# Bill O'Reilly calls for al Qaeda to attack San Francisco **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 11, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625 "2005-11-11T21:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/81 "2005-11-13T01:58:48Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > Got me thinking. If San Francisco gets to secede, the California really should get to as well. If California gets to secede, then all the blue states should get to also. > With that in mind, I’d like to present a letter written by a fellow New Californian: > Dear Red States… > > We’ve decided we’re leaving. We intend to form our own country, and > we’re taking the other Blue States with us. > > … > > By the way, we’re taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt > weed they grow in Mexico. > > Peace out, > Blue States Damn, maybe secession is not all that bad. But I from Ohio, can we be like Viriginia in the Civil War and divide. I am very embarassed to be a red state. We really are all not stupid, please believe me. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/82 "2005-11-13T05:34:35Z")
First, to get this out of the way, Bill O’Reilly is an ass, yadda, yadda, yadda. There should probably be a sticky to that effect in the pit, then we could just post there when he does something new stupid and not waste a new thread thats the same as the last 500 threads. Honestly, don’t you people have children? He’s being outrageous to get attention, and here you come, slavishly giving it to him, each and every time. Why not just ignore him, it’s not like he ever says anything of consequence. That being said, I am curious as to weather any of you are actually going to come right out and make the ridiculous claim that the armed services offer no, or only limited, educational opportunities, because that’s just absurd. You don’t have to let the fact that you don’t agree with the Iraq war lead you to make monumentally stupid statements like that. I’m not saying that every member of the armed forces is going to realize advanced education, no, but a significant portion of them will. I personally know an airplane mechanic, a doctor, a nurse and a pilot, all of whom learned these skills in the armed services. Oppose the war in Iraq if you must, but don’t be stupid about it. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/83 "2005-11-13T05:39:53Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > That being said, I am curious as to weather any of you are actually going to come right out and make the ridiculous claim that the armed services offer no, or only limited, educational opportunities, because that’s just absurd. So absurd that you yourself are about to say that they offer limited educational opportunities. Here, let me quote you. > [@Weirddave](#): > > I’m not saying that every member of the armed forces is going to realize advanced education, no, but a significant portion of them will. But, you seem to disagree with that too: > [@Weirddave](#): > > You don’t have to let the fact that you don’t agree with the Iraq war lead you to make monumentally stupid statements like that. In addition, the military can and does sometimes engage in a bait and switch. There’s no guarantee that if they need you for combat, that you won’t see combat. Even if your recruiter promised you otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/84 "2005-11-13T05:52:18Z")
My own position is not that the miitary does not offer educational opportunies but that recruiting, in itself, has no curricular value in a high school. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/85 "2005-11-13T06:14:36Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > Bill O’Reilly is a crusty old fungus-infested heirloom douchebag. Wherever he goes he trails behind him the putrid slime of the dripping infected asshole that he is. May his penis rot slowly, falling off piece by piece. May his body be cursed with leprosy. May his brain degenerate so that his lack of control over his bodily functions matches his lack of control over his big mouth. > > That said, I think both the handgun ban and the recruiting ban are stupid stupid stupid. What a waste of time and taxes. I wish San Franciscans and all Californians could get their heads out of their asses. (Despite this, I still think we do better than most states.) I agree, with both. (Well, not ALL Californians have their head up their asses… 😃 ) I have no problem with the Military recruiting in our schools. SF is a wonderful place to visit, but sometimes I really think that water from hetch-Hetchydoes strange things to dudes… But really- wishing death upon them for their meaningless sillyness? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/86 "2005-11-13T08:16:12Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > So absurd that you yourself are about to say that they offer limited educational opportunities. Here, let me quote you. So, by your reasoning, If I agreed to give 99 out of one hundred people a million dollars, I would not be offering a significant financial opportunity to most of the people involved. If that’s your argument, you’re an idiot. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > In addition, the military can and does sometimes engage in a bait and switch. There’s no guarantee that if they need you for combat, that you won’t see combat. Even if your recruiter promised you otherwise. It’s the military. Combat is fundamentally what they do. The opportunities that they offer in the absence of combat are what compensates for the chance of dying in combat. It’s a very simple equation, understood by almost everyone. Who **DOESN’T** understand that trade off? There was a court case about this during Gulf War I, IIRC. The plaintiff was laughed out of the courtroom. What point are you trying to make? > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > My own position is not that the miitary does not offer educational opportunies but that recruiting, in itself, has no curricular value in a high school. Damn, Dio, I think we mostly agree here. How the fuck did something like that happen, and more importantly, are you starting to shiver as hell freezes over and the cold leaks upworld to us? I don’t think recruiting has any curricular value in a high school either, but I do think it has the potential to have an enormous value for post high school decisions. Isn’t that fundamentally what high school is supposed to be about? Preparing almost adults for what comes next? