Once upon a time in America, if you were a couple of little girls and you wanted to sell lemonade or girl scout cookies at a little stand in front of your home nobody would give you any problems. In fact, most of the people passing by would have smiled and would have seen it as a sign of hope that the next generation was being so industrious. Well, that is not the way that it works anymore. Today, all across America nightmarish control freaks are seeking to micromanage every single aspect of our lives. That includes banning young girls from selling girl scout cookies on their own front lawns. Yes, you read that correctly. In Missouri of all places, two young girls named Abigail and Caitlin Mills were recently taught a lesson on how to be good citizens in the emerging totalitarian control grid going up all over the United States. After a complaint from a neighbor, the city of Hazelwood cracked down on the two girls and told them that they must shut down the girl scout cookie stand that they had been operating in their front yard.
So were the girls doing anything wrong? No. There are very few things that are more "American" than selling girl scout cookies. In fact, they had been operating the stand during this time of the year for the past 6 years. It had become a community tradition. But according to the city of Hazelwood, the girls were violating a city ordinance that bans "the sale of commodities" from a home.
You see, the truth is that there is a "rule" for almost everything today. In fact, we have so many "laws" and "rules" and "regulations" in the United States that it is literally impossible to be in compliance with all of them.
However, this incident with the girl scout cookies would probably never have exploded if a nearby neighbor had not snitched on the girls. Apparently the neighbor did not like the fact that the extra people coming around to buy girl scout cookies made her dogs bark.
This is what America is turning into. We are all being taught to be suspicious of each other and to "inform" on our neighbors. Instead of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are suddenly living in a country that more closely resembles East Germany or Soviet Russia with each passing day.
Well, fortunately this story had somewhat of a happy ending. Philanthropist George "The Shoeman" Hutchins bought the remaining 36 boxes of girl scout cookies that the girls were trying to sell. He even had the girls deliver one of the boxes to the angry neighbor for free. But even that turned into a bit of an incident. A local news report about the story put it this way....
After "The Shoeman" bought the remaining cookies he wrote a special note on one box for the neighbor who had the stand shut down. The box of Shortbread Cookies read, "Have a nice day. Sorry for all your troubles." Mills says the neighbor refused the cookies when her daughters brought it by. But the girls eventually convinced the woman to give the cookies to a child in the home.
But that is not the end of the story.
The city of Hazelwood is not backing off. They still insist that those girls (and all other girls in the city) will be banned from selling girl scout cookies on their front lawns from now on.
That is life in America today. We are taught that we should never try to do anything on our own. Instead, we are all encouraged to just give up, work for the system, and when we are not working for the system or shopping at their stores we are to stay in our homes watching the endless hours of "programming" on television.
In the old days, the streets of America were teeming with life.
In America today, how many people do you see out and about enjoying life in our neighborhoods?
The country that so many of us once loved is dying.
Unfortunately, the incident in Hazelwood, Missouri is far from an isolated incident.
For example, last year a 7 year old little girl in Tulare, California had set up a little lemonade stand because she wanted to raise money so that she could go to Disneyland.
How could anyone have a problem with that?
Well, apparently the authorities had a problem with that. They came in and shut her down cold because she did not have a proper business permit.
That is the way it is in America today. You have to have a "permit" to do almost anything.
Sadly, a growing number of Americans are buying into the idea that life will be better when we allow government to micromanage our lives.
One example of this that I wrote about recently is the new federal regulations regarding light bulbs. The old light bulbs that have worked so wonderfully are being totally banned and are being replaced by new bulbs that are more expensive, that are more dangerous for children and that are actually worse for the environment. The following is a brief excerpt from an article I recently posted about these ridiculous new light bulbs....
Back in 2007, President George W. Bush signed a law that mandates the following: "Manufacturers will no longer be able to make the 100-watt Thomas Edison bulb after Jan. 1, 2012, followed by the 75-watt version in Jan. 2013, and the the 60- and 40-watt bulbs in Jan. 2014." Yes, you read that correctly. Federal bureaucrats are running wild and the nanny state has decided that you are simply not going to have the choice to buy traditional light bulbs anymore. So why the change? Incandescent light bulbs have not been proven to be unsafe and consumers still want to buy them. The new CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) light bulbs are more expensive and are actually worse for the environment. So why was this law passed? The feds passed it because they decided that existing light bulbs use too much energy and have too large of a "carbon footprint". Instead of giving us choices and attempting to persuade us to change, the federal government is ramming their will down our throats.
