No defense: The smug faces of liberal “leadership”

School board members Mark Sanchez and Dan Kelly are co-authors of the resolution to drop the JROTC program.
(Photos by Michael Macor)

You can be certain they didn’t care about Veteran’s Day.

Earlier this month, the SF Chronicle reported on the pending fate of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) in San Francisco high schools. The paper featured an interview at Galileo HS, which is one of the City’s public schools and, by some accounts, not one of the worst. Yet, like most of San Francisco’s public education, it’s not a place that Pelosi, Boxer or Feinstein would be sending their kids or grandkids, and neither do parents who can afford better. They’ve already moved away.

The problem? Some might argue too much “diversity.” Rival ethnic gangs, black, latino and asian. Students with english as a second-language. And teachers who fail the grade themselves, aren’t good enough to make it in a private school and don’t care enough about the job to inspire their students. This is first-hand knowledge. Been there, done that.

These are problems the city officials collectively refer to as “more money required” because in liberal San Francisco, that’s all they do: throw taxpayers’ money away and avoid tackling the real underlying issues, the cause-and-effect, because they would have to face reality and, perhaps, hurt some feelings. And we know, being liberal means feeling superior.

But we digress. The story about JROTC at Galileo included this:

“Cadets must show respect to superior officers with proper greetings and replies to commands. Uniform care is also a skill: patches in the proper place and shiny black shoes. Ribbons and medals — earned by participating in events or drill competitions or mastering skills — must be appropriately pinned to jackets.

Some students sport dozens of ribbons and medals.

The cadets quickly learn the daily routines of roll call, marching and uniform care. By the second month of school, they stand in formation in the courtyard of the five-story building, looking like a well-oiled machine.

JROTC borrows heavily from military structures, including the chain of command and respect for authority. Hardee has a few of his own rules.

“We don’t use ‘I can’t’ here,” he told cadets one afternoon in class. “We don’t say stupid and we don’t swear here.”

Same goes for gum-chewing.”

In other words, while the rest of the student body is dealing with the chaos of public education, the JROTC exists for some to instill purpose and discipline. What could be wrong with that?

Short answer: This is San Francisco.

On Monday, even the chronic left-leaning Chronicle was forced to admit some facts about the misguided witch-hunt against the military. Their editorial reads:

SAN FRANCISCO public schools have problems, but a popular military-themed program isn’t one of them.

Still, a four-vote majority of the seven-member Board of Education is likely this week to cancel the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps classes. The justifications are predictable: School leaders must stand up to the Pentagon’s half-baked “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay service members, and to the war in Iraq.

This blunderbuss sloganeering fits snugly with an advisory vote last year barring military recruiting at schools. But the reasoning, compelling as it sounds to progressive San Francisco, is inadequate. The high-flown arguments fall apart when drill-and-discipline JROTC basics are examined.

Sorry, adults, but kids love this program as if it’s family. There are 1,600 students enrolled in the classes, which fulfill physical-ed requirements. Punctuality, teamwork and camaraderie are the hallmarks. There, military drill competitions are as popular as football games. There are no weapons, just sticks and flags used in marching.

Some JROTC members go on to serve in the military, but the vast majority don’t, seeing the classes as an enjoyable experience and a chance to learn new things: map-reading, leadership skills and self-discipline that goes with military-style assignments and crisp uniforms.

Myths need to be dispelled. Most students leave JROTC by their senior year, suggesting it’s not much of a recruiting tool. The bills are minimal — $1 million for salaries out of a school budget of $356 million.
. . .

It hasn’t escaped public notice that San Francisco public schools are losing kids at a clip of 1,000 students per year on a base of 57,000. Schools must be closed and staff laid off. Voters have loyally backed nearly $750 million in bonds in the last three years. It’s no accident that this anti-JROTC vote takes place after election day, with the latest $450 million bond measure safely approved.

School policymakers are at a crossroads. They can keep a program that students and their parents wholeheartedly support — or cancel it in a burst of misguided righteousness. The wrong decision will exact a price by offering wavering parents another reason to pull kids from city schools. It also chips away at badly needed public support for a school system that routinely calls on voters’ generosity to pay the bills.

The school board should come to its senses and preserve JROTC at its scheduled vote on Tuesday.

So, what do you think happened? What would you expect?

Today, the Chronicle reports: “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.”

We’re disgusted, but never surprised.

“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?”

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

Unfortunately, the good colonel doesn’t realize that San Francisco is fighting a more “important” and self-righteous ideological battle. And the frontlines are the schools. They want all the students to be brainwashed, equally. Dissent is not tolerated. Independent thinking is not allowed in the Land of Oz.

