Tag: Jtmp

August 7, 2013 - Tennessee musician Ben Friberg became the first person ever to paddleboard the Florida Straits from US to Cuba. The exhausting 110-mile journey took him 28 hours...whew. His father drove a support boat near him the entire journey. When he departed the US on Thursday he told the press he was "doing this to promote peace and understanding between Cuba and the United States and to promote a healthy lifestyle". Ben hails from Chattanooga, and currently is in a trio playing some awesome jazz. Check out some of his tunes at BenFriberg.com. Read more about the journey on NBC News.com here.  (photo credit: www.benfriberg.com)

August 2, 2013 - JTMP strongly supports helping those in need in our communities, and one group often overlooked and facing real hurdles are people returning to the community after being incarcerated. We supported the "Second Chance Act" (P.L. 110-199) that was passed by the US Congress in 2007 and signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2008. This act establishes a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource center to help those reentering society. This act requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to assist those leaving incarceration in obtaining a Social Security Card, driver's license, or other official photo identification prior to release, and also help them apply for benefits such as veteran's benefits, SS benefits and more. JTMP wants to point out that the Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Prisons can "implement these provisions at their discretion", so the "required to" is not really a requirement, so JTMP asks our supporters to contact their elected officials and the US Department of Justice and let them know you want the community to help these individuals as much as possible. Tell them you support the Second Chance Act, and hope it is being executed to its fullest extent. Read more about the Second Chance Act here. (Photo credit Clearly Ambiguous/Flickr)

August 1, 2013 - JTMP strongly believes in working with the community and those who have made mistakes in their past and have paid their debt to society and are trying to move on with their lives. One of the issues we support strongly is the restoration of voting rights to felons, and one of our favorite groups is working very hard on this issue, the Brennan Center for Justice. They describe how there are "nearly 4 million disenfranchised Americans who have been released from prison and are living in the community, but are still denied the right to vote." Some states and the District of Columbia automatically give felons their right to vote back once they have paid their debt to society, but there are still 35 states holding on to antiquated prejudices and discriminations against members of the community who have made mistakes in their past, have atoned and paid their debt, and need to move on with their lives. In 2011, the Brennan Center for Justice supported the "Democracy Restoration Act", that called for federal legislation to restore voting rights in federal elections to felons. The bill was introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), but later died in committee. JTMP calls for the current US Congress to pick up the cause, and get a similar bill introduced and passed restoring voting rights to these disenfranchised Americans.

Read more about the Brennan Center for Justice and their efforts to restore voting rights on their website here.

Also, JTMP supports the "Ban The Box" campaign, meaning employers and others cannot ask if that person has even been convicted of a crime on job applications, housing, public benefits, insurance. loans and other services. Once a member of society has paid their debt, some time has gone by, and the crime is irrelevant to the job or situation, it is a matter of privacy and belongs in the past. It is merely callously and unnecessarily prolonging the punishment, and preventing that person from re-entering and being able to to get by in this society. Read more and get involved with the "Ban The Box" cause by visiting the BanTheBoxCampaign.org website.  (photo credit: Scott*/Flickr)

July 26, 2013 - There has been some confusion lately on who is and who is not joining Stevie Wonder's boycott of Florida calling for the repeal of "Stand Your Ground Laws"; and part of it why I think some confusion is out there is because many musicians and artists have spoken out in favor of repealing the "Stand Your Ground" laws, and have been publicly speaking out in support of Trayvon's parents and #Justice4Trayvon. Jay-Z has spoke out in favor of repealing the law, and now 5 days ago Beyonce put up a Trayvon Martin tribute page on her website asking everyone to #ActNow4Trayvon, and signing her name and linking to a MoveOn.org petition calling for Eric Holder and the US Department of Justice to file Federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman who believe Trayvon Martin's civil rights were violated; there are many of us who think they were and JTMP is one of them. Check out Beyonce's Trayvon Martin Tribute Page here, where you can sign the MoveOn.org petition also. So, although many artists have come out in droves of the support of repealing the "Stand Your Ground" laws, they will never be any widespread boycott of Florida by musicians and artists; too many have residences there and too much money being handed around. Having civil rights charges filed against George Zimmerman would be a sweet second prize though. Sign the MoveOn.org petition here.

July 26, 2013 - Did Jay-Z, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake signal they were going to join Stevie Wonder's boycott of Florida and then back off? Earlier this week April Ryan of American Urban Radio Network reported that the 3 musicians were going to boycott Florida along with Wonder, until the "Stand Your Ground" laws are repealed following the Trayvon Martin tragedy. But now, AceShowBiz is reporting that they is not what the artists and/or their representatives are saying now, 3 days later. The blogger is standing by her sources though. Earlier this week, JTMP also reported that those three were joining the boycott, quoting The Hill for a source. 

Anyways, as of today, all 3 are saying their are NOT boycotting Florida. No word on the other musicians and artists mentioned on the web such as The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, and others. Did they make a commitment and then change their mind? Did the musician's representatives mess up? Are the journalists wrong or mess up? Who knows....tell us what you think about the boycott and what might have happened on the JTMP Facebook Page. JTMP will post updates about what is going in with the Florida boycott almost daily, so check back. Read more on AceShowBiz website here.  (photo credit: Joella Marano/CC)