Whoopi Goldberg

[princess 1,712]

Whoopi Goldberg Tunes In

EOnline.com

by Sarah Hall

May 9, 2006, 11:05 AM PT

 

 

 

She's already won an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and two Golden Globes. Now Whoopi Goldberg wants to make radio waves.

The actress and comedian said Tuesday that she had signed with Clear Channel Communications Inc. to host a morning radio program called Wake Up With Whoopi, beginning July 31.

 

Goldberg said her show will be aimed at attracting female listeners who have increasingly strayed to morning television for lack of a better option.

 

"I'm going to talk to people. People are going to talk to me. I'm going to be singing and dancing in my chair. I'm going to wake people up," Goldberg told the Associated Press. "I want to have a good time in the morning, and I want everyone who wakes up with me to have a good time."

 

The former Hollywood Squares host said she was "not a shock jock" and would be providing a decidedly different morning radio experience than, say, that offered by Howard Stern.

 

"Howard Stern is one of a kind. There's nobody like him," Goldberg told Daily Variety. "After people saw what Howard was able to do, many people tried to emulate him. With all that's going on in the world, there's a place for me on the radio to offer up alternatives."

 

The show, which is slated to air during morning drive time, will feature a combination of music, chatter, guest interviews and call-ins. It will be syndicated nationally through Clear Channel Communications Inc.'s Premiere Radio Networks.

 

In a time where stars such as Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart have flocked to satellite radio, Goldberg said she opted for free terrestrial radio in the hopes of making a "big impact" on her listeners.

 

"It's not that I didn't want to do satellite or that it was not an option. But Clear Channel felt like a better fit for what I'm interested in doing," she told Reuters.

 

Financial terms of her deal with Clear Channel were not disclosed, nor were the specific stations that will air the show.

 

"Whoopi relates to people in a very intimate way, one on one. And that's the essence of radio. This is an opportunity to attract a wide variety of listeners," Clear Channel CEO John Hogan told Daily Variety.

 

Goldberg, who's been known to find herself at the center of the occasional controversy, said she planned to keep the show family friendly.

 

"The truth of the matter is when I'm doing my shows for HBO and my own work, it's a different kind of show. This will be a way to hang out with kids in the morning and get them going for school," she told Reuters.

 

"It's a different groove."

[leaivory 2]

Katie Couric Takes it to the Lanes

Filed under: Charity , Events , Katie Couric , Whoopi Goldberg

 

 

It was night of bowling for Katie Couric and a bunch of her celebrity friends (plus her on and off boyfriend Chris Botti). All in the name of a good cause of course, her fight against colon cancer. The Strike Out Colon Cancer event was held at the 300 New York bowling alley at Chelsea Piers.

 

Katie gathered a few hundred of her closest friends, including Whoopi Goldberg, The Sopranos' Steve Schirripa and John Ventimiglia, and Queer Eye's Kyan Douglas for the event. For each strike anyone bowled, 300 New York would donate $1,000 to the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA).

 

In case you're wondering, Katie's a decent bowler herself. While she spent most of the time mingling, she did bowl four frames, and scored two 8s and two 7s for a total of 30. (Watching her bowl while a half-dozen photographers crouched halfway down the lane to catch her in action was pretty wild.) I asked Voss what tips Katie needed in her technique. "The same as everybody," he said. "Timing." As always, Katie was quite the operator. When she made her speech in the middle of the night and realized only 30 grand had been raised, she asked the bowling alley owner, "Can we get half for spares?"

 

More photos (Katie Couric, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Botti, Trevor Raines, Richie Rich, Robert Verdi) from the event are after the jump.

 

 

(Katie Couric, Whoopi Goldberg)

 

 

(Chris Botti, Trevor Raines, Richie Rich, Robert Verdi)

 

Posted by: Jessica Marx

http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/10/katie_...o_the_lanes.php

[leaivory 2]

Trans-formation for Whoopi

 

Whoopi Goldberg 's handlers were keen to move along a journalist who seemed to be taking too much of her time at the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance benefit on Wednesday.

 

Except the tall gentleman in question turned out to be Andre Charles, minus any of the trappings you might associate with his alter ego, RuPaul.

 

Goldberg was out to support her pal Katie Couric Wednesday at a bowling benefit held at the 300 New York lanes at Chelsea Piers.

 

"People should know that this is a disease that is preventable. And if you go and get yourself checked, it can be caught and you can live," Goldberg said. "A lot of times people don't want to go [get checked], especially guys."

 

So is the procedure unpleasant?

 

"It may be unpleasant, but I think death is worse."

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/bwiddicombe/index.html

[leaivory 2]

Whoopi and Sherri to Bring Some Laughs to "The View"

Filed under: The View , Whoopi Goldberg

 

 

The last of the talks are continuing at ABC to work out details between comedians, Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg, and the network, so that the final steps can be taken to hire the two funny ladies for regular co-hosting gigs on "The View." Shepherd, who has starred in "Beauty Shop" and the series, "Less Than Perfect" and "Wedding Bells," has already lent her comedic talents to the show on more than one occasion, appearing as guest host on the daytime talker. Meanwhile, Whoopi is also no stranger to "The View," having had turned up for guest appearances in the past, and has spent the past six years behind-the-scenes writing and producing the Lifetime series, "Strong Medicine," and hosting a syndicated morning radio show.

"She is exactly what the show needs," said Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman. "She is a beloved brand name; she is outspoken; she has done this before, she is a person of color; she is as far left as Rosie; she lives in New York; and she can kick Elisabeth Hasselbeck's ass."

Truth be told, I'm still not going to watch that show. But I bet you Elisabeth will still find ways to piss those two off, as easygoing and affable as they may be. Just give it time. I have faith in my girl's ability to get under people's skin.

