German Chancellor Merkel Gets a Beer Shower

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was attending the annual Ash Wednesday meal held by the Demmin Christian Democratic Union in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania when a 21-year old waiter, identified only as Martin, became an instant You Tube phenomenon.

Merkel had just arrived at her table when Martin rushed over with a tray of cold beers, making sure he served one of the world's most powerful women first. He later told reporters he was a last minute substitute for a female waiter who was too nervous to serve the German leader's table. Five glasses of lager end up on Chancellor Merkel's back, but she hardly reacts.

Merkel raised a toast to the table and later gave a speech to the gathering. I guess if you spend enough time in German beer halls you have to expect the occasional beer shower.

Pints with Presidents

Which leader of the free world would you like to hoist a pint with at your local pub?

President’s Day is Monday, Feb. 20. TapHunter.com and Pintley.com surveyed more than 3,000 U.S. craft beer drinkers asking them “Which American President would you most like to share a beer with?”  

The results were:

1. Bill Clinton (22.4%)
2. Barack Obama (15.5%)
3. Abraham Lincoln (14.9%)
4. George Washington (14.5%)
5. John Kennedy (10.2%)
6. Ronald Regan (7.7%)
7. George W. Bush (3.6%)

Missing from the list are two presidents that knew a thing or two about beer: Thomas Jefferson, who brewed at Monticello, and Franklin Roosevelt, who lifted the tyranny of Prohibition. Jimmy Carter, who signed the bill that exempted homebrewed beer from excise tax, is also missing from the list.

Oddly, George W. Bush makes this list even though he is said to have stopped drinking long before entering the White House. Abraham Lincoln might also raise some eyebrows, since he implemented the first tax on beer to help fund the Civil War.

Tuesday Tasting: Red State & Blue State Straight Bourbon Whiskeys

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample Heaven Hill Distilleries new Red State and Blue State Bourbons.

Heaven Hill Distilleries have decided to insert themselves in a fun way in the run up to the 2012 election season with the release of Red State and Blue State Straight Bourbon Whiskeys. These 80 proof Bourbons are designed to give drinkers a chance to show party affiliation. The electronic maps on television news coverage of presidential elections have forever associated "red" with states backing Republican candidates and "blue" with states won by Democrat candidates.

As part of the release of the whiskeys, Heaven Hill will launch a Facebook promotion where "likes" between Jan. 3 and Nov. 6, 2012 of either Red or Blue will result in a donation to the USO and its programs offering support to members of the U.S. military.

Blue State Bourbon opens with a caramel nose. The whiskey has a new penny color. The flavor starts with a sweet note, but the rich barrel finish takes over. There is a toffee and bit of spice in the finish.

Red State Bourbon has a slightly sweet nose with more wood showing through. The whiskey is also a bright copper color. The flavor on this one starts off mellow and there is plenty of oak.

Both of these Bourbons are solid, basic drinks. They won't knock your socks off, but at around $15 a bottle they are decent values and good conversation starters.

Pork and Liquor

The $787 billion economic stimulus that President Barack Obama and the Democrat controlled Congress put in place was criticized earlier this week by Republican Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn for having at least 100 wasteful projects.

Even though the Congressional Budget Office estimates the stimulus helped to create 1.6 million jobs, the two lawmakers said that at least $7 billion of the $217 billion already spent was either wasted and mismanaged.

Among the projects McCain and Coburn singled out as a poor use of taxpayer funds was a $390,000 State University of New York at Buffalo study of young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke marijuana, and a $219,000 study by the National Institutes of Health looking into whether female college students are more likely to have sex after drinking.

No Compassion for the Victims of Pan Am 103

I try not to let politics enter my blog, but tonight it must.

I am watching CNN International from a hotel in Germany as Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, a Libyan terrorist, is welcomed home as a hero by hundred throwing flower peddles and chanting slogans.

What did this hero do to deserve this welcome? He served eight years for killing 270 people by blowing a jumbo jet out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland. The people he killed were not in the military and did not represent any government. All they did was board Pan Am 103 or go to their homes in Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988.

