It’s been a rough week for Mark Kirk. He lost his green group support and more military misremember-ments surfaced, elevating his national profile in a way he might not prefer. In recent elections, Kirk had been one of the few Republican candidates who could claim strong support from environmentalists. But that ended this week as the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters announced that they would not support him in the race to fill Illinois’ empty Senate seat. Oil policy and a flip-flop on his energy bill vote earlier in the year are at the heart of the groups’ decision to pull their support. Tony Massaro of the League of Conservation Voters told Lynn Sweet at the Sun-Times, "He was one of the people down on the floor of the House chanting 'Drill, Baby, Drill!' in August, 2008." more ›

Rachel Maddow is far from the only one speaking out against the Ugandan "Anti-Homosexuality Bill." Some 20 protesters braved the bitter cold and took yesterday, International Human Rights Day, as an opportunity to gather in opposition to the proposed bill outside of the Center on Halsted in Lakeview. more ›

And it was our own favorite lesbian political commentator for the undeniable win. Richard Cohen, author of the "sexual reorientation" manual Coming Out Straight, appeared last night on Maddow's MSNBC show, responding to the anchor's previous reports addressing American links (including his own) that inspired proposed Ugandan legislation that would mandate strict penalties, including life imprisonment and execution of "serial offenders" of homosexuality. Gay rights advocates say the new legislation will likely pass. more ›

If you were crazy enough to make the Tiki on Acid after we posted about it then chances are you've still got a bottle of green chartreuse in your liquor cabinet. The magical green elixir has such a potent kick that a little goes a long way, and there aren't many cocktails in standard rotation that even try to incorporate its intense herbal flavors. more ›

Studs Terkel is a national treasure and one of Chicago's crown jewels. So with all the punditry and talking heads why did it take so long for someone to ask him what he thought of the Obama race towards the presidency? Edward Lifeson, who usually blogs about architecture at Hello Beautiful, called Studs Terkel to talk Presidential politics (which, presumably, isn't the hardest conversation to start) over at the Chicago branch of the Huffington Post. more ›