Happy 235th birthday, Liberty!

The 235th birthday of the U.S. is a good time to reflect on the great step forward in political liberty that was taken on this day in 1776. It's especially appropriate at a time when so many of the ideals of American liberty that made this country great seem to be sinking into an icy abyss, surrounded by a country torn by anger, fear and political cynicism, fueled by corporate interests that threaten to make a mockery of American democracy.

The American revolution was a watershed event, but AlterNet notes that it wasn't the simple caricature often used by right wingers who invoke the Founding Fathers to oppose measures that would advance equality, progress and justice. As one of the Founders said, reverence for the past shouldn't substitute for common sense means of dealing with the problems of the present.

In Federalist 44, James Madison wondered if it was “not the glory of the people of America, that... they have not suffered a blind veneration for antiquity, for custom, or for names, to overrule the suggestions of their own good sense, the knowledge of their own situation, and the lessons or their own experience?”

This gets to the heart of the matter: the Founders were grappling with 18th century problems, and would be bewildered by the debates we're having today. When people say that the Founders, were they to be reanimated today, would be shocked by this or that policy, keep in mind that what would really stun them is indoor plumbing, horseless carriages and flying machines, not to mention all these women and free black people daring to cast votes in our elections.

While conservatives are happy to delude themselves with the belief that the Founders' politics were indistinguishable from Ronald Reagan's, perhaps the rest of us can let them rest in peace. They fought their era's battles and they won. Meanwhile, we've got 21st century problems to deal with.

Photo: An Ektachrome slide I took in 1980 of the second Pail and Shovel Party Statue of Liberty on Lake Mendota. It replaced the first Lady Liberty in Madison, which was torched by arsonists the year before.

There's a right way and a wrong way to photograph fireworks -- this is the wrong way

This is definitely one of the best ways NOT to get good fireworks photographs: 1) Set up several miles away from the Warner Park "Rhythm and Booms" extravaganza along the UW lakeshore path because you want to avoid the crowds and traffic. 2) Definitely use an iPhone. 3) Swat mosquitoes with one hand, shoot with the other. 4) Look at screen and see that the fireworks look like tiny points of light on the horizon. 5) Max out the pixel-chopping electronic zoom. 6) Note that the fireworks no longer look like points of light. They look like slightly larger puffs of light. 7) Drastically crop the already blurry and degraded image, full of artifacts, to actually make the fireworks more or less visible. 8) "Sharpen" to taste.

There you have it. You'll have captured a visual reminder of a memory, not the memory itself. Certainly nothing approaching its actual beauty. Which is about what you should expect, shooting handheld in the dark with an iPhone because a DSLR and tripod just seemed like extra baggage for the occasion, not to mention hard to handle in the dark.

On the other hand, if you want something more, it's probably a good time to leave the iPhone in your pocket, use a DSLR with tripod, and experiment with long exposures.

The death and resurrection of my iPhone (thanks, AppleCare)

It looks just the same, but it's different -- in fact, it's a completely new phone.

Sometime yesterday afternoon my 7-month-old iPhone's sound card -- or chip, or whatever it is -- died. I was on my way to an appointment when I called ahead. The phone clearly was connecting, but there was no sound. I made several more calls with the same result, before concuding that I was just filling up an answering machine with silent calls. Tried my home number. Same thing. Tried music in my iPod app. Nada. No sound, period.

It was terrifying. I have come to rely on the phone for so many thing. You might say I'm addicted. I certainly went into sudden withdrawal. As chance had it, I became aware of the problem on the far west side, on Mineral Point Road. I headed for the Apple Store, went in and said, "My baby died!" They got me an appointment at the "Genius Bar," and in no time they had checked the phone, found it unfixable, and swapped out a new phone. An easy switch, and under AppleCare, it didn't cost me a cent.

A took me awhile to restore my apps and data from the backup on my computer -- mainly because my backup settings were sort of eccentric -- but I got everything. As of a month ago, that is. (I need to set it to back up more often.)

I usually don't buy extended warranties. Consumer Reports usually says they're a bad deal. The iPhone seemed different, mainly because I wanted to be able to replace it quickly if need be. Glad I did.

NOTE: I was warned by a commenter on Flickr that the AppleCare warranty does not automatically transfer to the new phone. There are hoops to jump through, people to talk to. More time-consuming than transferring apps, especially if -- like me -- you've lost original receipts and serial number of old phone. Make sure you don't lose out on the protection you've paid for.