Moonshine

On the lighter side: 

I've been a bucket brewer for some years now.  The beer is great and is a lot cheaper than buying retail.  While I'm a fan of good whiskey, I've yet deemed it not worth the effort to build a still.  But I've been hearing of people who have and apparently it's picking up steam.  Case in point, see Seattle Times article:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018631387_liquor08m.html?cmpid=2628

Family lore has it that I've got some great great uncles who were quite the craft distillers.  From a public policy perspective, I'm generally ok with the government not cracking down on grower users on the pot scene in much the same way I don't think its worth busting down a well run still.  So long as it doesn't go into commercial production, there is no harm to the public, except loss of tax revenue, which the government sets on fire or pisses away anyway.  That's the libertarian in me.

Compared to how the tribes are screwing us on taxes, home stillers aint got nothing on the sovereign nations.  So no, I won't get upset about paying tax at Safeway for JD when an engineer distills his own.  If he paid himself $2/hr for his craft, he'd be money ahead buying from Safeway.