Property Rights/Kelo:

Nagin's Failures: Perspective, September 07, 2005
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's failure to evacuate tens of thousands of his city's poorest residents by using the hundreds of school and transit buses available before Hurricane Katrina is - finally - drawing a growing amount of scrutiny in the media....

Is Bredesen Unconcerned About Private Property Rights Post-Kelo?, August 28, 2005
In the wake of the Supreme Court's Kelo decision that greatly undermined private property rights in America, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt created the Missouri Task Force on Eminent Domain to evaluate the state's eminent domain laws and making initial recommendations regarding suggested changes and improvements to the law - and the task force put up a website so the public could be involved in the task force's work. Government Technology magazine reports that the new...

Campfield: Kelo "plants seeds of insecurity, doubt", August 18, 2005
State Rep. Stacey Campbell had a column published in the Knoxville News Sentinel recently regarding the Supreme Court's Kelo decision and legislation he proposed last year - before Kelo - to stop governmental abuse of its eminent domain power. The column is reproduced here on his blog and it is a must-read. Here's an excerpt:Our forefathers risked everything to embark upon a bold experiment that would leave the lords and serfs of a feudal system...

A Positive Development?, August 16, 2005
Via Cranium.net I find this: The city of New London, Connecticut, isn't satisfied with just winning the Kelo case and the right to take seven homes by eminent domain for the purpose of giving them to a private developer - it wants the homeowners to pay five years' worth of back rent to the city because, the city contends, it has actually owned the homes since it began eminent domain proceedings nearly five years ago....

Bryant On Justice Sunday, Kelo and the Main Reason He Ought to Be Tennessee's Next U.S. Senator, August 15, 2005
I had a chance to talk to former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, who is now running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, after Justice Sunday 2 yesterday, and had the presence of mind to pull out my little pocket digital audio recorder and capture part of the conversation. I've owned that little Sony recorder for half a year and carried it with me a lot but never remember to use it. At any rate, here...

Bredesen Continues Silence on Kelo Ruling, August 12, 2005
John Emison of Knoxville-based Citizens for Home Rule emails that Gov. Phil Bredesen continues to ignore a letter seeking a statement on the governor's position on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London. Emison writes......

Bredesen Silent on Kelo Ruling; Governor Making No Moves to Protect Private Property Rights in Tennessee, August 03, 2005
NASHVILLE - States across the country are rushing to pass laws to counter the potential impact of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that allows state and local governments to seize homes for private development, reports USA Today. South of Tennessee, the legislature was called into special session to pass legislation the specifically state, cities and counties from taking private property for retail, office, commercial, industrial or residential development. Gov. Bob Riley signed the...

Confusing the Issue, July 31, 2005
I can't tell if Larry Daughtrey is for or against the Supreme Court's recent decision in Kelo v. New London, but it's rather obvious from The Tennessean columnist's latest commentary that he doesn't fully understand the decision. If he did, he wouldn't write a sentence like this:In essence the court upheld the status quo since it said states and cities can use eminent domain however they wish.No, Kelo most certainly did not uphold the status...

Sponge Bob, July 29, 2005
Chattanooga Pulse, that city's alt-weekly paper, has put Senate candidate Bob Corker on its cover this week. Well, sort of......

Why Corker Didn't Immediately Criticize Kelo, July 20, 2005
State Rep. Chris Clem, R-Lookout Mountain, provides some insight into why U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker may have decided to speak out against the Supreme Court's recent Kelo decision, which granted government the power to take private property for any reason it desires, and give it to another private owner. Clem writes:Bob Corker's recent comment on the Kelo decision may have had something to do with events in Chattanooga on Monday, July 18th. Ed Bryant...

Corker Speaks Out - Finally - on the Kelo Decision, July 20, 2005
Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, running for the U.S. Senate, has - finally - revealed his view on the controversial Supreme Court decision in Kelo v New London which effectively gutted 200-plus years of constitutional protection of private property rights in America. But not to BillHobbs.com, which has repeatedly emailed Corker to invite him to address Kelo on this site as every other candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee has already done. Corker responded...

