Search






Jeff's Amazon.com Wish List

Archive Calendar

November 2024
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  

Archives

The first shoe drops for Vick

— Or, if you prefer, Vick is first dropped by a shoe:

Nike Inc. suspended the introduction of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s latest shoe two days after a federal grand jury indicted him for allegedly conspiring to run a dog-fighting operation from a home he owned in Virginia.

Nike, the world’s largest athletic-shoe maker, is concerned about the “highly disturbing allegations” and decided to postpone the release of Vick’s shoe, spokesman Dean Stoyer said today. The shoe would be the National Football League player’s fifth for the company.

“We do believe that Michael Vick should be afforded the same due process as any citizen; therefore we have not terminated our relationship,” Stoyer said in a statement. “We have, however, made the decision to suspend the release of the Zoom Vick V and related marketing communications.”

Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who was on vacation when a grand jury indicted Vick and three other men July 17, said the team needed to consider “a wide range of interests and legal issues” before deciding how to respond to the situation, “including our need to respect the due process that Michael is entitled to.”

Predictably, everyone is being careful thus far to grant that Vick is deserving of his due process. But beyond that, support for Vick has been tepid.

Even Al Sharpton is taking measures to preemptively distance himself from Vick:

The Rev. Al Sharpton teamed with PETA Wednesday to criticize dogfighting in a letter that went to all of Michael Vick’s corporate sponsors.

The letter, signed by Sharpton, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, went to Vick’s sponsors, Falcons CEO Arthur Blank, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“The recent media spotlight on dogfighting reminds us of society’s callous disregard for the suffering of animals and disrespect for sentient beings,” they wrote in letters that arrived by FedEx Wednesday morning.

“We hope that Mr. Vick is not a product of this insensitivity that runs through our society. … It does us little good to prosecute just those who are famous and allow people across the country to continue to commit these hideous crimes. We are hopeful that authorities will take the appropriate action against anyone found guilty of an atrocity as serious as dogfighting …

As I predicted in my initial post after Vick’s indictment was announced, a few people have begun rumblings about dog fighting being a “cultural” thing — largely tied to gangsta culture — and so will begin to trickle out the suggestion that Vick is being targeted for being Black.

Which, supposedly, is the argument being made by ESPN’s Skip Bayless — a man so white that he scares the shit out of ghosts — though he is also on record as saying the Falcons should cut bait with Vick and try to pick up Daunte Culpepper. Still, his suggestion that dog fighting is a “black sport” is the quintessence of the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Let’s get one thing straight: Michael Vick was not targeted for indictment because he is Black, nor is dog fighting a “Black thang.” Vick was targeted for indictment because he is, allegedly, a big player in the thug world of dog fighting — and he is a high profile figure, one that prosecutors often use to prove that they are willing to go after “the rich and powerful.”

In short, he’s this year’s Martha Stewart. Though I have a feeling his prison diaries won’t be nearly so interesting should he be convicted and sentenced to prison.

90 Replies to “The first shoe drops for Vick”

  1. Dmac says:

    Just so – they waited a long time before they sought the indictment, and his cohorts seem to be lining up against him as material witnesses. What are the odds that he takes a deal instead of going to trial here? I don’t care how much money he has to hire a top – flight coterie of defense attorneys; going against the Feds is a tough row for anyone these days.

  2. JD says:

    As I stated before, if dog fighting of the nature described in the indictment is part of your “culture”, then your culture could stand for a good bit of self-examination.

  3. notblack says:

    You’re wrong. It is a “black thang.” Nobody but black gangsta types and white trash gangasta wanna-be’s (think Vanilla Ice) fight pit bulls.

    But you’re also right. Vick’s not being targeted because he’s black. He’s being targeted because he’s stupid. Just like Martha was.

  4. “Though I have a feeling his prison diaries won’t be nearly so interesting should he be convicted and sentenced to prison.”

    You can’t imagine my sense of disappointment at this revelation.

  5. JD says:

    I heard many callers call in to the Jim Rome show today, absolutely livid that people were calling in about Vick. One clown said he had been listening for years, and had never heard dog fighting come up before, and now that a rich, prominent, powerful black athlete is involved, people are all over it. I also do not recall Jim Rome talking about terrorism, murder, child molestation, and being like Ric Caric, but it is safe to assume that Jim is vehemently against all of them. I do not understand how race has anything to do with this. As I stated previously, were the exact same fact set applied to Peyton Manning rather than Vick, the outcry would be exponentially worse.

  6. rickinstl says:

    “In short, he’s this year’s Martha Stewart. Though I have a feeling his prison diaries won’t be nearly so interesting should he be convicted and sentenced to prison.”

    I’m really looking forward to getting the chance to judge his prison diaries for myself. I’m hoping for a long-running series.

  7. cranky-d says:

    Martha Stewart’s prison diaries set a very high standard. I don’t think Vick could come very close.

  8. McGehee says:

    Next will come “The Vap-O-Rub formerly known as Vick’s.”

