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DMZ America Podcast Ep 158: Trump’s Racist on Kamala Harris & Israel Attacks Iran

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Ted Rall

Political cartoonists and analysts Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (on the Right) take on the week in politics.

Kamala Harris has secured the nomination of the Democratic Party officially, via virtual roll call, less than two weeks after Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Scott and Ted discuss how she quickly consolidated control of the party in one of the most startling reversals of political fortune ever, taking her from pariah to Internet darling with a $1 billion war chest in a matter of a month. Donald Trump is attacking her race and gender; will these punches land?

Meanwhile, the Middle East conflict is heating up with the prospect of a wider regional conflict so pronounced that Ted thinks the unthinkable, considering scenarios for nuclear confrontation. At the same time, Scott declares the Russo-Ukrainian War all over but the shouting, with the outcome increasingly obvious.

Watch the Video Version: here.

(Will be live 8/2/24 6:15 pm EDT)

DMZ America Podcast #155: Assassin Shoots Trump

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Ted Rall

Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt yesterday afternoon when a gunman shot at him at a rally in Pennsylvania, grazing the former President’s right ear. He appeared defiant, raising his fist as Secret Service agents spirited him away from the scene. Political cartoonists and analysts Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) look into the political and cultural ramifications from the history of political violence in the United States to gun culture to the upcoming Republican National Convention to the question of whether overheated rhetoric, this time by Democrats, contributed to the current volatile situation.

Watch the Video Version: here.

(Video will be live as of 10:45 Eastern time July 14th.)

DMZ America Podcast #154: Biden Death Watch

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Ted Rall

An anxious America is hanging on tenterhooks to see whether Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. will be able to hang on to the Democratic nomination, and whether he might even be compelled to resign amid a whirl of news stories following his disastrous debate performance, indicating that he has been mentally and physically incapacitated, and not fulfilling the duties of the Presidency, for many months and probably years.

Political cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis (from the Left and Right, respectively) delve deep into U.S. history to contextualize this serious political crisis. Can Biden hang on? Who is really in charge of the government? Will Kamala Harris take over and, if so, when and how? Are there other options? What would be her chances against Donald Trump in the general election? Should there be, and will there be, any accountability for the men and women in the government and the media who carried out and abetted the 2020 coup d’etat in which a man pretended to be president while an unelected cabal of shadowy figures determined policies of war and peace?

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

DMZ America Podcast #151: Canada Fears US Civil War, Many Elderly Will Die Homeless, Cartoonist Jailed in Iran

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Ted Rall

The DMZ America podcast is where you’ll hear civilized, spirited debate and discussion about the politics and issues of the day. Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (Left) and Scott Stantis (Right) deliver a fast-paced look at some stories others are missing this week.

First up, a Canadian government assessment of threats to Canadian national security worries aloud about instability on their southern border: us. The worry: “U.S. ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest escalate, plunging the country into civil war.”

Second: People over 50 face a radically increased danger of becoming homeless and dying on the streets. What does the fact that younger generations don’t seem to care about the elderly say about American society?

Third: Cartoonist Atena Farghadani, who is on trial at Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, was charged with “insulting sacred values” and “propagating against the state” for attempting to post her cartoon on the wall outside the home of the Supreme Leader. The court sentenced the cartoonist to six years in prison. 

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #149: Trump Is Now a Felon. What Happens Next?

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Ted Rall

Political cartoonists Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (on the Right) analyze the conviction of Donald Trump. How did it happen? Will he go to jail and/or be put on probation? Will he drop out of the race? How will it affect the campaign? Might we soon have a sitting president forced to govern from prison?

Watch the Video Version: here.

(Video will be live at 4:45 EDT 5-31-24)

DMZ America Podcast #145: Mass Graves in Gaza, Imperial Presidency, Menthol Madness

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Ted Rall

Political cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) debate the week in news and culture as friendly adversaries to bring you spirited debate and smart insight.

