Grandma's House

Connecticut officials have way, way too much time on their hands:

A constitutional battle is brewing over a holiday beer that state officials are trying to ban because they say its label might entice children to drink.

The state believes it would be really awful for kids to see the label on the British import Seriously Bad Elf.

It shows a mean-looking elf with a slingshot firing Christmas ornaments at Santa's sleigh as it flies overhead.

This tells me two things: First, England really has a weird sense of humor when they name their alcoholic beverages; and second, people still think kids will drink anything with a cartoon on it. If that were the case, when are they gonna ban the Scrubbing Bubbles?

But I had a problem with other areas of this story.

At that hearing this week, ACLU attorney Annette Lamoreaux argued that the regulation has serious constitutional flaws.

Not only does it violate Shelton's free speech rights, she said, but protecting Santa Claus is a violation of the Constitution's establishment clause, which prohibits government endorsement or disapproval of religion.

What religion is Santa Claus? C'mon, people. Santa is not a real person. But wait, there's more:

But studies have shown children can be affected by alcohol advertising, said George Hacker, the director of the Alcohol Policies Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

A 1996 study showed that more kids recognized the Budweiser Frogs than Tony the Tiger or Smokey the Bear.

These are the same wankers who are messing with the fast food industry. They need to re-examine their so-called study. Of course more kids recognized the Budweiser Frogs. When's the last time Tony the Tiger or Smokey Bear (not Smokey the Bear) were on television on a regular basis? They recognize them more often because they see them more often, that's all.

That's the way I feel about it. How about you?