George the Dog

Duane "The Dog" Chapman--the heavily tattooed, avowed Christian and bounty hunter-celebrity--is presently awaiting extradition to Mexico for perpetrating what was a kidnapping posed as a bounty hunting expedition.

Doing his self-appointed (anointed?) job, Duane pulled a certain Mr. Luster from Mexico to face rape charges in the U.S. Admittedly, the lusterless Mr. Luster is a rapist, but extradition is the correct legal route to gain his return to the States for proper legal prosecution. We cannot legally sic Mr. Chapman on Mr. Luster, even if the latter is a sicko.

The Dog has a television audience that applauds his borderline derring-do. Satisfying both our fascination with redemption and low brow culture, Mr. Dog bites people for Jesus and money, and not necessarily in that order.

In the same issue of the Times is an article about Maher Arer and his rendition to Syria as a terror suspect. Of course, torture is the focus of this article.

Even if Arer is a member of Al Quaida, the use of torture is not justified against him. Mr Arer was simply rendered. Without extradition, there is no legal basis for his subsequent rendition to Jordan and Syria.

Bear in mind that Syria is not even one of the good guys. So, why are we in bed with torturers? These people don't listen to Oral Roberts, or Rush Limbuagh, or even the Drudge Report or FOX news, for that matter--that's how evil they are.

The Duane Dog is a small blip on the pop culture radar screen, and is mildly entertaining in his Jesus schtick. At least Duane has the cahones to do his own dirty work. The George Dog is another story entirely.