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Kay Brooks brings us the news that Joy Ford, negotiating directly with LionStone Group and bypassing Nashville’s MDHA, worked out an agreement ending their dispute. Joy will keep her building and swap land to the rear of her building for even more land to one side of her building.
Time was every restaurant and honky-tonk was filled with lead singers and pedal steel players waiting tables, slinging hash or tending bar to make a living until their ship came in. It was always “just temporary” and that elusive meeting to “ink the deal” was just around the corner. It even happened for some of them which only fueled the drive of others to get to Music City to take their shot at success.
But this is the 00s and there are all manner of new things around for singers and songwriters to do while they’re waiting for Dame Fortune to smile on them. Evidently, one of those things is blogging! I logged in last night and found the following as a comment on the very first ‘Will the Circle be Unbroken’ post. I loved it and though I left it there, I’m promoting the comment in full to here. Watch out for those Honky Tonk Bloggers at your favorite establishment around town!
Joy, If You’re reading this, feel free to put it to musicand use it…we can be co-writers. A friend of mine is working on some music for it, too..
‘Til The Lord Takes Me Home (Over My Dead Body)
Lyrics by Harry Pratt 2008
Imok39@yahoo.com
I’VE BEEN HERE FOREVER,
OR SO IT SEEMS THAT WAY,
MAKING WONDERFUL MUSIC,
EACH AND EVERY DAY,
I PAY ALL MY TAXES,
I’M NOT BREAKING ANY LAWS,
BUT NOW EMINENT DOMAIN
IS KNOCKING AT MY DOOR.
CHORUS:
THEY WANT TO BUILD A HIGH-RISE,
NOT A BRIDGE OR ROAD OR SCHOOL,
THEY WANT TO TAKE MY LIFE AWAY,
AND PLAY ME LIKE A FOOL;
THOSE GREEDY POLITICIANS,
ARE TRYING TO RE-ZONE,
BUT I AIN’T GOING NOWHERE,
TIL THE LORD, HE TAKES ME HOME.
WE’VE MADE A LOT OF MUSIC,
WE’VE SUNG SO MANY SONGS,
WE’VE TURNED WORDS INTO MAGIC,
AND WE AIN’T DONE NOTHING WRONG;
I’M NOT LOOKING FOR A FIGHT,
BUT WHAT I OWN IS MINE,
THEY CAN’T JUST COME AND TAKE IT,
JUSTICE JUST ISN’T THAT BLIND.
CHORUS:
THEY WANT TO BUILD A HIGH-RISE,
NOT A BRIDGE OR ROAD OR SCHOOL,
THEY WANT TO TAKE MY LIFE AWAY,
AND PLAY ME LIKE A FOOL;
THOSE GREEDY POLITICIANS,
ARE TRYING TO RE-ZONE,
BUT I AIN’T GOING NOWHERE
TIL THE LORD, HE TAKES ME HOME.
THEY CAN CALL ME STUBBORN
BUT I’M NOT GIVING IN,
TO TEAR DOWN WHAT WE’VE BUILT UP,
WOULD ONLY BE A SIN,
SO WE’LL KEEP MAKING MUSIC,
ALL MY FRIENDS AND ME,
WE’RE GONNA STICK TOGETHER,
WE’RE A MUSIC FAMILY.
CHORUS:
THEY WANT TO BUILD A HIGH-RISE,
NOT A BRIDGE OR ROAD OR SCHOOL,
THEY WANT TO TAKE MY LIFE AWAY,
AND PLAY ME LIKE A FOOL;
THOSE GREEDY POLITICIANS,
ARE TRYING TO RE-ZONE,
BUT I AIN’T GOING NOWHERE,
TIL THE LORD, HE TAKES ME HOME
Tennessee ConserVOLiance bloggers Kay Brooks, Kate from An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings and I represented the New Media at Joy Ford’s Monday press conference. We were joined by WTN radio’s Phil Valentine, Fox 17 News’ John Dunn, the Tennessean’s Chas Sisk and camera crews from two other local TV stations, sadly without accompanying reporters.
In the videos below, Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice, Ford’s counsel in the matter, announces Ford will not be going down without a fight. It may be that Nashville government and Houston developers will get to bulldoze Joy’s building - but they will never bulldoze Joy! Since Joy’s husband died in 1999, she has fielded and rejected a steady stream of offers to buy her property. The latest came with an interesting twist. It wasn’t just a developer wanting her land, the city of Nashville was party to the deal.
