White House attacks Cheney over his accusations that administration is soft on terror

It's the White House vs. Dick Cheney -- and the verbal attacks are heating up.

The Obama administration rebuked the former vice president over his comments that the White House was not forceful enough in its response to the attempted terrorist attack of a Northwest Airlines flight. Cheney claimed that Obama "is trying to pretend we are not at war" and is making America "less safe," CNN reported.

"He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won't be at war," Cheney said in the statement. "He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of 9/11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won't be at war. He seems to think if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hard-core Al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won't be at war."

Within hours, the White House had rebutted Cheney's claims.

"It is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the administration than condemning the attackers," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog. "Unfortunately, too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer."

And Pfeiffer went further, saying that it was the Bush-Cheney focus on Iraq that led to Al Qaeda's strengthened presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that President Obama is now making America safer by employing a strategy that focuses more resources on Afghanistan.

"To put it simply: This President is not interested in bellicose rhetoric. He is focused on action," Pffiefer wrote. "Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from Al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the President."

Finally, Pfiffer attacked Cheney's comments that Obama acts like this country is not a war.

"There are numerous … public statements that explicitly state we are at war," Pfeifer wrote. "The difference is this: President Obama doesn't need to beat his chest to prove it, and – unlike the last administration – we are not at war with a tactic ("terrorism"), we are at war with something that is tangible: Al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. And we will prosecute that war as long as the American people are endangered."

It may almost be a new year, but we're seeing the same old political battles.

Source:nydailynews.com/

D.C. Chief Lanier Calls 45-Year Homicide Low A “Huge” Success

Washington, D.C., and adjoining Prince George’s County, Md., the region’s most violent jurisdictions, logged their lowest homicide totals in years in 2009, with D.C. hitting a 45-year -low, the Washington Post reports. The number of slayings last year in Washington, once known as the nation’s murder capital, was 140, a 25 percent drop from 2008. Prince George’s recorded 100 killings, the county’s lowest in nine years. ”It’s huge,” said D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier. “We’re making an impact.”

Although final year-end totals have not been tallied, New York expects to post its fewest homicides since 1963. Philadelphia had a 9 percent decrease, and Chicago an 11 percent drop. There is no consensus among police officials about why crime went down in 2009; theories include more focused enforcement, better use of technology, and stepped-up intelligence gathering.

Source:thecrimereport.org/

Wizards: Gilbert Arenas Stored Firearms In Locker

Washington, DC -- (Sports Network) - The Washington Wizards said point guard Gilbert Arenas stored firearms in his locker at the Verizon Center and that the NBA is investigating the matter.

"The Washington Wizards have learned that Gilbert Arenas stored firearms in a locked container in his locker, unloaded and without ammunition," the team said in a statement. "The Wizards organization and Arenas promptly notified the local authorities and the NBA, are cooperating fully with law enforcement during its review of this matter and will have no further comment at this time."

Arenas told the Washington Times that the incident happened around December 10. Arenas said after his new daughter was born he didn't want the guns in his house and around the kids anymore. Arenas told the newspaper he took the guns to his lock box at the Verizon Center and then about a week later turned them over to team security, and told them to hand the weapons over to the police.

The 27-year-old Arenas hasn't faced any criminal charges related to the incident, although action could be coming from the league. According to the Times, the league permits players to have guns, but doesn't allow them to carry weapons on NBA property.

Capitals In The 2000's: A Decade In Review

Like Dan Snyder and the Redskins, the Washington Capitals began this decade with a new owner. A young former businessman and sports fan Ted Leonsis, purchased the team in 1999 from original owner Abe Pollin. Both owners have spent the first decade of this millennium learning through experience how to run a professional sports team. Both have had a mixed bag of successes and letdowns and both are still waiting to win a championship. In the past ten years Ted Leonsis and the Capitals have had considerably better regular season success than the Redskins, Wizards, and Nationals. The Caps have won four division titles this decade and finished in second place twice while neither the Redskins, Nationals, or Wizards have won their division. Shockingly, however, the Capitals have only advanced in the playoffs once in the 2000’s, equal to that of the Wizards, and less than the Redskins who did it two times.