  9. JD, must not be very good Rome listeners, because I’ve often heard Rome condemn the Iditerod dog sled race because of his view that its cruel to dogs. I’d expect Rome to go bonkers on Vick.

  10. JD says:

    Robin – I have a friend who has completed the Iditarod either 17 or 18 times, and now guides mushing trips, and in my experience, those dogs are only happy when they are hooked up to the guide line, running across the tundra.

  11. Tman says:

    notblack-

    You’re wrong. It is a “black thang.” Nobody but black gangsta types and white trash gangasta wanna-be’s (think Vanilla Ice) fight pit bulls.

    That’s a pretty stupid statement. Taken from here-

    http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/05/4/tsg.dogfightingMeth4.05.htm

    The history of pit bulls in the South is inextricably intertwined with that of the Ku Klux Klan. Introduced to the U.S. from Britain as a waterfront gambling activity, dogfighting spread throughout the South with the rise of the Klan after the Civil War.

    Until the 1930s the Klan in the South openly raised funds and recruited membership through dogfights, cockfights, raccoon hunting with dogs, and pigeon shoots. States with Klan-dominated legislatures were the last to ban dogfighting, and among the last to ban cockfighting (still legal in Louisiana).

    Care to redact that statement?

  12. […] one involving a black defendant. Vick’s corporate sponsors understandably aren’t being quite as […]

  13. John says:

    Skip Bayless has always been a contrerain, going back over 20 years to his time as a columnist at the Dallas Times Herald — if everyone says the sun rises in the east, Skip’s going to write a column saying it comes up in the west.

    Sometimes it works — he was proven right in his early support for Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson when Jerry bought the team and tossed Tom Landry, amid the howls of all as Dallas media — but after a while you start noticing he takes the contrarian position simply to be different from everyone else. So in the end, it’s mind-numbingly predicable that he would come out in defense of the culture of dog fighting, because that’s his DNA as a columnist.

  14. JD says:

    notblack – Your comment was one of the more boneheaded comments I have seen around here in some time, which is quite an accomplishment, given the mutterings of heet, timmah, and the pussy boy professor. That is not good company you are keeping.

  15. Ric Caric says:

    I don’t know about the cops targeting Michael Vick because he’s black. But there can’t be much doubt that Jeff G is targeting Vick because he’s black.

    Why weren’t there any cute, fluffy allusions at the end of the post?

  16. JD says:

    Ric – You really are a pussy. How about targeting Vick because he was treating dogs in a cruel and inhuman manner? Throwing around the race card is the last weak and feeble effort of those who have nothing of substance to say. Coming from you, it is not at all surprising.

  17. Pablo says:

    There can’t be much doubt that Perfessor Caric wants to make passionate oral love to Mr. Goldstein.

    Where’s the little heart with JG + RC, Doc?

  18. Great Mencken's Ghost says:

    “I also do not recall Jim Rome talking about terrorism, murder, child molestation, and being like Ric Caric, but it is safe to assume that Jim is vehemently against all of them.”

    You gotta stick around for Vic the Brick on the “Loose Cannons” show following.

    Of course he thinks they’re all Bush’s fault…

  19. Ghost of Ric Caric says:

    Cute fluffy little Rethuglican neocon racist weenie-boys. They would not last 10 seconds in a Women’s Studies committee meeting on Diversity of Thought and Penile Inclusion at their local university. When not writing fluff, you are warmongering zionists. I am your moral better. Bow before me, so I can cornhole you.

  20. Ghost of Ric Caric says:

    Nope, Pablo, the pussy professor don’t much care for those jooooooooooos. You know, smegma and all … oooooooh.

    ;-)

  21. JD, I know, I was refering to Rome’s beliefs, not mine.

    Caric, you have descended beyond self-parody, you know.

  22. Rob Crawford says:

    Nobody but black gangsta types and white trash gangasta wanna-be’s (think Vanilla Ice) fight pit bulls.

    Someone else pointed out the history; I mentioned a few days ago that a dog-fighting ring was broken up in rural south-west Ohio when I was a kid. There were one or two black families in the township at the time; there was much of a “gangsta wanna-be” culture in the late 70s/early 80s.

    I’ll give you the white trash. There were a few of them.

  23. Rob Crawford says:

    Oh, and even into my teens it was pretty easy to see roosters kept singly in coops, particularly in the hollers. You’d see what looked like a row of rabbit hutches, but each one would have a rooster in it.

    Pretty sure they weren’t pampering the cocks.

  24. JW says:

    Reguardless of its origin, dog fighting is predominantly a black/hispanic gang sport. I lived in Tacoma Wa in the early 80’s, the sport did not exist. When the black LA gangs moved up, the dogs and the sport came with it. It took place at first so the thugs could show off there toughness by fighting the dogs instead of fighting themselves. Later they fought the dogs for money, territory, and, drugs. Then they did us all a favor and started killing themselves. And yes as Byrd said, it was the children who paid the price. Join us or be beaten or killed. The recruitment age was 12 – 14yrs. These kids were the ones who cared for the dogs while gang banger was out selling his shit. I lived on the hilltop 19th and Cushman. Now I live in Texas, it’s the same way, only down here its black and Mexican gangs.

