Posted on 06/23/2005 8:10:25 PM PDT by andie74
NEW LONDON, Conn. -- On Bill Von Winkle's side of town, word of the Supreme Court decision spread like the news of a passing relative. His cell phone rang incessantly.
"Hello," he answered. "Yeah, we lost. I know, hard to believe, huh?"
No sooner had he hung up the phone than his letter carrier walked by.
"Need a hug?" he asked.
Von Winkle is one of seven homeowners who learned Thursday that the city's plan to demolish their working class neighborhood in the name of economic development is constitutional.
On the other side of town, city leaders cheered the decision, calling it a victory for cash-strapped cities that want to spur redevelopment. The holdouts and their 15 homes were all that stood in the way of plans to build a hotel, office space and upscale homes.
"This case makes New London look good and you should be proud to live in New London," said the city's attorney, Wesley Horton, who argued the case before the high court.
Like New London, the high court was divided on the issue. Five justices sided with the city, saying economic revitalization qualifies as a public good and local officials know best when to use their eminent domain power for the community's benefit.
Four justices, led by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, said the decision opened the doors for wealthy to developers to drive poor residents out of their homes.
"The U.S. Supreme Court destroyed everybody's lives today, everybody who owns a home," said Richard Beyer, who owns two rental properties in the once vibrant immigrant neighborhood that has largely been reduced to swaths of rutted grass. "This was America."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
After today, and the totally irrational way 5 justices took this issue, I think it's safe to say that no part of the constitution is bankable anymore. I usually like to think I can see the other side of the argument, but there is no other side. It is not this court's responsibility to see to economic revitalization. It's simply far beyond their scope. Damn you GHWB for giving us Souter.
Remember this?
"The tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." Hillary Clinton
It's all part of the same scam.
This case makes New London look good and you should be proud to live in New London..."
Until they decide that your hme is next.
Good post, andie74. Those poor people's lives are in ashes. The last thing I wanted to see was the New London official crowing over the decision. The way prices and taxes are in CT, I doubt the money they receive for their homes will come anywhere near what it will cost to get another home of similar quality.
There is a lot of irony in this decision -- the liberal side of the Court sided with the city to move out blue class workers to build an upscale neighborhood. I think the RATs are ONLY up in arms because it affects their constituents. If it was a suburb of Republicans, they would be cheering this decision.
Personally think it is past time to protect individiual property rights from the city, state, feds to include those stupid environmental regulations for endangered species that tell property owners what they can and cannot do with their property.
Oh, it won't take long.
Churches, gun ranges, cherished neighborhoods with old style front porch homes, Civil War battlefields: anything and everything is now up for grabs, for practically any reason, if some real estate developer brother of a city councilman somewhere decides he likes what he sees, and wants it.
It is now his for the taking as long as the municipality can dredge up even the flimsiest of reasons why demolishing what's already there and building something else has even the slightest chance of "enhancing" the tax base.
I'm simply shocked at this ruling; it's a sad day for private property rights in this country.
I suggest that anyone who owns property arm themselves. Constitutional protection was just sold to the highest bidder.
Confrontation is mathematically only a matter of time now.
My city is already discussing using this precedent to force people from downtown areas to make room for a new stadium and I am over 1000 miles away from Connecticut.
That makes two of us.....
anyone else???
TLR
That too but what about all those Republicans in the Senate who gave Bubba the big pass on Ginsberg and Breyer; who know full well what their backgrounds were and the way they would rule once they received their lifetime appointments to the SC. They had no intention (no strategy?) of using the filibuster to deny these socialists an appointment and seemed to be as happy as pigs in s..t to give each of them an affirmative vote. These are the same spineless bastards who, today, wail about being denied the use of the filibuster by Democrats were they to dare to invoke the nuclear option. We have elected this Adminstration, this House and this Senate, yet the Democrats spend their days shitting on the heads of "our" President and Senators and boasting and laughing about it and the big debate among the geniuses we've put in office is whether thet should face the enemy, turn their heads up and open their mouths or just keep the new tone. In restrospect, they behave very much like the French.
Lee Atwater, where are you now that we need you!!!
It's the other bookend for "compelling state interest".
St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Ave. NYC is looking like mighty fine income generating real estate right now.
It may now come to pass that a few more people will understand what Vanderbilt's meaning was when he said, "The public good be damned!"
The answer is NO, unless of course the people take to their pitchforks, and I don't see that happening.
You're right. The Dems can roll senate Repubs anytime they want.
"The community's benefit."
In concept, this is similar to Hitler's
"Crimes against the State."
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