GOP/Tea Party shutdown cancels Revolutionary War ceremony

[edschweppe]

The GOP/Tea Party "shut it down!" crowd haven't shut down the Federal Government (yet). But they have managed to force the cancellation of ...

... a ceremony marking the first battle of the Revolutionary War.

As reported on boston.com:

In a shot that may be heard 'round the nation, Concord officials canceled tomorrow's kickoff Patriots Day event marking the dawn of the American Revolution because of the looming threat of a federal government shutdown.

At Meriam's Corner, members of the Concord Independent Battery planned to fire their cannon at 1 p.m. tomorrow while the area's Minute Man companies marked the fighting that pushed the British regulars back to Boston on April 19, 1775.

But the exercise — which kicks off a raft of Patriots Day events this month — was called off because it would have taken place at the Minute Man National Historical Park, which will close if a federal shutdown takes place at midnight tonight.

[ ... ]

"The Meriam's Corner event really is the kickoff for our Patriots Day observances," Sideris said. "We have done an awful lot of restoration around the Battle Road, which refers to the path the British had to follow as they fought all the way back to Boston Harbor – 16 miles and all along the way the colonists were firing on them."

The event is cancelled regardless of whether or not the government shuts down tonight, because the organizers couldn't get permits from the National Park Service. Minute Man National Historical Park contains many of the battle sites, including the North Bridge, Meriam's Corner and the Bloody Angle, and a Federal shutdown means all of them will be closed to the public.

Scuppering Patriots Day ceremonies because you're not getting your way on Planned Parenthood funding? Yeah, that's real damn patriotic. </sarcasm>