Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).
***************************************

Berkeley and now D.C.!
On Valentine's Day while most of America complained and blasted Berkely for their assinine actions against a Marine Recruitment Office, terror supporters in Washington D.C. occupied and vandalized a recruiting station at 14th and L Street in downtown Washington D.C. while police stood by and watched!

Funk the War storms, trashes 14th and L military recuiter [This work is in the public domain] [excerpt} After a loud commotion inside while outnumbered cops watched, recruiters finally managed to get protesters to leave-but not before literature and full-body length cardboard displays in the street window area were destroyed. In addition, hundreds more "Funk the War" stickers were plastered all over just about everything that would take them. By the time everyone was out it looked like a tornado had swept through the lobby.

Read more at The Thunder Run
David M

**********************************
Bill, Neffi, Dusty! A fixer-upper for you! -the Armorer

**********************************

Heaven knows I throw enough darts online, so it's good to be able to hand out an Attaboy! as well. BZ to the prominent captains of industry who make up Canada Company, and who are handing out university scholarships to the kids of some fallen members of the Canadian Forces.

This may not sound like a big deal in the U.S., but for a country like mine that has largely ignored its armed forces for decades now, it's heartening to see the general population getting behind our men and women in uniform in a tangible way. - Damian

**********************************

Dude! Damian - when you open up the H&I to stick something in it - get it in and post it... you must have had this thing open for 30 minutes to blow away all this stuff I'm re-inserting here...!

**********************************

Heh. Not for homes with small children... or children on ADHD drugs. How long, I wonder, before someone loses a kneecap? Yes, I do believe that people will put a loaded shotgun in that rack. Heh, at the Castle, a dog mounting the mattress could cause a problem. It's an idea, though. -the Armorer

********************************
More complications on the politics of the war - and whether or not people are listening to the "recieved wisdom" that the Dem leadership is putting out, from Kathryn Lopez at National Review Online:

Glass-Half-Full: New Gallup Poll on Iraq [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

A military Hill friend e-mails:
There were some interesting points in Gallup’s release this week of their poll on Iraq. For example:

This poll showed the “most positive assessment to date” of the effects of the surge. This assessment was consistent among both Republicans and independents

“

According to the poll, 43% of Americans say the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is making the situation there better, a slight increase from 40% in late November, but up more substantially from 34% in early November. This is the most positive review of the surge Gallup has measured since it began.”

Assessment of the efficacy of the surge seems to inform respondents’ positions on timetables for withdrawal: those who believe the surge is working are “solidly against” a timetable for withdrawal

“

Americans who do not assess the surge positively overwhelmingly advocate a timetable…Meanwhile, Americans who believe the surge is working are solidly against (70%) a timetable.”

There has been a slight decrease since last fall among those who believe that the U.S. should “set timetable for withdrawal and stick to it” (now at 56, down from 60 in September); more people now say that the U.S. should “keep troops until situation gets better” (39 percent) Most Americans are against an immediate and rapid withdrawal from Iraq. Even among those who prefer a timetable, two thirds believe it should be “gradual” and only 18 percent believe it should be “as rapidly as possible”

“All told, 18% of Americans favor removing troops from Iraq as rapidly as possible.”

Despite projections to the contrary, the Iraq positions of the presidential candidates don’t lead to a stronger position for Democrats among respondents

“Both Democratic presidential candidates, Obama and Hillary Clinton, favor a timetable, while the GOP's likely nominee, John McCain, strongly opposes one. Obama is advocating a fairly rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, which would have all troops out within 16 months of his taking office. Clinton favors a slower withdrawal, which would be complete by 2013. Thus, no candidate's position really represents the views of most Americans, but the poll suggests that currently McCain's and Clinton's positions are closest to the largest number of Americans. This is not to suggest that Americans would necessarily oppose any of the candidates' Iraq policies should they be elected president.”

-the Armorer

*********************************
Since Kevin likes to throw the "Keating 5" at McCainiacs, I thought this bit over at National Review might be interesting fodder for the discussion. [Link fixed, my bad!] -the Armorer

*********************************

For those of you who missed it, courtesy of Gizmodo - some video of satellite plinking by the Pentagon. -the Armorer

********************************

Bad Cat Robot points out that even though she is employed, actually pays taxes, etc - she is worse off than the average poor person. Which begs our definition of... ."poor," methinks. -the Armorer

*******************************

Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.

*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*

The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.

I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone."