I Don’t Go to Starbucks for Dunkin Donuts/7-11/McDonalds Coffee

SEATTLE; April 7, 2008
The Proof is in the Cup: Starbucks Launches Historic New Pike Place Roast. Company Reinvents Brewed Coffee Category and Hosts Nation’s Largest Coast-to-Coast Coffee Tasting.

SEATTLE; May 1, 2008
Nation’s Coffee Tasting Complete, Customers Choose to Dump Pike Place Roast: Original Beans are Back, Starbucks Brings Back its Unique Mix of 100% Sumatran Beans, Breakfast and House Blend, Verona, and Other Favorites to Deliver the Smooth, Delicious Flavor that Starbucks Customers Missed During the Coast-to-Coast Coffee Boycott.


In order to compete with the "world's largest coffee and baked goods chain," Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks rolled out Pike Place Roast. It took ten cents off, took two slots of old favorites to brew PPR, and are now trying to convert DD/7-11/McDonalds customers to marginal, flavorless coffee, while angering customers who can’t live without their daily joe of good aromatic coffee. If I wanted Dunkin Donuts/7-11/McDonalds coffee, I would go to Dunkin Donuts/7-11/McDonalds. Bring back real coffee and get ride of Pike, the Nation has proclaimed! While you are at it, lets add a few more to the brew list.

The Nation Agrees, Dump the Pike! The following comments about PPR have been suggested:

“Where do you pick up a decent cup of coffee to take to the office with you anymore?”
“I think the "New Coke" analogy is a good one - I predict Pike Place Roast will be in marketing textbooks very soon.”
“Can we replace Pikes Place Roast with Christmas Blend? If we can have year-round CB, I would be willing to pay the extra ten cents that PPR is saving the company.”
“PPR has replaced my second and third choice of good coffee, help Mr. Schulz, Now!”
“An "everyday" brew? I want a selection of good brew not a trifling blend.”
“I guess, I'll be buying bagged coffee and brewing at home soon.”
“So this is the only blend they are offering now? I thought it was just being added to the mix, but they would have it daily?” Pete’s, where is your closest store?”
“My biggest problem with SBUX is that for a giant coffee shop I think it's ridiculous that they only have one or two options at a time. Our local coffee shop would normally offer four or five different types of coffee at a time. Heck, our 7-11 has a bigger variety every morning.”
“I understand that most of their business is their "fancy" espresso drinks. It would just be nice to see them a little more focused on coffee.”
“Considering that 7-11 will be buying the cheapest coffee they can get, they can afford to brew it, dump it, brew it dump it, or let it go bad and serve it.”
“Starbucks comes out with this weak, flavorless HOT DISHWATER as their only choice - two days of drinking this swill has got me looking for a new coffee stand.”
“Starbucks might not like this, but it kind of reminds me of Dunkin' Donuts' house coffee.”

Future Presidential Candidate Speech, April 29, 2008, The Nation has spoken:

"More coffee choices! Dump the “everyday” coffee. Consider concentrating on just coffee, and remember that we have choices in this big and beautiful world. We should remember that this is an historic moment. We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a coffee shop that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. “Dump the tea into the ocean!” they announced publicly.

In an effort to change the way we drink in the morning, they dumped the tea in the harbor in favor of a more perfect roast, a wonderfully balanced, sharp, bright liveliness that lets you know that you can sit in front of that computer monitor for the next eight hours kind of beverage. Farmers and scholars, statesmen and patriots, traveled across a vast ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia coffee convention in 1787. Go ahead! Indulge yourself with a nice cup of joe and a small wedge of dark chocolate or a lemon square. You will live longer and enjoy your time on this earth more.

Vindication for the everyday brew is here! Sandwiches, merchandise, and music production are a side note to a real cup of sensational textures, fullness and consistency created on the tongue. "Bring me acidity, bring me body, bring me varietals, or bring me death!" a famous figure bellowed for all to hear. Great coffee was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign, to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free and more prosperous America. I choose real flavor, a blend of robust beans, I choose choice in a beverage to wake me up in the morning, I choose to run for Coffee Club President because I am the most qualified coffee drinker in the workplace. The people have spoken, the Nation has listened, dump the swill overboard, and bring me a tasty treat.”

