9/11 Claims More Victims

The victim count rises again in the wake of the push to memorialize any and all things that have to do with September 11, 2001.

Let me preface this by saying that I am not opposed to building a memorial for the courageous passengers on Flight 93 that went down 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but within reason.

In and around Shanksville, Pennsylvania property owners are becoming victims of the federal government, the national park service and the group representing the victims of Flight 93.

In preparation for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, these organizations want to build a 2200 acre memorial and national park at the crash site.

In the days of a record setting $1.8 trillion dollar budget deficit, major corporations falling by the wayside, job losses in the tens of thousands every month, and people losing their retirement funds in the stock market fiasco, the national park service wants to spend $58 million on the property for this memorial alone. That does not include the costs of roads, buildings, utilities and all the other amenities that go along with a national park.

There are several landowners who were willing to donate land for a memorial, but this is not enough for the parties on the side of the government and park service. Though there have been appraisals of the land, there have been not concrete negotiations with the landowners about selling their property to the park service.

It seems the park service and the individuals wanting to build the memorial are bypassing all these channels and moving right straight to seizing the property using eminent domain and the argument that people will receive fair market value for the property. Ask the people outside Ft. Worth, Texas where they built the NASCAR track 15 years ago about the fairness of eminent domain.

It does not matter to the government that one piece of property has been in the same family since the depression, or that another was to be a home where a family could enjoy their retirement years, or the sight of two businesses.

Don’t worry it will be okay. We’re from the government and we’re here to help. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/07/AR2009050701048.html