Nororious Klansman Dies
An infamous North Carolina Klansman was buried last week. Virgil Griffin, best known for leading a Ku Klux Klan chapter that was involved in a deadly clash with members of the Communist Party two decades ago, died last Wednesday at Gaston Memorial Hospital. He was 64. Griffin, who during his 40 years in the hate group – he rose to become imperial wizard of the Cleveland Knights of the KKK – was cast into the public spotlight after five members of the Communist Party were killed and 10 injured in a clash with the Klan in Greensboro in 1979. Many civil rights advocates believe that justice was denied when Griffin and several of his fellow Klansmen were tried and cleared of state murder charges and federal civil rights conspiracy charges. In a civil trial, the Klan, the American Nazi Party and the Greensboro Police Department were found jointly liable for the wrongful deaths of the five people killed. The city paid $350,000. He would later tell a Truth and Reconciliation panel investigating the incident that Communist Workers Party members were killed and not Klansmen because “my people hunt for food. Maybe God guided the bullets, I don’t know.”

Sen. Burris Under Fire in Illinois
Illinois Republicans said Sunday that they want the senator who filled President Barack Obama’s seat in Congress investigated for perjury, saying he misled the public regarding then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Sen. Roland Burris had previously told a panel probing the governor’s alleged attempt to sell the Senate seat that he had never been asked by the governor to contribute to his campaign. On Sunday, in what his opponents say was deliberately misleading, Burris acknowledged being hit up by Rod Blagojevich’s brother for contributions. “I made clear to him I would not contribute [to the governor's campaign] because it would be inappropriate because I had expressed my interest in the Senate seat,” Burris, a Democrat, told reporters at a news conference. “I did not donate one single dollar.” But state Rep. Jim Durkin, who headed the Republican questioning of Burris at the impeachment hearing, said in a statement, “I’m very disappointed.” A spokesman for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Jim Manley, said that the Democratic senator is looking into the matter. “Clearly it would have been better if Sen. Burris had provided this information when he first testified,” Manley said. “Sen. Reid is reviewing the affidavit and will await any action by Illinois legislative leaders after they review the matter.” In an affidavit, Burris said the governor’s brother called him three times to “seek my assistance in fundraising for Gov. Blagojevich.”