The tax was repealed because of its perceived competitive disadvantage to local liquor stores. Customers would travel the short distance to New Hampshire to buy alcohol instead.

Pro-alcohol tax legislators argue that not only did the tax bring in state revenue of about $110 million, but also helped with substance abuse programs.

However, despite the local merchant excuse, all Massachusetts residents, especially college students can rejoice.

Ari Mazur, a University of Massachusetts student, says, “I don’t have to buy alcohol, but here’s my thing. Taxes like these are good because they help our state government, but are a little unfair. If there is another way to implement taxes or gain elsewhere, that would be more beneficial. It’s just nice that my friends don’t have to spend as much money anymore.”

Here is the article.

Simmons notes that he and his wife are huge dog lovers. However, their opinions differ in regards to being able to cheer for Vick. The basis of the difference has to do with his wife not believing the validity of Vick’s new outlook on life. Simmons articulates his inability to NOT cheer for Vick because of four main reasons summed up here.

1. Vick paid the price for his wrong-doings through legal, financial, and social reprimand.
2. In the South, dog fighting was a staple, so you can’t criticize Vick too harshly to being a victim of society.
3. Vick now advocates and raises awareness for animal abuse.
4. Vick is such a great player; he should be given another chance.

Simmons’ reasons are sound, but I have a real issue with his fourth point.

If you are great at anything, that should not serve as any kind of justification for forgiveness. Think about it, if we say a great athlete can get off because of his or her athletic prowess, we are setting a precedent for athletes being impenetrable.

Famous athletes, or more generally celebrities, should not have any more rights or ability to evade the law as I or anyone else reading this blog has. The more disconcerting idea, however, rests not with the professionals, but with the trickle-down effect to young athletes who will think, “If I’m an outstanding athlete, rules don’t apply to me.”

If you don’t think professional athletes’ influence players at younger levels, consider this. There undoubtedly have been various NCAA violations that have gone unchecked, which pave the way for players like Reggie Bush, who was a five-star recruit with out-of-this world athleticism, to think that he can get away with the equivalent of recruitment bribes. Reggie Bush is now the poster-boy for NCAA violations. Check out his story here.

Similarly, here is an article about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s player discipline conduct which advocates not putting players on a pedestal and holding them to the same laws we abide by.

Russell Baker, a resident of Palmer, MA, puts up signs to express his political and ideological opinions for the mass public to view.

Most recently, his sign read on one side, “Muslims will destroy us from within,” and, “Obama Appointed 2 Devout Muslims to Homeland-Security,” on the other.

The First Amendment of our Constitution supports Baker and his right to express his opinions, but in a time of war, which ultimately leads to racial discrimination, does he still have that right? In other words, should we read the Constitution as a literal document or as a guideline which needs to be updated periodically to stay current?

The freedom of speech issue is not a new debate. Similarly, the US government put limitations on freedom of speech in times of war. During World War I, the US sanctioned the Sedition Act of 1918 following the Espionage Act of 1917, which ultimately gave the federal government power to incarcerate any citizen who spoke out against the popular beliefs of the government.

There were more than 2,000 prosecutions as a result. The government repealed the two acts in 1921 after WWI concluded.

Further, the US government reissued a similar act during World War II. The Alien Registration Act of 1940 did many of the same things as its predecessor, but was focused toward the perceived rising threat of communism.

Currently, the FBI is investigating numerous anti-Muslim hate crimes.

Were these acts inspired by bashful freedom of speech?

Where do you draw the line between our Constitutional right and inciting hate?

Within the UMass community, he was loved and well respected. However, that love and respect soared far beyond the town lines of Amherst. At the football game, IN MICHIGAN, Alex Leiken, a 21 year old senior, political science major at the University of Michigan, described the game.

“Going into the game, we were pretty confident. We were expecting it to be pretty out of reach by halftime… Everyone in the stadium was groaning and thinking that it was a repeat of last year at halftime…”

And then there was the halftime show.

