Greatest Generation Storms Shutdown Memorial Gates

[bigtree]

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Washington Post ?@washingtonpost 5m
WWII veterans storm closed WWII memorial, officer for Park Police refuses to enforce closure http://wapo.st/18KKKvJ


At the barricaded World War II Memorial shortly after 11 a.m., a group of World War II veterans from Mississippi, led by members of Congress, entered the memorial despite the shutdown.

The veterans were part of an honor flight program. They had chartered an $80,000 airplane, and their plans were too far advanced to postpone, said Wayne Lennep, spokesman for the Mississippi Gulf Coast honor flights . . .

“I’m not going to enforce the no stopping or standing sign for a group of 90 World War II veterans,” said the officer, who declined to give his name. “I’m a veteran myself. ”

Veterans piled off the buses in wheelchairs and with canes, and a shout went up when the barricades blocking the entrance to the memorial were suddenly moved and the men surged down into the memorial.


read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics-live/liveblog/live-updates-the-shutdown-showdown/?id=be1019a4-371a-4079-883a-59fe22fc9522&Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost



Zeke Miller ?@ZekeJMiller 5m
RT @LeoShane: Iowa vets (yellow shirts) now coming into WWII memorial with congressional security guard. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/BsVYXBcGQt

Washington Post ?@washingtonpost 1m
Officer at memorial: "I'm not going to enforce the no stopping or standing...for a group of 90 World War II veterans" http://wapo.st/151cfzL

[G_j]

1. & the VA Backlog?

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/veterans-backlog-at-risk-under-shutdown-97593.html?hp=r3


The troublesome claims backlog at the Veterans Affairs Department will start to pile up even more a month after the start of the government shutdown, getting farther behind each day the government remains closed beyond that.

“Claims processing and payments in the compensation, pension, education, and vocational rehabilitation programs are anticipated to continue through late October,” according to an updated VA shutdown guide. “However, in the event of a prolonged shutdown, claims processing and payments in these programs would be suspended when available funding is exhausted.”

At the very least, claims waiting times are likely to increase over the short-term, due to furloughs of “non-essential” employees.

The VA may have to furlough as many as 20,000 claims processors if the White House and Congress aren’t able to agree on a continuing spending resolution to keep the government running past midnight Monday, VoteVets.org founder Jon Soltz said. And the existing claims backlog, which has long been decried by veterans’ advocates, could start to grow again if the shutdown continues for very long.

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[tosh]

2. That's the spirit!

[seabeyond]

3. officer for Park Police refuses to enforce closure

[hedgehog]

4. Well, how could the people chartering the planes have foreseen a shutdown October1?