Opinion of the Army Combat Uniform (ACUs)

Opinion of the Army Combat Uniform (ACUs)

The Army Combat Uniform (ACUs) is the current combat uniform worn by the United States Army, which was fielded in April 2005. It replaced the Battle Dress Uniform (BDUs) and Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCUs) and features a number of design changes, modifications that are undesirable for some. This article represents my opinion of the uniform.

Complaint Number One, Cost

First of all, I would like to complain about the cost. The cost for BDUs, to include the pants and the shirt/jacket was roughly 50$. ACUs costs roughly $76 per ensemble. The Army (Reserves) gives you an initial issue of two, and a year later, two more: That’s it, nada, no more! The Army states that a clothing allowance has been adjusted for the more expensive uniforms. That means in the Reserves, you don’t get to replace your uniforms as often. “Hmmm I don’t remember a clothing allowance in the Reserves either. I better check my LES.” All of the insignia and patches are an extra cost too. This includes patches, name and branch tapes, and skill tabs, which is all backed with new Velcro. But to save in the cost to the soldier, they made everything Velcro (to save Private Snuffy from sewing all his insignia). “Ok, so I have to purchase more expensive patches and tapes with the new Velcro backing, and I have to replace them every time I switch uniforms?” The subdued patches are quit expensive also. This is an extra cost, because the patches wear out faster because soldiers constantly have to take them on and off every time they put on a new uniform. The Army states that this is a cost savings measure, as we don’t have to sew on rank and patches any more. I didn’t mind taking my uniform down to the cleaners to get a nice sew-on patch. But I have to purchase more flags and patches as they wear out faster. Did I mention the patches get dirty in the field? You can’t just wash them on your uniform as they get frayed more than sew on patches. Go figure! I will address patches and tabs in a moment. My initial point was cost of the uniforms, cost of the patches and tabs, and additional cost due to uniform replacement. I will mention durability in an upcoming complaint.

Complaint Number Two, Velcro

My second complaint is the Velcro sucks! It literally sucks (or sticks) to everything but the patches, and don’t get mud or dirt on the Velcro hooks and fasteners. It doesn’t work well with mud. I found out also that you have to turn the uniform inside out when you wash them, as the Velcro and uniforms all stick together during the wash and dryer cycle. The Army states that the Velcro patches are so when you get captured, you can take your name and rank off and they enemy won’t know your name or position. I can do that just as fast with a Gerber in my hand if I get captured. Now wait a minute! I also have to take all the nameplates and patches off in the laundry, an incident for a potential loss of a rank or unit patch. We have 160,000 people in Iraq and a third of that in Afghanistan. How often do soldiers need to take their Velcro patches off? Special Forces need to take off their patches, I don’t! The uniform also features hook and loop fasteners on the pockets, and the noise associated with opening Velcro fasteners give away a soldier's position in the field. The Army has stated, “That the noise issue has been determined to be a minor issue that can be negated with correct noise discipline.” Hog wash! What was wrong with all the buttons? They worked fine on the BDUs, and now that we don’t have to starch our uniforms, the buttons worked great (The starch on the uniforms made the buttons stand out). This isn’t a problem, as we don’t have to starch our uniforms any more. Furthermore, several of my soldiers have expressed concern about the Velcro on the ACU. Dirt and mud clog the hooks and loops and they wear out with use. Zippers have also been a topic of concern as well. Soldiers express concern because the zippers (as with any zipper) can bind up, and render the uniform uncomfortable to wear, especially with body armor. Bring back the buttons!

Complaint Number Three, Little Thingies

What do all the little thingies around the uniform do? I’ll start with Little Thingy Number One, the strings around the waist (i.e. the drawstring waist band). You don’t need little strings if you wear a belt, and a belt is required on the ACU pants. Hence, there is no need for little strings.

