On Jon Stewart, Stop Hurting America!
@Emily L. Hauser@twitter
Well... here's the petition to sign: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=12970
If you trust me and Amnesty (and various former state Supreme Court Justices and Russell Simmons, among others) that it's an entirely worthy cause, you just click through and sign, and not ever have to actually read about it -- until, please God, he gets clemency (in part through your effort) and it will be less heart-breaking. Deal?
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On Jon Stewart, Stop Hurting America!
Ok, this is the point where I tell the story -- as I have been all over the internet -- of Troy Davis (hey, I was linked to by Glenn Greenwald, and then in turn [indirectly, via the Greenwald post] by the NY Times, so I do mean a fair chunk of the internet!).
Troy Davis was convicted in 1991 of the murder of an off-duty police officer in Savannah Georgia. There is no physical evidence linking him to the crime, 7 out of 9 eyewitnesses have recanted -- while one of the remaining 2 has been implicated as the actual shooter -- and at least one juror has said flat-out "If I knew then what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row."
But Troy Davis is on death row, and what's more, he has exhausted the appeals process, and -- having lived through three execution dates -- was last week given a final execution date of Sept 21, next Wednesday.
Mr. Davis's one remaining hope is clemency; his clemency hearing is a week from today.
No matter your thoughts on the death penalty, surely we can all agree that a case that has unraveled this badly should absolutely not end in execution.
Here's what Glenn Greenwald (and the NYT) linked to last week: My post giving a little background on the case, as well as links to a petition, a sign-on letter for clergy and sign-on letter for members of the legal professions (THIS ONE IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT), as well as an address and sample letter for an appeal to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. http://emilylhauserinmyhead.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/troy-davis-given-execution-date/
Please, please, help Mr. Davis in his clemency bid. He is almost certainly innocent of the crime for which the State of Georgia wants to kill him.
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On What's Really Pornographic? The Point of Documenting Detroit
Ta-Nehisi Coates made this excellent contribution to the discussion, one that is neither a lament, nor focuses on young, white people:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/03/the-other-detroit/72188/
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On Williamsburg Nail Shop Wins Pun Contest
I'm sorry. Store? There's a store? With a pun, or something?
All I'm seeing is a grown man with a tote bag texting on a skateboard.
All of the tales of Williamsburg now make horrible, horrible sense.
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On What The Future Looked Like In 1995
Yessss - The Internet is a big deal technological fad reasonably comparable to the CB Radio.
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On Why We Cry When We're Happy
@jetztinberlin
Thank you, fellow nerd! This is very cool.
I've also read that onion-chopping-induced tears are very different, chemically, from sad-tears and thus aren't healing, on any level.
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On Why We Cry When We're Happy
At least half of my happy crying is stealth sad crying, quite literally along the lines of "it won't last."
When I saw that "thumbs up for rock n' roll!" video, I couldn't stop laughing and crying at the same time, because the little boy was so like my little boy, who will never be that kind of little again....
Also, too: All of my crying renders me incapable of recognizable human speech. Very annoying. What does science have to say about THAT?
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On Boredom Will Make You Thin
Where did we get this idea that having an appetite is a bad thing? That not-enjoying food is a good thing?
Those are some very bad ideas.
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On Facebook as a Threat to Storytelling
If your narrative is neat and/or tidy, you're not a very good journalist or novelist. Just, you know, sayin'.
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On Jon Stewart, Stop Hurting America!
@Emily L. Hauser@twitter
Thank you, very very much! I understand the hesitation, I really do.