“The halftime show was really awesome. Everyone was really fired up about the band director. Everybody tried to show their support for them. All the fans were out of their seats. The loud speaker, the play by play announcer announced what happened. They came out rockin’. You could tell that the UMass band and the twirlers and all that stuff were all pumped up,” Leiken said. “It was a really cool experience because usually you don’t see too much emotion coming out of fans at the halftime show.”

He continued, “There was a whole lot of mutual respect.”

For more information about Mr. Parks’ tragic death, click here.

If you are interested in heart-attack prevention, or are worried if you are at risk, click here.

Picture by Save the Wolverines Blogpost. Click here to check it out.

Yesterday, former mayor of Hartford, Eddie Perez was sentenced to three years of prison and an additional three years of probation for his alleged dealings with city contractors.

All Mr. Perez wanted was some inexpensive house improvements. For a mayor who has done so much for the city, is that really so much to ask?

Yes, yes it is, according to the Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia Dewey.

“The reason we are all here today, Mr. Perez, is your conduct and nothing more. It’s one of your making,” Dewey said. “Your conduct was just unacceptable.

Connecticut is no stranger to unethical political practices, or should I say, Connecticut has a list of politicians who got caught.

Have you heard about Governor John G. Rowland? He served 10 months in federal prison for trading political access for vacations and home improvements. For the full story, click here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/nyregion/14rowland.html?_r=1&ref=john_g_rowland

Joseph Ganim, a former mayor of Bridgeport, also served jail time. Here is his story: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E3DD1F3DF936A35751C1A9619C8B63&ref=joseph_p_ganim

With these three major criminal cases in Connecticut, you have to ask, “Is Connecticut actually the sleeze-ball state in the US, and if so, how does Las Vegas feel about it?”

The last part was a joke, but we have to be curious if more people in positions of power are more prevalent than we actually know.

As a sport enthusiast, I obviously think to Bernie Madoff and his business strategy of “take the money and run.” If you want to see the actual court case, here it is: http://www.madoff.com/.

More importantly though, when you have these pseudo-celebrities actually go to prison, what is it actually like? You can’t send them to the standard “joint,” but you seriously can’t send them to the Ritz. At least in Madoff’s case, he is living much larger than many of us do. Check this video out:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/madoff-behind-bars-exclus_n_694134.html

I hate to be so bashing though. After all, there are two sides to every story and it is not just unfair for me, as a writer, but down-right irresponsible to not share another view of this. Here is the community’s reaction to Perez:

http://blogs.courant.com/cityline/2010/09/community-reaction-on-perez.html

Here are some quick bullets about the blog for 49ers fans, NFL fans, or just interested readers:

• The “Inside the 49ers Blog” is undoubtedly written for the hardcore 49ers fan seeking more information about the team.
• The blog is updated frequently—at least once a day, and often times two-three times.
• The article does new reporting. However, many of the points are in other sport news sources.
• The ton of the blog is very “news-like.” In other words, it is not conversational and is written like it could be an AP article.
• There is also only text—no special media such as audio or sound—which makes the site much more dry than other blogs.

Overall, I recommend this blog. It compliments articles you would find in a newspaper and on the AP very well.

Check it out here:

http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/

Take Back the Night slideshow

Campus Violence Victim Rights Forum video

A Victim of Sexual Assault Shares Her Story

by Maura Anderson, Caitlin Quinn, Alex Holden

A strong, composed, confident young woman might not be the first image that comes to mind when you think of a victim of sexual assault. But Cait, a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who wished to be identified only by her nickname, is proof that victims can find a way to move on and regain their self-confidence.

Cait was an undergraduate student at UMass when she was sexually assaulted. She was on her way home from a party in her hometown over winter break when the incident occurred. Many of the people at the party were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, and Cait was under the influence.

