Confusing the matter

Disclaimer: I make no pretense of being fair-minded about this issue. I recently spent a frustrating day listening to and watching the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, consisting of five members, “rubber stamp” a private-club liquor permit petition from a restaurant owner operating in a dry county. Oh, they went through a sham of a public hearing, consisting of about eight hours of pro and con testimony, but it was plain to me that their decision was predetermined. One petition from a restaurant operating in the same dry county was turned down due to a legal technically, but only because a lawyer pointed it out to the board members.

One board member read a statement of reasons (prepared beforehand, it seemed to me) for their approval. One phrase caught my attention: nonprofit organization. Nonprofit, I thought. Does that mean the owner does not mean to make a profit? After I got home, I researched the term in the Arkansas Legislature’s regulations concerning the formation of private clubs. Nonprofit means by their definition that the club “members” shall not benefit from the establishment’s profits. The owner(s) can make all the profits possible.

How nice of the legislators to confuse the matter. Reminds me of Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

So what we have is a Legislature that obfuscates; an ABC board that facilitates; a liquor industry that celebrates; resulting in dry counties that gravitate—toward “wetness.” Shameful! JOHN McPHERSON

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