A wave of Republican-sponsored laws restricting who can and cannot vote may mean that fewer Democrats, especially those who are low-income or minorities, vote in the 2012 presidential election.

Since the beginning of 2011, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia have passed, or have plans to pass, restrictive voting laws. More than 70 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency will come from these states, the Brennan Center reported in March. Republican lawmakers argue that the laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud, but fewer than 100 people have been charged with voter fraud in the past five years, according to the Washington Post.

In 2011, former President Bill Clinton condemned the laws for disenfranchising Democrats, describing them as “the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time.”

“There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the other Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today,” he said.

There are several types of voting laws that make it harder for certain people to vote. Photo ID laws, passed in eight states last year, require voters to show a government-issued photo ID to vote or to register to vote. Eleven percent of American citizens do not have a government-issued photo IDs, according to the Brennan Center, and those without IDs are more likely to be minorities or low-income. Restrictions on absentee and early voting, proof of citizenship laws and voter registration obstacles are also types of legislation that could prevent millions of eligible Americans from voting in November.

Some laws have drawn aggressive pushback from the U.S. Department of Justice, which blocked photo ID laws in Texas and South Carolina on the grounds that they discriminate against non-white voters, but they are not the only laws that have been challenged. Here are some of the laws that have stirred up the most anger:

Florida eliminates early voting on Sundays

Tensions run high in Florida, a critical battleground state that passed an election law last year with several contested provisions. One bans a decade-long practice of early voting on Sundays before the election — a window when as many as 30 percent of black people have previously voted after attending church in a “souls to the polls” movement. Republican lawmakers claim the provision is meant to reduce election fraud, but some black Democrats say the calculation is more sinister.

“It’s my feeling it was done deliberately, a premeditated design, to suppress the vote of African-Americans in this country because it’s playing out all over the nation in every state. It was intentional,” Florida Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) said.

Photo ID firestorm rocks South Carolina

The Justice Department dealt a blow to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s law requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls, arguing that it discriminated along racial lines. Haley’s administration fired back with a lawsuit that is expected to be decided in September.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said earlier this month that Republicans hope to tip the outcome of the presidential election by lowering voter turnout by 1 percent in each of nine states that have passed voter ID laws, the West Ashley Patch reports.

“I know nothing has changed yet,” he said. “But I just do not trust the judiciary that we’re operating under.”

A disenfranchised grandmother sues Pennsylvania

Under Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law, voters must show a photo ID issued by the state or federal government. The state-issued IDs are free, but getting one requires a birth certificate, which costs $10 in Pennsylvania.

Not everyone is having an easy time navigating the new system. Earlier this month, Viviette Applewhite, 93, filed a lawsuit with the ACLU and NAACP challenging the law. Applewhite, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, does not have a driver’s license, and the state cannot find her birth certificate. She is afraid that this year will be the first since 1960 that she will be unable to vote.

Applewhite’s dilemma is not uncommon. Some 700,000 Pennsylvanians lack photo ID and half of them are seniors. According to the Brennan Center, 25 percent of voting-age black citizens have no government-issued photo ID, compared to 8 percent of white citizens.

Kansas on the verge of moving up proof of citizenship law to 2012

The Kansas House voted Tuesday to move up the date a proof of citizenship law goes into effect to June 15, 2012, so it will limit who can vote in the presidential election.

HuffPost’s John Celock reports:

Rep. Ann Mah (D-Topeka) said the entire idea of proof of citizenship to vote would fail in court due to it being discriminatory against married women who change their names. Mah said that women who change their name need to provide proof of marriage and citizenship and an affidavit regarding the name change.

Rep. Scott Schwab (R-Olathe) took issue with Mah’s claims of court challenges. “I get frustrated that everyone who does not like policy says we’ll end up in court,” he said.

Only 48 percent of voting-age women with access to their birth certificates have a birth certificate with a current legal name, which means that as many as 32 million American women do not have proof of citizenship with their current legal name, according to the Brennan Center.

Wisconsin law continues to disenfranchise voters after it is suspended

Last year, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a voter ID bill into law, calling it a “common sense reform” that would “go a long way to protecting the integrity of elections in Wisconsin.” But as Walker’s June 5 recall election approaches, he will not benefit from the law because two judges suspended it on the basis that it is unconstitutional.

Still, poll workers reportedly asked some voters to show photo ID during Wisconsin’s April 2 primary, and one woman said that she and her 87-year-old mother were turned away at the polls because they lacked current photo IDs — even though they were registered to vote.

