Pubdate: Mon, 28 Nov 2005
Source: Chillicothe Gazette (OH)
Copyright: 2005 Chillicothe Gazette
Contact: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2749
Author: Bill O'Reilly
Note: Bill O'Reilly is the host of television's "The O'Reilly Factor."
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

SAN FRANCISCO BLUES

It is hard to figure out the mindset of many Americans living in the 
secular-progressive paradise of San Francisco. A couple of weeks ago 
they voted to oppose military recruiting in the city's public schools 
including colleges. In the middle of a vicious war on terror, the 
City by the Bay says no to the people who volunteer to protect us.

When I criticized the vote on radio and television, there was wailing 
and gnashing of teeth. The basic thrust of the indignation was that 
San Francisco objects to the methods some military recruiters use. Of 
course, Proposition One on the ballot said nothing about that. It 
asked a simple question: Should the city oppose military recruitment 
in schools? Sixty percent of San Franciscans voted yes.

That vote is flat-out disrespectful to the American Armed Forces. 
Remember, the military has no political power. It goes where 
America's elected leadership orders it to go. Men and women sign up 
to protect their country and they do their duty. Yet they are not 
welcomed in San Francisco's schools. No one should be surprised by 
that vote. The San Francisco area is rated the most liberal in the 
country, according to a study by the non-partisan Bay Area Center for 
Voting Research. Nancy Pelosi is the congresswoman, and the district 
went for Al Gore by 61 points over President Bush.

In the recall of former California Governor Gray Davis, 80 percent of 
San Franciscans voted to keep him while the rest of the state voted 
overwhelmingly to boot him out. So you could say that not only is San 
Francisco out of touch with traditional America, it is out of touch 
with its own liberal state.

And San Francisco is the city that never learns. It passed an insane 
law that handed out $410 a month to any homeless person who showed 
up. Predictably, thousands of indigents, many of them addicted, 
poured into the downtown area, panhandling and using the parks as 
outdoor restrooms. Businesses and families went crazy and the city 
council was forced to cut the payments down to $59 a month.

The progressives also gleefully hopped on the medical marijuana 
bandwagon. But now Mayor Gavin Newsome wants to shut down most of the 
35 "clubs" that have opened up, selling pot to anyone who has a 
headache. SFPD Captain Rick Bruce told me, "A lot of our local drug 
dealers actually have medical marijuana cards, and they're using them 
as get-out-of-jail free cards every time they're arrested for dealing 
drugs on the street."

It has been said people get the government they deserve, and in San 
Francisco's case, that could not be more true. The city's streets are 
chaotic, quality of life has deteriorated, and the prevailing wisdom 
would please Fidel Castro.

But most of us don't live there, so why should we care? Well, it is 
still part of America and we're supposed to be all in this war on 
terror together, right? But by banning military recruiting, are those 
folks looking out for us?

My solution is to have San Francisco form its own militia, a concept 
first put forth by the Founding Fathers in the Second Amendment of 
the Constitution. A S.F. militia could take over for the U.S. 
military if that city were ever attacked.

But there's just one problem with that militia idea. On the same day 
San Francisco voted to oppose military recruiting, it also voted to 
prohibit the "sale, manufacture and distribution of firearms."

Never mind.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman