What Life Was Like in 1776  —  Americans had the highest per capita income in the civilized world, paid the lowest taxes—and were determined to keep it that way.  —  Almost every American knows the traditional story of July Fourth—the soaring idealism of the Declaration of Independence …

The eternal meaning of Independence Day  —  On July 9, 1858, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas gave a campaign speech to a raucous throng from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago.  Abraham Lincoln was in the audience when Douglas prepared to speak.  Douglas invited Lincoln to come join him on the balcony to watch the speech.

The “narrative” of judicial intrigue  —  NOTE TO READERS: Ordinarily, this blog does not deal in “scoop” journalism, although we have been known to be first on some things.  We focus more on what the Court does than on whether the Justices have good manners or like each other, or on what they do in their free time.

Ben Bradlee's 20 Best Verbal or Written Barbs Microsoft's Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant  —  Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, on January 9.

Snyder signs most of election reform legislation  —  LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed legislation to increase election transparency, prevent election fraud and provide consistency across all voting locations.  —  The election reform bills provide for better documentation …

NEWS FLASH  —  North Carolina General Assembly Officially Dismantles The Racial Justice Act |  Today in North Carolina, the Republican-dominated General Assembly overrode Gov. Bev Perdue's (D-NC) veto of the rewritten Racial Justice Act.  The landmark legislation allowed North Carolina death row inmates …

Arafat's widow calls to exhume his body  —  A nine-month investigation suggests that the late Palestinian leader may have been poisoned with polonium.  —  It was a scene that riveted the world for weeks: The ailing Yasser Arafat, first besieged by Israeli tanks in his Ramallah compound …

STUDY: Medicaid Expansion Saves States Billions  —  Republican politicians across the country claim that Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid, the widely popular program which makes health insurance available for lower-income Americans, will increase costs for states.

Bam: Trend of CO2 emissions falling toward 1991 levels  —  This is ten different kinds of glorious.  —  Greenies are always lamenting that we need big government to force humanity to treat the planet with their idea of respect, and bemoaning the toll that prosperity ostensibly takes on the environment.

As Weather Channel Buys Wunderground, Storm Clouds Brew Among Fans  —  It's stormy out there.  —  The announcement on Monday that the Weather Channel Companies, owners of television's Weather Channel and weather.com, would buy one of its rivals, Weather Underground, set off howls of displeasure …

Report: Rep. Cuellar to skip Dem convention  —  Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar is joining a growing list of lawmakers who will be skipping their party's nominating convention this September.  —  The four-term lawmaker from Texas says he wants to focus his efforts on his reelection bid …

Carney: ‘I feel rotten’ about accidental fracking vote  —  State House lawmakers have apparently accidentally legalized fracking in North Carolina, due to a deciding vote one Democrat says was a mistake.  —  Rep. Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg, says she did not intend to cast the key vote that overrode the governor's veto of the bill.

The IMF Goes All-Out on Balance-Sheet Recessions, Providing Sanity on Economic Policy  —  The literature summary I just put out on balance-sheet recessions examines the recent April 2012 World Economic Report by the IMF.  It is remarkable how important this report is.

Anti-abortion amendment a no-go in Ohio  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio - An anti-abortion group fell short Tuesday in its attempt to gather enough signatures to ask voters this fall to change the state constitution to declare that life begins when a human egg is fertilized.

Do not disturb: Oregon town cancels fireworks to spare sea birds  —  Town officials in Depoe Bay, Ore., have reportedly announced the cancellation of the annual pre-Independence Day fireworks show on July 3 following pressure from federal wildlife managers who said the noise disrupts sea birds in the area.

Spring cleaning in summer  —  Technology creates tremendous opportunities to improve people's lives.  But to make the most of them, we need to focus—or we end up doing too much and not having the impact we strive for.  So last fall we started a spring clean, and since then we've closed or combined more than 30 products.