A WORLD GONE MAD
A Progressive Liberal News Podcast
Veteran Television, and Radio Broadcaster Jeff Alan Wolf offers his Observations on the issues (many issues) of the week with a fearless liberal bent. His solid delivery, and dry common sense approach sets him apart from other liberals that populate Talk and Commentary Podcasts”
Jeff Does NOT Pull Punches.
He does NOT Make comments that are “SAFE”.
He tells the Truth.
(He Tells It As He Sees It)
He Is Very OPINIONATED!
He says the things Out Loud YOU’RE
already thinking.
Jeff is Unfiltered, Unspun, A little Unhinged, but offers a lot of Common Sense.
This Podcast could make you MAD.
This Podcast could make you SMILE.
Regardless, it WILL make you THINK!
A WORLD GONE MAD
Trump Won’t Rule Out A Recession, Walgreens Going Bye Bye?, Free Speech Under Assault AGAIN!
Democracy teeters on the edge as storm clouds gather from multiple directions. Trump's ominous prediction of "a period of transition" sent markets plunging 900 points, signaling potential economic turmoil ahead. His refusal to rule out a recession has economists and everyday Americans alike bracing for impact, especially as his inconsistent tariff policies continue to rattle global markets.
Meanwhile, the judiciary has emerged as an unexpected voice of resistance. Federal judges across the political spectrum are breaking with tradition to speak out beyond their immediate cases, issuing stark warnings about constitutional erosion. These judicial concerns reflect a growing unease about the future of American democracy.
Perhaps most alarming is the assault on free press through the targeting of Voice of America and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters. Following Elon Musk's dismissal of these networks as "radical left crazy people," the administration has moved to assert greater control, with Kari Lake positioned to lead VOA. These networks reach 420 million people across 100+ countries, modeling free press in regions where independent journalism is threatened or nonexistent. Their potential transformation or dismantling would represent another significant blow to democratic values worldwide. As measles outbreaks grow and Walgreens faces an uncertain future after privatization, one thing becomes clear: now is not the time to look away. Democracy requires our vigilance, our voice, and our unwavering commitment to stand up and preserve what matters most.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
There is chaos in the world, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. Well, this is a world on fire. This is a World Gone Mad. Season 2, episode 74 this is a World Gone Mad.
Speaker 1:I'm Jeff Allen Wolf. I give my thoughts on national and world news and politics. And have I got news for you? Okay, everyone, let's get ready for a recession. It's coming. Damn Damn Jeff, you are gloom and doom, aren't you Not? Hardly. But our wonderful President, delusional, even said so.
Speaker 1:Trump says he won't rule out a recession and because of him saying that, the stock market has tumbled again. Way to go, donald, the bringer of tension-filled news for this country. Us stocks tumbled almost 900 points Monday, continuing steep sell-off driven by concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on economic growth. All three major indexes opened sharply lower Monday. On economic growth, All three major indexes opened sharply lower Monday after Trump said the US economy would see a period of transition and refused to rule out a recession. In an interview that aired Sunday, when asked on Fox News Sunday morning futures with Maria Bartiromo if he was expecting a recession this year, trump said I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big. Stocks have been hammered so far this month amid uncertainty around Donald Trump's on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again tariff policy. Remember, trump seems to foreshadow stuff to cover his ass, so for him to be making a statement like that about a recession. Buckle up everyone. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Speaker 1:Canada elects a new leader and he's a liberal, and I've seen a lot of people on social media going crazy saying, yeah, there's some good news finally. Calm down everyone. This news is misleading and people need to read the small print. Mark Carney has been elected leader of Canada's Liberal Party in a months-long, high-stakes race to replace Justin Trudeau. He will now be expected to lead the party into the next federal elections, which must be held before October, but could be called much earlier, where he is likely to face stiff competition from the Conservative Party, which is currently leading the polls. While Carney will take over immediately as Liberal Party leader, trudeau will remain as Canada's Prime Minister for an as-yet-undisclosed transitional period while his successor settles in. In his first remarks following the result of the vote, carney referenced the tensions with the US, saying his government would create new trading relationships with reliable trading partners. He also vowed to keep retaliatory tariffs on the US until the Americans show us respect. So everyone, settle down, relax. This is not a done deal. It's a nice trend in the right direction for Canada.
Speaker 1:So, wolfpack listeners, where do you go for your pharmaceuticals? Cvs, walgreens, walmart, target, other places? I personally dislike CVS. The ones I've gone into I think are dingy looking. I find a very unfriendly vibe in CVS when I've gone in in the past. Now I personally like Walgreens Now. One of the reasons is it's two minutes from our house but it's always upbeat, lively, energy. People are available to help. You, has everything I need, prices you know are reasonable for most things.
