Radio America Online News Bureau

The Absurd Obstruction Charge, Media’s Blatant Anti-Gun Bias, NYT’s Double Endorsement

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Listen to “The Absurd Obstruction Charge, Media’s Blatant Anti-Gun Bias, NYT’s Double Endorsement” on Spreaker.

Back to the usual format day with good, bad, and crazy martinis. Join Jim and Greg as they applaud Sen. Perdue for pointing out how stunningly weak the Democrats’ charge of obstruction of Congress against President Trump truly is. They also hammer the media for horribly biased coverage of Monday’s pro-second amendment rally in Virginia, including CNN’s assertion that gun rallies are fertile ground for white supremacists to recruit new members. And they have fun with the New York Times ending its insanely hyped endorsement process by backing two different candidates before Jim explains why they probably did it.

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What Trump’s Religious Freedom Directives Actually Do

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On Thursday, President Trump issued nine rules designed to protect religious organizations from discrimination by the federal government.  He’s also taking steps to protect free religious expression in the public schools.

What is the current law concerning religious expression in government-funded schools? How closely are those laws currently being followed?  What are Trump’s orders designed to do? And what leverage does the government have against schools that refuse to accommodate that expression?

Family Research Council Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Travis Weber joins Greg Corombos to address those questions and more.

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Why Small Businesses Could Be Big Winners in USMCA

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On Thursday, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the USMCA, the new North American trade compact among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and a leading small business advocate says there are plenty of changes to make life easier for American businesses and entrepreneurs.

What regulatory changes will help business owners keep costs down? How does the agreement give small business a much bigger voice in future trade deliberations? What additional provisions are included to protect intellectual property rights?

We get answers to those questions and discuss the ongoing trade talks with China with Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council.

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Trump’s Starr-Studded Legal Team, Manu vs. McSally, Biden Beats Expectations

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Listen to “Trump’s Starr-Studded Legal Team, Manu vs. McSally, Biden Beats Expectations” on Spreaker.

Finish the week strong with your Friday martinis! Join Jim and Greg as they discuss the roster of President Trump’s impeachment defense team, including former independent counsel Ken Starr and famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz. They also roll their eyes as Arizona Sen. Martha McSally tries to fundraise off of calling CNN reporter Manu Raju a “liberal hack” and CNN goes into full martyr mode to pretend McSally committed some sort of grave assault on the first amendment. And they get a kick out of Politico reporting that many Democrats are just now realizing that Joe Biden is not going to implode before the caucuses and primaries begin.

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Iran: ‘This Regime Is Not Ten Feet Tall’

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Less than a week after attracting worldwide attention with their massive protests against their own government, the Iranian people continue their demonstrations, even as the media turn to impeachment and other matters closer to home.

Iranian opposition groups believe there is tremendous momentum towards ending the current Iranian regime.  Alireza Jafarzadeh is deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI.

He says two very important things happened last weekend.  First, images and videos of the demonstrations actually got disseminated around the world.  The Iranian government restored internet access in an attempt to benefit from coverage of the large gatherings following the killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Jafarzadeh says the anti-regime protests began before the mourning events were finished, making transmission of the later protests impossible to stop.

Jafarzadeh also says the supportive tweets for the demonstrators from President Trump are very significant.  In a series of tweets posted in Farsi, Trump said the United States stood with the people of Iran, warned the Iranian government not to kill its own people or cut off internet access, and call for a human rights commission to investigate Iranian crimes against their own people.

While he insists the work of changing governments rests with the Iranian people, Jafarzadeh says Trump and other world leaders provide a great service by publicly supporting the demonstrators.

“The role of the outside world and the international community is extremely important to build pressure on the Iranian regime, to make the people understand this regime is not ten feet tall,” said Jafarzadeh.  “This concerted effort, both from the outside and inside will eventually lead to the fall of the Iranian regime.”

Listen to the full podcast as Jafarzadeh describes the size and intensity of the demonstrations, the conditions under which the regime would actually leave, and why he thinks it is more vulnerable than ever.  He also describes the efforts of the Iranian government to attack the opposition inside and outside of Iraq – including him.

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Rudy’s Bumbling Agents, Iowa’s Confusing Caucuses, West Virginia’s Wild Proposal

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Listen to “Rudy’s Bumbling Agents, Iowa’s Confusing Caucuses, West Virginia’s Wild Proposal” on Spreaker.

Nothing but crazy martinis today and the last one is a lot of fun!  Join Jim and Greg today as they try to understand how bumbling figures like Lev Parnas ended up as Rudy Giuliani’s key operatives in Ukraine.  They also shake their heads as Iowa Democrats plan to release three separate results from the caucuses next month, possibly giving multiple candidates the chance to claim victory. And they examine West Virginia’s offer for second amendment friendly counties in Virginia to switch states, leading Jim and Greg to wonder how the map would look if counties could jump to other states they find more ideologically similar.

