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OT Brittney Griner

Couple of things here.
We trade a known terrorist, an arms dealer Viktor Bout known as the “merchant of death” for Griner?????
While Paul Whelan a US marine has been imprisoned 4 years in Russia.

Not enough political points to be scored by trading for Whelan. Lots of points for Griner. It's really that simple (and disgusting). This thread will probably get moved, but at least Ed isn't here to expedite the process, lol.
 
Not enough political points to be scored by trading for Whelan. Lots of points for Griner. It's really that simple (and disgusting). This thread will probably get moved, but at least Ed isn't here to expedite the process, lol.
Hopefully the thread doesn’t get moved. Griner is a basketball player and it is a basketball form. lol
 
Couple of things here.
We trade a known terrorist, an arms dealer Viktor Bout known as the “merchant of death” for Griner?????
While Paul Whelan a US marine has been imprisoned 4 years in Russia.
It pays to be famous. There are lots of other Americans imprisoned overseas for dubious circumstances, But we ain’t trading for them …because they ain’t famous.
 
I’m all for getting any American out of foreign prisons, but it’s just so disgusting how this one played out.

Griner should spend every day on this earth advocating to get this Marine home. She won’t, she’ll just continue to bash the country she couldn’t wait to get home to.
 
He got played. Glad to see Griner released though, she got screwed for being stupid. Not sure she is worth a letting a terrorist out though. I hope we microchipped that guy while he was asleep.
 
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Glad Griner is home she didn’t deserve to be in jail for what she did, but letting a guy known as the merchant of death go is bad.
She had an illegal substance, in a country were said substance is illegal. I get that by "US standards" we would frown upon this, but she wasn't....so she is subject to the laws of the land she was visiting.
 
I’m all for getting any American out of foreign prisons, but it’s just so disgusting how this one played out.

Griner should spend every day on this earth advocating to get this Marine home. She won’t, she’ll just continue to bash the country she couldn’t wait to get home to.
The Russians offered this deal a long time ago but the US would not take it then. They really just caved to Putin after the sentence was increased. I guess you do deal with terrorists. For what they have done in Ukraine Russia is a terrorist state and you just bargained with them.
 
Terrible.

1. It’s unfortunate that half of this country has been brainwashed into thinking that Griner needed to come home before a couple other prisoners that are still detained in Russia.

2. I try not to be a “conservative” or a “liberal” but….Liberals have lost their damn minds. About a lot of things.
 
Not enough political points to be scored by trading for Whelan. Lots of points for Griner. It's really that simple (and disgusting). This thread will probably get moved, but at least Ed isn't here to expedite the process, lol.
This is 100% accurate. Politicians suck and are in it for themselves, first and foremost.

However, rather than sink to lows of blaming one side or the other, we all need to agree right here and now that this is the way of ALL politicians, regardless of party affiliation. All politicians care about is re-election, power, money and political "brownie points" that support those selfish goals. One reason I despise politics as a whole (regardless of party).
 
This is 100% accurate. Politicians suck and are in it for themselves, first and foremost.

However, rather than sink to lows of blaming one side or the other, we all need to agree right here and now that this is the way of ALL politicians, regardless of party affiliation. All politicians care about is re-election, power, money and political "brownie points" that support those selfish goals. One reason I despise politics as a whole (regardless of party).

Won't argue that, but there IS a very clear lesser of two evils right now and it's beyond obvious to me.
 
Terrible.

1. It’s unfortunate that half of this country has been brainwashed into thinking that Griner needed to come home before a couple other prisoners that are still detained in Russia.

2. I try not to be a “conservative” or a “liberal” but….Liberals have lost their damn minds. About a lot of things.

I separate “liberals” from modern leftists. The term liberal in the classical sense was essentially conservatism. Western liberal values are something everyone shares. We dont need to call modern leftists liberals today. They’re not even close in a modern or classical sense.
 
Won't argue that, but there IS a very clear lesser of two evils right now and it's beyond obvious to me.
They trade off on who's the most "evil". One day it could be D, the next R, and even I and non-affiliated. In the end, it all results in the same - no true concern for the constituents - only worried about campaign donations, PR, reelection, power, and corporate cronies and lobbyists, and very little action towards the betterment of American society.

