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Editor's note: April Dinwoodie is chief executive of The Donaldson Adoption Institute and a transracial adoptee. Her workshop, "What My White Parents Did Not Know and Why I Turned Out OK Anyway," helps parents understand what it means to become a multiracial and multicultural family.

(CNN) -- Yet again, politics and race got mixed up together today, and this time with an added bonus -- adoption.

In a segment on her MSNBC show, host Melissa Harris-Perry highlighted Mitt Romney's family photo, in which the former GOP presidential candidate held his newly adopted African-American grandson on his knee. She encouraged her panel to "caption that" picture. What followed was unfortunate, thoughtless commentary from the panel. (One of the panelists, Dean Obeidallah, appears on CNN shows and writes op-eds for CNN.com.)

The exchange was a cold reminder of us of just how easy it is to flippantly do harm, and also of the dearth of understanding and sensitivity surrounding race and adoption

I am a transracial adoptee and advocate for children and families, so the complexities of race and adoption resonate on a personal level. I see myself in that Romney family photo.

I was adopted from foster care when I was about 8 months old. My white parents recall that during the adoption process, there was little conversation about race or what it meant to have a baby of another race enter the family. The "non-identifying" adoption records I received as an adult articulated the agency's noncommittal stance on my race and noted that there was a birthmark present that "could indicate" I was of mixed race.

With the reality that race was not something that was going to be discussed, how could anyone expect me or my family to know how to deal with issues of race and adoption? There was little to no education, so we were left to our own devices. When people did and said insensitive and cruel things, my sturdy New England parents simply loved me and cared for me the very best they could.

According to a 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents, about 40% of adoptions in America are transracial (most are international adoptions) and that number is growing.

Most transracial adoptions are with white adoptive parents. While there is a strong sense of community support surrounding many intercountry adoptions -- such as from South Korea and China -- black and white adoptions tends to be more polarizing.

Thankfully, more resources are available today than during my 1971 adoption. Families can proactively seek out books, online help and support groups to be more in tune with the needs of their adopted children.

But they have to be self-starters because transracial adoption is poorly studied and not tracked appropriately. What's lacking are longitudinal studies that focus on the transracial adoption experience. Without these, it's difficult to create and target additional programs and support systems, indeed to even make the case that they are needed. While to many, research that would yield such information would be useful and important, it seems to fall low on the funding priority list.

Because of this, available data is old, limited and often inconsistent. This might also have something to do with issues of class, race and history that for many attend the idea of white parents adopting black and brown babies.

MSNBC pokes fun at Romney family photo

Today there is no set national standard for training pre-adoptive parents that want to adopt a child of another race. Some agencies make it their mission to do as much as they can to prepare families, while others simply do not include differences in race and what that means to a family as part of their training.

Against this backdrop, the misbegotten MSNBC jokes hurt. They don't help. They are another reminder that adoptive families need to be always at the ready to support their children on matters of race and adoption. White parents will never fully understand what it means to be black or brown, but they can and should do their best to support their children.

And they should have help: Even the best adoptions managed by well-trained practitioners should offer robust post-adoption services and education that includes the language and tools to help adopted children as they grow and develop. When someone says or does something careless, the people that should know how to comfort the adopted person should not be at a loss.

I remember in my white neighborhood that people during the summer would ask me if I was a "fresh air" child. While I did not understand it, I got the distinct impression that I did not belong where I was for some strange reason. And kids in my school would throw out barbs such as "at least I know who my real parents are."

So often, the thoughtlessness and carelessness of others results in deep pain for adoptees, who are already faced with navigating a life-ong search for identity that begins with losing their original family.

I can't help but feel for innocent little Kieran Romney as he is singled out at the very beginning of his adoption journey. When transracial adoption is mocked, it only works to undermine the foundation adoptees and adoptive families are trying to build. One hopes Kieran's parents received guidance before adopting him on the challenges they could face.

