February 12, 2025 • 35 mins
Hour 4 of A&G features...
- Valentine's Day, the government is so off track & the retirement mine
- Joe's making a PowerPoint & how to remember names!
- American teacher released from Russian prison & Trump's comments
- Final Thoughts!
Stupid Should Hurt: https://www.armstrongandgetty.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio the
George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Ketty arm.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Strong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
I know he.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Armstrong and Yetty.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
In honor of Valentine's Day, Subway is offering buy one,
get one free sub What better way to say I
love you than I got this for free at Subway.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
That's a decent point. Valentine Day is on a Friday
this year, so I don't know. I don't know how
to finish that. Does that mean anything?
Speaker 5 (00:48):
Well, if you were thinking of going out for dinner
or drinks or whatever on Friday, because that's what you do.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Think again, that's a better point if you're not a
Valentine's Day but just usually you go out to dinner
on Friday or something, not this time, right, I wouldn't,
I wouldn't, wouldn't try. I'm tempted to tell this story myself,
but Elon told the story in the Oval office yesterday,
so we'll play him. I find his speaking, I don't
(01:14):
know if it's because of his Asperger's or whatever, so
kind of I don't know. I find it a little
difficult to follow sometimes his halting manner. But this is
an amazing story about how off track the government bureaucracy
can get in its effectiveness. And well, I'll let him
tell it and fill in any gaps.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
And then we're told this is actually, I think a
great anecdote because we're told the most number of people
that could retire possibly in a month is ten thousand.
We're like, well, why is that? Well, because all our
time at paperwork is manual on paper. It's manually calculated,
been written down on a piece of paper.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Then it goes down to mine, like, what do you
mean of mine?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Like, yeah, there's a limestone mine where we're still all
the retirement paperwork. And you look at picture of at
a picture of this mine. We'll post the pictures afterwards,
and this is this mine looks like something out of
the fifties because it was started in nineteen fifty five,
so it looks like it's like.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
A time warp.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
And then the speed, then the limiting factor is the
speed at which the mine, the shaft elevator can move,
determines how many people can retire from the federal from
the federal government, and the elevator breaks down and then
sometimes and then you can't. Nobody can retire. It doesn't
that sound crazy? There look a thousand people that work
on this. So I think if we can take those
(02:37):
people and say, like, you know what, instead of working
in a mine shaft and carrying Manila ovelopes to you know,
boxes in a mine shaft, you could do practically anything
else and you would add to the goods and services
of the United States in a more useful way.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, I'm looking at us on a luget olive ark.
I'm looking at the pictures of the mine and the
boxes them envelopes because that's how they process retirement in
the federal government in the year twenty twenty five. I mean,
it's really quite hilarious. About seven hundred workers operate more
than two hundred and thirty feet underground to process a
(03:15):
maximum of ten thousand federal retirement applications per month, all
processed by hand, using paper and stored in Manila envelopes
and cardboard boxes.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
I saw the pictures too, and the fact that it's
a file cabinet thing is amazing enough. But why is
it got to be down in a mind?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
I guess to keep what Yeah, the same reason they
store old films and stuff like that. Down in minds.
You can get the right humidity and all these different
sorts of things. But for so things don't decay. But
you don't need to do that anymore. I mean, I
don't know if you're familiar with the whole computerized record.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Keeping things or even air conditioners.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Apparently this has been known for quite some time. The
Washington Post described the facility as a sinkhole of bureaucracy
way back in twenty fourteen at the.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Time, probably defending it as a critical institution that Elon
Musk must not assault.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Probably at the time, and this is eleven years ago.
The report said the total spending on the retirement system
per year was fifty six million dollars. Multiple attempts to
digitize the system had been made since the eighties. According
to the report, each attempt largely failed and was eventually scrapped,
with the reported cost totaling over one hundred and thirty
million dollars. They spent we we at taxpayers have spent
(04:34):
one hundred and thirty million dollars trying to get away
from paper and Manila envelopes in boxes down in a
mine unsuccessfully. As Musk said, it was started in fifty five.
Nineteen fifty five. Looks like a time warp. It really
does it well. It looks like you're This picture must
be from when my dad was in high school, the
(04:57):
limiting factor being the mine shaft elevator. As he said,
my favorite part was him saying this could be remedied
with practically anything else. That's a funny thing to say this.
We love the line. We could make this better by
doing practically anything else.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
And it's worth referring back to the New York Times
headline appearing with Trump. Musk makes broad claims of federal
fraud without proof. Says there's waste and fraud across the
bureaucracy without offering evidence. What the hell, no evident.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I don't even know what to think.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
I loved his line about and I guess if the
elevator breaks, no one can retire.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That's Michael. This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard,
no I know. And what should be most striking is
there have been multiple attempts to improve it at a
cost of one hundred and thirty million dollars. They and
you couldn't because the bureaucracy is so thick and layered
and people I got. I gotta believe it's got a
(06:05):
lot to do with. Well, if we computerized it, we
would need seven hundred employees. We'd probably need like six,
maybe one, And they're the the the inertia to keep
all those people employed. It reminds me of the whole
dock worker thing that we mocked because the dock worker
(06:25):
unions are so powerful they want to keep having a
guy with a clipboard and a pen read the license
plate of the car rather than have a computer scan
it and do it because you got another employee and
more union does right, Well, that's that thing and needs
to get worked out. But with my tax money down there,
(06:45):
with the retirement records, that's insane.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
You remember, one of the more stupid and discouraging moments
in American politics was when Mitt Romney referred to the
creative destruction of capitalism, meaning, you know, as things become
useless or less useful, or a better product comes along
or whatever, the old thing goes away. And that's not
a bad thing, that's a wonderful thing. But with government
it's the equivalent of we're still ordering our household goods
(07:12):
from the sears. Roebuck catalog and waiting six to eight
weeks for delivery because well, think about all the people
who print the catalog and work at the warehouse and
all those well, you know, all the chanting. We should
play some more of the chanting and then swearing and
stuff like that, and.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Sears would go away because everybody would use Amazon. No,
we can't have Seiers go away. So we're gonna fund
it somehow to keep it around, even though there's a
much better way to.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Do it, And so you have the equivalent to continue,
you know, going back and forth between the metaphor and
the reality of Chuck Schumer bellowing in the streets that we.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Are gonna fight Elon Musk trying to.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Take away our catalog at our sixty eight wait deliveries.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
We're gotta fight. I straight, Who's with me?
Speaker 5 (08:02):
And what was the other clip we played where they're
trying discoh with this idiotic song in which they're trying
to make reducing government waste the civil rights issue of
our time? Michael plays the idiotic song would you clip?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
This is so horrible?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Side? Are you?
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I apologize for playing it?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Wait till they're kicking the versus side Are you on?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Where fight against jog? Where fights?
Speaker 6 (08:36):
No?
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Wait landscap within our walls, We'll fight from dong to dusk.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 6 (08:49):
Me?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Which side are you on? Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Thank you for are unions?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
It was to fat he wants sound.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Too bow to him, but we want him in jail.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Where are you? Yeah? The other one? Thank you for
asking the other one? I mean, like me, body and soul?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Are you are you can?
