City Council Drinking Game
Urban Oasis comes out of hibernation to mix politics and pleasure in Ann Arbor. Inspired by AAiO and Councilmember Lowenstein, we bring you the Ann Arbor City Council Drinking Game. [Note: Game best played with brew or spirits from Leopold Bros.]
When a Public Comment speaker addresses the issue of Palestine, drink.
When a commenter on Palestine significantly or angrily exceeds his/her comment time, drink.
When a councilmember praises the hard work and good intentions of another councilmember, drink.
When a councilmember asks for information from City Administrator Roger Fraser or an opinion on legal matters from City Attorney Stephen Postma, 2 drinks.
When a councilmember refers fondly to a former councilmember who had a lasting impact on the council, finish your drink.
When the council takes a recess or goes into executive session, finish your drink.
When the mayor makes a symbolic vote against a measure that doesn’t affect the outcome of the vote, drink.
When a councilmember mentions the idea of neighborhoods to try to defend, explain, or strengthen his/her position on an issue, drink. Examples: “standing up for neighborhoods,” “the neighborhoods want,” “impact on neighborhoods.”
In the ongoing efforts to involve college students and other young residents in the local political process, this Drinking Game is a significant accomplishment. Please add your own thoughts in the comments and in a week or two I’ll put together a final set of rules.
Let’s see if we can tailor this a little better:
When a public comment speaker addressing the issue of Palestine exceeds their time limit, I think you need to, ideally, consume some item produced in Israel.
When Council debates the meaning of human companionship for goldfish, consume a live goldfish. Then drink.
When a speaker identifies themselves as the “Friends of foo”, drink, then hop over to Ann Arbor is Overrated to drunkenly lambaste the speaker.
If you can tell that a Council member is probably checking his/her e-mail rather than listening to the tenth speaker in a row hit the same talking points, e-mail the Council member to express your sympathies, and rub in the fact that they’re not allowed to drink during the meeting. Then drink.
By Anonymous on 01.25.06 11:03 am
And when Joan Lowenstein does something to antagonize the pro-Palestinian speakers (turning her back, walking out, etc.), say “LeChaim” and drink.
Should there be an extra drink everytime Blain or Henry say “Genocide”?
By Anonymous on 01.25.06 12:11 pm
Anonymous 1, those are some good ones, but I think this one made the cut: “If you can tell that a Council member is probably checking his/her e-mail rather than listening to the tenth speaker in a row hit the same talking points, e-mail the Council member to express your sympathies, and rub in the fact that they’re not allowed to drink during the meeting. Then drink.”
By urbanoasis on 01.25.06 1:00 pm
Here’s an easy one that’ll get you drunk right quick:
Drink every time the phrase “move to table” is uttered.
By Anonymous on 01.26.06 12:24 pm
This game is liable to give an elephant alcohol poisoning. I don’t think Urbanoasis would make it through the first half, if even the first 15 minutes, even taking baby-sips. And I challenge you to prove me wrong this Monday.
By Heidi on 01.26.06 7:27 pm
drink everytime someone uses the word “impact” as a verb.
By wendyo on 01.26.06 7:28 pm
Heidi — you’re on. I can’t do it at the Feb 6 meeting, as that’s the Calthorpe one and people will have to drink to my cliches at the comment table, but Feb 20 I will have the rules finalized and will drink all comers under the divan.
By urbanoasis on 01.26.06 10:12 pm
Any time someone mentions the phrase “couch ban,” drink.
Any time someone from the Old Fourth Ward Association stands up to comment, drink.
By sarah on 01.30.06 10:16 am
[...] Since my post on the Ann Arbor City Council Drinking Game, I’ve gotten quite a few referrals from the Chelsea Report, a blog by the Chelsea city manager. In a recent post, he discusses a move to an irrigation water meter in order to price lawn water vs. house water more effectively for consumers and the city. This is the kind of thing I love, boring as it might seem, and the objections to it seem pretty whiny — let’s have our water’s price reflect the cost of its treatment and distribution so that consumers can make more informed decisions about how much water to use. [...]
By Urban Oasis » Nuts and Bolts on 05.07.06 9:23 am