Brittney Griner

[scgal]

Dec 11, 2022 12:09:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Dec 11, 2022 11:43:12 GMT -5 scgal said:

But you shouldn't have to join something if you don't want it and be threatened to be penalized. This issue is under the assumption everyone wants to pay for health ins. I know people who pay cash granted they have the money to do so. What Reagan did was not the greatest but It spread the cost out across without a mandate which in my opinion is better. 

even if i agreed with you (and i don't), this is clearly NOT the case for a great number of things.

for example, you cannot drive without no-fault insurance in the US.  
if you are conscripted, you can be arrested if you fail to show up.
taxes, taxes, taxes.

i think of those three, the car insurance one is the most relevant.

so, yeah, we all have to do things we don't want to do, under force of law.
the ACA is not really measurably different than MANY of those things.

yet no one is taxing you if you do not want to drive. When I lived in NY I knew a lot of folks who didn't have a licence. My sister doesn't never cared to 

[Tennesseer]

Dec 11, 2022 18:04:51 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 11:59:06 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I wonder if scgal will respond to the quoted material and linked articles below.

He is the only one that tried to get peace talks going with the backing of the UN. I still stand by not 1 prisoner was released from Trump they had to agree to it. If anything the way Biden pulled the rest of our troops out of Afghanistan was another disaster. 

Bye, Felicia. You're dismissed.

[pulmonarymd]

Dec 11, 2022 18:04:51 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 11:59:06 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I wonder if scgal will respond to the quoted material and linked articles below.

He is the only one that tried to get peace talks going with the backing of the UN. I still stand by not 1 prisoner was released from Trump they had to agree to it. If anything the way Biden pulled the rest of our troops out of Afghanistan was another disaster. 

It is hysterical that you think you are a fair and balanced person. Your head is so far up trumps ass you are coming out the other side. And you still haven’t answered. After trumps comments regarding the constitution, are you still going to vote for him if he is the republican nominee?

[tallguy]

Maybe just trying to find a warm, cozy place for the winter?  

[happyhoix]

Dec 11, 2022 18:04:51 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 11:59:06 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I wonder if scgal will respond to the quoted material and linked articles below.

He is the only one that tried to get peace talks going with the backing of the UN. I still stand by not 1 prisoner was released from Trump they had to agree to it. If anything the way Biden pulled the rest of our troops out of Afghanistan was another disaster. 

You realize Trump signed the agreement to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan before he left office and stuck Biden with carrying out what Trump set in place - and then Trump criticized Biden for the withdrawal that he (Trump) agreed to do.

Kind of like how Trump steadfastly refused to say anything to Putin to try to get that American business man who has been detained in Russia for four years out - but when Biden managed to get Grinder out but not the business man, Trump had a melt down on social media about how he would have gotten that business man , not Grinder released.

The brother of the businessman called bullshit on Trump over that - not that Trump cares.

[hurley1980]

I've been thinking about this whole insurance thing a lot in the last couple of weeks.  Due to a switch in jobs, I am going to be completely uncovered for about 30 days.  Its during the time I usually get my yearly check up, and I need to go to the dentist.  It came up pretty quick, so I was not prepared for this. So I have to put off 2 checkups until my new insurance kicks in, and have to hoard my prescriptions so I don't run out.  I will only be uncovered for one month, and I am STRESSING OUT about it!  It terrifies me.  I haven't been uninsured for 15 years. 

If insurance wasn't tied to our jobs, I wouldn't even be thinking about any of this.  Why is it the employers responsibility to provide health insurance anyway!?!?

[tallguy]

Dec 11, 2022 20:18:39 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

I've been thinking about this whole insurance thing a lot in the last couple of weeks.  Due to a switch in jobs, I am going to be completely uncovered for about 30 days.  Its during the time I usually get my yearly check up, and I need to go to the dentist.  It came up pretty quick, so I was not prepared for this. So I have to put off 2 checkups until my new insurance kicks in, and have to hoard my prescriptions so I don't run out.  I will only be uncovered for one month, and I am STRESSING OUT about it!  It terrifies me.  I haven't been uninsured for 15 years. 

