[Vision2020] Stupid Drinking Laws Was: Where is Peter the Piper?

[Chasuk]

> Mingles has allowed people under the age of 21 into their establishment. Mingles took their money for services rendered for which the under age should not have been inside of Mingles to start with. The law states: "that for minors to be present where alcohol is served that 40% of their total gross sales must be food." Mingles food sales don't even come close. Maybe 2 %? See the sign on their front door now? Pretty major alcohol law to be breaking wouldn't ya say? 

As this has now changed topics, I modified the subject heading.  I
acknowledge that Mingles broke the law, as I have brought my own
(then) underage children into Mingles to enjoy one of their excellent
burgers, but I still don't care that they broke the law.  Mingles
wasn't allowing under-21's onto their premises during the evening,
when most of the actual drinking occurs/occurred, but only during the
day, when the majority of the customers that I observed were eating
the aforementioned excellent burgers instead of consuming alcohol.

My children spent most of their younger lives in England, where they
sat often on their father's knee in nefarious drinking establishments,
and were actually witnesses to adults (and, admittedly, some
non-adults) DRINKING.  No, they weren't witnessing tea being drank,
but lager and ale and cider and perry (perry is cider made with pears.
Yum!).  As far as I can tell, they survived the experience without too
much trauma.  In fact, I suspect that they benefited from the
experience, as it allowed them to see what complete assholes some
people can become when drinking too much alcohol, and therefore
drinking to excess never became an aspirational activity to them.  So
when they drink, now, it is prudently, and with wisdom.

Our drinking laws in the US are fucked up.  Here, we can own a gun,
drive a car, get married, vote, and serve in the military before we
can sit with adults in Mingles and watch them make assholes out of
themselves (or not).  Laws that are fucked up should be ignored unless
they can reasonably be changed, but our elected officials are too
gutless to disobey those who paid for them to get into office, the
self-appointed Special Interest Groups (usually the minority).  We can
elect new officials, but there is something about the process of being
elected that turns one into a chickenshit.