Hillsdale College Radio General Manager and Radio Free Hillsdale Hour Host Scot Bertram is in for Jim. Today, Scot and Greg serve up all crazy martinis. First, they walk through the bizarre saga of Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin being in the ICU with post-surgery complications and no one apparently telling the President of the United States, the National Security Adviser, or even the Deputy Secretary of Defense for four days. They also roll their eyes at a new study suggesting higher taxes on sodas a...
Jan 08, 2024•24 min•Ep. 3314
We've made it to the first Friday of 2024! And Jim and Greg are ready to serve up three martinis - right after Greg shares a fantastic 'Die Hard' story. They start the martinis on the lighter side by reacting to an Axios story outlining tensions in the White House press office as Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby split duties in the press room and neither one is particularly is happy about it. Then they did into Jim's reporting on the Houthi militia causing so much havoc in the Red Sea that seve...
Jan 05, 2024•22 min•Ep. 3313
Join Jim and Greg as they did into three major stories and parental discretion is advised on the first one. First, they react to the initial revelations of Jeffrey Epstein's contacts, what it means and doesn't mean about their conduct, and the many important questions about Epstein that remain unanswered. Then they hammer Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for suggesting the record number of illegal immigrants is due to climate change, poverty, and authoritarianism in other nations - not ...
Jan 04, 2024•24 min•Ep. 3312
After no good martinis to kick off the year on Tuesday, Jim and Greg have two on tap for today! First, they welcome the resignation of Harvard University Pres. Claudine Gay following scandals over her congressional testimony about speech advocating genocide on campus plus dozens of examples of plagiarism in her academic work. They also get a good laugh as CNN wears out its Thesaurus trying to defend Pres. Gay's academic work. Then they dissect new poll numbers showing President Biden at just 38 ...
Jan 03, 2024•23 min•Ep. 3311
Happy New Year! Well, after nearly two weeks since our last regular episode, we have found nothing resembling a good martini. Not the greatest omen for 2024. But we do have three important bad martinis, at least one of which has a whole lot of crazy to it as well. First, they weigh in on the Maine Secretary of State unilaterally deciding that former President Trump is disqualified from this year's primary ballot. Plus, they respond to Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin - himself an election denier in 20...
Jan 02, 2024•26 min•Ep. 3310
Jim and Greg close out 2023 with the finale of this year's 3 Martini Lunch Awards. Today, they give our their prestigious choices for Person of the Year and Turncoat of the Year. Then they finish with predictions for 2024. On Person of the Year, Jim looks to the 2024 presidential field for his first selection before adding a second, less known choice based on his powerful reporting overseas this year. Greg chooses a couple of GOP lawmakers who could end up having a big role in 2024. For Turncoat...
Dec 29, 2023•28 min•Ep. 3309
It's media day in our year-end Three Martini Lunch awards and Jim and Greg have plenty to say about how things were covered - if they were covered at all. Specifically, they look at the stories the mainstream media covered far too much, the ones they conveniently ignored because they didn't fit their narrative, and they highlight what they saw as the best stories of 2023. First, they dig into the most overreported stories of the year, with Jim choosing a specific angle of a story he thought was ...
Dec 28, 2023•22 min•Ep. 3308
More year-end awards today! Jim and Greg embark on the second half of their six-episode series of the 3 Three Martini Lunch Awards. Today, they offer up their selections for the Best Political Idea, Worst Political Idea, and Boldest Political Tactics for the year. They start with the best ideas of the year. Jim chooses an event that actually happened late last year but the true impact of it has been felt far and wide in 2023. Meanwhile, Greg's award goes to a critical policy movement that made s...
Dec 27, 2023•22 min•Ep. 3307
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Jim and Greg are back today for the third round of the Three Martini Lunch Awards. Today, they discuss the Biggest Lie, Best Political Theater, and Worst Political Theater of 2023. They start with the biggest lies of the year. Jim kicks things off my questioning the conventional wisdom that seems to be building from recent polls, while Greg takes aim at a lie that the right has been fighting for decades. Then it's time for the best political theater of 2023...
Dec 26, 2023•24 min•Ep. 3306
Join Jim and Greg as they offer the second installment of their highly coveted year-end awards. Today they remark on the people connected to politics that they're most sorry to see pass away in 2023. They also share their choices for rising political stars and those who appear to be fading into political oblivion They begin with those who left us over the past year. Jim chooses two friends involved in the political world who left suddenly and far too young. Greg mentions three figures, including...
