NORTH RIVER NIGHTMARE

"He had the fighting instincts of a badger trapped by hounds. The badger will roll over on its back and emit a smell of death, which confuses the dogs and lures them in for the traditional ripping and tearing action. But it is usually the badger who does the ripping and tearing. It is a beast that fights best on its back: rolling under the throat of the enemy and seizing it by the head with all four claws." - Hunter S. Thompson

I'm not under any delusion that my opinions are more than my opinions. But occasionally I learn that others may rate my importance as being much more significant than I do. Or more often they are simply that intolerant of any divergent thought. I certainly have seen those impulses running amok in regards to my writing about my horror at what is going on in Oceanside with the proposed North River Farms development. 

Some are asking why I am raising my voice in concert with people who routinely trash me on certain local echo chambers, whose comments have varied from catty to cruel. For starters, I'm no longer interested in politics except as an observer. There are more than a few people in Planet Carlsbad and Planet Oceanside who are outraged that I personally disassociated from them last year, and are enraged I block their content now. I became a registered independent is so I can choose my friends, my issues, and my writing without caring about what political hacks may think. 
But I would like to explain why I'm supporting more than a few former adversaries in their opposition to North River Farms and their effort to recall Oceanside Councilman Christopher Rodriguez. 

The night the Oceanside Council voted 3-2 to approve this development over the objections of their own city staff and planning commission, we saw the political exploitation of the poor and dispossessed. The cynical busing in of 50 plus clients of Vista's Solutions for Change to pack that November 6th City Council meeting is offensive on so many levels. The instructions that were given to their captive audience was hideously demeaning.  They did get free pizza. 

The proponents of Integral's desecration of agricultural lands in a fire zone have created a regional issue. For their supporters to claim that having an opinion is restricted to Oceanside residents is both vapid and hypocritical. Their arguments ignore the fact that the inevitable fire hazard this project creates is not going to stop at the city limits. 

I lived in Prescott, Arizona, and saw 19 wildland firefighters ("hotshots") killed after being allegedly ordered from safety, from what is called "the black", in order to save a ranch development in Yarnell. For that reason, the NRF project terrifies me. The suburban firefighter running the Oside department has apparently advised that people could "shelter in place" during a conflagration. I cannot believe the lessons of the Lilac fire were forgotten that quickly. There is a massive difference between fighting a fire in a city and fighting one in rural areas. I urge anybody who doubts this fact to read the volumes of investigative journalist John Dougherty's definitive work on the Yarnell Hill fire.  It can be found here. 

"He was the real thing -- a political monster straight out of Grendel and a very dangerous enemy. He could shake your hand and stab you in the back at the same time. " - Hunter S. Thompson

I oppose Oceanside Councilman Christopher Rodriguez for many reasons, the least of which is the crappy private messages I've recently received from his parents.  

The simple fact that "CROD" ran as a Christian who wants to advance his career by adopting a punitive approach towards the vulnerable for political advantage, troubles me. His efforts to close charities such as Brother Benno's are offensive to my values and contrary to those of most people of faith. 

As a person who grew up immersed in Catholic Social teaching, I was taught the value of all life no matter how we find our fellow human beings. Addiction might be a choice in certain worldviews, but the untreated mental illness that often drives homelessness is not. The people of Oceanside and the agencies apparently looking into the Councilman's other actions will make their decisions on a variety of other concerns, as they will in the cases of North River Farms, Integral, and the leaders of Solutions for Change. 

I have written about the principled opposition to Carlsbad's Measure A in 2016. It came from all over North San Diego County. Developer Rick Caruso also did not live in the community, any more than Integral's leadership is solely confined to Oceanside. Their designated shill for NRF was just resoundingly rejected for an appointment to Carlsbad's Planning Commission.  So much for the narrative that "it's nobody else's business". 

In the final analysis, it's all our concern. If one believes in Christianity, a key tenet is that "salvation is by grace alone."  not by our deeds.  If that entails putting aside past differences in favor of supporting what is good, I can only hope I will continue to find the grace to stand with others who are as horrified by this debacle as I. Nobody can say for certain this debacle is corrupt by legal definitions, but it's wrong, horribly and simply wrong.