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 #139: Mitch McConnell and the Biden Age Question, Death to the Death Penalty, Gen Z Hates Dating Apps

Award-winning political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis take on the week’s news and current events on the DMZ America podcast.

The world of politics shifted dramatically with the announcement by longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell that he would step aside from his position as minority leader, but stay in the Senate. A succession battle has already begun. What Ted and Scott are more interested in the message being sent by an 81-year-old politician, who has been seeing struggling with aging in public, to the president.

Idaho botched the attempted execution of a high-profile serial killer at the same time as Texas successfully executed an inmate who was probably innocent. Meanwhile, Alabama and Ohio say they will continue to use the bizarre and torturous nitrogen method to kill more inmates, despite the fiasco in Alabama a few weeks ago. How can it be, Ted and Scott ask, that the United States continues to deploy capital punishment? As an added bonus: a discussion of Christianity!

Finally, Bumble and other dating apps are having major financial issues as Generation Z turns against the idea of finding true love online in favor of doing it the old-fashioned way.

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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 #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 #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 #133: Biden’s Bad Good Economy & Death Cab for Print Media

Political Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics, current events and culture. This time, the guys start out wondering about the state of the economy and the 2024 presidential campaign. Though Biden has pulled ahead of Trump in national polls, key swing states Biden needs to win continue to support Trump. One of the big reasons give is that they’re unhappy with the state of the economy. But unemployment is low, wages are high and inflation is easing. Why are Americans pissed? We have answers.

The month of January saw major layoffs at legacy media companies like the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated and Pitchfork. Is there a future for journalism, and if so what does it look like?

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DMZ America Podcast #133: New Hampshire 2024, The Truth About Migrants, Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism?

In the latest DMZ America Podcast, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) analyze the latest news and trends affecting the nation and the world.

First, the guys break down the 2024 New Hampshire primary, in which Trump handily defeated Nikki Haley in his apparently inevitable track to the GOP nomination, though the South Carolina senator has vowed to remain in the race. Although Democrats snubbed the Granite State in favor of South Carolina, Biden’s write-in campaign prevailed over challenger Dean Phillips, avoiding embarrassment while pointing to fractures in the Democratic coalition. Now Trump is ahead of Biden by 4 points.

Second, Scott explains the real reasons for the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border and advises the White House to come clean with the American people. Ted, it turns out, had reached an identical conclusion.

Finally, Ted and Scott once again explore the differences between anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and anti-Israelism, and speculate on the future of the Gaza Strip and the Middle East crisis.

 

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.

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