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
Largest Tax Hike In History!, Tik Tok Purchase Coming?, Israel Grabs Land, What Is Dark Energy?
Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs marks a major escalation in his trade war, with White House aide Peter Navarro claiming they'll generate $6 trillion in revenue over the next decade despite economists warning consumers will bear the cost.
• New tariffs include 10% on all imports to the US, with 34% for China and 20% for the European Union
• Four Republican senators joined Democrats in a rare bipartisan rebuke of Trump's trade policy
• Car prices expected to increase $5,000-$15,000 per vehicle, with experts advising consumers when to buy a car
• Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford won Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, maintaining liberal majority despite Trump's opposition
• Trump's April 5th deadline for TikTok sale approaches as advisors present potential deals
• Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza, planning to seize large areas for security zones
• New data suggests mysterious dark energy, which makes up 70% of the universe's energy, may be evolving
Contact me at wolfpacklistener@gmail.com, call the voicemail box at 833-399-9653, or find me on Blue Sky, and my Substack under Jeff Alan Wolf - The Wolf’s Den
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad. Mad, mad, mad, mad. This is definitely a world gone mad. Season 2, episode 84. Welcome to the Resistance.
Speaker 1:I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe and I give my commentary on national and world news and politics. Americans are going to pay $6 trillion for Trump's tariffs, the largest tax hike in US history. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled expanse of new tariffs in a major escalation of his trade war, referring to the historic move as a declaration of economic independence. Trump's risky bet to address unfair trade practices could send prices higher for American consumers, weaken economic growth, according to most economists. Now, using national emergency powers, trump announced 10% tariffs on all imports into the United States, even higher tariffs on goods from about 60 countries or trading blocks that have a high trade deficit with the US. Now that includes China and the European Union, which will be levied new duties of 34 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Speaker 1:Trump's Liberation Day announcement did little to clear the dense fog of uncertainty. Announcement did little to clear the dense fog of uncertainty and even more tariffs by sector are coming down the pike, senior White House officials said Wednesday on a phone call with reporters. White House aide Peter Navarro said he expects President Donald Trump's tariffs to bring in $6 trillion in revenue in the next decade, which could amount to the largest tax hike in US history. Even when adjusting for inflation, that amount would be triple the tax increase put in place in 1942 to pay the cost of fighting World War II. Now DeVar, trump's senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, insists it's not a tax increase but a tax cut in manufacturing, insists it's not a tax increase but a tax cut, echoing the Trump administration's repeated belief that tariffs will be paid not by American consumers but by businesses in other countries or the countries themselves. The message is that tariffs are tax cuts. Tariffs are jobs. Tariffs are national security, navarro said on Fox News Sunday Tariffs are great for America. They will make America great again, but most economists say US imposed tariffs are paid by American businesses and consumers in the form of higher prices on imported goods and services, not by foreigners.
Speaker 1:Now several countries have signaled that they will respond to Trump's tariffs, and the International Chamber of Commerce said on Wednesday that there's a clear systematic risk to the global trading system if trade tensions reach a fever pitch. China, japan, south Korea said on Sunday they will respond to the new duties in lockstep. After Trump's Liberation Day update, four Senate Republicans joined with Democrats Monday evening to deliver a rare bipartisan rebuke to President Donald Trump over trade policy. The Senate adopted a resolution by a vote of 51 to 48 aimed at blocking the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on Canadian imports. The four Republicans who voted with Democrats were Senators Rand Paul, who co-sponsored the resolution, susan Collins, mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski.
Speaker 1:Now the trade war escalates from Donald the Delusional. He's not letting go. Pandora's box is open. The other country is going to retaliate. And this delusional notion either they actually don't know about tariffs or they're just trying to sell us a bill of goods again.
Speaker 1:Remember about Mexico paying for the wall to protect, you know, immigrants from crossing the border? The tariffs are not paid by the countries. I've said this multiple times on this on this podcast. Tariffs are paid by the people buying the goods here from other countries, and those people, the companies who buy those goods and pay those extra fees, are going to pass it along to us you, me, us. So Trump and Navarro can say all they want to the tariffs are good and we're going to make America great again. I hate that phrase, but tariffs are lousy. Stock markets reacting, countries are reacting and we're in deep trouble and Trump's not backing down.
