Florida vet says 'Bring it on,' as he faces eviction over flower pot flag | Fox News: A Florida veteran who isfacing foreclosure for insisting on displaying a small American flag in a flower pot on his front stoop is telling his homeowner's association to "bring it on."
“The flag is worth fighting for,” 73-year-old Larry Murphree, of Jacksonville, told FoxNews.com Friday. “If they want to foreclose, bring it on. I’m getting calls from all over the county to stand up. That’s what I'm going to do.”
Murphree's homeowners association at Tides Condominium at Sweetwater began hitting him with fines of $100 a day last year for violating his homeowners association’s flag display rules. But instead of paying the fines, Murphree let them pile up - and kept his flag on display. Now he owes more than $8,000, and neither side will budge.
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The latest dispatch in this HOA national flag flap sending TV satellite trucks to Privatopia, Florida sector.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Veteran fights condo homeowners association | News - Home
Veteran fights condo homeowners association | News - Home: Murphree, a veteran, filed a suit last year after the HOA said he couldn't put a small American flag inside a potted plant on his front stoop.
He said the case was settled, and he agreed to display the flag in compliance with the “association documents.”
The flag remained in the flower pot until a few months ago, when Murphree said the HOA came knocking again, telling him the rules had changed.
According to the HOA, homeowners can fly a flag inside a flag pole on the side of the building, but they can't place the flag elsewhere, like inside a potted plant.
Murphree said the association told him to pay $100 a day or take it out.
“They left us no choice,” Murphree said. “We had a federal judge look at it, and he ruled that it should be in state court instead of federal court. We waited to see what they were going to do. (The HOA) put a foreclosure on my house for not paying the dues.”
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Didn't Deep Throat use a flag in a flower pot to signal Bob Woodward to meet him in the parking garage for a Watergate scoop?
He said the case was settled, and he agreed to display the flag in compliance with the “association documents.”
The flag remained in the flower pot until a few months ago, when Murphree said the HOA came knocking again, telling him the rules had changed.
According to the HOA, homeowners can fly a flag inside a flag pole on the side of the building, but they can't place the flag elsewhere, like inside a potted plant.
Murphree said the association told him to pay $100 a day or take it out.
“They left us no choice,” Murphree said. “We had a federal judge look at it, and he ruled that it should be in state court instead of federal court. We waited to see what they were going to do. (The HOA) put a foreclosure on my house for not paying the dues.”
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Didn't Deep Throat use a flag in a flower pot to signal Bob Woodward to meet him in the parking garage for a Watergate scoop?
Supreme Court Issues Bold Decision On Cell Phone Privacy | ThinkProgress
Supreme Court Issues Bold Decision On Cell Phone Privacy | ThinkProgress:
"[W]hen police arrest someone carrying a cell phone, does that arrest give law enforcement license to cull through the device and access whatever information they choose?
The answer, according to a nearly unanimous opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, is no. “Cell phones,” Roberts explained, “place vast quantities of personal information literally in the hands of individuals. A search of the information on a cell phone bears little resemblance to the type of brief physical search” authorized by previous cases.
As Roberts lays out, few of the traditional justifications for a search incident to arrest authorize a full search of a suspect’s cell phone."
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Police across the nation routinely do this as part of their "search incident to arrest." It is a bogus justification, and the Supreme Court just shut them down. Establish probable cause, go to a judge, and get a warrant if you want to do a search!
"[W]hen police arrest someone carrying a cell phone, does that arrest give law enforcement license to cull through the device and access whatever information they choose?
The answer, according to a nearly unanimous opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, is no. “Cell phones,” Roberts explained, “place vast quantities of personal information literally in the hands of individuals. A search of the information on a cell phone bears little resemblance to the type of brief physical search” authorized by previous cases.
As Roberts lays out, few of the traditional justifications for a search incident to arrest authorize a full search of a suspect’s cell phone."
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Police across the nation routinely do this as part of their "search incident to arrest." It is a bogus justification, and the Supreme Court just shut them down. Establish probable cause, go to a judge, and get a warrant if you want to do a search!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Nearly Half Of Detroit Water Customers Can’t Pay Their Bill CBS Detroit
Nearly Half Of Detroit Water Customers Can’t Pay Their Bill CBS Detroit:
"It’s a basic human right: water. But could the United Nations soon help the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provide the service to struggling customers?
Water department spokeswoman Curtrise Garner says it’s a possibility — but for now, the water bills must be paid."
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I agree that access to clean water should be a basic human right, but the huge corporations, such as Nestle, that are gobbling up the world's drinkable water sources and privatizing them don't see it that way. They see water as just another consumer product that people should have to pay for at a rate several hundred times higher than what they are currently paying to regulated utilities and government water companies. It's a natural for the privatization industry. What could be more profitable than a monopoly stranglehold on a necessity?
"It’s a basic human right: water. But could the United Nations soon help the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provide the service to struggling customers?
Water department spokeswoman Curtrise Garner says it’s a possibility — but for now, the water bills must be paid."