Speaker 5 (09:27):
You're with the Union?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Are you a scabby musk ploodhound? Wow?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You're either with the Union or a scabby musk bloodhound.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
But you know, sometimes you get done with a song
and you realize badline is as bad.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I gotta cut that.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
I suggest you got old stop it, make it end, Michael.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
That's all.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
The other verses were plenty.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I'm on the side that doesn't think we should have
the retirements system done by hand on paper in Manila
envelopes down in a mine anymore. That's insane.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
And the whole pathetic effort to get some sort of
Union song to catch on in twenty twenty five. If
you know the history of that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Yeah, that song was not to make sure black kids
could go to school, or or black people could vote
and sell Alabama or whatever. That song was to make
sure that you keep having people fill out by hand
paperwork and store it in a box underground.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Well, and as funny as that was, because it was
such a steaming pile, it's highly annoying because it tries
to put on the clothes of, as Jack pointed out,
the civil rights movement, which was a righteous cause in
Dace indeed, or you know, a miners' union singing a
song so everybody didn't die of black black long at
(11:00):
age forty one, you know, that sort of union movement.
But they're putting on the clothes of that stuff in
the name of preserving the pay of bureaucrats who don't
do anything as our country goes broke. Which side are
you on? Yeah, yeah, I got an answer for you.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, you're not Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie. If you're
trying to argue that we need to have trans operas
in Ireland paid for by the taxpayer.
Speaker 5 (11:26):
You know, if the Irish want a good trans opera,
and who among us doesn't enjoy a good trans opera.
The Irish need to pay for it with their own
the balloons or pounds or whatever rocks or whatever currency
they use.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Yes, more on the way, Which side are you on?
Speaker 4 (11:45):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Pete Hexas second Death said a couple interesting things today
is in Brussels. I believe he said it is unrealistic
for Ukraine to get to go back to its pre
war borders, which is true, and that we are not
supporting Ukraine being a member of NATO anytime soon. So
that's where that is now. And New York Times with
an article I just started reading about how the most
(12:18):
brutal fighting going on right now is on Russian soil
as Russian soldiers try to dislodge that little piece of
land the Ukrainians have taken. And that's a brutal, awful fight.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Yeah, there are some fairly Trump friendly diplomatic types who
think Hegseth saying those things out loud was just a
horrific mistake. I don't, and I think I understand why.
In a classic negotiating sense, you don't want to announce
in advance what you're willing to give up.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Well, that's true, but I set off the table. But
I don't have any idea where they are in the
negotiations that they may have already crossed that point. I
don't think.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Well, officially there aren't any negotiations, but.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
What's being discussed behind the scenes, that theme, I've already
dealt with that, right, you know, conversations. I mean, that's
one of the headlines today. Trump has had several conversations
with Putin recently. I don't know to what extent we
should be deciding what Ukraine's willing to do. That's its
own separate topic. Trump may have already told Putin, yeah,
we realized they're not going to get all their country back.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
And I just I'm so tired of the knee jerk
condemnation of departing from the usual way of doing things.
I think the usual way of doing things sometimes is good,
and so I'm not knee jerk in the other direction either.
But I don't feel any need to leap to the
criticism of the way they're doing things now, because so
much of it was not very effective.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Anyway. Well, two things on that one. Zelensky has already
said himself that he realizes they are probably not going
to get all the land back. To the pre war borders,
so he has said right two, having read the Bob
Woodward book and the David Sanger book, there's so much
that goes on that we don't know about until much later.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
One hundred as the kids say, uh so, speaking of things,
people say.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Are you laughing at me?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
How?
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah? That was funny. So a couple of things.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
From the world to work. Number one, I'm working on
my first ever PowerPoint except I'm not using powerpointing, using
Apple's platform, which is a keynote. I have never made
one of those PowerPoint style presentations in my life.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I haven't either, and with luck, I may be able
to get to the grave without having to.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
And I've always thought it might be fun to know
how it's it's practically effortless.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Anybody is everything you want to be employable. It seems
like a good idea, especially now.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
But I'm going to work very, very hard to avoid
the things I hate about PowerPoint presentations and that everybody
else hates unnecessarily fancy transitions between slides, and the slide
that has five points that you can read in twelve seconds,
but that the presenter reads for you over the case
(15:06):
of ninety seconds.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Yeah, I've always wondered, why were you doing this? So
you're telling me all this slowly? Okay, I see it
right up there. I read it already. Can we move
on please? Anyway?
Speaker 5 (15:21):
And then this I came across in the Wall Street Journal.
I think this is so funny that people don't get this.
I'll start the way they start. Greg Fahee says there's
a trick that helped him recruit college athletes and make
friends with powerful people. When he meets someone, he repeats
their name and conversation and he writes it down his
phone two at his memory. But he's one of those guys. Okay, Jack,
(15:44):
would you be totally opposed to trying this out? Because Jack,
I hear you're worrying you do it? Why what can
I do for you?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Now? Three times I'm a little weird about.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
I know, and that the article is about how the
vast majority of the people think that's creepy.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
I feel some people think it's a powerful toll.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Even the first one, I'm a little makes it a
little weird, But you get into two and three. I've
started referring to our what are you supposed to call
them other than waitresses? I've started referring to servers by
their names, and my kids really hate it. I don't
know why, but it really bothers them when I do that. Wow, Yeah,
(16:23):
I alway, Jenny, I'm out. Are you doing, Jenny?
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Whenever my mom would chat with a server or whatever,
that just made me so uncomfortable. Do you remember why?
Because it drives my kid's nuts. So now I do
it more. It's got to be something anthropological.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Huh. It's gotta be anyway.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
So the guy reacting to the Jack, would you be
totally opposed to trying this?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Jack?
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Jack? I hear that you.
Speaker 5 (16:48):
He says it was clear the person was using manipulative
sales tactics, and this communications professor says, it's easy to
see when somebody's trying to influence you by doing that.
I feel icky when someone says my name every other sentence.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Yeah, I'm probably I'm probably not buying whatever you're trying
to sell me. You do that?
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Oh no, no, I'm going elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
See you? What is it?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Jim?
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Jim, You'll notice I'm leaving. Jim. Now I'm walking out
the door. Jim Armstrong and Geeddy.
Speaker 6 (17:21):
I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now.
And I want you to know that I am not
a hero in this at all.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
And President Trump, this is a hero.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Mark Fogel, teacher accused of smoking dope in Russia by
the Russians. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. You never know.
They grab Americans all the time in China and Russian
North Korean places like that, so they can use him
as a bargaining chip for something, or he might have
been smoking dope. Who knows.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You don't we audit into the country anyway.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
You don't get to hold an American for what four years?
How long was he there alone? Time? Long time?
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Years? And first I always wonder on these things because
you know, there's uh, You've got the policy people around
any White House, and then you got the political people.