This thug ended up serving a year for every 33.75 lives he took. It comes down to cold hard math. While having him in jail cannot bring these people back or grant peace to their families, clearly having him released to spend his final days with his family as a hero in his country is a final insult to the victims' families.

I get upset at gutless thugs when they do these sort of things, but this is a little personal. There were 35 students from Syracuse Univeristy’s London Department of International Programs Abroad on that flight. I had been a part of that program in 1980 and it really changed my life for the better. I know these 35 young people would have made a difference in their communities and the world. Instead, this murdering miscreant planted a bomb in a suitcase in Malta that ended up on Pam Am 103. Now he is a hero in Tripoli.

The Libyans have been playing a long political game. They have paid damages to the families, but don’t admit responsibility. Today, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son welcomed home the murderer of 270 people and gave him a hug. Later Gaddafi hugged the mass murderer himself. That says enough for me, but the Libyans are now claiming the release was part of a trade deal with Great Britain.

The Scottish government released this convicted killer of 270 people on what it calls compassionate grounds. He is believed to be dying of prostate cancer. Since when does a mass murder deserve any compassion? He is now a hero in Libya. The Scottish government and the British ministers who must have approved of this release have to be cringing at the video from Tripoli. But what did they expect? This murdering thug is a hero in his country and the dictator Gaddafi gets to laugh at the United States.

I expected this from the Libyans. And I don’t know any possible way of signaling my displeasure to a government that kills innocent people and then treats the killers as heroes. But the Scottish did have the killer and had sentenced him after a just trial. The United Kingdom had this killer in their custody. They decided that a year in jail for every 33.75 lives was enough.

While I don’t believe in letting politics enter my blog, I also don’t believe I’m going to be ordering any Scotch whisky or British ale for a good long period of time. Let’s just say it’s my way of expressing compassion for the victims of this terrorist act.

Arkansas Group Tries to Block Private Clubs from Serving Alcohol in Dry Counties

A group calling itself the Dry Counties Coalition is criticizing the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board because that group has been following the law in granting liquor permits to private clubs.

There are 42 dry counties in Arkansas, but you can buy a drink in all but nine of them by going to a private club. Legislation passed in 1969 allowed country clubs and groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars to sell alcohol in dry counties. The law was changed in 2003 to expand the types of groups that could qualify for the special permits. The Dry Counties Coalition claims that the new law is too open and allows restaurants to obtain the permits. One county has seen 120 of these special permits granted.

Attempts to change the 2003 law have failed three times in the past. Supporters of the permits say the 2003 has helped revitalize downtowns and attracted businesses and jobs to these counties.

Effort to Permit Sunday Alcohol Sales in Georgia Dies Again

A bill that would have allowed local communities in Georgia decide on whether they would permit alcohol sales at retail stores on Sundays has been pulled on the eve of when it faced a key vote.

Sen. Seth Harp, the sponsor of the bill, said he did not have the votes to get the bill out of committee so it could be considered by the full Senate. The bill would give local communities the option on whether the sale of beer, wine and liquor should be allowed in grocery and packaged stores.

Alcohol sales in bars and restaurants is allowed in many parts of Georgia on Sundays.

The Sunday sales bill has been in the works in Georgia for several years, but has been bottled up by technical moves from opponents who want to keep it from coming to a vote of the full legislature. The Georgia Christian Coalition is one group that has lobbied lawmakers to resist the idea.

Kansas Alcohol Tax May Get Consumed by Budget Woes

Kansas is among a number of states trying to figure out how to come to grips with a budget shortfall. In this economy it is a difficult task. One of the proposals now on the table illustrates why it is difficult to trust all of the new bills recently introduced to increase taxes on beer, wine and spirits to fund specific programs.

Leaders in the city of Salina say they have been told the $480,000 the community receive on an annual basis from state alcohol levies may not show up this year. The city uses the money to fund alcohol treatment programs, parks and recreation programs and the general fund.

It is pretty clear that once the state diverts this money the good citizens of Kansas can kiss it goodbye. It will be time for as local tax increase and you can bet that someone will propose going after beer, wine and spirits to close the gap.

