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Relief Underway After ‘Vast’ Florida Hurricane Damage

October 19, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Relief Underway After ‘Vast’ Florida Hurricane Damage” on Spreaker.

A week after Hurricane Michael roared ashore along the Florida Panhandle, residents are still very early in the recovery and clean-up phases, but help is already there to meet every need in the devastated communities.

Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian relief organization founded by Rev. Franklin Graham, is on scene.  It’s program director for U.S. Disaster Response, Tim Haas, says the hurricane left a trail of destruction he’s rarely seen in his years of ministering to communities suffering from natural disasters.

“It’s vast.  It’s very widespread,” said Haas, who says he encountered a lot of damage while still hours away from where the storm came ashore.

He says the hardest hit areas are reeling.

“It’s a lot of houses that have trees all over the place in the yard.  Many of the trees are still on the homes.  Power outage is widespread.  Services are down and are trying to come down as soon as possible,” said Haas.

“There’s still active search and rescue.  There are still numbers of people who have not been accounted for.  Pray for those who are missing.  Pray for those who are waiting to hear word,” said Haas.

Samaritan’s Purse is already busy helping residents clean out debris and protect their homes from further damage.

“With many house and with many roofs , they’re not structurally sound.  They’re not weatherproof.  So we’re endeavoring to tarp as many roofs as we can before we we have the next rain.

“And as we get closer to the water and closer to areas where surge and/or flood is the issue, we will be mudding those houses out and helping to dry them out so that at some point in the future they can rebuild and get back in their homes,” said Haas.

Haas says is blown away by how thankful people are for the help.

“They’re quick to give a hug and express how deeply they appreciate the fact they are not forgotten.  Even if we were just to pick up one stick, it’s one stick that they don’t have to pick up.  The people here are so appreciative.  This is a hard-working community,” said Haas.

Cleanup in northern Florida and even in Georgia is going to take a long time.  Haas invites any Americans who are handy and have a desire to serve to go to spvolunteer.org to schedule a time to come and help, whether that is soon or even weeks or months from now.

But he says the greatest need is for Americans to pray for the people impacted by the storms.

“The people that have been affected by this storm, they need prayer support.  We need prayer support for safety.  We need prayers that god would move in such a way that the hopelessness of people is found with the hope of Christ,” said Haas.

While Samaritan’s Purse is fully committed to helping people rebuild their homes and communities, Haas says there’s an even higher calling.

“Our goal is to share hope through the gospel and to tell people that Jesus loves them, to tell people that Jesus has not forgotten them, and to be able to point them to churches that are shining brightly in these communities.

“People who don’t come to churches are coming to churches are coming to churches.  Churches are stepping up to be the beacon of hope and to be those places people go [to have] questions answered.  Samaritan’s Purse sees ourselves, humbly, as the ability to support these churches, to support those who are already ministering in this area,” said Haas.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Haas describe the decimated town of Mexico Beach and a powerful encounter he had with one of the residents.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: Florida, Hurricane Michael, relief, Samaritan's Purse

Red Cross President on Florida: ‘It’s Just Heartbreaking’

October 15, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Red Cross President on Florida: ‘It’s Just Heartbreaking'” on Spreaker.

President Trump visited the Florida communities devastated by Hurricane Michael on Monday, but while the needs are great, the head of the American Red Cross says relief workers are up to the challenge.

Hurricane Michael formed off the western coast of Cuba last week and then roared ashore in the Florida panhandle at nearly Category Five strength, effectively destroying some towns.

“This is one of the worst that I’ve seen because it was a hurricane that sort of behaved like a tornado,” said American Red Cross President and CEO Gail McGovern.

The storm then behaved more like a hurricane as it moved into Georgia and Alabama and up to the Carolinas and Virginia.

“It’s just heartbreaking.  I have to say our hearts go out to anyone who was impacted by Hurricane Michael.  It was really devastating.  Schools are gone, homes are gone, businesses are gone,” said McGovern.

The Red Cross prepositions supplies in preparation for disasters like this and tries to shuttle in relief workers as well.  She says this storm is very personal for some of their volunteers.

“We have employees and volunteers who are in the impacted area year-round.  We don’t pack up and go home.  This is our home,” said McGovern.

While well-prepared, McGovern says there are pressing needs.

“The roads have debris on them, the power is out, communication is challenging because some of the cell towers are out.  It’s been quite a challenge on the ground,” said McGovern.

To date, the Red Cross is operating 27 shelters in the Florida panhandle.  At the peak, 10,000 people were staying in them.  More than 125,000 meals and snacks have already been given out.

