We are having a little HOA brouhaha here in the metro Atlanta area. A man by the name of Ron Tripodo spent $900 to install a 14-foot flag pole on his front lawn. Tripodo put the American flag on the pole, complete with landscaping and lighting.

Then the Bridgemill subdivision home owners association comes along and orders him to take down the flag pole. The rules of the HOA apparently stipulate that "you are not allowed to have any structure outside the framework of the home." But Tripodo refuses to remove the pole. The HOA is going to sue him for $25 a day for damages for every day the flag pole remains, on top of attorney's fees.

Know what? I'm on the association's side. He knew what the rules were when he moved in. If he wants to put a flag pole out there in his front yard ... move to an area where there is no homeowner's association and no restrictive covenants to abide by. Sorry to say it .. but this guy is being a jerk. He signed a contract ... he should be a man and live within its terms.

Here is the story of a single father in Great Britain that wants to take his kids to the pool. So what's the big deal with that statement? The big deal is the fact that I said "kids" and not "kid." Phillip Smith is the father of two boys, Jake (5) and Aiden (3). Phillip is a single dad. One day he decides that he wants to take his boys to the local community swimming pool. He packs up their swim trunks .. probably puts on those horrendous little arm floats .. and heads for the Hillsborough Leisure Center.

He gets to the door .. uh oh .. you and your boys can't come in here to swim. And why not? Because there is only one Phillip Smith and two little Smiths. Apparently the community pool has a rule that any child under the age of eight must be accompanied on a one-to-one basis by adults. So each child must have an adult supervisor at all times. If Smith wanted to come to a special session for single parents who have more than one child, he would have to come back at a different time when the pool would be able to provide him with extra supervision.

Ok now Mr. Smith doesn't get off scot-free here. You know that I am not a fan of people who plan the victim card. Mr. Smith had legitimate reason to believe the policy to be asinine. But then he has to go and throw in this little line about the leisure center "discriminating against single parents." Okay, now, the rule is not written that "single parents can't bring multiple children to the pool." If a nanny had brought them, if their uncle had brought them .. they would still be faced with the same limitations. So let's back off the victimhood thing.