Free Republic

On Thursday, President Obama again reiterated not only a refusal to compromise, but also a refusal even to negotiate seriously. Obama’s country needs him to be a leader now -- not a campaigner. Instead, he says imperiously there will be no compromise on his unpopular healthcare law and no negotiations over his demand for the ability to rack up more debt.

It's like the return of the sequester cuts in how Obama and his political allies are using the current government shutdown to intentionally hinder and punish American citizens. We all remember that when the dreaded sequester cuts (which weren't cuts at all) went into effect, the Obama administration told federal agencies to cut back in those areas that would most inconvenience the public. Well, the same thing is happening again as the government shutdown continues to lurch forward. The progressive liberals in Congress and in the Obama administration just continue to show their true contempt for the average citizen. The...

The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim and caprice. The rangers even closed the parking lot at Mount Vernon, where the plantation home of George Washington is a favorite tourist destination. That was after they barred the new World War II Memorial on the Mall to veterans of World War II. But the government does not own Mount Vernon; it is privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The ladies bought it years ago to preserve it as a national memorial. The feds closed access to the parking lots this week, even though the lots...

“It’s my way or the highway.” That’s the message D.C. Democrats are sending to America. “I will not negotiate,” says President Obama. “There’s no need for conversations,” says Harry Reid. “We’ve spoken loudly and clearly, and we have the support of the president of the United States.” This could have all been avoided, of course. The House has already sent three bills to the Senate that would fully fund the government. In a desperate attempt to preserve the last remnants of the president’s wilting legacy, Harry Reid is holding government funding hostage.

Team Obama was too ambitious in its play to use the World War II Memorial as a prop in the campaign to blame Republicans for the government shutdown. If you’ve ever been to the World War II Memorial, you know that it is an open space at street level. Under normal circumstances, government personnel have no role in admitting or denying access to the memorial. Real effort had to be taken and precise instruction had to be given to round up barricades and have them installed in a clumsy, visible way that would block pedestrians from entering the memorial. It...

by Chris ShugartSome people automatically assume a government shutdown is a bad thing. But before we jump to any hasty conclusions, let’s consider a few governments that probably should have been shut down. Nazi Germany, the USSR, and Cuba immediately come to mind. And you might want to add Iran, N. Korea, or China to a current ongoing list of governments we could do without. Citizens of just about any Third World African nation suffer from oppression and all sorts of deficiencies because they live in countries with lousy governments. Maybe a little less governance deserves a chance. When Congress...

Via Charles Cooke. Imagine it. Imagine a movement so selfish that it would sabotage the operations of a venture on which vast numbers of people depend simply to gain leverage for its own agenda. Then imagine that that movement grew in numbers to the point where it could elect its own bought-and-paid-for politicians to do its bidding. Who knows how much havoc it could wreak? When you think about it, Democrats are right: It really is a sort of terrorism. Am I awake? Youtube

Apparently the DUmmies revealed their TRUE selves when they slammed WWII vets for going through the WWII Memorial barriers before they had a chance to review the liberal talking points memos that came out later. See, according to the liberal talking points, the vets were prevented from entering the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. because the EVIL Republicans caused the government shutdown. Of course, all mention of the FACT that it was Republican congressional officials, including Michelle Bachmann, and NOT any Democrat helped to lower the barriers for the vets was not mentioned at all as you can see...

Iconic military cemeteries around the world where thousands of American soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars lay to rest were temporarily closed from Tuesday due to the US government shutdown. A sign outside the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, west of Paris, informed visitors of its closure. “Due to the United States government shutdown, this site is closed to the public” But Suresnes isn’t the only one. The move affects some 20 cemeteries in France, Belgium, Britain, Italy, Tunisia and Mexico which serve as the final resting place for troops who died in landmark campaigns such...

