Chekov: Where are the nuclear wessels?
When Commander Pavel Chekov asked that question in Star Trek IV, San Franciscos bay area did indeed still have a robust naval presence that wasn’t limited to the aircraft carrier piers across the bay. With the closure of Naval Station Alameda in 1997, however, a big part of the Navys presence in the region ended.
Now, some groups are trying to pull the welcome mat out from under Navy tradition, that being the annual navy Blue Angel air show during Fleet Week. Performing their aerial magic every year since 1981, the Blues have continued a treasured (by some) military presence in the San Francisco area, honoring the city and region that was such an important gateway, both outbound to war and inbound for home, for hundreds of thousands of military personnel and naval ships dating back over a hundred years.
Anti-War Activists Call For End To Annual Blue Angels’ Air Show
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Navy’s Blue Angels may not be welcome in San Francisco. Anti-war activists are calling on San Francisco city officials to bring an end to the annual Fleet Week flyover by the team.
CodePink, Global Exchange and Veterans for Peace are working with Supervisor Chris Daly on a resolution that calls for stopping the popular air show.
Daly says he may introduce a resolution as early as next week that calls for permanently halting the flyovers because “they seem dangerous and unnecessary.“
The Pensacola, Florida-based Blue Angels is a team of navy fighter pilots that perform high-speed maneuvers. Fleet Week in San Francisco is scheduled for October.
In and of itself, this is nothing new. From being THE homecoming port for many returning veterans at the end of the second world war, San Francisco has grown into a hotbed of military revulsion. When a veteran’s group tried to bring the retired battleship USS IOWA to the city waterfront as a memorial and museum a few years ago, San Francisco said “NO”. If anyone has any question about how many on the city or local government payrolls feel, listen to City Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, who led the fight against having the battleship brought to the city:
The United States should not have a military. All in all, we would be in much, much, much better shape.
When pressed for an answer of how would we defend ourselves, Sandoval said that was what we had cops and the Coast Guard for.
In a more recent example of the turn towards banning any and all things military from the city by the bay, the San Francisco school board last November voted 4–2 to eliminate high school ROTC programs, with proponents of this effort stating:
We need to teach a curriculum of peace., a former teacher, Nancy Mancias
We dont want the military ruining our civilian institutions In a healthy democracy you contain the military. You must contain the military. Sandra Schwartz, American Friends Service Committee
Its basically a branding program, or a recruiting program for the military, San Fran Education Board Member Dan Kelly
Thus far, only about 500 signatures have been gathered for the attempt at banning these ambassadors of goodwill. Hopefully, though, this latest effort to further emasculate the military presence in the bay area wont get any more traction than it has now and the Blues will continue to entertain the many, many thousands who understand and appreciate the sacrifices and dedication of the US military.
–Pinch Paisley
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Just pull out federal funding for the city (if any) if they keep acting like this…:P
“curriculum of peace” my ass – their “tolerance” goes out the window when they can’t even “tolerate” recruiters and anyone else who doesn’t think like them.
That is crazy. California should be cut away from the U.S.
Hey I live in CA/SF and I think this is crazy! I want to join the Navy in a few years… but this is retared. The liberals in SF have gone too far! I have met the blues and they are an extrordinary group of men. They are some of the greatest men these people will ever know. ALSO…. WTF is the big deal about jets?!?!? Huh?!?!?
Easier said than done. Do we get to keep the troops and bases?
Have some of those types around NYC too. And guess what happened on 9-11? – they were the first to scream “Where are the fighter jets?!”.
Ok, this is what we do. WE petition the federal government saying those who want a military or any sort of military programs (ROTC) should have those taken away. Then, we will save money by cutting those costs in those certain areas (San Fransico, not all of Cal.). We will then have more money to fight the wars.
Don’t we need a new nuclear weapons test range? Forget the desert…we need to see how nuclear blasts stand up to modern day architecture. SF should be the ideal spot.
To the the fine citizens of the City of San Francisco, I would like to suggest some considerations for you. You might want to suggest to your fellow citizens of that fine town, “Pull your head out. Now take a breath of fresh air. Now, the freedom for you to act as morons, is bought and paid for with the blood of our military. You ass-u-me that you have this right.” Because you are the fine citizens of San Francisco, I am sure you will do the right thing with the Blue Angels. Failure would suggest a serious need for a type of “immersion therapy” in some place like Iraq. Do you think this might just change some of the perspectives of your fellow citizens.
Fine, no Blues, then no Fleet Week. Watch the liberal store owners & business people freak out when millions of dollars in revenue is lost.
Seriously, why even waste the $$ to try to develop a relationship with a region of the country that is so against anything military-related.
I love it when Cope Pink says ” We support the troops.” To which I say, “Whatever.”
O how the liberals hate it when you drag their crazy aunts in the attic out into the sunlight!
It’s worth noting that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes this same group of One-Worldist lunatics. Talk about a crazy Aunt…
This left wing rhettoric jus shows how far this country has decyayed. Oh yea the person who said that we do not need a military is an ignorant ass,
To the commenters who wrote:
“California should be cut away from the U.S.”
“Don’t we need a new nuclear weapons test range? Forget the desert…we need to see how nuclear blasts stand up to modern day architecture. SF should be the ideal spot.”
No matter how noxious my fellow Americans might be, they’re OUR people. Anybody who wishes harm on fellow citizens is a complete disgrace to America.
