest since 2020, the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lowest since before the pandemic.

[Joe Getty]

Drill, baby, drill.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

This one from Study finds size doesn't matter. Walking style can make smaller men appear just as intimidating as larger ones.

[Jack Armstrong]

I find that very interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I spent a fair amount of time in big cities in my teenage years, in early adulthood. And, and I know that they teach you walk like you are, not to be messed with because criminals are cowards. They want easy victims. So yeah, I can believe that.

[Katie Green]

And finally, this one from the Babylon Bee homeless man made fun of by all the other homeless men for not having an iPhone 17.

[Jack Armstrong]

I like that one because I live in a town with a lot of street people that all have cell phones. I was going to tell my street person story the other day. I'm on the corner the other day. This guy, dirty, toothless, no shoes and socks, sitting there playing an old beat up guitar and sounds great. I thought, why is this guy a better guitar player than me? It was so maddening.

[Joe Getty]

That is. That's terrible.

[Jack Armstrong]

His life's a complete rack, but he's a better guitar player than me.

[Joe Getty]

After all my practices, I feel your pain.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll update you on some of the stories coming up.

[Show Intro/Outro Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

Top of the order for the Blue Jays. George Springer at the plate, tying running scoring position.

[Jack Armstrong]

Eduard Bizardo on the pitch. High fly ball left field. A Rose arena watches it go. That was an exciting home run. George Springer of the Houston Astros, who was the MVP back then, I knew he was going to do that. This is what he did it every single time. And back when they were cheating, turns out they were also pretty good. Yeah, those Houston Astros because they had a lot of big hits and home runs this playoff series for different teams as they get spread around. He had to be liking that so he could get out of the cloud because he, he hit, he hit the record for most home runs in a World series back in 2017. 5. And. And he, you know, he always had the cloud over his head of. Yeah, because you got, you knew what the calls were going to be, you know what the pitches were going to be. Then he had that one.

[Joe Getty]

He can hit a little. Yeah. Yeah. I just hate to have a foreign team in the World Series. Canadians that are mostly Dominicans and Venezuelans.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, they're exactly, they're not exactly plucky upstarts. They do have the fifth highest payroll. But even with the fifth highest payroll, they're 150 million less than the Dodgers. Yeah, that's how much difference there is between the Dodgers and everybody else. Anyway, your World Series starts on Friday in Toronto because Toronto had a bit of record. I just saw up on the tv, France feeling humiliated after Louvre robbery. I guess they are. That is. Well, Jimmy Fallon had the joke last night. Why is the toothpaste at the CVS locked up better than the Louvre? Which is a decent question. You got to get somebody to get with, get a key to get my tooth toothpaste here. The Louvre, you can just walk in the window.

[Joe Getty]

France and Britain are just. They're sad sacks of countries. They're that friend that you see at the 20th reunion that things are not going well at all. And you keep a brave face and you smile and say, you'll turn it around. I know you, but. And you think, oh, God. Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

You leave the reunion, you're walking your car, you realize he sleeps in his car. That's France.

[Joe Getty]

That's France, yeah. Protect your crown jewels.

[Jack Armstrong]

A national humiliation. So that's rough. Speaking of foreign countries, couple of international things to catch you up on. As I mentioned, the whole Russia, Ukraine thing. This is from Politico. So Trump said over the weekend, why? I don't know. He talked to Putin on the phone, and then he tells Zelensky, sorry, you don't get the Tomahawk missiles, and I think you should give up some of your land and this thing. Well, the top diplomat from the EU does not agree. He said yesterday, guy who's in making the decisions for the eu, if we just give away the territories, then this gives a message to everybody that you can just use force against your neighbors.

[Joe Getty]

And get what you want.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think this is very dangerous. That's why we have international law in the first place, so that people don't do that. Um, I would agree with him if you were making more of an effort to stop it from happening. I mean, those are nice words, but. Hey, Eugene, where are you? Enforcing some sort of end to this war? You're. You're unhappy with the way the United States across the ocean is handling this.

[Joe Getty]

Do it yourself. Every time I'm reminded of that, I get so annoyed with Europe. Cause it's absolutely appropriate. Speaking of our sad sack school chums, Europe. Because that's absolutely true. At the same time, your first point was true. And that's one thing that bothers me about Trump. I mean, he really, really is into making deals. And in the Middle east thing, which, you know, remains to Be seen how that comes out. But that's not his fault. He does not worry about old assumptions and conventional thinking, that sort of thing to his credit, absolutely. But the one thing I fault him for is he looks too much at deals as you know, without the context.