Now that the government has banned us from selling girl scout cookies in our front yards and is telling us what kind of light bulbs we have to buy, what is next?
Will they arrest us for not recycling properly?
Don't laugh - the city of Cleveland has announced plans to have "trash supervisors" go snooping through trash cans to ensure that people are actually recycling according to city guidelines.
Will they arrest us for smoking in a public park?
Don't laugh - in New York City they will. The New York City Council has voted to ban smoking in all public parks and on all public beaches.
Will they arrest us for trying to do good to others?
Don't laugh - in Houston, Texas a couple named Bobby and Amanda Herring that had been feeding homeless people for over a year has been banned by the city from doing so. They were told that they needed a permit to feed the homeless and city officials said that they are not going to get one.
Sadly, the American people do not really speak up much about these ridiculous regulations on the local level. Instead, we all just keep going back to the ballot boxes and keep sending the same control freaks back into positions of power over and over again.
If there is not a major shift in the political culture of this country, the crazy regulations are just going to become more and more suffocating.
Someday will we need a "permit" or a "license" to take a breath of fresh air? Will we need a "permit" or a "license" to step outside of our homes?
Wake up and take a look around you. Our society is being turned into one big prison grid.
Is this really how you want to live?
That’s sucks…
I Recycle everything I can. BUT if I happen to miss something and a trash Nazi tries to fine me then its on. I will find a way to Never recycle again.
Here Here.
Now republicans want to legislate reproductive rights. They want to regulate marriages. They want to ban medical marajuana. They want total control. They trust corporations not to be regulated but wont trust their own people to make personal family decisions. Back off republicans! We want to be free.
It’s in the DNA of lawmakers to make laws but we’ve already got way more laws than we need. To keep the meddling control freaks busy we need one of them with libertarian leanings to step up and introduce a bill that states: Congress shall enact no new laws for a period of ten years unless that legislation is for the purpose of repealing existing laws deemed repressive and counter to that Constitutionally guaranteed right of all Americans to the pursuit of liberty. State and local governments should follow that strategy as well. Sounds like a pretty good campaign promise anyway.
Great summary of the times we’re living/going into.
The rule of law is the hallmark of civilized nations, but the multiplication of laws is a sure sign of a corrupt society. We are now ruled by oligarchs intent on wealth and power, and their loyal minions are the bureaucrats who rule by the law without a shred of human decency, common sense, or desire for justice.
It’s a sick evil society that we have become and even worse when we continue to allow such insanity.
Girl Scouts and Ron Paul have been working together in secret with right-wing Christians to take over the country and force everyone to like country music and NASCAR.
I will probably be killed shortly after posting this so someone please feed the cat.
Michael, despite my previous facetious reply, this essay is once again-spot on. It’s downright scary what we’re becoming and what we’ve already become, and the fact is that most people really just don’t care. If most people did, we wouldn’t be here.
This is definitely a result of the (forced) secularization of our society. One thing that most atheists have in common is a love of big government, conscious or not. When God is removed from people often the state becomes God, in many sense. Indeed, of course, communist and other totalitarian regimes virtually always try to snuff out religion because they don’t care much for the competition.
Thank you Paul – I appreciate the compliment.
This is extremely scary. The concept of your neighbors “ratting you out” for doing something “illegal”, and then telling a local government official…
That’s how Anne Frank and her family and friends were discovered in their hiding place and apprehended.
The problem here is that people who labeled themselves as true Americans, patriots and those who fervidly worship the Constitution still hallucinate that this country is the “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” and that the so-called “Founding Fathers” are demigods (besides adding Christianity to the equation). Better go back to school and take REAL LESSONS OF US HISTORY, because these people are definitively brainwashed by the overwhelming bullshit the government and mainstream media put in their incipient brains. That’s why the majority of Americans a bunch of ignorant and uneducated brutes easy to manipulate and subdue. The author of this article should change the subject and focus on REAL ISSUES instead of posting baloney.
I once joked to my stepdad that soon they would be taxed for the water they take from their own well. Sure enough….
When you hear your rights being referred to as privileges, look out.
