Governments around the country, especially cities, are abusing the power of eminent domain to seize homes, farms, factories, churches and businesses. They are seizing them not for public use, but to give to other private entities, typically because they think a Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, or some other new development will bring more sales tax revenue. The Fifth Amendment from our Bill of Rights states, "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This was made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court in the case of Kelo v. New London (2005), and in earlier cases such as Berman v. Parker (1954) and Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (1984), has given government virtual carte blanche to take any property they please for any purpose whatsoever. The court has replaced the words "public use" with "public purpose," and have allowed virtually anything as justification of "public purpose." In essence, the court has amended the Constitution, without authority to do so.

They claim in theory to still deny the right of government to take property from one private party to give to another particular private party; but in practice they always rule in favor of the seizure. Hence, the claim is worthless. The offending justices in the Kelo case were:  Stevens, Breyer, Bader-Ginsberg, Souter, and Kennedy. Those who stood up for freedom and the Constitution were Thomas, Scalia, O'Connor, and Chief Justice Rehnquist. O'Connor wrote a dissent of mixed quality, part good, part rather lame.  Thomas wrote a masterful dissent. We need more justices like those who dissented. It may be that neither presidential candidate will appoint such justices, but it is possible with McCain. Obama will give us more along the lines of Breyer and Bader-Ginsberg.