Firefox 3 Beta

Today I downloaded and installed on Rohan, my MacBook Pro, the latest beta version of Mozilla Firefox 3.

As expected, a couple themes and extensions weren't compatible. One of the themes was iFox, which makes older version of FF appear more Mac-like. However, the new default FF theme for Macs which is debuting in FF3 is more Mac-like than previous defaults. So, I'll stick with that for the time being.

The extensions I had which don't yet work with FF3 include del.icio.us, DownThemAll, and Linkification. However, AdBlock Plus does work with FF3, which is great.

I'm not sure if it's having fewer extensions or if it's due to better code, but FF3 Beta is faster on Rohan than FF2. I've actually been using Safari 3 for the most part since I upgraded Rohan to Leopard, because it's quite a bit faster at page rendering than FF2, even when it has to display ads.

A neat new feature which I immediately noticed is an entry in the bookmarks bar: "Smart Bookmarks." FF3 automatically adds the bookmarks which you frequently visit to this folder, which makes it quicker to access them. It's not a killer app but it's a nice touch.

I think I'll stick with FF3 for a bit to see how it works. If anything blows up I'll post a followup.

System Rescue CD

Tonight I was glad I have a copy of the System Rescue CD. ("SRCD")

My mother called me tonight to let me know that Gondor, my old P-III/733 that I built about 8 years ago, would not boot. After turning on and displaying the POST messages it displayed a disk read error. (Naturally, she didn't say that "it halted after POSTing.") So, I headed over after dinner.

Sure enough, it wouldn't boot. I'm not sure if the master boot record just got hosed or something worse. The SRCD was able to boot the system and mount both internal hard disks, so it's probably the MBR. The XP install on Gondor is about 4 years old, so if it shit the bed I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

Earlier this week my father picked up one of the 8 GB USB flash drives Microcenter has for about $30 and had started to copy some of his data to it. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet backed up all his stuff to it, even after all my nudging. I was able to copy over their My Documents folder using Midnight Commander running off the SRCD. (FWIW, the SRCD recognized the first internal disk as sda, the second disk as sdb, and the USB stick as sdc.)

Incidentally, my mom fitted Gondor with a Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard. Aside from hating those things with a passion, it would not work properly with the SRCD. Not all of the function keys worked properly, which made using Midnight Commander near impossible. My work around for this was to login to Gondor via SSH from Rohan, my MacBook Pro.

While the data was copying over, I went online using my Rohan and ordered a NewerTech Universal Drive Adapter from Other World Computing. This will allow me to yank the drives from Gondor, plug them into my laptop or my folks' MacBook, and more easily recover data and run diagnostics on them. (I've been thinking of purchasing one of these for awhile and this gives me an excuse.)

Before leaving I stressed the necessity of copying the contents of the flash drive over to their MacBook, seeing as how easily a thumb drive could get lost. As it is, they will probably have to recreate things like browser bookmarks and email addressbooks.

I'm trying to convince them to dump the PC entirely and migrate over to the MacBook as their primary computer. They can plug in their Sony flat panel monitor to make it easier on their eyes, and use an external mouse and keyboard. Additionally, I want them to upgrade the Mac to Leopard, buy an external hard disk, and use Time Machine so they don't have to think about backups. One less Windows machine for me to maintain would be damn nice.

Busy Weekend

We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning I got myself to the optometrist for the first time in 10 years. Yes, I was way overdue. That said, my eyes have barely changed since the last time I went. I am getting new glasses with the revised prescription, the main benefit of which is that I'll no longer have specs with scratches on the right lens.

Afterwards I went over to client to do some onsite server updates and discuss future needs. We have several things to do in the coming year: upgrade their LAN to a gigabit Ethernet core, replace an aging file server, and possibly install a VPN between two sites. To this we're adding a disk-based backup system to replace the Dell tape loader they're currently using. The problem with tape based backup for them is that it's too slow. They're a custom print shop which deals with a large amount of data in the form of graphic files. They've reached the point where a weekend doesn't contain enough hours to do two sets of full backups, as they want to do. Moving to external hard disks that are swapped out, with one kept offsite, will allow them to do so.

Aside from working, one my aunts was in from NY. It was nice to see her. While she was here we managed to get ahold of my cousin, currently on an assignment with IBM over in Milan, Italy. We chatted for awhile via Skype. It never ceases to amaze me how good the quality usually is, and the fact that it isn't costing me anything to talk to someone on the other side of the planet.