That’s the bad part about municipal government. They can run cities in a completely totalitarian way & they are generally not held accountable to rights & laws that are in the US consitution. For example, any municipality could ban Islam within their city limits & freedom of religion would not apply to them.
Michael,
You are spot on again, and I agree with PaulF as well…It is downright scary.
Most people don’t understand, don’t care or have given up trying to do anything about our declining freedoms. It’s like we are living in the land of zombies.
Immoral control freaks have sabotaged our constitution, our schools, and our economy…even our sources of entertainment. Everything has been ruined by the lack of integrity in society. Anybody living a Christian life in this country today is living in contradiction with the society around them.
The really sad part is, as the economy worsens, so will society.
What you say is very true Maria.
Michael
CONTROLFREAKS Run the show.
Hey, its about safety. How do we know them supposedly girl scouts weren’y really terrorists? Yea that’s right, there could have been radio active iodine in them cookies. Why was there no mention of a health permit or tax ID # of the girl scouts? Its a conspiracy I tell ya! Them girl scouts in them little green dresses corrupting the morals of good corporate workers like my self…uh up until my job was outsourced overseas and I’ve been jobless for over two years. Hey maybe I could make and sell cookies from my front lawn to get money to pay for health insurance. How much could a standard policy cost a healthy 57 year old?
Welcome to the land of no choice, home of the oppressed!
People say if we don’t do something soon we will loose our freedom but WAKE UP people freedom is already lost.
Welcome to the land of McCarthyism, home of the fascist.
The article asks the question “how do we keep electing these cranks to office?” Well I keep asking the same question but have never been given an answer.
The terrorist state of America has circled the globe and come home to roost. Now we allow our children to be attacked by these same hypocrites that have taken away the rights of adults and we sit back and cheer on the crime lords for their actions.
In one state you are not allowed to feed the homeless and hungry without a permit and if you apply for a permit you are told you will not get one.
Americans have to be the most hypocritical bigots ever put on the earth.
Christianity does not exist in America just a bigoted slime ridden version people use to justify their criminal actions.
The woman’s own dog disturbed her by its barking and she believes the reasonable response was to dictate how her neighbors use their own property. Seriously this problem isn’t going to take care of itself. People such as this ‘neighbor’ need to know in no uncertain terms that they aren’t welcomed to live near us. Simple ostracism isn’t sufficient.
This is disgraceful… We need to post this on MSM to EXPOSE this tyranny!
By hiring trash nazis they are only oppressing people. That is just more big government waste.
It’s almost incomprehensible the extent to which the government controls us. Girl Scout cookies… are you serious? It makes me fear for my home-based business which supplies quite a bit of income for me and my family.
I live in northern florida, in a small area, but I live way out of town, most people are pretty nice out there, but nut cases end -up out there. The police will run you off the side of the road if you are selling anything, There still are some nice folks around but the ones who don’t have a life seem to out number the good folks.
People no longer go out in their neighborhoods
because they’re scared…we’re afraid of
offending someone’s sensitivities: we’re afraid
our home will be burgled while we’re out: we’re
too broke to afford to go out, anyway. Ever
hear of the word ‘anarchy’? No government,
every man for himself. Well, that’s what we
have, now. Every one knows he’s on his own out
there, now, and we’re all scared to death. I
hear people out practicing with their weapons
daily, here in the rural areas. Instead of the
government being there to serve our needs,
we are now required to serve the Govt’s needs.
We’re paralyzed with fear now. Each die the
noose tightens on our freedoms, the U.S. gets
closer to Collapse. Oh, well, martial law
is coming soon, so we won’t be allowed to
leave our home!
The more corrupt a society is, the more laws it has. The US has more “laws” than any other country….what does that tell you?
It happened at work. A lady tried to help her daughter sell Girl Scout cookies to fellow employees. Our corporate masters said “no soliciting”. Myself and the mother were the only ones to voice objections.
Power and control. We can defeate it. It is in the works. The complete destruction of our society will happen and we will rebuild for the better. Till that happens, it will only get worse then improve with time. Thankfully I will not see the worse of it.
