Manas Chakravarty Dear Reader, Today, the fourth of July, is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, and it's being celebrated with a big birthday bash. It will have the world's largest fireworks display with a record 850,000 shells being fired in 40 minutes, parades, flypasts, fairs, concerts, balls et al. The official name for the party is the Semiquincentennial, and I can't wait to hear Donald Trump pronounce it.