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
Pope Francis Passes Away On Easter, Hegseth Leaks Secrets AGAIN!, Big Tech Sponsors Egg Roll
The passing of Pope Francis at 88 marks the end of a transformative era in the Catholic Church. After suffering a stroke and heart failure on Easter Monday, tributes poured in from celebrities and public figures worldwide who recognized his progressive leadership, commitment to equality, and advocacy for the marginalized.
Meanwhile, Washington politics continues its descent into dysfunction. The White House Easter Egg Roll, traditionally focused on children, transformed into a corporate cash grab with tech giants like Amazon, YouTube, and Meta paying up to $200,000 for branded activations. This commercialization of a cherished tradition reveals how even events for children have become opportunities for profit and influence peddling.
The Pentagon faces its own crisis as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was caught sharing sensitive military plans about Yemen operations in yet ANOTHER Signal chat group—this one including his wife who lacks security clearance.
Economic concerns mount simultaneously as stocks tumble following Trump's continued attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Amid all this chaos, a heartwarming story from Michigan reminds us of community power.
Don’t forget to become a member of the Wolfpack it’s free.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad, mad. This is a world gone mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe. I give my commentary on national and world news and politics, and if you're listening to this podcast then you are a part of the resistance. I welcome you. Let's get right to the heart of things, of course.
Speaker 1:The big news today Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff in nearly 1,300 years, died on Easter Monday. He was 88 years old. The Vatican's announcement comes after Pope Francis spent his final days in service of the church, participating in the celebration of Easter and making a high-profile appearance in public. The cause of death was a stroke and heart failure. Now, francis's death prompts a period of mourning, after which all cardinals under the age of 80 will convene to pick the next leader of the Catholic Church. It typically takes between two and three weeks for a new Pope to be chosen. They will enter into the conclave and those of you who saw the movie of the same name will understand the process.
Speaker 1:Several actors, tv hosts and celebrities have paid tribute, among others, to Pope Francis by sharing photos and messages in remembrance of the late pontiff. Actor Jonathan Price, who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Pope Francis in the 2019 film. The Two Popes said in a statement sent to CNN that he was saddened to hear of the Pope's death and that it was an absolute privilege to portray him. Price added that Pope Francis was a man of integrity who embraced diversity and equality, spoke for the poor, the disenfranchised, refugees and immigrants, and called on world leaders to listen to his teachings. The View host, whoopi Goldberg, shared a photo of her meeting Pope Francis on her Instagram page, writing in the caption that he was the closest in a long time. That seemed to remember that Christ's love enveloped believer and non-believer. Goldberg added that he reminded her of Pope John XXIII, who made belief real. Actor Antonio Banderas remembered Pope Francis on his Instagram page as a man who, at the head of the Catholic Church, showed kindness, love and mercy to the neediest people, and shared a photo of himself shaking hands with the pontiff. Late night host, jimmy Fallon wrote on his Instagram page that it was an honor to meet Pope Francis last summer, adding that he's glad to have made the Pope laugh and thanked him for his encouraging words. Journalist and author Maria Shriver said she was deeply heartbroken to learn of the passing of Francis, writing on her Instagram page about how much she admired his voice in our world. Shriver also recalled traveling to Rome to cover Pope Francis in his earliest days as the pontiff, calling it one of the highlights of my journalism career, and wrote she was proud to be a Catholic while he was the Pope. I hope whoever comes next will continue Pope Francis' steady, strong and compassionate leadership, she added, and actor Russell Crowe, among many others, shared a photo of Rome on his X page, writing that it's a beautiful day in the capital of Italy, but that it's a sad day for the faithful, and a very minor footnote to this sad day worldwide.
Speaker 1:With every major event that happens in our country or the world, it seems that Donald, the delusional, insecure dictator, has to always take credit for something. In this case, he announced he issued an executive order to lower the flags at half-mast due to the death of Pope Francis. So glad you did that, donny boy. Otherwise no one would have thought of doing it out of courtesy or respect for someone like the Pope. Donald is so insecure and in need of constant attention, isn't he? I offer these three words to Donald Trump just shut up. Not everything is about you, donald. I know you think it is, but the reality of it is, it isn't.
