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3/24 - 3/28/06
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3/28/06
3:07 pm CST
TABC and Homeland Security
As expected, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's ridiculous "crackdown" on drunk driving (discussed on this blog a few days ago) is having a disastrous effect on the state's tourism industry. The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, for instance, is receiving a torrent of angry phone calls and emails from meeting planners threatening to cancel events in Dallas; there is considerable fear (not unjustified) that conventioneers might be arrested for public intoxication in hotels. (LINK)
Also, not surprisingly, the TABC itself has been flooded with complaints. TABC spokeswoman Carolyn Beck says, "I'm getting all those same e-mails, the Nazi, Taliban, Gestapo e-mails. I don't really understand the hateful outrage. I don't understand, 'Die in a fire.'" (LINK)
She doesn't understand the outrage? This is not the Theory of Relativity. It's quite easy to understand ...
TABC cops are going into bars, spotting people who slur their speech or talk loud, and with no genuine proof of intoxication (just the cop's word) arresting them--and also arresting the bartenders and waitresses who served the drinks! (LINK and LINK) A night in jail, a five hundred dollar fine, a damaged reputation (one man on a business trip to Dallas lost his job after being arrested in a hotel bar)--and all because someone might drive drunk!
But TABC spokeswoman Carolyn Beck sees nothing wrong with this. She doesn't understand the outrage.
People are outraged because it's an outrage, Carolyn. It's an outrage against society to arrest people for something they might do. Why, if we were to follow your line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, the TABC might as well arrest people at the check-out line of the grocery store when they buy a six-pack. After all, they might drive drunk later that night. It's been known to happen. Or, maybe we should bring back Prohibition. That always works.
Also, Carolyn, as for your comment in the Houston Chronicle that people should not be allowed to get drunk in bars (LINK), take that argument and shove it. As Rep. Peggy Hamric (R-Houston) pointed out, arresting someone for stumbling back to the hotel room is not exactly why public intoxication laws were created.
Fortunately, the outrage has caused the state legislature to review the TABC's practices and possibly rewrite the statute that authorizes the agency. Lawmakers will examine the sting operation for abuses and effectiveness, as well as the extent to which the operation may be motivated by money. (LINK)
I hope they will also look into another matter while they're at it. It's a question I've been wondering about lately: Why does TABC have a Homeland Security department? (LINK) And to what extent is this "crackdown" influenced by Homeland Security?
Homeland Security has involved itself in such matters as unauthorized Rubik's cubes, credit card payments, pornography on library computers, and sexual harassment. Is talking loud in a bar now considered terrorism?
ADDENDUM
Sample Arrests in a Houston Bar:
(1) We've had our bartender arrested for serving one person two drinks. One was for the customer's boyfriend, and they attested to this fact at the time. Neither were "falling down drunk." (2) We had a patron arrested for playing trivia and drinking diet coke. No alcohol - just caught up in the sting. (3) While walking from the bar to a cab that he called, a customer was arrested for public intoxication ... (LINK)
The Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has issued a statement supporting the TABC sting operation. (LINK) This thoroughly discredits MADD and calls into question the organization's motives. The TABC operation has zero effectiveness in the prevention of drunk driving; the only thing it appears to accomplish is to make money for TABC and train us to live under the boot heels of cops who can arbitrarily haul us off to jail without one shred of evidence that we have done anything wrong.
Drunk driving and alcoholism are serious social problems. We need real solutions to these problems, not the kinds of "solutions" proposed by MADD and TABC.
10:24 am CST
To Protect and Serve
Acting on "good information from a reliable source," police in Horn Lake, Mississippi, recently conducted a narcotics raid that resulted in serious injuries for the elderly couple who lived there. Police Chief Darryl Whaley, however, praised the officers, saying that everything was done according to procedure and that they acted "properly." The only problem was, it was the wrong house ... LINK
9:53 am CST
A Warning Shot across the White House Lawn
Tarpley's guess is the financier oligarchy is not happy with its Bush-Cheney puppets, and wants them back on their leash before their mania for a war on Iran sinks the already deficit-drowning Anglo-American empire ... That is, a more intelligent faction within the elite is threatening to use 9/11 like Watergate tapes to take out the "president" --without touching its "invisible government" asset. Do not count on a free flow of information that 9/11 was fabricated by US military intelligence. This may only be a warning shot across the White House lawn ...
