Support Ted’s Work

DMZ America Podcast #126: Gaza Left vs. Right, Alabama’s Universal Basic Income

•
Ted Rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics and current events and culture. This week, the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Birmingham, Alabama’s experiment with a universal basic income.

In the first segment of this week’s DMZ America podcast, Ted and Scott dig deeper than ever before into the domestic and international implications of the war in Gaza. The two cartoonists delve into Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in administrative detention, hostage exchanges, and whether there is a future two-state solution or whether a future single Republic of Palestine could reasonably accommodate members of all ethnic groups.

In the second part of the DMZ America podcast this week, Scott explains an experiment in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama in which single women are paid a universal basic income of $385 per month. The mayor says he wants to renew it because it’s doing well. Should a universal basic income be adopted by the United States? Ted and Scott talk about the economic and cultural risks and rewards of giving people a paycheck without having to work, with an emphasis on the fact that automation and artificial intelligence may make it so that society has no choice.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 126 Sec 1: Gaza — Left vs. Right

DMZ America Podcast Ep 126 Sec 2: Alabama’s Basic Universal Income

DMZ America Podcast #125: Is “From the River to the Sea” Genocidal? Mike Johnson Flirts with Adulting

•
Ted Rall

Political Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the hot news and current events of the week on the DMZ America podcast. On DMZ, you’ll hear two best friends who happen to come from opposite sides of American politics. Ted and Scott disagree, passionately, but they’re always calm, civilized and respectful. DMZ is a no-yelling zone!

First up this week: Ted and Scott debate the phrase “From the River to Sea” in the context of the heated debate over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Is it genocidal or a kumbaya dream? Does Israel have a “right to exist”? Is Hamas exaggerating or underplaying the death count? Who will govern post-Hamas Gaza? Is Israel planning to annex some or all of Gaza? You won’t want to miss this smart take on the Middle East crisis.

Second up this week: Ted and Scott reflect on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to avoid a government shutdown by—gasp!—working with Democrats. Will acting like adults get Republicans credit? Is it even possible? Can a shutdown be avoided? Will Johnson go the way of Kevin McCarthy and have his gavel taken away too?


Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 125 Sec 1: Is “From the River to the Sea” Genocidal?

DMZPodcast Ep 125 Sec 2: Mike Johnson Flirts with Adulting

DMZ America Podcast #123: Passions Flair Over Gaza, Does Dean Phillips’ Presidential Bid Matter? The Weird 14th Amendment Case in Colorado

•
Ted Rall
Passions flair as Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (for the Left) and Scott Stantis (for the Right) discuss Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Is Israel practicing self-defense or apartheid? Are the actions of either side even remotely justified? Scott, who supports Israel, and Ted get into it with  verve and more than a little zeal. 
 

Next, they turn to domestic issues to discuss Congressman’s Dean Phillips (D-MN) announcement that he will run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the New Hampshire primary and presumably beyond. New Hampshire was a primary President Joe Biden decided to skip. Does Representative Phillips’ campaign matter? (Sidelight: Ted Rall’s short-lived presidential ambitions are dashed by the Congressman’s announcement!) 

Lastly, some folks in Colorado are trying to use an obscure section of the 14th Amendment to keep former President Donald Trump off of the 2024 ballot in Colorado and other states. While neither Ted nor Scott is a MAGA person, they share their strong opinions on this topic. 

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 123 Sec 1: Passions Flair Over Gaza

DMZ America Podcast Ep 123 Sec 2: Does Dean Phillips’ Presidential Bid Matter?

DMZ America Podcast Ep 123 Sec 3: The Weird 14th Amendment Case in Colorado

 

DMZ America Podcast #122: We Have a Speaker! Meet the Woke Pulitzer Prize. Should Americans Pay for Ukraine and Israel’s Endless Wars?

•
Ted Rall

Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss newly-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the process that led to his ascension. Scott raises the possibility that Representative Matt Gaetz and the far right-wing Freedom Caucus played the Republicans in the House to get the most radically-right Speaker in the history of the institution. 

Next, Ted and Scott fill out the painfully woke questionnaire sent out by journalism’s most prestigious award, the Pulitzer Prizes administered by Columbia University. Listen, (and watch on YouTube), as the questions get progressively more politically correct. Making Ted rename the award “The Woke-litzer Prize.”

Finally, Ted and Scott discuss the question of the United States and its taxpayers spending billions and billions on the Ukraine and Israel wars. Should monies that might be better spent here at home be sent to conflicts that have very little to do with America? Scott and Ted take a deep dive into both and find disagreement over Israel as well as common ground over Palestine. 

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 122 Sec 1: We have a Speaker!

DMZ America Podcast Ep 122 Sec 2: Meet the Woke Pulitzer Prize

DMZ America Podcast Ep 122 Sec 3: Should Americans Pay for Ukraine and Israel’s Endless Wars?

DMZ America Podcast #121: Israel Playing Into Hamas’ Plans, House Speaker Crisis, Biden’s Terrifying Speech

•
Ted Rall

Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) discuss national and international events of the week.

First up: as we enter the third week of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, there are rising fears of regional escalation. Has Hezbollah agreed to open a second front against Israel? Will Iran attack Israel? How long will it take Israel to overthrow the Hamas government and what kind of regime do they plan to install if and when they succeed? Right now, it looks like they are poised to repeat the mistakes America made in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

In the second segment of the podcast, Ted and Scott discuss the constitutional crisis created by the Republican Party’s inability to choose a Speaker of the House of Representatives. Steve, Scalise and Jim Jordan are both out. Will the speakership ultimately wind up in the hands of an obscure congressman? In the meantime, congressional business has ground to a standstill.

