…and a lot of hard work, last Sunday will have been the first July Fourth of America’s new independence movement.

Kerry’s election wouldn’t be the fulfillment of this new spirit, but it’s a first and most intensely necessary step.

The Fourth of Jul-Ivar’s management asked that no pix be taken of the on-stage performers. So you’ll just have to believe me that the Elvis impersonator was even dumber than most. (And claiming to be a wink-wink parody of a bad Elvis impersonator didn’t make him any less lame.)

Ahh, the two great tastes that taste great together….

This children’s break-dance competition was sponsored by Sprite, which also had a do-it-yourself DJ stratch-mixing booth.

For the big fireworks, we relocated to a high-rise rooftop party where, supposedly, both the waterfront and Lake Union pyrotechnics could be seen. It was a sort-of-just-barely case. Each show was mostly obscured by taller buildings. But we all had a smashing time anyway.