Speaker 1:Trump and Melania host a White House Easter egg roll where big tech has become the primary sponsor. Become the primary sponsor. Several companies such as Amazon, youtube, meta, sponsored a myriad of event stations. Isn't that just special? If you haven't caught the video of this event, don't bother. It's a bunch of pompous, rich people parading around on the lawn for the Easter Egg roll. What am I missing here? Wait, listeners, isn't this supposed to be about children? About the kids enjoying the Easter egg roll? This is a departure from the previous sponsorship by the American Egg Board. The event has previously been sponsored by the board, in part to avoid having corporate sponsors on the White House grounds. Sponsors who paid $200,000 for the Easter egg roll received a custom 30 foot by 30 foot branded activation, as well as four tickets to the Weir Brunch with Melania Trump. Wow, that must have been exciting and a choice of a meet and greet or a tour of the White House. Cbs News noted Now sponsorship packages were also made available for $125,000 and $75,000. Corporate sponsorships for the Easter egg roll. How disgusting. This event has been bastardized by Donnie into another. How much money can we make event. Hope the kids enjoyed themselves. This just comes across as children being used for a photo op by Donald, but in this case, the difference between him and previous presidents it's a photo op with tons of money being poured into the pockets of Donald and his supporters.
Speaker 1:This next news story? I kid you not, but guess what? It's Groundhog Day. Again. Pete Hegseth shared detailed military plans. Yeah, jeff, we heard that story already. Are you getting senile? Are you forgetting? You reported that a couple of episodes ago. Let me try that again. Wolfpack listeners. Pete Hegseth shared detailed military plans in a second number two signal chat that included his wife and his brother. Hegseth blamed disgruntled employees and the media for the cause of this. I need to drink, I really do. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed plans about a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen on a second signal group chat On a second signal group chat, this one on his personal phone and including his wife, lawyer and brother.
Speaker 1:Three people familiar with the chat told CNN the chat was set up during Hexeth's tumultuous confirmation hearing process as a way for his closest allies to strategize Now, two of the people familiar with the matter said but Hegseth continued using the chat, which had more than a dozen people in it to communicate after he was confirmed. The people said so. The revelation comes as some of Hegseth's closest advisors have begun sounding the alarm about the secretary's judgment, including his former press secretary, john Uliot, and three former senior officials. Hegseth fired last week His top advisor, dan Caldwell, deputy Chief of Staff Darren Selnick and Colin Carroll, who served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Now it's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon, from leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings. The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president, who deserves better from his senior leadership, olyot said in a statement obtained by CNN. Olyot also wrote a scathing op-ed about Hegseth for Politico on Sunday.
Speaker 1:And the second signal chat is in addition to the one Hegseth used to communicate with cabinet officials last month about military plans. That chat is under investigation by the Defense Department's Acting Inspector General, now similar to the first signal chat, which was revealed publicly by the Atlantic magazine after its editor was mistakenly included, remember, by the national security advisor, mike Waltz. The military plans Hegg said shared in the second chat were about strikes against the Hooties. The people said. Hegg says brother Phil, hey Phil, as well as his lawyer, tim Parlat. Both have jobs in the Department of Defense, but Hegseth's wife, jennifer, does not, despite Hegseth, get this regularly, including his wife during the beginning of his tenure, in meetings with foreign leaders. I love my girlfriend, but I don't include her in every single freaking conversation I have. It is not clear whether everyone in the second signal chat has a security clearance. A spokesperson for the Pentagon, sean Parnell, said in a tweet Sunday night that there was no classified information in any signal chat.
