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October 19, 2007
Is your editor an idiot?
The Brooklyn Paper
Letters to the Editor
An eminent domain activist takes no prisoners in his criticism of last week's editorial about the Atlantic Yards federal eminent domain case:
To the editor,
Your editorial about the Atlantic Yards case was wrong (“A’Yards case is strong,” Oct. 13).
Of course, plaintiff’s lawyer Matthew Brinckheroff did not “reargue” Kelo, as you put it. As we now know, the scenario in the Kelo case was exactly the same as Atlantic Yards: the developer approached government, and suggested the “redevelopment.”
I discuss this revelation in my book, “The Eminent Domain Revolt: Changing Perceptions in a New Constitutional Epoch” (Algora, 2006).
Actually, it’s clear that everyone on the Supreme Court knew [New London’s argument] was a lie and a scam. So why didn’t the Institute for Justice press it at the trial level? Because they’re a right-wing, crypto-fascist organization and didn’t do their homework when Kelo was at the trial stage.
So your conclusion — namely, that “New London did not take the private property to benefit the private developer who would build the Pfizer plant; indeed, the identity of the developer was determined only after a proper bidding process” — is simply not true at all.
Whoever wrote that editorial is a complete uninformed idiot.
John Ryskamp
Editor’s note: We differ with Ryskamp’s reading of the case.
NoLandGrab note: Can we all agree who the real idiot is in this case?
Posted by lumi at October 19, 2007 8:31 AM