As is always the case when government gets involved, there’s an iron fist in that velvet glove. Unlike developers who came-a-courtin’, the government wouldn’t take Joy Ford’s “No!” for an answer. When governmental chocolate and flowers didn’t work, Joy’s bureaucratic suitor decided to get a little rough. If he had been an actual man, we’d call his behavior ‘rape’ and prosecute him. Because it’s the government, Miss Joy is supposed to accept being violated and understand since the city is paying her, it’s OK. If that sounds suspiciously like a man’s rationale that he spent lots of money on this date and is therefore entitled to take what he wants if his date is unwilling, you won’t be far off the mark.
Faced with the threat of arrogant and powerful government seizing her property, Joy Ford had two choices. She could give up and quit or she could stand up and fight. Joy chose to fight. Some will question that choice. Who is she to stand in the way of development? She’s just one person and this is for the good of the city. Blah, blah, blah …
Let’s not forget - Joy is the injured party here. She was attacked first and is defending herself. She was minding her own business, literally, when she was forced into a conflict. She’s not fighting against City Hall, she’s fighting back against City Hall. There’s a difference. They drew first blood. The press conference videos below show how the battle lines are shaping up. In the meantime, drop Miss Joy a note and tell her you’re on her side. Send a donation to the Institute for Justice to help them stand up for her. Blog about the issue or talk about it with your family and friends. If we all do what we can, this is a fight we’ll win!
Thanks and a techie hat tip go out to Kay Brooks for her help and guidance in teaching me the ins and outs of Movie Maker so that I could post these videos. Being a bit dense, it still took a day or so to figure it out. I apologize for not having the video up sooner. Thanks, Kay!
It 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 councilmanandabloggerorthree, 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?
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 …
I read Narvel Blackstock’s recent letter to the editor with disappointment. Titled ‘Support the Music Industry’s Efforts to Replace Blight Near Music Row’, it defended MDHA’s decision to force Joy Ford off of her property to make room for $100 million worth of development. I’m sure Mr. Blackstock is a nice man. I have an enormous amount of respect for his wife, Reba McEntire. They have done much for Nashville and Country Music. Unfortunately for Mr. Blackstock, past good deeds don’t justify current dastardly ones.
Anyone sitting through High School Civics remembers the Constitution was written to limit the power of government and permit the greatest possible liberty to the people. The 5th Amendment’s Eminent Domain clause specifically prevented government from forcing people off their land because it had a different plan for it. An exception was made for “Public Use”. This did permit government, for narrowly defined purposes, to seize the private property of an unwilling seller. These purposes must have, oddly enough, a public use. Interstates and government buildings, for example, purposes with clearly understood “public use” parameters, were thereby exempted from the Constitutional restraints on government.
Blackstock has confused “public use” with “public benefit”. I won’t argue the proposed development will produce more revenue for the city. It likely will and that is a benefit. I won’t argue the proposed development will look nicer than the property looks now. It likely will and that is a benefit. I won’t argue the proposed development will employ more people than the property currently does. It likely will and that is a benefit. Unfortunately, none of those public benefits even begin to rise to the level of a “public use” of the property by the city and its citizens. The development Narvel supports is plainly a private matter and will benefit only a small part of the “public”. The vast majority of the “public” will never have cause to enter the proposed building or even set foot on the property.
With “public use” out of the way, only the desire of government to do as it pleases remains. MDHA and Nashville may well have compelling reasons to want the property developed. Unfortunately, our Constitution prohibits them from doing so by recognizing the rights of property owners as higher than the reasonings of government. It forbids Nashville from doing exactly what Narvel Blackstock wants done to Joy Ford. The men drafting the Bill of Rights understood government, if allowed to, would eventually grind up the citizens it was to represent in the name of representing them. It would seize their lands, confiscate their property, tax their prosperity and worse, deny them their God given Rights unless forbidden from doing so. They witnessed the Crown do exactly that and wanted no part of it for their fledgling nation.