How could it be that the Capitals have been so disappointing when it comes to winning in the playoffs? There is no clear answer, but the consensus is that the Caps are on the right path and will get their fair share of chances in the next few years. Comcast SportsNet anchor Russ Thaler explains the last ten years for the Caps as the “decade that Ted Leonsis learned how to be a successful owner.” Thaler said that through trial and error Leonsis has built a “winning team from top to bottom,” eventually engineering a “Caps emergence on the D.C. sports scene.”

When Ted Leonsis took over the Capitals in 1999 the team was one season removed from a Stanley Cup appearance. The season before he bought the team was marred by injuries and they had missed the playoffs. Leonsis’ first two regular seasons as owner were out of a storybook, as the Caps twice captured the Southeast Division Title. Both years ended prematurely with playoff series defeats to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the offseason of 2001, Leonsis and the Capitals decided the best way to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins was to acquire their best player. The Caps traded three young prospects to the Pens for five-time Art Ross Trophy-winner Jaromir Jagr. Later that year Washington signed Jagr to a seven year, $77 million dollar contract, the highest in NHL history at the time. When Jagr came to the Caps he was arguably the best player in the National Hockey League. His acquisition brought considerable hype to a team that played in a city that had previously flown under the sport’s radar. Though Jagr and the Capitals failed to make the playoffs in his first season the team set a franchise record for home game attendance.

In the summer of 2002 the Capitals continued to aggressively build their roster, they signed Jagr’s former linemate from Pittsburgh, Robert Lang. The Caps did not make the playoffs the next year but were back in the postseason in 2003. In the 2003 playoffs they lost a devastating series to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Caps won the first two games against Tampa Bay, only to get swept in the next four. In Game Six, in D.C., the loss became especially painful as the two teams fought through overtime. The Lightning got the victory when a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty led to a Lightning power-play where Martin St. Louis scored the game-clinching goal.

Comcast SportsNet managing editor Joe Yasharoff saw Jaromir Jagr’s years in Washington as having “highlights here and there, but overall he absolutely didn’t live up to the hype.” He was brought in to make the Capitals a Stanley Cup contender but the plans just never materialized. The loss to the Lightning precipitated an effort by the Caps to scrap their roster and rebuild. In 2003, over budget and with a league lock-out looming, the Caps traded away many of their roster’s centerpieces including Steve Konawalchuk, Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar, and Jaromir Jagr. They went on to win the NHL Draft Lottery and secure the number one overall pick.

In finishing at the bottom of the league the Capitals received draft lottery odds with the third best chance to get the first pick. With extraordinary luck they drew the number one pick and were able to select Russian phenom Alexander Ovechkin, a prospect that Yasharoff described as a “once-in-a-lifetime player.” Ovie’s arrival changed everything, it drastically altered the course of a franchise and forever changed the landscape of Washington, D.C. professional sports.

In that stroke of luck in landing Alex Ovechkin, the Caps curbed the trend that has plagued the district’s other franchises. The Wizards and Redskins have had terrible misfortune in drafts of late and have been adversely affected by wasted picks. The Capitals were not only fortunate enough to be able to draft Ovechkin but the pace at which he has developed is unbelievable. Alex Ovechkin came into the league as a can’t-miss prospect but was still overshadowed by the “heir apparent” to Wayne Gretzky,
Sidney Crosby. Ever since Crosby was in middle school he was tabbed as the successor to the greatest player to take the ice. Since both have entered the league, however, the “Great Eight” has shown a closer resemblance to the “Great One.”

At just 24 years old, Ovechkin has already claimed the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year and two Hart Memorial Trophies as league MVP. His emergence as a superstar and most valuable player was quicker than Lebron James and Tim Lincecum. He is the best hockey player in the world and he resides in Washington, D.C.

Russ Thaler points to Ovechkin as a rarity in the nation’s capital in the sense that he “started here, made his name here, and became a winner here.” In the last decade there have been few players that D.C. sports fans can point to with the same career path. Most of the aging stars that have come through the turnstiles -Michael Jordan, Jaromir Jagr, Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Jerry Stackhouse, Brandon Lang, Jason Taylor- failed to bring success to Washington. Any success Ovechkin has will be in Washington, the Capitals locked him up with a 13-year, $124 million contract extension in 2008.

