Thursday, February 12, 2009

Crazy Little Thing Called Property Rights


Google Earth Leads Man to 'Buried Treasure'

Using Google Earth, a Los Angeles-based musician named Nathan Smith thinks he's found a lost treasure ship that sank somewhere north of Corpus Christi during a hurricane in 1822.

OK, so he thinks he found treasure, but the land is owned by someone.

But the owners of the land won't let him dig ...

I wouldn't let them did on my land either, and that's his right. He owns the land. If you want to dig on the land offer to buy it or lease it or otherwise make a deal and if the answer is no - go away.

— unless a court rules that the muddy creek is indeed "navigable waters," in which case the federal government decides.

But no, this guy wants to use the federal government to steal the land, and the government seems all too ready to lend a hand - a ruling is set next month. I'm guessing he gets his way considering the definition of navigable waters has been stretched beyond limits by environmentalists. We'll see. Doesn't matter, if one judge doesn't agree he'll just go to another.

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