Nashville, MDHA and Narvel Blackstock, despite reasonable sounding arguments, are on the wrong side of this issue. Due to ignorance on a stupendous scale, the Supreme Court ruled 3 years ago such takings as Blackstock proposes may be legal. However, legal does not equate to moral. Joy Ford’s Right to her property comes from God. MDHA’s power to force her off of it comes from men like Narvel Blackstock who believe their ideas of what is right for Nashville are more important than the Right of Joy Ford to her property.
The issue is not whether Narvel Blackstock’s belief in the value of the development is true (it may be). It is not whether Blackstock’s statements concerning Joy Ford and the history and use of the property are correct (they aren’t). It’s about Right and Wrong at foundational levels. What an incredible country we live in where a little, widow woman can stand up to the “King”, wag her finger in his face and tell him and his lackeys, “Get off my land!” and be in the right.
I understand that’s hard for Mr. Blackstock to accept. After all, the rest of the property Lionstone bought to develop, it bought from him. What happens to his vision, his legacy and his money if the development doesn’t happen. I understand he’s defending his dream! But Joy Ford is fighting for her dream, too. No one kept Blackstock from disposing of his property as he saw fit when he sold it to Lionstone. He should go back to managing his family’s affairs and quit denying rights he exercised for himself to another family because he thinks his is a better dream. He did what he wanted with his property and Joy Ford can do the same. With all respect due the man and his accomplishments, he does not speak for me or my family. He does not speak for many of us here in Nashville. And he sure doesn’t speak for the only person who has a say in this matter, Joy Ford.
It is in decisions made on issues exactly like this that a man’s, or a city’s, direction and destiny hinge. Narvel Blackstock believes the future of Music City depends on erecting a building rising into the Music Row sky. I believe our city’s future depends on building on a strong Foundation rooted deep in the character of a nation. There are a lot of choices to be made over the next few weeks. But there’s only one right one. I hope Narvel Blackstock can see his way clear to make it.
Last week I wrote about the plight of Nashville’s Joy Ford, the country’s latest victim of Eminent Domain abuse by government. Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) has begun legal proceedings under Eminent Domain to condemn and seize Joy’s business. It has prospered at the head of Music Row for almost 30 years. Now it is “blighted” and must be bulldozed to make room for $100 million dollars worth of development by a private firm in Houston, TX. I said last week, this case is every bit as bad as Kelo vs New London in 2005.
“Tennessee’s new eminent domain law is a joke—and the joke is on property owners across the state,” … Tennesseans aren’t any more secure from having their property taken than before the law was passed.”
In particular, Johnson says that the law’s failure to more clearly define blight and its outright encouragement of eminent domain use to acquire land for industrial parks makes it particularly threatening to property owners.
… after being worked through committee, this bill essentially guarantees very little protection for Tennesseans when it comes to eminent domain. To quote Sandra Day O’Connor in her dissent of the Kelo decision, the “specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.”
The bill states that ‘public use’ shall not include either private use or direct public benefits deriving from private economic development or private commercial enterprise, including the benefit of increased tax revenue and increased employment opportunities - except in the case where eminent domain is used for; roads, public utilities, private utilities, housing authorities, community development agencies for urban renewal or redevelopment plans; or for industrial parks. Looking at that list, I really can’t think of any exception for private economic development by eminent domain that the bill leaves out.
These 2006 comments by Lynn and Johnson are prescient. Joy Ford’s property is being seized because it is deemed “blighted”. Drew Johnson noted the law’s poor definition of blight. According to Ms. Ford, her property is ruled “blighted” because, among other things, it is surrounded by a chain link, barbed-wire topped security fence and is the only building left on the development property. Yet someone, perhaps the developer, has erected a shabbier looking fence around the development site. It goes unreported that both a hotel and Ford’s building abut the same parking lot. I assume the hotel property is not part of the development and so escapes urban “blight” despite also standing alone. Either that or Ford’s building is not the only one left on the property. Further, the reason Ford’s building is the only one left is the Shoney’s and other buildings standing on the site were demolished in anticipation of the development.
I’m trying to determine if these truly are factors in the classification of the Ford’s property as “blighted”. If so, how unfair. MDHA and LionStone Group want to buy her property but Ford won’t sell. They move ahead with development plans and clear the land. This has, for them, the pleasant side effect of creating the situation needed to force Ford from her property. Had LionStone and MDHA been required to wait until the property was free and clear before proceeding, a major element of the case against Ms. Ford, that of her “blighted” property, would not exist. How does creating “blight” for personal gain become working for the good of the public?
