The Final Countdown – 3/6/24 – Nikki Haley Drops Presidential Bid After Crushing Defeat

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss breaking news from around the world, including Nikki Haley dropping out of the presidential race. 
Steve Stockman – Former Congressman
Steve Gill – Attorney  
Andrew Arthur – Resident Fellow in Law and Policy for the Center for Immigration Studies 
Dan Kovalik – American Human Rights Lawyer 
 
The first hour begins with Steve Stockman, a former U.S. representative for Texas, breaking down the Super Tuesday results, including Nikki Haley suspending her campaign. 
 
The show is later joined by attorney Steve Gill who also shares his perspective on Super Tuesday, and the latest out of Hunter Biden’s legal saga. 
 
The second hour begins with Andrew Arthur, who provides his expertise on Biden’s migration policies. 
 
The show closes with Dan Kovalik, who talks about the turmoil in Haiti, including a gang leader threatening a civil war if the country’s Prime Minister does not step down. 
 
 

SYNDICATED COLUMN: What’s Left 6 – End Homelessness Now

Children's Hope: Cultivating Successful Homeless Children – Journal of Global Engagement and Transformation

           Homelessness is the single-most powerful indictment of capitalism, the embodiment of human disposability, the ultimate expression of callous cruelty. In this nation where one out of sixteen rental homes is vacant at any given time, one in six hundred Americans (550,000) sleeps outside. An additional 3.7 million people, the so-called “hidden homeless”—one out of ninety of our sons, our daughters, our brothers, our sisters, our fathers, our mothers—are doubled up in other people’s homes because they can’t afford their own place.

            “You look out the window of the White House and see the ragged and pathetic figures huddled over the steam grates of the Ellipse,” President George H.W. Bush told an audience of insurance agents in 1989, calling homelessness “a national shame.” “It’s an affront to the American dream.”

            He was right, of course. He promised to do better. Yet, because not even a president can change an economic system, nothing has improved. Only the Left can fix it.

            Of the many ways America fails its citizens, its failure/refusal to ensure that everyone has somewhere warm and safe to sleep at night is the starkest reflection of what passes for a social compact: Unless you are lucky enough not to be born into poverty, and lucky enough to avoid succumbing to addiction or some other dysfunction, and lucky enough not to suffer a debilitating physical or mental illness, and lucky enough to have the charm and the education and the experience that an employer happens to need, and are lucky enough that the economy is not contracting at that time, and you are lucky enough to find a needy employer at the exact moment he happens to need someone exactly like you, sooner rather than later you may find yourself sleeping on the street or a subway platform or on a park bench or a steam grate across the street from the White House.

            Such a society cannot credibly claim to believe that every life is precious. It cannot criticize the way other societies handle their affairs. It has zero moral standing whatsoever.

            Chronic homelessness creates problems that impact housed people as well. Responding to calls about public drinking and trespassing diverts the police from dealing with serious crimes. Areas with a high homeless population suffer significantly reduced property values, which lowers assessments and hurts municipal budgets. Because homelessness is associated with chronic health conditions, mental illness and substance abuse disorders, homeless peoples’ frequent visits to emergency rooms—where they account for a third of all patients—cost hospitals an average of $18,500 per year per person, unreimbursed since they are uninsured. Those expenses are passed on to the rest of us. Mentally-ill people are 35 times more likely to commit a crime if they are homeless, compared to the mentally-ill domiciled; they are also much more likely to become victims.

            Homelessness is expensive. National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that one chronically homeless American costs the taxpayer an average of $35,000 per year. That comes to about $20 billion for the Americans now living outside.

            Catching a glimpse of a misérable attempting to shelter outdoors also has an insidious downward effect on wages and living standards for we, the housed. It reminds you: this could happen to you. Better, then, not to risk asking for a raise.

            Cynical Marxists have suggested that this may be a feature, rather than a bug, of the current system. Fear of falling is a powerful motivating force.

            The answer to the present state of homelessness is “re-housing.” We give homes—not shelters—to the people who need them. If they don’t have money for rent, give them stipends. Most cities keep doing what doesn’t work: dangerous shelters that are only open overnight, no path to housing, people are denied shelter for drinking, using drugs or acting out.

