PUTIN, THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR, AND A PHONY SCANDAL

For the past several months the American public has been entertained with a constant barrage of shocked outrage from the liberal media and Democrat partisans, in connection to various politicians and members of the Trump administration meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Russian ambassador and other Russian officials. The problem is that if we stop and think about it for a minute, we will realize that all of this bitter indignation is pure hogwash. Almost every one of the people getting in front of the news cameras and screaming "foul" has engaged in similar contacts with Russian officials.

Every government in the world sends ambassadors and diplomats to every other government in the world, in order to keep in contact about a great many issues: from issuing visas and passports to extraditing criminals to making trade agreements to whatever else is needed. It would be impossible for the government of a civilized nation to function in the modern world without embassies and ambassadors. It is expected that the Russian ambassador will hold regular meetings with different US officials in order to discuss the many issues that are of mutual concern. The British, French, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Brazilian, South African, Icelandic, and every other ambassador from every other nation has the same expectations.

This artificial scandal began before Trump was sworn into office, Obama was still in the White House. First, it was all about mysterious Russian hackers that had somehow influenced the presidential election. The public is still waiting to see any sort of proof or evidence of these alleged hackers. Next, General Micheal Flynn supposedly met with Russian officials at some point. General Flynn also met with officials from many other nations, but that doesn't seem to have been noticed by anyone. The Trump administration cut ties with General Flynn, after it was made aware that Flynn was getting paid to act on behalf of the Turkish government. Next, the plot thickened considerably, anyone and everyone that is not a Democrat that had even the slightest contact with the Russian ambassador(or any other Russian) has been vilified by both the press and Democrat party affiliates.

We have reached the point that anyone across the fruited plain enjoying a glass of vodka will be subject to mean looks, Congressional inquiries, a visit by the Spanish Inquisition, and will perhaps get burnt at the stake by political devotees hoping to surpass the Salem Witch trials. It seems that nobody is willing to take a stand and denounce this nonsensical scandal that is based on completely spurious accusations. It remains to be seen how much time and effort will be wasted by Congress and the press in an effort to prove that the Russian ambassador has been doing his job and that US officials have regular contacts with foreign officials.

THE PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS SCANDAL