Repeal Day
This month column was written by Bob's friend
Tom LaTesta
It's December and most people are rightfully thinking about doing
some Christmas shopping and preparing for a festive holiday. But if
you're a beer lover I suggest you should first think about
December 5 - the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition!
Yes, we're talking about the end of the banning of any "intoxicating"
beverage which was defined by the Volstead Act as anything with an
alcohol by volume (ABV) of over 1/2 of 1%. Prohibition failed, of
course. Miserably.
Black market alcohol flooded the country, unregulated by market
forces, and led to the rise of organized crime. Kingpin criminal Al
Capone was often quoted as saying he was just a businessman who
simply supplied a demand.
Prohibition had, at least, this one benign effect, it completely
disposed of all the favorite arguments of the Prohibitionists. None of
the great boons and blessings that were to follow the passage of the
Eighteenth Amendment ever came to pass. There was not less
drunkenness in the nation; there was more. There is not less crime,
but more. The cost of government was not smaller, but vastly
greater. Respect for law did not increase, but diminished.
The 21st Amendment repealed prohibition, making explicit that the
power to regulate alcohol is reserved for the states. Even today,
when Congress wants to pass federal alcohol laws (such as the
federal drinking age, or the federal minimum blood-alcohol standard
for drunk driving), it can't simply dictate policy to the states although
it usually gets what it wants by since it ties the laws to federal
highway funding.
With all the real and semi-real (Halfway to St. Patrick's Day for
example) holidays that strongly encourage enjoying alcoholic
beverages Repeal Day is the least celebrated but it is the only day
which truly has any connection with alcohol itself.
In that spirit I'm taking this opportunity to ask all of Bob's readers to
take time out on Dec. 5 to hoist a few pints and toast Repeal Day.
After all, we have a constitutional amendment to support us in our
consumption, it's a day strictly for adults, it celebrates something
uniquely American, and it's easy to do.
Repeal Day is the perfect time to get together with your beer loving
friends from far and wide. Go out and party like it's Dec. 5, 1933!!
I'd like to thank Bob for letting me write this month's column. I know
for sure that when it comes to Prohibition he would vote for repeal
every time.
This month column was written by Bob's friend
Tom LaTesta
It's December and most people are rightfully thinking about doing
some Christmas shopping and preparing for a festive holiday. But if
you're a beer lover I suggest you should first think about
December 5 - the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition!
Yes, we're talking about the end of the banning of any "intoxicating"
beverage which was defined by the Volstead Act as anything with an
alcohol by volume (ABV) of over 1/2 of 1%. Prohibition failed, of
course. Miserably.
Black market alcohol flooded the country, unregulated by market
forces, and led to the rise of organized crime. Kingpin criminal Al
Capone was often quoted as saying he was just a businessman who
simply supplied a demand.
Prohibition had, at least, this one benign effect, it completely
disposed of all the favorite arguments of the Prohibitionists. None of
the great boons and blessings that were to follow the passage of the
Eighteenth Amendment ever came to pass. There was not less
drunkenness in the nation; there was more. There is not less crime,
but more. The cost of government was not smaller, but vastly
greater. Respect for law did not increase, but diminished.
The 21st Amendment repealed prohibition, making explicit that the
power to regulate alcohol is reserved for the states. Even today,
when Congress wants to pass federal alcohol laws (such as the
federal drinking age, or the federal minimum blood-alcohol standard
for drunk driving), it can't simply dictate policy to the states although
it usually gets what it wants by since it ties the laws to federal
highway funding.
With all the real and semi-real (Halfway to St. Patrick's Day for
example) holidays that strongly encourage enjoying alcoholic
beverages Repeal Day is the least celebrated but it is the only day
which truly has any connection with alcohol itself.
In that spirit I'm taking this opportunity to ask all of Bob's readers to
take time out on Dec. 5 to hoist a few pints and toast Repeal Day.
After all, we have a constitutional amendment to support us in our
consumption, it's a day strictly for adults, it celebrates something
uniquely American, and it's easy to do.
Repeal Day is the perfect time to get together with your beer loving
friends from far and wide. Go out and party like it's Dec. 5, 1933!!
I'd like to thank Bob for letting me write this month's column. I know
for sure that when it comes to Prohibition he would vote for repeal
every time.
| BeerNexus proudly presents Bob Montemurro "the ombudsman of beer" Bob and Friends Speak of Beer...... |
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| Cheers! My thanks to Tom for this month's column. See you next time to "speak about beer". Bob Montemurro |
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