Texas Taliban
Before the United States toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan, that country had a Ministry of Virtue and Vice to ensure the people didn't do anything immoral (that is, have fun).
Texas has its own version of the fun police, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (motto: We're like Baptists, but with badges and guns).
The TABC made headlines recently for arresting people who were (horrors!) drunk in bars. Not driving or attempting to drive, mind you; just drunk. These Barney Fife-wannabes even arrested hotel guests at the hotel bar. Guess that allowing them to walk back to their rooms is too dangerous.
As the Austin American-Statesman said in an editorial last month, the operation "makes the agency look lazy and the state look silly." The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau rightly fears that this asinine program will drive away tourists and conventions.
And testimony from a recent legislative hearing on the TABC shows just how stupid this agency is. State Sen. John Whitmire -- who usually supports the agency -- called agents a bunch of "cowboys" for wearing combat fatigues in these bar roundups.
Let's go ahead and save the state some money by disbanding this waste of taxpayer dollars. Let local cops enforce drinking laws -- hopefully with a little more discretion and a lot less attitude than these goons at the TABC.
Texas has its own version of the fun police, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (motto: We're like Baptists, but with badges and guns).
The TABC made headlines recently for arresting people who were (horrors!) drunk in bars. Not driving or attempting to drive, mind you; just drunk. These Barney Fife-wannabes even arrested hotel guests at the hotel bar. Guess that allowing them to walk back to their rooms is too dangerous.
As the Austin American-Statesman said in an editorial last month, the operation "makes the agency look lazy and the state look silly." The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau rightly fears that this asinine program will drive away tourists and conventions.
And testimony from a recent legislative hearing on the TABC shows just how stupid this agency is. State Sen. John Whitmire -- who usually supports the agency -- called agents a bunch of "cowboys" for wearing combat fatigues in these bar roundups.
Let's go ahead and save the state some money by disbanding this waste of taxpayer dollars. Let local cops enforce drinking laws -- hopefully with a little more discretion and a lot less attitude than these goons at the TABC.
posted by Mack T. Harrison at 9:57 AM
1 Comments:
Regarding the convention issue, you're spot on. When the whole busting-people-in-bars debacle started, the news kept running a lcip of a woman getting arrested in the HOTEL BAR of the hotel she was staying at.
She was kickin' and screamin' when they put her in the van: YOUR STATE SUCKS!!
Ouch.
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