This would belong more in the world affairs forum, but by the time it takes to get approval over there, the fun's all over.
Anyways, here's an interesting article...
ATHENS, Ala. - Voters have a chance on Tuesday to return this northern Alabama city to the days of Prohibition.
A measure to end the sale of alcohol in Athens is up for a citywide vote, a rare instance where voters could overturn a previous vote to allow sales. Business interests are against repeal, but church leaders who helped organize the petition drive that got the measure on the ballot are asking members to pray and fast in support of a ban.
Christians who oppose drinking on moral grounds believe they have a chance to win, however small.
"If it can be voted out anywhere, it will be here because so many Christians are against it," said Teresa Thomas, who works in a Christian book store.
Business leaders argue that ending the sale of beer, wine and liquor would hurt tax revenues and send the message that Athens is backward.
"Economic impact is really the big issue," said Carl Hunt, an organizer of the pro-alcohol sale Citizens for Economic Progress.
The United States went dry in 1920 after the 18th Amendment outlawed the production, transportation and sale of alcohol. Prohibition was repealed in 1933.
Now, less than four years after they first voted to legalize alcohol sales, the nearly 22,000 residents of Athens will decide whether to prohibit alcohol sales within the city, located about 95 miles north of Birmingham. Possession and consumption would remain legal.
Such "wet-to-dry" votes aren't unheard of, but they're rare, said Jim Mosher of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, which tracks public policy issues including alcohol laws.
"In Barrow, Alaska, when they legalized alcohol sales, problems went through the roof," Mosher said. "Then, when they banned it again, it improved."
Twenty-six of Alabama's 67 counties, including Limestome, where Athens is located, don't allow alcohol sales. Besides the Athens vote, residents of the southern Alabama town of Thomasville were to cast their ballots Tuesday on whether to legalize alcohol sales.
Regardless of whether Athens winds up wet or dry, a leader of the 138-year-old National Prohibition Party is glad voters have a chance to decide. Such issues rarely make it to the ballot any more, said attorney Howard Lydick, a member of the party's executive committee.
"The beer and wine industry has very good PR," Lydick said. "Those pushing (prohibition) have been pushed aside."
The Rev. Eddie Gooch feels good about the chances of ending alcohol sales in Athens, but he isn't taking any chances.
A leader of the petition drive, Gooch urged members of his United Methodist Church to pray and fast on election day and the two days leading up to it. Church volunteers have sent thousands of letters and made phone calls encouraging people to vote "dry."
Mayor Dan Williams said the city government is making nearly $250,000 in extra sales taxes directly tied to alcohol, and the city's schools get the same amount.
Besides that money, he said, overall tax revenues have grown since alcohol sales were legalized in January 2004 — an increase he attributes partly to alcohol sales.
An upscale Italian restaurant recently moved to Athens from the nearby dry city of Hartselle in order to sell alcohol, and Williams said other restaurants have arrived since it went wet.
"It's a big deal for a small town to get a new restaurant," he said.
Gooch isn't worried about the city losing businesses or tax revenues if alcohol sales are banned. Normal economic growth and God will make up any difference if residents dump the bottle, he said.
"We believe that God will honor and bless our city," Gooch said.
So in a secluar society where people are allowed to choose how to be governed by experience in different situations, a group of them chose to petition to ban alcohol. Just goes to show that Allah's rules....well, RULE
Texas is really strange. I had to do 10 blocks to pick up some beer.
That county had lower tax base than mine.
My county accomplished nothing except lost revenue.
That’s just stupid.
I understand why some do not want alcohol in there area and I take no issue with that.
Having to take a 5 minute ride is not a deterrent nor does it keep alcohol out of the area.
But what can I say, that’s Texas.
by the time it takes to get approval over there, the fun's all over.
Yes and that is sad to. I submitted one yesterday and still nothing.
Texas is a strange place. We seem to be composed of extremes often just a very short distance apart. There are areas where alcohol is illegal on one side of the street and legal on the the other. Texarkana is a good example. Texarkarkana is actually in two states Texas and Arkansas. State Highway divides the town. On the Texas side of the street Alcohol is illegal, but across the street which is in Arkansas it is legal.
I believe it was in Waco in the late 1800s a State law was passed that Alcohol could not be sold within 300 feet of any place of worship. Waco passed a city ordinance that the churches had to move. (I may be wrong about it being Waco)
prohibition was a failure here.
i don't drink alcohol, but i don't want the state telling me not to - i can make these choices for myself.
lol...even there is a law prohibiting it. People still drink it. Here in Malaysia they are muslims that drink.
