Firing Up The Blog Grill

What says Land of the Free better than 30 pages of strippers' mug shots? That's the Smoking Gun's tribute to July 4th in a look at "America's hardest working entertainers."

How about springing rapper Lil' Kim from her Philadelphia cell in time for the holiday?

Or a blog dedicated to cats that look like Adolph Hitler? (Didn't we just see some of these mugs on the Smoking Gun?)

How about the BBC's Top 10 American Anglophile bands, those stateside rockers who continue to find their muse in the British Invasion? (But Madonna?)

A meditation on what a Brit means by the word holiday versus what an American means.

A tribute to the Declaration of Independence signers who lost their lives or liberties? Or a modern-day Declaration that would call an end to partisan bickering? Read on for these, folks, as we fire up the holiday blog grill.

Mithras, who describes himself as "your basic, harmless Philadelphia pervert with a law degree," marks the day with a picture of the yellow Gadsden flag, with its coiled rattlesnake and motto, "Don't Tread on Me." Under it are the words of the late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, (1898-1980) "The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom."

Grizzly Mama, a home-schooling, Aristotle-quoting Philly mom, honors those signers who sacrificed for the freedom we enjoy today. She recalls the five signers who were captured by the British, branded traitors and tortured before being killed. A dozen who saw their homes sacked and burned. Two who lost sons in the army, two more whose sons were captured. Nine who died from their wounds in battle or the hardship of war.

Ray at Phillybits has a free-ranging holiday reflection, spurred by the ABC 20/20 special "A Country Divided: Examining The State Of Our Union."  He's struck by the movement over the past 28 years into a country increasingly sorting itself into camps and opposed to compromise:

It appears, to my anyway, that we have moved away from what we personally believe, to what we as specific groups believe. And what I guess I mean by this is not that we don't have our own personal set of values, or...a belief system that we fall back on as the ultimate justification for our opinions, actions, and decisions but rather, it appears we have given up individuality, that which makes us unique, in favor for the comfort, assurance, and safety of the like-minded group. The echo chamber, if you will.

Duh, meanwhile, links a different declaration to sign: Declare Your Independence From Politics Without Purpose. The Unity 08 movement is looking for people to sign their names to a paper that takes a stand against partisan bickering and polarizing politics. It holds these truths to be self-evident:

That elected officials should be public servants first and partisans second.

That to bicker is not to lead

That those bought by lobby money cannot represent the people.

And that to polarize the Congress is to paralyze the nation.

Too heavy for today? How about a playlist?

Bruce Warren, 'XPN's programming pasha and proprietor of Some Velvet Blog, queues up some appropriate numbers,including:

"If I Had A Hammer" by Pete Seeger, "Volunteers" by the Jefferson Airplane, "Know Your Rights" by the Clash, "People Get Ready" by the Blind Boys of Alabama with Ben Harper and Robert Randolph and "4th of July" by Aimee Mann.

I'd add "Fourth of July" by X, and a third song with that name by Galaxie 500, "America Without Tears" by Elvis Costello, and "Miss America" by David Byrne. Maybe "Looking For Lewis & Clark" by the Long Ryders. U.S. Blues by the Grateful Dead and Simon and Garfunkel's "America."

Maybe you just want to see some photos of cool fireworks. Or read Boing Boing's primer so you can shoot your own. A fireworks screensaver?

Or see if you could pass the U.S. citizenship test.

That too easy? The Free Library's got a pop quiz, covering 230 years in 10 questions.

If you're heading down to Geno's, maybe you'll want to find out what sort of American you speak:

This is what we speak:

They got grinders at Genos?

My Linguistic Profile:  
40% General American English  
35% Yankee  
20% Dixie  
0% Midwestern  
0% Upper Midwestern  

Number 13 is a hottie - and I love that she's giving the cops the finger.  Number 19 is the hottest.

If you ever get arrested - smile for the mugshot.

I thought I saw a finger!  I also like the frequency with which it is spelled "Prostition" on the sign.  although, some of the ones arrested for exposure would be better off not exposing anything.

I wrote down the bar names in case I get bored someday.

Well thank you young man for linking to my humble blog.  You have a wonderful Independence Day celebration!

Grizz

Sign the Unity08 Declaration - show your independence!

www.Unity08.com/declaration

It's nice to see a newspaper blog that allows comments... 

Grizzly Mama is a great Philly Blogger you might also want to check out Skye at Midnight Blue and with a little self aggrandizement The City Troll

Thanks for the props, Troll! I do appreciate your recognition of my humble blog :)

Here's a challenge for my fellow Philly bloggers: Anyone know how to ask for a Cheesesteak in Flemmish?

Thanks for the linkage, Daniel. I expanded a little more on the danger of echo chambers as made relevant by this past weekend's big "controversy" on the blogosphere over the Times puff piece on Rumsfeld and Cheney's homes in MD.

Kaas lapje vlees