Patsy Stands Me Up

Planned to spend tonight listening to Patricia Madrid at the Democracy for New Mexico January monthly meeting, but she cancelled at the last minute. Now I know we wacky type liberals don't matter much, but we do tend to be the Democrats who protest voting for Ds on the slightest of slights. Madrid's gonna need every vote she can get, and I can't help thinking this no-show constitutes getting off on just a bit of the wrong foot with the Far Left. But, then again, it is all about me, having voted for the losing side about 90% of the time over the last two decades.

All I gotta say is that if Madrid shows up at any wildly sucessful pre-election Michael Moore rallies looking like a poser-Left total dweeb, ala Richard Romero 2004, I'm gonna tell everybody in shouted hearing range that I knew she was a loser back in January when she didn't show up for a meeting. Then I'm throwing up on the stairs at the Pit while I escape in horror.

I told you it's all about me.

Meanwhile, I've now worked THREE STRAIGHT DAYS IN A ROW and having a big of a tough time adjusting. Reading the well done and lengthy story/comments to Marston Moore's APS teaching thread at Duke City Fix isn't helping, either. When I come home from a tough day teaching middle school the last thing I want is 5,000 words on Brad Allison, APS bond elections and how screwed up education is. I read it all, anyway, feeling like I was the character in a TV reality show reading reviews of the show and whether I should get voted off the island. By the way, there were plenty of comments about those little mobile home classrooms we call "portables" in the business, and yes teaching in those is the equivalent of drawing night duty in Ramadi, Iraq.

And speaking of Iraq...I'll ask, too. When are the official election results being announced?

And speaking of little unconnected points, let's bullet a few:

• I wrote the other day about my perception that the media could do more these days (e.g., finding out the truth on mining deaths in W.Va.)...maybe today's media needs a little more H.L. Mencken and a little less Anderson Cooper. A bit more Ring Lardner wouldn't hurt, either. And a lot less corporate media ownership.
  
• A Las Vegas, NV acquaintance tells me that a concern there is imploding the old Stardust Hotel and putting up a 5300 room casino/resort costing $4 Billion.
  
• I notice that the last (2005) BushCo $18 billion budget for Iraqi reconstruction included $99 million for education throughout Iraq. That's what...roughly 1/2 of 1%?
  
• Juxtaposition is important when making these bulleted lists.
• Oh yeah, BushCo's proposed 2005 budget stops funding the reconstruction of Iraq altogether.
• I recited the opening lines of the Texas State Song today on our school announcements, and given that Vince Young was kind enough to decide to go to UT, this ex-pat Texan with a strong love/hate relationship with the Lone Star State will leave you with this:

"Texas, our Texas, all hail the mighty State.
Texas, our Texas, so wonderful so great!"

Okay, time to go to bed. Did you know I have to work FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS IN A ROW THIS WEEK!