For the price of a single Hellfire missile, you can send an American through a public four-year college. Yet we keep making the wrong choice.
Ted Rall’s Latest Books:
Never Meet, Never Exist
The Cornell University alleged gang-rape case, and the online controversy around it, is the latest example of fear between the sexes: women afraid of men, and men afraid of women. No wonder young people aren’t dating, or having sex, at the same rates as in the past.
Customer Service
Customer service has never been worse or more irritating to American consumers, who must suffer countless indignities like A.I. phonemail trees that don’t recognize their voices. The only way out, for those who are willing to publicize their plight, is to go public on social media.
Collective Guilt, Then and Now
After World War II, the United States argued at the Nuremberg war-crimes trials—and directly to the German people themselves—that the whole nation bore collective responsibility and guilt for the crimes of Nazi Germany because, despite the risks of resistance in a totalitarian state, they could and should have risen up and overthrown Adolf Hitler. Now the same country, the United States, cannot even be bothered to hold a single substantial protest when its out-of-control president threatens to use nuclear weapons against Iran, despite the fact that Iran poses no danger to us.
America’s Achilles Heel
The U.S. war against Iran, and the resulting closing of the Strait of Hormuz, exposes America’s Achilles’ heel—its dependence on foreign oil and gas—more starkly than ever before. Looking back at previous examples of the supposedly “invincible” American military, perhaps the adversaries destroyed by the United States should have found some way to hit us where it hurts: at the gas pump.
Bibi’s #1 Fan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues his strident campaign of misdirection and outright denial of the facts in the Middle East conflict at the United Nations General Assembly. You have to give him credit for moxie, if nothing else.
The Lie Master
Trump is famous for his lies, but increasingly he is not only lying about matters of little or no importance; he is lying when telling the truth would be more personally and politically advantageous.
Just Trump Being Trump
President Trump delivered a startling speech at the United Nations General Assembly in which he threatened to annihilate Iran with nuclear weapons. Even more shocking, journalists and international statesmen largely greeted this insane outburst with a shrug.
Today the Party, Tomorrow the Fast
After spending like wild men on wars, tax cuts for the rich, and ballroom renovations no one ever asked for or needed, Trump-era Republicans are getting ready to recast themselves as fiscal conservatives as soon as the Democrats take control of the House this fall.
Bombs Away
The American people are constantly being told that they can’t have universal healthcare or high-speed rail or free college or any number of other great things citizens of other countries have because we spend so much money on defense. Now, however, the Defense Department is saying they don’t even have enough bombs to fight wars. Where is the money going?
“The Stringer”
graphic novel
by Ted Rall & Pablo G. Callejo
“Political Suicide: The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party”
by Ted Rall
“Bernie (Revised 2020 Edition)”
by Ted Rall
A Missed Chance To Look Terrible
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Trump’s decision to back out of his planned public execution of the Fort Hood mass shooter is sad for America. Not because it wouldn’t have been a gruesome spectacle that eroded whatever is left of the country’s international standing—it would have. Not because Nidal Hasan won’t still be killed on December 3—he will. “Many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming or through any other visual device,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, a medium befitting the gravity of the subject. He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” Does Trump really believe watching the livestream is mandatory? If so, someone should tell him. He could use a break. He should have stayed the course. Conducting this state murder-by-firing-squad in the most public of all forums would have been a glorious victory for transparency and honesty. When might the dark stars align again to give us a defense…
Read MoreWill the US and Ukraine Break Up? | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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LIVE: MWF 9-11 am Eastern time & 9-10 am Tues-Thurs & Streaming Anytime Zelensky says Ukraine will resume Russian refinery strikes, defying Trump. Kyiv’s anger boils over following sudden Starlink throttling and continued Russian attacks. Kyiv suspects deliberate pressure from Musk or the White House after Zelensky criticizes U.S. policy. Partial service returns, yet suspicions linger amid denied early warnings of Russian strikes. Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET. Today we also discuss: • Republicans pin their fading 2026 midterm hopes on another historic polling miss. While conceding a grim national environment, they point to past cycles—2022, 2024, and 2016—where forecasts underestimated GOP strength. • Harris County DA Sean Teare says videos show an ICE officer intentionally struck and ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez during a stop, potentially constituting aggravated assault. Local investigators allege federal non-cooperation and possible erasure of crash data after the vehicle was…
Read MoreWill Trump TACO on Terror Thursday? | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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LIVE: MWF 9-11 am Eastern time & 9-10 am Tues-Thurs & Streaming Anytime Trump privately debates scrapping plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan after learning the paralyzed gunman relies on a wheelchair. Why didn’t he know? Advisers warn that the grim public images could martyr the terrorist or embolden enemies, even as Trump remains firmly committed to carrying out the death sentence itself. Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET. Today we also discuss: • Cornell University suspends fraternity parties for the rest of the academic year amid explosive backlash over a 2024 gang rape allegation. President Michael Kotlikoff vows zero tolerance as the Ivy League school scrambles to overhaul its response after local prosecutors initially declined charges. How will Ivy Leaguers socialize? • Time to move? Scientists say that super-Earths orbiting cooler K-dwarf stars may prove more habitable than…
Read MoreThe Cornell Controversy (with Michael Tracey) | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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LIVE: MWF 9-11 am Eastern time & 9-10 am Tues-Thurs & Streaming Anytime “DeProgram” invites Michael Tracey, an independent journalist and commentator known for contrarian coverage of media and sexual-assault narratives, to discuss the 2026 Cornell “Jane Doe” civil lawsuit, filed by a former student alleged she was drugged and assaulted by seven Chi Phi fraternity members on October 19, 2024. Tracey has emphasized due-process concerns, the asymmetry of naming the accused while the plaintiff remains anonymous, and reported post-incident texts in which the complainant allegedly called the encounter a “gangbang” and invoked “our body our choice.” He solicited her identity on social media, briefly posted a name he claimed to have verified, then deleted it, arguing the exercise exposed improper use of anonymity in settlement-driven suits. The move drew widespread criticism and a #IAmJaneDoe backlash. Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET. Today we also discuss:…
Read MoreWhat Is the Death Penalty For?
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Once again, the debate over capital punishment is raging, driven by the staggering incompetence of Tennessee’s would-be prison executioners, who have repeatedly failed to kill Christa Pike for a murder she committed 30 years ago, and by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s shocking announcement that the military plans to livestream the firing-squad execution of Fort Hood mass shooter Major Nidal Hasan. Largely missing, as usual, is the question that ought to be paramount in the mind of any citizen considering the wisdom of a government practice or policy: what is the death penalty for? Clearly, killing killers is not about keeping society safe from convicted murderers. Serial killer Ted Bundy escaped from jail twice in 1977. The 2015 Dannemora break by Richard Matt and David Sweat in upstate New York, Danelo Cavalcante’s escape in Pennsylvania in 2023 and parts of the Texas Seven escape in 2000 all made news precisely because 99.999% of murderers remain behind bars. A 2024 study found…
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