The Government Never Buys a Round

Over the last few weeks Lyke2Drink has made mention of more than a few new tax proposals being introduced around the country that will cause the price of the drinks we enjoy to go up.

It's not that I'm some kind of conservative fanatic that believes all taxes are bad. In fact, I've voted for more Democrats and third party candidates for President than Republicans. Governments need money for programs like public safety, education and the health and welfare of citizens too young, too old or too sick to care for themselves. Unlike some recent appointees in Washington, I actually pay my taxes and I do so on time. However, I believe in most cases I do a better job spending what I earn to stimulate the economy and help social causes than the government.

A major concern is the way governments spend funds meant for one purpose on a variety of other programs, many of which don't have widespread enough support on their own to scrape up the votes for funding. Look at what happened to much of the tobacco settlement money back in the 1990s that was supposed to fund anti-smoking campaigns and health programs.

Now governments from one end of the country to the other are rushing to pass laws that increase taxes on beer, wine and spirits. The standard reason given is to fund alcohol treatment programs, which on the surface sounds like a good thing. The problem is that the statistics do not appear to show a sudden increase in alcohol abuse requiring a massive infusion of funding to pay for new programs. The reality is that most of these new taxes will never go to help a recovering alcoholic or support a family that has felt the impact of the disease.

Instead, when it comes to these new drinks taxes, the government is like one of those bar flies that is happy to accept a drink, but somehow always manages to disappear when it is their turn to buy a round. More importantly, this new wave of taxes will be heaped on what we already pay when we buy a bottle of beer, glass of wine or order a cocktail. Drinkers pay more than their fair share of these so-called sin taxes. (I hate that term by the way, since the Bible says Jesus turned water into wine. I tend to think having a drink is more of a holy experience.)

If you don't believe drinkers are already over taxed, consider these numbers from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States on the amount of taxes collected on alcohol in 2006, the latest year that figure are available:

Federal Taxes:

Spirits: $4.6 billion
Wine: $877 million
Beer: $3.7 billion

State Taxes:

Spirits: $5.7 billion
Wine: $1.6 billion
Beer: $5.4 billion

Local Taxes:

Spirits: $529 million
Wine: $219 million
Beer: $1.09 billion

Georgia Legislature Considering Sunday Sales

Gov. Sonny Perdue, a teetotaler, may soon be asked to sign a bill that would allow packaged alcohol sales in Georgia.

House Bill 104, which would allow local option for the sale of packaged alcohol on Sundays, is now in the House Committee on Regulated Industries. A vote by the full legislature could happen this session if the bill does not get bottled up in committee. That would mean some local voters might be able to cast ballots for Sunday sales in November.

It's about time Georgia joins the 21st Century. A couple of years ago, while visiting friends in Atlanta, I attempted to buy a six pack of Terrapin Rye Ale at a local grocery store to enjoy while watching the Daytona 500. The clerk whisked the six pack off the counter and placed it underneath, giving me a look as if I had just asked to purchase a nuclear weapon.

If the bill passes I'm sure Gov. Perdue and a few Baptist ministers will warn the good folk of Georgia to keep their women, children and small pets inside on Sundays. The rest of us will just be happy to know we can buy a legal product and enjoy it in a legal manner on one of those few days of rest we are granted.

Rum is the Latest Weapon Against Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is a magnet for protesters. The retail giant has been charged with everything from destroying the mom and pop store to union busting.

Add to the list Yankee Imperialism against rum from Cuba and Venezuela.


Wal-Mart is in the midst of a $2.66 billion takeover bid for Distribucion y Servicio D&S SA, a large grocery retailer in Chile. Now competitors of D&S and members of the Chilean legislature are charging that if the Wal-Mart acquires the stores it will blacklist products from up to 15 countries that have poor relationships with the United States.

The allegations include charges that D&S managers have already been told products from Iran, North Korea and Sudan will no longer be sold at the store. High on the list of potentially banned products are Havana Club and Varadero from Cuba and Diploamtico and Pampero from Venezuela. News reports claim prices on the offending rums have already been cut in a pre-Wal-Mart clearance sale.

Chilean Rep. Eugenio Tuma and Rep. Rodrigo Gonzalez have called for an investigation of Wal-Mart saying that if the allegations are true it would not only restrict free trade, but also damage Chile's sovereignty.

