One very nice things about being able to work from home occasionally is being able to see things like this (small movie). :)
Rosemount (Minnesota) Port Authority: Thieves?
[1]: http://www.startribune.com/south/story/1347967.html
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._New_London
[3]: http://ci.rosemount.mn.us/vertical/Sites/{9EB5E841-C29C-4154-8A28-AC41E049797A}/uploads/{B3FDBDB1-507B-4A67-B369-8BBDC541599A}.PDF
[4]: http://www.mnedr.com/WhoWeAre/tabid/61/Default.aspx
[5]: http://ci.rosemount.mn.us/vertical/Sites/{9EB5E841-C29C-4154-8A28-AC41E049797A}/uploads/{1575E769-9387-430D-B546-A896D7312154}.JPG
Pretty blunt, Ken. Yeah, I suppose. But what else can it be called when a [city government takes someone’s property][1] not for a bridge or a road (things historically understood to fulfill the “public use” concept in eminent domain), but just because they want a shiny new commercial district. Keep in mind that this new take on “public use” (thanks [2005 Supreme Court][2]) could easily and logically be used to take your house so the government can have someone build a larger one in order to increase the tax base. As long as it’s called economic development.
The majority (five of seven) of the Rosemount Port Authority (RPA) voted to take the land. They were unhappy that this fellow named Hansen strolled in a purchased the land for an amount higher than the city appraisal. So they took it from him. Really, they couldn’t help it:
> “If we don’t go forward, we’re being held hostage” by one property owner, said commissioner Jay Tentinger.
Yes, because they must have their way. They can’t change or adapt their plan. (They wouldn’t want to have to [re-do the drawing][5].) It *must* be the way they want it. Now!
Yes, Veruca.
For us poor reg’lar folk, if we can’t pay the price someone is asking, we just make due without buying it. But the government? I guess they can just steal it away.
If this *isn’t* theft by government, what would the definition of theft by government be? They’re taking someone’s property against their will to give it to someone else who will profit from developing it in a way the city likes better. The “public” will not “use” this.
Maybe they should have left it in Hansen’s hands; he’s at least sharp enough to have known it had value and to have purchased it. In the meantime, it looks like the Rosemount Port Authority moved too slow and offered too little. Now they will use the force of government to make up for their lack of business savvy. (Say, they should be in charge of economic development!)
So, for those of you in Rosemount, next time you’re voting, remember that the following people are willing to take your property, as long as they feel they can do something “good” with it: Michael Baxter (chair), Council member Mark DeBettignies, Bruno DiNella, Mary Riley, and Jay Tentinger.
Only Mayor Bill Droste and Council member Phillip Sterner voted no.
Oh, my. Waitaminit. Guess what I just realized. Four of the five votes to steal are from appointed – not elected – members. Two of three who have to stand for election (the mayor and a City Council member) voted no.
So, this will be done at the hand of a majority of unelected people; people who can’t be booted from office for what they’ve done.
Well, folks, remember Council member Mark DeBettignies next time he’s running. Seems like he need a “Former” in his title.
And remember Mayor Bill Droste and Council member Phillip Sterner, too. Do not neglect. Re-elect! (That’s my Jackie Chiles impersonation.)
And from what I read in a [recent City Council minutes][3], it seems as though at least Mayor Droste would like to see the development happen. Apparently he just doesn’t want to steal to do it. (Though I can conceive more cynical scenarios, too.)
I know it’s the national stuff that gets the big press, but I really think that a lot of real stinky stuff happens at the very local level.
Y’know, this isn’t just conservative Ken talking. A [pretty broad spectrum of folks][4] find this kind of use of eminent domain pretty repulsive. And by the way, this kind of takings is now illegal in Minnesota, except for a loophole that RPA is using.
“I want the world. I want the *whole* world…”
J. P. Moreland-a-palooza
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._P._Moreland
[2]: http://www.veritas.org/3.0_media/presenters/57
A friend recently asked me what I thought of [J. P. Moreland][1]. Unbelievably, I had little to say. :)
I’ve come across Moreland’s arguments in various places, but I’d never heard or read anything directly from him. Well, I’ve been listening to a whole bunch of his [Veritas Forum lectures (free MP3s)][2]. Good stuff. I recommend giving him a listen, especially if you’re interested in philosophy, meaning, and various modern worldviews.
We’re all fine…
…and we were thankfully not nearby, but the [35W Mississippi River bridge collapse](http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1338294.html) is just stunning and horrible. It’s just unbelievable. There were no known problems with the bridge. No interesting or extreme weather. Just a second of shaking and then it fell; 64 feet down to the river.
Here’s a [quick map of where it happened](http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=safari&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&t=k&om=1&msa=0&ll=44.975546,-93.233843&spn=0.035277,0.071411&z=14&msid=116932682035456861521.000436ad14ad2d7984cc4) compared to how I get to work.
