Glibertarians.com 2019 Archive

Category: Beer

  • Hi. I em Inga from Sveeden!

    Christmas is over, thankfully.  Which means December’s theme of our thought experiment on Christmas movies must be over right?

    Right?

    This in my review of Weihenstephaner Korbinian Double Bock.

    The problem with Christmas movies is a lot of people make the mistake of assuming a movie is a Christmas movie simply because it takes place during the Christmas season.  Which is how we get articles such as these explaining why Lethal Weapon is a Christmas movie now.  There is nothing wrong with watching it in order to celebrate your preferred winter solstice holiday, however I personally don’t think it is a holiday movie.  The article’s author seems to focus on red imagery in the background, like fire trucks, clothing, and Rigg’s red ear protection at the shooting range (they aren’t headphones…way to journo there journo-person).  All of which seems coincidental if anything.  Rigg’s suicidal tendencies and reckless behavior aren’t driven by Christmas either, they’re driven by him being a widower and PTSD from Vietnam.  Anybody spending any meaningful time around combat Vets knows they contemplate suicide on any given day, triggered by even the most innocuous of things…Finally, the time of year is not integral to the plot the way it is in Die Hard.

    Similar to how Trading Places is not a Christmas movie.  I would however argue it is a New Years movie, primarily because New Years is supposed to be a time of self-reflection and new beginnings.  Something every character experiences in this film.

    In this classic comedy we find Randolph and Mortimer Duke, two multi-millionaire owners of a Philadelphia based commodity exchange, who constantly get into petty squabbles between each other. This one in particular is a Nature vs. Nurture (pardon the shaky cam) argument, where they propose a practical experiment with a small wager.  They take one of their employees, Louis Winthorpe (Dan Akroyd) and switch his place in the world by ruining his life.  They find a reason to fire him to take away his livelihood, evict him from his Duke brother-owned home, frame him as a petty thief at his gentleman’s club to take away his social circle, and frame him for drug possession which leads to an arrest with the kicker of sending a hooker (Jamie Lee Curtis) to pick him up from jail when his fiancée arrives to bail him out.  His life is ruined in short order, and the hooker, Ophelia, is the only person willing to assist him. In exchange, they find Billy Rae Valentine (Eddie Murphy), a street hustler/con-artist whom the Duke’s met previously.  They hire him, give him basic instructions on how to do Winthorpe’s job, and give him Winthorpe’s old home.  Both men know nothing of the experiment, nor do they know anything other than their own experiences at opposing ends of the social hierarchy.

    The result?  Valentine makes the Dukes a fair payday with his reasoning for setting the price on pork belly and impresses them with his diligence and eagerness to learn, while Winthorpe attempts to frame Valentine for drug use at the Duke’s Christmas party.  Neither man however is truly changed as Winthorpe steals, of all things, a smoked salmon (these are not cheap) from the party, and Valentine pockets a joint from Winthorpe’s stash.

    Valentine overhears the Dukes discussing their experiment.  Where they effectively ruin one privileged man’s life turning him into a petty criminal, and turn an unprivileged man’s life of destitute into one of prosperity—within a few weeks time.  People are essentially products of their environment, and the Duke brothers agree success has little to do with pedigree.  The Dukes decide they have little use for either man, plan to eventually fire Valentine, and leave Winthorpe in his personal Hell.  They settle their wager of…

    …$1.

    Valentine informs Winthorpe of the plot, and with the aid of Ophelia and Winthorpe’s old butler they plot revenge on the Dukes.  They learn the Dukes are expecting a report on that year’s orange harvest and with that information plan to adjust their investments to corner the market on orange futures ahead of the report’s release.  They also learn the report is on a train to New York with the Duke’s associate on New Year’s Eve.  They subdue the associate, and replace the real report with a fake one.

    Then they go to the New York Stock Exchange with the report in hand and short orange commodity futures ahead of the report’s release.  The Dukes on the other hand with the false report took the opposite approach, purchased orange futures with the expectations prices will rise and were ruined in the process.  After the market closed, Winthorpe and Valentine make a scene on the trading floor mocking the Dukes by settling a bet they can get rich making two really rich guys poor, in the amount of…

    …$1.

    ::Insert STEVE SMITH joke here. By insert, mean…ah, screw it::

    Can this movie be made again?  Not without insufferable social commentary at every corner.  If somebody makes this again, they have an obvious analogue with the Dukes being the Koch brothers.  They have an obvious place to add in soliloquies on privilege, capitalism, Al Franken, race, poverty, feminism, the N-word, butlers, illicit drug use, operas, suicide, manicures, sex workers, black markets, blackface, on-screen nudity, and being raped by a gorilla.

    Yeah…about that last part.  The funniest parts of this movie are on the train on New Years Eve, and is almost entirely humor playing on racial and ethnic stereotypes.  Not to mention a man being raped by a gorilla.  I refuse to speculate on how they can update this movie, because I refuse to give idiots stupid ideas.