  25. Joseph says:

    “I don’t know about the cops targeting Michael Vick because he’s black. But there can’t be much doubt that Jeff G is targeting Vick because he’s black.”

    Why? Prove it or retract your libel.

    And in any case, how can reporting on a major front-page news story be considered “targeting?”

  26. Carin says:

    I don’t know about the cops targeting Michael Vick because he’s black. But there can’t be much doubt that Jeff G is targeting Vick because he’s black

    I think Caric’s got a point. I mean, it’s not as if we can hold blacks to the same legal standards as whites. BACK OFF THE BLACK MAN, Jeff.

    As for who is involved in this sport – all I know, is that it’s really big here in Detroit (and in my neighborhood), and Detroit is rather black.

  27. JD says:

    Joseph – That realy was a pretty disgusting thing to say, wasn’t it? At least the good professor was kind enough to just throw his tiny dick right out on the table, unlike the likes of heet, who dance around calling people racists, homophobes, etc … Kudos for the Prof on putting his ignorance right out in the open, in all its splendor, for all to see.

  28. Sticky B says:

    In short, he’s this year’s Martha Stewart. Though I have a feeling his prison diaries won’t be nearly so interesting should he be convicted and sentenced to prison.

    I just can’t imagine any way Jeff can match the entertainment that he created with his perfect mix of lesboeroticism, catfight violence, and domesticity with Martha and the girls back in the day. It was a beautiful thing.

  29. CraigC says:

    Jeff, there’s interesting and there’s interesting, if you know what I mean. Vick’s diaries could be as interesting as Martha’s, but they’ll never be as….interesting.

  30. Jeff G. says:

    Caric —

    Is this how you operate? How many of your students do you punish for their “latent” racism, as you determine it?

    If you are going to call somebody racist, just do it. Personally, I haven’t found a more racist person on this site than you in quite some time, as I made clear in another thread.

    Put up or shut up. Or is it only weenie men who have balls?

  31. JD says:

    Jeff – You know that the Pussy Professor will not respond, at least not substantively. More likely, he will make up a new scientific term for people he disagrees with, along the lines of doo-doo face.

  32. Themistocles says:

    I don’t buy it. How did he put the gloves on the dogs anyway? If the gloves don’t fit they must acquit Vick.

  33. thor says:

    I stand on big toe of human freedom.

    Those are Michael Vick’s dogs, what he does with ’em is his bidness, not much anyone else’s. Legally defining cruelty into some arbitrary criminal act is hysteria, especially in regards to the treatment of dumb animals. Many animals serve, to some, unseemly purposes. Guard dogs are taught to rip into the flesh of human intruders, any you legal beagles calling for guard dog owners and trainers to be sent to Rikers? Didn’t think so.

    Trapped in world he never… could outrun, even trucking at 4.3!

  34. JD says:

    thor – Your schtick is hysterical. Truly a riot.

  35. SteveG says:

    Professor,

    I called Jeff a racist yesterday and noted that dogfighting was yet another white man’s way of keeping the black man down.
    The sheer genius of the founding Klan fathers to know that by inventing dog fighting, we’d be able to figuratively lynch a prominent black athlete today in 2007 is staggering.
    Usually we look to the jooooos to provide such prescient connivance, but in this case the rednecks in the hollers did good.

    Ummm… and by the way. When you find yourself out to the left of Al Sharpton on a black issue…. it is best to up the periscope outta you ass and have a look around

  36. JD says:

    Jeff G – Did you see where the good professor implied, or rather, stated that he thought you were in rehab during your hiatus?

  37. Pablo says:

    Guard dogs are taught to rip into the flesh of human intruders, any you legal beagles calling for guard dog owners and trainers to be sent to Rikers?

    Aren’t they already there? If not, it seems like a good place to have some. With the dogs, natch.

  38. JD says:

    Professor Fluffer’s scholarly contribution to today was his long tedious discussion of his guesses in regards to the characters and plot in the new Harry Potter book. I sure that those boys and girls from the local holler are not paying too much money for their education from the likes of the fluffer.

  39. cynn says:

    This is absurd. Pit bull fighting is, like other sports that brutalize animals, detestible. I don’t know anything about this Vick guy, but if he is guilty, toss ‘im. Because clearly, you PWers are all about pampering the cocks.

  40. lee says:

    As someone that likes to shoot Bambie, cut out his heart, and roast it over the campfire, I find it hard to heap too much condenmnation on Vick.

    Course, I liked the preying mantis fight scene in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, and Spanish bullfights too, so I’m some sort of savage that should be treated like I imagine a producer of the Kill Bill movies should be, so take my opinion for what it’s worth…

  41. Ric Caric says:

    People are so sensitive. However, if Jeff G looks at his two posts on the Michael Vick case (bias alert: I’m a Falcon fan from way back), he’ll see that he was raising the issue of race and racial politics in relation to Vick as soon as the indictment was announced. Of course, Jeff G is too cool to engage in direct racial put-downs, bring out code words for racial stereotypes, or engage in Ann Coulter-like anti-black cheerleading. But hopping on the racial politics angle of the stories about black people is just another back-door way of generating hostility toward black people. No matter how color-blind the tactics of racism are, it’s still racism.

