Free Republic

What is this horrid government shutdown I keep reading about? It isn’t for Federal employees, since the House passed legislation paying all non-essential Federal employees that were furloughed for their missed time. (I President Obama signs it, that is). Stated differently. Non-essential Federal employees received a taxpayer-funded vacation. The government shutdown is a way for the Administration and Senate to punish Americans for Republicans not rubber-stamping the funding of Obamacare. John Nolte has created a list of unnecessary shutdowns. 1. Treatments for Children Suffering From Cancer – The GOP have agreed to a compromise by funding part of the government,...

Remember when the media rushed to talk about transparency in the Barack Obama “Hope and Change” era? Good times, good times. Leonard Downie, who once worked as the executive editor of the Washington Post and wrote a novel about Washington corruption and the Iraq War, finds a bigger and non-fictional problem in the successor to George W. Bush. Downie gives the Post a preview of his report from the Committee to Protect Journalists which outlines the Obama war on reporters and their sources: “A memo went out from the chief of staff a year ago to White House employees and...

Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker has decided not follow Washington's order to close several state parks that receive federal funding during the shutdown. State officials say Wisconsin provides more than half of the parks' funding, so they can be kept open with state money, The Hill reports. The federal government allotted Wisconsin $701,000 for its state parks in fiscal 2013, which ended Sept. 30. The state also has opted to disobey a Fish and Wildlife Service order to forbid hunting and fishing on federal lands. State officials said hunting can continue in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, according to The Hill....

One more lying Obama agency – The Parks Department. As you know, the permit for a no-stop ride through DC tomorrow September 11, 2103 was denied. A Park Department employee Sheila Gotha allegedly told media the Biker’s application for a permit was never received and that’s why it was denied. Odd since the organizer, Belinda Bee says: “From my understanding, [Gotha] has told two other media outlets that she had never heard of our permit, that we have never had a conference call. I shot them the email showing where she scheduled the conference call and on that conference call...

ELYSBURG - The Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort was given a birthday bash Thursday for its 100th year. The anniversary arrived about the same time the Travel Channel named the park No. 2 in its Top 10 amusement parks across the country, topping such heavies as Walt Disney World, Six Flags and Hershey Park. The affordable prices, family friendly atmosphere and old-fashioned ambiance won it the distinction. Hundreds of park-goers stopped to watch a small parade make its way to the carousel, led by Buddy and Dick Knoebel and their sister, Leanna Knoebel Muscato, with mainstay mascot Kozmo and...

Are America’s treasured National Parks being co-opted by the New World Order under the guise of designating them World Heritage Sites, thus allowing foreign troops and United Nations agencies to take over our country in a soft coup d’etat? A blogger has photographed heavily equipped armored vehicles carrying the “Special Response Team” logo in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Heritage site in Gatlinburg, TN. (1) ”It is a deadly serious piece of equipment never before used inside the US until now,” says the blogger “Sherrie” who then adds, “The vehicles don’t come more heavily armored.” Sherrie has put...

Dozens of striking teachers gathered Sunday at the police headquarters in Strongsville, Ohio, to protest people showing up to apply as substitute teachers. In a video shot by Sun News’ Cory Shaffer, people shouted “scab” and “go home” at a dangerously close distance from the applicants being escorted into the building by police. One man can even be heard screaming, “Rosa Parks would be ashamed” at a black female applicant.

(DeSoto County, MS) DeSoto County’s proposed ‘guns in parks’ ordinance has been a hot button ever since word of the idea came out. For that reason, it’s no surprise people packed the county board room for a public hearing on the matter. Those on both sides of the issue had their say, before supervisors who want to make sure only people with an enhanced concealed weapons permit could have weapons at county parks and new Greenway trails. Those who live near those trails had concerns about the ordinance infringing on their rights. “It’s gonna stop me from shooting skeet in...

The decision apparently was made Friday that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar would arrive at Mount Rainier National Park Monday night and visit with park staff and community partners on Tuesday. Salazar was returning from Alaska and was next scheduled to be in Milwaukee today. So the decision was made to make a visit to Mount Rainier That left his advance planner scrambling to find a place for the secretary to spend the night. She found out, like so many other tourists, that find rooms at the last minute can be difficult at best. As Salazar explained to the crowd of...

Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory was such a well-kept secret during World War II that most Americans still don’t know that it sits off one of busiest highways in the South. Every year, streams of vacationers whiz by the complex that enriched uranium for America’s first atomic bomb project. It’s on the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park — the most-visited U.S. national park. And every year, right about this time, the city of Oak Ridge, just west of Knoxville on Interstate 40, holds a Secret City Festival, crying out to potential tourists. “They don’t even know we’re here,”...

