Susette Kelo's Little Pink House
"Oh but ain't that America, for you and me
Ain't that America, we're something to see baby
Ain't that America, home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me, oh for you and me" --Johnny Cougar (Mellancamp)
Prof. Ben Barros, has the following post over at PropertyProf:
From the Hartford Courant:
"Susette Kelo's holiday cards feature a snowy image of her pink house and a message that reads, in part, 'Your houses, your homes, your family, your friends. May they live in misery that never ends. I curse you all. May you rot in hell. To each of you I send this spell.'The cards were conceived and produced by a friend of Kelo's and sent to city officials and members of New London's development agency."
Kelo said she also considered sending the cards to five U.S. Supreme Court justices who ruled in June 2005 that New London had the right to take homes in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood to make way for a riverfront project slated to include condominiums, a hotel and office space.
Bah, Humbug. It seems to me that Ms. Kelo has enlisted in the War on Christmas! The ghost of Christmas present needs to pay a visit to Ms. Kelo. Of course, New London city officials (and certain members of the Supreme Court) would also benefit from being taken by the ghosts of Christmas to visit the homes of those whose lives have been destroyed by their "evolving" interpretation of the Takings Clause. And as Tiny Tim might say, "God bless us, everyone."\
Kelo's attitude, as expressed in her greeting card, is less than
gracious, but it does illustrate the destructive force that eminent
domain decisions can bring to bear on ordinary persons whose homes are
taken and whose lives are turned upside down. Even generous "just
compensation" cannot always heal the wounds that are sometimes caused
when homes are taken. It reminds me of Holmes' famous statement about
adverse possession:"The
true explanation of title by prescription seems to me to be that man,
like a tree in the cleft of a rock, gradually shapes his roots to his
surroundings, and when the roots have grown to a certain size, cannot be
displaced without cutting at his life."
It seems that the City of New London's decision to take Susette Kelo's "little pink house" was one that cut at her life.
