The Reign of Pain - Pre-Weekend Roundup

Well, here we are at the end of the second week of the 2013 partial government shutdown.  How is it going?

NBC news is blaming the shutdown for exacerbating the effects of global cooling in South Dakota.

As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said...

Ranchers have no one to ask for help or reimbursement. That's because Congress has yet to pass a new farm bill, which subsidizes agricultural producers.

Farmers are going to have to pick up the tab for their own cows that died due to their lack of planning? I'll be sad to see beef prices rise, but I don't see where paying for it with taxes helps.

The National Park Service continues it's undeclared policy of discomforting potential users of the National Park System as much as possible.  This week, NPS system removed the handles from drinking faucets along the C&O canal:

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.

Remember, all but the essential personnel have been furloughed.  So this was considered an essential function.

In an act of proud civil disobedience, a restaurant on federal property in Yorktown, Virginia has restarted selling Brunswick Stew:

“I’m serving Brunswick stew, ham biscuits and carrot cake,” he said. “If that gets me put in jail, I’m going to jail.”

Glenn said it just doesn’t make sense to close down the restaurant – especially since it’s a money-maker. “I’m making money for the government,” he said. “I send them a check every month.”

Why would they need more money from a restaurant, when the can just raise taxes?

A scofflaw from the Chicago Tribune recounts how he ignored the shutdown of Zion National Park:

When we exited at the other end of the park, we turned the car around and re-entered. We were greeted by a ranger who said that on our way through, we could stop to look at scenery and take photos. "But don't go off on any hikes, because we can't rescue you," he said with a smile.

We didn't listen. We found a promising spot, parked the car and set off down a dry creekbed on a rogue expedition, flushing a herd of desert bighorn sheep on the way. And when we got back to the car an hour later, there was no citation on it.

And still the world still turns.

It seems to me, and many others, that the NPS has lost part of it's sterling reputation to the shutdown:

Before last week the NPS had one of the most favorable images among federal agencies. Mention the name and people recall family vacations to Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon and Smoky Mountain National Park. Mention the expertise of NPS personnel and it brings back memories of class trips to Washington DC, Yorktown, Valley Forge or Gettysburg with knowledgeable tour guides explaining the significance of the sites. Far more Americans interact with NPS personnel at some time in their life than ever deal with an IRS examiner. While some may be aware that the NPS is also a law enforcement agency, that aspect of the NPS image has definitely been one of an Officer Friendly type keeping park visitors from harm.

That changed abruptly last week when stories about barricades around open air monuments like the World War II memorial broke. It was as if the neighbor's golden retriever, given snacks or petted for years, suddenly snarled and sank its fangs into a person's calf muscle. After what they saw the NPS do over the last week a great many people may never going to look at government in the same trusting way again. The friendliest dog in the kennel of federal agencies turned out to be a wolf and the thing about wolves is they can never really be tamed. When a so-called tame wolf senses it is stronger than a human it will assert physical dominance. There is a new thought now simmering in the minds of many Americans: might other federal agencies also be wolves in service dog harness?

The National Park Service: Assholes in Green

There's not having money to continue your services and then there's going far out of your way to deliberately inconvenience people and spitefully deny them any pleasure whatsoever. Apparently the NPS has chosen the latter.

A Federal judge in NOVA forced the Obama administration to, at least temporarilly, relax its stranglehold on children's athletic fields in McLean, Virginia:

Fed up that the federal shutdown was keeping them off their practice fields, a group of young lacrosse players in Northern Virginia challenged the government in court. And at least for now, they won.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the National Park Service to immediately reopen Langley Fork Park in McLean — which was closed Oct. 1 — and allow the boys and girls of the McLean Youth Lacrosse organization back onto the fields.

No word from WAPO on what the feds are doing owning and maintaining children's athletic fields as part of its mission.

The National Parks, and the "First Amendment Exception"

Rangers [in Washington D.C.] told visitors Wednesday that they could not deny entry to anyone who wanted to exercise First Amendment rights, and could not interrogate visitors, which effectively means the monument is open to those aware of the loophole.

“The First Amendment trumps all,” a Park Service ranger told visitors…

Michael Litterst, a National Park Service spokesman, said the First Amendment exception applies only to several Washington and Philadelphia parks related to the government and its history, “due to these parks’ long history of hosting First Amendment events, their expansive outdoor grounds, and their location in major metropolitan areas.”

“You could not host a First Amendment rally at Chaco Culture, Grand Canyon, Manassas or any one of the 395 other parks where such activities are prohibited during the shutdown. They can be held only at the National Mall and Memorial Parks, the areas of the White House administered by the NPS, and Independence National Historical Park,” he said.

But it's not just a matter of the national parks.  Even though federal employees have now been guaranteed their back pay once the slowdown is settled, some parts of D.C. are still suffering.  For example, the Metro has lost riders, and hence fares:

Speaking with reporters Thursday at Metro’s board of directors meeting, Sarles said that “close to half” of federal employees in the Washington area commute by Metro each workday, most of them riding subway trains. With ridership sharply reduced by worker furloughs, he said, the transit system has lost “a couple of million dollars” since Oct. 1, when the shutdown began.

So, despite the whining, many federal employees will come out ahead on the shutdown, being paid for the lost time, but not incurring the routine expenses (gas, metro, parking) that come with working. Hopefully, they more than make up with it by staying home and buying goodies on the internet.

Maybe it will be over by next week.  There appears to be some movement afoot.