Some songs are so sweet, so romantic, so personal, you just have to imagine how great they would be as a wedding song. Here’s my personal list as I run across them:
While I’ve never liked the idea of eminent domain, I’ve been able to make an uncomfortable peace with it. Until recently, eminent domain defined a right held by governments and municipalities to forcibly take ownership of property for a fair price regardless of the owner’s wishes to sell, as long as there was compelling case that “public use” would serve the greater good.
For example, suppose a city decided to build a park in a certain area, and all but on of the landowners agreed to sell to the city for a negotiated price. The last landowner, however, holds onto his empty parcel of land that he bought as an investment and demands a price that greatly exceeds recent market prices. It’s clear, in this case, that the landowner is trying to stick it to the government, knowing that he has them by the short ones as the last holdout for a major project. So, the government claims the land under eminent domain and pays the landowner the going rate.
In a less clear-cut example, suppose the evil landowner above was replaced with an 80 year old widow living on the land in a house she’d lived in for the last 50 years. Now it’s not so clear-cut, and it was this type of situation that caused me to have intellectual problems with eminent domain. Who is qualified to weigh the need for a community park against a lifetime of ownership and memories? It always felt un-American to me that cases like this often ended up in the forcible condemnation and claiming of the land, followed by the widely televised bulldozing of the poor old widow’s lifelong home.
However, while there were cases in the past that I would consider abuse of eminent domain, they were nothing compared to the new definition of eminent domain provided by the Supreme Court.
Now, based on the recent Supreme Court ruling (Kelo v. the city of New London, Conn.), the definition of eminent domain has been expanded so that “public use” now includes the ability to forcibly take land and give it to private developers who assert that they can create a material improvement for the community, such as more jobs, bigger tax base, etc. So in the past, eminent domain could claim land for public use such as parks, roadways, etc. Now public use includes taking privately owned land and giving it to private companies to develop more profitable enterprises with the land.
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote the principal dissenting opinion, where she stated, “Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.” She also stated that this decision eliminates “any distinction between private and public use of property — and thereby effectively [deletes] the words ‘for public use’ from the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment”.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate dissenting opinion where he says that the court is changing the interpretation from being for “public use” to being for “public purpose”, and sums up that change by saying “This deferential shift in phraseology enables the Court to hold, against all common sense, that a costly urban-renewal project whose stated purpose is a vague promise of new jobs and increased tax revenue, but which is also suspiciously agreeable to the Pfizer Corporation, is for a ‘public use’.” He then further stated that “Losses will fall disproportionately on poor communities. Those communities are not only systematically less likely to put their lands to the highest and best social use, but are also the least politically powerful.”
I couldn’t have said it better than Justices O’Connor and Thomas. This decision will *clearly* benefit large, wealthy companies…who are the only companies with both the capital to stage an “urban renewal” project and also the political clout to cloud the judgment of local officials into stealing land from rightful owners in the name of “improvement”.
Isn’t this America? I got to the land first, I own it, I’m putting it to good use, you don’t need it for “public use”, so keep your goddam hands off of it! I don’t care that Pfizer wants to expand their plant, I was here first. Don’t you remember kindergarten? No cutting in line! Also, I’m not trying to hold out for more money like some carpetbagger…I don’t want anything from you, other than for you to leave me alone. I believe myself to be a reasonable man, but this issue gets me so riled up that I’m not sure what I’d do if somebody tried to take my home and give it to Wal-Mart. I might end up on CNN in some kind of stand-off. And I consider myself not only reasonable, but VERY reasonable. I fear for the repurcussions when a case like this involves less reasonable people.
The one and only positive aspect of this case is that the majority opinion contains language stating that this ruling does not preclude governmental entities from enacting laws to restrict this type of eminent domain. Many state legislatures are already considering legislation to restrict eminent domain, however my hopes are very low. We are asking governments to restrain themselves from increasing their tax bases. Not only that, but whispering in their other ear are huge developers filling their heads with tails of marina$, resort$, spa$, shopping center$, and office building$.
I wonder who will win that argument?
Update: Mynagirl picks her faves for the top spot!
Ok, I’m not going to surprise anyone when I pick Stacy & Tony vs. Drew & Cheryl in competition for the lead. To be honest, since we’ve now lost George Hamilton and are down to only four couples in the competition, it’s hardly a huge act of clairvoyance to see them as the top competitors. Not only has each couple already scored perfect 10’s (Stacy and Tony twice!!) but there are only two other couples still left. Would you believe I picked these two competitors out from the beginning? Even if you don’t believe me, I know that I spotted talent right away!
