[nickcarraway]

I think this writer is living in a bubble within San Francisco. I guess he's never heard KSFO- one of the most popular radio stations.

Reminds me of a quote from Paulin Kael in 1972: She couldn't unserstand how Richard Nixon won the election- everyone she knew voted for McGovern.

[brownie]

Of course, this guy fails to realize that all of the things he loves about S.F. are destroying it, companies leaving, tourism down, crime up, big city deficits.

[The KG9 Kid]

You're right; Mark Morford doesn't get out much. I believe that his sensationalistic declaration of San Francisco as all things gay, tofu, and organic doesn't necessarily hold true when he walks out the door of the San Francisco Chronicle at the end of the day.

Two nights ago, the SF Jewish Cultural Center was filled to capacity to hear Dennis Prager speak on the issue of 'Why The Left Has Abandoned Israel' as a guest of the Jewish Republicans of San Francisco, for instance.

Morford might have missed the fact that although 100,000 anti-war protestors from outside the city may have demonstrated before the war in Iraq, at least six times that many Bay Area patriots came to watch 'The Pretty Blue Angels of Death' during 'Fleet Week' that Morford railed about in an earlier column.

Morford speaks for Castro Street (or, "The 'Stro", as he no doubt calls it), and that's about it.

[vikingcelt]

Morford makes me ill. What does he know of San Francisco anyway? The San Francisco that was the greatest city ever. The San Francisco that was MY city when I was young. The San Francisco that I wept over when I had to leave because it had changed so much it was no longer recognizable. The beautiful old gray lady...shrouded in fog...violated, raped, demeaned, insulted by those who came from "God Knows Where" to spit on her and to destroy her. I will always see her in my mind and heart and soul as she was...beautiful, sophisticated and proud...and though I can never go home again that once greatest of cities will live on in my heart and soul and memory...I will always remember her as she was once in a beautiful long ago dream.

[Fledermaus]

I visted SF in March. Spent three days and two nights.

We stayed in a nice place (free parking - big factor) on 7th and Mission. It was great for being a tourist. It was awful for enjoying life.

It was filthy. Half the buisnesses were boarded up. Bums (I don't use the term homeless) were everywhere.

One night I wanted to buy some beer and went to the front desk to ask where the closest place was. In such a "progressive" city I thought it strange the average grocery store couldn't sell alcohol. I had to walk 4 blocks to a "liquor" store that strangly was allowed to sell groceries. Not even mini-marts could sell beer. Some progressivness.

NOWHERE and NO TIME could we stop and buy gas, go to a restaurant or whatever that we weren't accosted by bums for money. At least one entrepeneur, badly smelling bum actually had a portable vacumn and offered to clean my cars floors.

I was ready to walk to the store when the desk clerk said, "oh, you don't want to go now. Not at this hour". I did anyway and I made sure I bought enough so I didn't have to the next evening. I was harassed the entire walk back, "hey man, can I have a beer?" from at least a dozen people.

One day as we were driving north to go to Golden Gate Park we saw a horrible accident near the freeway. Later on the local news we saw the accident killed the driver when he tried to swerve around two bums (they called them homeless) who were fighting and fell into the street. Personally, I wouldn't risk my life for these scum.

We walked through the Market street area to Chinatown and they were urinating in the street, sleeping on the sidewalk, begging for money, and not a cop around.

If that's "progressive", I'll take my litte town south of Nashville where we have this concept called civility.

[Kozak]

It's not really a bubble, it's more of a zoo he lives in. If it didn't exist we would have to create one.....