Wednesday, November 05, 2003
 
All Your Rights Are Belong to the State

More property rights hijinks. This time, a man who refused to remove junk from his yard is sentenced to a year in prison. He's completely framing it as a property rights issue, and whereas I dispute the aesthetic appeal of the man's "cause," I have to agree. Trying to force him to remove his unsightly possessions from his property--and then seizing them and selling them at auction-- violates his right to own junk. I mean, raw materials for his art.

I really snicker at the judge, though, who said at the sentencing:
    He [the judge] also said it was Davis' neighbors who were victimized - not Davis.

    "What you've done, sir, in my judgment, has torn at the moral fiber of the community, of the state."

    Stephenson held up 21 letters from neighbors, complaining about Davis.

    "You have caused them psychological damage," the judge said.
Moral fiber? Sounds like moral tissue paper, which could be rent by a stiff breeze. And what kind of support group or therapeutic drugs do you prescribe for a freaking neighor with a messy lawn? I mean, with the new perscription drug fiasco coming soon to a protected class near you, the every other house in Jefferson County, Missouri is going to be dopes up, and the other half will be in jail.

 
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."