[MD] You can't do that, its not legal

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[John]
Whenever I hear that phrase, (and I guess I hear it a lot) I always sneer to
myself over the stupidity on display. Of course I can do it.

[Arlo]
I like when people ask, "Can I go to the bathroom?"... Ummm... I hope so. If
not you should seek medical help...

The question that, rephrased correctly, would get at the very
value-examinations you propose is "should I?"... "You shouldn't do that, its
not legal"... Actually, the second half is an answer for the first, for the
dimwitted... "you should not do something because it is illegal"... It confuses
the "illegality" with its necessary-but-absent justification, as if "being
illegal" alone is all the justification a decree needs.

We have a barn on the end of our property, a barn that is coming down... Sadly,
the barn was grandfathered in as "okay" despite it being just a few feet from
the property line. We could repair it, and that would be okay, but if we
rebuild it, we have to move it far into the yard... too far for it to be
acceptable both aesthetically and functionally. Not to mention that repair
costs are about triple the rebuild costs. 

I know the rationale behind the law, but it seems to me that its like taking a
nuke to stop a purse snatching. The "collateral" damage would seem a tad
excessive. So I am with you here, amigo...