Keep Your Friends Close…

“Keep your friends close, but visit the Republican Caucus every few months.”    Don Barack “Corleone” Obama

As the staff at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel were attempting to best configure the seating arrangements for the sit-down between the Republican Caucus and the Capo Di Tutti Capi of Pennsylvania Avenue, my crew and I were enjoying pints at Mahaffey’s Pub in the gentrified Canton section of “Charm City.” This historic meeting between the President and the “loyal opposition” seems to have been the first stop on Mr. Obama’s  “Got Dem Beleaguered Beltway Lack of Bipartisanship Blues” tour of 2010.

While the early response to the Baltimore bilateral beef session seems to hold some promise of yielding a rare bit of legislative cooperation, I still would have opted against the formal downtown setting in favor of a more welcoming neighborhood locale - and Mahaffey’s would have been the perfect choice.

This gem of a tavern sets the standard for big tent camaraderie and hospitality. It offers a remarkable selection of beer, and with three 10-ounce drafts for only $4 every day during “Happy Hour” – Mahaffey’s has achieved affordable healthcare and effective stimulus in true bipartisan fashion. 

“Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But uh, until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s wedding day.”       Some future presidential deal for that one elusive Republican vote. 

Posted by: Chris Poh 

 

 

The Clock is Ticking

“The court’s blinkered and aphoristic approach to the First Amendment may well promote corporate power at the cost of the individual and collective self-expression the Amendment was meant to serve…”   Justice John Paul Stevens

On  January 14th the wise minds that comprise the editorial board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists decided to give civilization a one minute reprieve from Armageddon – the “Doomsday Clock” was now set at six minutes from midnight. For the next few days I was feeling pretty darn good about our  prospects, that was until those  giants of jurisprudence decided to speed up the clock on the demise of democracy by awarding our invisible unaccountable corporate keepers further cover  by way of  the First Amendment.

My initial response to the ruling was dumbfounded belligerence, I was almost ready to join the ranks of the nearest “Tea Party,” so that I to could shout from the heights, “Take Back Our Country.” But then I remembered  that we never really had this country all to ourselves in the first place. Since the inception of the republic, it has been a constant struggle between those with power and wealth, and those of limited means trying to find fairness and favor within the framework of the Constitution.This questionable decision by the Supreme Court might just be the spark we need to rekindle that quest of achieving a government of the people, by the people, and for the people!

Time, as some fear, may be running out for America; but I would like to hope that the clock is set to tavern time, and that there is still another fifteen minutes to get this one right – or at least enough time to have one more drink before closing. 

Posted by: Chris Poh 

Of Tea Parties and Beer Summits

As the American media shifts its myopic view away from the tragedy in Haiti for the next two days, and focuses on the potential earth-shaking Democratic debacle in Massachusetts, the President probably wishes that he would have thrown a few more ”Beer Summits” for the good citizens of the commonwealth during the last few months. Because it now seems likely that as the Democrats muster their forces in Lexington, Concord and elsewhere throughout that so-called bastion of liberality, the faltering campaign of Martha Coakley will fall victim to another “Tea Party.”

Whether or not the voters of the “Bay State” opt for a spot of tea or a pint of beer on Tuesday, it seems certain that the outcome will further America’s political partisan divide over the issue of healthcare reform. While I applaud most American’s ability to put aside our differences on behalf of the people of Haiti, I wish those same humanitarian impulses could also be applied to the care and wellbeing of our own citizens. 

As for myself, I will raise a glass in the hopes that we can come together to build a healthcare system that is equitable and effective - in time to save a large portion of our population, like the people of Haiti, from being dependent upon the generosity and compassion of Doctors Without Borders!

Posted by: Chris Poh

APHR IS MINDFUL OF THE DEVASTATION AND SUFFERING AS A RESULT OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI.  CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ARE SEEKING  YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS SO THAT THEY MAY PROVIDE HELP.

Looking for Signs from Above

Since the time of our primordial ancestors man has attempted to discover his fate by turning his gaze toward the cosmos. The marking of any new year  seems to heighten our inate need to chase the comet’s tail or  attach undue importance on the alignment of heavenly bodies

As we embark on yet another cycle of the Gregorian calendar the staff of American Public House Review would like to share some of the intriguing, if not downright mystical, signs that have guided our journey during the past year, and that will undoubtedly help to shape the course of future events.

Click on each sign below to take an unparalleled  journey through time and space!

 

A Tea Party for the New Year

"Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”           Thomas Jefferson

There has been a look standing debate among historians as to who is stepping on whose toes in John Trumbull’s famous painting, Declaration of Independence. There are those that claim that upon close inspection of the original work, which today hangs in the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington DC, one will notice that Thomas Jefferson is stepping on the foot of John Adams. For those whose political leanings are more “Anti-Federalist,” John Adams is viewed as the offending party. No matter which camp one falls into, it seems that from the very founding of the republic the quest for our inalienable rights has meant tripping up the efforts of those Americans that had a different point of view as to the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Regrettably, during the last several months the debate over healthcare has exacerbated the cancerous partisanship and deepened the discord of our citizens. We seem to have lost sight of the fundamental fact that the health of our nation is dependent upon how we treat and care for each other.

As we begin a new year it is our profound wish that we can meet the challenges going forward with a renewed spirit of cooperation and reconciliation. Here’s hoping for many more “Beer Summits” in 2010 – or at the very least a few cordial tea parties.

The staff of American Public House Review wishes everyone a Happy and Healthful New Year!