[Jack Armstrong]

In isolation.

[Joe Getty]

In isolation. Yeah, exactly. That. You cannot appease aggression like that or you're going to get a lot more. It's not just about the particulars of that deal. And you know, there are times that he's like, yeah, we're gonna withdraw that aid or the US Isn't gonna do that or we're gonna pull out of that treaty. And I don't think he thinks enough about the fact that that's our credibility on the line as a country. Countries only jump on our team if they think we're there for the long haul, that we're not going to be mercurial about it. Otherwise they bet on China because China will say, no, you just, yeah, you're going to be our little brother. But yeah, well, we'll stick with you.

[Jack Armstrong]

And hey, Europe, it's if, if, if the United States pushes for giving up the land, it's your land that's going to get grabbed up the next time. So maybe you ought to do something about it. But we are so weak.

[Joe Getty]

We have had this socialism paid for.

[Jack Armstrong]

By your security umbrella. We don't know what to do now.

[Joe Getty]

France, which is spending itself into oblivion, is like, hey, can we like move the retirement age? I don't know, like three weeks later?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, no.

[Joe Getty]

There's strikes in the streets and riots and fires and this stuff. They're doomed.

[Jack Armstrong]

You can't even keep Napoleon III's crown from being stolen. You know, when I was in London, in the Tower of London, I should have just walked out with the crown.

[Joe Getty]

Jewels on my head, danced around a little. You're Europe. You're stupid. You're Europe. So stupid. Should I have missed the opportunity?

[Jack Armstrong]

You're Europe. So stupid.

[Joe Getty]

The dumber the better.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then in the other war that Trump gets credit for, he'll probably get the Nobel Peace Prize for this, depending on how it turns out. Got a long way to go.

[Joe Getty]

Phase two, it's going to turn out, but go ahead.

[Jack Armstrong]

Phase two, which they're talking about now, I don't see how any of these are going to happen. New government in Gaza. This is of a 19 point plan or 20 point plan or whatever heck it is. This is just phase two. New government in Gaza. All right, well, that's, that's a very handy four words that is a lot, a lot harder to do than say, right, Creation of a stabilization force.

[Joe Getty]

It's like saying to your spouse, you know, we're having trouble paying our bills. I've got an idea. First you become a heart surgeon. It's like the old, what, Steve Martin.

[Jack Armstrong]

Joke from way back in the 70s. How to become a millionaire. First get a million dollars. It's exactly the same sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Creation of a stabilization force. Another four words. That's a lot easier said than done. Okay, who are the countries going to be? Who's sending how many troops, with what rules of engagement.

[Joe Getty]

Right. And. Well, here's a headline for you. Let me see if I can come up with it really quickly. Hang on a second. I'm close. I'm getting close. All right, never mind. It said, essentially, countries hesitant to send troops, fearful of engaging with Hamas. It's still a hot war zone. And as I said the other day, this peacekeeping force is not going to be a bunch of blue helmets cruising around. It is going to be people with guns drawn, ready, and they will be engaged in battle more than once.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the whole rules of engagement thing's not a minor decision. What do you get to do as a bunch of, I don't know, Indonesians, Egyptians, Jordanians, I don't know, whatever. Saudi Arabian forces. You firing back at people or what are you doing anyway, and then, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Here'S the headline from the New York Times. Nations hesitate to send troops to Gaza, fearing clashes with Hamas. Your subhead, the Trump peace plan calls for an international security force in the Gaza Strip. But countries that might send troops are wary of danger, an unclear mission, and being seen as occupiers. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yep, yep, that's a problem. So step one, get a new government in Gaza. Okay, who's supposed to form that?

[Joe Getty]

How?

[Jack Armstrong]

What? How would you even start? Well, who would even start that? And then how? Who? Who, Who?

[Joe Getty]

The peace commission headed by Trump. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right. Okay. Who are you going to put in charge? You and you. You know, you're going to have some interviews.

