Gardening is a crime, well be this time it was, who knows. hey, its Michigan!

skyraider

Veteran Expediter
US Navy
All of this over growing a garden in your own yard, u b the judge.



(NaturalNews) The anti-food tyrants are at it again, this time threatening a Michigan woman with fines and jail time for her "crime" of daring to plant tomatoes and peppers in her front yard. Your help is needed to take action and fire off an avalanche of complaints against the local bureaucrats in Michigan who are threatening this woman (see action items below).

This story involves a woman named Julie Bass, whose front yard was dug up during sewer line construction. After the construction project was completed, instead of planting grass, she thought it would be far more practical to plant a vegetable garden. Watch the brief news reports on this at:
Food tyrants threaten Michigan woman with jail time for planting vegetable garden - NaturalNews.tv
Michigan Woman Faces 93-Days in Jail For Planting Vegetable Garden - NaturalNews.tv

Vegetable gardens not only provide organic, high-nutrient live foods to those who grow them, studies have also linked gardening to enormous health benefits such as sharp reductions in the risk of breast cancer (Vigorous Activity Lowers Risk of Breast Cancer in Women) and even lung cancer. They also create an environment of food security while promoting eco-friendly practices. There's no food that's more "local" than the food grown in your own front yard, right? It's good for public health, great for the environment, and fantastic for teaching children useful skills that get them out of the house and away from the X-Box.


Thou shalt not grow food in Oak Park
None of this seems to matter to Kevin Rulkowski, the city planner for the city of Oak Park, Michigan. With a nasty arrogance that seems to be increasingly common among ignorant bureaucrats, he complains in a video news report that Julie Bass's garden is in violation of city code and Julie has to dig up her entire garden or face punitive enforcement actions by the city (which could include jail time).

City code says, "All unpaved portions of the site shall be planted with grass, shrubbery or other suitable live plant material."

But city planner Kevin Rulkowski, who really just comes off as an arrogant bully in his attacks on Julie Bass, proclaims, "If you look in Webster's dictionary, suitable means common. And you can look all throughout the entire city and you'll never find a vegetable garden that consumes the entire front yard." (Food tyrants threaten Michigan woman with jail time for planting vegetable garden - NaturalNews.tv).

Hold on a minute, Mr. Rulkowski. Suitable does not mean "common." Suitable means appropriate within the context in which it is being used. Check any dictionary and you'll see the definition of "suitable" being either "appropriate" or "proper."

Even the Webster's dictionary Mr. Rulkowski quotes in his news report doesn't define "suitable" as "common." It defines "suitable" as "proper, able, or qualified" and gives examples such as "The dress was a SUITABLE choice."

Well what could be more suitable to a family with a yard than teaching children how to grow some of their own food right at home? That's suitable! It's the most suitable (and natural) thing in the world, in fact. What's weird is to grow nothing but grass and then spray your lawn with toxic chemicals to kill all the weeds, and then mow the lawn every week burning up fossil fuels and polluting the air just to keep your lawn manicured. That's bizarre (and terrible for city air quality, by the way).

Gardening, on the other hands, is eco-friendly, health-friendly and great for the air quality of the city! What could be more suitable to a city than people growing more of their own food right at home, right on their front lawns?


Oak Park hates veggies?
To be an opponent of a home garden is to be an enemy of the environment, an enemy of food freedom, an enemy of self reliance and an opponent of the rights of the People to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness.

Mr. Kevin Rulkowski, who can't even get his dictionary definitions straight, maintains his arrogance: "I told her don't do it. And she went ahead and did it anyway." As if Julie Bass is somehow supposed to grovel at this bureaucratic parasite's feet and lick his boots because he pretends to be in a position of authority.

Kevin Rulkowski is like every other mindless bureaucratic tyrant running around America or any other country: They are useless parasites on society who actually harm people while collecting public dollars as their own wages! The city of Oak Park, Michigan would be better served by firing this anti-gardening P.R. disaster before he gets any bright ideas such as banning fruit trees or edible flowers. As a spokesperson for the city of Oak Park, the guy is a shining example of how to not conduct public relations.

He also just looks kind of heartless and mean, you know? ...As if he's been living on processed junk food and hot dogs. I guess for a paper-pushing bureaucratic whip cracker, that's a "suitable" diet, eh? But growing your own food isn't suitable at all in his mind. Of course, he's perfectly fine with pavement. Lots of pavement. You can't have living vegetables in your front yard, but you can pave the entire yard and he's be fine with that! (Seriously, what kind of pathetic, hate-filled anti-lifer prefers pavement over fresh, living garden vegetables?)

