Photo essay: Two-way streets amid one-way politics?

On one hand, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if political yard signs were outlawed entirely. Generations of local candidates have refrained from substance in favor of playing games with often illegal yard sign placement, and it’s a sadly telling commentary on the apathy and shortsightedness of the electorate that this practice continues unabated.

However, it’s a presidential election year, and the perfect opportunity for me to annoy the passing Luddites and Philistines hereabouts … and, as I learned Saturday night, an equally providential opportunity for them to annoy me, which might explain how our Obama yard sign was uprooted, presumably by the same stumbling, swill-fueled obscenity spewers congregating on Spring circa midnight after the street dance at St. Mary’s concluded.

I can guess that the vandal isn’t a member of the card carrying coterie of the conjoined city councilmen because the 8664 sign remained unscathed, and surely the city’s Coffeyites would be more outraged by the concept of road and street reform symbolized by 8664 than threatened by the eventuality of a black president. After all, as affirmed by centuries of American history, one hardly needs to drive an automobile to be racist.

The overwhelming odds are that our Obama sign was upended by a fellow Democrat, which in the Floyd County tradition of mafioso-tinged conservatism is scarcely distinguishable from a Republican. That’s too bad … for all of us.