If insurance wasn't tied to our jobs, I wouldn't even be thinking about any of this.  Why is it the employers responsibility to provide health insurance anyway!?!?

It's not.  It was an unforeseen but exploitable result of trying to get around wage and price controls in WWII.

Bad idea then.  Bad idea now.

[Tennesseer]

Dec 11, 2022 19:58:18 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Dec 11, 2022 18:04:51 GMT -5 scgal said:

He is the only one that tried to get peace talks going with the backing of the UN. I still stand by not 1 prisoner was released from Trump they had to agree to it. If anything the way Biden pulled the rest of our troops out of Afghanistan was another disaster. 

You realize Trump signed the agreement to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan before he left office and stuck Biden with carrying out what Trump set in place - and then Trump criticized Biden for the withdrawal that he (Trump) agreed to do.

Kind of like how Trump steadfastly refused to say anything to Putin to try to get that American business man who has been detained in Russia for four years out - but when Biden managed to get Grinder out but not the business man, Trump had a melt down on social media about how he would have gotten that business man , not Grinder released.

The brother of the businessman called bullshit on Trump over that - not that Trump cares.

Pompeo Stonewalls Fox’s Bream When Questioned on Bolton’s Claim Trump Admin Refused Bout-Whelan Prisoner Exchange

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to directly answer questions about John Bolton’s claim that former President Donald Trump declined the possibility of securing Paul Whelan’s freedom by giving up Viktor Bout for him instead of Brittney Griner years later.

Fox News’ Shannon Bream interviewed Pompeo on Fox News Sunday, and she started things off with Bolton criticizing the Biden administration’s prisoner exchange last week where they traded Bout, a convicted international arms dealer, for the WNBA star. Some have objected to the prisoner swap by calling it an uneven trade, while others have panned the Biden administration for not freeing Whelan in the deal as well.

At the start of her interview, Bream focused on the fact that as Bolton denounced the Griner-Bout prisoner exchange, he claimed that the Trump White House previously rejected a chance to exchange Bout for Whelan.

“The possibility of a Bout-for-Whelan trade existed back then,” Bolton told CBS, “and it wasn’t made, for very good reasons having to deal with Viktor Bout.”

“Is that true?” Bream asked Pompeo. “And why wasn’t that deal made?”

“I do not want to talk about private conversations we had,” Pompeo replied. “Ambassador Bolton’s free to say whatever he might like, but we were very focused on getting Paul Whelan out, every American back home.”

While Pompeo said he was “glad” to see Griner released from Russian imprisonment, he bashed the Biden administration by claiming the exchange will incentivize hostile nations to take more Americans hostage and force the country into similar future prisoner swaps. Bream stayed on target with her initial question though, asking Pompeo, “is John Bolton telling the truth?”

“I do not want to comment on our internal discussions,” Pompeo stonewalled again. “We were working hard on each of the cases, including Paul Whelan’s case during my time in service…The Trump administration was always very clear: we were not going to trade bad guys for celebrities because it creates the wrong incentives for the bad guys as we go forward. It’s not good for American national security. It’s not good for people who are traveling across the world.”

Pompeo Stonewalls Fox’s Bream When Questioned on Bolton’s Claim Trump Admin Refused Bout-Whelan Prisoner Exchange

[happyhoix]

Dec 11, 2022 20:31:47 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Dec 11, 2022 20:18:39 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

I've been thinking about this whole insurance thing a lot in the last couple of weeks.  Due to a switch in jobs, I am going to be completely uncovered for about 30 days.  Its during the time I usually get my yearly check up, and I need to go to the dentist.  It came up pretty quick, so I was not prepared for this. So I have to put off 2 checkups until my new insurance kicks in, and have to hoard my prescriptions so I don't run out.  I will only be uncovered for one month, and I am STRESSING OUT about it!  It terrifies me.  I haven't been uninsured for 15 years. 

