Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[Prime Buzz]

Alcoholic drinks have been forbidden on Belmont University’s campus since at least 1951. The small Christian school in Nashville has decided to make an exception to the rule when it hosts a presidential debate Tuesday.

A private school with a self-described “strong commitment to providing a Christian community of learning and service,” Belmont is allowing alcohol to be served at a hospitality tent for the news media — one of several substantial changes the college made to land the big event.

Universities that vied to host the debates had to be willing to pay $1.35 million to cover production expenses, then millions more to erect facilities, spruce up campus grounds and shuffle sports events. Some also canceled or rescheduled classes to enhance security and debate setup.

The payback: instant international attention. The debates also help with a university’s mission by offering opportunities for students and the community to learn more about politics and election issues. School leaders say the sacrifices and concessions are worth it.

Read more here.

[From me]

First, why does that “media” need alcohol before they cover a debate?  Does that mean they need to be drunk to hear politicians?  Second, what kind of message does this send to students at this school? Students aren’t allowed to have alcohol on campus but to get national exposure they give in?  I guess it is a wrong as long as you don’t get national publicity.

What do you think?

[Post Star]

In case you were wondering, a motorized cooler on wheels is a motor vehicle under state law. A Whitehall man learned that on Memorial Day, when he was charged with driving while intoxicated after police pulled him over for swerving and driving on the sidewalk on a four-wheeled, motorized cooler known as a “Cruzin Cooler.”

Leslie J. “Bomber” Marr, 57, could face felony DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle charges because of prior arrests and convictions in drinking-and-driving cases, said Whitehall Police Chief Richard LaChapelle. The electricity-powered Cruzin Cooler that Marr was riding contained 14 beers, the chief said.

LaChapelle said Whitehall Police Patrolman Andrew Mija stopped Marr at about 7:45 p.m. after the officer saw Marr swerving and preparing to cross William Street on the motorized cooler. The machine has handlebars, and its operator sits on a seat atop the cooler, LaChapelle said.

“We were told it can do up to 12 mph,” the chief said.

Marr had apparently just left the nearby American Legion Post 83, but it was unclear where he was going, LaChapelle said. He was not headed toward his Lafayette Street home, and he refused to take a breath test, the chief said.

The Cruzin Cooler was seized by police, the chief said.

“They tell us he’s been riding around town on that cooler for years,” Kortright said. “You can’t cruise around on your cooler if you’re intoxicated.”

Read more here.

[From me]

I wonder if it is seized like drug dealers vehicles.  The only thing that would complete this story is if there was an Auburn sticker on the side!

What do you think?

[Seattle PI]

Alabama has all sorts of tourist trails - there’s one for civil rights, another for birds and yet another for old churches. The newest one was introduced Tuesday to promote the state’s wineries, but Baptists aren’t joining in the toast.

A trade association and a tourism group came up with the Alabama Wine Trail to lure visitors to the state’s eight wineries, which produce everything from fruity muscadine and peach wines to more traditional varieties such as merlot and chardonnay.

Tom Vizzini hopes the trail will increase traffic at his Vizzini Farms Winery, which produces as many as 3,000 cases a year. He located it on the outskirts of Birmingham after running up against church opposition in a more rural area.

“We put our wines up against any of them from California,” said Vizzini, whose grandfather was a vintner in Sicily.

But some say the wine can stay on the West Coast.

A Baptist leader in neighboring Chilton County said his group opposed plans for a winery there and doesn’t like the idea of luring tourists to his home turf or anywhere else in Alabama to imbibe.

“We are on record as being opposed to any kind of alcohol-related industry,” said the Rev. Robert Griffin, moderator of the Chilton Baptist Association and pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Clanton. “I would support visiting old, historic churches, but as far as visiting wineries…”

Read about it here.

[From me]

I don’t drink alcohol. All of the alcohol I’ve ever had can be put in a small shot glass. Most of it was at an Episcopal communion. I’ve never tasted beer because it smells bad and looks like –you know! My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family was an alcoholic so I never had a desire to drink. Plus seeing all of the University of Alabama frat parties while growing up turned me off to drinking.

[Boston Globe]

A Salem driving instructor who police say had a blood alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit pleaded not guilty yesterday in Ipswich District Court to operation of a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Ipswich police said the man was in the passenger seat instructing two student drivers when he was stopped the day after Christmas.

His eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” and he had “a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath,” the police report states. He denied that he had been drinking, police said, but he failed four sobriety tests at the scene, including a portable breathalyzer test, which registered .233 The state’s legal limit is .08.

Police searched the auto school car when he was stopped but did not find any alcohol. He told police he had been taking cough medicine, and a bottle of Robitussin cough syrup was found in a bag in the back of the car. He was not arrested at the scene, and the car was driven away by another employee of the auto school.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Maybe he should have used the NyQuil defense. It has worked for years in the church!

What do you think?

[MLive]

Authorities say a man ran through two bottles of wine, then cut through a snowstorm on his lawnmower, riding down the center of the street to reach the liquor store.

Adrian police say they found 49-year-old Frank Kozumplik homeward bound on a John Deere tractor Saturday night, toting four bottles of wine in a paper bag.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I thought this only happened in Auburn!