            This is exactly wrong.

            Real homes, not shelters, help people get off drugs and alcohol because people abuse substances to numb the misery of their situation. As it happens we have plenty of real homes sitting empty: 15 million homes are vacant. 550,000 of them, beginning with abandoned units and those that have remained without a tenant for a long time, should be seized under eminent domain.

            Rapid rehousing can and should be mandatory; no one should be allowed the “freedom” to succumb to the elements. Rehousing should be done free of traditional preconditions like employment, income, absence of criminal record or sobriety. Each person’s individual needs, whether they be addressed by physical rehabilitation, job or language training, psychological therapy or other services, should be carried out by a team of social workers and other experts. Housing first, The New York Times reported in 2022, rests on a reality-based approach: “When you’re drowning, it doesn’t help if your rescuer insists you learn to swim before returning you to shore. You can address your issues once you’re on land. Or not. Either way, you join the wider population of people battling demons behind closed doors.”

Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, moved 25,000 people directly into apartments and houses between 2011 and 2022, reducing its homeless population by 63%. Denver, another housing-first city, saw arrests of homeless people drop 95% and dependence on government cash-benefit programs fall by 80% after housing-first took hold.

            According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “supportive housing” costs an average of $12,800 per person per year. That comes to $7 billion for the outdoor homeless population, or $55 billion if you also include the “hidden homeless.”

            The higher figure is 1.2% of the $4.5 trillion a year the U.S. is currently wasting on wars and other garbage. And after you subtract the $20 billion a year we’re currently spending on policing and hospitalization, it’s 0.8%.

Next: How to guarantee everyone the right to free, high-quality healthcare.

(Ted Rall (Twitter: @tedrall), the political cartoonist, columnist and graphic novelist, co-hosts the left-vs-right DMZ America podcast with fellow cartoonist Scott Stantis. You can support Ted’s hard-hitting political cartoons and columns and see his work first by sponsoring his work on Patreon.)

The Final Countdown – 2/5/24 – High-Ranking US Diplomat Victoria Nuland Announces Unexpected Retirement

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss top news from around the globe, including high-ranking U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland resigning. 
Tyler Nixon – Political Commentator
Mitch Roschelle – Media Commentator 
Mark Sleboda – International Relations and Security Analyst  
Robert Fantina – Author, journalist, and activist 
 
The first hour begins with political commentator Tyler Nixon who shares his analysis on the upcoming Super Tuesday primary elections. 
 
The show is later joined by media commentator Mitch Roschelle who weighs in on the ongoing Congressional Budget debacle. 
 
The second hour begins with Mark Sleboda, international relations, and security analyst, who provides his insights on the sudden retirement of high-ranking U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland. 
 
The show closes with Robert Fantina, author and journalist, who discusses the latest out of Gaza. 
 
 

The Final Countdown – 3/4/24 – Trump Sweeps Michigan, Missouri Caucuses; Super Tuesday Preview

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall cover a plethora of current events from around the world, including Trump’s big wins in Michigan and Missouri. 
Steve Abramowicz  – Owner and CEO of Mill Creek View  
Tyler Nixon – Political Commentator
Ryan Cristian – Founder and Editor of The Last American Vagabond 
Jeremy Kuzmarov – Managing Editor, Covert Action Magazine 
 
The first hour begins with owner and CEO of Mill Creek View Steve Abramowicz who weighs in on Trump sweeping Michigan and Missouri. 
 
Then, political commentator Tyler Nixon joined to discuss the potential retrial of over 100 January 6 protesters. 
 
The second hour begins with Ryan Cristian, the Founder and Editor of The Last American Vagabond, to discuss the latest out of Gaza, including increasing calls for a ceasefire.  
 
The show closes with Managing Editor for Covert Action Magazine Jeremy Kuzmarov, who shares his perspective on a German leak that reveals potential western meddling in Ukraine. 
 

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.

Watch the Video Version: here.

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The Final Countdown – 2/28/24

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss current events from around the nation including Fani Willis’ ongoing legal saga. 
 
