A couple things:

1) Good for Magtt Lauer for acting like a journalist and calling Tom Cruise on his ridiculous behavior. I didn't see it, but if it made CNN it must have been good.

EDIT: Drudge has a transcript. Wild.

2) Hangover!

3) Cry me a river. Your real pay (after adjusting for inflation) goes up 11%? I call that a victory. I found this little stat to be telling:

The top state, Connecticut, paid public school teachers an average yearly salary of $57,337. The District of Columbia was next at $57,009. South Dakota paid the lowest average salary, $33,236, while Oklahoma was next-to-last at $35,061. The NEA got its figures by surveying state education agencies.

Seems like dollars spent on teaching don't necessarily coincide with success? The Chicago Public Schools are right up there too. Also, I wonder what the actual purchasing power of the $33K in SD is versus the $57K in Connecticut? I bet they are pretty equitable. Don't forget the shorter workday and the three months off either. You can get a lot done in that extra time, whether it's doing chores you'd otherwise have to pay someone else to do, or getting a summer job (or busting down doors with the Cook County Sheriff). I'm not begrudging them their work schedule, but let's not act like it isn't true.