Anti-Sprawl Laws, Property Rights Collide in Oregon (washingtonpost.com)

The Washington Post, with all due respect, is behind the times. Anti-sprawl laws and property rights have been colliding for a long time in Oregon. The mindset of the government hasn't precisely been one of treating citizens like serfs - but it's been close enough for discomfort, something along the lines of 'you can pretend to own the land but we're really in control here'.

Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof, could only yell "Get off my land, this is still my land!" and then go start packing. (For readers who may not know, Fiddler on the Roof is a musical about, among other things, the Russian pogroms against the Jews. I'd tell you more, but I don't want to give away the ending. It was made into a play, and then a movie, and has been revived recently as a play on Broadway. For more on the current production, see fiddleronbroadway.com. The movie is available on DVD; as of post time Amazon was selling them new for $14.99. Much of it is charming and funny, which makes the scary and sad parts all that much more wrenching, I think.)

Thank goodness that in this country we have the option of nibbling away at government heavy-handedness, one election at a time. Tevye would dance with joy at such options. Such a country! You should know how lucky you are!

Hat tip: NewsoftheDay.org (and thanks to Terri Leo for pointing me to them). I hadn't heard of NewsoftheDay.org, but the first glance today is promising.