CNN hires RedState’s Erick Erickson. Keep him away from John King’s Amazing Screen of Wonder, or he may fondle Florida. [Washington Monthly]

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]

The girlfriend writes from Osaka to tell me about a new advert she saw:

Don’t ask me what’s on offer – I don’t know. Damn cat probably outearns me ….

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 »