Gas company thinks it has eminent domain powers

You can argue until you're blue in the ears about government powers to use eminent domain for public projects.

But what if a private company thinks it has eminent domain powers for its own private projects?

In Kentucky (as in some other states), powerful corporations don't need to worry. That's because state lawmakers gave private companies this power just for the asking.

If you have a farm or even a small house in the city, a private corporation can just bop along and take your property for their own use.

It's happening right now near Bowling Green - where a gas company is using eminent domain to try to take land from some folks.

Yes, in Kentucky, corporations are awarded more rights than people.

Let me be perfectly clear: This is unconstitutional. The Constitution says the government can take private property for public use only if it provides fair compensation. It doesn't say private firms can take property for private use at all.

Period. End of story.

But in a country where corporatism is the official religion, it's not the end of the story, I'm afraid. In modern America, everything is within Big Business, and nothing is outside it.

(Source: http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2009/11/22/news/news7.txt)