Property Rights Redacted

The Rocky Mountain News (soon to be a memory) reported what is a quite affront to property rights.

It seems that Denver's 16th Street Mall is "at-risk." Apparently, the Mall will start smoking weed and dropping out of high school-- to hang out at the mall.

The self-appointed Historic Denver, Inc., and it's kissing cousin Colorado Preservation, Inc., fret that the 16th Street Mall is in danger of destruction. For those who have lived or worked near the mall, we know that the RTD bus shuttles, while they may be eco-friendly, will damage the Mall's granite tiles. Now Historic Denver, Inc. wants to stop any attempts by RTD to change the Mall's pavement.

What is more disturbing in the file are these lines:

"Historic preservation is moving away from a lone iconic structure," [Jonas Landes, coordinator of the Endangered Places program for Colorado Preservation, Inc.] said. "Our list is an example of where it is going, including a design landscape that is not even 30 years old but an important part of our recent history."

So, instead of taking single buildings by regulation (i.e. putting such onerous restrictions that make a property unusable and therefore greatly devalued), now the "historic preservation" societies are taking entire neighborhoods? Remember, the Mall isn't even 30 years old.

Note too that the restrictions would not only be on RTD but also the properties that line the 16th Street Mall. The "historic" status would make any renovation to the properties very expensive. Imagine if/when they turn their attention to "historic" neighborhoods like Highlands, Globeville, or even Highlands Ranch (hey, if a 30 year old mall, why not a suburb?).

Later in the story, the Rocky notes:

Meanwhile, far from this urban landmark...

* The Fourth Street Commercial District of the town of Saguache is really "main street," but like other rural towns in the West, it is seeing stores shutter as population drops. Mayor Milton Jones, a fourth-generation resident of Saguache, says he wants his hometown to "become a place where people want to live again."

How exactly will a designation which severely limits what an owner can do to a building "become a place where people want to live again"? If the problem for Saguache, Colorado is a troubled economic situation, then the last thing "main street" needs is for the historic preservation districts to make life difficult for any incoming entrepreneurs to bring business and jobs to the city though burdensome historic preservation codes.

We need to stand up and say, "No!" to the nannyists who worry more about a modern mall or decrepit old building than they do about bus carrier safety and business revitalization.

B R B

I have an emergency project that just came up, and I expect it to take up most of my time and writing energy. Therefore, I may be dormant for a few days, but I'll be back, I promise.

Now, go put in the Bob Seger CD and rock out!

Student Indoctrination

The nannyists now want to ban plastic bags from grocery stores and big box retailers. The Denver Post and Colorado Television Channel 2 are reporting the story of a new attempt at the state capitol. Those who are familiar with the enviro-fanaticism know this is nothing new from the greens. The bill would tax each bag used (six cents per bag) and split the revenue between the vendor and an “education” program to raise environmental awareness. The end goal is to eliminate the use of the bags within three years.

What is disturbing about this story is who came up with the current bill: Kent Denver High School students. Wait… scratch that. The idea was programmed into the heads of the students from a teacher. What has been lost in the text stories linked above is a quick statement from one of the students (at the press conference) that this bill was part of a class project.

Such political action is inappropriate within the school structure. Although Kent is an independent school, students in K-12 programs face laws of compulsory education meaning that they must attend and complete school. Even assuming for argument that Kent is within its powers to hold such programs (as an opt-in school), the use of class time for political action is still inappropriate for a teacher has power over the students.

This law is another example of political action in the class room For example, remember the letters mandated by teachers telling President Bush to ban torture? Some students are sending letters to the anointed one now to end the Iraq war. All are the results of a teacher indoctrinating the class.

The classroom is a place to learn math, science, history, philosophy, and the other tools needed to be an intelligent citizen able to participate in our republic. The classroom is not a church in which the teacher preaches her political philosophies in coercion for the students to adopt the same.

