Friday, October 6, 2006

Battling eminent domain
Regarding "Going after Kelo; Inhofe bill needs careful scrutiny" (Our Views, Sept. 25): Agricultural lands on the fringe of urban sprawl are especially vulnerable to Kelo-type condemnation actions. More broadly, however, private property owners generally are at risk of being displaced by richer, more profitable enterprises. An American Farm Bureau Federation poll found that 95 percent of the American people oppose the Kelo decision. Regardless of geographical, partisan or other demographic differences, Americans were unified 2-to-1 against government use of eminent domain to take private property, unless the public at large would clearly benefit from a new road, electric utility or similar project.

If enacted, S. 3873 would prohibit agencies from using eminent domain for private economic development purposes and would prohibit states that receive federal development funds from doing so as well. The bill is identical to HR 4128, which passed the U.S. House last November. The Oklahoma Farm Bureau supports Sen. Jim Inhofe's efforts on federal eminent domain reform. S. 3873 is needed to prevent government from overstepping its bounds. It upholds one of our basic American rights — the right to own property without the threat of it being taken to benefit a private third party.

Steve Kouplen

Beggs

Kouplen is president of Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

Kudzu is a vine prevalent in southern states. It's considered a pest. Why isn't more research being done to use kudzu for making ethanol? It would be a source of alternative fuel as well as help rid the woods and fields of this pest.

Murriel F. Callais

McAlester

With less than six weeks before the election, I found "Candidates aren't on visitors' minds" (feature, Sept. 23) deeply disturbing. Not only were many of those interviewed unaware of the names of most candidates and what office they're running for (or even when the election will be held), but someone who had voted in nearly every election for over half a century couldn't name any of the current candidates!

Uninformed voting is as bad as voter apathy. I hear excuses such as, "I didn't have time to find out what's going on." I'm a father working two jobs and I find time to listen to the radio and watch the news to keep up with the candidates and where they stand. People say, "Well, all the mailers and campaign ads are negative anyway, so I just ignore them." Sometimes you have to read and listen to what a candidate is against to find out what he stands for. There's not much time, folks! Learn about the candidates and go to the polls as an informed voter on Nov. 7.

Shelby Lambert

Bethany

Perhaps Don Garrison (Your Views, Sept. 21) should study the history of Christianity to gain a better perspective. The fact that Christians haven't committed atrocities in the name of God recently doesn't excuse their excesses in the past. That Christians are as perfectly capable of doing the same things as the Muslim jihadists should be unquestioned. It's difficult to refute Rosie O'Donnell's comments because she's potentially correct. One movement within Christianity seeks to impose Christian order on society, which is little different from the goals and motivations of Osama bin Laden.

I'm a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. Christians who've so perverted the gospel as to propose to force others to accept our vision of right and wrong, and enforce it with government penalties, scare me as much as do the jihadists.

Gary Capshaw

Denton, Texas

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