Category: Politics

National Park Service Barricades Mount Vernon Parking Lots

barricaded parking lot wide view

On Tuesday morning the National Park Service barricaded the parking lots out front of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. According to Mount Vernon officials this created a disagreement between the two organizations.

Since Mount Vernon is a privately funded and operated non-profit it has remained open throughout the shutdown despite the closure, and in many cases barricading, of publicly funded and operated national parks. Mount Vernon’s website even features a large image declaring “we’re open” on its front page. However, there was some disagreement about the ownership of parking lots outside of Mount Vernon and whether or not they should be barricaded like others along the George Washington Memorial Parkway which is publicly funded and operated.

Mount Vernon spokesperson Melissa Wood told me over email that “the Park Service was confused about the ownership of those parking lots”.

However, after several hours had passed and the two sides were in contact with one another, the barricades to most of the parking lots under dispute were removed. Ms. Wood told me that the National Park Service had “corrected the situation” and added that “Mount Vernon’s parking lots are open and available to accommodate all of Mount Vernon’s visitors”.

barricaded parking lot close up

Despite this claim, when my Capitol City Project colleague Joe Schoffstall and I inspected the parking lots we noticed that a large section of one of the parking lots directly in front of Mount Vernon was still barricaded off.
When I asked Ms. Wood about the section of parking lot she responded that it was “most likely owned by the Park Service”. When I asked for clarification on how it could be possible that the Park Service owns a section of one of the Mount Vernon parking lots she declined to elaborate.

There is no word on when the section of Mount Vernon parking that remains barricaded will be reopened. Mount Vernon officials see the issue as closed despite the section of parking remaining blocked.

Ms. Wood was able to refute a claim made in a highly trafficked piece on the conspiracy site infowars which asserted that the National Park Service attempted to “blockad[e] the entrance”. According to her email “No one tried to block the visitor entrance”.

Mount Vernon Barricaded Parking Lots Map

She did not respond to my question about whether or not the National Park Service had tried to block the tour bus turn around as former house speaker Newt Gingrich had asserted on Twitter.

I asked the Department of Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, and National Park Service spokesperson Michael Litterst for comment on the parking lot closures but haven’t received a reply. I will be sure to pass it along if I do.

The barricading of the parking lots at Mount Vernon comes at the same time the National Park Service has blocked off many other public monuments, memorials, and parks. They’ve even blocked off small parking lots that are otherwise unmanned. In fact, every parking lot along the George Washington Memorial Parkway has been barricaded.

barricaded 3 spot parking lot

That includes a parking lot with a mere 3 spots located on the parkway between Mount Vernon and Old Town Alexandria.

At the moment there is no word on when the government shutdown will end, when the National Park Service will remove their barricades, or why the barricades were really necessary in the first place. Hopefully those answers will all become apparent soon.

UPDATE 10/4/13: The large section of parking lot I reported on earlier remains blocked off as of Friday morning.

I have still not received comment from the Department of Interior or National Park Service spokesperson Michael Litterst.

Friday mornging barricades

Additionally, Mount Vernon spokesperson Melissa Wood has not answered any of my other questions. Mount Vernon appears to consider the matter closed and there is no telling when, or if, the barricades will be removed.

A Father’s Greatest Duty

A father’s greatest duty is to protect his family.

Johnny Bridges was forced to fulfill that duty late last week. According to ABC Cleveland, three armed men grabbed Mr. Bridges’s fiancé as she left the family’s home to take their kids to camp. Thankfully Mr. Bridges saw the men accosting his fiancé and was able to grab his firearm.

As the armed criminals tried to force Mr. Bridges’s fiancé back into the home he shot one of the men and forced them to flee.

His fiancé and kids are now safe thanks to his actions.

“I just wanted to make sure my family was alright” Mr. Bridges said.

(h/t Guns Save Lives)

The Government Is Killing Buses All Over Again

Statists never learn.

According to Reason TV, in the early part of the 20th century the government began heavily regulating a new industry in the midst of its unprecedented expansion. That industry was busing. And the regulations overreached to include setting fares, schedules, and even outlawing competition in some areas.

The bureaucratic mess created by the government ended up crushing the industry.

The industry remained in a slump until President Reagan removed many of the devastating and unnecessary regulations from the industry and some dynamic entrepreneurs brought the industry back from the brink. Now, many new bus lines are popping up and becoming popular. The revival of the industry is nothing short of amazing.

Unfortunately the bureaucrats have taken notice they want what they always want: more control and more regulations. They’ve already shut down several bus lines over seemingly exaggerated safety concerns. In fact, they shut down one bus line despite the fact that none of its buses had ever been involved in a fatal crash.

All those who enjoy cheap and convenient bus service ought to be leery of any new regulations on the industry. People should be especially cautious of those regulations that seem to have no basis in reality. Otherwise we may end up with the bus industry in disarray once again.

True American Badasses

Instead of dedicating our time to worshiping those who pretend to be badasses for a living, I say we start honoring the true American Badasses. Those who put their lives on that thin red line that separates civilization from barbarism. Liberty from tyranny. Freedom from slavery. They are, and have always been, America’s last, best hope.Americas last best hope

American Badass Audie Murphy American Badass John Paul Jones American Badass Dick Winters American Badass David Bellavia

American Badass Carlos Hathcock American Badass Alvin York

Explained: Gun Facts You Need To Know

Due to the limitations of the software I used to make my infographic I wasn’t able to specifically cite how I got each statistic I put into it. So I’ve decided to explain them all in detail here in this post. That way everybody can see how I got to the numbers I did.

270 Million civilian owned guns – this comes directly from the most recent Small Arms Survey which is conducted by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and studies civilian ownership of guns throughout the world.

89 civilian owned guns per 100 residents – this also comes directly from the most recent Small Arms Survey.

The US is #1 in the world when it comes to gun ownership – this too comes directly from the most recent Small Arms Survey.

I should note that, given the incredible increase in gun purchases over the last four years, these numbers are likely lower than reality.

The US doesn’t even crack the top 25 in gun murder rate – this comes from information provided by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime and compiled by the Guardian.

You can read more about America’s gun ownership rate vs our gun murder rate and why it matters in this piece I wrote for CNS News.

77.3% of justifiable homicides committed by civilians involved a gun – this statistic comes from the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that 201 of the 260 total justified homicides in 2011 involved a firearm.

99.2% of justifiable homicides committed by police involved a gun – this statistic also comes from the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that 390 of the 393 total justified homicides in 2011 involved a firearm.

You can check out my CNS News piece on firearm use in justifiable homicides to read more about this and why it’s important.

2.5 Million incidents of defensive gun use per year in the US – This stat comes from the National Self-Defense Survey which was conducted by Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz in 1995.

Rifles were involved in fewer homicides in 2011 than blunt objects, fists, and knives – This stat is taken from the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that there were 323 homicides involving rifles in 2011 while there were 496 involving blunt objects, 728 involving fists, and 1694 involving knives.

1.5x as many homicides were committed with blunt objects than rifles – This stat is also taken from the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that there were 323 homicides involving rifles in 2011 while there were 496 involving blunt objects.

2.2x as many homicides were committed with fists than rifles – This stat is also taken from the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that there were 323 homicides involving rifles in 2011 while there were 728 involving fists.

5.2x as many homicides were committed with knives than rifles – This stat is also taken from the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that there were 323 homicides involving rifles in 2011 while there were 1694 involving knives.

2.6% of murders in 2011 involved rifles (including AR-15s) – This stat was also compiled using the FBI’s most recent unified crime report which states that there were 323 homicides involving rifles in 2011 while there were 12,664 total homicides that year.