Drinking Liberally Salt Lake City Chapter Blog

Auld lang syne liberals,

It's officially 2009 - a year that will give us a new president, and new hope for the future of America. Unfortunately we still have to wait a couple weeks for our new president to take office, so until then we'll just celebrate the new year. Join us this Friday, January 2nd in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State St) from 6:30-9:30.

The Piper Down, like all bars and clubs in Utah, is now smoke-free. So if your excuse for not coming out to Drink Liberally has been the smoke, you've lost your excuse. If you've always meant to come out and join us, make it one of your resolutions to come have a pint with us.

Submit your drink recipe (with name) for the Official Unofficial Drink of the Obama Presidency!

On Inauguration Day, we'll all want to raise a glass to our new President as we wish him -- and our country -- all the best.

But...what drink will we be lifting?

It is the job of Drinking Liberally to determine the Official Unofficial Drink of the Obama Presidency. After all, we're the folks who circulate a drinking game every State of the Union, created drink guides for the Conventions and even published Liberal Mixology, a recipe book for the drinks of democracy...this is our civic duty.

Send your drink ideas to saltlakecity@drinkingliberally.org (just reply to this e-mail) before January 20th, and we'll send them on to our national leaders. We're hoping the winning drink can come from the Salt Lake chapter.

Then keep those drinks handy for our annual Winter Mixer, scheduled for February 6th.

Some of your weekly links:

• Proving once again that we have very short term memories, SUV's outsell cars again read
• The documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk" on Hulu watch
• As Israel/Palestine tension heats up, Bush vacations. read
• Google Trends shows that Utah searches for porn more than any other state as a percentage of population read
• The Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune pulled an ad critical of the LDS church's role in Proposition 8: read
• UT Senate President Waddoups wants to keep private clubs so the drinkers in the state can be identified: read (3rd paragraph) and here: read

See you tomorrow!
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Gift-giving liberals,

We hope everyone is having a great Festivus, Hanukkah, Christmas, or starting tomorrow, Kwanzaa and Boxing day. In other words, we hope you're having happy holidays, and we wish the best to our soldiers that are stationed far from their families during the holidays.

This Friday (tomorrow, Dec. 26th) we'll be meeting at the Broadway Theater (111 East 300 South) at 7pm to watch a screening of "Milk", an account of America's first openly gay man elected to office, starring Sean Penn. The show starts at 7, so be sure to get there with enough time to purchase your tickets. We can head over to Junior's Tavern afterward for drinks.

And here's what's been keeping us interested on the 'net:

• Merry Christmas from Santa Bush watch
• Chris Buttars accidentally has a happy holiday read
• A look at Slot Machines vs Voting Machines read
• A very interesting world clock view
• BLM auction disrupted by UofU student, likely keeping that land from extractive energy companies (OneUtah.org did a good job covering it, and the student, Tim DeChristopher, has been blogging there) read/watch
• There are more slaves in the world today than any other time read
• Tennessee got coal for Christmas. "Clean" coal read/watch
• White vigilante groups shoot blacks ruthlessly during hurricane Katrina watch

Have a safe and happy holiday season, and we'll see you Friday at the Broadway Theater!
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Jolly old liberals,

Saint Nicholas of Myrna, the patron saint of prostitutes, thieves, and pawnbrokers, will be visiting the good little Christians of the world in less than a week. This Friday a big group of naughty Salt Lakers will be dressing up in Santa's modern, commercialized wardrobe while moving from bar to bar in search of holiday cheer to put in their glasses and steins.

This Friday, December 19th, we won't be holding our usual meetup, but instead we'll be joining the folks on the Santa Pub Crawl starting at Lumpy's downtown (125 W. Pierpont (250 South)) at 7:00pm. Click the image below to see the full schedule:

Please note: we have had no involvement in the preparation and planning of this event - please direct any questions to the e-mail address on the image. We're just tagging along for a good time.

Next week, December 26th, we plan on skipping our regular meetup again to go see the movie Milk. We'll provide more details about that in next week's e-mail.

And now, here's what's keeping us entertained on the 'net (follow DrinkLibSLC on Twitter for more:

• The obvious link: Pres. Bush getting shoes thrown at him: watch
• Objective: Hit the President in the face with your shoe: play
• 12 things to throw at Bush besides a shoe read & laugh
• Do Union auto workers really make $73/hr? read
• Interested in sustainable agriculture? read
• January 31st (February 1st eve?) will be Utah Wine Night: read (autoplay music)
• Typo in Prop. 8 defines marriage as between 'One man and one wolfman' read
• QSaltLake's Person of the year: Thomas S Monson read
• Arctic melting past the point of no return? We're screwed, huh? read
• The U.S. State Department kicks Blackwater to the curb watch

Cheers!
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Holiday Liberals,

The influx of Utah money to pass Prop 8 in California and Chris Buttars making Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the world count as low points, but the fact that Salt Lake County voted Democratic is certainly one of the highlights of the year. What other memorable or noteworthy moments are on your list for 2008? Join us this Friday, December 12 in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State) for our last "regular" meetup of 2008 as we come up with our list of the Best and Worst political moments of the year.

