#Shutdown doesn't stop WWII veterans from visiting their memorial [UPDATED]

Visiting WWII veterans were confronted with
barricades at the WWII Memorial...but not for long.

There's plenty of room for debate on the merits of this government shutdown, but I'm glad to see that reasonable people are agreeing that our active duty military and veterans shouldn't be harmed. The House unanimously passed a bill to protect military pay that President Obama signed yesterday, Veterans Administration health care functions will continue, among other measures.

Then there's this delightful story...

A group of WWII veterans from Mississippi visiting the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. as part of an Honor Flight trip decided they were going to visit their memorial, government shutdown or no. From the Twitter feed of Stars and Stripes reporter Leo Shane:

In praise of simplicity

'Tis the gift to be simple,
'Tis the gift to be free...

- lyrics from "Simple Gifts," traditional Shaker folk song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett

I'm writing from a coffee shop in Washington, D.C. this morning and my online news feed is full of discussions about this fiscal cliff mess: what the President is proposing, how the Republicans are reacting, whether there is any chance of a deal, how bad it will hurt our economy if we go off this fiscal cliff, whether it's even remotely possible to avoid it, and so on.

What frustrates me is that, as usual, the debate in this town misses the main point - neither side is taking any steps to address why we're in this mess in the first place.

Something fun to do in D.C.

Saw this on Facebook earlier, and thought it would be a fun thing to try next time any of you are visiting our nation's capital...

CPAC!

Hello friends...I'm blogging from our nation's capital today, from the Conservativestravaganza (that really should be a word) that is known as CPAC.

Sandy Adams: "We have jobs bills sitting over in the Senate" [VIDEO]

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to interview Congresswoman Sandy Adams at her office in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

Adams is one of only fifteen members of Congress who have yet to miss a vote this year. (See Frank Torres' blog about this accomplishment here.)

Several of those votes Adams has taken were for the more than two dozen jobs bills that the House has passed, but have yet to become law.

Why? Because the Senate Democratic Leadership refuses to even discuss them, never mind actually voting on them.

Conservative vs. Liberal Ideology on Display in DC

I visited Washington DC this week for Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Defending the American Dream Summit. This week's events were an amazing contrast in conservative versus liberal activist strategies:

Get excited! CPAC 2012!

The American Conservative Union sponsors the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. every year and last month held their first ever regional CPAC here in Orlando.

This week, they added a lot of new information about next year's CPAC to their website, including the new official CPAC 2012 video:

Dedication

From the official Army Twitter account, a photo of a soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Hurricane Irene:

The above photo comes from the Facebook page for "The Old Guard," which is the nickname for the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. One of their solemn duties is to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, which they have done every minute of every day since April 6, 1948. Here is another photo they released:

What a moving example of the loyalty and dedication of those who serve in our military. God Bless Our Troops.

[Hat tip: Amanda Carpenter]

[Cross-posted at RedState]

Political Meteorology

It is often easier to get excited about Presidential and Congressional races, but here's a reminder of how important local and state governments are:

FLORIDA 2004 STORMS

Charley makes landfall on Florida's west coast

Hurricane Charley (pictured, left) made landfall as Category 4 (the day after Tropical Storm Bonnie), and still had winds over 100 mph when it crossed Orlando.

Hurricane Frances hit Florida only three weeks after Charley. Drenched Florida with severe rain (over 13" in some areas). Wind damage resulted in near total loss of citrus crops between West Palm Beach and Melbourne. Caused a sinkhole under I-95 in Palm Beach County.

Hurricane Ivan, the storm with its own sequel

Hurricane Ivan was a Category 4 and caused severe property damage to Panhandle. Then, after crossing the South, regained strength in the Atlantic and came back and hit Florida again with severe storms and heavy rain.

Hurricane Jeanne headed out to the Atlantic after causing massive devastation in Hispaniola. Then, made a complete loop and came back and hit Florida, just three weeks after Frances, making landfall just 2 miles from where Frances had struck.

FLORIDA 2004 GOVERNMENT

Governor Jeb Bush

Republican Governor Jeb Bush issued state of emergency declarations. National Hurricane Center, law enforcement and elected officials provided warnings and instructions to Floridians. Constant stream of information provided by government to news media. Millions of residents evacuated, schools and facilities closed. Governor Bush called in National Guard to help with relief efforts ahead of storms' impacts.

FLORIDA 2004 RESULT

It wasn't fun. I know. I lived here. Considering the severity of storms, fatalities were fortunately limited to less than 50. We got through it and rebuilt.

LOUISIANA 2005 STORM