By the Numbers

180. Number of bills introduced in the U.S. to restrict voting rights since the beginning of 2011. 14 states have passed legislation to restrict voting. (Brennan Center for Justice; MSNBC)

329. Number of consecutive months, as of July, with global temperatures above the 20th century average. (NOAA; The Hill)

700. Number of water mains in the U.S, on average, which break every single day. A third of the country's water pipes are 40-80 years old. This undoubtedly figures in to the D- grade the American water infrastructure received from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Repairing the infrastructure will cost approximately $335 billion over 20 years. (MSNBC)

30,000. Number of education jobs lost since the official end of the recession in 2009. Student-teacher ratios increased by 4.6% from 2008-2010, from 15.3 in 2008 to 16:1 in 2010, bringing student-teacher ratios back to levels last seen in 2000, according to a White House study. These ratios include special education and special needs classroom ratios. These classroom ratios are on track to increase even further. (AP; Washington Post)

396,906. Number of undocumented immigrants deported in 2011, the largest number in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements history. (CNN)

7.5 Million. The fine, in U.S. dollars, The Artists Formerly Known as Xe-Formerly Known as Blackwater-Now Known as Academi LLC agreed to pay to settle federal charges for possessing automatic weapons in the U.S. without registration, lying to federal regulators about weapons provided by them to the king of Jordan, passing secret plans for armored personnel carriers to Sweden and Denmark without U.S. approval, and illegally shipping body armor overseas. And this is just the stuff they've admitted to. (AP; Indianapolis Star)

So You Say

“First rule of journalism: Whenever you see elephants flying, shut up and take notes.” Tom Friedman

Paul Ryan's “not the kind of guy you pick to win Florida. This is the kind of guy you pick to win Fox and Friends.” Rachel Maddow

“And if you add in addition [to taxes paid] the amount [of our wealth] that goes to charity, why the number gets well above 20%.” Mitt Romney. To which Amy Davidson of The New Yorker shrewdly wrote “…what is the name for the category he refers to as 'the number?'– the sum of taxes and charity? Those are, after all– and one hopes that Romney recognizes this– two different things.”

“The political conventions are among the few 'shared' national political events left.” Jim Lehrer

“I mean, the conventions don't really do any work anymore. They're just three-day long infomercial parties for the party and the candidate.” Rachel Maddow

Climate change “is the biggest market failure the world has ever seen.” Former World Bank economist Nicholas Stern

Children of undocumented immigrants “study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, befriend our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag. It makes no sense to expel talented young people who are, for all intents and purposes, Americans.” Barack Obama

“The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central Liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan

“There are 250 million guns in this country. If a person wants to get his hands on a gun, they're going to be able to do it…But we also have this situation where we have a lot of 20 year olds who are living in this under-institutionalized world, lonely, not a lot of people dealing with them; at the same time, a tremendous hunger for fame and you see the rise of these spectacle killings. And I'd like to see a debate about that. There's not an obvious political solution but…there's a civil society solution where we all look out for people who are just drifting between the cracks.” David Brooks

Excerpt: Matthew Tully regarding Indiana candidate for U.S. Senate Richard Mourdock

“If I had to pinpoint the moment at which I went from thinking Richard Mourdock would be an ineffective senator to a downright disaster, it was probably when he answered a question this spring about his top goals for the Senate. [He] told several reporters and editors that day that if he were a member of the Senate next year but in the minority, his top goal would be to travel the nation campaigning for fellow conservative candidates. The answer was as petty as it was depressingly political and partisan. And it underscored Mourdock's deep misunderstanding of the responsibilities and power every senator has–even those in the minority.” Matthew Tully, “Coats has things to teach Mourdock,” Indianapolis Star, 08/08/2012.