Sure, Dan Snyder might currently be one of the area's biggest villains. But if he wants to catch up with former Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, he's going to have to start doing a lot more than suing some journalists. more ›

Virginia hasn't celebrated its controversial Confederate History Month since about 2002, when Mark Warner took over the governorship and refused to make such a proclamation. Tim Kaine did the same. But now that Republican Bob McDonnell is running the commonwealth, it's time to party like it's 1862!

WHEREAS, this defining chapter in Virginia’s history should not be forgotten, but instead should be studied, understood and remembered by all Virginians, both in the context of the time in which it took place, but also in the context of the time in which we live, and this study and remembrance takes on particular importance as the Commonwealth prepares to welcome the nation and the world to visit Virginia for the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the Civil War, a four-year period in which the exploration of our history can benefit all; more ›

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal in the case of whether the Washington Redskins' name is offensive, the Associated Press is reporting. more ›

Marion Barry may be sick in the hospital today, but he and fellow D.C. Council member Harry "Tommy" Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) were taken to task today by the Washington Post's editorial board for making racist and sexist comments Friday night at a parks and recreation committee hearing on the confirmation of acting Department of Parks and Recreation director Ximena Hartsock. more ›

I was all prepared to write about the unabated decline of retail in the heart of Cleveland Park (even the 7-11 is closing, people!), but a much more interesting topic about the area was thrust into the public eye yesterday: implications of latent racism on the neighborhood's listserv, which will, no matter what, always take precedent over the unfortunate disappearance of Go-Go Taquitos. more ›

Have you seen this Washington Independent post (City Desk picked it up, too) about a bizarre letter that's been circulated to Clarendon residents who are displaying Obama signs in front of their houses? The unsigned screed accuses (presumably white) neighbors who are outwardly supporting Barack Obama for president of only liking the candidate due to some inner need to prove to people that they are not racist. It's pretty disgusting, and would be more upsetting if it didn't read as though it was probably written by someone who needs to be medicated. According to the Independent, a neighborhood email list has blown up with comments speculating who might be responsible. Any Clarendon residents (or any other areas of Northern Virginia for that matter) actually get one of these things? more ›

The Georgetown Hoya reported on an armed sexual assault in LXR Hall over the weekend that has the university community up in arms over lax security measures in the dorm. At 3:40 a.m. on Saturday morning, an assailant described as a black male between 17 and 20 years old allegedly attacked a female student, forcing her off a public balcony and into a common room, where he threatened her with a gun and sexually assaulted her. more ›

Civil rights leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and others are gathering with supporters on Freedom Plaza at 10 a.m. this morning to march to the Justice Department in a "March Against Hate Crimes." NBC4 says that organizers hope the march will bring attention to racism and recent hate crimes against African Americans that have been popping up around the country. The march was also designed to bring attention to the Jena... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Josh Kramer The Hatchet — George Washington University >>David Horowitz, organizer of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, spoke Thursday night at GWU. Horowitz criticized the university and for its reaction to the students who hung ironically critical posters on campus, but spent most of the talk explaining the history of the Ottoman empire and what he believes is the rise of "Islamo-fascism." Horowitz also tried to claim that he is not a racist.... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Stephanie Taylor Mark Andersen came to Washington decades ago as a student of international relations, but was heartbroken by what he saw right in his own backyard. What he describes as the distance between the city's idealism and its reality, particularly in terms of radical income disparities and the effects of historic racism, were too much for him to ignore. So he became a different type of diplomat, founding Positive Force... more ›

Having failed to make their intended satire clear to the George Washington University campus, seven students felt the need to come forward late last night to take responsibility for those "anti-Muslim" posters we told you about yesterday. The Hatchet published parts of the letter after receiving it last night. Among the seven students who admitted their involvement was ubiquitous IVAW poster boy and current GWU graduate student Adam Kokesh. "It is to our great dismay... more ›

Bloggers across this fair nation thought they couldn't get a bigger gift from a Virginia senate race than they did last year, after the epic and appalling Macacaness of Sen. George Allen's eventual defeat to Sen. Jim Webb. But via Wonkette, it would seem we could all have been wrong. Rumors are flying that Pat "Homosexuality is Not Only Immoral, but Filthy" Buchanan is considering a run at the seat being vacated by Sen. John... more ›

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to a world of omnipresent peril. That's what it seems like, anyway, given the constant stream of recalls that we've been facing lately. This morning's additions to the list of things that are trying to kill you and your family: children's cribs and Mattel toys. Oh, and microwave popcorn — but then, that stuff's so delicious that you probably already suspected its deadliness. Firefighter Sex Ring Press Conference: WUSA... more ›