“We were listed on their friggin’ poll list and yet we had our names highlighted,” the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Originally reported on The Huffington Post. 

Image By: www.tellusdetroit.com

According to the Associated Press singer Donna Summer died Thursday morning after fighting cancer at the age of 63. She was at her Naples, Fla. home when she passed away after battling cancer.

Knowing as the ‘Queen of Disco’, Summer rose to superstardom in the 1970′s with a string of dance hits including “Last Dance”,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Bad Girls.” In the 1980′s after the genre of Disco lost it’s popularity, Summer shifted to more of a Rock sound with the smash hit “She Works Hard for the Money” and even won a Grammy for best rock vocal performance for “Hot Stuff,” a rock guitar-based song.

The singer’s released her first full studio album in 17 years, “Crayons,” in 2008. That year also saw her return to the stage when she performed on American Idol.

Summer’s family said in a statement:

Early this morning, surrounded by family, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.”

Donna Summer won five Grammys in total and has influenced musicians from Hip Hop, R&B, Rock, and even Country Music. Summer is survived by her husband, Bruce Sudano, and three daughters, Brooklyn, Mimi and Amanda.

Photo By: AP/Kevork Djansezian, File

Meharry Medical College is ushering in a new era of growth with approximately $35 million in renovations and new construction planned over the next 24 to 36 months.

Its latest project is the Cal Turner Family Center, made possible by a $3 million gift commitment from former Dollar General Chairman and CEO Cal Turner Jr. The Turner gift commitment, along with savings and tax credits, brings Meharry to about one-third of its goal of raising the $20 million needed for the center. Preliminary plans call for an approximately 80,000 square-foot-building located in the center of campus that is scheduled to break ground this fall. Auditoriums, study and classroom space, a food court, a visitor’s center, a space for conferences, events and educational seminars are planned for the center.

“The Cal Turner Family Foundation believes in the mission of Meharry Medical College,” said Turner who added that both Dollar General and Meharry share a passion for serving the most deserving customer base. “This is the single largest gift the Cal Turner Family Foundation has ever made, and having our name on this new building, at the heart of the Meharry campus, is a cherished honor of our family.”

Meharry Medical College President and CEO, Wayne J. Riley, M.D., said the project is part of his bold and expansive vision for the college.

Since Dr. Riley took office in January 2007, Meharry has spent $25 million on campus renovations. The current projects will bring that total to about $60 million, he said.

Those projects include Alumni Hall, the first new building on campus since 1978. The facility, which recently opened, includes a 350-person-capacity meeting space, space for events and campus activities. Meharry also added a coffee shop, the Salt Wagon Café, which is located next to Alumni Hall.

Projects currently under construction include the Pamela C. Williams, M.D. Medical Simulation and Clinical Skills Center and the Delta Dental of Tennessee Simulation Center.

Located in the base ment of the S.S. Kresge Learning Resource Center, the approximately 8,000 square-foot medical simulation center will consist of examination rooms created for students to experience operating, maternity, trauma and ICU situations.

Similarly, the 3,300-square-foot dental simulation center, which will be housed on the fourth floor of Meharry’s School of Dentistry building, will have 40 simulation units and computer monitored instruction for students. It was made possible by a $770,000 gift from Delta Dental of Tennessee. Current and recent renovation projects include Hulda Margaret Lyttle Hall, which opened in 1930 and will be used for office space and the S.S. Kresge Learning Resource Center (LRC), which is getting energy-saving upgrades such as sun screens and energy-efficient restrooms. The renovations of the LRC will enable Meharry to uphold its commitment to going “GREEN” and attain LEED certification.

Dr. Riley said these upgrades help to establish Meharry’s national prominence and importance to Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

Meharry has the second highest endowment among all Nashville colleges and universities, approaching $113 million. It employs almost 1,000 people and was ranked as Nashville’s top 40 largest employers. Additionally, each year Meharry pro- vides $26 million in uncompensated medical and dental care to Nashville’s uninsured.

The 138th running of the Kentucky Derby is HISTORY! I arrived at Churchill Downs mid afternoon to the largest crowd Churchill Downs had ever seen for a Derby – 165,307!

