Picnics and beach outings are traditional to Memorial Day weekend, however let us all take time to honor the thousands upon thousands of men and women in the Armed Services who have given their lives to defend the freedom we take for granted.

On another sad note, yet another local soldier has been killed while serving in Afghanistan. Pfc. Joseph Graham Harris was serving a tour of duty with the U.S. Army when he was killed. He was only 19 years old and was listed on the Department of Defense website as a resident of Sugar Land

Last week I mentioned Spc. Dan H. Nguyen, 24, who was killed in an attack in Iraq. He was also a resident of Sugar Land.

And there was the recent death of John Waterbury, the 25-year-old Army specialist, who served as a crewman on an M1A1 tank, died in action March 14 in Iraq. He was from Richmond.

The list could go on and on. The one thing we need to do is pause this holiday weekend and say a prayer for these brave soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice and for their grieving families who lost sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers or sisters. Nothing can replace them and there is nothing that can be said that will heal the void such a loss has left behind.

I say thank you—for the military men and women who have defended our freedom and lost their lives; to the families who grieve; and to those who continue to serve our country both here and in war torn countries.

Regardless of how we feel about the war, there is a common theme among most Americans—support of our troops—and that should continue, without question.

Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert may sound flippant when he discusses the recent fine he received from the Texas Ethics Commission. The fine was paid after he entered into an agreed judgment with the commission after it was determined that Hebert’s decision to pay his wife for keeping the campaign books was indeed a no-no. But he is totally and completely embarrassed and probably has the fear that he will end up on the Star’s “dumbest crooks” column.

He readily admits it was a call from our own B.K. Carter that prompted him to go to an attorney and find out if what he did was OK. Needless to say both Bev and the attorney agreed that Bob just couldn’t and shouldn’t do what he’d already done.

Now, if he were a bank robber, paying the money back wouldn’t be tantamount to being absolved from charges, but luckily for Bob he is a politician and the rules, in most cases, are somewhat different.

Intent to violate a law often plays a big part in prosecution and punishment. And, if Bob really did intend to break the election code laws, he is a “stupid” crook as he laughingly claims to be. After all, he put it all down in writing and reported it—now how dumb would that be?