Little Thingy Number Two, the String Tightener (i.e. in the pant-thigh pockets called hook and loop closures). When do you use these? If you put a canteen in your pants pocket, you don’t need the string tightener to hold your canteen into your pocket. The Army took away all my canteens anyway and gave me a Camelback. Hence, you don’t need to tighten anything in these pockets. By the way, have you ever sat down on the string tightener? In a class all day long watching power point slides, a string tightener is not something fun to sit on.

Little Thingy Number Three, Tiny Ankle Pockets. Have you ever used the tiny little pockets above the ankles? What are these for? I am not sure if a pack of smokes will even fit in one of these. I don’t smoke so I don’t need a little pocket. “Maybe I can put a spare magazine in them? Nope, these are too small for anything practical. I bet I can put something useful in them, unless I forget what is in there prior to laundry. I know, I can put all those little cards the Army gives you (i.e. the CFLCC ROE, insect bite, Army values, and the IED Smart cards) in there.”

Little Thingy Number Four, IR IFF Little Squares. Has anyone had to use the IR squares yet? “The jacket/shirt features permanent IR IFF squares that are sewn to each shoulder for nighttime identification. These reflect infrared light and can be easily seen with night vision devices. They are protected by Velcro tabs in garrison or when not in use.” I think these are placed on the uniform so sergeant majors can walk by and correct young soldiers displaying these little black squares. I think these are useless. I don’t want to be seen in the field with my black square showing in my NVGs. I am sure there is a better alternative than putting these all over the uniform. How many soldiers in the entire inventory need little black squares on their uniform? I bet it is less than one percent. By the way, “cat eyes” work great on my Kevlar, not on my uniform when I am trying to conceal myself from the enemy. Do helicopters need to see soldiers from below with their little IR squares? If you buy ACU’s from the surplus store or on line, you can avoid uniforms with Little Thingy Number Four.

Little Thingy Number Five, drawstrings on your ankle/pants. If you blouse your boots correctly or put your pant legs into your boots, these stings get in the way. I find these strings useless as I put my pant legs into my boots so creatures and dirt from the field don’t get into my boots. If you blouse your boots, the strings easily become untied throughout the day. Please get rid of little strings.

Little Thingy Number Six, Zippers. I like zippers, just not on my ACUs. Bring back buttons!

One of My Most Annoying Little Thingy Number Seven, the Mandarin Collar. The collar rubs your neck and gives you a rash. In body armor it is even worse. I like the Elvis collar on the BDU’s even better than the rash-collar on the new ACU’s. I don’t know how you would fix this annoyance, but I am sure someone can design a collar that doesn’t rub on your neck all day.

Lastly, A Good Little Thingy, the penholders. Little Thingy Number Eight is a good addition to the uniform. I like the three-slot pen pocket on the left arm of the jacket. But I still reach to my chest for a pen now and again, and to my luck there is no pen found there anymore.

Complaint Number Four, ACU Fabric

“The nylon cotton fabric does not breathe as well as the cotton DCUs and results in a hotter uniform in high temperature climates.” I liked the DCU material. It was a lot cooler and not as bulky as the new uniform. It seems the BDU and DCU uniforms where much more durable too. “Hmmmm should I put this in the cost category?” Early ACU uniform also had several issues with durability, such as ripping seams. I have seen this first hand with stitching coming undone. In later ACU uniforms this is still a continuing problem. “Reports of low durability may not take into account that the designed wear-life of the ACU is only six months.” Let me re-cap, a more costly uniform lasting only six months, no clothing allowance, and only two uniforms issued per year? This is a great reason to switch to ACUs. I won’t even go into the universal camouflage pattern. “Yes I will!” I like the picture of the soldier being camouflaged on the couch that went around the Internet some time back. The blog that has the camouflaged couch said this: “Many of us have asked the simple question...What environment is the ACU uniform made for. It doesn't seem to blend into our comfy tree lines. It tends to clash with urban areas. One of my Soldiers found the perfect background while napping on his Grandmother's couch. Now we just have to find a way to harden this piece of furniture and make it tactical. Cost effective of course.” http://miserabledonuts.blogspot.com/2007/02/acu-test.html When I was at Fort Lewis last year, “Look over there, a person with ACUs in the trees” when you couldn’t see the woodland BDU uniform in the distance. Go figure!

