December 9, 2024 • 37 mins
Hour 3 of A&G features...
- Mike Lyons talks to A&G about the overturning of Assad
- Get your A&G swag today to have it arrive before Christmas!
- Trump on Meet The Press with Kristen Welker
- Taylor Swift's Eras tour made $2 billion
Stupid Should Hurt: https://www.armstrongandgetty.com/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George
Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty arm.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Strong and Getty and he Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
I think if you've run the numbers here, you know,
twenty five percent chance it turns out really well and
there's a secular country kind of emerges. I think twenty
five percent it shuts down pretty quickly as Jihatas takeover.
Maybe a fifty percent chance it looks like Libya, which
(00:44):
is an ongoing state of conflict.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Man, seeing how people the happy, those people were in
Syria over the weekend, bringing down those statues, dancing in
the streets, children, old people, people crying as they saw
loved ones who were released from the prisons that they
hadn't seen in decades. But you know, if you're old
enough to have lived through the Arab Spring, you know
(01:07):
how a lot of these turned out unfortunately.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Right, So an enormous couple of days for the people
of Syria with the uncertain future ahead. Also, the fall
of the Asad regime has sent shockwaves.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
That's a cliche.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I should have avoided it throughout the region, and geopolitically
is it's exposed Russian Iran is much much weaker than
they've been formerly.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Where does it all go?
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Perhaps we'll we'll discuss that with Mike Lyons, military analyst
who joins us from now. Mike, I realized predictions are
extremely difficult in that part of the world.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
But this is a big one, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Yeah? For sure? That was Admiral Sterheti's I take it
from his voice. Yep, yeah, right, So you know, fifty
percent turns into living interesting analysis. I think that there's
a higher probability that things go south very quickly. Unfortunately,
it's just human nature of what we've seen in history
in that part of the world. But there is opportunity,
no question. The main thing is what are these external
(02:04):
countries like Turkey going to do to get involved. I
see the United States and Israel already going after military targets,
taking away capability, military capability of this new group, this
HTS group that seems to have taken control of the
country right now, getting rid of their AMO dumps and
keeping them from waging more conflicts. But what Turkey you
(02:24):
would like to do is create this state of Kurdistan.
I don't know think of Syria becoming let's say, Balkanized
and kind of chopped up to a big piece of land,
not a lot of desert areas. So the cities are
the built ups there. But what Turkey you would like
to do is find a home for thirty million people
that are indigenous to that part of the world and
(02:45):
call it a homeland. Now, the problem Theyria has as
a country. It doesn't have a lot of natural resources,
It doesn't export a lot of things. So you have
a country, you have to have all those things. Anyway,
all those things you brought up tremendously important as well.
Russia is now weigh down the fact that they've lost
a war and more report in the media. Tranian the
Uranians can't help either. So we'll just have to see.
But I'm betting things there to go south before they
(03:06):
get better soon.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Well, we have nine hundred troops there, seventy five air
strikes yesterday, so we're involved at some level. As reading
this from the La Times, their headlined in Syria, militias
armed by the Pentagon are fighting those armed by the CIA.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Yeah, yeah, it's likely a story as we have looked
to prop up some groups. The problem though, this this
HTS group. This the main the main rebel organization is
nothing more than a merger of different al Qaeda facts
and al Nustra in factor or one of their main
supporters and so as that was used in some ways
(03:45):
to fight ISIS, and that and that reason you're still
at groups that are on the terrorist watch list, which
is why I know that this administration is looking anywhere
to get a win. You saw ject Sullivan over the
week and talking about how well Israel has done because
of the Biden foreign policy. Well, actually they've done well
because they've not paid attention to the Biden foreign policy.
That's really what's happened there, not anything that this administration did.
(04:08):
But this administration is looking for some victory as it
walks out the door as it cheapestly has the door
kind of shut it behind as it leaves. And if
they can, if they can try to claim something that
this will go well, they'll obviously try to take credit
for it.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So we'll see.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Yeah, speaking of Israel and Iran, this is a huge
blow to Iran, It's got to be, and to its proxies.
I mean, has Law, which has already had the hell
beat out of it by Israel right now lacks a
direct supply route.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
How significant is this?
Speaker 5 (04:37):
Yeah, incredible, the fact that exactly that land bridge now
is torn between Iran and those proxy forces there as
well inside of a rock. That's why those nine hundred
troops are there as they kind of they straddle the
tigers euphrate's value there and try to shut those supply
lines down on a lot of the attacks that were
taking place that we took over the weekend were against
(04:58):
those Militsia forces that the Urine support. So they've lost
all of their proxy forces in Hasbla, in Hamas and
then these these small splinter groups that it's now open
season for US, I'd say at some level, which is
why I heard eight tens for example, we're striking some
of their targets there. So again, Irana is very exposed
(05:19):
right now. They've never been weaker. Russia to me, is
no longer any kind of superpower whatsoever. And again part
of the issue is going in destroying that military equipment
that Russia left behind, because if that falls into the
wrong hands, I think that the world is going to
see increase conflict that Israel is looking to show up
AT's bordering a Golden Heights with Cerea as well.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
So for a lot of our audience, I don't know
what percentage, but a chunk of our audience would say
this we should stay out of it. Did we never
get a good result. I don't want us involved at all.
What's what's your response to that?
Speaker 5 (05:52):
There's nothing that we can do to influence anyone's side.
Let's see what Turkey does. Let's see what Turkeys respond.
Is going to be as there in the region. Let
them do a lot of this dirty work. It does
not make any sense to even send treasure there to
pick one side or the other. The only thing we
should do is continue to support our ally Israel as
(06:14):
I would not be surprised if this new organization at
run Syria declares so I'm kind of ge hot against Israel.
So that'll just be another, you know, another target for
Israel to take down. That would be that would be
bad because Israel would eventually accomplish that mission. And this
that's where this revolution then that just took place there
would go down with die in the ashes, it would
ever get off the ground, because again, Israel's Israel's at
(06:36):
the strongest point right now. But there's literally not a
single soldier, not a single dollar we should send to
their way right now at this point, So.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
You can clarify something for me, because I know we'll
be pressuring Turkey not to go wild on the Kurds,
who have been you know, reliable US allies. But so
are you suggesting that because Turkey has always been vehemently
against some sort of Kurdish homeland. But is it now
that the Sad regime is gone they can carve it
out of Syria that now they're in favor of it?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Is that right?
Speaker 6 (07:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Yeah, that's right there against the homeland because most of
them sit inside of Turkey proper and they don't want
that to happen. They sit in rock Syria, Turkey and Iran.
And so this is similar to what happened in the
forties when when Israel gets its own homeland set up
by the you know, kind of a World Council. That's
what I would not be surprised if Turkey does though
(07:26):
again that Balkanization. They're gonna they're going to take fury
of what was once is big land Masks and whack
it up into four or five different areas and different
secular groups. The Drus, There's there's a Christian section there
in Damascus. There's all different areas that you can easily
do this. But but again you have to create more
of a republic because it's you know, each of these
(07:47):
different groups, would we have a have a channel surviving
on their own. So for example, if if the Curds.
One of the reasons why the Curds are so successful
as an indigenous group outside is because they own oil
rights in the northern part of Iraq. They generate red
If you don't have a country, you got to have
a generate revenue. If to the military, all these kinds
of things, you've got to figure all that out when
you try to redraw new boundaries. Here the boundaries that
(08:10):
Syria has created after World War One by colonial powers
that just thought these were the boundaries that we were
going to do. Saying with the rocks sands koit same
with everything that exists there, and now they're falling into
more of the natural position as to where they are
based on the tribal people where they lived.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I think this question is relevant. So I was looking
at the end of the year book lists and various
publications because I like reading the best books of the year.
And there's this book that Steve call wrote I wrote
read Ghost Wars years ago, but the Achilles Trap Sadam
lu saying the CI and the origins of America's invasion
of Iraq, and it's all about how we had four
(08:46):
different presidents that were pro regime change and all our
momentum towards Iraq and how we invaded and what did
we get out of it and all that sort of stuff.