And while I love Jerry Rice, unfortunately he cannot conquer his hunched-over football-player stance, nor his innate “oh my god the guys are gonna so laugh at me” self-consciousness. And although Lisa Rinna tries really hard (oh my god just she try hard) and is actually pretty good, I’m just not rooting for her manic and over-the-top performances. Not only are Stacy and Drew the best dancers, they also seem to be the nicest and most self-effacing, so that just makes me want to root for them more.
Drew Lachey and dancing partner Cheryl
Stacy Keibler and dancing partner Tony
As you can tell, the program has kept me hooked, and I’m sure I’ll watch it next season as well. Who can resist gripping pseudo-drama, humor, dancing, and flashy costumes?! Not this Mynagirl!
Original Article: 01/16/2006
So, Dancing with the Stars was never really on my radar last year. It sort of snuck up on me like a deadline I wasn’t tracking. Being the TiVo goddess I am (married to a Tivo god) and inveterate fast-fowarder I don’t necessarily know when all the new shows are on, or indeed even what they are. By the time I saw enough ads in fast forward to decide to rewind and investigate this sparkly indulgence, it had already left for the season.
But I was prepared this season, the Tivo at the ready. What a great concept — whoever thought this up definitely had a flash of genius. (Or what do I know, they could be a genius 24×7). Let’s get celebrities, some of which have obviously zero dancing talent, and try ballroom dancing with a professional. Not club dancing or anything free-form, but Ballroom Dancing… like, the complicated stuff. With steps and arm and hip motions, all working completely synchronous like an entire orchestra of body parts floating according to plan. Or in some cases, working in an utterly unsynchronous and disorganized manner somewhat like “Pinnochio chasing Jipity Cricket [sic] across the floor”… a hilariously accurate description of ESPN’s Kenny Mayne’s attempting the Cha-Cha.
Five women and five men, plucked from their comfortable niche of acting, sportscasting, wrestling, journalism, or being an eligible receiver, extend themselves way beyond their comfort zone in order to compete for glory and (for some) maybe a way out of obscurity. It’s uncomfortable and inspiring in equal measure. It really does take a lot of chutzpah to put one’s performance on the line in an area that isn’t your core specialty. And have the behind-the-scenes practice footage shown as well — all your mess-ups, your physical shortcomings, and how much you can’t do that backbend.
Of course, I can’t help but love it for the gloriously should-be-trashy-but-aren’t fashions … where else it it appropriate to wear a silver sequin bikini with a swath of black fabric cutting a line from your shoulder to your ankle? With high heels no less! The men, of course, are a bit more limited… although George Hamilton managed to pull off (well… I mean… look good wearing) a tux with tails and top hat.
This season’s crop is impressive. Tia Carrere (from Wayne’s World), right out there with her post-baby body. George Hamilton, adorably suave and at the same time humble about his 60+ year-old body. They just don’t make men that suave and handsome anymore (well… George Clooney excepted, I guess). Wrestler Stacy Kiebler is definitely not an elf — the totally tall and adorable blonde has turned out to be one of the best dancers there! Kenny Mayne (already voted off) was an absolute nightmare, dance-wise, but had an affable oh-hell-let’s-go-with-it attitude. P Miller (Master P) is similarly a nightmare on the dance floor with much more a you-deal-with-it attitude. The guy won’t even wear dance shoes! Amazingly he hasn’t been voted off yet, although his hapless partner is smilingly terrified each week. Tatum O’Neal, who utterly who cannot stay still, did really well the first week but not so great the second week — I think the first week’s performance was because the dance was the waltz and her inflexibility didn’t really show under the long gown and the striding step. Jerry Rice is awesome — he even took his dance partner out to the 49’s practice grounds to show her how fast his feet could actually move. Wow! Journalist Giselle Fernandez (who I’d never heard of but they showed clips of to prove that she’s a journalist) is doing reasonably well — and she can wear a two piece gown pretty nicely, so I guess that helps. Soap star Lisa Rinna shows off her well-toned body but I’m not quite sure her footwork is up to par. Plus I can’t help staring at her huge lips… the’ve been like that for years so I can’t tell if they’re collagen or not. The standout star of the program so far, however, has to be Drew Lachey (Nick’s brother)… he’s engaging and a pretty darn good dancer to boot. He might be my pick to win!
All in all I’m very enthralled with the show. The judges are hilarious, the dancing is a hoot, and the dresses are to die for. They’ve got me hooked!