The New York Times > National > A.C.L.U.'s Search for Data on Donors Stirs Privacy Fears
You don't find too many examples of irony this thick:
The American Civil Liberties Union is using sophisticated technology to collect a wide variety of information about its members and donors in a fund-raising effort that has ignited a bitter debate over its leaders' commitment to privacy rights. Some board members say the extensive data collection makes a mockery of the organization's frequent criticism of banks, corporations and government agencies for their practice of accumulating data on people for marketing and other purposes.
[more]
Saturday, December 18, 2004
It's not easy being green for homeowner
This sort of thing is why people move into HOAs. The city doesn't have an ordinance on house colors. If municipalities want to meet the challenge of CIDs, they need to go back into the traditional business of looking out for the quality of life. They need to do a better job of responding to low-level complaints about minor irritations--stray dogs, spiteful house-painting, obnoxious unsupervised kids, cars parked illegally on lawns and sidewalks, wandering strangers--things that just detract from residents' sense that their neighborhood is a nice place to live. And they need to resolve these things informally if possible. What I see, typically, is municipalities falling back on various legalistic justifications for action or inaction: the truck is illegal, the house color isn't. The dog was/was not on its own property when it was barking and snarling at your child. The wandering stranger was just staring at you from the sidewalk and eyeing the contents of your garage--call us when he steals your barbecue.
Traditionally municipalities weren't afraid to use informal power--now they call their city attorney and ask for a legal opinion before putting up a Christmas display.
(By the way--note that this fellow doesn't even own the house--he rents it from his dad.)
Juan Mata's maroon Kenworth semi-truck means a lot to him. The Lockport man keeps a picture of it tucked inside his wallet. He used to proudly park the truck in the driveway outside his home. So, when his neighbors called police last summer, complaining that the truck was noisy and an eyesore and the police made him move it, Mata, who says none of that's true, got mad. Then, he got even: He has painted his house a brilliant shade of fluorescent green...The police made Mata move the truck because of an ordinance that bans trucks from being parked in residential areas. But there's no ordinance that restricts what color people can paint their houses, city administrator Larry McCasland says. "It's crazy, isn't it?" McCasland says, laughing. Mata's home, which he rents from his father, has become sort of an attraction, drawing people who don't even live in the neighborhood.
[more]
This sort of thing is why people move into HOAs. The city doesn't have an ordinance on house colors. If municipalities want to meet the challenge of CIDs, they need to go back into the traditional business of looking out for the quality of life. They need to do a better job of responding to low-level complaints about minor irritations--stray dogs, spiteful house-painting, obnoxious unsupervised kids, cars parked illegally on lawns and sidewalks, wandering strangers--things that just detract from residents' sense that their neighborhood is a nice place to live. And they need to resolve these things informally if possible. What I see, typically, is municipalities falling back on various legalistic justifications for action or inaction: the truck is illegal, the house color isn't. The dog was/was not on its own property when it was barking and snarling at your child. The wandering stranger was just staring at you from the sidewalk and eyeing the contents of your garage--call us when he steals your barbecue.
Traditionally municipalities weren't afraid to use informal power--now they call their city attorney and ask for a legal opinion before putting up a Christmas display.
(By the way--note that this fellow doesn't even own the house--he rents it from his dad.)
Juan Mata's maroon Kenworth semi-truck means a lot to him. The Lockport man keeps a picture of it tucked inside his wallet. He used to proudly park the truck in the driveway outside his home. So, when his neighbors called police last summer, complaining that the truck was noisy and an eyesore and the police made him move it, Mata, who says none of that's true, got mad. Then, he got even: He has painted his house a brilliant shade of fluorescent green...The police made Mata move the truck because of an ordinance that bans trucks from being parked in residential areas. But there's no ordinance that restricts what color people can paint their houses, city administrator Larry McCasland says. "It's crazy, isn't it?" McCasland says, laughing. Mata's home, which he rents from his father, has become sort of an attraction, drawing people who don't even live in the neighborhood.
[more]
WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio: Ashes Set Condo On Fire
What's the lesson here? Don't put fireplace ashes in a flammable container and put the container on your wood deck:
Firefighters were called to a townhouse on Crofton Circle just before midnight on Wednesday. When they arrived, they found smoke pouring out of the home...Officials say the fire started by ashes that has been thrown out. The couple placed them in a plastic can [the video says it was a plastic bucket] and set them on their wood deck.
