#MeToo is now officially out of control

Let me preface this piece by stating the obvious. Inappropriate touching by a man or a woman is certainly wrong. Rape is a crime and should be treated as such. Now with what’s bugging me. This #MeToo thing has gotten completely out of control.

Morgan Freeman is the latest victim of this movement. And, yes, I said victim. Let me explain how this whole Morgan Freeman thing started. Chloe Melas is a reporter for CNN. She interviewed Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin for their movie, “Going in Style.” Melas was pregnant at the time. Apparently she explained to the men that she was pregnant and Caine told a story of how he had been cured of saying anything about a woman’s pregnancy. He said he asked a woman many years ago how far along she was and she said she wasn’t pregnant. He was so embarrassed and that cured him of ever asking again. At that point Freeman said, “Boy, I wish I was there.” It was an obvious response to Caine’s story. Melas somehow took it as a sexual comment directed at her!

After she got back from maternity leave she was on a mission. She tried to find others who had been sexually harassed by Freeman. Here’s what she dug up. A production assistant on “Going in Style” said Freeman made comments about her figure and her clothing and touched her…wait for it…back.

She did have the only legitimate complaint of inappropriate behavior against Freeman. She told CNN he “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear.” That, I will admit, is over the line. But should you lose your Visa gig because of it? Those are the only details we got from CNN. The allegations from six or seven other women were only reported as “public comments about women’s clothing or bodies.” Hardly the type of behavior that gets you banished from the advertising world.

The problem is Morgan Freeman apologized. That’s a mistake too many men these days are making. Now, Freeman didn’t admit guilt. He said he was sorry if anyone misinterpreted his comments. Still, an apology to the #MeToo movement is a scalp. They come back later for the whole head.

Remember when Carrie Fisher died? Remember Steve Martin’s tweet? He wrote, “When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well.” The Twitter world came unglued. The outrage was so fierce that he deleted the tweet. So much for saying something kind. 

Granted, the Morgan Freeman flap is a little more than a tweet, but it basically amounts to a guy hitting on women. The irony is this turns the notion that these women are as tough as men on its head. Now, don’t get touchy. I’m not talking about all women. I’m talking about these women who now accuse Freeman of sexual harassment. They are so hypersensitive that they can’t properly function in the real world much less be as “tough as the men.” In other words, they purport to be strong women but they’re proving to be anything but. 

I suspect this all has something to do with Morgan Freeman’s strong stand on race. He’s on record as thinking Black History Month is stupid and saying the best way to stop racism is to stop talking about it. To the liberals out there that position cannot be taken without consequence. The #MeToo movement has been weaponized, and Morgan Freeman is the movement’s latest kill.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

Starbucks is unwittingly feeding the homeless problem

There is no doubt Starbucks made a mistake in Philadelphia when it had two black guys arrested for not buying anything as they waited for a friend. They settled with the two men for an undisclosed amount. But now, in typical liberal fashion, they have overcorrected. Facing an enormous PR problem, the coffee chain has adopted a policy that says anyone can use their bathrooms and people can hang out indefinitely without buying anything.

Folks in L.A. can see exactly where this is heading. Their homeless problem has exploded. They still can’t figure out why. I read an article recently that blamed the rich people in Bel Air. This is a favorite liberal pastime, blaming the rich for the plight of the poor. The fact that some movie producer is making millions has absolutely nothing to do with the guy wandering around the streets of L.A. Or does it?

Guilt is the driving force behind the homeless boom in Los Angeles. Do-gooders feel guilty about the homeless and now they’re building them tiny houses and trying to find vacant land to park them. Bums are coming in from all over the country. I’d love to see a survey of how many of the so-called homeless in L.A. are actually from L.A.

It’s important draw a distinction between those who are truly homeless and those who are what used to be referred to as vagrants. Studies show the truly homeless—those who have temporarily lost their jobs and a place to live—are homeless on an average of three months. What you see wandering the streets are not blue collar workers who found themselves living too close to the edge and lost their homes. The street people can basically be broken down into three categories. There are those who have some sort of substance addiction. There are those who are mentally ill. Then there are the bums. These street people aren’t homeless because they don’t have a home. They’re homeless because they can’t keep a job. Housing them in tiny homes just to get them off the streets isn’t going to solve the problem. You have to address why they’re unemployable.

Starbucks has always prided itself in being progressive. Remember, this the company that has been paying black folks the same as white folks since 2018. They dropped their policy of demanding to know how much you were making at your last job then issued a press release bragging about their new policy. Welcome to the 21st Century, Starbucks. I’ve had numerous jobs, and I don’t recall once being asked how much I was making at the last one. It’s none of their business. Apparently some companies still require you show them your W2 from the last job. If you ever encounter such a company I suggest you walk away. They’re going to try and screw you. The only thing that matters is how much the current job pays and if you’re willing to work for those wages.