If insurance wasn't tied to our jobs, I wouldn't even be thinking about any of this.  Why is it the employers responsibility to provide health insurance anyway!?!?

It's not.  It was an unforeseen but exploitable result of trying to get around wage and price controls in WWII.

Bad idea then.  Bad idea now.

Back when I was only about a month pregnant I switched jobs and had to pay for my old insurance for nine months because my fetus was considered a pre existing condition that my new insurance would not pay for until after birth. So any thing that happened to him during birth was uninsured.

Fortunately this was back in 1988 when insurance wasn’t as astronomical as it is now.

That was when i turned against private health insurance. Universal healthcare for everyone!!!

[tallguy]

Dec 11, 2022 23:11:37 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Dec 11, 2022 20:31:47 GMT -5 tallguy said:

It's not.  It was an unforeseen but exploitable result of trying to get around wage and price controls in WWII.

Bad idea then.  Bad idea now.

Back when I was only about a month pregnant I switched jobs and had to pay for my old insurance for nine months because my fetus was considered a pre existing condition that my new insurance would not pay for until after birth. So any thing that happened to him during birth was uninsured.

Fortunately this was back in 1988 when insurance wasn’t as astronomical as it is now.

That was when i turned against private health insurance. Universal healthcare for everyone!!!

There is no problem in American health care that is not made worse by private insurance companies.  Putting the ability to access health care in the hands of those who have an economic disincentive to enable that care should be unthinkable.  And employers should never have been involved at all.

[azucena]

Dec 11, 2022 11:46:53 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 10, 2022 16:38:42 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

The 5,000 would not have been released without trump's approval.

Had you not had your head so far up trump's ass you would have known that.

False narrative the US did not hold then no approval was necessary and they could have said no. Again Barrack Obama is the most terrorist friendly president. 

Care to provide facts to support your Obama argument?

[azucena]

Dec 11, 2022 20:31:47 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Dec 11, 2022 20:18:39 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

I've been thinking about this whole insurance thing a lot in the last couple of weeks.  Due to a switch in jobs, I am going to be completely uncovered for about 30 days.  Its during the time I usually get my yearly check up, and I need to go to the dentist.  It came up pretty quick, so I was not prepared for this. So I have to put off 2 checkups until my new insurance kicks in, and have to hoard my prescriptions so I don't run out.  I will only be uncovered for one month, and I am STRESSING OUT about it!  It terrifies me.  I haven't been uninsured for 15 years. 

If insurance wasn't tied to our jobs, I wouldn't even be thinking about any of this.  Why is it the employers responsibility to provide health insurance anyway!?!?

It's not.  It was an unforeseen but exploitable result of trying to get around wage and price controls in WWII.

Bad idea then.  Bad idea now.

Interesting, care to educate me more?

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 18:06:57 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 12:09:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

even if i agreed with you (and i don't), this is clearly NOT the case for a great number of things.

for example, you cannot drive without no-fault insurance in the US.  
if you are conscripted, you can be arrested if you fail to show up.
taxes, taxes, taxes

i think of those three, the car insurance one is the most relevant.

so, yeah, we all have to do things we don't want to do, under force of law.
the ACA is not really measurably different than MANY of those things.

yet no one is taxing you if you do not want to drive. When I lived in NY I knew a lot of folks who didn't have a licence. My sister doesn't never cared to 

but someone is arresting you if you fail to pay taxes in either of the other cases.
.
now, mind you, i have heard people in the Sovereign Citizen movement refer to taxes as illegal confiscation, so this is just an extension of that.  but PIT has been the law for over 100 years now.  it is perfectly legal, having stood the test of a century.  

