This is really just a program note, to state that there will be no column today.

I went looking for a Memorial Day column to re-run today, and found two that are still worth pondering: the first one I think I ever wrote and the one dedicated to all the second-class soldiers and sailors who served in America's military.

That last one is particularly pertinent, since the House Republicans actually voted several times in the past few weeks to make it harder for undocumented young men and women (the "DREAMers") to serve in the American military. We have come pretty far as a society, and the military has at times been at the forefront of the fight for full equality for all (reluctantly, after President Truman ordered the integration of the military), but we've also still got a ways to go.

But I didn't want to get all preachy, really, so I'll just leave the links to the two articles, should you want to read my thoughts on patriotism in general.

Personally, I am enjoying the first Memorial Day in the last decade and a half where American soldiers are not fighting on the front lines somewhere on foreign soil. Yes, we've still got soldiers in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but for the first time since the Afghan War began, they are not in direct combat roles, merely advising and training. That is something military families across the land will be celebrating today, as they remember the fallen.

So I'll just say I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day, and leave it at that.

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant