Gross violation of the first amendment by delaware dept of transportation

[Wells]

ya because thats what we need laws determining who has the right to play street hockey and where. OBVIOUSLY THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO FOCUS ON IMPORTANT THINGS SUCH AS BASKETBALL HOOP LOCATIONS.

ur fighting a stupid law with another stupid law. eventually ull be overwhelmed with red tape.

We have this pretty cool way we set up our government with different levels so we can in fact have part of government work on things like road usage laws without impacting or distracting from our ability to run the rest of the government.

Did that make sense or should I replace more words with "u"?

[Sorrior]

ya because thats what we need laws determining who has the right to play street hockey and where. OBVIOUSLY THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO FOCUS ON IMPORTANT THINGS SUCH AS BASKETBALL HOOP LOCATIONS.

ur fighting a stupid law with another stupid law. eventually ull be overwhelmed with red tape.

This was my point all along. The fact is that red tape and all of these laws are getting out of hand/control and that doing things the "right" way doesn't always work.

---------- Post added 2011-03-28 at 08:10 PM ----------

We have this pretty cool way we set up our government with different levels so we can in fact have part of government work on things like road usage laws without impacting or distracting from our ability to run the rest of the government.

Did that make sense or should I replace more words with "u"?

Yeah and that just creates more red tape and problems thus making it evn LESS likely anything really useful will be done let alone a persons problems/concerns heard. While this system may hav worked pre city era these days there are so many people in even a town that it just doesn't truly work anymore.

[Wells]

Yeah we need revolution because I want to play hockey in the street!

As long as the revolution isn't too much work.

And it can't take too long, I've got raid in 3 hours.

What do you mean the revolution knocked out the internet?

[Sorrior]

1. Older couple is notified that the hoop violates state law and if not removed it will be removed.
2. Older couple does not remove hoop.
3. Older couple writes letters to state representative or someone (based on what the guy said in the video - but we have no idea what he wrote, who he wrote it to, when he wrote it, or even if writing a letter is the best way to try and appeal for an exception to the law).
e is available you have to wonder what they edited out.

This right here ti me shows that they were at least initially TRYING to solve this the right way. I;m sorry but to me when all else fails other means may be necessary for them that was to park the car and climb the pole. I don't think they did anything really wrong. Not truly at least.

[Ner zhul]

We have this pretty cool way we set up our government with different levels so we can in fact have part of government work on things like road usage laws without impacting or distracting from our ability to run the rest of the government.

Did that make sense or should I replace more words with "u"?

its a red tape issue, deciding what kids can play basketball outside their house is the problem. i dont think any government official has the right to say ur kids cant play a sport.

[Gothicshark]

ya because thats what we need laws determining who has the right to play street hockey and where. OBVIOUSLY THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO FOCUS ON IMPORTANT THINGS SUCH AS BASKETBALL HOOP LOCATIONS.

ur fighting a stupid law with another stupid law. eventually ull be overwhelmed with red tape.

Your bad grammar and spelling aside, I think you are saying that I want more pointless laws. No, I am saying if the Family in the video was so upset about this they should try and have the laws changed in there favor. that is Neither pointless or incorrect behavior, it is how America works. If we are to continue as a free nation we must fight for our rights though the process our constitution grants us. Making an Ass of ourselves on Video is not a way to change the laws however. If you want to play street hoops, I suggest you have your laws changed to allow it. Personally I am fighting to make sure every American has the same set of rights, to me this is Important, I struggle daily for Same Sex Marriage and LGBT's right to defend this Nation.

Trying to change laws is one thing the citizens of America are allowed to do, and the rich are not the only ones who can make laws happen.

[Wells]

its a red tape issue, deciding what kids can play basketball outside their house is the problem. i dont think any government official has the right to say ur kids cant play a sport.

No government is saying your kids can't play basketball.

What they are saying is they can't play it on government property designated for the use of motor vehicles.

Oh the tyranny.

[coredumperror]

I find the responses to this video absolutely hilarious. Most of you people are as ignorant and stubborn as this man. Did you actually believe anything this guy said? Let's think about a few things:

1. He says the poles have been there for 60 years. Did that nicely painted pole with a fully hung basket *look* 60 years old to any of you? This guy doesn't look 60 years old either, so how does he know how long it's been there?
2. They supposedly know who filed this "anonymous complaint," they've been dealing with the situation for 6 months, and yet somehow they got "ambushed." How?
3. Yes, the officer lied to him, but sometimes you need to do anything necessary to get a belligerent individual to back down so you can do your job without needing to arrest him. Would you have preffered that he be lied to, or arrested for obstruction city work?
4. And finally, what the *$%^ does this have to do with 1st amendment rights??! The guy says that the poles have been there for longer than he's been alive, so they're existence can't possibly be an expression of his own, or, likely, anyone at all who's still around to care about. The author of this post used an inflammatory title to make this topic sound much more interesting than it really was.

