Unbelievable.
Not the Court's decision.  I can understand that.
The Homeowner's "Association".  The people are patriotic?  Then who the hell is making the rules at the association?  Sounds like a bunch of scum inhabit the communities.  
Never take patriotism as a sign that people will actually act pro-American.  It's all bullshit.

Roger that - he can fly the flag 24/7/365.  Just not on an overly large flag pole.

If you lived in a community where houses are butted up next to each other, would you want the fellow next door planting a huge school-yard type flag pole out front?

I appreciate that 1 out of every 5 houses in my neighborhood fly their flags daily.  I also appreciate that don't deface their property (and neighborhood) by sticking a gigantic pole in their small front yards.

Homeowners Associations are like little governments. They can make the rules, they can enforce the rules, and they can change the rules. I know, because I was on a HOA board when I lived in Florida, and I've been up against other HOAs over some really stupid shit. Some of them let the power go to their heads, and turn into... Homeowner Association Nazis. I've attended board meetings and been made to sit through 2 hours of drivel before I could speak. They knew why I was there and put me last on the agenda. I've sat through board meetings that were quickly adjourned before I could have my say only to be told to come back next month. Bastards.

It's a shame the Oultons have to take down the American flag, but it appears the SCOTUS had the final say. I don't know all the particulars in this case, whether a petition was circulated, or a vote to change the bylaws was taken. Somebody must have complained... loudly.

diverdown nailed it on "increased property values." In some places your freedoms are severely limited. In Coral Gables Florida you can't park a truck in your driveway. Not just a business truck with company logo on the door... I mean any truck. If you own a pickup truck you have to park it in your garage and close the garage door. If you park your truck in your driveway you can be fined. You can't repaint your living room without a permit either, and the color has to be approved. Hell, in Coral Gables you can't do anything without a permit.

But... property values in Coral Gables Florida are among the highest in south Florida. That's the tradeoff.

I moved into a house which had a home owners association in Texas years back.  Our first night in the house, I was called away on business.  The president of the home owners association showed up late that night and harrassed my wife telling her that he was going to put a lean on the house because the grass wasn't cut.  Hell, we didn't even have the water on yet.  When I got home I found my wife in tears telling me this story of a stranger showing up after dark, threatening her, and yelling.  You have to know my wife, she is very quiet and easy going.  I was so mad I wanted to shoot the asshole. Knowing how mad I was, I opted to confront him the next day after a calmed down.  

The next day after work, I went to his house and knocked on the door.  I explained to him who I was and that I had just been in the house 24 hours.  He proceeded to tell me about the previous tenant, apparently the prior owner had rented the house, and how they never cut the grass and ignored his warnings.  The more he told the story the louder and more obnoxious he got.  Like an idiot, I just stood there taking abuse for something I didn't do.  When I found an opening, I interjected I would prefer if he had an issue that he take it up with me and not my wife in the middle of the night.  He exploded, "I'm the president, I can do what ever I want." and started poking me in the chest with his finger so I poked him the nose.  I turned and walked off leaving him laying there holding his nose.

Turns out the guy is a lawyer but nothing was ever said about the incident.  Apparently, he knew he had crossed the line.  Every morning for four years on his way to work, he would wave like we were old lost friends.  Regardless of the happy ending, I swore I would never live in an association again.

To give you guys an idea of how dictorial the association was here are some of the rules.

Grass had to be cut weekly and trimmed.
No antenna's of any sort.
No hanging of laundry.
No cars for 24 hours in your driveway or towed.
No loud noise
No smoke from BBQs or chimneys.

This was one strange neigborhood.  Most of the residents had nice cars, big house, but couldn't afford curtains and had sheets over the windows and lawn furniture in their livingrooms.  I moved out in 1982 and in 1983 the housing market crashed and the same homes devalued 50% overnight.

this is bs, someone needs to be beaten severely for that, i would welcome a large flagpole in my community, even if it blocked the sun, as long as it is ole glory

My mortgage papers have my name on them. I pay the payment each month. If you come on my property uninvited, an refuse to leave, and/or attempt to damage or remove items on my property, I will respond accordingly.

muddydog,

I really enjoyed your post, however you got my curiosity way up.  What gives with the VFW?

Not a member just real curious why you would bring them up.

To keep the thread going:

I call planned community committes.  [b]NEIGHBORHOOD GESTAPO[/b].  They don't like that or being given the bird but I do.

Reminds me of a funny story from around here.

An amatuer radio operater from Sc moved up into my county and into one of these "mountain retreat" subdivisions where every house sits on 3-5 wooded acres. The HOA rules said the HOA could only enforce restrictions already on the deed, and one  said no outside antennas, so he went "covert" and used a single strand of 20ga black wire strung from an upstairs window out into the woods. Not visible to anyone except somneone standing in the backyard and told where to look.

The HOA was made entirely of summer residents, and he moved in during the winter. As soon as they returned, they started the usual antics. As soon as one learned he was a ham, he asked how he had antennas and the guy admitted to his stealth setup figuring if nodoby could see it nobody would care. After the next meeting he got a nasty letter.

When he approached the HOA at the next meeting and explained his situation and the fact that nobody could see the antenna, they didn't care. In fact, the president statted something along the lines of "its bad enough I have to drive by and see all those antennas on your truck, I cant make you get rid of those but I can make sure you don't have other ugly antennas".

After checking the rules, the homeowner found that the only rules regarding vehicles were that they had to have a current registration and license plate and run.

He was quiet for the rest of the summer, but when the busybodies came back from Florida the next year they dicovered he had a $250 pickup in the driveway, with current plates, and an engine that ran, and a 40 foot tower welded to the bed with the biggest HF beam he could find at the top. All in 100% compliance with the deed restrictions.