I was disappointed to see that it was buried on the 16th page, however, any mention of Wisconsin in the Sunday New York Times is noteworthy. The feature story, titled “Some see big problem in Wisconsin drinking,” did not once mention Kathleen Falk’s attempts to change the drinking culture in Dane County, however, it did mention the resistance to sobriety checks in the state legislature. Might that perhaps be related to the tendency of Wisconsin state legislators to drive drunk themselves? The story is overall mediocre — perhaps for someone not acquainted with the Wisconsin drinking culture the article is worthy of some raised eyebrows, however, for those of us bombarded on the daily by local media’s discussion of inebriation, the Times brought nothing new to light. For now, it’s clear the best article on Wisconsin drunkenness this weekend came via Todd Jasperson’s discussion of our state’s laws allowing minors (as young as two and four years old) to drink with parents. But about those sobriety checks…what do you guys think? Constitutional, civil liberty infringement, or necessary?
Top Classified Ads (view all)
Place your classified ad online and have it show up here. Your ad will hit thousands of viewers a day!
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Related stories:
- New York Times against lower drinking age (September 17, 2008)
- Feingold Unhappy with Obama (June 20, 2008)
- Viruses in Madison wells (October 19, 2008)
- Obama needs stronger education focus (November 12, 2008)
- Don't gut Mifflin ASM (August 5, 2008)
Also by Jack Craver:
4 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment




IP hash: dc87c1db
Might want to get one of your web dudes or dudettes to fix the Muckrackers image.
IP hash: 0bc65a03
I think something needs to happen to change the culture of excessive drinking, and the irresponsible behavior that sometimes coincides. If sobriety checkpoints become a good way to do that, then so be it.
IP hash: bfeca11f
Driving drunk is like a video game. Most people arguably drive better drunk because they focus more because they don’t want to get caught. Back country Wisconsin roads, whos going to get hurt?
IP hash: d20747fb
I think the money should be focused elsewhere. They’re looking for a “greater awareness of drinking problems generally.” Give me a break. How about $12.6 million to keep city buses running past midnight? To go to establishments directly to help hire more bartenders or security personnel, or to maybe even set up their own shuttle services? Let’s focus on practical solutions for a change, rather than a whole bunch of holier-than-thou “the-more-you-know!” bullshit.