"Private" property rights?

"All your land are belong to us!"

I'm sure we've all either read or heard about this story, whereupon the Supreme Court (genuflect, head bowed) has decided that local governments have the authority to force you to sell your property, if they think you should:

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project's success is not guaranteed.

The 5 to 4 ruling provided the strong affirmation that state and local governments had sought for their increasing use of eminent domain for urban revitalization, especially in the Northeast, where many city centers have decayed and the suburban land supply is dwindling.

Well, dangit. There goes another of the facades of freedom Americans hold dear. It's not as if the property was really ours, anyway; try not paying your property taxes for a year or three, and see who's property it really is!

So, now, should this happen to your property, what to do? I would strongly consider public threats to the public officials of severe consequences should they attempt to thieve private property, but I would likely be just pissing in the wind. I guess attempting to convince the public officials to do the right thing (ie, leave me and my property the heck alone) would be the best course, at least to start, but once the arrogant little dorks get their mind set on something like that, it's hard to turn them away.

At some point, America is going to have to draw a line in the sand. When will we decide we've had enough?

As that famous curmudgeonette, the Great Claire Wolfe, wrote, "America is at that awkward stage: It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." It's hard to dispute the first part (When was the last time we gained freedom?), and it's not all that early anymore.