Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a world gone
mad.
This is a world gone mad, mad,mad, mad, mad.
Welcome back to A World GoneMad, the podcast, where today's
headlines feel less like newsand more like dispatches from a
civilization quietly unraveling.
(00:20):
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe, yourvoice in the wilderness,
charting a course through thewreckage of broken institutions,
hollow promises and the slowcorrosion of a democracy that
once pretended to be unshakable.
This is WTF.
Wednesday, the midweek free fall, where the headlines come at
(00:41):
you like hail the size ofbowling balls, the warning
sirens are screaming and theclowns in charge are outside
holding golf clubs.
This isn't politics anymore.
It's a demolition derby in athunderstorm, with democracy
strapped to the hood of a car asthe hood ornament, and we're
(01:01):
supposed to clap, wave our flagsand pretend the airbags still
work.
If this is your first time here, welcome.
You're either running oncaffeine and anxiety or just
sick enough of the bullshit totune in.
Either way, you've found yourhaven.
I'm not here to coddle you,distract you or soothe your
(01:25):
nerves with bipartisan babypowder.
I'm here to grab this countryby the lapels, shake it until
the lies fall out and scream inits face.
The American dream isn't dyingquietly.
It's being strangled in public.
It's being strangled in public.
Welcome to WTF Wednesday.
Because every headline has youasking what the fuck are they
(01:53):
trying to get away with?
Now Delusional Donald is backin the spotlight again with his
latest brain-dead master planno-transcript Strap in.
This one's a freaking firealarm.
The stable genius is back, mrIndictment himself, and he's not
(02:14):
even pretending anymore.
He's standing on the worldstage screaming hey everybody,
I'm going to rig the election.
Watch me do it.
This isn't happening in somesmoke-filled backroom.
This isn't Nixon whispering ona tape.
This is Trump announcing itlike he's hawking steaks on QVC.
(02:40):
On Monday, trump declared he'lllead a movement to ban mail-in
ballots and voting machines.
Executive order, he says Thinkabout that.
Mail-in ballots and votingmachines.
Executive order.
He says Think about that.
An executive order to erase theway tens of millions of
Americans vote.
Now, constitutionally, he can'tdo that.
(03:00):
Elections are run by the states, not by the orange fraud in
chief.
That's not the point.
The point is the threat, theintimidation, the clear signal
that he's ready to bulldoze anysafeguard of democracy that
doesn't have his name stampedacross it.
Mail-in ballots are not someexotic scheme.
(03:24):
They're how soldiers overseasvote.
They're how soldiers overseasvote.
They're how seniors and peoplewith disabilities vote Hell.
Republicans used to lovemail-in ballots Until 2020, when
Trump realized Democrats usedthem more and suddenly they were
fraud Fraud that's beendisproven in court over and over
(03:48):
and over.
But does Trump care?
Of course not.
The lie is the tool.
And then there's the machines.
Donald is still stuck in hisDominion fever dream, swearing
that voting machines are thedevil's plaything, that they can
flip votes at the push of abutton.
There's no evidence, none, infact.
(04:12):
Trump's allies have beencrushed in court for spewing
that garbage.
Remember Pillow Guy.
He's lost massive defamationlawsuits over false election
claims and he's been absolutelygutted.
And yet here Donald is stillswinging that dead horse like
it's Excalibur, because it works, because his base eats it up.
(04:37):
And here's the kicker.
Trump's not saying maybe.
He's not saying let's studythis.
He's saying I will ban it Outloud in public In 2025 America,
the president can openlyannounce that he's going to
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strip millions of people oftheir legal rights to vote and
half the country shrugs what thefuck are they even doing?
What the fuck are they evendoing?
Donald's trying to rig the gamein broad daylight with a
megaphone, daring anyone to stophim.
This is authoritarianism with alaugh track, a banana republic
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dressed in red, white and blue,and if you think it ends with
mail-in ballots and machines,you're not paying attention.
This is the trial balloon.
If he gets away with this,what's next?
Sorry, the wrong people arevoting, so we'll just cancel
that too.
Trump isn't hiding it.
