Free Republic

Proponents of Prop. 98 Respond to Election Outcome Vow to Work on Legislative Solution to End Eminent Domain Abuse Sacramento, CA - Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, issued the following statement on the outcome of the Election. "Since the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London decision in 2005 more than 40 states have passed reforms that would prohibit government from profiting by seizing private property and giving it to politically connected developers. Prop. 98 was the only measure on the ballot that addressed the Kelo decision by providing comprehensive protections to all private property and...

After Action Report Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally, May 21, 2008 Hi folks, it was good to be back in the saddle again. Today, the following Eagles took part in what is most likely our annual Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally: Jim Bancroft Larry Baily Carolyn VanZorge Fernando Martinez Bill Wilkins Eva Bauman Kathy Upton Pamela Hall Dave Russo Dan Maloney "NEW" Eagle Ted Bakacs Paul Leblanc The New York/New Jersey Eagles showed up earlier than most due to dedication on their part and computer failure on my part which would have had me only 10 minutes late...

The Gathering of Eagles, a patriotic organization dedicated to honoring our men and women in uniform and those who are honorable veterans, announces our latest event in honoring the graduates of the Coast Guard Academy by welcoming their families and supporters to their graduation ceremony on May 21, 2008. We will be in front of the entrance on Mohegan Ave, at the intersection of Williams and Mohegan from 7 AM to 1 PM that day, waving flags, carrying patriotic signs and singing patriotic songs in an effort to welcome the families to what is a most honored event; the graduation...

As an exemplar of a government-run enterprise stuck in the mud, it's hard to come with a better example than what is happening in the area that was the subject of the infamous Kelo v. New London ruling in 2005. Nearly 2-1/2 years after the US Supreme Court ruled that the city could evict Susette Kelo and other holdouts and take their homes, and 17 months after the final settlement between the city and the final two holdouts, very little has been done in the affected area. The latest setback to substantive progress in the area is significant, and is...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Gathering of Eagles, an honorable group of Veterans and concerned Patriotic Americans has requested a permit for a rally to be held at the Coast Guard Academy on May 23, 2007, during their graduation ceremony. This rally is being held to counter the left wing A.N.S.W.E.R. Rally being held on the same day. The Graduation of some of America's finest citizens from one of our most prestigious academies should not be marred by the vocal outrage of what is a minority in our country. The GATHERING OF EAGLES requests that all concerned parties make an effort...

Protect Property Rights: Call Senators to support S. 3873 All, Call your U.S. Senator. Tell them to support S.3873 "The Property Rights Protection Act" http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-3873 . Yours, Douglas *************SLEDGEHAMMER ACTION ALERT **************** From the American Policy Center Tom DeWeese, President 70 Main Street, Suite 23 Warrenton, VA 20186 http://www.americanpolicy.org PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTIONS MAY DIE IN SENATE ACTION NEEDED NOW IN LAME DUCK SESSION URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT EMINENT DOMAIN PROTECTIONS WILL DIE WITHOUT IMMEDIATE ACTION We have only one week to pass Eminent Domain reform to counter the Supreme Court’s disastrous Kelo VS New London decision that said local communities...

Driver: Gas Pedal Got Stuck NEW LONDON, Conn. -- More than two dozen people were injured -- two of them seriously -- when a station wagon plowed through a crowd of people in New London during the annual Sailfest Saturday afternoon. Twenty-seven people were injured and were taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, officials said. The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. near the Amtrak station. Officials said the driver -- identified as Robert Laine, 89, of Wallingford -- was heading across the train tracks toward to the Fishers Island ferry when the car struck a pedestrian and lurched forward into...

1 hour ago NEW LONDON, Conn. - A military jury sentenced a Coast Guard cadet to six months in prison and kicked him out of the service Wednesday for extorting sexual favors from a classmate. Cadet Webster M. Smith, the first student court-martialed in the academy's 130-year history, was acquitted of rape but had faced up to five years and seven months for extortion, sodomy, indecent assault and other charges. Defense attorneys for Smith, 23, of Houston, asked the jury to spare him jail time, saying the stigma of his conviction will follow him forever. He will not graduate from...