Dec 22, 2023•19 min•Ep. 3305
Today, Jim and Greg begin handing out their prestigious annual 3 Martini Lunch Awards! Starting today and running through next week, they reveal their choices in categories ranging from rising star to best and worst political ideas to the stories the media ignored and the ones they could not stop talking about. And it all builds up to Friday of next week when Jim and Greg reveal their Person of the Year, Turncoat of the Year, and their predictions for 2024. In this first installment, they offer ...
Dec 21, 2023•21 min•Ep. 3304
Join Jim and Greg as they cheer Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin for making a strong case to permanently kill the horrible car tax that resident have to pay every year simply for owning a car. But will the idea go anywhere with Democrats controlling the legislature? Then they dig into the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to ban Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot because he allegedly led an insurrection, and that disqualifies him under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. But wi...
Dec 20, 2023•28 min•Ep. 3303
Join Jim and Greg as they dissect a New York Times poll that the Times itself insists is proof that Biden needs to be less supportive of Israel in order to keep young people voting for him. Jim gets a kick out of the Times trying to help Biden while actually hurting him and explains why it's doing a terrible job of reading the poll. They also issue a parental advisory as they reflect on the 25th anniversary of the GOP-led House of Representatives impeaching Bill Clinton. Jim explains why he beli...
Dec 19, 2023•27 min•Ep. 3302
Join Jim and Greg as they enjoy reports suggesting Biden is frustrated with his advisers because the American people continue to think he's doing a lousy job. And Democrats down the ballot are getting worried he could become a drag for them too. They also fume as Iranian proxy groups targets American forces for the 100th time in the past two months. Biden's responses have been extremely timid and the media are dutifully downplaying the reports of these attacks. Finally, they sigh as new polling ...
Dec 18, 2023•23 min•Ep. 3301
Jim and Greg finish off the week with three important martinis, right after they give the very predictable update of that Hamas official from yesterday saying his comments were "taken out of context" and that he does not support the recognition of Israel. Then they give credit to former New York Times Editorial Page Editor James Bennet for savaging the paper by evolving from taking sides in debates to shutting down opposing viewpoints and serving only as an echo chamber for progressives about a ...
Dec 15, 2023•23 min•Ep. 3300
Join Jim and Greg as they discuss a Haaretz story quoting a Hamas official arguing that it's time for the terrorist organization to follow the PLO's lead and recognize Israel. Have two months of intense military operations caused some Hamas figures to seriously reconsider their radicalism or is this simply a tactic designed to attract some more international sympathy? They follow that up with a new poll that shreds the ongoing narrative that there is a wide gulf between Hamas and what the Palest...
Dec 14, 2023•20 min•Ep. 3299
Join Jim and Greg as they once again serve up at least two good martinis, and possibly a third. First, they applaud House Speaker Mike Johnson for demanding major action on border security as part of any deal to continue aid to Ukraine. And Jim fumes that Biden could have done this deal months ago, all to his own political benefit but his refusal to acknowledge the reality at the border is costing him dearly. They also get a kick out of Hunter Biden trying to avoid his gun charges by claiming th...
Dec 13, 2023•20 min•Ep. 3298
It's bad and crazy martinis today after a Monday full of good news. Join Jim and Greg as they wince over CNBC's Rick Santelli offering a painful much much-needed explanation of compounding inflation - far from the White House narrative that Biden has it under control. He doesn't. They also roll their eyes as Al Gore takes a reasonable concern - social media pushing questionable posts to the top of your feed due to the level of engagement - and makes the absurd argument that these posts are damag...
Dec 12, 2023•25 min•Ep. 3297
Join Jim and Greg serve up three good martinis to start the week. First, they watch new Argentinian President Javier Milei with great interest, especially after he shuttered 12 of 21 government ministries on his first day in office. What impact will these libertarian principles have on the nation and beyond? They also breathe a sigh of relief for Houston, Texas. While they have no great expectations for incoming Mayor John Whitmire, they're glad that voters rejected longtime far left Texas Rep. ...
Dec 11, 2023•19 min•Ep. 3296
Join Jim and Greg as they close out the week with three big martinis. First, they review the nine new tax charges filed against Hunter Biden, including three felonies, and review just how brazen Hunter's lies to the IRS were. Listener discretion advised as we discuss his "business expenses." They also recoil at the comments of CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, who referred to October 7 as Gaza removing the shackles and leaving its concentration camp and alleged Gaza has the right to self-defen...