You were there, do you feel like I'm not trying
to like relitigate Ara. I'm just trying to figure out
is that where your point of view comes from of
we should stay out of Cerea, that we rarely get
(09:07):
a good outcome.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
Yeah, we try to. We try to import democracy into
places that can't. It won't take it, It won't hold
there on any level. I mean, it's just not going
to work. What we should try is create the environment
where we import capitalism. I think that's what's failed in
a rock in the last twenty years. We always have
the government and you know, we have those people with
(09:30):
the pictures and their purple thumbs, but next thing, you know,
the extremists and the regime start cutting their thumbs off
because they just they're not into democracy. Is that they
just don't they don't have that this feeling of self rule. However,
capitalism and money and wealth is more or less a
you know, a human condition as well. That's more easily
transferred to. If you can create the conditions where businesses
(09:52):
can exist, then then democracy will follow. We've always tried
to do it in the different other direction. We try
to implement the democracy first and then capitalism hasn't worked,
and that's why that's why it's failed. I think in Iraq,
if we could figure out a way to bring capitalism
there first, bring the businesses first, I think the democracy
would follow well.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
And Americans in general have a naivete that would be
charming if it wasn't so dangerous that they imagine either
everybody around the world thinks like Americans do, or they
can be persuaded to when you're talking about hundreds of
year old's religious fundamentalist, fanatical movements, that they're just nuts.
(10:31):
That doesn't make me a racist, that makes me a realist, exactly.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
You know, so much of the world, especially in the
Middle East as part of the world, where the normal
civilians go hours without electricity, they can't drink water from
the faucet. There's so many things we take for granted
here in our you know, in our country, that they
don't have, or their basic necessities that the government can't
provide for. But no, that's right. It's the real politique
(10:56):
to how we should deal with this, and we should
get back to containment, get back to the countries that
we know, our allies in that region, and support them
and make sure that they don't fall. But let the
ones in the region take care of it. Let's say,
if Turkey is successful at carving out a Curtistan, they
solve a couple of problems. They solve a revolutionary potential
problem in their country. The Turks are concerned that the
Kurds will all get together because there's thirty million of them.
(11:17):
If they all get together to tide to overthrow the
Turkish government, well that creates a NATO problem then at
some level. So that's what I think that we should
the path we should go down.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Military analyst Mike Lyons, Mike, great to talk to you,
Thanks so much for the insight.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Great guys, thanks for me absolutely so, I can't tell
if I'm inconsistent or wise. I don't actually know, but
as you know, if you listen, I'm big time supporter
of US being involved in Ukraine, and I think it's
very important to the world order, and I think it's
directly important to the United States, and the Secretary of
(11:53):
Defense Austin announced yesterday another one billion dollars in military
aid for you. I'm all for supporting Ukraine. I am
not for getting involved in these Middle Eastern countries. I
just don't see what we've gotten out of it over
the years.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Well, obviously the answer to that is long and complicated
and probably book length. You know, I'm more than happy
to engage in that chat if you want. It just
has to do with our national interest obviously, and which
seel like we.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Get the same result whether we get involved or not
in these countries Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Oh yeah, in the Middle East. Yeah, you could make
that argument, But more on that to come. After a
quick word from our friends at Simply Save Home Security,
You us, We everybody worries about the safety of your
home and your family.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
No better time to act than now.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Simply Safe is extending its massive Black Friday deal for
our listeners. Get fifty percent off a new simply Safe
security system with their spectacular advanced monitoring abilities. Yep.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
If someone's lurking around acting suspiciously, agents actually see them
in real time through your cameras you have set up,
talk to them directly, set off your spotlights, even call
the police before they've had a chance to break in.
That's not what other security systems do.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
No, it's simply Safe, active guard outdoor protection that changes
the game. It prevents crime before it even happens. There
are no long term contracts, there are no cancelation fees,
and it's around a buck a day for all this protection. Yeah,
that's a fraction what you paid for your crappy old system.
And me too, simply Safe again fifty percent off a
new system with select professional monitoring plans. This is your
(13:31):
last chance to claim best offer of the year. Head
to simply safe dot com slash armstrong. That's simply safe
dot com slash armstrong. There's no safe like simply Safe.
It's interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Mike Lines is one hundred percent stay uninvolved in Syria
and Trump, who's going to be president here soon and
to some extent he is is also, we have no
business being there, so that's probably the direction we're going
for better or worse. Oh, we got a lot more
on the way. You can join us anytime on the
text line four one five two nine five kftcrong.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
A woman has filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him
of assault and dangling her off a seventeen story balcony,
which is just incredible grip strength for a guy coated
in pavi oil.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Wow. Wow, So I really I see that you didn't
grab any of them, Michael, and I understand why their
first like four jokes were all about the assassination of
that United Healthcare CEO in Manhattan, and unfortunately I saw
blowback against that before I saw the jokes would put
(14:36):
a thought in my head, I hate that. Uh. I
didn't think they were particularly out of line him. They're distasteful.
I don't like being the joke police. Ever, if you're
intent his humor, you know some of it's distasteful, and
then you know, if you don't like it, you don't
like it. But I don't mind jokes about serious things.
(14:57):
The this stuff the New York Time Times headline. Some
on social media see suspect and ceo killing as a
folk hero. You know that's sort of like turning him
into a folk hero stuff I am bothered by. But
making jokes about things either you like it. I had
the same experience.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
I ran into the online condemnation, thought, oh, I had
to listen to those jokes, and I found them much
more innocent than they're portrayed.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
A couple of yes. On the insurance thing, we got
quite a few texts that are really interesting about the
way insurance companies handle bills and people who work in
the industry and stuff like that. And again, I'm uncomfortable
with even getting into that because there's a certain bit
of the killer getting his way. It's kind of like
(15:45):
when you read a school shooter's manifesto and take his
argument seriously. Yeah, I get that.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Ethically, I'm uncomfortable going into it, although there are it's
beyond denial that we have serious issues with health care
and insurance and stuff in the country, and a lot
of people get hurt and a lot of people are mad.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
So I get it.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Yeah, we shouldn't buy the discussion with the blood of
this poor son of a gun who's gunned down on
the pavement, but it is a legitimate discussion. I just
hate to even imply that therefore it's okay to shoot
people in cold blood.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Well, we got some text about it. We'll get to
them later. This hour.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
Got an email from Jan wanted to know if I
buy a present for my husband.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I shouldn't have used a real name. Ah, you just
ruined their Christmas. I hope you're happy you probably Christmas,
probably every Christmas to come, because the pain of this
day will linger in their memories. Anyway.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
A woman whose name is definitely not Jan wonder whether
if she got her husband a present from the Armstrong
a Giddy store, whether it would get there in time
for Christmas?
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Yes, but do it today? Oh I need to do that.
I actually had that thought over the weekend.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
The premium may in ge hoodie flying off the shelves.
People are loving the cut, the crab t shirt, and
the hot dogs are dogs as well.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Armstrong getdy dot com? How is it? How do you
crass commercialism? How do you feel about me buying family
members Armstrong and Getty stuff? Does that seem it's a
little odd? Is it's fine? You would you would like it?
Here's a gift to you. You helping me by wearing
(17:20):
an advertisement that puts more money in my pocket. It's Michael,
I bought family member stuff. Yeah, they liked it.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Oh yeah, And I don't know if you've seen the books,
the money actually doesn't go in our pockets. But I remember, well,
this is a long story. To listen to the show
because they see the advertisement. That's what I oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
because yeah, that's that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah. Ah oh, we've just got thirty if I bought
my parents, I bought you a billboard on I eighty
in your name for Christmas advertising the radio show. It's well,
it's it's.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
A warm wearable that taken the say look, this is
my brother, my son, my whatever.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It says. Shit, I don't know, do whatever you want.
