On Sunday, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow gave a commencement speech at the Academy of Music, in celebration of Northampton City Council President Bill Dwight earning his GED. All ticket proceeds went to the Literacy Project, a pioneer valley-based non-profit that offers free literacy and GED classes in Northampton, Amherst, Greenfield, Orange and Ware, serving approximately 500 low-income adult students each year. This was the only commencement speech Maddow gave this year. "It's important for me to be able to give back to this community," Maddow said. At $35-75 a ticket, the event was able to give the Literacy Project the boost it needed to continue operating through the year.

We no longer have a quaalude problem in the United States, George Bush is a decent painter (of dogs and himself in the tub), and Jennifer Tilly is an actress and a world series of poker champion.  Which shows, Maddow said, that things and people are not always set; that changing your life and the world is possible.  Bill Dwight disparaged Ayn Rand, and volunteers from the Literacy Project asked for our help.

Photo courtesy AtHandGuides.com via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.