"Big brewers like Anheuser-Busch frequently admonish us imbibers of their grain products to "drink responsibly." Well, I say back to them: Lobby responsibly.

In particular, I point to a disgusting binge of besotted lobbying by Anheuser-Busch (now owned by the Belgian beer conglomerate InBev) and other beer barons this year in the Nebraska legislature.

At issue was the "town" of Whiteclay, smack dab on the Nebraska-South Dakota border. I put "town" in quotes because only 10 people live there — but it is home to four beer stores. Why? Because right across the state line is the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of the Oglala Sioux tribe, which has a devastating problem of alcohol addiction among its 20,000 members, combined with intractable and dispiriting poverty.

Whiteclay exists solely so booze peddlers can profit from the Oglala tribe's addiction miseries. They sell more than 4 million cans of beer a year to Pine Ridge residents! This includes literally making a killing by peddling high-alcohol malt liquors, such as Busch's aptly named "Hurricane High." So much for "Drink responsibly.""

Get the Story:
Jim Hightower: Anheuser-Busch, drunk on greed (The Paragould Daily Press 5/20)

Related Stories:
Frank LaMere: Lakota blood on the hands of liquor companies (5/17)
Tim Giago: 'Beer sniffing' reporters descend upon Pine Ridge (05/14)
Letter: Anheuser-Busch responds to controversy at Whiteclay (05/09)
Liquor companies reply to Oglala Sioux Tribe's Whiteclay suit (5/1)
BBC News: Oglala Sioux Tribe goes to bat with liquor industry (4/27)
Alcohol industry spends big despite Whiteclay problems (4/12)
Kevin Abourezk: Oglala Sioux Tribe amends Whiteclay lawsuit (4/4)
SDPR: Oglala Sioux Tribe sues over liquor sales in Whiteclay (4/2)
Five from Pine Ridge Reservation face bootlegging charges (03/16)
Liquor from Whiteclay invades every aspect of reservation life (3/6)
Letter: Oglala Sioux Tribe should consider a 'wet' reservation (3/5)
Stephanie Woodard: Whiteclay Liquor -- Gold mines in hell (2/22)
Letter: Alcohol sales at Whiteclay nothing short of 'genocide' (2/16)
Lawmakers consider alcohol zone bill amid Whiteclay lawsuit (2/14)
Kevin Abourezk: Legal doubts in Oglala Sioux Whiteclay suit (2/13)
Kevin Abourezk: Oglala Sioux Tribe in $500M Whiteclay case (2/10)
Oglala Sioux Tribe files lawsuit targeting liquor in Whiteclay (2/9)