What the #$%^%?

Courtesy of Drudge, back to "The Hill" , we get the headline Anti-war protesters spray paint Capitol building. What the #$^%?

Can somebody please explain to me why, in heavens name, the Chief of the Capitol Police *ordered* officers to pull back, allow the desecration of the Capitol, weaken their perimeter, and barred them from making arrests? Officers forced to stand and watch, no arrests made, as protesters have PHOTO'S taken with their handiwork?

At what point is a serious response merited? When they reach the Senate floor?

Somehow I don't think having a bunch of protesters served up an improved opportunity to take the Capitol Building is the best of all possible notions, and if the protesters want confrontation, let'm have it..and if that means marching in infantry with Blackhawks hovering overhead because the leadership of the Capitol Police or the DC Police won't or aren't allowed to do their jobs, well, so be it.

Officers reportedly were seriously peeved at the orders, which seems kind of reasonable to me.

As a voter, and an American, I'm beyond peeved. I'm furious.

First Amendment freedoms to me means they can traipse up and down the street shrieking slogans and waving signs, but a fundamental line is crossed when the question of the safety of the Capitol, the White House, or the Supreme Court comes into play. First Amendment rights *don't* include violating legitimate security perimeters, spray-painting the Capitol, and particularly don't include taking over the Capitol (which little bonus we somehow missed out on).

*Curmudgeon Mode: OFF*