I'm pretty sure homeowners associations are satanic cults in disguise.

That and some people are stupid.

What was that other name they called Jesus? That Jesus of Nazareth guy whose birthday Christmas nominally commemorates? What was it, Prince of something? Prince of Global War? Wait, no, that's not it. Prince of Bombs? Hm, no, not quite right. Prince of the Homeowners Association? Just can't seem to remember...

Now I don't feel so bad about renting.

i never thought of Colorado as being as conservative and messed up as it was until i was there.

feh.
ladies and gentlemehs, the ballet instead of this graceless dance

also, for anyone worried about it, all the mp3s i've posted today were made available by their creators

Maybe they think it's a Mercedes logo.

Seasonal insanity is the best kind, isn't it?

it's been a looooong "season"
rabbits, penis, vagina, and brainstorming with et-- the bobo twins

peas?

Do they get offended when they get "Peace On Earth" holiday cards? I bet the line "Sleep in heavenly peace" in "Silent Night" just makes them furious.

isn't tom "bomb mecca" tancredo from the denver area?

that pretty much says it all right there.

Not to be all anti-jokey or anything, but there's a darker side to this story. The woman faced with the fines says they might cost her $1,000, and she's refusing to pay. She's also a former president of the homeowners' association. I hope that means she knows what she's doing. Unless laws are different in CO than they are in other parts of the country, the HOA can place a lien on her house and actually foreclose on it if she refuses to pay the fines. [CA just passed a law saying that HOAs can't foreclose unless the accumulated fines are over $2,000. But up until this year, they could take a house over a $200 fine for parking in the street in front of your house.]

Like moonshine said, HOAs are Satan.

Meh, it's only one control freak, not the rest of the association (whom he fired) and certainly not the entire neighborhood. Overblown, as usual.

It's all fun and games until someone loses a house.

Finally tedious hypocritical religious conservatives get something right, peace is satanic.

mischief- after reading the story, I get the same read: the president of the HOA and only "three or four residents complained". I'm guessing the rest of the HOA doesn't really care and/or don't want their neighborhood labeled as having a whack-job HOA. My guess is the guy who fired the architectural control committee will be voted out next time around. In this power grab, he's the one who will come up empty.

From Rocky Mountain News: "Jack Lilly, chairman of the group, said it decided it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Lilly also said he had received no complaints from homeowners." The only one reporting complaints is the president, but none of those complainants were identified.

The exact wording of the hoa contract would be very interesting, but of course, no reporter thought to include that.

First of all, as someone who lives near Denver, Pagosa Springs is a long ways away, like 280 miles. I mean, on the other side of the continental divide even. I know we have urban sprawl here, but saying this is near Denver is a little much. Really, byline Denver?

And ethylene, weren't you in Colorado Springs when you were out? That's kind of a different world. Of course I spend a lot of time in the Boulder area, and a lot of people out here consider that a different world. Often referred to as "The Peoples Republic of Boulder". Hell, California as a Republican Governor, and our Governor elect is a Democrat. Crazy liberal California...

I don't know why I keep coming back to this. I just want to make sure people know that the president of an HOA has a lot of power in many cases, and that complaints are often kept "confidential." (No, the complaints may not really exist. I get that. But that doesn't mean that the president doesn't have the power to impose fines on the person others have supposedly complained about. And if those fines go unpaid for long enough, the HOA can take the house away from the homeowner.)

There has been a whole slew of lawsuits over favoritism within common interest developments. The CA legislature this year passed four separate bills regulating HOA boards' power. One of those bills was a direct result of one of those issues of favoritism -- a really blatant one, where friends of the prez were allowed to put up fences, and enemies weren't. [Can you tell that I recently wrote a couple of articles about this shit?]

In many cases, the HOAs have way too much power. And yeah, the issue about the wreath is totally stupid. It's especially stupid because of the purported satanic element. But it's also a symptom of a larger problem.

The system is fucked. Unfortunately, something like 85% of new housing developments are governed by HOAs, so it's also unavoidable.

Don't know why I'm carrying the torch for this. I'll shut up about it now. I just wanted to get that point across.

are you accusing media for not being fair and balanced?
that propaganda swings both ways?
*gasp*
yahoooooo

actually i lived out there for a bit and, yes, i was thinking more of Colorado Springs specifically as the stronghold of conservativism, but i also had the misfortune to be out there during the "oops" vote of proposition 2.

If i'm being asked what i think of Coloradons in general, and Denver specifically, i don't have anything negative to say at all.
If i'm being asked if i thought this was a puff piece in the news, well, yeah, duh.

i no longer have to be awake but the big Heroes reveal is on but i should probably sleep because i'm getting the crankies.

Even if each of those five complaints is real, that is only five complaints from an entire neighborhood. That is not even close to being "divisive".

What is really funny is that, once again, the blogosphere is pissing all over itself about an obviously slanted, highly spun news article.

well, fuckkity fuck fuck.
Hiro is the only part of this show worth watching and the fuckkity phone keeps ringing.

poop.

But what I'm saying, mischief, is that the pissing blogosphere is irrelevant. In many states (I don't have the energy to research CO), if the woman refused to pay the fine for such a stupid infraction, she could lose her house to the HOA.

The AP article doesn't explain that, and they don't describe that particular HOA's CC&Rs. That's unfortunate.

But the fact remains that because her neighborhood is governed by an HOA, her neighbors have some power over her. THAT'S the issue.

I hear what you're saying, mudpuppie. Personally, I cannot imagine willingly allowing anyone to have a say in what I do on or with my own property.

Thanks for getting my point, pregnant woman!

I know where you're coming from, mups. When the mister and I were looking for a place to buy, one of our options was buying a townhome. We reviewed a couple different strata rule books (similar to HOA regulations) and what you could and couldn't do was ridiculous. It seemed to me you'd end up with all the hassle of home ownership and none of the fun.

I'm glad we bought a house (well, half a duplex) and can shake out our throw rugs wherever we damn well please. Yes, that was really a rule at one townhome complex we looked at.

she could lose her house to the HOA

Operative word: could, and tomorrow her house could be struck by lightning.

This would never make it to a court. If it did, I give the judge two minutes before he throws it out. If for some whacked-out reason, a judge did find for the HOA, the lawyers would be lining up to appeal this case for no more reason than to garner the publicity.

The righties see terrorists under every rock, and the lefties see a warrant behind every tree. This country has tens of thousands of HOAs, yet only a few ever make the news because of extremist actions. Not every car that goes over a cliff bursts into flames.

You start with a peace sign, and before you know it you've got a drum circle. And who knows how badly that one could turn out.

*channeling Cartman*

'Hey. Why don't you stop...dressing me like a mailman...uh, and making me dance for you...while you go and...smoke crack in your bedroom... and have sex with...some guy...I don't even know. On my dad's bed.'

*also channeling Cartman*

It's over.

From CNN: "A subdivision has withdrawn its threat of $25 daily fines against a homeowner who put a Christmas wreath shaped like a peace sign on the front of her home. blah blah blah"

Heh. Sorry to fan the flames of blogosphere hypersensationalism. I agree with all critiques and recognize that it was overblown. But there are some free-speech implications. This is also a fine example of the conflict between stated Christianity and the actual spiritual requirements of Christian faiths.