meta-roj

rock on, old man

“sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power”

walt whitman, leaves of grass

That you are here-that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

you won’t find much about sport here, but this is about stepping up. this story will be everywhere, if it’s not already, but i thought i’d give up a little of my space to tip my hat (metaphorically) anyway.

Reds Comfort Stricken Man’s Grandson [ap via la times, 2005.08.05]

Cincinnati Reds players rallied around a 6-year-old boy after his grandfather collapsed in the stands this week.

“We just tried to make a bad situation a little better,” outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

While paramedics were working on the grandfather, a security officer took the boy to the Reds’ bullpen. The Reds did not release the name of the grandfather, who died Wednesday night of an apparent heart attack.

The boy, identified as Antonio Perez, sat with players for the last two innings of the game, and Griffey went and got him when the game ended. The boy participated in the Reds’ high-fives celebrating their 8-5 victory over Atlanta, and he then joined the players in the clubhouse.

Clubhouse manager Rick Stowe said the Reds showered the boy with bats, wristbands and autographed baseballs. Shortstop Felipe Lopez gave him the batting helmet that he wore in this year’s All-Star game.

The players entertained the boy until his parents arrived.

perhaps there is hope for this experiment of america.

Judge John C. Coughenour on the sentencing of Ahmed Ressam

Okay. Let me say a few things. First of all, it will come as no surprise to anybody that this sentencing is one that I have struggled with a great deal, more than any other sentencing that I’ve had in the 24 years I’ve been on the bench.

I’ve done my very best to arrive at a period of confinement that appropriately recognizes the severity of the intended offense, but also recognizes the practicalities of the parties’ positions before trial and the cooperation of Mr. Ressam, even though it did terminate prematurely.

The message I would hope to convey in today’s sentencing is twofold:

First, that we have the resolve in this country to deal with the subject of terrorism and people who engage in it should be prepared to sacrifice a major portion of their life in confinement.

Secondly, though, I would like to convey the message that our system works. We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, or detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant, or deny him the right to counsel, or invoke any proceedings beyond those guaranteed by or contrary to the United States Constitution.

I would suggest that the message to the world from today’s sentencing is that our courts have not abandoned our commitment to the ideals that set our nation apart. We can deal with the threats to our national security without denying the accused fundamental constitutional protections.

Despite the fact that Mr. Ressam is not an American citizen and despite the fact that he entered this country intent upon killing American citizens, he received an effective, vigorous defense, and the opportunity to have his guilt or innocence determined by a jury of 12 ordinary citizens.

Most importantly, all of this occurred in the sunlight of a public trial. There were no secret proceedings, no indefinite detention, no denial of counsel.

The tragedy of September 11th shook our sense of security and made us realize that we, too, are vulnerable to acts of terrorism.

Unfortunately, some believe that this threat renders our Constitution obsolete. This is a Constitution for which men and women have died and continue to die and which has made us a model among nations. If that view is allowed to prevail, the terrorists will have won.

It is my sworn duty, and as long as there is breath in my body I’ll perform it, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. We will be in recess.

the news item that got my attention came through in november… but it seems to fit well with the exonerated, so let’s do a double-whammy today.

Exonerated N.C. Man Starts Foundation [ap news via abc news, november 7, 2004]

Hunt was convicted in the 1984 slaying of Deborah Sykes, a newspaper copy editor in Winston-Salem. DNA evidence proved in 1994 that Hunt was not the man who had raped Sykes, but he was released only this year, after the evidence led authorities to a new suspect they say acted alone in killing Sykes.

bad enough that you have to prove you’re innocent in this modern america, worse still that proving you’re innocent isn’t even good enough until there’s a new suspect.

even with that, there is a positive development – the formation of the darryl hunt project for freedom and justice, chartered to help other innocent people escape the prison economy.

fighting against child slavery, kidnapping and illegal imprisonment, and generally doing good things.

Ansar Burney Welfare Trust

i’m going to make this into an inspirational story, because one of the players stood up and took a hit.

so, thank you, kari sewell.

Lesbian’s Picture in Tux Cut From Yearbook [ap via seattle post intelligencer, feb 26, 2005]

County school officials are backing a principal’s decision to bar a picture of a lesbian student dressed in a tuxedo from the high school yearbook.

now, i don’t feel like digging up an old yearbook, but i’m sure there have been women in tuxedos since the invention of the tuxedo. so maybe the county’s beef is that this young woman happens to be a lesbian? i dunno. this has shades of a local story. besides, i seem to remember the women in some school groups (things like band and rotc) being required to wear the same thing as the men.

no matter. i’m not writing this to go down the litany of stupid policies, i’m here to credit a teenager with courage.

Lesbian’s Picture in Tux Cut From Yearbook [ap via seattle post intelligencer, feb 26, 2005]

The student editor of the yearbook, Keri Sewell, was fired after refusing her adviser’s order to take the picture out.

update (2005.03.02): it’s been picked up by usa today and metafilter. let the outrage spread.

update (2005.03.29): looks like the wire story might’ve spelled her name wrong… kari sewell? your name’s been corrected in my space. thanks for dropping by…

the ap story at spi seems to have expired, so here’s another version, this time from the student press law center, and hopefully more permanent.

it’s a small thing, but it’s a great thing too. gokurousama from imorpheus to people that do things for which we should all be thankful.

i’ve been very out of the loop lately (and the backlog here is just intimidating now, but i think this is worth a pointer. go, smile, think about the point of all this for a second, and then get back to your regularly scheduled festivities.

[via joi]

roots of peace, founded by heidi kühn, is about the business of converting minefields to vineyards.

with operations in croatia, serbia, afghanistan, cambodia, iraq, roots of peace is making a difference, and making some wine along the way.

the first harvest from a vineyard in croatia was this past september.

go check them out. they’re doing good things.

in a long-overdue followup to this and this, i just need to briefly mention that alex’s lemonade stand reached it’s $1 million goal about a month ago, and alex’s parents are expecting the 2004 fundraising to reach about $1.5 million.

before she died, she told her parents that she wanted to raise $5 million in 2005.