Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said on Wednesday.
The first sting operation was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where agents infiltrated 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication, said the commission's Carolyn Beck.
I love the fact they call arresting drunk people at a bar "sting operations" -- that's classic.
Yeah, it's much more like shooting fish in a barrel. And in Texas, they probably actually shoot them, too.
ReplyDeleteI moved to South Texas about one year ago from the East Coast...I expected a much more liberal society (the Don't Mess With Texas sense of independence) but I could not have been more wrong. I must say that the culture shock for me is far off the scale. The ATL never looked so good...
ReplyDeleteThere's not much else to do in Texas except get drunk I would imagine.
ReplyDeletei saw this on MSNBC this morning. this is crazy. instead of being outside seeing which people are attempting to drive drunk (which is a crime), they are sitting up in the bar watching people get bent. isn't that the point of going to the bar?? esp if you ain't the one driving? HELLLLLLLLLO! this is america. or maybe that doesn't apply to Texas.
ReplyDeleteHrm... more pre-emptive striking, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether to thank you for writing about this (because I'd not heard about this slice of Americana), or to shoot myself over the fact that this brand of idiocy is here in America.
I was discussing this news item with a friend who works at a utility company, and was informed that Texas has it's own power grid. Well, 99.9% of Texas, anyway. Normally, power grids cover multi-state regions. Texas may be big, but comparably-sized California does not operate on an exlusive power grid. We agreed this displays a LOOONG-standing vigilante type mentality among Texans. Like, if they ever felt like the US goverment was trying to opress their "right" to kill people who "need killin'", they can defect from the union with little interrupion of normal goods & services to the average Texan. The average Texan being an oil magnate, of course.
ReplyDeleteArresting people for being drunk in a bar? Shouldn't they be giving fines to the bar managers for over-serving patrons instead?
ReplyDeleteMakes NO sense to me.
How about park a block away in ghost cars and check everyone for DUI.
How about giving fines to the bar owners/managers/bartenders for allowing people to get looped.
Everything in Texas is big right? Except brains.
it gets better... i have the "license" they give (i.e., sell) you to sell beer in tx--which you need to be a cocktail waitress, bartender, or even to be a checker in a grocery store--and it is illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is intoxicated. meaning, the seller is culpable for the buyers' behavior under the influence and may be arrested if, say, the buyer goes out and runs someone over with his/her car.
ReplyDeletealso, there is a distinct lack of public transport in the lone star state, fyi. there's no winning.
"don't mess with texas," mmmhmmm... so true that some of us had to escape to NY in order to keep messin around.
Which is why you can't trust people who DON'T drink in bars. Wasn't Texas founded by drunks?
ReplyDeleteBeing a manager at one of these bars, and a poli sci major to boot, I can't convey the appropriate amount of disgust I feel knowing the TABC and their lovely vice warriors are on the prowl on a regular basis. Important note: they can also, and have, arrest the bartender/ess who has placed that most recent drink in the drinkers hand. It's somewhat like hot potato. Pack the ice well, poor a weak drink, and hope that our drunk friend wanders off to another bar before those killer V's swarm. (That's my vice shout out guys, thanks for a weekend off)
ReplyDeleteSo every weekend, I know I am responsible for every girl who just broke up with her boyfriend and guy who reaches out to reclaim that vague memory of a fratboy from years ago, babysitting 250 of my drunkest friends. Thank you TABC. Thanks for the undercover stings, the entire club shutdowns, and the topic of many discussions in my constitutional law class. And thank you, TAN, for letting others know just how lovely Texas law truly can be.
And by the way "stories you cannot tell", I'm not your mama. Hire a bring your own sitter if you can't handle your liquor.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the grammatical error. I'm drunk right now and solely responsible for my own typing.
ReplyDeleteSorry Fatman, Texas was founded by scalliwags and criminals attempting to run from their homestates...the drinking began shortly after the stark realization that the land they had fought for was bleak, dry, inhospitable, and suitable only for the growth of dental floss.
ReplyDeleteI think they're onto something here. The next logical step is to start surveillance of liquor stores: have a sniper positioned in the building across the street, so as soon as you see someone leaving with a six-pack you can pick them off. "America... If the President can't drink, then you can't either."
ReplyDeleteNew TABC legislation hits the House this spring and I urge any Texas resident to contact their local reps before our civil liberties are restricted even more by this MONEY MAKING government agency.
ReplyDeleteThis from a state where you can pull up to a "party barn" and get your truck loaded with booze?
ReplyDeleteI love these Reuters "Oddly Enough" articles because just by placing the news in this category mocks it and there's nothing like being subtley mocked. This could be on Reno 911 except that would be overt mocking, of course.
ReplyDeleteI am sometimes amazed at what our tax dollars are used for. But then again one doesnt have to look hard to find out why stupid reins supreme in our land......
ReplyDelete