Of course. I was mainly venting that it was on every channel. They had to break in to report about Gonzales. Now thats strategic timing!

They were reporting it as though they hadn't been reporting it nonstop for the past week...months.

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MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner. - Ambrose Bierce

Like i said in the Gonzales thread, perfect timing by the AG.

God let's not even start to get into the fallacies of the news media...we'll still be going by the time Vick has served his time and is out free!

FOXNews.com - Virginia Grand Jury Michael Vick, Co-Defendents Indicted on Local Charges Related to Dogfighting - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Like i said state charges would follow...this guy will never play again.

You know, he fucked up royally and lost almost everything he's worked so hard for. That being said, let the man have a smoke for crying outloud!

ESPN - Vick tested positive for marijuana in September - NFL

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MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner. - Ambrose Bierce

Off the top of my head, charging someone federally and locally for the same thing reeks of big-government-fuck-you-in-the-ass-double-jeopardy.

The guy's a moron, but how many years does he really deserve to spend in jail?

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

I don't know, but someone is definitely gunning to throw him in "pound me in the ass" prison, thats for sure.

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MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner. - Ambrose Bierce

They'll never catch him. Have you seen the man scramble?

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

I have, but never in leg restraints.

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MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner. - Ambrose Bierce

I'm sorry to say that it's still legal in VA; as long as no one bets on it (because that *never* happens).

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please click and help the eggs hatch!

"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love"
-Anias Nin

I was unaware of that though I'm absolutely certain that the good folks of VA don't bet on cockfighting!!!!

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Well, roosters aren't nearly as cute and cuddly as dogs, so the amount of jail time for fighting them should clearly differ by a significant amount of years [/sarcasm]

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

There should really be some joke involving a chicken leg/breast/thigh inserted here, but I can't think of one. Where is Speakeasy?

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MESMERISM, n. Hypnotism before it wore good clothes, kept a carriage and asked Incredulity to dinner. - Ambrose Bierce

No, maybe they aren't. And of course here any jail time would be for betting on them, not fighting them.
However, I disagree that animals are 'things'. They clearly aren't people, and I do think that the concept of rights does not apply. However, they aren't inanimate objects, either. Animals with a central nervous system certianly can experience pain; probably to different degrees depending on the complexity of their nervous system (a chimp is arguably capapble of emotional pain and anxiety, a fish not so much). I think that knowing this gives us an obligation to avoid inflicting it when we can, and sometimes an obligation to relieve or prevent it.
So the distinction I would draw is that while animals don't have a claim of rights, we do have obligations towards them which vary somewhat depending on the degree to which they are dependant on us.

__________________
please click and help the eggs hatch!

"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love"
-Anias Nin

I don't have any qualm with that - I abhor violence directed wantonly toward animals.

What I have an issue with is clogging our jails and burdening tax payers based on whimsical, subjective judgements of "cuteness". We'll lock someone up for beating a dog, but not a chicken. It's stupid and arbitrary. If anything, such offenders ought to be fined. Then, instead of costing me money because lots of people can't bear the thought of their poor snookums being tortured, you're actually putting money into the system.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

At least in VA, animal cruelty laws paradoxically include 'fowl'. How this squares with cockfighting I have no explanation. Presumably, we lock people up to prevent them from comitting the same crime again. If it's viewed as important to protect 'society' from the person, we put them in prison. I suppose if you consider some animals to be part of society (and it appears that enough people do), then it makes sense. I don't think the purpose of the justice system is to generate money, or even to break even.

__________________
please click and help the eggs hatch!

"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love"
-Anias Nin