Who’s To Blame?

Here is TIME’s list of 25 People to Blame for the economic meltdown. Who is on your list?

In the Arena

Latest Column

On the Israeli elections.

As Maine Goes…

In the new issue of dead-tree TIME, Jay Newton-Small and I have this story on Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, the two Republican Senators who played such an important role in shaping the final stimulus package, and who could be crucial to Obama agenda going forward.

Re: Re: We Have Ourselves a Deal

Indeed, a deal has been struck and votes are expected as early as tomorrow in the House and before the weekend in the Senate. The final hiccup resolved itself after three hours when Speaker Pelosi compromised by allowed that the $10 billion not be spent specifically on school construction but giving governors the option to [...]

What is Mike Huckabee Talking About?

Mike Huckabee says the stimulus bill is “anti-religion.” The Christian Coalition calls it “an attack on people of faith.” The Traditional Values declares that the economic package “stimulates anti-Christian bigotry.” My goodness. Maybe the devil really is in the details. Or…maybe this is a classic case of social conservatives ginning up yet another false charge [...]

Re: We Have Ourselves a Deal

Not so fast, say House Dems who have been closeted for the last two-and-a-half hours trying to make heads or tales of the complex bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama’s legislative director Phil Schiliro have been in the speaker’s office with them. At issue, I’m told, is a $10 billion increase to [...]

We Have Ourselves a Deal

So say the Democratic House and Senate negotiators working on the stimulus bill. It’s just in time for a conference meeting on the bill, scheduled start right about now. The final pricetag is said to be $50 billion less than the package the Senate approved yesterday. We’ll find out soon enough what got cut–and what, [...]

Political Tweets

Following up on Karen’s posts on Pete Hoekstra, here’s a story from me about Congress’s love affair with twitter. And leaders – take note – this can be dangerous as the Virginia Senate proved (hat tip, Indy’s dad Jon Steinman). But what’s fascinating about this to me is the civic journalism aspect: if, God forbid, [...]

New Financial Rescue Plan: Just Attend An Obama Town Hall

Henrietta Hughes, who pleaded with President Obama in a Town Hall on Tuesday for a home, has been offered the second home of state Sen. Rep. Nick Thompson “for as long” as she needs it.

They Didn’t Ask, She Didn’t Tell, and Yet…

Does having a MySpace page on which you don’t hide the fact that you’re a lesbian constitute “telling” the military about your sexual orientation? What about kissing your girlfriend in the checkout line in Wal-Mart? It does if you serve in the Kansas Army National Guard, which recently discharged an Iraq war vet for being [...]