Consistency in short supply

By: JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 16, 2005 11:54 PM PST ∞

To hear some tell it in these pages, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors is engaged in no less than a brazen act of civic mutiny in its refusal to set up a local medical marijuana database.

In the county's defiance of state law (which is itself in defiance of federal law) our local commentators and letter writers see an absolute abandonment of democracy's sacred trust in the Board of Supervisors' actions.

After all, the state medical marijuana law was passed by citizens, not the lowly Legislature. Who are these county yahoos to question the infinite wisdom of We the People?

Fairness, though (an annoying trait, to be sure), necessitates we point out that our local sages seem to have a somewhat inconsistent approach to this principle of adhering to the citizens' wishes.

After all, many of those so upset that the county would defy the voters have, in these same pages, argued in favor of gay marriage ---- an idea voted down by the populace quite recently. And some of these same voices have been just as insistent that the Mount Soledad cross come down, and no matter that 70 percent of the voters asked that it remain as a war memorial.

A judge has ruled the cross illegal, and therefore it must go, we're told.

But didn't judges also rule the state's medical marijuana law unenforceable?

Tut, tut, my dears ---- medical marijuana and gay marriage laws are Progressive and Good; crosses are Hostile and Bad.

Respect for law?

A nice principle but utterly irrelevant to the issue of the county's defiant response to the state's defiance of federal law.

Equally perplexing for those with an unfortunate taste for consistency in their various governments' activities is the irony of a new, $6.6 million animal shelter opening in Carlsbad while North County's leaders dicker over whether to even bother with a homeless shelter this year.

Vista approved a plan for a private organization to operate a shelter, but the question remains as to whether we might not want to treat unwanted human beings at least as well as we treat unwanted animals. After all, we don't abandon abandoned animals to the charity of our local churches. Why, then, are we so quick to cede responsibility for homeless humans to houses of worship and other private groups?

The new animal shelter features amenities many working families can only dream of. Heated floors, for example. State-of-the-art surgical unit. A social room for the cats. It is, Supervisor Pam Slater-Price proudly told this newspaper, "a facility that is worthy of the animals."

Which leaves one to wonder just what she thinks our homeless are worth.

Escondido Mayor Lori Pfeiler ---- who is finding it rather lonely trying to drum up support for a winter shelter for humans ---- says she suspects other local leaders are waiting to see how long they can get away with not having a shelter this winter.

So if you see a cute picture of a small child peering at a puppy or kitten at the animal shelter this winter, keep in mind that the human child may not be gazing at the animal with the innocent hope of a loving adoption.

She might just want to trade places.

Contact staff writer Jim Trageser at (760) 740-5424 or jtrageser@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.