D&S controls about a third of the Chilean grocery market. Wal-Mart is based in Bentonville, Ark., and operates stores in 14 countries, including Brazil and Argentina.

Can Beer Deliver Quebec Sovereignty?

Four decades ago radicals calling themselves the Front de Liberation Quebec set off more than 200 bombs, kidnapped politicians and gathered weapons readying for an armed insurrection to gain sovereignty for the French-speaking province from Canada. In the mid-1970s, Parti Québécois' René Lévesque became the Premier of Quebec through peaceful means via the ballot box.

While progress has been made to protect and promote the French language and regional culture, Quebec is still part of Canada and polls suggest less than 40 percent of provincial residents want to break away. While sovereignty is not a hot issue in the elections slated for next week, many still harbor the hope for independence for Quebec.

Now a beer called l'Independante has been launched to raise funds to support sovereignty efforts. A group of 22 separatists helped fund the brewing, with the goal of getting at least 100,000 Quebec residents to consume at least one bottle of l'Independante a month. The beer first hit store shelves in October and so far reports are that just 38,000 bottles have been sold.

Jacques Leduc, a retired high-school teacher and one of the people behind the beer is quoted in Toronto Globe & Mail as saying, "People who drink it will be posing a political gesture. It would be a symbol of a people who want a country."

U.K. Looks at Tougher Alcohol Rules

Three years ago rules for British pubs were relaxed to allow 24-hour licenses. Now it appears that those opposed to expanded alcohol sales have been joined by people upset by what they see as an increase in binge drinking to push forward new rules to curb drinking in the United Kingdom.

Media reports suggest that in the next two weeks a tough set of new regulations will be considered that will change some of the drinking culture in the country.

Among the measures that are expected to be part of the government's plan:

-- Elimination of happy hour drink specials.
-- Outlawing free drink promotions for women or those encouraging sports fans to watch games at pubs.
-- Bans on pay-one-price and all-you-can-drink promotions.
-- Curbs on drinking games.

The package of proposals would be considered by local community authorities for enforcement.

Presidents and Beer: The Best and The Worst

I penned the cover story for the current issue of All About Beer about U.S. Presidents and the impact they have on brewing, beer and beer drinkers. Americans appear to be going to the polls in record numbers today to decide the next Commander in Chief. If you've not yet voted, please get out and cast your vote.

The U.S. Presidency carries with it an awesome amount of power and responsibility. That’s the case whether you are talking about nuclear arms or beer. Public policy shapes everything from the price to the availability of the beer we enjoy. Whether it is a new tax on beer or farm subsidies, politics has an impact on the brewing industry. Sometimes the changes are subtle and in other cases, such as Prohibition, the impact can dramatic.

When it comes to the Presidency, decisions made on policies have a national impact. They can boons or busts for beer drinkers. It is hard to say in the current race who would be better for beer drinkers. John McCain's wife owns a chunk of a Arizona beer distributorship. Barack Obama made it a point to campaign at a Pennsylvania brewpub. Whoever wins faces a huge budget deficit and will likely need to find new revenue. This has caused beer taxes to rise in the past.

One of the bellweather questions for American voters has traditionally been, "Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?" History clearly shows a few that stand above the rest.

Good Beer Presidents

Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32nd President at the height of the Great Depression in 1933. A key plank of his campaign was repeal of Prohibition. Roosevelt sensed the mood of the country, which had shifted away from temperance and could no longer suffer silently through the loss of jobs and tax revenue. FDR pushed Congress to repeal the Volstead Act. On March 22, 1993, Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act, which allowed the federal government to collect taxes on alcohol, while giving states the right to regulate the sale of the beer, wine and spirits.

James Earl Carter Jr. served just a single term as president, but in 1978 he signed a bill that launched the largest home brewing movement since the days of Prohibition. The law signed by Carter exempted homebrewed beer produced for personal and family consumption from excise taxes. The law still allowed states to prohibit citizens from making beer, wine, cider and mead, but soon homebrew shops started to open and Americans started discovering just how good fresh homemade beer could be. Alabama remains as the only state that does not legally allow homebrewing.

