The three police officers that were involved in the Jordan Miles situation used excessive force in my conviction, but all received awards for their police activities.

I heard complaints galore about the gall, nerve, insensitivity, and bigoted attitude of those involved in the awards. However, I need to remind everyone that awards are not only trophies, plaques and commendations. Our communities have rewarded and awarded those who did not deserve any positive recognition with one of our most precious tools, and that is our vote since 1936.

(NNPA)—March Madness, the frantic round of tournament showdowns to determine which team will emerge as the top college basketball unit in the nation, has nothing on the Capitol Hill madness that occurred over the weekend.

Outside the domed deliberations over health care Saturday, so-called Tea Party protesters shouted the n-word at several African-American congressmen, including John Lewis who was brutally beaten in Selma, Ala. as part of the Selma to Montgomery March that led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Another Black representative, Emanuel Cleaver II of Kansas City, Mo., was spat on by one protester, who was arrested by Capitol Hill police.

Health care reform.

It wasn’t pretty, but the battle for health care reform has been won.

When congressional Democrats sent the final piece of landmark health care legislation to President Barack Obama on March 26 before heading home to face a skeptical—and sometimes threatening—public, it was a historic victory for America.

(NNPA)—Yes, and that is a very blessed thing. The Old Guard seems to be moving slower than ever and the “Party Loyalists” are clamoring for fresh ideas—ideas that they are not receiving from their leadership. The economy is in the tank and all they are concerned with on Capitol Hill is health care. We had better get involved in business development, deficit reduction, lower costs and taxation. Those are the only things that are going to get us out of our predicament. History will show that as this country teetered on the brink of financial ruin all they could do is hammer out some futuristic health care plan that makes no sense and will solve nothing. It is kind of like Nero playing his violin while Rome burned.