After navigating through the massive crowd a bit, taking pictures and being snapped by photographers everywhere, I decided to head to the Red Carpet area with one of my Derby Diva friends, Penny. We caught up with a few celebs briefly – on their way inside to watch the races – Mary J. Blige, Travis Tritt, Cyndi Lauper, Debra Messing, Cal Ripken, Erin Andrews – along with several other entertainers and athletes. With the temperature feeling like it was close to 100 degrees, chasing down a celeb for a photograph just didn’t seem that appealing to me. I had more fun gazing at the assortment of Derby hats – which ranged from big and bright, to colorful and creative.

Once in the grandstand area, everyone was festive and excited – drinking Mint Juleps – the official drink of the Derby – mixing, mingling and betting on horse races. After chit-chatting with a few attendees, I decided to bet on the 11th race – The Kentucky Derby. I had read somewhere that Bodemeister (Horse #6) had a good chance of winning, so I put $5 on a Win for Bodemiester and $5 for a Place on Bodmiester. Well, obviously, I’m not a big gambler.

Right before the race, Mary J. Blige sang the National Anthem and blew the crowd away. Several Derby attendees actually turned to me – inquiring about the soulful songstress!! “What is her name again?” someone asked. “Mary J?”another questioned. “She was awesome!” The hoopla and energy leading up to the Kentucky Derby race got my adrenaline flowing. Once the race began – and midway through the race – I just knew my horse had won!! I was screaming, “Go, Six! Go, Six!,” with many of the attendees looking on in awe as #6 took strides that definitely put him in the forefront. I was so assured that Bodemeister had won that I slipped out of the stands right before the race ended, so I could be first in line to collect my little WINNING!! But once I got to the wagering windows I was informed that horse # 19, named I’ll Have Another, had won – and not #6!! A bit disappointed, I said, “C’mon, Man,” but I still collected $15 and some change, since Bodemeister came in 2nd. I guess that just goes to show, it’s not how you start the race, but how you finish it!!

In all, my 2012 Derby experience was a pleasant one filled with fun times with friends, meeting new people, eating good food, partying and enjoying the races while wearing my Jessica Simpson chapeaux on day one and my Grace Marks chapeaux on day two. Although the horse I bet on came in 2nd, my experience at the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby was still a Sure WIN!

The Julep – Louisville’s Premier Derby Eve Event Benefitting The James Graham Brown Cancer Center

The Julep, the fancy soiree held the eve before the Derby, brought out several celebrities and dignitaries at the Galt House. Prior to the Julep, there was a featured article highlighting the national press covering the Julep this year and The Tennessee Tribune made the news. The article read, “In 2012, some of those media folks on the rope line will be as well-known nationally as the celebs they are covering. ” The article then mentioned The Tennessee Tribune as one of the Nashville news outlets covering the Julep. You can check out the article at http://louisville.edu/medschool/national- news-media-coming-to-louisville- for-the-julep-1

The Julep: The James Graham Brown Cancer Center’s Kentucky Derby Eve event has raised more than $2 million.

PreDerby

 Miss Juleps

 Star Jones

Sonya Jenkins at The Julep

Brought to you by The Tennessee Tribune & Sonya Jenkins, (sonyasspotlight.com), National Entertainment Correspondent for the Tennessee Tribune and Publisher & Editor for Sonya’s Spotlight Web Magazine Shares Her Derby Day Experience

Friday night (May 4) Grammy Award-winning soul singer Anthony Hamilton took his Back To Love tour to the historic Ryman Auditorium. Lovenoise, known for throwing some of the best neo-soul shows in the city, brought the sold out performance to Nashville.

Opening for Hamilton was local singer Typhanee Fitzgerald, who performed three original songs. She warmed up a crowd that was waiting for the headliner in anticipation.

Typanee Fitzgerald opened the show

The crowd responded well as he performed other recent hits including ‘Woo’ and ‘Who’s Loving You’. He also revisited many songs from his previous albums, much to the audience’s approval.

Hamilton kept the energy on a high level throughout his show. At many times he would perform some classic pop and lock dance moves, even going as far as to include his back up singers.

The highlight of the evening was when The North Carolina native asked the crowd if they were ready to get a little “country”. After pausing to a loud applause, Hamilton began to shout out different southern states. He then took the crowd to church, rocking almost a half hour of high-energy gospel songs. The acoustics were perfect for The Ryman causing nearly everyone in attendance to jump to their feet.

Anthony Hamilton thrills Nashville audience with old school R&B soul.

 

The diverse crowd of young, old, single, and couples, responded with excitement to each song. Hamilton was never afraid to interact with his fans, reaching down from the stage to touch as many hands as possible, and even running directly through the crowd on the upper balcony at one point.