Insensitivity, ignorance and intolerance will fuel negative comments. The answer is to better to prepare and educate adoptive parents, practitioners, educators and the media to the sensitivities of adoption and race. Transracially adoption children should be protected and empowered, not singled out and mocked.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of April Dinwoodie.

Due to expiring licenses, more than 80 movies and TV shows will vanish from Netflix's streaming lineup on January 1. Among them are this 1997 epic, "Titanic", starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. "Titanic" was the biggest box-office hit ever until it was passed by "Avatar" in 2009.

"Top Gun" -- This fighter-jet action movie made Tom Cruise a global superstar while personifying the hawkish politics of the '80s.

"Being John Malkovich" -- This comedy fantasy, with Catherine Keener and John Cusack, was one of the most inventive films of the '90s.

"Braveheart" -- Mel Gibson's bloody 1995 epic about Scottish warrior William Wallace won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

"Do the Right Thing" -- Spike Lee's 1989 masterwork chronicled racial tensions on a sweltering summer day in Brooklyn. Danny Aiello, center, played the owner of a pizzeria.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" -- Winslet and Jim Carrey starred in this 2004 sci-fi romance. The script, by "Being John Malkovich's" Charlie Kaufman, won an Oscar.

"Flashdance" -- Hard to believe it's been 30 years since this '80s hit about a steelworker (Jennifer Beals) who longs to be a professional dancer. It spawned several hit songs ("What a Feeling") and fashion trends (leg warmers).

"Roman Holiday" -- This 1953 classic starred Audrey Hepburn as a pampered princess visiting Italy and Gregory Peck as the reporter who charms her.

"Platoon" -- Oliver Stone's searing Vietnam War drama starred Charlie Sheen (not pictured), Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. It won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1986.

"Dark Shadows" -- Netflix is pulling the 1960s TV series from its streaming lineup. This photo is from the 2012 film starring Johnny Depp.

"October Sky" -- In one of his first films, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a coal miner's son who longs to be a rocket scientist, to the dismay of his father (Chris Cooper).

"The Odd Couple" -- Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon played a mismatched pair of roommates in this 1968 comedy hit. It later became a popular TV show and inspired the "Grumpy Old Men" movies.

"The Mask of Zorro" -- Antonio Banderas starred in this 1998 swashbuckler.

"As Good as It Gets" -- Helen Hunt won an Oscar for her performance opposite Jack Nicholson in this unorthodox 1998 romantic comedy.

"Mr. Bean" -- Comedian Rowan Atkinson plays the clueless title character in this popular British TV series.

"The Kids in the Hall" -- This TV series starring a Canadian sketch-comedy troupe was a late-'80s and early-'90s hit in Canada and on CBS and HBO in the United States.

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(CNN) -- If you're planning to stay home New Year's Day and stream classic movies on Netflix, you may be out of luck.

More than 80 movies and a handful of TV shows -- including "Titanic," "Top Gun" and some seasons of "Saturday Night Live" -- will no longer be available for streaming through the site as of Wednesday, according to a post on Reddit.

It was not clear who posted the list, but a search on Netflix for many of the titles reveals that they will indeed expire Wednesday for Netflix's nearly 40 million streaming subscribers. The company's DVD customers -- it has about 7 million in the U.S. -- may still order the discs in the mail.

A spokesperson for Netflix told CNN that the company routinely adds and deletes titles from its streaming service due to licensing contracts.

See what movies and shows are going away

Netflix becomes an Emmy power player

The list of streaming movies due to expire includes such favorites as "Being John Malkovich," "Braveheart," "Do the Right Thing," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Flashdance," "Roman Holiday," "Platoon" and "War Games."

(It also includes "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" and "Killer Klowns From Outer Space.")

Among the TV shows being purged from Netflix's streaming menu: the original "Dark Shadows," "Mr Bean" and "The Kids in the Hall."

A number of new titles also will become available for streaming on Netflix at or near the first of the year, including "Jack Reacher," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" and seasons 5-8 of "Dexter," the spokesperson said.

