Interstate Wine Sales US Supreme Ct

US Supreme Court today permitted the sale of out-of-state direct
alcoholic beverage products purchases (imports) after concluding that
prior state practices inuniformly violated the Comemrce Clause. Link
for opinion at FindLaw below:

<a
href=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-1116>http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-1116
-- case Opinion at FindLaw</a>

I agree with the case opinion's ruling as harmonising the 21st
Amendment's compromise approach to permit the states to unilaterally
determine internal manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages with
intertstae commerce and internal regulation. Particularly noting that
-- the 21st amendment and federal laws pertinent thereto were never
intended to provide an internal protected market -- ie to raise a
barrier or tariff -- inconsistent with the 'commerce clause' when the
state decided to allow intoxicateing beverage sales. Once permitted and
regulated --the Court affirmed again today --that the state may not bar
nor unfairly discriminate among suppliers as to place of origin (ie
disfavoring out-of state sources).

NB that the statues cited 'Wilson Act' & 'Webb' do not dis-empower the
state from barring an importation of intoxicated beverages to the
affected state in violation of a proper state law -- such as a case
where one state's 'under-21' residents would be importing from a state
which permits that sale form -- but their state of import bars under 21
alcoholic beverage consumption. The laws cited 'bar' the use of the
'commerce clause' to interfere with their alcoholic beverage regulatory
schemes - but not to favor an in-state product against an out-of state
product.

In the case litigated -- Michigan and New York asserted the power under
the Webb & Wilson laws construing the 21st amendment as allowing them to
regulate and permit direct consumer purchase of instate winery/brewery
products -- but to not permit out of state products.

Where the state has opened the market -it must open it to full
interstate commerce - save where the wholesale or manufacture options
are reserved to the state alone.

AFGHAN RIOTS

Afghanistan's riots illustrate the brittleness of communications in a
newly freed society. Whether the 'QUORAN" was flushed down a toilet in
a Guantanamo Prison to 'mind-f***' the prisoners or a pig painted with
the image of an Ayatollah .. the message and problem is the same.

The United States will hold its personnel accountable for misjudgement
and wrongdoing -- that being so -- the Afghani people must receive that
certitude of that another process exists as a communication ... rather
than simply sustaining news of the spreading of a fireflaming rumor.

Like the Iraqi Abu-Gharib prison matter -- whether immediate or later --
the open and responsible press are one of the avenues to government
accountability -- and in our society -- it is an avenue as fast as and
much less destructive than rioting. Recurrently pressed, the matter
will go to the top ... and that is the matter which the Afghani as any
other people in a coupling of history with America must know.

Rumor control and use of the press must exist for trust.