Free Republic

Washington’s grown a bit nastier and colder since the last government shutdown, and the casualties of the partisan fight are the family memories lost from being denied access to public landmarks that are supposed to belong to the people. The government doesn’t see it that way anymore – it’s all just a “damn game” and the folks running the Capitol are just toying with the American people. That’s right – public memorials, monuments and parks remained open under President Clinton and the Republican Congress in 1995/96, causing one to wonder how much inconvenience and financial hardship this partial government shutdown...

On Saturday, at a little before 9:30 a.m., citizens determined to break through the “barrycades” around the Lincoln Memorial moved the government barricades aside and proceeded to enter the Memorial. According to Taylor Hemness from KLTV 7: [The protesters] went completely up those steps, past the National Parks Service members who didn’t do anything to stop them as they made their way up to the Lincoln monument asking people to come with them, begging them to make people in DC listen to what they were doing.

Sunday’s rally at the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C., which was headlined by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has broken out in utter chaos, as both D.C. Metro and Park police attempted to shut down the event. According to one of the Shark Tank’s correspondent on the ground, ‘Special K,’ two police cruiser blocked entrance into WWII memorial, in an effort to stop truckers from arriving from the highway. Four marked Secret Service vehicles had arrived on the scene, joining dozens of law enforcement assets, who had already arrived, including a SWAT team dressing in full riot gear. Prior to...

Pat Vaillancourt went on a trip last week that was intended to showcase some of America’s greatest treasures. Instead, the Salisbury resident said she and others on her tour bus witnessed an ugly spectacle that made her embarrassed, angry and heartbroken for her country. Vaillancourt was one of thousands of people who found themselves in a national park as the federal government shutdown went into effect on Oct. 1. For many hours her tour group, which included senior citizen visitors from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States, were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard. The...

Two battles were joined this week, one on Capital Hill and another at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (the symbolic core of which is known as Bascom Hill). In both cases, free men who refused to be cowed struck back at overreaching tyrants. (a) The Battle of Capitol Hill As the Republicans and Democrats squared off on spending, World War II and Korean War vets were making their way to Washington, D.C. on Honor Flights, a charitable program to bring these folks to see the memorials to service members who fought... ~snip~ On hearing that the Obama administration intended to block...

The Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina created a publicity crap storm for the Spite House when operators were forced to close during the government shutdown. The inn sits on federal land and despite the owner’s attempt to defy orders from the Park Police, he was forced to close his doors and throw away spoiled food during the height of fall foliage season. Today, the inn will reopen at 5 p.m. and all October reservations will be honored.

Friends, With the federal government shutdown, this has been a difficult week for all Americans. Furthermore, the Obama administration’s unwillingness to negotiate is frustrating to all of us who would like to see meaningful change in Washington. While I am disappointed by the actions of Harry Reid and President Obama, I was shocked to learn that veterans had been denied access to the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. Our veterans deserve better than this! It’s time to send a message to the Democrats in Washington that this sort of political gamesmanship is unacceptable. It is disturbing to note that President...

Even though it’s an uphill battle, I’m glad there are some lawmakers willing to fight Obamacare. They realize a hard battle today could help save America from genuine fiscal crisis in the future. I don’t know how this government-shutdown battle (which is morphing into a debt-limit battle) will end, but I’m hopeful the taxpayers get some sort of victory. The 2011 fight over the debt limit, after all, gave us sequestration, which has been Obama’s biggest defeat. Heck, maybe in this year’s fight we can even keep the government shut down long enough that people realize that we can do...

And now the feds have put up cones to keep people out of scenic overlooks on Mount Rushmore.

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Obama’s Shutdown: Parks for Amnesty Activists OnlyPosted By Matthew Vadum On October 8, 2013 @ 12:55 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 1 Comment President Obama’s unprecedentedly vicious, carefully choreographed campaign of shutdown sadism is becoming even more thuggish as the fiscal 2014 budget dispute heads into its second week.But the lawless Obama administration is granting an indulgence to its radical friends who support immigration amnesty and tearing down the nation’s borders.As Charlie Spiering reports in the Washington Examiner, the Caudillo-in-Chief is allowing the “Camino Americano: March for Immigration Reform” rally to proceed on the...

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill do not seem any closer to an agreement that would end the government shutdown. On Tuesday, when veterans came to the World War II Memorial only to discover it had been barricaded because of the shutdown, they moved the blockade, then continued on to pay their respects. But the memorial is a federal site in a public space. According to the National World War II Memorial website, "The memorial is operated by the National Park Service and is open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week." Why was there a need for barricades...

