Phoebe Connelly

In his review of Sectioned: A Life Interrupted, Blake Morrison praises John O’Donoghue‘s portrayal of the “humdrum reality” of mental illness: It’s less a story of locked wards than of hostels, soup kitchens, sheltered housing, drug addicts, well-meaning charity workers and relentless poverty. Patching together adequate treatment for those with mental health problems is always […]

Time posted its list of the 25 best blogs. And, naturally, a shorter list of most overrated blogs. Both are annoying to scan (no full list? Also, what’s with the annoying HuffPo-style heds?). But, wait for it! They call out Ars Technica for being … fruity? A perennially top-rated blog that bills itself as covering […]

President Obama’s unveiling today of his administration’s Task Force on Middle Class Working Families is the most unambiguous statement yet from the president of his support for unions. Surrounded by union leaders from both the AFL-CIO and Change To Win (which generated the idea for the task force some months ago) and by Vice-President Biden, […]

Rep. Charlie Rangel, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, addressed the WE ACT conference today. His visit comes as the House just passed their $819 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In his address he expressed no bias on the question of cap-and-trade versus carbon tax, saying no matter which is used “we […]

Nice short read over at the NYT on the changing culture of the White House under Obama. He eats cheeseburgers! He roams the halls, ducking into offices unannounced! And Honest Tea is about to see a spike in sales; it’s apparently POTUS’ drink of choice. But this is the real gem: When Mr. Bush moved […]

I was supposed to watch the Inauguration from the blue-ticketed section, but like many other people, I found my entryway an impasse. At 11, my friend and I decided to head away from the Mall and find some place indoors to watch the proceedings. We ducked into the American Legion post at 3rd and D […]

I joined I joined The American Prospect in mid-October as president and publisher. I was delighted to work with Bob Kuttner, Mark Schmitt, and the rest of our talented staff to produce some of the highest quality journalism available anywhere this election cycle. We’ve been rewarded to see our magazine grow dramatically in terms of […]

One of the things that drew me to One of the things that drew me to The American Prospect a year and a half ago (besides trying to beat Obama here from Chicago) was the Prospect‘s focus on the substance of policy debates, and the people and institutions that shape them. Taking over as web […]

CQ, naturally, is on the case: Q: Did Stevens get paid his Senate salary while sitting in the courtroom? A: Yes, just like senators continue to draw their $169,300 salaries while campaigning for re-election or for president. Despite his legal troubles, Stevens remained a frequent sight in the halls of the Capitol while Congress was […]

Jon Burge was arrested today on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. For those outside Chicago, some explanation is in order. Burge was first a detective and then the commanding officer of the Area Two Violent Crimes unit on Chicago’s south side. While Burge served there, Andrew Wilson was arrested for the shooting of […]