Day: July 3, 2006

By now, most folks have heard of the “mosquito” ringtone, so prized by teenagers as a way to keep adults (teachers, etc.) from knowing when they are using their cell phones (like, what? for texting during class, eh?)

Well, I decided to finally check it out, although I had a suspiscion it wouldn’t be all that stunning, so I found the 17Khz tone for download (this is a higher-quality wav file) and played it back with some better than fair speakers and an old 9but good) Roland sound card that it just edged toward the top of the envelope on.

Supposedly, the 17kHz tone is too high for “old ears”—presbycusis—to hear. After all, the theoretical limit for human hearing most often bruited about is 20kHz.

As I figured. The 17kHz tone is just a tad lower-pitched (less than 2%) than my typical tinitus. So I can understand how most adults—especially Boomers and Busters who grew up listening to music that was too loud for their hearing to take w/o damage—wouldn’t be able to hear it. But I’m in my 50s, so why can I? I dunno. My wonder Woman’s just a year younger than I, but she couldn’t hear the tone until I lowered the pitch to ~16.4kHz.

Maybe it’s the last few years I’ve spent hearing a buzz that’s higher-pitched than the “mosquito ringtone” that has kept my ears atuned to high pitches.

But kids, don’t ya be playing that ringtone around me and expect me not to hear it, eh?

In the Mt Soledad Cross case, a lil message for the ACLU from Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy today:

h.t. STACLU

Blowing the, urm, horn at Conservative Cat, Committees of Correspondence, Woman Honor Thyself, Bloggin’ Outloud and Basil’s Blog

Rick, The Real Ugly American, tipped me to this post by Sgt. Tim Boggs of an interview Boggs had with an Iraqi general. Go, read. A great lead-in to celebrating the Fourth tomorrow, IMO.

A chiiling set of Fourth of July images from Heidi at Euphoric Reality

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Last year, I experienced a Fourth of July that I never want to repeat. I wrote about it, but at the time, I don’t think my experience registered on anyone’s radar. Here’s part of the description as I posted it last year:

…all day, I was looking forward to the famous Freedom Over Texas Celebration in Houston – one of the top 10 patriotic shows and fireworks displays in the country. I was determined to brave the crowds (which my husband and I typically loathe) with kiddos in tow, in order to enjoy the culminating holiday of our nation’s heritage. We drove an hour to downtown Houston, spent 20 minutes looking for parking, and finally stepped into the crowds to move toward the center of the Celebration.

Here is what I saw as I crossed Allen Parkway near Buffalo Bayou:

There were NO 4th of July decorations – NONE. No red, white, and blue – anywhere.
There were no American flags.
No one was dressed in red, white, and blue except me and my kids.
There were no patriotic songs.
There was no indication of patriotic pride or nationalism in any way…

No one – not one person around us – spoke English.
The music that was blasting through the loudspeakers was Mexican mariachi or some such.
Home made pig skins were sold in baggies – and screeching kids in dirty clothes were hawking water bottles out of grubby coolers.
I saw more green Mexican flags and paraphernalia than anything American-themed.

What is this – Houston, Mexico?! Had I mistakenly ended up in some grungy street carnival in Little Mexico, instead of one of the “Top 10 Patriotic Celebrations in the Country”?! I knew that there was supposed to be military equipment displays somewhere in the center (which I was making a bee-line for), along with stages for Clint Black and LeAnn Rimes. I’m not a country-western aficionado, but I knew that I could most likely expect a moving patriotic song or two. As the crowds surged toward the Freedom Celebration, my family and I lagged more and more behind. Hot, sweaty, and rudely jostled in the rowdy crowd – I grew more and more angry. Looking around, I realized that no one seemed to be there to celebrate the 4th of July. It seemed like any generic public fiesta – just one more reason to party. I stopped walking and finally acknowledged the fact that whatever ‘celebracion’ was going on around us had nothing to do with America. I was far beyond disappointed…I was furious.

We left.

I took a lot of heat in the comments from people who objected to the fact that I objected to a Mexican-themed Fourth of July. But others wrote in comments and via email that they had seen and experienced a similar hi-jacking of our national holiday; they seemed more bewildered than furious. “How did this happen? When did this happen?!” There was no real public indignation.

Fast forward to 2006. This year, the in-your-face waving of the Mexican flag will have much more significance considering the politically-charged events of the past year. In a year that has seen illegal aliens gleefully desecrate Old Glory, and raise the Mexican flag over our own, such an offensive display is guaranteed to raise the ire of red-blooded Americans. After a year’s worth of heavy-handed demands for the rights and privileges of full citizenship, illegal aliens and AINOs (Americans In Name Only) may feel emboldened to wave the Mexican flag during our Independence Day celebrations – just as they did last year with no public outcry.

I, for one, won’t leave a 4th of July celebration like I did last year – furious but silent. I will say something to anyone who flaunts a foreign flag during our Independence Day. I want them to know it’s inappropriate, deliberately incendiary, and offensive to people who deeply love this country and our valiant flag. This year, I have a feeling I won’t be standing alone.

DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN IN YOUR TOWN!

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This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we’re going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the War on Terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our Blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to euphoricrealitynet at gmail dot com.