Speaker 1:Should you buy or lease a car now? Well, with the 25% tariff about to hit every imported car, many Americans are wondering whether it's better to buy or lease a vehicle before tariffs go into effect or wait to see how things will play out. The simple answer is to buy now, experts say. Especially if you are already in the market for a car, the riskiest thing to do is to hold off and see what happens. Aaron Bragman, the Detroit Bureau Chief of Automobile Shopping site Carscom, said to CNN we're fairly confident that cost and prices are going to go up. That's just the basic economics of tariffs, president Donald Trump said last week when he announced a 25% tariff on all cars imported. They're going to be from foreign countries, including Canada and Mexico.
Speaker 1:The tariff could raise prices on cars between $5,000 to $15,000 per car, depending on the make and model, according to Goldman Sachs estimates, and the Trump administration could further send the automobile industry spiraling if it follows through with its plan to enact tariffs on car parts, since even American-made cars import a significant portion of their parts from Canada and Mexico. That could further slam car buyers if enacted, for example, cars from Ford, chrysler, GM and Honda are expected to face cost jumps from $4,000 to $10,000. According to a February estimate from Michigan-based think tank Anderson Economic Group, electric car buyers are expected to pay at least $12,000 more per vehicle. As prices go up, more people will likely look into buying used cars. However, the inventory for used cars is already low because automakers didn't produce as many cars during the pandemic and those cars would be in the used marketplace today. Autotradercom executive editor Brian Moody told CNN A spike in demand would only exacerbate the used car market and for those looking for affordable vehicles there could be even fewer options available if tariffs continue.
Speaker 1:There are only 27 new vehicles on the market priced under $30,000. And four have already been discontinued. Cox Automotive analyst Aaron Keating wrote in a note on Friday. So bottom line if you're in the market and that's the issue everyone, a lot of people don't have the extra money to decide on buying a car. And if you don't need to buy a car, great, because you're deciding between food and medical scripts, you know the necessities in life. If you are thinking about buying the car again, buying now is the way to go, but again, the inventory on the new cars are going to be expensive because of the tariffs. The prices are going to raise. So buying a used? Tariffs the prices are going to raise. So buying a used car? Not a lot there. So we're in between a rock and a hard place. And all thanks to Donald, the man who thinks he knows everything you know, with the smartest brain in the world. And look at me. Let's do tariffs. Everyone's going to enjoy what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:Liberals win majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford has won Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, maintaining the liberal majority on the court in a key battleground state less than three months into President Donald Trump's second term. Crawford, a liberal circuit court judge in Dane County, will beat the conservative candidate Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, who received Trump's backing in the final stretch of the campaign. The race was officially nonpartisan, but Crawford's victory was seen as a bright spot for Democrats in Wisconsin and nationwide, as voters handed the president's preferred candidate a defeat in the first major political test of the second Trump era. Crawford and her Democratic allies also worked to turn the election into a referendum on Trump ally Elon Musk, who poured millions of his personal fortune into the race, and this quickly became the most expensive judicial contest in US history. At a victory rally in Madison Tuesday night, crawford thanked supporters, saying their votes helped send a message to the country. Today, wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court, and Wisconsinites stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale, she said. Crawford did not mention Musk by name, but she did reference defeating his big spending in the contest and even though he lost the two Florida special election seats. This is a little bit of a trend, a little glimmer of hope in the darkness precursor to midterms about what possibly could take place with the right candidate. So we celebrate a small victory, little things. We don't get overwhelmed with all the crap happening daily and congratulations to Crawford and the majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court stays liberal.