If one were to step back from their party boats and look at it from a neutral position, over 50+ years, it is crystal clear that there is equal blame for any US politician's failures, bad (one-sided) policies, and poor decisions, regardless of party. The fact that they can't figure out, as grown damn people, how to work together for a common goal (like, say, negotiating a known terrorist for BOTH American prisoners?!?), tells me all we need to know about politicians as a whole - they cater to their base simply because that's what gets them donation dollars and reelected. The core policy desires of those bases are only used by politicians to get votes - then they sit in their fancy offices becoming millionaires while pretending to be working hard for the policies they pitched during their campaign - and nothing gets done (except glaring stupid decisions such as trading a terrorist prisoner for an NBA woman who technically broke Russian law over a US marine who did nothing wrong).

EDIT: Not sure if anyone has actually looked up Whelan's background, but the guy isn't this decorated Marine like many might want to make him out to be. He was an administrative clerk in Iraq. He's also been caught in a plethora of lies, theft and cheating, and was even court-martialed from the USM and given a bad conduct discharge (from posts here, one might think he's some honorably discharged US Marine killing machine). From Wiki (and confirmed on other non-politically affiliated sites):

"According to a deposition Whelan gave in 2013, he was in law enforcement from 1988 to 2000 as a police officer in Chelsea, Michigan, and a sheriff's deputy in Washtenaw County.[7] The Chelsea Police however said he worked in lesser roles and as a part-time officer from 1990 to 1996, while the Washtenaw County sheriff reported no record of his employment.[7] A former colleague said he was a patrol officer from 1998 to 2000 in the Keego Harbor police department.[7]

He was an IT manager for the Kelly Services staffing company from 2001[8] to 2003, and then 2008 to 2010. From 2010 to 2016 Whelan was Kelly Services' senior manager of global security and operations.[8]

He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1994.[7] He took military leave from Kelly Services to serve with the Marine Corps Reserve from 2003 to 2008, including service in Iraq. He held the rank of staff sergeant with Marine Air Control Group 38 working as an administrative clerk and administrative chief, and he was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[8] After a court-martial conviction in January 2008 on multiple counts "related to larceny", he was sentenced to 60 days restriction, reduction to pay grade E-4, and a bad conduct discharge.[9][10] The specific charges against him included attempting to steal more than $10,000 in 2006 in Iraq and using a false Social Security number to create a false account on a government computer system to grade his own examinations.

When arrested in Russia, Whelan was director of global security and investigations for BorgWarner, an international automotive parts manufacturer based in Michigan.[8] His work with Kelly Services and BorgWarner gave Whelan contacts with law enforcement in many countries.[citation needed]

Whelan traveled to Russia several times from 2006 and maintained an intermittent presence on a Russian language social media website, Vkontakte (VK), where he had approximately 70 contacts. He has studied Russian but communicated online using Google Translate.[11][3] Whelan supported US President Donald Trump and, after Trump's 2016 election victory, Whelan posted in Russian Президент Трамп Вперед!! (President Trump Onward!!).[12][a]

He said in a deposition in 2013 that he holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and an MBA degree.[13] He took courses at Northern Michigan University from fall 1988 to fall 1990 without earning a degree.[11]"
 
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She should hire a PR person to handle all the press conference and her image going forward. Because if she doesn't handle this right, and say comes back to bash America, she's going to be extremely hated, and that will follow her everywhere she goes.

Hopefully she has the smarts to be extremely thankful and appreciative of the US, our leaders (for better or worse) and our service men.
 
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Can someone tell me what Trump did to get Paul Whelan home? Didn’t even bring him up in any of the secret talks with Putin?? At least Biden tried and publicly advocated for his release. This should bring more attention to Whelan, and Biden has shown with Griner he can navigate these kinds of situations. I bet a deal will be worked out within a year.
 
Not enough political points to be scored by trading for Whelan. Lots of points for Griner. It's really that simple (and disgusting). This thread will probably get moved, but at least Ed isn't here to expedite the process, lol.
We don't agree on much, but you are spot on here.
 
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They trade off on who's the most "evil". One day it could be D, the next R, and even I and non-affiliated. In the end, it all results in the same - no true concern for the constituents - only worried about campaign donations, PR, reelection, power, and corporate cronies and lobbyists, and very little action towards the betterment of American society.