The city officials were entirely within their rights to take down city-owned property at their own descretion, and this man was obstructing the construction workers' ability to do their jobs. That guy's the one who deserves the scorn of us viewers, not the city.

[Gothicshark]

I find the responses to this video absolutely hilarious. Most of you people are as ignorant and stubborn as this man. Did you actually believe anything this guy said? Let's think about a few things:

1. He says the poles have been there for 60 years. Did that nicely painted pole with a fully hung basket *look* 60 years old to any of you? This guy doesn't look 60 years old either, so how does he know how long it's been there?
2. They supposedly know who filed this "anonymous complaint," they've been dealing with the situation for 6 months, and yet somehow they got "ambushed." How?
3. Yes, the officer lied to him, but sometimes you need to do anything necessary to get a belligerent individual to back down so you can do your job without needing to arrest him. Would you have preffered that he be lied to, or arrested for obstruction city work?
4. And finally, what the *$%^ does this have to do with 1st amendment rights??! The guy says that the poles have been there for longer than he's been alive, so they're existence can't possibly be an expression of his own, or, likely, anyone at all who's still around to care about. The author of this post used an inflammatory title to make this topic sound much more interesting than it really was.

The city officials were entirely within their rights to take down city-owned property at their own descretion, and this man was obstructing the construction workers' ability to do their jobs. That guy's the one who deserves the scorn of us viewers, not the city.

This is my Argument for why the thread should have been locked. Seriously Why are people defending this Jerk and his Wife, what about the Guys doing an Honest Job who where getting yelled at? I feel sorry for the guys in the Orange vests.

[surfire117]

My subdivision is WAY nicer then what i saw in the video. Even we have a couple of basketball goals around and it does not look bad. There is even some asian dude that shoots in his boxers. As long as they do not let them get old and keep them off the streets when they are not being used i see no problem with that. We even have a full court basketball court right down the street. Hey let the people stay active, we don't need America getting any fatter now.

[DragonFireKai]

Yeah one of the complaints was that KIDS WERE USING IT. Yeah that's a good complaint right there. The reasoning they were too noisy. That is total BS right there. Oh and if i get gets hurt playing so what people get hurt all the time kids or adults playing. If eh gets run over ESPECIALLY in a culdesac then it;s the drivers stupidity. People today are just too paranoid about lawsuits and others getting "hurt" when far worse is going on the world over.

the point of the road is to act as a path for cars to travel. It's not designed to be used a playground for kids. That's completely counter to the road's designed objective. Having kids in the road makes it impossible to have cars move through. Furthermore, the pole presents a hazard to people on the public right of way, if it were to collapse due to snow or wind. Which was one of the major reasons why Delaware's laws were enacted.

Furthermore, this wasn't just one person making a complaint. delDoT removed obstructions in two different neighborhoods in a sweep. multiple people acknowledged the risks presented by those objects. It's what the law is there for. It's the spirit of the law, as well as the letter. This isn't some idiot mistaking a feeding tube for a nunchuck, or a medal of honor for a shuriken. Those are examples of people failing to properly interpret the situation. This is a clearcut case of being in violation of the law.

[Garam]

Yes, it a minor thing. Yes, in technical terms DelDOT is in the green. Does that mean they should do it? That's opinion.

I just want to add that abuse of power is an escalating thing.

[Endus]

did it hurt anyone? did it kill anyone? if not, keep it as it is imo

The way it works in the real world is, if there hasn't been a complaint filed about something being outside of the code, the city can claim they weren't aware of the issue and thus aren't liable.

The moment there's been a complaint, if they do nothing, and then a kid gets hit by a car playing basketball outside, his parents can sue the living hell out of the city for failing to take action on a safety issue they were made aware of. They're now completely liable.

So yeah, they're not waiting until it hurts or kills anyone before they take action. Because if they do, they're not only responsible for the kid getting hurt, but also civilly liable in the inevitable lawsuits the kid's lawyer will recommend.

I have no idea why you think waiting until a kid gets hurt before taking action is a good idea.

As for the form the group sorry but unlike you i don;t have the patience or see it working. Though my sis agrees with you and she too works with such groups. I'm just a revolutionary at heart and to me a world with as many limits as we have is not one i can live in very happily.

The problem is, if you want to live somewhere with minimal government interference or regulation, you can. Move to Somalia, or somewhere similar. Yes, it's a war-torn hellhole where any thug with a gun can do basically whatever he likes. That's what happens when you deregulate society.

The issue is that you're wanting both the freedom to do whatever you want without everyone else, from every point on the scale, from having the same freedoms. You want your roads to be paved, your murderers and thieves taken away, and your Internet connection to be solid. Those are things that only exist because of the rules society has.