Trump did an hour plus interview and meet the press
yesterday kind of got obscured by the news of the
day with the ultrabiased she Wolf.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Kristen Welker will have the highlights of that interchange between
the evil suckubists and the power resident elect coming up
Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Well, I don't want to be breaking up families. So
the only way you don't break up the family is
you keep them together, and you have to send them all.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Back there you go.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Trump, in response to the inevitable question, you say you
wanted to poor people.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Are you going to separate families? Always asked from the
point of view of it being bad, even though he
ran on that got elected and sixty percent of people
approve of it. So it just drives me nuts.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Whenever we talk about this, I'm reminded of my youthful
idea of living in Germany to work and study and
stuff like that, because I studied German and thought that
might be interesting, and it became clear that there were
severe limitations in getting into the country.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Then staying in there and working was very, very difficult.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
You had to get permits and stuff like that, so
I and I accepted that. I thought, well, that's unfortunate,
but it is what it is, the idea that I
would go to Germany sneak in and then when they say, hey,
you don't have authorization to be here, and you certainly
don't have authorization to work, me saying, how are you
gonna separate.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Me and my family?
Speaker 4 (19:26):
And what would the Germans say to that, Well, they'd
say it in German, so you wouldn't understand it, folks.
But what it would mean essentially is be quiet and
get back in line.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
It's not our problem. We got a bunch of clips,
but I thought maybe the most important one that should
have gotten a lot of attention but didn't from Trump
was when he was asked about do you ran on
re retribution and he said, I'm really looking to make
our country successful. I'm not looking to go back into
the past. I'm looking to make our country successful. Retribution
will be through success. Okay, there's your hitler for you,
(19:57):
there's your hitler, there's your thermal.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Would be another election again, well, and he has made
that point repeatedly. The retribution is how successful we're going
to be.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
That lays it to rest. But it's such a good
clickbaiting narrative.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
The lion liars in the media and Kristen Welker is
their unholy princess. They just can't leave that to the
narrative alone.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Stop it.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
There are real problems with Trump quld making stuff up right.
By the way, I'm told Daniel Penny has been acquitted
in the death of that homeless lunatic on.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
The New York subway. Wow, so it's over for him,
Thank you, bless him?
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Yeah, yeah, shame somebody had to die, but enforce the
law in New York.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, well you don't want to die, don't go jumping
on a subway car threat and a whole bunch of
innocent people. That'd be a good way to avoid it.
Poor Daniel Penny, What a trial he has been through.
And I shouldn't use that term. What a you're the
word guy, come up with a word? What a difficult
period of his complit journey whatever, Yeah, journey is good.
(21:05):
What a horrible thing to have to go through when
all you did was you're the one alpha male in
the room who's willing to try to stop this guy
from hurting people. Everybody on the train car was thrilled
that you did something about it, and you came this
close to go into prison.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Yeah all right, So back to Trump and Welker. A
lot of people have enjoyed this clip. It's thirty seven, Michael.
They are discussing January sixth.
Speaker 8 (21:29):
In general, officials say that the order never came in.
Speaker 9 (21:32):
For the national ars on January sixth. Let me ask
you this about.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Joe in a statement that he has destroyed evidence.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
Let me ask you this about January sixth.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
I wish you could be a if you you know,
you have such potential, if you could be just just
non biased. You hurt yourself so badly. I'm telling you,
they deleted and destroyed all the evidence. Everyone knows it,
and you off like it doesn't mean anything. No, if I.
Speaker 9 (22:02):
Didn't deny it, that's all I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
List if I did it, you would be standing up
in that chairs shouting at me, and you know what
I do, I'd say, you got me.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
My main takeaway with that is, Okay, you're gonna ask
him about January sixth again and try to get him
to admit to something or whatever. Do you I assume,
Christian Walker, you don't like Trump and don't want him
to have power and be elected. You're helping him. You're
helping him.
Speaker 10 (22:28):
Yes, the majority of people are like whatever, move on
to something else. I know a lot of super hardcore
Trumpeters would love to talk about January sixth for the
rest of their.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Lives, but that's not where most of America is.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Well, no, America saw it and they had a choice
between Trump and then Biden and then Harris, and thank
goodness said we're not electing either one of them. So yeah,
he brings with him that baggage. But let's let's look
to that. What are we accomplishing by relitting gating it
at this point? And Jack and I were both harshly
critical of Trump then, and I have not changed my
(23:05):
opinion of his activities on the day one Ioeda, I
still condemn it. And yet here we are, excuse me,
in the year twenty twenty four, with a hell of
a lot on her plate.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Let's get on it.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
So speaking, which Christen Welker, who again I should have
written out all of my various insulting adjectives I'd had
in my head to use for her, because I find
her obnoxious, smugly, one sided, and snotty ooh, just not
a good person anyway.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Ah, she brought up the.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Federal minimum wage and clip thirty nine B.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
You see that one. Michael.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
I don't if you remember this, but during the debate
in twenty twenty I asked you if you would raise
the minimum wage. You said you would consider it. And
so my question for you is now that you are
going back to the White House for these nineteen states
that voted for you, are you going to raise effect.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
It's a very low number, I will agree it's a
very low number. Let me give you the downside though,
In California they raise it up to a very high number,
and your restaurants are going out of business all over
the place. The population is shrinking. It's had a very
negative impact. But there is a level at which you
could do it absolutely.
Speaker 9 (24:19):
What is that level?
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (24:20):
I mean, I really don't know. I can say this,
you have a lot of businesses that are open and
thriving because of the lower minimum wage. If you raise
it too much, and you understand this, if California went crazy,
they went crazy, and people the restaurants are closing all
of them, many more people are hurt.
Speaker 8 (24:38):
So I hear you saying similarly to sort of what
you said in twenty twenty.
Speaker 9 (24:44):
Will you consider this something you're going to look at.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
I'd want to speak to the governors. And the other
thing that's very complicated about minimum wages is places are
so different. Mississippi and Alabama and great places are very
different than New York or California, I mean in terms
of the cour of living.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And other things.
Speaker 6 (25:01):
So it'd be nice to have just a minimum wage
for the whole country, but it wouldn't work because you
have places where it's very inexpensive to live, where a
minimum wage, which is eight or nine dollars might be
you know, might have very much, very little effect because
the cost of living in certain places is really low.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
This makes me so tired, I know. So first of all,
he's the leader of what is now the working Class Party,
and the raising the minimum wage polls. Well, it's unfortunate.
I think with a five minutes of explanation, you could
explain to a lot of people why it's not actually
good for you to raise the minimum wage. But Trump realizes,
you know, the party that he's leading. But even when
(25:43):
he states to her there's a downside to raising the
min wait, she just completely blows that off and goes
with the next question of obviously it would be good
for everyone to raise the minimum wage. I feel like
I should inject here one from one of your Thomas
swell so Well quote on Twitter about the minimum wage.
The minimum wage law is very cleverly misnamed. The real
(26:06):
minimum wage is zero, and that is what many inexperienced
and low skilled people receive as a result of legislation
that makes it illegal to pay them what they're currently
worth to an employer.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Well said, very succinctly, said, Trump frustrates me always because
he does just a half assed job of of explaining
some of the principles that I hold dear.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
But you know, he is what he is.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
But the federal minimum wage is to call it irrelevant
is to exaggerate how relevant it is. It is a
complete non factor in anyone's life. It's a silly discussion.
If states want minimum wages, they should pass them. There is,
you know, with the exception of a couple like enslaved
(26:48):
immigrants who are probably trying to escape right now, and
I wish them well, there is nobody in America who
is exchanging their labor for a wage that they are
unwilling to exchange their labor for.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Nobody.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
If you don't want to do a job at a
particular wage, you will not take that job. The idea
that the government can, somehow, especially the federal government, prop
up some sort of minimum it's just it ignores everything
that is the most fundamental about economics. It's just silly.
It's a silly question. I mean, it's it's pretty silly
on the state level. On the federal level, it's completely ridiculous.
(27:28):
Say you're gonna have a minimum wage for Coonhuller, Kentucky.
And what is that gonna do for the people in
Seattle for instance? Or La Nothing, it's just dopey Kristen.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Oh, what's the main business in Coonhuller?