Anthony Hamilton is the perfect singer for the smartphone age. His level of comfort and fun shined through on the hundreds of iPhones and Droids the crowd held up to record his performance.

This show was not simply a man and his microphone. It was down home soul music with a modern drive that left everyone wanting more.

Photos by: Earl Flippen Jr

“This program is designed to address the needs of teenage girls in the community,” said McKissack. “Every member of our Chapter takes an active role in mentoring the girls.”

The program tracts enrollees in their teen years and includes girls in grades eighth through high school graduation. The girls are mentored in areas including healthy lifestyle choices, the arts, career development and community leadership. McKissack says the organization funds the program with the proceeds of their annual Literary Luncheon held each spring and will award scholarships to deserving enrollees upon their graduation from high school.

Although the program has concentrated its efforts in the Edgehill community it is opened to girls citywide. Applications are available at the Tennessee Tribune office located at 1501 Jefferson Street in Nashville or from any Les Gemmes member. McKissack said the criteria for applying to the program are very simple.

“There are no stringent qualifications,” McKissack explained. “We are looking for girls and families who are interested in self-improvement and making a better life for themselves.”

NASHVILLE, TN – Mayor Karl Dean was joined today by Sean McKinless, Senior Vice President, Global Operations at Asurion, to announce the technology company plans to expand in Davidson County and locate in excess of 500 jobs in the Ragland Building at the corner of Second Avenue South and Korean Veterans Boulevard.

Asurion will keep its corporate headquarters at Grassmere Park in Nashville and establish a technology products office in SoBro’s Ragland Building to support growth in its headquarter and North America operations.

“I am grateful to Asurion for its continued investment in Davidson County and am especially pleased that it plans to bring a large number of high-quality jobs to the SoBro area,” Dean said. “This area south of downtown is fast becoming a dynamic part of our city with new development spurred by the under-construction Music City Center and the Korean Veterans Boulevard extension. Asurion’s expansion not only speaks to the vitality of that part of Nashville but to our overall strength and vibrancy as a city.”

In December, 2010, Asurion announced a five-year plan that would keep the company’s corporate headquarters in Davidson County and add 500 jobs to its Tennessee workforce of 2,400. Since then, the company has already added more than 200 jobs.

“We are excited to have found a space solution and environment that is reflective of the Asurion culture,” McKinless said. “The revitalization of the SoBro area certainly creates a desirable, creative location for our Technology Products associates. We expect to have technology associates occupying the facility by the fall of this year. This location will help the company achieve organizational efficiencies within its teams and across our other Davidson County locations.”

Asurion will occupy the 92,000-square-foot “green” building that was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification for Core and Shell from the U.S. Green Building Council. Dean and McKinless made the announcement this morning at the fi ve-story Ragland Building, a 1930s building that originally housed a wholesale grocery distribution business.

Asurion relocated its corporate headquarters from California to Nashville in 2003 with a plan to create 600 jobs. The company originally began with a business model focused on providing roadside rescue services to stranded motorists, then expanded into insuring, recovering and repairing mobile phones and home electronics. Today, those services are provided to more than 95 million customers around the world.

Photo Source: Facebook

Nashville had nearly twice as many shots on goal (33) as Phoenix (17), yet only scored once. Over the first two periods the advantage was 22-12, yet they trailed 2-0. Both Phoenix goals came in the second period. The fi rst was on a long slap shot from Derek Morris that seemed to handcuff Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne. The second came after the Predators missed some great chances to tie the score. A Patric Hornqvist turnover led to a Phoenix rush, and Martin Hanzal’s wrist shot made it 2-0.

Considering that the Predators at that point hadn’t scored in five periods, their chances of scoring twice in one were slim. They at least finally solved Smith, but there was so little time remaining they couldn’t mount the necessary pressure to take the game into overtime.

After the two teams combined for 15 goals in the first two games (both won by Phoenix). Nashville returned to the tight checking, defensive mode that’s long been their style. Their 2-0 Game 3 win was predicated on getting ahead early, then shutting down the Coyote attack.

Unfortunately, that was the only time in the series they had the lead. Phoenix scored first in all four wins, and in the early games they usually had at least a two goal lead much of the time. The Predators managed to come back and tie the first game, then lost in overtime. That set the series tone, as Nashville was always trying to rally.

The debacle involving Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn certainly didn’t help matters. Radulov was Nashville’s leading scorer and Kostisyn had two goals when the two opted to disobey team rules after the game 2 loss. Whatever they did (and the rumor is they violated a team curfew) it posed a huge distraction to a team already in an 0-2 hole.