“Although common practice (though not required by regulation) with the BDUs, ACUs are not to be starched.” This will be changed soon too right? It will only be a matter of time when some command sergeant major will want a pretty uniform when I go to the field. “Starching the uniform has been shown to cause discoloration. It enhances the IR signature, making the uniform brighter when viewed with night vision goggles. In addition, personnel have been instructed that the uniform must be washed with a mild detergent that does not contain "optical brighteners." Detergents with optical brighteners may cause discoloration of the uniform, which would nullify the purpose of the very specific camouflage design and result in possible unwanted detection of personnel using the uniforms in combat. Some detergents have phosphorescent properties which enhance an enemy's ability to see the soldier when viewed with Night Vision Devices.” So, I have to use Woolite, I can’t use Tide any more to get the stains out, they aren’t durable, they don’t breath, and nullifying the purpose of a uniform is now more important than killing and breaking things. I think the Army got hosed on this appropriations bill.


Complaint Number Six, Patches, Pins, Badges and Tapes

You get two sets of patches that you have to keep track of. Since I had several BDU uniforms, I never lost flags, pins and rank. I am not that prone to losing things, but that little rank patch on the sternum seems to go missing a lot. I had to borrow from my buddy last drill. “It is great for promoting female soldiers,” As my wife has pointed out to me also. Sewing eliminates this problem and they look better than these thick bulky patches. The patches get more abuse to constant pulling on and off of uniforms as I stated earlier, as well as the patches get dirty because they don’t get sewn on.

Another dumb idea is that skill badges (such as airborne and air assault tabs) are worn as pin-on only. This is stupid! Why do they call the brass pins that hook the skill tabs to the uniform “Dammits” for? Because they fall off easily, “dammit”! In the field, skill tabs go missing easily. Who is the bureaucrat that is against sewing patches to the uniform? It looks nice, and pin-on rank and badges fall off easily. They also get scuffed up more readily than patches. Pinning of the airborne “chest candy” is a pain. By the way, the IR American (sticker) flag is ugly, get rid of it. I am still confused why the flag is backwards too. The Army states, “It is positioned so that the star field faces forward, or to the flag's right. This gives the impression that the soldier is advancing into battle with the flag unfurling behind them.” Can someone explain this to me? Does the enemy really care if we are advancing or not by our flag coming towards them? Bring back the regular flag. I think subdued flags would be fine also.

I like the boots and I am glad that we don’t have to shine boots again. However, berets have replaced the boot shinning mantra, with “Your beret looks like crap, fix it” complaint. This is often followed with the “Don’t you know how to shave your beret, or “Don’t you know how to shape your beret?” My response is, “It looks like the picture in the manual” and “It says in the book I am not suppose to shave the beret.” I can do a whole story on what soldiers feel about this useless piece of itchy fabric. Should I start by saying it itches, it doesn’t provide me with cover from the sun, and it can’t be shoved into my pocket without getting wrinkly? They need to be used with the Class A uniform only. The Rangers can have them back. I want my soft cap back! I am still trying to figure out when I am supposed to bring my beret to drill or my soft cap. Field soldiers don’t need a useless piece of fabric itching when on patrol.

I don’t have a problem rolling the sleeves down, as required with the ACUs. Rolling the sleeves up in the summer time was a pain. Plus you never knew when you could or couldn’t have your sleeves up anyway. My sleeves never seem to stay up throughout the day. Sleeves down are better anyway as for sun exposure and creatures biting your arm. It helps in the heat to. Also, I think I like the pouches for knee-pad/elbow-pad inserts. This is a nice idea, but I have only used it while at the range. Maybe I need to go in the field again soon, as I am getting rusty on my tactical skills. Furthermore, pocket placement on the ACUs is adequate. It may have been a good idea to get rid of the lower-shirt pockets, as these pockets were useless for putting items in there.

