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The A&G Replay Friday Hour Two

Oct 18, 202437 min
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Episode description

Hour 2 of the Friday October 18 , 2024 edition of The Armstrong & Getty Replay features..

  • Foreign Economics
  • CBS Report on Scamming Lonely Men
  • Peak Vacation
  • Ignoring signs of WWIII

Stupid Should Hurt: https://www.armstrongandgetty.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe.

Speaker 2

Katty arm Strong and and he is Armstrong and Getty Strong.

Speaker 3

And coming up hot.

Speaker 4

People complain about the horrible experience of being good looking. Stay with us, Hurst, you don't like being hot, disfigure yourself then, apparently, whoa lord?

Speaker 2

Wow?

Speaker 4

What but first foreigners in their wacky economies.

Speaker 3

Ah.

Speaker 4

I asked kild to get something ready, and this is what he came up with.

Speaker 2

Oh, it's so bad.

Speaker 5

It's wonderful horns with a cash register sound foreigners and they're wacky economies.

Speaker 4

All right, I gotta get myself together. The first story makes me so happy. Do you have any memory of when Javier Malaya is at Malay? I can never remember. Got elected to run Argentina after years of socialists and totalitarian rule.

Speaker 2

And he's a libertarian type guy.

Speaker 5

He's also with all his dogs, he calls his kids and that sort of thing.

Speaker 2

But I like his politics right in a wacky haircut and the rest of it.

Speaker 4

And because the media could portray him as somehow trumpy, he got a lot of attention. But now that he's actually been in power and is trying to do what he promised he would do. It's funny. The mainstream media is more or less ignoring it. But here's here's a headline for you. For years, argent Tina imposed one of the world's strictest rent control laws, meant to keep homes in Buenos Aires it's elsewhere affordable, But instead officials say rents sword Well, holy cow, who saw that coming? Well,

anybody who understands a lick of economics. If you control rents and make it much less attractive for people to rent properties, you get fewer rental properties. But now the country's new president has scrapped the rental law, along with most government price controls, in a fiscal experiment he is conducting to revive South America's second biggest economy. Wall Street Journal rights the result, the Argentine capital is going undergoing

a rental market boom. Landlords are rushing to put their properties back on the market, with Buenos Aires rental supplies increasing by over one hundred and seventy percent, that's nearly tripling.

Speaker 2

Friends.

Speaker 4

Renters are getting better deals than ever, with a forty percent decline in the real price of rental properties. When a usted for inflation. According to a local economist, Malaise moved to undo rent control regulations has resulted in one of the clearest cut victories for what he calls economic

shock therapy. He is methodically taking a part a system of price controls, closing government agencies and lifting trade restrictions built up over eight decades of socialist and military rule, in an effort that's upended the lives of many Argentinians.

Speaker 5

And about twenty four hours from now, Kamala Harris is going to introduce her policies of probably that price fixing and rent control.

Speaker 4

Yeah, yeah, absolutely disastrous. And it is so interesting to put aside my disgust with these policies because they are doomed, I mean one doomed to failure.

Speaker 2

They have to fail.

Speaker 4

The very basic laws of economics doomed them to failure. And yet, and this is the really interesting part, people by large majorities at first blush think that's a good idea, which just goes to show you a basic education is so important but infrequent.

Speaker 2

Anyway, that's enough about Argentina. I'm gonna keep my eye on them.

Speaker 4

I would love to go to Argentina someday this freaking job. This job stops you from going there. Get vacation time. Go to Argentina one week, but.

Speaker 2

Do you take two.

Speaker 4

You take a couple of days to travel, a couple of days back.

Speaker 2

That means you really have to take two weeks off.

Speaker 4

And every time we take proposed taking two weeks off, everybody poops.

Speaker 2

Their drawers like we bran surgeons are.

Speaker 4

The world will stop or infants will die or something.

Speaker 2

Anyway, riding a.

Speaker 4

Burrow, I think you can get to Argentina in one fight. Have you ever tried to get to Argentina? It's no simple matter. Underestimating the difficulty of Argentine travel is another common misconception.

Speaker 2

Joe's riding a burrow into Argentina. Well, I want to blend in. That's what they did.

Speaker 4

They have cars there all right. Moving along to the Chinese, gonna blend in.

Speaker 2

That's funny.