[more]
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The next door neighbors got to enjoy the pleasures of attached townhome living as well, when their unit was damaged by the fire, too. The lesson for them is...what? Buy a single family detached home next time, or pick your neighbors more carefully?
What's the lesson here? Don't put fireplace ashes in a flammable container and put the container on your wood deck:
Firefighters were called to a townhouse on Crofton Circle just before midnight on Wednesday. When they arrived, they found smoke pouring out of the home...Officials say the fire started by ashes that has been thrown out. The couple placed them in a plastic can [the video says it was a plastic bucket] and set them on their wood deck.
[more]
----------
The next door neighbors got to enjoy the pleasures of attached townhome living as well, when their unit was damaged by the fire, too. The lesson for them is...what? Buy a single family detached home next time, or pick your neighbors more carefully?
sphere: Town-Sponsored Deer Hunt in Greenwich
Tom Anderson, at Sphere, has been posting about a municipal deer hunt that will be done in Greenwich, and he mentions one argument against it that I didn't see here in connection with the North Barrington, IL, gated community:
The town's Representative Town Meeting voted last night to hire sharpshooters to kill deer in three town parks in February. The proposal apparently needs only a permit from the state DEP to proceed. Greenwich would then be the first town in Connnecticut to undertake a deer hunt.
Will it work? The argument against any individual town tackling the deer problem on its own is that killing 20 or 40 or even 100 deer in an area will create a vacuum into which deer from other areas will move and thrive.
-------------------
Tom Anderson, at Sphere, has been posting about a municipal deer hunt that will be done in Greenwich, and he mentions one argument against it that I didn't see here in connection with the North Barrington, IL, gated community:
The town's Representative Town Meeting voted last night to hire sharpshooters to kill deer in three town parks in February. The proposal apparently needs only a permit from the state DEP to proceed. Greenwich would then be the first town in Connnecticut to undertake a deer hunt.
Will it work? The argument against any individual town tackling the deer problem on its own is that killing 20 or 40 or even 100 deer in an area will create a vacuum into which deer from other areas will move and thrive.
-------------------
Friday, December 17, 2004
ContraCostaTimes.com | 12/17/2004 | Region scores low in housing report
An influential group of Bay Area business leaders warns of dire consequences if the region fails to build enough homes to keep pace with demand. Together, the nine counties and 101 cities that surround the Bay fail each year to meet the region's housing needs by more than 36,000 units, according to a report made public today by the Bay Area Council. At that pace, by 2030 the Bay Area will fall short of demand by 300,000 units. Also, the region earned an "F" for its tepid effort to build affordable housing. From 1999 to 2003, the Bay Area issued just 29 percent of the permits needed to fill demand, according to the Bay Area Housing Profile.
[more]
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If you scoll down far enough, you'll see that these folks don't see much of a future in single-family homes. The recommendation is for high density, which means condos, townhomes, and apartments:
The report has suggestions for local governments. It calls for higher density zoning, which would allow developers to build homes closer together and build more multi-family homes and apartments in urban and suburban centers rather than in open space.
An influential group of Bay Area business leaders warns of dire consequences if the region fails to build enough homes to keep pace with demand. Together, the nine counties and 101 cities that surround the Bay fail each year to meet the region's housing needs by more than 36,000 units, according to a report made public today by the Bay Area Council. At that pace, by 2030 the Bay Area will fall short of demand by 300,000 units. Also, the region earned an "F" for its tepid effort to build affordable housing. From 1999 to 2003, the Bay Area issued just 29 percent of the permits needed to fill demand, according to the Bay Area Housing Profile.
[more]
-----------
If you scoll down far enough, you'll see that these folks don't see much of a future in single-family homes. The recommendation is for high density, which means condos, townhomes, and apartments:
The report has suggestions for local governments. It calls for higher density zoning, which would allow developers to build homes closer together and build more multi-family homes and apartments in urban and suburban centers rather than in open space.
Revolving Condominiums?
From a reader, to whom I extend my thanks for this fascinating link:
Suite Vollard: the only revolving building in the world
From the interior of the Suite Vollard building, no landscape is fixed. With the mere pressing of a button, residents of each of the 11 apartments can have 360º panoramic view of the city. Moro, a Curitiba-based construction company, built Suite Vollard. It is a concept-building, and the only revolving building in the world. Architects Bruno de Franco, also technical director with Moro, and Sérgio Silka designed the project, which required the know-how of a large number of professionals in multiple fields of expertise. The complex planning and test phase lasted more than one year. After achieving a perfect balance between mechanical systems that rotate the apartments and the architectonic design, the team chose vinyl window frames as the best technical solution for the facade.