NEW LONDONA YEAR AGO last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that my home can be taken by the government and handed over to another private party for its private use. The only requirements are that the city must have some plan in place that says another owner can create more jobs and pay more taxes than I do.There went my property rights -- and yours, too.Hardly a day goes by as I work in my garden or have a cup of coffee in my kitchen, both of which overlook the Thames River and Long Island Sound, that I don't...

Although the American people are overwhelming outraged by the recent eminent domain decision of the Supreme Court (Kelo vs. New London), and while many government entities have passed legislation and regulations to minimize its impact, the rapacious takeovers by private developers in New London and Riviera Beach are proceeding at full speed. It appears that nothing can be done to save the citizens of these communities from the legal theft of their property, and probably only a revisiting of this decision by the Supreme Court can save the rest of us from this trashing of a basic American right to...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush hosted Opening Day of the White House Tee Ball season. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was today's Tee Ball Commissioner. Following is a transcript of the President's Remarks to open the season: THE PRESIDENT: Seth, thank you very much. Good job. Welcome to the South Lawn. Laura and I are thrilled you're here for opening day. It is an honor for me, and the Commissioner, General Pete Pace, to welcome you all here for what is going to be an exciting ball game between the Yankees...

Happy communities are all alike-- but every community threatened by eminent domain abuse (EDA) is different. Are political corruption and EDA joined at the hip in Jersey? Let's just say public use in Pay-2-Play Land is one mighty strange bird. Part 3 of a 4 part series focusing on eminent domain abuse in different locales .... Locations covered to date: Albany, New York, New London, Connecticut, Hoboken, New Jersey, Next up: the Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn, New York. A mammoth land grab launched by developer Forest City Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation-- one of the most powerful...

In recent memories, there have been many schoolyard tragedies ranging from Beslan massacre to Columbine shooting. This one is the worst schoolyard tragedy. New London, Texas, located in Rusk County, is the richest rural county in the nation because of oilfields throughout East Texas. This is in midst of the Great Depression grappling America. A new school is built which holds 500 students and 40 teachers. The school wanted to save money for natural gas bills, which cost $300, they tapped into natural gas straight from the field. It was odorless as a result. This peaceful and thriving town's world...

If the justice is so fond of eminent domain, say protesters, let's seize his ancestral property and develop a charming bed and breakfast on it.Weare, New HampshireLOGAN DARROW CLEMENTS doesn't seem like the sort of fellow who'd go around stealing the houses of Supreme Court justices. He's mild mannered and laughs easily, often at his own jokes. Physically he resembles a less creepy Ralph Reed: He looks like a 36-year-old altar boy whose mom made him scrub up and dress for dinner. An Ayn Rand devotee, he heads an objectivist discussion group back home in Los Angeles. A zippy evening...

The taking of people’s property by eminent domain in order to sell it to private developers is getting totally out of hand, and crying for justice. After the infamous Kelo vs. New London case was decided in favor of developers by the liberal majority on the Supreme Court, there was a spate of stories about how the US Congress and various states were enacting laws to counter this abysmal (and plainly unconstitutional) decision. It is becoming clear, however, that people’s rights (especially poor people) are being trampled on all over the country, and the only way to right this wrong...

If you read "New London, Washington DC" from October 8th, you know that I was more than a little upset with the 5-4 Kelo v. New London decision handed down by the US Supreme Court. In that post, I challenged you, my readers, to contact your congressmen (for all you liberal bedwetter politically correct fruitcakes out there, "congressmen" is a generic reference to both men and women who serve in the US Congress) and demand action. I started my own personal campaign by writing my Senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. Well, I received my response. Both of my senators...