The bill will most likely fail. The grocery stores are too big and employ too many people for state to add a tax and eventual elimination of the bags. The law would add a high cost to the average grocery store order (six cents per bag adds up quickly) and start to annoy customers. Of course, as a state law, the clientele of the stores would have little recourse. The bill does carve out an exception for small retailers, but small retailers rarely adequately service customers for everyday items.

If the grocery stores choose to charge for the bags, that is fine. I will not buy from their stores. That is the free market. When the government chooses to charge for the bags, that is a tax and a restraint on freedom for the sake of a very small but loud interest group. When teachers make my children to be political operatives, that is indoctrination.

Department of Interior Decorating

The Senate confirmed Ken Salazar as the new Secretary of the Interior.

I am still perplexed as to why Salazar, an up-and-comer in the Senate chose to work in the administration at such a sub-par job. Whenever Republicans control the administration, DoI is not well respected-- mostly due to the negative press garnered by lawsuits filed by environmental groups demanding the protection of some rodent. Conversely, when Democrats control the DoI, the courts sometimes feel bound to reign in the extremist environmentalist policies which hurt the property and liberty rights of businesses as well as average people. Basically, no matter who heads up the DoI, someone is angry with him.

All of that said, perhaps I won't have to look at that silly hat he wears anymore.

"Ken Salazar promised a more ethical, scientific Department of the Interior."

This is code for more active work on Global Warming. The Anointed One has already stated his belief in and desire to combat Global Warming (as, incidentally, did John McCain), despite the fact that there is no consensus on the issue, whether it is man-made, or how to combat it.

Therefore, expect more restrictions on the use of our supposed "public lands"-- heavy restrictions on motor vehicle use in the parks, limitations on hunting and fishing, more aggressive bans on logging, and heavy restrictions on oil and gas development.

(Because, really, this guy and these guys need more of our money).

Oath Flub

Apparently, two Harvard Law Review editors cannot perform a simple task-- like reciting a one sentence oath.

What is truly odd is that I was making jokes about this very possibility yesterday. Last night, my Facebook status read: “Tyler will not watch the inauguration: he has already memorized the oath of office that he will take in 20 years. 9:44pm.” Then, this morning, I joked with a fellow student that it would be funny if, after all this work, Obama messed up the oath. What then we asked? Would he not be president if he said something like “I do solemnly afflirmered…”?

Of course, after seeing the Oath That Will Live in Infamy (and YouTube), I quickly updated my Facebook status to: “Tyler re: my last status: Apparently, Obama missed the note to memorize the oath. Not even in office and I already out shine him! 1:11pm.”

Already the Obamaites are blaming Roberts for missing the wording because he did not use notes. In reality, both were at fault, but this “historic” oath was the first of such importance for both men. In reality, the flub does not really matter. In reality, this moment will end up on gag reels and have little consequence.

I suppose that the highly paranoid elements of the government will or have arranged for the President to retake the oath to make sure everything is constitutional.

Perhaps the Anointed One is really just a man after all.

Hopey Changeyness

To the last day of liberty!

We will now have hope and change and other platitudes. But with this hopey changyness, we may also see an end to many freedoms. Of course, chief on the list of the Chicago democrat is the end of guns in America. I seriously doubt that there will be another assault weapons ban. Instead, the BATFE will be free to "regulate" guns until only the elite (i.e. well-connected) few can own them legally. This gives the same effects as a ban, without a Congressional vote or a signature from the annotated one. Political plausible denaiablity.

But look too to other things. We will see a return of censorship in the form of the "fairness doctrine" that would practically ban talk radio as we know it. So too with "required service"-- if not in the military, then in another form (peace corps, city year, etc.). Finally, look for a radical change in our economic structure: he will likely introduce regulations that make everyday investment difficult (in the name of "stability") that will result in a net increase in the costs of investment as the costs of regulations get passed along.