With the end of the night approaching, Cait caught a ride home with one of her best friends who had designated himself the driver for the night. He had not been drinking or smoking. Cait, on the other hand, was highly intoxicated, to the point where she blacked out.

“The last thing I remember was being in the back seat [of the car]. I don’t remember anything else,” she said.

The next day, Cait could not remember much of the night before. But in a conversation over an instant messenger with the friend who had driven her home, she began to put the pieces back together.

The two had been friends for years, and while Cait was not interested in anything besides friendship with him, he had had a crush on he,r and tried to pursue dating her multiple times, Cait said.

Cait recalled that when she asked this friend what had happened the night before, he responded, “We had a milestone in our relationship. Don’t you remember? We had sex last night.”

In her words, Cait was shocked, horrified, and upset. “The last thing I said to him was, ‘I can’t believe you did this. Good-bye.’ And I never talked to him again,” she said.

It wasn’t until a month later that she started talking to people about what happened and it took her much longer to tell their mutual friends. She did not go to University Health Services or the UMass Police Department for help. She was petrified that if she went to UHS, her visit would show up on her insurance bill, notifying her parents. To this day, Cait’s family does not know about her sexual assault.

Cait felt that a lot of helpful resources were available to her, and for a while she turned to her sorority, which she said was a great network of female support. She also visited the Everywoman’s Center, which provided counseling and the emotional support she needed without any payment that could show up on her insurance bill.

It took years for Cait to regain her self-confidence and move past the incident – and those years were marked by a struggle to “reclaim her body.” As she explained, survivors of sexual assault generally go down one of two paths – they either become very conservative about sexual relations, or they “sleep around a lot.” Cait had many one-night stands in an attempt to distance herself from the assault, but eventually, she was able to open up emotionally once again.

Cait met her current boyfriend two years after the incident, and this has been her first positive, healthy sexual relationship since being assaulted. She said that being in a healthy relationship has helped her forget the assault and her unhealthy sexual activity afterward. Her healing was also due in large part to supportive friends and resources on campus that she could turn to.

The secret, she said, was finding “something to do in your life that makes you not think about it all the time.” She got involved in the Vagina Monologues in her sophomore year, and has been performing in it ever since.

“Theater is not the main goal,” Cait said. The main purpose of the Vagina Monologues is healing. “It was like group therapy [for me].”

Cait said that she was fortunate because she knew what help that was available to her, and she used that support to become a stronger person. “Know your campus, policies, and mental health services,” she said.

“And don’t be afraid to get in peoples’ faces. Don’t be afraid to get mad at people when they make jokes about rape,” she said, which has happened among her friends. “If they call you a bitch, that’s their problem, their ego.”

Cait has some advice for anyone who finds that they have been sexually assaulted. “Try to talk to as many people as you can, go to Everywoman’s Center or friends.” And most importantly, she said, “find something to connect to that can make you move on.”

When I browse, I always read the descriptions of the wine, the prices, look to see if the wine has a twist off top or has a cork, etc., and base my selection off those things. However, the other day I saw this cool looking bottle. It has a deep, aquamarine translucent blue. The name of the wine is “Relax.” I was completely transfixed on the aesthetics of this bottle and contemplated the savvy of the marketers who came up with it. Upon further examination of the bottle, much to my dismay, right under the “Relax” it said, “Riesling.”

Completely absorbed in the look of the bottle coupled with the fact that Relax is only $8, I said, “What do I have to lose?”

All I have to say now is, “great move.”

Usually, I am not a fan or Rieslings. Rieslings tend to be the fruitiest of white wines. They are very very sweet and actually can be confused with a fizzy fruit juices.

Here are some quick facts about Riesling:

1. Majority of Rieslings are German
2. Great to pair with all types of foods—very versatile
3. Many Riesling wine bottles are still in their native language, German, which makes it very difficult for us to make a selection. Don’t let that stop you though.
4. Rieslings are categorized by the style type and ripeness levels of the grapes at the time of harvest.