Kelo Ripples, July 19, 2005
The Nashville City Paper reports on moves in the Tennessee legislature to restrict government's power to seize private property, powers that were greatly expanded three weeks ago by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Kelo decision, which essentially said governments could take private property for any reason....

Why is Corker Silent on the Kelo Decision?, July 13, 2005
One of the current mysteries of the campaign in Tennessee for the 2006 election to the U.S. Senate is why GOP candidate Bob Corker - former mayor of Chattanooga and a wealthy real estate developer - has said nothing publicly about the controversial decision handed down three weeks ago by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Kelo v. New London. That decision, you may recall, gave government the right to take property from one...

Corker Silent on Kelo, July 12, 2005
Nearly three weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Kelo v. New London granting state and local governments the right to take private property and give it to another owner for any reason at all, former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker has remained publicly silent on the issue....

Actions Speak Louder Than Words, July 12, 2005
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. says he supports private property ownership rights - but his votes and record as a congressman don't show it. The League of Private Property Voters, which monitors federal legislation affecting private property rights, consistently gives Ford very low marks. The LPPV reports that Ford supported the interests of the League of Private Property Voters 13 percent of the time in 2000, 17 percent of the time in 2001-2002, and 17...

Ford Responds on Kelo Questions, July 12, 2005
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr, D-Memphis, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, has answered the six questions I posed on June 23 regarding the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London. I posed the six questions on this blog and also in an email to all six candidates running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, promising to post their responses verbatim. Ford's respond is virtually identical to his op-ed published a...

Harold Ford Casts A Vote Against Civil Rights, July 11, 2005
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Kelo v. New London, giving government the right to take private property and give it to another private owner, such as a real estate developer, for any reason - even if the property is not "blighted" - has done something rather amazing: It has made allies of stalwart liberal U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, and staunch conservatives in Congress. The Wall Street Journal reports:In 1954 the Supreme Court...

Ford Backpedals on Kelo Praise, July 10, 2005
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. appears to be backtracking on his statement that the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London - which is widely viewed as eviscerating private property rights in America - was a "positive" decision. In an op-ed published in Saturday's Chattanooga Times-Free Press, Ford - who praised Kelo two weeks ago during a Nashville radio show - now says the decision went "too far." Ford submitted the op-ed in response...

Ford Jr.'s Colleagues "Stunned" By His Approval of Kelo Decision Allowing Goverment to Take Your Property and Give It To Someone Else, July 10, 2005
Columnist Robert Novak reports that U.S. Rep. Harold Ford's Jr.'s endorsement of the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London "stunned" his Congressional colleagues. Ford, D-Memphis, currently running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, praised Kelo, which gives government virtually unlimited power to take private property and transfer it to another owner such as a private real estate developer for any reason, as a "positive" decision. Four other candidates running for the U.S. Senate...

Corked, July 06, 2005
It's been almost two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Kelo v. New London that has made it possible for your local government to take your private property - your home or your business or your church - and give it to a developer who will build something that will generate more tax dollars. The day that ruling came out I posted a list of questions and emailed those questions...

Harold Ford Jr. Votes Against Private Property Rights Protection, July 01, 2005
The Washington Post reports that the U.S.House of Representatives approved legislation yesterday expanding protections for private property owners against government use of eminent domain powers to seize private property.The House voted yesterday to use the spending power of Congress to undermine a Supreme Court ruling allowing local governments to force the sale of private property for economic development purposes. Key members of the House and Senate vowed to take even broader steps soon. Last week's...

Harwell Issues Statement on Kelo, June 30, 2005
Tennessee State Rep. Beth Harwell, a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Bill Frist at the end of 2006, has issued a brief statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London eviscerating private property rights in America....

