Just when I think this country can’t be more absurdly hypocritical in its purported status as a bastion of freedom, I’m reminded of my fellow Americans’ uniquely ambitious nature in every area of common life. If it can be done, we do it with a Plus. Well, here is the latest example of Hypocrisy Plus in America: According to Autoblog, The City of Las Vegas is ordering a Hummer dealership to take down its American flag, because the flapping is annoying nearby residents.

A Las Vegas HUMMER dealer, Dan Towbin of Towbin HUMMER, has been ordered to take down a 30′ x 60′ American flag he’s flown 100 feet above his dealership for a year because his neighbors have complained about the sound of the flag flapping and the obtrusiveness of its looming pole.

While Towbin claims the the flag is an expression of his patriotism, the dealer’s neighbors and other concerned citizens in Las Vegas assert that his intentions are mostly commercial, accusing Towbin of exploiting veterans for his own financial gain. One point of controversy is a war memorial Towbin planned to build at the base of the pole. Towbin, who is an honorary commander at Nellis Air Force Base, said he has not built the memorial because the flag was only approved tentatively pending a six-month review. The six months came and went without the city following up on the matter.

Somebody should remind these folks that this is the town behind which nuclear bombs were detonated several times a year throughout the 50’s.

I recently learned that in the State of New York, a convenience store needs a license to sell beer and wine. This isn’t required in many states, but there’s more. It’s a different license than what’s required for selling liquor. And a liquor store can’t sell lime juice. So, if someone wants to make gin & tonics at home, they’re forced to go first to a liquor store for the gin, and then to a convenience store or grocery store for the lime juice.

Apart from this bureaucratic crap being an inconvenience to customers, it puts a severe limit on small business owners as well. If someone wants to buy liquor to make any number of drinks that require something other than just liquor, they have to go to two separate merchants– even though only one of them is actually in the business of selling that person what they really want to buy. And that merchant is losing lots of money in potential sales of products specifically needed for consuming certain types of liquor-based products.