You are missing the point. There should not "need" to be an execption made to fly an American Flag. I have not seen a picture of it but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if this cat truly did earn all the awards listed, and is as old and cantankerous as most other WWII vets that I've met; I'd say that his flag pole and his presentation of the flag is quite respectful and not just some broom stick leaning at a 30 degree angle from an ant hill. Oh but you can bet your a$$ that if it were a (insert country other than U.S. here) flag and someone told him to take it down, well then the crap would really hit the fan. In fact this probably would have been squashed before it made news by the aclu and the rest of those squirrely bastards. That is the point. HOA's are lower than the afterbirth of a bastard rat. Ef em. I keep my lawn mowed, my trash cans out of site, and my property in good order because that is how I was raised. I'll park my truck wherever I dam well please and I don't need some old blue hair from down the lane telling me I can't do it.
Bingo. There are very good reasons for neighborhood rules. But good HOA's know when to make exceptions. So let WWII vets fly any fly that they wish. How long is it going to be a problem for anyone?
There was an article on the MSN home page yesterday with a link to a short video clip of the story but I can't find it now. The flag and it's display are not the issue. People keep making it about patriotism when it's not. The flag pole in question is just too damn much. It's not tacky. It's a professionally installed flag pole like you'd see in front of the post office. It's nice and it's expensive. But it appears to be 30 feet high or more. That's the problem. I'm no HOA lover, but they serve a useful purpose because people will trash up a very nice neighborhood if you let them. As was stated by another poster, where I live (pretty new area) you cannot close on a house without joining the HOA and paying dues, so to the guy who said he refused to sign or pay, he couldn't live in my neighborhood. They keep my tasteless neighbors from doing things like having the portable basketball goal in the street where their wild kids are always hitting expensive cars with the ball and being a traffic menace playing in the street. They keep my next door neighbor from putting his trash out on Friday afternoon for Monday pickup, so that dogs can have his baby's crappy diapers strewn all over my yard (no he never comes to clean it up). The keep the guy down the block from painting a lovely brown and green "checkerboard" pattern on the panels of his garage door because he thinks it looks cool. They force the guy a block and a half away to cut his grass more than once a month during the summer months. They do grant exemptions and waivers. Last year I decided I didn't want my house trim to be slightly off white, but a bright pure white. HOA stipulates that nobody can paint the house another color without HOA approval. I asked, they said fine. Because it wasn't tasteless and doesn't bring down the aesthetics of the neighborhood. If GI Joe had asked them, he might have gotten approval for the pole if it weren't so damn big, but apparently he felt he could do what he pleased because he wacked a lot of Germans 60 years ago. I'm sure now they are pressing the issue because he did it without permission. Now it's a pissing contest and public opinion is on grandpa's side, but the law is on the side of the HOA.
still not clear on why it is a news story that an old man violates the neighborhood code. they might work it out, they might not.
Blah blah blah. All your points are valid and about dumb chit like painting your garage door like a checker board. I'll be damned if I want to change the color of my house trim from white to eggshell that I'm going to ask some C U next tuesday at the HOA if I may have her permission. Its my house, I make the note and that is all they need to be concerned with. As for grandpa? If it is done professionally just as I figured it was, whats the big deal if it is 30, 60, or 90 feet high? It is in his yard, it isn't ugly, and he isn't displaying an angry seagull on 3'x5' piece of cloth. Look, I understand why these POS's make some of their rules, my beef with them is they tend to take things a bit too far. There was another story not long ago where they were trying to make some old lady take her flag out of the window (her son was deployed at the time). Its crap like that that will always keep me anti HOA.
In todays world, every and anything is a news story. Think about it, 24 hours news networks have plenty of time to fill. The same can be said about news papers and Al Gore's internet service! Btw, I hate HOA's, I think they are unconstitutional!
if you dont like HOAs, dont join one. how can it be any clearer. i dont care what this guy did. it is irrelevant. i hate the things so much, i didnt consider buying a house in any neighborhoods with them.
