Will the Circle be Unbroken, Part IV - The Players Begin to Emerge
Posted by: Blue Collar Muse in 5th Amendment, Constitution Issues, Eminent Domain, Joy Ford, Judicial Matters, Nashville Nuggets, PoliticsIt is interesting how little things show up out of nowhere to encourage you. I’ve been wondering how much good I’m doing championing the cause of Joy Ford. Joy is the owner of Country International Records, a small Music Row label, whose building is currently being seized by Nashville through Eminent Domain proceedings to permit a high dollar development by Houston’s Lionstone Group. The City has its armies of lawyers, the MDHA and even a Music Row mogul or two on its side. Miss Joy has a radio talk show host, a city councilman and a blogger or three, even on the left. Doesn’t seem like much of a fair fight.
But on Tuesday of this week, I found myself encouraged by the contribution one person can make. It’s not that my posts on Joy Ford’s plight have been the most popular posts since they started - although they have. People are reading! It’s not just that my posts have prompted other bloggers to get involved as well - although they have. People are writing! On Tuesday, it turned out to be the proverbial who is reading what we’re writing and not merely how many are reading.
Reviewing my server logs showed that Nashville PR firm, McNeely, Pigott & Fox, stopped by. This is significant as their homepage lists both the Lionstone Group and MDHA as clients they are proud to work with. The people of Nashville may want to make note of that. McNeely, Pigott & Fox are proud to represent the bad guys in the fight to force Joy Ford from her property. Those of you who currently use MP&F might want to rethink your associations. Business is business, I know. But who one does business with is just as important as the business one does. The offline contact information for MP&F is listed at the bottom left corner of their homepage.
Speaking of who one does business with, another visitor came from Nashville architectural firm, Earl Swensson Associates. ESA specializes in beautiful, high dollar buildings. Pictures at their site seem to indicate they’ve done work with Vanderbilt and HCA among other clients. ESA is also one of the few publicly identified anchor tenants of Lionstone’s development which will oust Miss Joy. Surprise of surprises, they are designing the complex as well! I wonder if ESA knows how their nice, new home is being acquired and built? If so, I wonder if HCA’s Bill Frist, late of Washington DC, knows his company is doing business with a company willing to benefit from a mockery of the Constitution and Private Property Rights? How Conservative and Republican is that?
It might not matter to ESA. Hobnobbing with $100 million developers who trample the rights of others might not be new to them. Around the time they agreed to be a tenant for Lionstone, they also agreed to participate in a $100 million dollar development project in Nicaragua, of all places. I wonder how many people will lose their land for the Sandanistas to get a swanky, seaside resort? The project’s developer, Kevin Fleming at Grupo Mariana, extols post Ortega Nicaragua as a paradise. There’s a letter from Nicaragua’s President (in 2002) welcoming international development. There’s a page devoted to how safe Nicaragua is now; democratic rule and no more folks roaming the streets with AK47s! Not mentioned at all is that Daniel Ortega regained power in 2006. And ESA inked their deal when? Looks like … 2007 … But I’m sure it’s … fine. After all, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chávez, and Moammar Qadhafi will need a place to stay while visiting their buddy D.O..
The Institute for Justice stopped by! Nice to have a friendly face in the crowd. IJ is a small group of lawyers who litigate for Liberty. One issue with a special place in their hearts (evidently these attorneys have them) is Eminent Domain. They are currently working around the country to stop abuses such as the one MDHA wants to foist on Joy Ford.
And then there were the unknowns. There were a couple of high powered, Washington DC law firms that spent a lot of time on the site. They read the posts on Joy and followed all the links. I have no idea which side they’re on. Like WWII folks used to joke when they saw a plane in the sky, “I hope it’s one of ours!” But it would be unrealistic to assume only the good guys were taking an interest in what’s running through the Tubes.
I’m sure there will be more days like today. Regardless of who comes by, I found the information encouraging. The word is getting out, people are noticing and a couple are even looking to see if there’s a fire associated with all that smoke. Those of you on the side of Liberty, keep your heads up and your powder dry. This ain’t over by a long shot. In fact, it may be just about to get interesting …
Stay tuned …
Blue Collar Muse
SEE ALSO:
Abusing the Fifth Amendment by Kate at An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Popularity: 36% [?]
