No one can right all the wrongs of history, but when there is an opportunity to do so we must take advantage of it.  In 1971 a group of students and a political activist (dubbed the "Wilmington Ten") were convicted of arson in 1971 under very suspicious circumstances.  After given extraordinarily long sentences (some up to 35 years) for a non-violent crime, the Ten were released after serving almost a decade in prison.

As the truth was revealed about the jury (of several KKK members), the recantation of all eyewitness testimony, and the revelation of prosecutor misconduct the Wilmington Ten are asking for official pardon for their crime.  Below is a letter to that effect from one of the Ten, Wayne Moore.

Black meteorologists Rhonda Lee was fired from her job at Louisiana-based KTBS after defending her short hair style on Facebook.

The news media is a tough industry to break into.  It can be especially difficult for a young black woman trying to make it on her reporting skills and talent while constantly being judged based on appearance and other superficial traits.  Nowhere did this manifest itself in such an ugly manner as when Rhonda Lee, an African American weather reporter was fired from her job after defending her choice of hair style. 

Rhonda Lee had been a weather reporter for Shreveport, Louisiana-based KTBS where she provided on-air coverage of the weather.  In late October the station received a note on their Facebook page from a reader who took exception to her appearance:

With so much focus on the presidential election coverage of many other major votes were obscured last week.  One significant vote that has flown under the radar was the vote on Proposition 36: the proposal to amend California's Three Strikes law.  For those who are not familiar, Three Strikes states that any person convicted of a third felony receives an automatic 25 to life sentence.  Many people have expressed outrage related to this law as the law has resulted in the lifelong incarceration of thousands for minor offenses to include forging a drivers license or stealing baby formula to feed a child.

The Proposition 36 vote last week does not immediately fix the imbalance in sentencing but it goes a long way in changing the dialog about over incarceration of prisoners (especially minorities) for minor crimes, non-violent infractions and victimless drug offenses.

In a resounding electoral college victory and a close but decisive majority vote, President Obama has been re-elected as President of the United States.

In the weeks leading up to the election all the pundits said that it was going to be a nail biter; an extremely close election that could go either way.  In reality it was neither close nor dramatic as the President swept the battleground states on his way to election night victory.

President Obama delivers a calm, cool and effective performance in the second presidential debate of 2012.  See the story here

President Obama is clear, strong and factual as he dominates Mitt Romney in debate number two.

There was a lot at stake in the Presidential Debate at Hofstra last night.  After the first debate Mr. Romney scored a surprising victory over President Obama.  It was not just that he had won the debate, but also that Obama lost it with a lack of enthusiasm and an amazing inability to strongly make his point.  There was a certain amount of wind taken out of the sails of Democrats across the country, and many were looking to this debate to give them the boost and confidence that Obama is indeed up to the task of a second term.  Obama delivered on these and all counts - in spades.

The first presidential debate is over and President Obama probably wishes he had a do over.  As I watched the debate last night I saw an ineffectual president who let an incumbent Mitt Romney dominate the conversation, while Obama sat back and took it with little or no effective rebuttal.  Although President Obama actually spoke 4 minutes longer than Romney, it felt like Romney spoke for 60 of the 90 minute debate.  

Before we get into the heart of this debate review I will stipulate that I am an ardent Obama supporter and wanted him to do well.  Unfortunately he did not and this article will not attempt to sugar coat this debacle.  A CBS post-debate snapshot survey showed that 46% of independents thought that Romney won, while only 22% thought Obama won.  Personally I don't even think it was that close.

There is no doubt that there are many parts of our legal system that are broken. From wrongful convictions, illegal search and seizure, coerced confessions, corrupt prosectors, uncaring public defenders, and torturous prison conditions it is imperative that people stay as far away form the prison system as possible. 

This post spotlights 3 of the many cases that highlight the gross miscarriages of justice that may befall you when caught up in the legal system.  Fortunately these cases were caught before people were executed at the hands of the justice system.

People use the word "ignorant" a lot but many misuse it.  A person who is ignorant is someone who is unaware of something or has no knowledge of a thing.  There are many in America who are completely ignorant when it comes to politics.  This goes way beyond so-called "low information voters" who may not know all the issues.  In America there are far too many people who don't even know who is running for president, who is the vice president, what the candidates positions are on issues or even what the issues are.

Famous New York radio personality Howard Stern interviewed several people on the street and asked them questions about Obama, Romney, Osama Bin Laden and other basic political issues.  The level of ignorance was astonishing and disheartening.  Some think Sarah Palin or John McCain is running for president, Osama Bin Laden is alive, Obama is a Mormon and Paul Ryan is Obama's black running mate!  If this is any indication of what our population is like then it is no wonder why the rich run all over the masses like a 10-year old stomps on an ant hill.

Never in the history of presidential elections has there been a bigger foot-in-mouth moment than has occurred in the Mitt Romney campaign today.  Mitt Romney was secretly taped while speaking to his cronies at a fundraising event and he spoke freely and from the heart.  Unfortunately for Romney it shows that he has a heart of stone.

Romney asserts  in his video that nearly half of all Americans are freeloaders who don't pay taxes and feel that the government owes them everything from food to housing and healthcare.  Mitt asserts "I don't care about them" because they will never take "personal responsibility and care for their own lives".