Speaker 4

The Chinese economy, they just made a series of blitz measures, according to once again the Wall Street Journal, to try to turn their more abund economy around and their stock market which is just going down down down, dropping interest rates, all sorts of incentives for this and disincentives for that.

Speaker 2

As the Central planning.

Speaker 4

Communist Party is trying to stave off the sort of economic problems that bring on terrible unrest, the threatens of one party government's rule.

Speaker 2

And we'll have to see how that goes.

Speaker 4

And if you've not been following this, trust me when I say they have awful economic problems in China. They are on the knife's edge of plunging into, like I said, destabilizing problems. And in a closely related story, one of the top economists in China, this guy vaunted economist head of this think tank, which is closely tied to the Communist Party. He said, you know, top lecture at universities.

It had quoted all the time in that Chinese press. Well, he was on social media a little while back, and evidently he made a couple of comments, and they frame it in vague terms, but he made some comments on we chat I think it is, which is kind of the Chinese Twitter or whatever. He made some impolitic remarks in a private chat that referenced Chijin Ping's lifespan. And you have to kind of piece it together, but I'm

sure I'm at least close to right. What he said is the only hope we have for a better economy in China is that Shixi and Ping can't live forever. And wow, gal, gosh, golly, try to find him if you can.

Speaker 2

He has disappeared. Wow.

Speaker 5

So not even clear it was a threat of any kind that close to a suicide or to an assassination threat.

Speaker 2

That's the way to deal with him in China. No, not even close.

Speaker 5

We let you lay in a golf course with a rifle and get ready to aim at the president.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 4

So his remarks included comments about China's flagging economy and veiled criticism of Shiji Ping that referred.

Speaker 2

To his mortality.

Speaker 4

One of the people said, his name has disappeared from every institution that he was a major part of.

Speaker 2

Nobody knows where he is. Wow. Man, it's not surprising. Oh, I like this part.

Speaker 4

So they've cracked down like crazy on any criticism of sijiin Ping.

Speaker 2

Any Hong konger can tell you that.

Speaker 4

But he coincided with an indoctrination campaign for the staff of this giant thing tank and aimed at enforcing compliance with the Communist Party rules. Party membership and leadership roles were required to sign formal pledges and instilling discipline and reminded to obey the ten prohibitions, a list of band activity that includes publishing improper material and collaborating with foreign entities without approval. I've got to find out what the

ten prohibitions are. You can size chesion ping, no gene shorts on the golf course, don't swim within a half hour of beauty, that's right, no breaking wind and mixed company, and several others. I haven't found the complete list, but I'll see if I can for you, and we'll we'll figure out what the Kami devils don't want you to say.

Speaker 2

I'm looking up at the TV. There's a Road Diary.

Speaker 5

There's a new Bruce Springsteen documentary that's gonna be on Hulu. Looks really good. God, I wish I wasn't. I wish I wasn't so turned off by his politics now that I can barely enjoy his amazing music that I like so much.

Speaker 4

The berring progressivism of a multi millionaire who's never had a real job.

Speaker 2

Yes, it can be off putting a little hard to take.

Speaker 5

And then the other thing they had up there entertainment wise, Marvel debuts first look at Thunderbolts there's a new Marvel movie with a with a Is it an avenger or just a anyway? Looks like an avenger? A new one Thunderbolt. I'm not familiar with Thunderbowl anyway.

Speaker 4

I get telling me that there's a great new clogging review making its way around the country. That may be, but I'm not interested. Oh my kids dig it. And some of the Marvel movies are great. Some of them are horrible, but some of them are great. How about the last three or so? I don't know what's the one with the girl? The girl one was horrible.

Speaker 2

You gotta ask somebody who cares.

Speaker 1

Jack Armstrong and Joe The Armstrong and Getty Show, The.

Speaker 6

Armstrong and Getdy Show.

Speaker 7

Meet Ghana's Yahoo Boys online shortsters who swindle Americans out of millions of dollars praying on lonely older men over the age of sixty. The scammers pretend to be white American women residing in the US, tricking men into falling in love with them. They message constantly, laying the attention and flattery. Then it's more expensive gifts to create the

perception they are independently wealthy. When a victim insists on a video called Voodoo hires online pawn stars and records them acting out scenarios that he directs from the mundane to them all raunchy. If the victim gets suspicious, he uses the image of one of his pawn stars to forge an American passport as proof of identity. For in person visits, they hire escorts who get a cut of the profits. Building trust can take months.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it was a lot.