Listen to the full podcast to hear more about the challenges in Florida and other areas devastated by Hurricane Michael and find out the various ways you can help those in need.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: devastation, Florida, Michael, RedCross, relief

Good GOP Primary Night, Cardinal Sins, McCain Tribute Uproar

August 29, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Good GOP Primary Night, Cardinal Sins, McCain Tribute Uproar” on Spreaker.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer the results of primaries in Florida and Arizona, pointing out that the GOP enjoyed turnout advantages in both states, and got its best option for holding the Senate seat in Arizona while Democrats nominated an avowed socialist for governor of Florida.  They also unload on a Catholic cardinal from Chicago for suggesting Pope Francis cannot go down “rabbit trails” like rampant allegations of pedophile priests and bishops who covered up the crimes because the pontiff needs to focus more on climate change and building acceptance for migrants.  And they roll their eyes as Democrats and the media (but we repeat ourselves) are horrified that any Republican senator would not immediately rush to rename a Senate office building in honor of John McCain and that any opposition to the idea is an endorsement of the segregationist views of the senator for whom the building is currently named.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: 2018 midterms, abuse scandal, Arizona, cardinal, Florida, John McCain, National Review, Pope Francis, Richard Russell, Three Martini Lunch

Encouraging Senate Polls, Tone-Deaf Warren, Delay Kavanaugh Over Cohen Plea?

August 23, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Encouraging Senate Polls, Tone-Deaf Warren, Delay Kavanaugh Over Cohen Plea?” on Spreaker.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer up as they see new Senate polls showing Rick Scott with a healthy lead in Florida and Republicans within striking distance in Wisconsin.  They also shake their heads as Sen. Elizabeth Warren issues perfunctory condolences to the family of Mollie Tibbetts but says we need to focus on our real immigration problems.  And they marvel at Senate Democrats, who now insist that the consideration of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh must wait because Michael Cohen has accused President Trump of a campaign finance violation.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: 2018 midterms, Brett Kavanaugh, Chuck Schumer, democrats, Elizabeth Warren, Florida, immigration, Michael Cohen, Mollie Tibbetts, National Review, polls, Senate, Three Martini Lunch, Wisconsin

Nelson’s ‘Four Pinocchios,’ GOP Senators AWOL, Losing House Good for Trump?

August 17, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Nelson’s ‘Four Pinocchios,’ GOP Senators AWOL, Losing House Good for Trump?” on Spreaker.

David French of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud the Washington Post for assigning “Four Pinocchios” to Florida Sen. Bill Nelson’s claim that the Russians had already infiltrated his state’s election systems, even though every relevant office in federal and state government had no idea what he was talking about.  They also hammer Republican senators for wasting their time in session this month because seven GOP members failed to show up this week, handing Democrats a functional majority while critical votes are supposed to be happening.  And they scratch their heads over a new rationale among some Republicans that Democrats winning control of the House in the midterm elections would actually be a very good thing for President Trump’s re-election prospects in 2020.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: absences, Bill Nelson, Florida, National Review, President Trump 2018 midterms, russia, Senate, Three Martini Lunch

Media Buries Terrorist Compound Story, No Death in Single Payer? Nelson Cries Russia

August 9, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Media Buries Terrorist Compound Story, No Death in Single Payer? Nelson Cries Russia” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are baffled by the lack of media coverage about a New Mexico compound where starving children were reportedly being trained to carry out school shootings, and they find, once again, that the FBI responded slowly to compelling tips.  They also continue to find entertainment in socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is now claiming that medicare-for-all would eliminate funeral expenses.  And they wonder why Florida Sen. Bill Nelson had made claims about Russian interference in the election when no state official has heard anything about it.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: 3MartiniLunch, Bill Nelson, FBI, Florida, medicare, National Review, Ocasio-Cortez, russia, school shooting, singlepayer, Terrorism

Florida Senate Slugfest, Twitter CEO’s Real Agenda? Seeing Government as Parents

April 9, 2018 by GregC


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America have fun with three different headlines, starting with the news that Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott will run for U.S. Senate this year, possibly giving Republicans their best chance of winning that race.  They also scratch their heads as Twitter CEO and supposed free speech champion Jack Dorsey describes a Medium article as a “great read” after it calls for all of America to follow the progressive path of California, says that conservatism must be thoroughly defeated, and labels Republicans as “bad guys on the wrong side of history.”  And they fume after former First Lady Michelle Obama likens the presidencies of her husband and Donald Trump to parenting children.  They also get a kick out of Mrs. Obama saying we shouldn’t look to make someone president just because they give a good speech.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: 2018 midterms, Bill Nelson, California, Florida, Jack Dorsey, Michelle Obama, National Review, parents, presidents, Rick Scott, speeches, Three Martini Lunch, Twitter

Gun Rights Group Responds to Media Condemnation

February 15, 2018 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/2-15-HAMMOND-BLOG.mp3

Gun control advocates and media figures are making several accusations against the gun lobby and guns rights reporters in the aftermath of Wednesday’s horrific high school shooting in Florida, but a prominent gun rights group says the claims are baseless and says media attention given to this killer is already inspiring the next one.

On Wednesday, 17 people were killed and another 14 injured at a high school in Parkland, Florida.  The 19-year-old shooter, who was once expelled from the school, is in police custody.

As has become custom in the wake of such horrific tragedies, the political blame game began just minutes after the news first broke of the shooting, with many gun control advocates accusing their opponents of bearing some of the blame.

Gun Owners of America Legislative Director Michael Hammond says that is nothing new.

“That is certainly the theme of the day, that if you take a particular position on a policy that you’re implicated or complicit,” said Hammond.  “The left now thinks it has a terminology that will hurt us so it’s sticking to it.”