    They don’t need my help.

     

    This beer is not Swedish, but we all knew that.  It is a Doppelbock which is a dark German lager.  It is rather nice and made in the manner which we all expect from people that are not Swedish.  This is a family friendly site, so I am afraid this is the best I can do.

    Happy New Year.  Weihenstephaner Korbinian Double Bock:  3.8/5

  • Buffalo Gal Won’t You Come Out Tonight?

    Continuing with our epic journey through the war on Christmas; the last Christmas movie I think needs to be discussed is the Jimmy Stewart classic, Its a Wonderful Life.

    This is my review of Guinness Over the Moon Milk Stout

    In this movie we find the protagonist, George Bailey takes over the family business, a small Savings and Loan in his hometown of Bedford Falls.  We learn a lot about George personally in the beginning of the movie:  Why he was deferred from serving in World War 2, how he met his wife, and his overall outlook on matters related to his family business.  We find out fairly early in the movie about, Mr. Potter, the antagonist as well.  Mr. Potter is major a shareholder in the Savings and Loan.  He voices his opinion during a board meeting regarding the “rabble” in the town that triggers George.  The idea that people should save before trying to purchase a home is apparently evil and issuing sub-prime loans to workers that may or may not be able to afford to pay back the loan is as pure as the driven snow.

    We find out later, during the depression both men were the only ones in town with businesses that survived.  For the most part, Potter is portrayed as a caricature of a greedy, monocle twirling capitalist.  I might even go so far as to say he probably fits in around here.  Eventually, Potter discovers somehow Bailey’s Savings and Loan is still afloat in spite of questionable lending practices and alarming issues with his book keeping, but is the only real competition Potter has.  That is, if you want to define Bailey as a competitor…after all, Potter is a member of the board.  So he tried to do the sensible thing, and buy out Bailey.

    Later Bailey’s uncle, Billy, loses a large deposit which is seriously troubling because it is potentially ruinous to their business.  It is also a seemingly small amount for a mortgage lender of only $8000 (~$110,000 today), and he is depositing it in Potter’s bank (really?).  Bailey then goes to the only person in town that can save him—Potter.  It is here that Potter learns the $8000 in cash he randomly found in his bank earlier that day was Bailey’s.  For better or worse, he tells Bailey to pound sand.

    Bailey falls into a drunken depression, and considers suicide but is sidetracked by a stranger, whom he saves from his own death in an icy river.  Remember–Bailey is not a shady businessman and is supposed to be the good guy.  This random stranger is an angel (in training) named Clarence, that shows Bailey what the world is like without Bailey.  People he saved by telling the pharmacist he filled the prescription with the wrong drug, pulling his brother from the ice in a frozen lake, who goes on to save other servicemen in the war, etc, is the impact Bailey made.  This part in itself actually is a good message:  one person (all of us, really) can impact the world in a variety of ways, with an infinite number of possibilities—it is up to you to make that impact positive.

    Hopefully your impact is not crashing the economy through sub-prime lending.

    Can this movie be made again today?  I am here to tell you, if this movie is made again today it will be labeled by right leaning media as socialist or anti-capitalist propaganda–because it already is.  Every speech Bailey makes, including the times he needs to weasel his way out of satisfying his customers is a smear on Potter.  While Potter may be a cold-hearted businessman, portraying him as a villain is unfair.  Others previously made a similar argument in pointing out that Potter is the only honest businessman in this story.  His frequent complaints about the savings and loan can be argued are in his interests as an investor; how he insisted on customers having adequate collateral before approving loans supports this point.  Even offering to buy out a large percentage (50%) of customer accounts when Bailey was unable to cash out his customers and offer full payment in 60 days, does not lend itself to the idea Potter is a villian.  The only real crime Potter did was keep the money, but even there he comes across it by accident and only learns who left it in the scene where Bailey asks him for a bailout.  He didn’t intentionally steal it.  Given the issues Bailey has caused Potter over the years, is keeping that part a secret in that moment as unethical as it sounds?  Is calling the banking authorities unethical, when bailing out Bailey would make him complicit in the scheme?  He could have easily had a change of heart and deposited the money into Bailey’s account the next day, but we will never know.

    Bailey’s business model is selling subprime loans; 2008 is still in the memories of many today. Which means neither of the characters can be reasonably portrayed as a protagonist.  The honest businessman is a greedy capitalist who wants to own the entire town, and the other is a grifter selling loans to people that cannot afford to pay them back.  In this theoretical new version will Bailey see all the people he gave loans to are living in a rental home or an apartment and not in bankruptcy had he never been born?  So he has a change of heart and goes back to the universe where he likely ruins the entire town (Potter included) when those mortgages default?

    Because why the hell not?

