[Sosfbay-discuss] Tom Lantos of San Mateo

[alexcathy at aol.com]

Dear Green Friends,
 
California Congressman Tom Lantos of San Mateo (on the peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose), was the one and only bona fide war hawk in the Bay Area congressional delegation.  
 
During the run-up to the war, the Peninsula Peace & Justice Center organized a sit-in at Tom Lantos’ office in San Mateo.  Several people were arrested.  
 
Down on the street Paul George, PPJC director, asked me: “Hey Alex!  Wanna do some mild civil disobedience?  Let’s just walk in front of the police cars while they are trying to take people away.” 
 
(I think Tian was there that day)  
 
So we did.  Paul George strolled in front of the police car on the right and starting walking s-l-o-w-l-y from right to left.  The officer yelled “Get out of the way! Move on!  Move on!”  
 
Just before Paul moved off to the left, I walked in front on the right side walking s-l-o-w-l-y from right to left.  Several of us did this for several minutes.  When they finally threatened to arrest us, we quit.  But then another group started doing it.   
 
*  *  * 
 
In the ensuring years, many people have applied heckling, cajolery, and gentle pursuasion to get Tom to rejoin the reality-based community.  This includes some brave souls who ran against him for Congress on the Green Party line.  
 
 
*  *  * 
 
Today, Tom Lantos is the new Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  Yesterday, I saw this exchange on the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: 
 
 
Posted from the Web Site of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june07/reaction_01-11.html
 
TRANSCRIPT: SECRETARY RICE APPEARS BEFORE HOUSE
 
KWAME HOLMAN: As for Secretary Rice, she also was on the other side of the Capitol by mid-afternoon, appearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Tom Lantos, Democrat of California, is its new chairman.
 
REP. TOM LANTOS (D), California: What the American people are looking for is a responsible plan for de-escalation and not escalation. The president last night provided a plan of escalation.
 
.  .  . 
 
REP. TOM LANTOS: You cannot unscramble an omelet. What is the logic behind expecting that approximately 20,000 additional troops, basically in a city, a metropolis deeply divided of five million people, can really turn the corner?
 
 
It took 3 long years, 3,000 American dead, 600,000 Iraqi dead, chaos in Iraq and Lebanon and coming soon to Syria and Iran, but I guess this congressman is finally gonna start earning his pay as the people's  representative of the voters of Northern California.   
 
 
Alex Walker 
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