[Vision2020] supreme court-kelo

Wed Jun 29 13:30:42 PDT 2005

For those interested, here's a link to the full bill text. Pasted 
below is the actual language minus the statement of legislative 
intent. As one will see, this bill will only effect federal actions 
or those that utilize federal funds. To complete the closure of this 
potential abuse of power will require each state legislature to act 
as well.

Mark Solomon

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109n8Q9xP::

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF HOMES , SMALL  BUSINESSES , AND OTHER PRIVATE 
PROPERTY RIGHTS.

  (a) In General- The power of eminent domain shall be available only 
for public use.

  (b) Public Use- In this Act, the term `public use' shall not be 
construed to include economic development.

  (c) Application- This Act shall apply to--

  (1) all exercises of eminent domain power by the Federal Government; and

  (2) all exercises of eminent domain power by State and local 
government through the use of Federal funds.

At 12:46 PM -0700 6/29/05, lfalen wrote:
>see attachment
>To view this email as a web page, go 
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6216747266007b7417-fe2715797c62077f721770>here.
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6116747266007b7410-fe2715797c62077f721770>
>
>
>
>The Center for Individual Freedom
>
>
>Dear Friend:
>The government can now take your home and sell it to a private developer.
>"Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a 
>Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a 
>factory."
>
>Those are the words of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in her dissent 
>from the draconian Supreme Court ruling in the case of Kelo v The 
>City of New London..
>The Kelo decision is an outright repudiation of the most basic 
>American principle -- constitutional protection for life, liberty 
>and property.
>But we are not about to take this assault on our God-given liberties 
>lying down!
>When we heard of this decision on Thursday, we immediately went to 
>work. And Senator John Cornyn has already answered the call.
>Just hours ago, Senator Cornyn introduced legislation in the United 
>States Senate -- The Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and 
>Private Property Act of 2005.
>This legislation will help correct the High Court's draconian Kelo 
>decision and begin to restore our private property rights as 
>guaranteed in the Constitution.
>But Senator Cornyn needs your help. 
>Every Senator who stands for individual liberty should co-sponsor 
>this legislation.
>It's a no-brainer.  For our elected leaders, there is nowhere to run 
>and nowhere to hide.
>That's why I want ALL 100 Members of the United States Senate to 
>co-sponsor this vital legislation.
>And -- more importantly -- I make you this promise -- for those who 
>refuse to help -- we will hold their feet to the fire and expose 
>their refusal to every man, woman and child in America!
>
>Use the hyperlink below to send your personalized Blast Fax message 
>to President George W. Bush, and the Members of the Senate 
>Leadership.
>Join us and demand that the Senate leaders sign on as co-sponsors of 
>the Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act 
>of 2005.
>Tell the Senate Leadership -- in no uncertain terms -- that you will 
>view any refusal to co-sponsor this vital legislation as a rejection 
>of basic freedom and a refusal to stand up for regular Americans 
>over the interests of big developers and big government.
>Tell them that there will be a reckoning.  Republican or Democrat... 
>THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION.
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6016747266007b7411-fe2715797c62077f721770>http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/kelonm.html
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe5f16747266007b7412-fe2715797c62077f721770>AOL 
>Members Use This Link
>If the above hyperlink does not function, please copy and paste it 
>into the address bar of your browser.
>
>IF THIS RULING DOES NOT SCARE YOUR SOCKS OFF --  IT SHOULD!
>While the government has always maintained the "right" to take your 
>house and property, there were constitutionally mandated limits.
>Under the 5th Amendment to the Constitution, governments could 
>exercise "eminent domain" to turn you out of house and home if they 
>paid you "just compensation" -- although what you consider just 
>compensation and what the government considers just compensation 
>could differ tremendously.
>Moreover, the "seizure" had to occur for a legitimate "public use," 
>i.e., roads, utilities lines, sewers, schools, etc., or to rid the 
>community of a "blighted area."
>The recent Supreme Court decision, however, totally perverted the 
>concept of "public use" and effectively set up a system whereby the 
>government could and will collude with corporate interests to 
>deprive you of your property.
>O'Connor added in her dissent, "... property may now be taken for 
