No More Dominos Pizza At My House

CNN reported this morning that Thomas S. Monaghan has gathered $250 million to construct the town of Ava Maria, surrounding Ava Maria University in Florida, and that the town will be founded under the guiding principles of the Roman Catholic Church.

Part of the plan for his city includes inserting provisions into retail and business leases (since he plans on holding title to all of the retail-zoned property in the city) that restricts the peddling of such abhorrent things as birth control pills, pornography, and condoms. Monaghan also says that there will be no place in his town to receive an abortion.

Even with all of that, it doesn't bother me (much). If this guy wants to spend his money in this fashion, and there are people willing to live behind the curtain of his rules, then they can have at it. Obviously, I won't be purchasing property in Ava Maria. I'll exercise my voice of dissent by not purchasing products or obtaining services from Monaghan's company again.

What does raise my hackles, however, is that Jeb Bush, an ELECTED government official, attended the ground breaking ceremony and praised the town!

I think it's highly inappropriate for Jeb to throw his weight behind a project so steeply rooted in religious beliefs. The spokesman for the governor said that, obviously, all rules and lease restrictions would have to follow Florida law. How long will it take for the state to strike down or change said laws, so that these folks can do as they wish without impunity?

I can't remember where I saw it, but I once read something that said people don't create laws so that their own actions can be controlled. Laws are always created to save other people from what one person sees as immoral. I guess now we can add incorporating a township into that as well.

This has Waco written all over it. Can't you just see, 10 years down the road, a stand-off Branch Davidian style between local law enforcement and the residents of Ava Maria , who have secluded themselves in their town, surrounded only by people to bolster and reinforce their beliefs, without the benefit of disagreement, debate, or outside influence?