It looks like I'm going to make another Mac convert in the form of my aunt. She wants to get a laptop and I spent some time explaining the benefits of Apple's platform. My cousin is supportive of the idea, since there aren't any Windows-only apps she needs. Of course, what he's really excited about is no longer being her tech support person. Anyway, I will be pricing out a MacBook Pro (she wants a larger screen than the MacBooks) and related accessories for her. We may go up and visit her for a weekend so that I can help move her off her old PC onto the Mac when she gets it.

My First Experience With AppleCare

Since I returned to the Mac platform back at the end of 2004* I have not had the need to call Apple for tech support. However, I noticed recently that the battery life on my 2.16 GHz Macbook Pro, purchased in January 2007, was deteriorating drastically. I can pretty much watch the battery life percentage indicator in the menu bar drop second-by-second. I'm lucky to get an hour and a quarter out of it, and that's with the Bluetooth module and AirPort turned off, and screen dimmed.

Because my MBP is my primary machine, back in December I sprung for the AppleCare extended warranty. While I mostly used the machine while plugged in, I do sometimes need to run it off battery power. So, I called AppleCare on Thursday afternoon. It turned out to be one of the most pleasant experiences I've had with tech support from any vendor.

First, I was greeted by an automated system which asked me a few questions which required a "Yes" or "No" answer. After about a minute on hold I was then forwarded to Colin. It's a sad sign of the times that I was happy to get a native English speaker rather than someone claiming to be "Steve" or "Bob" but who's real name is probably something like "Mujibar."

Anyway, after getting my name and MBP's serial number, Colin walked me through a few troubleshooting steps and decided that I should get a replacement battery. He needed to get a supervisor's override to put in the order, which required me waiting on hold for about 5 minutes. But at the end of the call he confirmed my shipping address and put in the order. I should get the new battery Monday along with a return shipping label for the old battery.

To my surprise, the battery arrived yesterday, one day after my call to Apple.

Note that under the terms of AppleCare, laptop batteries are considered consumables so unless they are defective, Apple isn't obligated to replace them. But based on the reported behavior and information in System Profiler, it wasn't difficult to convince them to replace mine.

It was refreshing to get a competent tech support representative who spoke English well, and not have to throw a fit to get good service. I'm impressed.




* My first Mac was a Mac Plus bought in January 1997, but I primarily used PCs running Windows, Linux, or FreeBSD from 1992 through 2004.

A USB Thumb Drive for Emergencies

Like many people nowadays, my life involves dealing with a lot of data. Especially important items include the many usernames, logins, and account numbers for loans, credit cards, and various websites which I use. I keep a spreadsheet in an encrypted file on my laptop to keep track of them. But what happens if my laptop is stolen, lost, or destroyed?

For awhile I've carried a copy of the spreadsheet along with other important info in encrypted form on a USB flash drive on my keyring. This way, it's always with me even if the SHTF. The drive I've been using has been a Microcenter bulk 1 GB stick, and it's worked just fine.

The prices on USB thumb drives have plummeted over the past year. So, over the weekend I bought an 8 GB USB flash drive at Microcenter. Like my old stick, it's one of their bulk, house-brand units and the cost was only $29.99 + tax.

I keep only the most essential data on the USB stick, and I formatted the stick as FAT32 so that it can be read in any PC or Mac I may need to use. It's organized like so:

Root directory
-A plain text file with contact info, including next of kin and the number for my childrens' daycare.

Documents folder
-Backup of my Safari browser bookmarks
-Backup of my OS X Addressbook
-Backup of my iCal database
-Separate encrypted images for financial data, logins, client data

Installer files folder
-Contains installation files for several Windows programs (AVG Antivirus, Firefox, Foxit PDF reader, Spybot, and the anti-spyware hosts file from MVPS.org)

Mac Portable Apps folder (apps that can run directly from the USB stick when connected to a Mac running OS X)
-Portable Firefox
-Portable AdiumX instant messenger client

Windows Portable Apps folder (apps that can run directly from the USB stick when connected to a Windows PC)
-PuTTy (a telnet and SSH client)
-Portable Firefox
-Pidgin Portable instant messenger client

Over 6 GB are still free.

Running applications from the USB drive is quite a bit slower than from a hard disk, but this isn't for regular use. Since flash memory has a limited number of read/write cycles, and because I don't want potentially sensitive information saved in an unencrypted folder on the thumb drive, I configured both Firefox installations to not cache files locally.

