Alexandra Gutierrez

Sasha Obama, you better watch yourself — some major outrage may be headed in your direction: “This is a girl who held lavish tea parties while banks across the country were failing,” CFR spokesperson Linda Carlson said. “At these galas, Ms. Obama would often entertain a number of her associates, including a so-called ‘Mr. Fuzzles’ […]

In today’s Financial Times, black swan theorist Nassim Nicholas Taleb lists 10 ways to prevent cataclysmic and unpredictable economic events like … this one. Taleb’s general argument is that our economy should be composed of many small entities rather than a few behemoths capable of taking down the whole system. Most of his points feel […]

Kwame Brown, a D.C. councilmember, has come up with a novel solution to the voting rights conundrum: fight guns with sex workers roses. Recently, legislation that would grant the District real representation in the House was stalled by a D.C.-specific anti-gun control amendment introduced by Sen. John Ensign. Since this makes apparent that the Nevada […]

This is actually sort of adorable. At today’s AIG hearing, Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner sported identical ensembles. While their shared sartorial choice doesn’t exactly blow minds, the outfit suggests a prudent decision-making process and an all-business-no-nonsense attitude — exactly the sort of message you want to send when you’re trying to convince people that […]

Elena Kagan found herself in a slightly uncomfortable position when she appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. There were no cringe-worthy reveals about coke cans and pubic hairs, and certainly no one “borked” her during her hearing. Instead, the solicitor general-designate was simply busted for not practicing what she preached: She once wrote that nominees […]

If you haven’t already, get used to this headline. You’ll be probably see it again. Today, the Dow closed at 6,763 points, dropping 4 percent and setting the stock market back to 1997 levels. AIG is hemorrhaging $678 million per day; the housing bubble is only halfway deflated; and no one really has any clue […]

The misery wrought by the recession is practically universal. Unemployment numbers continue to rise; funding cuts still plague schools and hospitals; and once slick dudes now find it harder to woo hot babes. The economic crisis might not be all bad, though: Budget shortfalls may actually push legislatures to adopt sounder legal policy. With fewer […]

Today, The New York Post ran an editorial cartoon that combines political commentary with local news. Riffing on a recent story about a chimpanzee attack, Sean Delonas depicts two police officers chatting after shooting an ape. As the chimpanzee appears to bleed to death, one cop quips, “Now they will have to find someone else […]

Jeffrey Goldberg wasn’t trying hard enough. Despite stuffing Hezbollah flags into his carry-ons and waving fake boarding passes under the noses of security employees, Goldberg was unable to get TSA sufficiently riled up. His efforts were wasted. Looks like all you have to do is affix the sticker of your favorite Florida folk-punk band to […]

More than three years after Katrina, news from New Orleans continues to churn up some of the more ugly aspects of American life. The New York Times reports that Latino laborers working on city reconstruction have become prime targets of violent muggings: It is an under-the-radar crime epidemic: unarmed Hispanic workers are regularly mugged, beaten, […]