[Oakland Red]

The first and main thing that I think Clinton was doing is taking the chance, since he was in the Virginia Beach area, to defend a fellow football player who is from that area, and who has been much maligned.

What the PFW article does is insinuate in libelous fashion that Portis might have participated in such events in the past, and purposefully tries to stir up hostility against him. The article is a crock; yellow journalism.

As far as dog fighting, to me there is a cultural divide here. Dog fights may well be common in the rural South as Clinton says. People may view them as a tolerated norm. They aren't good, but I can see how if you grow up with them that you could be desensitized to seeing them as a bad thing.

I recently saw a movie about slaughterhouses and I can say that what the meat industry, and also what the dairy and chicken industries, do to animals is not a good thing either. I'm not a fan of what boxing, ultimate fighting or a lot of things do to people either.

I think it's good that there is this public discussion going on about the issue, because it will cause people to reflect and hopefully reconsider participating in this practice.

It's no big deal to me at all and I don't think any less of Clinton just because he thinks something that differs from me. He doesn't participate in these kind of events himself.

I think we all are best when we recognize that there are different cultural norms and try to tolerate each other's views and work toward common ground.