Monday, October 31, 2011

Christiansen's Comments From Hinds County Gazette 10/27/2011

Think on this…

It is recess time and a class room of 4th graders are on the play ground, there are three swings and three children are occupying the swings. …..one of the children decides he wants to have the other children’s swings…so he takes them. Is that appropriate behavior?

You know, the older I get the less politically opinionated I have become. Honestly, I can’t keep up with the politics and the ins and outs of government. Truth , seems to me is not only the “first causality of war” Truth appears to me, is also a causality in political affairs and government dealings. Maybe there is not so much out and out lying , as omitting of vital details.

We The People were lead to believe things were rocking along just fine back in 2007…then we woke up one morning the stock market was taking a nose-dive, mortgage companies and Banks were in serious trouble, the housing market was collapsing, 401 Ks had lost billions and folks retirement investments were in serious jeopardy. And the bail outs began …we are still reeling from all of that.

Why did we not see that coming…I have come to believe crucial details were left out all along the way…by government, banks, Wall Street. The news media at one time did a better job of keeping us in the loop….but bless their hearts ….they have all “news” they can handle just trying to keep up with Charlie, Lindsey, Brittney, Paris and all those other celebs….OH! OH! And who might be getting kicked off of Dancing with the Stars, they keep us in that loop.

So anyway, I some years back made the decision I would no longer watch the news…because it made me angry and there was nothing I could do. In fact by the time the public becomes aware of the bizarre happenings out there in the world of government and high finance…it is already in catastrophe stage…too massive for me, bear of little brain, to do anything about. So I became a more or less isolationist …. I made this decision, where politics were concerned, I would mind my own business and stick my nose into nothing except what effects this hill.

So now then about Initiative 31 that will be on our ballots November 8.…Initiative 31, involves us all, it deals with eminent domain ….the government can acquire land from folks for the good of all…roads, schools, utilities all such as that …..anyway that was the way it was until the 2005 supreme court ruling.

From.
About.com

July 2005

"In its 5-4 decision in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important, if very controversial, interpretation of the government's power of "eminent domain," or the power of the government to take land from property owners.


The power of eminent domain is granted to governmental bodies -- federal, state and local -- by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, under the simple phrase, "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." In simple terms, the government can take privately owned land, as long as the land will be used by the public and the owner is paid a fair price for the land, what the amendment calls, "just compensation."


Before Kelo v. City of New London, cities typically exercised their power of eminent domain to acquire property for facilities clearly intended for use by the public, like schools, freeways or bridges. While such eminent domain actions are often viewed as distasteful, they are generally accepted because of their overall benefit to the public.

The case of Kelo v. City of New London, however, involved a new trend among cities to use eminent domain to acquire land for the redevelopment or revitalization of depressed areas. Basically, the use of eminent domain for economic, rather than public purposes."

So back to the kid on the play ground that seized the swings, who took them from the children who were there first and swinging happily and turned the swings over to another party, not for the good of all the school’s children, but to his the friends.     Is that a nice way to play?

So then now I ask this, is it a nice thing to do for the government of Mississippi to be able invoke eminent domain and commandeer land from rightful owners, who do not want to sell their land and give it to someone else….not for the good of all but so those folks can profit? Would that a nice way to treat the citizens of Mississippi?

Initiative 31, does at least, keep the Government of Mississippi from selling or giving it away for ten years.

summary of the amendment reads as follows

Initiative #31 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to prohibit state and local government from taking private property by eminent domain and then conveying it to other persons or private businesses for a period of ten years after acquisition. Exceptions from the prohibition include drainage and levee facilities, roads, bridges, ports, airports, common carriers, and utilities. The prohibition would not apply in certain situations, including public nuisance, structures unfit for human habitation, or abandoned

property.[9]



Summary of the 2005 United States Supreme court decision. Read the last line if you read no other part of it.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005)[1] was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development. The case arose from the condemnation by New London, Connecticut, of privately owned real property so that it could be used as part of a comprehensive redevelopment plan which promised 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues. The Court held in a 5–4 decision that the general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified such redevelopment plans as a permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.


The city eventually agreed to move Susette Kelo's house to a new location and to pay substantial additional compensation to other homeowners. The redeveloper was unable to obtain financing and abandoned the redevelopment project, leaving the land as an empty lot,[2] which was eventually turned into a dump by the city."
At some point We the people must stop relinquishing our unalienable rights to the government,…I shall be voting “yes” on Initiative #31



Call if you need me

No comments:

Post a Comment