March 2, 2010

"So everyone has pretty much agreed that I was right yesterday when I said the 'moderation' language about Obama’s alcohol consumption was just boilerplate."

Says Glenn Reynolds:
Still, to show my support for our President, I went out to the Downtown Grill & Brewery last night and hoisted a couple — moderately, of course — in his honor. Kinda like when some Obama fans changed their middle names to Hussein to show support, only more delicious . . . .
Ha ha. So, then, this is me, the other day at Brasserie V:

DSC08079

Ah, but look at the prudesthe killjoys — who freak out about drinking, who think that lifting one glass depicts degeneracy. These people call themselves "liberals," but they are not liberal at all. They despise your pleasure and revelry and want only to clamp down on any fun. Don't trust them with power, my friend!

The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy...

IN THE COMMENTS: Jim Treacher said:
Is there enough booze in the world to get those guys laid?

Sadly, no.

77 comments:

Triangle Man said...

I'm considering taking up smoking cigarettes. If it's good for the President, it's good for me.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Does Indiana Jones know you stole his hat?

Hoosier Daddy said...

I'm considering taking up smoking cigarettes. If it's good for the President, it's good for me.

Its also good for the childrens since that's how SCHIP is funded.

So smoke for the childrens.

Ann Althouse said...

"Does Indiana Jones know you stole his hat?"

Indiana Jones wears an Italian fedora?

Triangle Man said...

Does Indiana Jones know you stole his hat?

I was going to say Annie Hall.

Speaking of fashion, just how much of the 1980's are we going to have to re-live? What's up Todrick Hall?

Anonymous said...

Every normal woman must be tempted at times to spit on her hands, hoist the wine glass, and begin to slit throats.

Triangle Man said...

I just learned that Indiana Jones wore a fur felt fedora plus two other varieties.

master cylinder said...

How is that liberal?
Around here the intolerant ones are the southern baptists and their ilk, and they are the conservatives.
Those links are bagging on YOU, not drinking...
Really, can you help the framing by trying something other than assigning all realms of American life to
liberal v conservative? I cant figure out if you are an evil puppeteer, or just one at the front of the herd.

Anonymous said...

Big Wine has manipulated me to oppose my own best interests!

AllenS said...

I cant figure out if you are an evil puppeteer, or just one at the front of the herd.

I wasn't aware that puppeteers travel in herds. I guess you can learn something every day.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Indiana Jones wears an Italian fedora?

I don't know. I tried to look at the tag once but he beat me with his whip.

SteveR said...

Master Cylinder: I can understand how you might not get the point. It requires context and intellectual substance. But trying to be snarky while having neither, is weak trolling, at best. Step up your game.

former law student said...

The professor is tough -- in her place I would just turn off the google alerts.

ricpic said...

Drink, the most beautiful thing in life, next to sleep.

--W.C. Fields

Jan Koenig said...

I read the "moderation" differently than most. I think the doc was saying, "Barry, you need to make sure that you keep drinking (in moderation, of course)." The doc is probably well aware of the danger to society if this particular POTUS lays off the stuff completely.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

"I cant figure out if you are an evil puppeteer, or just one at the front of the herd."

I wasn't aware that puppeteers travel in herds. I guess you can learn something every day

Mimes travel in swarms. They are very frightening and extremely annoying..

Triangle Man said...

Really master cylinder, do try to keep up. Yesterday it was the folks on the right taking pot-shots at Obama because the Guardian munged up the text of the report of his medical exam, which left open the possibility that he might be drinking excessively. Althouse has frequently been smeared as a lush by her detractors on the left. Once it became clear that Obama is not a booze hound, libertarian instincts kicked in, the right rallied around Obama's right to party and draws our attention to some similarly prudish behavior from the left. In other words, nonsense abounds.

Unknown said...

Wow, those girls are mean! MEOW!

AllenS said...

If you enjoy smoking like Obama does, well then, go for it. Obama probably smokes in the White House and blows smoke in his children's faces. They'll never grow into their maturity and will die off from second hand smoke.

Cassie said...