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

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.”

And that, dear readers, is liberalism in action. Textbook example. Take a program that’s been proven to work for 90 years, dismantle it without having plans for a “new direction,” but talk in vague terms about developing new social experiments. Translation: Spend more money. Any questions?

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.

“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.”

No, Sandra. We must contain the stupidity. It has spread like a cancer across this City, and alienates everyone that isn’t drinking the Kool-Aid.

UPDATE: Reader N.M. writes to us:

Last night I was watching San Francisco Bay Area’s channel 11 (http://www.nbc11.com/index.html) when a lead story was announced before the 11pm began. It was about the San Francisco school board just coming to a decision to terminate the SF JROTC program and it was a 4-2 vote in favor of terminating JROTC. There appeared to be numerous high school kids protesting against the decision and it seemed that the majority of them were 1st generation Asians Americans. It was obvious from the crowd that these kids were devastated by the decision as many of them were in tears.

I had a sneer of disgust on my face while viewing the story. I know that in the past few years that the vitriolic left in SF had been very aggressive about removing any and all military influence from our city’s schools. What really made me “pop my cork” though was seeing Medea Benjamin’s sour puss being interviewed by Channel 11 as a proponent for removing JROTC.

Channel 11 only identified her as a concerned “parent” during the brief interview and not as the acting head of Code Pink with a lifetime of Stalinist-left activism behind her belt.

I would love to find out what groups were behind this move.

So would we. Developing.

UPDATE: (12/2)
Michelle Malkin: “Navy to SF: See ya, haters!”

RELATED:
Who Is Against The JROTC? (Vote)
S.F. Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval:
“The U.S. Should Not Have A Military”

1. Anti-War Is Anti-Peace…

   Michelle Malkin has quoted a San Francisco Chronicle article announcing The City’s decision to eliminate JROTC. Dozens of JROTC cadets at the board meeting burst into tears or covered their faces after the votes were cast. “We’re really shocked,”…

   Trackback by Good Richard's Almanac — November 15, 2006 @ 9:56 am

2. [...] Comments by reader Scott in CA [...]

   Pingback by California Conservative » San Francisco: Past and Present — A Reader’s Retrospective — November 15, 2006 @ 5:41 pm

3. [...] Who Is Against The JROTC? (Vote) » The Extremist System » San Francisco: Past and Present — A Reader’sRetrospective » Why the U.S. Cannot Timetable Iraq » San Francisco School Board Votes to Dump JROTC Program » ACLU Seeks Again to Block Wiretaps » Why Do Terrorists Prefer Democrats? » Gen. Pace’s Alternative to the Iraq Study Group » Unlike Democrats, Romania Will Not Abandon Iraq » Dems Suggest Bush Lead the Way on Iraq » Al-Qaida in Iraq Claims It’s Winning War » Moving Forward, Part II » Public Education At Work: California Student Ban Pledge of Allegiance » Schwarzenegger Happy That Democrats Take Control of Congress » Moving Forward, Part I » Dear Nancy, It’s Your War Now: Watcha’ Gonna Do? » Pelosi Says Iraq Is Not “A War To Win” » Schumer Shamelessly Preaches to Allen » Rumsfeld Resigns: What Strategery? » All Hail, Pelosi! List all posts » [...]

   Pingback by California Conservative » Who Is Against The JROTC? (Vote) — November 16, 2006 @ 5:20 pm

4. [...] RELATED: San Francisco Shuns USS IOWA Boycott San Francisco San Francisco School Board Votes to Dump JROTC Program Who Is Against The JROTC? (Vote) These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

   Pingback by California Conservative » S.F. Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval: “The U.S. Should Not Have A Military” — December 4, 2006 @ 3:06 pm

1. IT’S SAD THAT THE REAL VICTIMS OF THIS TRAGEDY ARE THE KIDS. APPARENTLY THE PROPONENTS OF THE REMOVAL OF THE JROTC PROGRAM WHO PREACH FREEDOM OF SPEECH TO OUR KIDS FORGOT TO ASK THEM WHAT THEY FELT ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
   I WONDER WHO WILL THE SCHOOL BOARD BLAME FOR THIS LATEST BLUNDER.
   THE PROPONENTS FOR THE PROGRAM SHOULD PROTEST VEHEMENTLY AND MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO KEEP THE PROGRAM SINCE IT IS THE ONLY ONE THAT WORKS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

   Comment by RICHARD DAUGHERTY — November 15, 2006 @ 8:46 am

2. I work here in San Francisco, although I no longer live here. I made my escape in 1999 and moved to the burbs.

   I lived in San Francisco for 30 years before I left. When I came here, this was a wonderful, vibrant city that was affordable, safe, clean, and quirky enough to be fun without being nuts.