Speaker 5

There was a level of this I had never seen before, where they really are playing the long game, where they actually have pictures of women and then if they need to, they you can actually meet a woman and you think, okay, well it's actually a woman, and now I've met her and I've seen her passport, and yeah, that's that's not.

Speaker 2

A long great too, it's fantastic. Let's tear a little more of this before we come in.

Speaker 7

The setup often centers around gone as globally renowned gold mines. The scammers, still posing as a woman, claim they're in line to inherit one of these minds. The victim is invited to invest in the mind with the promise of huge returns that will secure the happy couple's future together, all sealed with a forged ownership document, complete with an official seal.

Speaker 5

That's where it crosses into the really. So now you're dating somebody hotter than you've ever dated in your life who happens to be the heir to a gold mine. Hey, it's about time I got a good break. My ship came in at sixty five. Yeah, fantastic news. Yeah, it's just interesting to hear the way the business works. They invest so much in the long con and then they convert a certain number of the prospects into customers, I guess,

and so it's worth the money. But I'll tell you what if I had and I've dealt with this sort of thing before, friends, acquaintances, loved ones getting scammed online. And it's tough to watch because it is they can't see what you can see because I've seen it too, for whatever reason of love or optimism or what have you. But if I had a friend who unspooled, you know, the first sixty percent of that story, and I said, but have you met this woman?

Speaker 2

And he said, oh yeah.

Speaker 4

We spent the weekend in La It was great. We went to the Dodgers game, we took a walk along the beast.

Speaker 2

Fantastic.

Speaker 4

We got a long I think, Oh, okay, all right, I guess I don't know. I was just afraid you are getting scammed.

Speaker 5

Yeah, because yeah, most of these low rent versions, it's it's it's some dude pretending to be.

Speaker 2

A woman and you've never met them or talked to him.

Speaker 4

Is that? And yet there is a hired escort involved. Yeah, and a really well done passport. They showed it on a CBS news right, just a higher level of sophistication. Again though, when it gets to the I'm an air to a gold mine, Oh my god, how for me?

Speaker 2

Wait?

Speaker 4

Now, it's Gold's interesting that you, being attractive and an air to a gold mine need to date online and you know, to meet me.

Speaker 2

But and it's not even like my dad owned two car dealerships or anything. It's a gold mine, a literal gold mine.

Speaker 4

Anyway, it was in July that the Wall Street Journal had a fascinating piece that I kept around, and I found it again very similar. It actually takes a look at the other side of the coin of similar scams.

Speaker 2

I'll just read the first part to you because it's really well written.

Speaker 4

In late December, Garacha, the rest of his name is very long, helped lead a small but brazen rebellion. He'd been enslaved for sixteen months in a twisted new criminal empire in which Chinese gangsters trafficked people from around the world, often to remote and lawless parts of Southeast Asia, and forced them to sit at computers all day scamming strangers online.

The cyber frauds they're forced to committer called pig butchering, named for the way the perpetrators fatten up their victims by gaining their trust before taking their money and cutting them loose behind the scenes, though the scammers are victims too, and they kidnapped these poor people. Generally, they forced them to memorize a manual on how to seduce men online, manipulate them into pouring their money into bogus investments.

Speaker 2

And if these guys.

Speaker 4

Dare resist or try to get away, they are beaten and tortured and starved. And then and this guy whose stage done an uprising was literally taken to a bathroom stall and tortured for another week. His captors beat him and said he'd have to scratch up seven thousand dollars if he wanted to be freed. Finally, and this guy's all scarred and broken, and finally his family scraped up seven grand and paid his ransom.

Speaker 2

So he and three others with.

Speaker 4

Him were among a few hundred who have made it out in recent years from industrial scale scam enterprises built on modern days slave trade, so to the just.

Speaker 5

The lonely dating thing, and man, there's a horrible story out there, similar sort of thing. My main point being, this guy was getting talked up by a stripper at a strip club and she offered sex for money at the hotel. He went to the hotel and got robbed and then murdered. It's still a mystery as to why they murdered him, because that seems like a bad idea.

But anyway, in general, if somebody much younger and much hotter than has ever been interested you in your life is all of a sudden interested in you, you gotta be like beyond skeptical. And I understand, I understand it completely.

