The Listening Tube with Bob Woodley - When life gives you Lemons.

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This is The Listening Tube.

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Hello, and thank you for putting your ear to the listening tube. I'm your host, Bob Woodley. On this episode, we'll hear about stolen land, gay rights, and when life gives you lemons.

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But first, not the headlines.

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Negotiations are set to resume on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. The Putin invasion of Ukraine has strung out for years now, ever since Joe Biden gave permission for a limited incursion. The U.S. is directing the choreography of the talks, and as you may know, President Trump has been trying to get this war to end from the day he was inaugurated. It's been very frustrating for him, I'm sure, but not as devastating to him as it is to the people of Ukraine and the soldiers each country is losing to injury and death. Regardless, a lot of effort is being made by contributors from all over the world to put an end to this unprovoked attack by Putin's forces. It wasn't supposed to last this long. Russia thought Ukraine would roll over. Ukraine thought Russia would back off if they showed resistance and got support from other countries, as they have. Billions of dollars worth of support in the form of weapons, food, migration support for those fleeing the battle zones, support for the overwhelming number of children orphaned by the war. And all of it still needs support. Some of it will need support for long after the war ends. Millions of people eagerly await word that the war has ended and will celebrate when that word finally comes. The world has gone through some significant changes since Russia invaded Ukraine. It's been nearly four years. It began on February 24, 2022. In fact, the Listening Tube podcast, yes, this one, debuted two days earlier. United States President Donald Trump has realigned the world order since then. Artificial intelligence became mainstream. Taylor Swift made a billion dollars. Radical Muslims have emigrated to Western countries far and wide, interrupting centuries-old cultural norms. Claiming to be transsexual became a thing, and the medical industry made a lot of money mutilating children in the name of gender affirmation. With so much going on in the world, the war in Ukraine often ended up on the back burner of hot news stories. Don't get me wrong, there were still stories there to be discovered, but the longer the war dragged on, the less attention it got. Most people just want the war to end, and there are a select few people working toward that end. And whenever it ends, the world will be a very different place than it was when the war began. The people who study such things have learned one very important lesson in the last four years. Wars aren't what they used to be. There are now different ways to wage war, and identifying the combatants has become much more difficult. That's why labeling drug cartels as enemy combatants makes sense. They don't wear uniforms, aren't officially sanctioned by any state or government, but they have a central command structure and kill thousands of Americans every year. Those with power and influence, regardless of how they got it, can now command armies that are well equipped and even well trained. They don't have stripes on their sleeves or stars on their shoulders, but there's a clear chain of command and a mission. The mission is often drug production and distribution, but can also branch out to other forms of profit, or even societal disruption for the sake of it. That's a major concern for Europe when the war in Ukraine comes to an end. A recent story in the Telegraph tells us about what the foreign minister of Estonia is warning the rest of Europe and the UK. Sharing a border with Russia, you could understand why Estonia is a bit weary of anything Russia might do next. But the foreign minister says Putin, upon the end of the Ukraine war, is set to send thousands of ex-soldiers into European Union countries to purposefully wreak havoc on Western society there. The story cites Estonian intelligence as estimating as many as 180,000 convicted criminals were recruited directly from prisons to the battlefield in exchange for their freedom. Many have now returned from battle, and Estonia believes that's why Russia is experiencing a 15-year high in serious crimes in 2025. Many more are still on the battlefield. Much like Venezuela emptied their prisons into the United States during the open border policy of the Biden administration, Estonia expects Russia to either encourage or force their former criminal come soldiers to go commit crimes somewhere else. That somewhere else is probably Europe, specifically the EU free travel zone. We see ex prisoners and rapists, all of these crazy guys on the battlefield, and Putin doesn't want that in Russia. Minister Chakna told the Telegram. They will be weaponized, they will be sent to Europe, and we know exactly how to fight against the Russian military as NATO, but this is more dangerous, and we need to act now while they're still stuck on the battlefield. Russian operatives already have a foothold in many Western European locations, and these ex cons will fit right in when their services are no longer needed on the battlefield. There are sure to be many who will feel no debt to the Russian government, but many will be looking for a way to make a living using the skills they developed in war. It's already believed that Putin is waging a hybrid type of warfare against Europe, and the Estonian Foreign Minister believes it will be accelerated. Higher crime, rape, assault, murder, sabotage, shakedowns, and organized crime are what some are warning will be the result of the absence of war.

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Well, that can't be right.