 

Posted by: Lisa Timmons

http://socialitelife.com/2007/07/27/whoopi...to_the_view.php

[hedda_louella 1]

Whoopie will kick that Hasselcrack bitch's ass so much harder than Rosie ever did. Whoopie's smarter than Rosie - much sharper. She won't get flustered and start blustering or lose her point in all of Hasselcrack's whining. Whoopie will devastate her with comments so cutting, the bitch won't notice she's bleeding until they cut to commercial. HA.

 

I may actually watch this show if they have Whoopie.

[kappy22 1]

Whoopie will kick that Hasselcrack bitch's ass so much harder than Rosie ever did. Whoopie's smarter than Rosie - much sharper. She won't get flustered and start blustering or lose her point in all of Hasselcrack's whining. Whoopie will devastate her with comments so cutting, the bitch won't notice she's bleeding until they cut to commercial. HA.

 

I may actually watch this show if they have Whoopie.

ITA ~ I watched her a few weeks back on The View and what I liked is how poised and gracefully she expressed her opinions. But once she's hired, I think those nice sweet gloves might come off, one finger at a time.

[hedda_louella 1]

ITA ~ I watched her a few weeks back on The View and what I liked is how poised and gracefully she expressed her opinions. But once she's hired, I think those nice sweet gloves might come off, one finger at a time.

I've always loved Whoopie. As infrequently as I've watched The View, I have to think that they want Whoopie to take those gloves off. I just don't know how prepared they are for what they might get. Whoopie is nobody's fool and she will not put up with any crap. Of course, she's also shrewd and in better control of herself than Rosie, so she may last quite a bit longer.

[leaivory 2]

It's Official

Filed under: Barbara Walters , The View , Whoopi Goldberg

 

 

Barbara Walters officially announced Whoopi Goldberg as Rosie's replacement today. She will start in the fall. I still think Courtney Love would have been tremendous, but they would have had to hire someone to be in charge of rousing her between commercial breaks.

"I have known Whoopi for years," Walters said in a statement released today. "She is brilliant, funny and irrepressible, and is an enormously popular and talented star. We are delighted that she is going to join the program as our moderator. This is going to be a great new chapter for 'The View.'"

Whoopi will do fine. She'll probably be a little less touchy than Rosie, but I still can't see her having a problem with jumping ugly on Hasselbeck now and then. It's actually a good thing that they're keep Hasselbeck, otherwise this should would be twitless and not as interesting.

 

Posted by: J. Harvey

http://socialitelife.com/2007/08/01/its_official.php

[leaivory 2]

Rosie And Star On Whoopi

Filed under: The View , Whoopi Goldberg

 

 

Everyone appears to be digging Whoopi on "The View" including her two predecessors, Big Ro and Bypassed Star. It's chilling when everyone gets along and agrees on something. Give it time, though. I think the "View" might be able to actually drive sane people crazy and turn them into fire-breathing soapbox junkies. Whoppi, guard yourself! Bring your place of gladness with you! And when Hasselbeck starts speaking, sing showtunes in your head! Don't show any emotion! That's what that bitch feeds on!

"Whoopi is fantastic in every way and perfect for the job," says Rosie."She's amazing and one of my favorites."

 

"Whoopi is a smart women with an opinion, and an excellent choice, says another former "View" co-host, Star Jones Reynolds

That's sweet. *crickets*. Yeah, you get off "The View" and suddenly you act all sane and shit. It's disconcerting. Somebody say something we can write about. Oh, here's something. Sources say that Sherri Shepherd was the other front-runner for the job but ABC was balking at giving her Whoopi's alleged 2 million dollar salary. I don't blame them. Who the f*ck is Sherri Shepherd? Is that the woman who works at the Dunkie's down the street from me?*sigh* Now I feel better.

 

 

Posted by: J. Harvey

http://socialitelife.com/2007/08/01/rosie_...r_on_whoopi.php

[leaivory 2]

It Only Took A Minute

http://www.dlisted.com/

 

Whoopi Goldberg made her debut today as the new co-host of "The View." Just 15 minutes into her new gig, Whoopi defended Michael Vick. Ruh roh! Just like Jamie Foxx, Whoopi seemed to think that Vick was naive and blamed his background for his actions.

 

WSBTV reports:

"You know from his background this is not an unusual thing for where he comes from," said Goldberg.

 

"There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of our country."

 

Co-host Joy Behar seemed shocked at Goldberg's statements."How about dog torture and dog murdering," Behar asked.

 

"Unfortunately it's part of the thing," Goldberg replied.

 

"You're a dog lover. For a lot of people dogs are sport," she added.

 

Behar continued to shake her head in disgust. Goldberg said it seemed to her that it took a while for Vick to realize that the charges against him were serious. "It seemed like a light went off in his head when he realized that this was something the entire country really didn't appreciated, didn't like," Goldberg said, referring to Vick's guilty plea.

 

She said if the case had involved somebody from New York City her feelings would have been different. Goldberg pointed out that Vick was raised in the South. "This is part of his cultural upbringing," said Goldberg.

I just don't get this whole theory that Michael Vick seemed to think what he was doing was normal and okay. She wouldn't be saying this if the bitch killed a person. I mean some of us grew up surrounded by drugs and violence and we took the high road. We knew that shit was bad.

 

People need to stop defending his ass! What he did was wrong, end of fucking story.

 

I mean I grew up around sluts and well...um...bad example.

 

[Serendipity 12]

This comes from the woman who, years ago, wrote the Friars Club sketch that her boyfriend Ted Danson performed in black face, and who thought that was funny and ok. I also think that dismissing Vicks' behavior by saying it's cultural is an insult to many people of all skin colors. Animal cruelty is serious - that's why CA animal control officers are, by law, mandated reporters (like social workers and teachers who see signs of abuse to a child) to report cases of animal cruelty by children or by adults when children are part of that household.

