Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Sow the wind....

Apparently someone has filed an eminent domain petition against US Supreme Court Justice David Souter's home:
The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Cafe" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."
I tend to agree with those commentators who say that Kelo is flawed not because it misunderstands eminent domain (which really does allow the government to supercede private property rights for just about anything it wants if it can rationalize it by public good) but because of the greater argument that the US Constitution is system of checks and balances not just between branches of government but between citizens and government, and they've now left this power unchecked.

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