Former Alaska Governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was in the area tonight, first in Lahaska then in Plumsteadville.
In what is billed as a ‘non-political’ event, Palin spoke at a Founders Forum at the Plumstead Christian School. She also appeared at a dinner at the Cock ‘N’ Bull restaurant in Lahaska earlier in the afternoon.
One year ago, on June 23, 2005, the United States Supreme Court opened the floodgates for the abuse of eminent domain by state and local authorities with its Kelo v. City of New London decision. That decision held that private property could be taken by government agencies and turned over to private developers under the guise of ‘economic development.’
In a June 26 editorial entitled ‘Responsible Use of Eminent Domain,’ the New York Times displays what can only be described as the ultimate in hypocritical chutzpah as it attempts to justify its own nefarious land—grab made under the guise of the principle of eminent domain.
A Supreme Court decision last year on eminent domain caused many people to overreact, most of all Congress. The House of Representatives passed a troubling bill that would severely limit local governments’ ability to clean up blighted areas and promote responsible development. The Senate, which has yet to act, should take a more moderate approach.
Just about everyone knows that under a process called eminent domain, the government can (and does) seize private property for public use – to build a road, a school or a courthouse.
But did you know the government can also seize your land for private use if they can prove that doing it will serve what’s called “the public good”?
Arriving back at Heathrow late on Sunday night I felt – as you do on returning to Britain these days – as if I were entering a failed state. It’s not just the Third World shabbiness which is so dispiriting. It’s the knowledge that from its surveillance cameras to its tax regime, from its (mostly) EU-inspired regulations to its whole attitude to the role of government, Britain is a country which has forgotten what it means to be free.