Here is a variety of information, gleaned from a variety of sources:

Ma, Ma, where’s my pa? Last year, 38.5 percent of the babies born in the U.S. were to single mothers. If the 10-year trend continues, by 2012 the percentage will rise to 50 percent.

Dred Scott revisited: Of the 43 Supreme Court justices appointed since FDR, four of the five most conservative are currently serving. The fifth, Rehnquist, passed on to his reward only two years ago.

Sex sells: On the theory that exposure encourages impulse buying, stores in Ontario and Quebec are forbidden to display cigarettes or cigarette ads. Victoria’s Secret ads may be next.

We’ll meet again: Using cryogenics, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation will freeze and preserve you for 150,000 bucks. The head only is $80,000. So far they have 79 customers.

Karl Rove’s legacy: An Internet search for “Bush lied, and people died” reveals more than a thousand products (bumper stickers, T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) for sale or distribution.

Alma mater: About 35 alums of Notre Dame have been entombed on campus since the university offered crypts for $10,000.

Whose dollar? Both presidential campaigns employ “bundlers” – people who raise contributions from various sources and group them into a “bundle,” which is passed on to the candidates. As of June, Obama had 361 bundlers, of whom 14 were registered lobbyists. McCain had 507 bundlers, of whom 70 were lobbyists.

Cocktails for two: A hotel in Dubai offered a cocktail based on 55-year-old Scotch served in a gold cup for $7,440. The first night two were purchased. The news report didn’t specify if the customer drank both or if they were shared.

Equal pay for equal work: Gen. Petreaus gets $493.15 per day. A sergeant earns $71.53 per day. A Blackwater civilian security employee earns $1,221.62. A Sunni “security fighter” being paid by us not to fight us gets $16. If we cleared out of Iraq we could pay every living Iraqi a living wage and have a buck or two left over.

Civilian employees: This column previously reported 90,000 Iraqis being paid regularly for not fighting us. The correct number is 91,600.

Dimes on the dollar: Since 2006 the IRS has spend $87 million to collect $50 million in unpaid taxes.

Saving for retirement: The amount of stock (investments) held in defense industries by members of Congress is $150,000,000.

Language 101: There are 1,000 employees in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad – only 10 of whom are classified as fluent in Arabic by the State Department.

Fit for a photo: Carol Mendenhall of Dibble, Ok., was cited because her goats were “doing it” in her yard, thus violating a city ordinance against animals mating in public.

Soldier’s benefits: Since 1990, John McCain has voted 10 times against increased funding for Veteran’s Affairs.

Food fight: Americans throw out about 27 percent of the food they buy each year.

License to drive: In an effort to reduce traffic, the city of Shanghai charges as much $7,000 for a license plate.

Color coded: English researchers found that soccer teams that wore red had more wins and scored more goals than those with other colors.

Friend or foe: Honeybees can recognize human faces.

On the job training: An Australian study reported that 40 percent of the prostitutes in Melbourne were college students.

Beef eaters: 50 percent of the 143 million tons of beef recalled by the U.S. in Februar had already been eaten – 23 percent of it by children in school lunches.

Who is hungry? Food bank customers increased 20 percent this year. U.S. government food donations decreased 9 percent.

NRA: In Uttar Pradesh, an Indian state, 191 men underwent vasectomies last year in exchange for gun licenses.

C’est la vie: A government study found that one in five Frenchmen between the ages of 18-24 are uninterested in sex.

Biblical belief: 69 percent of Republicans believe in hell; 52 percent of Democrats; 45 percent of independents.

Calling Elliot Spitzer: 34 percent of men worth more than $20 million admit having paid for sex, while 20 percent of women with same fortunes have also paid for that pleasure.

Family values: Besides the U.S., only three countries do not guarantee maternity leave. Those three have an average annual per capita income of $1,226.

Rodney Quinn, a Gorham resident, is a former Maine secretary of state. He can be reached at [email protected].