Monthly Archives: December, 2013

DEC 10, 2013 - President Barack Obama spoke at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela earlier today, and after speaking at length about the legacy of Mandela and his life he also said that today should also be an occasion to "prompt in each of us a time for self reflection, with honesty; regardless of our station or our circumstance." He added, "We must ask; 'How well have I applied his lessons in my own life?' It's a question I ask myself as a man and as a President". Obama then spoke about our own struggle in America with our "Apartheid", slavery; and the struggle it took to free ourselves from that. "It took sacrifice, the sacrifice of countless people, known and unknown to see the dawn of a new day. Michelle and I are beneficiaries of that struggle. But in America, and in South Africa, and in countries all around the globe, we can not allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not yet done. The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality, or universal franchise, may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before; but they are no less important."

Speaking to an audience that contained leaders from all over the world, Obama then spoke about the struggles for civil rights and equality around the globe, such as poverty here in America, to gay rights in Russia, or women's rights in Saudi Arabia. "For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger and disease. We still see run down schools. We still see young people without prospects for the future. Around the world today men and women are still in prison for their political beliefs, and are still persecuted for what they look like, and how they worship, and who they love. That is happening today. And so we too must act on behalf of justice."

We agree Mr. President, and JTMP asks our supporters to take this day to not only act on behalf of justice and celebrate the great life of Nelson Mandela, but to also take this time to do some self-reflection, and ask ourselves, "Have I applied Mandela's lessons to my life as much as I can?" Watch the full speech by President Obama from Politico below.

DEC 9, 2013 - JTMP joins the world in celebrating the life of Nelson Mandela, a man who brought civil and voting rights to millions. A man who lived a life of grace and non-violence in spite of the arrests, beatings and the jailings he received because of his activism. He truly moved the whole world, and will be remembered for generations to come. I drove by his statue in front of the South African embassy here in DC the other night, and traffic had to move to one lane for all the people wanting to drop off flowers and stop by and pay their respects. Cars were not honking at each other, and would calmly take turns being nice to each other. To have that effect on DC drivers is nothing short of miraculous. Nelson Mandela has that effect on almost anybody, anywhere. To remind us to live in quiet peace and dignity. We join all who will be mourning and paying respects to this world leader all this week. Vice President Joe Biden released a statement on Nelson Mandela's death on behalf of the White House, along with President Obama; who just left with the First Lady for South Africa to attend the memorial service scheduled tomorrow. South Africa braces for a huge gathering of world leaders to pay last respects for this great man, which will be a massive security and logistical undertaking. (photo: Mandela voting in 1994 elections - credit: Paul Weinberg/CC)

DEC 6, 2013 - Great music has always been a part of Austin and one band in particular, Quiet Company, has been turning heads and really gaining attention not only because of their good tunes, but the band leader Taylor Muse had a loss of Christian faith and wrote about it with the 2011 album We Are All Where We Belong. It was tough transition for him, for growing up in Austin he said Christian music was a big part of all bands. However he came home one day and told his wife, "I'm having a little bit of a crisis of faith. I just realized today that I can't make a case for Christianity that would convince myself." He set out to write songs to counter the Christian message of worrying about the afterlife and saying this life is "...not your home, This is not where you belong." Muse takes the opposite side, and sings about the humanist message about living your life today here and now saying, "This is your one chance to make your life into what you want it to be."

Listen to a great interview on NPR.org here, and check out the band's website here. Listen to a great song to sing your daughter to sleep to, reassuring her she can let go all the nonsense that Christianity fills your head with and "Set Your Monster Free" below:

DEC 5, 2013 - JTMP urges our supporters to contact your congress member and tell them you support second chances, and you want them to vote YES on the Second Chance Reauthorization Act, or S. 1690/H.R. 3465, that extends prisoner reentry programs for an additional five years at the federal and state levels. Members of Congress from all sides have come together to introduce the bill, and it makes sense. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves a second chance. These programs will help these people get access to housing, jobs and other things you need in life to survive. Please contact your congress member today and tell them you support second chances, you support the Second Chance Reauthorization Act, and tell them to vote yes!

Need to find your congress member? Find them and even get a letter/email template to send your congress member, and read more about this on the Faces and Voices of Recovery website.

DEC 4, 2013 - Andre Symone is someone you know, but didn't know you knew. You heard his bass guitar on stage with Prince and he produced and wrote songs for numerous people. He actually grew up with Prince in his childhood home. He became very active in community organizing and politics because of his mother, who was a social worker. In 2012 Andre wrote the song "America" and donated all the proceeds to President Barack Obama's reelection campaign. The Vibe website has a great interview up and he talks about his new album, his songs "Trayvon" and "America", the state of "black rock music", and celebrity activism. Read the entire interview on Vibe.com here.  (photo credit: Vox EFX/Flickr/CC)