Salt Lake City

Registered and voting liberals, (you are registered, right? Check here)

Firstly, we'd like to thank Del Vance for joining us last week at the Piper Down and telling us all about beer, Utah, and Mormon liquor. It was a packed house and Del was really great. Hopefully he'll join us again for a regular meet-up and another beer or two.

We've been telling you that this week is the pub crawl with the Young Dems, but then with the first Presidential debate happening on Friday we decided to push it back a week. The Piper Down was going to fire up the TV in the back room so we could all watch it together. And now McCain might not even show up for the debate because apparently he can't think about more than one thing at a time.

So who knows what's going on; all I know is we need to Drink Liberally! Join us this Friday, September 26th at the Piper Down (1492 S. State) from 6:30 to 9:30. If the candidates debate, we'll watch. Otherwise we can sit around doing our best impressions of McCain ("my friends") and Palin (-blank stare-) answering questions.

And then join us next week for the pub crawl with the Young Dems in Park City. Details in next week's e-mail.

A request: some of our members smoke, many of us don't. If you'd like to smoke while at Drinking Liberally, please step into the main bar or the outside patio. Our last poll of members (quite a long time ago) showed that the number one reason for not coming out was the smoke. We meet in a bar so some smoke contact is inevitable, but the less smoky our room is the better for everyone. 'preciate ya.

What we're reading and watching (follow DrinkLibSLC on twitter for more):

• David Letterman Reacts to McCain's campaign suspension Watch
• The Daily Show - Debt to America! Watch
• Naomi Kline talks about the bailout being part and parcel of the shock doctrine on Bill Maher Watch
• He was kind of wrong on the above Real Time segment, but if only more conservatives had the kind of sense Andrew Sullivan displays here... Read
• Comparing Obama's and McCain's tax plans - who's will benefit you? Watch
• Steve Carrell on the Daily Show in 2000 corners McCain on his pork-barrel spending Watch

See you Friday at the Piper Down,
Jeremiah, Laura, Heather

Drinking Liberally SLC meets from 6:30-9:30 every Friday in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State Street).
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Economic roller coaster-riding liberals,

This week Laura has rustled up a great guest speaker - Del Vance, author of "Beer in the Beehive" and founder of Uinta Brewing company.

Do you know much about the complex history Utah has had with liquor? The way it is now isn't the way it's always been. Salt Lake was essentially built on liquor money. In fact, in pre-prohibition Utah, a local newspaper reported that "the passage of a prohibition law will badly compromise the Mormon people." Find out more about that next week as Del Vance joins Drinking Liberally as our September guest speaker. "Beer in the Beehive" is available at the Beer Nut, conveniently located down the road from the Piper Down at 1200 S. State.

SLUG magazine recently interviewed Del, as did City Weekly in 2006 (you might need to search for that article, the link seems to get broken in our software). The local Fox affiliate even did a two part piece with Del on beer in Zion. And with the recent declaration by the LDS church regarding "individual freedom of choice" as it pertains to alcohol, Del will likely have some interesting comments. We know there are a lot of people excited about Del's visit, so you might want to show up early (which for you liberals means "on time")!

Next Friday, September 26th, Drinking Liberally will be teaming up with the Young Democrats of Utah for a pub crawl in Park City. The Young Dems are always fun to socialize with no matter your age, so please plan on joining us in Park City next week. We'll have final, specific details in next week's e-mail. If you've got friends who just moved here from out of state, bring them to hear Del Vance this week, and then bring them up to Park City so they can test out their new found knowledge of Utah's liquor laws.

There's a lot of crazy/funny things happening in politics right now, and we've posted a few videos on our website recently. If that isn't enough video for you, check out this site. If you've seen a funny video you'd like to share, feel free to register on our website and post it.

We'll see you at the Piper Down (1492 S. State) around 6:30 tomorrow!

Jeremiah, Heather and Laura
Drinking Liberally SLC meets from 6:30-9:30 every Friday in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State Street).
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Summer loving liberals,

We would have been remiss to send an e-mail today and not mention the events that took place on American soil 7 years ago, but words failed. Luckily, Justin Krebs, one the hosts of the original NYC Drinking Liberally chapter (and Living Liberally Executive Director) wrote a great post that says more than we could begin to say. An excerpt:

From the day of that postponed primary (which, of course, needed to be delayed), our country seemed to agree to postpone democracy. Giuliani's effort to delay New York's elections failed, but the politics of fear that 9/11 enabled the Bush administration to cultivate has been the driving force in our country since.

Speaking of Justin Krebs, Heather and Jeremiah just got back from the Living Liberally National Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, where we met up with a number of other chapter leaders and the rest of the Living Liberally national leaders. It was great fun (how could it not be?) and we're now proud Card-carrying Liberals. You can become a card-carrying liberal too, and we hope you do. We'll be telling your more about it in weeks to come, but if you just can't wait to get your own card, head over to www.theliberalcard.org to see what it's about (hint: it's about Liberal Pride, Liberal Community, Liberal Discounts).