Dan Lazare – Independent journalist 
Steve Hayes – Tax Attorney
Scottie Nell Hughes – RT Host 
Tyler Nixon – Counselor-at-law 
 
The first hour starts with the hosts discussing the results of the Michigan primary with independent journalist Dan Lazare and the spread of “uncommitted” voters. 
 
Then, tax attorney Steve Hayes shares his perspective on the Congressional budget resolution. 
 
The second hour starts with RT Host Scottie Nell Hughes weighing in on the latest out of the Fani Willis saga.  
 
The show closes with counselor-at-law Tyler Nixon talking about New York City Mayor Eric Adams changing sanctuary city laws. 
 
 

The Final Countdown – 2/27/24 – Michigan Primary: Unveiling Biden’s Unpopularity?

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss current events worldwide, including the Michigan primary. 
Ajay Pallegar – Criminal and Civil Attorney and Political Analyst 
Aquiles Larrea – CEO of Larrea Wealth Management 
Mark Sleboda – International Relations and Security Analyst 
Jamie Finch – Former Director at the National Transportation Safety Board 
 
The first hour begins with attorney Ajay Pallegar sharing his analysis on the upcoming Michigan primary amid pro-ceasefire protests against Biden. 
 
Then, finance expert Aquiles Larrea weighs in on the Congressional budget debacle. 
 
The second hour starts with international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda talking about the possibility of a ‘peace’ summit between Ukraine and Russia.
 
The show wraps up with former National Transportation Safety Board director Jamie Finch weighing in on the newly released Federal Aviation Administration report on Boeing. 
 
 
 

The Final Countdown – 2/26/24 – Haley Suffers Embarrassing Defeat in Home State; Vows to Stay in Race

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss a plethora of topics domestically and abroad, including Nikki Haley’s defeat in her home state of South Carolina. 
Ed Martin – Lawyer and Political Commentator
Steve Gill – Attorney 
Jeremy Kuzmarov – Managing Editor of Covert Action Magazine 
Michael Maloof – Former Pentagon Senior Security Policy Analyst 
 
The first hour starts with lawyer and political commentator Ed Martin, who shares his perspective on Nikki Haley’s loss in her home state’s primaries. 
 
Then, attorney Steve Gill joins to discuss the latest out of the Fani Willis saga, including requests for her to testify again. 
 
The second hour starts with Jeremy Kuzmarov, Managing Editor of Covert Action Magazine to share his perspective on the latest out of the Middle East, including more airstrikes in Yemen and Israel’s planned invasion of Rafah. 
 
The show closes with Michael Maloof, a former analyst at the Pentagon, to discuss the latest out of Ukraine. 
 
 

What’s Left 5: Let’s Declare War on Economic Insecurity

Ted Rall says it better than I can - The New York Times

            Wages high enough to cover basic expenses are only the beginning of the Left’s struggle to eliminate economic insecurity.

            We must also fight for workers’ rights on the job as well as a robust and sturdy social safety net to protect people when they find themselves out of work. Americans suffer the worst worker benefits of major developed countries; we are tied with Botswana, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan. Our safety net also comes in dead last.

            For as long as anyone can remember, the balance of power between labor and management has been radically tilted in favor of capital. While nine out of ten workers are not organized, employers not only form cartels to set prices for labor, they enjoy outsized influence in Washington and state capitals through campaign contributions to politicians.

            Globalization has exacerbated this imbalance; an apparel company like Nike may manufacture goods in low-wage, anti-union countries like Vietnam or Indonesia and ship them to high-income/high-price markets like Europe or the United States on container ships whose expenses are subsidized by taxpayers of the latter. As much as an ambitious worker might be willing to abandon her family and native culture to move to a higher-wage place like Norway or Qatar, however, it is nearly impossible to obtain the necessary working permits, much less citizenship. Capital is fluid; labor is stationary.

            The Left seeks to level the playing field between labor and management.