James Madison was elected as the 4th President of the United States in 1808, but before he became President Madison was serving in the House of Representatives and proposed the first bill ever designed to tax and regulate alcoholic beverages. Normally, this might get him nominated for the list of Bad Beer Presidents, but the congressman from Virginia did so for two basic reasons. The new country was in tough financial shape and needed a source of steady revenue. Madison also wanted to give domestic brewers and distillers a leg up on foreign competitors. Madison believed the Tariff Act of 1789 would encourage "the manufacture of beer in every State in the Union."

Thomas Jefferson was elected as the 3rd President of the U.S. in 1800. He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and recognized as the top oenophile to ever occupy the White House. Most people believe that wine was his one and only beverage, but beer was a staple for Jefferson. During the War of 1812, Jefferson petitioned the government to grant Englishman Joseph Miller citizenship. Miller was a brewer and Jefferson wrote, “He is about to settle in our country, and to establish a brewery in which art I think him as skillful a man as has ever come to America. I wish to see this beverage become common instead of the whiskey which kills one third of our citizens and ruins their families."

George Washington was elected in 1789 as the first President of the United States. Records indicate that English-style porter was his drink of choice and that it was regularly stocked at Mount Vernon. Washington was also a homebrewer, but in those days the scale was much greater than it is today for most enthusiasts. Beer production had to be at a level that could satisfy a household, including family, guests and servants. A 1754 recipe for a 30-gallon recipe for small beer in a personal notebook of Washington’s is now housed at the New York Public Library.

Bad Beer Presidents

Warren Harding was the 29th President of the United States. He served from 1921 to 1923, when he died from a heart attack at age 57. While in Congress, Harding supported the Volstead Act and the 18th Ammendment, which brought Prohibition to the U.S. While in the White House, Harding often hosted all-night poker games. These events featured a steady stream of alcohol for Harding, his friends, political cronies and members of Congress who turned up to gamble. While he was busy violating the Volstead Act, Harding signed the Willis Campbell Act in 1921 to tighten the screws on the average citizen. The bill outlawed doctors from prescribing beer and liquor for medicinal purposes. This loophole was commonly exploited during the early Prohibition years.

Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States in 1860, winning a four-way race running as a Republican even though he received just 39.8 percent of the votes. Lincoln is widely regarded as one of greatest U.S. leaders for ending slavery and leading the north to victory in the Civil War, but when it comes to beer Lincoln has a less than stellar record. Lincoln pushed through the Internal Revenue Act in 1862 to help pay the mounting war debt by placing a $1 per barrel tax on beer and ale. The government has continued to tax beer and those duties now account for more than 40 percent of the price of an average beer.

Rutherford B. Hayes was elected the 19th President of the United States in 1876. During his presidency the temperance movement was picking up steam. Under the direction of his wife, Lucy, alcohol, smoking and profanity were banned from the White House. It was not a popular decision among the politicians and world dignitaries invited to White House functions, who stuck Mrs. Hayes with the nickname Lemonade Lucy.

George H.W. Bush was elected the 41st President of the United States in 1998, making the famous pledge “Read my lips: no new taxes.” During Bush’s term the budget deficit grew and the Democrat controlled Congress called for revenue raising measures. In 1990, Congress passed a luxury tax on items like fur coats, jewelry, yachts and private airplanes. They also passed a bill that doubled the federal excise tax on beer to $18 a barrel. Bush went back on his campaign pledge and signed the tax measures.

Woodrow Wilson was elected the 28th President in 1912. He was reelected in 1916. Wilson’s record regarding beer is a mixed bag. Wilson was in favor of temperance, not total prohibition. Wilson was in office when the Volstead Act was passed, but he vetoed the bill. Congress overrode the veto. But his lack of strong leadership to stop the Prohibition allowed the momentum built by the dry movement to successfully line up the votes in Congress and state legislatures to change the direction of American culture. The Anti-Saloon League successfully used World War I grain shortages as a tool to put brewers out of business. The sale of grain to distillers was banned during the war and Wilson slashed the grain supplied to brewers by 30 percent, while cutting the maximum alcohol level in beer to 2.75 percent.

