Today we're talking "your land, our rules". As in it's your land, but the government has piles of thick binders filled with rules about what you can and can't do with your property (And, bonus, today's edition actually ties into our WWT).

Of course it goes without saying, "a nation without the rule of law, would be a nation for not long".

I think any reasonable American would agree: we need laws. And there's no exception when it comes to property you own. Do you want your neighbor dumping toxic chemicals within feet of where your kids enjoy swimming? Should you be able to blast your bass thumping car stereo at 3 in the morning outside a nursing home? Of course not to both.

The conundrum is: when you allow lawmakers to make law, lawmakers might just run amok and make too many ridiculous rules.

That's the case in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Dominic Luberto puts on a spectacularly tacky display every year. Last Christmas season it was a quarter million lights with a $10,000 price tag.

Needless to say, neighbors complained about the glow. Reasonable. Everyone needs sleep and it's hard to sleep with a nuclear glow outside your window at midnight. Hopefully neighbors can be neighbors and work something out (That's the best rule making, I think).

Now enter this seasons gawk-inducing, gaudy display. Same amount of lights plus a 650 pound crown topping it all off. It's fitting since this guy is king of all that is gaudy.

Problem is local leaders are taking Dominic to court. They want it down. Neighbors want it down.

The fear? It'll fall down and hurt someone. After all it is 650 pounds of wood that this guy hand-crafted to look like a giant crown.

So, it's now up to a judge to decide whether Dominic's hard work gets trashed. And hopefully the judge has enough sense to toss out the complaint, not the crown.

If Dominic has insurance and the crown is on his property and doesn't threaten others and he feels safe with it, who cares if a nanny neighbor worries about the crown falling? Let them worry. Let Dominic keep his crown.

If that crown falls and kills Dominic, I suspect he'll make Darwin's list before year's end. No one wants the King of Gaudy to be killed. But he knows what 650 pounds of wood falling on his head would do. And if he's fine with it, I'm fine with it.

- Crispino