INDEPENDENCE DAY FINALE:

Fireworks.

SEAN HANNITY: "Way low."

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GEORGE W? Public holds Obama responsible for border crisis, Iraq and the IRS scandal.

RUTH MARCUS: Judging from feelings, er, ... experience.

I thought the law was about justice, not feelings, and not the cost of birth control.

AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY: "All is not lost. But all could be lost -- especially if too many of us take freedom for granted...."

GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS: 288,000 part-time and low wage jobs were created in June, and the number of people not in the labor force increased by 111,000. But good news is that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1%.

Is it really good news?

HORRORS! There's politics in 'climate change' reporting.

WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST Dana Milbank snarks about Congressional recesses. Snark is about all he's good for.

GREAT AMERICANS: Sgt. Roy Benavidez.



Many more here.

WAS THE SUPREME COURT'S Hobby Lobby ruling really 'narrowly decided'?

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO celebrates the 4th, recalling those who don’t celebrate the 4th, or didn’t use to anyway.

For a different take on Frederick Douglass' 1842 Independence Day oration, go see D'Souza's America: the Movie.

POWERLINE: Obama's 'war on women' persists. It's a phony issue, of course, but it's nice to see it boomerang on theObama administration again.

JUST ANOTHER global warming climate change climate disruption embarrassment.

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN Dinesh D'Souza's America, go.

"IF YOU STILL BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING, I have a tropical island in Alaska you may be interested in buying." For sale by the Scorekeeper (#7).

WHAT OUR FLAG REALLY STANDS FOR:

Courtesy of Michael Ramirez.

TED CRUZ on the modern meaning of Independence Day:

The persistent march of terrorists and tyrants around the globe gives us reason to reflect on the precious gift of freedom we have been given and must continue to safeguard.

In signing the Declaration of Independence, 238 years ago, our Founding Fathers defied an intolerable King and proclaimed a God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those men signified to the world that, although they yearned for peace, they would not submit to despots. Their demand for liberty offered no compromise.

As Thomas Jefferson later wrote, the Declaration was “an expression of the American mind”—one that refuses to accept insufferable evil, abuses, and usurpations and holds the freedom of its people supreme.

This is the spirit America was founded upon.

This is the heritage we all share.

This is what makes us Americans.

Much time has passed, but many of the challenges our forefathers faced have not changed. One doesn’t have to look very far on the world map to find nations where people suffer under brutal oppressors.

“Terrorism” is an often-used word because the maiming and killing of innocents is so frequent. Suicide bombings, IEDs, mass killings, kidnappings, and hijackings are tools of their trade.

Hamas recently kidnapped and murdered three Jewish teenagers who were waiting for a bus to get home from school. They committed no wrong; they were targeted, forcibly taken, and shot.

Hundreds of girls remain missing in Nigeria, kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.

We remember when Taliban forces shot Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenager because she was campaigning for girls' education. Courageously, she continues to advocate for it today.

We remember watching Neda Agha-Solten perish on the streets of Tehran during anti-government protests from a gunshot wound to the chest.

We remember when the Syrian government gassed hundreds of beautiful, faultless, cherished children in their sleep last year, shocking the conscience of people around the world.

And, there are countless others whose stories have not been told.

Most of us, because we are Americans, will never have to suffer as these people and their families have. Thank God for the blessing of being an American and those who have fought and continue to fight to keep us free.

And, remember, those Americans who are trapped, at this moment, in dark corners of the world.

Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, has been brutalized and remains imprisoned in Iran for merely sharing his Christian faith. Another American citizen, Kenneth Bae, is imprisoned in North Korea for also sharing his Christian faith. And, Meriam Ibrahim, a young mother who was forced to give birth with her legs in irons because she would not renounce her Christian faith, was kept in a Sudanese prison with her two small American children. Due to international outcry over their plight, they are finally out of jail, but are still waiting to experience real freedom in America.

We should never take our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for granted. Too much of the world does not recognize them. We must still hold these truths.

Just as those brave men did 238 years ago, let us affirm our commitment to a government defined by consent of the people—a transformative concept that launched America into becoming the greatest force for freedom the world has ever seen.

On this Fourth of July raise up your American flags high and wave them proudly. The spirit of our star-spangled banner makes us who we are. That spirit keeps us strong, safe, and free.

From my email.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN on the eternal meaning of Independence Day.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT on this, the 4th of July:

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well-educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free! We thank these early patriots, as well as those patriots now fighting to KEEP our freedom!

From my email. This one makes the rounds every year, and every year it's worth repeating, if only for the benefit of our children and grandchildren. It's time we get the word out that patriotism is not a sin.

AUDIO: The Declaration of Independence.