House debates cutting off all alcohol from lobbyists to legislators

[Judi Lynn]

House debates cutting off all alcohol from lobbyists to legislators
Dining without wining

By TOM HUMPHREY, [e-mail]
January 15, 2006


NASHVILLE - The first special session of the Tennessee Legislature in the last century focused on alcohol, and now it has become a topic in the first such session of this century.

"If we can stop lobbyists providing legislators with alcohol, I think that would be great," said House Republican Leader Bill Dunn of Knoxville. "I think that would be one of the major accomplishments of this special session."

The idea of cutting off any flow of free drinks from lobbyists to legislators was pushed by Rep. Duane Bunch, R-Cleveland, during debate before a House subcommittee on a comprehensive ethics reform bill last week. The debate will resume Tuesday.

The bill calls for a general ban on gifts, including food and beverages, from lobbyists to public officials. There has been considerable dispute over a proposed exception to the general ban that was incorporated into the overall bill at the urging of House Democratic Caucus Chairman Randy Rinks of Savannah.
(snip/...)

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_4389182,00.html
(Free registration required)

[Occulus]

1. Horrors!

:sarcasm:

[Selteri]

2. I hate to say it bit.... good for them.

I mean, really, it's so easy to talk someone into doing something if you get them nice and drunk before you start telling them about it. THey're really chummy then, when they wake up in the morning you use it to get them to but into it, it's an old trick. Let the politicians buy their own damned booze!

[wakeme2008]

3. They got to be high

:rofl:


:rofl:

[truthisfreedom]

4. this will pretty much stop lawmaking in its tracks.bad lawmaking, that is.

i'm all for it. in fact, I'LL DRINK TO IT! WOO HOO!

[fasttense]

5. Now if they could just stop the bribes and illegal contributions

from flowing into the repukes pockets, that would be impressive.

[joeunderdog]

19. Whassamattah?

Can't fit the bottles in the envelopes?

[Missy M]

6. I'm amazed that anyone can be bought with a little food..

and drink. Proves morals are not part of their makeup.

[BiggJawn]

10. These are state legislators, remember...

They don't get the use of the yachts and the golf trips to St. Andrews until they get to DC...

[MrPrax]

13. It's been often said:

"Everyone has their price"--

I guess legislators in TN have a much lower price than most. :eyes:

[acmavm]

7. That's right, it's the booze that does it. Not the fact that these guys

have a natural inclination to feather their own nests anyway.

Screw it, cut it all out. Make them do business IN THE OFFICE, NOWHERE ELSE. That way they can be monitored because they're obviously too corrupt to be trusted on their own.

[jarab]

8. My thoughts exactly. eom

...O...

[Child_Of_Isis]

9. one of the major accomplishments of this special session

I would think the "gifts" are more problematic than the alcohol. Wonder why Dunn just mentioned the alcohol? hmmm? Maybe they'll sacrifice the alcohol and keep the gifts? It's not like I trust this bunch.

[carolinalady]

11. So how did that work? They got them drunk and then had them

sign off on legislation? Sorry guys this is a pure "play to Christian base" manuever and means nada.

[meow2u3]

20. This give a new meaning to the idea of....

getting'em drunk and taking advantage of them.

[pinerow]

12. However, in related news, Ecstasy will be readily available

in the Senate and Congressional ante-rooms...:woohoo:

[mom cat]

14. Without meaningful election reform and campaign finance reform,

all the curtailment of food, drinks and trinkets will be meaningless.

[Trillo]

15. It's Booze, stupid, not the MONEY. nt

[jjmalonejr]

16. Forget about the House: Let's Get Bush Off Of The Wagon!

http://www.malonezone.com/offofthewagon.htm

[daleo]

17. I guess with Senators

"No" means give that man another drink.

[Robb]

18. ...So we move from an alcocracy

...where deals are made by drunks, back to a cigarthy, where deals are made in smoky rooms. :evilgrin:

[InkAddict]

21. 1st Step in the war on Terra - See entomology

in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol

The word "alcohol" almost certainly comes from the Arabic language (the "al-" prefix being the Arabic definite article); however, the precise origin is unclear. It was introduced into Europe, together with the art of distillation and the substance itself, around the 12th century by various European authors who translated and popularized the discoveries of Islamic alchemists.

A popular theory, found in many dictionaries, is that it comes from الكحل = ALKHL = al-kuhul, originally the name of very finely powdered antimony sulfide Sb2S3 used as an antiseptic and eyeliner. The powder is prepared by sublimation of the natural mineral stibnite in a closed vessel. According to this theory, the meaning of alkuhul would have been first extended to distilled substances in general, and then narrowed to ethanol. This conjectured etymology has been circulating in England since 1672 at least (OED).

However, this derivation is suspicious since the current Arabic name for alcohol, الكحول = ALKHWL = al???, does not derive from al-kuhul. The Qur'an in verse 37:47 uses the word الغول = ALGhWL = al-ghawl — properly meaning "spirit" ("spiritual being") or "demon" — with the sense "the thing that gives the wine its headiness". The word al-ghawl also originated the English word "ghoul", and the name of the star Algol. This derivation would, of course, be consistent with the use of "spirit" or "spirit of wine" as synonymous of "alcohol" in most Western languages. (Incidentally, the etymology "alcohol" = "the devil" was used in the 1930s by the U.S. Temperance Movement for propaganda purposes.)

According to the second theory, the popular etymology and the spelling "alcohol" would not be due to generalization of the meaning of ALKHL, but rather to Western alchemists and authors confusing the two words ALKHL and ALGhWL, which have indeed been transliterated in many different and overlapping ways.