The Vick Thing.

Okay, so I'm a football fan. And vegan. And a "dog person" (as well as a cat person, but that's a different story). So there's a few angles on which this whole Michael Vick dogfighting case appalling.

Football Fan: I might be one of the few people who sides with Charles Barkley on the whole "athletes as role models" argument- as much as we might like our major athletes to be role models for our kids, it's just not going to happen. As the philospher once said, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give someone enough cash and attention, and they're going to think they're above the law. And for that reason, Vick needs to be dealt with harshly. I'm sure the NFL has done their own investigation into the matter, and has a good bit of the same evidence that the feds used to get their indictment. This alone should be reason enough to suspend him pending the outcome of the trial. And if convicted, he's done. For good. This isn't gambling or steroids- it's not as though he cheated at the game and can be monitored to make sure he doesn't do it again. No. If the indictment is correct, he participated in straight up sociopathic behavior. It's only a matter of time, the specialists tell us, before a human becomes a target instead of a dog.

Vegan: It's been interesting to read the comments on the Vick stories on espn.com and see how people have reacted- I would say nine out of ten responders have talked about how despicable this crime is, but they're "no PETA supporter". Oddly enough, neither am I. But it's events like this that always make me cringe that PETA has become the commonly accepted face of animal rights. They're what some would call welfarists- they declare victory every time conditions become just a little bit worse for an animal before they're killed for food. And I really can't abide that- how about we just don't kill them??? And don't get me started on their use of nudity as an attention getting tool.

Dog Lover: Yeah- I can't even go there. I'm just disgusted. Literally, it makes me nauseous...