The way it was presented, here, yesterday, was pretty spot-on. I doubt Drudge was going for the same. I will, though comment on the habit of commentary on photos taken out of context. Who knew it's not always flattering.

Michael McNeil said...

I wasn't aware that puppeteers travel in herds.

Puppeteers (viz. Larry Niven's Known Space series) certainly were herd animals, before evolving sentience.

TosaGuy said...

In my city, the neopuritans are liberals who are dictating what snacks a kid can bring to school, use city tax dollars to fund presentations on how to make a healthy soup and think a gas station selling Miller Lite will increase drunk driving.

Socially, they are often insufferable bores who can't stand anyone enjoying anything. Economically and politically, they are dangerous because they think government should be an uber-nanny and the no-fun police.

From Inwood said...

This shows that some people, here Obama bashers, do not read to see what was said, but to play gotcha.

Rush bashers do the same thing.

And 9/10ths of the "Bushisms" were based on the same failure to read.

And the chain e-mails I get about Obama are usually off.

And many of the usual suspect commenters here do the same.

Me? I'd never let my passions get the best of me. What never? Well, hardly ever!

traditionalguy said...

It was the Brits that went after Obama with that misquoted language about mderate alcohol. So why are the Brits angry with the One?

traditionalguy said...

Alcohol in moderation is good medicine. Alcohol in excess is a destroyer of men and women. So everybody is right. The degenerate sex offenders are usually alkies. But the scripture commands christians not to allow others to judge us in Sabaths, Festivals and diet. Diet includes alcohol. To the Baptist pastor who tells me that he does not know anyone who stops at two drinks, remind him that he needs to associate with a better class of people.

Unknown said...

Don't be mean to master. He doesn't understand the difference between tolerance and having standards. This makes him a good little Lefty.

Ann said...

Ah, but look at the prudes — the killjoys — who freak out about drinking, who think that lifting one glass depicts degeneracy. These people call themselves "liberals," but they are not liberal at all. They despise your pleasure and revelry and want only to clamp down on any fun. Don't trust them with power, my friend!

That's what we said before the election (pick any one you like).

PS I still say the hat looks great on you.

Dr. Alice said...

That's a snazzy photo, Ann. I like the hat. Skoal!

Jeff with one 'f' said...

"These people call themselves "liberals," but they are not liberal at all. They despise your pleasure and revelry and want only to clamp down on any fun"

It's called "punitive liberalism" and it has been a prominent feature of the Left since at least the late 60's.

master cylinder said...

But does it make me a man?
for the record-no.
This is a strange example of "conservative"
commenters lining up where Ann says.

X said...

""So everyone has pretty much agreed that I was right yesterday when I said the 'moderation' language about Obama’s alcohol consumption was just boilerplate.""

IMR noted it here in the comments first yesterday and I agreed calling it boilerplate 3 hours before instapundit linked to the althouse post. so everyone pretty much agreed with instapundit who agreed with me when I agreed with IMR

cf said...

Ann, this marriage so agrees with you! You are more fun. You always looking glowing. I suppose a public comment is not the way to say this, but who cares? I am really happy for you.

The Savage Noble said...

Sir Toby comes to mind:

Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?

Watch out, America...the war on pastries is next!

comatus said...

I like the hat. Skoal!

"Oh, George, not the livestock."

Drinking and smoking, and now, Skoal too?

That does kind of make me wonder how many votes would have to be at stake for ol' Brack (that's what we'll cal him down this-a-way, Ol' Brack) to up and take a chaw.

Could help him, you know, cope.

w b h said...

We're . We don't drink in front of each other.

w b h said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
w b h said...

We're Methodists. We don't drink in front of each other.

[Sorry about the error in the previous comment.]

Anonymous said...

Watch out, America...the war on pastries is next!

Twinkies are pastries, aren't they? So, been there, done that.

Jim O said...

As someone (I forget who) noted the other day, the exact language of the "moderate his alcohol comsumption" language appears in a sentence that begins with "Continue to... ." In other words, the doctors thought his ETOH consumption was just right as it was. They were not recommending that he cut down.

