Election Wrap-Up: San Francisco World Peace Center Proposition Fails!
In a testament to just how ridiculous the ballot initiative process is in California, Proposition C on the San Francisco Ballot proposed to (somehow) obtain Alcatraz Island from the federal government and turn it into a “World Peace Center.” Sponsored by a bizarre fringe political party from nearby Marin County, this was a proposal for the City of San Francisco to buy Alcatraz from the National Park Service, tear down the historic prison and build some sort of monument on the scale of the Taj Mahal. While all the votes haven’t been counted, it looks like the proposition is going to fail by a margin of about three to one. 
The extremely questionable part about this issue is the matter of how it arrived on the ballot in the first place. This group must have been able to get in the neighborhood of 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot measure… which means that 10,000 people in San Francisco must have thought it was worth the effort and expense to put this on the ballot.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Yes, welcome to San Francisco. This is delusional idealism, akin to facial tissue with lotion.
I would have voted for this, if the plan was to house the center for peace inside the old prison cells. Maybe it’s too obvious, but emphatic pessimism is always worth while.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Facial tissue with lotion is a nice way to end up greasy and still have a sore nose. As is casting a vote for Alcatraz Island’s conversion into a World Peace Center.
While we’re at it, we can all rally behind my ballot proposal to turn Fisherman’s Wharf into a Mohandas Gandhi Recreation Center where people from all over the world can march to the sea, and make their own salt on site. Any signers?