Free Republic

The real toxic assets on Wall Street are the people who run Wall Street. Their boundless recklessness and their grotesque desire to be enriched for that recklessness are what have brought this country to its current sorry state. Some think the wolves of Wall Street don't get it. Some think they are out of touch with ordinary Americans, who work hard and play by the rules and don't understand such naked greed. But the wolves do get it. That's the problem. They get it just fine. Because the way the system is set up, they cannot lose. If you are...

Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of "an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs." Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies...

Who’s going to duck and cover on the Second Amendment debate that’s really getting wound up since the Supreme Court of the United States decided to rule on District of Columbia vs. Heller, or more commonly known as the D.C. Gun Ban? It seems that the republican candidates are getting involved and are at least letting voters know how they interpret the Second Amendment. The democrats seems mum on the issue, maybe because they know that gun rights can be politically deadly. The debate hitting all the media outlets still seems to be on the interpretation of “A well-regulated militia...

Jose Goitia for The New York Times A tourist looked at Che Guevara post cards for sale in in Sanata Clara, Cuba. Jose Goitia for The New York Times Raúl Castro with Aleida Guevara March, right, daughter of Che Guevara, and Aleida March, center, Che’s widow, at a ceremony Monday for the 40th anniversary of Che’s death. SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Oct. 8 — Aleida Guevara March, the 46-year-old daughter of Che Guevara, says she can bear the Che T-shirts, the Che keychains, the Che postcards and Che paintings sold all over Cuba, not to mention the world. At least...

Declaring immigration reform a national-security and “defining” issue, Sen. Edward Kennedy yesterday vowed that supporters will resume their push for a controversial bill later this week in the Senate. Kennedy, speaking at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Park Plaza Hotel, denounced “naysayers” of the comprehensive bill that has drawn criticism from both sides of the political spectrum for either being too lax or too tough toward illegal immigrants. “I think that this issue is sort of the defining issue for our country,” Kennedy said. The American people will probably come around to appreciate the bill’s virtues,...

The Inside Story On What's Happening With The Senate Immigration Bill Yesterday, a GOP aide, who is one of my sources in the Senate, gave me the rundown on what's happening with the Senate immigration bill (this is the same person who I talked to last week about the bill). First off, it does look like the Senate immigration bill is coming back. The conventional wisdom seems to be that it's going to be brought up right before the July 4th break, so that the Senate Republican leadership can try to use that as leverage to get votes (in other...

Reflection.. on all men being created equal. I want to preface this note with one disclaimer... this is in no way, shape or form yet another George W. Bush justification. This clearly comes from the mind of markbureau! I was walking down Peachtree Street in Atlanta today (I am still there, by the way) coming from the Credit Union heading for a bite to eat when this, for lack of a better term, toothless, filthy bum approached me and just shouted .... "End the War, Stamp out Bush".

In honor of Bastille Day, I have decided to dedicate this column to that proverbial fly in the world's ointment, France. I suppose "honor" is the wrong word to use. Bastille Day signified the birth of le republique and the beginning of the end of le ancien regime, which wasn't necessarily a good thing for France or the rest of Europe. While this commentary is going to seem harsh, I would like to say that I am quite proud of my French heritage. France was the home of my paternal ancestors, though it was a very different place when Jean-Baptiste...

Institute for Justice Property Rights Cases: New London, CT Back to page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homeowners Lose Eminent Domain Case Institute for Justice Warns: Supreme Court Leaves Homeowners Vulnerable To Tax-Hungry Bureaucrats & Land-Hungry Developers WEB RELEASE: June 23, 2005 CONTACT: John Kramer (202) 955-1300 [Private Property] Susette Kelo: "I was in this battle to save my home and, in the process, protect the rights of working class homeowners throughout the country. I am very disappointed that the Court sided with powerful government and business interests." Scott Bullock: “With today’s ruling, the poor and middle class will be most vulnerable to eminent...