Speaker 1:Well, walgreens is heading down a risky path. Walgreens has been attempting a financial turnaround for years and now it says it's found a new path to finish it. But if history is any guide, its path is more likely to lead to its eventual demise than long-term success. Some details Walgreens Boots Alliance, which owns drugstores in both the United States as well as the United Kingdom, ireland, mexico and Thailand, announced last week that it would be ending a century as a publicly traded company and would be sold to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm. Less than a decade ago, it was America's largest drugstore chain and its stock was successful enough to replace iconic conglomerate General Electric and the Dow Jones Industrial Average a collection of 30 companies selected for their importance to the economy and the overall market. But Walgreens shares have lost 83% of their value since that day, with a 71% plunge coming in just the last four years, and would have lost more than that if it wasn't for investors looking ahead to the sale to Sycamore, which lifted shares more than 7% in Friday trading. Now, sycamore and Walgreens have both insisted the purchase will allow for the company, which has already closed many of its stores, to complete the turnaround more quickly.
Speaker 1:But despite the promise, retail's graveyard is full of the bones of many once-dominant retailers who closed up shop after being bought by private equity firms. The list includes Toys R Us, sports Authority, radio Shack all once leaders in their fields. Even some companies that survived being taken private that survived, such as Aeropostale, did so after a trip through the bankruptcy court. As of last August, walgreens had about 8,500 stores in the United States, 3,700 foreign locations. That's down by about 1,000 American stores and 1,000 foreign stores from where it stood when it joined the Dow in 2018. There are more store closings to come for Walgreens, as the company announced plans in October to shutter another 1,200 stores.
Speaker 1:Walgreens itself was booted from the Dow a year ago and replaced by Amazon, which is providing its own growing competition with an online pharmacy. Now Walgreens has been passed by CVS as the nation's largest drugstore chain. Whether or not Sycamore can fix the problems with Walgreens, they are likely to do well in the deal, considering they are getting the chain at a fraction of its former value. Likely to do well in the deal, considering they are getting the chain at a fraction of its former value and because of the way the deals are structured to benefit the private equity buyers, said Cohen. And, by the way, cvs is opening smaller stores that only have pharmacies. Cvs is looking to grow itself by shrinking the pharmacy chain is opening around a dozen stores this year that are about half the size of its traditional layout and have only a pharmacy, ditching the front end of the store that traditionally holds as-sold snacks, greeting cards and other consumer staples. So is Walgreens headed for the junk pile of retail stores that have failed in the last 10 years? I certainly hope it doesn't, but it doesn't look too promising at the moment.
Speaker 1:Growing judicial voices challenge Trump's erosion of constitutional norms. Federal judges hearing Trump's administration litigation have increasingly gone beyond the case at hand to reflect on potential threats to democracy or offer dramatic assertions about the state of America. Democratic or Republican appointees alike, these judges are giving voice to a simmering concern in judicial circles about the erosion of constitutional norms during the first weeks of the second Trump administration, but in doing so they are breaking with a culture of judicial restraint and defying the current reluctance in many quarters to cross President Donald Trump. These judicial voices are rare, to be sure, but they are growing in number.
Speaker 1:An American president is not a king. A federal judge in Washington DC slipped into an opinion on late Thursday. Earlier Thursday, a judge in Rhode Island's, hearing a dispute over a government-wide freeze on funding, invoked America's founding after enduring an eight-year war against the monarch's cruel reign, and added a cautionary footnote. This is what it all comes down to. We may choose to survive as a country by respecting our constitution, the laws and norms of political and civil behavior, or we may ignore these things at our peril. A judge in Seattle declared in a separate case it has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals.
Speaker 1:Current and retired federal judges told CNN they are watching the emerging pattern with trepidation. Some are heartened by jurists raising their voices. Others believe judges should be particularly restrained in today's polarized atmosphere. Supreme Court justices, for their part, have avoided broader statements about Trump's initiatives or the way he is wielding power and Justice. Samuel Alito, a conservative who has consistently sided with the Trump administration over the years, fired a warning of sorts to federal district court judges. Last week. Alito, joined by three other justices on the right wing, declared in a dissenting opinion that US District Judge Amir Ali, who had temporarily blocked Trump's freeze on billions in foreign aid, had engaged in an act of judicial hubris. Alito said he was stunned that the majority had let the judge's order stand. So is this third branch of government the true checks and balances against Donald's unlimited powers and of him being above the law? One would hope so, but I seriously have my doubts.
Speaker 1:I'd like to take a moment to tell all the Wolfpack listeners out there if there are upcoming scheduled events happening around the country, like protests or bans on Amazon, target etc. Why don't you let me know? I can't be on top of everything. I'm only one person. So if you let me know through email at wolfpacklistener, at gmailcom or my voicemail box, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 833-399-9653. I would be more than glad to talk about it on my podcast. So please send me information that you come across about protests, bans, anything that's happening to save our democracy. Your help with this helps me to help all of us. And, on a lighter note, I'd like to share the following with all the Wolfpack listeners Natasha, my girlfriend, and I have been watching several great television series that you may or may not know about, but I'd like to pass it along to everyone, and these are the two series we've been binge watching.
Speaker 1:So give it a look, give it a listen if you haven't yet. Severance, the television series Severance. Give it a listen if you haven't yet. Severance, the television series Severance Crazy television series well acted, edited, lit, produced. Everything about it, and you gotta find out about what those goats are about. Trust me on what I'm saying on this one everyone. The television series Below Below, starring Billy Crystal and Rosie Perez and a solid supporting cast. A deep, engrossing psychological thriller and mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat every episode. Just wanted to give you my thoughts on some fun diversions with what's happening in our world today. Check them out.
