Monday, October 7, 2013

To The Barrycades!


Its been a busy week on the Barrycades.

In addition to the massive Civil Disobedience by Veterans at the WW2 Memorial, crossing Barrycades placed in front of it by an ungrateful government on an almost daily basis for the past week , Marine Corps Veterans knocked over Barrycades at Marine Corps War Memorial, commonly known as the Iwo Jima Monument.
In case you don't believe it, here's a picture of them doing it, from a story in their Hometown Newspaper.




Citizens visiting DC area Gravelly Park created their own parking spaces when they arrived this weekend to find the Parking lot Barrycaded, creating an unsafe condition that perhaps the Park Service should have considered before spending the money to barricade something that costs nothing to leave open.

The park, closed by the government shutdown along with the rest of the public spaces administered by the National Park Service, was teeming with families Sunday night. Cyclists, fishermen and folks just looking to wind down the weekend filled the park even though it isn't technically open to the public.

"I think this is the best kind of salute back to the guys on Capitol Hill," said Andrew Holt, who came to the park Sunday evening to fish. "Telling them how everybody feels about it."

Gravelly Point's popularity has created some safety hazards as park-goers improvise parking spots instead of leaving their cars in the parking lot, which has been barricaded by park police during the shutdown. Park-goers have parked their cars on the shoulder of the road near the park and even on the grass.
In the meantime, soccer moms have been routinely tearing down Barrycades at "Turtle Park." 
According to sources, angry moms near the Eastern Market are of Washington, D.C. have been diligently tearing down barriers erected by the National Park Service around Marion Park, or the turtle park as it is commonly referred to because of the fake turtles that children like to play on.

Sources said that the park was blocked off by park officials, but the source suspected that neighborhood moms have been taking down barriers to the park so their children could play there. In response, park officials keep erecting new ones, which the moms promptly tear down.

That story also notes that another park with the same Park Service funding that is "close to the homes of “quite a few” Democratic senators" who are regularly seen there that has not been shut down.

There's no word yet on the fate of the Barrycades at Mount Vernon.  In addition to closing down the bus turn around, they've closed the Parking Lots.  They can't shut down Mount Vernon itself, its a privately owned and funded museum, so they spent money to erect Barrycades at the parking lots to keep people from going there.

And while things are quite this bad at Mount Rushmore (yet)

It does look like this.
 
As with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Park Service has attempted to outlaw sight seeing, blocking off access to the scenic overlooks that tourists use to take pictures of Mount Rushmore.  The State of South Dakota, has some problems with that, though.


The Buffalo News reported that a tour group of dozens of people from western New York was unable to take pictures of the monument because highway viewing areas were coned off.

“It’s all closed up,” the newspaper quoted North Collins, N.Y., resident Hilde Werneth as saying. “They won’t even let you stop and take a picture. You can only drive by.”

Jim Hagen, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism, said the situation is hurting people from out-of-state and international visitors who are in South Dakota to visit the monument.
Bicyclists on the Crescent Bike Trail are routinely ignoring Barrycades there

US News & World Report has a story about acts of Civil Disobedience on the Barrycades.

At one padlocked restroom on the Mount Vernon bike path that snakes along the Potomac River in suburban Virginia, two bicyclists expressed their disgust at Washington gridlock by letting it fly on the outside wall of the building. "This is a urination protest," one of the bikers said. "Maybe it'll catch on." On the nearby door to the shuttered bathroom was a sign stating, "Because of the federal government shutdown, this National Park Service facility is CLOSED." For extra emphasis, the word "closed" was bolded and underlined. 
snip

One of ticketed parkers was outraged. "I'm just here to go jogging, and I end up with a hundred-dollar fine," he said. "I thought Michelle Obama wanted us to all stay in shape, but the cops just threatened to tow my car. It's ridiculous – regular people are not the problem." Another park visitor said, "I just saw somebody flash a badge and drive right on out of here; do they have plain-clothes undercover cops patrolling parks to make sure nobody is picnicking illegally?"

At nearby Jones Point Park, two National Park Service patrol cars blocked the vehicular entrance. On normal days, these lots are unstaffed, and in most cases entrances are ungated. During the shutdown, barricades have been trucked in and erected to block off lots and armed police stationed there to bust offenders. According to the Office of Personnel Management records, U.S. Park Police officers make between $52,020 and $155,500 a year. Congress ought to hold hearing investigating how much is being spent to barricade and police empty parks and parking lots and who gave the orders to lock down so many sites.

 Meanwhile, in Badlands National Park, one family had their own method of expressing their displeasure with the Barrycades put up at scenic overlooks there.

Word is that this picture has inspired a movement to remove the cones and send them to or put them up at the Government Agency you'd most like to see shutdown instead.

3 comments:

  1. The only thing that upsets me about this is those two idiots relieveing themselves on the port-a-potties. Some poor smuck is going to have ot clean it up when the Congress gets it's mind back. (Not mind you that I have firm belief that will happen. After all that idiot Cruz we sent up there apparently hasn't got the sense to see that the most effective way to defund Obamacare is to simply repeal it as a law. President doesn't like that, threatens to veto? well that's why Congress can override a veto). Still, I really haven't been able to understand the closing off of parks that are normally not manned, or the momunments on the National Mall that are open air.

    You know there was a time when we sent our least qualified to Washingotn so they "couldn't do any real harm". lostagain

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  2. To understand why they have been closed, one merely has read the title of this post:

    http://godgunspoliticsandhammockcamping.blogspot.com/2013/10/weve-been-told-to-make-life-as.html

    As to Senator Cruz, he promised he would do pretty much exactly what he did while he was running for the office. As a result of this promise and others, he was elected by an overwhelming majority of Texans, defeating a Moderate Republican who has been in Texas politics most of his adult life, who holds the most politically powerful office in the State, and who spent three times more money than Cruz did in the effort, a good portion of it his own (and who has a very good chance of losing the office he currently holds as a result of the way in which he conducted his campaign against a man who has become a very, very, very popular Senator).

    For my part, I think politicians should do what they promise they will do while running for office.

    Obamacare will never be repealed as law as long as a guy named, well, "Obama" is in office. The Democrats who hold the Majority on the Senate right now are refusing to vote on bills to restore funding to care for children suffering from cancer, veterans, the National Parks, back pay for Federal Workers, military Chaplains, and several other functions of government, and they are refusing to do so in solidarity with the President. To think that a a repeal would be passed, let alone a Veto Override, is even remotely possible in such an atmosphere is simply not logical. Defunding, and failing that, delaying it, are the only routes available to us.

    Senator Cornyn, chose a different route than Senator Cruz has. We shall see next year if the voters of Texas rewards him for that effort or if they still wish to have Senators like Ted Cruz.

    I know where my money will be.

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  3. We are of no close kin (that I can determine) though we have the same last name. But we certainly seem to share the same political views, love of guns, and hammock camping. So I chose to follow along on your Blog. So far so good!!!!

    ReplyDelete