So our first thought for a poll this week was tying “March Madness” to Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck, but hey, we already did the Wingnut Bracket last year. Apparently we also did a real pool, because Mellbell has kindly set up the Second Annual Stinque Bracket for your casual-wagering pleasure.

Being omniscient, we already know the results. But being wise, we’re not telling you.

Just another day in the Eternal City…

An underground Second World War unexploded bomb was extracted and defused on Sunday after the evacuation of 4,000 people on the outskirts of Rome.

The bomb, of U.S. production and weighing 250 kilograms, was found near the Tiburtina train station during the excavations for the construction of the European high-speed railway set to connect Italy to the rest of Europe.

So here’s what caught our attention: Long-forgotten generations-old dangerous waste is still causing serious problems. Yet the waste we’ve produced since then — with plans to produce even more — isn’t measured in half-centuries, but half-lives.

WWII underground bomb defused in Rome, 4,000 people evacuated [Xinhua, via Miss Expatria]

“We have fully considered Taitz’s arguments. We find them unpersuasive and therefore affirm the district court’s sanctions judgment.” That’ll be $20,000, please. [Washington Independent]

Two years ago, Pope Benedict sorta kinda apologized for the Church’s American molestation scandals, saying they were “sometimes very badly handled”. He may want to dust off that script. [NYT, via DodgerBlue]

[ Media Matters Flash video not available. ]

We wouldn’t normally take the trouble to note a CNBC shouting match, but we particularly enjoyed this exchange:

Read more »

We hate Raw Story. We hate Raw Story because they got to the Old Spice Centaur before we did:

“You see, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, when it started this move toward same-sex marriage, actually defined marriage — now get this — it defined marriage as simply, ‘the establishment of intimacy,'” [McCain primary opponent J.D.] Hayworth said. “Now how dangerous is that? I mean, I don’t mean to be absurd about it, but I guess I can make the point of absurdity with an absurd point — I guess that would mean if you really had affection for your horse, I guess you could marry your horse. It’s just the wrong way to go, and the only way to protect the institution of marriage is with that federal marriage amendment that I support.”

Well, fuck them. We’ll go with Mr. Ed instead.

J.D. Hayworth: Gay Marriage Law Could Produce Man-Horse Nuptials [HuffPo, via Raw Story]

So here’s how it works: The Senate parliamentarian sez the House has to pass the Senate healthcare bill before any reconciliation measure can be considered. The House, which doesn’t want to pass the Senate bill raw, wants to bundle the Senate bill into the reconciliation measure, so it can pass both with one vote.

Or something like that. Trust us, understanding Kant is easier.

Either way, the final bill passes both houses as amended, the President signs it into law, and everyone gets a pony.

Except in Minnesota:

Read more »