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week when we celebrated Repeal Day and filled out holiday cards for Buttars. You can look at some of the cards here. We'll have more this Friday as well.

Next week, December 19, we will be participating in Salt Lake City's 13th annual Santa Pub Crawl. The event will kick off at Lumpy's (125 W Pierpont) from 7:00-8:15. For complete Pub Tour listing, see our website.

Friday, December 26th, we will be attending a screening of MILK at the Broadway theater. It is still too early to confirm movie times so check back in a future email.

From Drinking Liberally SLC to all of its members, we wish you a happy and safe holiday season and thank you for helping promote democracy in Utah one pint at a time.

What we're reading and watching:

• Some Drinking Liberally Holiday cards to Buttars read
• The Trib's Glen Warchol mentions the cards to Buttars on his blog read
• Barb Guy's eloquent column on Chris Buttars' war on Christmas read
• The new magazine ad from the big 3 read
• Bill O'Reilly wishing you a merry war on Christmas watch
• Jon Stewart gives a preacher a lesson in tolerance on the Daily Show watch
• Media Matters list of the most outrageous comments of 2008 read
• You can cycle Provo to Salt Lake with the mayors of each city (and help the Utah Food Bank) read
• Rep. Christine Johnson talks about an LGBT food drive you can participate in this Sunday watch

See you Friday,
Heather, Jeremiah, 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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Holiday Happy Hippies,

Thanksgiving is now behind us. Just up ahead is Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Festivus and probably a few others. So where's the controversy in saying 'Happy Holidays'?

Join us this Friday in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S. State) from 6:30 onward as we celebrate another holiday - the American drinkers' holiday - Repeal Day!

On December 5th, 1933, our own crazy state of Utah became the last state needed to ratify the 21st amendment and repeal prohibition across the country. And now 75 years later, Drinking Liberally is going to celebrate the anniversary of our constitutional right to enjoy booze.

And since we'll be so full of holiday spirit, don't you think it's only right to send 'Happy Holiday' cards to the Grinch who stole Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Festivus? We do, so we'll be bringing holiday greeting cards for everyone, and then we'll make sure they're delivered to Olbermann's recent choice of Worst Person in the World, Senator Chris Buttars.

We'll also be bringing the last of our Drinking Liberally SLC beer and rocks glasses. They make great gifts for friends and uptight neighbors, or just to add to your own collection of drinkware.

And here's what we've been reading and watching (as found on our Twitter feed):

• Proposition 8 - The Musical! watch
• Bush lets down his guard a little, apologizes read
• The test best things about the coming depression read
• Noam Chomsky talks about Obama's cabinet choices watch
• More proof that beer is good for you read
• Christmas impeachment ornament read
• Santa's Gmail inbox cracked! read

See you all tomorrow for Repeal Day!
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Liberal turkeys,

Drinking Liberally would like to thank Todd Taylor (Executive Director of the Utah Democratic Party) for coming out to talk to us last week. Todd certainly had a lot of good stats about the election, and he was entertaining as well. Thanks again, Todd!

There will be no Drinking Liberally activities this week (except for the liberal drinking you may do while with friends and family). Instead, we hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. After this last election we've got quite a bit to be thankful for.

Next Friday we'll be back in our usual spot and our usual schedule, showing our gratitude to the Piper Down, Cherish, and beer.

And a few things to keep you entertained over your Thanksgiving holiday:

• DLer and Utah for Obama organizer Misty Fowler in the D-News read
• For men: Mustaches for Kids read
• Bush starts pardoning (turkeys, not his criminal friends) read
• It's about time Ann Coulter's jaw gets wired shut. Who's next? read
• Obama doesn't want a "girly dog", he wants a big rambunctious dog read

See you next week!
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Guest speaker loving liberals,

This week Drinking Liberally welcomes guest speaker Todd Taylor, who is the Executive Director of the Utah Democratic Party. He'll be talking about 'what just happened' in the election. From Todd's point of view the Democrats were the real winners in the election - and he's got the statistics and stories to prove it. Come join us to hear how the Democrats fared, how the Republicans are reacting, as well as get all your questions answered. I'm sure Todd will have even more to say now that it's come out that Obama took Salt Lake County, the first time for a Democrat in quite a while.

There wasn't a whole lot of interest in the liberal Thanksgiving, so we'll have to save the idea for next year. And actually, we hope to have an Eating Liberally chapter next year, so the liberal Thanksgiving could be part of that group.

