Mitt Romney is a proud member of the 1%
which is doing just fine in this economy
as he talks about cuts for everybody else.

Herman Cain has his own handful of problems
but as long as he keeps talking tax cuts,
he gets cheers & moderators get boos.

Rick Perry is so obsessed with cuts
he can't remember which cuts he wants to make.

This farce has gone on long enough --
instead of hearing the candidates shout "Cuts!"
it's about time to hear a director shout "Cut!"

And to Tea Party governors, the House GOP
& the Super Committee focused on cuts:
they may all be next on the electoral chopping block.

No need to cut and run -- stay for a while
with a democratic drink & discussion
at your local progressive social club.

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

Three years ago, we voted for hope and change --
one year from now we decide whether to change that hope.
Three years back we rejected McCain madness & Palin pain;
in one year, at the polls, we return or replace our pols.

Three years ago, war abroad & unemployment at home;
in one year, will troops or the economy be coming back?
Three years ago, housing & stock markets plummeted;
in a year, will any bankers find a home in the Big House?

Three years ago was supposed to be the End of an Error,
but with one year until Election Day, many errors endure
& it feels like there's too much 2008 lingering in 2011.

We've been hoping for the past three years.
Now, let's get to the changing part for the next one.

Because if Obama doesn't make change,
the American people and the GOP just might.
And that's not exactly what we're hoping for.

So we hope you'll join for an evening & a drink
and change your plans to come share what you think
at your local progressive social club.

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

BY ANTHONY GARCIA

When you think of the great wine regions of the world, do Michigan, Maryland, or South Dakota come to mind? Probably not. What about eco-friendly wineries? You don’t have to be in a sommelier certificate program or online graduate course to learn that many wines are ecologically sound. Many wine lovers have a difficult time with keeping their consumption of the good stuff sustainable—cork trees are limited and many wines are shipped from faraway places. Believe it or not, there are wineries around the U.S. that are not only local, but also created as sustainably as possible.

Unexpected Eco Friendly Companies

When it comes to being environmentally conscientious, even larger wineries are getting on board with the sustainable movement by constructing new buildings out of materials like straw bales. Others are showing they care about the planet with no bottle and no cork wines. As the green movement gains ethos and popularity, more wineries and wine buyers are looking for a multitude of elements of sustainable wine.

Having multiple pieces of what it takes to make sustainable wine is what makes some of America's smallest vineyards amazing. Although most sustainable vineyards are in California, there are definitely plenty of eco-friendly wineries in unexpected places outside of the usual Napa and West Coast green wine scene.

In the hills of Michigan, for example, there is one winery that it is trying to do everything a customer looking for organic wine could want. Above and beyond, a visit to the Pleasantview Vineyards and Winery in Harbor Springs, Michigan is worth the trip. Looking out for migraine sufferers, they guarantee they are selling a low-sulfite product. On top of all of the chemical free vineyards they harvest grapes from, there are also other sustainable agricultural techniques in place. For example, owners at this vineyard hand tend, hand harvest, and hand press their wines. They also ensure that their labels are completely green.

Support the Rare White Deer Wine

When visiting Keuka Lake in New York’s Finger Lakes, be sure to stop by a local vineyard that has been making green wine since 1977. Not only is this place worthy of titling your glass, it is also a popular tourist and wedding destination. There are 20 wine varieties at Heron Hill with green techniques at work. While they are not certified as organic, they do participate in the New York State Vine Balance sustainable agriculture initiative. They also keep up a sustainable appearance by donating $2 from some of their labels to the rare Seneca White Deer foundation.

The Computerized Green Wine Revolution

If there is one place in the country where Amish work ethic meets great tasting green wines, it is in Pennsylvania. While browsing the website for the Crossing Vineyards and Winery in Washington Crossing, you will soon realize that they aren't taking the slow approach to the green wine revolution. They use solar energy in the winery and grow grapes with sustainable methods in their vineyard. By the time you get to the tasting room, every part of your tour will reveal how the computerized agriculture program is a state of the art maker of wine luxury.

