Liquor Laws and Spring Break

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

So, there’s now a chance that liquor stores will no longer be legally prohibited from being open on Sundays. This definitely ranks on my list of stupid laws here in Minnesota.

For one thing, it’s unfair. If the government wants to make it illegal for all stores to be closed on Sunday – okay, well that’s still stupid – but at least it would be fair. This is just an antiquated law that lawmakers imagined would get people to church on Sundays (nevermind that going to church is what often drives people to drink).

For two thing, it seems like a clear case of loss revenue. Granted, if I lived out in the middle of the state, I would just have to wait until Monday to get my liquor (or make sure I got there on Saturday). But I, like thousands of other Minnesotans, live really close to Wisconsin. So I could just drive over there and buy some liquor on Sundays – and this has happened at several events I’ve been to. Thus, lost income for my local store and lost tax revenue for my state. Also, restaurants can still sell alcohol on Sundays, so this outmoded rule seems highly unfair.

The weird thing is, though, I don’t really want stores to be open more. I think it’s too bad that malls stay open even on holidays and many gas stations and convenience stores are open all the time. Come on, people, let’s close up shop from time to time.

However, while I might feel that way, I also feel the government has no business demanding stores be open or closed at certain times. So I’m rooting for this law to be stricken from the books.

Also, I want to thank the sexually repressed, morally deficient Catholic Bishops in North Dakota for giving me a great list of charities I should be supporting. Among the charities they want their flocks to stop supporting are the Susan G. Koman for the Cure foundation and the American Association of University Women. Wow. This is really surprising that a religion would show a bias against organizations that promote women’s welfare. I mean, given how fair the bible treats them, this is really surprising.

Thursday, 17 March 2011

I’m on spring break as of 9:30 this morning. Once class was finished for the day, I took off for work and I don’t have to be back to class until the 29th.

I thought for sure we’d be assigned a paper or two to write but, apart from some reading to do, there are no assignments.

I plan to toss the book up on the shelf for the next ten days or so. There’s no point in reading everything that’s assigned when I will forget most of it by the time I next attend class. This is especially true considering how far behind we are. Today, for example, we discussed some texts that we read a week and a half ago. When we’re so far behind like that, I feel like I have to refresh my memory each time we open up the text in class. Oh well, I’ll manage.

Also, next week I am slated to give a presentation in my Toastmasters Club and right now I have no idea what to talk about. I read the chapter that details the kind of speech I’m to give, but I don’t know what to talk about. And for the upcoming meeting, the Club President invited a bunch of other people to attend, so I feel a little pressure here.