Florida Sentinel Bulletin

The Department of Justice is blocking a Texas law that would require all voters to present photo identification to vote, likely further fueling an intense partisan debate on this issue.

In a letter to Texas officials, Thomas Perez, head of DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights, argued that the law could disproportionately impact Latino voters, who are more likely than white voters to not currently have driver’s licenses or other kinds of photo identification.

“Hispanic registered voters are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic registered voters to lack such identification,” Perez wrote.

The Department of Justice also blocked South Carolina’s voter identification law in December, arguing it would disproportionally affect black and elderly voters.
South Carolina is appealing the ruling, a move Texas is very likely to make as well.

CHARLOTTE – Jamal Stevens, a 7-year-old boy from Charlotte, North Carolina, survived being thrown 350 feet by a tornado that took from his bed to the highway.

Despite the long distance, Stevens only suffered minor injuries while his family’s home was demolished, including the whole second floor, where Stevens was sleeping, which was blown away.

“The bathroom was gone, and I was looking outside,” she said, adding that she then covered the twins and raced to find Jamal and Ayanna, both of whom had been sucked out of the home.

Little Ashley was unscathed. Her twin sister, Amber, was found under the rubble in the living room, alive but injured. Ayanna had been hurtled into a neighbor’s yard, and Jamal had been swept onto the embankment of the interstate, Stevens said.

U.S. Congressman Donald M. Payne, described as a true and dedicated native son of Newark, New Jersey, and the first African-American elected to Congress from that state, has died.

The news comes only weeks after Payne vowed to continue to represent his constituents and his country during his ongoing battle with colon cancer.

Payne’s political career was built on step-by-step challenges and on a solid foundation of hard-earned respect in the arena of Newark politics. At the same time, with steady success, he would climb the business ladder in his home state.

Eventually harnessing a combination of the two, Payne would be elected to the U.S. Congress in 1988 and would rise through the ranks of politics, serving as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1995 to 1997; one of his many achievements in a distinguished career that spanned decades.

Payne did much to bring attention and influence to both African American and African affairs on a global scale.

Gun owners and enthusiasts who are sensing that President Barack Obama’s possible re-election will lead to stricter gun laws, have been purchasing and stockpiling firearms at a record rate in several states, according to a Texas newspaper.

In Texas, where gun sales are one of the highest in this country just behind Kentucky, people are voicing concerns that Pres. Obama winning in November will signal that he’ll pass strict gun laws without regard to the public’s wants.

More of Rush Limbaugh’s advertisers say they are dropping his program after the conservative talk show host’s derogatory comments about a Georgetown law student.

On Monday, AOL Inc. and Tax Resolution Services Co. were the eighth and ninth companies to say that they will suspend advertising on Limbaugh’s program, one of the most popular radio shows in the country.

Limbaugh last week called student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” after she testified to congressional Democrats in support of their national health care policy that would compel her Jesuit college’s health plan to cover her birth control.

He apologized over the weekend after several advertisers pulled out of his program. On Monday, he joked that he got a busy signal when he called his show because of the advertisers who are abandoning it.

Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks Inc. hosts Limbaugh’s show. The company is supporting Limbaugh, whose on-air contract runs through 2016.

Fluke said Monday that Limbaugh’s apology changes nothing and that Americans have to decide whether to support companies that continue to advertise on his program.

The advertisers that have backed away from Limbaugh’s program represent a broad range of industries, from technology to financial services to retailers.

Richard Cebull, chief judge for the U.S. District of Montana, took the nation aback this week by forwarding a set of shared remarks about President Obama.

The judge passed on a racially offensive e-mail message that made jokes inferring that President Barack Obama’s mother had sex with dogs.

The e-mail features a “touching” story of Barack asking his mother why he’s half-White and half-Black.  It concludes with her telling her son that “from all she can remember from that party,” he should be glad that he doesn’t bark.

So, this federal judge who has made decisions impacting the lives of countless people of color, had no problem forwarding an e-mail implying that the President of the United States is of mixed race because his mother was a drunken, sexually promiscuous woman who had sex with dogs.

President Barack Obama was in New York on Thursday evening on a whirlwind fundraising tour. In a mere seven hours, the leader of the free world was able to amass $5 million in campaign contributions garnered from Gotham’s well-heeled citizens.

The headlining event of the night was a $35,000 per plate fête held at ABC Kitchen, an organic restaurant on E. 18th street, hosted by celebrity chef and hot spot co-owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

After paying a premium to dine with the President, Democratic party patrons joined the Commander-in-Chief at the nearby ABC Carpet & Home furnishings emporium.

There, the stylish crowd jammed with the president to live tunes served up by The Roots and Ben Folds.  The other three fundraisers included a reception held at “a Manhattan penthouse.”

Pres. Obama is familiar with the deep pockets and effusive support available to him and the Democratic National Committee via the Big Apple.

In March 2011, he attended a dinner at popular Harlem restaurant Red Rooster that pulled in an astounding $1.5 million through a “$30,800-a-plate soiree.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — About 20 liberal demonstrators tried to shout down Rick Santorum while he delivered his stump speech on the steps of the state capitol building Sunday, yelling “racist” and “fascist” at the Republican presidential candidate.

The anti-Santorum faction began chanting “Get your hate out of our state” when the candidate started his address. Standing before a microphone at the top of the steps, Santorum ignored them and continued speaking. The demonstration lasted about 15 minutes.

WASHINGTON — Radio host Rush Limbaugh has apologized to a Georgetown University law student for calling her insulting names. He had come under intense criticism from womens’ groups, politicians from both political parties and some of the advertisers on his talk show.

Limbaugh said Saturday on his website that he had chosen the wrong words in his comments about law student Sandra Fluke. He said he “did not intend a personal attack” on her.

Limbaugh had called her a “prostitute” and a “slut” after she testified before Congress about a need for insurance coverage for birth control.

7th Advertiser Pulls Out Of Limbaugh’s Show

A flower company is the seventh advertiser to pull its ads from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s radio program in reaction to his derogatory comments about a law student who testified about birth control policy.

ProFlowers said Sunday on its Facebook page that it has suspended advertising on Limbaugh’s program because his comments about Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke “went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company.”

The six other advertisers that say they have pulled ads from his show are mortgage lender Quicken Loans, mattress retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, software maker Citrix Systems Inc., online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company LegalZoom.