Russian Crime Story

 

In case you haven’t heard, Brittney Griner is in jail. In Russia. Why? Because of racism. And misogyny. And homophobia. In America.

Wait. What?

Yes, it’s true. She is simply an innocent victim and once again, America is the bad guy. In her mind (and in the tiny minds of her supporters, including the usual suspects – Democrats, Liberals, and the Mainstream media), if she were a straight, white, male, President Biden would have already ridden in on his white horse and saved her from the consequences of her own actions. (Although honestly, it’s near impossible to picture feeble, old Joe riding in to save anyone!)

One of WBNA coaches has already said that if it were LeBron James, he would already be home. So, maybe she believes that if you’re famous enough, you could still be African-American, and hate your own country, as long as you’re straight and male. Maybe Griner just checks too many boxes.

Or maybe. Just maybe. She broke the law in a foreign country and her fame and celebrity couldn’t save her.

No, that can’t be right. It’s America’s fault. She’s making a million dollars a season playing basketball in Russia, because here in the U.S. she only makes around 220K a year. Compared to me, she is very wealthy, but of course, compared to male NBA players, she considers herself to be vastly underpaid. So, she has no choice but to go make money in foreign countries. Misogyny in America, you know. Just ask Megan Rapinoe.

According to her and several other top professional female athletes, they deserve equal pay to their male counterparts. Anything less is just unfair and discriminatory. Of course, what they are really looking for is a socialist welfare handout. They just don’t like capitalism. Professional (and collegiate) men’s sports are highly profitable. Women’s sports are not. Sad, but true. And unfortunately for Griner and others, the WNBA does not make money. Actually, the league loses more than 10 million dollars every year! Does The WNBA Lose Money For The NBA? (sports-king.com) Therefore, salaries are considerable less than the average NBA salary. Now, if LeBron wants to share his 45 million a year salary with the WNBA, he can certainly do so, but don’t hold your breath.

(LeBron has already weighed in with his hefty political opinion. Anti-American, as always, but what do you expect from the richest victim in the country.)

Anyway, back to Griner. I have no doubt that her problems in Russia are exacerbated by her status as a professional American athlete. Putin is probably tickled to death to have her in custody, but make no mistake, he has no fear of America. Or of holding on to American prisoners. Not as long as we are represented by the weakest world leader in history.

Let me conclude with some final thoughts.

·         Let’s face it. No one likes to see our heroes fall. I hate to see any American citizen treated as a political pawn in this manner, and I hope that she is treated fairly in the court system over there. And yes, I hope that at some point, we get her out of there and back home. I also hope that our country doesn’t trade some arms dealer just to get back an ungrateful, spoiled, and entitled athlete who foolishly broke the law while in Russia.

·         And no, I don’t believe it was an accident or that someone planted the drugs on her. More likely, it was just carelessness. And lack of respect for the laws of other nations.

·         This is yet another example of Typical Liberal Hypocrisy – you refuse to stand for the American flag, but you expect the country to come rushing to your aid when you get in trouble in a foreign country. Do you think Griner will have a different level of appreciation for the U.S. when this is all over? Or will she resent us even more for not rescuing her immediately after she messed up so badly?

·         And finally, why do celebrities get to call the White House and beg the President for help when they get in trouble? Would the average citizen have any hopes of such access? Would you or I?

Mayor Pete Defends the Mob

 I read recently that if the Democrats manage to shed themselves of Joe Biden, the most likely Presidential candidate for 2024 would be Pete Buttigieg. Wow! We haven’t seen a less qualified, less experienced candidate since they picked that junior senator from Illinois. But Mayor Pete certainly has his fans.

As the current Transportation Secretary, he offered his astute answer to the problem of the rising gas prices – just go out and buy an electric vehicle! And I suppose, let us eat cake, while we’re at it. Last week, he made the news for his defense of the people who have chosen to make life Hell for those Supreme Court Justices who had the audacity to overturn the Left’s so-called “right” to kill babies.

Buttigieg was highly praised by the Left for that particular interview on Fox News. Pete Buttigieg Praised for ‘Intelligent and Precise’ Interview Schooling Fox News on Kavanaugh Protesters (Video) (yahoo.com) According to Pete, Supreme Court justices have no real right to privacy. I wonder if he was the one being harassed every time he or his family went out in public, would he feel the same? And what if Conservative groups that objected to his gay lifestyle and same-sex marriage were paying people to report his location whenever he and his husband dined out? Would he be okay with that?

Sorry to disagree, but even if you call it “peaceful protest,” it’s still harassment and intimidation. Just like the millions of dollars in damages done by those peaceful protesters across the country every time the Left gets upset, or offended, or simply doesn’t get their way. It’s ridiculous. Using sweet words may fool the sheep, but it doesn’t change the facts. Or undo the harm caused. But then again, the Left believes that any means are justified to reach their own particular end results.

Just my opinion, but a Supreme Court justice, or any other elected official with whom you disagree, should be able to go out in public with their families without being subjected to these nonsensical peaceful protests.

On a personal note, I worked in the field of education for 35 years. As a “public” figure, my phone number and address were always listed in the local directory. By my own choice. I believed it was the right thing to do. Over the years, I received my share of angry phone calls and even had a disgruntled parent show up at my house on one occasion. I’ve also encountered my share of “concerned citizens” while shopping at Walmart, the local grocery store, or while eating out. Fortunately, all of these situations were resolved without incident.

However, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that these encounters were almost always intimidating. And to a certain degree qualified as harassment. I feel lucky. I have heard tons of stories from colleagues who faced much worse – very ugly and scary confrontations from angry constituents.

It is true that as a public figure, on any level, you face accountability, and should expect the “free speech” of your fellow citizens to sometimes be uncomfortable – but the level of animosity (and hatred) intentionally stirred up by the Democrats, the Liberals, and the mainstream media these days goes well beyond the normal. Pete knows this. He just won’t say it aloud. He’s too busy protecting his image, in case he needs to run for President someday soon.