It's been two years now and Vick has served his time. I should be happy, but I am not. First, he is scooped by Philadelphia, second I don't feel contrition. Don't know how I feel about that. Can't imagine the Tate family taking Charles Manson's pleas any better. But hey, we have a quarterback, a name and the ability to sell a lot of jerseys! We need to get past out love of sports and respect our gut feeling of what is right and wrong. Never will forget finding Sydney. I was asked what I would do if the owner showed up to claim the dog. I told the person that posed the question "I hope he/she does so I can kick their ass." I don't negate Michael a second chance. Only one not so publicly followed and revered!

Breaking News!!!! Jury selected for Vick Tiral

You've been blinded...PLEASE!!!

Fellow blogger weighs in on the Michael Vick racism conspiracy. In response, as an Anglo Saxon female, a minority and a southerner, get a grip. I can't and won't attempt to speak for everyone, only myself. If this case involved Hillary Clinton, Sandra Day O'Connor, Larry Bird or the now deceased Pope Paul, I would feel the same way. To say that the moral outrage, in this case, is solely based on the color of one's skin is ridiculous. However there is one racial issue out there. Whereas dog fighting started as a rural sport in the south, it has become an emblem of the hip hop culture. Thank the rappers and gang bangers for that. Tough dogs, mean dogs, dogs with attitude have become a status symbol for those who wish to portray themselves as the tough guy. It has become deeply embedded in inner city gang culture and is heavily marketed by advertising moguls who wish to target their core group. It is very easy to blame the race, sex, sexual preference card when looking at these cases. It's also very destructive. If I blamed every promotion I didn't get, every raise I was denied and everything I hoped for that didn't come my way on the fact that I was a female, "well that's just the way things go," I would be a very miserable person without any lucrative employment. With dogs we say it's the deed not the breed. Can we not say it's the deed not the race, or the skin color? So why the focus on Vick? Quite simply, dog fighting is an underground sport. To find a well established ring, fronted by a millionaire that kids revere, is ground breaking!!!! It doesn't matter whether that the star is black, white or Hispanic. This rarely happens in this underground sporting world. Is dog fighting a black sport? As a southerner, who grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, I can't say. I can say in inner city neighborhoods, it has become a trend. Countless news articles, the A.S.P.C.A, and the Humane Society all attest to this. The core issue in this case is the rose colored glasses worn by the management at the NFL, NBA, NBL, the music industry and Hollywood. As long as we continue to laugh off errors made by our star studded icons, we tell our children that any indiscretion is fine. Well at least if you make a six figure income. Michael Vick's apology could have been Paris Hilton's. I am not any happier with the fact that she'll still get roles and get the book deal. However she didn't brutally murder dogs. Speaking of which, Michael says he murdered six to eight...what he can't remember? Most serial killers can, but Michael is having a mental block? What gives?!!! By the way, your hero Sharpton makes this case. As to hunters and PETA? Not a huge fan of both. However, the few hunters I know only kill what they can eat. This is what any predatory carnivore does. They do not torture, mutilate and they do not ask their prey to fight each other for their own enjoyment. Most hunter's I know share their kill with the property owners of their hunting grounds as well, another common pack behavior. There are some hunters that hunt merely for sport/entertainment/a trophy for their wall and I find that detestable. Peta gets a lot of flack for euthanasia. Understand, I am not for taking any one's life unnecessarily. But what kind of life does the unadoptable pet live? It lives a life in a kennel with little exercise. Eventually, the dog goes mad. Have you ever had a loved one ask you to pull the plug, because their life no longer has meaning or value? I have and you can see the same desperation in the eyes of some of these dogs in no kill shelters. I would rather see them put to sleep humanely, than live that kind of life! So sorry, your arguement doesn't sway me.

Vick pleads guilty and lies yet again

Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick, in a press conference today has apologized for his immature acts saying, "I need to grow up." Well that is certainly true Michael, but please do not refer to your actions as immature. Cruel and criminal is certainly the better description of what you have done. "Through this entire situation, I never pointed a finger at anyone else," Vick adds. Like hell Michael!!! You pointed your finger at your three other colleagues and denied any knowledge of the operation going on at your Virginia home. "I accept the responsibility for what I did." Only after 3 witnesses were willing to testify against you. Only after you lied to your G.M., your owner and the commissioner of the NFL. Yet you still deny to placing bets. Rich McKay, the Falcons G.M. stated that Michael is suspended indefinitely and will not receive his 6 million dollar salary cap. Vick has also received a letter from the Falcon team this morning demanding his 22 million sign on bonus. McKay stated, "We don't feel we're in a box or a bad situation. Arthur Blank, the Falcon's owner stated they were "profoundly disappointed and saddened," yet refused to say if Michael was permanently off the team. He said that the team needed to address two questions; "How did this happen and what can we do to avoid this in the future." He also stated that Vick needed to address these two questions as well. "Only he knows why he did what he did," Blank said. Blank went on to say that the Falcon organization is working with the A.S.P.C.A and the Humane Society to see if there are ways the Falcon's can support their efforts. Vick was described as emotionless at today's hearing. Even after all the yes sir and no sir pandering, the judge reminded him, "Your really taking your chances here." Let's hope the judge doesn't have second thoughts. Vick faces sentencing on December 10th. Vick is still expected to maintain financial responsibility of the 50 dogs seized from his Virginia home. Although behavior tests have yet to be completed, it has been reported that as many as 49 of these dogs will be euthanized. Vick's Press Conference Falcon's owner discusses Vick Falcon G.M. discusses Vick: Discussion on what happen's next.