In Ovechkin’s professional career the Capitals have certainly become winners in the regular season. However, they still have not made a deep run in the playoffs. They missed out entirely in Ovie’s first season but have made the postseason in the two seasons since, each time losing in a game seven. In Ovechkin's first playoff series, the Caps rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force a seventh game against the Philadelphia Flyers, only to lose the game (and the series) 3-2 in overtime.

That offseason, the Capitals front office made a tough decision in letting long-time goalie Olaf Kölzig go via free agency. Kölzig had played his entire career in the Capitals organization. He helped the Caps reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998 and won the Vezina Trophy in 2000 for the NHL’s best goalie. The decision was unpopular but was in the team’s best interest. Kölzig had been one of the most popular players in team history but he was past his prime. The Capitals replaced him and were able to win the division once again the next year and return to the playoffs.

The playoff exit for the Capitals in 2009 was one that D.C. fans would like to forget. Dismissed a year earlier in Game Seven of the first round, Washington was triumphant in their first series in '09, defeating the 7th seeded New York Rangers. The Caps had fallen into a 0-2 series deficit before newly promoted goalie Semyon Varlamov helped them top the Rangers in seven games.

In the second round, hockey fans got their dream matchup. The Caps faced their longtime playoff nemesis and 2008 Stanley Cup runner-up, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The series showcased possibly the three best players in professional hockey: Ovechkin, Crosby, and Evgeny Malkin.

For most of the series, the showdown lived up to the hype and more. Ovechkin and Crosby dueled under the spotlight created by a personal rivalry stemming from the regular season. An exchange of words created an almost Magic and Bird-type aura around their competition. The series was highlighted by an outstanding Game Two in which both Ovechkin and Crosby scored hat tricks. By the time Game Seven got underway, even the most casual hockey fans were glued to their television set. What ensued was a Capitals letdown of epic proportions. The Penguins immediately took control, jumping out to a 4-0 lead just 2:13 into the second period. The game was capped off by two Sidney Crosby goals as Pittsburgh took the series on their way to a Stanley Cup Title.

Despite the crushing loss to Pittsburgh, the Washington Capitals should have plenty of chances for playoff success ahead of them. Just because they didn’t get past the second round in this decade does not mean it won’t happen soon. The Caps are a young team with a core of legitimate star players and an excellent minor league system. They will more than likely make a deep run towards a Stanley Cup in the near future, maybe even this spring.

Source:csnwashington.com/

Swan Song: The End of the Jim Zorn Era in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Redskins haven't experienced much success this past decade, and last Monday night was an ode to the pain and suffering this once-proud franchise has undergone.

With the Redskins losing 45-12 to the rival New York Giants in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter in a meaningless game, one could look out into the stadium bowl and see a sea of blue. Redskin fans were long gone; Giants fans had made FedEx Field their home.

The Redskins turned in a dismal performance in front of a national TV audience not only showing themselves to be incompetent, but downright stupid. The Giants beat them in every facet of the game, and then the 'Skins shoveled the dirt on top of their own coffin with an idiotic fake field goal attempt.

It was an ugly game. But then Washington made it laughable when they trotted on the kicking unit only send them in motion out to the left side of the field. At first I had to wonder, what does special teams' coach Danny Smith have up his sleeve?

After all, the 'Skins do have two special teams scores on trick plays this season.

However, this wasn't a calculated risk. It was the death rattle of the Jim Zorn era in Washington. Punter Hunter Smith lobbed up a duck, which was intercepted. Cue the subdued guffaws by Mike Tirico and Co. in the booth.

Exit Zorn. Stage left.

Albert Haynesworth summed it up afterwards: "I mean, the score, the record, they'd say that we're horrible, that we don't know how to play football," Haynesworth said. "But I've been around these guys a lot. I think they know how to play football. I think we're all just going different directions, and we need somebody to lead us in the right direction."

Truer words were never spoken.

