John Kenneth Galbraith passed on Saturday. A brilliant economist who's depth of compassion matched his magnitude of thought. At the top of this blog, I have featured for some time one of his many memorable quotes. Succinct and bracingly true.

Rush Limbaugh (finally) surrendered to authorities. Of course, his lawyer emphasized that no doctor-shopping was involved (uh, OK). The bottom line is he received a sweetheart deal; given the same charges very few people in this country would've been granted such a watered down settlement.

Rush surrenders to authorities and cuts a deal -- but he's not guilty! O'Reilly pays reportedly $10 million in a sexual harassment suit -- but he's not guilty! Karl Rove testifies five (5) times -- but he's not guilty! Oh, and Tom DeLay continues to maintain his innocence -- despite stepping down from House leadership and balking on running again for office. And Kenny-boy Lay blames the media and maintains his innocence.... (see a pattern here?)

"The number of insurgent attacks on civilians in Iraq skyrocketed last year, resulting in almost 8,300 deaths and accounting for more than 50 percent of those killed in terrorist attacks worldwide, according to a State Department report released Friday. The figures for 2005, reported in the State Department's annual survey of global terrorism, showed a doubling from the previous year in both the number of major terrorist attacks in Iraq and the death toll from them. The overall tally of about 3,500 terrorist attacks in Iraq last year represented nearly one-third of such attacks around the world. The numbers do not include attacks against American or coalition troops."

Yeah, but how about showing us some good news regarding Iraq....?

Who to trust? "...in a town where the local population is hostile to the American presence in Iraq, U.S. soldiers have developed a deep distrust of their Iraqi counterparts following a slew of incidents that suggest the troops they are training are cooperating with their enemies."

How about some good news....?

How ironic, the U.S. wants to repatriate prisoners held at Guantanamo -- a place where U.S. torture has occurred -- but our State Dept. is concerned that released prisoners might be tortured upon returning to their home countries. Note the following, "United States officials at one point suggested that the prisoners be visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross, but the Saudi government does not now allow the Red Cross access to its prisons, and the proposal was set aside, officials said." Speaks volumes about the freedoms and system of justice in Saudi Arabia.

Total projected cost of the war per U.S. household, based on a January estimate: $19,600

Minimum number of times that Frederick Douglass was beaten in what is now Donald Rumsfeld’s vacation home: 25

An example of why Specter, despite his many flaws, is a far superior Senator than his state colleague, that K-Street ringleader hack Santorum.

Where is Harry Reid now? It's time for him to muster up again some much-needed chutzpah and call Roberts on this blatant postpone-until-after-November-elections BS.

Former top CIA official, Tyler Drumheller, a 26-year veteran of the agency: "I think over time, people will look back on this and see this is going to be one of the great, I think, policy mistakes of all time."