Protecting Church From State, June 28, 2005
Bob Krumm, soon to be added to my blogroll, has some suggestions for a post-Kelo amendment to the state constitution. It's pretty good. I'd add a provision that bars state or local governments from ever using eminent domain to seize any church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other religiously-affiliated property (such as a church-run school or charitable mission) for any reason. The Kelo decision empowers government to seize property and give it to another owner solely...

Post-Kelo: Churches Are Especially Vulnerable, June 28, 2005
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London, houses of worship - churches, synagogues, temples and mosques - may be most at risk of government seizure, warns Donald Sensing......

Cornwall: Kelo "a sad day for economic freedom.", June 27, 2005
Entrepreneurship professor Jeff Cornwall calls the Kelo decision "a sad day for the economic freedom of both the small businesses and the individual citizens of America." Cornwall, professor of management and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship , and also a blogger, writes:I remember how angry I felt the day that the city of Richfield, MN announced that they would move to condemn people's houses and small businesses to allow Best Buy to build a...

Harold Ford Jr. Calls Kelo Decision "A Positive", June 27, 2005
Harold Ford Jr., a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, has endorsed the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London, allowing local governments to seize provate property and give it to another private owner for purposes of econonmic development and to increase the government's tax revenue. Blogging for Bryant has Ford's quote:"I've always believed individual rights are a big thing..... but, I find value in the court's decision. As long as people...

Kurita Responds on Kelo Questions, June 27, 2005
Tennessee state Rep. Rosalind Kurita, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, has answered the six questions I posed Thursday regarding the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London. I posed the six questions on this blog and also in an email to all six candidates running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, promising to post their responses verbatim. Kurita chose to respond to all six questions in the form of a...

Campfield on Kelo, June 26, 2005
State Rep. Stacey Campfield, Tennessee's first blogging legislator, has some very good thoughts about private property rights and the Kelo v. New London decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday. Campfield is proposing legislation to reign in abuse of "eminent domain" powers by state and local governments in Tennessee. You can read all about it here....

Kelo Update, June 26, 2005
Blake Wylie has a very good post on the erosion of private property rights in America and the Supreme Court's atrocious ruling last week in Kelo v. New London. Asks Wylie, "Would you be calm if you finally woke up one day and realized you were no longer free?" No....

Bryant Responds on Kelo Questions, June 24, 2005
Former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, has answered the six questions I posed Thursday regarding the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London. I posed the six questions on this blog and also in an email to all six candidates running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, promising to post their responses verbatim. Bryant chose to respond to all six questions in the form of a...

Hilleary Responds on Kelo Questions, June 24, 2005
Former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, has answered the six questions I posed Thursday regarding the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London. I posed the six questions on this blog and also in an email to all six candidates running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, promising to post their responses verbatim. Hilleary chose to respond to the six questions in Q&A format. Here is...

Bryant Campaign Responds on Kelo Decision, June 23, 2005
Jeff Vanness of the Ed Bryant for U.S. Senate campaign sent the following email regarding Bryant and today's atrocious Kelo deicison eviscerating private-property rights.Folks, Something a little more official from Ed is coming on the Supreme Court's ruling today but here are my thoughts in the meantime and a reminder of an endorsement Ed earned in 2002. The Supreme Court's ruling today on private property rights undercores the need to elect a proven, solid conservative...

Questions for the Senate Candidates, June 23, 2005
Currently in Tennessee there are five declared candidates and one undeclared candidate for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated after 2006 by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. They include four Republicans - wealthy former real estate developer Bob Corker, who as Mayor of Chattanooga was involved in redeveloping that city's waterfront; former U.S. Representative and constitutional law scholar Ed Bryant; former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary; and current state Rep. Beth Harwell - and...

You Have The Right To Kiss Your Rights Goodbye, June 23, 2005
Private property rights in American are dead, killed by the five most liberal justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. Blake Wylie, who rightly calls the court's ruling "a national tragedy," has numerous links. I've indicated in the past that I might back Colorado Gov. Bill Ownens or Condi Rice for president in 2008. Scrap all that. I'll be backing the most libertarian candidate for the nomination. And if the Republican Party wants to hold power...