Posted below in its entirety: http://freekeene.com/…

If you’ve been reading this blog for the last month or so, you know that the “City of Keene” has been threatening me over my tenants’ couch in their lawn. First, they sent one of their “enforcers” to threaten me with a $100 ticket. Then, one of the commenters here on Free Keene dug up a little dirt on their “enforcer” Carl Patten Jr. Early last week, my tenants snapped a photo of Mr. Patten snooping around and photographing the couch.

Here is the latest on the situation. The day after Mr. Patten was caught snooping, a letter arrived in my mailbox from Laurie Plankey, Accounts Receivable for the “City of Keene”. Here is a PDF and here’s the text:

September 16, 2008

On 8/26/2008 Carl Patten from Code Enforcement issued you ordinance violation # 1133 for a junk couch on the lawn at (ADDRESS) The violation was not paid within 7 days and has now increased from $100.00 to $200.00 and is now due. You can pay this fine on the 3rd floor, City Hall, 3 Washington Street, Keene NH. Please ask for me. Failure to pay the penalty imposed by the citation may subject you to court action.

PAYMENT OF FINE DOES NOT NEGATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROMPT CORRECTION OF VIOLATION.

Should you have further concerns about this matter, please call Carl Patten at City Hall at 603-352-5440. My telephone number is 603-352-1013, extension 6030. I am customarily available Monday through Friday from 8 until 4.

(SIGNED)
Laurie Plankey
Accounts Receivable, Finance Department
Cc: Carl Patten

In response, I wrote them the following and had it notarized before hand delivering it in front of witnesses this morning September 26, 2008:


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http://www.reason.tv/…

Eminent domain is the constitutionally sanctioned practice of taking land for legitimate public uses. Traditionally, that’s meant things like roads and schools. Over the past several decades, however, governments have gone hog wild with eminent domain, routinely condemning property and turning it over to well-connected private developers as a way of subsidizing economic development and increasing tax revenues (never mind that it doesn’t always work out that way).

Officials in National City, a predominantly Hispanic community near San Diego, have pushed to bulldoze a popular athletic center for struggling kids to pave the way for private developers to build new luxury condos.

As tragic and absurd as this may sound, such outrageous affronts to property rights are an almost daily occurrence. Episode 3 of The Drew Carey Project chronicles the devastating impact of eminent domain abuse on the lives of people whose property the government can threaten to take, not for public use, but for the benefit of wealthy developers.

At the monthly Manhattan Libertarian Party meeting last month we watched a film on eminent domain activism. It went step by step on how to organize and deal with eminent domain problems. How to go about fighting City Hall. I’ve read a reasonable amount of information on problem with eminent domain throughout the country. Like the Kelo decision. It’s really a disgusting display of corporatism. Often some will ignorantly think of capitalists, free marketeers and sometimes libertarians as supporters of these things… and that is absolutely incorrect. Eminent domain is a statist collectivism idea completely contrary to private property and volunteerism. I’m glad that this video ended relatively well though I’m not all that sure they will win out in the end without major public outcry.