August 13, 2007
Blue Angels Committee Vote
As promised, non-mayoral candidate Chris Daly's proposing his nonbinding resolution to ban the Blue Angels from flying over San Francisco at the Governmental Audit and Oversight Committee meeting today.
Daly, who's been working with Code Pink, Global Exchange, and Veterans for Peace on the resolution, is asking that San Francisco elected officials work to reduce unnecessary military flyovers in the area, saying that the loud jets are a threat to publich safety; upset pets, children, and seniors; traumatize veterans; waste jet fuel; and encourage the use of plastic bags. Okay, we made up the last one.
If Daly gets enough votes to pass this one, it'll go to the full board, but it doesn't sound likely that he'll get it out of committee: the other two members are the moderates Sean Elsbernd (who points out that more people have died on 19th Avenue than from Blue Angels events and we're not looking to shut down 19th Avenue) and Michela Alioto-Pier, who says we should be proud of our armed forces. Daly's only hope is that Michela forgets to show up to the meeting again!
Picture from 2005 by Studio H (Chris), off Flickr. Blue Angels always make us think of that Van Halen (Hagar era) video.
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How much time and money is Daly wasting with this ridiculous non-issue? "Having solved all other problems in SF, Chris Daly forces the city government to take on the Blue Angels."
Chris Daly bashers: Let the Hate begin.
It's not a non-issue for those of us who live in the fly-over zone. It's an annoying pain in the ass. If you live in the northeast corner of the city you know what I mean. If you've merely stood on the Embarcadero watching them then you don't.
Seriously, until you've had plates fall off shelves or your cat have a heart attack from this, you have no idea.
There may be legit reasons for banning them, but that's an unusual list of organizations he's working with on this. I didn't realize the Blue Angels had anything to do with the war in Iraq, I thought they just did stunts and stuff...
Fill in the blank with the correct response:
"saying that _____________ are a threat to public safety; upset pets, children, and seniors; traumatize veterans"
A. Drug dealers and gangsters in district 6
B. Chris Daly's assinine, do nothing policies
C. Crack heads who break car windows and steal from hardworking citizens
D. All of the above
Frak the Blue Angels. We're at war and they're doing fly overs? Did they do that during WWII or 'Nam?
Guest #6, The Blue Angels were formed after WWII. They performed during Vietnam.
It would be so nice if our supervisors focused on daily (pun works!) issues for all of us citizens - instead of grandstanding on stuff like the Blue Angels. Yes, it can be a pain in the ass - but it's also one of the reasons we choose to live in a big city - big events! And if the tax dollars that the tourists bring in help pay for better police to make our city safer - then keep holding events!
Nothing will change until something horrible happens.
What if they have a crash into the new trans bay term building after it's built or into the GG bridge?
Can we access the free syringe programs here in SF and shoot the macho fly boys up with an estrogen jolt so they'll de-butch a bit?
Daly is just doing a favor for the otherwise entirely powerless Global Exchange and Code Pink. It doesn't make them any more effective - actually it shows how irrelevant they are.
i like watching the blue angels, but i'll be the first to admit they're real annoying.
i remember almost crapping my pants when one buzzed Van Ness as I was trying to get back on the freeway. a couple years ago.
One day there might actually be a good reason to go to war (or one might come to us). In that case, perhaps it is not the most prudent course of action to legislate that the military has to decide what constitutes an "unnecessary" flyover when we're getting our asses invaded.
Good for Sean! He's absolutely right. 19th Avenue is like walking across a freeway. I shouldn't be surprised. He's a real supervisor. Unlike that ranting child, Chris Daly.
I live in the flyover area. Yes, it's loud and a little startling, but it's only for a few days and not very long each day, at that. It's not that bad. Some of my neighbors are upset about it. While it's their right to be so and say so, some of the people I know that squeak the loudest seem to have a hair-trigger complaint mechanism. Sometimes it's worth considering the source.
If the BOS wants to do something that affects our quality of life, how about addressing the helicopter tours? I get those red and white mechanized gnats buzzing over my neighborhood almost from sunup to sundown each and every weekend. There's a greater danger that one of those things will fall out of the sky than a Blue Angels jet.
The only reason Daly and those other groups want to ban the Blue Angels is because they believe that they symbolize (god forbid) American power and the U.S. military. I honestly don't believe he really cares about the "quality of life" issues concerning them.
What they really should ban is all these loser motorcyclists who ride around town making tons of noise for FREEDOM!
To #3, I lived on Sac and Hyde for 2 years, and had to deal with the angels and the f-16 flying right down Larkin St. on their way out to the bay. Sure it's a pain in the ass, but its only for a couple of days. Quit whining.
Daly opposes quality of life. People like the Blue Angels. Therefore, they have to go.
I'm just giggling at the prospect of Chris Daly suggesting Dianne Feinstein let him tell her what to do. Hee hee.
I'm not anti-army, I'm anti-obnoxious. The blue angels are annoying as hell. It's fine when they're doing their tricks over the water, you can hardly hear them, but buzzing the city is just asshole behavior. Let the angles fly around the bay and the Pacific - people can watch them from Ocean beach and Chrissy Field. Just stop 'em from dive-bombing the city.
If everything that posed the slightest possibility of danger was banned, our lives would be intolerably bland. That is part of the reason people live in SF is for the variety of interesting cosmopolitan lifestyles including the tradition of Fleet Week and the Blue Angels. Many of us still revere the military history this city has offered the nation as well. It's sad someone would politicize traditions like this.
Also, if you live in the NE corner of the city, you do so by choice.... don't move to an area with a longstanding tradition and complain about the nuisance. You moved to the wrong neighborhood.
Chris Daly upset pets, children, and seniors more than the Blue Angels do.