Or, more accurately, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - 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.

Being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkeness, Beck said.

The goal, she said, was to detain drunks before they leave a bar and go do something dangerous like drive a car.

"We feel that the only way we're going to get at the drunk driving problem and the problem of people hurting each other while drunk is by crackdowns like this," she said.{...}

{my emphasis}

Gee. I'm surprised you just didn't post agents in the parking lot and then call the cops so you could have had the DWI revenue. Really. You're shortchanging everyone by enforcing public intoxication laws, instead of going for the much more lucrative DWI charge. Where on earth is next month's donut money ever going to come from if not for the social drinkers who blew just over .08? Oh, wait. You're the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. You're not the police. What did you do? Just drop these hardened criminals off at the local police station and then instruct them to do the processing? I'll bet they just loved that, didn't they? A night's revenue...pissed down the drain in the holding unit at the local jail.

YEEHAW! That thar is some successful law enforcement!

Who knew that Texas, of all states, would turn out to be the next nanny state?

We all know this isn't about drinking, or even drinking and driving, but rather is part of a push for neo-prohibition, right? Don't believe me? Read this and see if you change your tune. (Read the whole thing.) DWI laws do nothing to stop drunk drivers. Trust me on this one. I know.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:17 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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