Radio America Online News Bureau

relief

Hopeful Signs, Massie’s Miscalculation, Who Believes China?

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Listen to “Hopeful Signs, Massie’s Miscalculation, Who Believes China?” on Spreaker.

Join Jim and Greg as they welcome reassuring news from Dr. Birx about the COVID-19 threat. They also agree there’s a ton of wasteful spending in the relief bill but aren’t sure if forcing members back to D.C. was a great move by Rep. Thomas Massie.  And they slam media outlets for believing the U.S. really has more COVID-19 cases than China and wonder whether China is hiding a second spike of the virus.

This episode is sponsored by Acre Gold. Go to getacregold.com/martini. Acre is giving away a gold bar for the month of March. Tweet why you should win and mention @get_acre for a chance to win the free gold.

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The Wasteful Spending Inside the Coronavirus Relief Bill

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Listen to “The Wasteful Spending Inside the Coronavirus Relief Bill” on Spreaker.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package Wednesday night and the House is expected to follow suit as soon as Friday. But in addition to the critical relief for families and businesses is a lot of spending that hardly seems relevant to the crisis at hand.

For example, the legislation allots $250 million for the IRS, $350 for migration and refugee assistance, $75 million for NPR and PBS, $25 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and many others.

So how did this happen and what was happening behind the scenes even as the Senate floor debate was under way? How does House Speaker Nancy Pelosi justify these spending demands from the GOP-led Senate? And how should a fiscally conservative member approach a bill like this when other provisions need to be approved immediately?

We discuss these and other questions with Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of OpentheBooks.com.

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‘The Left Is All About the Pursuit of Power’

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Listen to “‘The Left Is All About the Pursuit of Power'” on Spreaker.

Partisan emotions are at a fevered pitch on Capitol Hill Monday, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House Democrats would draft their own bill, effectively derailing bipartisan legislation in the Senate.

On Monday, the GOP frustrations boiled over as details of the House bill emerged. Pelosi and her allies are looking to add many policy items to the bill that do not seem to have much relevance in the present circumstances.

For example, House Democrats want to greatly expand collective bargaining power for labor unions, implement parts of the Green New Deal, bail out the U.S. Postal Service, and enact national same-day voter registration.

“The left is all about the pursuit of power. They’re doing a gun grab. They’re coming after the free press. Free speech on campus is under assault. Religion is under assault,” said former Virginia Rep. Dave Brat, who is now dean of the Liberty University School of Business.

“You couldn’t copy the cookbook any better. The left is just pursuing power for its own sake,” said Brat.

In this interview with Greg Corombos, Brat also discusses whether the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus response could do greater damage than the virus itself. A longtime college economics professor, Brat also weighs in on whether economic relief would be more effective by focusing on helping businesses or putting money directly into the pocket of the American people.

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Pelosi’s Partisan Ploy, Cuomo’s Depressing Forecast, WHO Bows to China

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Listen to “Pelosi’s Partisan Ploy, Cuomo’s Depressing Forecast, WHO Bows to China” on Spreaker.

Good news is scarce once again today, but your Monday martinis dissect three critical stories.  Join Jim and Greg as they slam House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for blowing up Senate progress towards a coronavirus relief bill, making it far less likely that individuals and businesses will have financial assistance in hand when their next rent or mortgage payments are due.  They also cringe as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggests the COVID-19 restrictions may be in place as long as nine months and up to 80 percent of the population will contract the virus anyway.  So is the damage to jobs and businesses worth it if the restrictions won’t stop the virus from spreading?  And Jim unloads on the World Health Organization for accepting China’s coronavirus lies as fact and failing to confront the regime in an effort to make sure the virus was contained.

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Relief Underway After ‘Vast’ Florida Hurricane Damage

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

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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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