French Moonshine

[fastpat]

Being a southerner born and bred, I found this article rather fascinating. Seems the French citizenry have been fighting the same fascist state tactics for a long time as well. More successfully than we have it appears.
http://www.wineterroirs.com/2007/01/bouilleur_cru.html

[Rearden]

What does "fascism" have to do with the government regulating alcohol production? You excessively use that term like a not-yet-educated pimply 16 year old.

And, yes, the French have a history of protesting their government (see Bastille, storming of).

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Rearden
What does "fascism" have to do with the government regulating alcohol production? You excessively use that term like a not-yet-educated pimply 16 year old.

And, yes, the French have a history of protesting their government (see Bastille, storming of).

Fascism is the most common form of government on planet earth. Since that's true, expect its use a lot. So a lot of your peers use the word, that's very special, Rearden. Ask them what it means.

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by fastpat
Seems the French citizenry have been fighting the same fascist state tactics for a long time as well. More successfully than we have it appears.

Not sure: "One thing is sure, the French Customs are feared in the french countryside, as going against the law in this field (alcohol distilling) may cost you your house or more. I saw several times Bouilleur_cru_bonbonnein the region road checks in the middle of nowhere manned by well-armed French Customs officers. If you're caught with only a handful of unlabelled hard spirit bottles in your trunk, you're in big trouble..."

Still sucks.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Seahawk
Not sure: "One thing is sure, the French Customs are feared in the french countryside, as going against the law in this field (alcohol distilling) may cost you your house or more. I saw several times Bouilleur_cru_bonbonnein the region road checks in the middle of nowhere manned by well-armed French Customs officers. If you're caught with only a handful of unlabelled hard spirit bottles in your trunk, you're in big trouble..."

Still sucks.

Indeed. One area of history which I had neglected in the past was the events surrounding the Whiskey Rebellion, so I bought a couple of books and learned about it.

Seems the making of whiskey wasn't just in Pennsylvania, but widespread through the country. The feds picked what they calculated would be the least supported, by local authority, group in the nation, one that was within marching distance of a bought and paid for federal "militia", in itself of questionable legality. The federalists wanted to establish a precedent for a power not granted to them in the Constitution, namely the ablity to levy internal tariffs on goods in a certain form. The good, whiskey, was also chosen because it was seen as questionable because it was of mixed quality, unlike beer or wine, it could cause blindness or death if improperly made. Obviously, it worked.

One of the first unConstitutional expansions of federal power.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by fastpat
Indeed. One area of history which I had neglected in the past was the events surrounding the Whiskey Rebellion, so I bought a couple of books and learned about it...

...One of the first unConstitutional expansions of federal power.

Most folks today really have no idea what happened, or that there even was a Whiskey Rebellion. It was summarily quashed and consigned to the dusty archives of history, hopefully never to be mentioned again.

One cannot help but sympathize with these farmers. Just having finished fighting and dying to relieve themselves of unjust rule from afar, they found themselves burdened by exactly the same rule they thought they had just eliminated. Granted, it was a little closer to home in that it stemmed from their side of the Atlantic, but that meant little to them. It was, for all practical purposes, just a change in address to which to send their taxes. No wonder they were upset.