Spring Breakthrough for 9/11 Truth: Alex Jones,Webster Tarpley, and Charlie Sheen on Corporate Media
3/26/06
11:26 pm CST
THIS WEEK'S SHOW NOW ON LINE
Yes, folks, it's on line and ready for you to download: this week's edition of The Mack White Show. Download the 23-minute mp3 extravaganza HERE. In this week's show I discuss recent developments in the 9/11 Truth Movement: Charlie Sheen's interview on the Alex Jones Show and the killing of 9/11 truth scholar Michael Zebuhr. In addition, you'll hear some great music. This week the musical spotlight is on the new rockabilly sensation Liz Talley, the "little drummer girl from Houston, Texas" (nothing little about her music, though, check it out, folks!) ...
2:33 pm CST
R.I.P.
BUCK OWENS
1929 - 2006
LINK
3/24/06
8:06 pm CST
Catwoman!
3:03 pm CST
TONIGHT: Alex Jones Will Appear Again on CNN
CNN Headline News "Showbiz Tonight" March 24, 6 pm CST.
2:47 pm CST
UPDATE #2: TABC Shakedown/Pre-Crime/Sting Operation
My friend and co-conspirator SMiles Lewis, proprietor of the Elfis Network, emailed to inform me that someone he knows was recently arrested in a TABC sting in Longview. It was coordinated with the local police department and they arrested exactly as many bar patrons and staff as they could fit in the paddy wagon.
SMiles also wrote: "Remember, in the State of Texas a cop can accuse you of public intoxication and throw you in jail overnight with no evidence, no breathalizer, no right to trial. Same goes for these TABC goons who have been "trained" to spot allegedly drunk people. They are not required to prove you are drunk with a breathalizer or any such evidence ..."
Two more links on this topic:
KXAN-TV Austin: "TABC is trying to justify their existence. They think that it is a politically popular thing to get out there and arrest folks," defense attorney Ken Gibson said.
Gibson says the method TABC agents use to determine if you're drunk is nothing short of harassment. If you do anything out of the ordinary, they'll haul you outside for a field sobriety test.
"It's the old, 'I'll know it when I see it.' standard, and that's not enough. There's got to be more to it than that," Gibson said.
The TABC insists agents can spot people who are a danger to themselves or others just by looking at them. They stand out. They're a spectacle and easy to spot.
"Someone catches the attention of an agent in a bar, it means they've done something beyond what every other person in that bar who is also drinking has done. They've done something to bring attention to themselves," Beck said.
That's a claim Gibson doesn't buy and says the conviction rate of these tickets and TABC's ultimate success will be extremely low ... LINK
Florida Alligator: The past week's events in Texas point toward a disturbing nationwide trend of pre-emptive criminalization. It is no longer enough to not commit crimes. Now you must not think of crimes, speak of crimes or engage in behavior that somehow could lead to a crime. Drinking away from home is a telltale sign of the intent to drive drunk. The act of purchasing fertilizer indicates you are a terrorist. Suspicion reigns supreme, and "national security" and "community safety" are the vapid rationalizations that continue to pave the road to an Orwellian future ... LINK
11:47 am CST
UPDATE: TABC Shakedown/Pre-Crime/Sting Operation
According to a Reuters story published today, the TABC plans to continue arresting people in bars to keep them from driving drunk, despite widespread public criticism. The first of these sting operations was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb (see yesterday's blog entry); more will be conducted throughout the state of Texas.
Therefore, if you live in Texas, or plan to visit here, be advised that it is no longer safe to drink alcoholic beverages in bars or restaurants. Not even one drink, certainly not two. Any amount could draw the attention of an undercover TABC officer, and if he is in a bad mood you would be at the mercy of any questionable "judgment call" he might make while conducting the sobriety test.
