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November 26, 2006
At Least Some Have Property Rights
Some think the abominable Kelo decision — which allowed the government to seize property from one private owner and give to another for the sake of increasing tax revenues — meant that Americans no longer enjoy basic property rights. But this is not so; some Americans enjoy such extensive property rights that their property is inviolate, even when they leave it on land they don't own — namely, derelicts in Fresno, California.
U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger has ruled that the city's attempts to prevent itself from degenerating into a cross between a zombie movie and a leper colony by cleaning up hobo encampments must be put on hold while a lawsuit slowly seeps through the legal system.
The ACLU and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights are behind the suit, which aims to punish police and sanitation workers for cleaning up bums' garbage. No longer may squatters encampments be bulldozed so that the public can make use of its land. As America takes another step in the direction of Third-World status, Maria Foscarinis of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty crows:
This is very significant in protecting not just the rights of homeless people in Fresno, but nationally. It's the court saying, "Yes, there are legal rights, constitutional rights that are at issue here and this case needs to go forward."
An attorney for Fresno notes that the city doesn't have the space, money, or manpower to log and store all the garbage bums leave lying around. City officials add that squatter settlements are nuisances, safety hazards, and hotbeds of crime. As Captain Greg Garner testified:
We see evidence of drug use, we see human feces, we see other materials that we would be concerned about. If someone says this is my property, they're allowed to keep it.
To bad we can't all say the same.
On a tip from V the K.
Posted by Van Helsing at November 26, 2006 11:16 AM
Comments
The "Left Turn Only" Sign is a nice touch. (Thanks for the Tip).
Posted by: V the K at November 26, 2006 2:14 PM
Botox Bolshevik Nancy Pelosi on Government Confiscation of Private Property for Tax Enhancement:
Q Could you talk about (the Kelo) decision? What you think of it?
Ms. Pelosi. It is a decision of the Supreme Court. If Congress wants to change it, it will require legislation of a level of a constitutional amendment. So this is almost as if God has spoken. It's an elementary discussion now. They have made the decision.
Q Do you think it is appropriate for municipalities to be able to use eminent domain to take land for economic development?
Ms. Pelosi. The Supreme Court has decided, knowing the particulars of this case, that that was appropriate, and so I would support that.
Posted by: V the K at November 26, 2006 5:51 PM
Let them come back and remove their feces.
Posted by: chsw10605 at November 27, 2006 12:01 PM