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 23:49:58 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Dec 11, 2022 23:11:37 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Back when I was only about a month pregnant I switched jobs and had to pay for my old insurance for nine months because my fetus was considered a pre existing condition that my new insurance would not pay for until after birth. So any thing that happened to him during birth was uninsured.

Fortunately this was back in 1988 when insurance wasn’t as astronomical as it is now.

That was when i turned against private health insurance. Universal healthcare for everyone!!!

There is no problem in American health care that is not made worse by private insurance companies.  Putting the ability to access health care in the hands of those who have an economic disincentive to enable that care should be unthinkable.  And employers should never have been involved at all.

the fact that so few people can see this is bizarre to me.
i guess Bertrand Russell was right.
most people will simply do what they are told.
a smaller fraction will NOT do what they are told.
and an even smaller fraction will think about what they are told before doing anything.

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 19:58:18 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Dec 11, 2022 18:04:51 GMT -5 scgal said:

He is the only one that tried to get peace talks going with the backing of the UN. I still stand by not 1 prisoner was released from Trump they had to agree to it. If anything the way Biden pulled the rest of our troops out of Afghanistan was another disaster. 

You realize Trump signed the agreement to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan before he left office and stuck Biden with carrying out what Trump set in place - and then Trump criticized Biden for the withdrawal that he (Trump) agreed to do..

Biden actually EXTENDED the time table to make withdrawal easier.

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 20:18:39 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

I've been thinking about this whole insurance thing a lot in the last couple of weeks.  Due to a switch in jobs, I am going to be completely uncovered for about 30 days.  Its during the time I usually get my yearly check up, and I need to go to the dentist.  It came up pretty quick, so I was not prepared for this. So I have to put off 2 checkups until my new insurance kicks in, and have to hoard my prescriptions so I don't run out.  I will only be uncovered for one month, and I am STRESSING OUT about it!  It terrifies me.  I haven't been uninsured for 15 years. 

If insurance wasn't tied to our jobs, I wouldn't even be thinking about any of this.  Why is it the employers responsibility to provide health insurance anyway!?!?

to enslave you, of course.  

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 20:53:20 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Dec 11, 2022 19:58:18 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

You realize Trump signed the agreement to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan before he left office and stuck Biden with carrying out what Trump set in place - and then Trump criticized Biden for the withdrawal that he (Trump) agreed to do.

Kind of like how Trump steadfastly refused to say anything to Putin to try to get that American business man who has been detained in Russia for four years out - but when Biden managed to get Grinder out but not the business man, Trump had a melt down on social media about how he would have gotten that business man , not Grinder released.

The brother of the businessman called bullshit on Trump over that - not that Trump cares.

Pompeo Stonewalls Fox’s Bream When Questioned on Bolton’s Claim Trump Admin Refused Bout-Whelan Prisoner Exchange

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to directly answer questions about John Bolton’s claim that former President Donald Trump declined the possibility of securing Paul Whelan’s freedom by giving up Viktor Bout for him instead of Brittney Griner years later.

Fox News’ Shannon Bream interviewed Pompeo on Fox News Sunday, and she started things off with Bolton criticizing the Biden administration’s prisoner exchange last week where they traded Bout, a convicted international arms dealer, for the WNBA star. Some have objected to the prisoner swap by calling it an uneven trade, while others have panned the Biden administration for not freeing Whelan in the deal as well.

At the start of her interview, Bream focused on the fact that as Bolton denounced the Griner-Bout prisoner exchange, he claimed that the Trump White House previously rejected a chance to exchange Bout for Whelan.

“The possibility of a Bout-for-Whelan trade existed back then,” Bolton told CBS, “and it wasn’t made, for very good reasons having to deal with Viktor Bout.”

“Is that true?” Bream asked Pompeo. “And why wasn’t that deal made?”

“I do not want to talk about private conversations we had,” Pompeo replied. “Ambassador Bolton’s free to say whatever he might like, but we were very focused on getting Paul Whelan out, every American back home.”