And I speak as a guy who opposes just about everything Obama stands for, FWIW.

Michael said...

I know someone who was fairly high in the campaign, and here's what I've heard:

1) I said something about him quitting smoking, and this person made air quotes and said "yeah, quitting." In other words, he's been a smoker all along, most likely, or at least a lot of the time.

2) I referenced the various claims about him eating at this or that Chicago place and being our first foodie president, and this person said "He's so not a foodie. All he eats is broiled salmon and steamed vegetables. He's the most boring eater on earth." Michelle is the foodie, he's just along for the ride.

So the high cholesterol surprises me, the smoking does not. And no indication that he's ever been more than a beer or glass of wine to unwind kinda guy.

Chennaul said...

Iapetus said...
Watch out, America...the war on pastries is next!

You're on to them.

Look at this poll they are running at Daily Kos:

Is taxing low-nutrient, high-calorie foods a good idea?

Yes
61% 4389 votes

No
22% 1636 votes

Maybe
11% 815 votes

I don't know
4% 301 votes

(7141 total votes)

Chennaul said...

Oops-Savage Noble said it first.

NotClauswitz said...

Big Government Nannies always have intervention in mind, one way or the other. What's the big deal? Every Lefty in Germany drinks that much beer, while those in France drink wine and the Italians drink both and the Swedes drink snaps. Whats a Euro-metro Lefty to do?

Shanna said...

We're Methodists. We don't drink in front of each other.

That reminds me of one my dad’s jokes. Never take just one Baptist fishing with you, always take two. If you only take one, he’ll drink all your beer.

Busybodies pop up on the liberal and conservative side. It's up to the rest of us to keep their nonsense out of the laws, but we haven't done a great job of it. If the libertarian party would concentrate on something other than drugs and drivers licenses, maybe they would get somewhere.

traditionalguy said...

Do Humans like to be parented by the authority of nannies? Not so much once we reach 12 years of age.But for some reason we presume that everyone else except ourselves is a child under 12 that needs a Gov. issued nanny or else. I blame the PC crowd that teaches a right to be a dependent that can use the blaming of the Gov. nannies for all our problems as a career path. It is a reccommended insanity!

Chuck Pelto said...

TO: Ann, et al.
RE: Remember....

....look at the prudes — the killjoys — who freak out about drinking, who think that lifting one glass depicts degeneracy. These people call themselves 'liberals'...." -- Ann

....The Stand? What happened in Vegas?

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[He who hates vice hates Mankind.]

Chuck Pelto said...

P.S. I guess these so-called 'liberals' HATE the Founding Fathers.....

Wine is the proof that God wants us to be happy. -- Benjamin Franklin

...but their attitude goes far in explaining their behavior.

Jim Treacher said...

Is there enough booze in the world to get those guys laid?

Sadly, no.

joated said...

"traditionalguy said...
It was the Brits that went after Obama with that misquoted language about mderate alcohol. So why are the Brits angry with the One?

3/2/10 11:13 AM "

You have to ask? Start with the Churchill statue, then the speech discs, and now the Falklands. I'm sure there are more reasons but the last is the kicker.

Anonymous said...

I can vouch for the quality of the Australian Akubra Federation IV fedora from http://www.hatsdirect.com/federation/index.html

Now, where's my whip....

Unknown said...

My favorite part of the SN! post was this:

"Put down the glass of Smoking Loon Merlot for a moment and focus, just focus.."

algie said...

Hooray for me and up yours

You don't have to be a great sleuth
To have to agree to this truth
What's OK for me
Just Isn't for thee
I'm so cool and you're just uncouth

....uuuu..'o^o'..nn!n....algie
Illegitimi nOn carborundum

Aurelian said...

To show my support for the cause I am pouring a few fingers of Pusser's dark rum. And consuming it.

Michael O said...

Australian English has a name for these people - Wowsers. Wikipedia defines a wowser as "one whose sense of morality drives them to deprive others of their sinful pleasures, especially liquor."