In an announcement posted today in Virginia's Regulatory Town Hall, the Virginia Department of Conservation served notice to the public that the "[r]epeal of § 4VAC5-30-200 [which] prohibits the open carry of firearms in Virginia State Parks" will be published as a final rule on May 7th in Volume 28 Issue 18 of the Virginia Register of regulations. The usual practice of the Virginia Registrar is to make such final rules effective 60 days after publication in the Register. This action by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's administration is the final chapter in a decade long regulatory fight to legalize gun...

Adopts Conforming Ordinance The Raleigh City Council today adopted an ordinance that members hope will be short lived. The vote brings the City Code into compliance with North Carolina State Enabling Laws. The newly adopted State law that went into effect Dec. 1, allows the carrying of concealed weapons essentially everywhere, with the exceptions of some City-owned parks and recreational facilities. The City Council has asked the City Attorney’s Office to pursue an exemption for Raleigh during the General Assembly’s short session. "While the City Council will comply with the new law, the Council members unanimously believe it is bad...

CARSON CITY – A regulation eliminating a prohibition on carrying firearms in state parks has been approved by the Legislative Commission. The regulation still prohibits the discharge of a firearm in a state park with some limited exceptions, such as designated target shooting areas. But a provision included in the original draft regulation to specifically recognize the right to self defense in a state park was not part of the final changes approved Wednesday by the panel of state lawmakers. A state lawmaker who supported the regulation said the ability to use a weapon for self defense is covered elsewhere...

-----SNIP------ For more than 60 years, the National Park Service has been trying to reach out to African Americans and Latinos. But its 395 parks, monuments, waterways, historic places and recreational areas remain largely the province of white Americans and tourists from around the world. In an interview, Park Service Director Jon Jarvis reiterated an old lament: Parks must attract a more diverse slice of the American public or eventually risk losing taxpayer support. Yet only about 1% of the nearly 4 million people who visit Yosemite each year are African Americans. So officials were elated earlier this month when...

I've been tuning in to Andy Parks' radio show, Andy Parks Live from the Washington Times since it began seven weeks ago. By now, it seems Andy's settling in to the show quite nicely. I enjoy the drive home, and he mentioned today that he'll be taking calls soon; up to this point the show was mostly news and commentary, with guests from the Washington Times reporters and columnists. Unfortunately, I was behind the wheel when he gave out his new call-in phone number. You can download the latest program podcasts at his show website. What was also nice...

Occupy Seattle leaves behind big mess for Seattle parks workersChris Egert KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Updated: 12:35 pm PDT October 11, 2011 SEATTLE -- Should Occupy Seattle protesters have to clean up after themselves? A KIRO 7 overnight news crew shot video of some of the mess left behind in Westlake Park. City Parks and Recreation crews have spent mornings cleaning up from 11 days of Occupy Seattle demonstrations. Along with rain-soaked signs, KIRO 7 crews counted at least four parks workers taking every sign and piece of tape off the columns at Westlake Park. The garbage has filled about...

While such parks normally are bustling with people - and have facilities to serve them - the relative seclusion appears to have emboldened some to do their business along trails and other areas where no Minnesotan would normally dare to squat. "People are taking it upon themselves to go out in the woods and relieve themselves, and without the presence of employees and others, they're not picking up after themselves," Konrad said. "People are also having a tendency not to pick up after their pets."

OTTAWA — Canada may not have the second amendment, but the government will soon allow some people to bear arms in national parks with polar bears. Parks Canada announced it will be loosening restrictions in nine of its parks to allow specially licensed individuals to carry firearms for protection from polar bears. At the moment, there are significant restrictions on who may carry firearms in national parks. "There's lots of places where people should never be in Canada as a whole without a firearm. If they need to be, or want to be, in these areas . . . it...

In addition to the new gun laws which take effect in Virginia on July 1st, there is an important administrative code change that will take effect on July 7th. The change, published in Volume 27 Issue 20 of the Virginia Register of Regulations, modifies 4VAC10-30-170 to remove the prohibition against both open and concealed carry on land under the ownership and management of the Department of Forestry.

Clark County commissioners amended a code Tuesday to make it legal to carry guns in parks. It remains illegal to discharge a weapon, except under specific circumstances, such as in self-defense. The county code regarding guns in parks now aligns with state law, which says people may openly carry firearms in a nonthreatening manner. Last summer, Vancouver resident Joe Winton, a member of a national gun advocacy group, went before the commissioners to ask that the code be updated. The county code pre-dated the state’s open-carry law. Nobody testified Tuesday before the commissioners voted to update the code. Clark County...