Once people in this country followed the laws because those laws were generally regarded as the agreed-upon boundaries necessary for a functioning society. But a small group of greedy people started gaming the system, following the letter of the law while trampling all over the spirit, in order to enrich themselves at the expense of everybody else. As a result, more laws had to be enacted in order to regulate those behaviors, only to have the bad guys focus their energy on gaming those rules, creating an ever-escalating arms race between the rule-makers and the rules-lawyers. Eventually we ended up with so many rules, including mutually contradictory ones, that even the law-abiding people became cynical about the whole process of law.
This is crazy – it seems that more and more idiots are creating laws that are limiting citizens in their “Life, Liberty & Pursuit of Happiness”. I am getting tired of this. I live in a small town and you still see the lemonade stands & the girl scouts still sell cookies. I think that as our society gets more in debt & limits it citizens more and more, it drives ppl apart. Ppl become objects instead of ppl.
If America collapses there will be a lot of lonely, scared & violent ppl. Time to prepare is now.
hi from italy guys
excuse my poor english
from what I read …..welcome to italy:D:D:D
where everything is forbidden but nobody check out so we can get by…..for now
ps
in europe have been banned the old bulbs too
weird coincidence……….;)
Paul F – I would really like to feed your cat, but I have been told by the government that I can’t.
All this while large corporations pay no taxes-GE, BOA etc. Think of all the programs that help people that would not need to be cut if these scumbag corporations paid their fair share.
@ PaulF
LOL! You made my day (as I like to start it off with a good laugh)
There is a bright side to the downfall of America. The world burns our flag and hates on us (even countries that wouldn’t be around if not for us)and tells us to go away. So I say: Let the world try to get by without us and our help. Let them cry to Russia or China if someone invades them or if they have a drought and are starving. Let other countries step up to the plate (yea, right!) and let the world get a good look at what will happen without the United States of America!
Here’s the web site of Hazelwood, Misery( aka Missouri); http://www.hazelwoodmo.org. This site has contact e-mail addresses. There apparently isn’t a mayor or city council there, so I sent my comments to the city mangaer about their shameful oppression of these two industrious Girl Scouts! I’m delighted that I don’t live in the People’s Republic of Misery ( aka Missouri )! I’ve urged everyone on my mailing list to avoid visiting and/or doing business with the ” serfs ” who live in Misery; who are ” governed ” by morons such as those in Hazelwood!
This is why we have city councils and mayors. Take your complaint to the city, and get other people involved. Instead of lamenting that “this is what America has become”, ask your neighbors and fellow citizens “is this what America is to be?”
Hah! I guess that’s what Bobby Kennedy meant when he said “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
Isn’t this why the dude in Tunisia set himself on fire? He needed a permit to sell vegetables?
to PaulF: Here we go again with crazy religious people. The problems we have today are not the result of atheists. Nor can we have God as part of the state–obviously you never read the Constitution.
This reminds me of when I listen to right-wing radio: they blame everything on the liberals. The problem is that politicians pass more laws than we need in order to feel that they’ve accomplished something. These laws cover every aspect of our lives to the point of ridiculousness. And I bet if you asked these politicians about their religion, almost none would say “atheist.”
Imagine it’s 1910 and your neighbor called the police on your 8 year old for some total BS like this? They would certainly pause first and consider “maybe he will assault me” and it would probably crush the notion right then.
These days? They are probably PRAYING to get assaulted so they can sue.
To Ed
If a trash nazi tries to fine you then
recycle him – stick him in the bin.
Thanks again for the very informative article!!! This country we live in is no longer free, we now live under communism. Almost every right we had is gone, the constitution has been stripped away to where a person cannot even say or do anything without fear of being put into jail or fined a big sum of money!!! Wake up folks!!! There is a big REVOLUTION coming to a neighborhood like yours real soon!!!
The woman’s own dog disturbed her by its barking and she believes the reasonable response was to dictate how her neighbors use their own property. Seriously this problem isn’t going to take care of itself. People such as this ‘neighbor’ need to know in no uncertain terms that they aren’t welcomed to live near us. Simple ostracism isn’t sufficient.
I agree. The nice thing about living in the state/town where I live is that it’s VERY 2nd Amendment-friendly (as well as rural), the end result being that 1) all of us are armed, and 2) people take great care to be polite and respectful of their neighbors and to MTOFB. The snitch bitch in this case wouldn’t have dreamed of pulling a stunt as stupid as this one in a neighborhood full of assertive neighbors.
