Neil Gamerman ran his American flag up the flagpole to see who'd salute it. Nobody did, namely the Ternberry Homeowners Association, which has told him in no uncertain terms to take it down.

Not the flag, per se. The pole. The association contends it violates restrictive covenants Gamerman agreed to in writing when he moved into the neighborhood years ago.

"Remove the flagpole," he's been warned in a stern letter from a lawyer representing the HOA, "before the association takes affirmative legal action to enforce its rights against you."

Those rights include entering his backyard and physically yanking the pole out of...