It's things like this that make me want to move to Montana

San Francisco School Board votes to dump JROTC program

After 90 years in San Francisco high schools, the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps must go, the San Francisco school board decided Tuesday night.

The Board of Education voted 4-2 to eliminate the popular program, phasing it out over two years.

90 years of tradition undone in one night.

"We're really shocked,'' said fourth-year Cadet Eric Chu, a senior at Lowell High School, his eyes filling with tears. "It provided me with a place to go."

Of course, the liberal do-gooders know what's best for Mr. Chu.

The proposal approved by the board also creates a task force to develop alternatives to the program that will be tried out next year at various high schools.

OOH! a task force! After hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless, exhaustive studies conducted over many years, I am certain they will come up with something really fabulous.

Their position was summed up by a former teacher, Nancy Mancias, who said, "We need to teach a curriculum of peace."

Because war is, like, really really bad. And like, what if they threw a war, and like, nobody showed up? And ya know, it'll be a great day when schools have all the money they need and the Air Force, like, needs to hold a bakesale to build a bomber.

If I'm not mistaken, the JROTC is an elective. Nevermind that though. What's important is to just imagine peace, and like, it'll happen! honest! But you have to really imagine it--no cheating!

The board's move to dismantle the popular program was led by board members Dan Kelly and Mark Sanchez with support from Sarah Lipson and Eric Mar. Casting votes against it were Jill Wynns and Norman Yee. Board member Eddie Chin was absent.

"I think people should not despair too much," Sanchez said. "I think now the work begins -- to work within the community to develop new programs that will fulfill the needs of our students."

Yeah, I'm sure they're all over realizing those new programs. In the meantime, the kids can help themselves to a nice game of "non-confrontational, no-contact tag", or "please do not smear the practitioner of alternative lifestyles".

About 1,600 San Francisco students participate in JROTC at seven high schools across the district.

Opponents said the armed forces should have no place in public schools, and the military's discriminatory stance on gays makes the presence of JROTC unacceptable.

One-thousand six-hundred young San Francisco adults learning the meaning of honor, duty and discipline. That's not important, what's important is that the military says if you're gay and in the military, if you don't tell anybody you're gay, nobody will ask you if you're gay. I personally think that policy is asinine--who cares if you're gay and you happen to want to serve your country? But what's more asinine are the suicidal-pacifists who use that policy as a point of perpetual outrage with the intent of undermining the same military charged with protecting their sorry, self-righteous, touch-feely asses.

"We don't want the military ruining our civilian institutions," said Sandra Schwartz of the American Friends Service Committee, an organization actively opposing JROTC nationwide. "In a healthy democracy ... you contain the military. You must contain the military."

Contain the all-volunteer military, otherwise they will overrun this nation and control everything. Quiet! I hear the jackboots right outside my door! By the way, it seems that the left is doing a fine job on their own ruining civilian institutions such as public schools.

"This is where the kids feel safe, the one place they feel safe," Robert Powell, a JROTC instructor at Lincoln High School and a retired Army lieutenant colonel, said earlier in the evening. "You're going to take that away from them?"

Apparently, Lt. Col. Powell, that answer is yes. It's better if they're out on the street causing trouble. That way, they can realize the victim status that is rightfully theirs--and the left can come to the rescue with another brilliant scheme paid for by other people's money.

Opponents acknowledged the program is popular and even helps some students stay in school and out of trouble.

Yet they also said the program exists to lure students to sign up for the armed forces.

"It's basically a branding program, or a recruiting program for the military," Kelly said before the meeting.

The JROTC? A recruiting program for the military? get out! who knew? Besides, it's a well-known fact that everybody in the military was duped into signing up. They thought the application was for summer camp, not boot camp.

Earlier, Mayor Gavin Newsom weighed in on the debate, chastising the board for the effort to eliminate JROTC.

"The move sends the wrong message," he said. "It's important for the city not to be identified with disrespecting the sacrifice of men and women in uniform."

Newsom also said he believed the vote would push more city residents away from the public schools.

"You think this is going to help keep families in San Francisco?" the mayor added. "No. It's going to hurt."

BRAVO MR. NEWSOM! Though I can't help but wonder why you didn't lobby against this harder if you had so much conviction. Nevertheless, as somebody who will have a school-aged child in the not-too-distant future, I couldn't agree with you more.

A budget analysis found that the district could hire nine teachers with the money the district now spends on JROTC -- enough to cover the gym and elective courses for the 1,600 students should the program be eliminated.

oh yay! 9 more unmotivated, underpaid teachers. Hey, at least the Teacher's Union will come out ahead.

As Michelle Malkin put it: Cities, like civilizations, die by suicide, not murder.

I really love living in San Francisco, but not enough to commit suicide for her.