Professional vagueness from Harvard Law

Wall St Journal gave Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Tribe a place on the editorial page to air his views on the Washington DC gun ban case (DC vs Heller). DC has a drastic gun ban law that prohibits all handguns except those owned before 1974, and requires all guns to be unloaded, taken apart and locked up at home. Heller, with some help from his friends, brought suit, claiming the DC law violated the right-to-bear-arms second amendment. Heller lost in the first trial, then won on appeal, and now DC is appealing to the Supreme Court.
Tribe, in a longish column manages to say the court should not rule in favor of second amendment and not rule against it either. This sort of flip flopping is what gave us the 19 year long Exxon Valdez case, discussed here. After throwing out some vagueness to confuse the reader, Tribe suggests the Supreme Court rule that citizens can keep long guns, but not hand guns.
Let's hope the Court is wiser than Tribe. Brushing aside all the legalisms about well regulated militia, federal bans on automatic weapons (Tommy guns), and assault weapons (whatever they might be) the core of the matter is simple. Many of us citizens want arms for personal protection, and we want handguns that fit in the cash drawer, in the bedside table, and in the glove compartment, loaded and ready to fire, just in case. And, a majority of ordinary citizens feel that the second amendment guarantees us that right.

State funded aid to Education Part 2.

Union Leader has unkind things to say about the latest "what-ever-it-is" from Concord. It might be a proposed bill, might be an advisory committee report, might be almost anything. According the the Union Leader, this new plan will take from the poor and give to the rich. Perhaps it is a follow on to this story from a few days ago.

Who do want answering the red phone at 3 AM?

Hillary has been running this ad, up here where the primary was nearly two months ago. Does it help her even in states yet to vote? When I see it, I keeping that if the red phone rang I'd prefer John McCain to pick it up. He is an experienced combat veteran, unlike either Hillary or Barack.

North Country broad band

Union leader has an article here. Reporter[s] have little grasp of the real situation. The population density is low up here. The TV cable companies demand 15 households per mile before they will string a cable. It takes 15 cable bill payers to pay for a mile of cable. Here in Franconia we only have cable right close in to the center of town (Bob's Mobil station) and in Mittersill where there are 200 ski chalets in a tight cluster around the Mittersill Inn. DSL only reaches out 18000 feet from the telephone central office. Anyone farther away is out of luck.
For TV we have satellite. Those of us enjoying the rural life, far out from town, can get TV from satellite, so the incentive to run cable out that far is pretty much gone.
For broadband, the only thing that makes sense is wireless. A single tower can serve everyone for a 5-10 mile radius. The cost of that single tower is way way less than stringing cable all over the same area. There is a trial wireless operation starting up on Burke Mountain, and that is the way to go, not pounding on Comcast and TimeWarner and Fairpoint to run more wire.
Broadband has the potential to bring companies into the North Country. A lot of people, stuck commuting on Rt128 would love to settle down in the North Country to enjoy the skiing, the rural lifestyle, the mountains and woods. Any company operating up here can attract a wonderful staff of people who like being in NH. Broadband is essential to any kind of business now a days. If we build it they will come.

Shellac takes a shellacing

Old reliable wood finish, shellac, is getting put out to pasture. Walmart no longer even carries it. Trusty local hardware store (Franconia Hardware, great place, they have everything) had a few cans on the shelf, but none were really fresh and the oldest can had been on the shelf since 2003. Shellac ages, and after some time (label on can says 3 years) it goes bad and won't dry, or changes color and looks funny.
I'm going to miss shellac. Its the second easiest to use wood finish (Minwax is the easiest) . Its much easier to get a good clear finish with shellac than with varnish, even the latest and greatest poly varnishes. It also makes a fine primer sealer, just thin it down with alcohol and it soaks right into the wood and makes the paint go on better. It dries fast so you could get the first coat on, dry, and recoated in a single day. It used to be cheaper than paint or varnish but that is no longer so. Both shellac and poly varnish are now about $10 a quart. Brushes clean up with alcohol followed by soap and water.
The only drawback to shellac is that it dissolves in alcohol, so a spilled drink will make a mark, and it isn't weatherproof, you cannot use it out of doors. But give it a coat of paste wax, and it is plenty good enough for indoor work. I have a desk chair I shellaced 40 years ago and the finish is still bright and clear.
There is probably some high tech replacement, but stuff comes and goes so fast I cannot keep up.

Is money (in politics) really everything?

The TV news gives regular reports as to who raised how much money. I'll grant that raising money is a good thing. If they give money, it means they want you to win, or think you are going to win, both of which are good things.
On the other hand, HUckabee had no name recognition, and no money and he is still in the race. He has a lot more name recognition now than he did when he started. McCain, now the Republican nominee (barring an act of God) ran out of money last summer, had to lay off most of his campaign staff, but he persisted, and beat Mitt Romney who had a lot of money, good looks, and more name recognition than Huckabee had.
Based on this, McCain can beat Obama even if Obama can raise more money.

Live under regulation and then die

Good Union Leader column on the results of letting liberals take over the NH legislature.