It's a shame that Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the Obama nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, chose not to defend her statement "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life" at her nomination hearings this week.

It seemed like a typical report at the time -- a survey on artists' earnings in Canada was released in early February. But when examining the details, the facts becomes more alarming with each sentence -- earnings by the likes of actors, writers, painters and directors have been in a freefall since 1990.

The study by Hill Strategies Research (prepared for Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council) revealed that Canada's 140,000 artists had annual incomes that were 37 per cent lower than the average Canadian worker.

Based on the 2006 census, average wages amounted to just $22,731 per year. That of course, does not count the part-time jobs artists do to sustain a living.

Examine the data and the figures are maddening.