And I'm sure the political people are pushing hard for
get this guy on TV. Get this guy. We need
to We need him standing next to Donald Trump. And
(18:22):
I'm thinking, man, I just got out of four years
in a Russian prison, which he's about to describe what
it was like. I want to go home. I don't
want to be on Fox and Friends this morning doing
an interview with makeup and lights and waiting for the
segment to start an end. I want to be home
in my bed with my family or friends or whoever
I haven't seen in four years. Right, that seems like, yeah,
(18:43):
I don't know what's going on there anyway. Here is
Mark Foegel Fogel describing a little the last several years
in a Russian prison.
Speaker 6 (18:49):
This super organism of people that came to my support.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
And the love that I was given.
Speaker 6 (19:01):
Sustain me for three and a half years.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
In prison, that had me.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
In hospitals for more than one hundred days. I was
given more than four hundred injections in that time, and
knowing I had the support of my fellow Pennsylvanians, my family,
my friends, it was so overwhelming that it brought me
(19:36):
to my knees and it brought me to tears.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I'm sure he did a big debriefing with the CIA.
Maybe the first thing he did on the plane back
over probably four hundred injections.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
Of what and you're held in the hospital why as
some sort of weird detention, more questions than answers.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
But that's fine, there's time.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Yeah, but good lord, four hundred injections of God knows
what that would scare me. Yeah, what you're a beating
I know how to take, not that I would enjoy it,
But then happen to me full of God knows what.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I assume he doesn't speak Russian. So somebody comes up
to you in the hospital or the prison and sticks
an eedel in your arm? You think, am I going
to be dead in thirty seconds? Or what the hell
is that? Are you doing medical experiments on me? What
the hell is going on here? Right?
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Four hundred and was he counting them or seemed quite confident.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
In his number? I have many questions. Anyway, here's Trump
talking about the whole deal that he made with Putin.
Speaker 7 (20:38):
They were very nice, We were treated very nicely by Russia. Actually,
I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we
can end that war and millions of people can stop
being killed. They've lost millions of people. They lost in
terms of soldiers, probably one point five million soldiers in
a short period of time we got to that war.
(21:01):
And I'm interested primarily from the standpoint of death. We're
losing all those soldiers, and then other American soldiers, the
Ukrainian and Russian soldiers. But you're probably talking about a
million and a half. I think I think we kind
of bring that one to an end.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
So what's the angle there? So this is seen as
us getting Mark fogelback, who Putin had been holding illegally
for three and a half years, as part of the
negotiation for ending the war in Ukraine. I don't know
how it's all going to fit together.
Speaker 5 (21:32):
Yeah, you know, Trump absolutely understands the art of negotiation.
You know, you want to rattle a seller and soothe
a buyer, for instance, And he's trying to get Putin
to buy a good deal to in the war that spares.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Ukraine too much, you know, defeat.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
But the idea that you could like maneuver against Putin
and actually buy goodwill, it's like trying to buy goodwill
from an alligate. I mean, I don't mind him trying.
It just seems, is it that every president's a bit
of an egomaniac and they all think they can play
Putin even a little bit.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I don't know how how would anybody still have that belief?
And he's an evil, child, murdering monster. I'm uncomfortable with
anything even close to friendly sounding about him.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Yeah, I get why Trump's doing what he's doing, but
it's it's difficult to take on a moral level. Russia
has treated us very well so far. Well, I guess
your point the beginning of goodwill. I don't think being
nice to him is going to get you anything.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
He will react in his best interest, whether from what
he gets or what the pain he's going to avoid.
Only Yeah, like's an alligator. It's whether you call him,
you know, evil personified or my good friend. Either way
you're going to get the same result. I think it's
just going to be all about what you know his
interests are. So I don't know why you got to
(22:59):
do the night anyway. So Trump just put this out.
He just tweeted this out, and I won't read the
whole thing. It's really long. I just had a lengthy
and highly provocative phone call productive. I'm sorry I shouldn't.
That's funny. That was in my head. I just had
a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir
Putin and Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy,
artificial intelligence, the power of the dollar, and various other subjects.
(23:21):
We both reflected on the great history of our nations
and the fact that we fought so successfully together in
World War Two, remembering that Russia lost tens of millions
of people and we likewise lost so many. It's all
this stuff is just We each talked about the strengths
of our respective nations and the great benefit that we
(23:42):
someday will someday have in working together. But first we
as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions
of deaths taking place in the war with Russia Ukraine.
President Putin even used my very strong campaign campaign motto
of common sense in all caps. We both believe very strong,
only in it. Putin is going to agree to this
(24:04):
if it's in something he agrees to. I mean, like
he's okay with period.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
In any negotiation, there's probably a little bit around the margins.
You can increase or decrease with goodwill, but not with Putin,
not even a little. This is just the way Trump
does business. Though, Yeah, this is interesting. We have also
agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and
we will begin by calling President Zalynsky of Ukraine to
(24:32):
inform him of the conversation. Well, I'm guess he'll be
pleased to know other people are figuring out how much
of his country. He has to give away thanks for
the jingle, something which I will begin doing right now.
So he's going to jump on the phone with Zelensky.
I've asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the
CI John Ratcliffe. He goes through a bunch of other
people to lead the negotiations, which I feel strongly will
(24:54):
be successful. Millions of people have died in a war
that would not have happened if I were president, but
it did happen, so it must end. Yeah, you know,
in Trump's defense, the Ukrainians have tried everything up to
and including a horrific, bloody war to get Russia out
of their country, and that hasn't worked. So you know,
(25:18):
now the US is going to step back. He hasn't
worked with the cooperation hasn't worked, within my opinion, tepid
support that could have been much more forceful, and all
of the things we eventually gave him could have come
much earlier and could have made all the difference in
the war, and they might have actually gotten their land back.
We'll never know what a horrible, horrible president eventually agreeing
(25:41):
to all these things. Why didn't you do it earlier?
Because he was so scared of Putin using nuclear weapons,
I guess m. But you know, as I've been saying
since this whole thing started, I'd rather the rest of
the world was more scared of us than we are
of them. I think right now the world is more
scared of us, scared of us than we are of them. Yeah, yeah, Well,
(26:05):
there's no way this thing ends in a way that's
not just absolutely heartbreaking and disappointing and disgusting. Just that's
the nature of these things.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
And millions of lives it died for no reason whatsoever.
Oh yeah, as is often the case.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
In war, mostly because of Putin's Tsarist dreams. Well, he
wants to be what William the Conqueror or Henry remember
that whole thing?
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Which book was it that I read? I think this
was the Woodword book. But during COVID Putin was so
scared of getting COVID he went down into the archives
underneath the Kremlin and started reading through old papers and stuff,
going back to like Peter the Great, that they still
have under there, and convinced himself of some noble position
(26:49):
Russia should have in the world, and it's his job
to get it back. Because of sitting down there by
himself reading through, you know, three hundred year old paperwork.