>the benefit of another private party... the fallout from this 
>decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be 
>those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the 
>political process, including large corporations and development 
>firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to 
>transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with 
>more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result."
>This Supreme Court ruling is the textbook definition of big 
>government trying to TAKE OVER OUR LIVES!
>
>Use the hyperlink below to send your personalized Blast Fax message 
>to President George W. Bush, and the Members of the Senate 
>Leadership.
>Join us and demand that the Senate leaders sign on as co-sponsors of 
>the Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act 
>of 2005.
>Tell the Senate Leadership -- in no uncertain terms -- that you will 
>view any refusal to co-sponsor this vital legislation as a rejection 
>of basic freedom and a refusal to stand up for regular Americans 
>over the interests of big developers and big government.
>Tell them that there will be a reckoning.  Republican or Democrat... 
>THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION.
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe5e16747266007b7413-fe2715797c62077f721770>http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/kelonm.html
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe5d16747266007b741c-fe2715797c62077f721770>AOL 
>Members Use This Link
>If the above hyperlink does not function, please copy and paste it 
>into the address bar of your browser.
>
>KELO IS A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF ABUSE
>Just in case you still don't believe that the government can -- and 
>will -- "seize" your home at the behest of greedy corporate titans 
>-- consider the actual circumstances of the Kelo case.
>In 1997, an international industrial behemoth approached state and 
>local government officials.
>The company wanted to build a 90 acre complex --  to include a 
>conference center, a hotel complex, offices, condominiums and, 
>eventually, an aquarium -- directly across the river from their 
>existing plant in a neighborhood called New Trumbull -- apparently 
>they liked the view this location afforded them.
>In response to the corporation's request, New London's city council 
>declared this waterfront middle-class neighborhood "blighted," 
>condemned the properties, told the home-owners to leave -- after 
>offering a "compensation package" that many of them rejected -- and 
>transferred eminent domain power to the New London Development 
>Corporation -- a private company.
>And yes, there were allegations of graft, kick-backs and corruption.
>Kelo and a group of homeowners took their case all the way to the 
>Supreme Court.
>And the court -- totally ignoring the reality that the "blighted" 
>designation was totally bogus -- ruled the government could exercise 
>"eminent domain" anyway because the corporate complex would generate 
>more tax revenue and thus benefit the community.
>The rest -- as they say is history -- but the history books aren't 
>closed on this one!
>
>Use the hyperlink below to send your personalized Blast Fax message 
>to President George W. Bush, and the Members of the Senate 
>Leadership.
>Join us and demand that the Senate leaders sign on as co-sponsors of 
>the Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act 
>of 2005.
>Tell the Senate Leadership -- in no uncertain terms -- that you will 
>view any refusal to co-sponsor this vital legislation as a rejection 
>of basic freedom and a refusal to stand up for regular Americans 
>over the interests of big developers and big government.
>Tell them that there will be a reckoning.  Republican or Democrat... 
>THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION.
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe5c16747266007b741d-fe2715797c62077f721770>http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/kelonm.html
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6416747266007b7714-fe2715797c62077f721770>AOL 
>Members Use This Link
>If the above hyperlink does not function, please copy and paste it 
>into the address bar of your browser.
>
>KELO IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT
>The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm committed to 
>protecting property rights, estimates that over 10,000 homeowners 
>are presently in danger due to the Kelo ruling.
>Or consider the following commentary from the Howard Jarvis 
>Taxpayers Association:
>"For many homeowners, the city's argument (in Kelo) has all the 
>subtlety of the schoolyard bully who justifies taking your lunch 
>money because, he says, he has a better use for it.
>
>"In California, we've seen redevelopment agencies run roughshod over 
>property owners for years. Unspoiled homes and other property are 
>declared 'blighted' so they can be condemned and turned into car 
>dealerships or supermarkets that will produce more tax revenue. The 