(05:41):
He's pointing at the vault,waving the crowbar and saying
I'm robbing this place.
And the terrifying part is thepeople sworn to stop him are
still debating whether it'd berude to call it a crime.
And like the con artist thatTrump is, who thinks the
Constitution is just fine printon a timeshare contract that
(06:03):
could be changed at will with ablack sharpie, trump decides.
Monday is the perfect day toannounce he'll lead a movement
to ban mail-in ballots andvoting machines.
Think about that.
An executive order to erase theway tens of millions of
Americans vote and to repeatthis Constitutionally.
(06:26):
He can't do it.
Elect elections are run by thestates, not by the president.
Every legal expert knows this.
And yet where are therepublicans?
Oh, that's right, they'rehiding under their desks,
practicing their new campaignslogan see no evil, hear no evil
, vote for evil.
Their silence isn't justsilence, it's a standing ovation
(06:52):
.
Okay, I mentioned this in aprevious episode about Trump
going after the Smithsonianclipboard patrols.
Some MAGA stooge marchingthrough exhibits with a sharpie,
deciding what gets to stay andwhat gets erased.
But now Trump's ramping it upeven higher.
On Tuesday, delusional Donaldranted that the Smithsonian is
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out of control.
Out of control, it's a museum.
The wildest thing happeningthere is a middle schooler
pressing the elevator button.
Too many times Trump's bigcomplaint has always been the
art, the science, the exhibitsthat dare to point out America's
flaws.
But now Trump's expanding theattack this time.
(07:41):
Donald's problem is that theSmithsonian dares to show
America's ugliest truth slavery,the whips, the chains, the
family sold off like cattle and,yes, the bodies hanging from
trees while white familiessmiled for postcards.
(08:02):
And because reality has a wayof cutting deeper than any whip,
maga snowflakes melt fasterthan an ice sculpture at a July
barbecue.
Heritage, not hate.
Heritage, minus the ropes, theblood and the bodies they'd
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rather pretend were never in thetrees.
And this just isn't another rant.
The White House actuallyordered the Smithsonian to
undergo an internal review,which means some political hack
with a checklist gets to marchthrough the National Museum of
(08:44):
African American History andCulture like a mall cop on a
power trip.
Too many nooses, too manyscarred and broken backs, too
many dead black men hanging fromropes dead black men hanging
from ropes.
Erase it, erase it, erase itand replace it with fireworks
(09:12):
flags and a MAGA gift shop.
That's not a museum.
That's North Korea with betterpopcorn.
Seriously, are they going toreplace the exhibit about
lynching black people with abuild a bear workshop where
every bear comes in a little redhat that reads build a bear
better slavery not included.
This isn't about balance, thisis about bigotry.
(09:35):
It's about telling blackAmericans your ancestors' pain
makes us uncomfortable, so we'reerasing it.
It's about turning a nationalmuseum into a padded safe room
for fragile white egos.
Imagine a ride called theFreedom Coaster, where the cars
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only go backward, the tracks aremade of denial and every
souvenir photo is photoshoppedto cut out the black people.
And where are the Republicans onthis one, same as always silent
.
Not one of them defending theSmithsonian's independence, not
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one of them standing up for thetruth about slavery, lynching or
systematic terror.
Their silence isn't neutrality,it's permission, it's
complicity.
It's the quiet part of bigotryspoken loudly.
They're not lawmakers anymore.
(10:39):
They're history's janitors,sweeping up the facts and
dumping them in the trash behindMar-a-Lago Bottom line.
The Smithsonian exists to makesure we don't forget.
Trump and his enablers want tomake sure we never even learn.
(11:01):
And if you could look at ablack body hanging from a tree
and say, hide that please,you're not protecting America,
you're embalming a lie andcalling it patriotism.
That's not history.
That's not history.
That's propaganda on stilts,wobbling around until it
(11:23):
collapses under the weight ofits own bullshit.
And while Trump's busy trying towhite out slavery from the
history books, his justicedepartment's over here playing
creative writing class withcrime stats.
Because when reality doesn'tfit the narrative, these guys
(11:44):
just borrow a Sharpie fromTrump's desk and make shit up.
