Posted on 01/17/2019 7:23:08 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Much ink has been spilled either bemoaning or defending the government shutdown, including on the "pages" of PJ Media. Outside of the fact that my wife's commute to her office across the street from the U.S. Capitol is much quicker than it was a few weeks ago, the whole thing is mostly white noise to me. (I'm sure I deserve criticism for my callous lack of interest.) For the most part, the shutdown has not been able to find a dance partner in my head, until now. And the shutdown is now personal because I've discovered that it's affecting beer distribution. Thankfully, one brave craft beer company (Atlas Brew Works) has sued the government over the shutdown.
In short, the shutdown has closed the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau that regulates the labels that beer companies put on their products. Part of the Treasury Department, the ATTTB regulates a variety of aspects of liquor stores, bars, cigar shops, gun stores, breweries, etc. Basically, if it's fun, the ATTTB makes sure that there are extra hurdles to jump over before anyone can enjoy that fun. When it comes to beer, the ATTTB ensures that we know how much alcohol is in it and that we can read the Surgeon General's scolding before we take a drink.
Well, Atlas Brew Works is unable to release their annual special spring beer in kegs because there is no one working at the ATTTB to approve the label. Instead of moving ahead with packaging and distribution, the beer, an apricot IPA named The Precious One, sits in a tank in the brewery. As a rule, problems generally compound problems, and while the beer won't expire until early May, The Precious One is taking up room in tanks that could be used for the making of other beer. Atlas Brew Works' ability to produce and distribute beer has been adversely affected by the government shutdown.
Not content to simply wait for our unwieldy government to begin creaking along again, Atlas Brew Works has sued the government. The local website DCist explains that the brewery "has filed a suit against the acting U.S. attorney general, claiming that its inability to sell labeled beer is a violation of its First Amendment rights."
Speaking to DCist, Atlas' CEO and founder Justin Cox said, "We see our labels as a form of speech, that’s how we speak to our consumers. We’re unable to exercise that right without approval from the federal government."
I'm no legal expert, so I have no idea if this is going to work or not, but it's definitely sparked my interest. No doubt, other breweries have beer that's wasting away in tanks, too. And as I write this, I'm imagining the many new beer releases that I'm currently missing out on because there's no one in the government to approve beer labels. I am rooting for Atlas Brew Works.
Frankly, beer companies should be able to put whatever label they want on their products without permission from the government. Maybe Congress should consider closing the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau permanently and allow small business owners to run their business as they see fit. We don't need a nanny watching over what's printed on the side of our beer.
I don’t know how the courts are there, but some of the Federal courts have put suits against the government in abeyance during the shutdown.
Here’s a thought: Close that government agency completely. Forever.
It should never have existed in the first place.
If they offered and endeavored to comply with the so-called “law”, and no one answered from the fed.gov, they should just go ahead, use the chosen label, and sell the beer. Their right to engage in free commerce is not dependent upon fed.gov permission.
Oh noooes, what evil takes their beer away?... The fake news media dnc wing is looking for anything to energize the masses, when the Pelosi shutdown is in danger of being understood by the common man.
Suing the federal government is limited, or requires Congressional approval, and first requires an arbitration process.
If your labels are free speech, hand them out.
Case closed.
Hard to prove a loss...It’s a trade off. You buy a new beer when it comes out. But you don’t stop buying that old beer.
What shutdown?
I won’t drink to that.:)
They have no standing. Constitution requires congress pass funding and doesn’t state any timeframe in which to get it done.
My brother used to drink that evil stuff, black label.
Gimme a Leiney’s...
I’d put this one right up there with the problem they’re having somewhere in New England with relocating a wayward Pelican to a warmer climate because they are required by some dumba$$ed law to have a “permit” to do so! We have so many make work laws today and it seems as though their main intent is to provide someone with a job.
Yes; No; and No.
Re-read 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, which would be applicable here.
There is, generally, an ‘exhaustion of administrative remedies’ requirement, but there are exceptions to that.
Suing because I have the right to have you regulate me?
We really are down the rabbit hole here.
We need a Constitutional amendment requiring Congress to have a budget in place before they or their staffers can be paid. It should also give the President a line item veto with regards to the budget.
If nobody is at home just put the label on. if they hadn’t made a fuss nobody would have noticed.
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