The National Air and Space Administration‘s announcement that it will hold a news conference tomorrow to speak on a discovery of “astrobiological significance” has got the blogs and news media a buzz. Theories on what NASA is about to reveal vary wildly, from speculation that the Space Agency will annouce that signs of life have been discovered on one of Saturn’s moons, to talk of newly discovered exotic life forms here on Earth that portend possible future discoveries beyond our planet. Having perused the vast literature and spoken with mulitple experts in government, academia and industry we here at Stinque have weighed the evidence, eliminated the impossible, pushed the improbable off to one side and come up with a list of what we believe are 10 plausible discoveries that NASA might reveal at tomorrow’s press conference. And here they are, in no particular order: Read more »

How could his replacement (he’s retiring) be any dumber? Oh wait – he is almost certainly dumber.

“The original coffin in which suspected Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was buried will go on the block on Dec. 16, with bids starting at $1,000… Oswald was buried in the casket until 1981, when a legal dispute between his widow and brother led to an exhumation.” [MSNBC, via Political Wire]

• Splash Mountain Baptism
• Stone’s Throw Haunted Mansion of Sinners
• Enchanted Glossolalia Room

Read more »

The high point for gays in the Land of Lincoln, so far this year, was having Brent Sopel bring the Stanley Cup (pictured) to the Gay Pride Parade in Chicago — the first time the Blackhawks made an appearance at the party.  But the bloom kind of came off that rose, as Sopel promptly departed for Atlanta, after a trade to the Thrashers. 

It was a neat story, actually.  Sopel promised to go even after he learned he was on his way out — all in honor of Brendan Burke, an out hockey player (and son of Brian Burke, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team), who died in a car crash in February.

But this is the second best moment, it seems, for those with a case of the gay in Illinois this year.  Moment No. 1 just might come tomorrow:

After waiting years for a political climate that would generate enough support, gay-rights activists won one of their biggest fights in history Tuesday when the Illinois house voted to allow civil unions for same-sex couples…. The legislation was approved by a 61-52 vote [and] now moves to the Senate, and a spokeswoman said it could be called for a final vote there Wednesday.

It’s taken me seven years, since I moved to Chicago, to say something this brash and bold.  And tomorrow, I just might be able to say…. suck it, Wisconsin.

Our guest columnist is Organizing For America, which has yet to send us this message. Last we heard from them was Thanksgiving, when President Obama told us “we know that you’ll be right there with us, ready to fight another day.”

A decade of irresponsible spending led to a projected $1.3 trillion deficit that President Obama inherited upon taking office — putting America on an unsustainable fiscal course.

From Day One, this administration’s top focus has been growing the economy and putting Americans back to work — and that will never change.

The economy is growing again, yet all across America families and businesses have been tightening their belts. The President knows their government must do the same.

Yesterday, he announced a proposal to freeze pay for non-military federal employees for two years — a plan that will lead to $60 billion in savings over 10 years. It’s one of many tough choices the President has made to cut costs in the upcoming budget to begin to put our nation’s fiscal house in order. And it follows directly from this administration’s dedication to stretching federal dollars and reining in the long-term deficit.

Read more »

“On his November 30 radio show, Beck said, as he’s prone to do, that ‘the storm is here,’ adding that ‘Wikipedia is just a part of it.’ One of Beck’s sidekicks quickly stepped in to correct it to WikiLeaks. Beck then asserted that Soros ‘helped develop software’ for Wikipedia. Sidekick Stu Burguiere responded, ‘I’ve read this before, but I don’t think it’s actually accurate.'” The free software is called MediaWiki, and — surprise! — we use it too. [Media Matters]