[MissuTam 85]

["You know from his background this is not an unusual thing for where he comes from," said Goldberg.

 

"There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of our country."

 

Co-host Joy Behar seemed shocked at Goldberg's statements."How about dog torture and dog murdering," Behar asked.

 

"Unfortunately it's part of the thing," Goldberg replied.

 

"You're a dog lover. For a lot of people dogs are sport," she added.

 

Behar continued to shake her head in disgust. Goldberg said it seemed to her that it took a while for Vick to realize that the charges against him were serious. "It seemed like a light went off in his head when he realized that this was something the entire country really didn't appreciated, didn't like," Goldberg said, referring to Vick's guilty plea.

 

She said if the case had involved somebody from New York City her feelings would have been different. Goldberg pointed out that Vick was raised in the South. "This is part of his cultural upbringing," said Goldberg.[/indent]

First, I am a dog lover and find all of this to be shocking & horrible.

What I have discovered through conversations with 18 to 34 year old males (urban, northern & southern not Black/White), is that they do not feel dogfighting is wrong. As Whoopi said, they consider dogs to be sport and something else to bet on (like boxing, cockfighting). Most of them feel Michael Vick is getting a raw deal.

[Baby Doll 77]

 

["You know from his background this is not an unusual thing for where he comes from," said Goldberg.

 

"There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of our country."

 

Co-host Joy Behar seemed shocked at Goldberg's statements."How about dog torture and dog murdering," Behar asked.

 

"Unfortunately it's part of the thing," Goldberg replied.

 

"You're a dog lover. For a lot of people dogs are sport," she added.

 

Behar continued to shake her head in disgust. Goldberg said it seemed to her that it took a while for Vick to realize that the charges against him were serious. "It seemed like a light went off in his head when he realized that this was something the entire country really didn't appreciated, didn't like," Goldberg said, referring to Vick's guilty plea.

 

She said if the case had involved somebody from New York City her feelings would have been different. Goldberg pointed out that Vick was raised in the South. "This is part of his cultural upbringing," said Goldberg.[/indent]

First, I am a dog lover and find all of this to be shocking & horrible.

What I have discovered through conversations with 18 to 34 year old males (urban, northern & southern not Black/White), is that they do not feel dogfighting is wrong. As Whoopi said, they consider dogs to be sport and something else to bet on (like boxing, cockfighting). Most of them feel Michael Vick is getting a raw deal.

 

Michael Vick deserves to be beaten and killed, just like those poor dogs. This is coming from a dog lover in the liberal, dog-loving great northeast.

 

Having said that, I don't think there's anything wrong with Goldberg pointing out an unfortunate truth. As you say, a lot of these young men very ignorantly believe that dogfighting is not wrong, and Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport. Luckily, I don't personally know any of these men. (Like I said, I live in Jersey near NY, where everyone I know has a totally different take on this type of animal abuse.)

[chatitup 0]

Hey I'm new here, but really glad I found this topic. I was having the same conversation with friends over the weekend. There is a cultural difference, not black/white, but regional, as Whoopi pointed out. I don't know why Joy was so shocked that Whoopi pointed this out because it's totally true, although extremely disgusting. Unfortunately for Vick, he's gonna take the fall for something a whole lot of people have been participating in for centuries.

 

Baby Doll, thanks for the breakdown on 18-34 year old males!

 

Let's wake up people!

Edited September 7, 2007 by chatitup

[tyler 408]

Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport.

Three things:

 

- it should not be considered sport

 

- I hate to say it, but I don't think the dogs were the concern -- the gambling was. Vick still faces state charges for running a gambling ring.

 

- he was not wrongly targeted, maybe he should not be the only one targeted, but he was guilty and pled guilty. Police run "sting" operations all the time -- it does not make the police guilty of wrongly targeting someone.

[Baby Doll 77]

Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport.

Three things:

 

- it should not be considered sport

 

- I hate to say it, but I don't think the dogs were the concern -- the gambling was. Vick still faces state charges for running a gambling ring.

 

- he was not wrongly targeted, maybe he should not be the only one targeted, but he was guilty and pled guilty. Police run "sting" operations all the time -- it does not make the police guilty of wrongly targeting someone.

 

Right, such cruelty is certainly not a sport. Unfortunately, many of these young men, most of whom appear to come from the south, feel that it is.

 

A lot of people are indeed saying that he is being targeted more for the gambling than for the animal cruelty. Personally, I can't imagine how anybody would think gambling is worse than beating and murdering dogs. Either way, it's good that someone was caught doing it. Maybe now everybody who doesn't get that this is a crime and not a sport will wake up and stop this horrible activity.

 

Regarding the "wrongly targeted" stuff, I think that a lot of people are jumping up and down because this was a black athlete at the top of his career. Therefore, it must be a case of targeting him for something that a lot of people do, etc. But, just like Paris Hilton isn't the only person who's driven drunk, yet her momma'll jump up and down and say she's being unfairly targeted, he was caught committing a crime, and ought to be punished for it.

 

Again, I don't think that WG was condoning Vick's behavior, but rather trying to explain it in a cultural context.

 

Quite honestly, as a lady from a more urban, liberal area, I couldn't believe that anybody was actually defending Vick at the beginning of this whole thing. But after hearing so much about it on the radio and TV, it's become very apparent to me that there are people (mostly male) with a whole different point of view. A point of view that is seen as wrong not only be me, but by the legal system. And yet --- a different point of view that must at least be acknowledged and somehow understood.

[tyler 408]

And yet --- a different point of view that must at least be acknowledged and somehow understood.

Gotcha -- and I do understand it and acknowledge it -- I understand that its crap and a means of justifying and excusing the behavior.

 

Please note that it is not you with whom I am arguing -- its with those people out there who will find a way to "explain away" bad behavor as though the explanation makes it all okay.