So now Julie Bass is facing a jury trial and possible jail time for daring to stand up to the tyranny of miscreants like Kevin Rulkowski. The trial begins in a couple of weeks, and the outcome remains in doubt. (You can help, see below.)

If you haven't already, watch this video on NaturalNews.TV to get the full story:
Michigan Woman Faces 93-Days in Jail For Planting Vegetable Garden - NaturalNews.tv


Help Julie Bass defend her natural right to grow garden vegetables on her own property
I am requesting your help in coming to the aid of Julie Bass, who seems like an intelligent, decent human being who was basically just minding her own business and growing some veggies on her own property. (To even think that this is now a CRIME in America is just sickening.)

I urge you to join our avalanche of phone, fax and email complaints to the City Planner's office in Oak Park, Michigan. This avalanche will be taking place across three days: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (July 11th - 13th). Here's what to do:

Action Item #1) Sign the online petition!
It already has 14,000 signatures (as of this writing) and lots more on the way!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/oak-park-hates-veggies/

Action Item #2) Complain loudly to Kevin Rulkowski, the condescending bully city planner in the news video who is harassing Julie Bass over her garden and threatening her with punitive action for daring to question his "authority":

Phone: 248-691-7450
Email: [email protected]

Be sure to CC the City Manager Rick Fox who needs to be kept in the loop on this so he can see how his entire city is now becoming famous all across the 'net for having the world's most moronic city planner who hates vegetable gardens:

Phone: 248-691-7406
Email: [email protected]

If you wish, you may also cc the Mayor of Oak Park, Gerald E. Naftaly:
Email: [email protected]

Question: Is it really okay to email complaints to these people? Of course it is! They are public servants who are paid by the taxpayers. Their entire job function is to SERVE the public, to take your calls, read your emails and respond to public requests. That's why all their emails and phone numbers are openly posted on PUBLIC web pages. You're supposed to let 'em know what you think about the job they're doing!

Tip: Remember that if you email these people, they will then have your email address. To protect your email privacy, I recommend emailing them from an account that doesn't give away your name, such as a free email address (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) -- and even then, they will have your IP address. Absolutely DO NOT email them from your work email account, because some of these bureaucrats are so nasty and deceitful that they will actually call your company and tattle on you to try to get you fired. So

Learn more: Food freedom alert: Bureaucrats in Michigan threaten woman with jail time for planting vegetable garden in her own yard
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Ridiculous. The petition is closed already. Hopefully common sense will prevail. I wonder just how much the bureaucrat has already cost the bankrupt community pursuing this foolishness.
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
You're right. Common sense would tell anyone that a donkey is an *** too. Not nearly enough of it going around anymore.
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
You're right. Common sense would tell anyone that a donkey is an *** too. Not nearly enough of it going around anymore.


LOL!! A "TUSH"! A donkey is a "TUSH"! Surely you have heard the term, 'jacktush'.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
I am wondering how many of you posting would live in a planned community where there is a HOA and strict rules.
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I am wondering how many of you posting would live in a planned community where there is a HOA and strict rules.

Not I. Got FAR too much sense than to do something THAT stupid. I can even park my truck next to my house! Planned communities are just large, open air, prisons.

Got too many rules now, don't need any more.
 

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
This woman broke the law. She is a criminal. Someone should teach her a lesson and park one in her squash. Make an example out of her. These vegans think they can go around planting vegetables anywhere they want. If they want to grow their own food, why don't they raise rabbits like normal Michigan residents.
 

Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
This woman broke the law. She is a criminal. Someone should teach her a lesson and park one in her squash. Make an example out of her. These vegans think they can go around planting vegetables anywhere they want. If they want to grow their own food, why don't they raise rabbits like suitable Michigan residents.

fify.......
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
When my ex & I bought a brand new boat & parked it along side the attached garage, the neighbor complained - it extended 2 ft past the line of the bldg. [Someone who had time to look up city codes is a PITA neighbor!] Rather than tear down a fence & loase a lovely lilac to move the boat back 2 ft, we put it in storage. And offered the spot beside the garage to a friend whose boat was shorter - and old, beat up, and truly UGLY.
The next summer, she asked us to put ours back.
If Ms Bass is forced to replant her front yard with 'suitable plants', I know a few that will sneak into every other yard on the street, like kudzu. Next summer, they'll be begging to get the veggies back, lol.
 

cableguymn

Seasoned Expediter
I am wondering how many of you posting would live in a planned community where there is a HOA and strict rules.


Me... I had to keep my van at a storage lot (that I had to pay for) because they would now allow a badged van to be parked in my drive way (mobile home park)..

When I quit the job with the name on the door and removed the decals it was allowed back in to the park.

Now, just about everyone (but me) has a logo'd work truck in their driveway. Go figure.
 
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