This is no joke. About a year ago, an Austin cop ordered actor Jason Patric to step onto a curb, and when Patric did not do it fast enough the cop became enraged and arrested him for public intoxication. Patric repeatedly requested a blood test to prove he was sober. The request was refused.
This sort of thing happens all the time here. In this case, however, it happened to a movie star. As a result, it generated some bad publicity for the city and charges were dropped.
Patric was lucky; he is a movie star. You probably are not a movie star. So, if a Texas cop decides you have failed a sobriety test, you have failed it, even if you are stone cold sober.
Therefore, do not drink in Texas bars and restaurants.
Well, on second thought, you might be able to drink in some of them. For instance, if you go to the finer establishments--the places where the big-shots, politicians, and fat-cats go--you won't find the TABC conducting its "proactive" sting operation in those places. Also, I would suggest that you avoid locally-owned, mom-and-pop restaurants, any place that looks like it might not be able to afford to pay protection money to TABC; only go to the most expensive ones, the ones that can afford the payola, or chain operations owned by major corporations (the TABC wouldn't dare mess with them).
Of course, the only place you can be absolutely certain you can drink without having to take a sobriety test is your own home. But, if you do so, be sure to stay indoors. For instance, if you live in an apartment complex, you would be ill advised to carry a beer down to the swimming pool. The apartment management might allow it, but under Texas state law, this is considered "common area," therefore is a public place. So, if an undercover TABC officer saw you drinking there and you failed the sobriety test, he would arrest you. And it would not matter to him if you told him you were only a short walk from your apartment, or that you don't even own a car. He would still arrest you. Why? Because the TABC is now saying that the sting operation is aimed at more than drunk driving.
Quoting TABC spokeswoman Carolyn Beck (from the above cited story): "There are a lot of dangerous and stupid things people do when they're intoxicated, other than get behind the wheel of a car. People walk out into traffic and get run over, people jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss."
So there you have it. The TABC wants to prevent all drunken accidents of every kind, everywhere. Which means you can't relax beside the apartment pool with a beer. If you want to enjoy a poolside beer, you'll have to buy a house and build a pool. Of course, if you're like me, you can't afford such luxuries in today's booming economy, so forget it.
And don't think you can fill up the ice chest with beer and go camping on one of the many beautiful lakes and rivers in Texas. Not any more. Those are public places. If a TABC officer hiding in the bushes were to see you finish off that third beer, he'll start worrying that you might jump into the river and crack your head on a rock. Then he would arrest you for your own safety, and next thing you know you would be in one of the state's civilized, well-run jails getting your teeth knocked out and gang-raped.
No, the only place in Texas where you can drink without being under the watchful, loving gaze of the TABC is in your own home. For now. As the above quote indicates, the TABC is very worried that, after a few martinis, you might do something "stupid," like jump off the balcony. So, one of these days they might just make it illegal to be intoxicated anywhere. For your safety, of course.
But maybe I'm being overly paranoid. Surely they wouldn't make it illegal to be drunk in your own home. Of course, at one time, I wouldn't have believed that goon squads would be conducting sobriety tests in bars.
But, at least for the present, we can relax. We can drink at home in peace. So, my fellow Texans, enjoy it while it lasts.
As for you people planning to visit Texas, unless there's someone you can stay with while you're here, you'll have to settle for drinking in your hotel room. Either that, or just stay home and don't visit Texas. Apparently, the State of Texas does not need your tourist dollars; the State of Texas does not want you enjoying the nightclubs of Sixth Street in Austin or the West End in Dallas, or having a margarita with your enchiladas along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and so on. Otherwise, the state would not have authorized the "proactive" measures being taken by the TABC ...
9:01 am CST
Charlie Sheen 9/11 Story Fallout
Video: Alex Jones on CNN "Showbiz Tonight"
Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson: No Longer The Minority: CNN Poll Shows 82% Plus Support Charlie Sheen
Google Reverses Blackout, Picks Up Prison Planet as News Affiliate
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