However, it is Rep. Lynn’s comments which make me wonder if government has not stacked the deck against the citizens they are to represent. A quick read of the bill would lead one to believe Tennessee was seeking to protect Tennesseans from the exact abuse Connecticut forced on her citizens. As Rep. Lynn observes, the bill starts well, noting “‘public use’ shall not include either private use or direct public benefits deriving from private economic development or private commercial enterprise, including the benefit of increased tax revenue and increased employment opportunities …” Unfortunately, the Tennessee Legislature left a loophole in the law. While making an acceptable exemption for traditional uses of Eminent Domain such as “… roads, public utilities, private utilities …” the bill then opens the door to all manner of Eminent Domain abuse by also exempting cases “… where eminent domain is used for; … housing authorities, community development agencies for urban renewal or redevelopment plans; or for industrial parks.”
The very issue which enraged the public in the Kelo decision, taking private property for private economic development to increase the city’s tax revenue, is not forbidden to government. In fact, the mechanism for government to do precisely that is written into the law. Government is forbidden from directly taking your property to develop to improve tax revenues. But agencies created by government whose purpose is development can do so. How did such disregard for citizen’s rights become law and an example of preserving the rights of citizens?
I’d like an answer to that from the Legislature. I’m sure Ms. Ford would, too. But for her, time is running out. The Legislature ran out of town at the end of the session. Too bad MDHA is still here and they’ve given Ford until just the middle of September to vacate the premises. After that, the wrecking balls start swinging. That’s long before the politicians responsible for this mess swing back through town. Stay tuned for more on this here …
By the time I got to RedState a bit ago, I was already neck deep in stories about government, at all levels, simply ignoring rules and laws they don’t like. It seems to be approaching epidemic proportions. It seems to be true regardless of whether or not the government in question is local, state or federal. It is true whether the officials involved are on the Left or on the Right.
This morning I posted on Eminent Domain abuse by the City of Nashville. Despite the clear language of the 5th Amendment’s Takings Clause, the city is moving to seize a citizen’s property to give to a private developer in the name of public use. Only in government can you so distort the meaning of words.
And when I get to RedState today, I find that the administrator of Atlanta’s airport has no intention of complying with the recent change in Georgia law which permits concealed carry permit holders to be armed in areas previously off limits to them. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta , ” …announced that, even though they are not breaking the law, anyone with a firearm in the areas that the new law allows people to carry will be arrested.”
Laws? We don’t care about your stinking laws!
Only when the people insist on their rights and are willing to go to great lengths to do so, will government be forced back to their proper role of servant to the people. Government as Master is a nightmare scenario playing out on stages across the country. It needs to stop.
What Circle? 23 Music Circle East - Nashville, TN to be precise. And broken may be the kindest way to describe what the owner of the business at that address faces. Shattered, decimated, mercilessly hounded into oblivion all come to mind to describe what Joy Ford, owner of Country International Records (CIR), is facing at the hands of Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA).
For almost 30 years, Ford and her late husband Sherman, have operated one of the first studios on what would become Music Row at that address. While much of the rest of the Row has gone corporate with multi-million dollar facilities, CIR remains privately owned. This earns CIR the classification of an Independent label or “Indie” as it’s known in the trade. Usually reserved for recent entries into the field who don’t have the juice to or don’t want to compete with the big boys, in the case of CIR, it’s deceptive. Joy and Sherman Ford were making music, writing songs, developing artists and cutting tracks at Country International Records long before many of the current Music Row elite were born. The walls of Ford’s business are filled with pictures of the legends she’s personally worked with. Stars like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw and more.
The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency filed papers in a Nashville court Friday to start a process that would take the offices of Country International Records at 23 Music Circle East.
The action, the city’s first test of eminent domain since the state legislature tightened condemnation laws two years ago, was taken after the agency determined that negotiations with building owner Joy Ford would not work, said Joe Cain, the agency’s development director.
“We’re not having any conversation,” Cain said. “We’re hopeful that now she will meet with us.”
The government is filing papers to take Ford’s property. When they asked her to sell she said, “No”. Problem was, Joe Cain and MDHA didn’t like that answer. Having determined “negotiations with the building owner Joy Ford would not work” (read: this woman doesn’t want to sell her property at any price) they are having her property condemned as “blighted”. If she will not sell, they’ll force her out. With the pressure on, they’re “hopeful that now she will meet with” them. Mr. Cain and the MDHA seem to be confusing conversation with coercion.
