Episode 141 | March 14, 2024: TikTok AtToked, Third Parties on the Rise, Crises in Gaza, Haiti and Ukraine

Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) discuss the week’s biggest stories without the boring yell fests but with force and passion.

First off, the United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that would force the Chinese company that owns TikTok to divest itself of the social media company within six months. President Biden says he will pass the measure if it hits his desk but its future is uncertain in the US Senate. Scott and Ted discuss the cultural, economic, legal and political implications of targeting a company purely based on conjecture and speculation with no proof that it has any plans to act nefariously.

Secondly, third and independent party presidential runs are in the news. Robert F Kennedy Junior is about to announce his choice for his voice presidential running mate. No Labels is about to appoint a committee to determine its options for president and vice president this year. Dr. Jill Stein will almost certainly be the nominee for the Green Party. And Dr. Cornel West is running his so-called jazz campaign.

Finally, five months into Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it is very clear that Israel has overreached and is dangerously close to becoming an international pariah. Meanwhile, United States considers the possibility of military intervention in Haiti, something that has never gone well in the past. Ukraine, of course, will soon have to accept the difficult truth that it has lost its war against Russia.

 

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DMZ America Podcast #137: Biden on the Ropes Over His Age, NY Special Election, Impeaching Mayorkas

Political cartoonists and analysts Ted Rall (of the Left) and Scott Stantis (of the Right) discuss the week’s current events and politics. First, the political classes try to determine whether Joe Biden’s reelection bid can be salvaged after the special counsel’s devastating assessment that he’s too senile to be charged with a felony over mishandling classified documents and, if not, will Democrats force him out and how exactly will that work?

Next, Democrats take disgraced Congressman George Santos’ former seat in New York by a comfortable margin. What, if anything, does this portend for the GOP’s chances overall this fall?

Finally, Republicans take a second stab at impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis, and succeed. Everyone gets an impeachment! But does it matter?

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DMZ America Podcast #135: 14th Amendment at SCOTUS, Putin Speaks, Predicting 2024

Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) discuss the week’s biggest stories without the boring yell fests but with force and passion.

First up this week: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the groundbreaking attempt by Colorado voters to remove Donald Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Scott and Ted dissect the arguments pro and con and explain how they would resolve the impossible choice faced by SCOTUS: put the law first, or the country.

Second: Tucker Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin will prove especially notable for Americans’ unfiltered chance to hear firsthand about Russia’s views on the war in Ukraine. Scott and Ted explain where we are now and lay out possible scenarios for the inevitable peace negotiations now that it is clear that Ukraine has decidedly lost.

Third: Alan Lichtman’s 1981 13-point theory on predicting presidential elections based on historical metrics gives Scott and Ted a chance to geek out over the current 2024 campaign.

 

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DMZ America Podcast Ep 132: Middle East War, Could Biden Lose New Hampshire?, Dead Tree Publications Even Deader

Editorial cartoonists and political analysts from the Left (Ted Rall) and the Right (Scott Stantis) discuss and explain the latest news and events in a unique format where disagreement and debate occurs without yelling or stupid insults.

First up this week: War across the Middle East assumes a “Guns of August” vibe as Iran and Pakistan become the latest countries to launch crossborder missile attacks, with the victims being ethnic Balochis. Ted lays out how Iran is emerging as the big winner from the Israel-Hamas War. Scott pushes back from the American perspective, questioning whether the Islamic Republic is committing diplomatic suicide.

Second: The 2024 Presidential Campaign moves from Iowa to the bizarre New Hampshire primary, which is being skipped both by President Biden and Governor Ron DeSantis. All GOP eyes will soon turn to South Carolina—will the Palmetto State be the last stand for Haley, or DeSantis, or both? Meanwhile, New Hampshire threatens to torpedo Biden for his Big Snub.

Third topic: More depressing news from the world of dead trees, where the Washington Post is losing $100 million a year and the Los Angeles Times is down $50 million despite their deep-pocketed and supposedly brilliant owners. Ted asks Scott, who has worked at numerous papers, why can’t these supposed genius billionaires turn these sinking watchdogs of democracy around?

Watch the Video version of the DMZ America Podcast: here.

DMZ America Podcast #130: Another Ivy League President Fired, Israel Gone Wild and America’s 250th Birthday

In the first DMZ America Podcast of 2024, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the world in politics and current events.

First, Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard University after drawing criticism for failing to clearly condemn antisemitism at a Congressional hearing, and then being exposed as allegedly having plagiarized dozens of times in her academic career. Right-wing conservatives are celebrating having claimed a scalp and dealt a blow against DEI, but should liberals mourn her departure?

Second, Israel claims responsibility for the drone assassination of a leader of Hamas in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. On the same day, two bombs killed over 100 people attending a memorial service for an Iranian general assassinated by an American drone in 2020. Are the two events linked? Will there be repercussions in the form of a larger regional conflict?

Finally, we are coming up to the 250th anniversary of America. It’s anybody’s guess what it will be called.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast here.

DMZ America Podcast #129: Trump Dumped from Colorado Ballot, Biden’s Record-Low Polls, Will Anyone Care When Gaza is Gone? (with guest Rob Rogers)

In the latest DMZ America Podcast, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) are joined by their colleague Rob Rogers, editorial cartoonist formerly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First up: The political world reeled after the Colorado state Supreme Court issued a stunning ruling declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, thus making him ineligible to appear on the ballot in the upcoming state Republican primary. 13 other states are facing similar lawsuits so the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on whether Trump can appear on the ballot. Will judges decide our next president?

