USC sports statistic

No, not how many championships they have won, but how much they pay for their championships.

How much the school values football is reflected in Carroll's $4.4 million compensation package, the richest of any private university employee in the United States, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Surprising statistic

...on American political opinions. I would have guessed Americans favor liberalism over conservatism.

White House advisers add that Obama will be pushed only so far to the left, and with good reason. Only 19 percent of Americans, after all, identify themselves as liberal, compared with 36 percent who say they are moderate and 41 percent who say they are conservative, according to the latest poll by Democracy Corps, a Democratic think tank.

Miss California Not PC

Wow, she got lambasted!

...asked about her views on same-sex marriage during the nationally televised Miss USA pageant. Although she said she believed people were entitled to do as they liked, she said marriage should only be recognized as an institution between a man and a woman.

Prejean lost the pageant (she was runner-up to Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton). But her statement quickly became fodder for the ongoing culture war over same-sex marriage. Gay-rights activists criticized her, while her backers said she was being unfairly attacked.

She gave the WRONG ANSWER! That is not acceptable, even though most people agree with it. One can say that in private, but not in public!

"You have to understand we never want to take away a girl's beliefs or her voice," Lewis said. "But when you wear the title that says 'I represent everyone,' you can't then polarize the people you represent."

Who are the "people she represents" anyway? Apparently only people who favor same-sex marriage, the only ones deserving an opinion. If she had answered that she favored same-sex marriage, apparently that would not have been polarizing, but would have been considered appropriate for the people she represents.

What a mess our society is in...

One of My Heroes

John Wooden is a great coach and a great man, and is never shy about sharing his honest opinion. Yet he has so much integrity and ability, that people do not mind his strong opinions.

WOODEN REMAINS full of life and surprises. He pulls a silver cross from his pocket, the metal rubbed worn, although the alpha and omega symbols remain visible.

"I don't know how many people know this, but I had this in my hand the whole time I was coaching," he says, putting his palm out to show how he wedged the cross between his index and middle fingers. "My minister gave me this when I went into the service in 1942 -- the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end."

Scary Stats

The numbers get even more mind-boggling...

Already, in the first six months of this fiscal year, the federal deficit is running at $956.8 billion, or nearly one seventh of gross domestic product — levels not seen since World War II, according to Wrightson ICAP, a research firm.

Debt held by the public is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to rise from 41 percent of gross domestic product in 2008 to 51 percent in 2009 and to a peak of around 54 percent in 2011 before declining again in the following years. For all of 2009, the administration probably needs to borrow about $2 trillion.

LA is BLUE

DODGER BLUE, that is. What a hot start for the heroes of Chavez Ravine!

The Dodgers have been in business since 1890, and they have never won their first 10 home games - until now.