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1.) Welcome to Sequestration Park! — It’s the worst park in America. TheDC’s Tim Cavanaugh reports:
“Professionally made signs at a North Carolina campground are warning visitors that the site is closed because of an ‘operational change due to sequestration.’ Two Republican members of Congress have demanded Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell explain how and why the signs appeared, and how they were paid for. ‘CLOSED,’ reads a metal sign posted at a road into the Linville Falls Campground in North Carolina. ‘Operational Change Due to Sequestration.’ The signs, at a National Park site along the Blue Ridge Parkway, bear the official logo of the National Park Service and read ‘National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.'”
No word whether the sign also features a frowny face with a tear.
2.) Plane politics — Hope you really don’t have to make it to that wedding/bachelor party/Star Trek convention anytime soon because you may be getting there late. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Republican lawmakers on Tuesday accused the Obama administration of a creating a ‘phony and contrived’ crisis as travelers across the country face delays due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s furlough of air traffic controllers. ‘It smells,’ South Dakota Sen. John Thune told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday. ‘It smells of politics.’ The FAA implemented furloughs of its air traffic controllers on Sunday, citing the recent automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, which went into effect earlier this year. Republicans accuse the administration of cutting things that would inconvenience average Americans in order to portray the cuts as worse than they really are.”
If this affects Washington-Reagan National Airport, these delays won’t last long. America’s legislators will tolerate many things, but delays to their travel schedules will not stand.
3.) Ron Paul’s Posse — Ron Paul’s new institute has some troubling fellas associated with it. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein reports:
“The academic board for former Rep. Ron Paul’s recently unveiled Institute for Peace and Prosperity includes at least one 9/11 Truther and two of the most well known apologists for Iran’s theocratic government in the U.S. … One of the academic board members for the think tank is Eric Margolis, an independent journalist who has questioned whether Osama bin Laden was behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and wondered in writing whether the attacks were not instead really orchestrated by ‘America’s far right or Israel.’ … ‘I remain uncertain that Osama bin Laden was really behind the attacks. Much circumstantial evidence points to him and al-Qaida, but conclusive proof still lacks,’ he continued. In the article, Margolis propagated the conspiratorial notion that the 9/11 attacks could very well have been President George W. Bush’s Reichstag fire.”
Read the full article to see some of the other “academics” associated with his institute.
4.)Ben Affleck will kinda fast for a day — Oh, he’s really going to do it. TheDC’s Taylor Bigler reports:
“Oscar-winning millionaire Ben Affleck will live on just $1.50 for (at least) one day next week, all while knowing that he can go back to his regular, multi-million dollar life. The actor will live on the meager amount for poverty awareness campaign Live Below the Line, the campaign announced on its Facebook page Monday. Affleck will tweet his experience, as well as what he is eating, on his personal Twitter account. The goal of the campaign is to have celebrities — Sophia Bush, Josh Groban, Hunter Biden and Debi Mazaar will also do the challenge — raise awareness and funds for their chosen charities. Affleck’s fundraising will go toward the charity he founded, Eastern Congo Initiative.”
It’s called fasting without fully fasting. This is not a particularly difficult task to do for one day — it’s a yearly ritual for Jews. Also, TheDC Morning doesn’t think those who are living on $1.50 a day have easy access to Twitter. But whatever. It’s for a good cause. All the best, Ben.
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — Albert Brooks: Somehow my world is empty without the daily threats from North Korea.
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Kim Il Sung, Genius in Military Affairs”
VIDEO: Fox News reporter stiff-arms two women who try to kiss him during live news report
