Slashdot Mirror

SF doesn't own the land, but of course they control it - like any other city, with zoning, incentives and other political checks. That space is vacant because SF is very selective, reserving it for long-term strategic anchor tenants like Lucas. SF certainly was lucky that Lucas decided to expand his studio across the Golden Gate Bridge into the Presidio, rather than LA, or New Zealand or someplace else even cheaper. But Lucas is also lucky SF let him into that exclusive property. There are several Lucases, and only one Presidio, especially in Lucas' front yard.

Here's a few links on this, but I pretty much pulled them at random, just google "Bush Arlington Eminent Domain":
http://www.bushfiles.com/bushfiles/SweetheartDeal. html
http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/2004/article s3/bush_and_eminent_domain.htm

You may perhaps have heard the old saw that "ignorance of the law is no excuse", a concept which implies that it is the duty of all citizens to know all the laws, or at least, understand what kind of behavior is in violation. You would find it hard to plead with a judge that you didn't know that it was illegal to steal a car or beat somebody up, just because you didn't read the laws prohibiting such actions.

Secret laws remove any possibility of knowing what is illegal, and will lead to a situation where every citizen can be charged for criminal acts, if the authorities find it convenient to do so. This is known as a "police state", examples of which can be found in Communist Russia, and the military juntas of the 70's in South America. This is what is the really big deal- the possibility that members of the government may have you arrested for breaking laws of which you know nothing. Let's not get into the possibilty that they might enforce laws which don't exist. We all know that our government's belief in the habeas corpus is shaky and we're already talking about just how hard it is to challenge "secret laws" which might exist, as that's the gist of the report to which this article refers.

This is fundamental change in the balance of power in the government, and potentially, a fundamental change in the form of our government. I am very glad that there are some citizens and organizations which realize this and are fighting to prevent such changes. I submit to you that showing an ID to board an airplane is exactly, exactly, the state of affairs that we were warned against by Benjamin Franklin when said "Those who would trade liberty for security, deserve neither."

If you believe that concerns about abuse of power are strawmen arguements, let me provide a few links for your perusal: Air Marshall Abuse and Public Indigity . These are the tip of the iceberg, as these events are not directed with purpose or malice, but a simple outgrowth of conditions. I have no wish to experience the horror the Argentinian people did when they were subject to secret laws.

Do you mean, for instance, using eminent domain to take away private holdings and getting the state to tax the people in order to fund a private venture? Such as President Bush did with the Texas Rangers Stadium?

article 1
article 2
article 3

Riiiight! It was because of you liberals that this entire thing happened in the first place.

Futher, the idea that corporations are evil is more BS.

If it was true monopoly laws would be thrown out, corporate taxes would be nullified, companies would have the right to vote, environmental protections would go away and corporations would be protected from lawsuits by the public.

Futher, the idea that corporations are evil is more BS.

I didn't bring criminal convictions up but since you asked, Bush's DUI conviction in 1976 courtesy of the Smoking Gun. I don't personally think it is that big a deal but you seem sensitive on the subject.

It's ceratinly true that all major political candidates favor corporate welfare of one kind or another. (Though I do want to point out that the Clinton administration's stance on trade was far more market oriented than the pandering of the Bush administration. Look at steel tariffs.) Bush was unusual in that he personally profited from corporate welfare.

"Self-righteous" is definitely an eye-of-the-beholder thing.

The Clinton recession? That's good. Clinton certainly benefitted from a strong economy while he was at the helm. And a downturn of some sort was inevitable. But he did the most important thing: he didn't derail the economy. The Bush tax cuts, which Bush claims is a "jobs stimulus", have created nothing but defecits as far as the eye can see while the economy sheds tens of thousands of jobs each month.

There was fraud in the election. The Bush team pressured Florida election boards to count invalid absentee ballots. But even with it, under every plausible recount scenario (with the hugely ironic exception of the one favored by the Gore team), Gore received more votes in Florida than Bush.

...and last July a new species was discovered in Central Park right under our noses

But this project is a great idea & a good start anyway, to a project that will take 100+ years, I'm sure