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But note how very laudatory The Hill is regarding the wily Reid. And note the article goes out of its way to protect Obama from any political fallout from Reid's aggressive, no-compromise stance -- claiming that Obama is just a spectator in all of this, and himself only wishes to compromise.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The HillPresident Obama has handed over the reins of leadership on government funding and the debt limit to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Reid is now fully in charge of his party’s negotiating strategy, a significant change from past showdowns with Republicans./i> He has taken the initiative from...

The Greatest Generation came through again. Faced with a weak, childish and irresponsible tyranny, with some of them in wheelchairs, the old soldiers went over Obama’s Barrycades with the easy nonchalance of people who have been there before. It was a group of Mississippi gulf-coast World War II veterans, outraged by administration contempt on closing the World War II monument, who were flown up via the Honor Flight Network, a private organization that they say was “created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their...

This "shutdown" is over Obamacare, which most Americans dislike. Credit for the focus on Obamacare belongs to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for the masterful 21-hour speech he delivered on the Senate floor week before last. Sen. Cruz insisted then that Republicans shut down the government in what would have been a futile effort to defund Obamacare. That would have had catastrophic consequences for the GOP. But the silver-tongued Texan is now on board with the leadership's strategy of seeking a one-year delay. By margins of 2 to 1 or greater, Americans oppose shutting down the government to defund Obamacare, three...

For much of this last week, according to the spokespeople for the National Park Service, the NPS has asserted that the White House specifically ordered that they barricade the open air memorial commemorating the sacrifice and service of the veterans of World War II. In multiple statements to the press NPS spokespeople made it clear that they were directly instructed by the White House specifically to shut the memorial that had previously never been closed. How do you close something that by design is intended to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year?...

At its core, the dispute over the budget and the debt ceiling isn't complicated at all. But it is full of misconceptions and urban myths. Here are the 10 facts worth remembering past all the obfuscation:

As the partial government shutdown headed into the weekend, Organizing for Action, Barack Obama’s permanent campaign operation, urged followers to use Twitter to send a message to House Speaker John Boehner: “Enough Already!” Under James Carville, Paul Begala & Co., Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign team had a series of mantras: Define your candidate before they do. While you’re at it, define their candidate, too. Let no allegation go unchallenged. If the other side needles you, slap them. If they slap you, punch them. If they punch you back, punch harder. If they use a knife, use a gun. And don’t...

Assuming the position of “Supreme Leader” of the US government, President Barack Obama has named a new casualty due to the (partial) shutdown of the Federal Government: The Ocean.Over 1,100 square miles of ocean has been declared off limits to the public in the Florida Bay. Apparently, unknown to most Americans, allowing boats to meander into open water is a cost that has proven to be unsustainable in the event of a government shutdown. Well. . . At least that’s according to the National Park Service. Therefore, it only makes sense that the Federal Government allocate personnel and equipment...

There will be some that may take exception to the tone this post will strike, but this is something that needs to be said. Have you ever witnessed a single politician with the ingrained pettiness we are seeing displayed from the White House. I have always felt whomever held the Office of President of the United States deserved respect. If for nothing else, for simply holding the highest office in our country. Even with Barack Obama, I have tried to show a modicum of respect for the office. That is no longer the case and my feeling has been brought...

How do I determine if the Selaway Bitterroot National Forest in Idaho is shut down for elk hunting? There are no answers at the offices. Campsites are closed, but that does not necessarily mean hunting is closed.

As the fifth day of the federal government shutdown began, members of the House came together in a moment of rare bipartisanship to pass a bill, by a vote of 407 to 0, approving back pay for furloughed government workers....

Normally I take this time to point out some odious person (usually a progressive liberal) who seems hell-bent on destroying this great country to be our Jerk of the Week. However, some events transpired this week that brought a smile to my face, so I decided to recognize those responsible to be our Hero of the Week. While it is very easy to point out things that are going wrong, it behooves us to remember that there are things that show us the way and give us hope, and these items need to be acknowledged. For standing up against Obama,...

When I first saw this story, I assumed that it almost had to be a hoax. After the previous incidents with veterans and the added expenditures involved in closing open spaces to keep veterans from paying their respects to the Honored Dead one would assume that even a novice politician would move to staunch the bleeding. But instead, it seems that the White House is doubling down, as reported at The Weekly Standard. Via William Jacobson, NBC’s affiliate in Washington, D.C. reports that police ordered tourists and Vietnam war veterans who were visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to leave...

The Pentagon is ordering most of its approximately 400,000 furloughed civilian employees back to work. The decision by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is based on a Pentagon legal interpretation of a law called the Pay Our Military Act. That measure was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama shortly before the partial government shutdown began Tuesday. The law ensured that members of the military, who have remained at work throughout the shutdown, would be paid on time. It also left room for the Pentagon to keep on the job those civilians who provide support to the military.

Nothing further yet

"I’m proud of you," VP called to tell the Park Ranger who was chastised by a GOP Rep today at the WWII Memorial.

World War II Veterans denied access to their memorial is appalling. But, Catholic priests denied the opportunity to celebrate Mass, even as volunteers, leaves me speechless. Read below from the general counsel of the Archdiocese for Military Services as he explains priests that defy the governments orders may even face arrest. "If the government shutdown continues through the weekend, there will be no Catholic priest to celebrate Mass this Sunday in the chapels at some U.S. military installations where non-active-duty priests serve as government contractors." "Military personnel enjoy, like all Americans, the First Amendment guarantee of the 'Free Exercise' of...

FULL TITLE - "Obama Eviscerates Troops’ 1st Amendment Rights: Threatens Catholic Priests With Arrest If They Minister To Them" Unreal. He’s a monster. The Catholic priests need to come out and challenge this. It’s not enough that Obama is strategically punishing each and every American civilian, he’s going after our troops, too. Obama took the time to make sure Camp David stays open during the shutdown and he had time to pose for a portrait on the third day of the shutdown. Meanwhile, Sunday is near and the military has no priests to perform Sunday service or hear confessions. In...

In more recent history, when a group of World War II veterans recently faced barriers blocking entry to the memorial — an open space requiring not so much as an attendant — these elderly warriors took a page from their Normandy playbook and stormed the barricades. Can there be an image more inspiring than members of this venerable club, whose living roll declines each day by about 640, pushing their way through flimsy, useless, pointless barriers to roam among pillars erected to their heroism? What was Washington thinking? Ditto the closing of the D-Day cemetery in Normandy, France, where more...

Never before has an American president threatened and risked the U.S. economy and financial markets the way Barack Obama has in recent days. For his own narrow political ends, Obama and his minions have actually accused the Republican party of deliberately provoking a Treasury debt default because they don’t agree with the Obama position on the continuing budget resolution and the debt ceiling. “As reckless as a government shutdown is . . . an economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse,” Obama said on Thursday. Clearly targeting Republicans, he said a default would be “the height of...

Effective leaders take responsibility for problems around them; they do not shift blame to others. As Winston Churchill put it, "The price of greatness is responsibility." The conventional narrative is that conservative policymakers are holding the nation hostage and hamstringing the helpless president. Americans will likely see through this. A majority dislikes the current Republican strategy, but they know that ultimate culpability lies with leadership at the top. This sorry episode will reinforce the growing perception of the president as a leader who is more comfortable denouncing subordinates for disagreement than in taking responsibility.