To sum up my complaints are as follows: Cost, Velcro, Useless Little Thingies, Fabric and Durability, Pins and Patches, and Sewing. With all the soldiers in uniform around the world on a daily basis, you would think the Army would take in consideration the conditions we work in, the cost to the soldier, and the needs the soldier has. Next time some three-star wants to make a promotion by fielding junk, ask the young soldier what his needs are. As him if all this stuff on the uniform is necessary, make the uniform durable, make it useful, make it cost effective for the private that gets a minimal uniform allowance, and make it functional for the entire Army.

You can read about the wear and appearance, parts and care, initial fielding, and other aspects of the material and patterns at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Combat_Uniform

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. C!

James & I had the honor of representing Sean at his cousin Lara’s wedding. I had no idea how glorious Pittsburgh could be in the spring. The Dorothy Parker quote Lara put on her invitations seemed so appropriate: “In April, in April, My one love came along, And I ran the slope of my high hill To follow a thread of song.” The trees were just beginning to show their leaves, and in fact, we could see the difference in just the few days we were there! They were gold at first, just like in the Robert Frost poem, and by the time we left they had turned a soft, yet insistent green.

The wedding was the most delightful I’ve ever attended. Lara and Trey met when they were just 13, and have been inseparable ever since. The romantic in me loved this! Sean’s family was wonderful, and James and I felt so at home as part of the family. The wedding took place at Springwood Manor in Pennsylvania—a lovely century-old manor surrounded by trees and hills. Rain teasingly threatened, and then thought better of it and held off until the reception, allowing Lara & Trey to exchange their vows outside.


Many of those involved in the wedding were friends of Trey & Lara and involved in the New York City world of musical theater, so singing and dancing, as well as lots of humor and energy were very much a part of the evening. One of the highlights was the duet sung by Trey and the Best Man as they expressed their “Guy Love”, as well as the songs sung during the wedding by talented members of the wedding party. It was truly a memorable event. I only wish that my own true love had been there to share it!

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. C!

Jet-Setting Fossa

James has been on, let's see.....5 trips involving airplanes since October. He's hit D.C., Ireland, Sacramento, Boston and now, Pittsburgh (more on that in an upcoming post). We need to get him in a frequent-flyer program. :)

Boston's Old South Church

Two weeks ago, he went to Boston to represent our school in declamation in a contest against other private schools. We sent our best in: chess, problem-solving, math, geography, spelling and declamation, and came away with 3rd place! This was our first experience in this Academic Olympiad, and the kids had a fabulous time. What a great opportunity! He made lots of friends from our sister schools from around the nation--and the world. James recited Antony's Oration from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and placed 5th. We are very proud of him!

Harvard University

In addition to the competition, they enjoyed the sights in Boston, taking the famous "Duck Tour", visiting many of the famous historical sights, and touring Harvard University. Needless to say, this has put some big ideas in his head about university, which is not a bad thing!

James & Friends in Class at Harvard

Our Climate Numbers

Our Climate Numbers Are a Big Old Mess
By PATRICK MICHAELS
April 18, 2008; Page A17

President George W. Bush has just announced his goal to stabilize greenhouse-gas emissions by 2025. To get there, he proposes new fuel-economy standards for autos, and lower emissions from power plants built in the next 10 to 15 years.

Pending legislation in the Senate from Joe Lieberman and John Warner would cut emissions even further – by 66% by 2050. No one has a clue how to do this. Because there is no substitute technology to achieve these massive reductions, we'll just have to get by with less energy.

Compared to a year ago, gasoline consumption has dropped only 0.5% at current prices. So imagine how expensive it would be to reduce overall emissions by 66%.

The earth's paltry warming trend, 0.31 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since the mid-1970s, isn't enough to scare people into poverty. And even that 0.31 degree figure is suspect.

For years, records from surface thermometers showed a global warming trend beginning in the late 1970s. But temperatures sensed by satellites and weather balloons displayed no concurrent warming.