Green Artisan Wines and Ciders

Low impact viticulture is in full effect at the McRitchie Winery and Ciderworks in Thurmond, North Carolina. As part of their tour, you will learn that in the world of vineyards you hear a lot about inputs. Inputs include all the raw materials that go into wine production, and can include organic products grown with high-sulfur fertilizers. Using carefully crafted techniques, McRitchie Winery shows that sustainable inputs are the way to craft the best small batch wines.

The Best Wine of the Western Midwest

Out in the middle of Hill City, South Dakota is a surprising and sustainable vineyard that stands out. Far from a label no one has heard of, this is the home of one of the few wines that won the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition against the staunch nearby Napa Valley contenders. Like the California wine industry, Prairie Berry Winery hopes to reflect all of the values of even their most progressive customers on the sustainability front, and is owned by two former engineers who took sustainability into consideration when designing and constructing the heating and cooling system for the winery.

Although the fact that they do ship a small amount grapes from the West coast where the climate is better for grape production may be a strike against them on the ecology front, the majority of their wine ingredients come from local produce and berries that can grow in the harsh and arid climate, such as rhubarb and crabapples. Prairie Berry Winery sustainable packaging techniques mean using recycled heating and cooling systems. Topped off with Stelvin screw caps instead of corks, the berry and local fruit wines out of Prairie Berry are definitely ahead of the game in unique taste and sustainable practices for the Midwest, and on a national scale.

Get Inspired to Grow Your Own Wine

Are you starting to notice that a lot of sustainable wineries are popping up in unexpected places? If you are curious about this trend, one look at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) website might help you understand the rise in green wines. With over twenty informative and up to date links, the government is showing America that eco-friendly wineries work for the future of the United States’ growing wine production. The information on sustainable viticulture could be the inspiration to start a vineyard of your own or understand more about the green wine tours you want to take.

You could dress as Rick Perry the Executioner,
don the outfit of a big, lazy, tired Newt
or get yourself an x-rated "Santorum" outfit.

Wear a Bachmann costume to frighten anyone with a heart,
a "President Cain" get-up to scare anyone with common sense
or dress as Ron Paul to make the Republican Party shiver.

Or you could change your appearance at every door
and try to look unlike the man you were before --
but it's expensive to wear as many masks as Mitt Romney.

We'd suggest you dress as a GOP jobs plan
-- though nobody knows what that costume looks like.

Halloween with these costumes may be scary,
but not nearly as terrifying as each primary debate.

It's no trick to find the company of like-minded lefties
but such a treat to share a drink & enjoy the night
at your local progressive social club.

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

At Occupy Wall Street, protesters oppose
corporate-political cronyism & economic injustice.
At the GOP debate, candidates argue
that we need to look out for the 1%.

There are those who want to fairly tax the rich,
and those who want to increase tax burden on the poor;
those who want an economy that works for everyone,
and those who say it's your fault if you're unemployed.

Some call out to hold Wall Street accountable,
and others want us out Big Business's way.

Will you stand with the 99 -- or chant 9-9-9?
(Which, by the way, is "No, No, No in German…")
What a difference a 9 makes…

Without 9-9-9, you'll still be fine-fine-fine
as you join our "party" line-line-line
at your progressive social club.

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

Bachmann's bubble burst, Perry's pizzazz peaked,
Huntman's hung out to dry, Christie canceled, Palin passed
& unable to embrace the unappetizing Mitt Romney
GOP voters put Herman Cain at the top of a national poll.

The Republicans reject any route to creating jobs;
conservatives can't conceive a plan of their own in DC;
the Tea Party targets any policy that suggests a solution
...but will the Party of No now become the Party of 9-9-9?

As the Occupy Wall Street spreads across the country,
the GOP candidate surging ahead is the one
who said if you're not rich & unemployed, it's your fault.

Unable to create jobs, unable to get Occupy Wall Street,
unable to offer solutions & unable to like a candidate,
the GOP's now Cain and Unable…a perfect match.
…until his pizza goes cold & they're on to the next.

Discuss the debates, Wall Street & Hermentum
as you share a beer & let liberals Occupy your night
at your local progressive social club.

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

Americans may be deeply divided about what ails our country, but there's no denying we're a nation of unhappy campers.

Danes, on the other hand, consistently rank as some of the happiest people in the world, a fact attributed at least in part to Denmark's legendary income equality and strong social safety net.