The more corrupt a society is, the more laws it has. The US has more “laws” than any other country….what does that tell you?
Along with the fact that we also have the world’s largest prison population, it tells us that we are a dead nation walking.
impeachRonPaul: “Now republicans want to legislate reproductive rights. They want to regulate marriages. They want to ban medical marajuana. They want total control. They trust corporations not to be regulated but wont trust their own people to make personal family decisions. Back off republicans! We want to be free.”
Are the unborn babies killed in your abortion mills free? To someone with a conscience and the ability to reason, they count too.
No society on earth – none, *ever*! – has recognized a homosexual relationship as “marriage”. It is a totally nonsensical concept, in violation of natural law and basic logic. If such can be “marriage”, than so can “marriages” involving more than two people (there are groups that support that) or a “marriage” of a man and an animal (there are groups fighting for that too). Marriage, be its very nature, is something the state sanction – there is no purely “neutral” stance. It is defined as the union of one man and one woman because that’s not only how Judeo-Christian culture defines it, it’s how *every* culture in the history of the human race has defined it! (Even cultures that had no stigma against homosexual behavior, such as ancient Greece, never even thought to enshrine homosexual relationships as “marriage”.)
All society must have *some* laws – they must support the common good. Laws protecting the unborn and laws respecting marriage in its natural form support the common good.
You might as well complain that Republicans won’t let you be “free” to rob banks, paint graffiti, or do whatever other destructive actions your improperly formed conscience would allow.
And why can’t you ever stay on the freaking topic? Every single one of your comments is directly or indirectly about the “evil Republicans” trying to stop abortion and gay “marriage” even though the essays you’re commenting on have nothing to do with these things.
I am starting to wonder if impeachRonPaul is a paid operative of the DNC. Or a stoner in his parent’s basement. Or both. What else is he doing here? Does it seem that he has any real knowledge of or concern for the economic collapse we’re living through?
sharonsj: “Here we go again with crazy religious people. The problems we have today are not the result of atheists. Nor can we have God as part of the state–obviously you never read the Constitution.
This reminds me of when I listen to right-wing radio: they blame everything on the liberals. The problem is that politicians pass more laws than we need in order to feel that they’ve accomplished something. These laws cover every aspect of our lives to the point of ridiculousness. And I bet if you asked these politicians about their religion, almost none would say “atheist.””
So I’m ‘crazy’ because I see some correlation with support and tolerance for intrusive big government and the absence of God in peoples’ lives? Whatever. I hope that made you feel better. Somebody on the other side of the fence is clearly not going to get it. The fact remains that, as I pointed out, totalitarian regimes usually quaff religion and teach people to think of the state as their god. And it is *very* obvious to me that many modern “liberals” think this way.
I don’t care much for “right-wing” radio nor hard distinctions of “conservative/liberal”. The problems Michael discusses here were created by both parties.
The religion people report when asked doesn’t really have much to do with how they actually live their lives and how important God is to them.
I’d say *you’ve* never read the Constitution nor referenced our founding documents! What does the phrase “endowed by our Creator” mean to you? You clearly have no idea what you are talking about because the existence of God and respect for natural law was part of our founding fathers’ legacy. No, we are not a theocracy, and the founders were not observant Christians. What they did do was present the state from endorsing any *specific religion*, and nothing more. Like, say, declaring the U.S to be a “Baptist” nation as England was an Anglican one. This is very basic stuff – very basic stuff that the average “liberal” goes through life in total ignorance of.
The bottom line on all of these permits that the cities require have nothing to do with anyone’s best interests. It is another way for them to collect more money for government coffers.
This is why I don’t live in a city or town. I can shoot my gun anytime I want, burn my trash outside, spit on the sidewalk, I can have a rooster where in the city they are banned because of their crowing. What the government doesn’t see, they can’t harass you. I don’t go blabbing my business to the neighbors either.
So its illegal to sell commodities from your home.I guess that would mean its illegal to sell you house/property from your home.Its a commodity,include the grass,some trees,topsoil,maybe even a storage shed,and you’ve got alot of commodities.
With goverment offcials like this who needs terrorists?
ImpeachRonPaul: You are the dumbest, most irrational, most irrelevant, most off-topic and most ill-informed poster I have ever seen on the internet. Congratulations!