    Clarence is gone, unless he’s replaced by a wizard of some kind, played by Oprah Winfrey. According to lore, they thought the movie was too religious…in 1946, which is why they went with singing Auld Lang Syne instead of an actual Christmas song in the final scene.  Plus, there are feminist complaints when they show what happens to Bailey’s wife had George never been born (old maid).  Bailey’s wife will necessarily have to be more successful as a single woman for whatever reason they want to come up with.  Bailey is just holding her back by marrying her and letting him focus on his career.

    This movie cannot be made again.

     

    Didn’t I already review this one?  Sort of.  This is similar but not quite identical to a Guinness varietal that I found at the Dublin airport and packed away to save for the end of my self-imposed temperance.  This is a little more like the Extra Stout made in Canada and imported to the US, but it is not as harsh with the burned malt flavors.  It splits the difference between those two but it is otherwise solid.  Then there is the part where it is brewed in Baltimore.  Just do what I did and pour it through a colander, into another vessel to make sure there are no empty .40 S&W cartridges, syringes, or shards of broken glass.  You should be good to go.  Guinness Over the Moon Milk Stout 3.5/5

  • Shoot. The. Glass.

    To continue on with December’s theme of determining if our favorite holiday movies can be made again today or are just products if their time.  We will take a look at a, shall we say, unconventional Christmas Movie.

    This is my review of Epic Brewery Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout.

    Don’t think Die Hard is a Christmas movie?  A few of you already got into this one and confirmed my biases in the subject.

    As an aside, never make a bet at a bar.  It either results in you losing all your money, your clothes, or the bar having to call Security Forces in to haul you back to Hurlburt Field.  Sometimes all three.

    Die Hard is indeed a Christmas movie.  The movie is about a guy visiting his wife for the holidays.  She was a career woman working for a Japanese company, both of which was something somewhat new for the time. She also lived in another city as a result of her having a career.  He planned to meet his wife during the office Christmas party, scheduled on Christmas Eve.

    …Of course the twist is the building is taken over by a small group of heavily armed, East German terrorists led by Hans Grüber.  They hold everyone in the building hostage in exchange for the release their comrades in arms from various prisons across the world, the “Asian Dawn,” and access codes to a enormous safe holding cash bonds.

    …the other twist is the aforementioned guy visiting his wife is Detective John McClaine, NYPD.  While he showed up with what was then the latest and greatest in concealed carry (Beretta Model 92), he now has a machine gun.

    HO HO HO

    Yippee Kai Yay…and hilarity ensues.

    The tricky part is if this can be made again today, and the answer in my opinion is:  maybe.

    It really can’t be the same movie because trends in world events would probably have to be updated to match the times.  The company would have to be Chinese since they are the new Japanese, buying up all of America.  Although the name of the building  Nakatomi Plaza could stay the same.

    McClaine’s pistol will have to be updated to a Glock, obviously.  He would also have to be played by a person of color, or maybe even somebody with an accent.  Idris Elba checks both boxes but Liam Niesen is acceptable.  Prisoner exchange is also a likely motive behind taking hostages, but nobody really has bonds printed directly on paper anymore, nor is such a massive safe necessary to secure them.  Just demand a transfer of cryptocurrency from the Chinese.

    Where it gets dicey are the terrorists.  During the Cold War, there were a number of communist guerrilla groups that provided an easy background on the villains.  Being they are terrorists the easy update is to make them some flavor of Islamic terrorists.  That however is  politically incorrect because #notallmuslims.  In addition, there are not very many examples of movies with the villains being part of an Islamic terrorist group post 9/11.  True Lies, and The Siege were both released in the 1990’s.  Post 9/11, only war movies set in Iraq or Afghanistan, four hour long Clint Eastwood-backed drudgery, and a handful of TV shows that came out with both wars as a background feature Islamic terrorists—out of necessity.  Uhygurs are certainly a bridge to far, given the how often movies are funded by Chinese interests these days.  North Koreans and/or Cubans are a stretch.

    Which leaves White Nationalists as the only acceptable villain group.  This is convenient, given their leader can still be named Hans.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Jingle All the Way:  A man played by Arnold Schwarzenegger attempts to buy his son THE TOY OF THE YEAR…on Christmas Eve.  Which is silly, because he can just buy it on Amazon today, and have it delivered by Tuesday.  Plus, in one scene he impersonates a cop, which makes this a total no-go.

    The Santa Clause:  A man played by Tim Allen inadvertently kills Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, dons his coat and becomes the new Santa Claus.  Unfortunately, this requires Tim Allen to seek penance for the sins of being both funny, and traditionally male.  Sadly he won’t do it, nor would they forgive him anyways.  Like the other film mentioned, fatherhood is a dominant theme that nobody wants to portray in a positive manner.  The title is a pun; a legal pun.  Swiss would narrow gaze on a biblical proportion in response.