Forbes recently cited another possible factor; the Danes' "high levels of trust." They trust each other, they trust 'outsiders,' they even trust their government. 90% of Danes vote. Tea party types dismiss Denmark as a hotbed of socialism, but really, they're just practicing a more enlightened kind of capitalism.

In fact, as Richard Wilkinson, a British professor of social epidemiology, recently stated on PBS NewsHour , "if you want to live the American dream, you should move to Finland or Denmark, which have much higher social mobility."

While we debate whether climate change is real and a tax on unhealthy foods is nanny state social engineering, the Danish are actually trying to address these problems head on.

They can afford to, because they don't spend all their waking hours worrying about whether they're about to lose their job, or their house, or how they're going to pay their student loans, or their health insurance premiums.

Could Danish-style democracy catch on here at home? If the way to a nation's heart is through its stomach, there may be hope. After all, the hottest trend on the culinary horizon these days is the new Nordic Cuisine, "which seeks to turn the culinary dial back toward the natural world," as the New York Times reported a few weeks back.

One of the pioneers of this movement is the dynamic Danish chef and climate change activist Trine Hahnemann, whose latest book is The Nordic Diet. Trine has a genius for creating earthy, easy, elegant meals, but she's equally passionate about cooking up social change while she's at it. I had a chance to get her two cents on our respective cultures when she passed through NYC recently. Following is a condensed version of our conversation:

KT: The cover of your latest book declares that you can "Eat Your Way to Health and Happiness with The Nordic Diet." Americans are so stressed and depressed these days, we're more likely to Eat Our Way to Illness and Misery. And the worse we eat, the worse we feel. Any ideas on how to break out of this vicious cycle?

TH: To change the whole political system takes a long time, so, that's not my first suggestion. Cooking your own meals is essential to staying healthy, because that's the only way you can control your diet. And sharing meals with family and friends, having a sense of belonging, that's a very big part of happiness.

Your meal culture has been blown apart, it's a huge problem. I understand when people say "but I get off work at 8 o'clock and I have to shop and go home and cook," but it's a cycle that just goes around and around and nobody's breaking it. You have to start cooking your own food, and it is doable, even on a lower income.

Danes actually eat a lot of crap, a lot of frozen vegetables, but they cook at home every day and sit down and eat together. This is the main thing in our culture, because take-out and processed convenience foods are more expensive. Fruits and vegetables have to be the cheapest thing, cheaper than eating at McDonald's. It all comes down to economics.

So, we're not these 'holy people ' who can manage everything, we just have different ethics. We don't subsidize corn like you do, and also, there is a 25% VAT. And it's socially acceptable to leave work at around 4 or 5 o'clock and pick up your kids from school, go home, share a family meal. From a management point of view, if people have a nice family life, they'll be more productive.

KT: Denmark is famous for having so much less income inequality; do kitchen workers in Danish restuarants make a decent salary?

TH: Yes, a dishwasher in Denmark gets $25 an hour.

KT: Do they get sick days and benefits, too?

TH: Yes, and a pension, and health care, and maternity leave. To me, the more equal your society is, the better it is for everybody. It's not right for a country as rich as yours to have so many poor people. This thing with Americans and taxes, I don't understand it.

I make quite a lot of money, I pay 67% tax on much of it, and I don't mind. I like the idea that the girl who's sitting next to my daughter, whose mother is a cleaning lady, has exactly the same opportunity to get an education that my daughter has. I don't think that's socialism. To me, that's human decency. That girl didn't choose her parents, why shouldn't she have the same opportunities?

KT: The government of Denmark has a very ambitious agenda to eliminate your country's dependence on fossil fuels by 2050. The Danes are early adopters when it comes to conservation and renewable energy.

But Denmark's a relatively small country with a temperate climate, and a homogenous population that doesn't doubt the science on climate change. What lessons do you think the US, with all its diversity and division, could learn from your example?

TH: We can't change the world. We're only five million people, but as you say, we're homogenous. Danes trust their government. Over 90% of our population votes. Our news is not as polarized as yours. We're a good place to try out a model.

