Things are heating up, and rightfully so...
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Sen. Robert Byrd on Dogfighting
In a floor speech Thursday, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) lashed out, indirectly, at Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who was recently charged with running a dog-fighting ring in Virginia. The speech might have seemed unusually apocalyptic to those who don't know how much the octogenarian senator loves dogs.
In biblical terms, Byrd -- wearing a navy-blue tie spotted with dog images -- attacked animal cruelty in ways that only he can.
"It is a brutal, sadistic event motivated by barbarism of the worst sort and cruelty of the worst, worst, worst, sadistic kind," Byrd said in a 24-minute address on the matter. "One is left wondering: Who are the real animals? Who are the real animals, who are the real animals -- the creatures inside the ring or the creatures outside the ring?"
Byrd did not specifically address the charges against Vick, a former Virginia Tech football star [We earlier said Vick was a graduate of VT. Vick actually left the school early to join the NFL. Thanks to readers for correcting our mistake], but attacked the nature of Vick's alleged crime in soaring rhetoric usually reserved for war speeches or Supreme Court confirmation battles: "The training of these poor creatures -- weigh those words -- the training of these poor creatures -- weigh them -- the training of these poor creatures to turn themselves into fighting machines is simply barbaric. Barbaric! Barbaric! Barbaric! Let that word resound from hill to hill and from mountain to mountain, from valley to valley across this broad land. Barbaric, barbaric!"
Byrd's love of dogs is a well known fact around the Senate. In April 2002, when his beloved dog Billy Byrd passed away, Byrd announced the death at an Appropriations Committee hearing, darkening the spirit of the Senate, whose galleries had heard the senator invoke his dog on many, many occasions. "I lost one of my best friends today," he said.
"The Book of Proverbs in the Holy Bible, the King James Bible, tells us a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," Byrd said. "The immortal Dante tells us the divine justice reserves special places in Hell for certain categories of sinners. Madam president, I am confident -- madam president, I am confident that the hottest places in Hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God's creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt! I yield the floor."
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And of course Rev. Al has something to say....although his motivation is more likely the publicity over really caring about the dogs.
Sharpton Weighs In On Vick, Dogfighting
ATLANTA -- 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 ... . Today, we sound a clarion call to all people: Stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong. Dogfighting is unacceptable. Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain is despicable. Cruelty is just plain wrong."
The statement comes on the heels of Michael Vick's indictment by a federal grand jury on a conspiracy charge related to his alleged involvement with dogfighting, including fatally hanging, drowning, and slamming against the ground dogs who "did not perform well."
The indictment follows an April 25 raid on Vick's property in Surry County, Va., during which authorities reportedly found 70 dogs--including at least 60 pit bulls, the breed that is most commonly used for fighting--and paraphernalia commonly associated with dogfighting. Some of the animals reportedly had deep wounds and cuts consistent with fighting.
The Simmons, Sharpton, and PETA letters went to all of Vick's corporate sponsors, including Nike, Rawlings, Hasbro, Easton Sports, and Kraft.
"Anyone capable of forcing dogs to fight to the death should be kept away from all vulnerable forms of life, particularly children and animals," said Newkirk. "Dogfighting is an illegal act that deserves harsh punishment, no matter how famous the alleged perpetrators are."
