I am not a Vegas citizen, but I will be in the future. This comment is for Hawk and her critics. Hawk, if I were you I would keep the statue, as is your right. If you're grandfathered, then keep it. Shove it right back in the rather large and certainly callused noses of those who would criticize you for decorating your home, your way. You are a victim of HOA abuses that have become prevalent in today's society. Unfortunately, if people want to live in new homes, chances are they are going to have to deal with an HOA that will have a right to decide everything about your home from the color of your paint to what kind of car will be allowed to park in your driveway.

I myself have had the discussion with my wife, and we will not ever buy anywhere there is an HOA present. The reason is simple: Freedom goes out the window, replaced with HOA officials passing unreasonable neighborhood guidelines.

Sure, no one wants to live in a community where the neighbors don't take reasonable care of their property, but so much of what HOA's are doing goes above and beyond upkeep.

Imagine an HOA telling you that a rose bush in your yard has to be removed. Imagine now that your home has a lien on it by the HOA for that bush or because your home is the wrong color or you had a dinner party in which one of your guests parked his or her car on the street.

These types of infractions are all to frequent and often you become a prisoner in your own home, unable to make even the smallest decisions regarding how you would like to live in the home you paid 200 to 400k for.

Think for one second, maybe the housing slump is not the cause of the slow development of this community. Maybe rather the people looking for homes out there will not live with HOA infringement in their lives. Maybe they are moving down the road to somewhere they can truly be free in their own property.

Too many times people sign their contracts without reading the HOA's guidelines. If more people would refuse to live in these places, and stand up to these Orwellian infringements on rights, then these HOA's would either self regulate or be replaced by city ordinances that were worried less about what you have in your yard and more about simply whether or not it has been maintained.

So, Hawk, keep your statue. Hell, I haven't seen it, and probably wouldn't like it. But then, it's not on my property so I don't care. If it was, I would have it removed if I didn't like it. But who am I to tell you what to do with your home that you paid between a quarter and a half a million dollars of your hard earned money to buy?

No one should have that right. But you.

Thanks,
AngryAmerican