For some, Memorial Day is the start of summer.  For many others, this is a national holiday to go shopping or rest or whatever.  For the nation, this a celebratory day established to honor those who gave their life to preserve freedom and liberty.   Call it a celebration of life.  This is also your special day for patriotism.   Specifically for me, observation began last night watching the  2025 National Memorial Day Concert  on the Mall, as I've been doing now for 36 years, except for 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.  This show is also beamed to more than 175 countries and aboard more than 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea.  Up to half a million people watch in person. I especially revere this occasion because of another Mall event, A Capitol Fourth, the concert of the National Symphony Orchestra that began on July in 1979.  Went to the first one, and three more.  The 1980 concert was the first to be telecasted nationwide,...

Yesterday I reported on those Israeli pager attacks of the Hezbollah in Lebanon.   A second wave followed .  First, 9 killed and 3,000 injured, and second, 25 deaths and 600 wounded.  As carrying a mobile phone incurs other risks, the Hezbollah must be stymied on how to communicate.  These Taiwanese pagers are fabricated in Budapest, Hungary.  Japanese walkie-talkie devices were apparently also triggered.  Like the Taiwanese, the Japanese-maker, Icom, said someone just copied their product.   The Hezbollah will retaliate in some way.  And what about the Iranian revenge attack that has long been delayed?  The whole region is now a powder keg on the verge of exploding.  Our next two trips will totally avoid that region. Last week I lamented the position of the USA on medical care and costs.  Well, a new report found that the  U.S. ranks as the WORST performer among 10 developed nation in health care .  In preventin...