Just Don't Touch Their Beer

(James Estin)
Guys like this hold in great contempt anyone brazen enough to question authority. If you point out the nonexistent WMD's in Iraq, ask where Osama is, point to growing Iraqi civilian and US military casualties, talk about the phantom operations of Bush friendly companies in Iraq paying mercenaries $1,000/day while our troops lack basic equipment, you're likely to be labeled a dirty hippie, no matter how you dress.

But if you threaten their liquor, these brave men organize:

“It’s one of the things that makes this slog north or east palatable,” said Richard Shea, a public relations executive who helped start a group called Commuters Allied for Responsible Enjoyment, to defend what he described as “the romantic ideal” of the suburban commuter enjoying a drink on the way home — in his case, a Bud Light on the 6:52 to Chappaqua, in Westchester County. Mr. Shea encouraged fellow passengers to write to authority board members, urging them to block the proposal.

“People don’t like to have eyes over their shoulders 24/7,” said John Carnival, 43, an operating engineer from Massapequa Park, on Long Island, who bought two cans of Budweiser, packed in a plastic bag with ice, from a bar cart at Penn Station. He called the proposed ban “a little too much Big Brother.”

Never mind all that illegal wiretapping. Just don't try to regulate a man's freedom to drink on a train ride that takes him to his car.

The article I link cites an unreferenced study that found no "widespread problems" related to alcohol sales by the railroad. I used to commute on MetroNorth to and from the city everyday (I now live in the city). I've seen these guys drinking on the train. I used to watch in amazement as they exited the train, walked by police officers, and headed directly to their cars. Yes, that's the freedom our Bill of Rights is founded on.

This particular motivator of men has a parallel in 'independents' who vote based on wanting to drink a beer with a candidate.