Danny Deever was hanged again today. As tradition goes, the Campanile's bells toll this song on the last day of class and stay silent throughout finals. It marks the time when thousands of students wonder what the heck they've learned for the past 15 weeks after they realize it's been 15 weeks since the start of the semester.

Tomorrow, the governor's budget is officially released. In a down economy, everyone crosses their fingers and hopes nothing bad happens. As a college student at a public university, obviously how much it costs to attend is the most important thing I care about. The news on that front is gloomy. Originally, fees were supposed to be raised by $795 for UC students and a little more than half of that for CSU students. Now, even more uncertainty about budget cuts have delayed the regents' decision on how much to raise it. After all, a $35 billion deficit isn't about to close itself. And when fees are tied to how the economy performs, fees are going to go way up.

Nationally, President Bush is making trips across the country to promote his tax cut. I'm sorry to say, whenever I see him talk I have to laugh hysterically, whether its his hand motions, the way he slows down once he reaches a 3-syllable word, when he makes a joke nobody gets, or his smirk whenever he begins to speak about something serious. But make no mistake, he's serious about this tax cut, a $350-550 billion stimulus package meant to increase jobs and growth. No, I don't think this large of a tax cut is wise, but there's only two ways the government can increase the GDP, cutting taxes or increasing spending, and Bush has chosen his path and pushing for it aggressively.

Back in his home state of Texas, the state house isn't able to do any business after 53 Democrats left the state and fled to an Oklahoma Holiday Inn to protest a redistricting bill. House rules state at least 100 of 150 members must be present to do any legislative business. I'm all for expressing opinion and fighting for a position, but a majority is a majority for a reason. The minority has a right to have its say but the majority has its right to see that a vote goes through and not let the minority obstruct it.

They've redesigned the $20 bill to further stymie countefeiters. Why is it that every time new currency is introduced, it becomes a bit less prestigious the next time? Wavy fonts are used. Pink colors are their favorite it seems. Keeping the tradition in the dollar bill makes it feel important to hold onto instead of the lightish green, holographic pieces of paper my wallet holds that I can exchange for goods and services.

ASUC election results have been announced and Student Action's stranglehold on the executive offices are no more. Since its inception 7 years ago, Student Action has been the dominant player in ASUC politics, but all around them, they've seen their big ideas turn into big money sinkholes. Students have finally looked closely and chosen Student Action's rival, Cal-Serve, to lead the next year. Kudos to them. One race turn into a one-man race when the leading candidate was accused and found guilty of using an ASUC font. Apparently, it's illegal to use a font that is identified as an ASUC resource. Fine, it's something to get confused about, but grounds for disqualification? I don't think so.

It's been two months since the Sharks fired General Manager Dean Lombardi and since that time, it seemed only one man, part-owner and president Greg Jamison, was handling the hiring of the new one. After two months, you would have thought that Jamison was preparing to hire someone who would bring a massive amount of skills and a boatload of respect to a team that basically went from first to worst in one season. Today, who do they get? Doug Wilson, basically second-in-command under Lombardi. Man, good-going. This late into the game and this close to the draft, Wilson is a natural fit. He knows the Sharks system and its strengths and weaknesses. But as it stands, Wilson doesn't seem like the guy who will lead the Sharks to a championship. Instead, it seems like he'll produce a team who will do well enough to keep the ticket holders happy. Hopefully, Wilson will prove me wrong.

Dawson's Creek came out, what, 5 years ago? And now, it's ending and commercials promise one of the four will die. My guess? Josh Jackson from the Mighty Ducks movies since he's the only one who's doing promotion for the finale.

Some lawyer is trying to get Oreos banned from California because of its trans-fat levels. If you're so worried about trans-fat, don't eat them!

The Matrix: Reloaded comes out tonight. Line up now!