Sometimes, this blog will stray far afield. But this one is still about human conflict.
American kids are not taught about Gallipoli. It was one of the most disastrous battles in the history of the world. A half million men were killed or maimed during the WWI attempted invasion, sort of like an Omaha Beach that lasted for eight bloody months. It was Winston Churchill’s biggest defeat.
As a war-baby in an American family that lost one dad in WWII and had another dad who was wounded and taken POW, I’ve always been sensitive to stories of war. And this video absolutely blew me away.
Most of our readers can relate to being an activist working towards changes in America’s HOAs. We understand being passionate about sharing our knowledge of the abuses and corruption. We can relate to Frances and Jim Babb in many ways. For one, they live in an HOA. And they are strong supporters of solar energy. They believe it is right for America for many reasons. And it’s the most efficient way for them to provide energy to their upscale Victorian mansion in Clarkson Valley; a posh Saint Louis suburb.The Saint Louis Dispatch stated, “The Babbs’ ordeal has turned Frances Babb into a advocate. She’s lobbied state legislators over the past year for the Senate Bill 579, which bars homeowners associations from prohibiting solar energy.” The bill passed. End of the story…or is it? No, it isn’t.
The Babbs requested approval for the installation of the solar panels from their HOA board at Kehrs Mill Estates. There was no response within the time allowed by their CC&Rs. Next they applied for a permit from the City of Clarkson Valley where they ran into a snag that ultimately had to be resolved with litigation and a great deal of nonsense. The Babbs prevailed. The City of Clarkson Valley appealed the court’s decision but were again ordered to issue the permit. The Babbs installed the solar panels and looked forward to living in peace while setting a trend towards using cleaner energy and doing their part to make America less dependent on Arab oil.
These stories just get wilder and harder to believe. The video linked below is beyond shocking. The only good news is that newspapers and TV stations are using HOA horror stories as regular features. Yep, it’s going to be a bad, bad time for these HOA board officers.
Really! Ask any promoter of the HOA system about the national epidemic of board members and property managers embezzling from the neighborhood budget, and they’ll swear that it’s rare…so rare, the average homeowner needn’t worry about such a thing.
It’s true that prosecution of HOA embezzlers is rare. Prosecutors know it’s expensive to charge HOA embezzlers. They know that embezzlers get incredibly light sentences from judges. Steal a million bucks and get 18 months in prison? Hey, such a deal! So, prosecutors’ attitudes toward victims is, “Well, if you don’t like it, why don’t you just move?” Where’ve we heard that before?
Here’s an HOA in Central Florida that will fine you ten thousand bucks if you post a negative online review about the community. And that money has to be paid within ten days.
Not only that, but this fascist HOA leader claims to own all copyrights of all material posted by his Windemere Cay Homeowners Association.
From what store are these idiots buying their supplies of Stupid Juice?
