Homeowner fined for flying the Star and Stripes

[webmaster]

Now I have seen everything, you can burn the flag, wear it, drag it through the streets, and jump up and down on it and not get in trouble (ok, I can live with that, this is a country that allows free speech, and I don't believe we should go in for iconicism), but to fine someone for flying an American Flag is just simply preposturous!! Read this article, that just simply has me speechless:

Taken from: http://63.67.107.59/searchdata/36698/news/localfox/20rest.htm
quote:
Old Glory too noisy; homeowner ticketed
BY LAURIE AUCOIN Daily Herald Staff Writer

A Grayslake man was found guilty Tuesday of disturbing the peace for something that has been a part of his Trestle Court front yard for seven years - a flagpole.

Circuit Judge Victoria Rosetti issued a $100 fine and 90 days supervision to Thomas LaBarbera after repeated complaints from neighbors about the noise made by flag clips clanging against the metal flagpole when he flies his American flag at night.

However, the ruling did not seem to deter LaBarbera, who said he has no immediate plans to take down the 3-foot by 5-foot flag.

"The flag's going to stay," LaBarbera said. "And I'm going to sell the house. ... "

One neighbor, Terry Horan, whose property is 16 feet from the flagpole, has said it is difficult to sleep at night with the flapping of the flag and the clanking of the clips against the 15-foot-tall pole. Horan could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Grayslake police say they have received several complaints from neighbors during the past two years regarding the noisy flag.

"We have tried to resolve this problem repeatedly with no success or insufficient success," said Police Chief Larry Herzog. "We were hoping to deal with it without issuing a ticket."

LaBarbera said he is demonstrating his right to fly the American flag - an issue no one is arguing. It's the noise that has caused the flap, neighbors say.

The curious part for LaBarbera is that the ticket he received was for disturbing the peace between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

"This is not a time when people are sleeping," LaBarbera said. "Trains go by all the time and that doesn't seem to bother anyone."


I saw the interview on TV, and apparently he takes it down every night before 10 pm, and puts it back up in the morning. So I am at a loss how the flag can infringe on someone else's right to sleep?!?! Apparently the radio station there had a thousand people show up at this guys house to support him, and they are raising money to pay for him to fly his flag. What next, no pledge of alleginace in school (no, they are already started contesting that one), no National Anthem at sporting events? Sigh, and people wonder where patriotism has gone to in this country. I would be ashamed to have that person as a neighbor, and tell him to move to another country where he wouldn't have the freedom to be an idiot. And all this with the 4th of July coming up, guess he can't fly it then either... Oh well, my $.02 worth.

On a side not, I personally fly the Stars and Stripes in front of my house (except during College footbal season, then the UF GATOR flag goes up, along with my neighbor's UT flag booo!!! hiss!!, go GATORs, can't wait for College football to start again), in fact, after I started flying it, a couple of my neighbors put theirs up.

 

[Tripp]

How ridiculous.

I can remember when most everyone in my neighboorhood flew the Stars & Stripes at least on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Flag Day, Veterans Day, etc...now no one except my dad bothers to fly it at all (well, the folks who just moved in across the street put one up...). Like you, John, we've got the flag up every day of the year except in the fall, when the Auburn flag (WAR DAMN EAGLE!! ) goes up.

---------------
Q) What's the difference between a catfish and a Florida fan?

A) One's a slimy scum-sucking scavenger, and the other's just a fish.


Edited by - Tripp on 24 June 2000

 

[Phoenix]

Geez, I thought Americans were patriots, not idiots, like those neighbors. BTW John, where do you keep your flag pole?

DEATH FROM ABOVE!

 

[webmaster]

I fly it from one of those spars you can attach to the front of your house. The flag is my reenlistment flag I got when I reenlisted onboard the USS NEWPORT NEWS (SSN 750), way back when in 1996...

 

[webmaster]

Tripp, dedicated to you:

A Florida grad, a Tennessee grad, and an Auburn grad were captured by Iraqi forces and were about to be executed by firing squad. First, the Florida grad was blindfolded and placed in front of the firing squad. The Iraqi officer said, "Ready, aim...." The Florida grad yelled "Sandstorm!" and all the Iraqis hit the dirt. The Gator grad ran away.

The Tennessee grad was then placed in front of the firing squad. The Iraqi officer said "Ready, aim.....", and the Tennesseean shouted "Tornado!". All the Iraqis hit the dirt and the Volunteer escaped.

The Auburn grad grinned, knowing he had everything figured out. When he was blindfolded, the Iraqi officer shouted "Ready, aim....", and the Auburn grad yelled "FIRE!"

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How do you get an Auburn grad off your porch?

Tip him for the pizza!

 

[Tripp]

Two big, ugly, and rude UF students were on an ASA flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta, connecting in Birmingham. As the flight is not crowded, one sits in the window seat and the other sits in the middle seat.

When the plane touches down in Birmingham, a nice, polite Auburn student boards and takes the aisle seat between the two big, ugly, and rude UF students. The AU student kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes and was settling in when the Florida student in the window seat said, "I think I'll get up and get a beer."

"No problem," said the nice, polite young AU student. "I'll get it for you."

While he was gone, the Florida student picked up the Auburn student's shoe and spit in it.

When the Auburn student returned with the beer, the other Florida student said, "That looks good, I think I'll have one, too."

Again, the Auburn student obligingly went to fetch it and while he was gone, the Florida student picked up the other shoe and spit in it.

The nice, polite Auburn student returned and they all sat back and enjoyed the short flight to Atlanta. As the plane was landing, the AU student slipped his feet into his wet shoes and knew immediately what had happened. "How long must this go on?" the AU student asked. "This fighting between our schools? This hatred? This constant competition? This spitting in shoes and peeing in beer?"
--------------------------
Okay, that's two apeice, we should be even...

WAR EAGLE!!

 

[Phoenix]

Hahah! Good one!
Ok, here´s one from me:
An Air Force major buys two wonderful horses, beautiful and fun to ride. But there is just one little problem: he can´t tell them apart. So he turns to his friend, a Navy lieutenant, for advice. And the guy says:
"Cut the tail off one od the horses."
And the major does it. And voila, he´s able to distinguish the horses again. But shortly after, the other horse gets stuck in the bushes and tears his tail off. And the major turns to his Navy friend for advice. Again.
"Cut an ear off from one of the horses."
The major does it and he´s able to distinguish them again. But shortly after, the other horse gets stuck into a barbed wire and also tears his ear off. The major is really unhappy, since there wouldn´t be much left to cut off soon. So he turns to you-know-who for advice. Again.
"Measure their size." the lieutenant says.
The major does it and is finally satisfied. He calmly discovers, tha the white horse is 2 inches bigger than the black one.
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I really liked Matt´s joke better. Urinating into beer... Insane!


DEATH FROM ABOVE!