Free Republic

By Andrea Orr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The summer of love has given way to the autumn of fear in San Francisco, a liberal stronghold where residents bitterly disappointed by the Bush victory are in no mood to reach out and mend divisions. Rather, they are waving "United States of Canada" maps, redrawn to show Canada extending down to include California, New England and the other so-called "blue states" that voted decisively for Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the U.S. presidential race. Some are canceling plans to travel to neighboring "red states," where Bush drew most of his support....

San Francisco in no mood for tolerance after Bush win Sun 7 November, 2004 14:13 By Andrea Orr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The summer of love has given way to the autumn of fear in San Francisco, a liberal stronghold where residents bitterly disappointed by the Bush victory are in no mood to reach out and mend divisions. Rather, they are waving "United States of Canada" maps, redrawn to show Canada extending down to include California, New England and the other so-called "blue states" that voted decisively for Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry in the U.S. presidential race. Some are...

Bush win, anti-gay amendments bring sadness not regrets in SF - LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, November 3, 2004 (11-03) 17:30 PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- On the day after voters in 11 states delivered a resounding rebuke to the concept of gay marriage, the liberal city that helped make same-sex unions an election year issue assessed the role its exuberant, two-month wedding march may have played in President Bush's re-election. Some analysts credited San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to let gay couples marry here without a court's blessing with inspiring the anti-gay amendments that gave the president's...

IN HIS STOIC DEFENSE of his strategy to simultaneously fight two wars, President Bush has failed to face the true cost of his plans, both foreign and domestic. Four years after promising a spirit of bipartisan compromise and conservative compassion in office, Bush presides over a county bitterly divided over his outlines for pre-emptive war and the questionable state of homeland security. The price for his vision of nation-building through military force has soared too high, in terms of human life and a staggering budget deficit that, when he entered office, seemed unfathomable. Yet in the face of mounting criticism...

GEORGE W. BUSH campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" and won the presidency by the narrowest of electoral margins. He promised to unify the nation after the most ferociously contested election in 124 years. But from the moment he took office, Bush showed neither compassion nor humility. He immediately began to govern as if he had a mandate to steer the country in a sharply rightward direction. The policies of the Bush presidency have only cemented the polarization in this country. It is time for a change of direction. [snip]

Conservatives say they face hostility for Republican beliefs Fireman John Darminin has charged into burning buildings, but said his hottest assignment was serving in union leadership as a Republican. The Redwood City resident and former director of the San Francisco Firefighters Union Local 798 said the union ordered him to remove a Bush/Cheney bumper sticker from his car in 2000 and to take down his Web site that was critical of liberal San Francisco politicians. And those were just some of the many attacks on his conservative political beliefs that have left him bitter. "I thought I was back in...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A decorated U.S. combat veteran filed a lawsuit on Tuesday asserting that the government can not prevent reservists from leaving the military when their enlistment periods end. The suit against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other military officials, names the plaintiff only as John Doe. It says he served in the Marine Corps and Army for nine years on active duty and three years as a reservist. "This lawsuit seeks to stop the forced retention of men and women who have fulfilled their service obligations," said attorney Michael Sorgen. "When their period of enlistment ends, they...

The California Supreme Court will rule Thursday on whether San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had the right to issue marriage licenses to more than 4,000 same-sex couples earlier this year.

True story: A friend was having lunch in a small restaurant not far from the Transamerica building [in San Francisco]. He was reading the Wall Street Journal. The restaurant's owner walked up to his table and asked, "Excuse me: Are you a Republican?" "As a matter of fact, yes, I am," my friend replied. The owner asked him to leave the restaurant. In southern Marin County — where the median price of a house pushes 900 Gs — every third automobile sports an aggressive leftish sticker, mostly professing hatred of Bush and peacenikism. No proclamations from the other side are...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A video aired Saturday that purportedly showed an American being decapitated in Iraq was a hoax. The man shown in the video, reached by The Associated Press in San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friend's house using fake blood. Benjamin Vanderford, 22, said he began distributing the video on the Internet months ago in hopes of drawing attention to his one-time campaign for city supervisor. When his political aspirations waned, he thought the video would serve as social commentary.