You can argue for different rules, or even less rules. I'm a fiscal conservative, social liberal, and believe in small government. But the reality of overthrowing the government and living without freedoms is how things are currently in Somalia. It wouldn't be like the US currently is but with less cops and taxes. That's not even within the realm of possibility.

[gamz247]

Basketball poles facing out onto a street are a menace not just for anyone driving through, but for anyone playing with it.

This couple lives at the end of a cul-de-sac, which means there is no traffic, other than theirs. Your entire argument here is invalid.

[Lindrin]

Unfortunately this isn't a violation of any law. It should be, but it's not. The pole was on city property since it extends to include the sidewalk or if there is not sidewalk it's usually 3-4 feet. The guy could go after the city for lying to him since she was a city rep and she directly lied to him on tape. He'd probably get a pretty hefty sum too. Also she couldn't force him to go back inside. The only thing she can do is force him back past the sidewalk. I'd be willing to bet that if everybody who was against this had a peaceful protest outside the courthouse the city would change the ruling.

When I look for a house I look for subdivisions with character. It may lower the property value but it is definitely worth it because it shows that the people who live there aren't stuck up pricks. Subdivisions with cookiecutter houses and identical lawns are truly creepy to me. I never can sleep when I'm in one of those subdivisions.

Edit: Since the pole was on city property it is the cities property. The same laws apply to basketball poles as trash in this case. As soon as you set it out on the curb it becomes city/public property. Hence why I have a portable basketball goal which isn't as good as a real one but I can take it back on my property when i'm done and don't put my trash out until I see the garbage truck coming. A little paranoid I know but you may have gathered that from me not being able to sleep in those subdivisions.

[Ner zhul]

Your bad grammar and spelling aside, I think you are saying that I want more pointless laws. No, I am saying if the Family in the video was so upset about this they should try and have the laws changed in there favor. that is Neither pointless or incorrect behavior, it is how America works. If we are to continue as a free nation we must fight for our rights though the process our constitution grants us. Making an Ass of ourselves on Video is not a way to change the laws however. If you want to play street hoops, I suggest you have your laws changed to allow it. Personally I am fighting to make sure every American has the same set of rights, to me this is Important, I struggle daily for Same Sex Marriage and LGBT's right to defend this Nation.

Trying to change laws is one thing the citizens of America are allowed to do, and the rich are not the only ones who can make laws happen.

i am sorry you are unable to read my posts due to abbreviations and a lack of capitalization. however, fighting laws with laws is silly. i just hate how people substitute laws for being decent people, instead of understand and trying to work with other people. and that they abuse government power to further their own goals.

[DragonFireKai]

Unfortunately this isn't a violation of any law. It should be, but it's not. The pole was on city property since it extends to include the sidewalk or if there is not sidewalk it's usually 3-4 feet. The guy could go after the city for lying to him since she was a city rep and she directly lied to him on tape. He'd probably get a pretty hefty sum too. Also she couldn't force him to go back inside. The only thing she can do is force him back past the sidewalk. I'd be willing to bet that if everybody who was against this had a peaceful protest outside the courthouse the city would change the ruling.

When I look for a house I look for subdivisions with character. It may lower the property value but it is definitely worth it because it shows that the people who live there aren't stuck up pricks. Subdivisions with cookiecutter houses and identical lawns are truly creepy to me. I never can sleep when I'm in one of those subdivisions.

In Delaware the easement is 7 feet. Property owners cannot build or plant anything within 7 feet of the pavement's edge. And basketball hoops are specifically prohibited, not only in the clear zones law, but in a second law specifically banning the use of public roads for playing basketball.

[Wells]

however, fighting laws with laws is silly.

Well I tried fighting them with nerf guns but it wasn't very effective.

[Sorrior]

Yeah we need revolution because I want to play hockey in the street!

As long as the revolution isn't too much work.

And it can't take too long, I've got raid in 3 hours.

What do you mean the revolution knocked out the internet?

Oh not just knock out the internet a revolution would pretty easily have streets covered in blood dead bodies kids crying a world worse than amad max film for a few years if not decades after until a new system is set up and if it fails welcome to police state(although that ones already happening). Bacially death destruction and no fun during the process but in my mind the hope for a freer world is worth it. Also keep up on some of the more obscure things we're bordering on thought policing these days.

So yes i realize i am essentially promoting a hell on earth for a time and our only hope to win would be that the army doesn;t just bomb cities or pull in every weapon they have. Though ironically fi well orchestrated enough this point in time may be one of the few to succeed. If enouygh cities could riot at once and taking into account police officers tending to avoid alot of their more brutal methods but even then it is still possible just VERY VERY improbable.

[Wells]

You aren't very old are you.