How crazy is that? Right? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (27:02):
Well, speaking of warfare, I'm trying to find the quote
about the Israel Hamas thing, and uh boy, if I
could find it, that would be handy.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
But it was an about what are people calling it
Gaza lago or.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
We're trying each one to see how it fits. Yeah,
but the the person made the point. Let me see
if I can find it really quickly that there has
never been an instance in history where one neighbor launched
an unprovoked, bloody attack against its neighbor and that attack failed,
(27:43):
that they didn't lose their government or their sovereignty.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I'm sure that's true. That that doesn't surprise.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
Me because and if you have two brain cells to
rub together and can put aside your ideology momentarily and
actually listen to common sense and facts, you can't live
peacefully next to a neighbor who did that, especially one
who did that in the midst of trying as hard
as they could to convince you that they were at
(28:09):
peace and would never do that. How About in the
moment you let down your guard, they slaughtered your people.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
How about this for icing on the cake. Even after
you've nearly eliminated them, they still say they're committed to
killing you.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Yes, exactly. It is impossible in the pages of history,
impossible to find any people and any government who said, well,
all right, you invaded us without provocation and slaughtered our people,
But all right, let's let bygones begause.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Let's ull get out. I realize you're still saying you
want me dad and all my friends and family, but
I'm going to assume you don't actually mean it.
Speaker 5 (28:48):
And so these soft heads, and I've been pounding this
for so long. Sorry, I'll wrap it up. The idea that, well,
we need to come to a ceasefire and a two
state solution. What is your world?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Like?
Speaker 5 (29:00):
What color is the sky? Is there gravity there? Do
animals talk and dance? Or what happens in that weird
world you live in that's not Planet Earth.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
It's a dodge. Some of it is soft heads, some
of it's used to dodge King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday
when he brought it up, sitting there next to Trump,
but he didn't know what to do. So Trump's going
on and about how the United States will own Gaza
and we'll develop it kicking Jordan's like, I'm sure he's thinking,
what the hell is he actually up to? He's not
actually going to do that, but what is his angle?
(29:31):
How is this going to turn out? But anyway, he
throw out at some point Jordan is only willing to
move forward if the two state solutions, And I thought, okay,
that gets you out of Rhetorically, it gets you out
of a jam.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Right, islamis nut jobs. Don't look at us, That's what
he's saying.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
All right, we'll finish strong next. That's one of the
songs Paul McCarty played last night at an impromptu pop
up concert at a club in New York, which I
would have loved to have been at. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
(30:09):
he opened was Hard Day's Night. He did a whole
bunch of songs. I don't know, but he did. Got
to get you into my life and uh maybe I'm
amazed Jet get back. Let it be ended with hey
Jude in some sort of encourse. That would have been
a cool show at the super Bowl. That was interesting
(30:31):
how many celebrities sit in the same section and it
seems like, because did you see any of that, Like
Kevin Cosker was sitting next to Pete Davidson, and I
don't think they're buds. I think that like just like
they probably broker tickets that super rich people do and
they ended up sitting together because they put the famous
people in one section or something. Would not shock me
(30:52):
a bit.
Speaker 5 (30:52):
If the NFL had a very special people ticket line,
there's gotta be yeah, and I would have they have.
Part of it might be just they have extra security guaranteed,
because you just can't have even if they went on
to stub Hub and we're willing to pay a ton
of money for a good seat, you just can't have.
Paul McCartney's sitting in the midst of a whole bunch
(31:14):
of Eagles fans. I mean, he'd be harassed to death.
Be Selfie's hit by the batteries they chuck a bunch
of battery chuckers.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
I'm just signing autographs and having to answer stupid questions
what's jet about the whole dang game. But so they're
all sitting together, I thought, like Paul McCartney and Adam
Sandler are like six seats away. John back and forth
won what they're talking about. I'd be fascinated to listen
to those people. It's probably quite mundane, but I would
still find that somewhat interesting.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
Oh yeah, absolutely, it's mundaneus would be interesting.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, Paul McCartney did not sing this song last night.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Which side are you?
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Which side are you?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Which side?
Speaker 1 (31:54):
You play this monstrosity several times today? It was the
the worst civil rights here Row's song they were singing
on the Capitol steps to try to keep Elon Musk
from getting rid of rid of useless employees. Congratulations. Awful,
but we got this text and it's a decent point.
Why is it that the left has all the best
(32:14):
musicians and artists in music on their side, yet they
have the worst political chance? Which side are you on? Really? Yeah?
Can't you get lady Gogar? You know whoever? Springsteen? Could
you come up with some lyrics for me real quick
instead of doing that Which side are you on? The
chorus is okay, I mean it sung horribly, but it's
(32:37):
it's the verses that they really start, you know, running
into trees verses, Oh, we're out of time? Call Taylor Swift?
Can you turn a breakup song into a we don't
want government to shrink song? Thank you? I'll get back
to you.
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Yeah, boys, great music.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Let's get a final thought from everybody the crew to
wrap things up for the day, beginning with our technical
director Mike Lanchlow. Michael final thought, I'm a little concerned.
It's looking like where I live it's gonna be raining
on Valentine's Day. That means all the red paint on
my body's gonna just wash off.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
This really sucks.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
That's right, it's gonna ruin your Cupid costume. Katie Green
are esteemed Newswoman as a final thought, Katie, since I'm
the only one on the show that can do this,
the side that I am on is the one that
would slap that woman upside the head that's singing that.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
There you go, I've had it with that song. Under
Jack a final thought for us. Yeah, I love some
of these examples that Elon's bringing out, but it's gonna
be hard to top the paper Manila envelope down in
the mine retirement process. Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
Yeah, if you didn't hear that, grab the podcast Armstrong
and Getty on demand. My final thoughts just flitted out
of my head. Oh my final thought is a question,
was that the there's a hole in the sky, why
the tree one squaws lady?
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Or is it just like a type. I think that
it's a type. They all sound like that. For some
it's just like the screeching young liberal women. All could
be the same person. Oh yeah, when they do a
TikTok video. Yeah, they're churning them out of factories.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
That's holy.
Speaker 5 (34:18):
The side where was somebody's making money.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
There's sky where the tree once was.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Somebody's making money. That's good stuff on your feet, Okay, awesome.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.
Speaker 5 (34:41):
Don't you know If you go to Armstrong a Getty
dot com you can find the hot links there all
sorts of articles and videos and stuff that we referenced.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
It's right there for you. You can drop some noemail.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
Bag at Armstrong and Getty dot com, pick up some
swag at the Ang store. The Adidas hoodies very very popular,
probably the link to the podcast there too.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
I gotta grab me one of them hoodies. They're come
in different colors. Which side are you on, Jack? Which
side are you see? Tomorrow? God? Bless America. I don't
swear in public very well. But I'm strong and Getty
where side are you?
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Don't that sounds crazy?
Speaker 1 (35:19):
It seems like there's a few Kings sinet slinking.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
For those of you that don't understand, he's taking.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
It to a much higher level.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
But I've not found myself yet in the charming burg
of Swine's teeth. But I hope and you hope to
see it. And it's citizens sometimes in suburb of Elco,
beautiful thist time of year
Speaker 1 (35:36):
On that high Good luck, Armstrong and Getty.
This broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio the
George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Ketty arm.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Strong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
I know he.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Armstrong and Yetty.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
In honor of Valentine's Day, Subway is offering buy one,
get one free sub What better way to say I
love you than I got this for free at Subway.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
That's a decent point. Valentine Day is on a Friday
this year, so I don't know. I don't know how
to finish that. Does that mean anything?
Speaker 5 (00:48):
Well, if you were thinking of going out for dinner
or drinks or whatever on Friday, because that's what you do.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Think again, that's a better point if you're not a
Valentine's Day but just usually you go out to dinner
on Friday or something, not this time, right, I wouldn't,
I wouldn't, wouldn't try. I'm tempted to tell this story myself,
but Elon told the story in the Oval office yesterday,
so we'll play him. I find his speaking, I don't
(01:14):
know if it's because of his Asperger's or whatever, so
kind of I don't know. I find it a little
difficult to follow sometimes his halting manner. But this is
an amazing story about how off track the government bureaucracy
can get in its effectiveness. And well, I'll let him
tell it and fill in any gaps.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
And then we're told this is actually, I think a
great anecdote because we're told the most number of people
that could retire possibly in a month is ten thousand.
We're like, well, why is that? Well, because all our
time at paperwork is manual on paper. It's manually calculated,
been written down on a piece of paper.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Then it goes down to mine, like, what do you
mean of mine?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Like, yeah, there's a limestone mine where we're still all
the retirement paperwork. And you look at picture of at
a picture of this mine. We'll post the pictures afterwards,
and this is this mine looks like something out of
the fifties because it was started in nineteen fifty five,
so it looks like it's like.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
A time warp.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
And then the speed, then the limiting factor is the
speed at which the mine, the shaft elevator can move,
determines how many people can retire from the federal from
the federal government, and the elevator breaks down and then
sometimes and then you can't. Nobody can retire. It doesn't
that sound crazy? There look a thousand people that work
on this. So I think if we can take those
(02:37):
people and say, like, you know what, instead of working
in a mine shaft and carrying Manila ovelopes to you know,
boxes in a mine shaft, you could do practically anything
else and you would add to the goods and services
of the United States in a more useful way.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, I'm looking at us on a luget olive ark.
I'm looking at the pictures of the mine and the
boxes them envelopes because that's how they process retirement in
the federal government in the year twenty twenty five. I mean,
it's really quite hilarious. About seven hundred workers operate more
than two hundred and thirty feet underground to process a
(03:15):
maximum of ten thousand federal retirement applications per month, all
processed by hand, using paper and stored in Manila envelopes
and cardboard boxes.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
I saw the pictures too, and the fact that it's
a file cabinet thing is amazing enough. But why is
it got to be down in a mind?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
I guess to keep what Yeah, the same reason they
store old films and stuff like that. Down in minds.
You can get the right humidity and all these different
sorts of things. But for so things don't decay. But
you don't need to do that anymore. I mean, I
don't know if you're familiar with the whole computerized record.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Keeping things or even air conditioners.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Apparently this has been known for quite some time. The
Washington Post described the facility as a sinkhole of bureaucracy
way back in twenty fourteen at the.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Time, probably defending it as a critical institution that Elon
Musk must not assault.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Probably at the time, and this is eleven years ago.
The report said the total spending on the retirement system
per year was fifty six million dollars. Multiple attempts to
digitize the system had been made since the eighties. According
to the report, each attempt largely failed and was eventually scrapped,
with the reported cost totaling over one hundred and thirty
million dollars. They spent we we at taxpayers have spent
(04:34):
one hundred and thirty million dollars trying to get away
from paper and Manila envelopes in boxes down in a
mine unsuccessfully. As Musk said, it was started in fifty five.
Nineteen fifty five. Looks like a time warp. It really
does it well. It looks like you're This picture must
be from when my dad was in high school, the
(04:57):
limiting factor being the mine shaft elevator. As he said,
my favorite part was him saying this could be remedied
with practically anything else. That's a funny thing to say this.
We love the line. We could make this better by
doing practically anything else.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
And it's worth referring back to the New York Times
headline appearing with Trump. Musk makes broad claims of federal
fraud without proof. Says there's waste and fraud across the
bureaucracy without offering evidence. What the hell, no evident.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I don't even know what to think.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
I loved his line about and I guess if the
elevator breaks, no one can retire.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That's Michael. This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard,
no I know. And what should be most striking is
there have been multiple attempts to improve it at a
cost of one hundred and thirty million dollars. They and
you couldn't because the bureaucracy is so thick and layered
and people I got. I gotta believe it's got a
(06:05):
lot to do with. Well, if we computerized it, we
would need seven hundred employees. We'd probably need like six,
maybe one, And they're the the the inertia to keep
all those people employed. It reminds me of the whole
dock worker thing that we mocked because the dock worker
(06:25):
unions are so powerful they want to keep having a
guy with a clipboard and a pen read the license
plate of the car rather than have a computer scan
it and do it because you got another employee and
more union does right, Well, that's that thing and needs
to get worked out. But with my tax money down there,
(06:45):
with the retirement records, that's insane.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
You remember, one of the more stupid and discouraging moments
in American politics was when Mitt Romney referred to the
creative destruction of capitalism, meaning, you know, as things become
useless or less useful, or a better product comes along
or whatever, the old thing goes away. And that's not
a bad thing, that's a wonderful thing. But with government
it's the equivalent of we're still ordering our household goods
(07:12):
from the sears. Roebuck catalog and waiting six to eight
weeks for delivery because well, think about all the people
who print the catalog and work at the warehouse and
all those well, you know, all the chanting. We should
play some more of the chanting and then swearing and
stuff like that, and.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Sears would go away because everybody would use Amazon. No,
we can't have Seiers go away. So we're gonna fund
it somehow to keep it around, even though there's a
much better way to.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Do it, And so you have the equivalent to continue,
you know, going back and forth between the metaphor and
the reality of Chuck Schumer bellowing in the streets that we.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Are gonna fight Elon Musk trying to.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Take away our catalog at our sixty eight wait deliveries.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
We're gotta fight. I straight, Who's with me?
Speaker 5 (08:02):
And what was the other clip we played where they're
trying discoh with this idiotic song in which they're trying
to make reducing government waste the civil rights issue of
our time? Michael plays the idiotic song would you clip?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
This is so horrible?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Side? Are you?
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I apologize for playing it?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Wait till they're kicking the versus side Are you on?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Where fight against jog? Where fights?
Speaker 6 (08:36):
No?
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Wait landscap within our walls, We'll fight from dong to dusk.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 6 (08:49):
Me?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Which side are you on? Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Thank you for are unions?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
It was to fat he wants sound.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Too bow to him, but we want him in jail.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Where are you? Yeah? The other one? Thank you for
asking the other one? I mean, like me, body and soul?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Are you are you can?