First up: The Israel-Hamas War seems to be entering some sort of tipping point in terms of international public opinion. As the International Criminal Court weighs issuing an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his government’s policy of blockade and mass starvation in Gaza and student protests over America’s support of Israel spread from Columbia University to college and university campuses around the nation, the disturbing discovery of a pair of mass graves containing the bodies of hospital patients and personnel apparently summarily executed in areas under IDF control prompt Scott to say that, if this is confirmed to be an Israeli war crime, he would be done with Israel after supporting the Jewish state for many years.

Second: The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case with ramifications both for Donald Trump’s January 6th insurrection case and the separation of powers under the US Constitution. The court is asked to answer the question of whether a president enjoys absolute immunity for acts committed while in office, whether immunity might be partial, and whether it’s possible to separate those acts committed as an individual from those performed as an officeholder. At stake: the nature of the nation’s top political job.

Finally: In an act that appears to reek of cynicism, the Biden Administration has paused a long-planned ban on menthol-flavored tobacco products, which are popular among Black Americans, because of concerns that Black voters might be annoyed at the President when they go to the polls this November. Vote for us before you die, please.


Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #144: USC Censors Its Valedictorian for Being Palestinian, Trump on Trial, Biden’s Weird Steel Tariffs

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Ted Rall

Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) are back at their respective abodes in New York and Alabama. As always, Ted and Scott put friendship first in their spirited but civilized debates and discussions about the issues at hand.

First up: The University of Southern California denies this year’s valedictorian Asna Tabassum

her right to deliver the commencement address because she is Palestinian and might have had the audacity to call for Palestinians to stop being slaughtered en masse by Israel in Gaza. If ever there was cause for people of all ideological stripes to be appalled albeit for different reasons, here it is.

Next: Donald Trump becomes the first former president to face a criminal trial. Scott and Ted dissect the nature of the charges, related to the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels, and explore the disturbing trend of prosecutors letting members of the public that they’re so out to get them that they’re willing to campaign on it.

Finally: Joe Biden imposes brutal tariffs to protect America’s steel industry, which is now owned by Japan, from China.

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #143 (together in person!): #MeToo Drives Cartoonist Ed Piskor to Suicide, Abortion Drives Republicans Insane, Might Gaza Drive Israel Out of Statehood?

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Ted Rall

Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) present a Very Special Podcast. For the first time, Ted and Scott do the pod from Hotel Clovis, a.k.a. Ted’s place in New York. As always, Ted and Scott put friendship first in their spirited but civilized debates and discussions about the issues at hand.

First up: The world of comics and cartooning was upended by the tragic suicide of Eisner-winning cartoonist Ed Piskor, who shot himself to death after being hounded by an online mob and stripped of his professional associations after a younger female cartoonist accused him of “grooming” her four years ago, when he was 17. What lessons can we learn from this episode? Has the #MeToo movement finally gone too far? What of the online posters who gleefully celebrated Piskor’s death? Can comics address systemic sexism without descending into Lord of the Flies-style vengeance?

Second: The Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed an 1864 state statute that bans abortion in all cases excepting danger to the life of the mother (which Texas still refuses to do). In Arizona, if you are raped or subjected to incest, the state refuses to grant you an abortion. Ted and Scott discuss the political implications for a Republican Party that now finds itself out of step with 85% of American voters on an issue with massive symbolic resonance.

Finally: Scott, a long-time supporter of Israel, has reluctantly concluded that Israel’s war against Hamas has claimed too many innocent Palestinian lives and destroyed too much infrastructure in Gaza. Ted suggests that the window for a two-state solution may have passed and that it’s time to consider merging the Occupied Territories and Israel into a democratic Republic of Palestine where all votes and voices are treated equally.

Watch the Video Version: here.

Episode 141 | March 14, 2024: TikTok AtToked, Third Parties on the Rise, Crises in Gaza, Haiti and Ukraine

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Ted Rall

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.

 

Watch the Video Version: here.

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

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Ted Rall

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.


Watch the Video version: here.

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