A casual read of the issue sounds like a business deal moving along, working out small contractual differences as it goes. A “win-win” in the buzzword parlance of business. Except Joy doesn’t want that sort of victory. Her idea of winning is Joe Cain and MDHA leave her alone to continue the dream she and her late husband pursued for years, making music. This being America, she should be able to do exactly that. The property is hers. She owns it free and clear. She pays all her taxes. To most Americans that means that she can do what she wants with her land as long as it’s legal.
Welcome to the real blight in this story. Just a week after Kelo v New London’s 3rd anniversary and in a week celebrating the quintessential remembrance of American freedom from governmental tyranny, the spreading blight of governmental abuse of Eminent Domain has arrived in Nashville. The arrogance and hubris of Joe Cain and MDHA reminds one of the royalty we opposed for our freedom over 230 years ago. If Joe Cain has his way, Joy Ford’s dreams and right to do what she pleases with her own property will be bulldozed to make room for a $100 million dollar development deal with a private company in Texas.
At it’s heart, this is the real issue. True Eminent Domain is about the government requisitioning property for Public Use for the good of all the citizens. This is just a business deal. And it’s the stuff of Hollywood, not Music City. It reads like a boilerplate movie script, not a hot Billboard single. The widow v the conglomerate. MDHA signed a deal with Houston based Lionstone Group, a private developer, to sell them the property they wanted at cost. They inked this Music Row deal in March of this year. At the time, Ford’s property was not theirs to sell yet they sold it anyway! Now, they are using strongarm tactics to keep a promise they had no right to make. In doing so, they are not simply trampling on the rights and dreams of one woman. They are making a mockery of our Constitution and rights and values paid for with the blood of tens of thousands. The question is, will this movie script, as yet unfinished, have a happy ending? How will this sad country song finish after the bridge?
New ED will be eradicated when Americans choose to reclaim their constitutional rights and responsibilities. We must trust ourselves and our neighbors more than those in government when making decisions about our property. We must reject the idea government is our source and reclaim the notion we are responsible for ourselves and have specific rights, including to own property. And we must be willing to defend our Right to private property ownership by exercising our other Rights as needed. The Right to Free Speech, to Assemble, of the Press and perhaps even to Keep and Bear Arms will be needed to stem the encroachment of government on our Rights.
I’m inviting you to stand with her as well. I’m asking you to be like Bill R. from Washington, DC. He read Joy’s story in the Tennessean and walked from downtown’s Renaissance Hotel to Joy’s part of Music Circle. Having seen her place and her plight, he wrote her a check and an encouraging note. His actions said he believed this is a fight Joy can win but it will take more than just her. Watch this space, tune in to Phil and other talk radio shows for more information. Call Mayor Dean and your Council member. Put the pressure on and keep it on. The MDHA is saying they are doing this to benefit all the people, not just one developer. Tell them there are limits to how far you want them going in your name.
I remember when Bob Dole, then a recently defeated Presidential candidate, gained more national notoriety than he did in his Presidential bid by participating in an ad campaign against ED, Erectile Dysfunction. The first blend of ED and politics, it would not be the last. A few years later, a New ED garnered national attention. Eminent Domain.
Old ED may be inoffensively described as the inability of an unhappy man to erect a structure for his own use on his own property. This unfortunate situation was a private matter and left to the man and his family to correct. Senator Dole was hawking new construction options for our property owner to consider. New ED is similar but there are serious differences. New ED features government unhappy with structures a man is erecting (or not) for his own use on his own property. This unfortunate situation is being made public as government attempts to seize said property in the name of the People.
For years, the little talked about problems associated with Old ED remained unaddressed and anonymous. No one knew which of their family or friends may have suffered from the condition’s real and unfortunate side effects. Consequences such as depression and lowered self esteem led to all manner of attempts to fix the problem. In some cases, the problems led to divorce. Thus, the very institution designed to address man’s need to erect his structure was destroyed by his inability to do so. Eventually, in a serendipitous accident, a solution to many of the problems presented by Old ED was discovered. This has resulted in the widespread prescription of a little blue pill for millions of property owners around the world and interesting new career options for retired politicians.