>actual condition of the property that is condemned seems to have 
>little relevance -- in at least one instance a golf course was 
>declared blighted because it suited the goals of the redevelopment 
>commission. Back in New London, the homes targeted by the city would 
>be regarded by most people as middle class.
>
>"Bad behavior by redevelopment agencies is not all that surprising 
>when one realizes that in many communitie! s the redevelopment 
>commissioners are city council members wearing a different hat. What 
>better way to repay a developer's campaign contribution than to 
>reward them with a piece of prime property for a new shopping mall?"
>The Kelo desicion is a formula for graft and corruption.
>
>Use the hyperlink below to send your personalized Blast Fax message 
>to President George W. Bush, and the Members of the Senate 
>Leadership.
>Join us and demand that the Senate leaders sign on as co-sponsors of 
>the Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act 
>of 2005.
>Tell the Senate Leadership -- in no uncertain terms -- that you will 
>view any refusal to co-sponsor this vital legislation as a rejection 
>of basic freedom and a refusal to stand up for regular Americans 
>over the interests of big developers and big government.
>Tell them that there will be a reckoning.  Republican or Democrat... 
>THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION.
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6316747266007b7715-fe2715797c62077f721770>http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/kelonm.html
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6216747266007b7716-fe2715797c62077f721770>AOL 
>Members Use This Link
>If the above hyperlink does not function, please copy and paste it 
>into the address bar of your browser.
>
>THIS LAND IS (NOT) YOUR LAND:  THIS LAND IS MY LAND!
>Our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves at the 
>prospect that the Supreme Court would allow the government to 
>collude with large corporations to dispossess people of their land 
>and property.
>We fought a war over 200 years ago to put a stop to this very kind of thing!
>The Kelo ruling is a MONUMENTAL POWER GRAB plain and simple -- a 
>diabolical hybrid of big government and big corporations, where 
>competition is limited and profits and tax revenues are maximized.
>The Kelo ruling is not just un-American -- it represents a clear and 
>present danger to each and every one of us.  No home is safe and 
>your home could be next!
>If conservatives are truly champions of individual freedom and 
>liberals are truly champions of the "common man," Senator Cornyn's 
>legislation should be a no-brainer.
>There can be NO EXCUSE for ANY SENATOR not to join Senator Cornyn 
>and co-sponsor this legislation.
>And -- like Dorothy, from The Wizard of Oz -- we must pull back the 
>curtain and see which of our elected leaders will stand up for 
>freedom with average Americans and which stand with developers who 
>want to take our homes and turn them into strip malls.
>I want to see what the Senate liberals -- who have been strangely 
>silent on this issue -- say when you bombard them with your faxes.
>And those who refuse to help -- we must join together to hold their 
>feet to the fire and expose their refusal to every man, woman and 
>child in America!
>Please help me!
>
>Use the hyperlink below to send your personalized Blast Fax message 
>to President George W. Bush, and the Members of the Senate 
>Leadership.
>Join us and demand that the Senate leaders sign on as co-sponsors of 
>the Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act 
>of 2005.
>Tell the Senate Leadership -- in no uncertain terms -- that you will 
>view any refusal to co-sponsor this vital legislation as a rejection 
>of basic freedom and a refusal to stand up for regular Americans 
>over the interests of big developers and big government.
>Tell them that there will be a reckoning.  Republican or Democrat... 
>THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION.
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6116747266007b7717-fe2715797c62077f721770>http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/kelonm.html
><http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe6016747266007b7710-fe2715797c62077f721770>AOL 
>Members Use This Link
>If the above hyperlink does not function, please copy and paste it 
>into the address bar of your browser.
>
>Yours In Freedom,
>
>Jeff Mazzella
>President
>www.cfif.org
>
>The CFIF Action Alert is a service to the conservative community. 
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>
>The Center for Individual Freedom
>113 S. Columbus St., Suite 310
>Alexandria, VA 22314
>703-535-5836
>Fax:703-535-5838
>CFIF is a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit constitutional advocacy organization with
>the mission to protect and defend individual freedoms and individual rights
>in the legal, legislative and educational arenas. Contributions to CFIF are
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