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Estonia is suggesting to the EU that there be a blanket ban on any former Russian soldier entering the EU, including work visas and residence permits. But we need to do it right now, says Minister Sokna. We're not ready for peace. Europe is not ready for peace. Now I have to wonder why no one has accused Donald Trump's Herculean efforts to end the war in Ukraine as some sort of diabolical scheme to undermine the EU. It's right there in front of us. He's working with Putin. Now all of Europe can see it. Maybe that's why Biden didn't lift a finger to stop it. But if the Estonian Foreign Minister is right and Europe is not ready for peace, then there are probably forces at work to delay any near-term plans. Other than Putin, of course. Who has the most to gain by war in Ukraine? Why has Russia sacrificed so much for so little? Why did North Korean soldiers fight for the Russians? Is Donald Trump barking up the wrong tree? If Europe isn't ready for peace, who's really regulating the timeline?

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Let's go back through the listening tube for this week in history.

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This week in 1825, the Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs and migrate West. Perhaps Billy Eilish should move there, as it's obviously not stolen. I heard Manhattan was bought as well. Maybe she could find a place there. This week in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau. Immediately following the ceremony, everyone got right to work and looked out the window. This week in 1920, under the terms of the Spitzbergen Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Slavbard Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized. Nestled along the edge of the frozen part of the Arctic Ocean, it's actually closer to Greenland than Norway. It's a repository of coal for both Norway and Russia, according to Britannica. It's also the host of the global seed vault, with room to store up to four and a half million seed samples in case of global agricultural catastrophe. That's a pretty valuable thing. And if the United States controls Greenland, it will also control the repository of seeds for the world's plants. This week in 1929, the anniversary of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago, Illinois. I heard Don Lemon was there. More on that later. While having seven homicides in one day might be casual fare in today's Chicago, back in 1929, it was enough to make people gasp. Seven? In one day? More recently, it's been like only seven all weekend? This week in nineteen thirty-three, the New York City-based postal telegraph company introduces the first singing telegram. Your sister Rose is dead. She died last night while she was in her bed. Yeah. People loved them. This week in 1979, Islamic Revolution of Iran establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Rahola Khomeini. It's been nearly 50 years, and the current Ayatollah has shown a willingness to slaughter thousands of his own people in order to maintain power. Thousands more have recently been killed as a result of economic protests all across the country. I'm not sure what President Trump had in mind when he declared that the U.S. had the backs of the protesters there. But it doesn't seem like we've done much to help them. I know talks are developing between Iran and the U.S., which is a surprising development, but the momentum of the economic upheaval in Iran may have passed, and an opportunity for regime change there may be out of reach for now. This week in 1998, voters in Maine repeal a gay rights law passed the previous year. Well, what law was that? I'm going to look that up.

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He's gonna look it up. He's really gonna do it.

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You can't handle the truth.

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In 1997, Maine's governor signed a bill into law that gave homosexual people protections against discrimination when it involved areas like employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations, according to an article from the Time in Deseret News. I don't know what the law meant by public accommodations, but I would imagine that was the sticking point with those who disagreed with the law. That, and many people just didn't believe gay people were being discriminated against enough to make a law about it. Opponents of the law felt it was discriminatory to provide special protections to people based on their sexual activity behind closed doors. By repealing the law, Maine became the first U.S. state to do so.

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The listening tube will return at the speed of sound. Send email to thelistening tube at outlook.com.