-- At the World War II Memorial on The Mall in Washington, where veterans have been staging protests to keep it open, Washington Examiner's Charlie Spiering reports that at least seven officials were dispatched Wednesday morning to set up a ring of barricades to block tourists from the memorial. That is two more than the State Department had in Benghazi a year ago on the night of the terrorist attack that killed four, including the U.S. ambassador. -- National Park Officials closed down the educational Claude Moore Colonial Farm near the CIA in McLean, Va., even though the federal government...

The Pisgah Inn is closed compliments of the federal government. It's a private business that is located on government property. One of many businesses that are shutdown across the country. Some totally privately owned and operated. This will not stand. The order to close came from US Park Service National Director, Mr. John Jarvis. He has been contacted. As citizens of these United States, we will exercise our freedom to assemble. We are assembling at noon Saturday, 10/4. Please be at Pisgah Inn.

Republicans say the GOP-controlled House intends to pass legislation to reopen portions of the government, including national parks and processing of claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The House would also allow the government of Washington, D.C. to use its own taxpayer funds to provide services like garbage pickup, as well as keep D.C. employees on the job.

The Obama Shut Down10/8/2013President Obama Admits Real Reason Why He's Been Rejecting GOP Funding BillsMilitary chapel closed in Georgia: 'Shutdown: No Catholic service till further notice'Priest: Obama Admin. Denied Mass to CatholicsObama Warns "No Magic Bullets", Exploring "All Default Contingencies"Deja vu... Obama repeats the condemnation of striking workers....againObama: Republicans Using 'Extortion' On Debt LimitObama Says He Will Negotiate Once G.O.P. Ends 'Threats''Gestapo' tactics meet senior citizens at YellowstoneArmed Guards Kick Senior Citizens Out of Yellowstone ParkDigging In: Obama calls Boehner to say won´t negotiate, plans to make statementExclusive Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed 'Essential,' Remain Open During ShutdownDepartment of...

At Marion Park on Capitol Hill, two fence gates were chained closed, but one was not, and a group of children played inside. At the Korean War Veterans Memorial, on the Mall, the entrance was blocked with barricades, but visitors just walked around the barriers and entered. At the closed-off National World War II Memorial, two days of assaults by veterans prompted the National Park Service to announce that they had the legal right to be there and would not be barred in the future. Across federal Washington on Wednesday, the government shutdown was leaking badly — partly as a...

ibreakthings (D) @Kudzu81 @michellemalkin @TwitchyTeam I'm at #vetmarch for million vet march in DC at WWII Memorial 5:06 AM - 13 Oct 2013 Citizens are taking to Washington, D.C., Sunday morning to protest the Spite House’s closing of the nation’s memorials. Twitter users are using #VetMarch and #1MVetMarch to spread the word and to provide on-the-scene reports from the Million Vet March. As Twitchy reported, Sarah Palin is attending the march as well.

Armed private security guards are on the job to keep the public away from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, and one even threatened to arrest a political activist if he stepped on the sidewalk beside the iconic building where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and adopted. “You will be arrested,” said one of the hired guards to activist Craig Bergman as a video team filmed his stop at the downtown historical center. In the video, Bergman asks a National Park Service ranger who was paying for the rented cops, and was told, “You are.” The badge on the private...

What is this horrid government shutdown I keep reading about? It isn’t for Federal employees, since the House passed legislation paying all non-essential Federal employees that were furloughed for their missed time. Stated differently. Non-essential Federal employees received a taxpayer-funded vacation. The government shutdown is a way for the Administration and Senate to punish Americans for Republicans not rubber-stamping the funding of Obamacare. John Nolte has created a list of unnecessary shutdowns. 1. Treatments for Children Suffering From Cancer – The GOP have agreed to a compromise by funding part of the government, including the National Institutes of Health, which...

What is this horrid government shutdown I keep reading about? It isn’t for Federal employees, since the House passed legislation paying all non-essential Federal employees that were furloughed for their missed time. (I President Obama signs it, that is). Stated differently. Non-essential Federal employees received a taxpayer-funded vacation. The government shutdown is a way for the Administration and Senate to punish Americans for Republicans not rubber-stamping the funding of Obamacare. John Nolte has created a list of unnecessary shutdowns. 1. Treatments for Children Suffering From Cancer – The GOP have agreed to a compromise by funding part of the government,...