Meanwhile here I am shopping at Home Depot because they actively fight against the "thou shalt pay a licensed..." laws and codes that the industry groups lobby for.

There's no winning.

Truly a difficult choice.

One side fights against government bullying and the other… put security cameras up.

Decisions, decisions

Both sides are government bullying with slightly different paths to abstract/obfuscate it away. Sure, hairs can be split over the exact nature and amount if desired.

Disagree. Flock does not proliferate government bullying.