I had hoped that, if nothing else, Kelo would serve as a wake up call to everyone regarding just how too-big-for-their-britches the .gov had become. It seems some are getting the message. However, some are pouncing: Ravenwood reports that Freeport is already drawing up papers and going shopping and that DC is too. Radley has […]

I think, instead of sending lawyers, guns and money; someone needs to head to New London with a truckload of spotted owls, snail darters, and bald eagles . Once you turn them loose, all construction there would stop immediately. Thoughts?

Update: Today, I am ashamed of my country, my government, and the legal system (we don’t have a justice system). This is some scary stuff, folks. Freedom died a bit more. I honestly went to the parking lot, sat in the car and wiped tears from my eyes. Anger turned to sadness. Property rights (like […]

Newday: If New London can seize people’s homes so private developers can build a hotel and convention center, what will cities do next? several Supreme Court justices asked during arguments Tuesday. Can a city decide to get rid of the Motel 6 and put up a Ritz-Carlton, asked Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, because the luxury […]

In one week, the Supreme Court will hear Kelo v. New London, arguably the most important property rights case of our time. With a week left, the seven families are preparing to go before the Supreme Court and plead their case. A recent account: Fifteen houses are all that remain of Fort Trumbull, a once […]

The Good: Town councilors unanimously voted Tuesday night to reject a request that they support the New London Development Corp.’s use of eminent domain. The Bad: An editorial notes the transition from public use to public good. The Ugly: As if to prove it’s nothing but a land grab, Houston will take your land either […]

Lobbygow on the OwnerSHIFT Society: Make way for the OwnerSHIFT Society™, a kleptocrat’s paradise, where local municipalities and well connected developers are eager to help homeowners and small business entrepreneurs achieve that special warm glow that accompanies sacrificing your hard-won dreams for the greater good – developer’s fees and sales tax revenues! Sadly, this cronyist […]

First, Lobbygow reminds us that the Bush administration is considering filing a friend of the court briefing in Kelo v. New London. Next up, my old friend Tearsa Smith has an article on how property is acquired through eminent domain. She left out the phrase usually unconstitutionally. I am a bit annoyed that Wally, the […]

A reminder Kelo v. New London is heading to to the Supreme Court. Here’s a quick summary. In (not so) Freeport, Tx, Eminent Domain is being used for the confiscation of private land to build a private yacht marina. A reader emails Scandal In Freeportwhich is keeping up with the Freeport case. An editorial reminds […]

In February, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Kelo v. New London. This is an important property rights case that will hopefully restore the public use clause of the fifth amendment. That clause has been bastardized and public use has somehow been interpreted as the public good, which means a government can take […]

The SCOTUS will hear Kelo v. New London on February 22. Fighting eminent domain abuse has rallied troops from both sides of the political spectrum: The Institute for Justice has soldered progressive and conservative groups into a surprising coalition that is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to prohibit the taking of private property for economic […]

A Jersey legal firm has filed a friend of the court brief for the pending Kelo v. New London case: An Atlantic City organization is getting involved in a Supreme Court case it says has ramifications for developments in South Jersey. South Jersey Legal Services has filed an amici curiae – or friends of the […]

Eminent domain authorizes a government body to take land from private entities for public use if they pay just compensation. Eminent domain should not be used solely for the purpose of settling the disagreement over what just compensation is: Negotiations between the city and owner Joe Zivnak of Azusa have been stuck for months, with […]

Bill Hobbs notes that Nashville is robbing the poor to pay the rich: Nashville’s Metro Development and Housing Agency is threatening to use its condemnation powers under “eminent domain” to take property from two property owners, destroy two small businsses on the properties, and give the land to a well-heeled real estate developer. (sic) Issues […]

Reginald Shareef on the pending SCOTUS case regarding eminent domain: I’ve watched with interest this fall as the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Kelo v. City of New London. The legal question here is whether a municipality, using the power of eminent domain, can take private property for economic purposes. […]

Lots of happenings with the pending Supreme Court case in New London. The Daily Journal advises caution on the use of eminent domain: Millville Mayor James Quinn said he couldn’t “let the city down.” He said he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he didn’t support, and the City Commission didn’t approve, an ordinance giving […]

A good read on eminent domain abuse and the pending Supreme Court Case: When the Supreme Court announced in September that it would hear Kelo v. City of New London, it sent ripples through state and local governments everywhere. At issue in the Connecticut case is whether the city can exercise its right of eminent […]

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of eminent domain in New London, CT (which I’ve written about a few times): The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide when governments can seize homes and businesses for economic development projects, a key question as cash-strapped cities seek ways to generate tax revenue. At issue […]

First, the good. There is some reform in eminent domain law in New York: Nearly four years after a Port Chester property owner went to court to challenge New York state’s rules for taking private property, Gov. George Pataki has signed a law reforming condemnation procedures. The new law means property owners in New York […]

The Supreme Court will decide whether hear the case of the city of New London taking property from 15 homeowners and giving it to private developers. I don’t have much faith in the Supreme Court given their recent shortcomings in campaign finance reform and Silviera v. Lockyer. An Illinois town is suing to take land […]

Here’s a plug for a book that highlights abuses of Eminent Domain, entitled Abuse of Power: How the government misuses eminent domain, by Steven Greenhut: Few phrases in the American lexicon seem as ominous, regal and potentially frightening as “eminent domain.” And that’s as it should be. The government’s power to condemn and forcibly take […]

This American Daily Article writes: In an unfortunate, but all too foreseeable event, the justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court, those stalwarts of individual liberty, decided that eminent domain should not be limited to merely public use of the land, but should now be expanded to the furtherance of a city’s economic plan. Sadly, that […]

Worth the read. A taste: For years, municipalities and community development agencies have successfully argued that state and local seizures of private property for purposes of economic growth, job creation and tax revenue maximization are valid “public uses” of eminent domain powers under federal and state constitutions. The argument greatly expanded upon the popular notion […]

James Kilpatrick writes of eminent domain: At the heart of these cases lies the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. In words every schoolboy can understand, the amendment says that government may not take private property for “public use” without payment of just compensation. The key words are “public use.” They are not difficult words. They […]

Self defense and its tools are effectively banned in the UK. So, when a sudden case of Jihad syndrome broke out, a local man grabbed a narwhal tusk from the local fishmonger and got to fighting the terrorist. Also, another guy used a fire extinguisher. Hats off to you, sir. However, your life would have […]

Murder record in Mexico. Three people gunned down in a London drive by. Where they have all those gun laws.

As a more enlightened country, they have all those gun laws: London bloodbath: Three injured outside Tube station in SECOND shooting in a NIGHT

The mayor of London is now looking at knife control. No, really. This is pathetic: These items were found during a #weaponSweep near #MackworthHouse #AugustasSt during #OpSceptre . Safely disposed and taken off the streets pic.twitter.com/53HdeqMKu1 — Regents Park Police (@MPSRegentsPark) March 16, 2018 As is this: Weapons found today in #pemburyweaponsweep pic.twitter.com/8hH5mFhRc3 — Hackney […]

London murder rate is HIGHER than New York’s.

In Sweden, a call to ban cars because of terrorism. Ugh. What is wrong with people?