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June 28, 2006
Kelo on Kelo: I'll keep my illusions
Providence Journal, Op-Ed
By Susette Kelo
Hardly a day goes by as I work in my garden or have a cup of coffee in my kitchen, both of which overlook the Thames River and Long Island Sound, that I don't ask myself, "If I had to do it all over again, would I?" Even on my worst days, and there are many, my answer is the same: "Absolutely yes."
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Mark Twain wrote, "Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." My illusion has been, and will continue to be, that my home is mine.Had the City of New London needed our homes for a school or a fire station, we would have understood that it was truly a "public use" and we would have complied. But there is no public use here. Building a hotel or upscale condominiums so someone else can live here is not a public use or even a public purpose. And in fact there are no specific plans for the land where our homes stand.
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At some point, a day of reckoning will come for all. We will all have to answer for things we've done or failed to do. On that day, I would much rather be me than be the people trying to take my home.
NoLandGrab: This weekend, NoLandGrab paid a visit to Kelo's little pink house in the Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London.
Posted by lumi at June 28, 2006 7:16 AM