Eminent Domain - Government Strongarming

[El Queso]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/06/pa.memorial.dispute/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

This is actually a fairly un-detailed follow up to a more detailed story I'd read about a week or two ago related to this. I don't have time to go find the more detailed news, so anyone who is interested can do a search. But basically, the government is trying to force landholders near to the Pennsylvania crash site of UA 93 to sell their land to the government to make a memorial. Some of these people actually live there and their families have owned the land for generations.

You know, in principal the concept of Eminent Domain seems like something that is necessary "for the good of all." But this particular case shows how the government can abuse a good concept. It points to why government is made up of thugs and thieves and should be as small as absolutely possible. Big Brother is real and should scare the hell out of any reasoning person.

I mean, the people who fought with those hijackers on the plane were fighting for their lives AND the lives of other, free, Americans. Now the government wants to forcefully take land away from legitimate landowners to put up a memorial in their honor. In the middle of the country. If successful, crowds of people will flock, disrupting everyone who manages to maintain homesteads there.

This is just not right. I personally don't think that most of those people who fought against the terrorists would feel right about wanting the landowners to give up their land at gunpoint to remember them.

Do we have to build a memorial for everything that happens? Is there no other way to remember what happened on that day, in the three different palces where it happened, together? Without forcing people off their land?

[QuakHunter]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/06/pa.memorial.dispute/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

This is actually a fairly un-detailed follow up to a more detailed story I'd read about a week or two ago related to this. I don't have time to go find the more detailed news, so anyone who is interested can do a search. But basically, the government is trying to force landholders near to the Pennsylvania crash site of UA 93 to sell their land to the government to make a memorial. Some of these people actually live there and their families have owned the land for generations.

You know, in principal the concept of Eminent Domain seems like something that is necessary "for the good of all." But this particular case shows how the government can abuse a good concept. It points to why government is made up of thugs and thieves and should be as small as absolutely possible. Big Brother is real and should scare the hell out of any reasoning person.

I mean, the people who fought with those hijackers on the plane were fighting for their lives AND the lives of other, free, Americans. Now the government wants to forcefully take land away from legitimate landowners to put up a memorial in their honor. In the middle of the country. If successful, crowds of people will flock, disrupting everyone who manages to maintain homesteads there.

This is just not right. I personally don't think that most of those people who fought against the terrorists would feel right about wanting the landowners to give up their land at gunpoint to remember them.

Do we have to build a memorial for everything that happens? Is there no other way to remember what happened on that day, in the three different palces where it happened, together? Without forcing people off their land?9/11 and what happened outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania was both tragic and memorable. The people who overtook the terrorists are heroes and deserve to be remembered.

That being said, I don't believe it is proper, or in the interest of these heroes, to Butt Fuck the Constitution to put a piece of Granite up so we remember the event. To me it is akin to giving over a million dollars to each surviving family of the WTC victims in honor of their sacrifice and then we give about $6,000.00 to the widow and family of a Soldier who actually put his life in harm's way.

I'm not demeaning anybody's loss or sacrifice; I'll just leave it that if anybody needs to take someone's land to remember or honor what happened on 9/11 there are bigger problems around the bend with this vocal group of Memorial Supporters.

But then again lately I feel that if I say the sky is blue, I get told the sky is gray and it's raining. Under Obama it curiously smells like piss. Maybe I should take my free Golden Shower and quit complaining.

[Daddy Rulz]

9/11 and what happened outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania was both tragic and memorable. The people who overtook the terrorists are heroes and deserve to be remembered.

That being said, I don't believe it is proper, or in the interest of these heroes, to Butt Fuck the Constitution to put a piece of Granite up so we remember the event. To me it is akin to giving over a million dollars to each surviving family of the WTC victims in honor of their sacrifice and then we give about $6,000.00 to the widow and family of a Soldier who actually put his life in harm's way.

I'm not demeaning anybody's loss or sacrifice; I'll just leave it that if anybody needs to take someone's land to remember or honor what happened on 9/11 there are bigger problems around the bend with this vocal group of Memorial Supporters.

But then again lately I feel that if I say the sky is blue, I get told the sky is gray and it's raining. Under Obama it curiously smells like piss. Maybe I should take my free Golden Shower and quit complaining.The jet crashed 180 days into Bush's presidency yet you twist this into anti oboma rhetoric? They couldn't get this land for 7 years under Bush so now it's the Messiahs fault, what's up with that?

On another note, the people who own the land want WAY more than fair market value. They have known since the day after the jet crashed that somebody was going to want to build a memorial there and they want a truck load of money because, well, it's one of three spots on the planet that jets came down that day.

I'm not a big fan of the way eminant domain is being done these days at all. It used to be that it was for roads, schools, hospitals etc. Now there are communities where they are booting people off of land so it can be developed into a higher tax basis. These days if you're living on lake front property that used to be far outside of an expanding city but now is close enough due to growth to make development possible I would be worried. But these fuckers are different they're trying to cash in on a national tragity. I say fuckem, don't build the memorial then let them see what their land is worth.

I say fuck these idiots.

I agree with you about how we treat the families of our fallen, though I think that payment is 10k not 6k. It's an embaressment.

[QuakHunter]

The jet crashed 180 days into Bush's presidency yet you twist this into anti oboma rhetoric? They couldn't get this land for 7 years under Bush so now it's the Messiahs fault, what's up with that?Fucking the constitution is bad under any regime.

I just personally think Obama does not have the way to salvation. I don't think I twisted it anyway. Obama's actions are what twists anti-Obama rhetoric.

Glad we agree on the eminent domain issue and the way we treat our heroes.

Let the healing begin. Should we sing "We are the World"?