Hmmmmmm which way is SF?
Posted on 08/20/2005 10:25:19 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The USS Iowa joined in battles from World War II to Korea to the Persian Gulf. It carried President Franklin Roosevelt home from the Teheran conference of allied leaders, and four decades later, suffered one of the nation's most deadly military accidents.
Veterans groups and history buffs had hoped that tourists in San Francisco could walk the same teak decks where sailors dodged Japanese machine-gun fire and fired 16-inch guns that helped win battles across the South Pacific.
Instead, it appears that the retired battleship is headed about 80 miles inland, to Stockton, a gritty agricultural port town on the San Joaquin River and home of California's annual asparagus festival.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a former San Francisco mayor, helped secure $3 million to tow the Iowa from Rhode Island to the Bay Area in 2001 in hopes of making touristy Fisherman's Wharf its new home.
But city supervisors voted 8-3 last month to oppose taking in the ship, citing local opposition to the Iraq war and the military's stance on gays, among other things.
"If I was going to commit any kind of money in recognition of war, then it should be toward peace, given what our war is in Iraq right now," Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said.
Feinstein called it a "very petty decision."
"This isn't the San Francisco that I've known and loved and grew up in and was born in," Feinstein said.
San Francisco's maritime museum already has one military vessel - the USS Pampanito, an attack submarine that sank six Japanese ships during World War II and has about 110,000 visitors a year.
Officials in Stockton couldn't be happier. They've offered a dock on the river, a 90,000-square-foot waterfront building and a parking area, and hope to attract at least 125,000 annual visitors.
After the Korean war, the Iowa was decommissioned and placed in reserve in a Philadelphia shipyard for three decades. In 1988, it was recalled to duty escorting oil supply ships safely in and out danger in the Persian Gulf. In 1989, 47 sailors were killed in an explosion that tore through a gun turret during a training exercise.
The warship, decommissioned by the Navy in 1990, is currently anchored with a mothballed fleet in Suisun Bay, near the mouth of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.
San Francisco's rejection of such a storied battleship is a slap in the nation's face, said Douglass Wilhoit, head of Stockton's Chamber of Commerce.
"We're lucky our men and women have sacrificed their lives ... to protect our freedom," Wilhoit said. "Wherever you stand on the war in Iraq ... you shouldn't make a decision based on philosophy."
Rep. Richard W. Pombo, R-Calif., has sponsored legislation authorizing the ship's permanent move to Stockton. Feinstein has countered with a bill to open bidding to any California city.
The two versions will have to be reconciled by a House-Senate conference committee considering the Pentagon spending bill.
AP-ES-08-20-05 1219EDT
For once she is correct.
SF Board of Supervisors are a bunch of America-hating socialists. What a joke.
"This isn't the San Francisco that I've known and loved and grew up in and was born in," Feinstein said.
It's fun to see people slapped in the face by their own philosophy. They always seem so surprised.
Yes, it is.
Probably saves the USS Iowa from becoming a homeless shelter or anti war headquarters.
OTOH, it is the one you've been pandering to...
LOL
Yes, gay mayors are known for their 'very pretty decisions'.
Hmmmmmm which way is SF?
I suggest we collect funds and gather volunteers to refurbish the Iowa, sail it into San Francisco Bay, and turn the 16-inchers on the city in an attempt to correct with high explosives what God has been unable to do with earthquakes --- the destruction of this anti-American bastion.
Anyone second the motion?
That's a picture of the updated/modernized Iowa with Tomahawk missiles, Harpoon missiles, CIWS and helo landing spaces aft.
That would make it the third highest tourest attraction in Stockton, to drugs and prostitution.
That's just shameful! The U.S. Navy ought to boycott San Francisco whenever possible since the city does not appreciate the service of one of its greatest warships that helped preserve American liberty during World War II. What a disgrace!
Wow. Those are some big ole guns. Thanks!
As the former mayor of San Francisco, Fineswine is the gays' senator - always has been. She called the move "petty", but did nothing to stop it.
Before she got herself elected by the gays, San Francisco hosted its annual Fleet Week. The New Jersey docked for the whole week - San Francisco welcomed the crew back then. How sadly things have changed.
Dianne, I've been saying this since you were elected!
What makes you think "little" petty people and perverts can pratice reason and restraint?
SF Board of Supervisors are a bunch of America-hating socialists, Queers ( Queer lovers ). what a joke.
Pettiness, is a homosexual cultural characteristic. This is what you can expect when homosexuals get control. They are vengeful, immature, petulant, and most decisions are based on a personally driven sexual agenda. Just ask anyone who ever worked at Disney.
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