Good Morning everyone,
I want to start this post off with an apology. I missed my blogging day last week, simply because I forgot. I really don’t have an excuse except that I lost track of the days last week.
So, I was surfing the internet this morning while I tried to figure out what I wanted to blog about today. While looking through Yahoo News, I came across THIS ARTICLE. This article disturbs me on a couple of levels. I can understand the family members of the Flight 93 victims from 9/11 wanting some sort of memorial to commemorate their loss and to celebrate the selflessness of the crew and passengers that day.
But, I don’t think it’s right that the US Parks Service should be able to just take the property away from it’s rightful owners so that a 58 Million dollar memorial can be built. I don’t know all the facts yet, and I don’t know if the owners of the land will be compensated. My major problem is that if the Gov’t is allowed to do this, what’s to stop them from taking anyone’s home or property simply because they think they have a better use for it. I think this decision could start a slippery slope where the US Government could trample on our rights as US Citizens.
What do you think? Am I overreacting to this article? I’d love to hear your responses.
May 7th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I believe it is called eminent domaine, which usually involves the private sector and their homes. But apparently, the gov’t is like God (no disrespect) it giveth and it taketh away. I totally agree with you, Bonnie. Again no disrepect to the victims to 9/11 but I thought they had some kind of memorial where one or both of the twin towers once stood.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:19 am
When they start using the words ‘condemn’ and ‘eminent domain’ they usually mean to seize the land with no compensation to the legal owners.
I don’t believe they should get away with this. A memorial can be erected anywhere and why do they need 2200 acres. The World Trade Center victims didn’t get that much of a memorial and there were thousands of them.
When you start talking about seizing people’s property, just because you can, it’s wrong on many, many levels.
I think they’re going to have a lawsuit on their hands and it’s going to piss off many registered voters if the property owners lose because if it could happen to this small group, it could happen to any of us. Keep that in mind.