As the mainstream media continues to whip itself into a frothing, swine flu frenzy, there are a few other things we should worry about even more. Like U.S. Sen. Max Baucus. Consider yourselves warned: Late last week, the Montana Democrat told

Is it too early to start planning ahead? Not that I'm one who normally does that, but it sounds like - economically, anyway - it's a bandwagon that's drawing more interest every day the stock market doesn't tank. But

"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality." -- Robert A. Baker While that seems like it would make a lot of sense, I'm not sure just how true it is

Talk about your rude homecomings. Imagine the letdown of returning home from one of the best trade shows of the year (and that's only because I can't make it to Comi-Con) to find out the lawmakers in your own state are all talking about a

We hear it every day. The sky is falling. The market's had more ups and downs than Sylvia Plath. And we can't even trust Jim Cramer anymore. (Jon Stewart as the new Edward R. Murrow? Really?) But all isn't lost. All this economic

Maybe I'm suffering from a genuine bout of bailout burnout. Or outrage exhaustion. Or maybe I've just got too much real, day-to-day stuff vying for my attention to keep getting worked up into a frenzy every time the media "breaks

I know we're all sick of hearing about the economy. I get that. Hell, I am, too. But get this: While we're all fretting over stimulus plans, bailouts and a planned health care overhaul, we need to keep an eye on this administration's

Later this week, a White House conference -- featuring interest groups (natch) and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle (for now) -- will get together to start talking health care. Might as well, since the president already threw out a