     

    This beer is made in Utah.  I want to make this clear, for everybody that wants to piss all over Utah for their association with weirdo religions, this beer is made in Utah…but it is illegal to sell there outside of a couple state run stores.  Which is fine, because that leaves an awful lot more for me.  Lots of roasted coffee notes, with a blast of whiskey.  It does the job exceptionally well.  Epic Brewery Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout:  4.1/5.

  • Nobody Wants a Charlie in the Box

    It’s the time of year again, when all those old holiday movies start showing up in the streaming service, or if you are a boomer, on TV.  Sadly, most of these movies can be argued are products of their time.

    Or are they?

    For the month of December I asked for assistance from TPTB to put together a coherent string of random thoughts, take a few bong hits postulate which of the classic Christmas movies can actually be made today.

    This is my review of Campanology Brewing Chocolate Babka Stout

    Today, we look at Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  This stop motion animated classic begins with the narrator, a snowman voiced by Burl Ives, tells us a story of the most famous reindeer of all.  He takes us to the beginning of the story where Santa’s reindeer, Donner, meets his son Rudolph…who has a red nose.  You could even say it glows; you could say that because it does in fact glow.  It blinds everyone that looks into it directly, making it rather dangerous.  Donner believes this is a problem and decides to put a cap over Rudolph’s nose to prevent others from ostracizing Rudolph, making it more likely they invite him to join in their reindeer games.

    Later we meet Hermey the elf.  Hermey is one of Santa’s elves, but does not like to make toys.  He want’s to be a dentist.  This proves to be an issue with his supervisor, who naturally wants him to do his job, which does not involve being a dentist.

    In later scenes Rudolph’s nose cap falls off while playing reindeer games in an effort to impress a doe named Clarice, subjecting him to ridicule from his peers.  They simply laughed, called him names, and would no longer invite him to participate in any reindeer games.  Hermey on the other hand gets into a verbal altercation with his supervisor and is given the ultimatum to finish his job, or be fired.  After a brief musical number, Hermey quits.

    Rudolph and Hermey meet each other during a dispute involving the property rights of a nearby snowbank, decide to put aside their differences, and be “independent together”.  They set out into the world, unsure of what to make of themselves and meet Yukon Cornelius, a gold/silver prospector.  Eventually, they find themselves on the Island of Misfit Toys, where they meet other misfits like themselves.  They are allowed by King Moonracer, the local monarch to stay a short while, but he states his kingdom is for misfit toys, not people.

    Following a plot device that convinces Rudolph to go home, the story concludes with the defeat of the Abominable Snowman through Hermie’s crude ability to pull its teeth, and Yukon wrestling the bumble.  Due to blizzard conditions making flight difficult and dangerous, Rudolph finds his glowing red nose to be a useful asset as a result.  In spite of being a little bit different, all three characters are accepted by Santa, and others at the north pole for their gallantry.

    Could this movie be made today?  Absolutely, but not without a few small changes.

    Silver. Gold. Dick. I’m in search for it all!

    Among other things, it has been argued the entire movie is an allegory about gay acceptance.  Rudolph being slightly different is judged by his father, who attempts to butch him up because he is “protecting” his son as a worried father is wont to do.  In reality, Donner being one of Santa’s original eight reindeer and therefore high in north pole society, is only protecting his own standing out of embarrassment.   Hermey is blatantly obvious.  Not only is he the only elf in the story with hair, it is magnificent.  He speaks with an effeminate voice and aspires to work on people’s teeth.  That in itself isn’t gay but it is an odd thing for an elf to want to do.  Finally, Yukon is the classic bear with his performative masculinity, that they meet to guide their path forward to first accepting themselves.  The suspension of disbelief is low by the standard of today’s audience, who are well acquainted with the hero’s journey archetype.

    Where it would likely be changed is in the narrator–not only is Burl Ives dead, he was a white male.  He will be replaced with Morgan Freeman.  The opening scene where Santa is body-shamed by his wife will be reversed, by Santa body shaming his wife with the gift of a Peleton bike.  Santa and the north pole culture will need reinforcement of strict gender norms, and an oppressive culture in order for this storyline to work.  This time around, he cannot be an amiable fellow traveler in the story.  The Island of Misfit Toys unfortunately will have to be made into a delusional society that believes they are being oppressed by the world, thus will all be evangelical Christian misfits.  King Moonracer will be the same in order to reinforce this delusion, because apparently nothing says misfit like a flying lion (when that’s actually freaking awesome).  He will still decide to temporarily take in Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon because it is the Christian thing to do but knows three gays will not find acceptance on his island.

    Either Rudolph or Hermey will need to be trans.  The easier of the two will likely be Hermey because Santa has a “girl” elf uniform.  Yukon is still a bear,  There will be a Clarice, but she will merely be a “ally” rather than a love interest.

