EXPLANATION - AT 11:58 P.M. ET:  You may have noticed that we were not posting for some of the afternoon and most of the evening.  We were at West Point tonight for the annual graduation concert of the glee club.   We go every year.

What a terrific bunch of young men and women.  If you have a chance to visit the United States Military Academy at West Point, you should.  If you get a chance to hear the glee club live, you must.  There are fine young people in America, and those at the service academies are among the best. 

Graduation is in a few days.  Then these new second lieutenants will be off to active service.  The concert tonight was dedicated to a member of the class of 2007 who lost his life in combat.  That is the reality.

May 19, 2009