US FORCES conduct 2 major terror raids. I'm pleased the Obama administration is finally doing something, but ... is this just another "Look, a squirrel!" moment?

I WONDERED if Skyline Drive would be closed during the shutdown slowdown. It was.

MORE SHUTDOWN THEATER:

Lord Obama moves against Florida and the fish of the sea.

Lord Obama threatens chaplains with arrest if they minister during the shutdown slowdown.

Petty, vindictive, wannabe dictator.

Lord Obama allows furloughed DoD workers to return to work.

Has the petty, vindictive, wannabe dictator perhaps been told his dominion may be at risk?

OBAMA: Hey, let's deal with the really important stuff first.

ARIZONA OFFERS to pay to keep Grand Canyon open; petty, vindictive, wannabe dictator says 'No'.

UPDATE: payback?

WAGING JIHAD, my ass.

THE REPUBLICAN-LED HOUSE passed a bill Saturday to give thousands of furloughed federal workers back pay when the government reopens, but Democrats promptly characterized it as a signal the GOP doesn’t want the partial shutdown to end.

If the Dimocrats Democrats in the Senate had the courage of their convictions, they'd block passage. But they won't.

WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, you can't walk in the woods. This was posted on PowerLine's Week in Pictures, which I linked to here.

For proof you can't walk in the woods, I submit the following photos, taken at the Manassas Battlefield National Park, near where I live. Before starting, let me point out that the park is large, containing some 40 miles of riding/walking trails that are easily reachable from local public highways (some heavily traveled) and occupied (there are houses/farms within and surrounding the battlefield).

This is the visitor center, on Route 234 just off Interstate 66. It has the park headquarters, a small museum, and gift shop. As far as I know, it is the only NPS-manned facility in the park. It's closed.

Now let's go up Route 29 (a heavily traveled commuter route) a mile or so from the Park headquarters. Here's the entrance to a nice little walking trail along Bull Run (in Virginia, 'run' and 'creek' are synonymous). It's closed...

... and hopefully that car belongs to a disillusioned Obama supporter who is able to see the light. The car is parked along the edge of the road just outside the gate.

Here's another parking area further along Route 29. Also closed. The walking path winds through the meadow into the woods behind the hill. There are no buldings, carts, cannons, statues or memorabilia that can be stolen or vandalized anywhere along the route.

Now let's go off the beaten path a bit to some of the lesser visible and lesser used trails. These are all accessible from secondary and tertiary roads in the vicinity. Again, closed. But with traffic cones this time, since there is no access from a major highway.

The Unfinished Railroad trail. The parking area (closed again, natch!) is several miles from Route 29 on a gravel road that dead ends not far from the parking area.

Just down the gravel road is the entrance to the Brawner Farm trail. It's a beautiful walk, but as with most of the other trails, there are no structures, monuments or much of anything else that can be vandalized.

Now back to pavement (just barely) is the Deep Cut trail. As before, it's a nice walk, but without much else. No structures. No monuments. No facilities.

At one time or another during the past 10 years my wife and I have walked most of these trails. We have never, ever seen a Park Service employee on any of these trails. The trails are just that -- trails through the woods, with occasional wooden bridges and some directional signage. There are no gates, ticket booths, fees, facilities, or hazards (unless being startled by a deer is a hazard) anywhere.

Why are they closed? To save money? Hell, it cost more money to put up the signs, traffic cones, and barriers than the Park Service would normally spend in 2 years of maintenance. Safety? C'mon; my back yard is more hazardous.

No, this was for spite, pure and simple. This was not because of the Republican Party 'government shutdown', people; this is a 'gift' from the petty, vindictive, wannabe dictator who happens to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES -- government shutdown edition. Here's my favorite:

REID EXPLAINS dismissal of helping kids with cancer: "I’m not real articulate." That's what happens when you have no brain.

LAWYERS: Private parks should sue Obama administration for forcing them to close. All the way to the Supreme Court. And the Republican National Committee should assist with legal fees.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION instructs employees to warn recipients about debt ceiling.

“In a government shutdown, Social Security checks still go out on time,” President Barack Obama said Thursday, the Huffington Post reported. “In an economic shutdown, if we don’t raise the debt ceiling, they don’t go out on time.”

ONLY if the President directs. Which he almost certainly will attempt to do.

POTEMKIN VILLAGES ALL AROUND: ObamaCare poster boy Chad Henderson and his dad haven’t signed up. Let's see -- on a $7,000 part-time annual income, could you afford a $2,100 (30%) insurance premium? I'm sure I couldn't.

UPDATE: From hero to zero.