DEMINT: White House land grab

Democrat Presidents love to pay off their enviro-marxist allies by confiscating private property and taking it out of productive use:

"A secret administration memo has surfaced revealing plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres from Montana to New Mexico, halting job- creating activities like ranching, forestry, mining and energy development. Worse, this land grab would dry up tax revenue that's essential for funding schools, firehouses and community centers...

It says all kinds of animals would be better off by doing so, like the coyotes, badgers, grouse, chickens and lizards. But giving the chickens more room to roost is no reason for the government to override states' rights...

Using the Antiquities Act, President Carter locked up more land than any other president had before him, taking more than 50 million acres in Alaska despite strong opposition from the state.

One of the monuments President Clinton created was the Grande Staircase-Escalante in Utah, where 135,000 acres of land were leased for oil and gas and about 65,000 barrels of oil were produced each year from five active wells. But, President Clinton put an end to developing those resources.

President Obama could do the same in other energy-rich places unless Congress takes action. At least 13.5 million acres are already on his Department of Interior's real estate shopping list...

This is a nationwide problem. The government currently owns 650 million acres, or 29 percent of the nation's total land..."MORE at the Washington Times

Idling almost a third of a nations land and its resources for dubious environmental purposes is not only economic suicide but is a gross violation of private property rights. But the statists don't believe that any property is or should be private since it produces private wealth and independence that reduces state power. Environmental concerns are merely a vehicle for the larger purpose of more government control of the nation's economy.