When you hear Republican, Democrat or even third party affiliations like the Green Party or Libertarians, you think of a very different world. Many think its corrupt, some thinks it fun and a few dont even know how to spell politics or vote for that meaning. Acronyms like GOTV, ED, VAN, and TV, may seem like go T.V., Education, some type of vehicle and something you watch. But no, they stand for Get out the Vote, Election Day, Voter Action Network, and targeted voter are really what these acronyms mean. Many people come and volunteer for a campaign on their own. They may see a candidate at a local event and agree to vote for the candidate and do some phone calling to friends for the candidate to show their full support. Most volunteers come out during the presidential elections. They see the opportunity to affect change and hope on a national level and begin to call around looking for the candidates headquarters.

Once they are in the door, they enjoy the atmosphere; Election Day is here and then the race is over. The volunteers and supporters long to have that excitement continue with door to door knocking, phone banking, and holding signs up around busy intersections to notify voters that there is an election going on. With that, they start to get involved in smaller campaigns, like school board or council races. As the election season gets closer to November, you will start to see more candidates yard signs go up in your community. If it is your neighbor, a simple question like where did you get the sign from could spark a conversation that gets you the information for the headquarters and gets you in the door to volunteer.

Volunteers are so crucial to campaigns because they generally cant afford to pay the sizeable staff they need to execute their objective. So college students have become a big target. One who is willing to work for little or nothing to get the experience, come in early, leave late, and has an expendable amount of energy. A lot of people think you have to major in something like political science or some major remotely similar to politics, but that is not the case. My major just so happened to be business administration and a friend of mines was nursing. That just shows you that all walks of life participate in this process and that your only qualification is the passion to help the candidate get elected to office.

If you find yourself wanting to do more in upcoming election and have the urge to volunteer and dont know where to start, then call the national parties of each and see what you can do to find campaigns locally!

Why would I want to vote? Not a question that usually asked aloud, but many people ask themselves this every election season. Sure you voted for Barack Obama or even John Mc Cain, but in 2010 or 2011 when there are other local, state or federal elections will you think it’s important to cast that ballot? I’m here to appeal to you to vote and vote often. No, don’t vote more than once for the same candidate in the same election year; that’ll get you sent to prison…lol. What I’m saying is vote every time there is an election. I’ll tell you why. We all have all the argument that people have suffered mentally and physically for our fundamental right to vote and while I don’t discredit what they have done because I really commend the movement. My rational is that appeal hasn’t worked for young professionals. So instead of trying to appeal to your emotions, I will appeal logically.

When you vote for the top of the ticket, you vote for what you believe in and the promises that they are making to get you to support them in the election. What you don’t realize that is that in order to make those promises they committed to, they need support down the ticket. A good analogy is like having a car with no wheels. Although your car cost you 15,000 when you got it from the dealership, it still can’t go anywhere with out those tires that cost 800.00. Barack Obama right now is flying around the country promoting his health care and many of you may agree or disagree with that agenda. There are crazy tea baggers going around with weapons protesting it, they’re even ripping up posters of Rosa Parks from older ladies who simply to make sure their voices are heard. All of this could be avoided if all those state and U.S. representatives and senators would support the plan.

This health care, immigration and Supreme Court nominees are big issues that get heavy exposure on all media outlets, but what about the smaller issues that affect us and our pockets. In 2007, a few candidates for mayors pledged no new tax increase. This is something that was already approved by the voters of Davidson County and it takes a majority vote in favor of raising taxes by the voters to make an increase which is difficult. Sad to say not many people came out to oppose or approve it although it was approved. Those small opportunities to vote are just as important because they affect you and your pockets.

All this to say is when I asked you “Why would I want to vote?” This is why. It’s because perceived small races for councilman and school board are just as important as that vote for Phil or Barack. Because you want to keep taxes low or you want your child to go to a good well funded school.

So please vote, and vote often!

Labels: Elections

My name is John Little and I write weekly political blogs weekly about what’s going on locally, through the state and through the country. From President Barack Obama to governors, even down to your local councilman. My first writings are going to touch on the political climate in Tennessee’s gubernatorial race. As history has it, the governor’s mansion usually interchanges every eight years between Democrats and Republicans. But this gubernatorial race it seems as if there is going to be a real game changer and the past can’t stop what change is bringing. I will give a brief overview on the democratic gubernatorial candidates so you can see whose has the opportunity to guide Tennessee the next four possibly eight years.


Jim Kyle
Senator Kyle recently entered the race as of Tuesday, August 11th. He has served various leadership roles in the state senate and hails from Memphis, TN. Kyle has various connections through out the state and if he unifies Memphis, TN, he has the best chance to win. That’s a big “IF”. Kyle has the knowledge and knows how to continue where the previous leadership left off. Don’t know how good his fundraising will be but that’ll tell you how long he will stay in the race.


Kim Mc Millan
Mrs. Mc Millan has been in the race the longest and to me is the most diverse. She was State House Majority Leader; she served in Governor Bredesens administration, practicing attorney, college professor and family woman with children. With all the pro’s for Mc Millan, I’d like to think that she’s holding back from pulling out her secret weapon, but with all her contacts, she lagging in fundraising. One thing I have learned from knowing this woman is that you never count her out.