The Australian writer C.J. Dennis defined the word thus: "Wowser: an ineffably pious person who mistakes this world for a penitentiary and himself for a warder".

Americans, please feel free to adopt the word.

DADvocate said...

You're being unfair to the Puritans. They enjoyed drinking and smoking in moderation.

The modern day liberal do-gooder is worse.

former law student said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Not to rain on Jim Treacher's parade, but there is compelling evidence that TBogg has been laid at least once. What's Treacher got?

former law student said...

"Put down the glass of Smoking Loon Merlot"

Hey, wait a minute. I thought Althouse's detractors accused her of swilling box wine. Smoking Loon clearly comes in 750ml bottles.

They should get their stories straight.

Victor Erimita said...

There is a clear historical connection between the Puritans and the contemporary "progressive" movement. http://www.amazon.com/Albions-Seed-British-Folkways-Cultural/dp/0195069056/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267572491&sr=1-1.

The worldview is thew same: humankind is essentially and irrevably flawed, sinful actually, and can only create mayhem if left to its own devices. Therefore a small, elite group of leaders educated in the relevant law (Puritans: the clergy, progressives: well, them) need to make the rules for us unfortunate ignorati. And they need to clamp down an anything that might make those ignorant rubes imagine that their lives could be honorable or meaningful, like driving, eating, drinking or anything. The only differences between Puritans and progressives are sexual license and the substitution of secualr religion and/or "The Planet" for God. They have kept the essential parts, though: utter, unthinking rigidity of mind and a dire, joyless worldview.

joeyess said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael McNeil said...

You're being unfair to the Puritans. They enjoyed drinking and smoking in moderation.

The link you provided says nothing about smoking, and according to Alexis de Tocqueville, reviewing “the code of laws enacted by the little state of Connecticut in 1650,” the Puritans of that colony altogether forbade, among a great many other things, the consumption of tobacco. As Tocqueville wrote:

“The framers of these penal codes were especially concerned with the maintenance of good behavior and sound mores in society, so they constantly invaded the sphere of conscience, and there was hardly a sin not subject to the magistrate's censure. The reader will have noticed the severity of the penalties for adultery and rape. Simple intercourse between unmarried persons was likewise harshly repressed. The judge had discretion to impose a fine or a whipping or to order the offenders to marry. [Footnote: Code of 1650, p. 48. It would seem that sometimes the judges would impose more than one of these penalties, as is seen in a judicial sentence of 1643 {…} which directs that Margaret Bedford, convicted of loose conduct, be whipped and afterward compelled to marry her accomplice, Nicholas Jemmings.] If the records of the old courts of New Haven are to be trusted, prosecutions of this sort were not uncommon; under the date May 1, 1660, we find a sentence imposing a fine and reprimand on a girl accused of uttering some indiscreet words and letting herself be kissed.

“The code of 1650 is full of preventive regulations. Idleness and drunkenness are severely punished. Innkeepers may give each customer only a certain quantity of wine; simply lying, if it could do harm, is subject to a fine or a whipping. In other places the lawgivers, completely forgetting the great principle of religious liberty which they themselves claimed in Europe, enforced attendance at divine service by threat of fines and went so far as to impose severe penalties, and often the death penalty, on Christians who chose to worship God with a ritual other than their own. [Footnote: Under the penal law of Massachusetts a Catholic priest who sets foot in the state after he has been driven out therefrom is subject to the death penalty.]

“Finally, sometimes the passion for regulation which possessed them led them to interfere in matters completely unworthy of such attention. Hence there is a clause in the same code forbidding the use of tobacco. We must not forget that these ridiculous and tyrannical laws were not imposed from outside — they were voted by the free agreement of all the interested parties themselves — and that their mores were even more austere and puritanical than their laws. In 1649 an association was solemnly formed in Boston to check the worldly luxury of long hair. {…}

“Such deviations undoubtedly bring shame on the spirit of man; they attest the inferiority of our nature, which, unable to hold firmly to what is true and just, is generally reduced to choosing between two excesses.”

Moon Rattled said...