While Pompeo said he was “glad” to see Griner released from Russian imprisonment, he bashed the Biden administration by claiming the exchange will incentivize hostile nations to take more Americans hostage and force the country into similar future prisoner swaps. Bream stayed on target with her initial question though, asking Pompeo, “is John Bolton telling the truth?”

“I do not want to comment on our internal discussions,” Pompeo stonewalled again. “We were working hard on each of the cases, including Paul Whelan’s case during my time in service…The Trump administration was always very clear: we were not going to trade bad guys for celebrities because it creates the wrong incentives for the bad guys as we go forward. It’s not good for American national security. It’s not good for people who are traveling across the world.”

Pompeo Stonewalls Fox’s Bream When Questioned on Bolton’s Claim Trump Admin Refused Bout-Whelan Prisoner Exchange

his "non-denial" is deafening.
in other words, there is NO deal that would work for Republicans.
and let our people rot in the Gulag.  got it.

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 23:11:37 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Dec 11, 2022 20:31:47 GMT -5 tallguy said:

It's not.  It was an unforeseen but exploitable result of trying to get around wage and price controls in WWII.

Bad idea then.  Bad idea now.

Back when I was only about a month pregnant I switched jobs and had to pay for my old insurance for nine months because my fetus was considered a pre existing condition that my new insurance would not pay for until after birth. So any thing that happened to him during birth was uninsured.

Fortunately this was back in 1988 when insurance wasn’t as astronomical as it is now.

That was when i turned against private health insurance. Universal healthcare for everyone!!!

here is a wrinkle.
in my wife's NINTH MONTH of pregnancy, our insurance carrier DISCONTINUED OUR PLAN.  we were switched to a DIFFERENT plan, with LESS COVERAGE.  the end result was that, due to complications surrounding my son's birth, we had to come out of pocket for THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS that would not have been required under the previous plan.  our healthcare insurer offered us NO OPTIONAL UPGRADE.  they simply downgraded the coverage and left us holding the bag.

this system we have in the US is cruel, expensive, and capricious.

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 16:29:41 GMT -5 mollyc said:

Thanks DJ for the comment about takers. As someone with a lot time working for accountants, I find it frustrating that “makers” breaking the spirit of laws and taking advantage of govt money are praised for being smart but an individual on welfare is lazy/evil. Anecdotes aren’t data but most of the people I’ve known on long term welfare had mental health/addiction issues. Most of others were single mothers whose partners split or gave in to their demons. As soon as they could, they got a job because the only thing welfare gives you is time. Time is great when you have babies or toddlers but doesn’t help much later. Anyone taking welfare because they’re lazy will probably work harder then if they had a job.

you're welcome, but i had to hold my nose doing it.  here is why.

i don't really think that way.  "makers" don't make a damn thing without the sweat of "takers".  blue collar, front line, and low wage workers are what provide the income for managers, supervisors, and business owners.  they are the TRUE economic engine.  the mythology that we (business owners) CREATE jobs is nonsense.  we don't create a damn thing without demand- which is from CONSUMERS.  i won't add a person to my operations unless i absolutely have to.  it is THE CONSUMER that does that for me.  and, by in large, the consumer is not a owner or manager.  they are a "taker".

this flips the entire argument upside down.  the "takers" are actually managers and business owners.  the real makers are workers.  i never forget that as an owner.  and that is no doubt why i have one of the lowest turnovers in the industry.

[djAdvocate]

Dec 11, 2022 14:29:06 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Dec 11, 2022 14:17:04 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Yes, everyone is protected.   However, those who work like dogs get the same medical treatment as those who sit around on welfare.
That's why I made the comparison.

(Personally, I think everyone should be protected. We either all get healthcare or nobody gets healthcare.)

