Beer Wholesalers Turn Into Cybersquatters
Now alcohol wholesalers aren't content with working as hard as they can to keep you from the wines you want. They don't just want to slap down free trade. Now they want to slap down Free Speech.
The National Beer Wholesalers Association, the middle men behind the Wholesaler Protection Act (HR 1161), have squatted on the following domain names:
StopHR1161.org
StopHR1161.com
KillHR1161.org
KillHr1161.com
Last year after HR 5034 (the predecessor to HR 1161) was introduced, the Specialty Wine Retailers Association decided they would fight back by maintaining the StopHR5034.org website. As this association's executive director, I had the pleasure of updating and keeping the clean rays of sunshine on all the silly claims wholesalers made about their anti-consumer bill, highlighting the enormous press coverage that criticized their efforts to pass that dog of a bill and keeping mailing list member apprised of new developments.
I guess the wholesalers didn't like the idea of folks organizing against their effort to keep consumers hostage to the wines they want to sell. So this time around they decided to squat on these names. And believe me, they won't be using them. They'll just be sitting on them.
Remember the kid that didn't like you playing with a balloon so they grabbed it and stuck a pin in it. Well, welcome to the world of balloon popping, little boy beer wholesalers.
Unfortunately, they didn't buy up STOP1161.org or STOP1161.com. The good guys got those.
However, I can't blame the wholesalers for trying to stop criticism of their efforts. In more than 20 years of trying to shut down all direct shipment, in all the time they've made bogus arguments about minors getting their hands on alcohol via direct shipment and in all the time they've tried to justify their monopoly, they have never gotten any traction with the media or with consumers. And they know they won't…ever.
When you have a losing argument and when you are forced to beg and plead with mommy to protect you from the big, bad competitive marketplace, all you are really left with is dirty tricks.
To keep updated on HR. 1161 and the beer wholesalers efforts to buy protection from competion, go to: http://www.facebook.com/stophr1161. And stay tuned for www.stop1161.org.
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