Thursday, September 21, 2006

Constitution Cafe Discussion

I thought I would never see the day when WXNT's Abdul Hakim-Shabazz had his comments kept to a minimum, but I saw it at Shapiro's this afternoon. Now we know who gets the words in edgewise with Abdul- Law Professors! Co-Host IU law professor Jeffrey Stake gave a lengthy intorduction to the subject, beginning with the origins of eminent domain in Roman society.

This discussion on eminent domain was a lively one. Some took a utilitarian best public good position, while others took the defense of the individual and property rights side. It was interesting to consider that while the Framers clearly allowed for eminent domain takings, and placed a restriction on it in the Fifth Amendment, it has taken 219 years and the Kelo v. New London case, plus the sheer volume of eminent domain cases, to get to where the states have been at long last proactive in writing laws to better define the restrictions on eminent domain takings.

I enjoyed the reaction Jim Hurst got from the event organizers. When Abdul pointed to Jim and declared him the eminent domain poster boy of the NK Hurst Company, the reaction was unabashed delight. I think one must be a vegetarian, because when Jim described the Hurst product line- 15 bean soup, lentils, etc.- she looked like a kid meeting Santa Claus.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if you're using vegetarian as a positive or a negative here, but according to Michael Cloud, co-founder of the Center for Small Government, Libertarians have something to learn from Vegetarians.

Mike Kole said...

In the case of the post, neither. Just gauging a reaction. It isn't every day you see someone literally jump up and down in response to 15-bean soup. Although I am not a vegetarian myself, my wife is, and I have a positive view.

Robert Enders said...

The pragmatic case for respecting property rights is that businesses and individuals will feel more secure in knowing what is theirs is theirs and will be more likely to maintain, upkeep, and upgrade what they have. You might "create" a few hundred jobs in the short term but you undermine public confidence in the long term.

Anonymous said...

Call it a healthy respect for Jedi Masters by a Jedi knight. :-)