  42. JD says:

    Not content to simply apologize for being an asshole, Professor Fluffer drops by to question the timing, and give us his view into the motives that Jeff had in his heart when he posted about this topic.

  43. timb says:

    Jd, read Jeff’s post from when the indictment was first announced. I won’t accuse Jeff of racism, because I don’t think he is, but he’s the one who compared Vick to the Duke guys to see how differently people would react to Vick and his presumption of innocence and Vick and his presumed innocence. Jeff was highlighting the possibility Vick would be treated differently than the Duke guys, because of his race. That’s less about Jeff being a racist, than him implying that the lefties who attacked the Duke kids would factor race in.

    So, technically, the prof’s right about when it was brought up, but I think he completely mis-interpreted Goldstein’s initial post.

    Look at me: defending Jeff and Caric! I am awesome

  44. Jeff G. says:

    I brought up how some people were likely to turn this into a racial politicking thing — and I was right. That’s an observation made from experience, not “racism.”

    Meanwhile, professor, you seem to think that by pointing out how I “hopped on the racial political angle of the story,” this exempts you from hopping on the racial political angle of the story.

    But the subtext of your commentary — the force of your accusations — is that only people like you have a right to discuss such things; conservatives, on the other hand, being inveterately racist, can only be using code words and have other nefarious purposes at heart when they observe that race might play a role in the case.

    Of course, I introduced the Vick case and its racial angle in the context of the Duke case. Now refresh my memory, professor: who exactly was it that played the racial / patriarchal / economic privilege trifecta during that debacle?

    In short, you’re a transparent hack who has probably gotten away with these kinds of slippery attempts to pin racial animus on others your entire miserable academic life. You have consistently baited me on racial issues, which would suggest that, of the two of us, you have more to gain by playing racial politics.

    That it sometimes takes the form of OUTRAGE at conservatives who dare mention race doesn’t make it any less transparent that it is you who is so invested in seizing on the variable. Me, I’ve been trying to demystify race for quite some time in order to take the power out of the kinds of racial politics you like to play.

    It used to mean something to call someone a racist. Now it is just a way to try to shut them up. Sorry, Ric, but it won’t work in this case. It’s a tawdry tactic that highlights the anti-intellectualism of today’s entrenched academics.

    Jeff G – Did you see where the good professor implied, or rather, stated that he thought you were in rehab during your hiatus?

    No, I didn’t. But it’s pretty typical of leftwing academics, isn’t it?

    Caric is just another blithering idiot entrenched in a dubious and institutionally bankrupt specialty whose very presence on the web is a black eye for the humanities and social scientists. He has called a full half of the population a cancer — and he continues to find racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and sexual politics under every flap of skin.

    How his university can pretend he’s capable of teaching is beyond me, given that he’s stated outwardly that conservatives are a cancer. Any student, therefore, with conservative leanings — and one imagines Caric fancies that he has quite the radar for such things, seeings as how he’s able to tease out my hatred of the darkies — is almost sure to be treated unfairly.

    Watch yourself, Caric, or I’ll surely give you more than you bargained for.

  45. JD says:

    Caric is a piece of shit,and if you want to defend him, then you are a piece of shit. By Professor Fluffer’s standards, just mentioning that race may be some kind of a factor makes one a racist? You cannot honestly read his lunacy and think that carichature is implying anything other than Jeff being a racist.

  46. cynn says:

    Not that I want to wade into this swamp, but I can’t recall Jeff Goldstein ever being overtly or implicitly racist. A sheitpolk (sp) –per my German grandma, a shitstirrer, perhaps. But if I ever felt he was malevolent I would stay off his site and do my best to bring it down. So I could influence the narrative.

  47. me says:

    THUGIST!!!

  48. JD says:

    Jeff – Here is what Professor Fluffer had to say …

    “Good News for Fluff Right Fans–Protein Wisdom is back in business. It appears that former lead blogger Jeff Goldstein has gone on blogging vacation for a year. That’s kind of surprising. Usually, rehab only goes for thirty days …”

  49. Pablo says:

    But hopping on the racial politics angle of the stories about black people is just another back-door way of generating hostility toward black people.

    Misrepresenting another man’s positions is just another way of blowing him, Perfessor Fluffy.

  50. lee says:

    Jeez, trying to provoke a reaction by saying I enjoy eating Bambies heart (usually with pork and beans, incidentally)doesn’t stand a chance around here, does it?

    TW: criminal ployed. Yeah, OK…

  51. Jeff G. says:

    Rehab for what, exactly? Maybe he thinks I went away to sensitivity training. Unfortunately, he misfired. I still spell it “woman.”

    Incidentally, Caric, for all his blase mockery of fluffer hipness, is trying his best (eg., his “rehab” comment) to achieve the very kind of hipness that he pretends to detest.