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Squirrel skinning, mostly squirrel pelts, squol, squirrel coats, squirrel hats.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I make and sell, I make and sell frog gig
and sticks. Oh, you're the jack of Jack's froggy sticks. Yes,
jack sticks are very pointy. My daddy used to tell me, boy,
you go frog giggins son. You don't have jack sticks,
you might as well have popstickle stick. Eh. Anyway, I
(28:17):
assume you stab the frogs or something.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
More of Trump and welk in a moment after a
word from our friends at Omaha Steaks. Perfect gift for
people who don't need stuff. My dad give him Omamaha
steaks all the time because he doesn't want something on
a shelf, or he doesn't need more golf clubs or
what have you. He has everything he needs, so get
him Omaha steaks. And there's a fabulous deal going on
right now.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, I have anybody on your list who eats, I'll
bet you do right now, unforgettable gifts with fifty percent
off site wide at Omaha Steaks dot com. Plus score
an extra thirty dollars off of the promo code Armstrong.
The steaks obviously it's right there in the name fantastic,
but also the hamburgers, the hot dogs, the apple tartlets,
the various potatoes, all really really great.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
If I go to a restaurant and have a bad steak,
I want to weep. I want to destroy the place.
I want to stage a protest.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I hate it.
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Okay, I take steaks seriously, Omaha Steaks. The last filet
Judy and I had was melt in the mouth. It's
just so good. From legendary stakes to mouthwatering desserts.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
More.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
Save fifty percent off site wide for limited time at
Omaha Steaks dot com. Plus you good people get thirty
dollars extra off with the promo code Armstrong. Again, that's
Omaha Steaks dot com and use that code Armstrong.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Minimum purchase may apply.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Let's see which what else do we want to play?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I like where he calls her hostile and nasty. Yeah,
let's play for me, Michael.
Speaker 6 (29:42):
The press has to straighten itself out because Honestly, it's
lost all credibility based on the press. I should have
gotten no votes none. Oh, and yet I got the
highest number ever. And the reason is because I'm able
to go on a show even like yours, even though
you're very hostile, I'm able to go on a show
like yours.
Speaker 9 (29:59):
No, Well, hopefully you thought it was a fair interview.
We covered a lot of policy grounds.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
It's fair only in that you allowed me to say
what I say. But you know, the answers, the questions
are you pretty nasty?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
But look, that's true. You know, you would think.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
The press would like to see strong boarders, great education,
are powerful military. So we have a country left and
all these different things, and somehow they don't want.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
To see that.
Speaker 4 (30:22):
As always, I wish I could, you know, be the fly,
or not the fly on the wall, but the voice
in Trump's here and have him say, like you've pointed out,
Jack many times, you ask every question from the perspective
of liberal Americans. More than half the country is conservative.
Ask a question from their perspective ones you might like it.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, And on some specific issues like the deportation, there's
polling that shows the vast majority it's in ease. It's
a sixty to forty win for deporting illegals, right, So
why why ask it from the point of view of
the forty speak which she asked every single one of
her immigration questions. From the perspective of AOC pretending to
(31:06):
cry in a parking lot miles away, the phoniness thirty one.
He's talking about, you know, deporting people, and you know
both ends of the equation.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
You know, the people that have been treated very unfairly
are the people that have been online for ten years
to come into the country.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
And we're going to make.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
It very easy for people to come in in terms
of they have to pass the test. They have to
be able to tell you what the statue of liberty is.
They have to tell you a little bit about our country.
They have to love our country. They can't come out
of prisons. We don't want people that are in for murder.
We have to get the criminals out of our country,
and we got to do it.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Yeah, we're going to let the good people in, the
smart people who we can use, and we're going to
get rid of the murderers. But what about separating families?
What the hell?
Speaker 2 (31:52):
So we got some we had the conversation earlier about
that United Healthcare CEO getting assassinated in New York and
how awful that is, and anybody who acts like that's
a way to fix problems is a lunatic. But we
got some interesting comments on the insurance industry and things
that people have observed and experience that are worth discussing,
(32:13):
So we can do that when we come back. Stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Arm Strong Hengetty fans are counting down to one last
magical performance on Taylor Swift's Eras tour. One thing is
certain the tour's earthshaking impact.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Over the past two years.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
The newly minted.
Speaker 11 (32:30):
Billionaire has become Spotify's most streamed artists, broken box office records,
lifted the NFL's ratings, and boosted economies, all while dropping.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
More than seventy songs.
Speaker 11 (32:42):
Surveys estimate the arastour has driven more than seven billion
dollars in consumer spending in the US and Canada alone,
between tickets, travel, food, merch and outfits.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
I remember we broke this down when she was touring
the US, the amount of money she brought into La
the three I think she played there in various cities.
It is a huge economic boom boom boom if she
came to your town and now she's finally finishing up
a two year long tour so she can fully focus
on Travis Kelcey and the Chiefs playoff run. TMZ is
(33:18):
saying the United Healthcare ceo murder person of interest has
been detained by the police. I don't see that anywhere else.
Oht CBS has it now. A person of interest is
being questioned in Pennsylvania in the United Healthcare CEO's murder.
Could be nothing, could be everything. We'll find out they
probably got them. I'll bet they do too. So we
(33:41):
already had the discussion of whether or not we should
be dignifying the guy's probable arguments about healthcare costs and
being out of control, which we kind of are by
bringing it up. But got these texts. My wife works
for an oncologist here in California as billing specialist, so
(34:01):
all she does is bill insurance companies, and she tells
me that the dirtiest thing the insurance companies do is
repeatedly deny certain services hoping the bill will go away.
And it works because the biller gets tired of trying.
What you guys said, about doctors losing money on medical
Medicare patients is one hundred percent true. I think we've
all experienced that. It seems like they just say no,
(34:22):
at least once to see if you'll go ahead and
pay it, and then sometimes like I, just ignore it
and eventually gets paid, which is a very frustrating way
to have a system. Right, Yeah, I can picture that.
Speaker 4 (34:35):
And again, none of this justifies gunning a man down
in cold blood, not even close. But yeah, I could
see as a policy, Yeah, hey, just deny everything. If
people have the wherewithal to reapply, then give it to them,
but we'll cut four percent that way.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Another point of view, different topic. I can guarantee you
that if insurance companies approve everything doctors recommend, we will
soon be given MRIs every time we have a headache.
The problem is fair resolution of what's medically necessary, and
that's hard to achieve when the person making that determination
is employed by the company that has to pay the bills.
We may need a separate, independent board to make such decisions,
(35:13):
rather than a claims agment claims agent who thinks he's
going to move up the corporate ladder by being hard
nosed and save the company money.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
All right, as I've had I've got a couple of friends,
golf buddies who are doctors, and they pointed out that,
you know, a patient says, my elbow hurts, I want
an MRI, and you tell them, well, there's practically no
chance that it's anything an MRI would discover. Blah blah blah,
it's just not worth the cost. And then that one
in two hundred and fifty case turns out he had
a tumor in his elbow and it kills him or
even you know, he has to go in a hospital
(35:42):
or whatever, you get sued. It's enormously expensive, and so
you think, all right, ef itt you want an MRI,
I'll send you for an MRI. It's a complete waste
of everybody's time and money. But the insurance companies say, dude,
you don't need an MRI. So, yeah, that push and
pull is fairly natural.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yeah, well, I remember though, on the I.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
Wouldn't claim for a second that it's not sometimes unfair
and immoral.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah. I know, somebody right now keeps getting denied for
they got a black spot in their lungs something like
that they can't improve for any MR what's the other one.
The other one's cat scans or whatever. I had that
at the beginning of my cancer, where they just yeah,
that the insurance company hasn't agreed to that yet, we're
gonna so you could. I finally paid cash. I paid
(36:23):
twelve hundred bucks out of my own pocket and went
to a different place. I figured out which one was
the cheapest, drove forty five miles and had it done there,
paid cash. It got reimbursed by the insurance company. But
the fact that they wouldn't do right off the bat
was highly annoying, given the fact we were already down
the road to something wrong. So right, you know, sometimes
it's very frustrating. Again, does not justify murdering the CEO
(36:44):
has nothing to do with this decision, especially because and
that the correspondent made reference to this. We were talking
about it earlier.