Speaker 4

If I'm sitting at a bar in Vegas and a twenty two year old super hotty dressed as a short skirt and high heels comes up and sits next to me, I just it would be nicer, ver true.

Speaker 2

But I gotta know it's not true.

Speaker 4

On the other hand, the really is citious part of this is I might be fully cognizant. Oh okay, she's a orking girl, and this is going to cost me some money, okay, but you don't expect to be papped over the head and have like everything taken.

Speaker 5

Oh yeah, the whole. If the stripper doesn't actually like you, the super chick at the bar doesn't really like you, and if you're all of a sudden in a different league, just put up your antenna like really really high.

Speaker 2

Yeah it seems like go or yeah.

Speaker 4

A final note on the lonely heart scams, there is a.

Speaker 2

The scammers know that. For instance, Christian.

Speaker 4

Dating sites are a great place to fish wow, because if the scammer, you know, says what you say as a Christian, there's an immediate level of trust that you don't get other places.

Speaker 2

They are utterly heartless, soulless, and brutal. You know.

Speaker 5

It reminds me of what I was going to say. This is just a modern version of something that's been around forever. Don't take any wooden nickels. News reports say there are nickels out there that shiny and silver but are actually made of wood. Experts are saying you should bite into them or check to see if they're well. You know, there's just been, always been scams, and eventually

we all catch on to them, right, smart people do. Anyway, quick question for you, what if you happen to miss this unbelievable radio program.

Speaker 4

The answer is easy, friends, Just download our podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand. It's the podcast version of the broadcast show, available anytime, any day every single podcast platform known demand.

Speaker 2

Download it now. Armstrong and Getty on Demand.

Speaker 6

Armstrong The Armstrong and Getty Show.

Speaker 2

Right now.

Speaker 4

As promised, science has nailed down when your vacation pleasureeeks peak vacation happiness. You know how articles always have to open with a person's story.

Speaker 5

I always skip it every article I read, I skip down to where they actually get to the meat of the article.

Speaker 4

Yeah, damn near everyone for me, just because I get it. This affects real human beings, human beings like me. How about I imagine how it affects me? Instead of hearing about what's this guy's name? Uh? Florian vang langen Donk, the Typeay based Belgian photographer wait a.

Speaker 2

White who whoa whoa? Whoa?

Speaker 4

Don't don't do a story about how the typical traveler enjoys a vacation and use the example of a Typeay based Belgian photographer. He has a completely different life than virtually anybody else on earth.

Speaker 5

Who decided every newspaper article or magazine article needs to start this with Jenny Smith, spread out.

Speaker 4

To personalize it so people realize it affects real people.

Speaker 5

It's just dumb. I skipped down to the meat of it. Anyway, I when is peak vacation and I've got a story about that.

Speaker 4

Only you'll get a story about American families having difficulty making ends meet. Jane Jones has three children and no husband and a dead end job down at the dairy Queen and having She says, some.

Speaker 2

Days I worry whether I can pay the bills. Yeah, yeah, the headline.

Speaker 4

I know. I know there are people like that. That's why you wrote the article, Because there are people like that.

Speaker 2

I don't need you to give me the specifics.

Speaker 4

A one wow, three kids and works at the dairy Queen. I just don't like her chances can't keep a man either.

Speaker 2

Evidently. Anyway, where were we.

Speaker 4

Ah, Yes, peak pleasure on vacation, Yes, A twenty nineteen survey of tourist said an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, determined that vacationer's average happiness rose steadily from the moment they left home, then peaked around our forty three of the trip.

Speaker 2

Really then the first forty eight hours you peak.

Speaker 4

That's true about the enjoyment starts even with the shlub, because you're on vacation, the shlip rather not the slub. I'm the shlub, the schlub, the slub slip, the slip away shlub. The enjoyment starts with the schlap. Even the bags in the car and the uber to the airport and all that stuff.

Speaker 2

There's nothing enjoyable about that. But you're just you're already on vacation and it's growing and its enjoyment.

Speaker 4

All right, So I gotta to analyze this. You leave the house at eight o'clock in the morning, you got a couple of flights. You end up at the resort that you're going to at like four point thirty in the afternoon, although you left eight o'clock in the morning, So twenty four hours would be eight forty eight hours would be eight o'clock.

