I JUST BRIEFLY TUNED IN to the Washington DC and Boston MA 4th of July 'celebrations' and promptly turned off the television.

What a waste! Rather than fireworks with perhaps a bit of patriotic music (in the background), I got to watch a bunch of narcissistic governing-class elitist boneheads congratulating themselves on their complete failure to understand the history and meaning of Independence Day.

If I had been to either event, I would have walked out. As it was, all I could do was turn off the television and shake my head in utter disgust.

To paraphrase Bill O'Reilly, these 'patriots' are pinheads.

GOLDEN OLDIES FROM JAY LENO:

"I was going to start off tonight with an Obama joke, but I don't want to get audited by the IRS."

On NSA surveillance: "We wanted a president who listens to all Americans - now we have one."

On a new IRS commissioner: "He's called 'acting commissioner' because he has to act like the scandal doesn't involve the White House."

On closing the Guantanamo prison for terrorists: "If he really wants to close it, turn it into a government-funded solar power company. The doors will be shut in a month."

Concerning the Benghazi, Associated Press, and IRS scandals: "Remember in the old days when President Obama's biggest embarrassment was Joe Biden?"

On saying he didn't know about the IRS scandal : "He was too busy not knowing anything about Benghazi to not know anything about the IRS."

"The White House has a new slogan about Benghazi: "Hope and change the subject."

"It's casual Friday, which means that at the White House, they're casually going through everybody's phone calls and records. It is not looking good for President Obama. Today his teleprompter took the fifth."

"Fox News has changed its slogan from 'Fair and Balanced' to 'See, I told you so!'"

On Obama's commencement address: "He told the young graduates their future is bright unless, of course, they want jobs."

On a Chicago man who set a record for riding a Ferris wheel: "The only other way to go around and around in a circle that many times is to read the official report on Benghazi."

On White House claims of ignorance on the scandals: "They took 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' out of the Pentagon and moved it into the White House."

"These White House scandals are not going away anytime soon. It's gotten so bad that people in Kenya are now saying he's 100 percent American."

From my email.

THE FIRST PEOPLE TO LIVE IN SPACE may be gas station attendants.

UP MY GRILL: a 4th of July rap by Remy.

NO 'FERGUSON EFFECT'? NO 'WAR ON COPS'? Think again.

ARMY SHARPSHOOTER frees an eagle found hanging from a tree, caught in a piece of rope. With a .22 caliber rifle, no less.

TECHNOLOGY: Artificial Intelligence bests Air Force combat tactics experts in simulated dogfights. Somewhat surprising, but I expect that the superiority comes not from the AI, but from the speed at which the tactical decision can be made. It will be interesting to follow this story.

More here.

THERE'S NO FOURTH OF JULY in Boulder, Colorado.

AIRSHIPS should replace jets for moving freight.

They won't. Once the novelty of the concept fades and the technology proves adequate (which it will), Economics 101 will step in and kill it dead, as it did a few years back when I worked on a similar project.

The economics are simple: air freight is for cargo that needs to move quickly; airships aren't quick. Ships, railroads, and trucks are much more efficient for freight that needn't move quickly.

Case closed.

SO IT'S OUR TURN BUY MORE GUNS: Federal civilian agencies are amassing more firepower than the U.S. Marines.

RELATED: One can hope that (in California, at least) every weapon-carrying state and federal agent will personally have to pay California's new ammunition permit fee.

BUT JUST THE WORD: Hillary learns the word 'broadband'. Technology - and facts - are foreign to the (progressive) Left.

BUT IT'S FOR A HIGHER GOOD: Oakland blocks more jobs for its own citizens.

HAPPY 4TH: These vintage ads for capitalism will make you proud to be an American.

Here are those ads.

THE ETERNAL MEANING OF INDEPENDENCE DAY: Part One and Part Two.

‘SOCIALISM DOESN’T WORK’: Professor rejects Marxism after traveling the globe.

Experience isn't just the best teacher; sometimes it's the only teacher.

IF OBAMACARE IS REPEALED and no one notices, is it really repealed?

RELATED BUT UNRELATED [from the comments]:

“When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing ... you may know that your society is doomed.”

The quotation isn't directly related to the post linked above, but to me it accurately describes the state of political America today. Guess where it's from....

NASA'S JUNO SPACECRAFT to enter Jupiter's orbit on Independence Day (today).

BREXIT is the second 'leave' campaign. We can hope that it proves as successful as the first.

A MESSAGE TO FLYOVER COUNTRY: Rules are only for the little people.

A TRUE PROGRESSIVE: "Obama’s foreign policy failures cannot be understood without reference to his incompetence and inability to understand the world as it is."

It's not just foreign policy....

IT'S THE FOURTH OF JULY:

Remember.

DO SOMETHING BOLD THIS INDEPENDENCE DAY: Read the Declaration of Independence.

Here it is.

LINDA CHAVEZ: Celebrating America on July Fourth.