Things we're watching and reading on the Internet (from our twitter feed):

• Super Obama World, the online game play
• Super Obama World, the video watch
• The Left, The Right, and Gay Marriage read
• Obama's use of complete sentences stirs controversy read
• The Onion: I'm not one of those 'Love Thy Neighbor' Christians read
• [Hiring a mercenary] means you must hire what you can't inspire read
• Foreign leaders won't shake Bush's hand at G20 summit watch
• All Glenn Beck wanted was a Frosty! read
• This comic pretty much sums it up read
• Gov Huntsman criticizes the GOP on Politico read

See you all tomorrow with our guest speaker!
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Liberals with the post-election blues,

The election is over but election issues are still front and center, specifically Proposition 8. It's unbelievable how many attended the downtown demonstration last Friday! We probably should have just held Drinking Liberally at the demonstration.

Next week (Nov 21st) we'll have guest speaker Todd Taylor, who is the Executive Director of the Utah Democratic Party. He'll be talking about what just happened (in the election). From Todd's point of view the Democrats were the real winners in the election - and he's got the statistics and stories to prove it. Come join us to hear how the Democrats fared and how the Republicans are reacting. Of course your questions are welcome as well.

Traditionally we've not held a Drinking Liberally meet-up on the Friday next to Thanksgiving, but we know many of the liberals in Utah are transplants and don't have families to visit for the holiday. So we're considering a Thanksgiving potluck dinner for those "orphans". If you have an interest in participating in this liberal Thanksgiving, reply to this e-mail and let us know your preference of Thursday (Thanksgiving day) or Friday. If we get enough interest we'll make it happen.

What we're watching and reading (from our twitter feed ):

• A great blog post on Proposition H8: Read
• "We need to love more, not hate" Sen Scott McCoy at Prop. 8 rally: Watch
• Keith Olbermann gives a heartfelt and powerful special comment on gay marriage and prop 8: Watch
• 7 year old blogger gets a letter from Barack Obama: Read

This Friday we'll be in our usual spot at the Piper Down (1492 S. State) at 6:30 - come join us for some more post-election discussion, or just to talk about whatever is on your mind.

Cheers,
Jeremiah, Heather, 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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Winning liberals,

The day we've all been talking about for months has come and gone, and man was it amazing! Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on the campaigns of their favorite candidates, whether they won or lost. You were all part of a great new chapter in American history.

The campaign offices might be cleaning up and closing their doors, but since we're not tied to any campaigns or platforms, Drinking Liberally will still be here, week after week. And Drinking Liberally is a great place to keep in touch with all the new friends you've made on the campaign trail.

Join us this Friday in the back room of the Piper Down (1492 S State) as we continue to celebrate the results of the election. Raise a toast to your favorite winning candidate or a cheers to that candidate that almost made it. We'll be there from 6:30 on, and we have a feeling it'll be a big party.

Surfing Liberally (more stuff like this at www.twitter.com/DrinkLibSLC)

• Mormon missionaries visit a lesbian couple - a prop 8 commerical: watch
• Conservatives, are you ready for the new United Socialist States of Islamic Baby Eaters? read
• McCain debates Palin, It gets ugly: watch
• A SL Trib reporter's touching letter to his daughter regarding Obama's election: read
• Maybe in 2012, she says interact
• Republicans eat their own: Palin was unable to name all 3 countries in North America, thought Africa was a country according to Fox News read & watch
• Bush's dog Barney bit a reporter today. Everyone is grumpy over there. watch

See you tomorrow!

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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Scary liberals,

This Friday you're bound to see witches, skeletons, ghouls and goblins - and that's just the Republican candidates. Join us at the Piper Down (1492 S. State) for a Drinking Liberally Halloween, from 6:30 - 9:30 and bring your best political costume. If you don't have a costume, no problemo - you can always come as a whiny American, as Phil Gramm says.

Friday is also the last day to vote early. We'd tell you to vote early just to avoid the long lines on election day, but from what we hear even the early voting has a line. But please please don't let the lines dissuade you. At this point it probably doesn't need to be said, but this election is an important one. Oh, and remember that liquor stores are closed on election day, so hit the DABC early.

Heather and Jeremiah would like to thank Laura for running the show while we were gone, and setting up a guest speaker to boot. We're sorry we missed it, but we're sure that it was informative. Thanks to Sheena McFarland of the Trib for coming out and sharing the pros and cons of the state constitutional amendments with DL.

Drinking Liberally isn't doing anything for election night, but the Young Democrats of Utah are holding a party that sounds fun:

Where: The Downtown Radisson 215 W. South Temple
When: Election Night, November 4th - 8:00 PM until we are done celebrating
What: Cash bar, live DJ, free food, a ton of fun

Also there's this:
The Utah Democratic Lawyers Council will present a forum on "The Fallout of One-Party Rule in Utah State Government"

October 28 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Speakers include State Senator Ross Romero, State Senator Scott McCoy, Patrice Arent, and County Mayor Peter Corroon

And you can also join Utah for Obama at In the Venue at Club Sound @ 579 W 200 S from 4pm - midnight. This will be an event for all ages, though there will be an area where people over 21 can get alcoholic beverages. There will be non-alcoholic refreshments for others as well.

Suggested donation for admission is $2.70 - a penny for every electoral college vote needed to win the presidency. This will help to reimburse grassroots organizers of the event.

See you Friday!
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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