Every year we all look forward to a great holiday. The Memorial Day weekend is a time for picnics and barbeques. It is easy to get caught up in the celebration and forget about how the holiday started. The holiday is for the remembrance and honoring of our nations fallen soldiers.

The holiday was first started by General John A. Logan who was a civil war general. The holiday was then known as Decoration Day and has run continuously until now. I think every American should take a minute to reflect on those who have given their lives to defend our country.

Last Sunday, the world of rock lost one of its greatest voices. At age 67, Ronnie James Dio passed away from stomach cancer. Best known for taking over the front man spot from Ozzy Osborne as the lead singer for Black Sabbath, Ronnie rocked the world. He also went out on his own for awhile and produced the hit song “Holy Diver”.

His loss has affected us all and many around the world will miss him.

While I still love the great state of Virginia, I am not surprised to hear the latest news about the parole board. It seems that 11 inmates have gotten together and are suing over the fact that the parole board is ignoring state law. The law requires that the board thoroughly investigates if inmates are rehabilitated and should be released. The law affects inmates who were locked up before 1995.

Inmates complain that their rights have been violated and will have their day in the U.S. District Court in Richmond. The state denies the claims and wants the case dismissed. As a former member of this group of inmates, I feel that the state of Virginia has not followed this law and are in violation of it. I just hope the court feels the same way as I do!

One article I read recently was all about how some gangs are running criminal enterprises from behind bars. Many gang leaders are locked up but are still able to give directions to their fellow gang members who are still on the outside. This was somewhat normal but now the anti has been raised as alliances with Mexican Drug Cartels have been discovered.

There have been examples of inmates using the language of Nahuatl (The ancient Aztec Language) to communicate with others in order to fool the censors. Many inmates already had ties to fellow Mexicans and so the relationship seems a natural step forward. Authorities fear that the problem will only worsen as time goes by due to budget concerns. I think it’s a shame that something more can’t be done!