    Honorable mentions:

    Little Drummer Boy.  This cannot be made again today.  The drummer boy is an ass to everyone he meets in Israel.  It takes the near death of his friend, a literal ass, for him to have a very literal “come to Jesus” moment.  It is far too religious for nearly anyone to redo, and thus will be reserved for channels that cater to such audiences in it’s present form.

    Frosty the Snowman.  This cannot be made again.  Apparently, we can’t handle a commercial where a man gives his wife an exercise bike for Christmas.  **SPOILER ALERT** The snowman DIES at the end, nobody can handle that anymore.

     

    Babka being a type of (((pastry))) that I have not tried but is available at a deli I frequently purchase bagels, might suggest this bear a Kosher certification, but I did not find one.  This beer is otherwise fantastic. It is 10% ABV and pours like chocolate syrup…because it more or less is.  They put down making a beer float with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a serving suggestion.  Quite frankly they do something like Samuel Smith’s Double Chocolate Stout, and went over the top with it, and priced it for the average Trader Joe’s shopper ($5).  Which, isn’t all that bad.  Campanology Brewing Chocolate Babka Stout 4.0/5

  • Gobble gobble b*tches!

    Another year, another successful holiday passing without another inane controversy.  But what am I saying?

    This is my review of Clown Shoes Undead American Imperial Stout.

    Evidently, Trump joked the turkey he pardoned kept his cool, even under threat of subpoena from Rep. Adam Schiff.

    “It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey,” Mr. Trump said, turning to the birds. “But Bread and Butter, I should note that unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met. It’s very unusual.”

    President Taft pardoned exactly zero turkeys. Bring it fact check clowns!

    Which was a joke.  Clearly, it was a joke.

    The pardoning of a turkey however is one of the more benign presidential traditions.  While the holiday itself is credited with Washington declaring a day of thanksgiving, the first turkey was pardoned by Lincoln.  According to lore, Lincoln’s son Tad befriended a turkey, whom he named Jack, destined to become Christmas dinner. Tad pleaded for Jack’s life and the tradition of pardoning a turkey was born.  Of course, the tradition itself was to send a turkey for the president to eat, and quite frankly thats what most of them did.

    Once pardoned, the turkeys live the high life as far as a farm fowl is concerned.  Some live out their days at petting zoos, avoid being massacred at Virginia Tech, or even standing in as a grand marshal for parades at Disney while their cousins are smoked and sold to tourists.  Some animal rights activists are not fond of the tradition, since these turkeys are farm fowl and are bred specifically to get fat and be eaten.  Their joints are not up to the task of a long life as a fat bird and keeping them alive is therefore cruel.  Then of course, there are the vegans…

    The trend of sparing a turkey’s life publicly is credited to Kennedy.  The joke was on Kennedy, because Marylin Monroe killed herself and the bird outlived them both. Perhaps Oswald was a vegan?

    This beer though, woof.  You are greeted with whiff of straight booze, followed by burned chocolate and coffee.  Its like a traditional Irish lunch, with the only thing missing is the fish and chips. Clown Shoes Undead American Imperial Stout 4.1/5

     

  • How about a nice cup…

    It was in my best interest recently to be awake, alert, and somewhat sharp.  As in knife sharp?  Well, if that’s the standard, I needed to be sharper than that.  Unfortunately, I was out of coffee.

    This is my review of Kiuchi Brewery Hitachio Nest Espresso Stout.

    There were a lot of choices but I wound up buying this one from LavAzza since I happen to fancy this blend and it was coincidentally on sale.  Plus, I’ve been siting on this beer for a while…

    Can I get one that isn’t fair trade?

    There is a misconception about espresso somehow being stronger than regular coffee.  This is a sort of a myth.  Most of this is drawn from espresso having a much more robust coffee flavor than the typical scoop of Yuban on mashed potatoes.  In truth, a serving of coffee from the traditional drip system Americans know and love contains 65-120mg of caffeine.  A serving of espresso on the other hand is merely 30-50mg.  The difference if course, is in how it is served.  Drip coffee is spread out over what is normally 8oz or more.  At 8-15mg per ounce, that venti adds up to a higher volume overall.  Espresso is served in a single ounce, and is 30-50mg.  It is similar to a pint of beer vs. a shot of whiskey.

    Espresso of course isn’t really a different type of bean, nor is it roasted in a remarkably different way.  The difference of course is the machine used to make it.  It is surprisingly fun from an engineering perspective, especially if you are into steampunk.  It is essentially a boiler, heating water to 1.5Bar, forcing steam through a series of pipes to condense and force water at even higher pressures through a densely packed “cake” of ground coffee.  This machine was designed in the 1880’s to brew as it filled the tiny mug in a minute or two.  In a sense, Espresso is one of the first versions of instant coffee, because once the machine is primed it will make Espresso on demand.

    Hence the name “Espresso”.

