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 Backs Down After Warning, Zelensky Slammed AGAIN!, Sarah Palin Loses, Trading Cards In Japan Of Who?
Democracy gets battered again as political extremism and authoritarianism continue their march across America.
Today's episode examines Trump's bizarre economic U-turn after being warned.
The conversation takes a darker turn when examining Trump's shocking demands for Ukraine to surrender to Russian interests.
We also explore Trump's childish fixation with installing 100-foot flagpoles at the White House.
Sarah Palin's failed second attempt to sue The New York Times for defamation.
Plus an uplifting story from Japan where trading cards are created for children, and you will never guess who is featured?
Join our community of concerned citizens as we navigate these turbulent times together.
Share your perspective by sending me a message through the contact information in the show notes, and let's continue building the resistance against authoritarianism and extremism that threatens our democracy.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad, mad. Hello, I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe and I give my commentary on national and world news and politics. This is definitely a world gone mad, 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.
Speaker 1:Trump was warned of empty shelves and financial turmoil from tariffs and also about firing Jerome Powell. His U-turn pushed stocks higher. President Donald Trump's unprecedented tariffs, particularly on China, and recent attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell caused alarm among some of his top advisors and America's biggest CEOs, who warned of financial chaos and store shelves that could go bare. People familiar with the conversation said Now the warnings and the market's own volatility this week seem to have broken through. Trump backed down Tuesday from his threats to try to remove Powell from the job, telling reporters in the Oval Office I have no intention of firing him. That prompted sighs of relief on Wall Street a day after markets bloomed on comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Besant that Trump would seek to de-escalate the trade war with China. Us markets gained again on Wednesday. Top administration officials were also relieved by Trump's Oval Office statement on Powell. The people familiar with the matter said Now the officials had become unnerved by the heated rhetoric and wary of a prolonged legal battle should Trump attempt to unseat the Fed chair.
Speaker 1:You know business as usual from Donald Trump. The false narrative, I believe from Donald's supporters, that he understands everything in life is incredible to me. He only understands money and power, and that belief is also questionable. Power and that belief is also questionable. Trump is a totally incompetent businessman and a very poor choice of being leader of the free world. Trump slams Zelensky for refusing to recognize Russian control of Crimea. Now President Donald Trump slammed Ukraine's President Zelensky on Wednesday for his comments that Ukraine wouldn't recognize Russian control of Crimea, calling the remarks very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia. It's inflammatory statements like Zelensky's that makes it so difficult to settle this war. He has nothing to boast about. Trump said the situation for Ukraine is dire. He can have peace or he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country. Donald posted on Truth Social.
Speaker 1:His comments came a few hours after a meeting in London aimed at bringing about an end to Russia's war in Ukraine had been downgraded after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he wouldn't attend Now. Rubio had been expected to take part in the discussions with Ukrainian, uk and European officials, but State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Tuesday that he would no longer attend due to logistical issues, though a US official and two European diplomats familiar with the matter said the top US diplomat didn't go because the administration did not feel that they were at a decisive point in the ongoing talks and Rubio didn't feel attending would be the best use of his time Now. It was better to let talks play out than create the illusion that a breakthrough was imminent, said one of the European diplomats. Emotions have run high today. Zelensky said on X Wednesday after the talks. In what seemed to be an indirect response to Trump's criticism of Zelensky being unwilling to recognize Russian control of Crimea, zelensky vowed Kiev would abide by its constitution. Now, ukraine will always act in accordance with its constitution and we are absolutely sure that our partners, and particularly the USA, will act in line with its strong decisions. Zelensky shared a screenshot of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 2018 Crimea declaration, which rejected Russia's occupation of the peninsula. Now, britain's foreign office had confirmed earlier on Wednesday that the meeting would take place at a lower level. Official level talks will continue, but these are closed to the media, the department said in a message to journalists.