And cities around the world can draw from our experience. If we don't adapt, there's not going to be water, there's not going to be electricity, why not find solutions now?

KT: How does your role as a climate change activist influence the way you cook?

TH: I use a lot of whole grains, I cut down on meat, I eat very seasonally. In my company, Hahnemann's Køkken, we have a very seasonal profile, our food waste is really low, we use everything that gets into the kitchen.

And I'm working with some engineers to design an energy efficient professional kitchen. We hope to convince people to buy new equipment. They say, "oh no, it's so expensive," but then you show them how much they could save over ten years on their electricity bill. There are so many old fridges out there that cost a fortune to run.

We need government guaranteed loans to buy new equipment, there are some very interesting models. There's a baker in Germany who has so much leftover bread because people come in at 6 o'clock and demand the same variety he has at 1 o'clock--that's ridiculous! But he'll lose business if he doesn't cater to that, so all the bread that's left everyday goes into his energy system. He burns it, and that runs the ovens for the next day.

KT: So it's like a kind of biofuel? Does it smell like burned toast?

TH: (laughs) I don't know!

KT: In the Nordic Diet, you note that folks in Denmark bicycle everywhere, to get to work, to go shopping--entire families routinely go bicycling together, and you don't let lousy weather stop you. You quote the Danish saying, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only wrong clothing."

But even when the weather's fine, you might work up a sweat and get windblown biking around. Here in the U.S., our surgeon general got in hot water when she noted that too many American women don't exercise because they don't want to mess up their hair.

So, is it socially acceptable in Denmark to arrive at one's destination looking like a sweaty, dishevelled mess?

TH: We don't have an obsession with hair like you have over here, we don't have that hair that sits in one place; that's never been in fashion. But if you bicycle ten miles to work on a racing bike, let's say, you'll have your regular clothes in a bag and most work places in Denmark provide a shower and a changing room.

KT: And what about the time that it takes to get changed into your work clothes, are you on the clock? Is it like taking a lunch break?

TH: Yeah, but Danes are like the Swiss, we're always on time. Danes are not late--being on time is a big part of the culture.

KT: So, it's acceptable to show up with messy hair, but not to be late?

TH: Yes.

KT: How did you feel about the Copenhagen Climate Change talks, and where do you see the climate change movement heading?

TH: I was so disappointed. I was in tears. Our politicians failed us gravely. America and China came with nothing. And Saudi Arabia was working behind the scenes, I'm told, to sabotage it.

It's a shame people aren't more disappointed with the politicians. I am. I'm really disappointed that they can't step up and do the right thing. Why aren't we doing more? I'm not even satisfied with what we're doing in Denmark. I love that we have these goals and I will help to work towards them through the things I can do as a chef and a responsible citizen.

But I think it will have to get much worse before people realize how bad it is. It's potentially just as catastrophic as terrorism--or worse--but nobody's paying attention. Everybody's just hoping it will go away.

On the food side, I'm more optimistic, I see a lot of changes, a lot of goodwill, people wanting to cook and eat more ecologically.

We've got to change the way we eat, we've got to change the way we source, we've got to change the way we waste. For me, first of all, it's cutting back on the meat. Eating meat everyday has only been part of our diet since World War II. No matter what, only eat meat twice a week.

And everyone should get a composting bucket, so they can see how much they waste. You could save $2,000 a year if you stopped wasting food. Our grandmothers would never have wasted all that food.

We have to take that older mentality and new technologies and put them together for new solutions. I agree with Food, Inc. director Robert Kenner when he says, "Every time you shop, you vote." That's the best thing you can do as an individual who doesn't hold political office.

Occupy Wall Street is polling more popular
than Congress, which continues not to move
on the American Jobs Act...or any jobs act.

Occupy Wall Street is now lasting longer
than speculation around Christie & Palin,
as the GOP continues to recruit for one job
rather than spend time creating more jobs.

Occupy Wall Street is bridging young and old,
insurgent and union, radical and established
better than the Dem Caucus which can't bridge
center & left-center on the jobs debate.

America wants jobs, jobs, jobs.
In the meantime, at least we got an occupation.

Talk about the loss of jobs & loss of Steve Jobs
as we occupy each other's time & company
at your local progressive social club.

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