This is where New ED and Old ED part company. New ED is exactly that - new! The problems associated with New ED are also new and they are anything but anonymous and unaddressed. For the 225+ years that our nation has been in existence, the issue of ownership of private property and the rights of property owners to use their property as they see fit were clear and established. People owned their property and the government had no authority over it. In fact, government was often the tool used by property owners to defend their property rights. Government, however, is a dubious partner in any enterprise and the issue of private property is no exception. Eventually, as it always does, government sought to expand its scope and authority in the matter.
It starts innocently enough. Governmental expansion may appear reasonable and even beneficial. For instance, if government helps people defend their property rights, it’s reasonable government needs to know who owns the property and what the property’s boundaries are. Thus plot maps and mortgages are born. If government provides these services, it cannot do so for free. Fees for registering said documents are also a reasonable thing. As communities grow, government must know which properties it is responsible for and which are serviced by other governments. City limits, township boundaries and other demarcations spring up. These aren’t free services either so property taxes, local sales taxes, excise taxes and fees spring up to fund government. It is about here, however, where property ownership passes from citizen to government. It’s the tipping point where people alone stop owning property and government becomes a joint owner.
It’s tempting to think otherwise. However, if you think you alone own your property and you are free to do with it what you will, try any of the following and see what happens. Try selling your property without paying taxes on the sale. Try not paying the annual property tax levied by the government on your property based on its value. Try denying the government Assessor access to your property when he comes to see if it’s worth more to you and thus qualifies for a government revenue (read tax) increase, too. Try making improvements to your property without paying for building permits, codes inspections and the like. There’s more but you get the point. Still think you own your own property?
Government’s expansion of its role in the ownership of private property has grown to the point it is not even pretending Americans own their own property anymore. The Constitution’s framers, knowing there may arise situations in which government might need the use of property owned by individuals, provided for that in the original language of the Constitution. Now known as ‘the Takings Clause’, the 5th Amendment states in part, “Private property shall not be taken for a public use, without just compensation.” This has traditionally meant government can buy, at a fair market price, property owned by a person, for public use, and the person cannot refuse to sell. This has been used to acquire property for Interstate Highways, government buildings and the like. While it is easy to disagree with the government’s decision that this or that property should be the one selected for such a purpose, it is pretty easy to agree that the purpose for which the property is being purchased by government is, indeed, one that will benefit most or even all citizens. The matter of price is also open to discussion but there are market guidelines that make that task much easier.
That situation applies no longer. The recent Supreme Court Kelo v New London, CT decision destroyed any pretense that Executive or Judicial branches of government would abide by Constitutional constraints. New London, CT did not argue government had a better use for the property than the owners. The government did not argue there was a use for the property providing a specific benefit for its citizens. The government argued the property owners’ taxes were low based on their use of the property. It argued that deflating the property’s value by condemning it; seizing it from the Kelo family and giving it to private developers for $1 with a 99 year lease would increase tax revenues by putting the land to a different use. Since those taxes would be spent on the community, this seizure of property was justified under the Takings Clause.
Many governments have passed legislation specifically preventing this unconstitutional seizing of private property but it is unclear such laws will stand if challenged based on the Kelo precedent. Despite some governments behaving well, others have not. In truth, no American is safe from government ordering him to move because it wants his property for itself. The New ED creates the scenario wherein the institution designed to protect a man’s right to erect his structure is now a weapon used against him. The protector has become a plunderer.
Unlike Old ED, there will be no accidental scientific fix. New ED will be eradicated when Americans choose to reclaim their constitutional rights and responsibilities. We must trust ourselves and our neighbors more than those in government when making decisions about our property. We must reject the idea government is our source and reclaim the notion we are responsible for ourselves and have specific rights, including to own property. And we must be willing to defend our Right to private property ownership by exercising our other Rights as needed. The Right to Free Speech, to Assemble, of the Press and perhaps even to Keep and Bear Arms will be needed to stem the encroachment of government on our Rights.
One can only hope a new politician will rise up (pun intended), like Bob Dole did, with a solution that returns the power and authority to solve the problem to the individual. If not, the New ED will lead to the same result failure to fix Old ED would have led to; the disappearance of Citizens. In the case of Old ED, citizens would have disappeared as fewer new citizens were born. In the case of New ED it will be that our citizens disappear as they are transformed into slaves.