Speaker 2

The next morning, forty three hours to be in the middle of the night. That's right. Ten, you just had X.

Speaker 4

It's five o'clock the second day, you're there roughly. Okay, that brings true to me. That's the peek, like the entire vacation, the greatest thing ever, Honey, you know that that is.

Speaker 2

I don't want this to be true.

Speaker 5

Yeah, I'm thinking about this ridiculously expensive Hawaiian vacation. I went on to not too long, but I don't want this to be true. But yeah, the you've got there the second day and the cool place you are is kind of that.

Speaker 2

This is awesome. Part of it might be the whole.

Speaker 5

It seems like the vacation's gonna last forever already at that point because a week yes, yeah, he doesn't take very long into the vacation for me at least, and where I realized Jesus half over.

Speaker 4

You're settled in, you got the lay of the land. Maybe you got a couple of pops in you it's it's dinner time, it's you're just so relaxed. Maybe a little sweet afternoon love has taken place. I don't know anyway, but there's wait, there's there's more. Key to this good vibe spike is dishabituation. Perspective refreshed one gets from a change of pace.

Speaker 5

What's a dishabituation? So getting out of your habits?

Speaker 4

Yes, Esley The word people use more than any other to describe the parts of the holiday they liked best was first, first view, the ocean, first cocktail, first sand castle, et cetera. You kind of habituate to joy, to the great things around.

Speaker 5

You, all interesting. You habituate to joy.

Speaker 4

Right, and the ways to finding ways to dishabituate again and again is the secret to making the most of every vacation day. They also say you could do more like three day trips. I was about to say, it

sounds to me like vacations, don't. You'd be better off with three three day vacations than one nine day vacation from a pleasure standpoint, Yeah, maybe, although I would dispute that because that feeling of the clock is ticking and it's almost the day we have to pack and have you you know, have you what do you call it? To check in for the flight? Honey, I've got such a negative mindset. I have to fight the vacations. Already thirty percent over yeah, like a ninety vacation. We're already

three days in. Oh my god. So the other way to dishabituate, says this travel expert. If you're going on a vacation, it's quite long, you might want to make it more varied. Anytime we change our environment, change our circumstances, change what we're doing, that causes dishabituation. Hopping between countries or cities guarantees diversity. But you can also mix things up by trying a new tu sport or trending activity beach.

Speaker 2

Tennis, anyone. Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 4

I also really like when you don't have to pack and unpack multiple times day trips.

Speaker 2

It's all about day trips, right.

Speaker 5

So I think about this a lot because this happened on my very starkly when I was on my honeymoon in Mexico. I think it was like a week and a half. Gladys, what you'll break your fingers. I think she's just I think she's just working for us now for the insurance. I don't think she cares about her job. She just wants the health insurance. Well, she unionized last week. Don't you qualify for medicare? You're like one hundred and six.

Speaker 4

You didn't see the memo, Union says she has twenty seconds to get ready and crack her knuckles and before she unleashes her little lick there on the harp.

Speaker 5

Anyway, I'm in Mexico. I got this place right on the ocean. So I'm sitting there looking out the window at the ocean, and it's as beautiful and nice as anything can be, and all week long, like a week and a half or.

Speaker 2

Whatever, I'm enjoying it.

Speaker 4

Then on the last day leave the next day. But this is the last full day of being there, I'm sitting there and I'm all stressed out about you know, thinking about going back to work and just all these different things, and I'm like unhappy. And I thought, Oh, you're sitting in the exact same spot, looking at the exact same view that you were euphoric about for the last seven days.

Speaker 2

The only thing that's changed.

Speaker 4

The only thing is your attitude, per respective, etc.

Speaker 2

The only thing.

Speaker 4

And I thought, how often does this occur, not quite as starkly as this, to where the only thing really going on is my attitude and what I'm thinking about.

Speaker 5

Everything else is fine, And I've thought about that a lot over the last fifteen years. I guess it is now about that just there's nothing. Everything that I'm stressed out about is in my head. There's nothing actually occurring at this moment stressful or unpleasant, and I try.

Speaker 2

To combat that. Yeah, yeah, well you gotta disabituate, man. I wish I could.

Speaker 5

I suppose people who are really zen or Buddha or Gandhi or whoever.

Speaker 2

Can make the other happen.

