"I Want You(r property)"

As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer re­sources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result.
– Justice Sandra Day O’Connor


Aloha!!! I was hanging loose on de Big Isle last week for a long overdue vacation until I saw this news item plastered all over the West Hawaii Times front page headline. It sounded pretty bad even after sifting through the WHT’s obvious leftist this-war-is-evil-but-we-support-the-troops opinion columns that were apparently jumping on the Dick Durbin defense bandwagon in Hawaiian time. I was initially torn on the matter having only the WHT’s viewpoint to go by. Initially, I was not very sympathetic to the petitioners as they appeared to be standing in the way of an overall public good out of purely selfish motives, thus struck a dissonant cord from my worldview of a Christian Mission in the world for us all. Stuff is just stuff, even property. The fact it’s been in your family for 100 years doesn’t necessarily mean you are putting it to good use for your brothers and sisters in Christ. I haven’t found much background on the petitioners to fully understand their motives for pursuing this case, so their motives could be quite noble for all I’m aware of at this point, but the overall benefit of the many versus the few is what I’m stuck on regarding the petitioners. I would happily receive correction if way off base. BUT, the immense guv-mint power being upheld by the Supremes is frightening.

Now that I’m home, I read the slip opinion, as should you, before leaping to a conclusion. My initial instincts were correct so I now “talk stink” about this opinion. It justifies unbridled government seizure of your property and mine vaguely justified for public benefit with no supporting facts or analysis to reliably predict that purported overall public benefit. As a new owner of 5 beautiful acres here on the Left Coast, I hope and pray the all knowing and all powerful guv-mint’s eye never falls on it covetously for a liquor store that would obviously provide beneficial employment for at least a few members of the public.

UPDATE: Congress is doing something useful for a change and trying to apply as many leashes to this horrific opinion as they can