Happy 4th of July!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

NCGA House Alcohol Beverage Control Committee

You know how they say a picture is worth 1,000 words. How about several photos which demonstrate a point. I got to wondering the House ABC Committee and their decision to gut House Bill 500 and why that might have happened. Then I took a few minutes and looked at the campaign contributions they have received from the NC Wine & Beer Wholesalers and it paints a picture of pay to play politics. Take a gander at the screen shots below and see if you come to the same conclusion.

It should be noted a few are not in the pocket of the NC Wine & Beer Wholesalers, but it should be obvious a majority of the committee are on Tim Kent’s payroll through campaign contributions.

Brunch Anyone – S155

On Wednesday Senate Bill 155 was introduced and while I wish it was more encompassing, it is nice someone finally realized there is no reason to wait until noon to have a bloody mary at brunch on Sunday. This bill addresses two things, one of which is the silly rule to only allow alcohol sales at restaurants after noon on Sunday. The second is to allow off-premise free tastings for those holding a distillery permit. Where it falls short is not allowing alcohol sales in retail stores until noon. I’m not saying everyone needs to have a drink at 10am on Sunday, but how about you are heading to lunch with friends and forgot to grab the wine on Saturday before lunch on Sunday. Now you run to the store to quickly pick up a red for the event and are told you need to wait until noon. Why do I need to wait until noon exactly? Because someone feels my ability to purchase alcohol should be based on their religious convictions? That’s a special kind of stupid considering all the various religions and when they have services. Are we to continue to cowtail to the prohibitionists or can we all agree it is 2017 and the chances of someone getting all liquored up and going to church service is not going to change with a change in the laws. This bill is on the right track, but let’s complete the circle and send a message to people like Rev. Mark Creech that his skewed sense of values is not that of the majority of NC.

Celebrating Five Years

Today is the fifth anniversary for the blog. When it started 1,827 posts ago the direction was unclear and with this post once again the direction is a bit of a mystery. Trying to post daily has proven difficult when a fresh topic idea isn’t forthcoming, for that reason the plan is to only post when there is something relevant or fun to say. That might be a reminder of a particular day to celebrate a drink or beverage of a discourse on how ignorant a politician is on the topic of alcohol or firearms. The goal will be for topics to concentrate on firearms and fermentation only occasionally coloring outside the lines. Thank you to everyone who receive the blog via email and to those who visit regularly to read what we have to say.

Cheers to you all!

Which Constitutional Rights Should Require ID?

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with someone who tried to read words into my statements which were not there and made false comments so I ended our conversation before it lost civility. It was regarding voting and my comment was we should show proof of identity. Currently in NC you can look up any registered voter and you could take that information to a polling place during the elections, say the name, confirm the address, and vote. We had an ID law in place which was deemed by some court somewhere unconstitutional and struck down. I don’t actually remember the reasons why it didn’t pass muster, but I believe providing proof of identity should occur prior to voting. It could be an ID card or heck just a thumbprint on an electronic reader. If my cell phone can pickup my print to let me in the phone then one should be able to setup a voter identification app to do the same at the polling station.

All this got me thinking which rights require an ID already and if one constitutional right requires it why would it not apply to all of them? Certainly for the Second Amendment the laws nationwide involve an ID, so there’s one. I would think the Fourth would involve an ID to be sure when a warrant is served they have the right person. Probably the Sixth and Seventh, again to have the right person which leads into the Eighth. The Eighteenth took away our rights to alcoholic beverages and the Twenty-first brought back that right and last time I checked an ID is required for anyone who appears to be younger than the drinking age. In fact several places require ID no matter what your age. Without going through them all it would make sense to me that the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth should all require an ID since so many others do already. I read that 7% of the voting age population is without an ID. That equates to around 16 million US citizens who have no form of ID. I have no problem at all with us finding a means to get any registered voter a valid ID for voting purposes. Even if it cost an average of $25 per person to carry out and all 16 million took advantage of the program our total out of pocket would be $400 million which is a drop in the bucket of Federal spending. My suspicion is most of the 16 million are not registered to vote in the first place and so they don’t vote anyway even when an ID is not required. I still cannot wrap my brain around the position requiring proof of identity is a burden and will reduce voter turnout. The only thing reducing voter turnout was two candidates which were difficult to like.

Upcoming Fifth Anniversary

On February 12 the blog will turn five. We generate about 1,000 new views per month and 135 people following our mindless banter. Every comment is considered and we appreciate you taking the time to read about whatever happens to come to mind that day. We may decide to post less frequent and with more focus after the 12th because some days it is difficult to find an interesting topic while other days it is difficult to stop typing. So if you start to see less posts do not become alarmed, we’ll post when we have something to say as opposed to saying something daily.

What To Choose To Celebrate The Life Of Someone Who Tried To Bogart Your Alcohol?

It has been an incredibly tough week. On Thursday we lost our cat of 18 years and it broke my heart. The week prior our other cat had gone missing and we received a call about him yesterday. We brought him home and laid him to rest. He was such a sweet soul, but no matter what drink I brought out he would try to snag a taste. I never let him get into the glass, but he appeared to want to taste it all. He was more dog than cat and would come on command and would allow you to pet endlessly. There was no part of that cat which was off limits for a rub and he was a social butterfly visiting everyone in the neighborhood. He will be remembered forever and we miss him desperately. I am so glad for the time we spent together and wish it could have lasted much, much longer. Rest in peace sweet boy.

What To Choose To Celebrate The Life Of A Teetotaler?

Recently lost a friend who did not drink and absolutely could not stand the smell of any alcohol. If he came close when I was having a drink he would turn up his nose and walk away. So what libation do you choose to celebrate and toast the life of someone who did not drink? I looked in the liquor cabinet a long time last night trying to decide and finally settled on something which I like and would enjoy because he loved nothing more than seeing me happy and spending time with me. In case you didn’t pick up on it the friend was our cat. We had him 18 years and he was a joy and brought enrichment to our lives. I’ll remember him forever and even though he would turn up his nose at whatever alcohol I happened to have in my glass he was an awesome cat and I miss him tremendously. Whoever said a dog is man’s best friend never owned a cat!

Sadness Doesn’t Equal Crazy, But…

I know we often speak about mentally ill individuals and how they should be excluded from handling firearms. I got to thinking about depressed situations and I’m not talking about clinical depression, I’m talking about sadness from a loss or a pending loss. In those situations it is probably not a great idea for anyone who may be capable of causing harm to theirself or others to mess with firearms or alcohol. Alcohol is a known depressant and while it may numb the feelings of sadness or grief one might be feeling it certainly is not a cure. The cure is to work it out to the point you can cherish the good times. There would be nothing worse than someone grieving to imbibe too much and then decide to end it all. There is light on the other side of the tunnel and while you may feel as if you are under a mountain of grief if you keep moving forward eventually you will get to the other side.

Snowed In, Stock Up Ahead Of Time!

Everybody rushes to the store prior to a big snowstorm to get their milk and bread for the milk sandwiches, but how about a more important staple, alcohol. Even as the snow storm was on the way I saw people asking about the hours at the local ABC store. Why anyone would wait until the last minute to grab their favorite alcoholic beverage is beyond me. So go ahead and stock up before the next big weather event. That way you won’t be caught with only milk sandwiches to make it through your time at home!  😉