Sometimes good guys finish 1st (and 2nd) *possible Olympic spoiler*

[suffragette]

Shani Davis finished first in the men's 1,000 meter speed skate, becoming the first African-American to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history. Joey Cheeks finished 2nd, earning the silver.


From an article about Shani at http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/warsinskey0218062.html

Davis said he isn't seeking just fame and a few free drinks by skating in the XX Winter Olympics. He believes he can be the long track speedskater who transcends his sport and opens it up to kids who are like he was, growing up on Chicago's South Side never dreaming he could one day become the first black male to win a Winter Olympic gold medal.

"I want to be able to show kids that -- you know what? -- it's OK to break away from the bubble, that it's OK to do something different," he said.

"If I'm a big enough athlete, I want to be able to promote speedskating in inner-city areas or places that are dominated by, say, hockey or figure skating. I want to be a breath of fresh air. I want kids to be able to see me in a positive light. I want kids to be able to feed off me.

"I want to be able to give them hope because I had people that gave me hope, like Michael Jordan and Walter Payton. Their backgrounds weren't the most comfortable, but they exceeded the hype."

And Joey Cheek used his earlier win in the 500 meters to draw attention and encourage donations to refugees of the Darfur conflict:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/14/MNG2JH85HQ1.DTL

American Joey Cheek, a 26-year-old speedskater from Greensboro, N.C., used the occasion of his greatest athletic achievement to speak of things greater than personal glory and accomplishment.

"I am going to be donating the entire sum that the USOC gives to me ... to an organization that Johann Olav Koss started in 1994, and I'm going to be asking all the Olympic sponsors that have given hundreds of millions of dollars if they can match my donation to a specific project.

"In the Darfur region of Sudan, tens of thousands of people have been killed; my government called it genocide. So I'll be donating money specifically to a program that helps refugees in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced."

"I realize what news cycles are," he said. "There's a gold medalist today, and there'll be a gold medalist tomorrow. I could gush, or I could make it meaningful. ... On some level, it is empowering to think of someone other than yourself."

Congratulations to two guys who are as focused on creating positive change as on winning. Now that's Olympic spirit.

[cynatnite]

1. Hubby and I watched Shani Davis on TV the other day...

They were saying while other kids worshipped Michael Jordan, he admired people like Bonnie Blair. Kids would make fun of Shani because of his tights and skates.

I told hubby I bet they're not laughing now considering he's in the Olympics.

Congrats to both guys for doing more than just winning!

[suffragette]

3. Opening doors is never easy

and Shani just skated through a big one.

[bumblebee1]

8. Especially since Shani won the gold medal. n/t

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. Great. And I really like your sig line

Alice Walker's quote seems right on target now

[suffragette]

4. Thanks. You have a great one, too.

It's crucial to have academic freedom, especially in these times.

[Nikki Stone 1]

5. Tell me about it. Horowitz has sent out another email today

Asking for dollars....


"...Over the past 48 hours a consortium of radical professors, students and like-minded leftist organizations have launched an unprecedented attack aimed at discrediting my just-released book, The Professors, as well as our powerful National Campaign for Academic Freedom.

Over the years you and I have witnessed precisely this type of concerted effort used by America's left when it wants to silence anyone who threatens to expose its Hate America Agenda.

At the end of this email, a trusted supporter of CSPC, there is a link to my formal answer to the charges being made by a coalition of some of the left's most powerful groups including the ACLU, the teacher unions, George Soros's university recruitment program (Campus Progress) the rabidly pro-Castro United Students Association and, of course, People for the America Way.

But right now I'm asking you to immediately help me counter their malicious attempts to smear me, the book, our research and our powerful and growing National Campaign for Academic Freedom.

We're already preparing space ads to run in every campus newspaper that features one of the professors in my book, and in such magazines as Editor & Publisher that will call this coalition on the carpet and expose their smear campaign and their ugly McCarthyite tactics!

But I need your help. We know that we need to raise at least $25,500 immediately to get our ads produced and published. This will allow us to place ads in 250 campus newspapers. Can you help me today with a special emergency Expose the Censors contribution of $300, $100, or at least $35 right now?..."

[suffragette]

6. Shades of McCarthy's hit list

Even worse in some ways, since they've wised up on the naming of things (like all Bushists, using the trick of cloaking something negative in a positive name) and they're accusing the progressive groups of the tactics that they themselves are using.
With so much to be concerned about, they just slide by. Thanks for putting the spotlight on him and his ilk and exposing their actions to the bright light.

[Nikki Stone 1]

9. Sometimes I worry that I am giving him free publicity, but people need to

know what the hell he is doing. I am afraid this will put a chill through academia ultimately.

[suffragette]

7. Ain't too proud to kick my own post

for the good news it offers in a bleak week.