Hammond is also playing offense, asserting that the non-stop media attention to massacres like the one in Parkland only makes the problem worse.

“I fear they’re never going to stop until the names and pictures of these horrible individuals stop being plastered on TV 24 hours a day,” said Hammond.

“There are probably millions and millions of young men currently sitting in their parents’ basement, in front of their computer screen, without a date for Valentine’s Day, who potentially could snap.

“What’s going to cause them to snap in some cases is that they have a wall of clippings of the attention given to previous shooters,” said Hammond, who says the killer at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, had such a wall before he murdered small children and school officials in 2012.

A common argument from gun control advocates in recent days is such mass shootings “only happen here.”  Hammond says that’s not true, pointing to major mass shootings in Norway and France in recent years.

“There are plenty of countries that have horrific incidents which are comparable.  One of the things those countries don’t have is a left-wing cable medium which glorifies these killers and lionizes them,” he says.

Media figures and Democratic politicians are also accusing the GOP-led Congress and President Trump of making it easier for mentally ill people to buy guns, as the result of a bill signed into law last year.

Hammond says that is also way off base.

“What [the Obama-era rule] did was it trolled Social Security disability.  It said, ‘We’ll look at everyone who has a guardian receiving their check for whatever reason.  We’ll look at everyone with PTSD, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, and we’ll send their names to West Virginia and take away their guns,” said Hammond.

“Congress, not surprisingly, found this objectionable and found it fundamentally lacking in due process and overturned it by a fairly substantial margin.  The fact is 257,000 law-abiding veterans have had their guns taken away from them because they had PTSD,” said Hammond.

Hammond says he finds it appalling that these people were trusted with automatic weapons to defend the nation in uniform but aren’t trusted with semi-automatic weapons to protect their family and property.

The Florida shooting is the latest mass shooting to have a killer using an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Hammond says it’s the most popular rifle in America but gun control advocates want to see it banned.

Hammond says the AR-15 may look more menacing than other guns but works exactly the same as semi-automatic weapons made by Glock and Baretta.  He says it’s used in mass killings because of the copycat effect and believes the effort to ban it are purely political.

“It’s exploiting a tragedy for the purpose of making a political point.  The day after they outlaw the AR-15, they’ll be back for national gun registration, or national gun confiscation, or something else.

“Look at New York, there is no jurisdiction that has begun to go down that road that has voluntarily stopped short of complete, across-the-board gun bans and confiscation,” said Hammond.

So what is his solution?  He says the best way to prevent such atrocities in the future is to repeal gun-free zones that were implemented more than two decades ago.

“In 1996, Congress banned guns from campuses.  Guess what happened within two or three years of that?  Columbine happened.  Since the efforts of the media to use Columbine to exploit Columbine, for the purpose of achieving gun control, there has just been a non-stop session of copycat killings,” said Hammond.

He says killers almost always attack in a gun-free zone because they are confident there will be no resistance.

“If you want to get your 15 minutes of fame.  If you want to go someplace and ensure that your name will be enshrined in the pantheon of MSNBC forever, what you do is you go into that place where you know no one else will have a gun and no one will shoot back.  Where is that?  A school.

“The Aurora shooter basically went from movie theater to movie theater until he saw a no guns sign,” added Hammond.

Hammond strongly endorses legislation from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., that would rescind the gun-free zones from the federal level.  He also encourages armed personnel to be placed at schools and other soft targets.

“If one of these guys shows up with a gun and he dies before he’s fired the first shot, then he’s going to look foolish and there aren’t going to be copycat shootings of that,” said Hammond.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: Florida, gun control, gun rights, gun-free zones, guns, mentally ill, news

DNC Dead Broke, GOP Govs Sinking Offshore Drilling, PolitiFact’s Grave Error

February 2, 2018 by GregC


Need a break from the memo frenzy?  Have some martinis with us!  Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America get a kick out of seeing the Democratic National Committee with less than half a million dollars on hand heading into the midterms while Republicans have $40 million ready to go.  They also shake their heads as Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan wants to opt out of the Trump’s administration’s plans for offshore energy exploration, a move made much easier by government already granting an exemption for Florida.  And they bang their heads against the desk as PolitiFact hired unhinged former Florida Rep. Alan Grayson to be part of their team, only to reverse course after liberals and conservatives howled in protest.  Jim and Greg also share their unvarnished thoughts on Groundhog Day and offer their Superbowl predictions.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: Alan Grayson, DNC, Florida, Groundhog Day, Larry Hogan, Maryland, memo, money, National Review, offshore drilling, PolitiFact, Superbowl, Three Martini Lunch

Three Martini Lunch 2/7/17

February 7, 2017 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/3-Martini-Lunch-2-7-17.mp3

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America react to the Senate confirmation of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education.  They also sigh as the Trump administration gets bent out of shape over the Saturday Night Live spoofing of Press Secretary Sean Spicer.  And they learn about the man angling to become the Democratic nominee for governor in Florida.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: DeVos, Florida, Martini, Morgan, National, Review, Senate, SNL, Spicer

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