Members of the executive branch of the US Government—the head of which is our President—have spent this month intentionally harassing veterans and all US citizens for clearly cheap political reasons.
The veterans’ monuments in Washington, DC, are all big and outside. They require no one’s help or supervision to see and enjoy them. Yet they have all been closed—not just declared to be unavailable, but blocked and armed guards place to prevent anyone from seeing and honoring those who gave their lives for our country. While special exemption has been granted for WWII vets who come on an Honor Flight (because the first ones just pushed past the barricades), no one else is permitted by our President to view the monuments. The Vietnam Monument is also off limits. So is the Lincoln Memorial; there have been government shut-downs before, and none of this idiocy has happened before.
If I happened to be in Washington, DC, and I just may decide to make such a trip, I’d put on my dress blue uniform with my seven US awards for valor, and go to the Vietnam Monument. Any guard or law-enforcement type who tried to stop me would have to take down this 72-year-old, disabled combat-vet—this while I called them names that would include Nazi and traitor. I’d be proud to be arrested as I protest this abuse of our veterans.
Why in the world would anyone think that our government has the right to block the use or viewing of such national treasures for any reason (other than maintenance)—much less to make a cheap political statement?
More citizen harassment as the National Park Service (NPS) informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was “closed” due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles of open-ocean. Fishing is also prohibited at Biscayne National Park during the shutdown. The NPS will also have rangers on duty to police the ban…of access to an ocean. The government will probably use more personnel and spend more resources to attempt to close the ocean, than it would in its normal course of business. Can you say, “Stupid” or “clearly malicious?”
Blocking access to trails and programs at South Dakota’s most popular attraction was one thing, but the President shut down a view of Mount Rushmore. The NPS placed cones along highway viewing areas outside Mount Rushmore, barring visitors from pulling over and taking pictures. So Dakota had snow a couple of days ago—the snow-plow drivers happily pushed away these goofy cones along with the snow.
This is now a challenge for all US Government workers in the NPS and other agencies called upon to enforce this insane denying of citizens the right to view their national monuments. These workers now have to decide if they’re going to do the right thing and refuse to obey what are clearly stupid and inappropriate orders—at the risk of their jobs—or be good Nazis and just do what they’re told. When you work for the government you have to be prepared to do what is right when the government is wrong. And that time is now.
I said that this is all about cheap political reasons. The President and his party—including the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, are mad because they want some budget bills passed to continue government operations—but the House, controlled by the Republicans, won’t pass one that doesn’t include some limitations on Obamacare. The House members are doing this because Obamacare is very unpopular in the country and citizens are contacting their Congress-critters and demanding that it go away—the most recent poll I’ve read shows that 2/3 of Americans want Obamacare to go away. Well, the House passes these bills—but the Senate won’t even allow them to come up for a vote (because there are plenty senators (including Democrats) who are listening to their constituents and will vote to pass a bill that limits or eliminates Obamacare. Net result: The Democratic Leadership in the Senate won’t let the senators—the elected representatives of the people—vote on this funding bill. The President and his pals would rather just call names—and shut down public monuments and parks. I think it’s impeachment time.