[Joe Getty]

They're going to go to Glassdoor or what do you call it? The. The job website. Yeah. You know, LinkedIn put an ad. They'll go to LinkedIn. That's right. That's the one.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you just say, you two, you're president, you're vice president, or do you want to have a parliamentary system, you're president and you're prime minister, or do you want to have one of those systems where the president's most powerful or the prime minister's the most powerful or what, whatever kind of what do you want to have here?

[Joe Getty]

I mean that's where they are.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean they haven't got the slightest ideal kind of government they're going to have or who's going to be involved in it. Okay, so you got new government in Gaza, creation of stabilization force, which is just who knows what. And then step three, there's only three steps in the phase two, it shouldn't be that hard. Step three, disarming Hamas. Okay, and we'll just make a bunch of dead end or nihilist people who'd rather be dead than alive because they think they're going to get all the virgins give up their guns.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I solved the, the one problem. I figured it out. I was thinking, all right, if you were to put a an ad on next door one of the job websites.

[Jack Armstrong]

What are you looking for next door? Looking for President of Gaza.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Temporary leader and calmer downer of Gaza. You need must own bulletproof vest. Some you need great administrative abilities, organizational abilities like a CEO. And you need to be absolutely comfortable with whooping ass. Ladies and gentlemen, Dana White. Dana White.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure he'd love that job.

[Joe Getty]

Of the mixed martial arts fame. A friend of President Trump, great entrepreneur, great businessman and and used to people getting punched in the face at the office. He's the guy. Oh, speaking of sports, a word from our friends at Prize Picks. Prize Picks. The easiest, most fun way to get involved in fantasy sports. And there's a special max discount promotion live on the board right now for the Golden State warriors versus LA Lakers game on the 21st. Is that today? Yeah, that's today. Steph Curry is discounted, only needing to go for more than half a point. He scores one point. You win. Mix and match players from football, basketball and baseball to build your dream lineup today.

[Jack Armstrong]

I did a lot of reading about the NBA over the weekend. For some reason Steph Curry is still a top 10 player in the entire league. And the third best player in the entire league according to most analysts is Luca with the Lakers. So those will be good matchups all year. Anyway, you should download the Prize Picks app today. You can get involved in the more or less on all the different stuff and take your strong opinion and make some real money. Download the Prize Picks app. Use the Code Armstrong to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, you just pick more or less on two player stat projections. Easy as that. Two or more. Again, that's the Price Picks app. Use that Code Armstrong Prize Picks it's good to be right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've been more optimistic on this whole Middle east thing than Joe. Than negative Nelly Joe Getty can't do guy has been on the Middle east brass. But then I look at this phase two and I think how would any of these three things happen? I can't even imagine how possibly even.

[Joe Getty]

Like with the welcome to reality even with how do you like it so far?

[Jack Armstrong]

Unicorn like attitude. How do I see how any of these three things could happen in less than a century?

[Joe Getty]

Hamas will never disarm and give up on wiping out Israel. Hell, the college kids. The college kids right now. I've got a story on that for later. The angry little simpleton jackass brainwashed arrested adolescent American college students yelling about the river to the sea lipped they want. They want Hamas to keep fighting. Please. The only way this ends is when Hamas is decimated. Israel struck a great deal to get the hostages home. Hamas thought, all right, we can buy a little time. Otherwise they're going to decimate us. Right now time is at least we can try to figure out another strategy. Okay, TikTok TikTok. That time is going by now and it's back to the decimating that is the only choice. Says me.

[Jack Armstrong]

How to Become a Millionaire first get a million dollars. It's exactly the same sort of thing. We've got email on the way. Joe's got this mind blowing thing that I'm looking forward to myself about our culture that I can't wait to hear.

[Joe Getty]

Stay tuned if you're a man or a woman because it is all about the dynamics between males and females.

[Jack Armstrong]

Cool.

[Joe Getty]

Fascinating. Trust me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Awesome.

[Joe Getty]

We got all that today.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Yeti on demand.

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Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Oh boy. A concert that my son wanted to go to that we didn't go to because of timing reasons. There were so many fights the other night they had to cancel the concert. I'm glad we didn't go to see oh boy. To see Lulia. More yachty.

