Michael Vick

It's not often you'll catch me reading a sports blog, or commenting on a sports person, but I read an article today that compelled me to make a comment.

It was a sports bloggers response to the statement Michael Vick made recently when he stated that one day he would like the opportunity to own a dog again.

The blogger in question chided Vick for daring to make a statement that was simply (in his opinion) too soon to make, and that he should have waited.  Many of the comments on the blog article insulted Vick and made comparisons to letting a pedophile baby sit.

Here's my take, for what it's worth; I think he should be allowed to have a dog or two, and here's why I believe this.

There is a tendency in America to lean towards revenge style punishments rather than rehabilitating criminals and trying to put them back on the path to proper citizenship.  Here we have a case of a man who was fired, spent 19 months in jail, spent a fortune on his legal bills, fines etc.  A sports person like this could have earned insane amounts of money during those 19 months of jail time and a few good bits of publicity during that time could have led to endorsement deals paying the kind of money most middle class families can only dream of saving for retirement in a lifetime of work.

In short Mr. Vick has paid a heavy heavy price for his transgressions, both in loss of freedom and loss of money.  We may never know the true extent of what this man has lost as a result of his conviction.

Now our PETA friends may well point out that this man allowed some horrific animal cruelty to go on, and this should make him ineligible for dog ownership any time soon (or ever depending on who you ask).

But the reality of the situation is that the Pitbull is our nation's favorite dog to kill.  The Humane Society believes that some 100,000 Pitbulls are slaughtered every month in this country.  So let's not pretend that if those dogs had not been fighting over at Vick's house, they would have been living it up in some fancy mini mansion eating caviar and truffles.

Vick has paid a heavy price for his crimes, and now the next phase of his rehabilitation should be to learn to treat dogs with respect.  I'd say he should be allowed to rescue one or two of the Pitbulls that are going to be euthanized in the next month or two and adopt them into his family.  He should be forced to pay for the Humane Society to pay regular visits to ensure the dogs are being treated properly, and he should be asked to make some fat donation to a dog related charity.

Under those conditions, I don't see what the problem is.  Telling him no, when we are only going to kill the dogs anyway, is completely irrational.  I'm pretty sure that given the choice between living with Vick, or certain death, most Pitbulls would take the Vick option.

What Republicans Really Think About 9/11

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For years Republicans have used 9/11 as a tool to win elections and drive home political points. They have consistently ignored the reality that they were in charge when this atrocity happened. They ignore the reality that their President, George Bush froze like a deer in headlights after the attack. We keep hearing how they 'kept us safe' after 9/11 by starting two random wars and making us take off our shoes at the airport.

Now our friends in the Republican party show us what they really think. For nothing more than political reasons they have blocked a bill designed to provide help to 9/11 first responders. The brave men and women who ran into the towers to rescue people while most people were running away, are now denied financial help, health care, and compassion by the same politicians who shamelessly exploited this disaster for political gain.

And why did they do this? Not just because they don't give a flying fuck about you or me, but because they are blackmailing the White House over the Bush tax cuts. Essentially until the tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans is extended at a cost of several hundred billion dollars, these scumbags are going to block every single new law that they can, including helping the heroes of 9/11.

If this does not help you put into context what Republicans really stand for, then you are beyond help.

Shame on Republicans everywhere for these morally bankrupt and despicable actions. If I believed in Hell, I would suspect that there is a special wing of it for the bastards who act in this way.

Dumping Cable

When I lived in Tennessee I had Charter cable, and I very much hated it.  They had a limited selection of HD programming, an unreliable pay for view movies service, shoddy customer service and various Internet issues that for some reason created some issues with Call of Duty that could never be resolved.

Upon moving to Texas I thought that my proximity to Houston would afford me a state of the art system and waited excitedly for the Consolidated truck to show up and install my service.

To say that I have been disappointed would be a massive understatement.  The remote acted like it was drunk.  The DVR seems to be determined to find an excuse to not record my favorite shows.  There were no HD movies on demand or on pay for view.  The customer service was closed at weekends, and ineffective the rest of the time.  While they got Internet right (albeit very expensive for the speed they offer), they fucked up just about everything else.

The first cable box they gave me would freeze all the time requiring a reboot that could take up to twenty minutes (yes, that's 20 minutes).  All in all they seemed like a phone company that was tinkering with the notion of becoming a cable company.  But instead of getting paid to beta test their buggy and substandard product, I was paying them, and paying them far too much.

So this week, I called them up and gave them their marching orders.  I retained their Internet service as it is about the only option around here.  But I told them to remove cable TV from my bill and promised to return their unspeakably poor boxes to their headquarters.

The replacement I have chosen is Direct TV, in addition to my Netflix account (which I have to say was a wonderful investment - it's little surprise they single-handedly annihilated Blockbuster).

I'm getting the second most expensive package, HD, DVR, HBO, Showtime, movies on demand, insurance against anything getting messed up, and it's going to run about $60 a month.  This in turn is going to save me a good $50 a month over what cable was costing me (including the Internet).

Only time will tell if this was a good move.  But honestly I can't imagine they could be offering a worse service than Consolidated, and retain 50 million subscribers.  Fingers crossed, the install is next weekend, and I'm excited to see the results.

My 2011 Camaro Follow Up

So I've had my Camaro for four months and six thousand miles now, and I thought I would write a follow up piece after my initial honeymoon period had worn off.

I'm still very much enjoying the car.  That's the bottom line.  I've been on long trips, short trips, and medium trips.  In every way the car has performed incredibly well, especially when you consider that it is just around the average price of a car sold in America today.

I've lost count of how many times people have told me it looks amazing, have asked me how fast it goes, or jokingly implied they would have to steal it.  Just today I was parking it and I saw a teenage girl attempt to surreptitiously take a photo of it, before looking embarrassed that I had spotted her doing it.

Despite it being nearly 14 grand cheaper than the BMW it replaced, I have had zero issues with the car so far.  If I am being really nit picky there is the faintest of rattle that seems to come from behind the radio at a certain speed, and once the compass refused to work for 24 hours.  But mechanically, and in terms of fun factor the car is astonishing.

As far as living with the car is concerned, it's clearly more sports car than family sedan.  If you are taking a passenger in the back they had better be small or they are going to have a hard time in that back seat.  The trunk opening is stupidly small, so anything bigger than a large suitcase isn't going to fit.  The glass in the car is very short from top to bottom so the driver visibility is very much reduced.

But the thing is, I wasn't looking for practical this time around.  I wanted a sports car, at a fair price.  What I got was a delightful compromise of performance and economy, sporty feel with a nice grand touring persona, great styling without a great price tag, and something I would enjoy driving each time I got behind the wheel.

Some say that the 2011 Mustang is a little quicker off the line or around a track.  Some say it is a more nimble drive.  But I wouldn't swap my car for a loaded V8 Mustang to be honest.

GM have hit a home run with this car, and have completely demonstrated that they can build a quality car these days.  Five years ago I would not have touched an American car with a stick, but now they have mended their ways and upped their game, and as a result I am very pleased to be a Camaro owner.

If you want something that's a lot of fun, and don't want to be killed on the price, this is the way to go.  There is a reason this car is now outselling the Mustang for the first time in 25 years.

The Stoning of Soraya M

In America today there are those who question why we have a separation of Church and State.  There are those who ask why can't we have the Ten Commandments in court houses and schools.  There are those who believe we need prayer in schools.  And there are those who believe in gender discrimination.

To all of those people I'd like to suggest a look at this movie.  This is what happens when we allow religion to justify every action we take.  This is what happens when the rule of law is perverted by religious figures.  This is what our society becomes when we view women as second rate citizens and/or slaves.

This movie was based on actual events, and is a warning beacon for us all here in the United States.

Senator Bernie Sanders

If only more Americans would understand this, and do something about it.