A holdout in a developer's bid to acquire property for a shopping center is having her day in court. A hearing on whether the city has the right to take the home of June Thompson by eminent domain was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon before St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Timothy Wilson.

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=17162 Utah Bans Eminent Domain Use by Redevelopment Agencies Written By: Henry Lamb Published In: Environment News Publication Date: June 1, 2005 Publisher: The Heartland Institute Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) on March 17 signed into law Senate Bill 184, effectively preventing the exercise of eminent domain authority by redevelopment agencies, which otherwise had the power to transfer land from one private entity to another. Local governments may still use eminent domain for more traditionally defined and understood "public purposes." First State Legislature to Act Utah appears to be the first state to take legislative action to curb the...

Kennedy's Vast Domain June 24, 2005; Page A12 The Supreme Court's "liberal" wing has a reputation in some circles as a guardian of the little guy and a protector of civil liberties. That deserves reconsideration in light of yesterday's decision in Kelo v. City of New London. The Court's four liberals (Justices Stevens, Breyer, Souter and Ginsburg) combined with the protean Anthony Kennedy to rule that local governments have more or less unlimited authority to seize homes and businesses. CUT CUT So, in just two weeks, the Supreme Court has rendered two major decisions on the limits of government. In...

I cannot remember being more dismayed at a court ruling, and this includes the occasional ruling against me when I was practicing law. What ruling? Just in case you don't already know, the United States Supreme Court yesterday issued a ruling that goes a long way toward destroying private property rights in this country. Background. The Fifth Amendment to our Constitution restricts the government's right of eminent domain. It does not, as I heard so many commentators say yesterday, grant a right of eminent domain, it restricts it. The right of eminent domain was assumed as a basic part of...

<p>The country is bracing for a bruising battle over filling a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, a battle in which conservatives will praise "judicial restraint" and "deference" to popularly elected branches of government and liberals will praise judicial activism in defense of individual rights. But consider what the court did Thursday.</p>

I wrote a book a few years ago about property rights. It was called, "This Land Is Our Land." I didn't think of it as an optimistic book at the time. But after yesterday's chilling U.S. Supreme Court ruling that government can seize our property against our will for no other reason than it capriciously chooses to do so, the title is certainly no longer accurate. We do not own our property any more in America. Imagine the home you own – the one you scrimped and saved your entire life to purchase, the one you planned on living in...

I am not the vanity posting type, nor am I usually an alarmist but this latest USSC ruling taking away our private property rights for increasted tax revenue... it is impossible to put into words the impact this is going to have on our country. One area I'm interested in getting feedback on is that of Religious organizations and property tax. Obvouisly states can choose on their own to tax religious organizations if that is what they really wanted -- but that would probably not go over well as a state wide issue. But now, with eminent domain expanded, local...

Today, June 23, 2005, the Supreme Court totally defied history, abdicated their duty to insure justice, ignored our Constitution and trashed the rights of We the People by depriving us of our right to private ownership of property.

Beginning his oral argument in Kelo v. City of New London, the Connecticut eminent-domain case the Supreme Court took up last week, Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice puts the stakes bluntly: “Every home, church, or corner store would produce more jobs and tax revenue if it were a Costco or a shopping mall,” he says. If state and local governments can force a property owner to surrender his land so it can be given to a new owner who will put it to more lucrative use, no home or shop in America will ever be safe again. That’s...

Beatrice Lambert, a 63-year-old legal secretary, worries about losing her cats, Tinkerbell and Abigail, and the garden she dedicated to her late son, if she's forced to sell the mobile home she's lived in for 20 years. Joe Depamphilis, a 39-year-old handyman with a failing kidney and an ailing mother, is concerned he won't find affordable storage space for the tools he has amassed over two decades. "We're worried about losing a way of life," said Lambert, a resident of Brown's Trailer Court. "We put down our roots here," Depamphilis said. What Lambert and Depamphilis see as home, borough officials...

U.S. Supreme Court says cities have broad powers to take property.