Speaker 1:The developments throw new uncertainty over the diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war. The United States has become increasingly steadfast in its push to force Kiev to an agreement, but Ukraine is adamant that it will not give up Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, or parts of eastern Ukraine that were captured following Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. Now the other demands from Donald Trump to Ukraine was that Ukraine would never join NATO. They would have to relinquish control to power plants in Ukraine to Russia, and there were comments that they wanted Zelensky to step down, saying his government and him were the cause of war. Those were the terms from Trump to end the war with Russia. Now my advice not that I'm anyone anywhere to give advice to President Zelensky, but my advice and his response to Donald Trump should be very simple Mr President, go to hell.
Speaker 1:Trump plans to install and pay for two 100-foot flagpoles at the White House. President Donald Trump said today that he plans to pay for and install a pair of new flagpoles on both sides of the White House. We're putting up a beautiful, almost 100-foot tall American flag on this side and another one on the other side. Two flags top of the line, trump told reporters moments after surveying the north grounds of the White House with a small contingent of staff, including Dale Haney, the longtime superintendent of the White House grounds. The president said they would be paid for by Trump and will arrive in about a week or so.
Speaker 1:Now remember Trump is no stranger to large-scale flagpole installations. Back in 2006, he had violated Palm Beach town ordinances when he put an 80-foot flagpole on the grounds of his Mar-a-Lago club, according to the Palm Beach Post. Now, per the Post, trump sued the town for $10 million over repeated demands that he withdrew the pole. He later increased the damage demand to $25 million. The town began fining Trump $1,250 a day on January 6, 2007 for those code violations. Trump and the town ultimately settled and he installed a 70-foot flagpole instead further inland and agreed to make donations to charity groups related to veterans or the US flag. All right. First thing I want to point out Trump will pay for the flagpoles. Enough said on that. One Second thing do you catch how Trump is trying to revisit old wounds? He couldn't do an 80-foot flagpole at Mar-a-Lago, right, so he wants to do a 100-foot flagpole at the White House. I've said it before, I'll repeat it again this man is a child throwing multiple temper tantrums, and he's our president. There are no words.
Speaker 1:Sarah Palin loses her defamation retrial against the New York Times Now. A jury on Tuesday shot down Sarah Palin's second bid against the New York Times, almost eight years after the former Alaska governor first filed her complaint. The verdict came less than a week after the trial began. Two years after she lost her first case against the paper. A retrial was triggered in August after a federal appeals court found that Judge Jed Rakoff, who also presided over this month's proceedings, had improperly dismissed the case. We want to thank the jurors for their careful deliberations. The decision reaffirms an important tenet of American law Publishers are not liable for honest mistakes, a Times spokesperson said in a statement. Representatives for Palin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the former governor took to X shortly after the ruling to lament her loss in court. But please keep fighting for integrity in the media, she wrote. I'll keep asking the press to quit making things up. The retrial's outcome comes as a little surprise to everyone, however, given both Rakoff and a federal jury ruled against Palin the first time around Now.
Speaker 1:Still, the media landscape has changed over the past few years as trust in media has declined, setting up a situation that was potentially less favorable to the Times. Now, palin first filed her lawsuit against the Times and former editor James Bennett in June 2017 after the paper ran an editorial alleging Palin had engaged in political incitement ahead of the 2011 shooting of Gabby Giffords. According to Palin's lawsuit, the editorial incorrectly claimed an advertisement run by the former governor's political action committee placed Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs. Now the Times released a correction less than 24 hours later, clarifying that no such link was established but noting that the error did not undercut or weaken the argument of their piece. Now the Times Tuesday's victory comes as news publishers have increasingly been the target of legal attacks.