Second: President Biden is suffering from the lowest poll numbers of his presidency, bottoming out at 34% in one survey. He is even losing voters aged 18 to 29, an important part of his coalition back in 2020. Now he’s between a rock and a hard place on issues like Gaza. Is there any way that he can possibly turn this dismal situation around, given the fact that no one who his position has gone on to successfully be re-elected?

Finally: Most of the world now agrees that Israel overreacted to the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. Gaza has been flattened. Will the attention of the world move on after the bombing stops? Or will images of shattered millions of Palestinian refugees living in the Egyptian desert prove to be a political game changer during the election next year?

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 129 Sec 1: Trump Dumped from Colorado Ballot

DMZ America Podcast Ep 129 Sec 2: Biden’s Record-Low Polls

DMZ America Podcast Ep 129 Sec 3: Will Anyone Care When Gaza is Gone?

 

DMZ America Podcast #127: GOP Debate, No Money for Ukraine or Israel, Pearl Harbor Day

Editorial cartoonist Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics, culture and current events. 

Four top contenders for the Republican nomination for president — Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis — met for the fourth GOP debate of the current cycle. What, if anything, was the point of this exercise when Donald Trump clearly has the nomination wrapped up, as Ted and Scott pointed out many months ago?

For the first time in memory, Congress voted no to a major military spending package, this one for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. What does the failure of Congress to rubberstamp proxy warfare say about the current state of partisanship in Congress and militarism in general?

Today was the anniversary of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack as well as the beginning of the third month after the October 7th Hamas attack against Israel. Ted and Scott discuss the nature of surprise attacks and their ability to traumatize a society and debate the importance of such benchmarks.

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DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 1: GOP Debate

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 2: No Money for Ukraine or Israel

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 3: Pearl Harbor Day

DMZ America Podcast #113: How Hunter Biden’s Case Could Bring Down Joe’s Presidency, How Trump’s Georgia Indictments Impact the 2024 Race

Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) are joined by eminent academic Charles Lipson, the Peter B. Ritzma professor of political science emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he founded the Program on International Politics, Economics and Security, is a Spectator World contributing writer as well as a regular contributor to Real Clear Politics.

Lipson has written extensively on the Hunter Biden case as it has unfolded, while it has been censored by corporate media. His sober analysis continues to be a bright light in these hysterical times. Lipson has pointed out time and time again that, while the mainstream media continues to ignore this story, there has been an awful lot of smoke and, perhaps, emerging fire. (For the record, Rall and Stantis have been saying the same thing ever since the discovery of Hunter’s now famously unclaimed lap top).   

In their second segment, Rall, Stantis and Lipson explore the ramifications of the Hunter Biden case on the 2024 election as well as the mounting indictments against former President Donald Trump, who now faces 91 criminal counts in four jurisdictions.  

(P.S. Ted Rall is still traveling in Canada, so this edition of the DMZ America Podcast is shorter and only two segments long. We hope Ted will return to the United States sometime soon but, as he seems to be having far too good of a time, our hope is dimming.) 

 

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DMZ America Podcast Ep 113 Sec 1: How Hunter Biden’s Case Could Bring Down Joe’s Presidency

DMZ America Podcast Ep 113 Sec 2: How Trump’s Georgia Indictments Impact the 2024 Race

DMZ America Podcast #110: Hunter Biden Plea Deal Meltdown, Fed Reserve Rate Increase, Kevin Spacey Cleared

Syndicated Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall, (from the left) and Scott Stantis (from the right) unpack the many layers from the week’s top stories.

First up, the Hunter Biden plea deal. The judge said it was unconstitutional and the defense wanted it to provide a blanket get-out-of-jail card. Why it fell apart and how it reflects the media’s disdain for anything that may conflict with its prevailing narrative. Ted and Scott take a rhetorical side trip to explore other issues they have been way in front of, and examine why the mainstream media takes so long to catch up to common sense.

Next up, the Federal Reserve Board continues to raise interest rates although it seems from this healthy economy that they shouldn’t. Scott argues against government overreach while Ted makes the case for deeper regulation of the American economy.

Lastly, Kevin Spacey, one of the best actors of his generation, has been found not guilty of sexual malfeasance in yet another trial. Ted and Scott discuss whether he should be welcomed back to the entertainment business.

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DMZ America Podcast #106: A Big Week of Supreme Court Opinions

Syndicated Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) analyze the issues and news changing our world. This week’s podcast is entirely dedicated to a historic week of opinions handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States.

First up, a look at a pair of landmark cases affecting higher education. Ted and Scott put into perspective the court’s decision to end race-based Affirmative Action and President Biden’s Student loan forgiveness program. Ted concisely explains the basis for the build-up of resentment over decades towards Affirmative Action and what led to the court’s ruling. Scott takes a victory lap after arguing for months that Joe Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness program was executive overreach and should and would be struck down.

Next up, a pair of cases impacting the workplace: the Postal Worker and the Web Designer,(which sounds a lot like a really lame Hallmark Christmas romance movie). The mailman refused to work on his Sabbath; the web designer refused to create a site for a LGBTQ couple. When does common sense check bigotry? Scott and Ted’s spin on these decisions may surprise you.

In the last segment, Ted and Scott applaud the court shooting down, yet again, Independent State Legislature Theory (ISL), which would have allowed states to set up draconian voting procedures that would have served to deny ballot access to millions of voters.. They end up tying everything up in a neat little bow. You should listen.

 

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 106 Sec 1: Supreme Court Overturns Race-Based Affirmative Action

DMZ America Podcast Ep 106 Sec 2: The Cases of the Postal Worker and the Web Designer

DMZ America Podcast Ep 106 Sec 3: Death to the Independent State Legislature Theory

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