Hot on the heels of the "Kelo v. City of New London", in which the Supreme Court ruled that local municipalities can use eminent domain to sieze private property for causes of economic development, a group of developers is petitioning to sieze Justice Souter's home in order to build a hotel. Choice quotes:
The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."
This ruling was noteworthy because it puts a big old kink in the basic idea of pesonal property rights, which has always been a linchpin of traditional conservative dogma. And frankly, whether a justified ruling on the basis of law and precedents, or not, it's a truly chilling testimony to the power of for-profit development over our lives.
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