Speaker 5 (09:27):
You're with the Union?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Are you a scabby musk ploodhound? Wow?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You're either with the Union or a scabby musk bloodhound.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
But you know, sometimes you get done with a song
and you realize badline is as bad.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I gotta cut that.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
I suggest you got old stop it, make it end, Michael.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
That's all.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
The other verses were plenty.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I'm on the side that doesn't think we should have
the retirements system done by hand on paper in Manila
envelopes down in a mine anymore. That's insane.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
And the whole pathetic effort to get some sort of
Union song to catch on in twenty twenty five. If
you know the history of that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Yeah, that song was not to make sure black kids
could go to school, or or black people could vote
and sell Alabama or whatever. That song was to make
sure that you keep having people fill out by hand
paperwork and store it in a box underground.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Well, and as funny as that was, because it was
such a steaming pile, it's highly annoying because it tries
to put on the clothes of, as Jack pointed out,
the civil rights movement, which was a righteous cause in
Dace indeed, or you know, a miners' union singing a
song so everybody didn't die of black black long at
(11:00):
age forty one, you know, that sort of union movement.
But they're putting on the clothes of that stuff in
the name of preserving the pay of bureaucrats who don't
do anything as our country goes broke. Which side are
you on? Yeah, yeah, I got an answer for you.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, you're not Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie. If you're
trying to argue that we need to have trans operas
in Ireland paid for by the taxpayer.
Speaker 5 (11:26):
You know, if the Irish want a good trans opera,
and who among us doesn't enjoy a good trans opera.
The Irish need to pay for it with their own
the balloons or pounds or whatever rocks or whatever currency
they use.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Yes, more on the way, Which side are you on?
Speaker 4 (11:45):
Which side are you on?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Pete Hexas second Death said a couple interesting things today
is in Brussels. I believe he said it is unrealistic
for Ukraine to get to go back to its pre
war borders, which is true, and that we are not
supporting Ukraine being a member of NATO anytime soon. So
that's where that is now. And New York Times with
an article I just started reading about how the most
(12:18):
brutal fighting going on right now is on Russian soil
as Russian soldiers try to dislodge that little piece of
land the Ukrainians have taken. And that's a brutal, awful fight.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Yeah, there are some fairly Trump friendly diplomatic types who
think Hegseth saying those things out loud was just a
horrific mistake. I don't, and I think I understand why.
In a classic negotiating sense, you don't want to announce
in advance what you're willing to give up.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Well, that's true, but I set off the table. But
I don't have any idea where they are in the
negotiations that they may have already crossed that point. I
don't think.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Well, officially there aren't any negotiations, but.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
What's being discussed behind the scenes, that theme, I've already
dealt with that, right, you know, conversations. I mean, that's
one of the headlines today. Trump has had several conversations
with Putin recently. I don't know to what extent we
should be deciding what Ukraine's willing to do. That's its
own separate topic. Trump may have already told Putin, yeah,
we realized they're not going to get all their country back.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
And I just I'm so tired of the knee jerk
condemnation of departing from the usual way of doing things.
I think the usual way of doing things sometimes is good,
and so I'm not knee jerk in the other direction either.
But I don't feel any need to leap to the
criticism of the way they're doing things now, because so
much of it was not very effective.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Anyway. Well, two things on that one. Zelensky has already
said himself that he realizes they are probably not going
to get all the land back. To the pre war borders,
so he has said right two, having read the Bob
Woodward book and the David Sanger book, there's so much
that goes on that we don't know about until much later.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
One hundred as the kids say, uh so, speaking of things,
people say.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Are you laughing at me?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
How?
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah? That was funny. So a couple of things.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
From the world to work. Number one, I'm working on
my first ever PowerPoint except I'm not using powerpointing, using
Apple's platform, which is a keynote. I have never made
one of those PowerPoint style presentations in my life.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I haven't either, and with luck, I may be able
to get to the grave without having to.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
And I've always thought it might be fun to know
how it's it's practically effortless.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Anybody is everything you want to be employable. It seems
like a good idea, especially now.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
But I'm going to work very, very hard to avoid
the things I hate about PowerPoint presentations and that everybody
else hates unnecessarily fancy transitions between slides, and the slide
that has five points that you can read in twelve seconds,
but that the presenter reads for you over the case
(15:06):
of ninety seconds.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Yeah, I've always wondered, why were you doing this? So
you're telling me all this slowly? Okay, I see it
right up there. I read it already. Can we move
on please? Anyway?
Speaker 5 (15:21):
And then this I came across in the Wall Street Journal.
I think this is so funny that people don't get this.
I'll start the way they start. Greg Fahee says there's
a trick that helped him recruit college athletes and make
friends with powerful people. When he meets someone, he repeats
their name and conversation and he writes it down his
phone two at his memory. But he's one of those guys. Okay, Jack,
(15:44):
would you be totally opposed to trying this out? Because Jack,
I hear you're worrying you do it? Why what can
I do for you?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Now? Three times I'm a little weird about.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
I know, and that the article is about how the
vast majority of the people think that's creepy.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
I feel some people think it's a powerful toll.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Even the first one, I'm a little makes it a
little weird, But you get into two and three. I've
started referring to our what are you supposed to call
them other than waitresses? I've started referring to servers by
their names, and my kids really hate it. I don't
know why, but it really bothers them when I do that. Wow, Yeah,
(16:23):
I alway, Jenny, I'm out. Are you doing, Jenny?
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Whenever my mom would chat with a server or whatever,
that just made me so uncomfortable. Do you remember why?
Because it drives my kid's nuts. So now I do
it more. It's got to be something anthropological.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Huh. It's gotta be anyway.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
So the guy reacting to the Jack, would you be
totally opposed to trying this?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Jack?
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Jack? I hear that you.
Speaker 5 (16:48):
He says it was clear the person was using manipulative
sales tactics, and this communications professor says, it's easy to
see when somebody's trying to influence you by doing that.
I feel icky when someone says my name every other sentence.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Yeah, I'm probably I'm probably not buying whatever you're trying
to sell me. You do that?
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Oh no, no, I'm going elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
See you? What is it?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Jim?
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Jim, You'll notice I'm leaving. Jim. Now I'm walking out
the door. Jim Armstrong and Geeddy.
Speaker 6 (17:21):
I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now.
And I want you to know that I am not
a hero in this at all.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
And President Trump, this is a hero.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Mark Fogel, teacher accused of smoking dope in Russia by
the Russians. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. You never know.
They grab Americans all the time in China and Russian
North Korean places like that, so they can use him
as a bargaining chip for something, or he might have
been smoking dope. Who knows.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You don't we audit into the country anyway.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
You don't get to hold an American for what four years?
How long was he there alone? Time? Long time?
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Years? And first I always wonder on these things because
you know, there's uh, You've got the policy people around
any White House, and then you got the political people.
