Well, this is a good start:
WASHINGTON – Conservative defenders of private property and liberal protectors of the poor joined in an overwhelming House vote to prevent local and state governments from seizing homes and businesses for use in economic development projects.
The House legislation, passed 376-38, was in response to a widely criticized 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court last June that allowed eminent domain authority to be used to obtain land for tax revenue-generating commercial purposes.
The bill would withhold for two years all federal economic development funds from states and localities that use economic development as a rationale for property seizures. It also would bar the federal government from using eminent domain powers for economic development.
Now, most of us know about Kelo v New London, and how 5 weasels on the Supreme Court had a complete memory lapse vis a vis the US Constitution, so I shan’t repeat it. Nor will I get into the politics of the thing, cause, no matter which way you look at it, it is a win for the home owner, rich, middle class, or poor. You can be rich and get your home whacked by the government. Just ask the people whose homes are going bye bye in Brielle, NJ, because a replacement bridge was needed for Route 70, so a handful of asshats with large boats back in the tail waters of the Manasquan River could get them out without waiting long periods of time for the bridge to go up. Those folks were very much in what the Left calls "rich." Those houses were easily over a million each. And several were friends of the family. Sure, not quite the same, but, despite all their money and influence, they lost.
But, who were the weasels who voted against the homeowners on HR 4128, Roll Call 568?
Ackerman, Blumenauer, Boehlert, Brady (PA), Capuano, Case, Cleaver, DeGette, Dingell, Emanuel, Fattah, Hinchey, Jackson (IL), Larson (CT), Levin, Lowey, McDermott, Meeks (NY), Miller (NC), George Miller, Moran (VA), Nadler, Neal (MA), Olver, Pastor, Pelosi, Rothman, Sabo, Schakowsky, Schwartz (PA), Scott (VA), Stark, Turner, Visclosky, Watt, Waxman, Woolsey, Wynn
Nineteen did not vote. What stands out to me is that 36 Dems and only 2 Republicans voted against the homeowner. I guess folks like Pelosi and Levin just do not care. And, though he is a dem, Brad Miller does technically represent me in North Carolina’s 13th District. I have already sent him one email regarding his vote against blogger rights in relation to McCain-Feingold-ScrewPeople. Now he is getting another.
You will have a tough time emailing him unless you are in his district, so, use the zip code 27604, and, if necessary, find a business on Capital Blvd in Raleigh above 3000 for an address if necessary. Or write that weasel.
And, if you are reading this, Congressman Miller (I would assume that he, like most political figures, uses a special search program like Neal Boortz does to see current articles), you did a bad, bad, thing. Shame on you!
Last little thing:
Opponents of the legislation argued that its exclusion of economic development was too broad and that the federal government should not be interceding in what should be a local issue. "We should not change federal law every time members of Congress disagree with the judgment of a locality when it uses eminent domain for the purpose of economic development," said Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.
So then why did the US Supreme Court intercede? Moron.
