Tuesday, November 17, 2009

If I Had a Hammer

"Code enforcement needs a larger hammer," Friedman said. [More]
To go with your large sickle, right, Robert?
Posted by David Codrea at 11/17/2009 01:27:00 PM

10 comments:

Chris Mallory said...

One of the most worthless humans alive is a "code enforcement" officer. I have never seen one that could poor water out of a boot even if the instructions were on the bottom. Just a bunch of wanna be "only ones" who could not pass the physical. I did some work in the local zoning office one time. They had a big map on the wall with little colored circles on it. I looked at the key and one of the colors was for "government employees/lawyers". I guess they didn't want to mess with the other bottom feeders.

11/17/2009 1:43 PM
Ed said...

IF I HAD A HAMMER (The Hammer Song)
words and music by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger

If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a bell
I'd ring it in the morning
I'd ring it in the evening
All over this land
I'd ring out danger
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening
All over this land
I'd sing out danger
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Well I've got a hammer
And I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing
All over this land
It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

©1958, 1962 (renewed), 1986 (renewed)
TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

Oops! Sorry, wrong type of hammer.

11/17/2009 3:20 PM
Sean said...

They're getting like that around where I live too. Nothing like a bureaucrat,'ceptin maybe a toilet brush.

11/17/2009 3:40 PM
Anonymous said...

The worst probems seem to be in the Property Maintenance and Zoning Enforement worlds. They have a lot of rules based on nothing more than what "busy-body" citizens complain about.

Having worked in the Building Codes, I can see a lot of the problem. Building Code folks tend to be engineers and architects, not an "LEO wanna-be". They also use codes based on the education from failures of buildings and improvments in construction technology. Although I do think if someone wants to live in a shack that may burn and fall down they can, just dont ask me to pay for the results....

But in fact many of the problems and issues need to be traced back to the local supervisors and municipal leaders who write the laws to enact the codes to start with. When someone complains to the "benvolent supervisor" about a neighbor with "high lawn grass", he or she works to enact a law to outlaw "high lawn grass" and set the wheels of zoning or even police in motion. More people need to elect and push elected leaders that will say "get out of your neighbors business" and create fewer laws. In fact, we should consider pushing our local governments to terminate intrusive laws and then the enforecment issue becomes less a problem.

11/17/2009 3:59 PM
straightarrow said...

No, what we should do is banish assholes like that. Forbid them to approach within 100 yards of any living person. Sort of like a TRO only instead a PRO (permanent restraining order) as they are a danger to everyone.

11/17/2009 4:17 PM
Chris Mallory said...

Then why the badges and attitudes of the "only ones"? LEO wannabes. Engineers? Try not good enough to make it on the free market using the skills they learned at tech school. They get off on writing their citations, shutting down productive businesses and putting taxpayers out on the street.

Take away their badges, citation books and cars with the little spot lights and they would be lost.

11/17/2009 4:22 PM
Anonymous said...

For reference I am a private practice professional for over 2 decades and have seen both sides of this issue. And for reference, I agree that there are to many mandatory codes based on "social issues" and too many renagade officers who fail to apply common sense. I hear your anger and respect that, been there on permits and applications that have silly or stupid requirments attached to them.

However, if you lose the Code personnel, your still stuck with the laws and the populace that think the laws are needed.

The core problem is the laws and the people who push them.....not the enforement staff. Notice I said core problem...

We need to teach our communities to stop turning to the government and be more self reliant. That is my primary point, not to be argumentative with your anger over code officers.

And to lump all code enforement together is no more correct than lumping all LEO together. You may not see it, but I understand and largly agree with your dislike for forced code compliance. I just resist the urge to blanket convict them all as less than professional. I just know which ones to deal with locally.

11/17/2009 4:40 PM
Frederick H Watkins said...

I always say if you got a problem with my grass, come on over and mow it for me and we'll both be happy. How's that?

11/18/2009 8:50 AM
Anonymous said...

To Bob..well said...

11/18/2009 11:57 AM
Anonymous said...

Carl Drega. That's what they want.

11/18/2009 1:10 PM

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