This is our nation's 247th birthday.   Time  magazine this morning had two articles providing a slightly different view of what really happened in 1776: July 1776 Was a Shotgun Wedding .  In effect, the Continental Congress saved Democracy from almost certain civil war by finding a way to cooperate. America's "Real" Independence Day is not July 4 .   That day should have been 2 July 1776.  Why?  Read the article. The  New York Times  this morning said: Drones and lasers are becoming   more popular as an alternative to fireworks , minimizing wildfire risks.  Also pet friendly and will not cause any air pollution. Coco Gauff lost in the first round of Wimbledon. Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo are favored to win today's Nathan's hot dog eating contest. There was a two-hour delay because of weather, but Chestnut ( only ate 62, not the record 76 ) and Sudo ( 39.5, before the delay ) did win their Mustard Belts.  I find this competition too nauseating.  But if you want

Ah, a three-day weekend.  Monday is July 4th, our 246th birthday.   A Capitol Fourth  from the Mall starts at 8PM EDT on your PBS station.  I started working for the U.S. Senate in 1979 and went to the very first of this annual show, before the event was televised.  Well, actually this performance was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of this pandemic.  But it's back this year.  On this absolutely sparkling Honolulu day I thought I'd just toss out interesting stuff I've been accumulating.  First, Japan is just about opening up to tourists with only tours these days, but you get 136 yen to the dollar today.   Two years ago the exchange rate was at 105, or our buck can get 23% more value these days. After World War II the rate was fixed at 360 yen to the dollar to stabilize the Japanese economy. In 1995 the dollar hit a low of 80, but zoomed up to 144 in 1998, but crashed in one week from 136 to 112. So get ready to go back to Japan as soon as it truly opens, for who knows w