Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

Critics of President Obama, mostly Republicans, have seethed that he has not been more forceful in ripping the theocratic leadership in Iran for their brutal handling of protesters angry with what they see as a stolen election.

In Tuesday’s press conference, the president toughened his talk, saying, “The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the last few days.”

Still, Obama’s measured and calm approach has been right on target, while his critics have been totally off base.

What these shortsighted naysayers should do is pick up a history book, or take a quick trip to Langley, Virginia, and let the CIA tell them our own sordid past with Iran.

Whenever U.S. relations with Iran are raised, everyone seems to want to refer back to 1979, when our embassy was overrun by militants and Americans were taken hostage for 444 days. The nation, and the world, was captivated by the drama, and many consider the affair the chief reason why President Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.

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Bonds arrives for a court hearing in San Francisco — the city where he made his name as a sporting hero.

Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

I loved baseball as a kid. I still have fond memories of my siblings and me, members of the “Astro Buddies” club, heading to the Astrodome, the eighth wonder of the world, to watch the Houston Astros play.

I played the game in elementary and high school.

But now, I’m sick of it, especially when steroids are brought up.

The latest baseball drama surrounds a New York Times report quoting two lawyers who say that former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa’s name was on a list of players who tested positive for an illegal substance in 2003. The list supposedly contains more than 100 names of players who tested positive that year.

This report comes on the heels of Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs a few years ago; Manny Rodriguez testing positive and suspended for 50 games; and the continuing drama surrounding Roger Clemens. All three were considered locks for the Hall of Fame. But based on what we keep hearing, that’ll never happen in this holier-than-thou era.

OK, got it. Baseball had a terrible drug problem. Now they have a drug testing plan in place that has some teeth in it. So, can we just move the hell on?

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Michael Vick, left, arrives at federal court with attorney Billy Martin in Richmond, Viriginia, in 2007.

Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

When Michael Vick completes home confinement in July, he will have served the 23-month prison sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges.

After his release from a Kansas prison Wednesday, he headed to his home in Virginia to serve the final two months under home confinement, because all the beds at halfway houses in the area are taken.

But that hasn’t deterred the Vick haters who are still in an uproar over the heinous details of his dogfighting kennel. Yes, reading the details of the treatment of the dogs, including the killing of some of them, could make anyone sick. Yet what’s the point of sentencing someone to jail, then having them serve their time and be released if we still want to imprison them for the rest of their lives?

Frankly, I’m sick of Americans who talk all day about “do the crime, then do the time,” then still want to treat a man like a criminal when he gets out of prison.

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Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

“I’ll kill all y’all.”

Imagine looking at the man whose DNA you carry standing in your home, telling you those chilling words, as he wields a shotgun.

The frightening image is a scary thought. But according to former Major League Baseball star Darryl Strawberry, it was an actual scene, one that begins his book, “Straw: Finding My Way.”

I vividly remember the towering home runs hit by the former star, who played for four big league teams, including the New York Mets and Yankees — and of course, the many times he was in the news for failing drug tests, beating wives, getting cancer twice, going to prison. He was a man fighting enormous demons.

Yet as I read the book, there is one consistent theme that runs throughout and that sheds a spotlight on a figure that continues to plague neighborhoods all across the country: the missing-in-action father.

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Miss California commented on the same-sex marriage debate during Sunday's Miss USA pageant.

Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

A lot of folks are always saying they like to keep it real, that they want authenticity and straight talk. Yet when someone actually does it, there is hell to pay.

Welcome to the world of Miss California, Carrie Prejean, who, since she answered a question regarding same-sex marriage in Sunday’s Miss USA pageant, has been savagely attacked by those who oppose what she had to say.

Leading the burn-her-at-the-stake parade is media opportunist Perez Hilton, the self-described gossip queen, and the individual who kick-started this controversy by asking the initial question as to whether the issue of same-sex marriage should be left up to the states.

It seems that Hilton, who is gay, was none too pleased that Prejean chose to actually give her personal opinion on the issue, and ripped her on his blog after the show, using crude obscenities as he continued to attack her at every turn on his media blitz.

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The changes in Cuban policy was unveiled before President Obama's trip to the Summit of the Americas.

Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

It is amazing to watch politicians and activists try as hard as they can to rip into Fidel Castro and Cuba with the fury of a hurricane, yet sound like a whimpering dog when you bring up China and America’s absolute double standard when dealing with that communist country.

When President Obama lifted travel restrictions on the country for Cuban-Americans this week, and eased rules on allowing money and gifts to be sent back to the country, the ardent Castro haters were up in arms, calling it a horrible decision.

They want to see the 47-year-old embargo continue against the island, just 90 miles off the Florida coast, while a growing chorus of Democrats and Republicans say it hasn’t worked, hasn’t driven the Castro regime from power, and should be ended as we seek other means to get Cuba to move toward democracy.

Those who still favor the embargo — which has survived due to the clout of the Cuban-American community in the politically potent state of Florida — say that we shouldn’t bend to a communist nation that imprisons voices of dissent and is a major human rights violator, doesn’t allow the freedoms we are accustomed to in America, and is run by a dictator.

That’s how they describe Cuba, but if you ask the Dalai Lama, he’ll say that description fits China as well. But our politicians, and even media commentators on the left and the right, aren’t willing to be as vicious in ripping China.

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Program Note: For more on the Madonna adoption controversy, tune in to AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Madonna holds her adopted Malawian son, David Banda, in 2007.

Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

Pop star Madonna is back in the news; this time, heading back to the African nation of Malawi to adopt her second child.

You might remember all of the drama a few years ago when Madonna adopted a Malawi boy. Now she wants to adopt a girl, and a judge has said she will have to wait until Friday to see if she will get the go-ahead.

Madonna has been quoted in the Malawi newspaper Nation as saying, “Many people, especially our Malawian friends, say that David should have a Malawian brother or sister. It’s something I have been considering, but would only do if I had the support of the Malawian people and government.”

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Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

When President Obama signs the $410 billion omnibus spending bill, there will be shouts of joy from both sides as Republicans and Democrats get their cherished earmarks.

Yet tucked into that bill is an amendment pushed by the president’s former colleague in the Senate, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, who used his influence to essentially kill the District of Columbia school vouchers program.

Oh sure, it will be portrayed that the Democrats aren’t killing the program, but the initiative calls for no new students to be allowed entry, unless approved by Congress and the District of Columbia City Council.

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Editor’s note: A nationally syndicated columnist, Roland S. Martin is the author of “Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith” and “Speak, Brother! A Black Man’s View of America.” Visit his Web site for more information.

CNN
Roland S. Martin

Whenever the opposing coach playing Texas A&M University would go off on the referees, our yell leaders — we don’t have cheerleaders — would signal the crowd to do one of our yells that ends with, “Sit down bus driver!”

As I watched Sen. John McCain stand up and go on one of his rants about earmarks, I wanted to shout, “Sit down bus driver!”

Look, I like Sen. McCain, and to be honest, I agree with him 100 percent that Congress shouldn’t be spending billions of dollars on pet projects, but I’m also realistic: no one truly cares.

Really, no one cares. Sure, there are a few folks in Congress who rail against earmarks. And there are outside pressure groups who are trying to rally the American people to voice their outrage about the process, but I firmly believe that the folks at home love to send their members of Congress to bring the bacon back home.

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Anderson talks with his panel about Rush Limbaugh’s speech at CPAC and suggestions that he is now the leader of the GOP.