To the commenters who wrote:
“California should be cut away from the U.S.”
“Don’t we need a new nuclear weapons test range? Forget the desert…we need to see how nuclear blasts stand up to modern day architecture. SF should be the ideal spot.”
No matter how noxious my fellow Americans might be, they’re OUR people. Anybody who wishes harm on fellow citizens is a complete disgrace to America.
OH, and Pinch…Here’s what you included on your site’s “mirror” post…that you didn’t have the guts to include on this site:
“I still think we oughta tell San Fran to go screw themselves and withdraw every friggin
SF aside, after the last crash we should seriously look at what real value these shows have. The Blue Angels in particular get older 18′s that are no longer usable for cats/traps, is this what a demo team should use? The Thunderbirds get new airframes. Do these things make money or are we paying for it? And is this the best use of our best pilots, should they not be in combat since we are at war or training other jocks?
Showing off seems irresponsible in a time of war.
California is one crazy place, it seems like all the anti-bush / anti-war / anti-america stuff comes out of that one state.
I live in SD, and here in my state the general view of califoria is: nice place and good weather, but the people have lost their minds.
Warplanes as ‘ambassadors of goodwill’?
Carry on like that and people will think SF has a point.
KragCulloden,
Yeah, you might want to read that Constitution you have taken an oath to, in particular the preamble, easy to find, right at the front, starts with “We are the people…”.
If you are still serving, please consult your superior officer, chaplain and/or shrink to get your arse section 8′d, as we do not need sociopaths like you poisoning our great military.
Make that “We the people…”
when a nation re-awakens, it’s finest young men are prepared to sacrifice their lives for it’s liberation.
when a empire approaches collapse, it is prepared to sacrifice it’s non-commissioned officers
“What an idiot! If not for the US military – specifically the Air Force – there would have been nothing to stop those terrorists destroying the World Trade Center!”
Excellent. Sums up pretty much everything you need to know about the fabulous return on “investment” we get from pissing nearly a TRILLION dollars every year into the Pentagon sewer.
And by the way, suppose we DID make the Coast Guard the primary, front-line service? It’s true that we’d have a much harder time pushing other countries around…. This would make daily life for Americans worse in what way, exactly?
The American military fosters a wide array of admirable talents and values. But those enviable resources are squandered by a foreign policy that ill serves our own citizens, and many people around the world. We’d do well to get our own battered house in order, before we tell the rest of the world about our architectural fancies.
HEY REMEMBER ONE OF THOSE PLANES WAS HEADING FOR SF BUT THANK GOD FOR THE AIR FORCE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN… MY DAD'S A FIREFIGHTER… IF THAT PLANE CAME TO SF… MY DAD MIGHT HAVE BEEN KILLED… FUCK TERRORISTS
I’ve been living in SF for nearly three years now and I’ve seen this come up around this time of year every year since I moved here. Every year nothing comes of it. As others have pointed out 500 signatures in a city of 3/4 of a million people is frankly nothing. I’m willing to bet that I could easily double that number on a pro-fleetweek petition in a day. Frankly San Francisco takes crap because our fringe nutbars happen to fall on the left side of the political spectrum rather than the right wing nuts you see in some other parts of the country. Sometimes yes some of them get into local government positions, but they don’t represent the majority of San Franciscans any more than that Texas legislator who tried to pass a bill promoting teaching geocentrism in schools represents a majority of Texans. The best way to deal with these people is to ignore them. That’s what we do out here.
“Those numbers indicate a coming train wreck between vastly divergent (and rapidly diverging still) cultures in America. Cultures that are defined not by race or wealth, but by individual character and integrity. Only one of those two cultures has suffered loss of limb, life, and time for “America’s” wars”
You’re right, no US civilians have been killed in the war on terror.
Or maybe just none that matter to you.
the city govt of San francisco and the people who posted their dislike of the military should introduce something to replace ROTC in the city school system. May I suggest chinese, Komrade?
You will need it in the future. Also I would suggest adding Chairman Mao’s “little red book” to required reading. I’m sure many of you already have a copy.
The Angels kick bootyakum and it royally annoys me that there is a group out there that is so unpatriotic that wants the Angels to go away. I am an SF bay area brat and I know people have the right to speak up and glad that they do so but the Angels are a representation of why we have that freedom! Let the Angels fly!
Calm down, everyone. Take a deep breath. OK, ready for what really happened? The idea that “San Francisco is against the Blue Angels and the military” is totally inaccurate. I know. I’ve lived here most of my life. Yes, there are individuals and groups who are against the Blue Angels show, and some who are anti-military. But if you look closely, there are people who share those views all over the country. The fact is that the majority of people here enjoy the Fleet Week show every year, myself included. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t listen to the minority here, and support their rights to speak up. That’s what it’s all about. Lighten up.
hdhdhs
Wow..! Its sad when a city so rich in history and military presents back in the day have this problem. Also when the city of San Fran needed its military protection the people of today turns it's back on them at a drop of a dime. Until you have severed this great nation of ours certain folks making these decisions should have NO say or have NO idea what the men and women of our armed forces go through everyday. These folks of San Fransisco have the luxury to wake up everyday read there morning paper, drink a fresh cup of coffee/soy or what ever those hippies drink don't have a worry in the world but to eat, shit and bullshit. Remember who gave them that freedom to do just that…The "MEN & WOMEN" of the armed forces…! And if your looking for a reality check just turn on "CNN" and see who has it great.