i4-- ... 0. 2 M P y r r Eric Holder: 'Too Big To Jail' Claim Draws 300,000 Signatures Demanding Action From Obama (L-R) Comedians Shay Clemons, Nod Ross, Rod G,, Nick Harvey, and Terry T. Harris. Hometown Comics On Point to Tickle Jacksonville's Funnybone Last week's Good Friday Comedy Show kicked off Easter weekend at Zodiac Bar & Grill. The evening included a live band and perform- ances by independent artists fiom Jacksonville and surrounding areas. Hosted by Nick Harvey, a variety of comedians graced the stage throughout the night. by Nick Wing, IHP Activists will deliver petitions to Department of Justice offices around the country this week, call- ing on President Barack Obama to crack down on big banks. The move comes after nearly a month of vocal backlash against Attorney General Eric Holder's admission that some financial institutions are simply too big to prosecute. The petitions, organized by a variety of liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn and CREDO Action, have drawn more than 300,000 signatures, organizers claim. A petition on MoveOn's dig- ital platform calling for Obama to "take immediate steps to break up the big banks and prosecute the criminals who used them to destroy our economy" has gathered more than 140,000 signatures. CREDO's petition demanding that Holder resign if he won't prosecute crimi- nal bankers has drawn more than 150,000 signatures. The campaign was sparked by Holder's confession during testimo- ny before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March that the Justice Department had declined to press criminal charges against big banks due to concerns that doing so could damage the stability of the global economy. "I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become diffi- cult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a neg- ative impact on the national econo- my, perhaps even the world econo- my," Holder said. "And I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) later summarized the concerns expressed by many in the wake of Holder's comments. "It has been almost five years since the financial crisis, but the big banks are still too big to fail," she said in a statement. "That means they are subsidized by about $83 billion a year by American taxpay- ers and are still not being held fully accountable for breaking the law. Attorney General Holder's testimo- ny that the biggest banks are too- big-to-jail shows once again that it is past time to end too-big-to-fail." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sub- Eric Holder mitted legislation last week seeking to address "too big to jail" institu- tions by eliminating the "too big to fail" practice that has propped them up. Tennessee Bill: Welfare Benefits Depend on Child's School Performance A new piece of legislation, if passed, will penalize low-income families in Tennessee by reducing their welfare benefits if their child performs poorly in school. Sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) and Rep. Vance Dennis (R-Savannah), the bill "requires the reduction of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) payments for par- ents or caretakers of TANF recipi- ents whose children fail to maintain satisfactory progress in school." Should a low-income family's child not meet satisfactory levels in the subject areas of mathematics and reading or language arts, the family's welfare benefits will be reduced by 20 percent. The legislation (Senate Bill 132, House Bill 261) applies to low- income families, with no mention of penalties to middle or high- income families whose children perform poorly in school. Rep. Dennis told the House Health Subcommittee the measure applies to "parents who do noth- ing," reports Knoxnews.com. Dennis described the bill as "a car- rot and stick approach." Bill branded 'discriminatory' Tennessee state representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) calls the bill "discriminatory." "It's just one more way to punish families who have fallen on hard times," Johnson told theGrio. "I don't believe for a second this will be anything to improve a child's education." As a high school special educa- tion teacher, Johnson said this bill is not what at-risk students need. "To add the responsibility of the family budget on these kids, it's not going to help these kids. It's not going to move them forward," Johnson said. "[The bill] sets up a terrible rela- tionship between families and edu- cators," Johnson continued. "It sets up animosity between school and home." Johnson recommends after school or weekend programs, such as "community schools" where par- ents spend time with their children and can see what they are doing and how they are doing in school. Representative Mike Turner (D- Old Hickory) told theGrio this is just one example of Tennessee leg- islature that is "trying to set back the working class people." Amendments may or may not