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I agree that access to clean water should be a basic human right, but the huge corporations, such as Nestle, that are gobbling up the world's drinkable water sources and privatizing them don't see it that way. They see water as just another consumer product that people should have to pay for at a rate several hundred times higher than what they are currently paying to regulated utilities and government water companies. It's a natural for the privatization industry. What could be more profitable than a monopoly stranglehold on a necessity?
Vietnam Airlines proposes privatization plan | Business | Thanh Nien Daily
Vietnam Airlines proposes privatization plan | Business | Thanh Nien Daily:
"State-owned Vietnam Airlines plans to sell 25 percent of its share capital this year, according to the privatization plan it recently submitted to the Ministry of Transport."
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Remember Vietnam? The country that we were going to save from communism by destroying it, killing a million of its people, and losing almost 60,000 of our own soldiers in the process? Well, after they kicked us out, they eventually found their own way to a mixed economy. As the CIA Factbook explains,
"Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that has been transitioning from the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy since 1986. Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic modernization in recent years. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January 2007, which has promoted more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam became an official negotiating partner in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in 2010. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink from about 25% in 2000 to less than 20% in 2013, while industry's share increased from 36% to more than 42% in the same period. State-owned enterprises account for about 40% of GDP. Poverty has declined significantly, and Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one million people every year."
What does this mean? The US invasion of Vietnam was the worst foreign policy blunder of the Cold War. The only worse foreign policy decision in the last 150 years was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The people who bullied us into the Vietnam war with their "domino theory" lies were horribly wrong, as were the criminals who sent us into Iraq based on lies about terrorism and WMDs. And now we are hearing the same sort of people, and in some cases the very same people, making the same insane arguments to attack, bomb, invade, and occupy -- again, and again, and again. There will always be a substantial minority of the population that is susceptible to being scared into sending our young people off to die or be maimed in a foreign country--ultimately, for nothing. But is there a point where the majority decide that they have had enough, and won't be fooled again?
"State-owned Vietnam Airlines plans to sell 25 percent of its share capital this year, according to the privatization plan it recently submitted to the Ministry of Transport."
---------------
Remember Vietnam? The country that we were going to save from communism by destroying it, killing a million of its people, and losing almost 60,000 of our own soldiers in the process? Well, after they kicked us out, they eventually found their own way to a mixed economy. As the CIA Factbook explains,
"Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that has been transitioning from the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy since 1986. Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic modernization in recent years. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January 2007, which has promoted more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam became an official negotiating partner in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in 2010. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink from about 25% in 2000 to less than 20% in 2013, while industry's share increased from 36% to more than 42% in the same period. State-owned enterprises account for about 40% of GDP. Poverty has declined significantly, and Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one million people every year."
What does this mean? The US invasion of Vietnam was the worst foreign policy blunder of the Cold War. The only worse foreign policy decision in the last 150 years was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The people who bullied us into the Vietnam war with their "domino theory" lies were horribly wrong, as were the criminals who sent us into Iraq based on lies about terrorism and WMDs. And now we are hearing the same sort of people, and in some cases the very same people, making the same insane arguments to attack, bomb, invade, and occupy -- again, and again, and again. There will always be a substantial minority of the population that is susceptible to being scared into sending our young people off to die or be maimed in a foreign country--ultimately, for nothing. But is there a point where the majority decide that they have had enough, and won't be fooled again?
Monday, June 23, 2014
A new book on Maryland HOA and condo law
Dear Friend:
My masterpiece is finished. Check it out at Happy Homes: A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo and HOA Law and Best Practices for Homeowners and Boards
Happy Homes: A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo a...
Happy Homes: A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo and HOA Law and Best Practices for Homeowners and Boards [Jeanne N. Ketley Ph.D.] on Amazon.com. *FRE...
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Even though it focuses on Maryland law, most state laws are similar. It's a quick read; only 92 large print pages.
xxx,
Jeanne
Jeanne N. Ketley
Author of Happy Homes, A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo and HOA Law and Best Practices for Homeowners and Boards, now available onAmazon.com
Author of Happy Homes, A Consumer's Guide to Maryland Condo and HOA Law and Best Practices for Homeowners and Boards, now available onAmazon.com
Revealed: the biggest fears of the super-rich - Telegraph
Revealed: the biggest fears of the super-rich - Telegraph:
"One in seven multimillionaires or billionaires is worried their wealth could be depriving their children of drive and ambition, says a study which affords a rare glimpse into the minds of the ultra-rich."
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Whereas the rest of us are worried that our lack of wealth could be depriving our children of a chance to get an education, a career, a home, and a family of their own. And we are worried about these things because the rich have bought our government and turned our economy into their ATM.
"One in seven multimillionaires or billionaires is worried their wealth could be depriving their children of drive and ambition, says a study which affords a rare glimpse into the minds of the ultra-rich."
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Whereas the rest of us are worried that our lack of wealth could be depriving our children of a chance to get an education, a career, a home, and a family of their own. And we are worried about these things because the rich have bought our government and turned our economy into their ATM.
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