Scared as rabbits?

[danberger]

Tom:
You are, of course, right on the mark with everything you say about "our" ATF, but the fact remains that the warning label was not the work of ATF at all. It was the work of pure politicians, Congress. It was the body that passed a law requiring ATF to act as it did, to mandate the warning label as we now have it. And as it has been the same label since day 1, which for the record was was Nov. 1, 1989. I wrote a humorous article some years ago poking fun at the whole thing, since the new-Prohibitionist element in this country is going to make sure we have that label forever. Which may be interpreted as "as long as Strom Thurmond is alive." Which I assume will be longer than I live, and I'm over 50. When I interviewed a good source at ATF in 1990, he told me that ATF's higher ups were rather p.o.'d that ATF was being forced to enact this label by a buch of know-nothing politicos. He told me that a number of people in ATF were in the verge of suggesting an alternative statement that would essentially have suggested that people contact their physicians for advice on the use of the procuct. In a speech I gave to the Society of the Medical Friends of Wine shortly after that interview, I said that if people contacted their doctors regarding use of wine, most doctors would recommend the 1985s over the 1987s.
Now I am suggesting (in next week's column) that some California winery submit a wine label for approval that says "Fat Free!" on it. Let ATF try to deny the truth in that statement!
Dan Berger