Geez. When did we get to the point where we can't even hang laundry anymore?

A Florida woman had to go to court to restore her right to hang the wash out to dry. Even then, the court told her where she had to hang it.

...Robert Strauss, a homebuilder who lodged the complaint about Madden's clothesline, says, "Give me a break." He built two $3 million houses along the waterfront on Madden's formerly modest block. "We're not living in the '50s," he says. "We're not driving Edsels. We have air conditioning in our homes now and clothes dryers."

Fort Lauderdale ruled that Madden could keep her clothesline in a side yard instead of the backyard, where it might offend boaters passing by on the canal behind her home.

"I objected to walking out of the new home I was building and seeing her underwear. And now she's flying it like a flag," Strauss says.

So this is what it's come to. Home builders can dictate how we live so as to enhance their sales price, while courts are looking out for the best interests of boaters who might be offended at the sight of laudry. It's nice to see that we aren't letting property rights get in the way of genuine problems.