Fourth of July

In the US, it is time to start blowing stuff up and setting stuff on fire, because we are so patriotic! Here is the science of sparklers, to keep it interesting:
Earlier this week a dude driving a truck while texting meandered off the road and ran over a woman, killing her. More horrifically, she was on a bike towing a child trailer occupied by her two children, one and four years of age, so they got to watch their mom die. The man who apparently killed this woman, on a road in southern Minnesota, is Christopher Weber of Madison, South Dakota. Apparently he was texting. Assuming this happened as reported, we have here a case of someone being a complete moron and a lot of other people paying a terrible price. "A person who ... causes the death of…
tags: fireworks, fourth of july, independence day Image: Orphaned [larger view].
tags: politics, the declaration of independence, fourth of july, independence day, streaming video The United States was born with a single document -- the Declaration of Independence. Have you actually read it? Few people get beyond "... Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." But it really is fascinating. It lays out all the justifications for separation from Great Britain. And it clearly states the founding ideals. In this video, you'll get a chance to hear the entire document read by some of Hollywood's A-list celebrities. But the words are the real stars. It's not a perfect document…
On July 4th, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Rochester's Corinthian Hall entitled, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro": What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of…