While literally dozens of Americans (maybe) lamented the loss of round-the-clock Panda-cam coverage at the National Zoo, the real shutdown drama was taking place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
There busloads of World War II veterans – including many in wheelchairs – stormed past barricades erected by the National Park Service, which is closed as a result of the partial government shutdown which went into effect this week.
Cue Normandy Beach, Iwo Jima parallels in three, two, one …
The veterans (from Iowa and Mississippi) were in town for a previously scheduled visit to the World War II Memorial, which is located on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) was on the scene, and (prepare your surprised face) blamed Congressional Republicans for the veterans’ plight. Meanwhile Congressional Republicans – including U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann and Peter King – placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of (again, prepare to be shocked) U.S. President Barack Obama, whose Department of Interior erected the gates around the open-air monument.
King referred to the erection of the gates as “perhaps the most bitter, spiteful act ever committed by a commander in chief.”
U.S. Park Service rangers – including one veteran – refused to enforce the barricade. A spokesman for the agency later referred to the veterans as “important visitors.”
U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi – who was joining his state’s delegation of veterans – summed up the “resistance.”
“It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” he said prior to moving aside one of the barricades.
We agree …
Of the federal government’s 2.1 million employees roughly 800,000 of them – approximately 38 percent of the total taxpayer-funded workforce – are in the process of being furloughed. The other 1.3 million – approximately 62 percent of the total taxpayer-funded workforce – remain on the job.
43 comments
Barricading the monuments is nothing more than political grandstanding by the Executive Branch run by the President…but I thought it was just the Republican Tea Party that pulled political shenanigans.
While it is an open monument, it is manned. Like all national parks and monuments it is closed for the shutdown. It wasn’t closed separately to be a political ‘shenanigan’
Yes it is political shenanigans, I’ve been there at night when they weren’t manned and there were no barricades.
The National Mall is the people’s Mall not the President’s he put up barricades out of spite.
Do you really think any WH does that kind of micro-managing? Each agency makes those decisions based on what the career people know they do.
Have you never heard of commanders intent?
He could say take down the barricades, he is the head of the executive branch of government.
It is manned part of the day, but per the Memorial’s website it “is open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” It is only when veterans want to go there during a government shutdown that the park is suddenly “closed.” This was a malicious stunt by the administration, who failed to appreciate that these veterans are not like the mindless sheep they are used to doing whatever the government tells them to do.
Repubes need to get over it. I know they’re asking for a year delay, but for what? So they can go after it 40 more times!?
Maybe someone needs to get over the fact that not everyone agrees with him, barricading monuments on the National Mall is pretty damn petty.
Fourty fucking times for political posturing isn’t?
Well, Actually it is pretty damn petty so do two pettys make a right? The man is President and should be above being petty.
Hope you understood that without putting fuck in the sentence.
…do two pettys make a right?
Pettys always make lefts.
Except on road courses.
I’ll buy that :)
My nomination for “Greatest response to a non-sequiter of the day”
They should all be above this.
Sorry, wrong placement. I meant to place it below your second comment.
They sure should.
The Democrats aren’t being bipartisan by giving Republicans everything they want, because, you know, that’s how compromise works, or something.
Yeah – that is sort of a two way street there Smirks, that whole compromise thing. The Dims have already given all of their finanncial supporters a compromise or two by allowing them to opt out, they’ve given Congress the opt out and pretty much anyone else who they owe patronage to.
Don’t forget the muslims that get exempted for religious reasons.
Fits, thanks for updating Iwo Jima.
Wow, my comment was deleted. Maybe it’s my user name? Anyway, I pointed out the fact that Republicans sent out an email using this as a fundraising opportunity: http://www.nrcc.org/wwii-veterans/
Ain’t politics fun, politicians really know how to get down and dirty.
Hope you noticed I didn’t distinguish between parties.
No comments were deleted only I can do that and I haven’t deleted anything in a long time. Thanks! :D
And by “a long time,” you mean about 30 minutes ago.
Yeah, I saw the first comment before it was gone. Guess FITS can do what he wants with his own site… but I bet your username pissed off his boss.
By long time I mean probably 2 months ago at the request of the author? We don’t go around removing comments from here unless it’s by the person who wrote it. I removed someone’s comment because they posted porn once though.
Well, if you’re the one who makes things disappear, whatever happened to the ‘story’ about black Democrats being recruited for Harry Ott’s seat?
If there’s a way to search for a story, I can’t make it work…and, ‘trending’ that’s months old?
Do you guys not realize how messed up this site has become since the last build?
Did you make this mess, Karl?
Hey nitrat went ahead and fixed those for you, improved DBs and search functionality. Also changed the query for popular posts and made it post date not edit date. If you still can’t find the article I will gladly make a youtube video of how to find it for you.
Thanks!
What happened to,Amy,anyway…?
Who is Karl?
Karl is the MAN. We do what Karl says around here.
Karl is the MAN. We do what Karl says around here.
so they essentially spent money on materials and personnel to close a monument, that was “closed due to lack of money”. I understand locking the doors the the Smithsonian, but damn, this thing is essentially in the middle of a field, with no fences/doors present.
So the Republicans want to shut down the government, but only those parts of it that won’t get them bad press with their constituencies? Why am I not surprised? And, as for Peter King’s, “perhaps the most bitter, spiteful act ever committed by a commander in chief…” I disagree. I would opt for G.W. Bush sending 4,409 U.S. service men and women to die in Iraq based on phony intelligence concerning WMD as a much much more “bitter, spiteful act.”
How do you shutdown an open space? It is an open air memorial, not a building. It takes more effort to keep people out than they expended when it is “open.” It is open 24 hours a day, but is not staffed 24 hours a day. And the Park police are not even subject to the furloughs. So this was absolutely a petty stunt by the administration to target these veterans.
I am not well informed on how the National Park Service does their business. Have you worked there?
So your response is to plead ignorance?
You didn’t answer my question. Do you have direct knowledge or experience with the operational procedures of NPS? There could be innumerable reasons for the closure (liability, inadequate security, safety, etc.). As per football : you are misinformed. DoD had determined the games fall under the category of “non-appropriated funds” and therefore they will be played as scheduled.
I know that the NPS advertises that the memorial is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Yet it is only staffed a fraction of that time. So please explain what reason there would be for heightened measures during a supposed government shutdown that would not require those same measures every other day since the memorial opened. The answer is obvious to any rational person – there are none other than PR and malice. If you continue to pursue these silly rationalizations, please explain why are only popular attractions being cordoned off, while less common tourist sites are being left alone. Or why a privately funded colonial park in Virginia is being shutdown (that has not been publicly funded in 30 years?).
I am glad Obama has backtracked on the football games, but are you going to be so dishonest about the game as to pretend that this never happened? If so, you must think it was the Navy AD who was misinformed (along with the legion of reporters who went to press with the story), since he was quoted in the article I linked as saying the DoD had told him that optics might cause the games to be cancelled. The fact that the Administration had to reverse itself is not surprising, given how ridiculous and petty it position was.
Seems I was misinformed when I said Obama backed down. He backed down only for THIS WEEKEND. Note in the article announcing the reversal it says ominously that “future games will be evaluated as events unfold. ” He just does not have the guts to follow through on the threat as yet, much like the threat to arrest WWII veterans at the memorial.
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/service-academy-football-games-will-go-on-defense-official-says-1.244783
They’ve got money for drone strikes though:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/drones-are-flying-despite-u-s-shutdown/?_r=0
USA! USA!
All hail our Peace Prize President!
Spying on, indefinitely detaining, and possibly blowing up American citizens is an essential part of the American government, you know.
I thought Obama was reelected,w/people aware of,ACA.Is Michelle Bachmann our 1st fag hag president,now?