When the Occupy Wall Street movement ignited last fall, there was no shortage of disturbing press reports about NYPD misconduct toward the demonstrators. We've all read stories about the NYPD’s abuses—the eviction of hundreds of protesters from Zuccotti Park, the mass arrest of 700 people on the Brooklyn Bridge, the pepper-spraying of peaceful protesters.
June 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's declaration of a "war on drugs" — a war that has cost roughly a trillion dollars, has produced little to no effect on the supply of or demand for drugs in the United States, and has contributed to making America the world's largest incarcerator. Throughout the month, check back daily for posts about the drug war, its victims and what needs to be done to restore fairness and create effective policy.
When Blake Benson, a junior at Dakota Ridge, learned that Michelle Obama was coming to speak at his high school on November 3, 2008, the day before national presidential election, he and a couple of friends decided to make their political views heard. (After all, it's not every day that a 17-year-old high school student has the opportunity to express his political opinion in view of hundreds and surrounded by television cameras.) Blake, who supported John McCain for president, came to school with a few yard signs, intending to peacefully express his political views to the masses gathered outside the school for Michelle Obama's speech.
