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
Surprise Attack From Ukraine, Trump Begs Supreme Court Again, Home Health Tests Good?
Jeff Alan Wolf returns with an update on Ukraine's surprise attack on Russia.
• President Trump's administration is asking the Supreme Court to proceed with federal workforce downsizing plans
• New at-home health tests provide accessibility but doctors warn they cannot replace in-person visits
• KB Homes has developed a wildfire-resilient community in California featuring non-combustible materials and design
Call my toll-free number 24/7 at 833-399-9653 or email me with your thoughts.
Until Wednesday, stay hopeful and let's stand up to preserve our democracy.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad, mad. It's another day in a world gone mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe. I'm back again to give my commentary on the news. Thank you for joining me. Here we go. So, yes, ukraine and Russia back in the news again. But this is important because this is encouraging.
Speaker 1:A surprise drone attack on airfields across Russia encapsulates Ukraine's wartime strategy. The covert operations was described as one for the history books by Ukraine's president Zelensky. In the span of a few hours on Sunday, nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones snuck into Russian territory. According to Ukrainian officials Now, the undertaking by Ukraine's security service, codenamed Spiderweb, involved more than 18 months of painstaking planning and great risk. It was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Zelensky. It came to fruition at a time in the Three-Year-Old War when peace talks have failed to deliver the unconditional ceasefire long sought by Kiev, and as Moscow continues to launch record-breaking numbers of drones and missile barrages.
Speaker 1:The attack on Sunday encapsulates Ukraine's wartime strategy by outnumbered. They are outgunned and dependent on Western partners. Ukrainian military planners have sought innovative and cost-effective means to exact Russian losses, often leaning on the element of surprise. Now, zelensky said a hundred and seventeen drones were used in the operation, in which four military airfields were attacked, resulting in the severe damage or destruction of 34% of Russia's fleet of air missile carriers. Now, the complex operation was directed from an office that was next door to an office of the Russian Security Service, the FSB, zelensky stated, without elaborating on where in Russia it was Now executing. It involved smuggling in first-person view, or FPV, drones to Russia, where they were placed in wooden containers, which were eventually taken by truck close to the airfields. From there, the drones flew to strike Russia's strategic bombers. Social media footage shared by Russian media on the day of the attack showed drones rising from inside the wooden containers. By the end, over 40 Russian warplanes were severely damaged or destroyed, with costs estimated to be around $7 billion.
Speaker 1:According to Ukraine's security service, among the most striking targets was Balea Air Base in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, over 4,000 kilometers 2,500 miles away from Ukraine kilometers 2,500 miles away from Ukraine. Russia's defense ministry, in a statement, confirmed the attacks, saying they damaged aircraft and sparked fires on air bases in the Irkutsk region, as well as the Murmansk region in the north. It said strikes were also repelled in the Amur region in Russia's far east and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan. The ministry said there was no way to independently verify the claims from either side. Now, strategic aircraft including the A-50, the Tu-95, and the Tu-22M were destroyed in the attack. According to the SBU, Moscow has previously used Tu-95s and Tu-22M long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine with. A-50s are used to coordinate targets and detect air defenses and guided missiles.
Speaker 1:Ukraine has long hoped to degrade Russia's ability to deploy bombers that launch deadly missile barrages against Ukrainian cities against which Kiev has limited means to respond. The loss of the planes could reduce Russia's ability to deliver devastating missile barrages against Ukraine. The attack comes right as Moscow has unleashed a record-breaking number of drones and missiles against Ukraine to degrade domestic weapons production capabilities, shatter morale and consume Kiev's limited quantities of air defense missiles. Often these attacks have also struck civilians. Now the attack also gives Ukraine a morale boost at a time when peace talks have sputtered and could undermine Russian confidence that it could win the war with ease. It was launched a day before a round of direct peace talks took place in Istanbul on Monday. It also occurred on the same day as Russia launched a record number of 472 drones against Ukraine in yet another barrage. The enemy thought it could bomb Ukraine and kill Ukrainians with impunity and without end, but that is not the case. We will respond to Russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere at sea, in the air and on land, said the head of the SBU, vassal Malyuk, on Monday, and if necessary, we'll get them from underground too. He added, despite suffering setbacks and shortcomings on the battlefield throughout the war, kiev has sought to focus on Russia's rear to cripple and neutralize combat capabilities. Now, sunday's operation is perhaps the most brazen in a series mounted by Ukraine.