Ward Cammack
Mr. Ward Cammack has been a successful business man for the past twenty years. His campaign has typically been about being green. The wild card to Mr. Cammack is that he used to be a bona fide republican. I guess he woke up and smelled the coffee or he just got tired of being an elephant. Either way Cammack is serious or he said he’s willing to self finance if need be. Recently he has been releasing his campaign plans to turn the state around and make it profitable again. Although his fundraising has been lack luster as well, I don’t think you should count him out since he can drop two million easy. That could go a long way in a crowded primary.


Roy Herron
State Senator Roy Herron like two of his primary competitors are from West TN. Senator Herron has been involved in politics for a long time and is very credible when it comes to knowing how to effectively lead. Honestly, on paper he’s a great candidate. Former pastor, attorney and many said he was the protégé of former governor Ned Ray Mc Wherter. Like his senate counterpart he has the knowledge of the legislature to continue where the previous administration left off. The last financial disclosure Herron had impressive numbers, but the report revealed there was a big share from his senate account. All in all, he still has a good amount of money in the bank and will be trying to make his name stronger in the east part of the state and work to get all the support from his West TN competitors.


Mike Mc Wherter
Last, but not least, I offer you Mike Mc Wherter. Self proclaimed front runner, top fundraiser, successful business owner, and family man. I also forgot to mention that his dad was a former governor and was loved from each tip of the state and still is today. He has the staff in place that worked on Governor Bredesens race as well as most major races in the state. Although he is from West TN like the other two state senators, he has an advantage because his dad is very much respected throughout the whole state. If all the candidates stay in the race till the end, I think it will be favorable for Mike. Not saying he will win, but favorable.

Although all of these are great candidates, there are still rumors of more. Maybe we do, need some more candidates who bring more star power and has the ability to out raise the republicans. Because sadly most of the republican candidates have outraised most of the democratic candidates by 400,000 or more and money talks. What if we had an African American candidate? Someone who had credibility and the ability fundraise to get the message out. Any takers????

Labels: Governors Race

Live out your ideas, or risk not living at all
By Cortez Smith
Business & Politics Editor
SOTG Magazine

The entrepreneur with passion and organization is a mighty combination. Typically, however, you may find that they have either passion or organization. Ideas in this world come in abundance. God speaks to people in spirit, and thus we discover the birthplace of ideas.

Because a human being is a hybrid of spirit, mental, and physical entities, the passage of the idea from the spiritual to the physical is often times interrupted by a mentality that is not tuned in with the spirit.

It goes something like this: "I should create a new innovative type of flip flop that has style, is comfortable and durable. That's a good idea isn’t it? No no, that doesn’t make sense. No one is going to like that idea. No one would event think about buying that product."

That's what happens to a lot of people even here in the Nashville urban area. They were blessed with a tremendous idea that could lead them to unlocking the door that leads to all the things they need and desire, and what happens? That little insecure self gets in the way, disrupting the natural flow of human activity.

There is an Xhosa saying "once one has had a vision, they cannot return it. Have the vision and deliver the mandate. All who share in the vision can no longer ignore or turn their backs on it."

That's what every single entrepreneur needs to embrace. Believe in yourself, empower yourself; only then will the right people appear ready and willing to help you manifest your vision.

Passion is that emotion, which is so intense it cannot be suppressed. When you get that next idea, I encourage you to become passionate about it. Meditate upon the concept day and night. Allow yourself to become one with the idea. This is a natural process. Doing so is not work, and is definitely not difficult. That's why so many entrepreneurs have the passion it takes to be successful.

Now the key to ultimately putting your product or service on the map as a powerful brand is: maintaining a consistent ability to be organized. And it all starts with sitting down at your desk and beginning the process of depositing the ideas from your mind onto your paper to formulate your mission, your vision, and your goals.

Once you have done that, success is right around the corner. You simply have to remember not to let your mental come in conflict with your spiritual and everything will flow according to the divine plan that is destined for your life.

By Marshall A. Latimore
Visuals Editor
SOTG Magazine

Nashville public officials and residents debated issues affecting the city's various communities of color after viewing an exclusive preview screening of CNN's Black in America 2.

The July 25 event touted the use of emerging technologies, employing the use of a real-time broadcast of the town hall discussion online and a conjoining Twitter discussion via a hash tag, #NashvilleBIA2. This was a distinction among all other Black in America 2 screenings across the country, which had been granted to only 15 cities.

"Many of us are journalists who see so much going on, who hear so much about what's happening in our communities," explained Harriet Vaughan, president of the Nashville Association of Black Journalists--one of the organizations who hosted the event. "We wanted to create a forum for bringing all these discussions together and in one place."

The NABJ and the Nashville branch of the NAACP presented the screening and successive town hall meeting, held at the Avon Williams campus of Tennessee State University.

NewsChannel 5 anchor Vickie Yates moderated the three-hour event, with support from Jonathan Martin of WSMV-TV, who fielded questions from the Twitter discussion happening as well. This gave Twitterers the opportunity to have their comments and questions become a part of the town hall meeting.

Tennessee State Senator Thelma Harper and representatives from Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's office answered questions regarding business and education, themes also presented in the screening. TSU's Freedom Riders also weighed in on controversial themes like the breakdown of the family unit and the importance of the church in repairing broken communities.

More than 300 residents attended the event, many of whom had their questions addressed or comments discussed. Other attendees had their questions added to the Twitter discussion and archived for future town hall meetings, organizers said.