DMZ America with Ted Rall & Scott Stantis

In this week's edition, Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the left) and Scott Stantis (from the right) discuss the pressing issues of the day.First up--Ukraine President Zelensky comes a-calling in Washington, begging for more funds to support his war effort. Ted and Scott question whether America should spend any more on this war.Next--During a Congressional hearing, the Presidents of UPenn, Harvard and MIT gave tortured, convoluted answers to a grindingly simple question. The UPenn prez stepped down. Should the other two follow?Lastly--Texas denies a woman an abortion following the discovery of her potentially deadly pregnancy. Ted and Scott discuss the civil liberties issues here. Ted sounds a LOT like a Libertarian here, folks.

Editorial cartoonist Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics, culture and current events.  Four top contenders for the Republican nomination for president — Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis — met for the fourth GOP debate of the current cycle. What, if anything, was the point of this exercise when Donald Trump clearly has the nomination wrapped up, as Ted and Scott pointed out many months ago?For the first time in memory, Congress voted no to a major military spending package, this one for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. What does the failure of Congress to rubberstamp proxy warfare say about the current state of partisanship in Congress and militarism in general?Today was the anniversary of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack as well as the beginning of the third month after the October 7th Hamas attack against Israel. Ted and Scott discuss the nature of surprise attacks and their ability to traumatize a society and debate the importance of such benchmarks.

In an extended segment Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (coming from the Left), and Scott Stantis (coming from the Right),  discuss the two wars Americans care most about at the moment: Ukraine and Gaza. Combining history, politics and common sense, Ted and Scott take a deep dive to unpack the profound long-term meanings of both conflicts. Not surprisingly, they reach differing conclusions. Next, Ted and Scott discuss Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Randall Woodfin's proposal to make permanent a pilot program that guaranteed a minimum income to single mothers.   

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? 

Editorial Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) are joined by special guest, fellow editorial cartoonist Marshall Ramsey of Mississippi Today to discuss the news and politics of the week. First up: Democrats sweep the 2023 off-year election. Abortion rights win a landslide in the red state of Ohio, sending up warning signals to Republicans. What, if anything, does this portend for the 2024 presidential election?Second: Israel's bloody conflict in Gaza is already splitting Americans politically. Will this proxy war affect the domestic scene?

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.