For example in mecca, even there are law prohibit people not to smoke, but you can still see someone smoking. And if the policeman saw it, they'll shout... "haram....haram...." lol
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
lol, yes, when the state prohibits alcohol - it never works and people will find all kinds of ways to get it.
i believe the kennedy family got its fortune from smuggling alcohol in to the u.s. from canada!
as a person who believes that it is forbidden to drink, wouldn't you rather willingly obey your religion or have some state make it really hard to get?
i don't use alcohol or any of the illegal drugs either - but i think prohibition is a terrible mistake. and people should be able make their own choices and assume the responsibility that goes with them.
woodrow
I believe it was in Waco in the late 1800s a State law was passed that Alcohol could not be sold within 300 feet of any place of worship. Waco passed a city ordinance that the churches had to move.
this is hilarious!!!!
each man thinks of his own fleas as gazelles
question authority
lol...even there is a law prohibiting it. People still drink it. Here in Malaysia they are muslims that drink.
Yea.... it's very easy to spot Muslims drinking in Penang... but from what I've heard many people drink in Langkawi as the alcoholic beverages there are tax-free and way cheaper....
Same here in Egypt. But they're the kind of Muslims who don't pray, have girlfriends, and party all the time. Not the best examples.
format_quote Originally Posted by snakelegs
as a person who believes that it is forbidden to drink, wouldn't you rather willingly obey your religion or have some state make it really hard to get?
This is a good point snakelegs. In a Sharia state it would be illegal for a Muslim to own a liquor store, but from what I understand, it would not be illegal for a non-Muslim to do so. However, drinking in public is another matter. In a country devoted to the worship of God and obeying His laws, I think it would just look stupid for people to be all gathered around drinking. I think the point though is that by having one person drinking in public, they show the people around them that it's ok, that it's "cool", which might encourage others to do so...and then you'd have a society like Egypt today where "you're cool if you drink". But I do understand the need for personal freedom in choosing whether to obey or not, I just think that if you choose to disobey, it should be in private where nobody can see you.
I think that there's a hadeeth that says that talking about your sin as if it's a good thing or "normal" is 1000 times worse than actually having done it. Like the people who like to boast about which women they slept with... they don't know that they're making something that's already bad 1000 times worse :confused:
prohibition was a failure here.
i don't drink alcohol, but i don't want the state telling me not to - i can make these choices for myself.
And I'm sure the people who die in car accidents because a drunkard was driving, or suffer abuse at the hands of an alcoholic/dunker person all 'choose' to die/suffer that way.
format_quote Originally Posted by Skywalker
I think the point though is that by having one person drinking in public, they show the people around them that it's ok, that it's "cool", which might encourage others to do so...and then you'd have a society like Egypt today where "you're cool if you drink".
Even worse, they might run you over, try to hit on you, act indecently in public (it isn't uncommon for idiots to run around naked at my uni under the influence of alcohol), embarrass people, abuse people, ruin peoples lives, and most annoying, ruin their liver and pancreas and then use MY tax money for treatment to something that should have never happened in the first place!
as a person who believes that it is forbidden to drink, wouldn't you rather willingly obey your religion or have some state make it really hard to get?
He would rather make it a state law. That way:
1 - He doesn't need self control and can't teach people anything. Abstain or burn in hell.
2 - people with different beliefs from him can't get a drink. Thats called intolerance.
And I'm sure the people who die in car accidents because a drunkard was driving, or suffer abuse at the hands of an alcoholic/dunker person all 'choose' to die/suffer that way.
Even worse, they might run you over, try to hit on you, act indecently in public (it isn't uncommon for idiots to run around naked at my uni under the influence of alcohol), embarrass people, abuse people, ruin peoples lives, and most annoying, ruin their liver and pancreas and then use MY tax money for treatment to something that should have never happened in the first place!
DANG! You totally hit the spot didn't u sis . I agree with you
*Without Allah, without Islam, life would be meaningless. If I've ever learned patience, it's because of this. Alhamdulillah...*
Intoxicated drives operating a motor vehicle are dangerous..but so are sleepy drivers,,,or people with 500 lbs of semtex or a couple of tanks of propane in the back seat. Maybe we should just ban cars.
California has very severe DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) laws and they are enforced.
so many reasons..... its stress relief mainly for me everyonce in awhile after a some long day of hard work and alot of stress sometimes you want to forget about your responsibilities for a while and have fun...
so many reasons..... its stress relief mainly for me everyonce in awhile after a some long day of hard work and alot of stress sometimes you want to forget about your responsibilities for a while and have fun...
and why people wanna get totally drunk and did stupid things... like urinating in the public, cursing , making themselves look stupid....
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