April fools

• The Republicans in the House
• South Dakota (with its too-intrusive anti-abortion policy and its not-intrusive-enough firearms laws)
• Mississippi (the state where it's safer to stay in the womb, with highest child mortality rate in the country)
• The Koch brothers
• General Electric
• The culture wars: sheer idiocy vs. total chaos
• Michele Bachmann
• Newt Gingrich
• U.S. energy policy
• Everyone, everywhere, who denies our role in global warming
• Donald Trump
• Orrin Hatch (The only thing I ever liked about the guy was that he used to play bridge with Teddy Kennedy.)
• AMC and the producers of "Madmen"
• The NFL
• Today's weather

About Michael Vick

I see that Michael Vick has been "conditionally" reinstated by the NFL, opening the way for him to play pro football again. In today's NY Times:

“I’m a believer personally that if somebody recognizes either mistakes in judgment or things, they can do better going forward, that the general public will recognize that and give people an opportunity to prove themselves,” Goodell said. “I’m trying to give Michael the opportunity to prove himself to play in the N.F.L. again. It’s in his hands now.”

Vick didn't just bankroll a dogfighting ring, he also participated in killing dogs by electrocuting them. It wasn't just a "mistake in judgment," and it wasn't because he was involved with what people are now calling "bad influences." I have not heard one word from him about any reluctance he may have had about maiming and killing the dogs he treated so cruelly. This is not about judgment, it's about character. A guy who intentionally tortures and kills animals for pleasure and/or profit doesn't need to prove himself to play in the NFL. He needs to prove himself to the rest of us.

He's supposedly going to do some work with the Humane Society, which is a step in the right direction, but I'd be far more impressed if he gave up professional football entirely and devoted himself to animal welfare projects. The guy could raise a lot of money that would help abused animals, and would change a lot of people's minds--and hearts--in the process.