Speaker 1:Following the release of the report, the Pentagon's top official took to X on Sunday evening to rail against Democrats, replying to a tweet from the Democratic National Committee calling for Hegseth's outing. In the first public response since the news broke, hegseth replied via his personal X account your agenda is illegals, trans people and DEI, all of which are no longer allowed at the Defense Department, hegseth said. On Monday morning Hegseth attacked leakers and slammed the media Time and again. As they peddle those lies. No one ever calls them on it. He says this is what the media does. Pete says they take anonymous sources, disgruntled former employees, and they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations, hegseth said at the White House Easter egg roll. He said this while this kid's going on with kids, so he's talking about personal stuff and political stuff when it's supposed to be an Easter egg roll for goddamn children, you idiot. At the same event, president Donald Trump denied that the Pentagon has become dysfunctional with Hegseth at the helm.
Speaker 1:Donald Trump publicly defended Hegseth. As the White House denied reports, it is looking to replace the defense secretary. Look a second time using Signal app. Still, was Hegseth drinking? I'm speculating. Was he drunk? What's the problem here with total incompetence from Hegseth drinking? I'm speculating. Was he drunk? What's the problem here with total incompetence from Hegseth? I think Trump is going to replace him. That's my take. And if he doesn't wow, stocks tumble and dollar hits three-year low.
Speaker 1:As Trump bashes Powell again, us stocks ended the day sharply lower Monday and the dollar tumbled as investors assessed continued tariff uncertainty and the implications of President Donald Trump's ongoing mission to try and oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Wall Street has been on edge since Trump on Thursday lashed out at Powell and said on social media that his termination cannot come fast enough. So I asked the question why haven't you fired him yet, donald? Why haven't you fired him yet, donald? What's the holdup? Is it that he has no power? Donald has no power to fire Powell or is this all talk and bravado and no backup? Or is it what we really believe? All of the listeners and myself think that he's just a little boy throwing a temper tantrum and finally stepping away from the negative stories. I'll share this uplifting story with you. This is thanks to the Good News Network for the following story A beloved Michigan bookstore recently received a helping hand from the community when a human chain formed to pass its entire inventory from the store's old location to the new one.
Speaker 1:One wonders how many times a neighbor asked another whether they had read this book, or what drivers must have thought passing by the main drag in Chelsea where the store is located. Serendipity Books and its owner, michelle Tuplin, had a problem. It was moving day and 9,100 books oh, someone has a little bit more than we do needed to be packed up and sorted in the new location. She faced the prospect of closing down for several days at least. Never a good thing on the tight margins of a bookstore. So, taking to social media, putting out a call to the volunteers among her many followers and customers, tuplin received an overwhelming response, as 300 people showed up to lend a hand. That's when Tuplin came up with a novel idea, to coin a phrase a human chain, or rather two. It was just a joyful experience, donna Zack, one of the volunteers, told NBC News we were passing the books across the chain. And Zach, one of the volunteers, told NBC News we were passing the books across the chain and noticing and commenting to each other oh have you read this one? Oh, I really enjoyed this one. Fortunately for everyone involved, the new space was just 350 feet from the old bookstore and in just two hours, the entire collection of 9,100 books had been moved and stocked in alphabetical order.
Speaker 1:No less Grateful doesn't even begin to express how we are feeling. Serendipity Books posted on Instagram. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We love you, chelsea. People really consider independent bookstores theirs. Tuplin said Tuesday. It's really a part of the community and they have ownership. Tuplin said Tuesday and her book brigade deserved press coverage. We agree, but add that it may deserve more. Someone should write a book about it. And this is the literal translation of a bookworm for this case of snake of people making the move possible. One hell of an effort by everyone.
Speaker 1:Well done, if you have a comment on this or any episodes before, or any stories in this episode, say hello, love to hear from you. Take a minute out of your day, send me a text, an email, a voice message. I'm not asking for a lot. I do like hearing from you, the listeners. Thank you in advance. You have the email. You have the phone number. You can reach me on Blue Sky. If you're not sure how, email me, I'll get you the information. I'll be back again Wednesday. This is A World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolf. Without your comments, without your feedback, without your engagement, I'm sitting in a room talking to myself. Hint hint. Stay hopeful. There is chaos in the world, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. Our democracy.