Speaker 4 (36:50):
Is the unholy uh relationship between the government and the
private health insurers and how the government has forced them
into an incredibly difficult spot. Or they're making a lot
of profits, but they're essentially we the ratepayers, are getting
ripped off.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
But more on that to come. Well, if they did
arrest the guy who did it, We're going to find
out what his reasoning was pretty soon. If you miss
an Iver, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand
Armstrong and Getty
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George
Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty arm.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Strong and Getty and he Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
I think if you've run the numbers here, you know,
twenty five percent chance it turns out really well and
there's a secular country kind of emerges. I think twenty
five percent it shuts down pretty quickly as Jihatas takeover.
Maybe a fifty percent chance it looks like Libya, which
(00:44):
is an ongoing state of conflict.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Man, seeing how people the happy, those people were in
Syria over the weekend, bringing down those statues, dancing in
the streets, children, old people, people crying as they saw
loved ones who were released from the prisons that they
hadn't seen in decades. But you know, if you're old
enough to have lived through the Arab Spring, you know
(01:07):
how a lot of these turned out unfortunately.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Right, So an enormous couple of days for the people
of Syria with the uncertain future ahead. Also, the fall
of the Asad regime has sent shockwaves.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
That's a cliche.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I should have avoided it throughout the region, and geopolitically
is it's exposed Russian Iran is much much weaker than
they've been formerly.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Where does it all go?
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Perhaps we'll we'll discuss that with Mike Lyons, military analyst
who joins us from now. Mike, I realized predictions are
extremely difficult in that part of the world.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
But this is a big one, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Yeah? For sure? That was Admiral Sterheti's I take it
from his voice. Yep, yeah, right, So you know, fifty
percent turns into living interesting analysis. I think that there's
a higher probability that things go south very quickly. Unfortunately,
it's just human nature of what we've seen in history
in that part of the world. But there is opportunity,
no question. The main thing is what are these external
(02:04):
countries like Turkey going to do to get involved. I
see the United States and Israel already going after military targets,
taking away capability, military capability of this new group, this
HTS group that seems to have taken control of the
country right now, getting rid of their AMO dumps and
keeping them from waging more conflicts. But what Turkey you
(02:24):
would like to do is create this state of Kurdistan.
I don't know think of Syria becoming let's say, Balkanized
and kind of chopped up to a big piece of land,
not a lot of desert areas. So the cities are
the built ups there. But what Turkey you would like
to do is find a home for thirty million people
that are indigenous to that part of the world and
(02:45):
call it a homeland. Now, the problem Theyria has as
a country. It doesn't have a lot of natural resources,
It doesn't export a lot of things. So you have
a country, you have to have all those things. Anyway,
all those things you brought up tremendously important as well.
Russia is now weigh down the fact that they've lost
a war and more report in the media. Tranian the
Uranians can't help either. So we'll just have to see.
But I'm betting things there to go south before they
(03:06):
get better soon.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Well, we have nine hundred troops there, seventy five air
strikes yesterday, so we're involved at some level. As reading
this from the La Times, their headlined in Syria, militias
armed by the Pentagon are fighting those armed by the CIA.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Yeah, yeah, it's likely a story as we have looked
to prop up some groups. The problem though, this this
HTS group. This the main the main rebel organization is
nothing more than a merger of different al Qaeda facts
and al Nustra in factor or one of their main
supporters and so as that was used in some ways
(03:45):
to fight ISIS, and that and that reason you're still
at groups that are on the terrorist watch list, which
is why I know that this administration is looking anywhere
to get a win. You saw ject Sullivan over the
week and talking about how well Israel has done because
of the Biden foreign policy. Well, actually they've done well
because they've not paid attention to the Biden foreign policy.
That's really what's happened there, not anything that this administration did.
(04:08):
But this administration is looking for some victory as it
walks out the door as it cheapestly has the door
kind of shut it behind as it leaves. And if
they can, if they can try to claim something that
this will go well, they'll obviously try to take credit
for it.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So we'll see.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Yeah, speaking of Israel and Iran, this is a huge
blow to Iran, It's got to be, and to its proxies.
I mean, has Law, which has already had the hell
beat out of it by Israel right now lacks a
direct supply route.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
How significant is this?
Speaker 5 (04:37):
Yeah, incredible, the fact that exactly that land bridge now
is torn between Iran and those proxy forces there as
well inside of a rock. That's why those nine hundred
troops are there as they kind of they straddle the
tigers euphrate's value there and try to shut those supply
lines down on a lot of the attacks that were
taking place that we took over the weekend were against
(04:58):
those Militsia forces that the Urine support. So they've lost
all of their proxy forces in Hasbla, in Hamas and
then these these small splinter groups that it's now open
season for US, I'd say at some level, which is
why I heard eight tens for example, we're striking some
of their targets there. So again, Irana is very exposed
(05:19):
right now. They've never been weaker. Russia to me, is
no longer any kind of superpower whatsoever. And again part
of the issue is going in destroying that military equipment
that Russia left behind, because if that falls into the
wrong hands, I think that the world is going to
see increase conflict that Israel is looking to show up
AT's bordering a Golden Heights with Cerea as well.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
So for a lot of our audience, I don't know
what percentage, but a chunk of our audience would say
this we should stay out of it. Did we never
get a good result. I don't want us involved at all.
What's what's your response to that?
Speaker 5 (05:52):
There's nothing that we can do to influence anyone's side.
Let's see what Turkey does. Let's see what Turkeys respond.
Is going to be as there in the region. Let
them do a lot of this dirty work. It does
not make any sense to even send treasure there to
pick one side or the other. The only thing we
should do is continue to support our ally Israel as
(06:14):
I would not be surprised if this new organization at
run Syria declares so I'm kind of ge hot against Israel.
So that'll just be another, you know, another target for
Israel to take down. That would be that would be
bad because Israel would eventually accomplish that mission. And this
that's where this revolution then that just took place there
would go down with die in the ashes, it would
ever get off the ground, because again, Israel's Israel's at
(06:36):
the strongest point right now. But there's literally not a
single soldier, not a single dollar we should send to
their way right now at this point, So.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
You can clarify something for me, because I know we'll
be pressuring Turkey not to go wild on the Kurds,
who have been you know, reliable US allies. But so
are you suggesting that because Turkey has always been vehemently
against some sort of Kurdish homeland. But is it now
that the Sad regime is gone they can carve it
out of Syria that now they're in favor of it?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Is that right?
Speaker 6 (07:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Yeah, that's right there against the homeland because most of
them sit inside of Turkey proper and they don't want
that to happen. They sit in rock Syria, Turkey and Iran.
And so this is similar to what happened in the
forties when when Israel gets its own homeland set up
by the you know, kind of a World Council. That's
what I would not be surprised if Turkey does though
(07:26):
again that Balkanization. They're gonna they're going to take fury
of what was once is big land Masks and whack
it up into four or five different areas and different
secular groups. The Drus, There's there's a Christian section there
in Damascus. There's all different areas that you can easily
do this. But but again you have to create more
of a republic because it's you know, each of these
(07:47):
different groups, would we have a have a channel surviving
on their own. So for example, if if the Curds.
One of the reasons why the Curds are so successful
as an indigenous group outside is because they own oil
rights in the northern part of Iraq. They generate red
If you don't have a country, you got to have
a generate revenue. If to the military, all these kinds
of things, you've got to figure all that out when
you try to redraw new boundaries. Here the boundaries that
(08:10):
Syria has created after World War One by colonial powers
that just thought these were the boundaries that we were
going to do. Saying with the rocks sands koit same
with everything that exists there, and now they're falling into
more of the natural position as to where they are
based on the tribal people where they lived.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I think this question is relevant. So I was looking
at the end of the year book lists and various
publications because I like reading the best books of the year.
And there's this book that Steve call wrote I wrote
read Ghost Wars years ago, but the Achilles Trap Sadam
lu saying the CI and the origins of America's invasion
of Iraq, and it's all about how we had four
(08:46):
different presidents that were pro regime change and all our
momentum towards Iraq and how we invaded and what did
we get out of it and all that sort of stuff.
