Present Day Prohibition

Capitol Confidential ^ | 10/3/2011 | Michelle Minton

[MichCapCon]

If you’ve ever seen a Ken Burns documentary, you’re familiar with their use of faded photos, archival video and interviews with renowned historians. Films like “The Civil War,” “Thomas Jefferson” and “Lewis & Clark” bring the past to life despite the decades of distance between the subject matter and the viewers. No doubt, his newest documentary, “Prohibition,” which premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. PBS, promises to offer a thorough historical examination of American life during the period around the 18th Amendment’s rise and fall. The three-part series focusing on Prohibition’s past, however, may lead the viewers to believe that every aspect of it ended a long time ago. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The documentary notes, “[P]rohibition turned law-abiding citizens into criminals, and criminals into kings,” “It made a mockery of the justice system, caused illicit drinking to seem glamorous and fun, encouraged neighborhood gangs to become national crime syndicates, permitted government officials to bend and sometimes even break the law…” Unfortunately that is still the case today. The regulatory scheme enacted to “safely reintroduce” alcohol into society following Prohibition’s repeal has grown into a labyrinth of state-based rules, resulting in a number of negative consequences — many similar to those of Prohibition.

[Charles Martel]

And NASCAR is very grateful for said tradition. ;-)

But usually, such stills don’t advertise. LOL!

Ever hear of the "moonshine" being made right at the racetrack? Apparently it did happen (containers of White Lightning were stored in a hollowed-out area beneath one of the banked turns):

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Middle Georgia Raceway, Macon, Ga.

This half-mile paved oval welcomed the NASCAR big leagues nine times between 1966 and 1971, four of those races were run by Richard Petty, two by Bobby Allison and one each by David Pearson and Bobby Isaac — all Cup champions.

In 1968, government agents raided the racetrack as part of a major illegal liquor sting. A secret door located in the ticket booth led to a ladder, which descended 35 feet to another hidden entrance. That trap door led to a 150-foot tunnel, which ended at a cave beneath the track infield. Inside the cave was a gigantic moonshine still, which was promptly shut down and the track owner was sent to the slammer.

The race, however, was run as planned and won by Pearson enroute to his second series

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Closed since the early 1980s, this track may be stirring to life once again. The current land owner, his plans to resubdivide it and sell the new parcels at a profit squashed by the economic downturn, has spruced the place up and hosted classic car events and rented the place out to car manufacturers for TV ads. See the recent Dodge Durango ad on YouTube.

[fr_freak]

Apparently, you did not read my full post. I explicitly indicated I was not talking about prohibition itself. I simply stated that it was silly to claim that passing the law forced people to become lawbreakers. If they broke the law, they did so by choice.

Well, I'm not talking about just Prohibition, either. I'm talking about the very concept of a government that thinks it is entitled to make anything and everything it wants illegal, until we all become lawbreakers just by virtue of going about our daily business. If the government outlaws Twinkies tomorrow, are you going to be OK with federal agents rounding Twinkie-eaters up and chucking them in prison, with your rationale being, "Well, it was their choice to break the law!" How about if they outlaw the flag? Or Prayer?