These records have been revised a number of times, and I examined the two major revisions of these three records. They are the surface record from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the satellite-sensed temperatures originally published by University of Alabama's John Christy, and the weather-balloon records originally published by James Angell of the U.S. Commerce Department.

The two revisions of the IPCC surface record each successively lowered temperatures in the 1950s and the 1960s. The result? Obviously more warming – from largely the same data.

The balloon temperatures got a similar treatment. While these originally showed no warming since the late 1970s, inclusion of all the data beginning in 1958 resulted in a slight warming trend. In 2003, some tropical balloon data, largely from poor countries, were removed because their records seemed to vary too much from year to year. This change also resulted in an increased warming trend. Another check for quality control in 2005 created further warming, doubling the initial overall rate.

Then it was discovered that our orbiting satellites have a few faults. The sensors don't last very long and are continually being supplanted by replacement orbiters. The instruments are calibrated against each other, so if one is off, so is the whole record. Frank Wentz, a consulting atmospheric scientist from California, discovered that the satellites also drift a bit in their orbits, which induces additional bias in their readings. The net result? A warming trend appears where before there was none.

There have been six major revisions in the warming figures in recent years, all in the same direction. So it's like flipping a coin six times and getting tails each time. The chance of that occurring is 0.016, or less than one in 50. That doesn't mean that these revisions are all hooey, but the probability that they would all go in one direction on the merits is pretty darned small.

The removal of weather-balloon data because poor nations don't do a good job of minding their weather instruments deserves more investigation, which is precisely what University of Guelph economist Ross McKitrick and I did. Last year we published our results in the Journal of Geophysical Research, showing that "non-climatic" effects in land-surface temperatures – GDP per capita, among other things – exert a significant influence on the data. For example, weather stations are supposed to be a standard white color. If they darken from lack of maintenance, temperatures read higher than they actually are. After adjusting for such effects, as much as half of the warming in the U.N.'s land-based record vanishes. Because about 70% of earth's surface is water, this could mean a reduction of as much as 15% in the global warming trend.

Another interesting thing happens to the U.N.'s data when it's adjusted for the non-climatic factors. The frequency of very warm months is lowered, to the point at which it matches the satellite data, which show fewer very hot months. That's a pretty good sign that there are fundamental problems with the surface temperature history. At any rate, our findings have not been incorporated into the IPCC's history, and they probably never will be.

The fear of a sudden loss of ice from Greenland also makes a lot of news. A year ago, radio and television were ablaze with the discovery of "Warming Island," a piece of land thought to be part of Greenland. But when the ice receded in the last few years, it turned out that there was open water. Hence Warming Island, which some said hadn't been uncovered for thousands of years. CNN, ABC and the BBC made field trips to the island.

But every climatologist must know that Greenland's last decade was no warmer than several decades in the early and mid-20th century. In fact, the period from 1970-1995 was the coldest one since the late 19th century, meaning that Greenland's ice anomalously expanded right about the time climate change scientists decided to look at it.

Warming Island has a very distinctive shape, and it lies off of Carlsbad Fjord, in eastern Greenland. My colleague Chip Knappenberger found an inconvenient book, "Arctic Riviera," published in 1957 (near the end of the previous warm period) by aerial photographer Ernst Hofer. Hofer did reconnaissance for expeditions and was surprised by how pleasant the summers had become. There's a map in his book: It shows Warming Island.

The mechanism for the Greenland disaster is that summer warming creates rivers, called moulins, that descend into the ice cap, lubricating a rapid collapse and raising sea levels by 20 feet in the next 90 years. In Al Gore's book, "An Inconvenient Truth," there's a wonderful picture of a moulin on page 193, with the text stating "These photographs from Greenland illustrate some of the dramatic changes now happening on the ice there."

Really? There's a photograph in the journal "Arctic," published in 1953 by R.H. Katz, captioned "River disappearing in 40-foot deep gorge," on Greenland's Adolf Hoels Glacier. It's all there in the open literature, but apparently that's too inconvenient to bring up. Greenland didn't shed its ice then. There was no acceleration of the rise in sea level.

