Local “Lion of the Left” Pleads Guilty

May 8, 2008

There was a time when my husband and I listened to KGO radio and especially Bernie Ward. We enjoyed how skillfully he rhetorically cornered right wing callers, became a part of his Sunday morning program church of the Holy Donut, and mourned with him when his friend Duane Garrett committed suicide off the Golden Gate Bridge. We eventually couldn’t handle listening to KGO because they started to become the Dr. Laura radio station despite our complaints. We have long switched to listening to KQED almost 24/7, but still remember waking up to Amazing Grace in the morning to listen to God Talk and smile. That was until recently when we heard about allegations of child pornography.

Bernie Ward has plead guilty to distributing and receiving child pornography. I am shocked and saddened by this all. There are so little proud liberal voices in the world of mainstream radio (sans Air America) to have one silenced by his behavior is just a shame. It is clear by his quilty plea that he understands that he needs to deal with the consequences of his actions. He has lost his job and our hearts go out to his family. We remain confused, disturbed, and disappointed.