World War II veterans brought to Washington, D.C. to see the WWII memorial surged past barricades to lay flowers in memory of their fallen brothers-in-arms while the National Park Service revealed who ordered the monument to be barricaded.
Carol Johnson with the National Park Service stood outside the site of the WWII Memorial and told reporters that the closure of the site was ordered by the White House’s Office of Management & Budget. She made it clear the National Park Service itself did not do the decision.
Tuesday a Congressman from Mississippi’s 4th District brought colleagues to the memorial site to move the barricades for a group of 91 Mississippi WWII vets who had been flown to D.C.
The act of civil disobedience by the Congressman came after he was denied by the National Park Service, then the Department of Interior and then the White House to open the memorial for the veterans.
“They did not lift one finger to help these veterans,” Congressman Steven Palazzo told Fox News’ Todd Starnes. “It is sad that they would not even make an exception for our World War II veterans.”
Palazzo said that while Park police were on hand none of them made any moves to stop the veterans from honoring their fallen comrades.
“They did the honorable thing and stood down,” Palazzo said. “We don’t fault them or the staff there one bit.”
Palazzo added that because it is an open-air memorial, there is more cost to forcing the public to stay away.
“It actually requires more effort and expense to shut out these veterans from their Memorial than it would to simply let them through,” Palazzo said.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told Congressional leaders on Tuesday night that without an increase in the debt limit, the Treasury Department will be using their last set of accounting moves to allow the government to keep paying bills.
Lew said unless the debt ceiling is raised by October 17, payments could be delayed to U.S. debt holders, government contractors and Social Security recipients. He also said the government shutdown would have very little impact on the deadline date.
“If we have insufficient cash on hand, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,” he wrote. “For this reason, I respectfully urge Congress to act immediately to meet its responsibility by extending the nation’s borrowing authority.”
The Obama administration has said they will not negotiate over the debt ceiling on top of not negotiating over the government shutdown.
The U.S. Dollar has fallen to an 8-month low due to the government shutdown that has caused concern in major trading markets.
Analysts say the dollar index, which fell to 79.864, did not fall as far as it could have fallen because investors and traders had expected the shutdown. The dollar index tracks the Dollar against six major world currencies.
The dollar fell to an 8-month low against the Euro and an 18-month low against the Swiss franc.
The economic impact is being debated among economists and analysts. Goldman Sachs says a three-week government shutdown could end up lowering the country’s GDP by 0.9% this quarter.
Other analysts say the government’s lack of agreement on raising the “debt ceiling” is a bigger concern to world economic markets. The current debt ceiling is scheduled to be reached on October 17th.
Economists also say the shutdown will delay key reports from the Labor Department that assist in predicting financial outcomes and forecasts.
While many government workers will not be showing up at their jobs Tuesday because of the government shutdown, some workers will be looking at a financial windfall thanks to regulations.
Employees who are considered essential and “excepted” will not only continue to work but will be able to pick up overtime, compensatory time and other benefits. Continue reading →
The National Parks Service has admitted that because of the government shutdown, it will be illegal for anyone to walk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
“The mall theoretically is legally closed,” NPS Spokeswoman Carol Johnson told TheBlaze. “Now, obviously people walking across it … there is nothing much we can do, but it is legally closed.” Continue reading →
The veterans piled off the chartered buses in front of the World War II Memorial, some in wheelchairs, some using canes, all determined to pay homage to each other and their fallen comrades from more than half a century ago. Continue reading →
The BBC is reporting a tactical response team of the Capitol police, which guards the U.S. Capitol buildings, was told to leave the scene of the Navy Yard shooting Monday instead of coming to the help of municipal police officers.
Senior officials are said to be investigating why a supervisor told the elite unit to leave. Continue reading →
Navy Yard killer Aaron Alexis reportedly suffered serious and prolonged mental health problems before his Monday assault.
Alexis, 34, had been treated for paranoia, hearing voices and sleeplessness according to a report from the Associated Press. Alexis, a full time U.S. Navy reservist from 2007-2011, was decorated with the National Defense Service medal and Global War on Terrorism Service along with receiving multiple positive reviews. However, Alexis did receive a general discharge, suggesting misconduct. Continue reading →
A D.C. police spokesman told reporters at a press conference that if it wasn’t for the police who arrived within seven minutes of the 911 call mass murder Aaron Alexis “would have kept shooting.”
NBC has reported that the killer served in the U.S. Navy from 2007-2011. Continue reading →
Washington, D.C. police have announced they are no longer looking for a second shooter after identifying the man who killed 11 others at the Navy Yard in Washington.
The killer is Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old man who had been a civilian government contractor from Fort Worth, Texas. It is believed that Alexis used the identification badge of someone else to gain access to the base. Police found three weapons on the gunman’s body: an AR-15 assault rifle, a shotgun and a semiautomatic pistol. Continue reading →