Harkening back to the distant past of a Cold War alien to Americans under the age of 50, Trump and his Republicans are unleashing hoary insults like “commie” on the Democratic Party. How much further back will they go?
Ted Rall’s Latest Books:
The Centrist’s Lament
The upset victory of progressive Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s Senate seat has put the Democratic civil war in sharp relief. Are moderates more electable? If so, who cares—if they won’t do anything once they get into office?
War Games
The United States maintains the world’s largest military budget (with recent proposals around $1.5 trillion). Despite this, recent analyses and reporting highlight ongoing shortages of key munitions—such as Tomahawk missiles, Patriot and THAAD interceptors, and 155mm artillery rounds—driven by high consumption in conflicts (including the war with Iran), prior transfers to Ukraine, limited industrial surge capacity, and long production lead times of two to four years or more.
A Star Is Born
The DOJ used the occasion of a quiet midsummer weekend to drop embarrassingly trumped-up charges against an Olympic athlete falsely accused of vandalizing Trump’s renovated DC Reflecting Pool.
David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist, had been accused of deliberately damaging the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors now say newly obtained Interior Department documents show the peeling liner and other damage resulted from a “botched” and rushed contractor installation (tied to the America 250 celebrations), not vandalism.
Trump’s Madman Theory
For the umpteenth time in recent months, Trump has announced a big peace deal—this one between Israel and Hamas. The terms, however, seem completely unacceptable to Hamas: under the proposal, they would disarm first before Israel would begin to withdraw from Gaza.
Government Efficiency
If the trillions spent on wars and the military were divvied up among Americans, no one would have any trouble getting by. But that’s not our system.
Half of Americans Can’t Afford Groceries
Half of Americans say they’re having trouble paying for gas and groceries. Their president and the ruling Republicans don’t seem to care much, much less be willing to do anything about it.
Gas Preppers, Activate
As the US-Israeli war against Iran expands throughout the Middle East, involving the Houthis and resulting in the closure of the Red Sea as well as the Persian Gulf, oil and gas prices are rising.–oil prices have hit a six-week high amid the conflict.
So Many Jobs, So Few Openings
Employers frequently complain they cannot find qualified Americans to fill job openings, yet the ranks of the long-term unemployed continue to swell. Over 1.8 million Americans were long-term jobless in 2026—up sharply since 2019—according to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This paradox highlights a persistent skills gap. Many companies hesitate to invest in training, preferring to wait for perfectly matched candidates amid economic uncertainty, automation shifts, and demographic changes. Yet experts note that upskilling existing or available workers could quickly close mismatches in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and trades.
Replacement Theory
ICE agents have been involved in multiple shootings during vehicle stops and operations, with some incidents resulting in the deaths of bystanders or individuals who were legally present in the U.S. Recent high-profile cases include fatal shootings in Houston, Texas, and Biddeford, Maine, prompting ICE to suspend most vehicle stops. While agents often cite threats from vehicles, witness accounts and videos in several cases have raised questions about the use of deadly force, including against U.S. citizens and non-targets.
“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
How Iran Brought the US to a Stalemate | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime: Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET. Today we discuss: • Iran has become a more skilled adversary as the war has progressed, learning how to evade U.S. air defenses as it widened the battlefield to include most of the Middle East and enlisted allies like the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq. The Pentagon’s supply of interceptors has quickly dwindled. A global superpower with a mighty military footprint can still be held at bay by a lesser adversary willing to wage asymmetric warfare. Joining to discuss is Chris Helali, an American investigative journalist, geopolitical analyst, researcher, and elected official. He is a U.S. Army veteran, former high school teacher and farmer. He fought against ISIS with the YPG in Syria. • The Democratic Right strikes back. Francesca Hong, who led in polls by 22%, loses to David Crowley,…
Read MoreTrump Demands War Reparations From Iran | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime: Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET. Today we discuss: • Iran seeks war reparations from the US. Trump flips the table, demanding compensation from Iran, citing attacks and atrocities stretching back decades allegedly backed or perpetrated by Iran. He also claimed compensation for the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole at a Yemeni port. The FBI attributed that bombing to Al Qaeda. • Russia was a major Assad ally during Syria’s 14-year civil war which ended when the current President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, toppled the regime. Assad fled to Russia where he and his family were granted asylum. Under a new memorandum of understanding reflecting a thaw in relations, Syria will take control of civilian facilities at the Hmeimim airbase and the commercial section of Tartus port. • Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have held regular foreign minister-level…
Read MoreWhy Socialism Now?
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Why is socialism a growing force in American politics for the first time in over a century? It’s not happenstance. Socialism meets the historical moment. The Socialist Party of America founded in 1901 reached its apex of organizational strength, membership, electoral success and national visibility just before World War I, during the 1912 election. The SPA had well over 100,000 dues-paying members, but perennial socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs received about 900,000 votes (6% of the popular vote) in 1912, indicating significant penetration into the broader electorate. Socialist candidates were elected to over a thousand local and state offices, including dozens of mayors, in more than 300 cities—and two U.S. House seats. Why then? The Gilded Age was American capitalism at its worst. Underpaid workers and exploited immigrants joined a socialist movement that drove a wedge through a civil war in the Republican Party caused by Teddy Roosevelt’s third-party run against his protégé, incumbent President William Howard Taft. Child…
Read MoreIran War: Deal or No Deal? | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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Live 12 Noon Monday, Streaming Anytime: Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas analyze the Middle East conflict and Trump’s attempts to extract the U.S. from his war with Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi is an Iranian-American academic, professor of English literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran, and a prominent political analyst. Son of physician and former Iranian Health Minister Alireza Marandi, he spent his early years in the US before moving to Iran at age 13 after the 1979 revolution. As a teenager he volunteered in the Iran-Iraq War (serving with Basij/IRGC forces) and survived chemical attacks. He earned degrees from the University of Tehran and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (thesis on Lord Byron, critics, and Orientalism). Formerly head of North American Studies at Tehran University and an adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, Marandi frequently appears on international media (BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, etc.) analyzing Middle East geopolitics, Western narratives, and Iran-related…
Read MoreCentrist Dems Struggle to Stop Progressive Francesca Hong | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
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LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime: Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET. Today we discuss: • The civil war in the Democratic Party moves to Wisconsin tomorrow. State Rep. Francesca Hong is the front-runner to become the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, fueled by a populist campaign tapping into voters’ cost of living concerns. The DNC corporatist establishment prefers David Crowley, the Milwaukee County Executive backed by outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. • Israel rejects Trump’s 15-point plan to disarm Hamas in Gaza. Iran insists that the U.S. meet its demands before the Strait of Hormuz reopens. And Turkish leaders insist that a new trilateral defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is not directed at Iran. • Former President Joseph Biden’s prostate cancer has spread to other parts of his body, leaving him in pain, his son Hunter says. LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow https://x.com/tedrall https://x.com/JamarlThomas #tedrall #jamarlthomas…
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