**UPDATE:** A good friend came by this afternoon. Late in the afternoon she was planning to head home over West River Road. Guess where she might have been at 6:00? It’s in green on the map I linked to above. Yep. Directly under the collapse. She stayed for dinner. (The aroma of fresh rosemary from our garden drew her to the table. Yeah, it was the rosemary… If “rosemary” is the new word for divine intervention!)
**UPDATE (next morning):** I’ve always liked [James Lileks](http://www.lileks.com). [Now I like him even better](http://www.buzz.mn/?q=node/2171).
**UPDATE:** From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Bridge): “The 35W bridge shares the same mile of the Mississippi as two of Minneapolis’ other spectacular catastrophes: the explosion of the Washburn “A” Mill in 1878 and the collapse of the tunnel under Hennepin Island in 1869, which nearly destroyed St. Anthony Falls.”
**UPDATE:** Yes, there’s (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1ab_1186054443&p=1).
**UPDATE:** I’m having a previously arranged “work at home” day today. I’m sitting outside on the patio on a warm, sunny, beautiful day. But it’s kinda spooky. I live about 7 miles from the collapse, but nevertheless I can hear the city abuzz. It seems like there’s a lot more small aircraft overhead (I live just up the bluff from a regional airport). I hear emergency vehicle sirens on I-94 over and over and over. It’s unsettling. Of course, I’m thankful that I’m only unsettled.
**UPDATE:** I heard from a friend that a friend of his was expected to be in that area at that time, and that he and his daughter are still missing. Prayers coveted. Sounds like they’re OK.
**UPDATE:** Here’s the [current traffic camera shot of the bridge](http://www.dot.state.mn.us/tmc/trafficinfo/metrocams/cameras/628.html) (with reference images of what it used to look like). With everything having fallen, a lot of the photos we’re seeing now don’t really show how high the bridge was like I think this one does.
I know I shouldn’t make light of it…
[1]: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/drunk072607.xml&headline=Panel%20Finds%20Astronauts%20Flew%20While%20Intoxicated&channel=space
…but [how else are you going to get them into those things][1]?
**UPDATE:** I uploaded a better picture. :)
Here at Oshkosh!
Well, I’m out of town at the [EAA Airshow at Oshkosh, WI](http://www.airventure.org/). I’m stunned at how big it is. There’s a zillion people out here. And a zillion planes. It’s great. More later. Maybe. :)
When a garbage disposal breaks…
…it isn’t simply that I don’t get to enjoy that functionality any more.
No, it’s far worse.
Water and bits of food sit in there. Lingering. Waiting.
Occasionally, that drain will clog, meaning I have to stick my hand in there to clear it. This always makes me think it’s going to turn on and devour my hand. I check the switch. I recheck the switch.
Ah, but this isn’t a regular clog anymore. There has been water and bits of food sitting in there. Lingering. Waiting. Creating some kind of Hideous Stink Oil. Which only with great persistence washes off.
Well, thinks I, I need to try to clean that out. But I can’t really get in there… hey! I’ll pour boiling water down the disposal, and that will warm and loosen the Stink Oil, and away it will go.
No, actually it fills the room with Hideous Stink Oil Potpourri.
So, guess what I’m fixing this weekend.
**UPDATE (The Next Day):** I picked up a new garbage disposal last night while we were out and about. I started installing it first thing in the morning, and had it done before I’d finished my morning coffee. Ahhh.
I’ve turned off the Koine Greek podcast
The traffic was just burying my server. Heh heh.
No, I just realized that the podcasting plugin I was using was tagging everything on the site as though it was a podcast. But really, I didn’t even really record Intermediate Greek since it just wasn’t a lecture-style class. Most of what would have been recorded would probably have been me mistranslating something, thus discovering fresh new heresies.
So, TTFN to the exciting world of podcasting.
New Atheism?
[1]: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010341
Last Friday (I think) I heard a long interview of Christopher Hitchens concerning his latest book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. He is a well-spoken and witty man, but during the interview he failed to progress much further than anger and weak logic, all with a dogmatic yet inexplicably founded moral tone.
There’s a fairly recent editorial about Hitchens’ book (and the “new atheist” trend overall) by Peter Berkowitz on the Wall Street Journal’s [Opinion Journal][1] titled “[The New New Atheist][1]” that’s well worth a look.
From the editorial:
> They contend that from the advantage point of the 21st century, and thanks to the moral progress of mankind and the achievements of natural science, we can now know, with finality and certainty, that God does not exist and organized religion is a fraud. The disproportion between the bluster and bravado of their rhetoric and the limitations of their major arguments is astonishing.
Martin Island. Shell Island. Whatever.
Here’s a 3D panorama I took during our trip to South Carolina. It’s of us visiting a tiny little island in Lake Wylie.
Click and drag in the image to look around.
Various members of our family have labeled it Martin Island and Shell Island. The naming issue was hotly contested while we were there, and so by a one vote margin the name “Shell Island” was upheld.
Until next time, I’m sure.
The thunderclouds rolling in were an afternoon staple of our visit. It was very warm and humid, and every evening spotty, strong storms would roll through with some of the oddest thunder I’ve ever heard.