Thanks to everyone who came to the McCain on the Rocks watch party, and especially to Becky who put it together. After Guiliani and Palin's speeches, we knew this was the only way we'd be able to stomach McCain's acceptance speech. To see some blurry pictures from the event (as well as from the Living Liberally National Conference), visit our Flickr page, and to read a write-up by the Salt Lake Tribune's Culture Vulture, Sean P. Means, see the article here.

Do you know much about the complex history Utah has had with liquor? The way it is now isn't the way it's always been. Salt Lake was essentially built on liquor money. In fact, in pre-prohibition Utah, a local newspaper reported that "the passage of a prohibition law will badly compromise the Mormon people." Find out more about that next week as Del Vance - author of "Beer in the Beehive" and founder of Uinta Brewing Company - joins Drinking Liberally as our September guest speaker. "Beer in the Beehive" is available at your local bookseller. SLUG magazine recently interviewed Del, as did City Weekly in 2006. The local Fox affiliate even did a two part piece with Del on beer in Zion. This should be good.

Finally, this week we'll be back at our usual spot in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State Street) from 6:30 to 9:30, where we'll certainly be getting caught up on lost weeks. We will be resuming our regular schedule beginning this week - that's every Friday for you newcomers.

Cheers!
Jeremiah, Heather and Laura

Drinking Liberally SLC meets from 6:30-9:30 every Friday in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State Street).
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Sorry for the extra e-mail this week but it looks like our McCain watch party is going to be the place to be tonight, so you don't want to miss the fun.

What else are you going to do, watch it at home? Do that and you're likely to scare the pets and the kids with your yelling, to say nothing of the broken TV set that might come out of it. Going to a bar with like-minded friends, drinks at the ready, is definitely the way to go.

There will be old media and new media (read bloggers) there, as well as many of your favorite liberal friends (and probably some new ones).

Once again, here are the details:

Where: Saints and Sinners, 3040 S. State St. (tell them you're with Drinking Liberally at the door)
When: Tonight! (9/4/08) Anytime after 6:30, speech around 8.
What: Drinking games, trivia, "Drill, baby, drill" chants from short-sighted delegates, pitbulls with lipstick
Food: No. They're not opposed to any of us ordering pizza though.
Drinks: Umm, yeah. At the bar.

Of course, just as we expect you to vote responsibly, we also expect you to drink responsibly.

See you tonight!
Jeremiah, Heather and Laura (with special thanks to Becky)

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Abstinence-optional liberals,

Two weeks is just too long to go between Drinking Liberally, and since we won't have our next regular Friday meet-up until the 12th, we're going to have a special one this Thursday instead.

Join us Thursday, Sept. 4th (starting around 7:30 - 8) for a McCain convention speech watch party at the Saints and Sinners club, 3040 S. State St. Tell them you're with Drinking Liberally at the door and then follow the sounds of howling and heckling upstairs. There will be a band playing later, so while there's normally a cover for such things, they're waiving it for us political geeks - you're even encouraged to stay for the band. Thanks to Saints and Sinners to providing the space, and DL'er Becky for her help in finding it. Thanks also to everyone who offered suggestions and their homes.

Saints and Sinners doesn't have a kitchen set up yet - keep that in mind because we certainly don't want anyone drinking on an empty stomach.

The national leaders of Drinking Liberally and People for the American Way have a drinking game we can play to stay awake while we watch McCain talk to his small group of old white people at the RNC.

Our friends over at Drinking Liberally Denver have modified the McCain game for Sarah Palin's speech tonight. So if you feel so inclined:

Sarah Palin Convention Speech Drinking Game

Take a Sip when
She Says:
- faith
- Barack Obama
- abortion
- pregnancy

or when:
- She claims that "the media" is attacking her family
- She makes reference to being governor of Alaska
- She talks about the sanctity of life
- She makes a positive reference to Hillary Clinton
- She mentions Cindy McCain

Take a Gulp when:
- She claims that "the Democrats/Democrat party" is attacking her party
- She makes reference to being a beauty queen
- She uses a down-homey aphorism
- She makes a positive reference to Geraldine Ferraro
- She calls Obama a muslim
- She references her relationship with God
- She mentions the lack of a vetting process

Chug when:
- She claims that Joe Biden is attacking her family
- She makes reference to being a tv sports anchor
- She says that she "won't apologize" for something (e.g. her family, being who she is, being a christian, etc.)
- She makes a positive reference to Gloria Steinem

Celebratory Toast if:
- She forgets a line/stumbles through a line
- She tries a joke about her inexperience

Finish Your Drink if:
- She is replaced by Phyllis Schlafly
- She mentions VPILF
- She claims that Barack Obama is attacking her family
- She makes reference to being a secessionist and/or under investigation
- She performs an abortion on live television
- She makes a positive reference to Andrea Dworkin

Also, Fake Sarah Palin will be tweeting her thoughts during her speech, so if you're already on Twitter, follow her here. If you're not on Twitter, you can follow that same link and just refresh the page I suppose. (A sample of Fake Sarah Palin: "Of course he vetted me. HE IS A VETERAN! THAT IS WHAT HE DOES. Sheesh liberals are so dumb.")

We hope to see you Thursday,
Jeremiah, Laura, and Heather

Drinking Liberally SLC meets from 6:30-9:30 on the second and fourth Friday of each month through the summer in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State Street).
Drinking Liberally SLC
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