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/87 "2005-11-13T08:25:16Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > So, by your reasoning, If I agreed to give 99 out of one hundred people a million dollars, I would not be offering a significant financial opportunity to most of the people involved. If that’s your argument, you’re an idiot. Swing and a miss. I am saying that if there is a job which might, or might not, entail vocational training that the nature of the job cannot be considered educational. You are familiar with the fallacy of composition, right? > [@Weirddave](#): > > It’s the military. Combat is fundamentally what they do. Mmm hmmm. Is combat an educational endevour? If you say the fundamental thing they do is to fight, kill, and die, then the fundamental thing they do can’t be getting educated. > [@Weirddave](#): > > What point are you trying to make? That being recruited into the military, in and of itself, is **not** an educational endevour. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/88 "2005-11-13T13:53:47Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Swing and a miss. > > I am saying that if there is a job which might, or might not, entail vocational training that the nature of the job cannot be considered educational. > > You are familiar with the fallacy of composition, right? Sure, but this doesn’t meet that standard. If a job requires a certain technical skill, and the people who are going to do that job are trained in that skill, it is not a fallacy of composition to say that signing up for that job will result in one being trained in that skill and could later put that training to use in other areas. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > Mmm hmmm. > Is combat an educational endevour? > If you say the fundamental thing they do is to fight, kill, and die, then the fundamental thing they do can’t be getting educated. Again, your point makes no sense unless the dying part is a guarantee. If people are going to be taught skills to fight, kill and (maybe) die, then they can use those skills outside the armed forces if they don’t die. The vast majority of people in the armed forces of the United States don’t die in service. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > That being recruited into the military, in and of itself, is **not** an educational endevour. I would say that on the most basic level it is, if nothing else, one learns teamwork and discipline, but beyond that, one can join with the specific intention of gaining a specific skill, and in the vast majority of cases they do get that skill. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/89 "2005-11-13T16:20:43Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Sure, but this doesn’t meet that standard. If a job requires a certain technical skill, and the people who are going to do that job are trained in that skill, it is not a fallacy of composition to say that signing up for that job will result in one being trained in that skill and could later put that training to use in other areas. But since not everybody who signs up for that job (ie. is recruited by the army) ends up being trained in one of those skills, it can’t be said to be a guarantee. > [@Weirddave](#): > > Again, your point makes no sense unless the dying part is a guarantee. If people are going to be taught skills to fight, kill and (maybe) die, then they can use those skills outside the armed forces if they don’t die. The vast majority of people in the armed forces of the United States don’t die in service. It sure does still make sense, because the point is that none of it is sealed with a guarantee, the educational aspect or the dying. > [@Weirddave](#): > > I would say that on the most basic level it is, if nothing else, one learns teamwork and discipline, but beyond that, one can join with the specific intention of gaining a specific skill, and in the vast majority of cases they do get that skill. But the vast majority is not all. Besides, my original point was that if the Cali schools didn’t want to have recruiting going on, it was their right, and that being recruited, as such, was not an educational endevour. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/90 "2005-11-13T17:21:41Z")
> [@fushj00mang](#): > > Just a quick reminder. All of ‘your’ citizens who are in Iraq now swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I do believe that the California National Guard, upon their return, will be kicking in your door and beating your ass a bit. Wouldn’t that be a violation of the Constitution? Just asking. Or do you favor that we dispel with all the bullshit and declare the Constitution and rule by law to be null and void? If the Guard were to do any of this, there are plenty of us (regular citizens, Veitnam era vets etc) who would then view THEM as the “enemies foreign and domestic”. It could get real ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/91 "2005-11-13T18:27:01Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > Bill O’Reilly is a crusty old fungus-infested heirloom douchebag. Wherever he goes he trails behind him the putrid slime of the dripping infected asshole that he is. May his penis rot slowly, falling off piece by piece. May his body be cursed with leprosy. May his brain degenerate so that his lack of control over his bodily functions matches his lack of control over his big mouth. Open up, **Ghanima**! Tell us how you _really_ feel. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625/92 "2005-11-14T00:07:24Z")
> [@CBS](#): > > (CBS 5) Conservative Broadcaster Bill O’Reilly is making no apologies for his inflammatory comments about San Francisco. > > “I’m from New York,” O’Reilly said on the radio Friday. “There are dozens of people in my neighborhood, on Long Island, who are dead because of 9/11, and you people are telling me you’re not going to allow military recruiting out there. Hey, it’s serious, and I think you guys need a wake-up call.” > O’Reilly is upset about the city’s proposition discouraging public schools from allowing military recruiters on campus. On his national radio show Tuesday, he said San Francisco should not get a nickel of federal funds. > “And if al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we’re not going to do anything about it,” he said. “We’re going to say, look every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower, go ahead.” Well Billy boy, I a Noo Yawkah too, from Lawng Gisland even. Bayside to be exact. So from this New Yorker to another, your fucking pie hole. You don’t talk for me, and if I get a chance to tell you to your face, you’ll get a real earful. In a New York minute. By the way, did New York get all that “terror money” Bush promised them? How about better radio equipment that was promised to the Fire and Police departments? Again, shut the fuck up and don’t you fucking dare presume you represent ANY of us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-calls-for-al-qaeda-to-attack-san-francisco/330625.md?page=4)