Brookfield, Wisconsin Congressman James Sennsbrenner of Wisconsin explains why he introduced H.R, 4128 PROTECTING YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY Suppose Uncle Sam comes knocking at your door, bulldozer in tow, to inform you that your house must be surrendered in order for a strip mall to be built. He explains the new development will generate higher property tax revenue, which is for the good of the community. What would you do? Most people would slam the door. After all, Uncle Sam can't force Americans off their land merely for profit and increased tax revenue, right? Half-right. This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court...

The story has been on the back burner of the news agencies for several months now, but it's finally coming to a head. Let me give you the rundown: The owners of the Washington Nationals want a new baseball stadium in Washington DC. They chose a spot where they wanted to put it, and they made offers to purchase the land from the people who currently own the 21 acres they want. Ten of these landowners never responded to the offers, and of the remaining 13 landowners, many rejected the offers. In a free-market, "ownership society", as George W. Bush...

As of this writing, 30 states have taken up measures to limit the unconscionable land-grab power that the Kelo vs. New London Supreme Court decision gave to public agencies to take private property and transfer its ownership to other private parties. In Texas and Mississippi, effective legislation has been passed and approved, but in California, Democratic legislators have been successful in thwarting, so far, a measure that would protect both private individuals and businesses. The following article by Suzette Kelo, on her own experience that led to the Kelo vs. New London decision, appeared on September 20, 2005 in the...

Speaking to a bar association meeting in Las Vegas last week, United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens confessed that he thought one of his own recent opinions, though correct as a matter of law, was wrong as a matter of policy. Stevens authored the majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London, which upheld the forced sale of private homes to a commercial real estate developer. Yet he commented at the meeting that his constitutional judgment in that case was "entirely divorced from my judgment concerning the wisdom of the program."It seems that no one has...

"My trip to Weare, New Hampshire was a success on four fronts. First, I met Weare residents who formed a group to support the Lost Liberty Hotel project. Second, I met a local attorney who will help us with the legal issues involved. Third, I met a developer who is considering taking over this project so Freestar can start four similar developments. Fourth, I gave a speech outlining why the Lost Liberty Hotel Project is both an ethical and effective strategy to help stop eminent domain abuse. This project is helping keep eminent domain abuse in the news. Already, one...

By Liz Sidoti, The Associated PressEuropean edition, Thursday, August 25, 2005 J. Scott Applewhite / AP With fate of the Navy submarine base at New London, Conn., at stake, Anthony J. Principi, center, chairman of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, leads the vote to keep the Atlantic Coast sub facility, rejecting the Department of Defense recommendation for closure, during the BRAC hearing in Arlington, Va., Wednesday. The verdict ... Stars and StripesThe nine-member Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted Wednesday to shutter major Army bases in Georgia and Michigan, and to close nearly 400 Army Reserve and National Guard...

WASHINGTON -- A Georgia congressman on Tuesday accused former President Jimmy Carter of going against his home state at a critical time for a Georgia naval base trying to land several submarines from Connecticut. Rep. Jack Kingston, a Republican who represents southeast Georgia, complained that the letter Carter sent last week to the chairman of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission could be devastating to Kings Bay because of his clout. In the letter, Carter warns of an "adverse economic impact" should the Groton, Conn., base be closed, as the Pentagon is recommending. On Wednesday, the independent Base Closure and...

(Washington-AP, Aug. 22, 2005 12:05 PM) _ The Supreme Court, given a chance to revisit a heavily criticized ruling, refused Monday to reconsider its decision giving local governments more power to seize people's homes for economic development. So contentious was the court's narrow 5-4 ruling in the so-called eminent domain case earlier this year that some critics launched a campaign to seize Justice David Souter's farmhouse in New Hampshire to build a luxury hotel. Others singled out Justice Stephen Breyer's vacation home in the same state for use as a park. Both Souter and Breyer voted on the prevailing side....