Chicago Acts to Block Wrigleyville Alcohol Sales in Case of Championship Run

It has been 100 years since the Chicago Cubs have won the World Series. They have flirted with it in the past, only to break the hearts of the Cubbies faithful. Could this be the year? Some Chicago city officials appear to think so.

The area around Wrigley Field is filled with bars and restaurants. No one goes thirsty in Wrigleyville. A game day when the Cubs are in town resembles a beach resort on Labor Day weekend. You really start to wonder if anyone has a job in Chicago. But it is mostly good fun. Fans who cannot buy a ticket or don't want to bother with the live baseball part of the Chicago Cubs experience go to one of the dozens of nearby bars. They can drink in the experience and watch the game on big screen televisions.

Yesterday the City of Chicago negotiated a deal that is a little amazing given that the actual enforcement of the "Cubs Celebration Regulation" might be a little difficult. I remember reading in the history books that Prohibition did not quite work out in the Windy City.

Meeting at John Barleycorn's Restaurant on Clark (yup, they negotiated the deal in a bar) city officials and bar owners agreed to cut off alcohol sales after the seventh inning of any playoff or World series game in which the Cubs have a chance of clinching the series. The prohibition on alcohol sales will last for one hour. If the game goes to extra innings, the bars can start selling beer, wine and spirits again.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley had wanted the seventh inning ban to apply to all Cubs playoff games at Wrigley, fearing fans could spill into the streets and turn violent. The compromise on series clinching games includes bars on Sheffield from Newport to Irving; on Clark from Irving Park to Newport; and on Addison from Wilton to Racine.

Indiana Might Open Sunday Alcohol Sales

A group calling itself Hoosiers for Beverage Choices says it has gathered more than 13,000 signatures on a petition calling for Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana.

The group wants Sunday alcohol sales at grocery, convenience and drug stores. They also want to allow those stores to sell cold beer. Currently only liquor stores are able to sell cold beer in Indiana.

The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers is against Sunday sales. The group represents liquor stores and sees this as an extra burden on small businesses. The Sunday sales would bring additional competition and spread existing sales across an extra day. The grocery store and service station lobby supports Sunday sales.

Time to Gas Up: Waukesha, Wisc., Service Stations Can Now Sell Beer

Waukesha, Wisc., city officials recently voted 9-6 to lift a 32-year-old ban on the sale of beer at gas stations.

In ending the Prohibition on beer sales at service station convenience stores, aldermen in favor of the move said it was needed to help gas station operators compete with nearby towns where beer sales are permitted.

Gas station operators must obtain a city permit for they can begin offering beer. Mothers Against Drunk Driving opposed the measure saying it would make alcohol more readily available to underage consumers.

McCain vs. Obama: Cast or Drink Your Vote

For the next seven plus weeks we are going to be treated to a series of negative campaign commercials that will make watching television painful. It should not be that way because for the first time in a number of presidential campaigns the country has been presented with two pretty decent choices by the major political parties.

On one side the Republicans finally got around to nominating a guy that might have been a better choice eight years ago. A legitimate American hero with the kind of experience and free thinking nature not often on display in Washington, John McCain has earned at the very least the respect of America. The Democrats have cracked open both racial and generational barriers that bring new ideas to the table. Barack Obama has managed to elevate the discussion of race in America to a place it has not been before and he offers a different perspective on national and international issues.

In short, I sit firmly in the undecided camp. It has been a long time since I could say that I would be happy with either choice. There have been elections when I was not happy with the Republican or the Democratic nominee. This is an interesting place to be. But the negative campaigning has to stop or we run the risk of lowering the expectations for this election. That would be too bad given the quality of the candidates. Debate the issues, gentlemen, or you will turn off more of us than you turn out at the polls.

It just might be that instead of letting the negative television spots decide the race, we should rely on beer. I'm not suggesting you get hammered on Nov. 4th before heading to the polls. Instead make your decision with the help of one of these beer promotions:

The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium chain's 13 locations are currently selling Obama and McCain glasses for $5 each. A giant banner in each Flying Saucer keeps track of the vote. The front of the glass has a caricature of the candidate of your choice (sorry, I did not see any Ron Paul glasses) and the back carries a message about getting out to vote. So far in the "Glass Poll," Obama has the lead.

