Amid all the injustice and suffering on our planet, isn’t it refreshing when the lessor among us selflessly embrace a noble cause and make the world a better place?

So said Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. James Stockdale in most memorable moments of the 1992 presidential campaign. Mr. Stockdale died yesterday at age 81.
Mr. Stockdale, with his 26 combat awards, certainly ought to be remembered for more than his short stint as Ross Perot’s running mate. But man, that was a funny debate moment.

In recognition of Le Tour, road cycling will be a theme here at Resonance this month.
And why not? The road bike is “most efficient machine known to man,” it provides great exercise, and it’s a whole lot of fun.

Your TSA at work:

* $526.95 for one phone call from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago to Iowa City.
* $1,180 for 20 gallons of Starbucks Coffee — $3.69 a cup — at the Santa Clara Marriott in California.
* $1,540 to rent 14 extension cords at $5 each per day for three weeks at the Wyndham Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo.
* $8,100 for elevator operators at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.
* $5.4 million claimed for nine months’ salary for the chief executive of an “event logistics” firm that received a contract before it was incorporated and listed its address at a post office box.

All told, a federal audit “calls into question $303 million of the $741 million spent to assess and hire airport passenger screeners for the newly created Transportation Security Administration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”
It’s funny how may Rightists nearly have a cow regarding the government “waste” when it comes to NPR and other cherished whipping boys, yet are silent when it comes to this kind of stuff.

So much for a quiet holiday news weekend. This retirement is much more significant than the rumored Rehnquist retirement, as O’Connor often served as the moderating swing vote.
Unfortunately, much of the noisy debate on the impact of her successor will focus on abortion. In reality, this change could shift the legal landscape on a host of issues.