And I'm sure the political people are pushing hard for
get this guy on TV. Get this guy. We need
to We need him standing next to Donald Trump. And
(18:22):
I'm thinking, man, I just got out of four years
in a Russian prison, which he's about to describe what
it was like. I want to go home. I don't
want to be on Fox and Friends this morning doing
an interview with makeup and lights and waiting for the
segment to start an end. I want to be home
in my bed with my family or friends or whoever
I haven't seen in four years. Right, that seems like, yeah,
(18:43):
I don't know what's going on there anyway. Here is
Mark Foegel Fogel describing a little the last several years
in a Russian prison.
Speaker 6 (18:49):
This super organism of people that came to my support.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
And the love that I was given.
Speaker 6 (19:01):
Sustain me for three and a half years.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
In prison, that had me.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
In hospitals for more than one hundred days. I was
given more than four hundred injections in that time, and
knowing I had the support of my fellow Pennsylvanians, my family,
my friends, it was so overwhelming that it brought me
(19:36):
to my knees and it brought me to tears.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I'm sure he did a big debriefing with the CIA.
Maybe the first thing he did on the plane back
over probably four hundred injections.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
Of what and you're held in the hospital why as
some sort of weird detention, more questions than answers.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
But that's fine, there's time.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Yeah, but good lord, four hundred injections of God knows
what that would scare me. Yeah, what you're a beating
I know how to take, not that I would enjoy it,
But then happen to me full of God knows what.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I assume he doesn't speak Russian. So somebody comes up
to you in the hospital or the prison and sticks
an eedel in your arm? You think, am I going
to be dead in thirty seconds? Or what the hell
is that? Are you doing medical experiments on me? What
the hell is going on here? Right?
Speaker 5 (20:27):
Four hundred and was he counting them or seemed quite confident.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
In his number? I have many questions. Anyway, here's Trump
talking about the whole deal that he made with Putin.
Speaker 7 (20:38):
They were very nice, We were treated very nicely by Russia. Actually,
I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we
can end that war and millions of people can stop
being killed. They've lost millions of people. They lost in
terms of soldiers, probably one point five million soldiers in
a short period of time we got to that war.
(21:01):
And I'm interested primarily from the standpoint of death. We're
losing all those soldiers, and then other American soldiers, the
Ukrainian and Russian soldiers. But you're probably talking about a
million and a half. I think I think we kind
of bring that one to an end.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
So what's the angle there? So this is seen as
us getting Mark fogelback, who Putin had been holding illegally
for three and a half years, as part of the
negotiation for ending the war in Ukraine. I don't know
how it's all going to fit together.
Speaker 5 (21:32):
Yeah, you know, Trump absolutely understands the art of negotiation.
You know, you want to rattle a seller and soothe
a buyer, for instance, And he's trying to get Putin
to buy a good deal to in the war that spares.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Ukraine too much, you know, defeat.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
But the idea that you could like maneuver against Putin
and actually buy goodwill, it's like trying to buy goodwill
from an alligate. I mean, I don't mind him trying.
It just seems, is it that every president's a bit
of an egomaniac and they all think they can play
Putin even a little bit.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I don't know how how would anybody still have that belief?
And he's an evil, child, murdering monster. I'm uncomfortable with
anything even close to friendly sounding about him.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Yeah, I get why Trump's doing what he's doing, but
it's it's difficult to take on a moral level. Russia
has treated us very well so far. Well, I guess
your point the beginning of goodwill. I don't think being
nice to him is going to get you anything.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
He will react in his best interest, whether from what
he gets or what the pain he's going to avoid.
Only Yeah, like's an alligator. It's whether you call him,
you know, evil personified or my good friend. Either way
you're going to get the same result. I think it's
just going to be all about what you know his
interests are. So I don't know why you got to
(22:59):
do the night anyway. So Trump just put this out.
He just tweeted this out, and I won't read the
whole thing. It's really long. I just had a lengthy
and highly provocative phone call productive. I'm sorry I shouldn't.
That's funny. That was in my head. I just had
a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir
Putin and Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy,
artificial intelligence, the power of the dollar, and various other subjects.
(23:21):
We both reflected on the great history of our nations
and the fact that we fought so successfully together in
World War Two, remembering that Russia lost tens of millions
of people and we likewise lost so many. It's all
this stuff is just We each talked about the strengths
of our respective nations and the great benefit that we
(23:42):
someday will someday have in working together. But first we
as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions
of deaths taking place in the war with Russia Ukraine.
President Putin even used my very strong campaign campaign motto
of common sense in all caps. We both believe very strong,
only in it. Putin is going to agree to this
(24:04):
if it's in something he agrees to. I mean, like
he's okay with period.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
In any negotiation, there's probably a little bit around the margins.
You can increase or decrease with goodwill, but not with Putin,
not even a little. This is just the way Trump
does business. Though, Yeah, this is interesting. We have also
agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and
we will begin by calling President Zalynsky of Ukraine to
(24:32):
inform him of the conversation. Well, I'm guess he'll be
pleased to know other people are figuring out how much
of his country. He has to give away thanks for
the jingle, something which I will begin doing right now.
So he's going to jump on the phone with Zelensky.
I've asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the
CI John Ratcliffe. He goes through a bunch of other
people to lead the negotiations, which I feel strongly will
(24:54):
be successful. Millions of people have died in a war
that would not have happened if I were president, but
it did happen, so it must end. Yeah, you know,
in Trump's defense, the Ukrainians have tried everything up to
and including a horrific, bloody war to get Russia out
of their country, and that hasn't worked. So you know,
(25:18):
now the US is going to step back. He hasn't
worked with the cooperation hasn't worked, within my opinion, tepid
support that could have been much more forceful, and all
of the things we eventually gave him could have come
much earlier and could have made all the difference in
the war, and they might have actually gotten their land back.
We'll never know what a horrible, horrible president eventually agreeing
(25:41):
to all these things. Why didn't you do it earlier?
Because he was so scared of Putin using nuclear weapons,
I guess m. But you know, as I've been saying
since this whole thing started, I'd rather the rest of
the world was more scared of us than we are
of them. I think right now the world is more
scared of us, scared of us than we are of them. Yeah, yeah, Well,
(26:05):
there's no way this thing ends in a way that's
not just absolutely heartbreaking and disappointing and disgusting. Just that's
the nature of these things.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
And millions of lives it died for no reason whatsoever.
Oh yeah, as is often the case.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
In war, mostly because of Putin's Tsarist dreams. Well, he
wants to be what William the Conqueror or Henry remember
that whole thing?
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Which book was it that I read? I think this
was the Woodword book. But during COVID Putin was so
scared of getting COVID he went down into the archives
underneath the Kremlin and started reading through old papers and stuff,
going back to like Peter the Great, that they still
have under there, and convinced himself of some noble position
(26:49):
Russia should have in the world, and it's his job
to get it back. Because of sitting down there by
himself reading through, you know, three hundred year old paperwork.