On Monday, Netflix also began offering some new members a single-device streaming plan for $6.99 a month -- a dollar less than its current two-screen streaming option.

Editor's note: Mike Downey is a former columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune.

(CNN) -- Up to now, you've been watching ... the what?

College football's Beef O'Brady's Bowl (the who?) or the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (oh, boy, Buffalo vs. San Diego State!) or the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl (which probably should be a dinner.) Later on, maybe you'll watch the Outback Bowl (which is not in Australia) or the BBVA Compass Bowl (uh, wow, Houston vs. Vanderbilt) or the GoDaddy! Bowl (which probably will have a halftime show by Danica Patrick in a bikini).

Ahhh, but a real bowl, a true bowl, a cool bowl, the bowl of bowls -- the "Granddaddy of Them All," the 100th Rose Bowl -- will be coming your way on New Year's Day in living color from picture-perfect Pasadena, California.

Go, Granddaddy!

I have beheld a bunch of Roses. If you love football, I bet you have, too. I've seen so many great names and great games. I have too many memorable moments to mention, although I did get to see a young guy who's a friend of mine, Garrett Green, throw a 34-yard touchdown pass for the University of Southern California in the 2008 Rose Bowl ... on the only pass he threw in his entire college career. Garrett, that was pretty awesome.

This is the best bowl in the land, bar none. Sugar Bowl's a sweet second, Orange is a delightful third, Fiesta's a festive fourth -- but don't expect "Sound of Music"-like ratings for Central Florida vs. Baylor -- and the Cotton's a fading fifth.

I adore the Rose Bowl, parade and game both. I can't wait for Wednesday's clash between Stanford and Michigan State, No. 100, or as the NFL would call it, Rose Bowl C.

This sporting event is an American classic, having provided countless New Year's spills and thrills. I don't know what kind of dynasty you prefer -- maybe Ming, maybe Duck -- but in my mind, the Rose Bowl is the game of thrones.

My favorite facts and figures, in random order:

1. No team has ever scored 50 points in a Rose Bowl game.

2. The first Rose Bowl, in 1902, was so bad, Stanford's team surrendered with eight minutes to go, trailing Michigan 49-0.

3. No more Rose Bowl games were held for the next 13 years.

4. Games began being played annually in 1916.

5. Most valuable player of the 1919 game was George S. Halas. He later helped create the Chicago Bears and the NFL.

6. Halas came to the Rose Bowl with a team from Great Lakes Naval Base.

7. 1925's coaching matchup was Knute Rockne vs. Pop Warner.

8. Alabama has won more Rose Bowl games (four) than Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern and Purdue combined.

9. Alabama has won more Rose Bowl games than Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington State combined.

10. Arizona has never been in a Rose Bowl game.

11. Teams from schools like Washington & Jefferson, Brown, Penn, Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Tulane, Southern Methodist and Navy all have.

12. Established in 1781, Washington & Jefferson is a small college not far from Pittsburgh. It took on the University of California, Berkeley in the 1922 Rose Bowl.

13. That 1922 game ended in a scoreless tie.

14. The quarterback of the W & J team was Charlie "Pruner" West, believed to be the first African-American to play in a Rose Bowl game.

15. "Pruner" was a nickname based on a mispronunciation of a cough syrup West's father sold, called Peruna.

16. After college, West became a doctor.

17. Washington & Jefferson teams are called the Presidents.

18. Three games have ended in a tie: 1922, 1924 and 1927.

19. The 1942 Rose Bowl was played in North Carolina. It was the only one not in Pasadena.

20. Duke lost that one, in its backyard in Durham, 20-16, to Oregon State.

21. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, so the '42 game was moved out of fear that the Japanese might next attack Los Angeles.

22. Oregon State's head coach, Lon Stiner, was only 30 years old when he was given that job.

23. His trick play, the "Pyramid," involved having a 6-foot-5 lineman lifted by two other large players so he could block kicks -- a play that is no longer legal.

