The Death of Personal Property

The State of Florida can't do anything right. Whether it's a botched Presidential election, Elian Gonzales, or the recent nonsense surrounding Terri Schiavo, Florida is, any more, like the kid on the playground who gets picked last for kickball. So when they finally do manage to get something right, like the recent "Castle Doctrine" law affirming the basic human right of self-defense, it's a shame to see it completely negated by an errant Supreme Court decision.

That is, there is not much point in defending one's home when the local government is now free to completely dispossess you of your "castle." For a fair market price, of course.

The concept of "eminent domain," outlined in the Fifth Amendment, has always represented a fundamental flaw (one of several) in our Constitution. The notion that property can be taken by force from its owner if it can be shown to be more valuable to the general public, is nothing if not an exquisite illustration of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

That a Supreme Court justice (John Paul Stevens) would jump onto this Socialistic bandwagon and declare with such fervor that, "The city ... believes [it] will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including -- but by no means limited to -- new jobs and increased tax revenue," turns my stomach. Is that to be the litmus test from now until the day this country finally destroys itself in an Ouroborostic frenzy of self-looting? Because if tax revenue is the only criteria for deciding whether or not one's land is ripe for a strip-mall developer's picking, then there effectively is no such thing as private property in the United States anymore.

Thank you SCOTUS, for turning my homeland into the United Wal-Marts of America.