Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Interestingly, in 1777, Congress did not think about commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence until July 3rd, so the first organized elaborate celebration of independence occurred the following day: July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia. Ships in the harbor were decked in the nation's colors. Cannons rained 13-gun salutes in honor of each state.

Since 1777, the tradition of celebrating America's independence on July 4th has continued. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.

Here are more fun facts about July 4th from the Census Bureau. The Fourth of July...

"It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind..."

--- With that in mind Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin said in an impromptu speech today, that she would not run for re-election and was resigning from office at the end of the month.

"Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose," Palin said in a statement during a national press conference.

Palin did her best to explain her reasoning for leaving more than a year before her term ends. See if you can follow the logic in this sentence:

"My family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and...

If you're a Fed you come out ahead

In yet another promotion of government transparency, yesterday the Obama administration posted a detailed list of who makes what at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In fact, even the Bush administration was transparent, at least when it came to salaries . After all, every administration since 1995 has been required to "deliver a report to Congress listing the title and salary of every White House Office employee."

So let's try to use the transparency message sparingly. It loses its zest when it's attached to a congressional mandate.

But I digress...

When it comes to pay, working at the White House does not look so bad.The highest earners take home $172,200, while at the low end, staff assistants get $36,000. However, few in the White...

The Children’s Health Informatics Program in Boston published a working paper last week that outlined the "ten principles for fostering development of an ‘iPhone-like’ platform for health care information technology." This paper is the byproduct of a perspective piece featured in the March edition of the New England Journal of Medicine . Bloggers went wild, chattering with glee about the new role of the iPhone as a framework for EHRs nationwide. One blogger noted that “a better strategy may indeed be the building of an Open, iPhone-like platform with open SDK, open APIs, etc., heck, even throw in an AppStore (with an app review feature) and let the development community have at it… Are you listening Washington?”

The iPhone-like platform that docs and healthcare gurus are raving about...

With his recent election to the United States Senate, you would think that former Saturday Night Live stalwart Al Franken is a shoe-in for "Funniest Member of Congress." Before he can claim victory, he will first have to fight Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn for the distinction; the main difference between the two legislators being that Franken tried to get laughs for most of his career while Coburn has spent his redefining the Unintentional Comedy Scale . A recent announcement by Coburn has done little to change this.

Coburn, who enjoys spending his time railing against pork barrel spending and hating that "Silent Spring" lady you remember from 11th grade Biology, recently introduced an amendment creating a new federal "Office of Unborn Children's Health." Coburn...

When terrorists strike and harm or kill innocent civilians in the name of Islamic jihad, there’s a perception that they do so because they hate Western liberties and all that America stands for. But what do the Taliban hate about determined school children?

Last November, Taliban extremists in Kandahar sprayed acid on a group of schoolgirls who were on their way to the Mirwais School for Girls. The culprits drove up on motorbikes and squirted acid on dozens of girls’ faces, leaving several badly burned. In response, the Obama administration proposed to negotiate with the Taliban.

What the Taliban fear most is the flourishing of modern education in Afghanistan. Educated women pose a far bigger threat to the Taliban than American or NATO bombs.

When the Taliban ruled (1996-2001), there were...

After a friendly fire incident left a cop dead last month, the New York Police Department has its sights set on futuristic technology that may help officers in the field avoid accidental shootings.

Omar J. Edwards, 25, was killed on May 28 as he chased down a burglary suspect while dressed in his off-duty street clothes with his service weapon drawn. When three plainclothes detectives came upon the scene and yelled for him to stop, Edwards turned with his weapon and was shot according to the NYPD in an AP article.

Because the bad guys never look like they do in the movies, with capes and a devious look in their eyes behind a mustache that’s as crooked as their smile, confusion between officers in different departments occurs all too often. Since 2006, five New York City police officers have...

First Lady Michelle Obama was the first to announce a broad and sweeping grants program for community health centers (CHCs) this week. The Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program will dole out over $850 million dollars in funding to CHCs nationwide that demonstrate a need for capital improvement projects such as new equipment, infrastructure, and most importantly, the adoption and implementation of electronic health records.

Over 1,500 community health centers in total will receive funding—of those, 400 will use funds specifically for EHRs. The first lady notes that these improvements will touch the lives of over 2.8 million patients that rely on CHCs for primary care. Mrs. Obama states that these “ grants will mean new diagnostic equipment, renovation of facilities that need repair, expanding...

"[I] didn't cross the sex line"

--- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, in spelling out the exact geography, or anatomy, where he most definitely did not tread in various extra-marital affairs above and beyond his relationship with Argentine mistress Maria Belen Chapur.

In a wacky interview with the AP, Sanford also said he had "crossed lines" with other women but "never crossed the ultimate line." Is he talking about crossword puzzles? The Equator? Col. Ghaddafi's Line of Death? Here we thought it had something to do with bikini waxes.

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford told the AP. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

Forgive us if this sounds like...

Last week, the House approved a measure as part the 2010 Defense authorization bill that would allow workers in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to count unused sick leave toward their retirement annuities like their colleagues in the older Civil Retirement System (CRS) have always been able to do. Not to be outdone by their Congressional counterparts, this week the Senate introduced its own version of the defense bill without the FERS provision.

Supporters are hopeful that the sick leave amendment, as well as a provisions that would move employees in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories few know about into the locality pay system, will see new life during floor debate after the July 4 holiday or in conference committee.

Another provision that did not make it into the Senate...