Startling commentary on Vick's future in the NFL

Get ready to be outraged, yes really outraged. In the debate over Vick's future with the NFL, an unamed General Manager has made the following comment. Unamed, supposedly, because the NFL has asked their managers not to comment on this case. Unamed, more likely, because of the nature of the comments made. Columnist Mike Freeman writes, "Vick's reputation is forever tainted but if you think Vick will never wear an NFL uniform again please read carefully the following words from an NFL general manager. They will end up being prophetic." "If he goes to prison, time will pass," said the general manager, who spoke before news of a potential Vick plea agreement and asked not to be identified, claiming the NFL has asked current team officials not to publicly comment on the Vick case. "Months or years will pass, if he does go to jail. If he went to jail, and then left prison down the road, he'd still be relatively young, and there'd be a line of 15 to 20 teams waiting to sign him. Trust me on that. Teams are going to say, 'F--- PETA. F--- the bad pub. This guy is one of the most talented players of the last 10 years. I'll take my chances." "Teams may say one thing publicly. But if he gets out of jail, we'll all be looking at Vick hard. We're all whores in football. You know the saying. We'd sign an ax murderer if he has ability. He'll be back. He won't be back in Atlanta probably but he'll be back in professional football. You can count on it." Columnist Mike Freeman goes on to state, "Yes, that's a football word: 'ho." "There is no gender connotation to this word; it is not meant to be derogatory toward women." Freeman adds. "It is used by the general manager in this simple context: teams will do anything -- anything -- for talent. To win." Maybe someone needs to tell this to Don Imus! I would like to remind Freeman that the words ho and whore most certainly do have a negative connotation. Look up whore in a thesaurus and what do you find. Words like indecency, lechery, debauchment,Jezebel and harlot to name a few. Ho and bitch are used by gangs and rappers to refer to women in general. Do you think that because this manager used this word to describe his own organization's Machiavellian attempts to sign talent makes it's use any more acceptible? Freeman then goes on to say,"Remember, this is a league that has employed murder suspects, players that have killed people while driving drunk, chronic women beaters, gun runners, drug dealers, former gang members, and all kinds of creeps and cretins, swine and smut-like -- all in the name of talent." Which makes this manager's choice of words even more suspect. Is talent and athletic prowess really so hard to come by, that we must dredge the bottom of the barrel in an attempt to make money? Should we ignore crime to have a winning year? Is using the word ho to describe NFL's desire to win at any cost, a sign that the NFL is pandering to and or promoting a culture of violence, drugs and gangs? Food for thought!

New use for Vick merchandise

ATLANTA — When the bright red jerseys with the bold No. 7 started arriving in the mail, staffers at the Atlanta Humane Society were a bit surprised. Today, however, about a dozen Atlanta Falcons football jerseys bearing the name and number of quarterback Michael Vick have been put to good use - as animal bedding or, even more likely, rags to scrub up the mess that dogs leave behind. "Kind of appropriate," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, of the jerseys that have been mailed to the shelter since Vick was indicted last month on federal dogfighting charges . The rest of the story here. In the meantime, Vick may be so lucky as to get a year or less for his crime, an outrage if you ask me. Even more of an outrage is the NFL still debating his status...Crickey!!!! Great post by Toni.

Heros

The following video portrays pit bull terriors, that have saved countless lives, at times, to their own demise. Watch this and try not to cry...I can't do it!!! I tear every time I see it!!!! So now what is your thought on breed legislation? Once again, it is the deed, not the breed!!!!

Dog's in the kennel

The audacity of the entertainment industry

The recent indictment of Atlanta Falcons QB, Michael Vick, is causing much speculation on whether he should be suspended immediately or after a court verdict. The answer to me is very simple, he must be suspended immediately and fired if found guilty. But this is not an isolated incident as we must look at the bigger picture. Illegal activity and cruel behavior is not just an issue with the players in the NFL and the NBA, but exists throughout the entertainment industry. These singers, athletes and actors are emulated by our children and our star studded culture. What kind of message are we sending to the youths of this nation? By turning our head to illegal behavior, we are telling our children that violence, drugs and lawlessness is OK. Yet later we wonder why more and more minors are severely injurred or killed by other minors. A study conducted in 2001, shows that 25% of Chicago Public School children have witnessed a dog fight. 2007 has been the most violent year for Chicago school children, with 34 children dead. Most at the hand of another minor. With great power comes great responsibility. Our sports stars, our music artists and our actors wield a great deal of influence on the youths of this nation. Negative influence can no longer be tolerated. I would like to see immediate contract release including a void on all salary caps for any star convicted of violent crime and immediate suspension for any star indicted for violent crime. Michael Vick still stands to earn 15 million dollars by 2008, regardless of suspension or release. By signing our stars to 6 figure incomes with salary caps, we are ensuring they get paid regardless of any judgement against them. Then of course there are the inevitable movie and book deals that follow. The entertainment industry must stop scratching it's head and debating what to do. It is time to stop glamorizing violence