Caution: Intolerant, Liberal, Heterophobe Post Ahead

Despite the inevitable criticism that I am an intolerant, San Francisco, Left-wing, Liberal, Heterophobe, I want to draw some attention to a great column I saw in the San Francisco Chronicle today. Jon Carroll penned a fantastic article explaining that what Pete Wilson referred to as Bevan Dufty and Rebecca Goldfader's "experiment" is really no different than what every other parent experiences, and is better than most.

That is, every venture into parenting is an experiment. Sometimes, the experiment is successful and sometimes not. The goal is for parents to make more sucesses than failures...or to at least make enough successes that the child develops into a normal person. An experiment involving two parents that adore the child that they brought into the world together is much less risky than many of the minor parenting experiments that are tried each day by countless parents worldwide. Ranging from deciding what to feed a child to deciding whether the child is ready to operate a walker/tricycle/bicycle/automobile.

Unfortunately, most children seem to be born without instruction manuals that list precisely how to care for a child. Worse, most children are born to people in my age group. Frankly, I am barely able to care for myself enough to stay alive and healthy and I can't imagine being responsible for the life of a helpless infant. Then again, I have known many young people that have had children on "accident." While the parents certainly love their children, the family didn't exactly plan on bringing a child into the world.

How then is it more wrong for a man and a woman with more than sufficient life experiences and financial resources who want to bring a child into this world to have one than a couple of foolish young adults?

I Am No Liberal!

In my life, I don't think I have ever been seriously called a liberal! In fact, I am unaware of many gun-toting, Reagan-loving, pro-life Republicans out there that are included among the leftists.

Somewhat hilariously, I have gotten a few hits from a conservative blog that has characterized the Land of the Fruits and Nuts as a part of the "Intolerant Left in San Francisco." His portrayal of my blog was because of my earlier post on talk show host Pete Wilson homophobic rants on his radio show blasting Bevan Dufty. If only the folks over at RightLinx knew how much I have supported and aided the Conservative Movement, they would see that my comments on Bevan Dufty certainly fit under the Big Tent of the Republican Party. Or not.

As any good GOP historian could tell you, our party has been in dire troubles before. There was a time when we went decades without controlling Congress and could scarcely pull enough votes for President to justify running a candidate. Great men, not the least of whom was William F. Buckley, Jr., met and developed an unlikely coalition to regain political dominance. This coalition included the Religious Right, Classic Liberals, Libertarians, and Moderates all under one Big Tent. This coalition gave rise to such great leaders as Ronald Reagan and continues to bolster the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and John McCain.

Unfortunately the religious zealots on the far right end of our tent have forgotten the deals we made. Under the big tent, we fight for a moderately free-market economy as well as a few moderately socially conservative issues like abortion. However, the current Republican plan seems to call for lots of socially conservative issues without much concern about a functional budget. It should come as no surprise that the Grand Old Party is struggling to maintain control of Congress in this election cycle.

Instead of calling my end of the tent a bunch of intolerant leftists, perhaps the GOP should be reunified again. We were once the Party of Lincoln and could be again!

For Pete's Sake!

For Pete's Sake!

I had plans tonight to write a short recap of last weeks glorious victory against Oregon, a preview of this week's football game, a political opinion piece on .50 caliber rifles, and why we should all support Chuck Poochigian over Jerry Brown. Unfortunately, you will all have to wait for those posts.

Tonight, I was told to check out the KGO radio archive and listen to Pete Wilson's radio show. Unfortunately, KGO archives its shows only for 24 hours, so I am unable to provide a link. If the particular show I am interested in is podcasted elsewhere, I will give you a link later.

Today, Wilson (not to be confused with former Governor Pete Wilson), started his show with a discussion of Bevan Dufty and Rebecca Goldfader's new bundle of joy, Sidney. Unlike most local media that have congratulated the two coparents on the birth of their daughter, Wilson criticized the two in a bigoted tirade regarding their sexual orientation and marital status.

Best friends for more than 10 years, Dufty and Goldfader are both homosexual. The two plan to live side-by-side in a duplex that they plan to purchase. They intend to raise their daughter, Sidney, together in the duplex.

While it is now common in San Francisco for same-sex couples to raise children together, it is apparently taboo for two opposite-sex individuals that happen to be gay to raise a child together, or so says Wilson. The radio talk show host expressed his outrage that the two would have a child together by calling little Sidney "a potential travesty."

While it is true that the ideal situation for raising a child includes two married parents that both love and care for the child in a stable environment throughout the child's development, such situations are frequently unavailable. For example, gay couples are barred by law from marrying which can lead to partnerships that are less legally binding than a conventional marriage. Further, many children are born to single parent homes or may otherwise lose a parent prematurely. Such arrangements are so commonplace in our society that one hardly gives a second thought to a single parent caring for children. Certainly, these situations do not merit specific discussions on radio talk shows. Frankly, nobody cares when two straight people decide to have a child together and not marry each other.

However, when two gay people of the opposite sex decide to have a child together and not marry, it is apparently an outrageous affront to society. While Wilson unapologetically claims that Goldfader and Dufty's child is being treated as a toy instead of a new human being, he fails to recognize that this child of a popular San Francisco Supervisor and a Nurse Practioner will be extremely well cared for and loved by two parents that have remained close for more than a decade. If only more children could be so lucky!

I won't go so far as other bloggers and call for the resignation of Pete Wilson from KGO radio. He should, however, try to remember that the newborn he claimed could be a "serial killer" is a real human being with a real family who loves her. His comments and reactions were hurtful, not only to Dufty and Goldfader, but to many others in the San Francisco Queer Community.