Speaker 1:In April 2022, Ukraine sank the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, after striking it with two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. The sinking marked a major Ukrainian victory in the war. And in October 2022, ukrainian attack damaged the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to Moscow and next Crimea. The bridge, which holds important strategic and symbolic value, was hit again in July 2023. Now, a year later, in August 2024, ukrainian forces launched a daring military incursion into Russia's Kursk region, the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II. It dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin. Russia claimed in April 2025 that it had fully reclaimed the border territory, though Ukraine insists it still has troops present there.
Speaker 1:Good, go after Russia deep inside their country. Damage their equipment and their aircraft. I am not repeat, not in favor of killing civilians, but destroy Russia deep inside. Go, ukraine, don't stop. Take out more airplanes.
Speaker 1:Trump asks the Supreme Court to clear the way for federal downsizing plans. President Donald Trump's administration on Monday renewed its request for the Supreme Court to clear the way for plans to downsize the federal workforce while a lawsuit filed by labor unions and cities proceeds. The high court filing came after an appeals court refused to freeze a California-based judge's order halting the cuts which had been led by the Department of Government Efficiency. Now, by a two-to-one vote, a panel of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on the nation's food safety system and health care for veterans. In her ruling last month, us District Judge Susan Ilsten found that Trump's administration needs congressional approval to make sizable reductions to the federal workforce. The administration initially asked the justices to step in last month, but withdrew its appeal for technical legal reasons. The latest filing is one in a series of emergency appeals arguing federal judges had overstepped their authority.
Speaker 1:Ilston's order rests on the indefensible premise that the president needs explicit statutory authorization from Congress to exercise his core Article II authority to superintend the internal personal decisions of the executive branch. Bullshit from Solicitor General G Don Sawyer wrote in the new appeal. Donald just doesn't get it. Neither do his supporters and lawyers. You can't call the Supreme Court for every little thing you want support on. Trump believes because he puts some of the members on the Supreme Court, the conservative members that they'll vote his way every single time that their decisions will allow him to move forward to further destroy our country. Here's hoping the Supreme Court, the conservative side of the Supreme Court, stand firm and base their decisions on the side of law, not on the fear how this dictator president could retaliate against them.
Speaker 1:At-home health tests are here, but they aren't always the best option. You can now do self-administered tests for everything from thyroid function, hiv and the privacy of your own home, and that list continues to grow, as the Food and Drug Administration's recently approved the first at-home cervical cancer test. That's right. While the test can make it easier for people to access health care and can be helpful for those who have extreme anxiety about sensitive or invasive medical exams, experts warn that most of the tests cannot replace an actual in-person visit. Now here's what doctors say you can test for at home and when you should make the trek to your physician's office. There are two kinds of at-home tests. Some of you know this, maybe some of you don't. In one type, the patient collects the sample, sends it off to the lab, right. Well, the new cervical cancer test is like this. The other gives an instant result. Think you know COVID-19 pregnancy tests, that type of thing.
Speaker 1:Hiv home testing kits can improve rates of diagnosing sexually transmitted infections in rural communities and help people who are nervous about going to the doctor to seek a sensitive test, said Dr Joseph Cheruby, an infectious disease specialist in St Louis. Now you really want to get people to care as quickly as possible, but some people can be very anxious about the results as well, cherubi said, and they have very negative reactions. Labs are required to report a positive HIV test instead of putting the onus on the patient who took the test, cherubi said. And often the patient is matched up with HIV support services. Now, if you're part of a sexual and gender minority community, going to a doctor's office can be full of a lot of historical trauma and you may prefer to just do testing at home without anyone judging you or asking you invasive questions about your sex life.
Speaker 1:Cherubi said the new cervical cancer test, which tests for strains of human papillomavirus or HPV, involves a testing swab. It's like a tampon, said Dr Susan Mozit, a gynecological oncologist at Emory University in Atlanta. It is not, mozit said, a replacement for a pap smear, the exam in which a metal speculum is inserted into the vagina to scrape cervix cells. It's not that, she said. A doctor's visit also involves a pelvic exam, a chance to talk about abnormal bleeding, a sign of endometrial cancer, and other symptoms and issues like menopause or STIs. There are so many other reasons to see your doctor and get an exam outside of a cervical cancer screening. She said Soon at-home tests can replace a trip to the doctor's office.
Speaker 1:That's especially true in rural areas where it can be difficult to get a colonoscopy. Now, some of us know the colonoscopy requires a pre-op. You have to drive about 70 miles for it, depending on where you live. So, dr Stephen Furr, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, who practices in rural Alabama, you get anesthesia. It's actually almost like a surgical procedure in many ways. So for a lot of people that's pretty arduous. That's where the at-home tests can come in handy. Now, furr said if your tests reveal issues, you need to go to your doctor. Plus, patients should always discuss test results with a physician instead of interpreting them on their own. He said now, if you have symptoms of what you're testing for, go to the doctor at home.
