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Civil Liberties

Big Wheels Keep On Turning

Jesse Walker | 5.15.2008 9:43 AM

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The Alabama State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently held a public forum on eminent domain abuse. Here are Rev. John E. Smith and his wife Gail explaining what the authorities did to their Birmingham church:

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Jesse Walker is books editor at Reason and the author of Rebels on the Air and The United States of Paranoia.

Civil LibertiesCultureEminent DomainReason.tvReligion
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  1. BakedPenguin   17 years ago

    That’s ok, I’m sure it’s an isolated incident.

  2. Ayn_Randian   17 years ago

    I’m confused by the CCR reference…is Gail Smith’s middle name Mary or something?

  3. Jesse Walker   17 years ago

    You’re thinking of the wrong song. “Big wheels keep on turning” is the first line in “Sweet Home Alabama.”

    I used it because, well, this took place in Alabama…and the congregation lost a home…and, um, the big wheel of justice is turning…

    I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that not every Hit & Run headline has to be brilliant.

  4. Pro Libertate   17 years ago

    It’s also the first line of “Sweet Home Alabama”.

  5. Pro Libertate   17 years ago

    Damn you, Jesse, and your quicksy little fingers!

  6. Taktix?   17 years ago

    I used it because, well, this took place in Alabama…and the congregation lost a home…and, um, the big wheel of justice is turning…

    When I hear the “big wheel of justice,” I imagine a large stone olive grinder, squeezing every drop of liberty from our lives.

    Does that fit anyone else’s imagery?

  7. D.A. Ridgely   17 years ago

    I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that not every Hit & Run headline has to be brilliant.

    As if Mr. Bailey’s headlines didn’t make that clear already!

    (OTOH, the rest of you might consider adding those amusing little disclaimer statements.)

  8. Warren   17 years ago

    I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that not every Hit & Run headline has to be brilliant.

    WRONG! Every Hit & Run headline absolutely MUST be brilliant. I believe composing an un-profound headline lacking sparkling wit is a capital offense.

    I’m watching you Walker!

  9. BakedPenguin   17 years ago

    Taktix? – actually, I imagine a large Wheel of Fortune where most of the choices are “Go To Prison” or “Bankrupt”. The politically connected, of course, get a few more chances than the rest of us.

  10. Ayn_Randian   17 years ago

    Taktix – I also had the “Stone Grinder of Liberty and Prosperity” image.

    Weird. we must be latent pessimists.

    I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that not every Hit & Run headline has to be brilliant.

    Hey, hey, we aren’t the ones who kept making “inside-joke headlines” that had to be explained every five minutes. Don’t you guys remember this throwaway line from Thunderdome…it’s totally applicable and hipster to refernce that, right???.

    🙂

  11. BakedPenguin   17 years ago

    re: headline. This is such a comedown from “…dodgy innuendo”

  12. Franklin Harris   17 years ago

    Don’t you guys remember this throwaway line from Thunderdome…

    Keep that one in mind for the next story about Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford’s never-ending crusade to rip off taxpayers to fund a domed stadium.

  13. wheel products   13 years ago

    Great post. I have been searching for this exact info for a while
    now.

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