MetaChat - Government seizes land for United 93 memorial

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07 May 2009

Government seizes land for United 93 memorial The park service said it had teamed up with a group representing the victims' families to work with landowners since before 2005 to acquire the land. "But with few exceptions, these negotiations have been unsuccessful," said the statement. Landowners dispute that negotiations have taken place and say they are disappointed at the turn of events. "We always prefer to get that land from a willing seller. And sometimes you can just not come to an agreement on certain things," park service spokesman Phil Sheridan said.

What could better symbolize Freedom?

post by: Joe Beese at: 09:44 | 20 comments

It might help if they could explain just exactly when they need more than 2000 acres for just a memorial.

posted by Melismata 07 May | 10:01

Well, Barack? What have you got to say?

posted by Ardiril 07 May | 10:07

It might help if they could explain just exactly when they need more than 2000 acres for just a memorial.

It says in the article that they're going to declare it a national park.

Anyway, I much prefer that land be condemned and turned into public property than for it to be declared eminent domain by local governments so that it can be sold to private developers with no interest in public use.

posted by muddgirl 07 May | 10:13

It says in the article that they're going to declare it a national park.

Again, why do they need so much land for a national park?

I suppose it's nothing new in history, at the turn of the last they destroyed 6 Massachusetts town to build a reservoir, and Central Park in New York city used to be the homes of a poor African-American population. (And don't get me started on the Boston West End project.) But before such a drastic action is taken, I like to know in exact detail why it's being done, why it's necessary for the public good, and why it's not just some knee-jerk reaction to public emotion so that some local or national politicians can look good and/or be reelected.

posted by Melismata 07 May | 11:04

It will be Cheney's secret underground laboratory for all his mad scientist clones. Someone forgot to tell him he is no longer Vice President.

posted by Ardiril 07 May | 11:15

From the wikipedia article: The proposed boundaries of the National Memorial extend from Lambertsville Road to U.S. Highway 30. It will be about 2,200 acres (890 ha), of which about 1,000 acres (400 ha) will be privately held, but protected through partnership agreements. The memorial itself would be a 400-acre (160 ha) bowl-shaped area, with 1,800 acres (730 ha) surrounding as a buffer.[4]

The government is not seizing 2200 acres of land. The are seizing the 400 acre bowl-shaped area that makes up the crash site.

posted by muddgirl 07 May | 13:13

What, Joe Beese, did they just now invent Eminent Domain in time for you to complain? Passive-aggressive politics don't go over well at the other place, though they abound. They really, really don't belong here, please.

posted by dhartung 07 May | 13:57

Why do we need a $57 million memorial in rural PA? Why not just a simple marker or statue with maybe a road leading from the nearest highway?

It seems like the 9/11 memorial being built on the WTC site should be enough to capture the cultural impact of the attacks.

posted by mullacc 07 May | 14:19

Apparantly the temporary memorial has received over 1 million visitors since it opened. Also, pork-barrel spending.

posted by muddgirl 07 May | 14:37

Celebrating national freedom by taking land to build park. Hooray States!

Hello quickie shop selling flags, flowers, cigs, and beer!

Yeah, 21st century we ah heah!

posted by buzzman 07 May | 14:43

dhartung, I didn't see "passive-agressive politics" mentioned here.

Though a bit lower down, I did see something along the lines of "Metachat's policy is so loose that no user should ever feel the need to admonish another user for not meeting the guidelines. If you see a post or comment that you think should be deleted or edited then e-mail the mods and they'll deal with it."

posted by Joe Beese 07 May | 14:44

Overbearing government? Or landowners holding out for a big payday?

posted by DarkForest 07 May | 14:50

Or a whole great deal of lotsa noise, traffic, fast food places, and 100x the trash blowing around the area than ever before.

National Parks typically use water that has been purified by reverse osmosis. About as clean as it can get. A little heavy on the wasteful side too. Otherwise (and now it makes some sense) the monuments would stain from the regular tapwater. Want some really, really purified water? Tap up to a Nat'l cemetary or park. About as clean as it can get.

Another great idea in an ideal world. Too bad the rural PA
world is not quite the place for what is about to happen.

I think this is ?talkworthy?, I'm sure I will discuss it just for the outrage WTF why value of it all.

posted by buzzman 07 May | 15:09

Joe, just wondering, but how long did you lurk at MeFi and MeCha before becoming a member of these communities? I ask because I noticed shortly after your first few appearances here that, while your rhetoric carries the abrasive quality earned through seniority, your understanding of the underlying, unique conventions of MeCha seems a bit limited. Don't take the criticism personally; your posts and comments are interesting, but until you settle in, dish out the politics while wearing rose-tinted glasses.

] IOW, yes, some of us have been talking behind your back all afternoon. ;-P [

posted by Ardiril 07 May | 16:09

Maybe we're just getting old and crochety, Ardiril. I knew it would happen someday, but this soon?

posted by muddgirl 07 May | 17:31

What could better symbolize Freedom?

Tearing down the park in a couple of years and selling it to a huge shopping mall.

posted by qvantamon 07 May | 17:41

How about a memorial wind farm?

The soaring windmills would both evoke souls in flight and symbolically shelter the hallowed ground while powering a visitor center and concession stand. They could even have a number of windmills equal to the number of passengers on that fateful flight, except terrorists wouldn't get a windmill.

Terrorists would get a memorial nameplate in the basin of each toilet in the visitor center restroom for people to piss and shit on.

posted by Hugh Janus 07 May | 19:08

How about a memorial wind farm?

This is genius.

posted by BoringPostcards 07 May | 21:05

I dunno how I feel about the whole situation, I don't think I've really heard enough about it to really formulate an opinion.

And I wouldn't exactly consider myself MeCha Old Guard, but this post didn't strike me as out of the ordinary. People often post things that they want to gripe about. This appears to be one of those posts.

posted by CitrusFreak12 07 May | 21:19

How about just a white cross with some plastic flowers and the names of the people who died hand-written on the cross, placed on the shoulder of Lambertsville Road?

A prototype.

posted by Doohickie 07 May | 22:34

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