Transforming New London From National Disgrace To National Hero The city and NLDC can have development in Fort Trumbull while letting homeowners, who have shown what it means to be American freedom fighters, stay. There is more land in Fort Trumbull for development than New York has to rebuild the World Trade Center. By SCOTT BULLOCK Published on 7/20/2005 It is ironic that an editorial calling for less heated and “inflammatory” rhetoric about the Fort Trumbull eminent domain controversy accuses the Institute for Justice of waging a “jihad” about eminent-domain abuse. (“Needed: Light, not Heat,” July 17.) That epithet should...

By KATE MORAN Day Staff Writer, New London Published on 7/19/2005 New London — However improbable their chance for success, attorneys at the Institute for Justice asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reconsider the decision in the Kelo v. New London case that allows the city to take private property in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood to make way for a huge new development. In the three weeks since the court handed down its decision, the Institute for Justice has pressed local and state leaders to conserve the dozen houses and single apartment building the city has planned to...

Homeowners in New London, Connecticut got a temporary reprieve last week when state legislators declared a moratorium on takings of private property while they consider how to revise the law on eminent domain. The state assembly could meet in special session as early as this month. Call it the Kelo effect. A few weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling in Kelo v. New London that local governments have more or less unlimited power to seize private property, Connecticuters aren't the only citizens who want to make sure they can't be evicted from homes and businesses in order to make way...

In the true spirit of America’s Independence Day, the 4th of July saw battle joined as homeowners, concerned citizens and upholders of the American constitution from all sides of the political spectrum joined forces to defend the now threatened 5th amendment and to protect hard-earned property from municipal governments recently accorded sweeping new powers of eminent domain. ... Hathcock summed up the feelings of many Americans made painfully aware of eminent domain when he said "I just cannot imagine how we can give such a broad brush of power to local, municipal government." Meanwhile, conservative activists at the Free Republic...

In the true spirit of America’s Independence Day, the 4th of July saw battle joined as homeowners, concerned citizens and upholders of the American constitution from all sides of the political spectrum joined forces to defend the now threatened 5th amendment and to protect hard-earned property from municipal governments recently accorded sweeping new powers of eminent domain. ... For many Americans, the damage done and threatened by the decision is as much symbolic as anything else. The decision violates the spirit of the constitution, designed to protects the rights and freedoms (including the right to property) of Americans, effectively nullifying...

Second Thoughts on Kelo A proper understanding of property rights suggests that the Kelo decision wasn't so bad after all. by John Hinderaker 07/05/2005 12:00:00 AM THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION in Kelo v. City of New London has sparked a great deal of comment, most of it critical. Conservatives, in particular, have denounced Kelo's holding that economic development projects are a "public use" that municipalities and other government units can use eminent domain to carry out. George Will's analysis was representative: The question answered yesterday was: Can government profit by seizing the property of people of modest means and giving...

Washington, D.C.--Unfortunately, the dreadful Kelo v. City of New London ruling isn’t the only nightmare facing property owners this summer, the American Policy Center (APC) reported today. According to draft language obtained by the Center, the "Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005" (TESRA 2005) is a major sellout to property rights advocates nationwide. Appropriately, the Center has dubbed the bill "Kelo II." "I can’t believe what I’m looking at," said APC president Tom DeWeese referring to the draft language. "Just as the Supreme Court’s decision on Kelo has strengthened local governments’ ability to run roughshod over the Fifth...

Featured in Letters to The Editor Fort Trumbull Just Beginning The Fight Published on 7/6/2005 Letters To The Editor: I am writing about the editorial titled “It's time to move ahead,” published June 26. You have got to be kidding if you think for one minute your words of nonsense could change the way we feel about our homes. Do you think because you can choose to stop printing the opinions of the people from all over this country that the Fort Trumbull residents are going to go away? Do you think because you write words about compensation that that...

