Answer: When it is coveted by a politically connected entity. Thumbs down for the U. S. Supreme Court decision that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses for private economic development.

Kudos to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said this means that “any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party. Who among us can say she already makes the most productive or attractive possible use of her property? The specter of condemnation hangs over all property.” Read the story.

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The New York Times’ Michael Cooper writes that “New York State’s top officials said on Tuesday that they would move to restore the public’s shaken confidence in state government by passing laws requiring lobbyists seeking state contracts to disclose their activities and by closing a loophole that allows state workers to evade ethics fines by quitting their jobs.” Hardly a giant step.

Henry Stern gives comprehensive coverage of this issue at NYCivic.org.

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The Herald Tribune’s Seth Mydan writes about a powerful woman, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest in Myanmar for many years.  What a price to pay for commitment to ideals.  “More and more, the democratic opposition to military rule in Myanmar is personified by one isolated and determined woman. “Her stubbornness is her strength,” Mr. Mydan said. “This woman will not bend and will not break.”

Hear! Hear!

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Enough is enough. There is something wrong with a legal and political system whose vague laws promote and cloak government officials anti-consumer activities. After ten years of trying to work within the system, I can no longer sit by and wait for New York State government to clean up its own house. Beginning today, I am going to tell it like it is. Let individual officials defend their roles in group selective enforcement.

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As a real estate / classifieds new media entrepreneur, I have been developing websites for nearly 10 years. And for 10 years, we’ve been battling the New York Department of State for the right to operate an open real estate marketplace as accessible to consumers as to real estate brokers.

Whenever I considered writing a blog, I thought “This is going to sound like one non stop criticism of government officials.”

And, you know, the fact is that, in ten years, I haven’t come across a single Department of State official who has had the courage to stand up against selective enforcement.

On the other hand, I have met non-DOS state officials who seem genuine about their consumer for public welfare and innovation.

I’m happy that the Internet can shed light on the good and the bad. Join me as we look behind the scenes of New York’s unworthy Department of State officials. And check out our re-launched <a href=”http://asklala.com/index.cfm?action=Faqs” target=”_blank”>Q & A section</a>.

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