Finally, Ted and Scott react to President Biden’s second Oval Office speech since he became president. Squinting, unable to read the Teleprompter, tripping over his words and slurring, this was an extremely disturbing performance that seems to belie Democrats’ claim that he is a viable candidate for 2024. Will he resign? Step aside mid-campaign? Or try to muddle through somehow to reelection? Scott and Ted also discuss the substance of Biden’s speech: his attempt to link the Ukraine and Israel conflicts.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 121 Sec 1: Israel Playing Into Hamas’ Plans

DMZ America Podcast Ep 121 Sec 2: House Speaker Crisis

DMZ America Podcast Ep 121 Sec 3: Biden’s Terrifying Speech

DMZ America Podcast #120: Hamas Goes to War with Israel

•
Ted Rall

Hamas fighters swarmed into Israel from the Occupied Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to a grinding economic blockade since 2007, killing Israeli civilians and soldiers and taking hostages. Political cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the ramifications of what Israelis are calling their 9/11. Scott, an ardent defender of Israel, tries to find common ground with Ted, who supports Palestine’s independence struggle.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep120: Hamas Goes to War with Israel

DMZ America Podcast #119 with Guest Jack Ohman, SF Chronicle Cartoonist: Congressional Poop Show, Western Support for Ukraine, the State of Editorial Cartooning

•
Ted Rall

Jack Ohman, editorial cartoonist and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, joins fellow Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) this week. 

First off, the cartoonist trio unpacks the meaning and repercussions of the recent vacating of the Speaker of the House seat in Congress. Who should and who will be the next Speaker? Will/can Donald Trump take the seat?

Next, there is deep disagreement over whether or not the West, and more specifically the United States, ought to continue sending arms and taxpayers money to Ukraine.  

Lastly, Ted, Jack and Scott discuss the state of American editorial cartooning. Guest Jack Ohman is the current President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, while Ted Rall and Scott Stantis have served in that role. A combined 120 years of editorial cartooning experience leads to the conclusion that the profession is in crisis with no relief in sight. Yet we remain optimistic. 

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 119 Sec 1 w/Guest Jack Ohman, SF Chronicle: Congressional Poop Show

DMZ America Podcast Ep 119 Sec 2 with Guest Jack Ohman, SF Chronicle: Western Support for Ukraine

DMZ America Podcast Ep 119 Sec 3 with Guest Jack Ohman, SF Chronicle: State of Editorial Cartooning

 

DMZ America Podcast #118: The Second GOP Debate Reminds Us That Trump Will Be the Republican Nominee

•
Ted Rall

In this week’s installment of the DMZ America Podcast, political cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) digest and analyze the second GOP debate featuring North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.

The clear winner was the man who is ahead of number two DeSantis by 47 points, Donald Trump—and he wasn’t there. What’s the point of this exercise, considering that Trump rather credibly says he won’t choose his veep from these seven? Who will drop out soon? What happens to the survivors? What does the current state of the Republican primaries and the general election race say about the U.S. system in general? Scott and Ted turn over the Rubik’s cube of 2024 presidential campaign to examine all the angles.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast #118: The Second GOP Debate Reminds Us That Trump Will Be the Republican Nominee

DMZ America Podcast #117: Should President Biden Be Impeached? What is the Legacy of Rupert Murdoch? and Are the Two Major Political Parties Switching Positions?

•
Ted Rall

Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis discuss and dissect the issues of the day.

First up, the U.S. House of Representatives has begun an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden. The question before the House and the country is; if the facts of the Hunter Biden fiasco be traced back to President Biden, should he be impeached?

Next up, Ted and Scott discuss the legacy of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The good, the bad and the ugly. (Scott contends that Murdoch is as important a figure as William Randolph Hearst.)

Lastly, Scott asks Ted to expand on his recent syndicated column, documenting the fact that the Republicans and Democrats are realigning themselves in surprising and unexpected ways.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 117 Sec 1: Should President Biden Be Impeached?

DMZ America Podcast Ep 117 Sec 2: What is the Legacy of Rupert Murdoch?

DMZ America Podcast Ep 117 Sec 3: Are the Two Major Political Parties Switching Positions?

 

DMZ America Podcast #116: Bidexit, UAW Strike Deadline, Autonomous Assassination Drones

•
Ted Rall

Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the political Left) and Scott Stantis (from the political Right) discuss breaking news and politics.

This week, Democrats are finally focusing on and starting to become alarmed by President Biden’s stubbornly-low poll numbers. 67% of Democrats say they don’t want him to be their candidate next year. Democratic senators say that even voters who think he has done a good job think he is simply too old to run again. Now mainstream media outlets are starting to float the possibility that he may decide to step aside, and either open up the Democratic primary process or anoint a successor. Scott and Ted handicap the various scenarios for Bidexit.

Four days away from their strike deadline against the big three Detroit auto makers, the United Auto Workers union is still far away from the latest offers on the table. In agreement that a strike currently looks likely, Scott and Ted discuss the state of negotiations, the future of the auto industry and the economic impact of a walkout.

Reuters has published a shocking expose of the advanced state of autonomous AI weapons currently in development and available for sale on the international arms marketplace. From drones to trucks to submarines to fighter jets, the dark vision of the Terminator movies is upon us. Will the world act to ban these dystopian killer robots?

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 116 Sec 1: Bidexit

DMZ America Podcast Ep 116 Sec 2: UAW Strike Deadline

DMZ America Podcast Ep 116 Sec 3: Autonomous Assassination Drones

keyboard_arrow_up
css.php