In defense of HOA's.....they do serve a purpose not only in helping to maintain property values within the subdivision but also to help fight off anyone who threatens those property values.
In this case....the HOA's actions are stupid.....and they picked the wrooonnnnnng person to get stupid with and picked a very stupid issue.
The HOA president never should have gone after Col Barfoot.
However, I kind of understand why he/she did it, because it sets a precedent for someone to put in a flag pole and fly whatever they want - appropriate or not. But if there was no mention in the covenants and restrictions of flagpoles....they can't change it after the fact without a specific percentage of the HOA voting to change it. Even if they did that....they should have just made restrictions on what can be flown from flagpole, not that nothing could be flown.
Legally, a person buying a home in an HOA, is to be presented with a copy of the HOA rules, restrictions and covenants PRIOR to purchase, for review. This doesn't always happen...but that's part of a buyer's agent's job to see that their client has a copy.
Years ago when we were looking for a condo instead of a house....we changed our mind on buying in a particular subdivision because of the HOA rules regarding landscaping. The HOA required that if any plantings surrounding the condo died....it was to be replaced with an identical plant - not only type but size!! Yeah right...I'm going to replace a dead fully grown tree with a live fully grown tree....what am I paying exorbitant fees for?