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a... more ›

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the... more ›

Post 'em if you got 'em, Washington. According to WJLA, today is the smack-dab middle of cherry blossom season. We hope you got your photos already. With rain in the morning, a cold snap beginning in the afternoon and winds that are likely to pull off blossoms, this year's best days for walking around the Tidal Basin seem to already be over. Rats. D.C. Council Provisionally Mandates HPV Vaccine: The debate over the Gardasil... more ›

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal... more ›

Good morning, Washington. How was your State of the Union viewing experience? We hope that "enjoyable" is the answer — although not so enjoyable that you now have a State of the Union hangover experience (don't you love living in a city where such a thing is a possibility?). Whatever your experience, this morning it seems like some of the week's frantic political energy is draining out of the city, as the shot to the... more ›

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into... more ›

What's that you say? You have nothing to do Saturday? Fear not, art lovers, we've found so many events for you this Saturday that you'll have to practice your wind sprints in order to make it to every one. >> Fourteenth Street NW is a good home base for your gallery hopping on Saturday, as three galleries will be hosting parties. The Randall Scott Gallery is celebrating its grand opening with a reception for No... more ›

Mike Watt, founder of the Minutemen, drew angry protests on the Georgetown campus yesterday when-- hang on. What?...I'm sorry, my producers have informed me that it was actually Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, and not the founder of the seminal southern California punk band. They also have informed me that I'm fired. Once we got past the understandable confusion caused by Fox5’s headline we learned that Simcox drew a large crowd... more ›

Let's look back at a week in which no site in the -ist network adopted anyone from Africa... -Austinist reveled in the dumb antics of some U.T. law students and posted some great audio from former New Orleans natives who've decided to stay in Austin. But the best news for Austinist? They were voted Best Local Entertainment Web Site by the local Austin alt-weekly. Congrats, Austinist. -DCist gloried in being told their musical tastes made... more ›

What a beautiful weekend, eh? Except for a bit of rain on Saturday, the weather was, if I may say so myself without sounding like my grandmother, delightful. We hope you got out during it, as the city played host to a number of activities - the National Book Festival, Crafty Bastards, and a bit outside of town, the continuation of the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Which I went to, mainly to gawk at the... more ›

Staffers at the Washington Times just don't get a break, do they? Apart being regularly lambasted for working for a money-bleeding newspaper owned by the odd Rev. Sun Myung Moon, now they're getting a in-depth look into the struggle for the paper's leadership. more ›

We mentioned it briefly in the Morning Roundup, but considering he's been such a controversial figure in the region's upcoming election campaign season, George Allen's recent about-face on whether being called Jewish is an "aspersion" or a point of pride seems worth taking a closer look at. From today's WaPo:But people close to Allen have been reluctant to discuss his grandfather's religion in the past. Asked about it several weeks ago, campaign advisers either said... more ›

Today at the Fringe, it's your last chance to see a pair of shows from Canada, we give you a good reason to see Atlantis Bones, and Star Wars nerds have their day in the sun. It's everything you need to know about Wednesday at the Fringe, and finding it all is just a click away. New Today: Grounded, by Andrew Ullrich We don't know what Grounded is about, and we don't know who Andrew... more ›

We knew that speeding tickets were unusually common in the District, we knew that the city was making some decent bank off of the violations, and we even suspected racism, or at least wardism, in the placement of automated speed cameras. But just in case you leadfeet had begun to forget the danger of motoring quickly through D.C., we now have the National Motorists Association to remind us. From their website:Nothing can ruin a vacation... more ›

Last Saturday, Washington National Opera opened its new production of George Gershwin's classic American opera Porgy and Bess (1935), and this DCist was happy to be in the Kennedy Center Opera House for the performance Wednesday night. We know that many DCists wonder why we bother to cover things like opera and classical music, which seem too stuffy and expensive for many people. However, this opera especially is part of our heritage as Americans, and... more ›

Good morning, Washington. The bad news is that today looks like it'll be a little bit cloudy. The good news is that as of 8 a.m., WMATA reports no Metro service alerts. The weekend promises just the opposite: Saturday and Sunday's weather will be pleasant, but WMATA says that all five Metro tracks will be undergoing work. Add in the local disruptions that will be caused by Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon, and you've got some... more ›

Today will be partly cloudy and cold with temps in the 20s. The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory in affect until noon because northwest winds 20 to 30 miles per hour will bring the wind chill to zero or below. The photo was taken last night in Chinatown around 6 p.m. more ›