The new thumb drive has replaced my old one in my pocket. It rides on a keyring along with a Victorinox Rambler SAK, a Countycomm.com Peanut Lighter, and a Countycomm.com SO-ARES LED light.

Thoughts on the Election

I was certainly disappointed but not surprised when I read that Thompson dropped out of the 2008 race yesterday. For the first time since I was able to vote, I actually had a candidate who I wanted to vote for, not just vote against. Unfortunately, the candidates left don't include anyone I can give my vote to in good conscience. Who's left?

Republicans:

McCain: Gun grabber. Has used the First Amendment for toilet paper. Pro-amnesty for illegals.

Romney: Has all the trustworthiness of the slimiest used car salesman you can imagine. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has actually implemented socialized health care and an assault weapons ban.

Huckabee: Jimmah Cahtuh with an "R" after his name. Pro-amnesty for illegals. No offense intended to my Christian friends, but I don't want a preacher for a president (nor would I want a rabbi for a president, either).

Paul: I like his domestic policy agenda but his foreign policy would be a disaster. Shrink the military to 20% of its current size? WTF? Really, WTF?

Ghouliani: Mussolini on the Hudson.

Democrats:

Clinton: Two power-mad socialists who know better than you for the price of one. Gun grabber. Thinks we should look at Africa of all places as a source for inspiration on child rearing.

Obama: An empty suit. "Change." What change? How about something more than platitudes for the people? Gun grabber. Came out of the Chicago Machine, which should scare the crap out of anyone.

Edwards: Stinking rich populist, the epitome of the limousine liberal. Tear down the man. Prettier than Clinton, though.

Kucinich: The mothership is calling and will be here shortly to take you home.

With Thompson out of the race we're left with a bunch of candidates who -- except for Paul -- want to increase the Federal government's role in your daily life and sellout to illegal aliens, who are by definition criminals. Neither side is espousing fiscal responsibility, as we lurch into a recession. Paul and Huckabee are solidly pro-RKBA, but the former's foreign policy is more suitable to 1808 than 2008. He has next to no chance of even getting the nomination anyway. The latter is a tax and spend liberal.

The strongest argument I've read for voting Repbulican is so that a Democrat president doesn't get to appoint Federal judges, including one or two vacancies on the Supreme Court. However, I'm not swayed. Why should a liberal Republican appoint conservative judges? Look at Bush I, who gave us David Souter, for example. Granted, Bush II gave us Alito and Roberts, but hpoing for another Scalia is naive.

Unfortunately, most of the obnoxious legislation that emanates from DC won't even go to the Supreme Court to get the chance to be tossed out. The best we could hope for is a conservative Republican president, not afraid to use his veto power, to provide a check against the crooks in Congress. It ain't happening this time.

I am beginning to believe that the way we found ourselves in this predicament is due largely to the philosophy of voting for the lesser of two evils. We've been forced to do so for so long that we are left with no choice but evil. Even worse, the electorate has been conditioned to seek out those candidates who promise the most largesse from the public trough. We have an ever increasing mass of voters who contribute nothing yet influence policy which ends up being redistributionist. Remind me again why universal suffrage is a good thing?

It looks to me that we're heading for a repeat of the 1970s and the fiasco of the Carter presidency. We got Reagan out of that mess but there was a lot of pain while the Peanut Farmer was in the White House. I can only hope that after the next four years of pain there's enough backlash that we get some true statesmen, not just politicians, as candidates in 2012.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all my readers.  May 2008 bring you health, wealth, and happiness.

Today was the final day of my vacation.  I got the chance to sleep in a bit, spend time with family and friends, and do some shooting.  I managed to make it to the range on 12/24, 12/27, and 12/30.

On the 30th I participated in the "Red December" practical carbine match at Langhorne Rod and Gun Club.  The theme of the even was a Kalashnikov match.  A couple people showed up in Soviet regalia and a Russian-type lunch of kielbasa and borscht was provided.