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Follow the listening tube podcast at thelisteningtube.com. By now you may have heard that former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested for his participation in an anti-ICE invasion of a church in Minnesota. Lemon was among the intruders of the active worship service. That's against the law. And it's a federal law called the FACE Act. Originally promoted by Democrats to inhibit protests at abortion clinics, the law ended up also including places of worship, possibly much to the surprise of the radicals who stormed the church in St. Paul during a service. Two journalists, Lemon and a woman named Georgia Fort, were part of the stampede. Both were among those arrested. Both knew of plans to storm the church beforehand and even took steps to keep it secret. Journalist or not, if you're part of the planning and execution of a violation of other people's civil rights, you're probably going to find yourself in trouble. It's comparable to a journalist taking part in the St. Valentine's Day massacre, knowing about the plan and then helping to gun down your rivals, then claiming you're only there as a journalist. Luckily for Don Lemon, nobody was killed in the church in Minnesota. A story by the Associated Press quoted Lemon as saying, I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now, he said. In fact, there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable. Is that what you were doing, Don? Holding those in power accountable? Were you in that church to hold Jesus accountable, Don? He's the most powerful guy in there. You never held anyone in the Biden administration accountable for anything. Why start now? Don Lemon is nothing more than a sensationalist. His journalism skills, if he ever had any, were abandoned long ago, replaced by activism and an agenda driven blindness that no optometrist can fix? Was Don Lemon holding anyone in power accountable when he was arrested in Los Angeles while there to cover the Grammys? How many people was Don gonna hold accountable at the Grammys? All Don Lemon cares about is keeping himself in the spotlight. Being where reportable things are happening is a form of journalism, but don't claim to be speaking truth to power at the Grammys. One of the lessons I learned when training to be a journalist was to not become a part of the story. Being a journalist is not about you. It's about what you see and hear and smell. It's about asking questions that probe enough to get past the talking points and revealing the level of expertise or perhaps ignorance of the people involved. But there are limits to where you can go when you're doing that. Just because you're a journalist doesn't mean you can walk into a crime scene with the criminals or without. And that's an important distinction. Most of the time, a journalist will not be at the scene of a crime when the crime happens. It's often a coincidence when it happens, such as when violence breaks out at a protest. But most journalism happens after the fact. We learn of a situation by monitoring police radio frequencies, and if something newsworthy occurs, we get there as fast as we can. But it's not common for a journalist to be involved in the planning stages of a federal crime and take conscious measures to keep it a secret. Then show up to the scene of the crime when the final preparations are being made, and then going into the church with the organized group and confronting the pastor with questions about the church's connection to immigration enforcement. That's not journalism. That's a federal crime. Ask yourself why ABC News wasn't there when it happened. Ask yourself why CNN didn't have a reporter in the church at that moment. As I just demonstrated, journalism is a reaction to an event, not the cause of it. Don Lemon went beyond the definition of a journalist to become an activist. And along with all the others that stormed the church during a worship service, deserves to be held responsible for his actions. A common phrase on both sides of the aisle now is no one is above the law. That's true in this case as well. Don Lemon should not hide behind the label of a journalist while breaking the law. I'm not even sure he knew he was breaking the law, but I'm guessing most of them didn't.

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And you can hang your hat on that.

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A journalist who's ignorant of the laws and rules of journalism is even worse. And I wouldn't trust any journalist who sticks up for him either, because they don't understand that journalism has boundaries and responsibilities. Anyone who claims Don Lemon is being denied his constitutional rights is ignoring what he did to the constitutional rights of the people in that church that day. Don Lemon is still free to say whatever he wants. No one is infringing on Don Lemon's rights. He may lose some rights if he's convicted of a federal offense, but his right to free speech hasn't been affected one bit. Don Lemon has no claim to losing any rights as a result of his actions to deny others of their rights. So far. In fact, he's scheduled. To do a live show from Brooklyn in late February after being arrested in Los Angeles for something he did in Minnesota. There are those who feel that arresting Don Lemon for entering the church will have a chilling effect on how the media covers the Trump administration. I would point out that the media never had an issue with any potential chilling effect during the Biden administration, mostly because they swept a lot of what the Biden administration did under the rug, hiding his every mistake instead of pointing them out like they do with Trump. I would also point out that Don Lemon wasn't in that church to report on the Trump administration. An AP story quotes a law professor from the University of Pittsburgh as saying that charges against reporters are troubling, adding, charging journalists for being there covering the disruption does not mean they were part of the disruption. Well, yes, he was. The professor went on to say, Don Lemon and other journalists are the way we the public are finding out what is happening in these spaces. They are our eyes and ears. The message that is being sent is that journalists like Don Lemon and others should feel intimidated from doing this. Uh yeah. Obviously having a law against what they did wasn't enough of a deterrent. And there isn't any news to be had in a church in the middle of a service. We don't need Don Lemon to find out what is happening in these spaces, as the professor suggested. Anyone is welcome to walk in and worship and see for themselves what is happening there. What Don Lemon did, and probably Georgia Ford as well, has nothing to do with journalism. Those people stormed that church because they understood that a pastor there was also working for immigration and customs enforcement. He was a soft target for cowards like those who invaded that church. Now they're being arrested for it, and Don Lemon deserves to be as much a part of the perp walk as the rest of them. He was, after all, seeking attention. Now that Don has got the attention of the federal government, he claims to be a journalist. He's nothing more than a joke that deserves to be laughed at. He's not seeking truth. His claim of speaking truth to power is selective, not neutral. He's not doing anything of value when it comes to informing anyone. He's merely trying to influence people toward left-wing liberalism while hiding behind the label of a journalist. The listening tube is written and produced by yours truly, copyright 2026. Thank you for putting your ear to the listening tube. This is the last episode of season 13, and I'll be back in a couple of weeks for the start of season 14 and the start of the fifth year of the listening tube. Wow! I really do talk a lot. My guest will be Constitutional Advocate Jen Brown. Can't wait. Follow the Listening Tube and comment at thelisteningtube.com. I'm your host, Bob Woodley, for Thou at Infinitum.