2006 State of the Union Drinking Game

Make it a night to remember!

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What you need:

  • A group of four taxpayers: including 1 white guy
    wearing a Suit. 2 people wearing jeans, one in a Work
    Shirt, the other in a Dark Shirt, and 1 person wearing
    Rags. Stitched together wash cloths are nice. Four are
    grouped around cocktail table within sight of
    television. Newspapers on floor in front of
    television.
  • A shot glass per person. Everyone brings their own
    and places on table. Suit picks one first. Then Work
    Shirt. Then Dark Shirt. Suit takes last one as well,
    and Rags gets a Dixie Cup with the top scissored off.
  • 5 bucks apiece. Everybody antes.
  • Fondue pot with 2 packages of Li’l Smokies stewing
    in barbecue sauce on table. Preferably a sauce from
    Texas. Surrounded by:
  • 100 cocktail toothpicks. The kind with the little
    American flags wrapped around the top.
  • A large stash of beer. Rags gets the cheapest stuff
    you can find, like Old Milwaukee Light; Suit gets to
    drink whatever import he asks for; while the jeans get
    to pick their favorite domestic brand, but they are
    required to pay for all the beer and the Li’l Smokies.

Rules of the Game

1. Whenever George W uses the phrases: national
security, tax relief, activist judges or affordable
health care, drink two shots of beer.

2. Whenever George W mentions the tragic events of
911, last person to grab a toothpick, stand and salute
must drink three shots of beer. If you stab yourself
in forehead with the toothpick, drink two more shots.

3. If George W actually says, “If Al Qaeda is calling
you, we want to know why.” first person to finish a
whole beer gets to toss Li’l Smokies at any of the
others until they finish their beer. Use the
toothpicks.

4. If George W makes up a word like “strategerie” or
“deteriorize” drink four shots of beer.

5. If George W speaks of Hamas and repeats his earlier
statement that “its good to see people are demanding
honest leadership,” the first person to stop laughing
gets to drink one shot of beer then pummel Suit with
empty shot glass. No head shots.

6. Whenever George W talks about bi- partisanship, the
last person to grab his throat in a choking motion has
to eat 4 Li’l Smokies.

7. If either the Vice President Dick Cheney or First
Lady Laura Bush are caught napping, last person to
sing “Wake Up Little Susie, Wake Up,” has to drink
three shots of beer.

8. Predict the number of applause breaks. Person
closest to correct number may then force the other
three to drink that number of shots of beer in
whatever ratio they wish.

9. Three shots of beer if he mentions New Orleans.
Five shots of beer if he mentions Brownie. Two full
beers if he mentions Abramoff.

10. Every time Tom DeLay is shown in the audience,
take turns throwing Li’l Smokies at the tv. Suit sits
out. First face hit doesn’t have to drink two shots of
beer. Every time Hillary Clinton is shown in the
audience, Suit throws Li’l Smokies at the tv. If he
hits her face, everyone else drinks two shots of beer.
Use the toothpicks.

11. Whenever George W quotes the Bible, last person to
fall to their knees and cry “Hallelujah!” drinks two
shots of beer.

12. Whenever George W smirks during a standing
ovation, take turns drinking shots of beer until the
audience sits down. Do it double time if his shoulders
shake with silent laughter.

Extras:

  • Whoever can correctly identify in advance the person
    giving the Democratic Response doesn’t have to watch
    it.
  • Suit gets to kick Rags hard, once if George W uses a
    heartfelt story of a pulling yourself up by your
    bootstraps to illustrate a point. Twice if the
    regulation of large cardboard boxes is mentioned as a
    security precaution. Rags gets 15 seconds to kick the
    Suit if Bush reveals the subject of the anecdote is in
    the audience. 30 seconds if he or she is sitting next
    to Harriet Miers. 1 full minute if she’s sitting next
    to an astronaut.
  • Suit takes home $20.
  • Leftover beer, Li’l Smokies and fondue pot go home
    with Rags.

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We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

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