CAIRO (AP) — New video aired Saturday purportedly shows a San Francisco man being depacitated moments after he urges the United States to end its occupation of Iraq. The man on the tape identified himself as what sounds like Benjamin Vanderford, from San Francisco. He sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth. There was no way to immediately determine the authenticity of the tape and the U.S. military in Iraq and the U.S. Embassy said they were unaware of the video and had no immediate comment. There was...

Militants loyal to top al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have released a video which apparently shows a US citizen being beheaded. The man says he is from San Francisco, Reuters news agency says. It is unclear if and when he was taken hostage. Zarqawi militants have previously released footage of at least three hostages being decapitated. They include a US businessman, a South Korean translator and a third man said to be a Bulgarian lorry driver.

KCBS/CBS-5 - A San Francisco man running for political office has become the victim of a hate crime. Someone defaced about 50 campaign posters belonging to David Heller in San Francisco's Richmond District. "I couldn't believe it. I mean, I couldn't handle it," said Heller. "The next day, I just broke. I just cried. The whole day, I couldn't handle it." Heller, who is Jewish and owns a beauty shop, is running for a seat on the Board of Supervisors. He told CBS-5 he lost all of his relatives on his father's side to the Nazis during World War Two....

More financial institutions than previously disclosed may be at risk of attack and an Al Qaeda operative has told British intelligence that the groups target date is early September, intelligence sources said yesterday.The operative, described as credible by British intelligence, told his debriefers that the attack would take place '60 days before the US presidential election' on November 2, according to a former National Security Council official.On September 2 President Bush is expected to address the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden. Counter terrorism officials are analyzing data from a computer siezed in Pakistan last month to see if...

In a letter from the San Francisco Human Rights Commission to San Francisco Police Officers’ Association (POA) President Gary Delagnes, the commission chastised the association for promoting tickets to its membership offered by radio station KNEW to the “Michael Savage Uncensored” event this past May. The POA, representing labor interests of dues-paying cops (not the city or police department), was taken to task for accepting tickets from the radio station for an event that the commission finds repugnant. “By choosing to promote this event to its membership, the POA lent its name and credibility to one of the foremost promoters...

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's supervisors agreed Tuesday to place before voters in November a proposal allowing people who are not U.S. citizens to vote in school board elections. If voters approve the City Charter amendment, San Francisco would become the first jurisdiction in California to allow people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots in any election.

Not sure how many are tuned into the Bill O'Reilly interview with Ex-Mayor Willie Brown. I've already posted earlier today about my problems with SF, that is being a business owner and struggling to do business in SF. But, can you believe how Mr. Brown differentiates between the Clinton and Bush government? He says that the Bush administration has "failed on entitlements". Yet, O'Reilly indicates that overall spending towards education has doubled since the Clinton administration. I want to know from FR if Mr. Brown is considered a legitimate spokesperson for the Afro-American community. Because, what he is basically saying...

Washington -- Members of the Bay Area's congressional delegation, which includes some of the wealthiest lawmakers in Congress, have built significant personal fortunes by capitalizing on the region's pricey real estate market and investing heavily in the stock market. Two of the Bay Area's best-known lawmakers, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, are fixtures on the list of Congress' richest members. snip For example, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, a former economics professor at San Francisco State University who has served in Congress for almost 24 years, has made millions of dollars through...

A religious leader in the African American community resigned his seat on San Francisco's Planning Commission on Thursday, saying he could no longer in good conscience serve under Mayor Gavin Newsom -- whom he stopped just short of calling a racist. "Let me put it this way," the Rev. J. Edgar Boyd said after tendering his resignation and leaving the commission's meeting. "He needs to begin to quickly show that he's not one." Boyd cited the recent loss of several black city employees, the mayor's inaccessibility to Boyd and his congregation and the perception that Newsom single-handedly has decided on...

<p>San Francisco, CA, Jun. 21 (UPI) -- A plan is being considered that allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to vote in San Francisco school board elections.</p> <p>The San Jose Mercury News said Monday the proposed November ballot measure was aimed at getting more parents involved in their children's education by waiving California's requirement that voters be U.S. citizens.</p>