Alcohol is already here

Letters

October 5, 2009

Anonymous Picayune Item Mon Oct 05, 2009, 09:22 AM CDT

Editor;

The enclosed text is intended as a reply to a letter that was printed in your paper 9-22-09. The letter was entitled “Alcohol definitely not needed in Picayune”, submitted by Melinda Dukes. While I respect Ms. Dukes personal opinion, there are several flaws that suggest response.

First, from what I have observed in 23 years of living in the Picayune area, alcohol is alive and well in the city. A visit to any of the major retail food outlets will find cases and cartons of beer going out the doors with the same quiet non-stop journey as bread and milk. Beer, whether it be “3.2 percent of alcohol,” also known as “military beer,” or the regular alcohol content of “6 percent,” the beverage is an alcoholic mixture.

In 1933 President Roosevelt signed legislation called the “Federal Beer and Wine Revenue Act.” This gave the Federal government the right to tax beer and wine and also gave the states the right to determine their means of setting taxes for the same purpose. Each state evolved tax structures based on the Federal dictate that a manufactured barrel of beer by a licensed brewer be set at 11 gallons. The states collected tax on the alcohol amount in a set volume of beer within the 11 gallon parameter. Some states opted to measure alcohol by weight, others by volume. Every container of beer must show the alcohol level and how derived.

Roosevelt’s approval of “3.2” beer allowed all military clubs to sell this beverage. It was deemed unofficially to be “non intoxicating.” Having spent 10 years employed by the brewing industry I can attest to the fact that if an individual ingests “3.2” beer hurriedly and eats nothing that individual will feel the results of the alcohol. There is no question when “6 %” beer is downed in quantity drunkenness will ensue.

The second problem I found in Ms. Dukes statement is relating alcohol to “sin.” The concept of “sin” is found only in religious doctrine and has no standing in law. No one has ever been convicted, to my knowledge, in a court of law of committing a “sin.” Therefore to insert “sin” into any legal context, or to use “sin” as a motivating factor in legislation, defies by intent the U.S. Constitution that mandates a clear separation of church and state.

I am a native of New Orleans. One statistic Ms. Dukes quoted, “a 10% rise in the sale of alcohol beverages would predict a rise in homicides of 2 % is not surprising, nor related to other localities. New Orleans is an old (by U.S. history) port city. Every year tens of thousands of cargo ships dock along the city’s miles of river front. These ships not only unload cargo but put ashore untold hundreds of crew members from all parts of the world. These “visitors” go into the city looking for what pleasures there are. Add to these strangers millions of tourists and the endless mobs of conventioneers and you find a city with a huge “visiting population” that has very little connection to the inhabitants settled in and living normal urban lives.

My wife and I enjoyed the excellent restaurants for which New Orleans is well known, and yes, we would have a glass of wine, or a cocktail before dinner. But never did we find in these places, loud, intoxicated patrons. A good family restaurant does not allow this behavior. Offensive persons are quickly removed.

Picayune loses restaurant business to Slidell and the Gulf Coast because a “sin” contagion has apparently infected the city. If this contagion persists due to a religious syndrome the city is living in the Dark Ages.

Robert L. Willard

Text Only

Letters

Poplarville Library needs friends
Editor:
April was membership month for the Friends of the Poplarville Public Library. While the Friends group is always seeking new members, April is the month that the staff members at the library are allowed to actively promote membership in the Friends by asking patrons if they would like to join. Unfortunately, during the entire month of April only one new member joined the group.

May 19, 2012
Hales must have a problem with cutting spending
Editor:
Mr. Hales again purposes a county sales tax. Mr. Hales does not know how to use the words “cut spending”. He has voted for everything to increase spending over the past sixteen years. The cost of the county government is not the fault of the current new members of the board of supervisors.

May 19, 2012
Letters To The Editor
The Democrats truly lost track of history.

March 29, 2012
Why are telemarketers with a personal agenda exempt from the “No Call List”?
Why are telemarketers with a personal agenda exempt from the “No Call List”?
I’m on the Mississippi ‘no call list’.
My family and I sat down to dinner last night at 7 p.m. (Oct. 17). At 7:10 p.m., we received a telephone call from a fast-talking, pro-life ‘Christian’ group saying they were call 33,000 Mississippians at the same time and that we were all in a live “town hall meeting” and, if we stayed on the line, we could ask questions. Of course, it turned out to be a pre-recorded call. My dinner got cold while I tried to figure out who was calling and to discover a way to delete my number from their calling list.

October 25, 2011
Reader has problem with utility bills
Gentlemen:
Even if rental spaces are vacant, I still have to pay the City’s utility bill for each space. At that rate, my utilities are $4,800; whereas, taxes on my building are $4,500.

October 20, 2011
Shock and grief on 9-11
Editor:
I spent September 11, 2001, as much of the world did: on the Internet, sharing in the global outpouring of shock and grief. I will never forget the juxtaposition of the ruined skyscrapers against an appalling blue sky. Americans of all backgrounds queued to give blood, to donate, to enlist in an imminent war. Others sought ways to serve at home through national service.

September 10, 2011
Writer opposes Contraflow
Editor:
And to all officials that have to do with starting Contraflow traffic.
Do not, do not do Contraflow traffic. Let the people go on about their way, they know where they are going.

September 3, 2011
Anger over checkpoint
Editor:
Mississippi State Troopers had a roadblock/checkpoint set up at the intersection of Hwy 603 & Hwy 43 in Kiln on Saturday morning July 30. As my wife and I approached this check point we were not worried, as my Dodge Ram Pickup was in good running order with all proper documentation.

September 2, 2011
From a senior’s point of view:
Editor:
We the public (people) have been lied to and have no idea where our taxed monies have been spent. All could not have been spent on the wars.
First: the federal taxes paid in the years we worked; were to run the country. Or so I thought and with any luck some left over.

September 2, 2011
Why I am a member of the Democratic Party
In response to your article prior to the Primary Election about the demise of the Democratic Party in Pearl River County, I am a Democrat and proud to say so. Let me outline my reasons for being a member of this demonized party.

August 24, 2011
More Letters Headlines

Letters

Search Results

Alcohol is already here

Site Map

Contact Us