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 #140: Super Tuesday Leaves Two, Euthanasia Comes to Illinois, Troops in Subways

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.

The first segment of this week’s offering covers some major developments in the 2024 presidential campaign. The US Supreme Court followed Ted’s lead, choosing democracy over the Constitution, ruling 9-0 to invalidate the 14th Amendment cases attempting to remove Trump from the ballot. Super Tuesday saw broad sweeps by Biden and Trump, Nikki Haley’s withdrawal and progressive discontent over Biden’s support of Israel’s war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Scott and Ted preview the State of the Union Address and detail what Biden would have to do there—it involves violating the laws of physics—to drive a stake through concerns about his mental acuity. Oh, and it’s definitely Biden versus Trump this fall.

The second segment takes a hard turn into Illinois’ move toward legalizing doctor-assisted suicide. Scott expresses concerns about whether God would approve and whether there might be a potential for abuse. Ted gets personal about a friend and colleague who recently decided to end her life after suffering from depression.

Finally, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has ordered state police and the National Guard to New York City’s beleaguered subway system to restore law and order…and search your bags.


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DMZ America Podcast #138: Alabamapalooza, Haley’s Last Stand, Two Years in 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.

This week, Ted and Scott start with Alabamapalooza! Scott lives in Alabama, which happens to be the improbable center of the week’s news. After a botched execution using a novel Neue asphyxiation method, the state pronounces itself ready to do a lot more. At the same time, the State Supreme Court has declared that frozen embryos developed for in vitro fertilization are full human beings entitled to the full protection of the law, with devastating consequences for women.

In the 2024 election campaign, former ambassador Nikki Haley takes on Donald Trump in her home state of South Carolina with the polls showing her behind by about 65% to 35%. Ted and Scott wonder aloud why exactly she’s still in the race and what is her strategy. On Tuesday, the race moves to Michigan, where Muslim Americans angry about the Biden administration’s support of Israel against the people of Gaza are trying to organize a substantial protest vote against the incoming president.

Finally, it’s the beginning of the third year of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Clearly Russia has won the war. When, if ever, will American policy makers recognize the reality on the ground and reflect that with their funding decisions in Washington? What will a negotiated settlement look like? What should it look like?

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DMZ America Podcast #136: Suffering from Dementia, Joe Biden Tanks His Presidency in Insane Rant

Since Joe Biden announced his run for president in 2020, cartoonists Ted Rall (Left) and Scott Stantis (Right) have warned America that he suffers from dementia. They were ridiculed, marginalized and insulted as a result. Now a devastating report by Special Counsel Robert Hur confirms that a pair of editorial cartoonists were right while the elite political class were wrong and/or lying: Biden has been so addled for so long that he cannot identify which years he served as vice president and that, in 2017, he could not say when his son Beau died (it was 2015). He is so senile, Dur says, that he cannot be held accountable in a court of law. Minutes after the Dur Report’s release the president called an impromptu press conference where he raged at White House reporters that he was still mentally sharp—and then said that Sisi was the president of Mexico (it’s actually Egypt). Biden’s presidency is effectively over. Ted and Scott ask: how will the unwinding go down?

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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.

 

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

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 #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 #126: Gaza Left vs. Right, Alabama’s Universal Basic Income

Political cartoonist Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics and current events and culture. This week, the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Birmingham, Alabama’s experiment with a universal basic income.

In the first segment of this week’s DMZ America podcast, Ted and Scott dig deeper than ever before into the domestic and international implications of the war in Gaza. The two cartoonists delve into Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in administrative detention, hostage exchanges, and whether there is a future two-state solution or whether a future single Republic of Palestine could reasonably accommodate members of all ethnic groups.

In the second part of the DMZ America podcast this week, Scott explains an experiment in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama in which single women are paid a universal basic income of $385 per month. The mayor says he wants to renew it because it’s doing well. Should a universal basic income be adopted by the United States? Ted and Scott talk about the economic and cultural risks and rewards of giving people a paycheck without having to work, with an emphasis on the fact that automation and artificial intelligence may make it so that society has no choice.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 126 Sec 1: Gaza — Left vs. Right

DMZ America Podcast Ep 126 Sec 2: Alabama’s Basic Universal Income

DMZ America Podcast #118: The Second GOP Debate Reminds Us That Trump Will Be the Republican Nominee

In this week’s installment of the DMZ America Podcast, political cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) digest and analyze the second GOP debate featuring North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.

The clear winner was the man who is ahead of number two DeSantis by 47 points, Donald Trump—and he wasn’t there. What’s the point of this exercise, considering that Trump rather credibly says he won’t choose his veep from these seven? Who will drop out soon? What happens to the survivors? What does the current state of the Republican primaries and the general election race say about the U.S. system in general? Scott and Ted turn over the Rubik’s cube of 2024 presidential campaign to examine all the angles.

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DMZ America Podcast #118: The Second GOP Debate Reminds Us That Trump Will Be the Republican Nominee

DMZ America Podcast #116: Bidexit, UAW Strike Deadline, Autonomous Assassination Drones

Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) discuss breaking news and politics.

This week, Democrats are finally focusing on and starting to become alarmed by President Biden’s stubbornly-low poll numbers. 67% of Democrats say they don’t want him to be their candidate next year. Democratic senators say that even voters who think he has done a good job think he is simply too old to run again. Now mainstream media outlets are starting to float the possibility that he may decide to step aside, and either open up the Democratic primary process or anoint a successor. Scott and Ted handicap the various scenarios for Bidexit.

Four days away from their strike deadline against the big three Detroit auto makers, the United Auto Workers union is still far away from the latest offers on the table. In agreement that a strike currently looks likely, Scott and Ted discuss the state of negotiations, the future of the auto industry and the economic impact of a walkout.

Reuters has published a shocking expose of the advanced state of autonomous AI weapons currently in development and available for sale on the international arms marketplace. From drones to trucks to submarines to fighter jets, the dark vision of the Terminator movies is upon us. Will the world act to ban these dystopian killer robots?

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DMZ America Podcast Ep 116 Sec 1: Bidexit

DMZ America Podcast Ep 116 Sec 2: UAW Strike Deadline

DMZ America Podcast Ep 116 Sec 3: Autonomous Assassination Drones

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