[more, with pictures]
From a reader, to whom I extend my thanks for this fascinating link:
Suite Vollard: the only revolving building in the world
From the interior of the Suite Vollard building, no landscape is fixed. With the mere pressing of a button, residents of each of the 11 apartments can have 360º panoramic view of the city. Moro, a Curitiba-based construction company, built Suite Vollard. It is a concept-building, and the only revolving building in the world. Architects Bruno de Franco, also technical director with Moro, and Sérgio Silka designed the project, which required the know-how of a large number of professionals in multiple fields of expertise. The complex planning and test phase lasted more than one year. After achieving a perfect balance between mechanical systems that rotate the apartments and the architectonic design, the team chose vinyl window frames as the best technical solution for the facade.
[more, with pictures]
As suburbs expand, residents get unwanted taste of hunting
Maria Shapiro was startled last year when she spotted a stranger carrying a bow and arrow in her suburban neighborhood.
[more]
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No, he wasn't on his way to the HOA meeting. He was hunting. This has happened near us. Some mothers were chatting at the bus stop while their kids waited for the bus. A dead goose fell at their feet. The hunter was outside the municipality and fired legally, but the goose didn't know about the city code and fell dead inside the city limits. The city tried to pass an ordinance making it illegal to do that--for the hunter, not the goose (who is past caring by this time). Probably not a valid law because of the effort to criminalize conduct (firing) outside the jurisdiction just because Mr. Goose and gravity and wind led to a hard landing inside the muni.
Maria Shapiro was startled last year when she spotted a stranger carrying a bow and arrow in her suburban neighborhood.
[more]
--------------
No, he wasn't on his way to the HOA meeting. He was hunting. This has happened near us. Some mothers were chatting at the bus stop while their kids waited for the bus. A dead goose fell at their feet. The hunter was outside the municipality and fired legally, but the goose didn't know about the city code and fell dead inside the city limits. The city tried to pass an ordinance making it illegal to do that--for the hunter, not the goose (who is past caring by this time). Probably not a valid law because of the effort to criminalize conduct (firing) outside the jurisdiction just because Mr. Goose and gravity and wind led to a hard landing inside the muni.
Social Security 'Crisis Is Now,' Bush Says in Pitch for Overhaul
They say President Bush tells his staff he doesn't like to play "small ball." I guess. This is the 800 pound gorilla of American politics, and would be a privatization effort on a par with what happened in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism.
They say President Bush tells his staff he doesn't like to play "small ball." I guess. This is the 800 pound gorilla of American politics, and would be a privatization effort on a par with what happened in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism.
The New York Times > National > Private Guard at Home Site Charged With Arson
Notice the Times had to stick that word "private" in the headline?
A 21-year-old security guard who worked at a new subdivision in southern Maryland was arrested Thursday and charged with setting fires to houses there in the worst case of residential arson in the state's history, federal authorities said.
------------
The facts aren't out in the press yet, and I'm withholding judgment for a while. Remember the Atlanta Olympics, an exploding backpack, and a security guard named Richard Jewell who was arrested and turned out to be innocent? With explosions and fires, a lot of the evidence is gone. The Chicago Tribune ran a story last week about a man who was executed for arson that killed his family, and who
may very well have been innocent.
Notice the Times had to stick that word "private" in the headline?
A 21-year-old security guard who worked at a new subdivision in southern Maryland was arrested Thursday and charged with setting fires to houses there in the worst case of residential arson in the state's history, federal authorities said.
------------
The facts aren't out in the press yet, and I'm withholding judgment for a while. Remember the Atlanta Olympics, an exploding backpack, and a security guard named Richard Jewell who was arrested and turned out to be innocent? With explosions and fires, a lot of the evidence is gone. The Chicago Tribune ran a story last week about a man who was executed for arson that killed his family, and who
may very well have been innocent.
Joy and Raptor On Fifth Avenue: Manhattan Co-op Reverses Decision to Evict Hawks
That rich folks co-op in Manhattan has decided to allow the hawk named Pale Male to stay. I guess Mary Tyler Moore was on the hawk's side and Paula Zahn's husband was president of the co-op board that evicted birdy. So if you are in the vicinity of 927 Fifth Ave., be careful not to get smacked on the head by a half-eaten pigeon carcass.
That rich folks co-op in Manhattan has decided to allow the hawk named Pale Male to stay. I guess Mary Tyler Moore was on the hawk's side and Paula Zahn's husband was president of the co-op board that evicted birdy. So if you are in the vicinity of 927 Fifth Ave., be careful not to get smacked on the head by a half-eaten pigeon carcass.
AHRC's holiday e-card
What a hoot. Fred Pilot just alerted me to the American Homeowners Resource Center's new e-card. You can view it by clicking the link below. Their main page at http://www.ahrc.com has a link for sending them to all your friends and family--if they are all anti-HOA activists.
View card: http://www.ahrc.com/newecard.html
What a hoot. Fred Pilot just alerted me to the American Homeowners Resource Center's new e-card. You can view it by clicking the link below. Their main page at http://www.ahrc.com has a link for sending them to all your friends and family--if they are all anti-HOA activists.
View card: http://www.ahrc.com/newecard.html
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Prairie Crossing -- a conservation community
Here is the link to Prairie Crossing's web site. This is the development I mentioned below, posting a link to a story on their 36-condo "New Urbanist" phase that is going to "remedy" sprawl. You can check out Prairie Crossing for yourself--virtually.
Here is the link to Prairie Crossing's web site. This is the development I mentioned below, posting a link to a story on their 36-condo "New Urbanist" phase that is going to "remedy" sprawl. You can check out Prairie Crossing for yourself--virtually.
Survey: A new J.D. Power study shows home-buyer satisfaction going up; Pulte takes platinum.
NEW-HOME BUYERS ARE MORE SATISFIED than ever with their builders, even as the number of units built and the average price of a house increases, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study. This year, the national average industry score for customer satisfaction increased from 109 to 112, with 100 being the starting value for the index...Builders receive weighted scores based on nine factors that customers say contribute to their satisfaction: customer service (23 percent), home readiness (18 percent), builder's sales staff (16 percent), quality of workmanship and materials (14 percent), price/value (10 percent), physical design elements (7 percent), design center (5 percent), recreational facilities (4 percent), and location (3 percent). This year's study results included a first-ever Platinum Award for Excellence in Customer Service, presented to Pulte Homes. Its three brands, Pulte, Del Webb, and DiVosta, ranked highest in 14 of 25 markets and were in the top three in 23 of the 24 survey markets in which Pulte builds
[more]
--------------------
Interesting. Nearly all these homes have HOAs, of course. I wonder what would happen if the survey asked them about something besides the home itself--such as the sense of community, the quality of neighborhood governance, or some other measure that would let us see how buyers evaluate the rest of the package.
NEW-HOME BUYERS ARE MORE SATISFIED than ever with their builders, even as the number of units built and the average price of a house increases, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study. This year, the national average industry score for customer satisfaction increased from 109 to 112, with 100 being the starting value for the index...Builders receive weighted scores based on nine factors that customers say contribute to their satisfaction: customer service (23 percent), home readiness (18 percent), builder's sales staff (16 percent), quality of workmanship and materials (14 percent), price/value (10 percent), physical design elements (7 percent), design center (5 percent), recreational facilities (4 percent), and location (3 percent). This year's study results included a first-ever Platinum Award for Excellence in Customer Service, presented to Pulte Homes. Its three brands, Pulte, Del Webb, and DiVosta, ranked highest in 14 of 25 markets and were in the top three in 23 of the 24 survey markets in which Pulte builds
[more]
--------------------
Interesting. Nearly all these homes have HOAs, of course. I wonder what would happen if the survey asked them about something besides the home itself--such as the sense of community, the quality of neighborhood governance, or some other measure that would let us see how buyers evaluate the rest of the package.
How to comment on proposed rule requiring escrowing of HOA and condo assessments for FHA-insured mortgages
Let's see if this works. First, here's the info on the regulation:
Agency :
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Title :
Revisions to the Single Family Mortgage Insurance Program
Subject Category :
Mortgage and loan insurance programs: Single Family Mortgage Insurance Program-- Mortgages in default; revisions
Docket ID :
2502-AI03
CFR Citation :
24 CFR 203
Published :
November 10, 2004
Comments Due :
January 10, 2005
Phase :
PROPOSED RULES
How To Comment :
Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500. Interested persons may also submit comments electronically through either: The Federal eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov; or The HUD electronic Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/feddocket. Follow the link entitled View Open HUD Dockets. Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically. Facsimile (fax) comments are not acceptable. In all cases, communications must refer to the docket number and title. All comments and communications submitted will be available, without revision, for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Copies are also available for inspection and downloading at http://www.epa.gov/feddocket.
----------------------
Now, here is the direct link for viewing the public comments that have already been submitted. You can also submit your own comments on this regulation from this page:
http://docket.epa.gov/edkfed/do/EDKStaffCollectionDetailView?objectId=0b0007d4803efd26
Let's see if this works. First, here's the info on the regulation:
Agency :
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Title :
Revisions to the Single Family Mortgage Insurance Program
Subject Category :
Mortgage and loan insurance programs: Single Family Mortgage Insurance Program-- Mortgages in default; revisions
Docket ID :
2502-AI03
CFR Citation :
24 CFR 203
Published :
November 10, 2004
Comments Due :
January 10, 2005
Phase :
PROPOSED RULES
How To Comment :
Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500. Interested persons may also submit comments electronically through either: The Federal eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov; or The HUD electronic Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/feddocket. Follow the link entitled View Open HUD Dockets. Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically. Facsimile (fax) comments are not acceptable. In all cases, communications must refer to the docket number and title. All comments and communications submitted will be available, without revision, for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Copies are also available for inspection and downloading at http://www.epa.gov/feddocket.
----------------------
Now, here is the direct link for viewing the public comments that have already been submitted. You can also submit your own comments on this regulation from this page:
http://docket.epa.gov/edkfed/do/EDKStaffCollectionDetailView?objectId=0b0007d4803efd26
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Take 36 condos and call me in 2006: New urbanism remedies sprawl in Lake County, Illinois
At Prairie Crossing, to be exact. That would be the environmentally-sensitive and horrifically expensive 359-unit CID in Grayslake, in southern Lake County (we live about 10 miles north of it). Here's the latest phase in Prairie Crossing. This one is modestly heralded as the "remedy" for the demon named Sprawl, to wit: "36 condos, starting at $350,000 in three buildings." I read elsewhere that the top end is over $500,000.
The event was the next big step in an uncertain idea launched 11 years ago - to build an environmentally friendly, commuter-oriented community from scratch. Met with skepticism at the time, the Grayslake neighborhood, located near routes 137 and 45, has thrived as the anti-development development. Located near the rare intersection of crossing Metra commuter rail lines, all but two of 359 single-family homes have been sold. This new chapter, The Condominiums at Prairie Crossing, was presented with assured confidence. "The resistance people are starting to feel toward sprawl is very strong. This is the remedy. As more developments like Prairie Crossing happen, people may begin to think of development as a good thing," said John Norquist, president and CEO of The Congress for New Urbanism.
[more]
-------------------
So, you see, three dozen megabucks condominiums are the solution people have been seeking all along. They just didn't know it. Seriously, though, overdevelopment is a major problem in Lake County, and Prairie Crossing is a beautiful subdivision where they have preserved a large section of prairie and wetland, and in a location where you can choose from two different train lines to go to work . All that is good. But 359 plus 36 equals 395 units, all of which are priced for the wealthy. This pales in comparison to the thousands of conventional new homes (with HOAs) already permitted and breaking ground in Antioch, Lake Villa, Vernon Hills, and elsewhere. Old Mill Creek is about to authorize a 1000 unit subdivision. I don't see any stampede to build more Prairie Crossings. Moreover, Prairie Crossing is still a common interest development with an HOA, so I don't quite see how they will avoid the issues that go along wtih that territory. Maybe we will find out, as it is a place the press loves to cover.
At Prairie Crossing, to be exact. That would be the environmentally-sensitive and horrifically expensive 359-unit CID in Grayslake, in southern Lake County (we live about 10 miles north of it). Here's the latest phase in Prairie Crossing. This one is modestly heralded as the "remedy" for the demon named Sprawl, to wit: "36 condos, starting at $350,000 in three buildings." I read elsewhere that the top end is over $500,000.
The event was the next big step in an uncertain idea launched 11 years ago - to build an environmentally friendly, commuter-oriented community from scratch. Met with skepticism at the time, the Grayslake neighborhood, located near routes 137 and 45, has thrived as the anti-development development. Located near the rare intersection of crossing Metra commuter rail lines, all but two of 359 single-family homes have been sold. This new chapter, The Condominiums at Prairie Crossing, was presented with assured confidence. "The resistance people are starting to feel toward sprawl is very strong. This is the remedy. As more developments like Prairie Crossing happen, people may begin to think of development as a good thing," said John Norquist, president and CEO of The Congress for New Urbanism.
[more]
-------------------
So, you see, three dozen megabucks condominiums are the solution people have been seeking all along. They just didn't know it. Seriously, though, overdevelopment is a major problem in Lake County, and Prairie Crossing is a beautiful subdivision where they have preserved a large section of prairie and wetland, and in a location where you can choose from two different train lines to go to work . All that is good. But 359 plus 36 equals 395 units, all of which are priced for the wealthy. This pales in comparison to the thousands of conventional new homes (with HOAs) already permitted and breaking ground in Antioch, Lake Villa, Vernon Hills, and elsewhere. Old Mill Creek is about to authorize a 1000 unit subdivision. I don't see any stampede to build more Prairie Crossings. Moreover, Prairie Crossing is still a common interest development with an HOA, so I don't quite see how they will avoid the issues that go along wtih that territory. Maybe we will find out, as it is a place the press loves to cover.
From Australia: Herald Sun: Plants sow seeds of hate [10dec04]
A FLORAL foul-up has left a city street lined with swastika shapes in a week of major Jewish celebrations.Gardeners hired by Melbourne City Council intended to arrange the purple and white pot plants into neat geometric shapes. But they left six 3m garden beds along Swanston St displaying large Nazi symbols. Jewish community representatives were appalled last night by the timing of the blunder. City venues including Federation Square are hosting hundreds of Jews this week to celebrate the eight-day Hanukkah festival.
[more]
------------
Take a look at the photo and see if you can imagine it being done "inadvertently"--at least, by anybody with an IQ higher than a rhododendron.
A FLORAL foul-up has left a city street lined with swastika shapes in a week of major Jewish celebrations.Gardeners hired by Melbourne City Council intended to arrange the purple and white pot plants into neat geometric shapes. But they left six 3m garden beds along Swanston St displaying large Nazi symbols. Jewish community representatives were appalled last night by the timing of the blunder. City venues including Federation Square are hosting hundreds of Jews this week to celebrate the eight-day Hanukkah festival.
[more]
------------
Take a look at the photo and see if you can imagine it being done "inadvertently"--at least, by anybody with an IQ higher than a rhododendron.
Time for a constitutional amendment?
A reader (in the comments to my post about being "open for comments"--scroll down to the third comment) has come up with a specific proposal: "...an Amendment to the Constitution, that states, "No Entity, May usurp, or negate any rights that are contained within the Bill of Rights; No Citizen, may give up these rights by contract or any other means."
I wonder what others think of this idea. Any reactions?
A reader (in the comments to my post about being "open for comments"--scroll down to the third comment) has come up with a specific proposal: "...an Amendment to the Constitution, that states, "No Entity, May usurp, or negate any rights that are contained within the Bill of Rights; No Citizen, may give up these rights by contract or any other means."
I wonder what others think of this idea. Any reactions?
WRAL.com - News - Couple Threatened With Fine Over Christmas Decoration
Fred Pilot sent this over. The spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge lives on. Reindeer, Santa, lights...I guess that constitutes blight to this HOA?
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Todd and Theresa Patrick may have to pay for showing their Christmas cheer.The Patricks have a reindeer on the roof, a talking Santa Claus at the front door and Christmas lights all over their New Hanover County townhome. But the homeowners association at Marymount Townhomes says if the decorations don't come down, they'll be fined $25 a day.
[more--comments from an attorney who, Borg-like, predicts that "you will be assimilated." Well, not exactly.]
Fred Pilot sent this over. The spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge lives on. Reindeer, Santa, lights...I guess that constitutes blight to this HOA?
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Todd and Theresa Patrick may have to pay for showing their Christmas cheer.The Patricks have a reindeer on the roof, a talking Santa Claus at the front door and Christmas lights all over their New Hanover County townhome. But the homeowners association at Marymount Townhomes says if the decorations don't come down, they'll be fined $25 a day.
[more--comments from an attorney who, Borg-like, predicts that "you will be assimilated." Well, not exactly.]
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