Big Government

Yes, the Democratic take-over of Congress disturbs me to some extent, but there are other thing that disturb me more.  One is the condition of the courts.  When you have our current judicial system you can get decisions like the 2005 US Supreme Court's Kelo decision.  Walter Williams has just written an excellent column on this topic .  I would urge everyone to go read it.  I'll just quote a small excerpt here:

Can the government force one to sell his property? James Madison said yes, so long as it was for a public use and the owner was paid a fair market value. Thomas Jefferson was opposed to a person being forced to sell his property for a public use, arguing that the essence of private property is the right to exclude anyone, including government, from the property. But Madison's view prevailed, hence the Fifth Amendment provision.

The problem, Williams explains (the column is based off a speech by retired Judge Napolitano) is that this view is no longer respected and "public use" is reinterpreted in ways that the founders would have been horrified to contemplate.

Many aspects of politics are fun to debate, and are serious, but aren't that dangerous.  Things like this that can alter how you live your life in the here and now--that change your life personally, are dangerous!

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero