NFB- Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Actually, that's not correct. 5 republicans, 4 dems on the Supreme Court, one republican voted for this.

I don't know that I would call O'Conner a republican. Just like a lot of people wouldn't call Zell Miller a Democrat.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

All those state laws banning this practice may now be unconstitutional!

I wondered that too. In their ruling they said according to Boortz "They encouraged local jurisdictions to pass laws severely restricting these seizures." http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html That is confusing to me.

I remember last year a case in Daytona Beach where someone wanted to build a condo on the beach and the owners of the land didn't want to sell. I thought I remembered them having them forced to sell to the county under eminent domain. Does Florida have a law or not?

[Steel2686]

I don't know that I would call O'Conner a republican. Just like a lot of people wouldn't call Zell Miller a Democrat.

Very true. The thing about Zell Miller is he's an old school Democrat. They are a dying breed. He's not one of the post-JFK liberal Dems. The Democratic party used to stand for something. They didn't shift policy to appease the voters in swing states.

Don Imus has Miller on all the time. He's a great interview. He was on right before the elections, and he was telling Imus how several Democrats were "requesting" he change parties because the Democratic party had "evolved past him". I love how he refuses to do it. He thinks conservative, yet remains a Democrat.

[95TransAm]

Sorry, I'm going to be a bit off topic here but at the same time not that badly off topic......but it's a short rant.

To sum it up, a good friend of mine for many years now happens to be a more left winger on many issues....not all. I myself always preferred to be objective, take things on a case by case scenario, back the lesser of the two evils. In the end though, I usually tend to side more with conservatives.

So, I was having a political discussion on this exact topic yesterday. I explained how the justices that voted for it tend to be more democratic. He replied with that wasn't true, all justices cannot reveal what party they back and blah blah blah. He said that I needed to watch where I got my info, and that he learned all of this in his political science classes in college (he'll be a junior this fall).

So, what exactly do they teach in a political science course in college. Are people really that oblivious to realize what justices usually back what party. In a fairy tale world it would be all objective justices....but that's not the case. It's so very important to read between the lines (and the lies) when it comes to politics. I just couldn't believe that in a college course for people aspiring to be lawyers/politicians one day, that the teaching is so horrible. This has happened many times too, with points he brings up that he learned in class. I just cannot believe how biased some of these teachers are, or how much information they lack. It almost scares me that future leaders are being taught some of these things they are taught in school. I myself never have taken any political science course, but I read the paper, watch the news, see what's actually happening each and every day around us. I get my info based on facts that are actually happening. With no classes ever taken, I feel like I know more about the real world that what students who major in that study are being taught.....basically a fairly tale world.

Sorry, just had to vent....I just cannot believe how many people out there are so oblivious to something as simple as what justices are conservative, liberal, or "swingers" . There's just some people out there that I cannot stand having a political debate with, and that's pretty horrible if some of those people are actually majoring in that field of study!

[Dave M]

just remind him that if justices weren't republican, democrat, etc... there wouldn't be so much jockeying over the nominees and which president will select them. Same goes for any federal judge, not just supremes. they may not come out and physically support one party or another, but you can tell by their rulings where they lye in the conservative/liberal spectrum.

[95TransAm]

just remind him that if justices weren't republican, democrat, etc... there wouldn't be so much jockeying over the nominees and which president will select them. Same goes for any federal judge, not just supremes. they may not come out and physically support one party or another, but you can tell by their rulings where they lye in the conservative/liberal spectrum.

All very good points....all things I've brought up as well. I can stand someone opposing my view....one of the many reasons why I do love this country. I just can't stand when I constantly hear "Well, I learned in political science...." and it's nothing but biased information. It just makes me wonder what exactly is being taught in some of these classes

[Dave M]

I'm glad to see you and me finally seeing eye to eye on something. That steak still awaits you.

I am so pissed about this supreme court thing.

You know it's bad when Jeff and I are agreeing on political issues. Can The End be far away?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

You know it's bad when Jeff and I are agreeing on political issues. Can The End be far away?

Yea but I'm not going to let it end there. I'm too pissed about it. Today's read contains more on this travesty. http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html Everybody please remember to write you state and local representative and tell them you want a law preventing eminent domain to be used for private/commercial use. While you're at it send it to your federal level representative too. Mine is Cynthia McKinney so that is a total waste of time but at least I have 2 senators.

[Red20170]

Unless you have a check to go along with that letter It's useless.. You'll receive the "Thank you for your concern letter" Lobbyist with very deep pockets own our reps. They don't represent us. We just live in their district.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Unless you have a check to go along with that letter It's useless.. You'll receive the "Thank you for your concern letter" Lobbyist with very deep pockets own our reps. They don't represent us. We just live in their district.

Especially me with my house rep. What a joke that it.

[TraceZ]

This is slightly off topic, But I know why our government fails. There is a certain profile of person that loves power and money. This person makes it their goal to control others and feel superior. This person is naturally more likely to pursue a career that will satisfy their desires and that often times becomes politics. Speaking from the other side of the fence I have no real desire to control anything. I dont even want to be a supervisor at work. People like me will seldome enter politics because the power does not interest us and even if we do get in the game we wont likely get very far amongst the people driven by other less honest motivations.

Unfortunately, people like me that might actually take a shot at honestly working for "the people" really have no interest in doing it even though we would be best at it. Over time, most good people have been forced out and the bulk of what remains are the egomaniacs who have always strived to make a position of control the priority.

My point is that a position of power will naturally attract people that are power hungry when in reality the people that would be best for the job are never even given a shot at it.

The solution to this is to make the positions less attractive to egomaniacs. I love the idea of term limits. Make it illegal to become a career politician. Let our government be run by average citizens again, as it was created and intended to run. The founding fathers were not politicians and they did not have 20 years experience in politics yet somehow they managed to write the constitution.

The most common excuse you will hear politicians use against term limits is that nothing will get done because nobody will have enough experience to know what they are doing. That is a total load of BS. The founding fathers did not have long careers in politics to reflect on while drafting the constitution yet somehow it got done right. If anything, having less experience would be a good thing. politicians would have less time to learn corruption and greed. They would have less time to pass laws restricting our freedom and taking our money away from us. The bottom line is that if there was something really important to deal with it would get done.

How about term limits (2 years, no re-election) on everyone but the president (4 years, no re-election) and judges (10 years one time only). I'd also like to see second terms eliminated. The second term only allows for bribes and dishonesty in the struggles to be re-elected.

The fact is that we are all human. We all have to some degree the human flaws of greed and dishonesty. If we change the way elected officials operate we can minumize the bad and maximize the good. We need to pass into action laws that remove the appeal of office from greedy powerhungry dishonest people. We need a senate and house filled with more average people that are just serving their 2 years to the country before returning to their "normal" lives. THAT is the way the founding fathers intended for the government to be run, and THAT is also the only way that normal Americans will get back control of this country.

[Red20170]

How about term limits (2 years, no re-election) on everyone but the president (4 years, no re-election) and judges (10 years one time only). I'd also like to see second terms eliminated. The second term only allows for bribes and dishonesty in the struggles to be re-elected.

Our masters will see to it that this does not happen. We let them pass laws that are unconstitutional. Yet we as a people do nothing. Taking our private property. Giving up privacy rights in the name of security. Searches with our warrants, Banning guns etc.. etc.. At what point do you say no more? As long as the average American's life is not directly being effected. You will see no change. Our masters are smart. They hit you with news like this SCOTUS ruling on property rights. We talk about it for a few weeks then its history. Look at the patriot act. After reading that. You might as well take the bill of rights and use it for T.P. People were in an uproar over the patriot act. Yet after several weeks. It became another piece in history. If we do not keep of politicians scared we are not doing our job. Our elected officials need to be supervised like children. If I let my kid do what he pleases My home would be trashed. If our politicians keep run around doing what they please our county will continue to be trashed....

[TraceZ]

What is really interesting is that the constitution is written in a way that the government gets its power from the American people. It says specifically that the governements power comes from the people and it says specifically that the people can suspend that power at any time.

The problem is that there is no real non-violent mechanism in place for that power to be revoked. We are given the opportunity to vote for officials, but never the chance to vote " of the above". I'd love a chance to vote an office to be shut down and restructured. The chance for a null vote combined with term limits would really weed out the career politicains.

It is really too bad that politics has become a career. I for one would love to see people all accross the country run for 2 year terms and return to their normal lives after the two years service. If that was the case I might even be interested in serving a couple years sometime down the road.

Our country is changing, folks. It is becoming something very different from what it was intended. This is due in large part to greedy power hungry politicians that prioritize their own personal interests over the greater interests of the people. Personal interests like getting re-elected, getting money for campaigns, pandering to special interests groups and pushing for greater power. It's very sad. I really worry about where we will be in another 25 - 50 years if this all continues.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

It makes me wonder why people have kids. Hell of a legacy we are passing down isn't it.

What happened to of the people by the people and for the people.

For TraceZ
http://www.archives.gov/national_arc...ranscript.html
"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

[Red20170]

The problem is that there is no real non-violent mechanism in place for that power to be revoked

.

Well there is, but.... thats talk for another forum