I believe what we agreed was that you're an alcoholic.

You're not a sorority gal whose lack of judgement and self awareness can be excused. You're a middle aged law professor who videotapes herself drunkenly live blogging a dumbass teevee show and then posts that video on the Internet. I'd ask you what the hell you're thinking but I don't think you know.

If you had kids, they'd tell you it's scary and you're an embarrassment and you'd call them killjoys who want to ruin your fun.

But they'd be right, as all kids of alcoholics are. And you'd just be another narcissistic alcoholic in denial who equates being a drunk with being a free spirit.

The post speculating about Obama was just stupid since he hasn't got a drinking problem (like you).

Jim Treacher said...

Not to rain on Jim Treacher's parade, but there is compelling evidence that TBogg has been laid at least once. What's Treacher got?

I've got the fact that I'm not TBogg. Which is nice!

As far as your evidence that you've ever done it with a lady, or a man, or whatever you're into, we're all waiting.

Anonymous said...

That's quite the Socratic method you've got there, Treacher.

To recap: Treacher responds to the ostensible puritanical bent of TBogg and the contributors to Sadly, No by saying they can't get laid.

A person unconnected to either the blogger TBogg or the site Sadly, No posts a mild riposte to Treacher's assertion.

Treacher responds by saying THAT person can't get laid, either.

I'd say that was pretty lame, but that would be cruel, wouldn't it?

Dhalgren said...
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Dhalgren said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tracy said...

Treacher: "As far as your evidence that you've ever done it with a lady, or a man, or whatever you're into, we're all waiting."

Ah, that rapier wit that got you a job with the man who lost his job courtesy of Jon Stewart. Judging by your pictures, Jimsy, you're hardly one to talk.

Carl said...

@Jim Treacher

Why don't you go out and attack more government property with your other knee, you humorless dildo?

Delayna said...

Carl said:

"Why don't you go out and attack more government property with your other knee, you humorless dildo?"

Wow, you've convinced me, Carl! I've always been a conservative, but gee, after reading your courtesy, grace, and gentle language now I just *have* to become a liberal. You've won friends and influenced people today!

NutellaonToast said...

Ann, didn't you meet your husband on the internet and he was thousands of miles away? Cause when I wanna get laid I don't have to go that far. I can do it without a blog with thousands of readers.

Carm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hey Treach: If that indeed is a real pic of you on TBogg's site, then I have to say that your insults are the height of chutzpah. I mean, wow. A fat, sarcastic, right-wing political junkie. You must be a devil with the ladies.

Ann Althouse said...

NutellaonToast said:

"Ann, didn't you meet your husband on the internet and he was thousands of miles away? Cause when I wanna get laid I don't have to go that far. I can do it without a blog with thousands of readers."

Enjoy yourself. I'm not the sort of person who would go to a bar to find a sexual partner. It's not something I ever did, not at any age. I find that very unappealing. But good for you that there are women available that way. Some of us enjoy a courtship that has a long literary phase. To each his own.

Jim Treacher said...

Hi, somecamerunning! You seem like a lot of fun to be around.

Hi, Tracy! Thank you for caring what I look like.

Hi, Carl! I like that cat picture.

Hi, Ian! Well, true enough, I'm not nearly as slender and good-looking as Tom Boggio.

Tracy said...

Yet more of that snappy Treacher repartee. You should ask Tucker for a raise, because my sides are just a-splitting with laughter.

Jim Treacher said...

Oh, you're quite welcome, Tracy! Have a great night.

Kev said...

P.S. I guess these so-called 'liberals' HATE the Founding Fathers.....

Wine is the proof that God wants us to be happy. -- Benjamin Franklin

...but their attitude goes far in explaining their behavior.


Agree with the sentiment, Chuck, but the Franklin quote actually applies to beer.

(And what's up with all the Treacher-hate on this thread? Disagree with the man if you wish, but there's no reason to make fun of his knee injury [says a fellow survivor of knee surgery from the past year].)

Jim Treacher said...

It's okay, Kev. If nothing else, it's a good litmus test.