Tag Archives: Brittney Griner

national news

POTUS makes agonizing call

President Joe Biden deserves the benefit of some compassion and whole lot less of the back-stabbing and second-guessing he is getting from right-wingers over Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian gulag.

Griner came home to Texas after being released in a negotiated prisoner swap that sent arms dealer Viktor Bout back to Russia. The MAGA crowd has been leading the boo birds in criticizing the deal that has resulted in another American, Paul Whelan, remaining in Russian captivity.

Let’s be clear about what went down.

The White House had been negotiating with the Kremlin over securing Griner’s release. As it turned out, the Russians had settled on a deal that meant it would be Griner for Bout. That was their final offer.

So … Biden accepted the deal.

Had he refused, we would have gotten no one out of Russia.

It is fair to ask: Would the right wingers out there have accepted a no-deal over what we got?

Let us also recognize the president’s pledge to keep working to secure Paul Whelan’s release. Whelan has been held on a phony spying charge for four years. It’s instructive that Whelan’s family — and even Whelan himself — have been gracious in acknowledging Griner’s release from the Russian hoosegow.

Yes, we all want Paul Whelan to come home. No one should be happy that he remains locked up. It angers me, too, that he wasn’t part of the deal that brought Griner — a celebrated pro basketball athlete — home to her family.

However, I am not going to “blame” President Biden for the deal he struck.

He has acknowledged the difficult choice he faced. Hey, it’s why he’s making the big bucks as president of the United States.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Impeach Biden … for this?

Marjorie Taylor Greene stands all alone among the dumb-dumbs who occupy too many seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Georgia Republican — known to be a QAnon queen, an election denier, a MAGA fanatic and all-round detestable individual — says President Biden should be impeached for (get a load of this!) agreeing to bring Brittney Griner home from a Russian prison.

Hmm. OK. Let’s parse this for a minute, eh?

Greene wants former Marine Paul Whelan to come home, too. Here’s a news flash: So do I, so does Joe Biden, so do all Americans with half a heart.

President Biden has told us all — except that Greene apparently wasn’t listening — that he will “not stop” working to bring Whelan home. The Russians, we also have learned, insisted on a one-for-one swap, Griner in exchange for the arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Does anyone believe seriously that Joe Biden doesn’t want Whelan to come home?

Meanwhile, what’s with the impeachment talk from the moronic congresswoman who just won re-election to her second term in the House? What is the “high crime” she would seek to hang on the president?

OK, I know she isn’t alone among the MAGA cultists who comprise much of the House GOP caucus. She’s got plenty of loudmouthed company, such as Matt Gaetz of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Jim Jordan of Ohio to name just four of ’em. They all must sit around in the House cafeteria conspiring to create all the mischief they can muster up.

Frankly, Marjorie Taylor Greene and her ilk should give us all plenty of concern. She stands to wield outsized power in the next Congress, which will be run by Republicans who hold onto a slim majority. She will have the ear of the next speaker of the House.

To think that this individual actually votes on laws that affect all of us. Wow! This person’s stupidity is a thing to behold.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Now … get Whelan home

President Biden made this key point abundantly clear, which is that Brittney Griner’s release was not a trade for the fate of another American being held unjustly by Russian captors.

Paul Whelan has been stewing in a Russian prison cell for four years, far longer than the nine months that the Russians held Griner captive.

Whelan’s family has been gracious in welcoming Griner home. Clearly, though, they are distressed that their loved one — a former Marine — remains in prison.

The Russians accused him of espionage in 2018. Joe Biden calls his imprisonment “unjust.” And it is. He was convicted in a Russian sham trial and sent away for a 25-year sentence.

Whelan needs to come home. Joe Biden vows to move heaven and Earth to make it happen. Indeed, it’s a tall order, given the state of U.S.-Russian relations in the wake of the Ukraine War and Russia’s immoral invasion of Ukraine.

We all want Whelan released. We all stand with him and every American being held unjustly. I am going to send every single good vibe and all the encouraging karma I can muster to ensure Whelan’s eventual release.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Welcome home, Brittney

Brittney Griner is set to have a Christmas to remember forever and ever, as she is headed home after serving nine months in a Russian prison … for bringing hashish oil into the country.

Big deal, you say? You bet it is!

Griner happens to be a first-rank celebrity. She is an accomplished basketball star, a Texas native and a woman who was being punished seemingly just for being an American while her nation was engaged in diplomatic warfare against Russia over the Ukraine War.

President Biden’s team reportedly negotiated a deal in a prisoner swap. The Russians get in return a convicted arms dealer named Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year prison sentence in this country.

It’s fair to ask: Is this a fair swap with individuals accused of similarly heinous crimes? On the surface, no. The Russians are getting more out of this deal than we are. On the other hand, we are bringing home a young woman who possesses considerable celebrity status.

It’s a big win for the White House.

Now, let’s look briefly at another angle. Another American, Paul Whelan, remains locked up in Russia. His family wanted him included in a Griner release deal. They are heartbroken that Whelan — arrested in 2018 on a phony spy charge — remains in prison. Perhaps now the White House can put the arm on Russians to set Whelan free as well.

Griner’s offense would be considered a misdemeanor in most civilized countries. Instead, she got a nine-year sentence in the slammer. Her family begged President Biden to do what he could to bring her home. The president has succeeded and for that he deserves high praise.

There’s more work to do, though. Paul Whelan and anyone else held without merit need to come home, too.

However, Brittney Griner is coming home to her family’s welcome embrace.

Merry Christmas, Brittney.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Sports news, State news

‘Sham?’ Uhh, yeah!

Brittney Griner is serving a nine-year prison sentence for committing a crime that in most civilized nations would be considered a misdemeanor.

Not in Russia. The Russians have locked her up and have denied an appeal to have her sentence reduced to suspension.

Griner is the former Baylor University basketball star, a native of the Dallas area and a star in the WNBA. She got caught with vape canisters and cannabis oil in her luggage while trying to leave the country via Moscow’s airport.

The White House calls the decision to uphold Griner’s prison sentence a “sham.” Do you think?

It just goes to show the world what kind of “justice” is practiced in Russia, where its leader — thug and goon Vladimir Putin — longs for a return to Marxist doctrine in the Kremlin.

The White House is demanding Griner’s release so she can join her family and resume her life. The decision to keep her locked up, though, bodes poorly — in the short term — for Griner’s release.

Sickening.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Get her out of Russian prison!

Brittney Griner has been handed an outrageous prison sentence for a “crime” that in most countries on Earth would be treated as a misdemeanor offense.

Oh, but not in Russia!

Griner, a noted women’s basketball star from Texas, was caught earlier this year with some cannabis in her luggage. It was a tiny amount. She told Russian authorities of her mistake at the time, but they took her into custody anyway.

Griner then pleaded guilty to the crime of packing an illegal substance. She went on trial, was convicted of it and then received a nine-year prison term.

What an utter outrage! She is being treated as a political prisoner. Why? Because the United States of America opposes Russia’s lawless, immoral and illegal invasion of Ukraine. President Biden has called Russian thug/goon/dictator Vladimir Putin a war criminal because of his forces’ attacks on civilian targets.

For that — and not the tiny bit of drugs she was carrying — Griner is being punished.

American and Russian negotiators are working to secure her release. Indeed, Griner isn’t the only American being held unjustly. Paul Whelan is serving a prison term for espionage, which is another dubious charge.

Griner and Whelan both need to come home. Many of us are now imploring the State Department to move whatever mountain it must to secure their release.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com