The course of fire at the match was:

• 10 shots in 5 double-taps at 25 yards.
• 6 shots fired from 3 magazines with 2 rounds each, requiring two mag changes, at 25 yards.  This stage was timed.
• 10 shots prone at 200 yards.
• 15 shots, 5 each from standing, kneeling, and prone at 100 yards.
• 15 shots, 5 per magazine requiring two mag changes, fired from the muddy 100 yard berm at targets posted at the 200 yard berm.
• Prone 200 yard gongs, maximum of 10 shots to hit all three.
• There was also a "casualty drag" and "Molotov cocktail throw" (water-filled soda bottles).  I didn't participate in this stage because I didn't want to throw out my back.

Results are posted here.  Pictures here.  I placed third amongst the Kalashnikov and SKS shooters, and was the top scoring iron sight shooter.  The guys who took first and second place with AKs both used magnified scopes.  Three AR-15 shooters using magnified optics also scored higher than I did.  Not bad for an "inaccurate AK" and iron sights, if I do say so myself.

I used my Arsenal SLR-101SG, which last week I fitted with an Ace side folding stock, and which has a Mojo peep rear sight.  The ammo I used was Golden Tiger 7.62x39, which shoot pretty well.  Of course, I had no malfunctions.

It was a lot of fun, more fun than I've had at the range in ages.  I hope to make future practical carbine matches at LRGC.

Thumbs Up for LA Computer Company

Because I use my MacBook Pro everyday and plan to keep it for a couple more years, I decided to buy an Applecare Protection Plan for it. An APP can be added to an Apple product either at the time of purchase or within one year of same.

If I bought the APP for the MacBook Pro directly from Apple, the cost would be $349 plus PA's 6% sales tax. My employer has an agreement with Apple so that I can get a discount roughly equivalent to an educational discount, but even that would be $307 plus tax.

In contrast, LA Computer Company sells the same APP for $235, plus about $9 shipping.

I placed my order from LACC on 12/21/07 and it arrived this morning via FedEx Ground. And no worries that the deal is too good to be true, as I was able to register it on Apple's website with no problems.

Mini-14GB and Marlin 336 Range Report

I went out yesterday with my Mini-14GB (pics) and my Marlin 336 (pics), which is pictured earlier in this thread. The GB gave me no end of trouble but the Marlin of course ran like a top. This was my first chance to get it out since putting a Williams Firesight and FP-336 receiver sight combo on it.

The Firesight works really well. It was overcast but the red fiber optic front sight showed up very well. It has a soft glow that makes it more visible than a plain bead.

I ran two kinds of ammo through the gun. First, a couple boxes of Wolf Gold (Prvi Partizan) 150 grain JSP to zero it. Then some Remington 170 grain JSP to verify the zero, because it's my go-to load. I think the Remingtons feed a little more smoothly. Anyway, when I did my part, the rifle will put them all in the 10 ring of an SR-1 target at 100 yards.

One change I made was to remove the Eagle Shooter's Stock Pack shown in the pics. It includes a cheek pad which made getting a proper cheek weld. (I may put it on my FAL if I scope that rifle.)

What a darn fine rifle this Marlin is.

Ruger 10/22 For Defense

Over on THR, a member posted about getting a Ruger 10/22 as his first gun and its suitability for home defense. This is my reply:

A 10/22 is a viable home defense weapon, if not the ideal one.

Keep it simple, don't go crazy accessorizing it if you're going to use it for HD. (Adding accessories can come later once you get something better suited for HD.) There are a few accessories that could be beneficial:

1. A clamp-on weapon light. Most HD situations occur at night and target ID is paramount.

2. Williams Firesight front sight. It's a fiber optic bead that captures ambient light and makes it much more visible. I would avoid a scope or even an inexpensive red dot sight for a defensive gun. A scope's magnification reduces your field of view and slows target acquisition. A cheap red dot make break, the battery may die, or you may forget to turn it on in a SD situation. A peep rear sight coupled with a Firesight bead up front will give you fast target acquisition but good precision as well.

3. RELIABLE 25 round mags. Generally, Ruger 10 rounders are the most reliable but Butler Creek Hot Lips and Steel Lips mags can be very reliable. You'll need to try them in your rifle. Don't rely on any mags until you've put a hundred rounds through them, though.

For SD ammo, avoid the cheap bulk pack stuff. It's often not reliable enough in either functioning the weapon and will have a greater number of duds. My first choice for .22 LR SD ammo would be CCI Mini Mag SOLIDS. .22 LR has marginal penetration so I wouldn't use hollow points. CCI Mini Mag ammo is very high quality. I've shot a lot of it, never had a malfunction in various semiauto .22s, and never had one that was a dud. Mini Mags are more expensive than the bulk packs, so use the latter for practice.