 

I also understand that Michael Vick is a very rich man and the last thing he needed was to make more money of the cruelty to animals.

 

 

God, wouldn't PETA be proud of me.

[BobbyD 2]

Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport.

Three things:

 

- it should not be considered sport

 

- I hate to say it, but I don't think the dogs were the concern -- the gambling was. Vick still faces state charges for running a gambling ring.

 

- he was not wrongly targeted, maybe he should not be the only one targeted, but he was guilty and pled guilty. Police run "sting" operations all the time -- it does not make the police guilty of wrongly targeting someone.

 

I think he was targeted...before I get yelled at...let me clarify, why...LOL!

 

This is a rich, successful, young man. This is was one of the talented faces of the NFL. This is also a black man. As a person of color, we know that no matter where we go...no matter what we do, we will all be looked at differently and more closely than people who aren't of color(that's just life in America). This in no way excuses his hideous actions to dogs(I am a die hard pet lover). His buddies(who were also black) told on him and he should now know that he needs to keep his hoodie friends out of his inner circle.

 

But he must know, like many of us do, that of course he will be looked at under a microscope because of his status and his color. I know the argument is because people of color commit all the crimes(according to Faux News)...I can't buy into that racist thought....I will admit that many of us haven't learned that yes, we will be profiled, arrested more times, incarcerated more times, then anyone else who committed the same crime, then the people who have access to rehab, a publicist, a kick ass lawyer, a singing career, mummy and daddy...or whatever means to avoid or commute a sentence.

 

Please don't think I am saying he was unfairly targeted...But targeted regardless. And he was a dumbass for not living a better life not realizing that he is always being watched for a fall. Dumbass getting busted for friggin' dogfighting...just a dumbass!

[only1ash 0]

 

Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport.

Three things:

 

- it should not be considered sport

 

- I hate to say it, but I don't think the dogs were the concern -- the gambling was. Vick still faces state charges for running a gambling ring.

 

- he was not wrongly targeted, maybe he should not be the only one targeted, but he was guilty and pled guilty. Police run "sting" operations all the time -- it does not make the police guilty of wrongly targeting someone.

 

I think he was targeted...before I get yelled at...let me clarify, why...LOL!

 

This is a rich, successful, young man. This is was one of the talented faces of the NFL. This is also a black man. As a person of color, we know that no matter where we go...no matter what we do, we will all be looked at differently and more closely than people who aren't of color(that's just life in America). This in no way excuses his hideous actions to dogs(I am a die hard pet lover). His buddies(who were also black) told on him and he should now know that he needs to keep his hoodie friends out of his inner circle.

 

But he must know, like many of us do, that of course he will be looked at under a microscope because of his status and his color. I know the argument is because people of color commit all the crimes(according to Faux News)...I can't buy into that racist thought....I will admit that many of us haven't learned that yes, we will be profiled, arrested more times, incarcerated more times, then anyone else who committed the same crime, then the people who have access to rehab, a publicist, a kick ass lawyer, a singing career, mummy and daddy...or whatever means to avoid or commute a sentence.

 

Please don't think I am saying he was unfairly targeted...But targeted regardless. And he was a dumbass for not living a better life not realizing that he is always being watched for a fall. Dumbass getting busted for friggin' dogfighting...just a dumbass!

 

 

Cruelty is cruelty and stupidity is stupidity, whether you are Michael Vick or Peyton Manning. I don't think the fact that he is black and a fucking moron is why he's scrutinized so much as being famous and a fucking moron. Anyone that is that cruel to animals is capable of much worse crimes and should be locked up.

Edited September 7, 2007 by only1ash

[BobbyD 2]

 

 

Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport.

Three things:

 

- it should not be considered sport

 

- I hate to say it, but I don't think the dogs were the concern -- the gambling was. Vick still faces state charges for running a gambling ring.

 

- he was not wrongly targeted, maybe he should not be the only one targeted, but he was guilty and pled guilty. Police run "sting" operations all the time -- it does not make the police guilty of wrongly targeting someone.

 

I think he was targeted...before I get yelled at...let me clarify, why...LOL!

 

This is a rich, successful, young man. This is was one of the talented faces of the NFL. This is also a black man. As a person of color, we know that no matter where we go...no matter what we do, we will all be looked at differently and more closely than people who aren't of color(that's just life in America). This in no way excuses his hideous actions to dogs(I am a die hard pet lover). His buddies(who were also black) told on him and he should now know that he needs to keep his hoodie friends out of his inner circle.

 

But he must know, like many of us do, that of course he will be looked at under a microscope because of his status and his color. I know the argument is because people of color commit all the crimes(according to Faux News)...I can't buy into that racist thought....I will admit that many of us haven't learned that yes, we will be profiled, arrested more times, incarcerated more times, then anyone else who committed the same crime, then the people who have access to rehab, a publicist, a kick ass lawyer, a singing career, mummy and daddy...or whatever means to avoid or commute a sentence.

 

Please don't think I am saying he was unfairly targeted...But targeted regardless. And he was a dumbass for not living a better life not realizing that he is always being watched for a fall. Dumbass getting busted for friggin' dogfighting...just a dumbass!

 

 

Cruelty is cruelty and stupidity is stupidity, whether you are Michael Vick or Peyton Manning. I don't think the fact that he is black and a fucking moron is why he's scrutinized so much as being famous and a fucking moron. Anyone that is that cruel to animals is capable of much worse crimes and should be locked up.

 

That's not what I said...All I was saying that the dumbass should've known better than any Peyton Manning, Brett Favre...he should've known that he has a bigger bullseye on his ass because of his color, status, irregardless of the harshness/cruelty of the crime.

 

Back to Whoopi...it is a part of the southern culture. Animals are raised in that region for fighting, killing, breeding, feeding. Unfortunately, she's seemed like to me that she was making it a black thing...which it isn't.

