Okay, the Rev. Al was on O’Reilly tonight, and he’s talking about “let’s not judge Michael Vick until he’s convicted.” What? Is this the same Rev. Al. who lead the charge against the Duke LaCrosse players BEFORE they were adjudicated guilty? Yep, that be the same Rev. Al. Except this time, the defendant is black. And rich. And a superstar athlete. Do I have to investigate why the NAACP is sticking up for Michael Vick as well?

Now, let me tell you what I know about dog-fighting, which I’ve not seen many other places. I used to be the founder and president of a non-profit animal welfare organization, and I was a certified animal cruelty investigator. These dog fights are not just some “blood sport” for sick individuals; it’s almost always an organized gang thing (or backwoods country hillbilly thing), but the admission price is an average of $500 per spectator to see this vicious act. After the entry price, most attendees can buy drugs, prostitutes, or bet on the dog fights. It really doesn’t matter to these miscreants, because the only thing they care about is their machismo and the money. The purses can be huge, and it is true the losing dogs, or dogs who refuse to fight, are often brutally killed after the fights. It’s almost like a Middle Eastern honor killing in that the spectators will know that the “weak,” losing dog will no longer produce any “weak” offspring. Lovely, eh? Selective breeding they call it.

I’ve personally found dog pits with blood literally all over every wall of the pit, and needles, coke spoons, used condoms, and whatever else you can think of. I’ve seen dogs who only want to play with other dogs when they try to break them on each other, and it’s not a pretty ending.

The “joys” of dog-fighting

Training facilities include enclosed treadmills, where Pit Bulls are tied up to a treadmill handle and made to run until they get exhausted. I’ve found undercover video from some of those training facilities, and one of the most brutal parts of training is the ginny mill. If you don’t know what a ginny mill is, just go back to that pony ride you went on at the local county fair where ponies were harnessed to individual rungs on a wheel where you rode around in circles. With dogs, the ginny mill is used to increase their blood-lust and endurance. The dog is tied to one rung of the ginny mill just after getting a bite or “taste” of a kitten or rabbit. The kitten or rabbit is then strapped right on the rung in front of them or two ahead, and the dog has to run around and around and around until it’s exhausted. Once the dog has run all it can and proves its endurance, it’s given the kitten or the rabbit as a “reward” for going for so long.

And the syringes of which I spoke earlier? Not just for the crack, cocaine and heroine users at the spectacle, but also for the steroids and pain-killers for the dogs.

Another thing is when folks meet these qualified fight dogs is that the dog is required by the rules to be friendly towards humans. Otherwise they are not often used in organized dog-fighting, and part of that reason is that the perception of animal control officers or cops is “oh, that dog is nice!” not knowing the dog has been trained to be that way towards humans, but absolutely brutal to other dogs.

These dogs are not vicious by nature; they are bred and made that way by the people who buy and raise (and train) them. People like Michael Vick. There is no excuse for this behavior. I’m doing some digging now to see if I can find out what Vick’s gang affiliation is, because I have a strong suspicion he has one. Allegedly.

In the meantime, here’s a situation in which I’d like to see Michael Vick:

And let’s not forget these lovely parting shots that Michael Vick gave his own fans here in Atlanta not too long ago.

Watch Fat Albert Sharpton on O’Reilly here.