    How does this beer stack up?  Being a product of Japan it is exactly what you expect:  well crafted, and good qualify for a more than fair price.  The problem of course it is also understated and almost boring. Good, solid coffee stout though, so its a good call for daydrinking. Kiuchi Brewery Hitachio Nest Espresso Stout 3.5/5

     

  • Something, something, animals are more equal, something, something

    I honestly try not to flip out at the news.  It more or less has become a part of life and others might argue one should be aware of current events in order to be a good citizen.

    Then something like this comes up, and breaks my chill.

    This is my review of La Cumbre Piña Quercus

    So what part of this aggravated me?  Was it the part where a US District Judge overruled a lower court’s ruling the Covington Catholic school boy’s lawsuit for libel in the wake of a 16 year old kid having the temerity to smirk at a guy banging a drum and shouting in his face, and to eventually be called racist by social media, the legacy media, and some politicians?  No, of course not—it was this part:

    The students sued the Massachusetts congresswoman and 11 other public figures who criticized the students, including New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, actress Kathy Griffin, activist Shaun King and U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland.

    U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman ruled Tuesday that Warren acted within the scope of her employment when she tweeted and is therefore protected by sovereign immunity. 

    “The Court concludes that the challenged statements by defendants Warren and Haaland — whether one agrees with them or finds them objectionable — are communications intended to convey the politicians’ views on matters of public interest to their constituents,” Bertelsman wrote. 

    The judge also dismissed Haaland, of New Mexico, from the suit. Haaland had tweeted that Phillips was “harassed and mocked by a group of MAGA hat-wearing teens.”

    Attorneys for the students claimed the boys became the target of “a social media lynch mob” that spread misinformation and led to the boys receiving death threats and hate mail.

    Sovereign Immunity.  What is that you ask?  Let me preface that I am not an attorney, nor do I intend to convey the idea that I am one.  That said my graduate degree is in Public Administration and I not only wrote a paper on the matter, I did particularly well on the assignment.  Should one of the law dogs here wish to weigh in, please do so.

    I rule in favor of me. DILLY DILLY

    Sovereign Immunity is a legal concept Americans borrowed from the British.  The idea is to avoid the circular logic in filing a lawsuit against the Crown.  The British Crown set up the courts in part to settle civil disputes between subjects, the rulings which hold the force of law because the court is acting directly on behalf of the British Crown.  Quite frankly, the queen and the rest of her family is either (supposedly) drinking beyond her own government’s recommendation, flying in private jets while whining about climate change, or (allegedly) hitting up jailbait with Epstein…they simply do not have that kind of time.  A subject therefore can file a lawsuit against an individual, or a company that violated that individual’s rights under common law.  What happens if you are wronged by somebody working on behalf of the government?  The Crown enabled the official that wronged you, and you are now asking a court who’s power is derived from the discretion of Crown…

    You see where I am going with this, you cannot sue the Crown.  Even if you could, do you think they will rule honestly?

    But this is America, and we fought a war to get away from this, right?  We did indeed fight the war but didn’t get away from from it.  From the pocket Constitution on my desk, Article III, Section 2 says:

    Unfortunately, if you have a problem with a particular person in the US Government acting under the Constitution, you are stuck going through the courts set up under that same Constitution.  This concept is further reinforced under the 11th Amendment.

    Page break…

    Unfortunately, there will be no lawsuits affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Counsels, and those in which a State shall be Party.  Can you sue a government agency or the state itself for violation of rights?  Of course, but the asshole that did it is immune because he was just doing his job.

    The problem I have with this is the lawsuit is for libel, which is knowingly spreading false information that disparages the subject in print or other forms of media.  Unlike slander, which is spoken, libel has a record of happening making it easier to prove.  Even after an unedited version of the video suggested the story the media told about the incident was wrong, they continued telling the same story saying the MAGA hat wearing Covington kids started an altercation and the dude banging the drum was trying to keep the peace, and it was racist to smirk at the guy.  Only a racist would wear a MAGA hat.

    Well, Lizzy got busy spreading this misinformation on Twitter.  Per this clown’s ruling, a senator is immune from spreading what any reasonable person can determine is a lie, because a senator giving her opinion on current events falls under a senator’s daily duties.  I for one say this is bullshit, and she should be held personally responsible for spreading this lie.  Being a senator and now a candidate for president means the lie will spread faster from the press coverage she will recieve, harming the subjects further than had she done the sensible thing and said nothing at all.

    …but her inability to simply not lie is another matter.

    So what in the hell kind of beer is this?  This is a pineapple sour ale aged in tequila barrels.  I thought this was going to suck.  Arizona has a rather popular pineapple wheat beer that I go for from time to time that I find a bit sweet, but chuggable on a hot day.  This is not like that.  I thought it was going to to be too sour for me to enjoy.  This is not like that either.  Finally, I thought this was going to be a blast of tequila; no, this is not like that at all.  It is interesting, rather expensive ($16), but otherwise well done.  La Cumbre Piña Quercus 3.5/5.

