American Culture and Domestic Politics

This week on The TMI Show, hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan confront the stunning news of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis, a bombshell that escalates calls for the Democratic Party to answer for its handling of his health. The revelation intensifies scrutiny over the party’s cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline, which ushered in Trump’s sweeping victory. Ted and Manila dissect the political wreckage, probing how the Democrats’ reluctance to address Biden’s senility shattered public confidence and altered the nation’s course. Why did party leaders prioritize lies over victory? How does Biden’s cancer diagnosis deepen doubts about transparency in governance? With their fearless, incisive approach, the hosts unravel the consequences for the Democratic Party’s credibility and the evolving political arena. This is The TMI Show at its most gripping—delivering unflinching analysis of leadership, health, and accountability. Plus: Joined by guest Todd “Bubba” Horwitz, the show examines the U.S. economy’s current trajectory, marked by persistent inflation and shifting trade dynamics. Horwitz offers insights into potential market disruptions and growth sectors for 2026. The discussion forecasts whether policy shifts under Trump could stabilize or continue to unsettle the economic outlook. Todd “Bubba” Horwitz is a renowned financial analyst and founder of BubbaTrading.com, known for his unfiltered market commentary.

Get ready for a no-holds-barred episode of “The TMI Show” with Ted Rall and Manila Chan, diving deep into the murky waters of President Biden’s cancer diagnosis and the many questions swirling around it. When did Biden and his inner circle really learn about his condition? For years, whispers of his declining mental state have been brushed under the rug—now that it’s too late, the truth is clawing its way out. This episode tackles the timeline of Biden’s health revelations, the controversies over who knew what and when, and the accountability that’s long overdue. Was it his family, top officials, or a complicit media that kept the public in the dark about his capacity to lead? We’re breaking down the facts, the spin, and the fallout—nobody’s off the hook. Should there be resignations, investigations, or something bigger? Tune in for a raw, unfiltered look at the shocking scandal that’s shaking the nation’s trust. Plus: • Elon Musk pivots Tesla back to the private sector, boasting a sales rebound and plans for unsupervised self-driving cars by June. • Former Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov, a controversial figure tied to Yanukovych, is gunned down near Madrid, raising questions of motive.

The TMI Show Ep 26: “Ted and Manila Say: Ask Us Anything” It’s Friday or, as Manila calls it, Fri-Yay! Which means it’s time for something different and something fun: we’re answering questions from you, our listeners and viewers! In terms of topic, anything goes, just as it does on the show. Whether you want our takes on ethics, politics, personal finance, romance, you name it, Record your question as a short audio or video clip and Email it as a File Attachment to: TMIShowQuestion@yahoo.com. It’s our answer to Open Mic Friday. Today we’ll dig into the first two to hit the virtual mailbag. Join the party and send in yours and we’ll answer it on the air next week!

It's very close to being an American to admit to not liking Thanksgiving. You're supposed to like the food, even though if it was popular, why don't we eat these things all year round? In fact, surveys consistently show that Americans, when given the option to answer these questions privately to pollsters, strongly dislike yams, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, stuffing and, yes, even turkey. Ted Rall has always hated Thanksgiving and isn't afraid to say so here and now. Although there are deep-rooted psychological reasons going back to his childhood growing up with a single mom, there are also some objective reasons that Thanksgiving is a disliked part of his calendar. In most parts of the country, late November offers some truly terrible weather. What's the point of having a four-day weekend when you can't go outside? The food sucks. Yes, all of it. The conceit that everyone has something to be thankful for is ridiculous — should a homeless person with cancer feel grateful on Thanksgiving day for the one day a year that the local food kitchen throws open its doors? Politically, of course, it's a holiday that commemorates the genocide of the Native American people. On the TMI show, we give you too much information about everything, including hatred of beloved national holidays. Ted lays out the case for why Thanksgiving well and truly sucks while Manila defends the holiday.

