The 4th of July is all about the Fs: family, food, and founding fathers.

School’s out, vacations are planned, and the 4^th kicks off the official barbecue season of the summer. There’s just something about those blurry heat waves you see coming off of a hot grill that get me all giddy and melty on the inside like the top of a juicy cheeseburger. Or maybe it’s just the though of that juicy cheeseburger.

Hot dogs and cheeseburgers aside, the 4th of July has significant meaning to our country and its history– it was the day that our ancestors decided to go their own way in the world, away from the ruling monarchy of Great Britain of the time. And now, 235 years later, here we are. From Tea Parties past and present, to independence and opportunity, we’re celebrating the only way a proud country knows how – with great family and friends, great food, and the most important F of the day to acknowledge: freedom. So toast to Ben Franklin, Washington, Jefferson and all our founding fathers today with a tip of the old hat, a hot dog in hand, and enjoy your Fourth festivities.

Last Friday marked a milestone for gay rights in the United States, as New York State became the sixth state in the country to pass law legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Senate passed the bill 33-29 in a late-night Friday vote, which included four republicans voting in favor of the bill, and one democrat voting against it. Same-sex couples will be able to marry as early as late July, once the law goes into effect in approximately 30 days.

Passing of this bill was celebrated on both a local and a national level. As people took to the streets of New York in excitement, our shopkeepers, designers and advocates and supporters of the effort took to CafePress.com to create new New York gay-marriage designs and LGBT t-shirts to show their pride and enthusiasm.

On CafePress.com, sales of gay marriage-themed products more than doubled over the night of June 24^th, the day the bill was passed. Many credit New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in working to make same-sex marriage legal in New York, the sentiments of which many agreed with here on CafePress.com.

News broke late Sunday night announcing the death of Osama bin Laden. President Obama spoke from the White House, explaining the U.S. military raid on a compound in Pakistan where Bin Laden was hiding, and the subsequent assault that ended in his death.

As you may know, CafePress.com users comprise a robust community of diverse people who can create and upload their own product designs. The community expresses themselves in many ways – oftentimes focused on current events, news or pop culture trends – making the CafePress.com Marketplace a Cultural Barometer for the latest on what’s happening in the world.

The CafePress community quickly began voicing their thoughts and feelings about Osama bin Laden on t-shirts and other products minutes after reports of his death surfaced. So far, overall sentiment of Osama related designs centers on the following themes:

1. Celebration: For many, it feels like justice has been served, and the military accomplished their mission.
2. Commemorative: Remembering the 9/11 attacks and tributes to those affected.
3. A moment for the history books: Yesterday will go down as a milestone in U.S. history.
4. Patriotism: Many designs supporting the military. We’re seeing designs that are showing their pride for our friends and family bravely fighting for the U.S.
5. Hats off to the President: Designs are showing that we’re proud of our president and many are saying this cements President Obama’s chances of being re-elected in 2012.

How do you feel about this news? Share your thoughts with us below:

Teary-eyed wedding shoppers are making their presence (and presents?) known this week, as England’s Royal Wedding is set for this Friday. Ditto for British flag designs. It’s a major event on everyone’s radar, and check out the coolest pair of Royal Wedding underwear seen on The View and for those of you waking up at the crack of dawn to watch the nuptials; a pair of pajamas will do the trick. Hopefully the royal couple can get hitched without a hitch. We send our best to the Prince and future Princess.

Also trending high (as weather starts to improve), are marathon (and particularly half marathon) designs. Looks like some of those New Year’s Resolutions are coming into play. Eat a banana for us.

Still gaining momentum with no end in site is Obama 2012 – with both pro-Obama and anti-Obama racking up sales. And as the Pacific Earthquake & Tsunami relief effort continues, CafePress shopkeepers and shoppers continue to show support with Japan relief products.

Its official, and the numbers are in – together our community raised more than $113,000 for Japan relief efforts!

In the wake of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan on March 11^th, CafePress shopkeepers rallied support with relief designs within hours, a percentage proceeds of which we’ve earmarked to aid ongoing relief efforts! In addition to designs from the community, we also designed a special edition Japan relief t-shirt; $10 from each t-shirt sold was donated.

Congratulations everyone! Your designs and your support helped make a difference – and we’d like to say thank you for your kindness, time, thoughts and efforts. It’s truly amazing to see a community unite for such a great cause.

Hot off the press, we’re whetting your appetite with the coolest designs trending this week.

It’s pretty amazing to see how people come together to aid others in their times of need. Our community continues to support Japan relief with inspiring designs, which speaks volumes about lending a helping hand for those who cannot reach out themselves.

As Autism awareness month continues, we’ve seen and heard an outpouring of education and advocacy through true stories from some of our own shopkeepers – take a look at their unique stories and their shops, which has some amazing designs in them.