That’s not what DJ said. The law he cites, EMTALA, is the worst of all worlds. It obligates the hospital to care for everyone, but provides no funding mechanism. So we have to see them and don’t get paid, the hospital eats the cost, raises prices on everyone, or cuts services. It is the farthest from universal healthcare that one can get.

From what he has written, I believe DJ is in favor of a single payer system, as being the fairest and most cost effective way to provide healthcare in a civilized society

i am absolutely in favor of it, for GENERAL MEDICINE.  i like the two tier system, ultimately, for providing specialized care.

[tbop77]

Dec 11, 2022 18:06:57 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 12:09:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

even if i agreed with you (and i don't), this is clearly NOT the case for a great number of things.

for example, you cannot drive without no-fault insurance in the US.  
if you are conscripted, you can be arrested if you fail to show up.
taxes, taxes, taxes.

i think of those three, the car insurance one is the most relevant.

so, yeah, we all have to do things we don't want to do, under force of law.
the ACA is not really measurably different than MANY of those things.

yet no one is taxing you if you do not want to drive. When I lived in NY I knew a lot of folks who didn't have a licence. My sister doesn't never cared to 

I guess since the increase in my premiums to cover everyone isn't called a tax, you can't see how broken the system is.  

[billisonboard]

Dec 12, 2022 4:27:41 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Dec 11, 2022 19:58:18 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

You realize Trump signed the agreement to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan before he left office and stuck Biden with carrying out what Trump set in place - and then Trump criticized Biden for the withdrawal that he (Trump) agreed to do..

Biden actually EXTENDED the time table to make withdrawal easier.

emphasis on the "..er". It was never going to be easy to disengage once we had boots on the ground in the first place.

[Tennesseer]

Dec 12, 2022 4:31:07 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Dec 11, 2022 20:53:20 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Pompeo Stonewalls Fox’s Bream When Questioned on Bolton’s Claim Trump Admin Refused Bout-Whelan Prisoner Exchange

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to directly answer questions about John Bolton’s claim that former President Donald Trump declined the possibility of securing Paul Whelan’s freedom by giving up Viktor Bout for him instead of Brittney Griner years later.

Fox News’ Shannon Bream interviewed Pompeo on Fox News Sunday, and she started things off with Bolton criticizing the Biden administration’s prisoner exchange last week where they traded Bout, a convicted international arms dealer, for the WNBA star. Some have objected to the prisoner swap by calling it an uneven trade, while others have panned the Biden administration for not freeing Whelan in the deal as well.

At the start of her interview, Bream focused on the fact that as Bolton denounced the Griner-Bout prisoner exchange, he claimed that the Trump White House previously rejected a chance to exchange Bout for Whelan.

“The possibility of a Bout-for-Whelan trade existed back then,” Bolton told CBS, “and it wasn’t made, for very good reasons having to deal with Viktor Bout.”

“Is that true?” Bream asked Pompeo. “And why wasn’t that deal made?”

“I do not want to talk about private conversations we had,” Pompeo replied. “Ambassador Bolton’s free to say whatever he might like, but we were very focused on getting Paul Whelan out, every American back home.”

While Pompeo said he was “glad” to see Griner released from Russian imprisonment, he bashed the Biden administration by claiming the exchange will incentivize hostile nations to take more Americans hostage and force the country into similar future prisoner swaps. Bream stayed on target with her initial question though, asking Pompeo, “is John Bolton telling the truth?”

“I do not want to comment on our internal discussions,” Pompeo stonewalled again. “We were working hard on each of the cases, including Paul Whelan’s case during my time in service…The Trump administration was always very clear: we were not going to trade bad guys for celebrities because it creates the wrong incentives for the bad guys as we go forward. It’s not good for American national security. It’s not good for people who are traveling across the world.”

Pompeo Stonewalls Fox’s Bream When Questioned on Bolton’s Claim Trump Admin Refused Bout-Whelan Prisoner Exchange

his "non-denial" is deafening.
in other words, there is NO deal that would work for Republicans.
and let our people rot in the Gulag.  got it.

