As Americans we like to think of ourselves as being a  free people, able to come and go as we please, live how and where we like, spend time with our friends and neighbors, watch the TV shows and movies that interest us and read the books we want to read.  But things they are a changing.  And if you are a regular listener of our show, On The Commons  and reader of this web page you would be guessing now that I would be talking about the choices and liberties that have been taken from us in regards to our homes, our color choices, the plants in our gardens, the birdbaths and the bird feeders on our private grounds, and all the other little details that make our homes uniquely ours.  And you would be right.  But it is getting worse.  What if I were to tell you that “they” (whoever “THEY” are) are also after your intellectual and possibly even recreational growth?  Nah, that can’t be possible, can it?

Caroline George joins us On The commons.  Many of my listeners will remember Caroline’s past visits as many people have taken the time to comment on her shows.  You may also remember that Caroline wrote a book titled, The Dark Side of Law, a law treatise on judging.  It is a huge and a hugely heavy book that we have talked about on the show. 

Through her thousands of interviews and reviews of actual court cases she brings the process of going to court down to an easier to understand level and demystifies much of what goes on behind the scenes.  

The book WAS available on Amazon, that’s right, WAS, past tense.  It seems that Amazon decided to BAN the book so you can no longer buy it or read it or get any help from it. Why is Amazon deciding what you can and cannot read?  Who else is involved in making some of your basic and personal decisions for you?  What other books have been banned?  Who is making these decisions and what gives them the right to do so?  Tune in.

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As Americans, we like to think of ourselves as being the freest people in the world.  And we are – or perhaps we were.  Gradually over the years American homeowners have been conned into believing they have given up some of those rights if that house is in a homeowner association.  Other times they have been misled into believing they never had any rights in the first place.  Bundled up in all of our rights we have what are often referred to as “natural rights” also inalienable rights.  These are rights that Belong to us and cannot be taken away.  Some of these rights are enshrined in the Bill of Rights.  The first of those rights is included in the 1st Amendment.  It guarantees the right of free expression, including freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, religion and speech.  Nowhere in the Constitution did I find an exception for Homeowner associations.  What a shocker!

Deborah Goonan joins us On The Commons.  Deborah writes a blog called Independent American Communities and has become a walking encyclopedia of all the problems in HOAs across the country.  She has recently been following a troubling trend of HOAs stripping owners of their right to free speech part of the protections of the First Amendment.  We talk about Val Vista Lakes HOA in Gilbert Arizona whereThe association was threatening the residents with $250/day fines for exercising their right to free speech.  Find out why.  Check out  Independent American Communities  and do tune in to the show.  

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Americans always took such great pride in the personal freedoms guaranteed them in the constitution.  While the founders maintained that these rights were God given and always belonged to the people, the Constitution ensured that the government could not remove them.  Probably the 1st Amendment, protecting the right to free speech, is best known yet there seems to be a concerted effort to strip Americans of this right.  Much like Pavlov’s dogs we are being trained to limit our freedom of speech little by little.  There are many ways this is being done but probably one of the most blatant is moving entire segments of the population into controlled environments where we are told we “agreed” to give up our rights.

John Cowherd joins us On The Commons.  John is an attorney in Northern Virginia, who is not only knowledgeable in HOA law, but is one of a handful of attorneys who does  represent homeowners.   He maintains a blog called Words of Conveyance and recently blogged about Brindley v. City of Memphis and he joins us to discuss this case.  We’ll talk to John about Brindley whose right to free speech was curtailed in a property owners association and why he sued the city and the police department and not the association and won. 

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