Free Republic

Axios of all places has a moving Memorial Day map showing on this day where the most post-9-11 service sacrifices have come from. The link, titled: "Hometowns of Americans who died for U.S. since 9/11," to the impressive work is here. The map is useful because it doesn't just put pin-dots up to correspond with numbers of war dead. It color-marks the pin-dots, showing orange and red where the largest sacrifices in proportion to the population have been, which increases our understanding of what the war sacrifices have meant.

It's always risky to celebrate good times, especially in an age when there is no way to rule out that along with the usual perils of life, we will suffer another terrorist attack. But this spring, more than 3 1/2 years after Sept. 11, it does seem that since that day America has weathered a rough passage awfully well. That, and with the cherry trees just done blooming in Washington and New York's Central Park full of flowers (and, in the grand old tradition, amateur baseball teams), it feels worth a moment to stand back and observe that for all...