It seems that the governments of today are reaching further and further the faster the populace seems to wake up, doesn’t it?
The more we insist upon less spending, the more they seem to want to spend. The less tax load we want on the shoulders of the populace, the more they insist we MUST pay our fair share, even if that fair share is to support people who don’t appear to care to pay THEIR fair share. Or to receive back above and beyond the zero sum income tax they are currently enjoying through little payoffs like earned income tax credits and so on.
Now we have the story that is appearing more and more frequently in America today.
You can’t fly your own flag – unless some unimaginative little troll sitting behind some bureaucratic book of rules and regs tells you that it’s ok.
You can’t paint your house certain colors unless your neighborhood fashionistas say yea.
You mustn’t have a day care center without 3 different racially identifiable dolls being used.
You can’t have a basketball hoop in a common area of a cul de sac without some over officious, rude little person coming and taking it down, promising one thing in order to get it accomplished, only to take it away on a truck, showing this police officer’s amazing ability to lie not once, but the second time when she said “I didn’t say that.”
There are officials all over Washington, D.C. who apparently can’t seem to even rationally TELL the truth from a lie when you have person after person denying even what is shown to them on a video in front of their own noses. “No, I didn’t say that.”
You have people telling farmers in six states that they are going to have to pay to put fencing up, sometimes along both banks of miles of creeks or rivers because, heaven forfend, there might be a cow that will stand in the water. Who will control the streambed after that? Why, the government. Who will tell the waterfront farmers what they can plant and fertilize with? Why, the government. Who will pay for trees to “stabilize” the banks being eroded away by Mother Nature? Why, the farmers. Who will have to pay to dig wells and put troughs out to water those poor animals who would die of thirst, with their swollen tongues if the weren’t watered? Why, the farmers. Who will pay if the waters come up during heavy rains and wash away the government dictated and farmer paid for trees on the bank of the creek? Why, the farmers.
Nashville, TN, according to some reports coming out now, is actually saying no to updating a dilapidated home offices code – so that people who have clients visit like piano students aren’t actually breaking the law.
Now, in this country, we have a President whose Junior President is all about fitness, doing stuff outdoors and working to improve their diet. This Junior President seems to think there are, especially near places like, oh, say DETROIT, things called food deserts. Inflation, bad economy, better health, better fitness. This is a FEDERAL initiative, is it not? Almost a mighty mandate from YOUR Federal government looking out for you because they know better than you.
Be active outside for an hour a day. Lower your weight, your BMI, your cholesterol. Right?
Tell that to the folks in Oak Park, Michigan.
This jack booted thug of a Planning and Technical Director named Kevin Rulkowski has decided that a person cannot plant a garden to grow vegetables in their own front yard.
(His telephone # – 248-691-7450 and email krulkowski@ci.oak-park.mi.us ; The Mayor is Gerald E. Naftaly – phone # 248-691-7410 and email gnaftaly@att.net – I understand that Mr. Rulkowski has unhooked his answering machine, so you might just have to KEEP CALLING til you get him)
It’s not unsightly, as you can see in the pic. It’s not poorly done, and the yard is amazingly well kept. In Virginia, in certain municipalities, you will get ticketed if you let your grass grow and the weeds get wild – but this isn’t the case here. In Virginia, for example, the state and localities are slowing down on the cutting, sometimes by weeks to save money – but those overgrown medians are okay – it’s state property after all, right?
Here though, you have someone who is trying to stretch the code to say something that is obnoxious and frankly more deserving of the word moronic than many seen lately – and that is saying something.
According to this mouth breathing, by the book person:
City code says that all unpaved portions of the site shall be planted with grass or ground cover or shrubbery or other suitable live plant material. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are what Basses see as suitable.
However, Oak Park’s Planning and Technology Director Kevin Rulkowski says the city disagrees. He says, “If you look at the dictionary, suitable means common. You can look all throughout the city and you’ll never find another vegetable garden that consumes the entire front yard.”
“If you look at the definition of what suitable is in Webster’s dictionary, it will say common. So, if you look around and you look in any other community, what’s common to a front yard is a nice, grass yard with beautiful trees and bushes and flowers,” he said.
Please try to keep your head from exploding here. It’ll be difficult, but try.
The Bass’, the folks who took the adversity of having to have their yard dug up to repair a sewage line to plant these lovely garden boxes, don’t understand the definition or see the reason behind any upset.
What is the city going to do now? Go catch drug dealers, prostitutes, illegals, murderers or rapists in their area emigrating from nearby Gangland City (Greater Detroit)?
No – according to Bass’s blog:
our attorney spoke to the prosecutor today. (for the record, my crush on him is totally finished after today.)
his position: they are going to take this all the way.
officially, this means i am facing 93 days in jail if they win.
no joke.
You think our article about starting up groups to attend and pressure town councils/city councils/school boards/local and state politicians was just a ha ha? Just a silly little idea from a silly little blog? You might want to think again before the planning commission decides that you have a problem with your yard/trees/dogs/door color/paint/mailbox/driveway/painted stones/water garden or whatever.
The knocks on doors around the country seem to be coming more frequently, don’t they?
Seems a good time to do a political pre-emptive strike, now doesn’t it?
When is your council meeting next and what are they deciding that you don’t know about?
Thanks to theagitator.com for some of the information and a great picture!
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