Sunday
(1)Attempts to use the Kelo 'eminent domain' ruling to take property in New Hampshire from US Supreme Court Justice David Souter have now been extended to trying to do the same to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
This is splendid but maybe it would be good to extend this to Senators and Congressmen and particularly much lower level local politicians who collude with property developers. Some of these people often have property outside the jurisdiction they live in (and thus maybe be vulnerable to politically or personally motivated grudges from other elected representatives).
The important thing is to make as many members of the political class uneasy that they could be targeted. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
With the V for Vendetta trailers being released lately a thought springs to mind of the tagline for the movie, as best I can remember it... "People should not be afraid of their government. The government should be afraid of their people."
Posted by Eric Anondson at July 31, 2005 02:32 PM
*cackles*
Holding them to their own premises. Ayn Rand would be proud, I think.
Posted by Matt McIntosh at July 31, 2005 05:32 PM
Maybe we should force the Kennedy's to give up their property to finally build that wind farm the elites on Cape Cod killed.
Posted by B's Freak at July 31, 2005 06:06 PM
Y'know, somewhere in all this is perhaps a new kind of system of political accountability, if not a new kind of political system in itself.
I've come to believe that politicians should be faced with jail just like anyone else who breaks the law or tries to redefine it at the expense of others.
In the meantime, this'll do.
Posted by James at July 31, 2005 08:50 PM
A good start, but when fuzzy accounting lands businessmen in jail, so it should for government officials. It is clear that lies and defalcations will not be tolerated in the private sector, it should not be in the public sector.
Posted by toolkien at August 1, 2005 12:41 AM
Using ED against a judge or pol would be sweet. But the chances that a local government would to it are essentially zero.
There is no mechanism in law to ever force ED to be used. And local government exists to screw people who are not insiders while protecting all who are.
Posted by K at August 1, 2005 01:14 AM
"There is no mechanism in law to ever force ED to be used. And local government exists to screw people who are not insiders while protecting all who are."
Sadly true. But only because the indifference of the public has allowed this state of affairs to evolve. Kelo seems clearly to strike at the heart of private ownership, and people have noticed. Local governments ignore this at their peril.
Posted by Mike at August 1, 2005 01:55 AM
True enough insofar as your worthy aspirations go Perry. However in practical terms the resources and organisational skills of pro-property rights people are meagre. Nothing, not a thousand, not even ten thousand attempts to use Eminent Domain against politicians will strike fear into their hearts like a single success.
What's more, a success would lead the whole noxious "eminent domain consultancy industry" to see that they could gain cheap (low bribe) exercise of such powers by targetting those most politically unsympathetic owners, politicians. And so the dragon would eat its tail.
So I hope you get what you want, ultimately, but I hope that anyone feeling motivated enough to actually act will weigh in behind the Lost Liberty Hotel project, at least until they pull down Justice Souter's house.
Posted by Mary Contrary at August 1, 2005 11:58 PM
Perry, don't use "political classes" and "targeted" in the same sentence. You know how that gets my old heart pumping harder.
Posted by Kim du Toit at August 2, 2005 05:29 PM
