Next book to read

Is about booze

Or rather people not wanting people to drink booze and the long and winding road we used to reach that point. And still failed.

The crucial historical point for me, since I live here. "In Ohio, the sacred cradle of the ASL, legislative districting and assiduous politicking put ratification over by a combined legislative vote of 105-42; however, when left to their own devices, Ohio voters rejected the very same measure in a referendum." - Man this is a fucked up state. The cradle of the Anti-Saloon League?

What hasn't this state used its power and sway to try to ban, restrict, or control?

Also a good selling point, the guy who wrote the book was apparently involved in creating some of the first Rotisserie baseball leagues.

But really the main issue is watching the series of things that had to click into place over time to make Prohibition possible in the first place happen. Anti-German propaganda and sentiments created by WW1, the passage of the Income tax (16th Amendment), Woman's Suffrage. Anti-Catholic/Irish bigotry, even the construction of sewage systems for increasingly urban populations was a key player. It is an astounding confluence of events over several decades that in the end seems to have only passed because of a set of corrupt or archaic political structures that were worked, and worked hard, by a few special interests in a concerted effort in spite of public support running contrary to the demands of the few.

And we're still seeing the same impact with drug warriors today, a confluence of "hard on crime" types, anti-Mexican/anti-Asian/anti-black sentiments, the ability of police to apportion more intrusive power to themselves through manipulating popular support, etc. The only thing we haven't carried over from that era is a demand to largely fund governments by taxing alcohol in relation to its actual cost. Which is, in part, what we did before it was banned. People still drank alcohol like water. Or rather, instead of water.