Speaker 1:Other than the Trump administration's legal moves against publishers, some conservatives have, in recent years, taken aim at Times v Sullivan, the landmark 1964 ruling that has, for decades, protected media outlets from defamation lawsuits from public figures. Now, conservatives initially hailed Palin's renewed effort for being an entry point into dismantling the ruling. Palin's renewed effort for being an entry point into dismantling the ruling, though, those hopes were quickly quashed by the second circuit court, which found palin had waived her rights to challenge the actual malice standard after she waited too long to make that argument. Now, in fending off impalance, renewed legal assault. During a time when the government and the president have shown themselves to be unfavorable toward the press, the Times exemplified the merits of standing by its work and corrections. At a time when reporters are being labeled enemies of the people.
Speaker 1:Sarah Palin, the loon ball in politics before Marjorie Taylor loon ball. How do we get these crazies involved in American politics? If you have any comments on today's episode, any feedback at all, want to say hello. Would love to hear from some of you. Take a minute out of your day to send me a text, an email or 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 about my contact information, look in the transcripts below, listen to a previous episode and finally, thanks to the Good News Network, here's an inspiring story I wanted to share with you.
Speaker 1:Trading Cards starring middle-aged men go viral in Japanese town, boosting volunteerism and respect for elders, in a story that will make you awe and ah, like the best Pixar film. Ah and ah, like the best Pixar film. A Japanese community center released a line of collectible trading cards featuring the town's male elders. You remember trading cards, everyone right Football, basketball, baseball, star Wars, pokemon cards, etc. I still collect sports cards every now and then. I still collect sports cards every now and then.
Speaker 1:While Japan seeking a way for the younger generation to connect with the amazing community members, middle-aged and older, the center's secretary general leveraged the youth's enduring love of Pokemon trading cards to create these masterpieces of civic engagement. The town of Kawara in Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of about 10,000. Limestone Mountains, relatively famous from their appearance in a well-known novel, are all the northern Kyushu town can boast of that tourists might want to visit. But a strange phenomenon has gripped the town's youth. Originating from the Sadosho Community Center, they're rapidly taking up a new trading card game, but the cards don't depict fantasy creatures or anime heroes or even famous baseball players. Instead, the characters portrayed on the distinctly Pokemon-like cards are the town's ojisan, middle-aged or older community members.
Speaker 1:Ms Eri Miyahara, the Secretary General's Sadoshou Center, originally created them just as a collectible card game. Now we wanted to strengthen the connection between the children and the older generations in the community. There are so many amazing people here. I thought it was such a shame that no one knew about them, she said in an interview with Fuji News Network. According to Tokyo Weekender, now, since the card game went viral, so many kids are starting to look up to these men as heroic figures.
Speaker 1:The cards cost less than a dollar per card, while $3 gets you a set of six that includes one shiny card. The 47 characters in the deck include Sobomaster, mr Takashita, an 81-year-old maker of soba noodles, and Mr Fuji, a 67-year-old former prison guard turned community volunteer, whose card is so sought after. The kids will approach him when they see him asking for an autograph on the card. I was honestly shocked when they asked me to sign it. Mr Fuji said, laughing, I never imagined I'd become a trading card, let alone have fans. It was the kids, though, who took the idea, turned it into a card game where the town's ojisan were given special abilities. A retired fire brigade chief who has a card can strike opponents for 200 fire damage, while a local electrician can do the same using electricity. Just like a regular trading card game. His card explains how he can fix any electronic appliance in the country.
Speaker 1:The cards are made by hand, virtually always sold out and, best of all, ms Miriahara's idea has caused youth participation at the center to double, and the elders of the town are meeting more of their younger neighbors than ever before. Japan has one of the oldest, fasting aging populations and lowest birth rates of any country in the world, and these sorts of efforts to connect those of silver hair with younger citizens will be more important here than virtually anywhere else. All right, how very cool, and after reading this, I want to get some of those cards. What a novel approach to bridge the generation gap between young and old. Okay, wolfpack listeners, what are your thoughts about this? This is really cool. Text me or email me, let me know your thoughts. I'll be back again Friday. This is A World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Alan Wolf. Without your comments, your feedback and your engagement, I'm 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.
