The Tyranny of Eminent Domain and the Fight for Property Rights

On January 19, 2024, Allen Thomas and Lisa Bennett joined the show. Allen Thomas exposes Excel Energy’s plan to seize Elbert County land for transmission lines, detailing how the 240-foot towers and unelected Public Utilities Commission override property rights Lisa Bennett reports on Constitutional Initiative 124 to return lawyer licensing to the legislature, exposing how Montana’s judicial branch created a closed-loop system. Eminent Domain Threatens Rural Property Owners Start listening at 39:49 – Hour 1 Allen Thomas warns that Excel Energy plans a billion-dollar transmission line cutting through Elbert County, forcing rural landowners into an impossible choice: accept the company’s offer or lose their property to eminent domain anyway. The proposed 240-foot towers require a 150-foot easement swath, yet Excel only notifies property owners within a quarter mile despite the visual and economic impact extending far beyond. Thomas points to research showing property values drop 45% when transmission lines cross through, constituting a regulatory taking even when the government does not physically seize the land. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission, an unelected body appointed by the governor, can override local county commissioners who oppose the project. Excel claims the line serves “regional reliability” and green energy goals, though the company admits it will not directly benefit Elbert County residents. “You can either take our offer of money, or you can get nothing and we still get the land. And that’s where this issue comes in.” Allen Thomas, Featured Author Montana’s Closed-Loop Judicial System Start listening at 74:04 – Hour 2 Lisa Bennett reports that her 13-year-old daughter Nicole has filed Constitutional Initiative 124 in Montana, seeking to return lawyer licensing power to the legislature. The 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention transferred this authority to the state Supreme Court, creating what Bennett calls a “closed-loop system” where judges write the rules, the bar association enforces them, and the courts interpret disputes. Bennett cites Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who faces 42 ethics charges from the Supreme Court simply for investigating that court for corruption. The state’s Supreme Court, despite Montana’s conservative reputation, ranks as the most overturned by the liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bennett connects this judicial capture to the treatment of January 6th defendants, noting that defendants cannot secure attorneys willing to risk their bar membership defending unpopular clients. “If the courts are the ones drafting the legislation, determining whether it’s enforceable and should be enforced, and then mandating the state bar association to act as the executive branch to enforce those rules that they wrote, you essentially have the equivalent of the police officer who pulls you over also gets to write the laws.” Lisa Bennett, Political Activist Ranked Choice Voting and the Uniparty Agenda Start listening at 103:05 – Hour 2 Bennett explains how ranked choice voting favors middle-of-the-road candidates over principled conservatives or progressives. The system eliminates candidates in rounds, and voters who refuse to rank all candidates effectively throw away their ballots in later rounds. Montana passed a statewide ban on ranked choice voting, but Bennett warns that uniparty operatives are running conservative challengers out of office while simultaneously pushin...