The Beer Summit Was Apparently A Success Perhaps Because No Arrogant Bastard Ale Was Served To Any Of Its Participants

YouTube video about The Beer Summit courtesy of Associated Press

By all accounts the meeting between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge MA police officer Sgt. James Crowley with U.S. President Barack Obama serving as "bartender" and Vice President Joe Biden present as "bouncer" (just kidding) ;-) was successful and productive. If Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley can sit down together and work towards reconciliation in a civil and mutually respectful manner all I can say is more power to them. If this "Beer Summit" can serve as a "springboard" toward a national dialogue on race relations in the U.S.A. that would be great too. If Sgt. James Crowley can comfortably work together with Henry Louis Gates Jr. in the production of the documentary film that he wants to do on racial profiling, as I have previously suggested, without being co-opted that would be a good thing too. If these two men genuinely want to reconcile and constructively and productively work together to improve race relations in the U.S.A. then I think that the American public should allow them to do just that.

According to the National Post/Reuters report President Barack Obama said that he hoped that the "Beer Summit" would give the people involved in the dispute a chance to listen to each other, instead of "ginning up anger and hyperbole," and reflect upon the fact that they all had different points of view. Sounds fair enough to me but I think that it needs to be pointed out once again, hopefully for a final time. . . that the person most responsible for "ginning up anger and hyperbole" in this matter is Henry Louis Gates Jr., not Sgt. James Crowley and not President Barack Obama even if he did gin up *some* anger with his poorly calibrated words. One only needs to read Henry Louis Gates' self-serving "interview" in The Root entitled 'Skip Gates Speaks' to see plenty of ginning up of anger and over-the-top hyperbole that I have already pointed out in previous blog posts here.

So what did each participant in the "Beer Summit" imbibe you ask?

Well it seems that Stone Brewing Co. of Escondido, California never shipped up that complimentary case of their Arrogant Bastard Ale that I waggishly suggested that they might want to provide on the White House as it were.

National Post/Reuters reports - Bud Light for Obama, Blue Moon for Crowley and Red Stripe for Gates. Vice President Joe Biden was also at the table.

Daily Enquirer reports - The four men ate peanuts as they chatted over their favorite beers. Obama drank a Bud Light, Crowley a Blue Moon, Gates a Sam Adams Light, and Biden a non-alcoholic Buckler.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has an article titled 'Beer Summit: Prosit' which discusses the choice of beers and concludes with this parting shot - The tripartite summit and the "brewhaha" preceding it reminded us of the time a rabbi, a priest, and a minister walked into a saloon, prompting the bartender to ask, "What is this, a joke?"

The Baltimore Sun has an article titled 'Rating the brews served at the beer summit' which apparently rates all of the beers served as second rate swill. I would have to concur. . .

Here is the comment I submitted to the article -

I would go with the Blue Moon too, and might even have two or three if it was a half-decent wheat beer which I have some reason to doubt.

Prompted by a waggish commenter elsewhere I had emailed the Stone Brewing Co. suggesting that it might want to ship a complimentary case of its Arrogant Bastard Ale to be served on the White House as it were. :-)

The Washington Post has an interesting article titled 'The Racial Politics of Beer' by one by Maureen Ogle which was apparently written two days in the future since it is dated Sunday, August 2, 2009. . .

Maureen Ogle's first paragraph says -

It was never going to be just a round of beers -- not when it was being served at the White House to a black (and part Irish) Harvard professor, a white police officer (also boasting Irish roots) and the mixed-race president of the United States.

I can't help but wonder if Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s Irish roots are of the Protestant Orangemen variety which might explain a lot about what happened between the two men, seeing that Sgt. James Crowley's Irish background seems to be on the Catholic side of *that* divide. . . Oh dear am I engaging in racial profiling? ;-)

Well it *is* Marching Season you know. . .

I like this bit too -

Of course, nothing says "humanity" better than fermented grain. For 10,000 years, from Mesopotamia to medieval Europe, from Asia to Africa, human beings have prayed, haggled, and waged war and peace while sipping the stuff. In Europe circa 3,000 B.C., beer-drinking played such a vital role in political and religious rituals that chieftains and warriors outfitted themselves with ornate cups and ewers, objects of precious stone and metal so symbolically powerful that they were buried with their owners.

It's well worth a full read.

Here is U.S. President Barack Obama’s statement following the "Beer Summit" courtesy of the Los Angeles Times:

"I am thankful to Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley for joining me at the White House this evening for a friendly, thoughtful conversation. Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them. I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode."

