My last semester of college, my professor gave me the choice of taking his course on Broadcast News or doing an Independent Study (and do a project). I chose the latter as I had a very busy and full schedule that summer. The assignment was to choose a topic that was controversial and then find articles in newspapers to see how each of them portrayed the topic (this professor and others in the department taught that the myth of objective reporting is a myth and they set out to prove to us that this is true). That broadcast media, in particular, are too busy, and under such tremendous deadline pressure that they often have NO TIME to report the stories they are given. And that each news media does have bias.
Now in the last ten + years that has really become apparent with Fox News. As Jon Stewart joked on the Daily Show, Fox News listeners are lied to on a regular and consistent basis. Fox news listeners are the most consistently misinformed viewers. Fox News turns into a lying dynasty when PolitiFact checks the news network for false statements
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-21-2011/fox-news-false-statements
Why do I preface this post with Fox News and media bias? Well, two reasons. Over the weekend, M. Vick signed autographs in New Jersey and people actually paid for his signature while protesters outside were cordoned off from peacefully protesting which led 7Live TV to question whether he was punished enough and should be left alone.
7 Live Should Michael Vick be left alone? Has he been punished enough?
Protesters heckle Vick during an autograph signing msn.foxsports.com
Some of the comments made:
No, read the Lost Dogs Book by Jim Gorant
no, for Ginger, Mel, Cherry Garcia, Red, Stella, Handsome Dan, Little Red, the little red dog, Hector, Jasmine, Jhumpa, Jonny Justice, Georgia, and all of the other dogs Vick tortured and injured who still suffer and for all of the dogs he murdered with his bare hands buried on the property.
When Ginger first came to Stacy’s home, she was 28 pounds, would not eat and hid out a lot behind furniture. She was terrified of people and Stacy had a difficult time getting her to cross any threshold. Ginger had door issues. It didn’t ma…tter whether it was a front or back door. Ginger just did not want to go inside. She’d hunker down on the ground. For some reason, a lot of the dogs had issues with doorways. And it took a long time to get Ginger used to new situations and environments. She would just shake and hide.
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2010/06/one_of_michael_vicks_dogs_find.php
Mel was used as a bait dog, due to his small size and mild temperament. He was likely muzzled when he was thrown into the ring with other dogs being trained to fight. He was not one of those that Bad Newz Kennels terminated — sometimes by drowning or hanging. But for the first year of Mel’s life, if he saw a human being, it meant something terrible was going to happen to him.
What kind of punishment has he endured? Others who were arrested for shop lifting paid more than he has. He not only engaged in an illegal activity, he murdered innocent animals. If he had come out as advocate against dog-fighting and became a true spokesman for battle against this abuse, gave up his well-paying career, then maybe he would redeem himself in my eyes. He didn’t just make a mistake, he committed a crime, multiple times and with others.
The point is that he committed a violent crime and still pretty much got away with murder. It sends the message that dog fighting is something you can do if you have enough money for lawyers.
Peace, who also was convicted in the case, said there were times he suggested that dogs unwilling to fight be given away, but that Vick said “they got to go,” meaning be killed. The dogs were killed by shooting, hanging, electrocution and drowning, and in at least one instance, according to one of the witnesses, when Vick and Phillips killed a red pit bull by “slamming it to the ground several times before it died, breaking the dog’s back or neck.
No and No! Unfortunately not enough people know the whole truth about Michael Vick and what he did to those dogs! If they took the time to find out the whole story I would hope that it would make them not want to forgive this man! Yes he is a football star but do you want your son to grow up to be like him, torturing and killing innocent animals, I hope not as far as I am concerned anyone who murders dogs for fun has not place in society much less profiting from his celebrity. Would you want someone like him arouond your children?
Dog fighting goes hand in hand with gambling, drugs, prostitution. Many of us will never let go because that is the whole point. Vick did not get the punishment he deserved and he will remain an example of what needs to change in our society. No, Michael Vick should never be left alone for what he did. Not only did he abuse dogs by fighting, shooting, electrocuting, hanging, drowning them but he gave scandal to many youngsters who look up to him. Thus the plague of abuse to pitbulls or some other breeds …burning, cutting, fighting, etc by youngsters in inner city areas. That will last for generations. So as long as pit bulls are abused he should not be left alone.
@7LiveOnline M. Vick should not be made a hero – he is no hero and doesn’t merit the hype being used to clean up his rep.
The ability to activly cause pain suffering and death is not altered by 18 months in prison. If it was…every seriel killer in the world would be simply reformed in prison and then released. No MV needs to live by what he has done just like everyone else. Fame and fortune should not be part of the package.
The only thing this ABUSER is sorry for is getting caught. While in jail his Spin Doctors began trying to restore his image….all for one reason…to play football again. But Hell…we don’t care to punish Priests for molesting children….animals have NO CHANCE for justice! Has he been punished enough for murdering dogs? HELL NO! (See my current main photo! ) He’s getting off EASY because he is a “sports celebrity”!!!!!! He’s still making millions, as if nothing ever happened!
I don’t think he’s sorry at all. He’s just sorry he was caught. after what he did he feels bad cause he can’t have a dog….obviously someone who learned something!!!! Yeah let us forget and move on so he can get a dog….oh his last pet dog he tortured and murdered. Maybe all his supporters can lend him their dog….didn’t think so.
