Further Illinois Senate silliness, via Newsday:

"Dr. Barthwell suggested that the staff member would want to cut the cake available for the gathering because the knife was 'long and hard' and he might 'enjoy handling it.' When the cake was cut, Dr. Barthwell referred to the pieces as 'most' [sic] or 'beefy' and she said to the staff member, 'I know you like it big and meaty.'"

If Shakespeare had written a play about the Republicans' lineup of Senate hopefuls... well, it wouldn't be called 'Othello.'

• Followup from Mike: The Illinois Leader, "Illinois' Conservative News Source," has posted a poll: "Whose corpse should the IL GOP dig up to run for US Senate?"