If you would like to read more about Riesling, check out this site here.

As much of a non-Riesling fan I may be, Relax completely changed my mind—it’s like that family full of complete tools, but with the one kid who is actually pretty cool.

Relax was very fruity and also quite crisp. However, unlike other Rieslings that I have tried, this one didn’t give me the feeling that I was eating pure sugar. It didn’t over power my taste-buds by being obnoxiously sweet. I would sum up this wine with one word, “tasty.” You can visit their site here.

And not to mention, the girls loved the taste of it too.

So go out and try something new. You never know when or where you are going to find your Riesling.

I am now writing to right my wrong. I am terribly sorry for this travesty to my readership.

So here we go.

Champagne tastes like a fizzy Riesling (a fruity tasting white wine). The fizziness is why champagne is often referred to in much cooler crowds than I am a part of as “bubbly.” If you have lived under a rock for most of your life, then you wouldn’t know that champagne tends to be drunk on special occasions such as Valentines Day, New Years Eve, birthdays, or even more generally—hot dates.

Bros, this is why we must understand and have a working knowledge of champagne—girls love it. Equally important, unlike Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice, or even Three Olives Bubblegum Vodka, it’s not considered un-bro-like to drink (however, this rule only applies if you are with a girl).

The first and most important thing to know is that Champagne does NOT have to be expensive and will be worth it… if you know what I mean. The classic “college” champagne is André. André is only $7, and tastes pretty decent for champagne. When I say “pretty decent,” I know, it’s vague, but understand that it means that no one will complain unless you set the bar too high by promising something out of this world. Check out their website here.

Alex’s Life Lesson #1: Keep expectations low. It’s much easier to impress that way.

However, if you really want to splurge, I have had a bottle of Moët & Chandon Impérial that has been sitting in my reserves for a couple of months now. It rang me up a hefty tab of $40, but I can actually explain the difference in price, and if you want more information about it, click here.

1. Real champagne technically only comes from a province in France called Champagne (clever frogs). My bottle of champagne is therefore real champagne as compared to the like-tasting André champagne.
2. Moët & Chandon Impérial does taste crisper and is more flavorful than André.
3. My bottle is bigger than André.
4. My bottle looks cooler than André.
5. Points three and four are irrelevant.
6. You get the idea.
7.  

Enjoy!

If you have, chances are it was one of those ironic toasts like when someone’s nickname is like “Big Guy,” but the person is actually quite small. However, you can now toast to good health with nothing but genuine sincerity.

My wine selection for the week is a French 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Hob Nob winery. If you read my last post, this red wine, drunk in moderation of course, actually can help prevent against heart disease.

That is what you tell your Mom when she asks about what you are drinking in college, and now I’ll tell you what you actually need to know about this delicious wine.

Described as, “silky smooth with blackberry notes and hints of spice,” on the back of the bottle, one can not sue Hob Nob for misleading or false advertising—the wine lives up to the description. I’ll describe the wine with proper “hip” and “cool” college lingo, though. Being a red, the wine itself has a very strong and flavorful taste, so if you like more subtle wines, like many others that I described on this blog, this red is definitely not for you. However, if you have graduated from those white gateway wines, this is the next step.

Check out its website here. The site is actually a lot like any AXE body wash advertisement. Under “Mood” of the wine, Hob Nob describes its cabernet sauvignon as “seductive.” CAUTION: Guys, find out if she likes red wine first, and THEN show her those grapes. Otherwise, it could be disastrous.

If you are like me though, you are more interested in another use of this wine, and that is to pair it with some of my favorite foods in the red meat family—burgers and steaks.

Or if you are just into drinking a fine red wine, know it’s only $10 at Liquors 44 and has a 13% alcohol content, so you are assured a fun time. Hell, how can you not?

I mean what do you think of when you hear the words “Hob” and “Nob?”