make a difference Amendments have been made to the original legislation to exclude students with learning disabilities and those who have an individual- ized education program (IEP) from being penalized for not maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Instead, special education students will be measured on attendance. "There are no amendments that will make this bill okay," Johnson said. "There just aren't." Voter Suppression LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -Arkansas legislators passed a law Monday requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, overriding Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of the bill, which he called an expensive solution to a non- existent problem. The Republican-led state House voted 52-45, largely along party lines, to complete an over- ride that started in the GOP-controlled Senate on a 21-12 vote last week. Only a simple major- ity was needed in each chamber. "We are trying to protect the integrity of one of the most fundamental rights we have here in America," said state Rep. Stephen Meeks, a Republican from Greenbrier and the bill's Further amendments also provide four ways the reduction can be restored once it is applied to a fam- ily's payments. Attending two par- ent teacher conferences, eight hours of parenting classes, enrolling the child in a tutoring program, or enrolling the child in summer school are the available options. "There's all kinds of loopholes," Rep. Turner said, noting that home- House sponsor. Rep. John Walker, a Little Rock Democrat and noted civil rights lawyer, warned lawmak- ers to "not go back on history" by enacting the requirement. Critics of such voter ID laws say the type of in-person voter fraud they are meant to prevent is extremely rare, and that the laws are really designed to make it harder to vote for certain groups that tend to back Democrats, including minorities, students and the elderly. Black lawmakers in Arkansas have compared the new voter ID law to poll taxes used in the Jim Crow era. "I dare say you'll find any of your colleagues in this body of my color who will support this. schooling is addressed in the Senate version but is not addressed in the House bill. "No Democrats will vote for the bill." The House Health Committee, of which Johnson, Dennis, and Turner are members, is set to vote on the bill April 3. If passed, SB 132 will take effect on July 1, 2013, just in time for the 2013-2014 school year. It doesn't matter what their leanings are. What you're doing in effect is saying we don't care about what you think, we're going to do this anyway," said Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, who is black. "If you have the majority of course that's what you can do, but do you real- ly uniformly to a person by party disrespect us so much?" One Democrat, Rep. Fred Love of Little Rock, was listed as voting for the override, but he later indicated he would likely file a letter with the House clerk stating that he intended to vote the other way. Love chairs the legislative black caucus. www.nef1211 .org Serving Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, Putnam, Columbia, Suwannee and Hamilton counties United Ways of Northeast Florida Get Connected. Get Answers. (~) 11th Annual Fair Housing Symposium Saturday, April 6, 2013 8 a.m. 1:30 p.m. at the Prime Osborn Convention Center 1000 Water Street 32204 FREE EVENT & FREE PARKING 8 a.m. 8:45 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast 9 a.m. 9:45 a.m. Opening Session 10 a.m. 12 p.m. -Workshops 12:15 p.m. 1:30 p.m. -Awards Luncheon Free Kids Zone (childcare) Available Ages 4-12 WORKSHOPS FOR PROFESSIONALS (Realtors, Condominium & Homeowners Associations, Property Managers, Home Builders, etc. ) * Overview of Fair Housing Laws * Responding to Requests for Reasonable Accommodations and/or Modifications * Universal Design and Accessibility * Certificates will be provided for possible use in obtaining continuing education credits. WORKSHOPS FOR CONSUMERS * Understanding Your Housing Rights and Responsibilities * Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation or Modification Exhibitors will be available Do-It-Yourself ideas on retrofitting your home Accessible bathroom products * * REGISTRATION REQUIRED * * Register by email at JHRCRSVP@coj.net or by calling (904) 630-1212 ext. 3020. TTY: (904) 630-4125 Accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please make your request ASAP. All requests will be accepted until the morning of the event, but please take in consideration that it may be a challenge to fulfill for late requests. Where Florida Begins. Community Development Block Grant Funded JA 'K.ONVII I HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Jacksonville Area Legal Aid I-I is Back: Arkansas' Passes Voter ID Law Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 3 A ril 4 10 2013 Uited W^^&ay I rlr i C