24. Duke has never been to another Rose Bowl.

25. Oregon State hasn't been in one since 1965.

26. Notre Dame won the only one to which it was invited, in 1925.

27. That was the first time a Fighting Irish team played football on the West Coast.

28. Rockne, its coach, was killed in a plane crash six years later.

29. The stadium is nestled in a part of Pasadena known as the Arroyo Seco, or dry creek.

30. Harriman Cronk, as chairman of the Tournament of Roses football committee, tried to preserve the game's name and dignity by having it "presented by" a corporate sponsor when a backer became necessary. AT&T was first. This was preferable to awkwardly renaming it something like the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl or the FedEx Orange Bowl.

31. Cronk was a stockbroker. He died November 26 at age 80.

32. AT&T stepped aside for future "presented by" sponsors Sony PlayStation 2, the Citi banking corporation and, as of now, Vizio.

33. The current stadium has been the Rose Bowl game's home since January 1, 1923 (except that 1942 game).

34. The stadium has National Historic Landmark status.

35. Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels got his name by going toward the wrong team's end zone in 1929. He ran 69 yards with a Georgia Tech fumble before his own Cal teammates could bring him down at the 1 yard line.

36. Devastated at first, Riegels handled his blunder with humor and humility over the years. He became a World War II officer and ran an agricultural chemical firm. He died in 1993.

37. In 1916, William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz led the Washington State team to the school's first and only Rose Bowl victory.

38. Dietz was said to be a member of the Sioux tribe.

39. A subsequent investigation claimed that Dietz was not of Native American heritage but a white man masquerading as one, possibly to use a noncitizen loophole to miss World War I. The dispute over his heritage was never completely settled.

40. He later coached football at Washington State, Wyoming, Louisiana Tech and Purdue.

41. "Lone Star" also was head coach of the NFL's Redskins before the team moved from Boston to Washington.

42. Columbia of the Ivy League shocked a favored Stanford squad 7-0 in the 1934 game.

43. The only team to beat Columbia that season was Princeton.

44. A record-low 35,000 people came to that 1934 game because of a torrential rain.

45. Half a century later, from 1983-88, Columbia's football team lost 44 games in a row.

46. Harvard fought fiercely to take the 1920 game over Oregon 7-6. Neither side scored a point in the second half.

47. "Dixie" Howell of Alabama was the 1935 Rose Bowl's outstanding player, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for two more.

48. Dixie's receivers were Don Hutson, future NFL Hall of Famer, and Paul "Bear" Bryant, future Alabama head coach and College Football Hall of Famer.

49. Wallace Wade was a head coach in five Rose Bowls, leading teams from Alabama and Duke.

50. Wade also would coach basketball and baseball at Vanderbilt.

51. USC's Howard Jones has the best Rose Bowl record of any head coach: a perfect 5-0.

52. The Trojans won those five games by a total 95 points.

53. Jones was a graduate of Yale.

54. A later USC coach, John Robinson, also was unbeaten in Rose Bowl play, going 4-0.

55. O.J. Simpson was named outstanding player of the 1968 game after USC's win over Indiana.

56. Indiana has never played in another Rose Bowl, before or since.

57. Simpson ran for 171 yards in the next Rose Bowl, but his team lost to Ohio State.

58. He is now in a Nevada state prison.

59. USC has won more Rose Bowls (24) than any other school.

60. Its first victory came in 1923, in the first bowl game played in the current stadium. Rose Bowls previously were on a field known as Tournament Park.

61. On the train trip to that 1923 game, Penn State's team stopped off to visit the Grand Canyon.

62. The kickoff was delayed because the Nittany Lions attended the Rose Parade and got stuck in traffic en route to the stadium.

