Red White and Food

I hope that you have heard of these folks, as they want to do something simple for all of us who like wine with our dinner. You will now find them on THE ENDLESS BLOGROLL down and to the right. Simply put, they want nothing more than grocery stores to be able to sell wine. Not hard liquor, just wine. Also, with any luck, they will open things up so liquor stores can sell beer.

The liquor distributors are whining that this will enable minors to buy wine more easily. I'm not buying it for a second; they already ID everyone for beer, what difference is wine going to make? None, of course; what they truly fear is that it will drive down the price of wine. Yes, fans, we may yet see the arrival of Two Buck Chuck here in Tennessee.

Really, though, do any of you think that the Hammonds will have to close Buster's if this passes? 80% of their wine selection can only be found at one or two other stores in this metro market, because it's a high quality wine store; Kroger's, I can assure you, will NOT be selling high-end wine.

Look, let me put it to you as bluntly as I know how. You can go in to a convenience store in TRUMANN, ARKANSAS, a town of 7,000 people, and buy a nice inexpensive bottle of chardonnay, but not Memphis, Tennessee, home to 630,000 people. What the hell? No, really, what the hell?

I urge you to go click on the link up there and sign on for their newsletter. Then, call your state legislators and ask them to get on board. The Knoxville News-Sentinel agrees with Red White & Food, why shouldn't you? This can only lead to more sensible liquor laws for a state that hasn't had them in the thirty-six years I have resided here.

You'll be glad you did.

Newscoma drills it home

Our beloved Newscoma, who understands rural issues better than anyone I know (and probably better than anyone YOU know, unless you live in a rural area) sends a letter to the Tennessee Democratic Party reminding them that there is a world beyond Davidson County:

You missed a huge opportunity. Rural communities want to be involved. Engage them and pay attention.

Several years ago, I went to several meetings at the local party and was one of those young voters who felt left out. I wanted inspiring conversations, events to feel excited about. As I recall, I went to one meeting with now Sen. Lowe Finney. I can’t speak for him but I can say that I didn’t get my needs met. After a while, I gave up.

This is the county that has Ned McWherter and his legacy. But there are other counties just like mine that need leadership from the state office. I set up a website for these young voters yesterday. Have you not sent out instructions to rural communities who need your guidance about online networking, talking points and utilizing social communication sites like Twitter or Friendfeed? I’m just asking because I know I haven’t seen them but you might have. Are you talking to established rural party leadership about how to recruit young people.

Gray, we had 4.4 percent of our registered voters vote here in August.

Damn, she's good; but you knew that any way, didn't you!