You were there, do you feel like I'm not trying
to like relitigate Ara. I'm just trying to figure out
is that where your point of view comes from of
we should stay out of Cerea, that we rarely get
(09:07):
a good outcome.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
Yeah, we try to. We try to import democracy into
places that can't. It won't take it, It won't hold
there on any level. I mean, it's just not going
to work. What we should try is create the environment
where we import capitalism. I think that's what's failed in
a rock in the last twenty years. We always have
the government and you know, we have those people with
(09:30):
the pictures and their purple thumbs, but next thing, you know,
the extremists and the regime start cutting their thumbs off
because they just they're not into democracy. Is that they
just don't they don't have that this feeling of self rule. However,
capitalism and money and wealth is more or less a
you know, a human condition as well. That's more easily
transferred to. If you can create the conditions where businesses
(09:52):
can exist, then then democracy will follow. We've always tried
to do it in the different other direction. We try
to implement the democracy first and then capitalism hasn't worked,
and that's why that's why it's failed. I think in Iraq,
if we could figure out a way to bring capitalism
there first, bring the businesses first, I think the democracy
would follow well.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
And Americans in general have a naivete that would be
charming if it wasn't so dangerous that they imagine either
everybody around the world thinks like Americans do, or they
can be persuaded to when you're talking about hundreds of
year old's religious fundamentalist, fanatical movements, that they're just nuts.
(10:31):
That doesn't make me a racist, that makes me a realist, exactly.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
You know, so much of the world, especially in the
Middle East as part of the world, where the normal
civilians go hours without electricity, they can't drink water from
the faucet. There's so many things we take for granted
here in our you know, in our country, that they
don't have, or their basic necessities that the government can't
provide for. But no, that's right. It's the real politique
(10:56):
to how we should deal with this, and we should
get back to containment, get back to the countries that
we know, our allies in that region, and support them
and make sure that they don't fall. But let the
ones in the region take care of it. Let's say,
if Turkey is successful at carving out a Curtistan, they
solve a couple of problems. They solve a revolutionary potential
problem in their country. The Turks are concerned that the
Kurds will all get together because there's thirty million of them.
(11:17):
If they all get together to tide to overthrow the
Turkish government, well that creates a NATO problem then at
some level. So that's what I think that we should
the path we should go down.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Military analyst Mike Lyons, Mike, great to talk to you,
Thanks so much for the insight.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Great guys, thanks for me absolutely so, I can't tell
if I'm inconsistent or wise. I don't actually know, but
as you know, if you listen, I'm big time supporter
of US being involved in Ukraine, and I think it's
very important to the world order, and I think it's
directly important to the United States, and the Secretary of
(11:53):
Defense Austin announced yesterday another one billion dollars in military
aid for you. I'm all for supporting Ukraine. I am
not for getting involved in these Middle Eastern countries. I
just don't see what we've gotten out of it over
the years.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Well, obviously the answer to that is long and complicated
and probably book length. You know, I'm more than happy
to engage in that chat if you want. It just
has to do with our national interest obviously, and which
seel like we.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Get the same result whether we get involved or not
in these countries Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Oh yeah, in the Middle East. Yeah, you could make
that argument, But more on that to come. After a
quick word from our friends at Simply Save Home Security,
You us, We everybody worries about the safety of your
home and your family.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
No better time to act than now.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Simply Safe is extending its massive Black Friday deal for
our listeners. Get fifty percent off a new simply Safe
security system with their spectacular advanced monitoring abilities. Yep.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
If someone's lurking around acting suspiciously, agents actually see them
in real time through your cameras you have set up,
talk to them directly, set off your spotlights, even call
the police before they've had a chance to break in.
That's not what other security systems do.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
No, it's simply Safe, active guard outdoor protection that changes
the game. It prevents crime before it even happens. There
are no long term contracts, there are no cancelation fees,
and it's around a buck a day for all this protection. Yeah,
that's a fraction what you paid for your crappy old system.
And me too, simply Safe again fifty percent off a
new system with select professional monitoring plans. This is your
(13:31):
last chance to claim best offer of the year. Head
to simply safe dot com slash armstrong. That's simply safe
dot com slash armstrong. There's no safe like simply Safe.
It's interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Mike Lines is one hundred percent stay uninvolved in Syria
and Trump, who's going to be president here soon and
to some extent he is is also, we have no
business being there, so that's probably the direction we're going
for better or worse. Oh, we got a lot more
on the way. You can join us anytime on the
text line four one five two nine five kftcrong.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
A woman has filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him
of assault and dangling her off a seventeen story balcony,
which is just incredible grip strength for a guy coated
in pavi oil.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Wow. Wow, So I really I see that you didn't
grab any of them, Michael, and I understand why their
first like four jokes were all about the assassination of
that United Healthcare CEO in Manhattan, and unfortunately I saw
blowback against that before I saw the jokes would put
(14:36):
a thought in my head, I hate that. Uh. I
didn't think they were particularly out of line him. They're distasteful.
I don't like being the joke police. Ever, if you're
intent his humor, you know some of it's distasteful, and
then you know, if you don't like it, you don't
like it. But I don't mind jokes about serious things.
(14:57):
The this stuff the New York Time Times headline. Some
on social media see suspect and ceo killing as a
folk hero. You know that's sort of like turning him
into a folk hero stuff I am bothered by. But
making jokes about things either you like it. I had
the same experience.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
I ran into the online condemnation, thought, oh, I had
to listen to those jokes, and I found them much
more innocent than they're portrayed.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
A couple of yes. On the insurance thing, we got
quite a few texts that are really interesting about the
way insurance companies handle bills and people who work in
the industry and stuff like that. And again, I'm uncomfortable
with even getting into that because there's a certain bit
of the killer getting his way. It's kind of like
(15:45):
when you read a school shooter's manifesto and take his
argument seriously. Yeah, I get that.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Ethically, I'm uncomfortable going into it, although there are it's
beyond denial that we have serious issues with health care
and insurance and stuff in the country, and a lot
of people get hurt and a lot of people are mad.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
So I get it.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Yeah, we shouldn't buy the discussion with the blood of
this poor son of a gun who's gunned down on
the pavement, but it is a legitimate discussion. I just
hate to even imply that therefore it's okay to shoot
people in cold blood.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Well, we got some text about it. We'll get to
them later. This hour.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
Got an email from Jan wanted to know if I
buy a present for my husband.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I shouldn't have used a real name. Ah, you just
ruined their Christmas. I hope you're happy you probably Christmas,
probably every Christmas to come, because the pain of this
day will linger in their memories. Anyway.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
A woman whose name is definitely not Jan wonder whether
if she got her husband a present from the Armstrong
a Giddy store, whether it would get there in time
for Christmas?
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Yes, but do it today? Oh I need to do that.
I actually had that thought over the weekend.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
The premium may in ge hoodie flying off the shelves.
People are loving the cut, the crab t shirt, and
the hot dogs are dogs as well.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Armstrong getdy dot com? How is it? How do you
crass commercialism? How do you feel about me buying family
members Armstrong and Getty stuff? Does that seem it's a
little odd? Is it's fine? You would you would like it?
Here's a gift to you. You helping me by wearing
(17:20):
an advertisement that puts more money in my pocket. It's Michael,
I bought family member stuff. Yeah, they liked it.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Oh yeah, And I don't know if you've seen the books,
the money actually doesn't go in our pockets. But I remember, well,
this is a long story. To listen to the show
because they see the advertisement. That's what I oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
because yeah, that's that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah. Ah oh, we've just got thirty if I bought
my parents, I bought you a billboard on I eighty
in your name for Christmas advertising the radio show. It's well,
it's it's.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
A warm wearable that taken the say look, this is
my brother, my son, my whatever.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It says. Shit, I don't know, do whatever you want.
Trump did an hour plus interview and meet the press
yesterday kind of got obscured by the news of the
day with the ultrabiased she Wolf.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Kristen Welker will have the highlights of that interchange between
the evil suckubists and the power resident elect coming up
Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Well, I don't want to be breaking up families. So
the only way you don't break up the family is
you keep them together, and you have to send them all.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Back there you go.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Trump, in response to the inevitable question, you say you
wanted to poor people.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Are you going to separate families? Always asked from the
point of view of it being bad, even though he
ran on that got elected and sixty percent of people
approve of it. So it just drives me nuts.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Whenever we talk about this, I'm reminded of my youthful
idea of living in Germany to work and study and
stuff like that, because I studied German and thought that
might be interesting, and it became clear that there were
severe limitations in getting into the country.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Then staying in there and working was very, very difficult.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
You had to get permits and stuff like that, so
I and I accepted that. I thought, well, that's unfortunate,
but it is what it is, the idea that I
would go to Germany sneak in and then when they say, hey,
you don't have authorization to be here, and you certainly
don't have authorization to work, me saying, how are you
gonna separate.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Me and my family?
