E-Mail This Article to a Friend QUOTES + NUMBERS The cost of war

$6 billion

Amount the United States is spending per month in Iraq, according to the Congressional Research Service, which compiles reports for legislators

$5.15 billion

Amount, adjusted for inflation, the United States spent per month in Vietnam, from 1964 to 1972

$11 billion

Amount, adjusted for inflation, the United States spent on operation desert storm in its entirety (Allies contributed $76 billion)

Question of the week

In covering the Bush White House to date, do you think the mainstream media have behaved like…

1) lap dogs

2) watchdogs

3) junkyard dogs

Last week’s results:

Do you agree with City Councilor Steve Murphy’s plan to charge Boston-area colleges a per-student fee — $100 a year — to help pay for police overtime?

Yes: 54%

No: 46%

"Our goal at DHS is to completely eliminate the ‘catch and release’ enforcement problem, and return every single illegal entrant, no exceptions."

--Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff

$13,175

monthly salary of entry-level members of the US Congress

$1460

monthly salary of entry-level US troops in Iraq, including combat pay

$6.5 million

Flood damage to Massachusetts over the past weekend

500 ft

Size of the mudslide that shut down part of Route 123 on Saturday