Speaker 1:During the last major measles outbreaks in the US, it took extraordinary measures to stop the spread. Six years ago, two communities in New York one in Brooklyn, one in Rockland County were facing the worst measles outbreaks in the United States that they have seen in decades. Measles had been declared eliminated from the country in 2000, but 2019 brought the nation the closest it has been to losing that status. Now measles outbreaks are growing in West Texas and New Mexico. Testing sites and vaccine clinics have opened in outbreak areas and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived in Texas last week to support the response. Still, local health officials say the spread could continue for months.
Speaker 1:Back in 2019, swift's sustained efforts to curb the measles virus brought the country back from the brink. This response centered on the unique needs of communities that were most at risk, powered by hands-on public health work that was supported by formal policy changes. Experts say the way the outbreak played out in New York underscores the importance of an all-hands-on-deck approach to stop the spread in other outbreaks. Vaccination is the most important way to prevent the devastating disease that measles can be said. Dr Neil Vora, executive Director of Preventing Pandemics at the Source, a coalition of organizations focused on reducing risk from novel viruses. He was heavily involved in responding to the measles outbreak in 2018 and 2019 as a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee, working out of the New York City Health Department at the time.
Speaker 1:Are you listening, rfk Jr? Probably not. And finally, there's more of an attack from the Trump administration on our freedom of speech. A month ago, elon Musk called for Voice of America, radio Free Europe, radio Liberty, to be shut down. He tweeted. It's just radical left, crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1 billion a year of the US taxpayer money. It's in keeping with Musk's Doge initiative, prompting the administration to slash jobs, cut programs, even seek to sever funds for contracts already in progress throughout the federal government. In the weeks since, trump administration officials have asserted greater control over the Voice of America's parent company, the US Agency for Global Media. Several Doge aides have been sent to the agency, which has commenced an initial batch of firings of probationary.
Speaker 1:Employees at the Voice of America and leaders at other US-funded networks that broadcast oversee fear Musk's grander wish for a full shutdown, and that may be coming true. Those outlets include such storied networks as Radio Free Europe, radio Liberty, radio Free Asia started up to counter communist propaganda. These institutions, unlike the government-owned Voice of America, are separate, not-for-profit entities, yet they are fully funded by the US government through the same federal parent agency. Were the government to withhold money for any appreciable length of time, we would bleed out. An official at one of the international broadcast networks said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. The network's mission is to deliver news coverage, cultural programming, to places where a free press is threatened or doesn't exist. They are also designed as a form of soft diplomacy by modeling independent journalism that incorporates dissent from government policy. Together, according to the agency, the networks reach 420 million people in 63 languages and more than 100 countries each week.
Speaker 1:Trump has announced he wants Carrie Lake, a former Phoenix local TV news anchor turned two-time unsuccessful MAGA political candidate, to be the next director of the Voice of America. Hers, by law, is not a presidential appointment. Kerry Lake legally must await the Senate confirmation of Trump's pick to lead the USAGM. The conservative media critic, brent Boesel III. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has not yet set a date for a confirmation hearing and Lake has to be approved by a bipartisan board overseeing the network. The White House fired its members upon Trump taking office. In the meantime, carrie Lake is helping to lead the agency as a senior advisor to Trump.
Speaker 1:She has made conciliatory remarks to the journalists and networks in her official communications, while signaling changes and cuts may be in store. I understand the challenges faced by those who cover news, both in front of and behind the camera, and I have immense respect for the men and women who do the job with honesty and integrity. Lake wrote in a memo to staff obtained by NPR. Sadly, journalism is experiencing dark days right now. Lake continued. The public has lost almost all trust in the media. For those reading this, it is critical we recognize our agency is funded by hardworking American taxpayers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. Hard-working American taxpayers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. I am committed to quickly reforming and modernizing the agency into something the American people are willing to support. Lake wrote In outside statements.
Speaker 1:Lake has been blunter. We won't become Trump TV, she said at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month, but it sure as hell will not be TDS TV. You can find all the Trump derangement syndrome that you want over on CNN, msnbc, pbs, 60 Minutes, the Washington Post and the New York Times Lake stated there we go, wolfpack listeners another assault on the freedom of speech in America. Disgusting and sad. Carrie Lake oh Lord, not Carrie Lake and I tell everyone and I keep coming across this on my Facebook groups and other places Stop hiding people. Please don't text me or email me saying I don't have time to listen to your podcast or any news, because I'm too overwhelmed and it's just destroying my energies and my health. Now is not the time to plunge your head into the sand. Now is not the time to retract or give up, and I truly understand all the stress factors you're all going through in your life because I'm going through it myself on a daily basis, but I push ahead. Stay the course, everyone. I'll be back in two days.
Speaker 1:This is A World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolf sitting in a room talking to myself. Stay hopeful, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad. Mad, mad, mad. Yeah.
