[bliss]

In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr., a member of the Texas House of Representatives, was asked about his position on whiskey. What follows is his exact answer (taken from the Political Archives of Texas).

"If you mean whiskey, the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend, I am opposed to it with every fiber of my being.

"However, if by whiskey you mean the lubricant of conversation, the philosophic juice, the elixir of life,the liquid that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables man to magnify his joy, and to forget life's great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that provides tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it.

"This is my position, and as always, I refuse to compromise on matters of principle."
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I know this board likes trivia. Here's a bit of trivia a bet nobody here knows…

Long ago there were two Jewish brothers from Poland by the last name of Perske. Yitzhak Perske moved his family to Israel. He had a son named Shimon Perske.

The other brother moved to the US and had a son named William Perske.

So Shimon and William were first cousins.

William had a daughter named Betty Joan Perske.

Shimon Perske changed decided to Hebraize his last name to Peres.

If the name Shimon Peres sounds familiar, it's because he became a famous politician, serving two terms as Prime Minister. Just three weeks ago he completed a term as President of Israel.

As for his cousin's daughter, she also changed her name. As her last name, she used her mother's maiden name of Bacall. And she changed her first name to Lauren.

I was thinking about this because I just read the said news that Lauren Bacall (OBM) passed away just a few hours ago.