Don'tcha think?

One of the most aggravating features in contemporary speech is the growing misuse of the word "ironic" (the other is to use the adverb "literally" when one isn't being literal at all -- "I was literally dying!" exclaims the perfectly healthy but embarassed teenager).

Perenially bummed-out singer Alanis Morrissette is probably responsible for the misuse of "ironic" -- in her song "Ironic" she enumerates a host of phenomena that are unfortunate or terribly sad (an old man dying the day after he wins the lottery, having rain on one's wedding day, etc.) but hardly ironic.

So how sweet it is finally to find a true example of good, rich irony. Here it is: A private (and mischievous) developer is seeking eminent domain to build a hotel on the site of Justice David Souter's house in Weare, New Hampshire. As most everyone knows, Souter supported the noxious Supreme Court decision of Kelo v. City of New London, which greatly expanded the reach of eminent domain.

And what, I ask you, would be more deliciously ironic than Souter having supporting a decision that eventually facilitated the taking of his own house?