On July 4, 1776, American colonists declared their intent to separate from Britain. Today we use fireworks to commemorate the gun and cannon fire that followed.

The role of an armed citizenry was so vital in establishing the country that the right to bear arms was guaranteed by the second amendment to the U.S. constitution. The amendment reminds us that we’re born with the right to bear arms, and government cannot take them away.

Anyway, that’s what I’ll tell kids at the fireworks show tonight.

Happy Independence Day everybody.

Great post! Thank you.

I understand that the right to bear arms, bare arms and even the right to arm bears is an important Constitutional right found in the 2nd Amendment. But I do think that the Amendment was written at a time before AK-47's and other truly lethal weapons were developed and made readily available to the citizenry. I'm still undecided on where I stand with gun rights. While I do support the right to have guns there does seem to be a need to moderate this right with commonsense laws.

It looks like fireworks might be canceled for us here in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. It is storming pretty hard out there right now and I don't see that ending anytime soon.

I read that computer-controlled drones are being used somewhere out west, where there are drought conditions. Little drones with lights, flying in programmed patterns. I hope somebody posts a video of that.

Wish we had your storms here. It is so, so dry.

As a means of putting on a show without the fireworks? That's really cool.

I'd forgotten about the drone show that was in the news last year. Here's a short youtube video about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG2UW2nYBQQ

Yes, Happy Fourth of July, everyone. KS has injected politics, but I wish for the continuation of the old, uncomplicated, unifying Fourth celebrations we've always had, like the couple of DC events I' ve attended. You've heard what President Ego has done to the celebration on the Mall, with tanks and flyovers of all sorts, with VIP seating for RNC members and his family in front of the Lincoln Memorial. If he sticks to his script and gives a traditional speech about shared values, etc., that will be surprising. Surprising, but how meaningful if he reverts, as he surely will right afterwards, to his usual divisiveness.

I didn't inject politics here, you did. Shame shame shame. You and your ilk DO like to accuse others of doing what you're doing, don't you? You need to find a new ilk.

You're right, I was more political, my bad. Although I think my ilk should be left out of it.