Bill O'Reilly
San Francisco blues
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | 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 the 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 Gov. 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 that 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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JWR contributor Bill O'Reilly is host of the
Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author
of, most recently, "Who's Looking Out for You?" Comments by clicking here.
