"The Fourth of July may be just a holiday for fireworks to some people. But it was a momentous day for the history of this country and the history of the world. 

"Not only did July 4, 1776 mark American independence from England, it marked a radically different kind of government from the governments that prevailed around the world at the time -- and the kinds of governments that had prevailed for thousands of years before. 

"The American Revolution was not simply a rebellion against the King of England, it was a rebellion against being ruled by kings in general. That is why the opening salvo of the American Revolution was called 'the shot heard round the world.'"

"Thank you, Eric Cantor.  Thank you for walking out on useless talks, presided over by Vice President Biden, addressing raising the limit on our nation’s debt. 

"According to press accounts, Republican House Majority Leader Cantor called it quits on talks between Democratic and Republican leaders because Democrats refuse to give in on raising taxes."

"Is the Libya war legal? Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, it is not.  President Obama has exceeded the 90-day period to receive retroactive authorization from Congress. 

"But things are not so simple. ...  

"We have a core constitutional problem. In balancing war-making power between Congress and the presidency, the Constitution grants Congress the exclusive right to declare war. 

"Problem is: No one declares war anymore. Since World War II, we’ve been involved in five major wars, and many minor engagements, without ever declaring war. ... 

"We need a set of rules governing the legality of any future war. This will allow us to concentrate on the most important question: its wisdom."

"U.S. state and local governments will need to raise taxes by $1,398 per household every year for the next 30 years if they are to fully fund their pension systems, a study released on Wednesday said. 

"The study, co-authored by Joshua Rauh of Northwestern University and Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Rochester, both of whom are finance professors, argues that states will have to cut services or raise taxes to make up funding gaps if promises made to municipal employees are to be honored. 

"Pension funding in U.S. cities and states has deteriorated in the wake of the 2007-2009 economic recession as investment earnings dropped, and some states, such as New Jersey and Illinois, skipped or reduced required payments."

"The Obama administration’s takeover of the health-insurance system stands out in many Americans’ minds as the distillation of its radicalism, but even more remarkable is its radicalization of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), part of its tireless campaign to aggrandize the cartels known as labor unions. Now the NLRB plans to rewrite the rules for union elections in a way that further strengthens the hand of the unions and undermines the freedom of employers to keep from having collective-bargaining contracts imposed on them against their will. ... 

"... Taken alongside such abuses as targeting Boeing for having the audacity to expand its operations in a right-to-work state, the NLRB is the very picture of a runaway agency pursing a narrow, partisan political policy rather than any legitimate public mandate. The increasing radicalization of the NLRB invites a proportional response — a national right-to-work law would be an appropriate remedy. In any case, the Republicans’ 2012 nominee and congressional candidates should remind Americans daily what the Obama administration has attempted to foist upon American employers and the means he has used."

"When the Department of Education last week released the results of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress -- 'the Nation's Report Card' -- the bottom line was depressingly predictable:  Not even a quarter of American students is proficient in US history, and the percentage declines as students grow older. Only 20 percent of 6th graders, 17 percent of 8th graders, and 12 percent of high school seniors demonstrate a solid grasp on their nation's history. In fact, American kids are weaker in history than in any of the other subjects tested by the NAEP -- math, reading, science, writing, civics, geography, and economics. ... 

"Historically illiterate American kids typically grow up to be historically illiterate American adults. And Americans' ignorance of history is a familiar tale."

"... Republicans want less government spending and more leeway for entrepreneurs to create new businesses and jobs. No one knows what innovative products and services will emerge.

"That’s the beauty of free enterprise, but it also makes it a hard sell politically — unless voters have figured out that no amount of government spending is going to restore the old status quo."

"... In a New York Times Magazine profile last October, the president admitted he had to learn the hard way that there’s 'no such thing as shovel-ready projects.' 

"This is a staggering indictment of the president, the team he assembled, and the journalists who accepted this administration’s arrogant assertions that they knew exactly what to do, how to do it, and what would happen as a result. ..."

"Obama is still bragging about massive federal subsidies to the wind- and solar-power industries, while making it nearly impossible to obtain new leases for fossil-fuel exploration. Yet for all the billions spent, the percentage of new energy produced by subsidized high-cost 'green' projects has not changed much. 

"Meanwhile, revolutionary breakthroughs in the exploration for and recovery of natural gas, oil, tar sands, shale oil, and coal deposits in just a year or two have vastly expanded the nation’s fossil-fuel reserves and the ability to produce clean energy from them."

"Four Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents in transcribed interviews with top GOP oversight official Darrell Issa’s office are contradicting the Justice Department’s account of 'Operation Fast and Furious,' saying hundreds of weapons – including assault rifles and military grade sniper weapons – were allowed to escape into the clutches of Mexican drug cartels in an apparently reckless investigative strategy.

"Their testimony raises the question of whether Ronald Weich, a deputy to Attorney General Eric Holder, lied to congressional investigators in a Feb. 4 letter denying the allegations. Weich is testifying before Issa’s committee Wednesday."