Dec 08, 2023•22 min•Ep. 3295
Join Jim and Greg as they serve up three important martinis, but they begin by reacting to Thursday morning's House censure of New York Democrat Jamal Bowman for deliberately pulling a fire alarm to delay a floor vote a couple of months ago. Then they cheer a couple of strong moments from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Wednesday night's debate, including demanding college and universities have more skin in the game when it comes to student loans and citing Calvin Coolidge as a president who inspir...
Dec 07, 2023•22 min•Ep. 3294
Join Jim and Greg as they react to the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn having a very hard time deciding whether large groups of students calling for genocide in Israel constitute harassing speech. It's especially hypocritical when considering how quick these administrators are to champion BLM, feminists, and the LGBT activists. They also cheer Utah Sen. Mike Lee for blasting FBI Director Christopher Wray for the bureau's failure to to pursue warrants in seeking information on American citiz...
Dec 06, 2023•23 min•Ep. 3293
Join Jim and Greg as they applaud North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for withdrawing after not qualifying for this week's debate and realizing he will not be the GOP nominee. They also discuss the house explosion in Arlington, Virginia, Monday night and the bizarre string of social media posts from the homeowner in the days leading up to the police being called, shots being fired, and house blowing up. Finally, they react to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman using expelled former New York Rep. George ...
Dec 05, 2023•16 min•Ep. 3292
Join Jim and Greg as they serve up two very bad martinis and a crazy one that is also terrible. First, they unload on the anti-Semitic crowd in Philadelphia last night that hatefully targeted a falafel restaurant owned in part by an Israeli-American and accused him of genocide. They also recoil as far-left Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal says she condemns the rampant Hamas rapes of Israelis but then plays "both sides" by equating it to civilian casualties suffered in Gaza when Israel attacks Ham...
Dec 04, 2023•26 min•Ep. 3291
Join Jim and Greg for a very full Friday edition. First, they react to the passing of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra O'Connor, who was President Reagan's first nominee to the high court. Then they dissect the Red State vs. Blue State debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Fox News - including some of the best zingers from DeSantis. They also cover the breaking news of the U.S. House of Representatives expelling New York Rep. George Santos after doz...
Dec 01, 2023•21 min•Ep. 3290
Join Jim and Greg as they remember the long and complicated legacy of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who advised presidents for 60 years before his death Wednesday at the age of 100. They highlight Kissinger's record and why he is deeply respected by some deeply reviled by others. They also hammer Hamas for the deadly shootings of Israeli civilians in Jerusalem, including a pregnant teacher, and what this means for the temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Finally, they scratc...
Nov 30, 2023•19 min•Ep. 3289
Former federal prosecutor and National Review Contributing Editor Andy McCarthy is in while Jim Geraghty is under the weather. Today, Greg and Andy discuss new sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department against individuals and entities helping for finance Iran's military and IRGC. But Andy explains why this step is hardly bold considering Iran's recent actions against the U.S. Andy also breaks down the legal and constitutional impact of Special Counsel Jack Smith not only demanding many differe...
Nov 29, 2023•30 min•Ep. 3288
Join Jim and Greg as they wince at a new Bloomberg reports showing how much more Americans are paying for food, electricity, water, rent, childcare, and much more. But the report is an important rebuttal to the Biden administration's gaslighting that the inflation problem has been solved. They also groan at reports that just one day after Biden reasonably said he does not trust casualty figures from Hamas, the president buckled under criticism from Muslim leaders, said he was ashamed of himself ...
Nov 28, 2023•21 min•Ep. 3287
Join Jim and Greg as they return from Thanksgiving break with good, mixed, and crazy martinis. First, they cheer the U.S. Navy for ending a Houthi assault on an Israeli-linked ship off the coast of Yemen and then taking the pirates into custody. They're also thrilled that some women and children held hostage by Hamas are now home but they are wary of the growing pressure for Israel's military pause to continue, which is a big advantage for Hamas. Finally, they examine the mysterious car explosio...
Nov 27, 2023•20 min•Ep. 3286
It's Black Friday, the day retailers offer major deals to get shopper through their doors or online and hopefully guarantee finishing in the black for the year. Continuing a long 3 Martini Lunch tradition, Jim and Greg each offer up three gift ideas to political figures. In the first round, Jim brings a practical gift for FTX founder, con man, and convict Sam Bankman-Fried while Greg finds a lovely present to break some tough news to Vice President Kamala Harris. Next, Jim thinks of a gift Presi...
Nov 24, 2023•14 min•Ep. 3285
