Joy!...Joy....JOY!

Joy Behar

By now, it's well known that ABC suspended Brian Ross for erroneously reporting that, General Flynn told investigators that, "Candidate Donald Trump asked him to speak to the Russian ambassador."

THAT turned out to be false, or in some people's parlance, "FAKE" news.

It doesn't matter the source, when false and misleading information is reported, it really IS "fake news."

The "Hands up, don't shoot" narrative from Ferguson was false...or "fake news."

So, Brian Ross was either mistaken, or deliberately misleading. In either case, he gave false hope to many who desperately want to see Trump impeached.

There's NOTHING wrong with hating Trump, any more than there was anything wrong with hating Bill Clinton, GW Bush, or Barack Obama. People have a right to hate others for ANY reason, or no reason at all. That's called individual Liberty...and that's a wonderful thing.

There is, of course a difference between reviling Trump and being obsessed with his destruction...as though he'd come into your home and taken a shit in your favorite cereal bowl.

Rosie O'Donnell, Kathy Griffin, Debra Messing, Whoopi, Robert DeNiro, and Joy Behar are numbered among the obsessed.

The morning after Brian Ross's erroneous report, Joy Behar read the transcript of that report on "The View," further misleading many viewers of that show.

Here's the reality. It was perfectly legal for citizen Trump to do business in Russia and the Ukraine, Turkey, etc. That complicates any investigation. Trump's business dealings are outside the scope of our legal system. To paraphrase AlGore, in 2000, "There's no overriding legal authority." Hell, GE's CEO Jeff Immelt (when GE owned NBC/MSNBC) violated our sanctions against dealing with Iran and as a result, many of the IEDs used in Iraq had GE components. That was NOT charged as treason, nor any other crime...it wouldn't have been, had it been Trump, or almost ANY private citizen who'd done that either. As a general rule, we DO NOT conflate commerce with treason. After all, Calvin Coolidge was and remains right, "The business of America IS business."

Moreover, it was perfectly legal and appropriate for President Elect Trump to reach out to Russia, China, Turkey, England, Azerbaijan, etc., etc., ostensibly to set up lines of communication with the incoming administration.

Hillary Clinton approved the sale of the company Uranium One to Russia. I'd say, "that wasn't charged as a crime" either but in light of a major paid speaking engagement in the Ukraine for Bill Clinton, shortly after that sale, Trey Gowdy's Committee is looking into pursuing charges against Mrs. Clinton. Apparently NOT treason charges...however.

The truth is, it's a VERY difficult, uphill fight, with long odds against indicting Donald Trump.

AND, even if impeachment proceedings were brought, he'd certainly do what Bill Clinton did...lawyer up (at taxpayer expense) and run government as his legal team fights impeachment charges, a fight which could easily take until the next election (or after) to conclude and making a martyr out of him to tens of millions of voters in the process.

In other words, WHY bother?

For those obsessed over the idea that, "Donald Trump stole the 2016 election"; (1) he DIDN'T and (2) get used to disappointments.

I'm from NY, and I don't really like Trump all that much (although I LOVE that he hijacked the GOP...and REALLY LOVE what he's doing to this political-media class), but I can see the realities. After hijacking the GOP. He was handed the election by a misguided DNC that decided to stay with an extremely flawed and gravely ill candidate (HRC) that even a full bore mass media campaign couldn't salvage.

So, to paraphrase those mobsters who killed Joe Pesci's character ("Tommy DeVito") in "Goodfellas"....He won..."and dats dat...it couldn't be helped and der's nuttin we could do about it."

Jack Phillips and the Perils of Religious Liberty...AND Private Property Rights...

Jack Phillips

Jack Phillips is the Colorado baker and owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd., whose case is being heard in the Supreme Court over refusing to bake a cake for a gay couple. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-asked-if-wedding-cake-bakers-case-protects-religious-freedom-or-illegal-discrimination/2017/12/05/c73e6efa-d969-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html?utm_term=.67947effdec0)

It is the SAME issue, as a Muslim being sued over not serving pork and alcohol, or a Muslim baker refusing to bake a cake with the image of Mohammad on it, OR an Orthodox Jewish store being forced to sell non-Kosher products, OR a Jewish baker being forced to bake a cake adorned with Swastikas on it.

That is, of course, very different from a Muslim employee refusing to handle/sell alcohol or pork products in a store they're employed by. The key and vital difference is PRIVATE OWNERSHIP.

Would it be alright for the owner of a Halal shop nestled in a predominantly Muslim area, like Dearborn, MI. to refuse to sell pork products, or alcohol?

If Jack Phillips loses this case, the answer is unquestionably YES.

This is an interesting case because the plaintiffs are claiming Mr. Phillips' private ownership, and by extension, ALL private ownership of business and industry is de facto discriminatory.

Here's the rub, discrimination is not unjust. If it were, our Founding documents, that enshrined "freedom of association," the right to enter into contracts with whom you like and want to and NOT with those you don't, and form groups that admit only one group of people; women's groups (ie. mother's groups, etc), black groups (ie. The Association of Black Accountants, etc) and European American groups (ie. the European American Social Club, etc). would be unconstitutional.

IF private ownership of business and industry is discriminatory, then ALL private ownership, including home ownership is, as well. Private ownership DOES limit access to many lakes and other beautiful areas, BUT unfettered freedom of association and private ownership are the essence of individual Liberty, "non-discrimination," is NOT.

We ALL discriminate ALL the time. EVERY time we make a decision/choice, or express a preference (vanilla, or chocolate, beef, or fish) we are discriminating. Our choice in Marrying is rightfully and necessarily discriminatory, so is, who we go into business with.

Discrimination based on qualities aids individual productivity and prosperity, while petty discrimination based on someone's belief system, or looks, can be personally disastrous.

So WHAT?!

The purpose of the law is NOT to "save us from ourselves." If my competitor refuses to hire talent that is black, or Asian, or non-Christian, that's to my benefit. The law should NOT even inadvertently save that competitor from him/herself. One of the ironies of George Soros is that he made the bulk of his fortune from his Quantum Fund, which was run for years by the legendary currency and commodities speculator, Victor Niederhoffer, a devotee of the late, great Free Market economist, Milton Friedman. Profit makes for strange bedfellows.

Freedom of association, the unfettered choice/discrimination we have in friends, dating partners, business oartners, etc., and private property rights, the right to exclusive use of and disposal of our own property are fundamentally American ideal. Non-discrimination is not.

In Philadelphia, another assault on private property rights is being considered by that City's Legislature. City Councilwoman, Cindy Bass's Bill reads in part, But the bill proposed reads, in part: "No establishment shall erect or maintain a physical barrier." (https://pjmedia.com/trending/philly-lawmakers-seek-ban-bulletproof-glass-liquor-stores/)

"Right now, the plexiglass has to come down," said Ms. Bass. That’s a law guaranteed to drive small businesses out of that area.

That too violates private property rights and the innate, or Natural Right we all have to self defense, as those are defensive barriers.

The Jack Phillips case is being watched closely with scores of activists from across the political spectrum poised to target Halal shops for refusing to sell beer and bacon to non-Muslims and Orthodox Jewish establishments that only sell Kosher foods. SAME principle, it's refusing to sell specific customers the items they want. Jack Phillips did not refuse to sell to homosexuals, he refused to sell a specific item (baking a custom cake, he offered to sell them anything else in that store...SAME as a Halal shop owner who refuses to sell alcohol and pork to a customer, but offers to sell anything else in the store.

Of course, if Jack Phillips wins, activists will seek out other cases of business bias.

THIS assault on private property rights is new. I don't mean to advocate any violence, but we, as Americans, should make life in this country extremely unsafe, even dangerous to those who seek to rein in private property rights for any reason.

As Vince Lomardi famously asked, "What the Hell's Going on HERE?!

Vince Lombardi

I've always believed that any kind of utopia is impossible on earth, primarily because some people are just incorrigibly evil, some hopelessly dumb and some incredibly lazy. Those will always be with us, in one form, or another. Some will have to be carried, others will have to be punished.

Today, many of us have come to the conclusion that most of our political-media class falls into one, or more of those classifications.

Trump is a symptom of a disease within our political-media class. It is so bad, that they are not only "out-of-touch," but are all too often diametrically opposed to the will of the people. That hasn't given these dolts pause, as they arrogantly presume they're smarter than everyone else.

It is doubtful they can be reformed. It is far more likely that they need to be exposed and ultimately...destroyed.

Trump's an imperfect weapon in that cause, but he was the one that was available at the time.

The reason we have Trump today is a corrupt and inept GOPe that's abused, even laughed at its own base, an elitist and hopelessly out-of-touch DNC that uses "the poor" and "the children" as props for solely self-interested politicians and a monstrous Newsmedia that so habitually distorts, manipulates and omits, when "reporting" the days events, that the reality they offer has virtually no relation to that which actually exists.

They CANNOT be "saved." NONE of them.

This disease doesn't require some "reforms," it demands a complete overhaul.

Stage ONE is tearing down this disease-ridden edifice. THAT'S a very painful process.