Speaker 4 (19:26):
And what would the Germans say to that, Well, they'd
say it in German, so you wouldn't understand it, folks.
But what it would mean essentially is be quiet and
get back in line.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
It's not our problem. We got a bunch of clips,
but I thought maybe the most important one that should
have gotten a lot of attention but didn't from Trump
was when he was asked about do you ran on
re retribution and he said, I'm really looking to make
our country successful. I'm not looking to go back into
the past. I'm looking to make our country successful. Retribution
will be through success. Okay, there's your hitler for you,
(19:57):
there's your hitler, there's your thermal.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Would be another election again, well, and he has made
that point repeatedly. The retribution is how successful we're going
to be.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
That lays it to rest. But it's such a good
clickbaiting narrative.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
The lion liars in the media and Kristen Welker is
their unholy princess. They just can't leave that to the
narrative alone.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Stop it.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
There are real problems with Trump quld making stuff up right.
By the way, I'm told Daniel Penny has been acquitted
in the death of that homeless lunatic on.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
The New York subway. Wow, so it's over for him,
Thank you, bless him?
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Yeah, yeah, shame somebody had to die, but enforce the
law in New York.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, well you don't want to die, don't go jumping
on a subway car threat and a whole bunch of
innocent people. That'd be a good way to avoid it.
Poor Daniel Penny, What a trial he has been through.
And I shouldn't use that term. What a you're the
word guy, come up with a word? What a difficult
period of his complit journey whatever, Yeah, journey is good.
(21:05):
What a horrible thing to have to go through when
all you did was you're the one alpha male in
the room who's willing to try to stop this guy
from hurting people. Everybody on the train car was thrilled
that you did something about it, and you came this
close to go into prison.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Yeah all right, So back to Trump and Welker. A
lot of people have enjoyed this clip. It's thirty seven, Michael.
They are discussing January sixth.
Speaker 8 (21:29):
In general, officials say that the order never came in.
Speaker 9 (21:32):
For the national ars on January sixth. Let me ask
you this about.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Joe in a statement that he has destroyed evidence.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
Let me ask you this about January sixth.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
I wish you could be a if you you know,
you have such potential, if you could be just just
non biased. You hurt yourself so badly. I'm telling you,
they deleted and destroyed all the evidence. Everyone knows it,
and you off like it doesn't mean anything. No, if I.
Speaker 9 (22:02):
Didn't deny it, that's all I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
List if I did it, you would be standing up
in that chairs shouting at me, and you know what
I do, I'd say, you got me.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
My main takeaway with that is, Okay, you're gonna ask
him about January sixth again and try to get him
to admit to something or whatever. Do you I assume,
Christian Walker, you don't like Trump and don't want him
to have power and be elected. You're helping him. You're
helping him.
Speaker 10 (22:28):
Yes, the majority of people are like whatever, move on
to something else. I know a lot of super hardcore
Trumpeters would love to talk about January sixth for the
rest of their.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Lives, but that's not where most of America is.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Well, no, America saw it and they had a choice
between Trump and then Biden and then Harris, and thank
goodness said we're not electing either one of them. So yeah,
he brings with him that baggage. But let's let's look
to that. What are we accomplishing by relitting gating it
at this point? And Jack and I were both harshly
critical of Trump then, and I have not changed my
(23:05):
opinion of his activities on the day one Ioeda, I
still condemn it. And yet here we are, excuse me,
in the year twenty twenty four, with a hell of
a lot on her plate.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Let's get on it.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
So speaking, which Christen Welker, who again I should have
written out all of my various insulting adjectives I'd had
in my head to use for her, because I find
her obnoxious, smugly, one sided, and snotty ooh, just not
a good person anyway.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Ah, she brought up the.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Federal minimum wage and clip thirty nine B.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
You see that one. Michael.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
I don't if you remember this, but during the debate
in twenty twenty I asked you if you would raise
the minimum wage. You said you would consider it. And
so my question for you is now that you are
going back to the White House for these nineteen states
that voted for you, are you going to raise effect.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
It's a very low number, I will agree it's a
very low number. Let me give you the downside though,
In California they raise it up to a very high number,
and your restaurants are going out of business all over
the place. The population is shrinking. It's had a very
negative impact. But there is a level at which you
could do it absolutely.
Speaker 9 (24:19):
What is that level?
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (24:20):
I mean, I really don't know. I can say this,
you have a lot of businesses that are open and
thriving because of the lower minimum wage. If you raise
it too much, and you understand this, if California went crazy,
they went crazy, and people the restaurants are closing all
of them, many more people are hurt.
Speaker 8 (24:38):
So I hear you saying similarly to sort of what
you said in twenty twenty.
Speaker 9 (24:44):
Will you consider this something you're going to look at.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
I'd want to speak to the governors. And the other
thing that's very complicated about minimum wages is places are
so different. Mississippi and Alabama and great places are very
different than New York or California, I mean in terms
of the cour of living.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And other things.
Speaker 6 (25:01):
So it'd be nice to have just a minimum wage
for the whole country, but it wouldn't work because you
have places where it's very inexpensive to live, where a
minimum wage, which is eight or nine dollars might be
you know, might have very much, very little effect because
the cost of living in certain places is really low.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
This makes me so tired, I know. So first of all,
he's the leader of what is now the working Class Party,
and the raising the minimum wage polls. Well, it's unfortunate.
I think with a five minutes of explanation, you could
explain to a lot of people why it's not actually
good for you to raise the minimum wage. But Trump realizes,
you know, the party that he's leading. But even when
(25:43):
he states to her there's a downside to raising the
min wait, she just completely blows that off and goes
with the next question of obviously it would be good
for everyone to raise the minimum wage. I feel like
I should inject here one from one of your Thomas
swell so Well quote on Twitter about the minimum wage.
The minimum wage law is very cleverly misnamed. The real
(26:06):
minimum wage is zero, and that is what many inexperienced
and low skilled people receive as a result of legislation
that makes it illegal to pay them what they're currently
worth to an employer.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Well said, very succinctly, said, Trump frustrates me always because
he does just a half assed job of of explaining
some of the principles that I hold dear.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
But you know, he is what he is.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
But the federal minimum wage is to call it irrelevant
is to exaggerate how relevant it is. It is a
complete non factor in anyone's life. It's a silly discussion.
If states want minimum wages, they should pass them. There is,
you know, with the exception of a couple like enslaved
(26:48):
immigrants who are probably trying to escape right now, and
I wish them well, there is nobody in America who
is exchanging their labor for a wage that they are
unwilling to exchange their labor for.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Nobody.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
If you don't want to do a job at a
particular wage, you will not take that job. The idea
that the government can, somehow, especially the federal government, prop
up some sort of minimum it's just it ignores everything
that is the most fundamental about economics. It's just silly.
It's a silly question. I mean, it's it's pretty silly
on the state level. On the federal level, it's completely ridiculous.
(27:28):
Say you're gonna have a minimum wage for Coonhuller, Kentucky.
And what is that gonna do for the people in
Seattle for instance? Or La Nothing, it's just dopey Kristen.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Oh, what's the main business in Coonhuller?
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Squirrel skinning, mostly squirrel pelts, squol, squirrel coats, squirrel hats.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I make and sell, I make and sell frog gig
and sticks. Oh, you're the jack of Jack's froggy sticks. Yes,
jack sticks are very pointy. My daddy used to tell me, boy,
you go frog giggins son. You don't have jack sticks,
you might as well have popstickle stick. Eh. Anyway, I
(28:17):
assume you stab the frogs or something.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
More of Trump and welk in a moment after a
word from our friends at Omaha Steaks. Perfect gift for
people who don't need stuff. My dad give him Omamaha
steaks all the time because he doesn't want something on
a shelf, or he doesn't need more golf clubs or
what have you. He has everything he needs, so get
him Omaha steaks. And there's a fabulous deal going on
right now.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, I have anybody on your list who eats, I'll
bet you do right now, unforgettable gifts with fifty percent
off site wide at Omaha Steaks dot com. Plus score
an extra thirty dollars off of the promo code Armstrong.