At California's Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. they are selling 4-packs of 22 ounce bottles of McCain Ale and Obama Ale for $15. The "Alection" race so far is not close, with Obama leading by a wide margin.

If the polls of likely voters continues to be tight, the decision might come down to "who would you rather have a beer with?" The reality is that there are worse methods for deciding the next leader of the free world. It might be my deciding factor in this race.

Erath County, Texas, to Vote on Alcohol Sales

A petition with approximately 5,000 signatures has been certified, placing a proposal on the November ballot in Erath County, Texas, that would allow the sale of beer and wine in the county for off-premise consumption.

Texas law required 2,746 valid signatures from registered voters in Erath County in order for the measure to be on the ballot. Opponents against allowing local citizens to have a vote on the matter had challenged signatures from under 21 year old voters on the petition saying they could not legally drink, but County Judge Tab Thompson ruled that since 18 is the legal voting age that County Commissioners had to accept the valid signatures from legal voters.

The Erath Repeal Action Committee is working to generate support for the measure. The last attempt to repeal Prohibition in the county was 26 years ago.

Amethyst Initiative: More Than 100 College Presidents Call for End to 21 Year Old Drinking Age

The 21 year old minimum drinking age is not working. It's had a 24 year run and has proven to be a failure. It is widely ignored and creates a sub-culture of hidden drinking. It's time for a change.

That's the essence of a call to action signed by more than 100 college chancellors and presidents. These are the folks that parents all over America are right at this moment trusting with their 17 and 18 year old freshmen students. They have seen the issues created by sudden freedom, the lack of parental guidance and accessibility to alcohol. These educators are suggesting it is time to try another approach.

Under the banner of the Amethyst Initiative the college presidents are taking the brave step of stating the facts. The 21 year old drinking age has created a culture of clandestine binge-drinking. They are backed by the Choose Responsibility a Vermont-based group that we have talked about before on this issue.

Amethyst Initiative signatories are taking the risky step of asking politicians to stop and think. In a world where 18 year olds can vote, march off to war and sign credit card contracts that put them in financial peril, they cannot legally drink. The result is that we are teaching millions of young adults that not all laws are really valid or worth following. Basically, any 20 year old who wants a beer knows several places where they can get a beer. And they break the law in doing so.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has reacted by calling on its members to contact the schools that have joined the effort to protest the move. They are ignoring the facts and a study by the University of North Carolina in 2004 that found when young people had the chance to drink with their parents that they learned from the example and were less likely to abuse alcohol.

Making beer, wine and spirits the forbidden fruit did not work during Prohibition and it is not working now.

Here's a list of the college administrators that have come out in favor of reconsidering the 21 year old drinking age:

