Theft Through Eminent Domain Takes a Big Hit

From Sea to Shining Sea ^ | 11/17/06 | Purple Mountains

[PurpleMountains]

Among the debris of the election this month one good thing did happen – the Kelo decision by the Supreme Court was effectively nullified by many states. Kelo v. New London established the incredible concept that government bodies could take, by force, privately owned property and transfer that property to another private party. This fall, nine of twelve states passed constitutional amendments banning this practice. In addition, the federal government and many other states have passed restrictions on this anti-American practice which turns upside down our bedrock value of private property rights. Eminent domain should only be used to acquire for the public - property needed for a critical public purpose. This is developing into a major defeat for the left.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

The best western book has a lot about eminent domain.

Warren Kiefer's ''Outlaw'' is a western, an eastern and a few other points on the compass of adventure. Its central character, Lee Garland, roams all over the place and inserts himself in the midst of historic events, from the end of the 19th century almost up to the present.

Looking back on his picaresque life, Garland recalls his beginnings in New Mexico, after an Apache raid that killed his parents. He develops from a cattle thief into a rancher and an oil baron. During the Spanish-American War, he enlists with Col. Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Again and again, Mr. Kiefer places his character among the big names without quite fully engaging them. Naturally, he encounters Richard Harding Davis and Stephen Crane serving as war correspondents. Of course, he charges up San Juan Hill.