Tourists and visitors to federally funded museums must change their plans today. Destinations and services are being hit or shuttered across the country. From the Washington Mall to California’s Golden Gate National Recreational Area, plans have been disrupted. Reactions of visitors from the US and abroad are voiced in Tourists turned away from iconic Bay Area spots – SFGate.
Please check if your planned destination (real or virtual) is closed because of the Federal Government shutdown. Is one of the Smithsonian museums in your plans today? Think again.
Because of the federal government shutdown, all national parks are closed and National Park Service webpages are not operating. For more information, go to www.doi.gov.
Huffington Post has much more fresh content on this then I have here and it’s important for visitors and locals to plan accordingly. WJLA, the Washington DC ABC affiliate has an online list of affected (to one extent or another) federal services, from air travel to courts. Border security for those entering the US will continue to function for now.
How long will this last?
This is an unknown. The Washington Post, in an article published Monday, September 30 has a good backgrounder for those saying “Right On!” or “WTF?” Politico has an article on what could happen if a deadlocked Congress fails to deal with the budget crisis before the debt ceiling hits on October 17 which would greatly exacerbate the disruptions.
Why a nasty parliamentary act in a dispute over national health care could bring the government to its knees is an issue I urge you to think about. You may have time for it if your planned visit to a federal office, national park or a museum leaves an opening in your day. Oddly enough (or not) the New York State site for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare, ACA) experienced extremely high traffic as the historic US national health care program rolled out October first. Which act is more important for the country is an interesting question.
U.S. Capitol SOTU eve, 2011 – photo Russ Imrie
Russell Imrie is a Networking and Content Specialist, webmaster and an American Indian blogger living in the Washington DC area. More opinion pieces are at China Daily Mail and MediaSeenToo
Copyright Russell Imrie
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