New Mexico Annexes Entirety of U.S. Airspace

A New Mexico man gets tanked aboard a commercial domestic flight, lands, and proceeds to drive his truck into a family of six. He kills himself and five of them. In response, the state's specially appointed "drunken driving task force" thinks up a new way to encourage responsible boozing: blame the skies.

Starting last month, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department issued cease and desist letters to US Airways and two other airlines that do not hold liquor licenses in the state, Frontier and Northwest.

In response, all three have halted alcohol sales on flights to and from New Mexico, and both US Airways and Northwest have applied for a state liquor license.

"We're operating under the assumption that we are in compliance with the F.A.A. and interstate commerce laws," said Joe Hodas, a Frontier spokesman. "Obtaining liquor licenses in all of the states where we fly could be cumbersome and expensive. We've never received a request like this before."

Via Kip Esquire.