    It’s a wonder the weight of his own contradictions doesn’t keep him permanently pinned to his chair.

  52. JD says:

    Jeff – Rehab is the way that they fix themselves every time they do something dumb. The only problem with Professor Fluffer’s projection is that you have not done anything dumb, and nothing needs to be fixed.

    The weight of his own contradictions is lighter than a feather to him, as he would never even acknowledge that they exist, or would make up a new scientific term to account for them, something like “wonderfully insightful commentary that is only internally contradictory if you write fluff”.

  53. yes, well, we fear the Academic Inquisition because its sole weapon is cheap slander … err, its chief weapons are cheap slander and ad hominem … ah, lets start over.

  54. Phil K. says:

    In short, he’s this year’s Martha Stewart. Though I have a feeling his prison diaries won’t be nearly so interesting should he be convicted and sentenced to prison.

    Jeff, if the gang at Kissing Suzy Kolber are any indication, you could be wrong about that.

    http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/2007/07/offseason-adventures-of-michael-vick.html

  55. thor says:

    Comment by lee on 7/19 @ 9:29 pm #
    “Jeez, trying to provoke a reaction by saying I enjoy eating Bambies heart (usually with pork and beans, incidentally)doesn’t stand a chance around here, does it?
    TW: criminal ployed. Yeah, OK…”

    I already endured the provocation circus. They threatened to neuter me Mum and hang me out in the sun, shit, and I’m the first, tried to bait the racial fish hook, gotta be honest, Jeffy stared at the bait and laughed, before he farted, in chirping rhythmic breaks I might add.

    It ain’t racial, it’s economic. Fucking Vick. Now a Tarpley! Bling and dim sum bowls filled with blow couldn’t keep his bulldog buddies below the water line. And what would you whities know of being trapped in a world… $37-million couldn’t levitate into Trumpian social graces.

    Sturdy ankles, not hardly! Vick couldn’t stay healthy if he was a Falcon cheerleader! Lynch that late-hit claimin’ NFL bourgeoisie pad-speed hero!

  56. Phil K. says:

    But hopping on the racial politics angle of the stories about black people is just another back-door way of generating hostility toward black people.

    Who’s going to break this bit of news to every professor of comparative literature in the country? Not it.

  57. JD says:

    Lee – “Jeez, trying to provoke a reaction by saying I enjoy eating Bambies heart (usually with pork and beans, incidentally)doesn’t stand a chance around here, does it?”

    Made me laugh, but given the depths of idiocy probed by the trolls, you have a lot of work ahead of you.

    Phil K – “But hopping on the racial politics angle of the stories about black people is just another back-door way of generating hostility toward black people.”

    If you add, if you are not a liberal on the end of that sentence, it becomes quite clear.

  58. well, so what does the perfessor’s constant questioning of Fred Thompson’s sexuality say about his own latent hostilities?

    BECAUSE OF THE HYPOCRISY!!!!

    (insert GAY PORN COCK OF LIES joke here)

  59. thor says:

    No, I didn’t. But it’s pretty typical of leftwing academics, isn’t it?
    Caric is just another blithering idiot entrenched in a dubious and institutionally bankrupt specialty whose very presence on the web is a black eye for the humanities and social scientists. He has called a full half of the population a cancer — and he continues to find racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and sexual politics under every flap of skin.
    How his university can pretend he’s capable of teaching is beyond me, given that he’s stated outwardly that conservatives are a cancer. Any student, therefore, with conservative leanings — and one imagines Caric fancies that he has quite the radar for such things, seeings as how he’s able to tease out my hatred of the darkies — is almost sure to be treated unfairly.
    Watch yourself, Caric, or I’ll surely give you more than you bargained for.

    Maybe you two already met? Let me add, here in South Florida anyway, it’s always the de Beauvoir and Cixous quoters who bogart the dim sum bowls of fresh Columbian blow. Vick probably padlocked his pups for just such a filcher, wadn’t da tracky yobs, me sure. Irony is such a jolley badger.

  60. JD says:

    The GAY PORN COCK OF LIES returns !!!

    And thor, your stuff is cracking me up.

  61. thor says:

    Well, you don’t know Vick about Vick, JD. I’m privy. He pulls me outside and says “watch this!” I’m like “what the crap!” as he’s ripping the tits right off a post-labor bitch. “You want a winner?” he asks. What do you say when a guy is holding a bulldog with no tits? Naturally I’m wide-eyed but silent. “Ain’t’a dog meaner than a pup who Momma ain’t got no tits!” You better believe I laid a wad on homeboy’s next fighter. “Momma ain’t got no tits”, just couldn’t quit saying that to myself. Oh hell yeah I won, and’a $100 spot buys one healthy quarter in VA too.

    And, yo, whatever they say in the media about what happened to the losing dogs don’t believe a word. A line of men with there pants around their ankles after a dog fight can create a lot of ugly imagined scenarios and innuendos, but lots of guys are in need of wee’n after an hour of excitment. Believe that. And that’s what that line was about, I’d bet, anyway.

