Posted on 06/23/2005 7:30:08 AM PDT by Helmholtz
U.S. Supreme Court says cities have broad powers to take property.
Government is not your friend. Remember that. Government will never be your friend, no matter what. Government may be your tool for a time, but it can never be your friend.
Pray this is the grand finale for Justice Stevens.
Well you are right about Roe, but I dont think you realize how big brussels review is.
1) Common Currency
2) Bogus budget, with the UK getting hosed for Ag subsidies
3) Poland pressured to let certain groups march deemed a menace by the local gov.
4) France pressured to have polish plumbers when she does not want them
The elites in euroland are far, far more advanced than they are here and you have more brussels review.
Someone was listening because we now have this: Whose Kidney Is It, Anyway?. Be afraid, be very afraid.
So, now what?
Sure! Enjoy.
The problem is GOVERNMENT. All of it. Congress will not effectively do anything to stop the Courts. heck, the democrats will not even allow Judges that have read the Constitution.
There is not solution except replacing all the rotten Judges with real ones and that takes (1) time and (2) political will. We are running out of time and our politicians are cowards.
All it would take is for a few hundred determined, armed folk to show up and stop the bulldozers. Failing that, there is no answer so we might as well give up.
I have reached the point that I fear any case going to the Supremes as they simply pay no attention to the Constitution. Justice is simply who bought the Judge best.
Apparently it is well settled that government can condemn to fight blight. I suppose one can litigate what "blight" means. Oh goodie. If the government can condemn to do that, why cannot it condemn for other important public policy purposes, which as raising more tax revenue to provide more funding to fight the blight in its school system, or to reduce commute times (by e.g. having office buildings nearer to residences) so that less needs to be spent on transportation, or for cleaner air, etc? What is so damn special about blight (or roads or for government buildings etc)? Do we really want a consitututional principle that gives one recalcitrant homeowner the power to hold up the works?
FLY THE FLAG UPSIDE DOWN THIS JULY 4 -- This is a legitimate and legal way for the US citizen to express concerns that the nation is in distress.
This legal industry (er, uhm, The Supreme Court) ruling puts the United States citizenry in SERIOUS distress.
hdrabon
"Don't piss down my back and tell me its raining." The outlaw Josey Wales. END BLACK COLLAR CRIME!
What if they take your property to build a road TO wal-mart?
I live here Torie, there's no damn blight in New London, Ct. Submarines? Yeah, but no blight. :-}
This reminds me of the famous Onion article, "Congress approves $2B for Bread, Circuses". Except this story is not make-believe. Where is General Washington??
While you are at it, obtain the right to claim and own new land in outer space.
Right, but don't blame the SCOTUS entirely for CFR - remember it was passed by a Congress and signed off by a President, both of whom take an oath to defend the Constitution.
Impeachment. I'll settle for the wiriter of the majority opinion and the concurrer. That would be Stevens and Kennedy out on their ass.
Imagine a Chinese-owned Unocal approaching your municipality to build a much-needed refinery on land that includes your property. A foreign government could theoretically drive you off your land.
The alternative to that is that they could simply rezone your property from residential or agricultural to commercial and you'd suddenly find yourself taxed out of house and home without any recourse whatsoever. At least if the government condemns your land it is required to pay you just compensation. If they simply rezone it, then you are going to be required to pay taxes that you never intended and unless you personally take the initiative to put the land to its highest use, you will likely have to sell it at a loss.
Nothing in the constitution prohibits the government from taking your land for whatever purpose it sees fit. The only constitutional proviso that must be fulfilled is that you must receive "just compensation."
Admittedly taking land in order to fit it to some redevelopment plan and to sell it to a private company or investor who agrees to implement that development plan is a novel approach to the idea of "public use." But the definition of "public use" is not to be found in the constitution and in a broad sense it is simply up to the "public" to determine whether or not a specific use of a property is for "public use" or not.
Now you may not like this decision, but you are not without rememdy. You and the good people of the State of Ohio are free to draw up a constitution that provides more protection for private property owners than the US Constitution. The Good people of the State of Ohio are free to amend their constitution to define "public use" in regard to eminent domain in such a way as to prevent cities and counties or even the state from taking your property in such a manner and for such reasons.
This is all very interesting in light of the present ban on private ownership of celestial property. Be happy in your fee-farm because that's all you will ever own. Be happy while you still own it.
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