The Shutdown of 2013: Making Sure Americans Pay
"We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can."
"The Obama administration appeared intent on making this sequester as painful and visible as possible, and this was another example. Instead of working with Congress to make responsible cuts and reforms, the administration took the political opportunity to go after funds used to pay teachers and police salaries." -Doc Hastings (R-WA) 
National Park Service director Jarvis said he discussed closing the open-air monuments and memorials with the White House, as well as the secretary of the Interior Department.
They must protect America’s treasures from the ugly Americans. No surprise then that one park ranger explained to the Washington Times last week, “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can.”
There is a sickness in the regulatory bureaucracy that Americans should be ashamed of. The NPS, like the IRS, is corrupt and should be abolished — and the government’s parks (they’re clearly not the people’s) returned to the states. -Mark Steyn
Democrat, Liberal, Government, Obama, Character, Media, Arrogance
Newly released public records show that the Department of the Interior knew in advance that two groups of aging veterans would be visiting the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2013, but they decided to barricade the premises anyway. According to emails obtained by National Review Online, the U.S. National Park Service employees were also constantly monitoring the news for any negative media attention.
Government, Incompetence, Threats, Arrogance
Armed private security guards are on the job to keep the public away from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, and one even threatened to arrest a political activist if he stepped on the sidewalk beside the iconic building where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and adopted. “You will be arrested,” said one of the hired guards to activist Craig Bergman as a video team filmed his stop at the downtown historical center.
Government, Incompetence, Scandal, AntiAmerican, Bigbrother, Demagoguery, Politics, Corruption, Arrogance
It what looks like a spiteful move, the NPS even removed handles from water spigots along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal where bikers and joggers exercise as well as along the Great Allegheny Passage, just to ensure people don't get any water from them. Instead of saving money, the NPS is expending additional resources to go out of its way to close such locations and to make people miserable.
Government, Incompetence, Scandal, Threats, AntiAmerican, Bigbrother, Demagoguery, Politics, Corruption, Arrogance
Vaillancourt was one of thousands of people who found themselves in a national park as the federal government shutdown went into effect on Oct. 1. For many hours her tour group, which included senior citizen visitors from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States, were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard. The tourists were treated harshly by armed park employees, she said, so much so that some of the foreign tourists with limited English skills thought they were under arrest.
Democrat, Liberal, Government, Obama, Character, Demagoguery, Arrogance
The parking lot at Mount Vernon was closed by the NPS, too, even though the Park Service does not own Mount Vernon; it just controls access to the parking lots from the George Washington Parkway. At the Vietnam Memorial—which is just a wall you walk past—the NPS called in police to block access. But the pièce de résistance occurred in South Dakota. The Park Service wasn’t content just to close Mount Rushmore. No, they went the extra mile and put out orange cones to block the little scenic overlook areas on the roads near Mount Rushmore. You know, just to make sure no taxpayers could catch a glimpse of it.
Democrat, Liberal, Government, Obama, Character, Demagoguery, Arrogance
The Obama administration insisted Tuesday it had no choice but to withhold death benefits to relatives of 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, a 25-year-old soldier born and raised in San Diego, and four other soldiers killed since the partial government shutdown began Oct. 1.
Government, Incompetence, Scandal, Threats, AntiAmerican, Bigbrother, Demagoguery, Politics, Corruption, Arrogance
The bus stopped along a road [in Yellowstone Park] when a large herd of bison passed nearby, and seniors filed out to take photos. Almost immediately, an armed ranger came by and ordered them to get back in, saying they couldn’t “recreate.” The tour guide, who had paid a $300 fee the day before to bring the group into the park, argued that the seniors weren’t “recreating,” just taking photos. “She responded and said, ‘Sir, you are recreating,’ and her tone became very aggressive,” Vaillancourt said.
Democrat, Character, Brilliance
“There’s hardly anybody working down there. There’s no towel service, and so we’re doing our own laundry down there. And we pay a fee to belong to the House gym! So, you know, this is no different than if you’re working at an employer that offers a wellness program. You pay a fee to belong. That’s what we do there.” -Democrat Bruce Braley complains about lack of towels in House gym during government shutdown