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.