We have a soft spot for geeks-turned-mafia men. And so do a lot of CafePressers – this week the beloved kooky character of Damian Spinelli of General Hospital fame got a lot of attention. Who doesn’t love a computer hacker who talks in code and is best friends with the most powerful troublemakers in Port Charles?

Over the past 24 hours we’ve received messages from the community expressing concern for our decision to donate a percent of proceeds from Autism related products to Autism Speaks.

The response we’ve received takes us a bit by surprise, as this is our third year partnering with Autism Speaks and the first year we’ve heard concerns voiced about any specific organizations and their approach. Autism Speaks has always been a fantastic partner, and while some sentiment towards our partnership has been negative, much of it has been positive as well.

That said, as a community-based business we feel it is important to listen and respond to our users’ concerns. In this case, our community helped us to understand an adjustment to this program is needed.  We have learned a lot about Autism in the process and feel privileged to be a part of the national conversation about supports for individuals and families facing the challenge of Autism.

For this year we’ve already made a commitment to Autism Speaks, and we do not intend to go back on our promise to them, but we do want to add another charitable organization to split the total money donated and balance our support to the other Autism related good works.

We’re asking you to help us choose an additional partner for our Autism based support that will receive ½ of the money raised through sales of Autism related goods. If you’re interested in voting, or want to suggest one not on our list, please visit our Autism Awareness survey.

Update – a few folks have inquired about whether there is a way to opt out of the donation program altogether. Yes, since all of the donations are made based on sales through the CafePress Marketplace, opting out of the Marketplace will prevent sales of your merchandise from resulting in a donation. To learn more about opting out of the Marketplace click here.

A quick glance at the CafePress hot sellers list gives us a pretty good idea of what’s on people’s minds. From designs our community is creating to the products a world of people are ordering, the CafePress Marketplace has become a Cultural Barometer of trends – here’s what we’re seeing this week…

President Barack Obama is back on the radar, as his 2012 re-election campaign officially kicked off. Pro Obama 2012 and Anti Obama 2012 are both getting action. It’s going to be a long & drawn-out battle to the White House, so fasten your seat belts. We’re also seeing some interest in a few rumored Republican competitors; enter Donald Trump?

The Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami tragedy continues to ride a wave of awareness and support. These Japan relief products are particularly popular now, as CafePress is donating a portion of the proceeds from their sales to the American Red Cross through April 11 with a $15 limited edition t-shirt, $10 of which is also going towards relief efforts.

This week we also see an outpouring of support for Autism Awareness Month, where we’re giving 10% of proceeds from sales of Autism-themed products to Autism Speaks. We also were fortunate enough to have a few of our shopkeepers share their stories and autism-related shops with us as a Voice for Autism.

Holidays are also popular, with Earth Day gaining traction and Easter building momentum, just days from each other. Both are giving Charlie Sheen and the winning crew a run for their money.

For those of you with a knack for creativity and strong passions – April is a prime example of showing how CafePress shopkeepers use their designs not only as a form of self-expression, but as a way to acknowledge, educate and support these passions. April is Autism Awareness month, and CafePress has partnered with nonprofit organization Autism Speaks and some of our talented shopkeepers to support this cause.

During the entire month of April, CafePress will be donating a portion of all autism-related sales* to Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest science and advocacy organization for autism. Additionally, four of our shopkeepers shared their autism stories with us, exploring how autism goes deeper than just a cause to support for some, but also a way of life.

It’s rewarding to see how passionate our community of shopkeepers is about what they believe in and how their designs bring another level of awareness to their causes. Be sure to explore their stories and their shops, as well as CafePress’s autism awareness designs to learn more about autism and how you can help spread the word and give those with a voice an audience to be heard.

* An amount equal to 10% of the final purchase price for all products tagged with “autism” and sold through CafePress.com Marketplace during April 1, 2011 through April 30, 2011 will be donated to Autism Speaks (http://www.autismspeaks.org/).

With St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in a few hours (it’s 5 o’clock already in Ireland), it’s time to get out your crock pots and beer steins. This is one of my favorite holidays, since it revolves around eating and drinking and getting pinched by complete strangers (unless you wear a green shirt or something, of course). Regardless of whether you’re full-blooded Irish, part Irish or Irish for the Day, it’s a great time.

For those of us who didn’t major in Irish History, the holiday celebrates the life of, oddly enough, St. Patrick. (He died on March 17, 461). Fun fact #1: The original color associated with St. Patrick’s Day was blue, but it evolved to green in the 17^th century. Fun Fact #2: Lore has it the St. Patrick used the shamrock (with its three leaves) to explain the “holy trinity” to the Irish people. Fun Fact #3: I’m having corned beef & Guinness tonight, while reading some Seamus Heaney poems and listening to the Irish Rovers sing The Unicorn. Aye, if it’s a nice night, I might even sit outdoors on me Paddy O’ Furniture.