Reluctant Politician

You have to hand it to new Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie for wanting to finally once and for all discredit the so-called birther movement by seeking a way to release more information about President Barack Obama’s birth records from Hawaii. If only discrediting the movement was that simple. Much like the alien spacecraft in Roswell or the second gunman in Dallas, this conspiracy movement is not going to ever go quietly into the night.

The thing with the internet is that one person’s voice can echo over and over again to the point where you think you are hearing a roaring crowd even though in reality it is still one person’s voice.

The birther movement claims that Obama was born in Kenya. This despite the fact that he was certified to run for president by the Federal Election Commission. (continue reading…)

The Supreme Court ruled today on a case that originated very close by me at the present time. The justices rejected a challenge which had been brought forth by a half dozen homeowners in the Florida Panhandle. The homeowners were upset that the State of Florida had performed a beach restoration in front of their residences thereby turning their oceanfront homes into oceanview homes. The homeowners also declared that the beaches had gone from being private property to public beaches. The homeowners felt that the state had illegally taken their property without monetary compensation.

Apparently Florida law had for years recognized beachfront property land rights – at least in some areas – as extending to the high-tide waterline – the beaches into public property. If that is indeed clearly spelled out in Florida’s book of law, then the residents do indeed have a case. However, to complain that the state rebuilt and widened their previously storm-battered beaches is beyond ridiculous in my opinon. Also, I feel that Hawaii’s view on beaches is the way it should be for all coastal states. All beaches are public property. There are no private beaches in Hawaii.

Nowhere in America should a citizen be kicked off a beach by a private landowner, unless that landowner lives on a private island with no public land at all. Beaches are an ever-eroding and evolving part of nature and should always remain in the public domain.

Feel free to read the original story which inspired this post. It can be found at the Pensacola News Journal website: http://bit.ly/alBFcT