[Joe Getty]

Is that a yacht rock act? I Love that. Michael McDonald.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not exactly. No little boat. They going.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, here's your freedom loving quotes of the day. Continuing on our series with the great Chinese warrior Sun Tzu. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win. Which is similar to his saying the supreme art of orders to subdue the enemy without fighting. America is so big and dumb and naive and friendly. We say, we really want to be your friend. We'd be happy to be your friend. We'd like to be your friend. If you don't be our friend, we're going to pound you on the head. But we really like to be friends. The Chinese way, and this is enshrined in a lot of greatest Chinese wisdom is deception is the way to dominate. You deceive your opponent into thinking you're their friend.

[Jack Armstrong]

Reminds me.

[Joe Getty]

And that's not seen as some sort of sin or something bad. That's seen as smart.

[Jack Armstrong]

Also reminds me of our old producer Sean saying of, you know who wins a fight? The first person who realizes they're in a fight.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And China realizes they're in a fight. We do not.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and. And back to the Sun Tzu quote. China is making all sorts of efforts to win the war before the fight starts by subterfuge and all sorts of other methods. Mailbag, Drop us a note. Mailbagarmstrong yet in getty.com Again, that's armstrongetti.com Greg writes. Greg with two GS at the end. That's three total. How many GS are enough, Greg? Congratulations, Katie. The heartbeat means everything. Late in the show, yesterday or midway through, we played audio of Katie's baby's heartbeat. It's fantastic. Thank you, Greg. Gaga.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do we have that handy? There it is.

[Joe Getty]

That's wonderful. When are you due officially, Katie?

[Katie Green]

I'm due on May 27th.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right.

[Joe Getty]

But he writes the heartbeat means everything. And he describes how when he and his wife first got pregnant, the first ultrasound didn't. Couldn't detect a heartbeat. And they were just so stressed and heartbroken after the. After waiting a couple of months, they tried again and everything was great. And he said hearing that heartbeat brought back the joy and relief we had. Now 24 years ago, our son is an awesome 24 year old young man. Couldn't be more proud of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Happy to have it.

[Katie Green]

That's awesome.

[Joe Getty]

And, and then they said something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Name your kid Dan D A N N. Oh, geez. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Or what would it be Anyway, then he says something so powerfully simple and simply powerful. He says the heartbeat means there is life. And I hope you enjoy him as much as we do ours.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

The heartbeat means there is life.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

There's no denying that.

[Jack Armstrong]

So clear. 100,000% true. Obviously. Yeah. How could you possibly deny that? And then the fact. See, this is something guys or birthing persons only get to understand. I'll never know what it's like to have life inside me. I barely have life as it is.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. Just a bitter empty space. Anyway, let's see. Moving along to the politics, Tim writes. Tim is harshly critical of us every day, practically. You guys helped elect a man child. Thanks ever so much. Right, well, Tim, your side ran a DEI hire, moron. So what are you gonna do having.

[Jack Armstrong]

Had to abandon your dimension ridden old man?

[Joe Getty]

Right. So okay, this is interesting. From Jason sending along the actual Craigslist job posting for the protest. This happens to be in the capital of California, scenic Sacramento, the birthplace of the Armstrong and Getty show. But yeah, no kings anti Trump protest sales team cash paid. And it explains where you need to be and how much you can make for showing up to the protest. It's. That's. It's George Soros money and that sort of thing at work. Let's see, on the topic of the New York mayor race.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've never been to a protest. I was thinking about this yesterday. What. What cause would get me out? Like to actually leave my home. We've spoken.

[Joe Getty]

We went to Tea Party events.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, because we were asked to speak at them or whatever. But yeah, I've never on my own gone to a protest.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you're too passive. You're the problem. A problem. Anyway, the stick is writing about the New York Mayor's race and how Mum Donnie could possibly have the support he does. But he, like a couple other emailers have mentioned a poll that showed. And here's my point in Bringing this up, 42% of Americans were not aware that Lay's potato chips are made from potatoes which are grown in the ground.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's in the name.

[Joe Getty]

42%. There's.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's little obfuscation going on here. It's in the name.

[Joe Getty]

Well, they didn't know that potatoes grow underground. I guess. I didn't see the pole, but I don't know. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

These are troubled times.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Obviously. Ignoramus, your potato knowledge is embarrassing. How do you get through the day? Well, I guess we're kind of out of time, aren't we? Nick in Minnesota with a great shot at Jack. Maybe we can get to that later. We're gonna kick off next hour with a brilliant bit of thinking about why America has gone sideways. Don't miss it.

[Show Intro/Outro Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.