Wall Street Journal MELANIE KIRKPATRICK Saturday, December 24, 2005
Home for Christmas
Susette Kelo’s story: from humble abode to eminent domain.
NEW LONDON, Conn.–It’s the week before Christmas, and as my train from Manhattan nears this old New England seaport, I can’t help but hum a few bars of that seasonal favorite, “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays.”
I’m here to meet with New London’s most famous resident since Nathan Hale, the schoolteacher-spy who was hanged by the British in 1776. Susette Kelo’s life isn’t in jeopardy, but her home is–and her fight to keep it has taken her all the way to the Supreme Court, making her a national celebrity along the way and igniting a nationwide movement to protect private property rights. If June’s ruling in Kelo v. City of New London is carried out, this could be Ms. Kelo’s last Christmas in the home she loves.