63. It was Penn State's last appearance in a Rose game until 1995, when its coach was Joe Paterno.

64. Kenneth "Ki-Jana" Carter starred in Penn State's '95 victory over Oregon. His nickname reportedly came from a character in a 1970s "Shaft" film.

65. In a losing cause, Oregon's quarterback, Danny O'Neal, passed for 456 yards vs. Penn State, a record that stands to this day.

66. Vince Young owns the record for total yardage by one player: 467 yards passing and rushing for the Texas Longhorns in 2006.

67. Texas has won as many Rose Bowl games as Oregon has.

68. Texas and Texas Christian together have three Rose Bowl victories since 2005. Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern and Purdue have won six since 1902.

69. Northwestern's only win came in 1949.

70. A league rule at that time kept Michigan from going to Rose Bowls back to back, so second-place Northwestern got to go.

71. Cal's team had a perfect 10-0 record before being upset by Northwestern.

72. Northwestern's made it to only one Rose Bowl game since (1996).

73. Dick Butkus played linebacker on defense and center on offense for Illinois' victorious team of 1964.

74. Illinois hasn't won a Rose Bowl game since.

75. The 1952 Illinois vs. Stanford game was the first Rose Bowl to be nationally televised.

76. The 1988 game, won by Michigan State, was the last Rose Bowl televised by NBC.

77. MSU is in this year's game, the Spartans' first appearance in 25 years.

78. A 14-point favorite and undefeated going into the 1966 game, Michigan State was upset by a UCLA team it had defeated in the season opener.

79. That was UCLA's first victory in a Rose Bowl game. Its home field is the Rose Bowl stadium.

80. UCLA and USC won four Rose Bowls in a row from 1983-86.

81. Tennessee has played in two Rose Bowl games. It still hasn't scored a point.

82. Tulane made its only appearance in 1932, losing to USC. Its star player, Jerry Dalrymple, had recently been hospitalized with a kidney bruise that required protective padding during the game.

83. Three years later, Tulane triumphed in the inaugural Sugar Bowl.

84. No school from the state of Louisiana has won a Rose Bowl game.

85. No school from Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas or Nebraska has, either.

86. One school from the state of Florida has: Miami.

87. Minnesota made it to consecutive Rose games in 1961-62. It hasn't been back.

88. Wisconsin played in a three in a row from 2011-13. It lost them all.

89. Iowa hasn't been to a Rose game since 1991. In that one, it was behind by 33-7 by halftime.

90. A prank by California Institute of Technology students during the 1961 game, when Washington Huskies cheerleaders began a halftime card stunt, resulted in "CALTECH" being spelled out instead.

91. Charley Trippi, hero of Georgia's lone appearance (1943), is to be honored Tuesday as the Rose Bowl's top star of the 1940s. He recently turned 92.

92. The Tournament of Roses parade was first shown on local television in 1947. It was first on national TV in 1952.

93. TV sportscaster Vin Scully is this year's grand marshal. He began doing Dodgers baseball on radio in 1950.

94. The first Rose Parade was on January 1, 1890, making this year's the 125th.

95. Among the parade's many grand marshals have been John Wayne, Shirley Temple, Mickey Mouse, Herbert Hoover, Hank Aaron, Bob Newhart, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lee Iacocca, William Shatner, Kermit the Frog and Paula Deen.

96. Neil Snow was the first MVP. He scored five touchdowns for Michigan in the 1902 game.

97. Snow died at age 34, collapsing after a game of squash.

98. People felt an earthquake during the 1979 Rose Bowl game. The quake's epicenter was off the coast of Malibu.

99. The game's nickname is "The Granddaddy of Them All."

100. No one, so far as we know, has yet proposed that the game be renamed "The Grandperson of Them All." Maybe for the 125th or 150th.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mike Downey.

Editor's note: LZ Granderson writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A senior writer for ESPN and lecturer at Northwestern University, the former Hechinger Institute fellow has had his commentary recognized by the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Follow him on Twitter @locs_n_laughs.

(CNN) -- I grew up a poor kid in Detroit.

