If I were them, I'd hate us for crap like this...

The Feds are actually thinking about going after this guy.

A slick commercial for Asahi “Super” Dry beer features Matsuzaka (a new player for the Boston Red Sox) donning a Red Sox jersey and throwing in full uniform in front of a simulated frenzied throng. In between those shots, Matsuzaka, in street clothes, is shown first taking a couple of gulps from a large glass of beer. After a quick cut, the shot returns toMatsuzaka downing the beer and, with foam on his lips, smiling and sighing contentedly.

Doesn't sound like much of a big deal to me. Still, apparently you can't drink beer in commercials (though remember the tv show Cheers), so drinking on television is bad.

But in the United States, beer cannot be consumed in TV ads and Major League Baseball does not allow its players to endorse alcohol domestically. Those rules do not apply to international markets, however. The Red Sox have voiced tepid disapproval -- not even bothering to issue a press release. So the grumblings aren't coming from their end. The real trouble's coming from the (drumroll) U.S. government.

According to Arthur Resnick, director of public and media affairs for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in Washington, D.C., Matsuzaka’s Asahi ad may merit punitive action.

“Our jurisdiction runs to false and misleading ads,” said Resnick, who pointed to a 1995 ruling that says the bureau would consider unacceptable any ad “which depicts any individual (famous athlete or otherwise) consuming or about to consume an alcoholic beverage prior to or during an athletic activity or event,” or an ad that states that drinking alcohol “will enhance athletic prowess, performance at athletic activities or events, health or conditioning.”

Wow, we're going after people for doing things that are perfectly legal on foreign shores. Just because we, as a nation, have to pretend that we don't like beer. Except, aren't we the country that has a Constitutional Amendment that, you know, protects our rights to drink beer (well, sort of).

Seriously, we can't even govern ourselves without making all kinds of ridiculous efforts to give the government extra-super-far-reaching powers. Why are we trying to govern others. If the U.N. tried this crap, we'd be up in arms.

Kid Handsome - about to go drink a beer in protest.

Link and quotes blatantly stolen from To The People - a wicked cool site that you should check out.