   My, how times have changed. For the last 10-15 years, I have watched this city degenerate into a third world hellhole.

   Hundreds of people live on the street, sleeping in the doorways of businesses and homes. The parks, including Golden Gate Park, are filthy and unusable, due to being infested with psychotic vagrants and the petty criminal class of transients that drift in and out. We spend almost $200 million yearly on “the homeless”.

   The schools are disastrous. Gang infested, violent, understaffed, undersupplied, and governed by a school board obsessed with political correctness. The election last week brought two more “women of color” who said the first thing they are going to do is factor in race for school assignements; something clearly forbidden by Prop 209 which banned this. SF’s white, middle class families have left in droves as they watched the schools decline. The number of white children in public school here is 9%, even as whites are still close to half of the city’s population. They fled for the burbs like I did, where they have created beautiful, well-run communities financed by the wealth brought out of San Francisco.

   The city “government” is dominated by agenda-driven leftists who regard business as evil, corrupt, and good for nothing except paying taxes for social programs for “the poor” and “immigrants”.

   The military was long ago driven from this area, which historically had a long military tradition going back to the Spanish in 1775, and Mare Island shipyard, which dated from 1851.

   The city’s only growing areas are in high-end retail around Union Square, and in the huge new developments of condos and apartments near the Giants Ball Park. Needless to say, the residents there do not share the lefty views of the rabble.

   The city is no longer the center of the Bay Area, although it’s leaders insist it still is. Those of us who live around the Bay have no reason to come here anymore, as all the affluent suburbs have fine restaurants and cultural activities that used to be available only in the city.

   San Francisco is becoming, simply, irrelevant.

   If you want to see the results of ten years of hard left government on a city, come take a look.

   Comment by Scott in CA — November 15, 2006 @ 9:37 am

3. Cut off ALL federal aid to Frisco schools, and officialy change the name to Frisco.

   Comment by Walter E. Wallis — November 15, 2006 @ 10:44 am

4. I lived in San Francisco for 30 years before I left. When I came here, this was a wonderful, vibrant city that was affordable, safe, clean, and quirky enough to be fun without being nuts.

   My, how times have changed. For the last 10-15 years, I have watched this city degenerate into a third world hellhole.

   It is amazing that San Francisco had become like this, considering it was always a Democratic stronghold, and previous administrations run by Democrats were actually good in governing the city.

   I wonder when and how things started to go downhill.

   Comment by Michael Ejercito — November 15, 2006 @ 11:03 am

5. I have a little different take - I think we should pour more money and support for all of the most EXTREME leftist groups in San Fran. When they finally adopt all of their liberal agenda, and end up destroying their economy and their city, we will have yet another example of how well ‘progressive’ ideals work when they are actually implemented in the real world, rather than in their fantasy-world utopia.

   Comment by ColoradoJim — November 15, 2006 @ 1:04 pm

6. Well, now that you’ve all vented (again), let’s look at this from another perspective. In fact, let’s make it real easy. Replace San Francisco (or “Frisco” as Walter says) with Kabul (and I know that’s not too much a stretch for most of you), and replace JROTC with “terrorist training camps” (ahem…), and you’d all be screaming out of the other side of your mouths, now wouldn’t you? Just look at how they train their youth to join the military and kill kill kill!

   Okay, now calm down. You’re going to burst a blood vessel and give yourself a stroke. Just hear me out.

   The left of the left have made a big mistake here. There, I’ve said it. The school board was wrong to impose this program change on the students of SF. If these students want to put on a uniform and parade around the school yard, we should let them. And as you’ve pointed out, it’s not a particularly effectivemethod for recruiting soldiers, probably because the class fulfills the PE requirement. And the mostly asian students that take JROTC, in this case,lookfor something to replace PE. On my drive home last night, I had occasion to drive past the school board meeting on Franklin, and saw the protests of mostly diminutive and asian students having a great time stopping traffic, exercising their right to protest (and being protected at taxpayer expense by the SFPD).

   But blaming diversity for the problem? (Yeah, I recall CalCON’s post the other day blathering on about how diversity and division having the same root div but
   coming from completely different etymologies, i.e.; diversity comes from the Latin diversus meaning different vs the root of divivision divisio or, to divide, but I digress.) So, the school that, according to CalCON, is “not one of the worst” but has “Students with english as a second-language. And teachers who fail the grade themselves, aren’t good enough to make it in a private school and don’t care enough about the job to inspire their students…”? So, which is it: Not too bad, or really awful?

