Archive for the ‘Wine Legal Battles’ Category
My argument is a simple one: In advancing or promoting or opposing any alcohol-related policy, you should tell the truth. The corollary to this position is equally simple: Don’t lie. I focus on this position today in response to a common lie that has been resurrected in opposing the proposal to allow the U.S. Postal Service to ship alcohol and augment their revenue in doing so. Below is the #1 argument put forward by a former alcohol regulator from Oregon…
It’s a felony to lie under oath to Congress. However, it is not against the law to lie to Congress in a letter to its members. This is the only reason why the heads of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association, the American Beverage Licensees and the American Distillers Alliance have not been brought up on federal charges. As part of their successful attempt to kill the amendment to the U.S. Postal Service Reform Act…
In the course of the states and wholesalers attempting to defend against lawsuits challenging discriminatory and protectionist laws that bar consumers from receiving wine shipments from out-of-state retailers, various legal briefs are filed that argue the law. But also, the state uses “expert testimony” to buttress its claim that bans on wine shipping protect the health and safety of the citizens that are banned from receiving shipments. A lot turns on this “expert testimony” as it informs the various courts…
Proponents of increasing the State of Oregon’s alcohol taxes in a comically excessive way are becoming more creative and more faithless in their arguments for increasing the state taxes in an effort to fight alcohol dependency. As a reminder, earlier in the year Oregon State Representatives Tawna Sanchez sponsored House Bill 3296. If passed, the bill would have increased the excise taxes on beer and cider in Oregon from $2.60 per barrel (31 gallons) to $72.60 per barrel. The increase…
If you considered the state-by-state effort to legalize retailer interstate shipment of wine as a war (which I often do), you could say that at this moment the opposing forces are in course of carrying out maneuvers. Jockeying for advantage. There is a good deal of behind-the-scenes moves being made at the moment. This update on the state of retailer interstate shipment will attempt to illuminate the various efforts. THE COMBATANTS Those working to open up states’ borders to shipments…