Thompson Calls for High Fences, Wide Gates

Some highlights from THIS article:

"When I am president, I will build a fence," Thompson declared. Amnesty and illegal immigration, he said, are not healthy for the U.S. or Mexico. "We need to be a nation of high fences and wide gates."

When someone asked about what the government could do about AK-47s and the Westroads Mall shooting, Thompson said that assault weapons are not the problem, it is the people using them inappropriately; and it is not the government's place to remove guns from rightful citizens.

"Look at those church shootings," he said, in reference to the Colorado Springs, Colo., shootings that killed five and wounded five on Dec. 9. "That armed volunteer saved countless lives."

Thompson added, "My idea of gun control is a good, steady aim."

"Red December" Kalashnikov Match 12/30/07

Come join the fun at Langhorne Rod & Gun Club in Langhorne, PA on 12/30/07 for their Kalashnikov Match.

Arfcom thread HERE.

TRP thread HERE.

Stormy Weather

Saturday night the nor'easter that hit the NE part of the US blew into town.  We got wind and rain, no snow.  Yesterday was pretty crummy; this morning was dry and cold.

Yesterday afternoon I went out back and noticed that one of the arbor vitaes which has been threatening to fall over was leaning a bit more than it has been.  Last Fall it blew into the power line from the pole to the house, causing an outage.  After that, PECO came out and replace the line, running it on the other side of the tree.  A few months ago I had the cable drop redone on the other side of the tree, so the only wire that would be affected if the tree fell would be the Verizon line, which is unused since we have Comcast Digital Voice phone service.  Since the line was unused but I didn't want it to pull anything off the pole or my house, I cut it yesterday using a pole saw.

Good thing, too.  This morning as I was leaving I noticed that the tree fell last night in the wind.  Now I need to cut it up and dispose of it.  I figure that letting nature take care of it saved me a few hundred bucks compared with using a tree surgeon.

Parallels 2.5 Build 3214 Under Leopard

This morning I decided I'd better verify that Parallels was still working, post-upgrade.  Good thing, too, because it wasn't.

When I clicked on the Parallels Desktop icon in my Dock, I got an error message indicating that it could not connect to one of its drivers, and should reinstall.

Build 3214 was still in my ~/downloads folder, so I reinstalled it which fixed the problem.  I verified I could open my XP virtual machines, and also that I was able to tether my Blackberry 8703e to the MacBook Pro for use as an EVDO modem, using Sprint's Windows-only connection manager software.

I still need to see if I'll be able to use my Keyspan USB-to-RS232 adapter in XP running in Parallels, which I have so that I can program my ham radios.

Brother HL-2070N Printer Under Leopard

The primary printer I used at home is a Brother HL-2070N monochrome laser, which is connected directly to my LAN via Ethernet.  This setup has worked very smoothly for me since I got the printer last year.

I didn't notice it until this afternoon when I went to print for the first time since upgrading to OS 10.5, but the archive and install did not migrate over my printer settings.  So, I had to reinstall the Brother.

Only problem is that the Printer Setup utility didn't detect the Brother on my network, even after I installed the updated driver from the Leopard install disc and disabling my MacBook Pro's firewall.  Even though it's a Bonjour-enabled printer, it just didn't show up.

Luckily, the HL-2070N also supports the IPP printing protocol and can be printed to using CUPS.  So, I entered the IP address of the printer and selected the correct CUPS driver, and was now able to print.

This was a bit annoying but I was able to deal with it.  Most Mac users probably don't understand what IPP and CUPS are, so this might be a bit more of a challenge for them.  Also, if you need to use this workaround, I recommend configuring the printer with a static IP address.  Out of the box it's a DHCP client which means its IP can change, which would required you to reconfigure your Mac with the printer's new IP.

Running Leopard

My Leopard install went pretty smoothly.  The process of verify the DVD before doing the actual installation took about a half hour to 45 minutes.  Overall, the installation took about an hour and a half.

After booting into Leopard for the first time I got a couple error messages.  One was from the applet CoreDuoTemp, which is not OS 10.5-compatible, and apparently hasn't been updated for the new OS.  The second error told me that LittleSnitch, the outbound firewall I installed, needed to be updated for 10.5.

