Politics

“I don’t know karate—but I know cr-azy.” —James Brown The Washington Post’s Steven Pearlstein finally said the F-word. Fraud. While Congress and the Treasury mull over approaches to the financial crisis with exotic names like “cram down,” “claw back” and “disgorgement,” and tax AIG executives “1000 percent” on their $160 million in bonuses, Pearlstein posed…

Click here to read a slide-show essay about the architecture of Detroit.

Seattle, city of iconoclasts and wired pioneers, is embarking on a new frontier in journalism, as the home of the first major metropolitan daily, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, switches from print to an entirely online format—a bold, economically driven departure in publishing, and one that is already being closely watched by media companies and analysts.…

On Sept. 14, 2001, Congresswoman Barbara Lee took a stand. In the hectic, fear-filled days after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, she was the only member of the House of Representatives to vote against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists. Lee, now serving her sixth term, has been one…

Like two old girlfriends catching up, they ignored onlookers, hugged and laughed. Donna Brazile, the political strategist and Washington veteran, peppered Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson with questions. “How are the kids?” “Have you contacted the church? I don’t go every Sunday but they know me.” Before she left, Jackson had an open invitation…

Outraged at AIG? Take your spot in line. While you’re there, gawk at all of your esteemed company. First you’ll find both aisles of Congress—“This is an outrage,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will be repeating over and over again to Barney Frank, who will be murmuring about misbehavior and abuse of the system. Further…

Recently Forbes ran a contentious article that slipped through the cracks without much commentary. The piece, written by Jason Richwine of the American Enterprise Institute, declared Indian Americans “The New Model Minority,” as if we were competing for the title in a pageant. Let’s clear this up once and for all. Being called a “model…

Michael Steele probably saw Blazing Saddles once upon a time and then envisioned himself as the hero, Sheriff Bart: saving the humble citizens of Rock-Ribbed Republican Ridge before riding off into the sunset on his trusty steed, tipping his 10-gallon hat. But perhaps Steele would have preferred to skip over the part where Sheriff Bart…

Flanked by a cadre of beaming, successful women, President Barack Obama signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls yesterday. But the president may have to reconcile that with the fact that the centerpiece of his administration so far—the passage of the economic stimulus package—may in fact end up hurting…

Michelle Obama’s arms have been getting an inordinate amount of attention lately. It’s not unsolicited; the most modern first lady has appeared sleeveless on the covers of Vogue and People, at 10 inaugural balls, at a party for Stevie Wonder, at her husband’s address to Congress, and most recently, in her official White House portrait,…