Fourth Of July

So much happens in Chicago  during the Fourth of July week. There's a free Independence Day Celebration concert at Millennium Park , fireworks at the Navy Pier and a boat tour to take it all in. JW Marriott Chicago marks the holiday by dropping room rates to $199 a night.  The deal: This is for folks who want to travel over the holiday and want a classy holiday far from a backyard barbecue. The downtown hotel is close to Millennium Park, Magnificent Mile shopping and other landmarks, which makes for easy touring.

Now that you've heard the bad news about airline travel this summer -- higher fares, long lines and jam-packed planes, according to this L.A. Times story -- what's in store for Fourth of July travel on the hotel front? Well, let's just say it's a good time to hone your deal-hunting skills. AAA's Leisure Travel Index found Fourth of July rates nationwide rose this year. Room prices at three-diamond lodgings increased 4% over last year to an average $164 per night, and two-diamond hotels shot up 9% over last year to $120 a night.

A fiery crash on the 110 Freeway and several other traffic accidents have claimed the lives of five people on Los Angeles County streets and highways so far over the Labor Day weekend, authorities said. In the 110 Freeway accident, a man died early Sunday when he was trapped under a flaming 1971 Chevy Monte Carlo that was struck after it had stopped on the shoulder of the southbound lanes near 52nd Street. The 18-year-old driver of a 2008 Smart car apparently swerved to avoid rear-ending a vehicle directly ahead, hitting the Monte Carlo.

The heat has cooled between Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders of the Legislature. But for a while, there seemed to be a pending explosion. Brown quickly vetoed the Legislature's gimmicky state budget — no California governor apparently had ever dared that — and the leaders angrily countered that he was ineffective and confused. All's calm again, however, now that the Democrats have produced a more honest spending plan and Brown has signed it, praising them for "a hell of a job. " But what does the public flare-up between a governor and legislative leaders of his own party say about Brown's leadership skills?

Kim Kardashian's butt is real. Some haters said it was fake. To prove them wrong, she had a doctor take X-rays to show that it was implant-free. Odd as it sounds, when a symbol of trumped-up celebrity has a part of her anatomy authenticated, it's a perfect expression of Americanness. So, on this Fourth of July, I'm adding Kim Kardashian's butt to the list of the things I celebrate. Americans have a complicated relationship with authenticity. We celebrate our national ability to reinvent our lives, to leave the past behind or get a makeover , but we simultaneously bemoan the absence of an authentic American culture.

Independence Day 2011 dawns amid a resurgence of interest in our nation's Founding Fathers. "Tea party" conservatives in particular like to invoke them as an inspiration. Yet while it is certainly possible to find writings by individual founders that adhere closely to modern right-wing principles, this group of mostly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant property owners had profoundly differing opinions about governance — differing not only among themselves but often from the views of today's conservatives.

Americans are getting ready to celebrate Independence Day with the usual parades, barbecues and fireworks. But for the field of GOP presidential hopefuls it will be a chance to supply their own fireworks and bring their best pitches to, well, you guessed it, parades and barbecues. On July 4, New Hampshire, the first primary in the nation, will be thick with candidates, while some contestants will be in Iowa and even Philadelphia, where the second Continental Congress met and formally adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Maybe you're not traveling to the Cradle of Democracy this Independence Day . (And, by the way, no one agrees on where that is. Some say it's Philadelphia, others Massachusetts, others Jamestown, Va., and let us not forget Greece.) Wherever it is and wherever you are, it's a good idea to stop and remember the vast geography of our country, the genius of its founders and all the people and symbols that go with it. Here’s a quick quiz to help you contemplate all of the above. Why, you may ask, do you need to know any of this stuff?

Some Southern California communities have scaled back or canceled their July 4 celebrations this year — Marina del Rey and Inglewood have canceled — but the skies over L.A. will still bloom with plenty of colorful explosions when dusk hits Monday. Most of the shows in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Riverside counties are free or inexpensive, but if you're looking for a more elaborate affair and are willing to spend extra money, head to the Hollywood Bowl to see Hall and Oates, or to the Newport Dunes resort, or to the Rose Bowl, where families can experience an all-day food and music celebration finished off by a pyrotechnic display.

For those of you checking to see if your city allows fireworks for this Fourth of July weekend: Not to rain on the fireworks plans, but take note -- Long Beach, Los Angeles and other cities banning fireworks, including the 'safe and sane' variety, have the right idea. Researchers say that the tougher the fireworks laws, the fewer kids who get hurt. According to a July 1996 study in the journal Pediatrics, children who live in communities with more lenient fireworks laws are seven times more likely to be injured than kids living where the laws are stricter.