Once upon a time, political ads were simple, falling into two cliched categories: warm 'n' fuzzy soft-focus personal appeals and scathing critiques of rival candidates, rife with unflattering photographs and exploding hydrogen bombs. No longer. Published February 8, 2012
If you've ever wondered whether America's near-tribal political polarization extends to romance — whether an Ann Coulter-Keith Olbermann wedding would, in fact, be weirder than a Herman Cain campaign advertisement — social science at long last has provided a tentative answer. Yes. And duh! Published February 6, 2012
Picture this: Newt Gingrich discussing national health care, arguing for wealth redistribution and an individual insurance mandate, all while sitting next to Hillary Clinton, the whole discussion caught on videotape. A sneaky, fact-fudging attack ad, unleashed by a rival presidential contender or enemy super PAC? Not exactly. Published January 30, 2012
Four years after the triumph of "Hope," "Change" and "Yes, we can!" President Obama reportedly is looking for a 2012 re-election slogan. Luckily, we're here to help. Published January 18, 2012
From the 24-ounce Cafe Americano to the 64-ounce Mountain Dew Double Gulp, from ubiquitous coffee shops to the widespread use of the prescription drug Ritalin (read: legal speed) as a campus study aid, we are one nation under a buzz, indivisible from our next fix, with 5-Hour Energy shots and caffeine-spiked chewing gum for all. Published January 17, 2012
President Obama and his wife, Michelle, have prompted complaints for hosting a lavish, unpublicized "Alice in Wonderland" White House Halloween party in 2009 featuring director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, all while the country struggled with high unemployment and the lingering economic fallout of the Great Recession. This isn't the fist time the Obamas have drawn such scrutiny. Herein, the first couple's top "Let Them Eat Cake" moments. Published January 10, 2012
As if Newt Gingrich doesn't have enough problems after his disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses under a barrage of blistering attack ads, here's one more to consider: his weight. Published January 4, 2012
This is the way the world ends: not with a bang, but with the most downtrodden team in NBA history potentially becoming a hotter Hollywood ticket than their elite, same-city rivals. Published December 16, 2011
As far as Christmas miracles go, it ranks somewhere between virgin birth and the Sisyphean persistence of fruitcake. Published December 13, 2011
On a summer night nearly four decades ago, Israeli military attache Joseph Alon was shot five times in the driveway of his Chevy Chase home, and one of the bullets pierced his heart. For his family, the hole remains. Published December 6, 2011
On a warm summer night nearly four decades ago, Israeli military attache Joseph Alon was shot five times in the driveway of his Chevy Chase, Md., home, one of the bullets piercing his heart. For his family, the hole remains. Published December 6, 2011
A wise man — possibly the Apostle Paul, probably Osgood Fielding III from "Some Like It Hot" — once noted, "Nobody's perfect." In the cases of Neil Diamond, Meryl Streep and the rest of this year's Kennedy Center honorees, that maxim is worth remembering. Otherwise, their formidably accomplished, mostly spotless resumes would be unbearable. With that in mind, we present our first-ever Kennedy Center Dis-Honors, kidding only because we love. Published December 1, 2011
OK, Washington joke: Grover Norquist walks into his downtown office. There's a bronze bust of Ronald Reagan, a towering stack of books, and on the windowsill of the nation's most powerful anti-tax activist rests an oversized front page from the Onion, a satirical newspaper. Published November 29, 2011
A year and a half after garnering national attention by becoming one of a handful of women to become a high school football head coach, Natalie Randolph has guided the Coolidge Colts to an 8-2 record and a berth in today's D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association championship game — the "Turkey Bowl." Published November 23, 2011
Has America gone soft? Seen our once formidable, can-do economic, cultural and geopolitical six-pack abs devolve into a can't-be-bothered muffin top of belt-buckle-busting, Snuggie-swaddled goo? Published November 16, 2011
Political humor trio Laughter Against the Machine is on a coast-to-coast tour they dub a "comedic peacekeeping mission to the most polarized quagmires" in the country. They'll be at the D.C. Arts Center on Thursday night. Published November 9, 2011
When confronted by a 40-pound amputated human scrotum - diseased and distended, roughly the size of a well-fed lapdog, sporting the cracked, leathery texture of an old, weathered football, preserved under glass for easy viewing - many words come to mind. Published October 27, 2011
To the list of modern dating essentials — breath mints, a clean shirt, the ability to sit through a chick flick or comic book movie with minimal fuss — add the following: Do-it-yourself background checks. Published October 25, 2011
Occupy Wall Street has yet to force compliance with its "demands" — but by one indicator of contemporary cultural relevance, the nascent movement already has made an impact: People are making fun of it. Published October 14, 2011
Almost 50 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gave arguably the most powerful American political speech of the 20th century: "I Have a Dream." An impassioned call for racial equality. A soaring vision of social unity. A moral and stylistic tour de force, rife with literary and biblical references, delivered in the urgent, gripping cadence of a Baptist sermon, a 17-minute oratorical masterpiece that remains stirring and resonant to this day. Published October 13, 2011
