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Inspirational Reads

I'm Glad I'm Not in Dixie, Hooray, Hooray.

April 10, 2007

Not a whole lot of things truly make me sad enough to shed a tear. Most of you know the big ones: gall stones the size of dimes, Brett Favre sort of retiring but not, extracting nosehairs, Scarlett Johansson wearing a shirt, etc...

But this is one of those moments akin to throwing an empty soda can at the foot of an American Indian.


Having just "popped the cap" ourselves in North Carolina, I was hoping that the "Free the Hops" movement would have gained some momentum (first it was Georgia, then North Carolina, and now both South Carolina and, sort of, Alabama are looking to shuffle off their archaic abv laws) and that the good people of Alabama would have decent beers to drink while preparing to head down to Gulf Shores for a week of merriment. No such luck for them, I guess (or for me, either, in case I ever vacation in Gulf Shores ever again, which was a nice little town, just devoid of any good beers). Hope you guys (and gals) love those 6% abv and under beers. Oh, yeah, and the stigma and stereotyping of being a bunch of backwards jackasses. There's that, too.

The truly sad thing is the ignorance thrown about, allegedly "in the name of the children". The worst: "All this bill will do is help our young people get dead faster."

Wow. I like the reasoning, though. Sure, craft and "gourmet" beers are usually more expensive and Budweiser and Miller are only the two most popular beers among underage drinkers (and all beer drinkers...huh...coincidence?), but the price won't be a deterrent. Young people will still find a way to drink these higher abv beers! It's not like they won't go to Tennessee, Georgia or Florida to get them under the current regime law. It will also allow people to get drunker faster, despite the fact that you won't be "drunker" faster, just "drunker" longer. But, what can you do? Aside from ship them some contraband Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, that is.

4 comments:

Chemgeek said...

Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!

Does Alabama not allow the sale of wine, whiskey, vodka, moonshine etc...?

6.1% abv beer?!?!? OH MY GOD!! Head for the hills!!!! Society is finished!!!!

"Dammit you kids, put that $8 a six pack Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Ale down (9.6% BTW) and get back to your 5.0% Coors beer bong!!!!!)"

Geez, some people are just plain stupid.

Seriously, I don't get it.

the iNDefatigable mjenks said...

We had the same issues when we Popped the Cap here. Strangely, MADD was okay with raising the 6% law, but some Methodist Preacher was not happy about it and protested and all this stuff. It sailed through both houses without any problems.

The only problem I had about the whole deal was the people bitching and moaning immediately after the bill was signed that we "only popped the cap up to 15%". Seriously, dudes, come on.

Will Shannon said...

If you listen really close, you can hear Osama stroke his beard and laugh contentedly.

Chemgeek, you make a fine point...what of hard liquor sales? What's the point of restricting the potency of beer when a half-gallon of cheap vodka can be had for around ten dollars?

I just thank God that I live in a place where the law seems to stipulate that high-octane beer is not only legal, but subsidized and the local brewing industry is a matter of great state pride.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that there is a time and place for the likes of Blatz and Schlitz...tailgating at Camp Randall, ice fishing on the flowage, coffee breaks at work.

To restrict choice in such a way is but one more craven exhibition of the salami tactics of the nanny state.

Chemgeek said...

mmmmmmmm. Blatz coffee breaks. Mmmmmmmmmm