Speaker 1:Trump is weighing options for potential TikTok deal. Sources say with ban days away Now. Advisors to President Donald Trump are expected Wednesday to present the president with options for a deal to invest in TikTok that involves a number of well-heeled venture capital, private equity funds and tech companies. Multiple sources familiar with the discussion say as the White House tries to cleave the popular social video app away from Chinese ownership ahead of an April 5th deadline. Interested parties have been eyeing a takeover of the popular short-form video app TikTok since US lawmakers passed a bill requiring the app to be sold to a US entity or be banned in America. When Trump took office, he declined to enforce the ban for 75 days to reach a deal, but the law requires a deal to be in advanced negotiation stages to pursue another delay in banning the app. Now two large hurdles must be cleared for any potential deal Trump must sign off on a proposal and China's President, xi Jinping, must then agree. Xi has been opposed to giving away any valuable technological infrastructure, most notably TikTok's additive algorithm that decides which content appears for individual users.
Speaker 1:Now, technology giant Oracle, private equity firm Blackstone, are expected to be involved in a potential deal, according to sources involved in the discussions. Larry Ellison, oracle's founder, is close to the White House, having flanked Trump for announcements on data centers and other pledges. Oracle manages TikTok's US servers and in 2020, oracle proposed a plan, nicknamed Project Texas, to circumventa potential ban by storing TikTok's US user data separately from the rest of ByteDance data. That's the company that owns TikTok. Now, that proposal, made in Trump's first term, was in response to an executive order forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok's US operations for national security reasons, but it eventually fell apart. Vice President JD Vance is leading a new process to find a buyer or majority investor to satisfy the requirements of the bipartisan law. Now Vance is expected to present Trump with a deal for TikTok that includes an investment by a number of leading private equity and venture capital funds to offset ByteDance's ownership.
Speaker 1:We have a lot of potential buyers. There's tremendous interest in TikTok. The decision is going to be my decision, trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday. I'd like to see TikTok remain alive. Trump, who changed his posture toward TikTok during the 2024 election, credits the app with helping his standing among young voters. So the ban is coming up again April 5th. So the ban is coming up again April 5th. They have to have some kind of advanced supposed advanced negotiations for the other companies to buy TikTok and if they do, then Trump could extend the ban. If feeling is they're scrambling to find out who's going to get the most money from this TikTok deal, how Trump and Vance and all the Republicans benefit from the income from the sale. Nobody and I'm sorry, I'm not naive, but nobody believes that this is an altruistic deal for TikTok to protect national security in America. This is pure money, pure greed, typical of Donald and everyone associated with him. So three days basically two days, depending on when you listen to this podcast on how the TikTok sale or extended ban plays out.
Speaker 1:Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize large areas of land, ordering residents to leave. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military's operation in Gaza, involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be incorporated into Israel's security zones. In the statement, katz said the operation would also involve a large-scale evacuation of Gaza's population from combat zones. Without specifying details Now, signs of the operation's expansion are yet to be seen on the ground, although the enclave saw heavy airstrikes that have so far killed dozens of people in the last 24 hours, according to local authorities, including at least nine children when a UN shelter was hit. According to the defense minister's statement, the military operation would expand to crush and clear the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure, while seizing large areas that will be incorporated into Israel's security zone. The Israeli's military spokesperson for Arabic media late on Tuesday ordered residents in Gaza's southern Rafah area to leave their homes and move north. Last month, an Israeli official said. A second source familiar with the matter told CNN that Israel was making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave.
Speaker 1:But a longer-term offensive in Gaza could also draw stiff resistance from the Israeli public, a majority of which has been clamoring for a hostage deal release instead of a return to war. The family's forum of the Israeli hostages on Wednesday said they were horrified to wake up to the news of the military operation being expanded. Instead of securing the release of the hostages through an agreement and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers into Gaza to fight in the same places they have fought time and again. The forum said in a statement, egypt and Qatar have intensified efforts to revive the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in recent days Now, with the militant group agreeing to a new Egyptian proposal on Sunday and Israel responding with a counterproposal on Monday. Egypt's proposal would see Hamas release five hostages, including the American-Israeli Idan Alexander, in exchange for a renewed ceasefire. A Hamas source told CNN. Now it's similar to the proposal presented several weeks ago by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, although it is not clear whether it also includes the release of additional bodies of deceased hostages.