   This is first-hand knowledge. Been there, done that.

   Really? When was the last time you stepped foot in Galileo HS? (Extra credit for anyone who can tell me why it’s named Galileo.)

   I suppose all those teachers that couldn’t make it in private schools would be quite interested in hearing that.

   Meanwhile, people like Scott flee to the suburbs, maligning the city. With quite a few exagerations and incorrect information, I might add! I suppose all the construction going on outside of Union Square and around PacBell park (or whatever they’re calling it today) doesn’t really count in Scott’s world. Umm, hello Scott… look outside your windows on your way in to work, and you might see the exploding growth in corridors throughout the city. Newsom’s Care not
   Cash program is proving spectacularly successful.

   Maybe if we could get the suburban cities to stop buying their homeless a one-way bus ticket to SF (hello, Pleasanton!), we could start to fix the problems (that Reagan created when he closed all the mental health facilities in the 80’s… oh gosh, that must have been the last time that Scott saw SF as a really great place, and Michael has his answer about when things started to go downhill! Thanks Gipper!). But calling SF a hellhole? I dunno what planet you’re living on, but while the rest of the country suffers the real estate bubble bursting, SF is holding its own (a condo in my neighborhood sold last week for 12% over asking, in less than 3 weeks on the market…go figure), thank you very much. If it is such a horrible place, why do so many people want to visit and live here? Maybe Scott and Walter could stop the tourists on the street and ask them what the h-e-double-toothpicks they’re doing here.

   So, what can you all do about this horrible miscarriage of justice? How about writing to the school board and register your displeasure. Join all the asian JROTC kids and protest. Blog on!

   Just stop blaming the greatest attribute that San Francisco has to offer –diversity– for every ill that besets the city. Just like every city, SF has its problems. And just like every city, it will solve them.

   Comment by Stop Bush! — November 15, 2006 @ 1:20 pm

7. “Well, now that you’ve all vented (again), let’s look at this from another perspective.”

   How does your comparative hypothetical w/ JROTC offere “another perspective”? Oh yeah…just another opportunity for another San Francisco snarky individual to spit in the general direction of the US military. ” I had occasion to drive past the school board meeting on Franklin, and saw the protests of mostly diminutive and asian students having a great time stopping traffic, exercising their right to protest (and being protected at taxpayer expense by the SFPD).” “If these students want to put on a uniform and parade around the school yard, we should let them.”Great stuff Stop Bush!.

   I always love to hear the leftist meme that Reagan single handedly caused homlessness. Check out the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act of 1966 for a little more info.

   Comment by Nat McLaughlin — November 15, 2006 @ 2:46 pm

8. Gee, I took Junior RTC from 46 to 49 and as near as I can recall, it bore little resemblance to jihadism. If Kabul has high schools they could do worse that to have classes in miliary courtesy and discipline.

   Comment by Walter E. Wallis — November 15, 2006 @ 3:19 pm

9. Once our troops return home, with honor, from Iraq, I would modestly propose they keep their skills sharp by liberating San Francisco.

   It’s time to free yet another place that chafes under the rule of tyrannical, corrupt, incompetent, and fanatic megalomaniacs.

   Comment by Mark Jaeger — November 15, 2006 @ 3:52 pm

10. Video from Channel 11NBC about terminating SF JROTC here w/ a smug comment from school board member Mark Sanchez:

    http://www.nbc11.com/news/10325308/detail.html

    Comment by Nat McLaughlin — November 15, 2006 @ 4:56 pm

11. Another fact: Oakland has a military charter school. The teachers are retired military people. The student body is over 90% non-white.

    Now why, pray tell, would all these parents want to send their kids to a military school in liberal Oakland? Could it be that they want discipline and order for their kids to excel?

    Stop Bush, in his rant above, refuses to see how SF has declined. Sure, there are pretty neighborhoods for people with money. But huge areas of the city are filthy, dangerous, crime-ridden, filled with drug dealers, vagrants, psychotics and those who prey on them. Years of coddling “the homeless” has produced this.

    Sure, “Care Not Cash” has housed over 2000 people in 2 years. That is good news. But is has nothing to deal with the thousands more who come here every year to prey on the residents, live on the streets, pass out in front of stores, and terrorize families and children. It’s a disgrace.