            U.S. labor laws are “at will,” meaning that you can be fired for any reason other than discrimination because of your race, sex, sexual orientation or other legally-protected class. At-will is a license for companies to overhire during booms and impose mass layoffs when the economy cools down, as we saw tech companies do after the COVID-19 pandemic. It enables bosses to vote themselves a raise at the same time they let workers go, many of whom disrupted their lives to take those jobs, lost other opportunities, and who have no responsibility for poor management decisions.

            At-will must go. An employer who wants to get rid of an employee should have to prove to the Department of Labor either that the move is required due to the company’s finances—and then only after upper management have absorbed pay cuts and stockholders lose their dividends—or that he did something wrong, in which case he should be entitled to a hearing before an impartial court system established to litigate labor-management disputes before a jury.

            Workers’ power relies first and foremost on the right and ability to withhold labor after contract negotiations break down. Therefore, every American worker in an enterprise with ten or more employees ought to be legally guaranteed the right to join a union—even if they are the only member of their company’s workforce who wants to sign a union card. Existing laws prohibiting employer retaliation against union organizers and members, which are weak and rarely enforced, must be strengthened to the point where it is nearly impossible to fire someone for standing up for higher wages and working conditions. Needless to say, state “right to work“ laws that allow workers in union shops to withhold union dues while receiving negotiated benefits, should be eliminated.

            Laws like the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which ban solidarity strikes and strikes by the military and other public-sector workers and have been expanded by courts and presidential executive orders to include “essential” workers like coal miners and rail workers, go far beyond regulations in other developed nations and must be abolished. If workers are truly essential to the functioning of the nation, like firefighters and postal workers, they should be remunerated accordingly. In the case of exceptional categories of workers deemed essential in matters of life and death, which should be highly limited, the loss of the right to strike should be compensated by guaranteed raises pegged to the inflation rate.

            U.S. workers are divided into arbitrary classifications designed to allow corporations to treat them like dirt. I work at least 40 hours a week as a cartoonist and columnist yet my syndicate misclassifies me as an “independent contractor.” Same for Uber and Lyft drivers, though there’s nothing independent about a job which specifies everything about your tasks down to the model of car you must drive, though you pay for it yourself.

            The system is random and arbitrary. When I lost my W-2 job as a syndicate executive, I qualified for unemployment even though I had only worked half-weeks. If my syndicate cans me as a cartoonist and writer, I do not.

            For the Left, all work is work, all work has value and all workers must be protected. The “independent contractor” loophole should be closed. A 20-hour-a-week job should come with at least half medical benefits. A third of U.S. citizens are self-employed; they should qualify for unemployment benefits when work dries up, just like people who work for other people.

            And work will dry up. Because boom-and-bust cycles are intrinsic to capitalism, until the Revolution comes the Left should agitate for a safety net that reflects this reality. Jobless benefits should be far more generous than they are now. They should expire when you find a new job, not after the six-month limit set by most state legislatures. By way of comparison, countries like Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain provide up to 24 months of unemployment payments. Iceland gives 30.

            As we’ve seen with robotics and are seeing with artificial intelligence, disruptive technologies destroy entire lines of business at once, rendering hard-earned education and experience worthless overnight. The heartland has plunged into despair and drug addiction after decades of deindustrialization fueled by pro-globalization policies. Surely we could use the lost productivity of these millions of fellow citizens who have filed for federal disability checks because they have no hope of ever being gainfully employed! Those who are willing to take classes to be retrained for positions that will be needed in the near future must currently bear all or most of the cost themselves. Retraining programs should be gratis, and the government should pay them a living stipend so people can focus on their studies.

            The ultimate manifestation of economic insecurity, the abject poverty that leads to homelessness, hunger and death, ought to be impossible in this wealthiest of all countries in history. Even if they “want” to do so, the Left should not allow people to sleep outside, for the freedom to die in the cold is no freedom whatsoever.

            Next: How to abolish homelessness.

(Ted Rall (Twitter: @tedrall), the political cartoonist, columnist and graphic novelist, co-hosts the left-vs-right DMZ America podcast with fellow cartoonist Scott Stantis. You can support Ted’s hard-hitting political cartoons and columns and see his work first by sponsoring his work on Patreon.)

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?

Watch the Video Version: here.

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