Vick was no casual lets go watch a dog fight one night kindda guy. He was DEEPLY INVOLVED….which means he KNOWS MANY MORE DEEPLY INVOLVED. If Vick ever has the balls to start naming names because he feels his actions are truly wrong….then that POS may start earning back respect. But he ain’t got the character or BALLS to name names!
Vick was not convicted according the Virginia Animal Cruelty laws. Instead he was indicted in Federal Court and pled guilty to one (1), I repeat, one count of “Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fight Venture”. Vick pled guilty to ONE count of “Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to sponsor a dog fighting venture”.
Hardly worthy of the 11 dogs he and company savagely tortured before they killed them and the others used as bait dogs and fighters. I have seen many people say “they were just dogs”. Yes they were “just” dogs. If Vick and co had done to humans what they did to those defenseless dogs, they would be mentioned in the same breath as Dahlmer, Bundy, Manson and the other who’s whos of notorious serial killers.
And one of Vick’s brilliant fans called me a white female dog name and racist because what else could she answer to the facts against Vick…
a few people responded: this has nothing to do with what color Vick is! I would be against him if he was as white a sheet of typing paper! I do not CARE if someone if black or white or purple! I DO care if they mutilate, maim, torture, and abuse animals and Vick IS guilty of all of that and worse. He is piece of crud and should still be in prison. No, he should not be left alone and he has NOT been punished enough!
Also, this weekend Karen Grace / KENS 5 asked if dangerous dogs (pit bulls of course) can be rehabilitated.
She writes:
Children have died in their jaws and police have shot them in self defense.
(no bias showing here, right)
Of course the photo of the dog does not even look like a pit bull… but hey, for sure Karen Grace has never ever met/seen a pit bull and would not know one if she got licked in the face by one.
http://www.noob.us/humor/pit-bull-viciously-attacks-news-anchor/
I wrote to Karen Grace via email and twitter… kgrace@kens5.com @newzdiva and her cohort who said that Ms Grace looked at the issue @SarahLucero
I will also send them this:
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
Double dog dare ya to read and/or print this comment… The real question should be can dangerous people be rehabilitated… animal abusers, for instance. dog fighters, puppy mill breeders, people who are cruel to animals, especially pit bulls… who starve them, throw them down the trash, neglect, abandon and/or torture them…
Animal abusers have a long history of abusing animals and eventually HARM HUMANS… and meanwhile they are not convicted, given a slap on the wrist for horrendous crimes against animals and continue to escalate their crimes. And 5 million INNOCENT pets die every year for no reason other than human beings are lazy and irresponsible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/magazine/13dogfighting-t.html
And what about psychopaths like Michael Vick who killed pit bulls with his bare hands, tortured them, drowned and electrocuted them and threw his own pet dogs into the ring as bait dogs
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2008/nov/22/vickcruelgat22_20081122-002203-ar-111079/
http://chrisdurant2000.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/michael-vick-was-wrongly-convicted/
and yet IF YOU READ the Lost Dogs book by Jim Gorant, go on Facebook to their pages, the former dogs/pit bulls of Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennel, deemed to be the MOST VICIOUS PIT BULLS OF THEM ALL have been rehabilitated… some are even therapy dogs and others are living in families with other dogs and cats and kids. Dogs like Handsome Dan, Hector, Cherry Garcia, Mel, Ginger, Jonny Justice, Jhumpa, and others who were so traumatized because they were FORCED to fight for their lives and have the scars to prove it are LIVING EXAMPLES of pit bulls who are truly heroes.
Why not talk to Richard Hunter, right there in Texas, he and his wife adopted Mel, who lost his bark he was so traumatized by Vick et al and is still terrified of people, doing much better than he was, but making progress every day. Mel just received his own key to the city of Dallas.
http://www.thephillydog.com/archives/3352
Cherry Garcia was just on TV in Connecticut
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/on_air/gmc_weekend/pit-bulls-and-breed-discrimination
Perhaps you should watch the movie Beyond the Myth
http://www.beyondthemythmovie.com
and/or listen to Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan…“My kids are around pit bulls every day. In the ’70s they blamed Dobermans, in the ’80s they blamed German shepherds, in the ’90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the pit bull.” Cesar Millan. “Pit bulls get a bad rap because of irresponsible owners….”
There is No SUCH THING AS A DANGEROUS DOG…
Pit bulls were raised TO BE VERY PEOPLE FRIENDLY and they LOVE PEOPLE… For over 100 years, pit bulls represented America and these dogs were babysitters (Remember Petey, the Little Rascals dog?)
http://www.ywgrossman.com/photoblog/?p=676
temperament testing reveals that pit bulls score gentler than 121 other breeds Temperament evaluations by the American Temperament Test Society have given pit bull terriers a very high passing rate of 90.6 percent. The average passing rate for the other 121 breeds of dogs in the tests was only a low 77 percent.
Now what does all of these have to do with one another? Hmmmm… Could there be a connection? Bias in the media related to pit bulls and Vick getting off easy leads to more pit bulls being fought and abused and children learning the lesson that if / when you are rich and famous, you can get away with murder and the media blames the dogs instead of their Killers… more abused dogs, more dog fighting, more banning of “dangerous dogs” (Breed Specific legislation), more media madness, and on and on and on the cycle goes around. we all know how that goes right, blame the victim, why hold the responsible party accountable for their actions ???? In America, money talks/walks and gets away with murder…
the vicious pit bull cycle revealed…
and somehow we were woofing around on Wed. and wound up on a Blog Hop, grab the code here
