Watched the start of the Rep Representatives & Pence news conference

[csziggy]

Who was the woman who came on? And WTF does the Washington Monument being closed for maintenance have to do with Obamacare or even with incompetence at the federal level?

She was whining about the monument being closed for two years to repair the elevator - as if there were not engineering challenges with fixing or replacing an elevator in an old historic building.

The first guy who talked - I didn't see his name either - absolutely lied about Obamacare. So did Scalise from (I think) Louisiana. After the woman Paul Ryan and Mike Pence came on and I turned the sound off. Just couldn't take it anymore.

[woodsprite]

1. Isn't the closure due to repairs from the August 2014 earthquake?

I thought it did damage to the monument. If the elevator track is misaligned, that would be very time consuming to fix.

[underpants]

3. 2011 quake. Lights went off last night. The elevator is a continual problem.

The initial thought was the blackout had “something to do with the automated light system,” according to Litterst. Pepco teams investigated, he said, but it was quickly clear that it was not a problem “on their end.”

The lights were on when park service electricians arrived Wednesday morning, Litterst said, giving them an “indication the lighting system’s clock is likely out of sync.” Crews were working to fix it and the lights are expected to be back to normal by this evening, according to Litterst.

The problem comes as the Washington Monument is closed indefinitely because of ongoing problems with its elevator. The 555-foot-tall, marble-and-granite obelisk was damaged in a 2011 earthquake and was repaired. But the elevator has a long history of troubles, even before the quake.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/local/wp/2017/01/04/lights-out-at-the-washington-monument/?client=safari

[csziggy]

4. That was my first thought - but it could also be worn out

Washington Monument closed indefinitely over elevator’s ‘reliability issues’
By Dana Hedgpeth and Michael E. Ruane September 26, 2016

The Washington Monument will be closed indefinitely because of ongoing problems with its elevator.

Officials with the National Park Service made the announcement Monday, saying that the elevator has “ongoing reliability issues” and that they are not able to determine the cause of the problems.

<SNIP>

The monument reopened in 2014, but its elevator has remained problematic.

The Park Service said there have been varied reasons for the elevator troubles. One of the biggest issues is that the elevator is 15 years old and has mechanical and electrical systems that are nearly worn out, officials have said.

Also, some of the damage from the quake on Aug. 23, 2011, is just now being discovered. Litterst said moisture might have gotten into cracks and into mechanical areas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-monument-to-close-for-repairs-elevator-is-unreliable-officials-say/2016/09/26/350e2244-83f9-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html

If I had wanted to visit the monument during our recent visit to Washington, I would have been disappointed but once I found out there were mechanical problems, I would not have complained. And I certainly would NOT have blamed it on the federal government or the Park system that is trying to make sure the elevator is safe and reliable.

That woman is a moron - but then she's a Republican so that was already a given.

[underpants]

2. Probably alluding to their sequester that shut everything down

Then their media (all media really) went on a whine fest about it.

[sarcasmo]

5. No way to keep up with the lies.