Listen to what the chosen has said and will say in the first few weeks. Already, he has spoken of his comming "rule" and the taking of power. These are dangerous words. Combined with the personality cult that has arisen around him, these words could come true. As you have likely seen, Obama is on a "historic" whistle-stop tour on the way to inauguration day. He has been doing eveything Lincoln likely could have done. Obama has not even taken office and he is already setting up his "legacy" as a great president. Well, we as Americans need to remind him that it is actions and results that determine who good a president is. It is only then, after the presidency, that it can properly be judged.

When a victorious general came back from conquest to the city of Rome, the citizens would hold a great parade called a triumph. The general would ride a chariot and a man would hold a wreath-crown of gold olive leaves over his head. The man would never put the crown on the general's head, for Rome had no kings. The man would also whisper continually, "Remember, you are only a man. Remember, you are only a man."

When those traditions became lost, and the crown finally hit the victorious general's head, it was the beginning of the empire-- and the end of liberty.

Let us chant to Obama, "Remember, you are only a man."

Finals are COMMING!!!!

It is the ramp up to the most dreaded time of the year: finals! I am currently working around the clock to learn the doctrines I was supposed to be absorbing through out the semester.

Please pray for me.

Giving Thanks

Please forgive the lapse in postings. This semester of law school has been the most trying and difficult in my entire academic career.

While Mount Virtus has an excellent series on what he is thankful for, I neither have the energy or the creativity to create an extensive series. Instead, I will simply state what I am thankful for today as I get ready for nightly prayers.

I am thankful for God’s grace. You see, I am a prideful man in things large and small. God has currently made it His priority to break me of this pride. It has not been pleasant for sure. Yet, I see that He is molding me, maturing me. Indeed, I am being refined in the fire (see, e.g. I Peter 1:7). Now, lest I be accused of pride here, I must emphasize that it is God who is doing the work, and I am nowhere near fully refined or matured yet. It is only by Christ’s work that the chains of pride (Psalm 73:6) are broken and I am free (see Romans 7 and 8). God grants us mercy for our transgressions: He grants us grace to make us better.

I am thankful for family. Yes, this is an obvious choice, but I have a specific reason. Due to some family medical problems, we were not able to attend the greater family’s Thanksgiving feast. This is a sad event, for more of our clan passes away each year. Much to our surprise, though, not one but two different families within our clan brought us a Thanksgiving meal. My aunt and uncle as well as my grandparents brought us a complete meal-- roast (we don’t eat turkey), mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. My uncle and my grandparents both stayed a while to chat, making a mini-Thanksgiving for us. It truly warmed my heart.

I am thankful for education. There is rarely the day I attend a class and feel that it was wasted. I love learning new things, whether it is the Chevron two-step test of Administrative Law or learning to swing dance. I am fortunate to live in a country, and have the opportunities, to learn whatever my heart desires.

I am thankful for movies. While I am notorious for being slow to see a movie (for example, I just saw Fight Club a few months ago), I genuinely love to see movies. If they are great master works, then I delight in the artistry of the piece. If they are terrible, I play Mystery Science Theater. Today I got to see The Incredibles and Sixteen Candles. Yes, this is a random pair, but none the less, both were excellent movies.

Finally, I am thankful for my true friends. It is not prudent to list them here, for I will surely forget one or miss the contribution of another. Law and Politics are fields where one has many acquaintances and contacts, but few true friends. I have been blessed enough to have many true friends-- people who I can not only lean on but also simply talk to for a random conversation. As time moves on, we each go our separate ways and I do not get to see as many of them as often as I would like. Yet, we can simply pick up where we left off each time-- a rare quality in most relationships.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Please stop sometime and consider what you are thankful for and why.

Obama

Obama won the election. I hereby choose to take the high road (as opposed to the Democrats eight years ago) and say that he will be "my president." I will pray that God grants him wisdom and strength to bear the burden of "leader of the free world." It is awesome power-- and awesome responsibility-- and only the smart and brave thrive in the job.

However, his followers worship him-- literally.


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Yes, I know that the Onion News Network is not a reliable news source. But even my liberal friends who voted for Obama find this video funny-- and maybe a little true too.

Why the Bailout is Bad

Explained by Scrooge McDuck.