Meanwhile, On The Home Front
Our friend Gunslinger passes along this gem of Solomonaic Wisdom from a Missouri Legislator:
A state senator wants to force Missouri stores to sell warm beer. Under a bill by Sen. Bill Alter, grocery and convenience stores would risk losing their liquor licenses if they sold beer colder than 60 degrees. The intent is to cut down on drunken driving by making it less tempting to pop open a beer after leaving the store.
As someone who has admittedly driven in the past under the influence far more times than I ever should have I feel I can speak to this with some degree of expertise: what horseshit. 99.999999999999% of drunk drivers are drunk long before they get in the car. No one buys beer while sober and then drives around drinking it and getting drunk, you moron (well, almost no one: I had a friend in HS who worked for the township road department, and when there were strong thunderstorms they would hop into the big dump trucks, pick up a few six packs, and then go “look for downed trees”. But I digress.) People get drunk, they hop in their cars, and yes some continue drinking while driving, but they are drunk already, and if they are continuing to drink while driving it is more than likely that they’ll be drinking hard alcohol as opposed to beer, for criminy’s sake.
Nanny State | Crusader | 
January 7, 2006 10:22 am
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I can go one better. The Santa Cruz city council considered a law banning the sale of beer at convenience stores that sell gasoline. Of course, the gas station can still be located next door to a liquor store.
And for the record, I like warm beer as long as it’s good beer (more accurately I like cool beer, say up to about 65degF). I don’t even keep beer in the refrigerator; my garage keeps it cool enough in all but the hottest part of summer.
Good gracious, with the exception of Prohibition, this is the most obscene proposed law I have ever heard.
McDonalds ought to be allowed to sell beer through their drive thru windows. But only warm beer, mind you, so that people can’t drink it until they get home.
Jeff, on my first trip to Germany, I joked with my boss that the McDonalds there would sell beer.
No joke. They do.
I know, Ken, having been stationed in Germany many moon ago. That’s why I posted my snarky comment……some politicians really can’t see outside their electoral base.
Remember that episode of Family Ties where Tom Hanks guest-starred as the drunken uncle who drank the vanilla?
PS: when my mother and I went to Europe we decided to try out one of the McDonald’s there. Of course she had a beer.
When I waited tables at Friendly’s we would occasionally get tourists from Europe, and the beer with food question came up. My faves were the British family who had no hard feelings and left, as part of their tip, a genuine 1948 shilling. (If I didn’t say so in July, this is a personal F*** Yeah! to add to the list for why Britain rocks.)
Also had a German group ask for beers with their appetizers – but since it was still lunch, just light beers, thanks. I had to explain that Friendly’s didn’t have a liquor license at all. They were not just sad, but startled that restaurants needed permission to sell beer here.
Needless to say, their tip was much less impressive than the Britishers’.