Sign of the Times

                   by  Phil Gianficaro   

                   "Obama Sucks."
                   There's every reason to believe the intention of the person who posted signs with that message on a tall tree on the property of Blair's Tree and Lawn Service on Cat Hill Road in West Rockhill Township wasn't trying to inform Americans the president drinks his milk through a straw.
                   An economy slow to recover from the downturn, the Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare" and possible U.S. military intervention in Syria are but a few reasons some Americans are down on Barack Obama.  However, most of them aren't climbing trees to erect signs some interpret as vulgar and offensive.
                   After receiving an email from a reader who lives in the area and objects to the public display of crudeness, I drove up to investigate.
                   I parked in front of Blair's office building and walked to the tree near the roadside to take a few photos of the signs.  The orange-and-black messages are printed on the back of speed limit signs and attached 20 feet or so up the tree's trunk.
                   As I was about to knock on Blair's front door, a woman appeared.  I asked to speak to the owner, Marty Blair, about the signs.  She said he wasn't there.  I asked if he erected the signs.  She told me I'd have to speak to him.  I gave her my business card and cell number, asked if she'd please have the owner call me, and thanked her for her time.
                  Then I spoke to a few locals about the signs.
                  As her two toddling sons enjoyed playing on the slides at nearby Druckenmiller Playground, Amber Groesbeck said she didn't particularly care for the crudeness of the sign.
                  "I also think it's irresponsible for a company to put up a sign like that," said Groesbeck, who lives in nearby Sellersville.  "As a company, I'd want to protect my standing with all my customers, stay noble, not put up a sign that might deter business from people who disagree with the sign."
                 Greg Lippincott, West Rockhill Township manager and zoning officer, said the tree is on land owned by Bair and there is no township rule forbidding the use of the word "sucks" in a public place.
                 "Legally, the tree is his," Lippincott said Thursday.  "The state reserves the right of way with the tree, but legally it's his.  And he has a First Amendment right to express himself that way."
                 Has the township received complaints from residents about the signs?  "We've only received two complaints," Lippincott said.  "We can't do anything about the signs."
                When I returned to Blair's to take one last photo of the signs, a person identifying herself as an employee of Bair's stood in front of the building smoking a cigarette.  I told her I was writing a story about the signs.

                 "They weren't always that high," she said.  "They were much lower before.  But someone painted 'not' on the signs.  That's when Marty took them down, made new signs and got a bucket truck to put the signs higher."
                 The woman took another drag of her cigarette and pointed to the front of the building.  "Did you see that sign?"  she asked.  Affixed to the front of the building, above the front door, was a large white sign with red lettering:  "Not Hiring Due to Obama Care!  Maybe you should have read it before you passed it."
                 The person who initially contacted  The Intelligencer about the signs said what bothers him most is the vulgarity.
                 "Look, I'm a conservative," said the man, who requested anonymity.  "Also, I'll defend anyone's right to free speech.  But it's the crudeness of the sign that bothers me.  It just doesn't reflect well on the people who live here.
                 When I returned to the newspaper office, my cellphone rang.  The call was from someone identifying himself as Ron Paul.  Was I actually speaking with the intellectual godfather of the tea party movement and former presidential hopeful?  My heart raced.
                  "Ron Paul" then set about accusing me of trespassing on Blair's property.  Why he cared so much about someone else's property, and how he was certain I wasn't interested in having two maples removed from my yard, I can't say.  He warned me the localpolice were aware of my visit to town.
                 "You're one of theose members of the liberal media who disagrees with the signs," he said.  "You're one of those drinking the Kool-Aid."
                I told "Ron Paul" I preferred to speak to Marty Blair about the signs.
                "Liberal media!" he said.  "Marty Blair will never talk to you."
                After receiving a call from "Ron Paul" about the signs, I'm not so sure about that.