Let Berkeley pay homage to its own

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 9/30/5 | Chip Johnson

[SmithL]

I'd bet most people wouldn't know what the most common type of legislation approved in Congress is. It is naming a post office after a former elected official or local person of renown. And usually it's so typical that it barely gains notice.

Until this week.

For possibly the first time ever, and most assuredly the only time in the last three U.S. congressional delegations, a bill to name a post office after someone has been rejected.

A proposal by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, to rename the main Berkeley post office after Maudelle Shirek, a longtime Berkeley city councilwoman and a matron of that city's ultra-liberal politics, was defeated on the house floor in a largely partisan vote.

On Tuesday, Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa led the charge to defeat the bill, noting that Shirek's political beliefs, including her support of a Marxist library in Berkeley, raised questions about her loyalty to the nation. The bill was defeated 215-190.

I'm no fan of Shirek's politics, and I publicly questioned a "fact-finding'' mission she took to Cuba with Lee and a delegation of East Bay representatives in 1998. But even at my cynical best, I cannot find fault with Shirek for working on behalf of her community, even when that community is Berkeley.

[SmithL]

The People's Republic of Berkeley is in a snit because they can't name a Federal Post Office after their favorite local communist.

[Sthitch]

They can pay homage to their own. I am sure that there are plenty of trees they could have named after her. That would allow them to actually go and hug her spirit, and show them for the tree huggers that they are.

[Sonny M]

This woman once defended the actions of a cop killer, she should rot in hell not be honored.

[GOP_1900AD]

She was a traitor, but, I mean, she was soooooo well loved by the Berzerkeley community. So let's cut her some slack ... /sarcasm

Anyone wondering what Savage is refering to in his slams of Bronstein, well, here is a classic example. The Comical (or is it, the Communistical?) strikes again!

[RichInOC]

I suppose it'd be rude to note that the other people Chip mentions are probably as non-controversial, politically speaking, as you can get. Chick Hearn certainly was.

If Berkeley wants to honor this lady, let the city government find something to name after her.

(Side note: Chip's a guy? That photo looks like a black Molly Ivins.)

[lilylangtree]

Let Berkeley go to Cuba and petition Castro for a post office.

[geezerwheezer]

Hey, maybe they can name a sewage plant after this pinko-witch!! I think it's great the US House of Representatives said "NO" to naming anything after her. She is a rotten person and deserves to be snubbed.

[Logophile]

But even at my cynical best, I cannot find fault with Shirek for working on behalf of her community . . . .

So, promoting a totalitarian ideology that has led to the murder of tens of millions (and the enslavement of many more) is "working in behalf of her community"?

[thoughtomator]

Guess what, ladies? No Cindy Fonda Post Office, either.