Happy Tet!

The Vietnamese community here in Oklahoma celebrated their new year's eve Saturday night, and we all woke up in the year of the dog yesterday.

Speaking of which, the Sunday Oklahoman had a front-page article on how the state budget is spent. More than half of it goes to education. This comes out after the local branch of the NEA teachers' union filed a lawsuit this month to increase education's share of the state budget. (Original is registration only: Google cache here.) The Oklahoman notes:

The Oklahoma Education Association wants $4 billion more to educate students and upgrade school facilities statewide. The lawsuit supposedly reveals vast funding problems in the state's school finance system but we've yet to hear a plausible solution as to how to pay for what it deems an "adequate" education.

The entire budget of the Great State of Oklahoma is $6.2 billion. $3.1 billion already goes to education, so the OEA is actually suing for a total education budget that exceeds the entire state budget.

One reason it's not so much fun blogging politics anymore is that our honorable opponents have turned themselves into clowns recently. Galloway in a leotard, Kerry rushing home from Davos to lead a filibuster, the teachers' union here ...

Anyway, the Republicans aren't doing so well themselves -- more lobbying corruption? Man, and after McCain-Feingold, I thought they all went honest. (cough)

Yeah, welcome to the year of the dog.

George Galloway Leotarded!?

This is utterly unbelievable. It has to be a joke, but I can't see anything to suggest it is. Anyone else? Please, someone show me this is satire.

Sample:

First he shocked TV viewers and his colleagues by pretending to be a cat and lapping milk from Rula Lenska's hand.

Now George Galloway is set to attract further derision after performing a dance routine on Celebrity Big Brother - in a tight-fitting, red leotard.

The Respect MP, already under fire for taking part in the show instead of representing his constituents, ad-libbed a dance routine for his latest stunt.

(Mug tip to Right Thinking People in the appropriately-titled post, "Gaaah! My Eyes!")

Update: No, apparently it's real. Here's a Times Online report on it:

Mr Galloway, a left-winger who was expelled from the Labour Party over his attacks on Tony Blair and the decision to commit British troops to the invasion of Iraq, inflicted a shock defeat on his former party when he narrowly captured the Bethnal Green seat from Ms King, a Blair loyalist, in May's general election.

Last night, he sauntered along the red carpet into the Big Brother house to a chorus of boos from the crowd, before pausing to make a victory sign and shout "Stop the war!".

Once inside the house he introduced himself to the others, accompanying each handshake with the words: "I’m a Member of Parliament".

Update 2: Pajamas Media is on the case with a better, er, worse, photo, and interesting links.

Pressing On Towards the Chocolate Cookies

Well, I've started a new class, taken the GRE, am preparing to apply for grad school, have been asked to read at a poetry reading & have been preparing for that (crikey! poetry is hard after so long!). I have started some part-time work, and am looking for more. If all goes well, next fall I'll be a happy grad assistant, torturing undergrads and living the freewheeling life on campus.

As a concerned man, I have to say that the typical 57% female, 43% male ratio seems to hold on campus, and I am very concerned that our educational system seems to be failing boys. As a single man, however, I have to say there is an up side ...

While I'm Gone ...

... check out this review of Beach Blanket Burqua, a fun movie with something for everyone.

(Mug tip to Grouchy Old Cripple.)

"More Blogging Soon ..."

Did I actually write that? I don't think so; it must be aliens. (Speaking of which, saw a sign today outside a local restaurant that said "Earth is full, go home.")

Anyway, lots is happening in my non-blog life right now, though whether any of it will be productive or not is still up in the air. So, I'm hiatusing for a bit.

Catch ya later!

Happy New Year!

I had a pretty good break. I hope everyone else did too!

More blogging soon ...