    No, I wouldn’t say he was a really-really bad or angry guy at all. A keepin’-it-real always clownin’ bro, actually. The map that he dotted and was waving around. OK, maybe there are some who-knows (animals??) buried here and there. But if a copper in a chopper can’t find ’em, are they really there? Not in a court of law, but that’s what he was saying, and I’m no lawyer to argue the theoretical.

    So shit on Nike and all those ESPN “breaking news!” rumor-mongering girls. Ain’t nobody guilty until they’ve had a fair trial, all I’m saying.

  62. fmfnavydoc says:

    Look – of all placed for his indictment to happen in a part of the court system known for having a “rocket docket” and a judge that will give both sides a chance to present the case, but doesn’t give a damn about who someone is in his court. Now the local DA, who was not real aggressive about going after Vick, now wants to pile on and charge him and his posse in a VA state case…not looking good.

    If he goes to prison, he can try out for the prison team, first year as a tight end, next year as a wide receiver…

  63. Rusty says:

    Gosh. perfesser. if you play this one right you can come out the victim here. Ball’s in yer court perfesser.

    He done BEEN: (tw) here, but he FLEW(tw) da coop. I’m tellin ya. The damn thing’s prescient.

  64. McGehee says:

    Perf. (Self-)Caric(ature) wants to be made an internet verb.

    It’s the only logical explanation.

  65. […] has suspended the introduction of their new Michael Vick line. No word on if it has special insulation for when you’re […]

  66. Pablo says:

    On reread, this is just an absolute gem:

    No matter how color-blind the tactics of racism are, it’s still racism.

    Color blind racism. Now that’s funny. But it’s also entirely predictable from a guy who wrote, in all seriousness:

    I wonder if Jeff G has asked his black friends about whether we live in a color blind society or not.

    You could lock Chuck Jones, Friz Freling, Hanna, Barbera, Parker and Stone and Mike Judge in a room for a year. And throw in Steven Wright and Emo Phillips for some added surrealism, and they wouldn’t come up with a character as ridiculous as Ric Caric.

    I’ll make some popcorn. This is going to be hilarious.

  67. Matt, Esq. says:

    I heard several calls on Tampa sports radio about the Vick thing from black callers, claiming its all a setup and Vick’s being unfairly targeted. You have to wonder what kind of person is going to defend Vick on the basis of race when evidence shows the brutal treatment of these dogs. I just don’t get it. Even Sharpton’s backing off from this one (which surprised the hell out of me). In some ways, I hope this DOES become a racial issue- black culture has to address dark aspects to the glorified thug lifestyle. Until the gangster/ghetto falls from prominence, blacks are going to continue to be stereotyped.

  68. Matt, Esq. says:

    *But hopping on the racial politics angle of the stories about black people is just another back-door way of generating hostility toward black people. *

    There is already hostility towards black thug culture, both from whites and blacks. Jeff doesn’t need to “generate” anything. The black thug rap culture is disgusting, violent and cruel and dog fighting has (whether you like it or not) become part of the thug/gangster culture (as an addendum, my understanding is dog fighting is also fairly prominent in hispanic, primarily mexican gang culture- its not limited to blacks, whites, whoever). We condemn jihadists for their violent tendencies and their utter contempt for woman and yet gangster culture glorifies the very same things but gets a pass because the “artists” are black and they make money for their enablers.

  69. Pablo says:

    And here’s Jeff “generating hostility toward black people” by “hopping on the racial politics angle of the story” in the first post on the topic:

    What will be interesting to see is if the same people who were quick to theorize about “white privilege” in the Duke Lax case will find a way to turn Vick’s predicament into a racial issue: either by suggesting that the indictment is racially motivated; or else taking the more “sociological” route in which some attempt is made to explain Vick’s actions in light of cultural and economic factors.

    It seems to me that the target of hostility is Perfessor Fluffy’s pasty white ass, and that of the others in his tribe who espouse bigotry.

    And then there’s those super-smug Duke students who any decent person would want to see in jail even if the lacrosse team wasn’t a bunch of rapists.

    Perfessor Fluffy, you are a bigot extraordinare. You want people put in jail solely because of their skin color and socio-economic status. You convict people of crimes, not because of evidence, but because of what they look like. You perfessor, are just an upside down Klansman.

    You are a racist pig, Ric. And I don’t give a damn what color you are. Racism is racism, and that is racism.

    tw: enemy Savoy

    Must be stomping time.

  70. BJTexs says:

    Even Sharpton’s backing off from this one (which surprised the hell out of me).

    No surprise here, Matt.

    Let’s see now: One hand: Opportunity to pimp myself to the media by defending and fabulously wealthy black athlete, which ties me to dog fighting and torture.

    OR

    Make nice with puppy lovers everywhere of all races and pimp me some PETA love by denouncing said illegal practices.

    As long as angry Al can get some sympathetic face time, the media whore has been fed.

    BTW:

    We hope that Mr. Vick is not a product of this insensitivity that runs through our society.

    I propose a permanant ban on refering to consenting adults who make informed choices that turn out bad for them as “products” of anything other than their own ignorance/stupidity/bad judgment/arrogance. Please.

