StrangeMaps brings us a map of federal land ownership in the United States. The federal government owns about 2% of land in Indiana. That’s toward the low end of things. In Nevada, the federal government owns about 84.5% of the land.

From the nice neighbor, didn’t make much noise file:

THE remains of a woman have been found sitting in front of her TV – 42 years after she was reported missing.

Hedviga Golik, who was born in 1924, had apparently made herself a cup of tea before sitting in her favourite armchair in front of her black and white television.

Croatian police said she was last seen by neighbours in 1966, when she would have been 42 years old.

Her neighbours thought she had moved out of her flat in the capital, Zagreb.

But she was found by police and bailiffs who had broken in to help the authorities establish who owned the flat.
. . .
“When officers went there, they said it was like stepping into a place frozen in time.

“The cup she had been drinking tea from was still on a table next to the chair she had been sitting in and the house was full of things no one had seen for decades. Nothing had been disturbed for decades, even though there were more than a few cobwebs in there.”

I just caught a bit of Chuck Todd on “Morning Joe.” He mentioned that, politically, he keeps thinking about the family who moved out of the city into the exurbs. They moved for a bigger house and better schools. Now their house isn’t worth what it used to be, their property taxes have increased because the counties they live in have raised the fees and assessments without changing the services much and now they’re not getting any benefit out of the lower assessed value of their house, and their commute is costing them $100 per month where it used to cost them $50.

Pretty much.

Now we’re in for a lot of pain as we readjust. I wonder if higher gas prices will reduce the incentive for sprawl — if you think of urban areas as a bubble, the higher energy prices may serve as sort of external pressure inward that, to one extent or another, counteracts the internal pressure outward. Just a thought.

The Evansville Courier Press has a good opinion on the Supreme Court’s recent decision affirming the Bush administration’s obligation to abide by the Constitution which sets forth very specific conditions for the suspension of habeas corpus (rebellion or invasion), none of which are currently in effect. The opinion also calls out Justice Scalia for his fear mongering.

Habeas corpus, the Great Writ, is a legal principle first articulated in medieval England that gives a prisoner the right to be brought before a judge to hear the charges and challenge his imprisonment. It is one of the rights the Founding Fathers extended to the accused in the Constitution. Years ago, the Supreme Court observed that “habeas corpus is the fundamental instrument safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless state action.”
. . .
What the decision won’t do — as Justice Antonin Scalia asserted it would — is to “almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.” This is the kind of fear mongering that got us into this predicament in the first place.

(emphasis added).

My view is that there is no state action outside of the Constitution. As soon as government officials act in an extra-constitutional manner, they are simply acting as individuals. That’s not necessarily a recognized legal view.

Happy Father’s Day to the Dads out there. I got a nice “Happy Father’s Day Card” from Cole. (It was a picture of a pirate.) Then the family went out to breakfast at the Triple XXX Family Restaurant where I had their awesome corned-beef hash. Then we went to the playground.

Me being a Dad back during football season:

Angela Mapes Turner, writing for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, reports that Indiana ranks 6th in the nation in terms of locking up kids.

Indiana ranks sixth among states with the most juveniles locked up, a grade that should prompt the state to re-examine its youth justice system, a report released today said.

The latest Kids Count Data Book shows an estimated 2,616 youths were in custody in Indiana on any given day in 2006, the latest year U.S. census data were available.

We average 183 kids locked up per 100,000 in the population. The average is 125.

I don’t know how much it’s related or how much it’s even true, but on a couple of occasions, my family law and criminal law lawyer friends have mentioned their feeling that we now use the legal system to deal with kids’ transgressions that used to be dealt with in a much less formal manner. Kids pull a prank and they’re facing charges instead of some sort of ad hoc discipline.

The report also suggests that once a kid gets into the system, he or she tends to remain in the system. Recidivism is apparently quite high.

Over the past couple of months, I have come across a few stories in newspapers about the plight of debtors and the heartless tactics of debt collectors. Now, I’m not going to get too caught up in pretending that I collect debts in selfless pursuit of the greater good. I extract money from debtors on behalf of creditor clients and make a profit for myself.

Having said that, it was refreshing to read an article by Robert Markoff, President of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys who pointed out some of the societal benefits provided by debt collectors.

If there were no consequences for non-payment of one’s obligations, the temptation would be for no one to pay their bills when due. Credit is granted with the expectation that it will be repaid. Sophisticated credit grantors do understand and plan for the fact that a portion of the credit they give will not be repaid. However, by using collection professionals, billions of dollars are returned to our economy each year. This allows for lower interest rates and lower overall cost of goods and services. . . . All consumers would be penalized if businesses were unable to recoup losses resulting from bad debt.

He also has some recommendations for debtors who find themselves in the debt collection system: 1) Respond to letters or phone calls; 2) Keep financial records; 3) Be honest about what you can afford; 4) Speak up if the debt is not yours; 5) Never ignore a summons from court; and 6) Be involved.