What about Michael Vick? He is the football player who was caught involved with a dog fighting operation. It seems he enjoys the “sport”. He didn’t make any money off of it. On the contrary, he spent money on it. It was a hobby for him.

Dog fighting is a very nasty business. Dogs often fight to the death. These dogs are the pit bulls that people so fear. They are made so mean (wouldn’t you be, if you had to fight to live?) that they are untrustworthy. These dogs, once confiscated, are euthanized. Dogs that don’t perform are killed by their owners.

This is another thing Michael Vick participated in. He helped kill dogs that weren’t good enough fighters. He did this in a variety of ways. It kind of sounds to me like maybe he enjoyed that part, too.

Yesterday, a Surry County (Virginia) grand jury handed down some indictments relating to the case. The only problem is, Vick has already reached a plea agreement in federal court regarding his dog fighting activities. His lawyers are saying he cannot be charged twice with the same crime. The prosecuting attorney says that the charges are different enough from what he pled guilty to that they can stick.

I would have to side with Mr. Vick on this one. He could have been charged with a lot more in federal jurisdiction. When a defendant makes a plea agreement, it is common for some charges to be dropped in exchange for pleading guilty. Rotten as Michael Vick’s behavior was, an agreement has been reached. For another jurisdiction to press additional charges is unwarranted.

Let’s let the federal courts sentence Mr. Vick and send him to jail for his crimes. Then let it go.

I don’t get it. In case you haven’t heard, polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs was convicted today of being an accomplice to a rape. He encouraged a 14 year old girl to marry her cousin and told her she must love him and submit to him.

Okay, let me first explain that I DO NOT SUPPORT the beliefs that allow a girl that young to be forced into marriage. I do not support the idea that she has no options, which is how this girl felt, or the fact that she was told that if she didn’t submit, she was in danger of losing her eternal salvation. All of that is bullshit.

But here’s what I don’t get. If he is an accomplice to rape, than a rape took place, right? So far so good. If a rape took place, than someone committed that rape, right? Now, here is my problem. No one else is being charged as a rapist of this girl. Why not? If Jeffs was an accomplice, isn’t her “husband” (ex-husband, actually) the perpetrator? But he isn’t charged. I don’t buy that Jeffs is more culpable than the man who had sex with a supposedly unwilling victim.

Again, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t think that what happened was right. I just question why Jeffs is the only “guilty” person here. It doesn’t make sense to me.

This, by the way, has nothing to do with the bdsm lifestyle. The girl was told to “submit”, but I doubt that a girl of 14 can make that kind of decision, to dedicate her life and marriage, to this kind of lifestyle. No one can make that sort of decision for you. She would need more experience to understand if SHE wants a D/s relationship. And if a person chooses, of her own free will, to submit, than there would be no rape and no accomplice. As they say, you can’t rape the willing.

I felt like I saw Master today. No, I didn’t see him in person. I didn’t even talk to him online. I watched a video today. It wasn’t about my Master. It was about Ray Bradbury, the author.

Master admires Mr. Bradbury and his work, so I was interested in the video to begin with. As I watched and listened to this man, I found myself thinking, “That’s Bennet!!!” It’s as if Ray Bradbury were my Master’s mentor. They seemed to have similar philosophies and outlooks, even a similar sense of humor.

That brings up an interesting question. Does Master look up to Ray Bradbury because they are so much alike? Or are they so much alike because Master looks up to him, thereby he becoming like him in many ways? I will have to discuss this with Master when I have a chance.

Until then, I am happy. I got a glimpse of Master today!

Well, I seem to have the first cold of the season. My nose is running and my throat is sore. Sometimes my upper chest hurts when I cough.

I ask myself, how did this happen? And, how did it happen so fast? On Friday I was fine. Of course, it occurs to me that I spend Friday evening outside at a football game. Could that be it? Okay, I think I already had the sniffles at that time, but perhaps the evening in the chill made it worse. By Saturday I knew I needed to buy cough drops. By Sunday I was drinking tea. I have had so much tea at this point that constipation is an impossibility, if you know what I mean.

The strangest thing is today, I had to be outdoors for a while, and that made it better. I made a point to take my walk outside today. Now, although I still have the sniffles and my throat is still sore, it’s not as bad as it was. And coughing doesn’t seem to be real painful.

Nevertheless, I will sleep with Vicks tonight. Ah, the smells of old age. It’s probably lucky Master and I don’t live near each other. I’m sure he would not need to catch this early season cold. However, I can hear him say, “Go to bed, take care of yourself, slave.”

I suspect people think that’s the way a Dominant/submissive relationship works. The Dom says “Do what I tell you!” No ifs, ands or buts. The submissive obeys. She must, regardless of what she feels about the command.

But that is not the truth, at least it isn’t the way it works in the relationship I have with Master Bennet. If I disagree with a course of action, I tell him. We discuss it. I try to frame my concerns respectfully, and I suggest alternatives. Master listens. We go back and forth, exploring the problem, until a solution that we both can live with is reached.

It’s funny, but isn’t this the way it should work in the vanilla world? The only difference is, I know that Master Bennet has the final say. Whatever conclusion we reach, he must okay it. He is man enough to know that in order for me to be happy, I must okay it as well. If not, the relationship suffers.

The end result is, although there are definitely obstacles in our way, we tackle them together, and we are stronger for it.