"We're not here because mom and dad are supporting us while we write our thesis on what's wrong with the country. We're middle class Americans who have jobs to go to and families to support and we care very deeply about this.” Ted Whittenkraus of Wells, Maine, who was taking part in Tuesday's eminent domain protest in New London By KENTON ROBINSON Day Staff Columnist, Enterprise Reporter/Columnist Published on 7/6/2005 New London — More than 300 protesters from as far away as Maine and New Jersey packed the steps of City Hall and spilled onto State Street Tuesday to voice...

Protesters Target Eminent Domain Scores rally against ‘injustice' of events in New London case Buy this Photo Protesters gather on the front steps of New London City Hall at a rally organized by the Institute for Justice on Tuesday, designed to show support for the residents of the Fort Trumbull neighborhood affected by the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain, which sided with the city. "There is no amount of money that could replace our homes and our memories. This is where we chose to settle, and this is where we want to stay. This is America, the home...

Well over 500 attended, and the amount of flags (including many 'Don't Tread on Me' flags) and protest signs was incredible. People from at least a dozen states showed, Texas was the farthest I heard of, and yes the Freepers were there. The funny thing is, Freepers look just like everyone else, so it is hard to pick them out, except when the signs they were holding identify them as such (see some of the other FR postings for photos). A great time was had by all, including the opportunity to let the evil New London city councilors know what...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The top Republican in the state House of Representatives gathered support Tuesday for a bill that would ban eminent domain for economic development projects. House Minority Leader Robert Ward, R-North Branford, collected about two dozen signatures from House members, including Republicans and some Democrats. All of them support voting on the legislation during a possible summer session planned in the coming weeks to consider bills vetoed by the governor. ... Fort Trumbull residents and their supporters rallied Tuesday at New London's city hall to call attention to their case. About 300 protesters, from as far away as...

Hundreds of folks turned out on the steps of New London's city hall to support the property owners in imminent danger of losing their homes to eminent domain. The crowd numbered in the hundreds, at least, and they and we were a boisterous lot with the favorite chant being, "LET THEM STAY". I would have changed it to "Tar and Feather Justice Souter and the 4 Theives" but I was overruled. At any rate it had a certain flavor of the 60's with an elderly folk guitarist writing and playing a song supporting property rights. I loved it. LOL A...

NEW LONDON, Conn. ...homeowners and New London officials are now turning their attention to the monetary value of houses and property being taken .... real estate prices have escalated in five years and Kelo and her neighbors will not profit from the increased value of their homes.... State law requires governments to compensate owners on the date of the taking, not its value in the current market. New London has technically owned the houses since 2000.... Because the city has technically owned the houses since 2000, its lawyers believe residents were living in the houses as tenants free of charge...

With Justice Sandra Day O'Connor gone from the Supreme Court, choosing her successor is NOT the most important task before us. More critical is reducing the damage a clueless and arrogant Court can do. Thankfully, there are signs that America is moving toward a new declaration of independence. The Court unleashed its latest shocker on June 23. In a 5-4 decision called Kelo vs. New London, the Court declared that it's okay for the government to seize your house just for the purpose of giving it to someone else. [snip] Only Congress is authorized to make laws or spend money....

Put yourself in the homeowner’s shoes. You buy a home for your family. Perhaps it’s even handed down from your father or grandfather. It’s a place you can afford in a neighborhood you like. The children have made friends. You intend to stay for the rest of your life. As you plant your garden, landscape the yard, put up a swing set for the kids, and mold your land into a home, unknown to you, certain city officials are meeting around a table with developers. In front of them are maps, plats and photographs — of your home. They talk...

The Supreme Court’s decision on Kelo vs. City of New London, erases the principle of private property from 200 years of American history. There can be no question that the founders intended private property to be secure from the arbitrary reach of government. The Constitution sets forth the legitimate purposes for which the government may own property (Article I, Section 8), and it stipulates the process by which private property must be acquired. Moreover, the Fifth Amendment requires that just compensation be paid, when private property is taken for public use. The key term here is "public use." Writing for...