Government cheese sandwiches, occasional nights without electricity, long-distance telephone calls reserved for emergencies only.

Yet despite our struggles, my family never lost hope that life would get better for us. We never lost faith in the American dream.

And as trivial as it may seem, a lot of that had to do with Red Lobster.

Now before you dismiss the notion that a chain restaurant could somehow be a beacon of light, you have to understand that in my neighborhood, if your family went to Red Lobster for dinner, that meant you were really doing something. It meant you got dressed up in your church clothes. It meant you would be using a salad fork and maybe even ordering the fancy dish you saw on TV. It meant twice, sometimes three times a year, a poor family like mine could order a steak in a middle-class restaurant and pretend we were rich.

This is why when word recently came out that the chain was in financial trouble, I -- and many people who grew up poor like me -- paused.

"Our industry is in a period of significant change,with relatively low levels of consumer demand in each of the past several years for restaurants generally, and for casual dining in particular," said Clarence Otis, the CEO of Darden, the parent company of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse, among others.

According to Forbes, Darden estimated first quarter 2014 earnings were down 37.6% from a year ago, with Red Lobster being the biggest culprit. The magazine reports that this quarter alone, the restaurant revenue dropped by nearly 5%. As a result, Darden is looking to separate Red Lobster's 705 locations from the rest of its portfolio with the possibility that it could be sold off.

As I've gotten older and a bit more affluent, perhaps even snobbier, I recognize that with the exception of those delicious cheddar biscuits, most of Red Lobster's dishes pretty much taste the same.

But statistics suggest people haven't been going to restaurants like Red Lobster the way we used, and its not because our collective palate has changed.

It's because we can't afford to eat out anymore.

In the four years since the economy began to rebound, the median annual household income fell by 4.4%. But for black households like the one I grew up in, income fell by nearly 11%, more than twice the rate of Latino homes and three times that of whites. Red Lobster remains a favorite spot for black families to dine after church. I imagine it's harder to do with over a tenth of the family's income gone.

But it's a mistake to blame the erosion of buying power and the decline of middle-class touchstones like Red Lobster or JCPenney on just the Great Recession.

The truth is, the working class has been getting pinched for decades.

From November 2012 to November 2013, weekly earnings rose 1.1% while the consumer price index increased 1.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That small uptick may not seem like much until you factor in three years ago, wages increased 1.8% and the CPI was up 3.5%. And that may not seem like much until you realize almost every year since 1983 a series of small ticks like those two examples have been widening the gap between between what we earn and what we can buy.

Consider the poverty threshold.

For a family of four in 1983 it was $10,178. Adjusted for inflation, that should be $23,817.03 today. However the actual 2013 poverty threshold is $23,492, a difference of $325.03.

When you're living check to check, that's a lot of money.

When you're living check to check with smaller checks to work with, luxuries quickly fall by the wayside. Luxuries like going out to eat, which has slowed considerably since 2010.

Red Lobster is not the only restaurant seeing more empty seats than in years past. It's just the one that happens to have an interesting tie to the poor folks I knew.

The poor folks I know.

As the nation talks about income inequality and the prospects of raising the minimum wage, it's interesting to note that the true buying power of minimum wage peaked in 1968. That also happens to be the same year Red Lobster was founded.

I'm no economist, but I doubt the struggles of the working class and the struggles of a restaurant that depends on the working class for business is just a coincidence.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.

Editor's note: P.S. Ruckman, Jr. is professor of political science at Rock Valley College and editor of the Pardon Power blog. He is the author of the forthcoming book, "Pardon Me, Mr. President: Adventures in Crime, Politics and Mercy."

(CNN) -- This month, one of the least merciful presidents in the history of the United States granted 13 pardons and eight commutations of sentence. The grants moved President Barack Obama's overall mark past the administrations of John Adams (who served only one term), William H. Harrison (who died of pneumonia after serving only 30 days), James Garfield (who was fatally wounded by an assassin after serving only four months) and George Washington.

