I'm Not Obsessed with Cows 

Honestly, I'm not. It's just that there have been a lot of cow related stories in the news as of late... even for Wisconsin. The latest is this piece of news from Glendale where Kopps Custard has had a permit rejected to put a display of fiberglass cows along the back wall of it's parking lot (emphasis mine):

Unfortunately, Glendale city officials don't see it that way. They said no to Kopp's plan to line the back of its custard stand with a herd of 23 life-size, fiberglass cows.

That's ridiculous, says Bill Tonnesen, the Arizona artist who designed the herd, to be mounted on stainless steel "diving boards" at the back of Kopp's, a popular grazing spot at 5373 N. Port Washington Road.

"It's along the lines of cows produce dairy products," said Nicholas Fuchs, the Glendale city planner who axed the idea. "Cows are an advertisement for a custard stand."

Custard stand owner Karl Kopp said he didn't think the cows would do anything for business one way or the other.

"Some people will like them, some people won't," Kopp said. "Some people won't pay any attention one way or the other."

City Attorney John Fuchs, Nicholas' father, agreed that the cows are ads, and the city denied a required building permit. Kopp is appealing the decision to the city's Board of Appeals and the case will be heard at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Cows are an advertisement for a custard stand? What a coincidence... Kopps is a custard stand! Why the hell should the owner of a custard stand not be allowed to advertise his own damn product on his own damn property?! It's not like they're going to stand out that much... they'll be in the back of the property:

He said Kopp rejected a suggestion that the cows be placed at the front of the building because that would have seemed too commercial.

"He said he was looking for something that would be subtle and artistic," Tonnesen said. "We took great care to have them appear to be floating in the branches of the trees."

The cows are meant to be art, just like the colorfully artsy "beasties" that line Milwaukee's downtown streets during the summer and the cows that line the streets in Chicago.

Nicholas Fuchs said that while the building and parking spots would largely block the view of the cows from the street, they would still be partially visible. He said nearby property owners had been notified of Kopp's intent, but there hadn't been a stampede of opponents or proponents.

The "beasties" being referred to was a "public art" (if you want to call it that) display in downtown Milwaukee last summer. Heaven forbid that a property owner be allowed to do something he wants to his own property. And calling cows an advertisement because it's a custard stand is like calling bushes in front of a strip club an advertisement. Next you're going to tell me that McDonald's shouldn't be allowed to put a menu on it's drive-thru because that's an advertisement for hamburgers... and I haven't even begun to talk about the golden arches.

It's plainly obvious that Mr. Fuchs is on a power trip, and just doesn't like the cows. Tough shit... you don't have to like them, it's not your restaurant!