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.

 

Watch the Video Version: here.

Foiled in Their Farmland Schemes

33 American states are sucking up to the nativists in their electorates by considering legislation that would prevent Chinese nationals and entities from buying land in their states. As if China can’t spy on the U.S. from satellites!

What If, What If, What If

Political attacks against the social media company TikTok are based on a lot of what-ifs with a heavy dose of racial bigotry. No evidence has been presented about the supposed “threats” other than theoretical speculation. Yet we are supposed to react to these paranoid delusions? This is the same thinking that got us into Iraq.

DMZ America Podcast #88: Is the GOP Racist? Nikki Haley, Taking on Chinese Death Balloons and the Ukraine Quagmire

Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right), discuss the pressing issues of the week. First up: a discussion of the presidential candidacy of former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, which dovetails into the question: is the Republican Party too racist to elect a woman of color? Also, the apparent inevitability of President Trump becoming the 2024 GOP nominee. Following that, Scott and Ted discuss the seemingly nonstop parade of Communist Chinese balloons invading American airspace. Ted offers a never-before-suggested solution (which is his answer to just about everything): FLAME THROWER DRONES! Lastly, Ted and Scott examine next steps in the Ukraine War, which they agree has become a quagmire and could remain one for the next decade. 

 

 

Bluster Bomb

The United States government claims that there’s a distinction between the NSA’s wholesale collection of information by and about individuals and governments overseas, versus the Chinese army unit charged with industrial espionage against American companies. The rest of the world, however, isn’t buying it.

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