What I've Been Thinking About While I Was Too Busy to Blog

I've been a bad blogger - over a week without a post. But that doesn't mean my mind was not fomenting opinionated polemics about various subjects all week. Just not enough to spur me to sit down at the computer and write about them.

As you know, Baxter tries to keep a relatively objective point of view when he reports the news; in fact, thanks go to Dave Dubya for kindly comparing him to Walter Cronkite! Baxter was "Very Pleased." He also thanks everyone else for their comments as well.

Unlike Baxter, I am more apt to let my feelings show about the news and so I'll subject you all to a short barrage of opinions on a bunch of different things that I've been reacting to this past week. So here goes:

The Birthers: I am sick to death of mainstream news outlets actually giving any air time to the ridiculous accusation that President Obama was not born in Hawaii on this date in 1961 or that he is not eligible to be President. It's just one more example of the right trying to distract from real issues and de-legitimize the President. This kind of thing has been going on since Bill Clinton was elected and this is just one more example of the kind of wing-nuttery this country has become prey to. At least when the Democrats claimed George W. Bush was illegitimately elected by the Supreme Court they had a reason to feel that way, since the Court overstepped its bounds.

But our whole country needs to get a grip and understand that "it is what it is" - once a President is sworn in, he's the President and that's that. Get over it and get a life. Also, stop saying he's the AntiChrist. It's just silly. Who ARE these people anyway? And why are we talking about them?

Michael Vick: NFL Commissioner Goodell reinstated Vick conditionally after Vick finished serving his sentence for running the horrific dogfighting operation, Bad Newz Kennels. (And he didn't just sponsor the ring monetarily - he participated in the abuse of innocent dogs. "Vick pleaded guilty after his three co-defendants had already done so. They told of how Vick participated in the killing of dogs that didn't perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning or slamming them to the ground.")

According to the conditions of Goodell's reinstatement of Vick, Vick "agreed to undergo psychiatric testing, which determined that he was capable of returning to the NFL but needed continuing counseling." In addition, Vick said he had matured as an individual, has re-evaluated his life and fully understands "the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward." He also happens to be bankrupt so has a great self-interest in being able to play again.

So far no NFL team has offered him a job since the reinstatement - but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Some people feel the world should forgive Vick for his crimes and let him make a new start. Some have said there are guys playing who have done "worse" things than hurting and killing dogs (spouse abuse, drugs, DUI manslaughter, etc.) and are still playing. Well, maybe so. But maybe they shouldn't be playing either.

I am not convinced of Vick's remorse. I want to see him pledge to give an ongoing percentage of his future salary to pitbull rescue organizations or to help break up dogfight operations - or even go work for an animal rescue organization to truly make up for what he has done. I'm as forgiving as the next person but when it comes to exploiting and torturing an animal that is only trying to please its owners, or a child who is at the mercy of his torturer, these crimes I can't forgive. Why should Michael Vick go on with his high-paid career after what he has done? I know many will disagree but I can't help but feel this way.

Thankfully almost all of the dogs rescued from Vick's operation are doing well and will probably eventually find homes. Here is a video from the rescue organization BAD RAP, which has participated in rehabilitating some of the Vick dogs.



Healthcare Reform: So far the House Energy and Commerce Commission has passed one version of a healthcare reform bill and the Senate has another one in the works that is different. Neither of them will make everyone happy. According to the linked article, President Obama stated, "'The bill that they have passed will strengthen consumer protections and choice, while lowering costs and improving care, underscoring the broad consensus among all of the bills that have emerged in Congress,' he said.

The bill would make more low-income people eligible for Medicaid, the federal healthcare program; provide health insurance subsidies for middle class Americans; and offer a government-sponsored plan as an alternative to private insurance."

Of course, the concern on the left is that the public option will be stripped out in the final legislation once the rest of Congress has a go at this after the August recess. On the right there is continued fearmongering regarding "Socialism" and "government run healthcare," while on the left there is fear of a watered-down version of reform that just makes things worse without solving the real problems.

We don't know yet how this will turn out but my feeling is, it is likely at least some good will come out of it. We on the left may not get everything we want, but there will be improvements. Even President Bush's Medicare Part D prescription coverage, flawed though it is, was an improvement over no coverage at all. The "doughnut hole" system at least allows a good amount of prescriptions to be covered before the "hole" kicks in - and then picks up again when the expenses become more catastrophic. It's not perfect. But it's better than not having it. "The best (or perfect) is the enemy of the good" is one of my favorite sayings. Often good is accomplished in an incremental way. By holding out for the perfect, sometimes we don't get any good at all.

When these healthcare reforms get closer to final, let's all take a good look at what is truly being proposed and ask ourselves, "Is it better than what we have?" If the answer is yes, then it is worth doing.

Plaxico Burress: The former NFL player for the NY Giants was indicted for gun possession stemming from an incident in a nightclub last year when he accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed gun. According to the linked article, "Burress was at the Latin Quarter nightclub Nov. 29 when a gun tucked into his waistband slipped down his leg and fired, shooting him in the right thigh." On the radio I had also heard this, and that he was wearing sweatpants at the time. Sweatpants. Not even a real pair of pants with a belt that might have held the gun in place. Someone could have been killed and he's lucky he wasn't more badly wounded himself. My main reaction to this story, however, was WTF? Who goes into a nightclub with a gun loosely stuck in their sweatpants WITH THE SAFETY OFF? Hello?! How stupid is that? This is the reason people shouldn't be allowed to carry concealed weapons. Because some of these people don't have the common sense the good Lord, if there is one, gave them.