The DOJ is now investigatingwhether DC police literally
cooked the books, downgradingviolent assaults, massaging
robberies, fudging the numberslike a kid changing an F to a B
before mom gets home.
(12:04):
And why?
Because the reality doesn'tmatch the show.
Violent crime in DC is at a30-year low.
But you can't justify turningthe Capitol into a stage set for
American carnage if the statsdon't look scary.
So presto, suddenly the numbersscream crisis.
(12:26):
It's political photoshop crimestats with a hellscape filter.
And what a coincidence.
These freshly baked numbersjust happen to make Trump's
little stunt look justified.
You know the stunt I'm talkingabout Federalizing the city's
police, rolling in the NationalGuard like we're one step from
(12:49):
Snake Plissken's Escape from DCsequel.
The facts didn't back up thecrackdown, so they didn't scrap
the crackdown, they scrapped thefacts.
So they didn't scrap thecrackdown, they scrapped the
facts.
You know it's like calling thefire department to report smoke
in your kitchen and instead ofchecking the stove, they come in
(13:09):
with a flamethrower and yelledsee, told you it was burning.
What the fuck are we evenwatching?
This isn't law and order.
This is law and order fanfiction written by people who
couldn't pass a middle schoolmath test.
And the GOP once again, notshocked, not outraged.
(13:33):
They're clapping along liketrained seals, happy, happy,
just to be part of the act.
Their silence isn't neutrality,it's cheerleading.
They're not defending democracy, they're auditioning for a
speaking role in Trump's nextlie.
(13:54):
So after Trump's DOJ finishedforging crime stats like
carnival barkers rigging thering toss, the universe decided
to raise the stakes by nearlydrop-kicking Earth with an
asteroid While Washington wascooking the books.
(14:17):
A space rock the size of askyscraper slipped by a Monday
night like hey, just checking in.
Don't mind me.
Nasa says it passed closer thanthe moon Translation.
Listeners, if the math nerds inHouston had sneezed
mid-calculation, I'd be doingthis episode from a smoking
crater.
Nobody noticed until it wasbasically waving from the
(14:40):
driveway.
You'd think planet killingspace boulder would be higher on
the list than, say, the endlessGOP border crisis theater.
But note this country's runninglike a college group project,
where the guy with the telescopeoverslept.
What the hell, listeners?
(15:01):
While I'm here tearing apartSharpies, ballots and museums,
the universe itself is literallychucking death rocks at us.
Maybe, just maybe, america'spriorities are a little out of
orbit, literally.
(15:21):
If you give a damn about whatI'm saying, if you care where
this country's heading, thendon't sit in silence.
Send me your feedback, send meyour thoughts.
Let me know you're out there.
Don't be the silent majorityparked on the sidelines.
I've been pouring my heart andenergy into this for over a year
and a half Now.
(15:42):
I'd like to hear from you.
I've heard from some newlisteners, and I love it, but
most of my original Wolfpack,the ones who've been here since
day one.
You've been quiet and I'dreally like to change that.
So here's my direct line Calland leave a message 833-399-9653
.
Some of you have done that,thank you, or email me
(16:05):
madworldtalk at gmailcom.
M-a-d-w-o-r-l-d-t-a-l-k atgmail.
That email box has been silent.
Tell me what you think, tell mewhat you feel.
Agree, disagree, Argue with me,fine, just don't stay silent,
because without you, I'm sittingin a room talking to myself,
(16:29):
and that's a lousy way to endour fight.
And please leave a review onApple or Spotify.
It's the only way this podcastgets noticed.
Instead of buried, I show upevery damn day to call this
country out for what it is.
I don't dress it up, I don'twater it down, I don't run it
through a filter.
(16:49):
This has been a World Gone Mad.
Wednesday's WTF edition.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolf.
I'll be back again Fridaybecause someone has to say the
shit that no one else will, andapparently that job's mine.
Until then, wolfpack listeners,stay skeptical, stay focused
(17:13):
and, most of all, stay hopeful.
We need to stand up andpreserve our democracy.
This is a world gone mad.
(17:39):
This is a world gone mad.