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Tom Steyer Talks Debates, Climate, National Security & More

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Businessman and activist Tom Steyer remains in the Democratic presidential race and on the debate stage long after other party hopefuls exited the race. But why is he there?  What does he bring to the campaign that other Democrats do not?

In a conversation with Greg Corombos, Steyer explains what compelled him to run after initially deciding not to be a candidate.  They also dive into Steyer’s signature issue of climate change.  What is his specific plan and is it realistic to think we can phase out fossil fuels entirely?

In Tuesday’s debate, Steyer claimed his international business experience has prepared him to be commander-in-chief.  But how does that kind of experience specifically prepare him for deciding whether to commit U.S. troops to combat?

In recent weeks, Steyer has climbed to double digits in polls of voters in the early primary and caucus states of Nevada and South Carolina.  What’s responsible for the surge?

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Virginia Embraces ERA; Fight Far from Over

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Virginia’s House of Delegates approved the Equal Rights Amendment Wednesday, with supporters hailing the vote as the final step for ratification and critics pointing out the opportunity to enact it ended 38 years ago.

The Democratic-led chamber voted 59-41 to approve the amendment, also known as ERA. The problem for supporters is that Congress gave the states until 1982 to reach the 38-state threshold needed for ratification.

Undeterred, activists plan to push Congress to change the deadline so the votes in Virginia and a few others states that took place well after the deadline can count towards ratification.

Independent Women’s Forum Senior Political Analyst Inez Stepman says it’s not that simple. She says Congress set the window for ratification as part of the amendment itself, which was approved by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. She argues a two-thirds majority would also be needed to change the deadline.

Listen to the full podcast as Stepman explains the political and legal wrangling to come on this issue. She also explains why she believes the amendment is wholly unnecessary.

Finally, Stepman explains how the ERA could actually erode equality for women and girls.

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Biden’s Bogus Argument, CNN vs. Bernie, ‘Bern’ Down Milwaukee?

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Listen to “Biden’s Bogus Argument, CNN vs. Bernie, ‘Bern’ Down Milwaukee?” on Spreaker.

Pull up a stool for another busy day on the Three Martini Lunch.  Join Jim and Greg as they call out Joe Biden for falsely insisting the Obama-Biden administration never used military action apart from congressional authorization.  They also hammer CNN for blatantly siding with Elizabeth Warren in her accusation that Bernie Sanders told her a woman could not get elected president – a charge Sanders strongly denies.  And they unload on the radical Bernie Sanders campaign field organizer caught on tape threatening to burn down Milwaukee and other cities if Sanders does not win the Democratic nomination at the convention this summer.

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Many in Middle East Celebrate Demise of Soleimani

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While the American media portrays the U.S. strike killing Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani as controversial and deeply destabilizing to the region, terrorism expert Brigitte Gabriel says throughout the Middle East the news is being cheered by people and nations increasingly worried about Iranian ambitions in the region.

Gabriel is the chairman of ACT for America, the largest grassroots national security organization in the U.S. and author of “Rise.” A native of Lebanon and fluent in Arabic, Gabriel says many media reports in the Middle East show people joyful of Soleimani’s death.

“The difference in coverage is shocking.  A lot of the Arab Street is celebrating the death of Soleimani.  They know that Soleimani was a bad man, not only in Iran but throughout the Arab Street, even in Egypt, even in Saudi Arabia. Even in those types of countries they understand. In Qatar, they understand the danger of Soleimani.

“In Iran, there are videos of people passing out candy. In the Middle East and Arabic culture, when they’re celebrating a good event (such as) a wedding, a birth, an engagement, they pass out candy and bake cakes. After the death of Soleimani, they were baking cakes and passing out candies in the street.  That was not covered in American media,” said Gabriel.

And why were the people in Iran and elsewhere celebrating Soleimani’s death? Gabriel says they all know Soleimani was critical to Iran’s territorial ambitions throughout the region.

“Iran’s tentacles reach throughout the whole Middle East as Iran tries to establish hegemony over the whole Middle East, ” said Gabriel. “My own country of birth, Lebanon, went from being the Paris of the Middle East to now being basically a terrorist hub controlled by Hezbollah, which is funded by Iran.”

Listen to the full podcast as Gabriel tells Radio America’s Greg Corombos why she believes Soleimani’s decades of carnage warranted the strike that killed him. She also discusses what can be done to encourage the Iranian protesters as they try to force massive change.

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