Watch 'em howl if the DOD starts shutting down the military installations in the area. I think we should encourage DOD to put their facilities where people welcome them, like San Diego.

The homosexuals and hippies can have that sad excuse for a city. I lived there as a kid; I was stationed there several times in the Navy; I used to love that town. Now I will never go back there for any reason. It is time for another "great earthquake" to level the damn place.

I'm with the Rev. I used to make it up to San Francisco from Monterey when in the Defense Language Institute, often for a Giants ballgame at Candlestick Park, a sunny spring walk through China Town, or even just to walk through the streets, ending up at the Steak & Brew, because they had all the free beer you could drink as you enjoyed a slab o' beef.

Those days are gone. They've cut off their proverbial noses to spite their faces, and it ain't a pretty sight. I'll have very fond memories of the SanFrancisco that was, but of the San Francisco that is, I'm afraid no more fond memories are to be had of that place.

It most certainly is a petty decision.

These people are completely insane...how does San Fran even function? As usual these libs are making an emotional reaction to the world.

Jason

The vote was 8-3. Could you let us know which 8 voted against it? I'd hate to leave a rather "stern" e-mail to the 3 who do support our military.

CJ,
Had been searching for it and finally found the roll call. The post has been modified to reflect the votes.

Personally I am happy to see the IOWA go to a city which wanted her. As an old SANFran sailor, (My favority liberty city), there is nothing left there which interests me.

I wonder how the scramble went when BRAC was rearing its ugly head. Big Dick Durbin got scared about the ILL bases. There should be no tears when the Navy shuts down its San Francisco operations. (HONK was the navy call sign for San francisco) Bob Lee, RM2 USN 1946-1954.

Jason

Thanks

Seems like Bevan and Sophie are running away from the heat they are taking. Here's the automated response I got from those two.

I will be out of the office starting 08/17/2005 and will not return until
09/05/2005.

Please call my staff (415-554-6987) if you require immediate assistance .

I still have the final four to e-mail.

I think the idea of closing down local military bases is a good one. Once more, it is necessary for all of the people to have a dog in the hunt, and not be allowed to sit by and mouth platitudes without stepping up and taking a stand.

These people are elected. When the locals start to figure out that their own livelihoods are being impacted by the fuzzy-headed PC agendas of those officials, they might start to elect some people with a grasp of reality.

I used to love SF, too, but aside from a drive-through on my way from SoCal to up north, I haven't been back for years and have no desire to return. I spend quite a bit in places I like, and admire, and SF ain't one of them.

just sent the following letter to all of those who voted against allowing the Iowa to dock. It was a simple matter to copy and paste the list of supervisors into the body of an e-mail, where the address could be copied into the address bar.
..................
To Mr. Peskin and the other members of the Board:

Your recent actions in denying the USS Iowa to dock in San Francisco has received national attention, and approbation, for very good reasons.

While I am sure you felt proud of yourselves for your vote against allowing the citizens of, and visitors to, a once-great city access to a site of great historical significance, it is only fair to inform you that to the vast majority of Americans you appeared to be ignorant, narrow-minded, and---as Dianne Feinstein herself said---"petty".

How can the representatives of a city which prides itself on its tolerance, open-mindedness, and 'diversity' reconcile an action which is in direct opposition to those values?

Denying access to historical information is no different than burning books. It is censorship, it is the imposition of a rigid belief system on others, and it is---well, there IS no other word for it. It IS "petty".

One does not have to belong to any particular political party, or subscribe to any particular philosophy, to recognize hypocrisy when it rears its ugly head, as it did in the meeting at which you cast your votes.

What each of you really said, by your vote, is:

"I support tolerance---of views which echo my own."
"I support open-mindedness---as long as it doesn't extend into areas where I do not agree"
"I support diversity---of all ideas which fit into my own narrow framework of acceptability"

In other words, you have become what you probably claim to despise---narrow-minded, intolerant, petty bureaucrats who use their positions to impose their own agendas on others through censorship of information and ideas.

Your new-found national notoriety is well-deserved, and I join many others in hoping, most sincerely, for your defeat in your next elections, to those who are truly broad-minded, tolerant, and eager to represent their constituents. Those of us who once lived in, and loved, San Francisco have been saddened by its death spiral into a smug political correctness which has proved to be so much more intolerant and less inclusive than the vibrant city we once knew. Perhaps your blatant advertising of this decline will serve the city well, in making it clear just how far it has slid, and alerting its citizens to the need to halt the erosion of what once made the city great.

Almiranta,

I wrote a letter to each of those who voted against the Iowa, too. As an ex-sailor who home ported in the bay area more than once, I found this a particularly enraging display of all the things you said. My letters were nowhere near as eloquent as yours, and probably contained more anger. I salute you for your support of the things that are right and fair and taking the time to let these cockroaches know they're being watched. Thanks again, from a salty old dog who used to love the city we used to simply call, "The City."

I was not all that eloquent either. All my e-mails had a sentence similar to this one. "Thank you for not hiding behind that tired old phrase, we support the troops, it's refeshing to see democrats show some honesty and let their pathological hatred of those men and women in uniform shine through."