[golden*girl 0]

That's not what I said...All I was saying that the dumbass should've known better than any Peyton Manning, Brett Favre...he should've known that he has a bigger bullseye on his ass because of his color, status, irregardless of the harshness/cruelty of the crime.

 

Back to Whoopi...it is a part of the southern culture. Animals are raised in that region for fighting, killing, breeding, feeding. Unfortunately, she's seemed like to me that she was making it a black thing...which it isn't.

I can accept your viewpoint on Vick being dumb for not realizing that his color combined with his success should have led him to be extra careful--I think I understand it. It's like when women first entered certain professions and had to work harder than any man and do a better job than them in order to be accepted. Just average wouldn't do. (Not saying this isn't still true, BTW, but it may be less of an issue than in the past.) Right?

 

Now, about the dog fighting thing and the South, I'm less inclined to agree with that. I was born and bred in a southern town and never did I hear anything about dog fighting. Nor did my mom or dad, and they report that their parents never mentioned it, either. I've been reading threads on other boards and forums, and I'm definitely not the only southerner to say that they are unaware of dog fighting as part of their culture. Of course, I don't doubt there are southern towns where it happens. I also saw on the news that dog fighting is a huge problem in the Chicago area and in some other places in the Midwest. So I don't think it's safe for Whoopi to have made any kind of blanket statement about the South, which is a huge region and offers as much variety of beliefs and lifestyle as any other part of this nation (and world). As a southerner, I find the generalizing about the South as if it were a uniform place at least as annoying as the claim that dog fighting is a southern thing.

 

Actually, I associate dog fighting with England in past centuries, because the so-called "sport" was apparently huge there. And I'm sure there were many people who viewed it as barbaric, even if it was popular for centuries in various cultures. I also just view it as a phenomenon that was well-established in the past and is dying out. My dog is a Boston Terrier--a little, silly, googly-eyed thing that was (hard to believe) bred for fighting back in Boston in the mid-19th-century. Turned out that Boston Terriers were too sweet for fighting, so they were bred down in size and became companion dogs instead.

Edited September 8, 2007 by golden*girl

[BobbyD 2]

 

 

That's not what I said...All I was saying that the dumbass should've known better than any Peyton Manning, Brett Favre...he should've known that he has a bigger bullseye on his ass because of his color, status, irregardless of the harshness/cruelty of the crime.

 

Back to Whoopi...it is a part of the southern culture. Animals are raised in that region for fighting, killing, breeding, feeding. Unfortunately, she's seemed like to me that she was making it a black thing...which it isn't.

I can accept your viewpoint on Vick being dumb for not realizing that his color combined with his success should have led him to be extra careful--I think I understand it. It's like when women first entered certain professions and had to work harder than any man and do a better job than them in order to be accepted. Just average wouldn't do. (Not saying this isn't still true, BTW, but it may be less of an issue than in the past.) Right?

 

 

BINGO! That's exactly right...and a great ass analogy, which I agree with. And I was only addressing the discussion of him not being targeted...which I had to dispute.

[BobbyD 2]

 

 

That's not what I said...All I was saying that the dumbass should've known better than any Peyton Manning, Brett Favre...he should've known that he has a bigger bullseye on his ass because of his color, status, irregardless of the harshness/cruelty of the crime.

 

Back to Whoopi...it is a part of the southern culture. Animals are raised in that region for fighting, killing, breeding, feeding. Unfortunately, she's seemed like to me that she was making it a black thing...which it isn't.

Now, about the dog fighting thing and the South, I'm less inclined to agree with that. I was born and bred in a southern town and never did I hear anything about dog fighting. Nor did my mom or dad, and they report that their parents never mentioned it, either. I've been reading threads on other boards and forums, and I'm definitely not the only southerner to say that they are unaware of dog fighting as part of their culture. Of course, I don't doubt there are southern towns where it happens. I also saw on the news that dog fighting is a huge problem in the Chicago area and in some other places in the Midwest. So I don't think it's safe for Whoopi to have made any kind of blanket statement about the South, which is a huge region and offers as much variety of beliefs and lifestyle as any other part of this nation (and world). As a southerner, I find the generalizing about the South as if it were a uniform place at least as annoying as the claim that dog fighting is a southern thing.

 

Actually, I associate dog fighting with England in past centuries, because the so-called "sport" was apparently huge there. And I'm sure there were many people who viewed it as barbaric, even if it was popular for centuries in various cultures. I also just view it as a phenomenon that was well-established in the past and is dying out. My dog is a Boston Terrier--a little, silly, googly-eyed thing that was (hard to believe) bred for fighting back in Boston in the mid-19th-century. Turned out that Boston Terriers were too sweet for fighting, so they were bred down in size and became companion dogs instead.

 

We can agree to disagree...It definitely has a culture following and continues to do so, from the south.

 

*Warning The Following Article could be DISTURBING*

 

 

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?...&ran=241086

 

Once limited to the rural South, dogfighting sees a cultural shift

By BILL BURKE, The Virginian-Pilot

© June 17, 2007

 

Hardly a day goes by in his Gaithersburg, Md., office without John Goodwin receiving a phone call or e-mail about his most popular subject: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

 

Some, like the man who called June 1, are confidential informants passing along tidbits about Vick to Goodwin, the top dog in the Humane Society’s campaign to wipe out animal fighting in the United States.

 

Shortly after Vick’s Surry County house was raided and evidence of a suspected dogfighting operation was found there in April, Goodwin added the NFL star to a massive data­base he oversees.

 

The 20,000 names it contains include a rogue’s gallery of the nation’s most notorious known and suspected dog fighters:

 

David Tant, a 300-pound bear of a man and one of the world’s most prolific breeders of fighting dogs, serving a 30-year sentence in South Carolina, among the stiffest ever imposed for the crime. One of the “directional mines” he planted to keep people away from his dogs injured a land surveyor.