No denying it now. And trump really needs to shut his flapping lips about Biden's failure in securing Paul Whelan's release when he could have done it when he was 'president'.

trump says he 'turned down a deal' with Russia to exchange Viktor Bout for Paul Whelan

Former President Trump is claiming that he "turned down a deal" with Russia to receive captive American Paul Whelan in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, whom President Biden ultimately swapped last week for WNBA star Brittney Griner.

Whelan has been in Russian custody for over four years at a labor camp in Russia's Mordovia republic. In 2018, while President Trump was in office, the Marine veteran was arrested and convicted on charges of espionage and spying for the U.S. government, facing up to 16 years in prison.

"I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Sunday night, referencing Bout’s nickname. "I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals"

"I would have gotten Paul out, however, just as I did with a record number of other hostages. The deal for Griner is crazy and bad," Trump also said. "The taking wouldn’t have even happened during my Administration, but if it did, I would have gotten her out, fast!"

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. State Department for further comment.

Trump previously called the Griner-Bout swap "stupid" and "unpatriotic" in a post on Truth Social.

However, Paul's brother David Whelan hit back at President Trump for his comments, arguing his attitude is "disappointing" from a former president.

"I think that what President Biden did was to take care of an American who was in peril and bring home the American that he could bring home. So it's disappointing that a former president would have that sort of perspective," Whelan told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.

Trump says he 'turned down a deal' with Russia to exchange Viktor Bout for Paul Whelan

[djAdvocate]

as usual, that statement makes no sense.
if Griner was easy to get out, why not Whelan?

[scgal]

Dec 11, 2022 18:53:11 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Dec 11, 2022 18:04:51 GMT -5 scgal said:

He is the only one that tried to get peace talks going with the backing of the UN. I still stand by not 1 prisoner was released from Trump they had to agree to it. If anything the way Biden pulled the rest of our troops out of Afghanistan was another disaster. 

It is hysterical that you think you are a fair and balanced person. Your head is so far up trumps ass you are coming out the other side. And you still haven’t answered. After trumps comments regarding the constitution, are you still going to vote for him if he is the republican nominee?

I read this post and it has me thinking of a podcast that I listened to a few years ago. The speaker was talking about the left and the right actions. He mentioned that the left usually is all emotion doesn't like being confronted with opposing opinion and when opposed they tend to get uglier and nastier in their interaction. The so called news is filled with it (although the news is now more of an opinion show) this board is filled with it. You and I have gone back and fourth with snide remarks which I do try do keep to a minimun I consider that beneath me. 

Back to your post I have given you no reason to say something like that I never mentioned I condone any of Trumps actions all I have ever done was point out a plausable explanation and for me if it is plausable then I will accept that vs any misdirected hatred to someone. I never said Trump was perfect I said he was better than the last 2 democrat presidents. I honestly believe it. I don't like most things the left does or spend money on. 

Now to your question will I vote for Trump if he is the republican nominee I truly hope it doesn't come down to that. Right now I cannot fathom any democrat especially since I don't believe in democrat politics (that is what it really comes down to the political agenda not so much the person) I don't know of any third party yet and usually try not to vote for third party since they don't have enough power to fight the dems or repubs. With the way the Republicans are going I'm also thinking maybe independent. So I honestly cannot answer yet. 

[djAdvocate]

scgal- are you aware that "democrat" the way you are using it, is a pejorative?

i am just curious, because many Republicans/conservatives are not aware of it.

[swamp]

Dec 14, 2022 10:44:02 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 18:53:11 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

It is hysterical that you think you are a fair and balanced person. Your head is so far up trumps ass you are coming out the other side. And you still haven’t answered. After trumps comments regarding the constitution, are you still going to vote for him if he is the republican nominee?

