Perry Pledged No More Gays In The Military

      Something that I will never understand is why we care about gays or lesbians in the military. However, I was not surprised that Rick Perry had something to say about it. When I read the article, “Perry Hedges on Gay Soldiers Already Serving Openly” it disgusted me that Perry would dip his nose into any issue, just to get voters.
      This summer Obama did away with the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.” Perry first promised to reinstate the ban on gays in the military was pledged in Mount Pleasant, SC. While in USS Yorktown, Perry also criticized Obama for his lack of judgment and accused him for using the military as a political tool to advance his base’s position. While in USS Yorktown, Perry felt the need to pursue the “problem” again. It seems that Perry is using the gay-soldier issue to keep any hope alive for his struggling presidential campaign. Evangelical voters in places like Iowa and South Carolina is where he needs to appeal most for votes.
      Since Obama’s overturned the policy several gays have openly come out about their sexuality. What will Perry do with the gays that came out of the closet? Like a lot of issues, he’s not sure what to do. When asked about what he would do with the members who now serve openly gay in the military he avoided answering the question but after a while he finally admitted that he would need to take the matter “under advisement.”

      This is just another one of Perry’s antics to manipulate votes. Yes, he will gain the votes of many closed minded Republicans but will lose the votes of the gay population. Some subjects should be left alone in politics and I feel this is one of them. We have a lot more important issues that control people’s everyday lives that need to be addressed. How people live their lives is not one of them.

Must Love "Grits for Breakfast"

      Upon my teacher’s recommendation, I checked out “Grits for Breakfast”, a fellow classmate’s blog. We previously wrote about Michael Morton, a man wrongfully accused and sent to jail for 25 years. Class is coming to an end and regretfully I didn’t read this blog earlier. His blog is very organized, articulately structured, and extremely informative about a wide variety of all things wrong with our government. 

     Clearly, Grits for Breakfast has done his research on the Morton case. The long list of embedded links in the middle of the blog is a genius way to show a variety of articles about the case. The links invite you to learn more about the case from different writers using different angles.

     My blog post about the Morton case focused more on why pursing justice in this case was so important and John Bradley’s alleged “middle man” position.  “Grits for Breakfast” uncovered more details about John Bradley that proved he was not oblivious as I portrayed him. My attention was quickly distracted by the link to a previous blog informing me about a questionable meeting with all the men accused of having a devious role in Morton’s incarceration, Bradley, Anderson, and Wood.  A huge amount of suspicion looms about what went on in this meeting, why they needed to have it in the first place and Wood’s denial/absence of memory about the whole case. Originally done on November 2^nd, it has too much information to begin to summarize.  I can only stress how interesting it is and how rewarding it would be to read it for youself.

     Thirty minutes after consuming “Grits for Breakfast”, I was left in the dust. All that I wrote in my blog post of Morton was a crumb compared to my classmates.  I would highly recommend his post and blog to anyone.  Even this blog post is short because I spent too much time read my classmates! Thank you Mr. Seago for recommending this and hopefully my classmate will continue to update his blog after this semester has ended.

Prosecutors Cover Their Tracks For 25 Years

     The Texas Coalition on Lawyers Accountability and the State Bar of Texas filed grievances against former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, his former assistant Mike Davis, and Current District Attorney John Bradley accusing the prosecutors of violating state laws and professional ethics in the case of Michael Morton.

     Recently released from prison, wrongfully convicted Michael Morton served 25 years for the murder of his wife in 1986. Evidence was withheld from the defense attorney’s and trial judges that proved another man could be a suspect. The wrongful conviction would have been prevented if this information was shared by the prosecutors.

     John Oliver, the Texas Coalition director says this case needs pressure from the public to ensure that any wrong doing will be unveiled. The State Bar has launched its own personal investigation. Morton’s lawyers are also pursuing their own investigation.  Anderson and Davis are not returning phone calls but have announced their innocence in public statements and court documents. However, Bradley has publicly stated that he was wrong but has worked with officials to exonerate Morton. Bradley resisted DNA testing for 6 years which eventually proved Morton’s innocence. Bradley pleads that he is simply the acting Defense Attorney for a difficult situation that was not his fault.

     Morton’s attorneys allege that the Williamson county police department with held several pieces of key information that would have possibly led to a correct conviction. A transcript of Christine Morton’s mother stating that her grandson told her, he’d seen a “monster” brutally beating his mother, who was not his father. Shortly after the murder, Christine Morton’s credit card had been used and a check was cashed with a forged signature.  People had also reported a green van wandering the neighborhood before the murder.

     Amazingly, two months after Morton’s release Williamson county police arrested and charged Mark Norwood with Christine Morton’s murder. Norwood is also a suspect in another murder that occurred 12 miles from the Morton’s home. This could have been prevented if Norwood had been sought in Christine Morton’s murder.

     Reading this story made me think of all the time Morton lost with his son. The son witnessed his mother’s attack and lost his father for 25 years because of crooked attorneys. If Morton’s case was handled inappropriately then I hope the people who are guilty will pay the price and be an example to the rest of the justice system before this happens again.