Guy LeCharles Gonzalez (aka glecharles) (aka loudpoet)

An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

WARNING: Today this journal lives up to its name. Grrr... Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. -George Bernard Shaw So Proposal #3 was soundly defeated yesterday, 70-30%, and all 49 of the City Council incumbents were re-elected, most facing token opposition at best, leaving Democrats jumping for joy as their stranglehold on the City's political system continues as, of the 51 total districts, 47 are headed by Democrats! For all the supposed discontent with Bloomberg and the job he's done as Mayor, it's the City Council that approves the vast majority…

Continue Reading
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Rock the Vote Debate

After a promising start, the Rock the Vote debate petered out into yet another convoluted forum where, not unlike slam, cliched soundbites won out over depth and I suspect anybody that is even moderately aware of the candidates walked away not really hearing anything new and, more unfortunately, not seeing enough to sway them in, or away from, any particular direction. Hopefully for anyone tuning in for the first time, it spurred them into getting more information. I agree with Kerry's wife that they're not the ideal way to do it but, at the same time, I think it's too…

Continue ReadingRock the Vote Debate
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Rolling Stone on Kucinich

From the "Maybe there's hope" file, there's a great Kucinich profile/interview in the latest Rolling Stone: Your candidacy seems to be built on the idea that the people are looking for another New Deal-type program. But the New Deal didn't happen until the country was mired in a depression. Do you think things have really gotten that bad now? When you consider that most Americans are maxed out on their credit cards, when you consider that most Americans are no longer guaranteed employment security, when you consider how many pension funds are going belly up, when you look at the…

Continue ReadingRolling Stone on Kucinich
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

From the "No wonder people don't bother" file: Went to vote this morning and realized that it's the first time I'm voting IN New York City. I've voted absentee while in the Army, in New Jersey while living there, and even in Virginia last year, where I was impressed by their hi-tech setup. My polling place for today was a beat-up warehouse of a church manned primarily by what appeared to be beneficiaries of their Meals On Wheels program. Seriously. Other than the three college-age kids helping out, there wasn't a volunteer there under the age of 70. I'm just…

Continue Reading
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Letter to the Editor, NY Daily News: re: No to #3 In opposing Proposal #3, I find it ironic that the major party leaders on the City Council would stand together to proclaim that non-partisan elections "would make party labels meaningless and, more important, make choices much more difficult for voters." I'd argue that it has been the parties themselves that have made their respective labels meaningless, both on the local and national level. If they were truly interested in making our choices less difficult, as opposed to simply preserving their two-party kingmaker gridlock, they'd abandon their partisan ways and…

Continue Reading
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

YES to Proposal #3

Tomorrow's Election Day and I've been hard-pressed to find any pro-"YES to Proposal #3" media coverage. There's a solid, well-reasoned piece in last week's Village Voice that includes this interesting counter to the argument that non-partisan voting harms minorities: Unlike most major American cities with nonwhite and female voting age majorities, New York has elected just one black mayor, and no woman, Latino, or Asian mayor. In fact, Latinos, the city's largest minority, have yet to hold any of the three citywide posts, and Asians, the fastest growing minority with 10 percent of the voting age population, are represented by…

Continue ReadingYES to Proposal #3
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Times when it's okay to lie to your kids: #17: Because you can't go to Chuck E. Cheese every day! #31: If you don't, they will eat all of the candy. Then, demand more. Halloween was fun, though, as expected, no Hollywood insanity broke out. There were some insane parents, though, as well as some fun costumes, kids and adults alike. Isaac's turned out to be one of the best ones there and didn't have the misfortune of being one of fifty other kids in a cheap Batman outfit. (Side note: Homemade costumes are a much better option to ending…

Continue Reading
Newer Posts
Older Posts