Surely They Were Jesting

Thanks to Lisa Hoffman in the Jewish World Review for the following tidbit. Apparently when the frum community gets bogged down in downright ridiculous minutae it's following the lead of our federal government. With all the important issues facing us it's comforting--not--to know our government has what's truly important right in its sights. And to the frum community--this is not the example to be following. You think we appear any less ridiculous when we argue about the color, size, brand, shape and decoration of a hat? Think again!

"It was the vision of the Federal Highway Administration that, by 2018, no sign ever again would use only upper-case letters to spell out a street name. Only the first letters would be capitals, standing precisely 6 inches high.

Furthermore, the lower-case letters would have to be exactly 4.5 inches high. And every street sign in America would be in the Clearview typeface font, and no other.

FHA regulators gave localities until Jan. 22, 2012, to come up with a plan for replacing signs to be in conformance with the rules. If they didn't, their federal funds would be in jeopardy.
What resulted after the FHA posted the proposed rules in the Federal Register last November was a hue and cry from cities and states, which hollered that the idea was a waste of scarce money. New York City said it would cost $27.5 million to comply and Milwaukee pinned a $1.4 million price tag on its compliance.

On Tuesday, the Obama administration relented, announcing the regulations and deadlines would be eliminated, leaving localities free to replace signs when they're worn out and without the stylistic micromanaging that critics portrayed as a metaphor for overreaching by the federal government. "