Driven To Drink

By W, in Blue Seattle. It's think illogically, drink liberally:

Toward the end of the speech, it sounded as if several members of the group were suffering from a unique, left-wing strain of Tourette's syndrome.

"You (blank)!"

"God, I wish he would shut the (blank) up!"

It was a special night for the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally, a group of left-leaning folks who meet weekly at the Montlake Ale House to imbibe and talk politics.

President Bush, antagonist numero uno, was giving his annual State of the Union speech, and a crowd of about 30 mostly young, professional-looking liberals were there to jeer him on.

....Tuesday evening, attendees drank when Bush spoke phrases such as "September 11" or "terrorist." They laughed when he appeared to mispronounce certain words. They booed when he called for the renewal of the Patriot Act. And they cheered loudly for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) when she was shown smiling and shaking her head as Bush defended his use of warrantless telephone wiretaps.

"It's not Bush that I hate," said Jeff Evans, a software programmer from Seattle. "It's the military-industrial complex he represents. Look at Exxon's recent profits if you don't believe me."

Added Ellen Meserow in between sips of red wine: "I just can't even start. It's like every day in the last six years he's slapped me in the face."