Finally, no one seems to want to discuss that for millennia after the end of the last ice age, the Eurasian arctic was several degrees warmer in summer (when ice melts) than it is now. We know this because trees are buried in areas that are now too cold to support them. Back then, the forest extended all the way to the Arctic Ocean, which is now completely surrounded by tundra. If it was warmer for such a long period, why didn't Greenland shed its ice?

This prompts the ultimate question: Why is the news on global warming always bad? Perhaps because there's little incentive to look at things the other way. If you do, you're liable to be pilloried by your colleagues. If global warming isn't such a threat, who needs all that funding? Who needs the army of policy wonks crawling around the world with bold plans to stop climate change?

But as we face the threat of massive energy taxes – raised by perceptions of increasing rates of warming and the sudden loss of Greenland's ice – we should be talking about reality.

Mr. Michaels is senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute and professor of environmental sciences at University of Virginia.

Article from WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120847988943824973.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

Proposed Beer Tax...

From the Editorial Section of Oceanside Ale Works:
Proposed Beer Tax...

If you all can cite news articles that show things like the contribution of craft brewing to the CA economy, the increased price of production and the tendency of minors to not abuse craft beer, it might help. I'm guessing this legislation won't get very far though.

As reported by NBC news in San Diego, I understand that you are considering tax on beer. The article (cited below) seemed to focus on the problems of underage drinking and the enormous profits made by the nation's largest brewers. I am not a part of the beer industry but I appreciate craft beer made by small breweries. Please consider the following points:

- Craft beer is an important and growing segment of local economies and employs thousands of people in California

- Craft brewers have a higher production cost than the big mega-breweries and a much lower profit margin

- Recently the price of the raw materials for making beer have skyrocketed; the price of barley is up by a factor of 2 over last year and the price of hops is up by a factor of 5 to 10, leading to price increases in beer at the retail level of $1 per six-pack or more

- Craft beer is not a significant factor in underage drinking because it tends to be more expensive, more strongly flavored and less accessible than cans of American lager or bottles of malt liquor

- California artisan brewers are considered trend-setters in the craft brewing world, with new styles and techniques being invented here and imitated around the world

- A tax such as the one you propose, while it may have some positive deterrent on underage drinking, would severely hurt the craft brewing industry and stifle its growth in California

I urge you to consider alternate methods solving alcohol-related problems rather than a tax that would raise money at the expense of a passionate and growing group of small business owners in our state.

Sincerely,
JB Morch
San Diego, CA

The article cited: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/money/15850562/detail.html?rss=dgo&psp=news

If you want to chime in, here is his website: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a24/contact.aspx
Click on "Contact Us" and then the first email link.

Mazal Tov!

I had the privilege of attending the Bat Mitzvah of a student this weekend. I walked away from the experience impressed by the beauty of the ceremony. C. was surrounded by family and friends, leading the Shabat prayer service with their affirmation and support. Her parents and grandparents literally and figuratively passed the Torah down to her, a beautiful symbol of the legacy of faith in Judaism. I marveled at the skill and poise with which she read her Torah portion, and the grace and humor with which she presented the lessons she had learned from her reading. I wept at the beautiful blessing her rabbi bestowed on her as he compared her spirit, grace and wit to Miriam in the Old Testament, and prayed for her to be a continued source of grace and strength to her family and community for many years to come.

Throughout the service, I recognized so many readings, psalms and prayers. How often I thought, "So that's why we do this!" The symbolism was so deep. The Wall of Jerusalem Stone, the glass mosaic on the front of the Ark depicting creation, the 19th century Torah in the sanctuary that survived the Holocaust, the Eternal Light--it was all so beautiful. I loved listening to the Hebrew chanting, as I tried desperately to follow along with the translation.

I wish that we had a coming-of-age ceremony comparable in Catholicism--Confirmation, though a lovely and important sacrament, does not hold the same depth of responsibility for the candidate, nor the personal affirmation of the community as a bar or bat mitzvah does. What a beautiful experience for a young woman!