Whether or not we label them as such, most of us have heroes. I do, at any rate, and so do most of the folks I run with, online and off. There are people whose commitment, character and contribution are so influential to my own commitment, character and contribution that I listen to them, study them and try to emulate them. Heroes need not be currently living. With today’s ability to touch people internationally via the Internet, heroes don’t have to be in your hometown or even personally connected to you. So it can be a rare treat to actually know or meet one of your heroes.
I have the privilege of knowing one of my heroes personally. His name is Chuck Muth. I even got to introduce him recently at a meeting in Chicago. Chuck works both behind the scenes and out front as well. Still, most people won’t know much about him. People connected to Nevada politics know who he is, however, and that seems to be the way Chuck likes it. I won’t go into the myriad reasons I want to be like Chuck when I grow up except to say he possesses a gift I greatly envy. Chuck can look at a situation or issue and immediately distill it to bare essentials, identifying the issues at work. Then he brings a devastating intellect to bear, either to shore up the right side or fillet or make mincemeat of the wrong side, depending on his mood d’jour, I suppose.
For those of you who like your news nicely packaged and broken down, Chuck publishes a great email newsletter, Muth’s Truth’s. You can sign up for Muth’s Truths at his blog by the same name. You won’t get spammed and, despite being filled with issues specific to Nevada, the insight Chuck brings to Nevada’s issues applies broadly to most anywhere.
Not just any pig farmer, though. This pig farmer is 69 year young Bob Combs, owner of R. C. Farms. Combs is a 3rd generation pig farmer who started out in Prescott, AZ. In the early 60’s, he ended up in North Las Vegas, NV where he bought out the area’s pig farm which no longer had pigs due to a syphilis outbreak but which still had contracts with Vegas hotels to dispose of their food waste. The owner at the time was just burning the waste. Combs bought the place and started raising pigs again.
In 1963, just like today, R C Farms was 13 miles north of Vegas’ strip. But it was in the middle of nowhere. Combs describes the remoteness of the place then by saying, “I could shoot in any direction without concern about anybody”. But it’s 2008 now and things have changed. For one thing, he’s been offered as much as $70 million dollars for the place by developers. He calls them “tire kickers” and isn’t interested in selling. The biggest change is the expansion of Las Vegas to the north. The closer the city gets, the more pressure is put on Combs and his enterprise.
The fact there was a pig farm in the area didn’t stop developers from doing their thing. But when the sort of smell one normally associates with a pig farm started wafting across strip malls and subdivisions when the wind was right, the customers of those developers started complaining. In 2001, Clark County’s Air Quality Department started fining Combs for the smell with some of the fines in excess of $50,000! Never mind that Combs was there first and the nature of his business is well known to anyone doing research into the area for a considered development.
Combs didn’t scream or whine or complain. He worked with the government to reduce the smell. And, as you’d expect, with the reduced smell, development sprang up even closer. If Clark County succeeds in collecting the fines they’ve levied, it will help the Clark County School District fund building an elementary school that actually abuts Combs’ property! Still, Combs has no plans to sell and he isn’t changing his business model either.
Chuck came to mind in one of the closing quotes in the Spirit article. Combs was checking up on operations at one of the casinos that provides part of the 1,000 tons of food waste Combs takes in each month. He was having breakfast in Jerry’s Nugget, one of his very first customers and chatting with his waitress, Gracie. Gracie asks Combs,
“You ever gonna move your pig farm?”
“Oh, Honey,” he half-smiles, shaking his head.
“You just say, ‘I was here first,’ and let them keep smelling it,” says Gracie.
“That’s the smell of freedom,” Combs says.
Kelo v New London and Eminent Domain. The rights of the individual v the power of the state. Bob Combs v Clark County, NV. This is the sort of fight Chuck Muth has been fighting for years. He was doing it long before it was sexy. He was doing it because it is the right thing to do and because the Bob Combs of the world need all the help they can get to fight back against arrogant, out of control and powerful government. I have a new Nevada hero in Bob Combs. He fits nicely with my other Nevada hero, Chuck Muth, and other Silver State heroes like Richard Disney, Joe Enge and Eric Odom. They certainly remind me of one another. I’ll be seeing Chuck in Vegas in a couple of months. I just may make that 20 minute trip north to the Combs farm to shake Bob’s hand and tell him “Thanks!”