Absolute control. Have any of you heard of the United Nations Agenda 21? What about the United Nations Re-wilding of America project? Sounds crazy, but, take a look at all that is happening to us. It all ads up.
sharonsj, a little more for you.
I didn’t assert that the problems being discussed were “caused by” atheists – I merely suggested some correlation between lack of religiosity and toleration for big, intrusive government. Such a correlation can be empirically demonstrated. It seems misunderstanding and oversimplification are your habits when dispatching insults against the “crazy religious people”.
Nor did I in any way suggest that government should actively promote religion, making your “retort” on that sub-topic curious. You should take my response to heart, though, and my previous responses to RonPaulLover as well, since you do appear to have a lack of understanding of the role of theism and basic natural law in the founding of the nation and the history of our laws.
In this day in age, it is not wise to sell anything in one’s yard. Even girl scouts can attract the wrong kind of element.
Pull out your old copy of the book 1984 by George Orwell. My wife just read it again and now my teenager is reading this eye-opener. BIG BROTHER IS HERE!
The taxes, over regulations, trade laws, over litigation is killing our economy. The regulations like this are not only ridiculous, they also kill new businesses. Can you imagine investing your life savings to open a new business in this country. The lawyers, beuracrats, regulators and tax collectors are perched like vultchers waiting to pick your bones clean. The odds used to be only 20% a new business would survive 5 years. The odds today are closer to 10% now. It’s better to take your money to the casino. Your odds are much better.
Otown Right Guy and PaulF,
Swing for the fences! LOL! Glad to see your posts and hope to see more!
Yippee! I’m glad these looney laws aren’t confined to Australia. Recently, a former sports star had his face emblazoned on newspapers for having taken hard rubbish (an old desk or something) from a curbside and was charged with theft! Yes, once something is on the curb it is council property, so you can be charged. The council said that he might have sold it to a second hand shop and profited from it! I had a dog chase my cat across our yard and received a threatening letter from the council allowing an unregistered dog to “roam at large”. The fact that it wasn’t mine seemed to be immaterial!
Welcome to the Communist states of Australia!
Educated people know how to characterize the ravings of the rule breakers: Anarchy (i.e., the absence of any formal system of government in a society). Rules are necessary for a safe and harmonious society. Without rules the minority of rule breakers would subject their self-interest at the expense of everyone else. And competing rules breakers (THEIR preference is not consistent with the preferences of other rule breakers) add to the chaos. Beware of the people who tout, “leave me alone; let me do anything I want.”
It seems to me that the folks who are in charge seem to turn out as real criminals and little dictators.
They want total control over the civillians so they can squeeze every penny out of there pockets.
What is wrong with these people? It looks like the rich and greedy are afraid of what common people might do and they want to protect there whealth at any cost.
I say ******* them we the people can not be caged and tied down we are strong and free.
And we will stand up and fight for our rights!
If we dont then we dont deserve our freedom,we just be kneeling down to tyranny!
People we dont accept dictators and tyrants from other countries to invade us and tell us what to do so why accept it from our crazy goverments?
Wake up and smell the damn coffee!
The religous right is always the one pushing for restrictions. They are against marriage equality, womans right to choose, medical marajuana. Republicans want control over your personl life. They will not regulate corporations but think our families can not be trusted. Republicans dont just hate the middle class, they hate our freedom.
Great post, its a sad day when Girl Scouts can’t sell cookies from a stand in front of their house. In my view the legalization of our lives can be traced to the legal profession, which operates like a computer virus attacking an otherwise smooth-running machine. It’s gotten worse in the past thirty years or so. Allowing lawyers to advertise changed a scholarly profession into a business model that often promotes bad behavior, ambulance chasing and the lottery mentality. Court inspired television programs like Judge Judy bring this to our living rooms and make it seem normal. Too bad the Girl Scouts didn’t have a high-powered legal team. To often the legalization of America only applies to the little people. With the right legal team one can beat a murder charge, or escape paying any taxes at all like General Electric. The rule of law has replaced common sense.
I don’t trust any political party; they all want more controls and regulations. Even tea party folks can be control freaks. Stock up on light bulbs before they quit making them. I want to use both old and new bulbs depending on the lighting I want in each room. I have enough of the old to last many years and they’ll be an antique to my heirs. I sold stuff in front of my house decades ago. America is hopeless.