Couldn’t Help But Notice (101207)

I sure hope the eminent-domain law Ohio Governor Strickland signed in July will prevent travesties like this one in New Jersey:

Builders Lose N.J. Eminent Domain Fight

Builders were dealt a blow this week when the U.S. Supreme Court opted not to hear a case in which New Jersey builder MiPro Homes claimed the township of Mt. Laurel, N.J., unlawfully seized a 16-acre parcel that was under site development and had been legally zoned and approved for construction.

The case, which dates back to 2002, pitted the township, which claimed that exercising eminent domain to protect open space was perfectly legal, against the builders, who said the township’s real goal was to halt residential development.

This isn’t even changing the rules in the middle of the game. It’s changing the result after the game is over. That New Jersey’s courts allowed Mt. Laurel’s after-the-fact action to stand is disgraceful. That the US Supremes decided not to hear the cases is, at a minimum, very troubling.

The text of Ohio SB7 appears to leave the possibility of land grabs in the name of open space. What I’m not clear on is whether after-the-fact revocation of zoning approvals is possible. One of the two meanings of “blighted area” in the bill requires two or more conditions on a list of 16 to be present (the list is near the very top of the bill’s text). One of them is:

(c) Inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces;

At least a few of the other 15 conditions are often present in many properties under consideration for development.

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Hillary (”Hillzilla“) and BOOHOO (Barack O-Bomba Overseas Hussein “Obambi” Obama) are campaigning actively in churches, talking about their faith, and how it affects their political positions. Paul Krenger notes that the ACLU and press critics of George Bush’s expressions of faith are nowhere to be found.

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Speaking of expressions of faith, or about faith, this pronouncement from Bush is politically-correct and totally indefensible (but I repeat myself) nonsense.

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Here’s another Administration blooper (HT One News Now) –

In 1994, Jose Medellin was convicted and sentenced to death in Texas for the rape and murder of two teenage girls, Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena.

After his conviction, a controversy erupted when an International Court found that the United States had violated the rights of Medellin and 50 other Mexican nationals sentenced to death here by failing to notify the nationals of their rights to inform the Mexican consulate of their detention.

Article 36 of the Vienna Convention requires authorities to notify “without delay” a detained foreign national of his right to request assistance from the consul of his own state. At the time of Medellin’s arrest, the United States was a signatory to the treaty.

Medellin, a Mexican citizen who had lived in the United States most of his life, claims that had he known that he could inform Mexican consular officers of his detention they could have potentially assisted him by providing funding for experts or investigators or ensuring that he was represented by a competent defense counsel.

Taking the side of Medellin, President Bush issued a statement admitting that the United States had breached an article of the Vienna Convention that requires such consular notification.

The president issued a written determination that the state courts had to abide by the treaty and review and reconsider the sentences and convictions of the death row inmates. Bush claimed that his determination to have the states reconsider the cases came from his “authorized power to effectuate” treaty obligations.

Great. A supposedly strict constructionist president wants international law to prevail in a state matter. Horse manure.

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A side-effect of Michigan’s new tax on financial advice:

Financial planners in Michigan were blindsided last week when the state’s Legislature emerged from a late-night budget session with a new 6% tax on investment advice.

“I think it’s a huge mistake, and as a fee-only planner, it pi**es me off because it gives the commission[-based] guys a big advantage,” said Theodore Feight, owner of Creative Financial Design in Lansing, Mich. “I guess I’m just going to have to tack [this new tax] onto my bill,” he added.

Translation: Objective advice from fee-only planners will cost more. Commission-based “free” advice, where advisers get their money through commissions earned on transactions and referrals, won’t be affected. The Wolverine State has struck a blow supporting conflicts of interest. Thanks, folks (/sarc).