Thank you Seagoon, that Scalia link was an interesting read. I especially agreed with his assessment of how wrongfully judges are being nominated nowadays - not on their merit as honest, good, and reasonable lawyers, but on their positions on key issues. The partisan strife this leads to is evident with the recent filibustering controversy.
I think I differ with you in that I don't see this as a decision that benefits the "Common Good". I tend to agree with Justice O'Connor's assessment that it will instead ultimately benefit the well-heeled. I think "common good' is being used as a charade in this case.
It is interesting for me to note that on this BB where there can be such a wide disparity in opinion, no one is looking at this SC decision favorably. Its seems each of us is either outraged or at least very concerned about the implications.
I'm interested in the Natural Laws you speak of. Can you spell them out here?
Can anyone give any context as to what the Founding Fathers could've been thinking of when then drafted the 5th Amendment (one cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation)? What abuse lead to this amendment? Surely they couldn't have imagined taking people's homes to build shopping malls and professional sports arenas. Were they really thinking more along the lines of the Navy impressing private merchant ships to service in time of War, or the taking of someone's livestock to feed troops or something?