Today we celebrate those who have served.

Specifically:

   The 6,251 American soldiers killed in the Middle East since 2001.

   The 1,695 killed in and around Afghanistan.

And a reminder:

   Three American presidents prosecuted a war in Southeast Asia in

   which 58,220 Americans lost their lives for the theory of dominoes.

   In Korea, 36,914 Americans were killed lost their lives for what may or may not

   have involved dominoes.

It is not, one suspects, a matter of domino theory. Rather, these Americans died because our leaders had the power to order them into harm’s way. It comes down to Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”