Last night NBC Evening News featured the story about WWII veterans who were denied access to the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. supposedly due to the government shutdown. After being denied entry for about 15 minutes, a group of congressional officials opened the barricades and tape to allow entry of the veterans. To watch this NBC News report you would barely have any idea who lowered the barricades except for a quick innacurate mention of a  "bipartisan" group. The NBC News report with transcript  is below the fold. Since this report is inaccurate in what it leaves out, there is...

Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States and is now seated in a position of power and privilege that few men have ever experienced. What must that be like - to go so quickly from obscurity to international fame? What affect would it have on one's sense of responsibility and sense of self? How heavy would the burden be to meet the needs and expectations of those who helped put you into power? How far does one become removed from the common man's conundrums, and yet how similar could the untold emotions range? ...

In 1995, with American lawmakers having failed to agree on a budget, the government shut down. As a result, President Bill Clinton found himself surrounded by interns in the White House, as regular staff had to stay home. That’s how Clinton met Monica Lewinsky. Now, 18 years later, the federal government is shutting down again. The government needs a new loan to keep paying its bills, but Republicans will only agree to letting it borrow more money if Democrats agree to reduce Obamacare, President Obama’s government-supported national health care system.

Video at the Site.Democratic Congressman John Larson of Connecticut had harsh words for Republicans on the House of Representatives floor early Tuesday morning following the government shutdown.

I don’t believe America has ever seen such a thing. The leader of the free world just followed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s honest, visionary, and serious U.N. speech with a speech of his own in the Rose Garden. More like it, President Obama just recorded essentially an infomercial on the disastrous Obamacare rollout. In a speech full of unserious claims and low-level false accusations against those who disagree with his liberal, unworkable policies, this president engaged in doublespeak without even blinking. It was unreal. Obama just proclaimed all our predictions about Obamacare were wrong. The economy is doing great, he...

Suggest we explore shutting down Las Vegas as a way to get Mr. Reid's attention...I have just cancelled a trip there and hope others will do so. Mr. Reid's constituents might be a little more active in pulling his chain if the hotels and casinos have to be boarded up.

I sat down and watched President Obama's speech today on Obamacare and wondered if he was going to lash out at Republicans for the (non) government shutdown. As I fought the rising bile and oncoming nausea I always experience hearing our liar-in-chief, I was not disappointed. Obama's speech is a textbook example torn from the liberal progressive handbook. He started off with a painful "is this on?" bit about the microphone, just showing how much of an amateur he is on the big stage. He then immediately launched into attacking the Republicans for the government shutdown (I like the term...

In the wake of the government's inability to pass a budget, the government officially began the process of “shutting down” nonessential services for the first time in 17 years. This includes sending home nearly a third of the government’s 2.1 million-person workforce. National parks will be shut down. The Internal Revenue Service will temporarily suspend audits and will not staff telephone support lines. Many of the nation’s federally-run attractions, like the Smithsonian and the National Zoo, will be closed (privately-funded museums and zoos, of course, will remain open). Federally backed loans will not be available for rural communities and small...

As the last few hours tick away over the ongoing debate over Obamacare, we're left to wonder if the GOP will buckle under and give in to Obama and Harry Reid. The House has sent proposals to the Senate which have been shot down. President Obama has continually said that he will not negotiate (must be nice to be an emperor instead of an elected official!) and Republicans are getting more and more into a tizzy over whether they'll be blamed for a government shutdown. My gut reaction is that the GOP will cave on this issue. I have little...

Who is to blame if there is a government shutdown? At this moment it is a dead tie 39-39%. 22% say both. Poll is at the bottom right of the page.

The Democrats and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) have been carrying on as if a shutdown of the federal government would be a catastrophe for the country and the economy, perhaps even pitching us back into recession while little old ladies starve in their beds and children die of neglect.That won’t happen. While it is embarrassing that the politics of the world’s most powerful country are in such disarray that a defunding of the government could happen, we’ve been similarly embarrassed before with few if any long-term consequences.Non-essential government workers will be furloughed and not paid for the...