Free Republic

Last week's U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling in Kelo v. New London helps explain the socialist attack on President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. First, let's look at the case. The city government of New London, Conn., has run upon hard times, with residents leaving and its tax base eroding. Private developers offered to build a riverfront hotel, private offices and a health club in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. But there was a bit of a problem. Owners of 15 homes in the stable middle-class Fort Trumbull neighborhood refused the city's offer to buy their homes, but no sweat....

Conservatives called it the most important case in the Supreme Court this year. It was the latest skirmish in a war that pitted liberals against conservatives who desperately fought to limit government control over private property. This case, Kelo v City of New London Connecticut, would decide whether local governments could seize private property and give it to another private party under an expanded view of eminent domain. And when the 5 to 4 decision was announced on Thursday it was a victory for the Supreme Court's liberal wing. And the conservatives Justices were livid. But conservatives weren't the only...

A petition for the impeachment of the 5 socialist SC Justices is being circulated.  As of this post, it only has 1101 signatures.  Let's get on this NOW - we should have tens of thousands of signatures.See this thread:    Petition for Redress of Grievances (Kelo v. New London)Sign the petition hereLet's get another petition going while we're at it - only include more demands - wait until a good outline forms on this thread & then ping the FReeper legal eagles to write and post it.  Here are my ideas:One of our legal eagle FReepers, (one that has plenty of...

June 23, 2005 saw the end of Amendment V to the US Constitution. Although this profound occurrence has been mentioned by our mainstream press, I have been shocked that it hasn’t been more vigorously reported and pursued. This decision undermines the very fabric of the United States of America. These are not “dramatic for the sake of drama” statements. This is what has actually occurred. The Amendment V clause to which I am referring is: “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Five individuals have decided that “public” now means “private”. Thursday’s 5-4 SCOTUS ruling,...

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. 04—108SUSETTE KELO, et al., PETITIONERS v. CITY OFNEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, et al. ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF CONNECTICUT [June 23, 2005]     Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.     In 2000, the city of New London approved a development plan that, in the words of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, was “projected to create in excess of 1,000 jobs, to increase tax and other revenues, and to revitalize an economically distressed city, including its downtown and waterfront areas.” 268 Conn. 1, 5, 843 A. 2d 500, 507 (2004). In assembling the land...

A routine call to check a loud party complaint at a home in one of this Fort Bend County city's swankiest neighborhoods has mushroomed into a full-fledged legal battle, with a squad of seasoned criminal defense attorneys lined up one side and the city on the other. The dispute centers on citations police issued to 37 teenagers for possessing alcohol. Many of the teens say they were not drinking at the April 14 party. The parents were not home. Some of the teens have pleaded guilty, but others and their parents are fighting the charges. They say police walked in...

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in Kelo v. New London, the Connecticut eminent domain case which will determine how this ultimate government power is used for generations. The truth has been obscured in this and almost every other case of eminent domain seizure for "economic benefit."So many of the facts in this and similar cases have been obscured and misrepresented that a new web site has been created dedicated to countering this propaganda.  Use it as a resource to obtain the truth.Learn the facts here:  http://www.CottageCoalition.orgYou will learn: New London is not a city in economic distress. Its...

Massive send-off rally to support the Fort Trumbull eminent domain victims in their 5-year quest for justice before the U.S. Supreme Court next week. See link for details.

The State Highway Administration purchasing official who paid $26.99 a can for windshield de-icer that costs about 97 cents at retail is still on the job and still has a government-issued credit card, lawmakers learned yesterday. SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen told the General Assembly's Joint Audit Committee that the employee and others who paid exorbitant amounts for janitorial and maintenance items have not been disciplined because of a pending criminal investigation. Pedersen said they have retained their credit cards - which were used to purchase such items as toilet bowl cleaner at 16 times its retail cost - because...

RALEIGH -- For three years now, I've been hearing a lot of complaints from civil libertarians in North Carolina about the Patriot Act, lengthy imprisonments of enemy noncombatants, and other abuses of government power in the war on terrorism. On occasion, I've agreed with them. Now, it's time for all people of good faith who've worried about such abuses to come out against a bundle of similarly questionable proposals to fight the war against drunk driving. Earlier in the year, media reports showed that a surprisingly large number of North Carolinians charged with driving while impaired (DWI) were acquitted at...

Property rights empower every other freedom Americans enjoy. When the state takes away your property, it almost totally deprives you of your power. Fortunately, The Bill of Rights contains language to prevent such perfidy. Unfortunately, local and state governments throughout the US have become particularly devious in skirting this constitutional protection. The 5th Amendment commonly comes into play during jury trials as a means to prevent a defendantor a witness from being forced to reveal information that may incriminate them. People normally do not associate this particular part of The Bill of Rights with property. However, the 5th Amendment does...

The Supreme Court is hoping to stop police from trying to get around the Miranda warning -- the protection giving suspects "the right to remain silent." The high court has warned police to stop using a strategy intended to extract confessions from criminal suspects before reading them their rights. On a five-to-four vote, the court says deliberately questioning a suspect twice -- the first time without the Miranda warning -- is usually improper.

<p>WAKE COUNTY, N.C. -- The state's "Booze It & Lose It"checkpoints are supposed to be a filter for drunken drivers, but the campaign is also becoming a dragnet for all types of crimes.</p> <p>Since Nov. 20, nearly 2,800 drivers have been arrested for drunken driving. The checkpoints are also driving home a point to wanted criminals -- more people are being arrested for other types of crimes than for drunk driving.</p>

"If convoys of agrarian private property owners appear rebellious today at a regional rally in Tracy, don't fear. They have the rights of the common man and woman at heart," the Sunday Tracy Press reported. "The rebel cry is based on the Fifth Amendment, that all Americans should not be deprived of property without due process, and if property is taken by the government, there must be just compensation. Nowhere is this more highlighted than in the attempts by the Bureau of Reclamation in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and the Army Corps of Engineers in Florida's Dade County to...

A national zoning board? Federal regulators try to tell farmers when they can or can’t bust sod. Harold Johnson, a member of California Political Review’s editorial board, is an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation (www.pacificlegal.org). To many of us, the image of the farmer at his plow is right up there with motherhood and ice cream as a symbol of all-American wholesomeness. But not to bureaucrats at the Army Corps of Engineers, one of the agencies that enforce the federal Clean Water Act. Startling as it might seem, the Corps seems officially to have branded the plow as a polluter....

I am a volunteer firefighter here in Iowa. The other night we we having regional training with representives from state HAZMAT, EPA, Sheriffs, and National Guard on dealing with clandestine meth labs. We do have a problem, especially with a new method of meth manufacture that leaves hazardous chemicals in public places where children can get at them. Anyhow, the Guard representitive got up and told us about how they are now directed in time of national emergency to get a list of suspected illegal drug lab technicians and other subversives from the local sheriffs office. It was quite obvious...