Posted by: Chris Poh

 

A Very Merry Christmas From American Public House Review

And May God Bless Us, Every One! 

Fare Thee Well to the Molly Maguires Pub in Jim Thorpe

Sadly, history is about to repeat itself once again, as it was on that infamous day in June of 1877 –  there will no reprieve for the Molly Maguires.  

At some point during the evening of December 20th,2009 the last pint will be drawn,  toasts will shared,  tears will be shed - and the Molly Maguires Pub in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania will close its doors forever.

I will not comment on those  circumstances that brought about the demise of this much-loved institution, other than to say that the  self interests and intrigues of a business are not always in harmony with the needs and desires of the clientele. Having just suffered through a similar loss of my own favorite local, (the over two-year closure of the bar at the National Hotel in Frenchtown, NJ),  I can more than empathize will the citizens of Jim Thorpe.

Taverns like Molly’s are much more than just a place to grab a beer and a burger. Besides providing employment they define the character of the area, they become a repository of local lore and  history, they are a measure of a town’s hospitality and integrity – they are in short the lifeblood and lifeline of a community!

 

As for myself, every visit to Jim Thorpe over the last nine years has begun and ended with a pint of Murphy’s Irish Amber at that wonderful bar. I am very thankful to the  gracious staff and generous customers that always made it feel like home. For the sake of all the good people in Jim Thorpe, I hope and pray that a new vision and vitality finds its way to the place that was the Molly Maguire’s Pub…Fare Thee Well!                                                                                                  

Posted by: Chris Poh

Paying tribute to John Lennon

Each of us has certain dates on the calendar that we just can’t forget.  Whether it is a birthday or anniversary, sometimes just seeing the date pop up on our cell phone or calendar brings back to us a rush of memories.  Now I have never been one who could be described as good with dates, but today’s date is one that will always conjure up a feeling of sadness for me no matter how many years go by.  December 8th was the day John Lennon was killed.

Last year I had the opportunity to return to one of Manhattan’s great pubs, the Ear Inn on Spring Street.  Besides centuries of history, the Ear was also reported to be a regular haunt for my boyhood hero John Lennon.  Each time I go, it’s almost like a pilgrimage to find something about Lennon that perhaps I could relate more closely to.  Even though I am too young to recall Beatlemania, Lennon and the Beatles hold a special place in my memory.  They were my first “favorite band” and Lennon was one of the reasons I wanted to become a musician.  His murder was perhaps the first such event to awaken me to the world outside my suburban home.

Thanks to something called “Rockband”, which has been described to me by kids I coach in soccer as something of a video game involving famous musicians, the Beatles have moved back to their rightful place atop the collective consciousness of popular music.  Sure I may have to settle for watching a digitized cartoon version of the boys from Liverpool, but the music is the same.  And to have a 15 year old ask me what Beatles album I think they should get for Christmas warms my heart and gives me hope that their influence upon Rock and Roll will never fade.

by Dave McBride

Another Christmas in the Trenches

The Christmas Truce of 1914

On December 1, 2009 another President of the United States went in front of the American public to make a case for war, in this instance a continuation and escalation of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. Within seconds of the completion of his speech at West Point the usual banal chatter, speculation and political posturing flooded all avenues of electronic communication. 

During my nearly six decades of life almost every sitting Commander-in-Chief  has had to justify to our citizens the need to commit troops to combat. Being a person who has watched The Magnificent Seven no less than fifty times, I certainly believe that the good guys should always save the village from the bandidos. And having also viewed Camelot on a number of occasions, I tend to align myself with the Arthurian tradition of “Might for the cause of Right.” So like many of my fellow citizens, I consider myself a peaceful man with a gunslinger’s heart.  

On balance though, we as a nation or species have very little to show as a result of our armed squabbles. For most of mankind there has been  little cause for celebration since the end of the Second World War. In the wake of our brutal and bloody  ideological struggles there has been nothing but broken bodies, broken minds, broken souls, broken communities and broken promises. The current nature of warfare does not seem to allow for clearcut winners and losers, just days with a bit less bloodshed and a few less casualties. Perhaps this frustrating realization might cause all  participants in the folly to finally make a case for peace…or at least a very long truce.

The staff and writers of  American Public House Review raise a glass to all our  men and women in the armed forces of the United States. We pray for their protection and safe return…and we look to that day when none of our soldiers will have to spend another Christmas in harm’s way.

Click on “Christmas in the Trenches” by John McCutcheon on YouTube.

 

Posted by: Chris Poh

Dad is Distilling in the Finger Lakes

For years I’ve fretted over the wellbeing of these two lost souls that were seemingly abandoned on the side of Route 341 just south of Silver City, Nevada. Who could they be, and for God’s sake where were their parents? Well part of that mystery was solved during a recent trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York State.

There hiding out in a secluded corner of Finger Lake Distilling above the shoreline of Lake Seneca was dear old dad. The irresponsible lout was all polished up and full of rye whiskey. I really couldn’t blame him though, because the rye was the McKenzie. This newly released gem of a whiskey from the distillery is among the best ryes ever made in North America.

So after several sips and bit of a scolding, I reminded pop about his kids rusting in the hot Nevada desert. He promised to take responsibility, but that would be predicated on whiskey sales. So please pay a visit to Finger Lakes Distilling and indulge yourself with a bottle of the McKenzie.

Do it for yourself…do it for the children!

Look for an upcoming article about the distillery and other sources of good libations in the Finger Lakes in the December issue of American Public House Review.

 

   Posted by: Chris Poh