 

“Fat Bill” Reynolds of western Virginia, convicted in 2001 of transmitting images of fighting dogs across state lines and sentenced to 30 months after Tant testified against him before a federal grand jury.

 

He has served his time and is now back on Goodwin’s radar.

 

Louisiana’s Floyd Boudreaux, one of the patriarchs of the blood sport, who has played cat-and-mouse with investigators for decades and is reported to have once traded his grand champion dog, Blind Billy, for a house.

 

The cast of suspects is a mongrel mix, including legendary dogmen such as Mountain Man and the Gambler, professional athletes, rap music performers and Alane Koki, a patent-holding cancer researcher in North Carolina.

 

Those familiar with dogfighting say it has undergone a cultural shift in recent years. A pursuit once practiced chiefly in the rural South has moved to the mean streets of the ’hood. Today dogfighting can be found in rural Southwest Virginia as well as in housing projects in Newport News.

 

The Internet has enabled dogfighting to get an international foothold, with its practitioners often communicating in code, frequently changing Web sites, and posting “fictional” accounts such as this one, involving a grand champion fighter named Mayday:

 

“It was Mayday’s easiest fight. He used Big Red like a punching bag. He mopped the floor with him. People watching wanted to change his name to PAYDAY. … Others were calling him KILLING MACHINE. … It ended with Mayday SCREAMING in the corner. He was just getting started. He wanted another hour …”

 

Enforcers like Goodwin – the Humane Society’s deputy manager of animal fighting – describe a brutal business in which dogs that lack the killer instinct are often shot or electrocuted, then tossed in a trash bin or buried in a bone yard.

 

“We don’t want that type of barbaric activity going on in South Carolina,” said Mark Plowden, a spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, which created a dog fighting task force in 2004 that has snared Tant and others.

 

“It’s clear that when you have dog fighting, drugs and gambling and other criminal subcultures follow,” Plowden said. “We want to drive it out of South Carolina. If it shows up in other states, that’s their problem, not ours anymore.”

 

Today, North Carolina is said to be one of the nation’s most active dog fighting venues. Virginia, say those inside and outside the fighting game, gets the overflow.

 

When agents raided Bill Reynolds’ property near Martinsville in September 2000, part of the evidence they seized was a treadmill with the inscription: “Custom Made for Fat Bill by the Gambler, 8-24-00. Happy Birthday.”

 

“Fat Bill” and the Gambler, legendary figures in the shadowy realm of dogfighting, have earned the distinction of “dogmen” – professionals in the blood spectacle.

 

The term is part of a clandestine covenant many use to avoid prosecution for an activity that was once a misdemeanor in all states but is now a felony everywhere but Wyoming and Idaho. The fight itself is called a “show,” and dogs with superior fighting traits are said to have “gameness.”

 

True dogmen “are like the Yankees or the Red Sox – major league players,” said a local former pit-bull breeder who is knowledgeable about dogfighting and spoke on the condition that he not be named. “The guys on the local level, they’re more like the Tides or Tidewater Sharks – bush-leaguers.”

 

The local breeder said he has met Vick but declined to comment on what, if anything, he knows about Vick’s connection to dogfighting activities. He did say, however, that Vick “was taken advantage of by friends and acquaintances.” He also knew Reynolds, who was sentenced by a federal judge in Roanoke to 30 months in prison in 2001.

 

Along with the treadmill, authorities seized from Reynolds’ trailer in rural Virginia syringes, steroids – which are often used to pump up fighting dogs – and copies of underground dogfighting magazines, one of which, the American Gamedog Times, Reynolds was said to have published.

 

Treadmills are often used to train fighting dogs; “bait animals” such as cats are sometimes placed in cages just out of range of the charging dog, which is rewarded by getting to feast on the cat after the training session.

 

At the time of his arrest, Reynolds operated a now-defunct Web site that sold videos of pit-bull fighting with titles such as “The Art of Victory,” “Snooty and Crunch” and “Bronson and Header.”

 

When Reynolds was sentenced in August 2001, federal Judge Samuel Wilson remarked from the bench on Reynolds’ “insensitivity to life.” Before Wilson issued the sentence, “Fat Bill” said, “Everything just kind of snowballed and got out of hand. I’m so sorry.”

 

Now free, Reynolds was contacted by a reporter recently and asked whether he would give an interview. He said he found the idea “intriguing” but did not return follow-up phone calls.

 

Tant was among those who testified before the federal grand jury that indicted Reynolds. His South Carolina attorney, Michael Bosnak, says Tant was granted immunity from prosecution for his cooperation in the Reynolds case.

 

But that did not stop members of a new South Carolina state animal-fighting task force from bringing charges after a raid on Tant’s property in 2004.

 

That April, a land surveyor was injured by birdshot fired by a booby trap Tant had planted on his property to keep intruders away.

 

Investigators confiscated from T ant’s property 47 dogs, cattle prods, treadmills, five more armed booby traps and a framed photo of Tant’s grand champion Yellow, whose pedigree is one of the most revered – and expensive – in the world of dogmen. Offspring of Yellow, who died in 1994, can fetch several thousand dollars each.

 

Mayday was one of them. After he died in 2002, this tribute appeared online:

 

“Like we speak of the Tombstone, the Eli, the Yellow blood, so too will we and the generations after us … speak of the great and dominating MAYDAY blood. May he live … forever.”

 

The Internet has revolutionized the way dogmen do business, making it easier for members of the secret society to find and learn from one another.

 

Mark Kumpf, formerly Norfolk’s senior humane officer and now the director of the Montgomery County, Ohio, Animal Resource Center, noted a parallel with another class of social pariahs.

 

“The Internet has brought two groups to prominence, and that’s the pedophiles and the dogfighters,” he said.