After clicking through the error mesages, I ran Software Update and got the machine up to OS 10.5.1.  I then downloaded the latest version of LittleSnitch, which seems to be running OK. Now I'm in the process of exploring Leopard.  A few early observations:

One of the big new features touted by Apple is Spaces, OS X's implementation of virtual desktops.  I used virtual desktops a lot when running Linux but didn't really miss them on OS X, due to Expose.  However, Apple's implementation is neat.  For example, pressing F8 brings up thumbnails of each virtual desktop, and you can then drag and drop applications between them.

I use Mail.app as my email client.  My installations of GPGMail and Letterbox weren't compatible with the new version, so I need to check for updates.

One very cool feature in Mail is the ability to recognize certain kinds of data in the text of messages.  For example, I was reading a message which included the phrase "Monday at 9:00 AM."  When I moved my cursor over the phrase it was highlighted with a drop down arrow.  Clicking on the arrow gave me the option of creating an iCal event based on the phrase.  Too cool!

Reminders created in iCal now show up in Mail.  You can also write notes in Mail.  Both of these features make Mail more of a PIM than it's been in the past.

The Finder looks quite a bit different, more like iTunes.  At this point it's OK but I haven't decided if I like it as much as or better than the old version.

The new Dock is OK, but I already miss the little black triangles which appeared under open applications in Panther and Tiger.  The triangle has been replaced with a little blue ball, which isn't nearly as conspicuous.

That's just scratching the surface.  I'll probably post more as I use the OS.

Installing Leopard

As I write this, I'm installing Mac OS 10.5 Leopard on my MacBook Pro, with my trusty old iBook G4 online in case something happens and I need to access the Internet for a fix.

Before commencing the install, I fired up OnyX and had it run all the maintenance scripts and clean out the various caches on the box. Only after that finished and the machine rebooted did I pop in the Leopard disc. To be on the safe side, I made backups of my Address Book, Firefox bookmarks, and my iCal database. Yesterday I did a full backup of my data to a Firewire drive. I'm doing an "Archive and Install," rather than an upgrade. This option makes copies the old OS to an archive folder, then installs the new OS. Should anything go wrong this should mean an easier restoration to Tiger.

I started the Leopard install at 19:22. I'll post a follow up after it's done.

Pennsylvania “Castle Doctrine” Bill Set to be Heard in House Judiciary Committee!

Friday, December 07, 2007


"Castle Doctrine" legislation, House Bill 641, introduced by State Representative Steven Cappelli (R-83), will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, December 11 at 10:00 a.m. in Room G50 of the Irvis Office Building.

This critical legislation will ensure that law-abiding Pennsylvanians have the ability to defend themselves and their loved ones from violent attack without fear of criminal prosecution or civil action.

Please contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee and strongly encourage him or her to protect our right to self-defense by supporting and voting for HB 641!

Members of the House Judiciary Committee:

State Representative Thomas R. Caltagirone (D-127), Chairman
(717) 787-3525
tcaltagi@pahouse.net

State Representative Daylin Leach (D-149), Secretary
(717) 783-9114
dleach@pahouse.net

State Representative Kathy Manderino (D-194)
(717) 787-1254
kmanderi@pahouse.net

State Representative John E. Pallone (D-54)
(717) 783-1819
jpallone@pahouse.net

State Representative Don Walko (D-20)
(717) 787-5470
dwalko@pahouse.net

State Representative Ron Marsico (R-105), Chairman
(717) 783-2014
rmarsico@pahousegop.com

State Representative Lisa Bennington (D-21)
(717) 705-7011
lbennington@pahouse.net

State Representative Dan Frankel (D-23)
(717) 705-1875
dfrankel@pahouse.net

State Representative Harold James (D-186)
(717) 787-9477
hjames@pahouse.net

State Representative Deberah Kula (D-52)
(717) 772-1858
dkula@pahouse.net

State Representative Bryan R. Lentz (D-161)
(717) 787-8574
blentz@pahouse.net

State Representative Joseph A. Petrarca (D-55)
(717) 787-5142
petrarca@pahouse.net

State Representative Sean M. Ramaley (D-16)
(717) 787-4444
Sramaley@pahouse.net

State Representative Greg Vitali (D-166)
(717) 787-7647
greg@gregvitali.com

State Representative Chelsa Wagner (D-22)
(717) 783-1582
repwagner@pahouse.net

State Representative Jesse White (D-46)
(717) 783-6437
jwhite@pahouse.net

State Representative Jewell Williams (D-197)
(717) 772-2004
jwilliam@pahouse.net

State Representative Tom C. Creighton (R-37)
(717) 772-5290
tcreight@pahousegop.com

