The First Family has put out another one of their cringe-worthy "BarneyCam" holiday videos, featuring stilted conversations between them and their dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley. This year's video features the two dogs sitting around with blank stares while the Bushes tell them that they want to be Junior Park Rangers. It doesn't make any more sense when you watch it. The White House has also posted a handy transcript of the video, in......

The White House Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday Nov. Dec. 6, at 5 p.m., which means without a doubt, if you can avoid driving your car in the city, you really should. The annual ceremony always screws up downtown traffic in an extreme way. Add the leftover snow and ice on the ground into the mix, and we can promise you a traffic clusterf*** of epic proportions tomorrow evening. If you'd......

Flickr user Eximious Pictures uploaded this mashup up of the famous WWII propaganda poster "He's Watching You" with, what else, the Capitol, home of our beloved U.S. Congress. Though considering the origins of warrantless domestic wiretapping, perhaps this would have been equally if not more appropriate with The White House? Thanks for your entry, and keep them coming by either emailing them to sommer (at) dcist.com or uploading them to Flickr with the tag......

>> LaVar Arrington, a former linebacker for the Washington Redskins, is in serious condition after being hurt in a motorcycle crash this afternoon. The details are still coming in, but a long thread of condolences has already developed at ExtremeSkins with updates being added frequently. ABC7 says that Arrington was not wearing a helmet, and that his injuries are not life threatening. [WTOP & ABC7] >> The White House press center was evacuated this......

Though Republicans managed to sink legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the chamber last week, voting rights activists haven't given up. In fact, they're going straight to the top. According to the Post, Mayor Adrian Fenty is slated to meet today with Joshua Bolten, Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush. We're not sure what the meeting will accomplish, though. The White House officially expressed its intention to veto the......

>> The White House could soon feel more like elementary school for reporters. It seems there are concerns that media personnel are roaming the halls unsupervised under the guise of going to the bathroom. Now White House officials are threatening to force journalists to be escorted to and from the john. Will this also stop the bad girls from smoking in the bathroom? [FishbowlDC] >> Apparently, someone in Rockville has had it up to here......

>> While we don't know anyone who's hit the new Posh supper club, if their VIP list is any indication, it's the new place to hobnob with B-list local celebs. We've just been waiting to get in good with "Northern Virginia moneymen Michael Saylor, Mark Ein and Joe Robert." Not! [Yeas and Nays] >> Our continuing search for a neighborhood that ISN'T a historic district is highlighted by an elderly couple's plight in newly-hot Mt.......

Let's start with the good news this morning: this excessive, unrelenting, soul-sucking heat is expected to come to an end tomorrow, say the guys at Capital Weather. And we say they better not just be leading us on. However, today is yet another day in Scorcher '06 -- and may even be the hottest one yet -- with highs once again flirting with triple digits. Heat-related Problems Continue: With near record temperatures, people are......

On Sundays, DCist publishes opinion pieces about life in D.C. The opinions below belong entirely to the author, who, in this case, is reader Timothy Ebner. To add your opinion to the fray, please email me. Leave it to our Capitol City to make politics out of the holiday season. Apparently political correctness now goes as far as Christmas trees or should I say Holiday trees? This year House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) wrote......

... Wait, Google already does. Google has now put forth its Google Earth feature. It's in its beta testing period but here's what you'll be able to do: -- Fly from space to your neighborhood. Type in an address and zoom right in. -- Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions. -- Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings. -- Save and share your searches and favorites.......

FRIDAY: >> The circus has come to town! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be having an evening show tonight, 7:30 p.m. at the MCI Center. If you get there 90 minutes early, you can enjoy free entertainment, and during the pre-show Three Ring Adventure, kids can meet performers and pose for photos with the crazy clowns. Tickets can be purchased here. SATURDAY: >> If you're feeling energetic come Saturday AM, why not......

Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before. Bloggers, always getting down to work in their pajamas. With tacky, fluffy bunny slippers, quaffing ranch dressing right out of the bottle as they issue their diatribes. Okay, okay. I hear you shouting, "Enough already." It’s a cliché, to be sure, but the last time I checked, a Google fight between "bloggers and pajamas" and "bloggers and three-piece suits with stylish wingtips" was a decided......

D.C. Council Balks at $2,000 Key: The D.C. Council has introduced a resolution telling mayor Williams to find a cheaper alternative for the ceremonial key he had designed by a Georgetown artist. The new key design costs $2,000 to manufacture, far more than most cities spend on similar keys. Lost and Found on Metro: Post columnist John Kelly explores Metro's lost and found, where anything missing -- from a taxidermied alligator head to a can......

DCist noted last week that the Mandarin Oriental is offering a lavish $200,500 package for inauguration week. The Atlanta Journal-Constutition offers a few more details on the offer. Guests signing up for the service will have their choice access to either a Hummer, Rolls Royce, or Maybach for the week, private jet service to D.C. from their home, and an outfit from Neiman Marcus: [an]Oscar de la Renta evening gown and matching Manolo Blahnik shoes,......

The office of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and some in Congress are questioning whether the federal burden being placed on the District during the upcoming Inaguration is too much, the Post reports. The office of Virginia Rep. Tom Davis (R) -- who chairs the House Government Reform Committee, which oversees the District -- said the White House is putting forth an "unfunded mandate." The White House says homeland security funds are being used to......

You can never have too many Christmas trees. The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is being lit today on the West Front Lawn of the Capitol. The U.S. Air Force band will perform and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), will light the U.S. Capitol Holiday Tree tonight. The White House already has their tree up, but DCist thinks it's a bit garish compared to the tastefulness of the Capitol tree. In fact, we urge any and......

The Post is reporting that President Bush may give a victory speech today, regardless of whether Kerry concedes defeat. From the Post: The White House has not yet announced what time Bush will appear. The campaign at first summoned reporters to appear at the Ronald Reagan Building between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. but then put off the event." The BBC is reporting this morning that "Fears of Ohio Deadlock Start to Fade." In other......

If you frequent Dupont or Logan circles, please note those traffic circles are tied to the apex of all evil: The White House. That's what people who push Masonic conspiracy theories would like to make you to believe at least. Now that "DaVinci Code" author Dan Brown is preparing his next megaseller on D.C.'s Masonic machinations, we thought we'd lay out the general thought patterns as to why some people think the L'Enfant street plan......