Tags: Country International Records, Earl Swensson Associates, Eminent Domain, Grupo Mariana, Institute for Justice, Joe Cain, Joy Ford, Kevin Fleming, Lionstone Group, McNeely Pigott & Fox, MDHA, Music Row, Private Development
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July 21st, 2008 at 3:18 pm
This fight is all about Joy Ford trying to get back at the more successful people on Music Row. She doesn’t even use the cinderblock, bunker-like, window-less building. If there is no blight, why is her building surrounded by barbed wire?
Give it up, Joy. Your right-wing cadre of legal advisers already lost in front of the Supreme Court.
July 21st, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Viva -
You seem to have your facts mixed up. That building is used on a regular basis. It is surrounded by a fence for the same reason many places are - security. The Nashville airport is also surrounded by barbed wire fence. Are you suggesting the airport is blighted? I didn’t think so.
Joy is not trying to get back at more successful people. The fight is exactly the other way around. We’re keeping the big Music Row moguls from trying to squish one of the small guys. If Joy loses, you might be next. It all depends on how fast MDHA can decide they like your property for development.
Finally, the loss of Kelo before SCOTUS is irrelevant. In a 5-4 decision the majority noted their ruling only impacted the US Constitution. They said any of the states were free to put even more restrictions on their Eminent Domain powers. To date, 43 states, including TN have done so. Any case like Joy’s will be tried under TN’s new law. Since the case isn’t based on the US Constitution’s 5th amendment but rather the TN Constitution, it doesn’t matter about Kelo except in that Kelo provided 43 changes to the states.
Thanks for stopping by to comment. Please come back when you have a grasp on the issues involved.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:57 pm
It is apparent that Mrs. Ford is not the most astute businessperson. After declining almost twice the fair market value of her property, she could have invested her profitable sale and provided a nice supplement to her income. Mrs. Ford’s company is not of the the nature that a specific location is of importance
Upon investigation, you may discover that Mr. Frist, HCA, and many other fine Nashville establishments have very good business relationships with Lionstone Group.
I suggest Mrs. Ford pay property taxes based on her perceived value of her building.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:12 pm
@Cracker -
What is apparent is that you don’t know the first thing about Joy Ford. Perhaps if you’d look into the matter, even casually, you would have found that it isn’t about the money. She has more than enough to do whatever she wants without the LionStone cash, including building a building elsewhere.
While her business might be operated from a door set across two sawhorses, again, you miss the point. For over 30 years, Joy and her husband didn’t operate elsewhere. They operated right where she is now. And that is the reason she wants to stay. The personal memories and history of the location mean more to her than the money she would get to move.
And now we come to the point. Since the property is hers, the decision to move should be hers, too. That you might disagree with her decision and motivation or do it differently is among the most irrelevant pieces of information ever included in this blog. Because it’s not your property, it’s hers.
The question about HCA and Frist were rhetorical. And sarcastic. That I have to explain it says volumes.
And I vote that Joy pay no property taxes at all. Not only is the concept offensive, it punishes the successful. Further, Metro government has been either the hammer or the anvil in this matter from the beginning. Why should Joy be forced to finance her own enemies?
Sheesh … if this were RedState, I’d pull out a “Blam” …
Ken
September 29th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Ken,
Just how much of Mrs. Ford’s property belongs to her will be very apparent were she to not pay taxes. It would quickly become property of the sheriff who will find a willing taxpayer.
Is not this in effect the same thing the MHDA is doing? The value of the business use of the property is less than is expected for the area, so why shouldn’t they sell it to someone who will produce the tax revenues?
It is not all that uncommon for someone to say “I was only kidding” when their rhetoric comes up short.
And yes, I have made more than a casual investigation into the nature and value of Mrs. Ford’s business. Fortunately for all who are actually involved with the project and not so fortunate for sarcastic armchair rhetorists, a genuine compromise, one which had been declined several years ago, has been reached and the developer will be able to make good use of the adjacent property.