Speaker 5

And I've heard about this with people who are being held hostage or whatever really unfortunate circumstance you have. You can be in a bad situation and bringing in all the good thoughts and have the complete You know, life is fantastic thing going on when you are surrounded by freely negative things. Certainly I do the opposite regularly. Everything is fine here, I'm in a nice place with a nice view.

Speaker 4

Nope, but I'm bringing in all these pressures on myself for no reason. Stray thought, but related that might be one of the keys to aging gracefully and happily. Yeah, there are aspects of it to kind of suck, but you know, find the good stuff.

Speaker 5

I plan to age angrily and finger pointedly. That's my glass shout at lawnedly, it's you keeping me down and unhappy.

Speaker 2

Yeah, you're to blite or.

Speaker 4

A Clint Eastwood and El Camino aging process. Somebody referenced that movie to me the other day. Oh so I see, Yeah, you're saying my finger pointedly. Yeah, exactly when the young Korean kids would ride by and he'd go pomp. Yeah, that's not a relaxed way to live your life. No, indeed, what else are we doing this out right? I remember there's a lot of it.

Speaker 5

Well, I don't want to be so dark, but I think it's absolutely true. This op ed in the Wall Street Journal about World War threes on the way, and we're all ignoring it. We're either of the candidates asked about this yesterday. Hey, do you see the sixty minutes piece of Miss Harris or mister Trump about Philippines and the Chinese boats ramming them, and how maybe one more time and the Philippines go to war and we've got a treaty obligation to back them up, we'd be at

or with China. Where would you be on that? No, we're talking about cat eating or whatever.

Speaker 4

For the entire history of the nation, it was considered universally to be very important to hear the candidates' views on this stuff. Now not so much. We just got to get rid of Trump. I guess Prize Picks the best place to get real money sports action. Over ten million members, billions of dollars in awarded winnings, Prize Picks has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all.

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They just give you that fifty dollars bonus after you play five dollars once again. It's the prize picks app use that code Armstrong Prize Picks.

Speaker 1

Run your game, Jack Armstrong and Joe Gerty The Armstrong and Getty Show, The Armstrong and Getty Show.

Speaker 8

Meanwhile, in Kharkieth, after more Russian glidebaum struck residential buildings, President Zelenski asked again for the restrictions on long range US weapons to be lifted.

Speaker 9

Just sevitator, the only way to counter this terror is with a systemic solution. This solution is long range capabilities, which will enable US to destroy Russian military aircraft at their basis. This is an obvious logical decision.

Speaker 5

Huh yeah, decisions that will be discussed for decades or centuries to come, depending on how all this turns out. The Biden administration being so slow to approve Ukraine defending itself against Russia while China is now helping Russia, which.

Speaker 2

Leads us to a bigger picture.

Speaker 5

This piece in the Wall Street Journal Today by Walter Russell meet who's I don't know if you've ever seen him speak or listening to his podcast Stuff Super smart guy been writing opinions for the Wall Street Journal for as long as I can remember.

Speaker 4

Us shrugs as World War three approaches. And let me skip to down in the article to this. The reason he wrote this is there is a Commission on the National Defense Strategy to put out a report. It's a panel of eight experts named by senior Republicans and Democrats on the various committees that consulted widely across the government, reviewing both public and classified information, and they issued a

unanimous report. This is one of those deals where Republicans and Democrats come together and agree on a report that they want to put out and as Mead.

Speaker 5

Rights here and kind of what we've been talking about. In a healthy political climate, this would be the central topic in national conversation.

Speaker 2

Not that's so funny.

Speaker 4

I was about to say, Oh, they've released the report, I haven't heard about it.

Speaker 5

Not a central topic. The central topic, says Meed.

Speaker 4

The bipartisan report details a devastating picture of political failure, strategic inadequacy, and growing American weakness and a time of rapidly increasing danger. Now I skipped over the first part, but you all know this. You got Ukraine and Russia, you got Israel, Hamas, you got China doing what they're

doing in the Philippines. You got all this stuff happening at the same time, each country helping each other, and all of that, the US faces the most serious and most challenging threats since nineteen forty five, that'd be the end of World War two, including the real risk of near term major war. The report warns the nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended thirty five years ago. It is not prepared today.

Speaker 2

Worse.

Speaker 5

China and Russia's No Limits partnership formed in February twenty two, just days before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Speaker 2

That's when.

Speaker 5

She said to Putin caught on Mike, the world is about to change, and you and I are going to lead that more or less. In other words, the United States is not going to be the boss anymore. The new alignment of nations opposed to US interests. Along with Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, these countries aligned creates a real risk, if not the likelihood, that conflict anywhere could be a multitheater or global war should such a conflict break out.

The commission finds that the US military lackxble the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter or prevail in combat. To summarize, World War three is becoming more likely in the near term, and the US is too weak either to prevent it or should warcome, be confident of victory. This is not or should not be a part.

Speaker 2

Of an issue.

Speaker 5

No recent president and no party escapes responsibility for our current plight. Red and Blue America will suffer equally if the global slide toward war continues unchecked.

Speaker 2

Wow.

Speaker 5

You know it's frustrating to me as a big history fan. Is this is what happens over and over and over again and is probably inevitable, which is why it's kind of depressing. There's just no getting around it. You're the big dog for a long time, and you get soft and you come to believe you'll always be a big dog.

Speaker 2

And just through.

Speaker 5

If you're a sports fan, you see it with sports teams that you come to believe that just because you're wearing the uniform that is won in the past, that's just going to prevail. That you don't need to continue to have the right players or to be able to perform at the same level. Just your uniformal went out and it doesn't work that way.

Speaker 4

Right, And there's absolutely a feeling of or a history of When the call does come again, you turn to your people and your tools that in the past have been successful and you realize, oh, it's all hollowed out. All we have is the edifice of a super powerful navy for instance. I mean Putin certainly found this out in invading Ukraine, but I mean I know a fair amount about the Navy since my brother was a career officer.

And then we've got a couple of listeners, several listeners who are navy or merchant marine, you know, veterans who understand that our ability to get weaponry and people and goods to the theater is now a vestige of what it once was. I mean, it's shriveled. That is what I was talking about about being hollowed out. We're gonna say we're going to take the fight to them, and the question is going to be, how are we going

to get the tanks over there? And the answer is going to be, we don't have enough fighting ships to protect the transport ships to get the stuff where it needs to go. We got some of those shiny aircraft carriers and stuff like that. And by god, they are awesome and they're peopled by you know, the best and the brightest. But do we have down to the brass tax the logistics ready to go. No, according to the people I trust.

Speaker 2

Right, And then I think it comes down to it's just not a.

Speaker 5

Priority for the American people. It's just not something we think about and are probably that.

Speaker 4

But gigantic wars are extremely expensive, and we in the past have borrowed butt loads of money that's a technical term, uh to to finance the wars. That's the time we've ever run debt like we have now, or deficits like we have now. We have accumulated gigantic deficits hence and hence death during affluent peace time. So what comes when we have to borrow zillions of dollars?

Speaker 2

What's the world going to say to us?

Speaker 4

I have to mention the fact that the interest on the dead is now more than the Defense Department back to you.

Speaker 5

I've tried to talk about this with like smart people I know many many times, and they just look at me like I'm crazy.

Speaker 9

I just.

Speaker 5

It's just well, New York Times had a great opinion piece about this last year. I don't think I ever got around to reading where they basically was this argument that we've just come to believe that it couldn't happen, China's never going to attack us with Russia and Iran at the same time, and this just wouldn't happen. Well, it can happen, and the history of the world would suggest it's absolutely.

Speaker 2

Going to happen. Yeah, that's what always happens.

Speaker 4

Well, if Winston Churchill were to be raised from the dead and join us in the studio number one, probably what my pants, but he would say, Yeah, the only way to wake people up is to get attacked. It's just the way it is. Boys, good luck. Yeah, highly troubling. So this report comes out, bipartisan report. You can't word it much more starkly than you just heard, that World War three is on the horizon and we don't think

we could win it if it happens. And we argue about transgender bathrooms or cat eating or whatever the daily news cycle story is, Yeah, neither candidate will be asked about any of this, or put out a or try to lead us in any direction. The idea of trying to lead America into being concerned about this is never going to happen, and the press isn't even asking the question, Hey, the Giant report just came out and we have our pants down. What's your plan for fixing that? It's a non topic.

Speaker 5

No, it's going to be very annoying when this eventually happens. And those of us who knew what was going to happen, I don't know. I won't get any plasure out of that.

Speaker 1

Armstrong and Getty

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