The dead hand of history
Bummer for Steve Jobs, no?
Not about the investigation into post-dated stock options, because, well, that practice is tawdry.
I mean about his house.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: "Life belongs to the living." As might be inferred by my commentary on the estate tax, I don't think that the dead own property. History is a guide, not a straitjacket, and an individual's property rights must prevail over abstractions like ethnic heritage, community flavor, or historical significance.
After all, this house isn't the only example of Spanish Colonial archetecture: there must be enough examples to define the genre. There are also pictures, floor plans, and all manner of historical documentation to preserve the memory of the building if it were to disappear. Richard Moe should buy his own fucking house, and not presume to tell the owner of that house what to do with it. Clotilde Luce sold the fucking house, so she has no more say than the previous owners of any of y'all's houses. Virginia Gail Anderson didn't inherit the fucking house, so she has no more claim to the property than the heirs of the guy who built any of y'all's houses. If the community wants to preserve some sort of flavor, they should buy the fucking property from Jobs, at whatever price he asks, or shut the fuck up.
I am fortunate to live in a community that has no covenants, because a lot of communities in Colorado Springs do. On the broader question of community residents presuming to try to control property they do not, themselves, own . . . well, I guess I covered that. The only exception I would allow is restricting use of property that materially harms individuals, their property, or fair use of that property (like loud noise or bright lights that prevent other property owners from keeping their house quiet or dim) -- and offense of taste or sensibilities does not qualify, nor does some abstract notion of property value.
I mean, who out there would want some self-appointed authority to tell you whether or not you could modify your property as you desired?
Not about the investigation into post-dated stock options, because, well, that practice is tawdry.
I mean about his house.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: "Life belongs to the living." As might be inferred by my commentary on the estate tax, I don't think that the dead own property. History is a guide, not a straitjacket, and an individual's property rights must prevail over abstractions like ethnic heritage, community flavor, or historical significance.
After all, this house isn't the only example of Spanish Colonial archetecture: there must be enough examples to define the genre. There are also pictures, floor plans, and all manner of historical documentation to preserve the memory of the building if it were to disappear. Richard Moe should buy his own fucking house, and not presume to tell the owner of that house what to do with it. Clotilde Luce sold the fucking house, so she has no more say than the previous owners of any of y'all's houses. Virginia Gail Anderson didn't inherit the fucking house, so she has no more claim to the property than the heirs of the guy who built any of y'all's houses. If the community wants to preserve some sort of flavor, they should buy the fucking property from Jobs, at whatever price he asks, or shut the fuck up.
I am fortunate to live in a community that has no covenants, because a lot of communities in Colorado Springs do. On the broader question of community residents presuming to try to control property they do not, themselves, own . . . well, I guess I covered that. The only exception I would allow is restricting use of property that materially harms individuals, their property, or fair use of that property (like loud noise or bright lights that prevent other property owners from keeping their house quiet or dim) -- and offense of taste or sensibilities does not qualify, nor does some abstract notion of property value.
I mean, who out there would want some self-appointed authority to tell you whether or not you could modify your property as you desired?
posted by heavynettle at 20:56
2 Comments:
Would that be the "dead hand job" then?
I forgot to put in a link to my post on eminent domain (anyone interested can do a search on blogspot).
I'm not sure how to respond to the previous comment, so. . . .
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