Speaker 1:Look, I have no insight into the deal between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza area. I'm not a military expert. None of us are. We don't know the hidden backstory, but I do know from logic. This is ridiculous. Israel wants to expand the war. Their own citizens are against this. They don't want the war to continue, just like Ukrainian citizens don't want the war to continue in Putin. There are parallels between Putin and Netanyahu. There are to some extent. So trying to gain more grab of land, it's a land grab and flexing the power of the Israeli military is wrong. So I don't know how this will play out, but I hope, for the sake of the people living in Israel and the people living in the Gaza area, that the Palestinians and everyone else can be safe and Israel can ratchet it down and not try to grab more land, but try to go back to the table and finalize the negotiation that they had for the ceasefire to end this conflict.
Speaker 1:And finally, another mind-blowing change New data suggests mysterious dark energy is evolving. New hints from one of the most extensive surveys of the cosmos to date suggest that mysterious dark energy may be evolving in ways that could shift how astronomers understand the universe. Dark energy is a term scientists use to describe an energy or force that accelerates the expansion of the universe, but although it represents 70% of the energy in the cosmos, researchers still have no idea exactly what dark energy is, said Mustafa Ishak Boushaki, professor of physics and astrophysics at the University of Texas at Dallas. Ishak Bous Bushaki is a co-chair of a working group for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Collaboration, known as DESI. The instrument, now in its fourth year of surveying the sky, can observe light from 5,000 galaxies at the same time. Think about that. That's mind-boggling. When the project concludes next year, it will have measured the light of about 50 million galaxies.
Speaker 1:The collaboration, which includes more than 900 researchers, shared the latest data released from DESI's first three years of observations on March 19th. Among its findings are the measurements of nearly 15 billion galaxies and quasars, some of the brightest objects in the universe. Ishak Bhushaki helped lead the analysis of the latest DESI data release, which suggests that dark energy long called a cosmological constant given that astronomers thought it was unchanging is behaving in unexpected ways and may even be weakening over time. The discovery of dark energy nearly 30 years ago was already the biggest surprise of my scientific lifetime, said David Weinberg, a professor of astronomy at the Ohio State University who contributed to the DESE's analysis, in a statement. These new measurements offer the strongest evidence so far that dark energy evolves, which would be another mind-blowing change to our understanding of how the universe works. The findings bring astronomers another step closer to unmasking the mysterious nature of dark energy, to unmasking the mysterious nature of dark energy, which may mean that the standard model of how the universe works could also require an update. Scientists say I have always loved astronomy I was a junior member of my group in Florida when I was way, way, way young, long ago and I love astronomy. So the dark energy mystery evolving and maybe weakening. So some fun little scientific information for you. Those are their science buffs.
Speaker 1:And to take us out of worrying about all the time, politics and Donald, dippy and Elon I'm really the President Musk and, as I say to you, the Wolfpack listeners, if you care to comment about this, anything in this episode or any other episode, just to say hello, it would really be nice to hear from some of you. Some of you have texted, some of you have used the voicemail box and comments on Blue Sky. Thank you, those that are engaged really energize me to continue. Wolfpacklistener at gmailcom. Wolfpacklistener at gmailcom. That's the email. 833-399-9653. Toll-free voice mailbox, just a mailbox, no one's picking up. Leave your comment. Or on Blue Sky, if you're over there. If not, join me it's better than Facebook. Leave me a comment there.
Speaker 1:Also, please check out my sub stack that I just started again. You can find it on sub stack under Jeff Allen Wolf, the Wolfsten, or you can contact me. I'll send you a direct link to make it easier for you. And if you're on Apple and Spotify, please leave a comment, please leave a rating. That helps me and gets me to more ears out there. I'll be back again in two days. This is a world gone mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe and without your comments, your feedback, your engagement, I am sitting in a room talking to myself. Stay hopeful and we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad.
