  As I liberate the gristle from betwixt my teeth and wipe my face clean of my next- door neighbor's remarkable barbecue sauce I am reminded of the true meaning of this Memorial Day by our brave President,  Mr.  George W.  Bush,  who informed us today that "
Throughout our history,  America has gone to war reluctantly because we have known the costs of war"  and that because of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq " America is safer,  2 terror regimes are gone forever and 50 million souls now live in freedom.  If only the irony was intentional.
 Now don't get me wrong;  I have plenty of respect for our people over there.  On Sunday I met a man named Ben from the 82nd Airborne who's shipping out soon.  He seemed like a good guy,  and I hope he comes home safely and doesn't do anything that he will regret while he's over there.  I know a soldier in Baghdad named Jackie who's a nice guy,
 a great Dad and a heck of a bocce player,  and I pray for him almost every night.  But their courage and sacrifice doesn't change the fact that the commander in chief stood at the tomb of the unknown soldier today and cheapened the traditional Memorial Day ritual at Arlington.  America's civilian leaders were not reluctant to go to war in Iraq.  They didn't know the human and capital costs of this war.  It has not made America safer.
 And the souls of Iraqis do not now live in freedom.  More later on the change from a war on terrorism to a war on " terror regimes.
