Now playing: Guantanamo by Nadir's Distorted Soul

Let's make this torture debate absolutely clear: I've got cousins, a good friend and a nephew who are all in the military. If any of them was captured on the battlefield and tortured, I would want the lower level interrogators who committed the act to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes. I would want the high level officials who authorized the use of illegal methods (not enhanced interrogation - TORTURE) to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.

This is not politics. This is justice.

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Michigan in 2008. There were complex challenges and dramatic stories everywhere, from the "Uncommitted" Democratic primary to the landslide in November. While covering the state for MTV's Emmy-winning Choose or Lose Street Team '08, I came to appreciate the soul and grit of Michigan's people in new ways. Here's a look back at my attempt to record history in the making.

More than anything, the historic 2008 elections and Barack Obama's election day victory were a testament to the power and the promise of democracy in the United States of America. In the face of long lines, dirty politics, threatened voter suppression, and the legacy of racism, the will of the American people ruled the day and made history.

And what was the deciding factor? Young people and African Americans - two groups that historically don't exercise the right - discovered politics.

Young folks and black folks have always complained that voting doesn't change America, and to a degree that's correct. Voting by itself has never changed anything.

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African Americans are expected to vote overwhelmingly for Barack Obama to become the first Black president of the United States. Are African Americans voting for Obama *because* he is Black?

Also Professor Griff asks, "What if Obama wins and white folks go crazy?"

This election has proven that we are not quite over skin color as an issue in the US. When it comes to choosing the right candidate, what's race got to do with it?

Don’t get it twisted. John McCain did not pull out of Michigan, and Republicans are going to make a strong showing in races across the state. That note of confidence comes from Central Michigan University senior Dennis Lennox.

The 24 year-old Lennox has been working for McCain and other GOP candidates throughout northern Michigan. He’s running the Republican Party office in his county, and in addition, he is the Republican candidate for Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner.

Though Canadians don't much like the designation, Canada is sometimes called "The 51st State" of the United States. As the U.S.'s largest trading partner, our neighbors to the north have a lot riding on the 2008 presidential election.

A group of young people in Canada offer their perspective on U.S./Canadian relations and the upcoming election.

"Can I vote if my house is in foreclosure? I hear I can't vote if I wear my candidate's t-shirt to the polls. Is that true?"

Watch this video before you vote!

Efforts to challenge and suppress voters increase in close elections. Do you know your rights? Do you know what to do if someone challenges you when you go to vote?

MTV Street Teamer Nadir speaks with Professor Griff & Chuck D of Public Enemy and some noted Michigan journalists who kick the facts about your rights as a voter.

For addtional info read Minehaha Forman's article in The Michigan Messenger:
Five facts every Michigan voter must know: ACLU puts rumors to rest

When John McCain threatened to pull out of the first presidential debate on September 24 because he felt it was more important to negotiate a financial bailout that most Americans opposed, an important question was raised: Where were the other voices in this debate?

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that there are only two political parties in the United States, and thus the belief that there are only two sides to every issue, there are many parties and many opinions on any given problem that we face as a nation.  The thought of Democratic nominee Barack Obama standing alone on stage next to an empty podium reserved for John McCain raises an interesting question:  Why aren’t presidential candidates like Ralph Nader,  Cyn

“Voting is like washing your [behind] in the morning,” says Public Enemy front man and cultural commentator Chuck D.  “When you’re an adult, you don’t HAVE to wash your [behind]. No one makes you. But if you don’t, and something stinks, it just might be you!”

The Hard Rhymer was addressing an exciting, albeit sparsely attended Detroit Rocks The Vote event at Detroit’s Fillmore Theater. Sponsor African American Family Magazine invited nearly a dozen of the region’s hottest music acts, guest speaker Chuck D and Atlanta soul crooner Anthony David for what was advertised as a huge, non-partisan voter rally. In the end, a bill of some of Detroit’s best independent artists – international favorites like Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, eLZHi of Slum Village, Phat Kat, The Go, Black Bottom Collective, The Muggs, jessica Care moore and ...

It pays to have a backstage pass.  That’s one thing I learned at the Republican National Convention.  All of the speeches and videos and pageantry on television amount to what independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader called “political theater”.  The real action at the RNC was happening backstage.

“You can’t even count the number of oil companies, drug companies, banks, financial institutions… they’re all over the place,” Nader observed.  Everyone was milling around wheeling, dealing and networking.

On RNC Day 4 I spent the better part of the day talking to reporters and bloggers on Radio Row and outside the Convention’s back door at the River Centre, which connects to St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.

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