I don't know. But, size counts.
Posted on 09/08/2005 8:58:34 PM PDT by lunarbicep
SAN FRANCISCO - After city officials rejected a plan to bring the USS Iowa to San Francisco earlier this year, supporters of the idea have come up with a new plan that they hope will convince leaders to welcome the historic battleship here.
Supporters say a proposal to turn part of the vessel into a museum honoring the contributions of gays, lesbians, ethnic minorities and women to the military should help sway the Board of Supervisors' decision.
In July, the board voted 8-3 to oppose taking in the ship, citing local opposition to the Iraq war and the military's stance on gays, among other things.
But local veterans groups and history buffs have rallied hard for the Iowa, which served in battles since World War II, carried President Franklin Roosevelt home from the Teheran conference of allied leaders and suffered one of the nation's most deadly military accidents in 1989 when 47 sailors were killed in an explosion during a training exercise.
"I think the Iowa could be a very powerful teaching tool regarding recruitment and U.S. defense policy," said Merylin Wong, president of the Historic Ship Memorial at Pacific Square, the San Francisco organization lobbying for the ship.
Even if the board approves the proposal, San Francisco still must bid against Stockton, where city officials already welcome it.
The idea of a museum about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays also may not sit well with Navy officials.
Jack Green, a spokesman for the Navy Historical Society, which evaluates exhibits that appear on board donated ships, said an exhibit about a controversial defense policy would need approval from the secretary of the Navy.
"That sort of thing would be judged on a case-by-case basis," Green said. "None of the (exhibits) I know of deal with social issues."
Steve Boeckels, a local gay activist who helped come up with the idea for the museum, said he's seeking support from civil rights organizations.
"This is an opportunity for San Francisco to be first in displaying the value of acceptance for minorities and others who have sacrificed their lives for this country," said the 31-year-old Boeckels, who was discharged from the Army under "don't ask, don't tell" in 2000.
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Wow, I know how gays and lesbians are similar, but how are they similar to ethnic minorities, and how are they all similar to women?
its time to form our own country---the USA is finished as an honorable land.
I don't know. But, size counts.
Iowa should go the way of the America rather than be turned into a homo monument or cut into razor blades.
I still say they should haul this thing to Des Moines and make a high school out of it.
Or just park it off the coast of Venezuela.
My brain is screaming inside my head!
Sheesh!
Hi there thailor!
Thought you should know!
FULL THROTTLE BARF ALERT!!!
ya think?
oh, thtop.
No! Don't let the perverted inhabitants of Sodom-by-the-Sea have anything to say about what happenes to the U.S.S. Iowa! She is a fine ship with a proud history, and she deserves a better fate than being a pick-up spot for faggots!
Why would the Navy want anything to do with an STD infection like San Fransicko?
-Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, addressing the Sea Lords, 1912
Maybe they can include exhibits on rum and the lash as well.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Nauseating, utterly nauseating. I fervently hope Stockton gets the ship, San Freaksicko doesn't deserve it. And I would hope that no one in the Navy would authorize such nastiness.
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
What about overweight people? I'm sure there have been some sailors that have been a little on the heavy side from time to time. What about red heads, they start suffering from their very first years in school with incessant teasing from their classmates ("hey carrot top!", etc.) Will they be represented too? What about ugly people? Many have served their country honorably. Won't they get some representation?
(sounds of the sea in background)
"Captain, the men haven't eaten in days."
"Yes."
"Captain, the men haven't eaten in DAYS."
"Yes!"
"Captain, do you understand, the MEN haven't EATEN in DAYS!"
"Well, FORCE THEM! You've got plenty of men, haven't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"You have plenty of what?"
"Men, sir."
"WHAT!"
"MEN, SIR!"
"WHAT!!!"
"MEN!"
"MEN!"
"MEN! MEN! MEN! MEN! MEN! MEN!"
(music in)
Men men men men
Men men men men
It's great to be on a ship with men and sail across the sea!
Oh, we don't know where we'll land or when, it's great to be with men!
It's great to be with men!
'Cause men can sweat and men can stink and no one seems to care oh!
THROW the dishes in the sink and clog the drain with hair-o!
(Clog the drain with hair-o!)
Men men men, it's a ship all filled with men!
So batten down the ladies room theres no one here but men!
Men men men, men men men men!
There's men above there's men below there's men down in the galley,
There's Butch! and Buzz! and Spike! and Biff! and one guy we call
Sally.
(And one guy we call Sally.)
Men men men, it's a ship all filled with men,
You'll never have to lift the seat there's no one here but men!
Men men men, men men men men.
We're men and friends until the end and none of us are sissies,
At night we sleep in separate beds and blow each other kissies!
(And blow each other kissies!)
Men men men, it's a ship all filled with men!
So throw your rubbers overboard there's no one here but men!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!--
If this Naval ship with its proud history is docked in the Bay Area, it will be vandalized and disfigured by the America-haters.
NOT having the ship in the Bay Area is a win/win.
Stockton is a perfect place for this fine old vessel.
.
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