She didn't worry anymore

America gets a pretty good working over out there. From other countries, from those of us who criticize without sacrifice, from those of us who deserve to be criticized.

But I was reading this monstrously long story last night, about Sgt. Joe Montgomery's journey home from Iraq, and I thought to myself: America still stands up.

Happy 4th of July.

The Patriot Guard was formed a few years ago in response to the threat of protesters from the extreme-fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, Kansas, who sometimes disrupted the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. There were rumors the church intended to hold up signs along the highway like, "God Hates Your Tears" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." Gail Bond stayed up the night before for a lot of reasons, but partly because she was worried about how her family and friends might react, how she might react, to such taunts. But now she saw the men on their Harley-Davidsons, with their long hair coming out the backs of their helmets, and she didn't worry anymore.