If Starbucks really cared about the homeless they’d help rehabilitate these people and give them jobs. Instead, they brag about how many immigrants they’ve employed, illegal and otherwise.

The irony is, because of its new policy, Starbucks will become the new homeless encampment in L.A. and across the country. If you can use the bathroom and sit at the tables without buying anything how long before that word gets out amongst the homeless community?

It’s classic liberalism. They see a problem then only make it worse. And they will destroy their own business in the process.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

This is what winning looks like

You know what’s getting old? This tired line from the left-wing media that President Donald Trump is a racist anti-Semitic homophobe. Let’s dispense with the anti-Semitism charge straight away.

The man just moved the American embassy to Jerusalem. This is something Israel has wanted us to do for decades. It’s also something that three prior presidents promised to do but didn’t. Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he would move the embassy and he did. Why that’s so controversial is beyond me, but Israel loves Donald Trump. One would think a president who promised to move the embassy then didn’t would be the one labeled anti-Semitic. Only in the world of Trump Derangement Syndrome do we see this.

Not to mention that Trump’s own daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids are Jewish. The media made hay over Trump’s reportedly odd relationship with his daughter. He’s obviously crazy about her. And she’s Jewish. How can the man hate Jews?

Oh, but that’s just his daughter. He must hate all the other Jews, right? No. He surrounds himself with Jews. He’s done business his entire life with Jews. He seeks their counsel. He appoints them to positions of power and socializes with them.

Which brings me to Mar-a-Lago. Some of you may not be familiar with this story. It’s amazing how many people aren’t. Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and proceeded to turn it into a social club. The only problem was he socialized with blacks, gays, and Jews. The town of Palm Beach continually tried to throw roadblocks in front of him and shut the club down. Trump sued. At an infamous hearing in 1996, Trump had his attorney distribute copies of the movies Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, about a white woman who brings a black man home to meet her parents, and Gentleman’s Agreement, about a reporter who masquerades as a Jew to write a piece on anti-Semitism. Trump filed another lawsuit. The town council eventually relented.

If you’re hearing this story for the first time you need to ask yourself why that is. I always say media bias isn’t so much what they tell you, it’s what they don’t. That Mar-a-Lago story is a huge piece of the Donald Trump story. Let me ask it this way. Can you imagine the left-wing media would ever stop talking about that story if it were a Democrat? Not a chance. In fact, the Democrat would’ve already won some coveted left-wing prize for it.

Donald Trump is anti-illegal immigrant. The left wants you to think he’s just anti-immigrant. He’s also anti-terrorist. The left would have you believe he’s anti-Muslim. The problem is the left is losing so badly these days that the only club they have left in their golf bag is the bigotry wedge. And it’s wearing thin.

Even such liberal darlings as former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown have admitted trashing Trump is a losing strategy. “It’s time for Democrats to stop bashing President Trump,” Brown recently wrote in the Chronicle. “Like it or not,” he wrote, “a significant number of Americans are actually happy these days.” He admonished the Democrats for not coming up with their own platform that addresses voters’ hopes and dreams.

Donald Trump joked on the campaign trail that America would get so sick of winning. The Democrats already are. That much-touted ‘Blue Wave’ grows ever-smaller as it fades over the horizon. And if you look real hard you can see it waving goodbye.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

The latest liberal fear? Robots

You want to know how out of touch the Democrat Party is? Let me first give you some background. In a recent Rasmussen poll 72 percent believe parents should be required to prove they are legal residents when registering their kids for school. Eighty-one percent oppose granting in-state tuition to illegal aliens. Sixty-six percent believe gaining control of the border is more important than amnesty for illegals. Yet there he was. Keith Ellison, the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, on May Day in Minnesota sporting an ‘I don’t believe in borders’ t-shirt.

By the way, May Day is an anti-capitalist socialist/communist celebration. It was a very important holiday in the old Soviet Union. It’s also a mandatory holiday in communist China, and prior to 2008 lasted for three days. The socialists love to try and mask it as “pro-labor” but its celebration by communists all over the world tells the true story.

The socialists/communists have always plowed in the fertile field of labor. This is where it’s easiest to sow discontent. And that’s not to say that much of that discontent hasn’t been legitimate. However, socialism/communism was never the answer. The Democrats have a long history of peddling in fear. Fear of Big Business. Fear of global warming. Fear that the mean ole Republicans are going to take away your Social Security. Fear that Trump is going to pull the safety net out from under you.