Zorn was doing a good job this past month keeping his players focused. He had showed an ability to facilitate and prepare the team in the previous weeks of this lost season.

I believed he had at least saved his credibility with the team's performance the past month. In fact, I was willing to hear a case for retaining him.

However, any good will he had merited was quickly snatched away with this latest catastrophe.

How can the Redskins bring back a guy who had his play-calling duties stripped midway through the season? How can they bring back a guy who turned in three of his worst losses on Monday Night Football (Pittsburgh in 2008, Philly and New York this year) in front of national TV audience?

I want stability for this franchise; I really do. However, keeping Zorn doesn't give the Redskins much stability in anything but losing.

Zorn is a genuinely nice guy. He's a class act. However, that's really all he has going for him.

He wasn't even supposed to be the head coach, but was handed the job when Dan Snyder couldn't find a replacement for Joe Gibbs.

He has had almost no success here in DC; his struggles as a play-caller are astounding; and he has overall failed to get the most out of his players on the field (with the exception of a handful of games over the past two seasons).

Maybe he hasn't been given the best chance because he has lacked personnel on the offensive line, but the fact of the matter is that the Redskins have flopped too many times in many different situations.

They have failed in big games. They have failed in winnable games. They have failed as the favorite and the underdog. They have failed in close games.

All of that adds up to too much failure.

Source:bleacherreport.com/

ZooLights Back On at DC's National Zoo

By MYFOXDC STAFF/myfoxdc

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The weekend snowstorm might have been fun for the National Zoo's beloved giant panda, Tai Shan, but it temporarily put a freeze on their annual winter celebration. ZooLights has been postponed since the bad weather hit, but its back on as of Wednesday.

ZooLights features animal sculptures all lit up in LED lights, and the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat is also open so that visitors can see Tai Shan before he departs for China in early 2010.

Tickets for the event are $5 for members and $8 for non-members, and they can be purchased at the gate. Tickets for December 19-22 are also being honored for any of the remaining nights.

ZooLights is open on December 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and January 1 and 2 from 6 – 8:30 p.m.

Source:myfoxdc.com/

Bulgaria Finance Minister Owns BGN 2 M DC House - Report

Bulgaria’s Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, owns a singe family house with yard appraised at BGN 2 150 000 in Washington DC.

The data comes from the Minister’s declaration submitted with Bulgaria’s National Audit Office (NAO) according to the Public Disclosure of the Property of People at High-ranking State Positions Act.

Djankov is repaying a mortgage in the amount of BGN 729 000 and has bank accounts with BGN 280 000. He also has shares in 5 US companies worth BGN 90 000 and a 4% share or BGN 108 000 in an environmental project in the area of the Bulgarian village of Apriltsi, near the northern city of Lovech.

The information is reported by Darik radio Thursday.

In an interview for the Darik site DarikFinance.bg, Djankov says all his assets are in the US and he does not invest in Bulgaria to keep his affairs “clean.”

The other Deputy Prime Minister, Tsvetan Tsevetanov, declared he and his wife acquired in 2008 2 apartments with garages valued at BGN 250 000.

The PM, Boyko Borisov, does not have any changes in his property status since he took the post in the summer after being Mayor of Sofia.

Economy Minister, Traicho Triackov, has shares in 13 Bulgarian enterprises, most in the “Euro Hold” company, and two bank accounts with BGN 100 000. He is repaying a mortgage in the amount of BGN 115 000 and a lease for BGN 25 000.

Regional Minister, Rosen Plevneliev, and his wife have acquired, since 2007 until now, a house appraised at BGN 3 M.

In 2009, the wife of Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naidenov, has purchased a medical facility with a building permit in the northern city of Vratsa valued at BGN 136 000.

Health Minister, Bozhidar Nanev, and his wife have declared having assets in the amount of BGN 480 000.

In 2008, Culture Minister, Vezhdi Rashidov, and his wife have purchased 2 Mercedes cars for BGN 150 000 and a SUV BMW X3 for BGN 74 000. Rashidov has assets fro over BGN 1,5 M.

Sports Minister, Svilen Neikov, has 2 bank accounts with BGN 400 000.

All are Ministers of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party.


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