Father-in-law of Clarence Thomas refuses to take down flag

Supreme Court justice's in-laws told to remove flag

By ERIC OLSON, Associated Press
Last Updated: May 28, 2004, 11:59:00 AM PDT


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Every morning since 9/11, Donald Lamp has hung his American flag from his apartment balcony. Managers of his retirement community want it gone, citing policy on building appearances.

The case makes Lamp one of many Americans who, because of housing covenants, are discouraged from flying their flags this Memorial Day weekend. But Lamp is different from the rest. He is the father-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Donald and Marjorie Lamp, whose daughter Virginia is married to Thomas, said they don't want to use the connection to influence anybody.

snip...
Still, Lamp is holding his ground on flying the flag.

"I'm not about to take it down," the 89-year-old World War II veteran said.

more... http://www.modbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1402513p-8679222c.html

Sorry, but I side with homeowner's associations on this. He had a choice and he didn';t have to live there.

He should have a daily fine for every day he flies it in violation of his contractual obligation.

regardless of who his daughter married.

Stupid apt complex, condo, subdivision rules piss me off.

Let the old vet hang his flag out his balcony for Memorial Day and July 4th. What's the big deal with that? Hell, my town puts huge flags flanking an entire boulevard up for the weekend.

As far as the rest of the year well they should do whatever they do to other tenants who violate similar covenants.

and a legally binding agreement at that. They had the choice going in to not even sign the papers to move into this dwelling. He could have picked some place that would let him fly his flag whenever he wished, but he chose not to do that.

Those stupid covenants might be "legally binding" but tell me there are never reasonable exceptions made for people. I think an 80 year old vet should be given a reprieve for the two holidays we set aside for honoring our soldiers and country.

Then, as I said, if he doesn't take it down...do whatever their punishment may be.

Is there no common sense anymore in the face of all things legal?

he signs of his own free will, too. Or he shouldn't be signing contracts if he can't understand their clauses. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Another "aw, shucks folks, he's at it again..." moment.

Do you smoke pot? You're breaking the law.
Do you ever run red lights? You're breaking the law.
Do you report every source of income to the IRS (garage sales, whatever)? You're breaking the law.

I wasn't advocating that the 89 year old man who simply wants to fly a flag BREAK THE OH SO IMPORTANT LAW OF SOME DAMN HOUSING COVENANT. I was saying they should make an exception for him for Memorial Day. And don't tell me about the slippery slope. This is not Roe v Wade. This is a housing community regulation. I bet if you took a poll of all the residents an overwhelming majority would say OK for him to fly his flag on the holiday.

As another poster stated here...let him hang it in his window. But compromise seems the order of the day here because of COMMON DECENCY. Reducing this situation to an abstract legal brief devoid of real world sympathies and respect due to certain people in our culture is very non-Progressive to me. Very old man, WWII veteran and whether you think he is a real patriot or not he wants to show it.

:eyes:

but why make a big deal out of it now, during Memorial Day weekend?

Dumb dumb dumb.

Legally-binding contracts apply to everyone until someone decides they don't apply to him/her.

Put the frickin' flag on the inside of your window and call it even.

Let the man fly his flag.

I do not but I can`t help but sympathize with an old vet such as Mr.Thomas. His son is a jerk but that doesn`t necassarily mean he is one. Many of those WWII guys went through a hell of a lot. I say make a special exception, besides, fighting him on this issue would look bad for Democrats and give Repukes something to distract voters during this crucial pre-election period. Stick with what`s important,getting John Kerry elected President. ...Oscar

Great post!

...Oscar

...but the problem with those covenants is that often they're used against UNpopular beliefs. It's far more common for the neighborhood association to give homeowners a hard time about a peace flag, or a rainbow flag, than about the stars & stripes.

Those covenants are tricky things. They can be used to harass neighbors that don't conform in many ways.

Jankyn

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

He's a WW II vet, for crying out loud. Let the man fly his flag. He sure as hell earned the honor. There are always exceptions to rules, I'm sure the homeowner's association can make one in this instance.

This is ridiculous for the timing.

And at 89 the poor man probably doesn't have many more years to live and what difference will it make when he's gone.

together & took up a collection for a dignified flagpole & flag for the condo (is it a condo?) Put the thing in front or in a courtyard and have those who want it so bad take turns raising & lowering it every day. Either that will work well or not, depending on how dedicated they are to proper protocol.

:eyes:

There's bound to be another WWII vet or two in the complex. Your suggestion would give them a "purpose" and I'll bet, earn them the
gratitude of others - those who miss flying the flag, as well as those who might object to Mr. Lamp's current action.

I used to grouse about covenants at my parent's place - but saw
eventually that it's necessary to have ground rules when you have
many living in what amounts to rather confined space. The public area
is usually "conforming" so as to give a unified appearance and with an eye to costs of maintenance, etc.. It also
works to maintain the property values. (Of course, I did break the one about wearing shoes to take out the garbage a few times.)

:)

in the meantime, leave the old guy alone.

Eighty nine is really old. No one needs to be harrassing 89 year olds for stupid things.

Not because he's related to Long Dong Silver, but because he's a WWII vet, and he's certainly earned the right to show his patriotism and honor his fallen brothers in arms.

God, that sounded almost freepish :scared:

(because his son-in-law is a Supreme Court justice -- and excuse me while I :puke:)...the board should make exceptions for everyone else in the building who wants to violate the covenants.

because he's an 89 year old veteran, not because he's related to Clarence Thomas.

He signed the covenants, he should suck it up and live by them.

If he confined his flag display to special days, like Memorial Day, I'm sure no one would have said a word, but he took it way too far.

OK, so he signed the housing covenant. All these places have them so you really have no choice. He's an old man who fought for this country. It's almost as stupid as kicking kids out of school for having an aspirin.

Let him fly the flag!

Even if his daughter does work for the Heritage Foundation, and even if his son-in-law is a right-wing toady.

WWII vets are literally a dying breed, and if this gentleman wants to fly the colors, well, more power to him.

Cathy McGrath, the community's general manager, said Lamp's stature makes no difference to her. "We have a lot of important people here," she said.

She said the Arboretum's board set the policy forbidding outdoor hangings such as windsocks, wind chimes, planters and flags when the community opened in 1998.

"The board didn't want this very expensive property to end up looking like a frat house," she said.

In the end, she concedes, there's not much she can do if Lamp persists.

"We're not going to go and remove him physically," she said.
http://www.modbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1402513p-8679222c.html

Man violates convenents; management decides to do nothing. So?

:wtf: It's a damn shame that some people have nothing better to do that harass our senior citizens.

I swear this country is going straight to hell.