Coach Barry Trotz improvised for the third game, and the Predators played their best hockey of the series. But in the critical fourth game, when Nashville needed a home victory to even things, they couldn’t score despite numerous good chances. There are critics savaging Trotz for keeping Radulov and Kostitsyn on the bench throughout game 4. His defense of that action was the players he had in their place did well in the third game and not so well in the fourth.

Radulov and Kostitsyn returned to action Monday night, but neither scored. Shea Weber had a rocket go off the post in the second period. The Predators again had too many turnovers, but Phoenix helped out Smith far more than the Predators did Rinne.

The few times Smith was caught out of position or failed to hold a rebound, Phoenix players found ways to deflect passes or tip away shots. While Predators’ like Martin Erat, Shea Weber and David Legwand played solid both offensively and defensively, many others were disappointments.

Sergei Kostitsyn was demoted from the fi rst to the third line for the fi nal game, after managing just two points through the first nine games of the Detroit and Phoenix series’. Colin Wilson, who didn’t log a single minute of ice time against Detroit, took his place and managed Nashville’s lone goal.

Decisions on several players’ future, among them Weber, Ryan Suter, Radulov, Andrei Kostitsyn, Hal Gill and Paul Gaustad must be made in the coming days. Only Weber is a restricted free agent. The rest can leave without Nashville getting compensation.

The Predators’ glowing five-game defeat of longtime nemesis Detroit ranks as the season’s high point. Monday’s night Phoenix triumph marks both the lowlight and the end of another good, but ultimately disappointing, year.

Photo By: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America 

The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto

by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West • SmileyBooks • Paperback, $12 • 232 pages • Illustrated • ISBN: 978-1-4019-4063-8

This book serves as a counterpoint to [those] who luxuriate in denying the reality of America’s poor… Poverty of all colors abounds unchecked in our cities, suburbs, and rural communities…

Poverty is no longer confined by class or color; like an unrestrained deadly virus, it doesn’t discriminate… [And] we are dangerously close to cementing a permanent American catastrophe…

Our intent with The Rich and the Rest of Us Is to make [people] think about the pervasiveness of poverty, its real causation, and the threat it poses to our democracy. We want to raise awareness about poverty and discuss how best to end it—in our lifetime.

– Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs. 10-11)

Last summer, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West embarked on a cross-country bus tour to bring attention to the plight of the approximately 150 million citizens living at or below the poverty level. Some segments of the black community saw the dynamic duo’s shining a light on the crisis as a slap in the face of President Obama, whose administration had already been the subject of biting criticism for its bailing out of Wall Street ostensibly at the expense of Main Street.

Now, the two inveterate firebrands share what they witnessed on that peripatetic caravan in The Rich and the Rest of Us, an eye-opening opus which discusses the burgeoning phenomenon of poverty in chilling detail via a combination of statistics and anecdotal evidence. And after making their case that time is of the essence, because the situation is rapidly deteriorating, Smiley and West close the tome with an urgent call to conscience and a dozen suggestions about what needs to be done next.

Many of their solutions, such as jobs for the unemployed, access to healthcare for all, lowering the incarceration rate, ending mass hunger, mortgage foreclosure relief for struggling homeowners, and taxing the filthy rich, tend to invoke universal notions of fundamental human rights. However, these mass-scale dilemmas only serve to direct your attention right back to the President, given that he’s the chief executive charged with setting the national agenda.

On paper, President Obama is on record as a man of the people since he first campaigned on behalf of a litany of liberal initiatives like allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for anyone making over $250,000/ year. But upon taking office, he was repeatedly blocked from implementing his progressive policies by right-wing Republicans.

This begs the question: How much power does the office of chief executive carry? Sure, there’s the historical precedent of Lincoln freeing the slaves by executive decree alone. And yes, FDR threatened to pack the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure the Constitutionality of the New Deal, while LBJ twisted the arms of his former colleagues in Congress to get the Civil Right Act passed. So, why hasn’t Obama delivered in similar fashion? That is the subtle undercurrent running through The Rich and the Rest of Us. The authors cleverly lead the reader to the unavoidable conclusion that the President, if sincere, might have to forget about waiting for a bipartisan consensus and be willing to make a few enemies if America is to reverse a hidden, heartbreaking tragedy which continues to escalate just out of public view.

To order a copy of The Rich and the Rest of Us, visit: http://www.amazon. com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401940633/