The Beer-Devil Made Them Drink It
The Oglala Sioux tribe wants $500 million from beer makers, four beer stores, plus beer distributors its suing, for selling alcohol to residents South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned. Kevin Abourezk writes in the Lincoln Journal Star:
(The suit) alleges the defendants violated the tribe's alcohol ban as well as Nebraska law by providing alcohol to the reservation's residents, knowing those residents would transport the alcohol into the reservation and resell much of that beer to other reservation residents.The lawsuit also alleges the owners of the four beer stores sold alcohol to intoxicated people and accepted sex, pornographic photos and food assistance vouchers in exchange for beer.
"Alcohol is a devastating drug to the Lakota people," the lawsuit states. "The vast majority of beer consumed in the town of Pine Ridge and the (reservation) is sold in Whiteclay establishments."
Ted Frank makes the right point (and has posted the complaint online):
How it is these companies' responsibility to prevent the legal sale of beer is beyond me; are they supposed to engage in racial profiling at the checkout counter? Refuse to sell to vendors near dry areas?
Don Surber adds:
In the old days, I would have called it a frivolous lawsuit except we just saw bankers agree to pay $25 billion to millions (of) people who were behind in their mortgage payments. Suddenly in our world, moochers, freeloaders and welchers on loans are heroes. Why not alcoholics?
via Overlawyered
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