Speaker 1:Colon cancer tests we're familiar with aren't the right option for people with a history of colon cancer or high-risk conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, says Dr Zachariah Foda, a gastroenterologist at Johns Hopkins. Now he adds that they're almost always not recommended for people who are having GI symptoms, while there are tests for many things running anywhere from $15 to $400, depending on what it is being evaluated. Furr said it's essential to make sure that your test is FDA approved so you can better trust the results. Anytime, we get people involved in their own health care and help them understand what's going on. I think that's a good thing and it gives us a chance to talk. He said Any kind of screening is better than no screening.
Speaker 1:Look, at-home tests are valuable and important for a lot of people, like I just explained to you, that can't get to a doctor close by. They live in rural areas. However, you have to weigh the decisions of accuracy. Personal example my girlfriend a while back took a colonoscopy test to save the money going to you know a specialist. And if you listen to the colon guard, the colon guard you know the company that makes the colon test. And it says in the commercial test results could be negative, positive or false positive. That's not very reassuring, is it people? It can be tall, short, thin or fat. Doesn't give you a solid feeling of hey. And the funny thing is it said she tested positive for colon cancer. Well, she went in to see the doctor. He had to perform the colon test screen for colon cancer, had to pay more money on top of the Cologuard and she was negative. So I'm not a fan of at-home tests depending on what you're using them for.
Speaker 1:And finally, with the permission of the Good News Network, an uplifting story for all of you. One of the nation's largest home builders have created a community of entirely wildfire resilient homes to help reduce homebuyers risks of loss if another palisades or Dixie fire comes roaring by, with nothing flammable on the exterior or the roofs and curated desert foliage around the gardens and lawns. The homes aren't necessarily fireproof, but the design of the entire community was informed by identifying and eliminating the most common causes of homes catching fire Available now and with some already off the market. Kb Homes estimates their price at around $1 million, a price consistent with disaster-proof housing around the country. The Eaton and Palisades fires struck with little warning and launched embers across highways and valleys, setting multiple communities ablaze.
Speaker 1:The rising risk of wildfires in the rural areas of Southern California comes with rising insurance premiums, which result in rising rents, higher mortgages, etc. In many cases, private insurers are declining to issue new policies for homes and areas at high risk for wildfires. Now KB Home's Dixon Trail Community in Escondido, california, is designed to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety's IBHS highest level of protection against direct flame contact, radiant heat and embers, which helps to meaningfully reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread. The Dixon Trail community will have 64 beautifully designed homes. Upon completion, it will receive a provisional neighborhood level designation based on its design, confirming that the community has implemented preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of initial ignitions from an approaching wildfire, protect against embers that could spark spot fires and slow fire spread if ignitions occur Now. Research shows that these measures of the community at the community level are key in preventing wildfires from becoming catastrophic.
Speaker 1:As a model of wildfire resiliency, dixon Trail has incorporated research-backed mitigation actions into the designs of its homesites, including the installation of Class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters, upgraded windows and doors and ember and flame resistant vents, as well as this creation of a five-foot non-combustible buffer around structures. At the neighborhood level, wildfire risk is reduced by separating almost all structures by more than 10 feet, decreasing potential fuels through the use of fire resistant materials like all metal fence systems. With fire becoming an increasingly common threat in the West, it's crucial to reconsider how we construct communities in fire prone regions, said IBHS CEO Roy Wright. Kb Home is at the forefront implementing our research driven wildfire mitigation strategies for both the parcel and neighborhood levels of Dixon Trail. Already set within a wind corridor, dixon Trail is actually in a high-risk area for wildfires, particularly for wind-blown embers coming off the wooded slopes all around the community. Now, previously, gnn has reported on on storm and hurricane-proof housing on and along the Gulf Coast, including durable three-story homes with a community-level flood control system and Deltex cylindrical houses mounted on stilts which allow winds to pass around and under the structure without smashing into it. Some very innovative ideas on how to deal with the biggest problem right now from nature wildfires and wind damage. Very encouraging to see and hear someone taking the lead on this for people to live in homes that are more safe and have better protection for their families.
Speaker 1:So, wolfpack, listeners your thoughts on this or anything from this episode. Our toll-free number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 833-399-9653. Our email is in the notes on this podcast, each episode. Look for the transcript. This is the World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolf. I'll be back again Wednesday. I really hope to hear from you. This time. I could use your energy and input, talk with you soon. Until then, stay hopeful and we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad.
