Free Republic

I considered naming the Fort after the Ohio city that threw two retired veterans in jail for not painting their home. The heartless city officials were ungrateful for the fact that the veterans were willing to risk all of their tomorrows so the city officials could have their todays. The veterans didn't know they were living in Fort Stepford. The fictional city of Stepford is the home of robotic wives. A Fort Stepford city is a city where government martinets try to force rigid adherence to the city's military like regulations. City codes define the condition a resident owner's house...

BRADENTON -- There's no greater symbol of personal freedoms than the American flag, which is why a Bradenton homeowner has painted one across his 100-year-old house -- to protest what he says amounts to harassment by city code enforcement officials. In late February, the city received a complaint about a live Christmas tree that was placed on the family home of Brent Greer at 3102 Riverview Drive. The tree had fallen over, and Greer complied with a code enforcement officer's request to remove the tree, which was followed up by code enforcement in early May. It was during that visit...

A New York town has agreed to drop criminal charges against an Amish community that had balked at following modern building codes for their homes by adding such features as bigger windows and smoke detectors — something the traditional sect members argued violate its religious beliefs. The case tested the boundaries of First Amendment freedoms versus the rights of government to enforce its rules, and both sides made concessions in a settlement. Morristown, N.Y., officials agreed that some Amish building methods did meet the rules, while the Amish agreed to forgo some techniques that didn’t live up to standards. On...