The TMI Show Ep 29: “Hunter Biden Pardoned Despite President’s Repeated Promises” President Joe Biden and his press secretary and other surrogates have repeatedly told the media that he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden on federal tax evasion and gun charges under any circumstance whatsoever. Nothing has substantially changed, yet the president has gone ahead and issued the most controversial presidential pardon since Gerald Ford let Richard Nixon off the hook. Moreover, he has used language familiar to those who follow President-elect Donald Trump to excuse his brazen self dealing and lying, justifying his actions by accusing the Department of Justice of having been politicized. What does it mean when the standard bearer of the Democrats, who claim that they differ from Trump because they are truth tellers, is so willing to make a mockery of the truth? What message are we to take from the fact that both political parties say that the DOJ is politically compromised? What if anything does this due to the Democratic Party brand? What should go Biden have done differently? Attorney and historian Tyler Nixon joins the TMI Show’s Ted Rall and Manila Chan to discuss the political and cultural implications of the Hunter Biden pardon. Keywords: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, presidential pardon, amnesty, self dealing, lying, Democratic Party, gun charges, DOJ, justice department, Department of Justice, tax evasion, Richard Nixon

The TMI Show Ep 30: “Meet the Lawmakers” Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case with broad potential implications for transgender people in the United States. US v. Skrmetti (https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/24/politics/supreme-court-to-decide-whether-states-can-restrict-gender-affirming-care-for-minors/index.html), brought by the Biden administration for trans youth, seeks to overturn Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender children and slaps doctors who provide that care with civil penalties. The government argues that transgender people are covered under the Constitution’s equal protection clause. A win for the Volunteer State defendant would likely set a precedent that would support restrictions on transgender people in health care whether they can use restrooms or play sports on teams corresponding to their gender identity. Meanwhile, transgender politics have been prominent in the recent election. Missoulans returned transgender Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (https://apnews.com/hub/zooey-zephyr), who was blocked from speaking on the floor of the state legislature, to her office. And in January, Delaware Rep.-elect Sarah McBride will make history in congressional representation, becoming the first openly transgender individual (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/05/election-sarah-mcbride-delaware-house) to serve in Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson subsequently issued a ban on transgender women like McBride from using women's bathrooms in the Capitol. As America heads into conservative-dominated government, what will the clash between the MAGA movement and an increasingly assertive transgender movement look like?

Defeated presidential candidate Kamala Harris says it's time for Democrats to roll up their sleeves and start the resistance to Donald Trump. But the party appears to be in disarray, totally dispirited and unable to find a way forward. How should Democrats prepare for the 2026 midterm elections and an open race for 2028? More than 10 million progressive voters stayed home, which allowed Trump to win; can the party do something to bring them back? Is there a way to reconcile symbolic political correctness and identity politics on the left with the parties pro-censorship and militarily aggressive foreign policy, which appears to be more on the right?

It's the most special time of the year: Festivus, when Americans gather by an unadorned pole to vent their grievances. Grievance number one: we're three days late to this Festivus Special! Ted and Manila, two people paid to kvetch and complain, share their personal and political whines, grouses and rants to a world that's too busy whining about their own silly worries to pay attention to our all-too-important complaints. Ted and Manila are pissed, and you're gonna hear about it! Keywords: Seinfeld, holidays, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Festivus, complaints, grievances, rants, worries, concerns

DOGE co-chief Vivek Ramaswamy says America generates fewer great engineers than other countries, so we have to import them from overseas using H1B visas. Not only is he opening a division on immigration within Trump World, he’s starting a conversation about American pop culture, which he claims elevates jocks over nerds. Should we bring in STEM workers from overseas even while many of our US citizens are unemployed? Is jock culture the main reason we are under-engineered? “The TMI Show” co-hosts Manila Chan and Ted Rall, the latter of whom spent three years as an Applied Physics and Nuclear Engineering major at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, have opinions.

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