26 April 2008

Almost helps you understand the libertarians

The letter arrived in the mail this morning:

April 23, 2008

Dear Arcata Dog Owner,

We have received no response to our letter dated
February 25, 2008, requesting that you license your dog. If we do not receive a response by May 23, 2008, we will turn our records over to the police department. Per the Arcata Municipal Code, Title V, Chapter 2, Section 5221 - License Required. "It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor any dog over six (6) months of age within the City for a period of time unless they first procure a license therefore."

(The threatening bolded italics are in the original letter.)

It's the kind of thing that makes one twitch and go, "Huh?"

I mean, wasn't it just six days ago that the city and county turned their collective law enforcement backs as nearly 3000 of our fellow Humboldtians, real and imagined, converged in a city park to light up the afternoon with who knows how many pounds of dope, which, unless someone can tell me different, is still an illegal substance (except for those who've paid off a mercenary physician for a constitutionally questionable note to smoke the stuff)?

I mean, we have drugs being sold in the open on the
Arcata Plaza. We've got employable vagrants wanderin' the streets, peein' on walls, and beggin' working folks for cash. We've got contractors hiding environmental hazards on property they hope to turn into tenement housing. We have poachers cutting apart old growth forests to flip stolen shake bolts into cash to feed their meth addictions.

And instead, our fair city chooses to spend its time, money and resources threatening us and an 11 pound dachshund with a violation of the municipal code.

How many others received this letter? I'm gonna take a wild ass guess that the only ones who got it are those who have recently taken their dog to a local vet to have it vaccinated and cared for, and not the casual owners of free range, bastard pit bull mixes, uncollared and uncontrolled, that have never, and will never, see the inside of vet's office much less a vaccination of any kind.

Now, I'm not some right wing, gun'n'religion leaning, anti-pot zealot. But c'mon, can you ID the greater threat to the local peace and community prosperity in the line-up below?




...or...



(bottom photo shamelessly heisted from the HSU Lumberjack.)

14 comments:

Rose said...

I am with you 100% on this one.

Kym said...

I don't know. That puppy is dangerously cute.

Jennifer Savage said...

Yeah, I can ignore the dope smokers, but seeing that puppy would mean stopping to say, "Oh my gosh! What a cutie!" followed by a good five minutes of head-scritching and chuckling over the sheer adorableness – which would likely make me late(r) for work, thus tearing at the very fabric of society.

Ernie Branscomb said...

so, how are they going to get into your house to take the dog?...

Oh that's right... I forgot about code enforcement. License the dog or it's toast.

Anonymous said...

Well it's nice to know that everyone is getting screwed in this county and not just a chosen few. But come on your dog has more teeth than those guys so...

Anonymous said...

Amazing, isn't it? In a marijuana culture, the laws become foggy.

Anonymous said...

What a cute puppy! SOOOO cute!

I have an idea - maybe there should be a yearly fee to be licensed to smoke. It might be a good way to raise sorely needed revenues.

Anonymous said...

What an ironic post.

You talk about the idiocy of going after unlicensed pet owners, and then go on a tear after a bunch of pot smokers?

Christ- they are about as dangerous and troublesome as your dog! probably less!

Whats the death rate in Humboldt by meth and booze, by the way?

Sorry- its hot- Im cranky- but good lord! people around here need to get the hell over it!

People are gonna smoke it- just like they will keep using tobacco, alcohol, and the rest.

Its called America.
Land of the Free.

Now do some research into pet overpopulation and its effects if you want something to blog about!

Anonymous said...

At least a dog smells better, and when they roll in something you can wash them.

Kristabel said...

Bob, where are you? I miss you!

Jeff said...

Ah, Kristabel...nice to know someone's noticed. Been thinkin' about writing a piece on how I've been too busy to write a piece but I haven't had the time to write it. But things're easin' up a bit, so I'm hoping to be back with y'all soon. Thanks for noticing, though. That makes my day.

Kristabel said...

Well, I hope it's been a good kind of busy. Don't worry, though, I'll keep nagging you until you come back. xo

Anonymous said...

I'll "drink" to that! You betcha!
But "NO SMOKING!"

Anonymous said...

I would say both are quite harmless. BUT, lets look at some studies shall we?
"The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Humane Society of the United States recently updated data on fatal dog bites for the period 1989 to 1994.The death rate from dog bite-related fatalities (18 deaths per year) in the 6-year study period remained relatively constant compared with the prior 10 years."
OK, and Pot deaths? Hmmmm, deaths related to Marijuana prohibition?

The police say they are under paid and under staffed, and Humboldt is being threated on the radio with the 'what may happen when all the police leave for better jobs'. What will we do? OH NO!

Oh, death from a marijuana overdose is impossible. HOPEFULLY LAW INFORCEMENT HEARS ME HERE!HELLO! So if you are a cop getting paid by our tax dollars to steal harmless marijuana from non-criminal smokers. AND you take that sweet herb home with you,& cook up some brownies. Don't eat too much! You are not dead, nor are you going to die, LOL
This is a true story! Cop steals pot, then calls 911 when he gets too high. Poor guy, did resign, but he was not even prosecuted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na3KLMfgPVs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnZb5wi_jsU