"It's an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic that you loose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself, all of whom are imperfect," Mr. Obama said.

Nuff' said?

Well not quite. It does occur to me that Sgt. James Crowley might have been trying to send a subtle message by choosing the Blue Moon. I expect that he hopes that the kind of incident that led to the Beer Summit only occurs once in a blue moon. . .

What DOES President Barack Obama's "I Could Have Calibrated Those Words Differently" Back-Tracking Non-Retraction *Really* Mean?

Somebody was just asking. . .

Here is how I responded to that question -

Good question. . .

I'm guessing it means shooting himself in the foot with a bullet from a 2mm Kolibri instead of a police issue 45 caliber service pistol. :-)



Perhaps I should have calibrated my words differently. . . ;-)

All in good fun!

Hopefully the Secret Service will not "act stupidly" by interpreting this humorous poke at the unfortunate fact that U.S. President Barack Obama acted stupidly in publicly proclaiming that the Cambridge Police Force acted stupidly in arresting Harvard University scholar (but no gentleman. . .) Henry Louis Gates Jr. for disorderly conduct aka disturbing the peace as some kind of actual threat against President Barack Obama. On the off chance they do. . . hopefully President Obama will have the good sense not to assert that the Secret Service acted stupidly in interpreting this satirical blog post as a real threat. After all, I am only talking about President Obama shooting *himself* in the foot in purely figurative terms and kindly suggesting that he do so with a much smaller caliber, and thus hopefully less damaging, metaphorical "gun" aka firearm the next time that he acts stupidly and shoots himself in the foot. . . ;-)

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no intention whatsoever to doing the slightest physical harm to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama, or anybody else for that matter, and would be happy to sit down and have a beer with him to discuss the CrowleyGates scandal. Not that I am expecting an invitation to the White House any time soon. . . ;-)

Chicago Mayors Eugene Sawyer And Richard J. Daley Provide Some Belated Wise Advice To U.S. President Barack Obama And Henry Louis Gates

In the better late than never department. . .

Former Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley provides the following good advice to Chicago politician U.S. President Barack Obama and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., by way of former Chicago mayor the late Eugene Sawyer and conservative U*U blogger Bill Baar.

"You never have to take back things you don't say."

And Now For Something Completely Different. . . A Word From Urban Super Hero DangerMan

President Barack Obama Invites Sgt. James Crowley And Henry Louis Gates Jr. To The White House For A Beer. . .

I take note of the fact that some wags have suggested that President Barack Obama engaged in some racial profiling of his own by inviting an Irish American cop to have a beer with him and his good friend Henry Louis Gates Jr. at the White House. I can't help but wonder if Gates will continue to cry wolf in his beer. . . Personally I think that some enterprising brewer should buy the rights to the arrest photo that shows Henry Louis Gates Jr. yelling like a maniac and use it to advertise their product.

Let's see now. What might some of the advertising slogans be. . .

Amstel Beer: Cause strife. Pure Unfiltered.

Bass Ale: Reach for Notoriety.

Bavaria: And now, for a tantrum.

Bud Light: Be yourself and make it a sad sight.

Budweiser: Where there's strife, there's Gates.

Busch Beer: Head for the porch.

Carlsberg: Gates. Probably the best boor from Harvard.

Coors Light: The Boldest Lambasting Boor In Cambridge.

Corona: Miles Away From Ornery?

Dos Equis Mexican beer: Sooner or later you'll regret it.

Guinness Irish Stout: Politeness is good for you.

Bad things come to those who bait.

Harp Irish Lager: Who puts out the fire?

Heineken: A bitter boor deserves a beer with Obama.

Miller: Everything you always wanted in a boor. And more.

If you've got the crime, we've got the boor.

Labatt Blue: A whole lot can happen, Out of the Blue.*

Another Labatt Blue slogan is/was -

If I wanted water, I would have asked for water.

which "translates" to -

If I wanted Crowley, I would have asked for Crowley.

Michelob Ultra: Lose the barbs. Not the face. . .

Michelob AmberBock: Rich and _______ (fill in the blank yourself)

St. Pauli Girl: Put him on a pedestal, or in an Ivory Tower

or You never forget your worst nightmare.

Schaefer: America's Boldest Harvard Boor.

Sagres: Spot the differences

Samuel Adams: Harvard's World Class Boor.

The original beer advertising slogans may be found here.



*No need to tweak the actual Labatt Blue advertising slogan at all but I like -

A "rogue cop" can happen, Out of the Blue. . .

even though I don't believe that Sgt. James Crowley is really a rogue cop.

