Or some hooligan decides that now is the perfect time to go paint some grafitti on a temporarily unguarded monument.
Well, it's silly until you consider that those monuments make swell targets for terrorists. My next door neighbor used to be head of counterterrorism for the park police (before he retired), so that is something to think about. If you have reduced staff due to the shutdown, it's going to be a lot easier to guard against bombs, vandalism, etc. if you don't have crowds of people visiting.
There are still plenty of Park Police on the Mall. If someone decided to try and steal parts of the Memorial, I'm sure the NPS could stop them. Anyway, there usually aren't Park Police or Rangers just hanging out at the WWII Memorial. What is, and isn't, shut down seems completely random. Why shut down the WII Memorial, but not Dupont Circle?
Wait...isn't Dupont Circle just a road??? Are you saying that the feds should shut down all of the roads in the District? Am I missing something here?
Yesterday, the Knights of Columbus had to move their annual celebration for Columbus Day to my Church. Normally it is celebrated at the statue of Columbus in front of Union Station. They were told it was closed although there are no barricades closing the statue. I was wondering the other day while driving through DC whether most of the statues found at circles belong to National Parks or DC. Nothing random about what has been closed.
Now that we're talking war memorials. My proposal for the Iraq War memorial is that video of Bush looking high & low for WMD to uproarious laughter combined with some blown up Humvees, statues of vets without limbs and aluminum tubes stuck in the ground. So much to be proud of.
at this point I'm starting to wonder about the wisdom of the Democrats holding to their position that they won't negotiate until the GOP ends the shutdown. they are holding to that position just as obstinately as the GOP is to the position that the Democrats need to negotiate. and it's getting us nowhere. I think it's time that the Democrats have to realize that the GOP and the tea party in particular have enough power to keep things gridlocked, although they don't have any ideas of their own, or sufficient power to actually pass any legislation. it's time for the two sides to set aside any pre-conditions and come to the negotiating table. I think the Democrats have to realize that like it or not, they will have to give up some parts of Obamacare - at least for now. it doesn't mean that it's not law anymore or that they have to admit defeat on it. but simply delay certain aspects of it. I don't think that is a defeat, and it's a small price to pay for getting our government back on track and keeping the economic recovery on track. the GOP has done enough damage to themselves that the Democrats can claim overall victory even if they have to give a little on Obamacare. it's just a temporary delay. I know many Democrats will feel that they would be setting a precedent by giving in; by negotiating with hostage-takers (whether that's true or not, I can understand that that's how they would feel about it), but the fact is, negotiation and compromise is a necessity, a way of life, in a democratic government.
If the Knights start asking you if these are the Indies, ignore them. And for Gods sake don't accept any blankets they give you.
It is the typical Republican response. Stuff that I want, that I need, and that supports me is all-American and must be kept open. Stuff that other people (the takers) want or need are extraneous and wasteful and should be shutdown.
I'm speaking specifically about ACA implementation. and as far as budget concessions, I'd be alright with a 1 for 1 cut between the tea party's favorite programs and social programs the Dems support.
yeah, and it's an age-old debate and it isn't going to be resolved by each side obstinately sticking to their position. compromise is a necessity for a democracy to function effectively.
the only thing that would stop it is if the a significant enough portion of the American people got fed up with the tea party to vote them out of power. the Onion had a perfect headline for this last week, basically saying that the American people are pissed off at a petty small-minded Congress that represents it (the American people) perfectly. the fact is, America as a society is very divided (most societies are), and compromise is necessary. if the Democrats ever find themselves in the minority the way the GOP is, they will have the same power to force concessions from the majority party, and in my mind, will serve as an effective check from the majority party being able to execute their agenda without regards to the wishes of the minority. which, although a minority, still is a significant portion of the American people.
Bear in mind that the concessions that the Reeps are asking are basically the Romney and Ryan governing program to be implemented, while the President and Democrats have basically agreed to the sequestration level cuts, without further demands. Why should the Dems cave and how do you make sure this is not going to happen in a month or two or six?
the minority party has to have some kind of capacity to serve as a check on the majority party's ability to execute their agenda without any regard to the wishes of the minority party (which represents a sizable segment of the American people). and the majority party has to realize that it will not be able to execute its own agenda fully and the way they want it without making concessions to the wishes of the minority. the majority party should however push for at least a one-year deal. that way they would only really be forced to make concessions twice before the American people get a chance to chime in through elections and let the politicians know whose agenda they approve of. the majority party is always the one that has to make concessions, because they are the ones executing their agenda. the minority party cannot make concession (other than perhaps conceding some of the concessions they're asking for of the majority), because they're not the ones executing their agenda. all they can do is ask for/force some concessions from the majority. it may seem unfair, but I think this is just a function of how the system works.
The Democrats have offered a budget many times, with no luck in even getting a vote. - They agreed to limit and delay tax increases that are needed to decrease the deficit - They agreed to sequestration-level cuts across the board - They agreed to delay ACA and increase salary tests The Republicans have received all of these concessions, while refusing to fund the government, and are still asking for ACA to not be funded. This is not compromise. This is a small subset of a political party holding up the entire legislative process and agenda - the legislative equivalent of a hissy fit. They do not have the votes to repeal ACA, so they will simply stop the government. They have taken the ball and gone home. There are not enough infantile, purile, middle-school associations to make.
Do you realize that the majority of the American People rejected the POS agenda in the last elections and that only a fraction of the POS is holding the government hostage?
Or, more to the point, some armed asshole with a confederate flag decides to start shooting brown people?
yes, but a certain portion of the American people voted those POSs back to represent them and to serve as a check to the majority rule. the fact is, just as there isn't perfect harmony of opinion among the American people, so there isn't perfect harmony within our government. if we had direct democracy, the government would be just as paralyzed - probably to the point of violent fights breaking out among the different factions. I think we have to recognize it and accept the fact that compromise is necessary and good. if a majority could execute its agenda without regard to the minority, what would stop it from changing the rules to make itself into a permanent majority and run roughshod over the the wishes (initially), and perhaps eventually, the rights of the minority? I say it is a good thing for the majority party not to be able to do as it pleases and execute its agenda without regard to the minority. it's a good thing for the minority to be able to have sufficient leverage (hostage taking ability?) to force concessions from the majority. it is the hallmark of a democracy.
That would probably be much less damaging to us than assholes draped in American flags volunteering to kill brown people elsewhere. It is sheer pettiness to close outdoor public monuments and barricade them since presumably they do not barricade them late at night when they are open. Pretty pathetic when even when the gov is open there are unguarded monuments across the entire country.So now that the govt is broke and shutdown they have to spend moeny to barricade them and watch the barricades, fricking ridiculous. The maxim of two wrongs not making a right seem apropos here.