  • Who’s a Good Boy?

    Everyone love dogs.  Unless they are some sort of cat-loving sociopath.  Even the President.

    This is my review of Founders Underground Mountain Imperial Brown Ale

    A few days ago, this piece was put out by the Washington Post:

    The original photo

    “AMERICAN HERO!” Trump tweeted, with the photo of the dog he said ran down Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a Syrian tunnel before Baghdadi killed himself.

    The distinctive star of the medal was replaced with a paw print.

    Trump and the Pentagon initially declined to release the dog’s name, later confirmed as Conan, but the canine has become a social media sensation after Trump tweeted a photo Monday.

    Conan also collided with a real-world moment after the conservative site Daily Wire tweeted the image Tuesday with McCloughan removed.

    A watermark for the site appears in Trump’s tweet, but it is a cropped version that removes the attribution of the source photo, which is the Associated Press. That would have indicated that it began as a legitimate news photo, raising the question of whether Trump or a staffer knew McCloughan had been edited out.

    The writer, Alex Horton has in his tagline he is an Veteran of the war in Iraq.  Since the inane notion that we cannot criticize people currently, or at any time ever served in the military is starting to make the rounds again, its either up to Swiss or I to go after this guy.  Because heaven forbid somebody that currently or at any time in the past served in the military can possibly be seen in a negative manner under any circumstance…

    Sorry Swissy.

    Alex, as a Veteran of two tours in Iraq, it is my humble opinion that you are a fucking idiot.  Do you honestly think Trump is dumb enough to NOT see there is a picture of a dog in front of him, whom he is giving a medal?  Now, I get that you think Trump is a moron, but do you not think it is possible Trump or his staffer might remember that time he gave a medal…TO A DOG?  Maybe where you live in idiot-land you might give a random dog a medal for being cute and walking up tall without its tail covering it’s genitals but here in reality we see that its a Photoshop.  People may be dumb but we realize the photo is clearly fake, and that Trump retweeted the photo because its funny, and that is one hell of a dog.

    Who’s a good boy?

    Here’s the kicker, the NYT got a hot take from the MOH recipient that was removed from the photo:

    McCloughan saw the photo as an attempt to herald the dog’s actions in combat, he told the New York Times.

    “This recognizes the dog is part of that team of brave people,” he said. McCloughan said he worked with military dogs in Vietnam, where they helped scouts detect enemy positions.

    McCloughan was 23 in May 1969 when his unit was caught in a fierce firefight in Tam Ky. He was raked by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade while assessing other soldiers for their injuries, but despite his wounds, McCloughan repeatedly braved enemy fire to carry the injured to safety.

    This is the world we live in, where I am forced to point out to idiots like Alex Horton they are being idiots and it comes out with me looking like I am defending Trump.  Screw you Alex, and all the idiots that took it upon themselves to fact-check an obvious joke, when they could be fact-checking or showing any kind of skepticism towards things that actually matter.

    What is not a joke is this beer.  Quite frankly, I have yet to come across a Founder’s varietal that is a joke.  This is a heavy-bodied brown ale with espresso notes and aged in bourbon barrels.  They might go too far with the coffee, but that just makes it better suited for day-drinking.  It will not keep you up all night, baiting your neighbors dog.  Do not drink this cold, and do not chug it.  Founders Underground Mountain Imperial Brown Ale:  4.4/5

     

  • Food Porn: You’re doing it wrong, Canada

    As always, I credit my ideas for writing prompts each week with you.  Seriously, it’s you people that allow me to do this and not drive myself nuts.

    This is my review of Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron.

    So in last Sunday’s inspiring Glibfit article, Chafed inspired something in all of us.  Some of it was good, but others…

    Plus, I never liked what poutine looked like.

    What I actually wanted to call it, was “diarrhea over fries”.  My problem at that exact moment, was that I was drinking beer at OMWC’s second least favorite airport while simultaneously watching the Cardinals managing to somehow win another game, I forgot how to spell diarrhea.  Autocorrect was not helping me at all.

    I’ll have my revenge.

    I know what you are thinking:  “you get held up by diarrhea but Monteczuma comes out easy?”  No. Because I spelled that wrong too.

    In my defense though, there are several ways to spell that.  While not dead, Nahuatl is an unusual language.  As for the topic at hand, it is equally as interesting:

    1. The spelling of “diarrhea” is an appropriation of the Greek “diarrhoia” meaning “a flowing through.”

    2. Middle English diaria, from Medieval Latin, from Late Latin diarrhoea, from Greek diarroia, from diarrein, to flow through : dia-, dia- + rhein, to flow, run; see sreu- in Indo-European roots.]

