Bikers denied no-stop permit for 9/11 rally, apologize to residents

The countdown to Sept. 11 commemoration demonstrations by patriotic bikers versus a fringe Muslim “truther” group is taking shape, and despite some confusion about the technicalities, the court of popular opinion isn’t even close:

Let the good guys roll.

Denied a permit by the nation’s capital for a special “non-stop” ride through town with a waiver for red lights, stop signs and other traffic controls, organizers of the “2 Million Bikers to DC” ride to remember 9/11 are undeterred.

Just riding on a public street doesn’t take any special permission after all, even if you have a million people doing it. They just sought the permit to make life easier on the city’s residents and businesses.

So the ride will go on. It’s just going to take a little longer.

“We find this regretful for the residents and businesses of that great city, and humbly offer our apologies,” organizers wrote on Facebook  Saturday. “What could have been a one or two hour ride through will now likely be an all-day event. We will be obeying all laws. We will be stopping at all stoplights, stop signs, and yielding to all pedestrians.”

The ride’s route won’t be posted in advance for security reasons, but the lineup is set to begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Harley Davidson of Washington(9402 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, Md.) with a blessing, Pledge of Allegiance and guest speakers.

Via:Biz Pac

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Even Before Memorial Defacement, Nat'l Park Service Was $11.5B Short for Maintenance

(CNSNews.com) - The defacement of the Lincoln Memorial, splashed with green paint overnight, comes at a difficult time for the National Park Service, which says it is running way short of money for maintenance projects.

In testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, the director of the National Park Service said at the end of fiscal 2012, the National Park Service faced an $11.5-billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects.

"This amount grows annually at a far greater rate than the Service is able to pay down," Jonathan Jarvis said.

Just to hold the backlog at $11.5 billion would require the NPS to spend nearly $700 million a year on deferred maintenance projects, he said. "To place this figure in perspective, the annual operating budget of the entire National Park Service in Fiscal Year 2012 was $2.2 billion."

The park service says it needs more money, not only to repair or maintain existing facilities and roads (half the maintenance backlog is roads and bridges), but also for visitor education and safety, resource protection and wildlife management.

"Congress charged the National Park Service with protecting these special places in perpetuity, and it is the fundamental responsibility of Congress to provide annual appropriations commensurate with the responsibilities it has given us to manage these special places," Jarvis said in his written statement to the committee.

Via: CNS News

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Plastic bag ban leads to nationwide increase in shoplifting rates

This was not a good idea after all

On Friday, New Jersey Democratic operative James Devine was arrested for attempting to snatch $22 worth of merchandise from a local ShopRite pharmacy. Devine tried to smuggle lettuce, shampoo and protein powder out of the store, perhaps trying to hide the fact that he was about to make the world’s most disgusting salad.  To avoid detection, he stashed the goods in a reusable grocery bag.

What seems to be just another edition of Democrats doing dumb deeds actually represents a nationwide problem.  Thanks to laws in several major cities banning the use of plastic carryout bags in retail stores, there has been a spike in shoplifting incidents over the past couple years, a trend that business owners, law enforcement officials and customers have duly noted.

In 2011, Washington D.C. enforced a reusable bag tax and officials became steadily more suspicious of shoppers’ activities.

 

Via: The Daily Caller

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Homeland Security's Future Home: A Former Mental Hospital

Chris Mills frequently gives tours of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a former mental institution where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is building a $4.5 billion headquarters. It’s the largest construction project in the District of Columbia since the Pentagon was completed in 1943. So there’s a lot of ground to cover. Mills prefers to chauffeur his guests around the place in a golf cart.

A cheerful 55-year-old with a neatly trimmed mustache, Mills, who is managing the project for DHS, tells visitors to look out for animals. There are loads. Herds of deer, a flock of wild turkeys, and a bald eagle reside in the fenced-in facility. They might not last long outside. St. Elizabeths is located in Anacostia, one of D.C.’s toughest neighborhoods. But they have little to fear inside the high-security fences. “It’s like the wild kingdom in here,” Mills says with a chuckle.

Then he’s off in his golf cart with his passengers. His boss, Jeffery Orner, DHS’s chief readiness support officer, who oversees all of the department’s real estate, has come along for the ride. There’s a DHS public-relations person on board, too. She sits in the back, smiling and saying nothing. Everybody is wearing hard hats and DHS safety vests.

Via: Bloomberg Business Week

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