President Vincent Maniaci, American International College
President Jerry M. Greiner, Arcadia University
President Ronald Slepitza, Avila University
President Elizabeth Coleman, Bennington College
President Scott D. Miller, Bethany College
President Bobby Fong, Butler University
President David Wolk, Castleton State College
President Mark J. Tierno, Cazenovia College
President Carmen Twillie Ambar, Cedar Crest College
President Esther L. Barazzone, Chatham University
President John Bassett, Clark University
President Anthony G. Collins, Clarkson University
President James R. Phifer, Coe College
President Rebecca S. Chopp, Colgate University
President Robert Hoover, College of Idaho
President Mary Pat Seurkamp, College of Notre Dame of Maryland
President Frank Miglorie, College of St. Joseph
President Richard Celeste, Colorado College
President Dennison W. Griffith, Columbus College of Art & Design
President James E. Wright, Dartmouth College
President G. T. Smith, Davis & Elkins College
President William G. Durden, Dickinson College
President Robert Weisbuch, Drew University
President Richard Brodhead, Duke University
President Joseph R. Fink, Dominican University of California
President Donald R. Eastman III, Eckerd College
President Theodore Long, Elizabethtown College
President Thomas Meier, Elmira College
President Richard E. Wylie, Endicott College
President Jeffrey von Arx, Fairfield University
President Janet Morgan Riggs, Gettysburg College
President Sanford J. Ungar, Goucher College
President Jack Ohle, Gustavus Adolphus College
President Joan Hinde Stewart, Hamilton College
President Walter M. Bortz, Hampden-Sydney College
President Ralph J. Hexter, Hampshire College
President Susan DeWine, Hanover College
President Nancy O. Gray, Hollins University
President Richard B. Gilman, CSC, Holy Cross College (IN)
President Barbara Murphy, Johnson State College
President John J. Bowen, Johnson & Wales University
President William Brody, Johns Hopkins University
President Leon Richards, Kapiolani Community College
President S. Georgia Nugent, Kenyon College
President Daniel H. Weiss, Lafayette College
President Stephen D. Schutt, Lake Forest College
President Thomas J. Hochstettler, Lewis & Clark College
Carol A. Moore, Lyndon State College
President Leonard Tyler, Maine Maritime Academy
President Thomas J. Scanlan, F.S.C., Manhattan College
President Richard Berman, Manhattanville College
President Tim Foster, Mesa State College
President Ronald Liebowitz, Middlebury College
President Frances Lucas, Millsaps College
President Mary Ellen Jukoski, Mitchell College
President Christopher Thomforde, Moravian College
President Robert Michael Franklin Jr., Morehouse College
President Joanne V. Creighton, Mount Holyoke College
President Peyton R. Helm, Muhlenberg College
President Randy Dunn, Murray State University
President Thomas B. Coburn, Naropa University
President Fran Voigt, New England Culinary Institute
President Debra Townsley, Nichols College
President Robert A. Skotheim, Occidental College
President Lawrence Schall, Oglethorpe University
President E. Gordon Gee, Ohio State University
President Phil Creighton, Pacific University
President Loren J. Anderson, Pacific Lutheran University
President John Mills, Paul Smith’s College
President David W. Oxtoby, Pomona College
President Robert A. Gervasi, Quincy University
President Robert R. Lindgren, Randolph-Macon College
President William E. Troutt, Rhodes College
President David C. Joyce, Ripon College
President Gregory G. Dell'Omo, Robert Morris University
President Charles R. Middleton, Roosevelt University
President Pamela Trotman Reid, Saint Joseph College (CT)
President Timothy R. Lannon, Saint Joseph’s University (PA)
President Arthur F. Kirk, Saint Leo University
President Patricia Maguire Meservey, Salem State College
President JoAnne Boyle, Seton Hill University
Vice Chancellor Joel L. Cunningham, Sewanee: University of the South
President Carol T. Christ, Smith College
President Paul LeBlanc, Southern New Hampshire University
President Beverly Daniel Tatum, Spelman College
President Robert E. Ritschel, Spoon River College
President Daniel F. Sullivan, St. Lawrence University
President Harold J. Raveche, Stevens Institute of Technology
President Elisabeth S. Muhlenfeld, Sweet Briar College
Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Syracuse University
President J. Patrick O’Brien, Texas A & M University-West Texas
President Robert Caret, Towson University
President James F. Jones, Jr., Trinity College
President John M. Stamm, Trinity Lutheran College
President Lawrence S. Bacow, Tufts University
President Walter Harrison, University of Hartford
President Louis Agnese Jr., University of the Incarnate Word
President Jennifer Hunter-Cevera, University of Maryland--Biotechnology Institute
President C.D. Mote Jr., University of Maryland--College Park
President Jack M. Wilson, University of Massachusetts System
Chancellor William E. Kirwan, University System of Maryland
President Steven H. Kaplan, University of New Haven
President Geoffrey Shields, Vermont Law School
Chancellor Robert Clarke, Vermont State Colleges
President Ty Handy, Vermont Technical College
President Tori Haring-Smith, Washington and Jefferson College
President Kenneth P. Ruscio, Washington and Lee University
President L. Baird Tipson, Washington College
President Michael Bassis, Westminster College (UT)
President Sharon D. Herzberger, Whittier College
President James T. Harris, Widener University
President M. Lee Pelton, Willamette University
President Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, Wilson College