 

Through the Internet, dogfighters research how to treat injuries, pick up training techniques and discuss tactics, Kumpf said. The newest craze, he said, is to broadcast fights on the Web so people can bet on them offshore.

 

The stakes are rising in what is now a half-billion-dollar industry as animal-rights groups turn up the heat on prosecutors and the number of task forces increases.

 

In August, a suspected dogfighter in Texas bled to death after he was shot by intruders who apparently intended to torture him into revealing where he had hidden $100,000 wagered in a high-stakes dog match.

 

In Ohio earlier this year, 28 people were indicted in state and federal court after an inquiry by state investigators and a federal task force.

 

And earlier this month, the feds, apparently concerned that local investigators were dragging their feet, intervened in the investigation into the suspected operation at Vick’s house. No charges have been filed.

 

Those who post on Web sites in the United States, where enforcement is growing, often include disclaimers noting that the sponsors do not encourage or condone dogfighting. They also state that any accounts of fights are fictional.

 

But those who maintain Web sites in countries where dogfighting is not criminalized often make no effort to conceal their purpose.

 

“Hallo and Welcome to all lovers of fighting dogs!” exclaims the Balkan Boys Kennel based in Serbia. The site posts the “Cajun rules” for dogfighting, which are the pre-eminent set of regulations among today’s dogmen.

 

The rules were promulgated in the 1950s by Lafayette, La., Police Chief G.A. “Gaboon” Trahan, who hosted dogfights that drew attendees from all over the South long before animal activists demonized the activity and legislatures criminalized it.

 

To hear “Chopper Dan” Brouseaux, another Lafayette native son, tell it, dogfighting is as ingrained in the Southern culture as NASCAR and has been around much longer.

 

“Cajuns and black people have been fighting dogs for 200 years,” said Brouseaux, a dog breeder and former merchant seaman who said he has never been involved in the activity.

 

Still, Brouseaux, 60, remembers the day that the events were a Saturday ritual “that would draw 50 to 100 people, and there would be guys selling popcorn and chewing gum.”

 

He sells his dogs as “Staffordshire terriers” rather than pit bull terriers on the advice of his lawyer, he says.

 

He lives not far from Floyd Boudreaux, now 72 and regarded by some as the “godfather” of dogfighting. Despite Boudreaux’s notoriety, authorities have had difficulty prosecuting him, Brouseaux said.

 

During one raid, “they killed all his dogs while he was in jail over the weekend,” Brouseaux said. “They massacred them. I was ashamed to be an American.”

 

The Humane Society’s Goodwin bristles at those who romanticize dogfighting, saying, “Law enforcement is realizing it’s a real community problem, intertwined with other crimes” such as drugs and gambling.

 

He cited one raid that turned up an electrocution device in a garage that had been used to kill dogs.

 

A yard in Louisiana where dogs were seized in 2005. Today, North Carolina is said to be one of the nation’s most active dogfighting venues – and Virginia gets the overflow.

 

Another law effort in Newton, Mass., turned up dogs with broken legs and one whose tongue had been ripped out.

 

Pit bulls have become iconic in the rap and hip-hop music culture. Missy Elliott and rapper DMX feature the animals on album covers, and an unedited version of rapper Jay-Z’s video “99 Problems” features footage of dogs preparing to fight in a pit as spectators watch.

 

Dogfighting has also caught on within some gang cultures, where “there is less revulsion to violence,” Goodwin said.

 

Though dogfighting remains primarily a Southern phenomenon, the center of gravity in recent years apparently has shifted eastward. Today, if there’s a dogfighting capital in the United States, it may be North Carolina.

 

One of several magazines that provide services for pit-bull fanciers, the Pit Bull Advertiser, is published in Gastonia. It features ads for more than 20 North Carolina-based kennels, offering dogs for sale, stud services and a variety of products, including canine treadmills.

 

The magazine features kennels with names such as Outlaw, Rampage and Lockjaw, and characteristics of some of the featured dogs like Blondie, with “ability, style and one of those mouths that would break you into pieces.”

 

Another advertiser is Tom Garner of Hillsborough, N.C., who Goodwin insists is a patriarch of dogfighting in America. His name is contained in Goodwin’s database.

 

Garner, convicted of dogfighting in the mid-1980s, insists he breeds dogs and sells only puppies these days – none for fighting. If buyers use them for illegal purposes, Garner says, there’s nothing he can do to stop them.

 

His prize dogs included legendary grand champions Chinaman and Spike. “I still have frozen semen off of Spike and have made some breedings that have produced some excellent offspring,” Garner notes on his kennel Web site.

 

Garner’s name came up earlier this year when Orange County, N.C., officials created a task force to study the legality of tethering dogs. Garner failed in his effort to be named to the committee, but one of its members was Alane Koki, who purportedly has ties to Garner’s dog-breeding operation.

 

Koki, a published scientist and cancer researcher, is perhaps one of the most unusual alleged dogfighters on Goodwin’s list. After an independent weekly newspaper in the Raleigh area published stories about her links to Garner – she reportedly operated a kennel called Thundermaker Bulldogs – she resigned from the committee while denying any wrongdoing.

 

Dogfighting in North Carolina can now be found from the coastal flatlands to the mountainous west, say Goodwin and others who monitor the activity. The state’s vast expanses of piney wilderness are a lure for dogmen, some of them forced out of South Carolina in recent years.

 

Others have traveled to the Tar Heel State, where until a few years ago dogfighting was a misdemeanor, from Virginia, where it has long been a felony.

 

One of them is the local breeder who knows what it’s like to gather with other men late at night on a moonlit landing strip, in a wooded clearing or in an abandoned warehouse, with thousands of dollars riding on thick-chested beasts named Lil Hitler, Crunch and So Evil.

 

The fight is euphemistically called a “show,” according to the local breeder, who said the rearing of a competitive dog can take up to two years.