  71. Pablo says:

    We hope that Mr. Vick is not a product of this insensitivity that runs through our society.

    Actually, if the allegations are true, then that statement probably is as well. Thug culture breeds thugs. There is an insensitivity that runs through parts of the society and the thug/gangsta culture is one of those parts. Jason Whitlock has a good piece on this.

  72. Rob Crawford says:

    No matter how color-blind the tactics of racism are, it’s still racism.

    Wow.

    I think I just got a glimpse into the sort of mind that categorizes any criticism of a group’s behavior(*) as “racist”.

    (*) Unless that group is white and male. In that case, actual evidence of the behavior is unnecessary, and any accusations whatsoever can be made.

  73. BJTexs says:

    Pablo:

    I understand the intent of the statement and Whitlock’s article is a good one. My problem is that phrase is already setting the stage for the socio/cultural explaination of Vick’s alleged behavior.

    Now is not the time.

    If these allegations are substantially true then I just don’t care about what sort of product he might be, gangsta or otherwise. Cosby said it best when he said that each individual is responsible for raising themselves above their youthful experiences when given the opportunity to “put aside the things of my youth.” Vick shares a affectation with Alan Iverson and others that the very same culture and behavior that controlled their world as teens can be successfully transplanted into their adult world with a minimum of adjustment. It reflects the all too common pro athlete attitude of “it’s all about me.”

    Growing and maturing for any adult involves recognizing when past practices are toxic and need to be altered. The fact that gangsta culture celebrates violence, objectifies women and pimps materialism doesn’t make it an excuse or a comfort.

    Adults take responsibility for illegal acts (whether or not you think they should be illegal, thor.) Vick is not a product so much as a willing participant. It takes sober maturity and courage to change the the usual in one’s life. Of course it’s hard but being a professional athlete with millions and a thug background doesn’t provide any mitigation.

    I await the prof’s proclamation of my racism, which I will wear like a camo beret.

  74. Pablo says:

    BJ, your point holds, but at the same time, when the analysis is done, we’ll find that some of the insensitivity comes from the soft bigotry of low expectations, and the notion of a class that can do no wrong by virtue of their race/socio-economic status. We should squish that ASAP.

    But yes, let’s establish the facts first.

  75. JD says:

    It bears repeating that Professor Fluffer is an ass.

  76. JW says:

    You all should look at your dumb ass retorts and responses you have posted. Do you think this a black or white thing, or that some other idiot has a gripe or hang-up about race. If you do, then you should get your heads right by going back to school and getting around your own town to see what’s going on. The issue is our nation as whole. We have lost what we founded, we act like the Romans. We lust for a blood sport. Whether it is dog or cock fights, boxing isn’t good enough so we have the UFC and its offshoots. Seems the WWF is for the weak hearted. We have so many children without fathers in the home the situation will get no better. If you want to see blood and really make your heart and mind pushed to the limit, join the service and go to Iraq. This single issue isn’t per say about Vick, he just happens to be the pot of gold at the end of an initial investigation about dog fighting. He will get his day in court, let the jury decide. He’s a nobody, just like Paris is a nobody. If they are not your direct family member and this affects your life, you are lost in the circus called America, but that is not the real America. Let all the assholes write or say what they want. By you standing for or against them in an open forum, just gives them more power. Let them spew there BS, and laugh to yourself. Dog fighting a totally cruel, nasty, and evil thing. If it takes place around your area and you advertise free puppies or kittens, some of they will end up as training tools for the dogs. Trainers will send drivers out on the weekends, is San Antonio looking for free pets. Sorry it’s so long, but ya need to wake up and smell youself.

  77. JD says:

    So, we should not be pointing out that Michael Vick is a sadistic bastard, or that Professor Fluffer is objectively and aggressively ignorant? Seems to me that calling people on their degenerate actions is something that all of us should be doing.

  78. JW says:

    I’m not saying that at all. I’m stating that it’s not Vick or Fluffer that should be the real issue. There are 1000’s if not 10,000’s of these same type of people out there, they just don’t have the name recognition. You can view them as you like, (I see pieces of sociatal shit) but you won’t rid yourself of them, with hatred or disdain. You get rid of them by teaching people the hard right over the easy wrong.

  79. JW says:

    Oh and one more kinda hard to eat thing, Robert Byrd, (don’t like him, never did, never will) but his moment on the floor the other day.(Priceless) At least we know where he stands on dogs. He is a very well read man, I will give him that. But at his age, and his one sided views for so many years, something real entered his heart, he spoke with personal(all of should feel the same) and not political reason. What is happening is wrong!!! Yeah most of us think it’s a joke when he speaks, but look at his movements and listen closely to his voice. He wasn’t trying to sell you any BS, he actually felt it was the right thing to do. If we may have our way? Do unto others.

  80. JD says:

    JW – I agree with that, for the most part, but I just do not see this as being a case of “ard right’s” or “easy wrongs”. My co-workers, circle of friends, and neighbors find the actions that Vick is accused of as outrageous and barbaric, unacceptable in a civilized society. They would likely also find the bile spewed by Professor Fluffer to be quite similar.

