I don't know which to be more disturbed about the Supreme Court ruling or the discussions following.

I know I don't normally get overly political here but I am highly disturbed by two events yesterday. The Supreme Court's ruling on eminent domain bothers me to no end. I was hesitant to support even the constraints on "public use" allowed prior to the ruling because I was convinced in the cases I had seen and read about that the citizen who was losing their property for road expansion, government buildings, publicly funded arenas (Tulsa for example) had not been compensated with "fair market value." Still government use of eminent domain for roads, schools or buildings for needed services could be justified in my mind. However, the decision yesterday to allow eminent domain to be used to faciliate private development is a travesty. The idea that a citizen's property can be taken for private development is just opening the door for further political corruption which builders and real estate developers have been engaging in behind the scenes in any number of places for years.

Even more disturbing developments occurred during a conversation I had last night in which I was repeatedly asked "Why was I disturbed by this decision?" After several attempts to explain how I didn't feel it was right to seize a residential neighborhood and evict a number of tax-paying citizens solely because of developer's plan to build a hotel or a shopping center which would produce more revenue, I am forced to explain myself here through an example.

I used to live in a residential area in the ever-expanding suburbs near a freeway. Over the time I lived in my prior location, I saw the 10-15 miles between my house and the city of Tulsa go from reasonably empty to highly commercially developed. Should the pace of development continue there is a distinct possibility that was is now my family's neighborhood may become a target for private development in the future. My family has expressed interests in staying in their present location, but the decision of the Supreme Court has left the door slightly cracked for government to step in an force the hand of the residents. Quite frankly I find it disturbing that a neighborhood like my former one can more easily be condemned for the purpose of constructing a sales tax vacuum like say Sam Walton's House of Censorship or some other megastore with supreme court approval.

I welcome comments to explain where my paranoia is getting the best of me.

Song Lyric of the Day
"So I stole a pillowcase to clean
This mess I made of someone's dream
Now you see what I've done
When the weight of all the world's gone wrong"
Blue October - "Weight of the World"