 

Potential champion dogs are the product of cross-breeding between animals that often have champion pedigrees. Aggressive dogs are identified early on as “prospects” and receive special treatment. At 8 or 9 months, a less-aggressive littermate is placed in front of the chained prospect “to see how aggressive he is.”

 

The first competition, called a “roll,” usually takes place at about 15 months when two prospects are allowed to “have at it” for about 10 minutes, the breeder said.

 

“You want to see how your dog – I’ll call him Joe – takes the pressure,” he said. “Certain dogs go for certain areas. Yellow, he went for the head and chest. You like to see that.”

 

The prospect is put “back on chain” until it is about 19 months old, when a second practice session is held, lasting up to an hour.

 

If Joe looks good, he’s ready for “the show.”

 

Four or five backers ante up a few hundred dollars apiece for a “first time out” dog, the breeder said. The prospect is now “open to the world.” A pot of about $3,500 is typical. A “show” is scheduled, and a judge chooses the location.

 

An intensive six-week training routine follows, and the dog is said to be in “the keep.” He is fed a lean, nutritional diet – some trainers have secret diets – and works out on a treadmill every day.

 

Many dogs in training often swim in a pool. The circular above-ground pool discovered at the house owned by Vick was typical of those used for getting fighting dogs into shape, the breeder said. One hour on the treadmill and two in the pool is a common regimen.

 

Trainers often try to gain advantages by injecting dogs with steroids or sharpening the animal s’ teeth. Some even shave the dog’s fur and mix roach killer with its food, hoping the bitter taste of the new fur will repel a foe.

 

“The show” takes place at a secluded location in a makeshift wooden pit about 2½ to 3 feet high and 8 feet square, often with a dirt or carpeted floor for traction. A dog that fails to make weight may forfeit, forcing its owner to surrender an amount equal to half the purse.

 

Before the match, the dogs are washed, each by his foe’s owner, to ensure that the animal’s fur has not been coated with poison. The handlers sometimes use Everclear, a brand of grain alcohol, to wash, and milk to rinse.

 

The dogs are taken to their respective corners and released after the command of “face your dogs” by the judge. The competition continues until one animal retreats or is injured so severely it is unable to continue.

 

The first victory for a fighting dog is the beginning of his “campaign,” which can result in a champion (three victories) or a grand champion (five victories with no losses).

 

After his campaign, a champion dog can command sizable stud fees. Mayday earned $100,000 a year for his services, the breeder said.

 

“I look at it a lot like boxing,” said the local breeder. “You’ve got your power fighters and your finesse fighters, your power dogs and your finesse dogs. And they can make their owners a whole lot of money.”

 

Staff writers Dave Forster and Ed Miller contributed to this report.

[MissuTam 85]

 

Vick is being wrongly targeted for participating in a sport.

 

- I hate to say it, but I don't think the dogs were the concern -- the gambling was. Vick still faces state charges for running a gambling ring.

 

- he was not wrongly targeted, maybe he should not be the only one targeted, but he was guilty and pled guilty. Police run "sting" operations all the time -- it does not make the police guilty of wrongly targeting someone.

 

I think he was targeted...before I get yelled at...let me clarify, why...LOL!

 

This is a rich, successful, young man. This is was one of the talented faces of the NFL. This is also a black man. As a person of color, we know that no matter where we go...no matter what we do, we will all be looked at differently and more closely than people who aren't of color(that's just life in America). This in no way excuses his hideous actions to dogs(I am a die hard pet lover). His buddies(who were also black) told on him and he should now know that he needs to keep his hoodie friends out of his inner circle.

 

I Love My Little Yorkie OK...Now, I think he was targeted...CALM DOWN...Please...I Love Dogs.....

 

I think the authorities finally found a big enough fish to call attention to this horrible practice that seems to have a renewed growth in popularity and is spreading across the country like mad. I read the entire BobbyD post above. I did not recognize the names of any of the convicted or alleged dogfighters, but we all knew the name Michael Vick before he was accused. When the police found a link to Vick they struck the mother lode. Quoting BobbyD...a rich, successful, young man. A high profile Black man...with his hoodie friends ("keepin it real") who the police knew would roll on him in a heartbeat! Reference from above: "Louisiana’s Floyd Boudreaux, one of the patriarchs of the blood sport, who has played cat-and-mouse with investigators for decades".... His boys ain't snitching on him.

 

This is not just a southern backwoods thing. A lot of the young men I have talked to have graduate degrees and were raised in urban & suburban areas above the Mason-Dixon Line. They just don't see it the way we do.

 

I am not making excuses. I love my Yorkshire Terrier (she is my baby). I even like my neighbors weed head/college dropout sons pit bull (but that's a whole nother story).

 

Are we still friends?

[leaivory 2]

09.05.2007 WHOOPI DEFENDS MIKE VICK

http://www.wwtdd.com/

 

Yesterday on "The View", Whoopi Goldberg defended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who pleaded guilty two weeks ago for his role in the fighting and execution of eight dogs. Rueters says:

 

"He's from the South, from the Deep South ... This is part of his cultural upbringing,"

 

"For a lot of people, dogs are sport," Goldberg said on the show. "Instead of just saying (Vick) is a beast and he's a monster, this is a kid who comes from a culture where this is not questioned."

 

Whoopi really might wanna rethink her "well they've done it in the deep south for years so it's cool" position. Uhh, they used to hang black people in the Deep South too. What are your feelings on that, Whoopi? Is that cool too? Is there anything left on earth where everyone will say, wow, yeah, that's wrong. Does everyone have to argue everything. Or is life just some Japanese game show where we're all standing on logs over a river and smacking each with big foam bats all the dame time. This guy's an animal. Fuck him.

 

(By the way, Mike Vick is from Newport News, Virginia, which is about about 2 hours from Washington DC. Since when is that considered the "Deep South"?)