The steaks obviously it's right there in the name fantastic,
but also the hamburgers, the hot dogs, the apple tartlets,
the various potatoes, all really really great.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
If I go to a restaurant and have a bad steak,
I want to weep. I want to destroy the place.
I want to stage a protest.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I hate it.
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Okay, I take steaks seriously, Omaha Steaks. The last filet
Judy and I had was melt in the mouth. It's
just so good. From legendary stakes to mouthwatering desserts.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
More.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
Save fifty percent off site wide for limited time at
Omaha Steaks dot com. Plus you good people get thirty
dollars extra off with the promo code Armstrong. Again, that's
Omaha Steaks dot com and use that code Armstrong.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Minimum purchase may apply.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Let's see which what else do we want to play?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I like where he calls her hostile and nasty. Yeah,
let's play for me, Michael.
Speaker 6 (29:42):
The press has to straighten itself out because Honestly, it's
lost all credibility based on the press. I should have
gotten no votes none. Oh, and yet I got the
highest number ever. And the reason is because I'm able
to go on a show even like yours, even though
you're very hostile, I'm able to go on a show
like yours.
Speaker 9 (29:59):
No, Well, hopefully you thought it was a fair interview.
We covered a lot of policy grounds.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
It's fair only in that you allowed me to say
what I say. But you know, the answers, the questions
are you pretty nasty?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
But look, that's true. You know, you would think.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
The press would like to see strong boarders, great education,
are powerful military. So we have a country left and
all these different things, and somehow they don't want.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
To see that.
Speaker 4 (30:22):
As always, I wish I could, you know, be the fly,
or not the fly on the wall, but the voice
in Trump's here and have him say, like you've pointed out,
Jack many times, you ask every question from the perspective
of liberal Americans. More than half the country is conservative.
Ask a question from their perspective ones you might like it.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, And on some specific issues like the deportation, there's
polling that shows the vast majority it's in ease. It's
a sixty to forty win for deporting illegals, right, So
why why ask it from the point of view of
the forty speak which she asked every single one of
her immigration questions. From the perspective of AOC pretending to
(31:06):
cry in a parking lot miles away, the phoniness thirty one.
He's talking about, you know, deporting people, and you know
both ends of the equation.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
You know, the people that have been treated very unfairly
are the people that have been online for ten years
to come into the country.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
And we're going to make.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
It very easy for people to come in in terms
of they have to pass the test. They have to
be able to tell you what the statue of liberty is.
They have to tell you a little bit about our country.
They have to love our country. They can't come out
of prisons. We don't want people that are in for murder.
We have to get the criminals out of our country,
and we got to do it.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Yeah, we're going to let the good people in, the
smart people who we can use, and we're going to
get rid of the murderers. But what about separating families?
What the hell?
Speaker 2 (31:52):
So we got some we had the conversation earlier about
that United Healthcare CEO getting assassinated in New York and
how awful that is, and anybody who acts like that's
a way to fix problems is a lunatic. But we
got some interesting comments on the insurance industry and things
that people have observed and experience that are worth discussing,
(32:13):
So we can do that when we come back. Stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Arm Strong Hengetty fans are counting down to one last
magical performance on Taylor Swift's Eras tour. One thing is
certain the tour's earthshaking impact.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Over the past two years.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
The newly minted.
Speaker 11 (32:30):
Billionaire has become Spotify's most streamed artists, broken box office records,
lifted the NFL's ratings, and boosted economies, all while dropping.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
More than seventy songs.
Speaker 11 (32:42):
Surveys estimate the arastour has driven more than seven billion
dollars in consumer spending in the US and Canada alone,
between tickets, travel, food, merch and outfits.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
I remember we broke this down when she was touring
the US, the amount of money she brought into La
the three I think she played there in various cities.
It is a huge economic boom boom boom if she
came to your town and now she's finally finishing up
a two year long tour so she can fully focus
on Travis Kelcey and the Chiefs playoff run. TMZ is
(33:18):
saying the United Healthcare ceo murder person of interest has
been detained by the police. I don't see that anywhere else.
Oht CBS has it now. A person of interest is
being questioned in Pennsylvania in the United Healthcare CEO's murder.
Could be nothing, could be everything. We'll find out they
probably got them. I'll bet they do too. So we
(33:41):
already had the discussion of whether or not we should
be dignifying the guy's probable arguments about healthcare costs and
being out of control, which we kind of are by
bringing it up. But got these texts. My wife works
for an oncologist here in California as billing specialist, so
(34:01):
all she does is bill insurance companies, and she tells
me that the dirtiest thing the insurance companies do is
repeatedly deny certain services hoping the bill will go away.
And it works because the biller gets tired of trying.
What you guys said, about doctors losing money on medical
Medicare patients is one hundred percent true. I think we've
all experienced that. It seems like they just say no,
(34:22):
at least once to see if you'll go ahead and
pay it, and then sometimes like I, just ignore it
and eventually gets paid, which is a very frustrating way
to have a system. Right, Yeah, I can picture that.
Speaker 4 (34:35):
And again, none of this justifies gunning a man down
in cold blood, not even close. But yeah, I could
see as a policy, Yeah, hey, just deny everything. If
people have the wherewithal to reapply, then give it to them,
but we'll cut four percent that way.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Another point of view, different topic. I can guarantee you
that if insurance companies approve everything doctors recommend, we will
soon be given MRIs every time we have a headache.
The problem is fair resolution of what's medically necessary, and
that's hard to achieve when the person making that determination
is employed by the company that has to pay the bills.
We may need a separate, independent board to make such decisions,
(35:13):
rather than a claims agment claims agent who thinks he's
going to move up the corporate ladder by being hard
nosed and save the company money.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
All right, as I've had I've got a couple of friends,
golf buddies who are doctors, and they pointed out that,
you know, a patient says, my elbow hurts, I want
an MRI, and you tell them, well, there's practically no
chance that it's anything an MRI would discover. Blah blah blah,
it's just not worth the cost. And then that one
in two hundred and fifty case turns out he had
a tumor in his elbow and it kills him or
even you know, he has to go in a hospital
(35:42):
or whatever, you get sued. It's enormously expensive, and so
you think, all right, ef itt you want an MRI,
I'll send you for an MRI. It's a complete waste
of everybody's time and money. But the insurance companies say, dude,
you don't need an MRI. So, yeah, that push and
pull is fairly natural.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yeah, well, I remember though, on the I.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
Wouldn't claim for a second that it's not sometimes unfair
and immoral.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah. I know, somebody right now keeps getting denied for
they got a black spot in their lungs something like
that they can't improve for any MR what's the other one.
The other one's cat scans or whatever. I had that
at the beginning of my cancer, where they just yeah,
that the insurance company hasn't agreed to that yet, we're
gonna so you could. I finally paid cash. I paid
(36:23):
twelve hundred bucks out of my own pocket and went
to a different place. I figured out which one was
the cheapest, drove forty five miles and had it done there,
paid cash. It got reimbursed by the insurance company. But
the fact that they wouldn't do right off the bat
was highly annoying, given the fact we were already down
the road to something wrong. So right, you know, sometimes
it's very frustrating. Again, does not justify murdering the CEO
(36:44):
has nothing to do with this decision, especially because and
that the correspondent made reference to this. We were talking
about it earlier.
Speaker 4 (36:50):
Is the unholy uh relationship between the government and the
private health insurers and how the government has forced them
into an incredibly difficult spot. Or they're making a lot
of profits, but they're essentially we the ratepayers, are getting
ripped off.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
But more on that to come. Well, if they did
arrest the guy who did it, We're going to find
out what his reasoning was pretty soon. If you miss
an Iver, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand
Armstrong and Getty
Hosts And Creators
Joe Getty
Jack Armstrong
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.