If one were to step back from their party boats and look at it from a neutral position, over 50+ years, it is crystal clear that there is equal blame for any US politician's failures, bad (one-sided) policies, and poor decisions, regardless of party. The fact that they can't figure out, as grown damn people, how to work together for a common goal (like, say, negotiating a known terrorist for BOTH American prisoners?!?), tells me all we need to know about politicians as a whole - they cater to their base simply because that's what gets them donation dollars and reelected. The core policy desires of those bases are only used by politicians to get votes - then they sit in their fancy offices becoming millionaires while pretending to be working hard for the policies they pitched during their campaign - and nothing gets done (except glaring stupid decisions such as trading a terrorist prisoner for an NBA woman who technically broke Russian law over a US marine who did nothing wrong).
Disageee. Enjoy your day.
 
Seems odd to compare Griner and Whelen given that the latter is held as a spy.

Where was the outrage when another American, Trevor Reed, was brought home before Whelen? Where was the outrage when Trump was in office and didn’t bring him home?

My goodness our country makes everything so political. Even Whelen’s family applauded the decision.

Now, I’m open to a debate on if it makes sense to trade an Arms dealer for Griner, but the Whelen argument does not make a lot of sense.
 
They trade off on who's the most "evil". One day it could be D, the next R, and even I and non-affiliated. In the end, it all results in the same - no true concern for the constituents - only worried about campaign donations, PR, reelection, power, and corporate cronies and lobbyists, and very little action towards the betterment of American society.

If one were to step back from their party boats and look at it from a neutral position, over 50+ years, it is crystal clear that there is equal blame for any US politician's failures, bad (one-sided) policies, and poor decisions, regardless of party. The fact that they can't figure out, as grown damn people, how to work together for a common goal (like, say, negotiating a known terrorist for BOTH American prisoners?!?), tells me all we need to know about politicians as a whole - they cater to their base simply because that's what gets them donation dollars and reelected. The core policy desires of those bases are only used by politicians to get votes - then they sit in their fancy offices becoming millionaires while pretending to be working hard for the policies they pitched during their campaign - and nothing gets done (except glaring stupid decisions such as trading a terrorist prisoner for an NBA woman who technically broke Russian law over a US marine who did nothing wrong).

Usually it would swing but that’s probably not happening now that our society has settled on identity shields. If it swings it’ll be a very long time if ever. We’re in a different age now, and one side has collected the power and moved into a new phase we haven’t previously been in.

People need to quit throwing everything in a vacuum and labeling it 50/50. That’s half the reason we’re in this mess.
 
Disageee. Enjoy your day.
That's because you lack the ability to step back from your party's mantra and look at it from a neutral standpoint. It's ok, most people in America are dealing with the same struggle - the media is excellent at brainwashing their viewers, and politicians are professionals at convincing their constituents that they are there for "them".

That you think one party is fully responsible for all that is wrong in America since 1776 is one of the reasons our society will get nowhere together. Division is for whatever reason more appealing to some than unity.
 
Can we all just agree that Republicans arent going to like the move while Democrats will be glad that she will be back/be indifferent. And just move on
 
Usually it would swing but that’s probably not happening now that our society has settled on identity shields. If it swings it’ll be a very long time if ever. We’re in a different age now, and one side has collected the power and moved into a new phase we haven’t previously been in.

People need to quit throwing everything in a vacuum and labeling it 50/50. That’s half the reason we’re in this mess.
Well, ideally over the last 250 years, one would hope that looking at all of that policy we'd be roughly near 50/50 balance in decision making. You can look at smaller chunks of time between party control years and see huge disparity like 70/30 or so. But ultimately, we'd all prefer seeing some give and take to eventually and more consistently achieve a 50/50 balance.

But both parties are currently engaged in a culture war. People are soft. Offended. Need "safe spaces". Canceling each other. Labeling themselves some wacky pronoun as a teenager (mostly for attention...thanks social media!). Abortion rights arguments. Providing services for gay people arguments. Gun debate. It just never ends, and there seems to be no middle ground in the negotiation process. Each side wants all or nothing. No way we can continue like this.
 
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