    The city has over 20,000 vacant apartment. Landlords won’t rent them because of the insane rent control that makes it illegal to live in your own building if you have a “protected” tenant. Rent increases average about 1% a year, regardless of the financial situation of the tenant or landlord. The city is 65% renters who happily vote YES on every bond, knowing that the landlords can’t pass on the costs to the tenants.

    So, Stop Bush, don’t lecture me about how great SF is. It used to be, but no longer. Tens of thousands of us have fled the crime and disorder for suburban cities where we can live in peace.

    And no, we don’t want you there.

    Comment by Scott in CA — November 15, 2006 @ 5:16 pm

12. “The city is 65% renters who happily vote YES on every bond, knowing that the landlords can’t pass on the costs to the tenants.”

    They are absolute bond junkies. Frankly so is all of California for that matter.

    “Tens of thousands of us have fled the crime and disorder for suburban cities where we can live in peace.”

    Count me as one of those who’ve fled to the peninsula Scott. My brother and father still live there.

    Comment by Nat McLaughlin — November 15, 2006 @ 5:48 pm

13. Isn’t it interesting that Stopbush dismisses our post and everyone’s comments as “venting” and “ranting,” yet somehow elevates himself to speaking truth (to power)?

    Just like marksanchez, he exemplifies liberal arrogance and smuggery. As The Gipper would say, there he goes again…

    Tourism and real estate are the measure for SFs success?

    No question about the City being beautiful, and tourists don’t see the underbelly. (At least not since they swept away the trash that was encamped in Civic Center for years under Mayor Art Agnos)

    Japan is expensive, too, but they don’t have diversity. How does one explain that? Limited land. San Francisco is 7×7 mi. It’s appealing to the young and single.

    But when it’s time to get serious and start a family, well, then they leave. What does that say?

    And maybe it explains a few things about SB. Perhaps he can troll over to this old post and explain away the facts. But for the rest of our readers, you’ll be able to connect the dots.

    Comment by California Conservative — November 15, 2006 @ 5:55 pm

14. Ouch, skewered by your rapier whit.

    Did anybody notice that I was agreeing with the premise? And dismiss your post (but please note, I didn’t use the word “ranting”)? Hardly. I don’t agree that diversity is the cause behind this, however. Diversity is a good thing.

    To reiterate, San Francisco has its problems, but it can deal with them. The tourists do see the underbelly, and it disgusts me that the Tenderloin is in the condition that it is. I could complain about it, or I can do something about it. I choose the latter.

    What are you all doing about it?

    Comment by Stop Bush! — November 15, 2006 @ 6:31 pm

15. Diversity is a good thing.

    We live in San Francisco, and it appears you do, too. If you were intellectually honest you’d admit that this City is overwhelmingly balkanized by race and by neighborhood.

    Embracing “diversity” is a false premise promoted by the peddlers of political correctness. Like you.

    On the other hand, why should diversity always mean race? Let’s consider politics and religion.

    When it comes to opinions and freedom of expression in San Francisco, there is close to zero diversity. Just look at the election results. That’s because the high priests of “tolerance” are intolerant of any disagreement. Independent thinking is simply not fashionable.

    Since the basis of this post is about schools, how many students do you think are taught fairly without political bias? The answer is self-evident. And if a student speaks out against a liberal teacher, what do you think happens? Diversity, but only if it conforms. That’s what makes schools such easy pickings for liberals: young impressionable minds and their concern for popularity.

    And what about diversity of religion? Let’s just look to the Middle East and see how well that’s working.

    Unity is a strength. e pluribus unum.

    Finally, it disgusts me that the Tenderloin is in the condition that it is. I could complain about it, or I can do something about it. I choose the latter.

    What are you all doing about it?

    Since casting any votes for the current “leadership”, their “initiatives,” or writing City Hall is a proven wasted effort, we are doing something better: exposing the “underbelly” of the City and it’s far-left politics for the world to see.

    Thanks for helping our cause.

    Comment by California Conservative — November 15, 2006 @ 7:13 pm

16. Did anybody notice that I was agreeing with the premise?
    -Stop Bush!(Derangement Syndrome!)

    I guess you glossed over my post where I acknowledged that you thought it was a mistake by the politicos in charge to cancel JROTC. Yada, yada, yada.

    What are you all doing about it?
    -Stop Bush!(Derangement Syndrome!)

    I emailed Pelosi’s and Babs Boxer’s office. I went to all the Right Wing leaning blogs I could and submitted detailed info about this subject.

    Tried using the Bat phone to Evil Conservative Industries(tm) to talk to our head honcho Mr. Rove but he was busy at the time.

    Comment by Nat McLaughlin — November 16, 2006 @ 12:31 am