Let's hear it for the Democrat losers! Al Gore now joins Jimmy Carter as the second southern Democrat who failed in his attempt to move into (or stay in, in Carter's case) 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue only to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Top that, Republican losers! Bet Florida doesn't sting quite as bad for ole Al today.
Personally, I hope Al stays out of the race for the White House. I think he'd make one hell of a Secretary of Energy in the HR Clinton White House. If anyone disagrees with him, he can just hold up his Nobel Prize and say, "When you have one of these, we'll talk." I think he's entitled to be snide.
So, good for you, Al. Way to come back from way, way down and show all of us that good guys can finish first.
Now, I can turn my energies to convincing HR Clinton that the unmarried are people, too and as tax-paying, voting people, we deserve tax breaks and health insurance just like all them married people and their kids.
Showing posts with label opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinion. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Mistakes
In today's blotter, I read about a college student who drove his car down an embankment and crashed. When asked about the accident, he explained that he was turning around and "accidentally" hit the accelerator when he should have hit the brake. No one was hurt and this fellow's insurance company will certainly appreciate his more generous monthly contributions. Honest mistake. Could happen to any of us, I suppose.
This story comes on the heels of continuing coverage of Atlanta quarterback, Michael Vick's involvement in a dog-fighting ring. Yesterday's story included a picture of a young boy holding a sign that read, "Everybody makes mistakes." True. But what exactly was Michael Vick's mistake? Transforming Virginia farmland into a chamber of horrors? Turning perfectly healthy and potentially friendly dogs into vicious killers purely for profit? Callously drowining dogs who didn't perform up to his standards? Denying his involvement while continuing to rake in fistfuls of cash from the Atlanta Falcons?
According to Michael Vick, his mistake was getting involved in criminal activity, and he's sorry. I don't think it counts if you deny your "mistake" until your "business associates" turn you in. If he's honest, I think Vick would say that his biggest mistake was choosing to get involved with this particular group of "business associates" - associates who can't hide their criminal activities and then squeal like little girls when they're nabbed.
One of Vick's attorneys has asked that we all reserve harsh criticism because Vick is beating himself up enough about this. The attorney asked that we all remember that Vick is a father, not just a football player. In other words, we should show Vick's family more respect than he has. I hope his young son has some serious questions about why his father chose to squander his future on this "mistake."
If we're making a list of the people who made mistakes in all of this, I think the Atlanta Falcons organization deserves top honors. Seems Vick's contract is so airtight that even a felony conviction doesn't absolve the Falcons of their obligations. Vick is suspended, but not terminated. Something about if he's terminated, he gets to keep all the signing bonuses and whatever else the Falcons wooed him with. May we all find such generous employers.
Next on the list would be the people who suggest that this whole affair has anything to do with race. It doesn't. It has everything to do with greed, cruelty, brutality and callous disregard for life. To hide behind race is cowardly and it's stupid. Characterizing dog-fighting as a cultural pastime puts you on a very slippery slope. In the late 19th - early 20th century, white supremacists made the same argument about lynching, a crime that actually had everything to do with race. I don't care how bad-ass you are, you don't want to keep company with white supremacists.
In the end, "mistake" seems terribly inadequate to describe Vick's actions. "Mistake" implies that it can all be erased with a simple, "oops, my bad. Do over." No, "mistake" might describe the college student's trip into the embankment, but it doesn't cut it when over 50 dogs will pay the ultimate price for Vick's decisions.
This story comes on the heels of continuing coverage of Atlanta quarterback, Michael Vick's involvement in a dog-fighting ring. Yesterday's story included a picture of a young boy holding a sign that read, "Everybody makes mistakes." True. But what exactly was Michael Vick's mistake? Transforming Virginia farmland into a chamber of horrors? Turning perfectly healthy and potentially friendly dogs into vicious killers purely for profit? Callously drowining dogs who didn't perform up to his standards? Denying his involvement while continuing to rake in fistfuls of cash from the Atlanta Falcons?
According to Michael Vick, his mistake was getting involved in criminal activity, and he's sorry. I don't think it counts if you deny your "mistake" until your "business associates" turn you in. If he's honest, I think Vick would say that his biggest mistake was choosing to get involved with this particular group of "business associates" - associates who can't hide their criminal activities and then squeal like little girls when they're nabbed.
One of Vick's attorneys has asked that we all reserve harsh criticism because Vick is beating himself up enough about this. The attorney asked that we all remember that Vick is a father, not just a football player. In other words, we should show Vick's family more respect than he has. I hope his young son has some serious questions about why his father chose to squander his future on this "mistake."
If we're making a list of the people who made mistakes in all of this, I think the Atlanta Falcons organization deserves top honors. Seems Vick's contract is so airtight that even a felony conviction doesn't absolve the Falcons of their obligations. Vick is suspended, but not terminated. Something about if he's terminated, he gets to keep all the signing bonuses and whatever else the Falcons wooed him with. May we all find such generous employers.
Next on the list would be the people who suggest that this whole affair has anything to do with race. It doesn't. It has everything to do with greed, cruelty, brutality and callous disregard for life. To hide behind race is cowardly and it's stupid. Characterizing dog-fighting as a cultural pastime puts you on a very slippery slope. In the late 19th - early 20th century, white supremacists made the same argument about lynching, a crime that actually had everything to do with race. I don't care how bad-ass you are, you don't want to keep company with white supremacists.
In the end, "mistake" seems terribly inadequate to describe Vick's actions. "Mistake" implies that it can all be erased with a simple, "oops, my bad. Do over." No, "mistake" might describe the college student's trip into the embankment, but it doesn't cut it when over 50 dogs will pay the ultimate price for Vick's decisions.
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