    3. diarrhoea U.S. diarrhea noun the runs, the trots (informal) dystentery, looseness, the skits (informal) Montezuma’s revenge (informal) gippy tummy, holiday tummy, Spanish tummy, the skitters (informal)

    4.  “oe” / “ae / “e”: Common diphthongs like “oe” / “œ” (e.g. “diarrhoea”, “oestrogen”) and “ae” / “æ” (e.g. “encyclopaedia”, “leukaemia”, “anaesthesia”) in British and Canadian spelling “diarrhea”, “estrogen”, “encyclopedia”, “leukemia”, “anesthesia”). are usually simplified in American usage to “e”

    5. 1398, from O.Fr. diarrie, from L. diarrhoea, from Gk. diarrhoia “diarrhea” (coined by Hippocrates), lit. “a flowing through,” from diarrhein “to flow through,” from dia- “through” + rhein “to flow.” Respelled 16c. from diarria on Latin model.

    RESPELLED? Why? What happened in the 16th century that would have caused such a word to be respelled?

    So now we know.

    How am I able to link all this to the beer?  Those are Spanish words meaning holy brown stick…

    It is typical Dogfish Head. Pricey ($13.99 ….. for 4 bottles), but really good. It is a nice, thick brown ale aged in bourbon barrels.  I have to assume is quite the popular style of craft beer in the area I was traveling for business (the south), because it was either that or half a dozen choices for IPA.  Don’t drink this one ice cold. Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron:  4.5/5.

  • That awkward moment Mexico beats the United States at something.

    In the news over the past few, several articles came out speculating Mexico to be the next to legalize marijuana. While you could theoretically get it there anyways, it wasn’t exactly legal for anybody without large quantities of cash on hand to pay off Mexican cops.  So it is in this sense, they beat us at something other than fútbol.

    This is my review of Hemptails Citrus Gold

    How does this work in Mexico?  A brief rundown of how the court functions can be found here.  For those of you capable of reading Spanish above the college level (don’t look at me), here is the official webpage for Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación. If you want to dig up the court decision, I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.  For everyone else, it takes five repeated decisions from the Mexican Supreme Court to set enough legal precedent to compel their legislative body to act.  Do they need the court’s permission first?  Of course not.  It might be a fun thought experiment in this country if this is how that worked.

    Hopefully just as a thought experiment; I am in no way advocating this.  Can you imagine the idiotic things they could come up based on the way certain SCOTUS justices find things in the Constitution that aren’t exactly written in there?

    Those decisions came in November of last year, so it was only a matter of time before they were going to get around to it.

    “This 5th judgement means that, while the cannabis prohibition law nominally remains in place for now (and arrests remain possible), all judges nationally are now bound by the Supreme Court judgement as a defense in the (now much less likely) scenario of prosecutions being brought,” according to Transform, a think tank that was part of the effort to overturn the ban. “The legalisation of cannabis for adult personal use, possession, private cultivation and sharing is therefore currently de facto(in practical effect), rather than de jure (formalised in law/legislation).”

    It appears they will finish the job by the end of the month.

    Senator Julio Menchaca Salazar introduced a legalization bill last month that seeks to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework. Under Salazar’s bill, Mexico’s Department of Health would regulate the cultivation, processing, and transportation of cannabis.

    In Mexico’s lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, leader Mario Delgado Carillo introduced a bill that would formally set up a legalized market whereby the government would have a state monopoly on cannabis sales. Carillo’s bill envisions a great deal of the revenue from marijuana sales going to social programs.

    […]

    Both chambers of the Mexican legislature are controlled by the MORENA Party, which President López founded. MORENA is a left-of-center political party that was founded in 2014.

    Monreal says members of the Chamber of Deputies, the other half of Mexico’s legislature, will be invited to provide feedback on the legalization bill.

    Good for them.  No seriously.

    Woof. Is that a promise?

    One of the arguments for legalization of cannabis in the United States is rooted in the practical experience we can take from the 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol between 1920 to 1933.  I know that you are likely capable of reading in English at the 4th grade level, and coming to the basic conclusion from the article linked above,  Americans still drank alcohol during that time.  It was provided by bootleggers, distributed by rumrunners—basically people willing to be criminals to make a living.  People willing to be criminals in one sense to make a living are probably willing to be criminals in another sense, which is basically the plot to Breaking Bad.  The problem of course is nearly nobody alive today was around to see it, and schools appear to jump from the civil war, directly to the civil rights era in history class.  Given the level of violent crime in Mexico, if nothing else we’ll probably get to see this in action again….or they just switch to growing poppies and continue shooting each other.

    It probably will not mean much for those that go to Mexico from time to time.  Turns out cannabis is still mostly illegal here and Border Patrol is still actively searching for drugs at border crossings.  Unless of course you were already a mule…

     

    They call this a “malt beverage” but I drank this explicitly for purposes of this review.   There is little redeeming quality to this beverage and any reasonable person might be comfortable with it being made illegal.  Thankfully, nobody around here might be considered reasonable. Hemptails Citrus Gold:  1.5/5