Speaking Up For A Tradition

On May 1st, I posted an article about the pentagon cancelling the permit for the rallying point for Rolling Thunder. The excuse used was the risk of Covid-19. Since we know that outdoor transmission of the virus is almost non-existent, that seemed like a rather lame excuse.

Yesterday Fox News reported that California Representative Darrell Issa has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to allow Rolling Thunder to have their annual event.

The article reports:

Issa joined Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and other House Republicans to request President Biden override the Pentagon’s decision on Rolling to Remember, formally known as “Rolling Thunder,” in a letter sent Tuesday morning. Pentagon Special Events confirmed veterans group AMVETS’ permit for the Rolling to Remember motorcycle rally on March 11 but later reversed its decision. The Pentagon said it looks forward to working with AMVETS in the future “if COVID-19 conditions permit.”

“If I thought there was any credence or fairness to their refusal, I would have asked differently,” Issa told Fox News. “It’s very clear that someone with a unique political bent said no, and we’re going to get to the bottom of who that is.”

Issa’s bill, the “Let Veterans Honor the Fallen Act,” would codify the Rolling to Remember Memorial Day motorcycle rally’s ability to stage each year in the Pentagon parking lot as long as its host organization submits a notification of use to the Secretary of Defense by Jan. 31 of the year the event will take place.

“It’s narrow but it’s efficient. It simply authorizes what has been a 30-year tradition,” Issa said. “This is the equivalent of the president saying he wouldn’t throw out a baseball at a home opener.”

Issa cast doubt on the Pentagon’s reasoning for rescinding the permit and pointed to reports that the risk of outdoor coronavirus transmission has been greatly exaggerated.

“This is a boldfaced lie,” he said. “Ten thousand people are going to descend … in Washington, D.C. That they do so safely and they do so on vehicles that separate the family units by design, and they’re going to say that’s not acceptable. Unfortunately, this is an administration that if they called it a peaceful protest, even if they destroyed the city, would be allowed to do it.”

Representative Issa noted that the bill may not be passed in time to make it to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law, but Representative Issa is hopeful that the passage of the bill will cause the decision to be reversed.

I Suspect A Flashpoint May Be In Our Future

Generally speaking, Americans don’t really care what their government is doing as long as their government leaves them alone. When the government begins to interfere with your traditions or the things you like to do, things can get dicey. Sometimes protest is the only answer. Remember the protests of the business owners last winter who wanted to open their businesses. Unfortunately, there are also the violent protests we have seen that included Black Lives Matter and Antifa, where businesses were looted or destroyed and burned. Well, I think we might be in for another peaceful protest, although from a group I would not necessarily want to mess with.

Yesterday The Conservative Treehouse reported that the Biden administration has denied the parking permits for the staging place of Rolling Thunder.

The article reports:

The U.S. Department of Defense has denied a parking permit to the American Veterans or AmVets to stage a rallying point at the Pentagon ending a 32-year-old tradition on Memorial Day weekend for Rolling To Remember.

Now AmVets will try and secure RFK Stadium as an alternative staging area.

AmVets Executive Director Joe Chenelly tells the 7 News I-Team he received a call from the Pentagon Friday afternoon saying “A gentleman at the Pentagon told me that after careful consideration, our permit application was denied. He said considerations involved the continued spread of COVID-19 in the region and the nature of our event being that we are proposing a large gathering for an extended period of time.”

Below is the statement released by the Pentagon:

“Unfortunately, the department has disapproved AMVETS permit request. The department took into careful consideration all aspects of AMVETS request, to include the current Health Protection Condition status on the Pentagon Reservation; substantial community transmission of COVID-19 in Arlington County, Virginia; number of Americans fully vaccinated across the nation; nature of this event with its decreased ability to maintain physical distance; and large crowds in one location for an extended period of time. This event draws national attention and participation; therefore the risk of exposure from participants from other communities extends well beyond the National Capital Region.”

If COVID-19 conditions permit, the department would gladly consider supporting a future event request from AMVETS, potentially as soon as this Labor Day weekend.

The department looks forward to supporting future events with AMVETS, and as always, we appreciate AMVETS’ support of our veterans, their families, and their communities, including promoting better awareness of veterans’ issues, as well as AMVETS continued support for our missing-in-action service members.

This is an outdoor event. Anyone who wants to is currently able to get a Covid vaccine. If the vaccines work, there is no reason to cancel this event. This is government tyranny.