State Representative Craig A. Dally (R-138)
(717) 783-8573
cdally@pahousegop.com

State Representative John R. Evans (R-5)
(717) 772-9940
jevans@pahousegop.com

State Representative Will Gabig (R-199)
(717) 772-2280
wgabig@pahousegop.com

State Representative Glen R. Grell (R-87)
(717) 783-2063
ggrell@pahousegop.com

State Representative Kate Harper (R-61)
(717) 787-2801
kharper@pahousegop.com

State Representative Beverly Mackereth (R-196)
(717) 783-2655
bmackere@pahousegop.com

State Representative Carl W. Mantz (R-187)
(717) 787-3017
cmantz@pahousegop.com

State Representative Bernie O'Neill (R-29)
(717) 705-7170
boneill@pahousegop.com

State Representative Tina Pickett (R-110)
(717) 783-8238
tpickett@pahousegop.com

State Representative Todd Rock (R-90)
(717) 783-5218
trock@pahousegop.com

State Representative Katie True (R-41)
(717) 705-7161
ktrue@pahousegop.com


Copyright 2007, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

LINK.

Happy Channukah

Today is the first full day of Channukah; the holiday started last night at sundown. As has become my custom, I will link to my Channukah 2004 post, here.

How to Help Win Heller

LINK.

Academics for the Second Amendment
Post Office Box 131254
St. Paul, Minn. 55113
http://AcademicsSecondAmendment.blogspot.com

Academics for the Second Amendment ("A2A") will be filing an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in support of Mr. Heller (and urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Court of Appeals decision that the DC gun laws are unconstitutional). Our brief will be written by attorneys David Hardy and Joseph Olson with historical assistance from Clayton Cramer. As one of the several pro-gun amici, we'll be taking an approach that focuses on the ratification process in 1791 and the meaning and usage of terms found in the Second Amendment. We will show that no one in America, at that time, could have understood the amendment to preserve a state or government organization's "right" and that everyone who did speak out did so in the context of a meaningful individual right to keep and bear arms.

District of Columbia v. Heller will decide whether or not the Second Amendment protects any American from gun bans and confiscations.

Preparing and filing the amicus brief will take thousands of additional dollars. A2A will be facing attorney fees, printing expenses, filing fees, travel and lodging expenses, etc. We have some money but not enough.

A2A is a tax-exempt educational organization recognized under IRC §501(c)(3) [that makes your contributions tax-deductible]. Our primary goal is to give the “right to keep and bear arms” enshrined in the Bill of Rights its proper, prominent place in Constitutional discourse and analysis.

A2A was formed in 1992 by a number of present and former law school teachers, joined by historians, political scientists, and philosophers of government, who believe it is time to stand and be counted in support of a complete Bill of Rights which includes an individual right under the Second Amendment. The organization seeks to foster intellectually honest discourse on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and, of course, the environment in which academics, judges, politicians, and the public place the rights preserved by the Second Amendment.

A2A has filed friend-of-the-court briefs (A2A was an amicus in the U.S. Supreme Court in Lopez and the U.S. Court of Appeals in Emerson), sponsored academic symposia, encouraged media commentary, supported research and publication, and challenged the legal profession and the public to appreciate the place of the individual right to keep and bear arms in the American constitutional scheme. A major endeavor has been a series of “Open Letter” advertisements signed by groups of University and College professors. The signers cannot be dismissed by the media as “gun nuts” nor can their statements be ignored as without foundation. Their academic records and reputations are too strong for that to occur. The message is simple – the Second Amendment is there, it does preserve a meaningful individual right for responsible persons, and it cannot, without duplicity, be overlooked or interpreted into meaninglessness.

We need your help. If you believe in full and fair discourse on the Bill of Rights, A2A should receive your support. A2A is open to all. You don’t have to be “academic” in order to join. Your contributions are tax deductible. Please don’t ignore this request --- copy this post for a friend, forward it on, and send in your check or use our PayPal account.

Very truly yours,

Joseph Olson
Professor of Law
President

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Note from Dave: A2A now has a PayPal donation button at their site. Yes, PayPal is antigun. However, this lets us use their service to our advantage. If you don't want to use PayPal, please consider a donation via check.