    Though Sen. Byrd (KKK-Democrat) did seem quite sincere, one of the more heartfelt speeches I have seen in a while, the old coot kept repeating everything he said, and it became comedic gold.

  81. JW says:

    With that said about Byrd, I give him some leave, he appears to be very feeble. That said, Vick and his sort(if guilty and I tend to believe it so) be it athlete, actor, millionaire or politician, it is easier to stand with what used to be your peers then to break away and change. When you live in the shadow of right and wrong, you are usually in the wrong, but it seems to be okay beacause your peers are with you or lead you. When you do become successful you are very hesitant to break from that, to yours peers(you have changed, youv’e become one of them) so you continue to maintain those ties that allow you to be accepted by them. It consumes you to live both lives, but you do it. The hard right is to break the ties,(say I have found a better life, join me or so be it, we had our times) the easy wrong is(make a new life in public and maintain the old corrupt part in the shadows). It applies to many things, not just this case. See post #24, I know what it looks like and how cruel it can be. It is wrong. The laws are written like so many others. They have no priority, unless the news plays it over and over and over!!!! It should not as in so many other cases with any crime, take news broadcast force us too enforce our laws.

  82. thor says:

    Comment by JW on 7/20 @ 2:47 pm
    “He’s a nobody, just like Paris is a nobody.”

    For that comparison, you will burn for eternity!

  83. thor says:

    Comment by JW on 7/20 @ 4:10 pm #
    “Oh and one more kinda hard to eat thing, Robert Byrd, (don’t like him, never did, never will) but his moment on the floor the other day.(Priceless) At least we know where he stands on dogs. He is a very well read man, I will give him that. But at his age, and his one sided views for so many years, something real entered his heart, he spoke with personal(all of should feel the same) and not political reason. What is happening is wrong!!! Yeah most of us think it’s a joke when he speaks, but look at his movements and listen closely to his voice. He wasn’t trying to sell you any BS, he actually felt it was the right thing to do. If we may have our way? Do unto others.”

    And while eternally burning, Robert Byrd’s speech will endlessly loop through the headphones of your I-pod.

    Recant and repent before your day of reckoning, before it’s too late!

  84. JW says:

    And Thor(Mighty Hammer, Master of Rune) what is that supposed to mean? You are the decider of those that hold power by position or is it that your sueded by sport or STOP!!! Just picked up your new post.. You are one of those idiots that is in love with what you will never be. A pro athelete, millionare, politician, or famous. Sorry bud, I didn’t mean to step on your toes, I don’t know which one it was, but I guess you will never make it too that level. Common American folk care more about this country than any of the above. They just don’t have the means to speak on national TV, radio, or press. Don’t own an IPOD, want give me yours. Really.. Whats your point?

  85. JW says:

    Oh, and by the Thor, if the name is fitting, I will write you a message in the Rune, if you can’t respond quickly, you are not Thor, just a wanna be

  86. JW says:

    To those who read this, I didn’t mean to banter with a god. I should be punished. I have been led into a debate by an idiot. That is not what I meant too do. I will be tame and ask questions or give answers to those who want to really discuss issues. Not dung chuckers!!! Sorry

  87. Swen Swenson says:

    No matter how color-blind the tactics of racism are, it’s still racism.

    Wow. Just wow. That right there is worth the whole price of admission. I was going to comment this morning, but Pablo beat me to it and I was pressed for time. Yet, I can’t let such pure, undiluted, 100% natural, organicly grown hogwash pass without some comment. That there is some truly high grade bafflegab. I suspect the good perfesser will have a long and rewarding career in the academe if he can spin that shit at will.

  88. JW says:

    Well Swen,
    Look at it this way, when has anyone said to you personally, “I’m an (african, italian, irish, german, mexican,etc.) american. I know, I have never heard it. Seems the only time it is ever used in such a format, is when filling out a job application, a scholorship or grant application, a subsidies application, or in the media. Why? Our government has given them cause to be other than American. They will not confront you with this naming convention, but due to the current system, it is too their advantage to use it. This is not meant too be derogatory, it is what we have allowed the government to do. By Law, you are an American if you are born here or naturalized, if you continue to distiguish yourself as other, you really should go back to your place of origin. That is not racist or bigoted, just patriotic. Yes we do have prejudice in our country as with every other country, though that doesn’t justify it. It does say something for mankind. If you continue an arguement, keeps the embers glowing, and fuel it when it gets low, the flame will never go away. You all need to keep this in sight, and douse when confronted these errs in us. You can make a difference, and make those blabber mouths fade into the darkness that created them.

  89. JW says:

    Are we allowed no more comments or is this a dead subject!!! Or maybe, it is no longer news until the trial. And where did Thor go, I kinda miss him or her already?

  90. I was asked by Rob Benwell to read his latest product and give him my honest opinion of it. It is called Niche Annihilation Method and gives an overview of techniques used to enter niche markets and make money online from them.

Comments are closed.