How crazy is that? Right? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (27:02):
Well, speaking of warfare, I'm trying to find the quote
about the Israel Hamas thing, and uh boy, if I
could find it, that would be handy.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
But it was an about what are people calling it
Gaza lago or.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
We're trying each one to see how it fits. Yeah,
but the the person made the point. Let me see
if I can find it really quickly that there has
never been an instance in history where one neighbor launched
an unprovoked, bloody attack against its neighbor and that attack failed,
(27:43):
that they didn't lose their government or their sovereignty.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I'm sure that's true. That that doesn't surprise.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
Me because and if you have two brain cells to
rub together and can put aside your ideology momentarily and
actually listen to common sense and facts, you can't live
peacefully next to a neighbor who did that, especially one
who did that in the midst of trying as hard
as they could to convince you that they were at
(28:09):
peace and would never do that. How About in the
moment you let down your guard, they slaughtered your people.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
How about this for icing on the cake. Even after
you've nearly eliminated them, they still say they're committed to
killing you.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Yes, exactly. It is impossible in the pages of history,
impossible to find any people and any government who said, well,
all right, you invaded us without provocation and slaughtered our people,
But all right, let's let bygones begause.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Let's ull get out. I realize you're still saying you
want me dad and all my friends and family, but
I'm going to assume you don't actually mean it.
Speaker 5 (28:48):
And so these soft heads, and I've been pounding this
for so long. Sorry, I'll wrap it up. The idea that, well,
we need to come to a ceasefire and a two
state solution. What is your world?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Like?
Speaker 5 (29:00):
What color is the sky? Is there gravity there? Do
animals talk and dance? Or what happens in that weird
world you live in that's not Planet Earth.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
It's a dodge. Some of it is soft heads, some
of it's used to dodge King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday
when he brought it up, sitting there next to Trump,
but he didn't know what to do. So Trump's going
on and about how the United States will own Gaza
and we'll develop it kicking Jordan's like, I'm sure he's thinking,
what the hell is he actually up to? He's not
actually going to do that, but what is his angle?
(29:31):
How is this going to turn out? But anyway, he
throw out at some point Jordan is only willing to
move forward if the two state solutions, And I thought, okay,
that gets you out of Rhetorically, it gets you out
of a jam.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Right, islamis nut jobs. Don't look at us, That's what
he's saying.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
All right, we'll finish strong next. That's one of the
songs Paul McCarty played last night at an impromptu pop
up concert at a club in New York, which I
would have loved to have been at. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
(30:09):
he opened was Hard Day's Night. He did a whole
bunch of songs. I don't know, but he did. Got
to get you into my life and uh maybe I'm
amazed Jet get back. Let it be ended with hey
Jude in some sort of encourse. That would have been
a cool show at the super Bowl. That was interesting
(30:31):
how many celebrities sit in the same section and it
seems like, because did you see any of that, Like
Kevin Cosker was sitting next to Pete Davidson, and I
don't think they're buds. I think that like just like
they probably broker tickets that super rich people do and
they ended up sitting together because they put the famous
people in one section or something. Would not shock me
(30:52):
a bit.
Speaker 5 (30:52):
If the NFL had a very special people ticket line,
there's gotta be yeah, and I would have they have.
Part of it might be just they have extra security guaranteed,
because you just can't have even if they went on
to stub Hub and we're willing to pay a ton
of money for a good seat, you just can't have.
Paul McCartney's sitting in the midst of a whole bunch
(31:14):
of Eagles fans. I mean, he'd be harassed to death.
Be Selfie's hit by the batteries they chuck a bunch
of battery chuckers.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
I'm just signing autographs and having to answer stupid questions
what's jet about the whole dang game. But so they're
all sitting together, I thought, like Paul McCartney and Adam
Sandler are like six seats away. John back and forth
won what they're talking about. I'd be fascinated to listen
to those people. It's probably quite mundane, but I would
still find that somewhat interesting.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
Oh yeah, absolutely, it's mundaneus would be interesting.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, Paul McCartney did not sing this song last night.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Which side are you?
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Which side are you?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Which side?
Speaker 1 (31:54):
You play this monstrosity several times today? It was the
the worst civil rights here Row's song they were singing
on the Capitol steps to try to keep Elon Musk
from getting rid of rid of useless employees. Congratulations. Awful,
but we got this text and it's a decent point.
Why is it that the left has all the best
(32:14):
musicians and artists in music on their side, yet they
have the worst political chance? Which side are you on? Really? Yeah?
Can't you get lady Gogar? You know whoever? Springsteen? Could
you come up with some lyrics for me real quick
instead of doing that Which side are you on? The
chorus is okay, I mean it sung horribly, but it's
(32:37):
it's the verses that they really start, you know, running
into trees verses, Oh, we're out of time? Call Taylor Swift?
Can you turn a breakup song into a we don't
want government to shrink song? Thank you? I'll get back
to you.
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Yeah, boys, great music.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Let's get a final thought from everybody the crew to
wrap things up for the day, beginning with our technical
director Mike Lanchlow. Michael final thought, I'm a little concerned.
It's looking like where I live it's gonna be raining
on Valentine's Day. That means all the red paint on
my body's gonna just wash off.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
This really sucks.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
That's right, it's gonna ruin your Cupid costume. Katie Green
are esteemed Newswoman as a final thought, Katie, since I'm
the only one on the show that can do this,
the side that I am on is the one that
would slap that woman upside the head that's singing that.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
There you go, I've had it with that song. Under
Jack a final thought for us. Yeah, I love some
of these examples that Elon's bringing out, but it's gonna
be hard to top the paper Manila envelope down in
the mine retirement process. Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
Yeah, if you didn't hear that, grab the podcast Armstrong
and Getty on demand. My final thoughts just flitted out
of my head. Oh my final thought is a question,
was that the there's a hole in the sky, why
the tree one squaws lady?
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Or is it just like a type. I think that
it's a type. They all sound like that. For some
it's just like the screeching young liberal women. All could
be the same person. Oh yeah, when they do a
TikTok video. Yeah, they're churning them out of factories.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
That's holy.
Speaker 5 (34:18):
The side where was somebody's making money.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
There's sky where the tree once was.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Somebody's making money. That's good stuff on your feet, Okay, awesome.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.
Speaker 5 (34:41):
Don't you know If you go to Armstrong a Getty
dot com you can find the hot links there all
sorts of articles and videos and stuff that we referenced.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
It's right there for you. You can drop some noemail.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
Bag at Armstrong and Getty dot com, pick up some
swag at the Ang store. The Adidas hoodies very very popular,
probably the link to the podcast there too.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
I gotta grab me one of them hoodies. They're come
in different colors. Which side are you on, Jack? Which
side are you see? Tomorrow? God? Bless America. I don't
swear in public very well. But I'm strong and Getty
where side are you?
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Don't that sounds crazy?
Speaker 1 (35:19):
It seems like there's a few Kings sinet slinking.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
For those of you that don't understand, he's taking.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
It to a much higher level.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
But I've not found myself yet in the charming burg
of Swine's teeth. But I hope and you hope to
see it. And it's citizens sometimes in suburb of Elco,
beautiful thist time of year
Speaker 1 (35:36):
On that high Good luck, Armstrong and Getty.
Hosts And Creators
Joe Getty
Jack Armstrong
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