I read this post and it has me thinking of a podcast that I listened to a few years ago. The speaker was talking about the left and the right actions. He mentioned that the left usually is all emotion doesn't like being confronted with opposing opinion and when opposed they tend to get uglier and nastier in their interaction. The so called news is filled with it (although the news is now more of an opinion show) this board is filled with it. You and I have gone back and fourth with snide remarks which I do try do keep to a minimun I consider that beneath me. 

Back to your post I have given you no reason to say something like that I never mentioned I condone any of Trumps actions all I have ever done was point out a plausable explanation and for me if it is plausable then I will accept that vs any misdirected hatred to someone. I never said Trump was perfect I said he was better than the last 2 democrat presidents. I honestly believe it. I don't like most things the left does or spend money on. 

Now to your question will I vote for Trump if he is the republican nominee I truly hope it doesn't come down to that. Right now I cannot fathom any democrat especially since I don't believe in democrat politics (that is what it really comes down to the political agenda not so much the person) I don't know of any third party yet and usually try not to vote for third party since they don't have enough power to fight the dems or repubs. With the way the Republicans are going I'm also thinking maybe independent. So I honestly cannot answer yet. 

I wonder where this person got his information, because multiple studies have shown that conservative voters are most motivated by fear.   

Also, democrats tend to be much more educated than republicans.   Education is generally a hedge against acting on emotion. 

[hurley1980]

He mentioned that the left usually is all emotion doesn't like being confronted with opposing opinion and when opposed they tend to get uglier and nastier in their interaction.

This is literally what the republicans did on January 6th!  And they do it all the time, and have done so since Obama was elected.  They act out of fear and emotion, and refuse to even listen to an opposing opinion, even if it is something they and their voters will benefit from. 

I am laughing so hard right now that this "podcaster"  tried to say this is how liberals act.  What alternate universe do these people live in?!?!?!

[weltschmerz]

Dec 14, 2022 10:44:02 GMT -5 scgal said:

Dec 11, 2022 18:53:11 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

It is hysterical that you think you are a fair and balanced person. Your head is so far up trumps ass you are coming out the other side. And you still haven’t answered. After trumps comments regarding the constitution, are you still going to vote for him if he is the republican nominee?

I read this post and it has me thinking of a podcast that I listened to a few years ago. The speaker was talking about the left and the right actions. He mentioned that the left usually is all emotion doesn't like being confronted with opposing opinion and when opposed they tend to get uglier and nastier in their interaction. The so called news is filled with it (although the news is now more of an opinion show) this board is filled with it. You and I have gone back and fourth with snide remarks which I do try do keep to a minimun I consider that beneath me. 

Back to your post I have given you no reason to say something like that I never mentioned I condone any of Trumps actions all I have ever done was point out a plausable explanation and for me if it is plausable then I will accept that vs any misdirected hatred to someone. I never said Trump was perfect I said he was better than the last 2 democrat presidents. I honestly believe it. I don't like most things the left does or spend money on. 

Now to your question will I vote for Trump if he is the republican nominee I truly hope it doesn't come down to that. Right now I cannot fathom any democrat especially since I don't believe in democrat politics (that is what it really comes down to the political agenda not so much the person) I don't know of any third party yet and usually try not to vote for third party since they don't have enough power to fight the dems or repubs. With the way the Republicans are going I'm also thinking maybe independent. So I honestly cannot answer yet. 

Such as?

[Tennesseer]

Dec 14, 2022 12:32:32 GMT -5 hurley1980 said:

He mentioned that the left usually is all emotion doesn't like being confronted with opposing opinion and when opposed they tend to get uglier and nastier in their interaction.

This is literally what the republicans did on January 6th!  And they do it all the time, and have done so since Obama was elected.  They act out of fear and emotion, and refuse to even listen to an opposing opinion, even if it is something they and their voters will benefit from. 

I am laughing so hard right now that this "podcaster"  tried to say this is how liberals act.  What alternate universe do these people live in?!?!?!

Well of course they did. Obama was brown.