The U.S. Supreme Court's Holding in Kelo v. City of New London: An Interview that Reveals an Insider's Perspective By JOHN W. DEAN ---- Friday, Jul. 01, 2005 On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a closely-watched 5-4 decision, found it constitutional, under the Takings Clause, for the State of Connecticut, and the city of New London, to condemn fifteen homes, owned by seven families, for "economic development." Although the owners had urged the Court to hold that the condemnation was not for "public use," as the Takings Clause requires, the Court held otherwise - and allowed the condemnation...

The New York Times welcomed the Supreme Court's recent endorsement of virtually unfettered eminent domain powers as "a setback to the 'property rights' movement." The fact that the Times not only celebrated a defeat for property rights but felt a need to put the phrase in scare quotes speaks volumes about the left-liberal misconceptions that have been brought to the fore by the Court's decision in Kelo v. New London. According to the Court, the Fifth Amendment, which allows the government to take property "for public use" provided it pays "just compensation," is a license to transfer any parcel of...

WEARE — Even as late as yesterday afternoon, residents here were scratching their heads over the commotion a one-page fax from thousands of miles away had caused Tuesday. "We're trying to collect taxes, not answering phones," said town clerk Evelyn Connor about what she said was a distraction from today's tax collection deadline. By yesterday afternoon, at least 50 different media outlets had called looking for comment. "We're too busy for this," she said, shaking her head. The commotion began yesterday when a fax came for Chip Meany, the town's building code enforcement officer. The letter, sent by Logan Darrow...

Michael Cristofaro, one of the Connecticut homeowners on the losing end of the Supreme Court's recent decision allowing a city government to seize residents' property for a private development, says his family and the six others are not about to give up their fight. Michael Cristofaro "If all fails, we'll chain ourselves to our houses," Cristofaro told "Joseph Farah's WorldNetDaily RadioActive." "They'll have to rip us apart from it. We'll fight them tooth and nail." Cristofaro's family has lived in New London, Conn., for 43 years, but the 5-4 ruling last week allows the city to push ahead with its...

This week, the Supreme Court of the United States once again proved that it is a feckless, dictatorial and altogether ridiculous body. Its latest spate of decisions reveals legislative usurpation, disingenuous deference and silly inconsistency. But, of course, what else should we expect from the court that tells us our Constitution protects pornography but not political advertising, sodomy but not the Ten Commandments, and mentally disabled murderers but not private property? For those disinterested enough not to gasp in horror at each new judicial outrage, it is fascinating to watch as the Supreme Court gradually turns the Constitution on its...

Last week's U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling in Kelo v. New London helps explain the socialist attack on President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. First, let's look at the case. The city government of New London, Conn., has run upon hard times, with residents leaving and its tax base eroding. Private developers offered to build a riverfront hotel, private offices and a health club in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. But there was a bit of a problem. Owners of 15 homes in the stable middle-class Fort Trumbull neighborhood refused the city's offer to buy their homes, but no sweat....

Rally In New London The rally is going to happen! Fred Paxton was kind enough to send me this:FORT (For Our Rights Today) is holding a RALLY on Tuesday, July 5 at 6PM on the steps of City Hall on State Street in New London. There is a Parking Garage on the corner behind City Hall. Scott Bullock, the lead attorney from the Institute of Justice who argued the Kelo v New London case in front of the Supreme Court will be present. We are hoping to have a few other interesting speakers. Please do everything you can to be...

Major Announcement on Eminent Domain Abuse TIME/DATE: 10 a.m./Wednesday, June 29, 2005 PLACE: National Press Club, Zenger Room 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor Washington, DC PARTICIPANTS: * Scott Bullock, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice * Dana Berliner, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice * Property Owners Who Stand to Lose Their Homes & Businesses Less than one week after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Kelo decision allowing governments to take property from the rightful owner only to hand it over to another private party for his or her private gain, the Institute for Justice, which represented homeowners in the...