Drinking Liberally

Tonight, as the President takes to the podium in the Capitol, members of Drinking Liberally take to bars across America. This is the 9th year running that Drinking Liberally is hosting State of the Union Watch Parties, and you're invited to join.

Find your local chapter on our DL map and see if they've promoted a special watch party for tonight.

And whether you're a host or a guest, bring some games to your local event.

Here's a link to SOTU Bingo Cards created by Kathleen Thompson, our host in Mid-Cities Texas. These cards are pre-designed for you to print-and-play.

Check them out and print them out here.

And our Baltimore host, Robyn Henry, took it a different route: she supplied the words and you can fill in your own Bingo cards.

Her instructions: "Before the speech, fill in each space on a 5x5 grid from the choices below. During the speech, mark off each thing as it is heard or seen. The first person to BINGO and the person closest to blackout will win a prize."

Reward responsibility, Hard work, Bush Tax Cuts, Middle class, Fair share, Fair shake, Fair play, Progress, Blueprint, Buffett Rule, Manufacturing, Alternative Energy, Energy Independence, China, Iran, Insourcing, Equal Opportunity, "The state of our union is strong!", Unemployment, "special guest," Bipartisan Standing Ovation, Partisan Standing Ovation, Vice President Biden Yawns, Mic Check, Speaker Boehner is orange, Speaker Boehner cries, Michelle Obama's "guns," Nancy Pelosi looking unhappy, Arab Spring, Security, Budget, Diplomacy, Deficit, Energy, Pakistan, Private Sector, Elections, Food Security, Keystone XL, Partnership, Transparency, Environment, Results, HIV / AIDS, Hecklers, Someone wears a red suit

The GOP rivals play proud patriotic eagles
but attack working families, insult the less fortunate
& use code, condescension & coercion to divide America,
-- it's not only Romney who can be called a vulture.

Big Media conglomerates claim to fight piracy
when they behave as predators by nature:
they lock content, block creativity, knock competition
& make off with the bounty before the ship sinks.

Pipeline proponents claim they'd pump up prosperity,
but the Tar Sands project would have been the leech
on our environment, economy & our way of life.

Though they talk proud, look pleasant, smile pretty
pirates aren't patriots, leeches don't love America
& beware of vultures in eagles' clothing.

Debrief the debates, predict the primaries
& lift liberal libations with like-leaning lefties
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Is the GOP Possessed or Just Occupied?

Newt Gingrich, longtime crusader for Big Business,
now rails against Romney's work at Bain,
and talks about the wrong kind of capitalism.

Rick Santorum, who represented corporate interests,
starts stumping in support of blue collar workers
and paints Mitt as an abusive corporate boss.

Ron Paul, supposedly an extreme free marketeer,
thinks it unfair how Romney's crew has fared
in a market that seems to be working for them.

These fighting words sound more at home
in Zuccotti Park than in the Republican Primary,
Is the GOP possessed? Or are they just Occupied?

Share your disbelief, your dreams & a drink or two
with like-minded libation-lifting liberals
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Mitt spent far more than any other candidate
to come out only 8 votes ahead in Iowa,
with fewer votes and a smaller share than in '08.
If that's winning, then losing sounds OK.

GOP voters dislike Romney so much that they voted
for a guy who'd languished in last & who they chose
because they already knew and discarded everyone else.
If that's a compliment, Rick, keep smiling…for now.

Perry's out, then back in; Bachmann's in, then backed out
& Newt announced he'll break his 11th Commandment
-- "don't speak ill of fellow Republicans" --
which is fine, since he broke the 7th a few times already.

Mitt "wins," Rick grins, Newt sins
as his quest for vengeance begins.
This is starting to get interesting.

Share your reactions and your predictions
as you share a pint and share the night
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

By Iowa, you'd think the race would take shape,
but this race is as malleable as Mitt Romney,
hazy as Rick Perry, unpredictable as Bachmann,
drawn out as Newt and entertaining as Ron Paul.

The libertarian's popular except when he's libertarian,
the multiple-adulterer is seeking "value voters"
and the guy whose gone to every county in the state
can't ask you to google his last name (try it).

You have "top tier" picks disqualified in other states,
the folks the media ignored surging to the top three
and a front-runner disliked by his party's base voters.

