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I have a few questions for my elected representatives in Washington DC.
I have a few questions for my elected representatives in Washington DC.
Why are national monuments barricaded?
The national monuments in Washington DC were paid for by private donations.
These monuments are on public land.
These
monuments belong to the citizens of the United States, they are
maintained by employees of the citizens of the United States through our
elected government.
Why are my employees trying to keep me out of my property?
If
the National Park Service is shut down, why are uniformed National Park
Service employees patrolling the WWII Memorial and Viet Nam Veterans
Memorial?
If
there’s no money to fund the government, where did the money come from
to rent/buy fencing, and pay the people to install it and patrol it?
If
there’s no money to fund the government, how is maintenance being paid
for on the Camp David golf course? Is this a critical, essential
function of the United States government? Are the housekeeping and
landscaping staff at Camp David still on duty and being paid?
There
have been several government shut-downs and several times that the
government has gone into essential-personnel-only mode in the past.
During none of these occasions have the monuments and memorials in
Washington DC been fenced off. No-one was forced out of their vacation
homes or told to shut down private businesses. Park Service employees
were furloughed, and wilderness areas were closed.
President
Obama and Senator Reid may believe that they are being strong leaders
and showing they are decisive in a crisis. Unfortunately, in fencing
off national monuments, and chasing Veterans out of the Viet Nam War
Memorial, their behavior and actions are more appropriate to the temper
tantrum of a 4-year old.
Thanks,
Ken McClellan
Veteran
Editors' note: McClellan is a resident of Middletown, a P&Z Commissioner, and chairman of the Middletown Republican Town Committee.
Editors' note: McClellan is a resident of Middletown, a P&Z Commissioner, and chairman of the Middletown Republican Town Committee.
Mr. McClellan,
ReplyDeleteI assume that this is a rhetorical question and that you know, really, why the monuments were shut down. I thank you for posing the questions to open people's eyes, but there may be some who read this who may not know that they were shut down because the President of the United States ordered them shut down. And he did so to make a political point and to apply political pressure. Now, if there are folks who wonder why he did that, I refer you to a pamphlet called "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky. This is a guide followed by the President about how to create chaos in order to secure power to himself to make changes which will "transform America" into his view of a socialist utopia. And by the way, the original edition (since removed) dedicated the book to Lucifer, the first community organizer.
Pat Martick, Meriden