Washington, D.C., may not be a locale frequently visited by the flaws and foibles of A-List celebrities, but the nexus of power and politics nevertheless yields a generous supply of dish. Washingtonians know where to get their gossip, and they have a decent array of choice: such as kitten-with-a-whip Wonkette, the above-the-fray Reliable Source Richard Leiby, the unbuttoned back pages of The Hill and Roll Call's "Heard on the Hill," the window into vicarious living offered by Kelly Ann Collins, a wide array of snarky bloggers ... even this DCist’s friend Rahaleh, who totally knows this guy in L.A. who made out with Parminder Nagra in that episode of "ER" a few weeks ago!

But let’s say that all these resources haven’t slaked your thirst for gossip -- or, better yet, let’s say you’re in your front yard, trapped underneath a newly fallen tree, and the only thing within your sightlines as you lay there, straining to breathe, waiting for paramedics to arrive and extricate you is the mouldering pile of Examiners littering your lawn that they simply will ... not ... stop ... delivering to you no matter how you threaten, wheedle and cajole with them "for the love of all that is holy" to cease their senseless quasi-journalistic vandalism and bypass your house. Well then, you are in luck, because Karen Feld (seen here in a photo from Washington Life with her dog Campari at the 50th anniversary of the Georgetowner) is on the case, providing the Examiner’s handful of readers with a juicy dollop of gossipy goodness tailor-made for those occasions where there’s nothing else within reach to read.

While this DCist doesn’t live in a neighborhood considered good enough to qualify for the Examiner’s unique method of distribution, browsing out to Karen’s website provided a rich vein of material that ably tells Feld’s story and shows off her singular attributes. Vistors are greeted by the well-coiffed and smiling visage of the woman herself, clutching an adorable poodle that she apparently intends to later fillet and serve over a freshly tossed Caesar salad. A generous menu of selections help the visitor come to know and love her multi-faceted personality.

Karen Feld, the biography: Feld has been working the gossip beat "since the Nixon administration," getting the inside scoop on the "players behind the headlines," skirting the spin doctors, and delivering up the story so real that she is compelled to put the word "real" in scare quotes, so real is the reality! What is the "real" story? In her own words, it’s the "the irreverent insider gossip that may be embarrassing, but never vicious." Because in D.C., we just don’t do vicious. In addition to her duties at the Examiner, Feld is the Washington editor of The Shuttle Sheet, Delta’s in-flight magazine. Weep at the news, Southwest fans!

Karen Feld, award-winner: Feld is a "three-time winner in the 2004 National Federation of Press Women journalism awards competition" including a top prize in the Speech category for “The Media During Wartime," her "discussion of the blurring lines between news and entertainment." But the accolades don’t stop there. Her Shuttle Sheet cover story "Saving Amaretto," "won third-place honors in the Feature Story category." And Feld’s website took first place for content and design -- clearly the chief criteria was being able to pack as much HTML code into as tight a space as possible.

Karen Feld, the philosophy: First, have your finger on the zeitgeist: "Political gossip is the valuable commodity that's passed around at official cocktail receptions right along with the sushi -- everything from Senator Packwood's sexual harassment stories to theories on Vince Foster's death." Packwood ... now we’re talking current. And we'd almost forgotten about Vince Foster! New theory of his death, by the way: food poisoning from some bad sushi that got passed around at a cocktail reception.

Second, connect the world of gossip to some words to live by -- "Anyone who plans to take bribes, cheat on a spouse, or even fix a parking ticket should definitely rule out public office today." Damn! You hear that, Beltway insiders? You just got served! I wouldn’t expect to find too many persons of questionable ethics coming to power anytime soon!

And always remember: "Rumors are just rumors and gossip is just gossip until the pictures are snapped or the information is leaked." Once that happens, it becomes "something I heard was posted on the Drudge Report."

Karen Feld, the -- umm ... sculptor?: That’s right. When Feld isn’t crafting the insider chatter into dish, she’s molding terra cotta into visually expressive forms. You won’t want to miss original Feld pieces like "Exsanguination Brought On My Massive Full-Body Melanoma" or "Vaguely Dog-Shaped Amorphous Blob."

A woman in full. A columnist at the top of her game. A contributor to an in-flight magazine wedged between your peanut wrapper and the pictoral diagram that tells you what to do in case of a loss of cabin pressure. Karen Feld is another reason to read the Washington Examiner, bringing the total number of reasons, in this DCist's opinion, to somewhere in the area of, let’s say, negative three.