So, Iowans: I-o-who? I-o-how? I-o-what the heck?!
Makes you want to scream: I-o-whaaaaaaaa?!?!

And in five days, your life can go back to normal.

Share stories of 2011, predictions for 2012,
and a beer or two as your share the evening
with your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

By Nora Eisenberg, originally posted at TruthDig

Onto the marches we go, chanting all the way! This season, don’t look to bells on bobtails to make your spirits bright. Kindle the mood with dreams and songs of Occupation, sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells.”

Chorus

Occupy, occupy
Occupy away
Oh what joy it is to know
That we will have our say
Occupy, occupy
Occupy away
Oh what joy it is to know
That we will have our day

1.
Started with a few
Camping in the square
Saying we got screwed
We’re here to claim our share

2.
Zuccotti was the first
Soon cities everywhere
Had occupations call
For justice and what’s fair

3.
No more corporate rule
Of government and press
Our kids in jails or lured to war
For profits in their nests

4.
Evicted from our homes
Sold a pack of lies
Occupying foreign lands
Bombs raining in their skies

5.
With mortgages banks preyed
Worthless papers all
They bundled, sold, and then they bet
That everything would fall

6.
Folks working sixty years
Saving for the time
When they can take a rest from toil
Now no one has a dime

7.
We’re marching on the banks
We’re taking back our homes
Claiming rights to school and health
To truth, our dreams and poems

A year ago, Boehner ran the Party of No.
Now the Tea Party's says "Hell No" to him
& makes the GOP say no to America:
no benefits, no tax cuts, no holiday relief.

Congress claimed the country needed a class
in Constitutional history - instead, they made history:
unprecedented debt ceiling & default debates,
& record-low ratings from a pissed off public.

The payroll tax is a no-brainer for Boehner
but the Tea Party's become Boehner's bane
and he deserves them -- bringing them in
was Boehner's boner to begin with.

Boehner promised to focus Congress on jobs --
now he may lose the job he's only had a year…
and maybe he'd prefer it: leading the minority
is a lot easier than leading the country.

Don't let conservatives Scrooges get you down,
and raise your spirits, ideas & holiday wishes
with your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Nearly nine years ago, they sold America a war
on imaginary yellowcake, hazy mushroom clouds
& a culture of fear that terrorized our nation.

Over 8 1/2 years ago, "Mission Accomplished!"
...though the chaos was more real than WMDs,
& the ongoing occupation oversaw surges
in violence, troops & unforgivable civilian casualties

More than 3 years ago, we elected a President
who rose to prominence with the promise to end the war,
which now -- with solemn ceremony & honest uncertainty,
not pompous posturing & sloganeering -- reaches its end.

We're witnessing a very different Mission Accomplished
...or at least a Mission Concluded -- and it's about time
we've climbed out from in between Iraq and a hard place.

No doubt the GOP candidates will find fault in this too.

Remember the years of senseless war
as we toast to that mission being no more,
sharing stories, opinions and a drink or two
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

DC dialogue had been occupied with austerity
but Democrats are finally debating jobs
& calling on the 1% to pay a few percent more.

President Obama was drowning in debt dialogue,
yet now is arguing for a fair economy for all
& for those who take the most to share a little more.

New York's "Governor 1%" resisted the Millionaires Tax
-- however Cuomo is now revamping the tax code
...so millionaires pay a higher tax rate.

If you can tax them there, you'll tax 'em anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York…

People have dismissed Occupy Wall Street --
yet they're not only Occupying the Debate,
they're now Occupying the Tax Code.

Talk tax while you relax, with drinks & snacks
in the company of like-minded liberating lefties
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Conservatives sought a fresh face this election,
but Perry can't parry, Bachmann's so back-then
and Cain is utterly unable.

The Donald was trumped by reality,
John Huntsman had no hunt in him
and even they don't take Santorum seriously.

They rip Mitt's flips & he's still a drip,
so the GOP tries to drop this flop,
but their only hope is a right-wing retiree,
a leftover lobbyist America loves to loathe...

Are they giving up on forging a fresh route,
and deciding if you can't go new, go Newt?

Even the GOP fondly remember the Clinton Years.

Reminisce about the 90s & prophesy 2012
as you pass the hours & pass a few pitchers
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.