The New York Times complained that, when it came to the pardon power, there was just "no excuse" for Obama's "lack of compassion" and encouraged him to "do much more." The American Civil Liberties Union called the pardons "a step" and hoped the President would "continue to exercise his clemency powers." Meanwhile, the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, lamented the "drought" of pardons in the Obama administration and called the recent grants "mingy and belated." Conservative columnist Debra Saunders wrote that it was "about time" Obama acted, and even tossed out the possibility/hope that he might "do it again soon."

While it is true that Obama's grants included no one comparable to Scooter Libby, or Marc Rich, much less President Richard Nixon, the intensity and commonality of reactions is noteworthy. Political executives -- presidents and governors -- may not be quite aware of or in tune with it just yet, but the times, they are a-changing.

No one is clamoring for violent criminals to be yanked out of prisons and tossed into the streets to wreak havoc on society. No one is lusting for the considered judgment of judges and juries to be whimsically overturned by politicians leaving office and, in the process, sidestepping accountability.

But, increasingly, there is recognition that budgets are tight, and prisons are both overcrowded and expensive. The recidivism of those who spend time in prisons and exit without anything like serious rehabilitation is also costly. Congress' recent recognition of the failure (if not outright unjust nature) of sentencing laws appears, to many, as still yet another indicator that there is consensus regarding the status of the so-called war on drugs: It has not worked out very well.

Judges have complained loudly about mandatory minimum and three-strikes laws which have limited their ability to tailor punishments to fit crimes -- a basic notion of justice. Public opinion polls also suggest Americans are increasingly uncomfortable with over-criminalization in the law.

The pardon power will always carry an inherent political "risk," because no one can perfectly predict the future behavior of recipients and everyone's judgment can be second-guessed, if not mischaracterized. Informed persons know Mike Huckabee did not "pardon" Maurice Clemmons and Michael Dukakis did not "pardon" Willie Horton. But, of course, executives cannot always survive political storms with the support and encouragement of informed persons.

Nonetheless, the Founding Fathers considered the pardon power an integral part of our system of separation of powers and checks and balances. Its presence in the Constitution is premised on the notion that Congress and the Courts are not always perfect. Anyone care to disagree? It simply follows that, if the pardon power is being neglected or abused, then government is not doing what it was meant to do.

Alexander Hamilton furthermore noted, in the Federalist Papers, that the criminal codes of nations have an almost natural tendency toward over-severity. For that reason, he argued, there should be easy access to mercy. Yes, you read that right, "easy access," or, in other words, something very different than what is going on in the Obama administration.

The fortunate thing is, presidents and governors can very easily minimize the political "risk" of pardoning by granting pardons regularly, consistently, throughout terms, as opposed to, very questionably, at the "last minute."

While Christmas pardons may make some feel warm and fuzzy, they also send a message that is more counterproductive than anything. They seem to say mercy is an afterthought, or worse, a gift, that may or may not be deserved.

The fact of the matter is the majority of individual acts of executive clemency in our lifetime have been pardons, which simply restored the civil rights of the recipients. No one was sprung from jail. Violent criminals were not tossed into the streets. Judges and juries were not overturned. Recipients have typically committed minor offenses, many involving no incarceration whatsoever, and usually, many years if not decades before pardon. FBI background checks documented they had integrated back into society as law-abiding productive members. Their pardons were not "gifts" so much as they were well deserved recognition.

Have these pardons been high-wire maneuvers? Have they required presidents to spend precious political capital? Not at all. Obama has granted 52 pardons to date. There is a much better than average chance that readers cannot name a single recipient. George W. Bush granted almost 200.

So, why can't Obama restore the civil rights of more applicants? Why doesn't he? There is no obvious answer to that question, save lack of care and concern. Where is the President who said his religion teaches him the importance of redemption and second chances? Where is the hope?

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of P.S. Ruckman, Jr.