Commentary by Ted Rall

Trump, The Tape and a Bunch of Lazy Journalists By Ted Rall

"The tape, without question, is real."

I expected better from The New York Times.

Sexual Harassment And The End Of Team Politics By Ted Rall

Until the 1990s, American electoral politics were divided ideologically, between the opposing ideas of liberalism and conservatism. Now we have Team Politics: Democrat versus Republican, my party right or wrong.

The Weird Politics Of Sexual Harassment By Ted Rall

When the Kevin Spacey story first broke, he stood accused of one act of wrongdoing: aggressively hitting on a 14-year-old boy.

Another Reason To Protect Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths From Cars By Ted Rall

This week's ISIS-inspired truck attack in lower Manhattan by Uzbek immigrant Sayfullo Saipov has prompted discussions on a number of fronts. There is blowback, the foreign-policy-chickens-come-home-to-roost indicated by an increasing number of radical Islamists emerging from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, a Central Asian nation whose brutal dictatorship is financed and armed by our U.S. taxdollars.   

Why Girls In The Boy Scouts Feels Weird By Ted Rall

I'm not a traditionalist. Progress is good. The fact that we've always done something a certain way is no argument for continuing to do it the same way.   

What Would The U.S. Look Like if We Built it from Scratch? By Ted Rall

Imagine that there was another revolution. And that nothing big had changed. Demographics, power dynamics, culture, our economic system and political values were pretty much the same as they are now. If we Americans rolled up our sleeves and reimagined our political system from scratch, if we wrote up a brand-new constitution for 2017, what would a brand-spanking-new United States Version 2.0 look like today?

Hugh Hefner Said His Critics Were Prudes And Puritans By Ted Rall

No one has ever accused Ross Douthat of excessive astuteness. "Donald Trump isn't going to be the Republican nominee," wrote in January 2016. Dude is paid to prognosticate politics. Even so, Douthat probably pulls down six figures at The New York Times, which doesn't grant me the courtesy of a rejection letter. So people pay attention to him.

No Man Is Above The Law -- Except On College Campuses By Ted Rall

Freshman orientation, Columbia University, New York City, fall 1981: Speeches. A blur of upperclassmen, professors and deans welcomed us, explained campus resources and laid out dos and don'ts. At one point, the topic of the campus drug policy came up. "You can do whatever you want in your dorm room," we were told, "just make sure it's OK with your roommate." A ripple of surprise swept the audience. Several students asked for elaboration of this don't-ask-don't-tell policy on illegal narcotics, and were told that they'd heard correctly.  

Obama Screwed The DACA Dreamers Before Trump Did By Ted Rall

Attorney General Jeff Sessions' September 5 announcement that the Trump Administration is repealing Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for children brought into the United States illegally marks another political low point for a president who stages his photos so he looks tough "like Churchill" but whose governance is so wobbly and noncommittal that he's elevated waffling to an artform.   

Progressive, Heal Thyself By Ted Rall

Many progressives are stupid. Unless they get smart soon, "The Resistance" to Donald Trump will fail, just like everything else the Left has tried to do for the last 40 years.

If You Fire A Fascist, You Are A Fascist By Ted Rall

No one should get fired for his political beliefs.   

Not even a Nazi.  

Our Obsession With Trump Shows Authoritarianism Has Arrived by Ted Rall

Bernie Sanders has joined the chorus of politicians and pundits who warn that the U.S. is sliding into authoritarianism under Trump. But he's kind of wrong about how.

The Democrats Are A Lost Cause by Ted Rall

There they go again.

Democrats Want To Lose The 2020 Election By Ted Rall

"I am not a member of any organized political party," Will Rogers said ages ago. "I am a Democrat."

Democrats' Obsession With Russian Election Hacking Makes Them Look Dumb By Ted Rall

They got Al Capone for tax evasion -- only tax evasion. It wasn't very satisfying for his prosecutors. But they couldn't prove murder or racketeering. So they got him where they wanted him: behind bars. It wasn't elegant. But they got the job done. 

Donald Trump's Other Lies: His Campaign Promises by Ted Rall

This week's political coverage -- probably next week's, too -- will likely be dominated by deposed FBI director James Comey's incendiary testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. However, Trump's "lies, pure and simple" are limited neither to the president's claim that Comey's FBI was "in disarray, that it was poorly led" nor his litany of falsehoods -- most recently, that the mayor of London doesn't care about terrorism and that Trump's First 100 Days were the most productive of any president in history.

What Do The Democrats Want? by Ted Rall

In the 1970s, when I was a kid, I asked my mother to explain the difference between the two major parties. "Democrats," she explained, "are the party of the working man. Republicans represent big business."

Trump Voters' Message: We Exist by Ted Rall

I think it was over Thanksgiving dinner. My mother's best friend, a dear woman who has been nothing but good to me, decided to poke some gentle fun, Dayton Ohio-style, at me.

Despite Everything, I Am Happy She Lost By Ted Rall

His fans hoped he was another Ronald Reagan. His critics thought he was Hitler. Who would have guessed that, 100 days into a presidency, few besides me saw coming, Donald Trump would look like Jesse Ventura? 

What A Real Passenger Bill Of Rights Should Look Like by Ted Rall

The violent ejection of a United Airlines passenger from a flight bound from Chicago to Louisville appears to have marked a long-awaited turning point. Dr. David Dao, 69, suffered a broken nose, lost two teeth and faces reconstructive sinus surgery. At last, America's long-suffering flying public is crying as one; have you commercial airlines no shame?