Weekend Update #6 - The NEW YORK TIMES

The almighty New York TIMES finally picked up on the story, and might I note that the journalists at the NYT are idiots.

They, in their condescending manner, manage to get it all wrong: An elephant is like a stick, said the blind man. And the KELO stuff is all about bucolic rage. Too bad they didn't notice that ... well, I shall bite my tongue. For shame, NYT. For shame:

http://www.nytimes.com...

October 8, 2006
Anger Drives Property Rights Measures
By WILLIAM YARDLEY

PICABO, Idaho — Cheeks chapped, patience thinned, Katie Breckenridge had no trouble making up her mind about an Idaho ballot measure that would make the government pay property owners if zoning rules reduce the value of their land.

[...]

The more far-reaching proposals in the West — in Idaho, Arizona, California and Washington State — are citizens’ initiatives supported by signature petitions, and they are often supported financially and logistically by national libertarian groups.

This House Is My Home, a group based in Boise that is sponsoring the Idaho measure, Proposition 2, is among groups in several states that have received strong financial help from Fund for Democracy, headed by Howard S. Rich, the New York real estate investor who is chairman of the libertarian group Americans for Limited Government. As of late June, Fund for Democracy had given at least $237,000 to This House Is My Home, about two-thirds of the money raised by the group. The next filing deadline is Oct. 10.

“We are essentially a ‘networking station’ that brings together grass-roots activists, donors and community leaders who share a common interest,” John Tillman, president of Americans for Limited Government, said in an e-mail message. “In this case, that common interest is in restoring property rights for the average citizen.”

Affluent outsiders have been drawn to Idaho in recent decades, lured by technology jobs, mountain recreation and abundant sunshine. Boise, the capital, has boomed, as has Sun Valley, where newcomers from California build second homes not far from ranchers who herd sheep over the Sawtooth Mountains. About two-thirds of Idaho land is under federal control, and frustration runs deep in rural areas with newcomers who, after buying their piece of paradise, try to restrict land use further in the name of preservation and environmentalism....

No. Anger drives bloggers when the NYT can afford to send reporters out for a "he said-she said" story and still not have a clue.

Courage.
.