OK, I'm done now. I'll be back with any further diatribes if the mood strikes!

Diva's Turn

Hi! Mommy said I could blog today instead of Baxter The Cat. It's only fair if I get to talk sometimes, after all. (He would say I get to talk a lot more around the house than he does but I don't care. Mommy says that's because I'm a "diva" whatever that means. I know I'm a Diva, that's my name. I don't understand what she means by that.)

I heard some really good news about my distant relatives - the pitbulls that were used for dogfighting by that awful man, Michael Vick. Apparently they are making great progress since they were rescued last year and that mean man had to pay a million dollars to take care of them.

This article Mommy found says that:

"Of the 49 pit bulls animal behavior experts evaluated in the fall, only one was deemed too vicious to warrant saving and was euthanized. (Another was euthanized because it was sick and in pain.)

More than a year after being confiscated from Vick's property, Leo, a tan, muscular pit bull, dons a colorful clown collar and visits cancer patients as a certified therapy dog in California. Hector, who bears deep scars on his chest and legs, recently was adopted and is about to start training for national flying disc competitions in Minnesota. Teddles takes orders from a 2-year-old. Gracie is a couch potato in Richmond who lives with cats and sleeps with four other dogs.

Of the 47 surviving dogs, 25 were placed directly in foster homes, and a handful have been or are being adopted. Twenty-two were deemed potentially aggressive toward other dogs and were sent to an animal sanctuary in Utah. Some, after intensive retraining, are expected to move on to foster care and eventual adoption."

I am not surprised by this because, as I may have told you, I came from a great rescue place, The Animal Farm Foundation, which rescues pitbulls like me and adopts them out after making sure we're friendly and have good temperaments. Of course I passed my tests with flying colors since I wag at everybody and would never ever bite anyone. You can take a bone right out of my mouth and I just hope that maybe I'll get it back but if I don't, that's OK too.

In other pitbull-related news, the Dutch government has lifted a ban on pitbulls that was in place for a really long time! They found out that banning us did not reduce the number of dog bites. Instead they're going to try to educate owners and enforce leash laws! Well, that certainly makes sense to me! Those Dutch people are always so sensible.

So that was all very good news and I wanted to let you know about it.

There are some other things going on this week that I can tell you about too. I heard that Dr. Michael DeBakey died. He was 99 years old and the reason everyone knows about him is he invented cardiac bypass surgery and a whole bunch of other methods of helping heart patients.

I like surgeons myself because I had both my knees operated on when I was still at the Animal Farm. They had to fix something in my knees called "ligaments." It hurt but I got over it and can run around really fast now so I'm really grateful to the doctor who fixed my knees.

I haven't been following politics much since Hillary left the race. I know Baxter and my Mommy and Daddy are supporting Barack Obama but I was for Hillary. So was my Mommy's mother. The Animal Farm is run by women and ever since they rescued me from Animal Control in New York City, I just love ALL women. It doesn't matter who they are, if they are a woman, I love them. I love most people anyway, but I really wag for women the most. So of course when I heard that a woman was running for president I wanted her to win!

Now that she didn't win I'm not paying much attention; I don't have the patience Baxter has to keep up with all that stuff. I hear some of Obama's fans are getting mad at him and even Baxter is a little worried because he's going back on some stuff that he said. I'm waiting to see if he'll pick a woman for Vice President. If he does I might get interested again. Otherwise I think I'll sit back and wait and see what happens later in the year. We dogs have better things to do in the summer than think about politics.

Right now I am having lots of fun playing in my pool. Mommy and Daddy found this wading pool by the curb right after they got me. Somebody was throwing it out! So Daddy brought it home, cleaned it, and we use it all summer for me to jump in and cool off. They throw my Ball and I jump in and get it. I hate when they spray me with water though. It's different getting sprayed with the hose compared to jumping in the water on purpose!

Of course my favorite thing is going swimming in the lake they take me to at Cape Cod. Last weekend I also got to go in a lake in the Adirondacks. Mommy and Daddy make sure to take me to places where I can swim because they know how much I like it.

Mommy wants me to tell you an update about the Wrens that were living in the bird house in the yard. The boy Wren has been singing a lot again and she thinks they may have a new nest nearby! This morning there was a lot of chattering and both of the Wrens were up in the pine tree. Mommy saw two of the neighbor's cats under the tree so she sent me out to chase them. They were on the other side of the fence but all I had to do is bark and they decided to move farther away. Then the Wrens could relax and start singing again.

That's about it from here. I'm really happy Mommy let me have a chance to talk to you again and tell you more about my distant relations that used to belong to Michael Vick. I am always happy to tell people about happy endings for fellow pitbulls. If you want to help pitbull rescue organizations, Mommy has a whole list of links down the side of her blog that you can choose from!

Have a wonderful weekend and maybe I'll get to blog again soon! Baxter will be back next week!