Or having your cake, eating it too, and bypassing the vegetables...

The big, freaking macho gorilla in the statehouse put out a press release explaining why they just love the Assembly's proposed budget, which essentially eliminates all the good things about public charter schools in New York State and makes things much, much worse.

If you're NYSUT, the reasoning makes a lot of sense. While everyone else in the state believed somewhat strongly there should be a sort of coupling of record education spending (as part of the CFE lawsuit resolution) and rigorous accountability measures like increased ability to create high-performing charter schools, NYSUT was pleased to see that the Assembly was cool with coughing up billions more in spending without having to take any steps down the accountability path.

It's like making a deal with your kids that they can have cake for dessert, but only after they eat their vegetables. Then, with a plate full of veggies staring them in the face, Sheldon Silver suddenly appears in your dining room with the dessert tray, giving the kids a knowing wink and soothing smile.

Says UFT President Randi Weingarten: "This is why the Assembly is called the people's Legislature. They deserve an apple from the teachers and cheers from parents because they recognized what children need to excel."

My goodness.

In this Legislative Gazette article on NYSUT's attacks on meaningful school reform, NYCSA's Peter Murphy calls it the worst selfishness he's seen from a special interest in two decades.