Guy LeCharles Gonzalez (aka glecharles) (aka loudpoet)

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

Ignorance is Bliss

Call me a latte-sipping elitist if you want*, but there are some truly stupid people in this country. Even worse, they’re willfully stupid!

Via Ben Smith’s “Things Americans Believe”:

10% of Americans believe [Barack] Obama’s a Muslim

…

22% believe President Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance.
30% believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
23% believe they’ve been in the presence of a ghost.
18% believe the sun revolves around the earth.

I can forgive the 9/11 conspiracy theorists because I don’t trust Bush as far as I can throw him, either, and I’m totally open to the idea of ghosts, but anyone still believing Saddam had WMDs is an example of willful stupidity.

And 18% believe the sun revolves around the earth!?!?

WTF?

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

Olbermann Pounds Nail Into Clinton Coffin

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=cdbgELgiBQM]

Again, Keith Olbermann cuts to the chase:

You actually used the word “assassination” in a time when there is a fear, unspoken but vivid and terrible, that our again-troubled land and fractured political landscape might target a black man running for president.

Or a white man.

Or a white woman!

You actually used those words, in this America, Senator, while running against an African-American against whom the death threats started the moment he declared his campaign?

Just another sleep deprivation-induced gaffe — and this from the woman who claims to be ready for that 3am phone call? — or Freudian slip?

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

Poetry: Where Your Vote Really Counts

Tired of the never-ending Democratic Primary and annoyed that, in the end, your vote might not really count anyway if the Super Delegates opt to nominate the candidate not in the lead when all is said and done? As in many other aspects of life, poetry offers a much-needed alternative. Blogsboro.com is running an election for the Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere and Tony Brown, a good friend and worthy candidate, is currently leading the race by a narrow margin over someone named Rob McClennan whom, in the spirit of Presidential elections, I know nothing about and won't bother to…

Continue ReadingPoetry: Where Your Vote Really Counts
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Goodbye Potter’s Field

Home ownership is a key theme in one of my favorite movies, It’s a Wonderful Life, and as I called our current landlord this morning to officially let them know we won’t be renewing our lease, I couldn’t help but recall the scene where Mr. Martini is moving his family into their new home courtesy of a loan from the old Bailey Bros. Building & Loan Association:

“No more we live like pigs in this Potter’s Field!”

While our apartment is far from a slum, we’ve definitely outgrown it, both physically and psychologically, and more than any other step we’ve taken in the home buying process so far, making that phone call felt like the most concrete affirmation yet that we’re really doing it. There was also a bit of the bittersweet there with the realization that, after a combined 17 years, I will likely never live in the Bronx again.

Of course, It’s A Wonderful Life has an answer for that, too:

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

I’m Not Dead

…but I certainly feel like I’ve been buried alive lately!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdnljEV7MP4]

Speaking, tangentially, of being careful what you wish for*, I’d totally understand if Obama was really close to just saying “screw y’all” and handing the nomination to Clinton. Hunter S. Thompson’s sentiment — paraprashing someone else, I believe — “In a democracy, people usually get the kind of government they deserve, and they deserve what they get.” has never felt truer than the past month or so. Thanks to the new job, I’ve successfully taken a break from the Democratic primary and avoided last night’s debate, but Andrew Sullivan’s on-the-fly take and IllDoctrine’s parody (above) confirmed that it was even worse than I expected it to be. Say what you want about Clinton’s “right” to continue her campaign, when your only hope is to carpet bomb your opponent and hope he doesn’t survive the assault, I’d say that’s akin to one’s First Amendment rights stopping at yelling “Fire!” in a movie theater.

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

Walk Now for Autism, 2008

India and Daddy in Inwood ParkDid you know that every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism?

Three years ago, our daughter India was diagnosed with PDD-NOS – an Autism Spectrum Disorder. After three years of intense therapy and lots of support from organizations dedicated to families of children with Autism, India has come a long way and while she still has some trouble with communicating and overstimulation, she no longer presents with the symptoms typically associated with Autism.

Please help me give other children the same opportunity by supporting me as I walk with Team 352X again in this year’s Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism fund-raising event.

This is my 3rd year walking — 2nd year with Team 352X — and I consider it one of the most important things I do each year. Your financial support is most appreciated, not just on behalf of my daughter India and the great kids my wife Salomé teaches at 352X, but for all the kids and their families who benefit from an increased awareness of autism and the additional resources that are becoming available due to that increased awareness.

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