A compromise is reached on the stimulus bill in the Senate that would lower the size to about $820 billion. A final vote could happen this weekend, and almost certainly no later than Monday. Then negotiations will begin with House leaders on a final bill. It is still not a done deal, but it is looking more likely than not that some kind of bill will pass. In the end, I don't expect much in the way of real results from the bill. If I am right, and these kinds of taxpayer outlays combined with bailouts remain as unpopular with voters as I think they are, and if the economy remains mired in a recession, we can expect a voter backlash at the next available opportunity.

Here is some analysis on the growing influence of the state in our economic affairs.

Governor Lynch moves to block a Massachusetts effort to force New Hampshire retailers to collect Massachusetts sales taxes from their residents who buy stuff here in the Granite State. My advice as a former resident of the Bay State? Do what we did. Move to New Hampshire. That way, you can buy stuff without the tax guilt-free and, if you can find a job up here (I know, that's a big "if" these days), you can get your wages without an income tax as well.

The father of the Pakistani atom bomb is freed from house arrest. Dr. A.Q. Khan is also thought to be the father of North Korea's bomb, and perhaps others, as he was the focal point of a nuclear technology smuggling operation, which is why he was under house arrest in the first place. Of course, the fact that he is a hero in Pakistan is why he wasn't sent to jail, and why he is now free, the "international community" be damned.

Israeli voters face a fateful choice, and Caroline Glick has a recommendation.

One of my favorite actors, the versatile James Whitmore, has died. As a kid, I remember him from the science fiction classic Them, as well as movies like Battleground and Tora Tora Tora. He did great work in one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Teddy Roosevelt, and that Miracle-Gro stuff really works. He will be missed.