I spent several days with the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force watching this vital unit of national security perform its duties. On one of the days, the Wall Street Journal carried a story about this "vast swath of desert wedged against the borders of Arizona and Mexico."

The headline of the article, "Bypassed by the Recovery, After Tasting Prosperity, California Desert Towns Are Back to What They Were" set up nicely the sadness for the first paragraph to continue. In a dateline from Brawley, one of Imperial County's handful of communities, the paper wrote, "Signs of economic recovery are sprouting across the U.S., but the most visible bright spot in town is a plan to open a Burger King."

This weekend we celebrate what I believe is America’s most important holiday—Memorial Day. Some argue July 4 is, but I’ve always believed that the founding of a nation is not as tough a job as the sustaining of one.

On Monday, I will hoist the American flag on our front porch, as I always do on Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day, and the Fourth of July, and then I’ll look up and down my block in sadness that no one else does. What we all take for granted comes with a high price that has been paid for by those who suited up the uniform of America and sacrificed their lives for, in foreign lands and on distant seas, never again to return home.

Anyone who visits San Francisco for many of its cultural offerings quickly realizes that panhandlers are part of the public furniture, but what my wife and daughters discovered after going to see Wicked at the Orpheum Theater on Market Street is that an increasing number of them are younger, seemingly able for work, and, because of their vitality, able to keep step with the people they’re harassing.

The city, like all big cities, has had its skid rows in various places over the years, but whereas in the past they were the domains of older people down on their luck, many of today’s urban beggars look perfectly fit to secure a job, but choose instead mooching as a lifestyle—and they don’t take the first

It’s time our public school administrators and teachers come clean and tell us what day of the week displaying the American flag is more “offensive” than others. What day out of the 365 in the year is it not a good day to wear the American flag?

I personally think every day is a good day to show the flag, but I don’t look at people negatively if they don’t—until a big issue is made against those who do, such as what happened in two incidents here in California that made embarrassing national news.

In Monterey County, a seventh-grader was told by her teacher that her painting of the American flag was offensive. The teacher then turned to praise another student’s painting of President Obama.