President Barack Obama's Unfortunate Public Statements About The Henry Louis Gates Controversy Are Discussed By A Panel On FOX News

I know that FOX News has a very bad reputation amongst liberals, and I have been less than impressed by what little I have seen of FOX News reporting and opinion programs, but I find that this particular FOX News panel discussion of U.S. President Barack Obama's "unfortunate" statements about the Henry Louis Gates race-baiting controversy and his subsequent non-apology is quite reasonable and balanced. There are a few funny snarky bits right at the beginning that I got a chuckle out of.

Sgt. James Crowley Speaks For Himself In Response To Henry Louis Gates' Slandering Of Him As A Racist And U.S. President Barack Obama's Stupid Remark

Here is a lengthy in-depth radio interview with Sgt. James Crowley as aired on The Dennis & Callahan Morning Show.

President Barack Obama Stopped Short Of Apologizing To Sgt. James Crowley And The Cambridge Police Force For Publicly Accusing Them Of Acting Stupidly

Hopefully he will get around to properly apologizing down the road a bit. . .

Here is my point-by-point response to President Barack Obama's back-tracking from his assertion that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly in arresting professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. -

:I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station.

I guess President Obama didn't hear yet that the Nutty Professor was not pulled out of his home at all but walked out of it under his own steam as it were to continue to berate Sgt. Crowley.

:I also continue to believe, based on what I heard, that Professor Gates probably overreacted as well.

To put it mildly. . . How about Professor Gates acted stupidly in painting Sgt. Crowley as a racist?

:My sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved and the way they would have liked it to be resolved.

I guess that's one way of putting it. . .

:The fact that it has garnered so much attention I think is a testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in America.

Of course the attention that *this* has garnered has got nothing to do with professor Henry Louis Gates crying wolf at the top of his lungs in order to gain national attention, and indeed international attention, and President Barack Obama himself pouring gasoline on the fire that the hot tempered professor Gates started by asserting that Cambridge police acted stupidly.

:So to the extent that my choice of words didn't illuminate, but rather contributed to more media frenzy, I think that was unfortunate.

Definitely more heat than light with the 'acted stupidly' remark.

:What I'd like to do then I make sure that everybody steps back for a moment, recognizes that these are two decent people, not extrapolate too much from the facts --

Such as publicly declaring that the Cambridge police force 'acted stupidly' for example? It seems to me that the person who is most guilty of extrapolating too much from the facts is none other than professor Henry Louis Gates.

:but as I said at the press conference, be mindful of the fact that because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, you know, African Americans are sensitive to these issues.

That is fair enough, but this national scandal arose because one Henry Louis Gates Jr. is hypersensitive to these issues, if not obsessed by them. . . as is clear from his own testimony.

:And even when you've got a police officer who has a fine track record on racial sensitivity, interactions between police officers and the African American community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding.

This was not an interaction between Cambridge police officers (at least one of whom was African American) and the African American community. It was an interaction between Cambridge police officers and one single insecure hypersensitive African American Harvard professor who overcompensates with arrogance and hyberbole.

:My hope is, is that as a consequence of this event this ends up being what's called a 'teachable moment,'

It's a 'teachable moment' alright.

:where all of us instead of pumping up the volume spend a little more time listening to each other

Hopefully Henry Louis Gates Jr. aka Mr. Pump Up The Volume Harvard is listening here. . .

:and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities,

Surely you mean try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and arrogant pumped up Harvard professors. . .

:and that instead of flinging accusations we can all be a little more reflective in terms of what we can do to contribute to more unity.

Flinging accusations like the Cambridge police acted stupidly? Flinging accusations like Sgt. James Crowley is a racist?

:There are some who say that as President I shouldn't have stepped into this at all because it's a local issue. I have to tell you that that part of it I disagree with. The fact that this has become such a big issue I think is indicative of the fact that race is still a troubling aspect of our society. Whether I were black or white, I think that me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive -- as opposed to negative -- understandings about the issue, is part of my portfolio.

May I suggest an actual formal apology to Sgt. James Crowley and the Cambridge police force for asserting that they 'acted stupidly' would be an appropriate contribution to constructive -- as opposed to negative -- understandings about the issue Mr. President?

It occurs to me now that that this (inter)national scandal would never have happened if Henry Louis Gates Jr. had simply followed the first five pool rules for this forum in his interactions with Sgt. Crowley and his subsequent crying wolf in the media. . .