Free The Dang Grapes
I know the name of the campaign is "Free the Grapes," but as a wine-lover in Maryland, it's called "Free the Dang Grapes" to me.
Jamie Raskin, my favorite liberal fire-brand, is taking up direct shipping
as his next crusade, and I say more power to him. Opponents hide behind
the paternalistic standard of "but little Timmy will order it and get
hepped up on Johnny Walker in his tree-house." Hog-wash. That excuse is
basically telling parents that they can't parent. Furthermore, put
yourself in the kid's head. He doesn't know when the package is going
to come, so it could be Mother dearest receiving his shipment of fine
Burgundy. Furthermore, these sites require a credit-card to verify your
age, and I doubt Poppa Bear would appreciate a $200 bill for a bottle
of Sauternes showing up on his Amercian Express black. Finally, what
else can kids get online?
1) Salvia -- a hallucinogenic drug.
2) Ninja throwing stars
3) Just about every kind of pornographic material available (no links here).
This is clearly a protectionist measure, bought and paid for by our wealthy liquor lobby. It takes only a short visit to a North Carolina grocery store to realize that these people are making our lives more difficult. But don't worry, this regime is "careful crafted":
Liquor
lobbyists strongly oppose direct shipping of wine, saying it bypasses
the state's carefully crafted network of government entities that
regulate the sale of alcohol.
Bull-honkey.
I will tell you this much, this little bill is my litmus test. Vote
against it, and I will return the favor in November.
News
Q & A with Adam Borden
Adam responds to questions from Eve Bushman on Eve's Wine 101 Blog.
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