Do you remember what Nancy Pelosi said was going to happen if Congress passed Trump’s tax cuts? Armageddon. It was going to be the end of the world as we know it. Just a few months after its passage we see unemployment at an 18-year low. Black and Hispanic unemployment are at historic lows. Confidence in the housing market is at an all-time high. Companies are moving back to the United States and pouring billions into the economy. Workers are getting raises and bonuses.

So, what’s the next big fear from the left? Robots.

I’m not kidding. The left is trying to sell this story to the millennials that they won’t have any jobs because of robots. Therefore they have to support the universal basic income. A piece from futurism.com provides a list of at-risk jobs because of robots. For instance, they claim 99 percent of insurance underwriter jobs are at risk. They say 88 percent of construction jobs and 79 percent of truck driver jobs could be replaced by robots. The solution, of course, is a universal basic income. 

They admit it will cost upwards of $3.2 trillion annually, but they have a plan to pay for it all. Carbon taxes, higher income taxes, a VAT (value-added tax or national sales tax), more taxing on earnings from investments, and decreased military spending.

They also highlight the story of Harper Lee being given an envelope in 1956 with a year’s salary in it. She was told she had a year to write anything she wanted. She, of course, wrote To Kill a Mockingbird which went on to sell 30 million copies worldwide. They act as though the only way to write a bestseller is through socialism. Harper Lee is the exception, not the rule. Most successful novelists succeed through hard work and not hand-outs. The same for successful people in general.

We have had robots for decades and they’ve always made our lives better. The Democrats are counting on mind-numbed robots to follow them over the socialist cliff. Hopefully the recent prosperity has opened their eyes.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

Mr. Trump, beware the Mueller trap

The news media are abuzz with speculation as to who leaked the questions Robert Mueller is going to ask President Trump, if he ever gets the chance. At least one CNN legal analyst thinks Trump is the source of the leak. Michael Zeldin points to improper grammar as the smoking gun. He didn’t elaborate.

The general consensus is these questions were compiled by Trump’s lawyers during negotiations with Mueller’s people over a Trump interview. Then who leaked them? It’s difficult to tell. The bigger question is who stands to gain anything by the leak? The media say Trump does. I’m not so sure. He tweeted there were no questions about collusion, but at least one question asks what he knew about Paul Manafort reaching out to Russia. Another question refers to “any meeting with Mr. Putin.” Another asks what Trump may know about Jared Kushner trying to set up a back channel to Russia.

None of this would’ve been illegal nor improper. Trump was already elected president and setting up communications with Putin and/or Russia would be no more extraordinary than setting up communications with any other country. It’s just that Russia has been so vilified since the “witch hunt” began.

Remember when Hillary was hitting that reset button? There was nothing at all sinister about dealing with Russia then. It was only after the DNC claimed they were hacked by the Russians that anything Russian became suspect. By the way, we still have never seen the DNC servers to determine if they were hacked by the Russians or anyone else. The irony is the lawsuit filed by the DNC against Trump, Russia, and others may force the DNC to produce those servers. We may yet learn definitively that no hacking occurred.

But back to the leaked questions. If these really are questions Mueller wants to ask Trump then it’s troubling for the Trump legal team. Mueller isn’t going to ask any question he doesn’t already know the answer to. That means he has proof of the answer, either by wiretaps or other witnesses. If President Trump slips up on one tiny detail he could be facing a perjury charge, which is most definitely an impeachable offense. It’s what Bill Clinton was impeached over. He wasn’t convicted, of course, but this is a far different climate. There are plenty of Republican Never-Trumpers in the Senate who would jump at the chance to take this man down.

Then there are the people who claim Trump will be compelled to talk if he doesn’t agree to meet with Mueller. I would assume the same laws against forced self-incrimination apply to a deposition as they would in a court of law. That’s probably why Mueller and his team keep insisting that Trump isn’t the target of any criminal investigation. If you’re not the target then it’s more difficult to argue the self-incrimination angle. 

Whether they’re openly targeting Trump, make no mistake, he’s the ultimate goal. Manafort, Flynn, Papadopoulos, et al. are small fish. If that’s all Mueller has at the end of the day then this whole investigation was for naught. And knowing that Mueller already knows the answers to all the questions put to Trump only solidifies the fact that he is, in fact, the target. When you’re the target you don’t talk to the people targeting you.

President Trump is so eager to clear his name it’s almost a given that he’ll sit down with Mueller and his people at some point. He’ll be walking into a minefield. He has to be very careful where he steps.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.