Detroit, Government Incompetence, Michigan

When Property Rights Become A Concern

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Want to see a perfect example of big government thinking?

It’s exposed when defending the little guy becomes suspect, because the advocates for said ‘little guy’ endorse/embrace the constitution. Joshua Akers, an assistant professor of geography and urban and regional studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn just cannot grasp the motivations of those who would defend the downtrodden.

Akers has issue with a constitutional defense legal firm Pacific Legal ..taking on a constitutional property rights case.  Because they might use it for their own ideological (constitutional) ends. Not making this stuff up, and from the Detroit Free Press:

Akers, who has written extensively on the nonprofit, contends the suit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court is a Trojan horse, less concerned with the constitutionality of the annual tax auction and more focused on using the court system to bolster property rights and solidify language around the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits private property from being taken for public use without just compensation.

And because that isn’t enough?

“This seems pretty great — you’re defending the little guy from government overreach. But in the end, what’s lost is the ability to regulate the usage of property. The ability to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of those living around the property,” said Akers explaining that while some homeowner could benefit from this, by and large, it is the wealthy, politically connected and big industries that win.

And there you go.  Big industries win when a homeowner gets to keep her house.

Read the rest   And consider how much better off we would be if we stopped feeding the beast and defunded these destroyers of our individual freedoms.

 

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Michigan Politics

Independence Day – The Declaration

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A Transcription from the national archives.

 

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

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All the Other Stuff, Liberty, Michigan

Queue Up That Zoning Ordinance Claim

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As a property rights advocate/activist, I am beyond thrilled.

Local governments be forewarned, the path to pursue when property owner’s constitutional rights have been violated has just been shortened.  Zoning ordinances which have grown to be nearly as large as the worlds largest fungus might now face appropriate challenges in venues that serve as constitutional protectors.

The Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) has smashed a ‘takings’ precedent, and in doing so has made it easier for property owners beset with zealous planning and land use prohibition to clarify more immediately where a constitutional line is drawn.  From the SCOTUS blog:

In its long-awaited opinion in Knick v. Township of Scott, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that plaintiffs alleging that local governments have violated the takings clause may proceed directly in federal court, rather than first litigating in state court. The opinion overrules a 34-year-old precedent, Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank, triggering a sharp dissent and another debate among the justices about the meaning of stare decisis. The majority opinion also rests on a reading of the takings clause—that a constitutional violation occurs at the moment property is “taken,” even if compensation is paid later—that may have consequences beyond this case.

The takings clause of the federal Constitution provides: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” This takings case arose from a dispute between petitioner Rose Mary Knick and the township of Scott, Pennsylvania. Knick has a small graveyard on her property, and the township attempted to enforce against her an ordinance requiring such properties to be open to the public during daytime hours. Knick alleged an unconstitutional taking, but a federal court dismissed her suit because she had not first sought compensation in state court.

The 34-year-old precedent was not all that it upended.

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion

So Then Nessel Kicked Herself In The Coconuts.

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Who knows?  She may have coconuts.  We aren’t supposed to consider such things as impossible anymore, right?

But Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is certainly committed to her true passion. One might think that she might wish to respect the office she holds, if only to protect her own opinions going forward.  Clearly, that is not the case.

Using federal government activity to upend a legitimate AG opinion barely a year old, Nessel puts perhaps every opinion of her own in jeopardy.  It also points out how completely political the AG’s office has become.  From the State Ministry Of Propaganda:

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Immigration, Michigan

SE Michigan Tea Party Meeting June 14th – Featuring Katie Hopkins

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From my inbox:

The Southeastern Michigan Tea Party will he hosting Conservative Commentator Katie Hopkins at their nest meeting on Friday, June 14th. Doors open at 6:00pm with the meeting beginning promptly at 7:00pm.

Ms. Hopkins will be showing her newest project “Homelands” (along with Q&A following).

Here is a brief synopsis of her documentary:

“There is a silent exodus underway in Western Europe – an entire generation no longer feel like they belong. Intimidated by a rapidly growing Muslim population, fearful of the rabid anti-Semitism of the left, and weary of feeling like targets for attack, Jewish and Christian families are on the move, looking for a new place to call home. They have no voice. Homelands in their story.”

The meeting will be held at the Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church located at 3600 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

For more information, contact the SE Michigan Tea Party via their website.

 

 

 

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy

Guilty?

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I was driving through St. Louis when I got the news that Larry Inman had been indicted.

It was pretty big news.  Disappointing, yet it didn’t surprise me.  In fact, there has been so much ‘questionable’ activity going on in Lansing for decades that it was not surprising that a representative with a record of poor instincts would be the victim of a sting operation.

At least that is my assessment of what happened.  Clearly there is pay for play in our state politics.  The existence of the MEDC, and by extension any organization that profits from doing business with the state would have incentive to fill campaign coffers.  Ask any one who still raises money after they have been term limited why they do so.  If they don’t tell you directly, then look at their campaign statements on the debt side.

It’s not for charity.

Mistakenly express the the wrong sentiment, in a way that is contextually vulnerable, to the wrong people, in the wrong format. Then whammo!  You get a Representative Larry Inman indictment.

But the GOP led house, wishing to remain unscathed in a (heavens forbid) scandal of such magnitude would prefer to let Larry off the bus, ask him to inspect the rear brake lights, and …well as one might see by now, the bus does have reverse.

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Cronyism, Education, Liberty, Michigan, Rent Seeking

Globalization of Healthcare is Blurring State Lines

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Globalization of healthcare marches merrily onward with a Michigan bill hearing this week. Corporate lobbies always play a strong role at these events. This time, there’s a twist.

Big Healthcare lobbied for Obamacare in Congress, and drives most healthcare bills in DC and Lansing. More obscure healthcare lobbies are leading centralization of state health occupational licensure. It still violates market principles, and it’s important to your healthcare.

Individual healthcare rights are losing out to population care. Given what’s at stake, we should probably make an effort to push back on this one.

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