Posted on 01/08/2003 8:21:56 AM PST by Inspectorette
City among 30 in United States to adopt stance
Silas Lyons
The Tribune
SAN LUIS OBISPO - For all the tough decisions the five people in charge of San Luis Obispo have made, few have ever brought such immediate glory.
Slowly at first, then faster, cheering members of the audience that packed the City Council chambers rose to their feet Tuesday night, until nearly every seat was empty. All this for a 4-1 vote on a resolution with no binding power over anything.
Joining only a handful of other cities in America, San Luis Obispo now officially stands opposed to a pre-emptive military strike on Iraq by the United States.
Council member Ken Schwartz cast the lone vote against the action, although Mayor Dave Romero said he cast his "yes" vote with deep reservations.
No other local government agency in the county has taken a similar action. But about 30 cities nationwide have, with about as many more considering it, said Karen Dolan, director of the Progressive Challenge Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Francisco have all passed anti-war resolutions. In President Bush's home state of Texas, five campaigns are under way in major cities.
Tuesday's council meeting was scheduled early to allow extra time in the evening for what was expected to be a lengthy and passionate debate. However, it was over in about an hour.
Among the 100-plus attendees, supporters of the resolution were the overwhelming majority.
But Art Murphy, of San Luis Obispo, stood up in opposition to the prevailing sentiment.
"We talk about peace, peace," Murphy said. "There was peace in Nazi Germany, there was peace in Soviet Russia. But you never hear much about freedom."
There were many more voices on the opposite side.
"A war would affect my age group the most," said Kate Schmiett, a senior at San Luis Obispo High School who said she hadn't planned to speak. "I am speaking from my heart. Please, please, adopt this."
The majority of the council voted in favor of the resolution simply because they oppose pre-emptive military action. Councilwoman Christine Mulholland said the council's action would support American law.
"Going to war should be always the last, the last option," she said. "And certainly, we do have laws in this country. We should abide by them. And we don't hit first."
There was also some discussion of whether a City Council is the right forum for a debate on foreign policy.
Murphy thought not.
"This resolution I find naive in some ways, imperfect in others," he said, "but in all ways totally irrelevant to the governance of this city."
Romero also expressed reservation, calling the action a "slippery slope" that could lead the city into further debates over national policy. But Romero voted in favor of it anyway, noting that many constituents that called him favored the resolution.
But Schwartz, the lone council member in opposition, said he didn't object to the forum. He recalled presiding over several similar meetings as mayor during the Vietnam conflict.
"That's bothersome to me, that we would make a recommendation that deprives our leadership - such as it is, and I don't particularly agree with it - of a weapon that maybe would be in our best interest if we knew, we in this room, all of the information that is causing our administration to take the position that it is," he said.
It's unclear what, if anything, will result.
Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, said through a spokesman Tuesday that she looks forward to reading the resolution.
In October, Capps voted against a bill authorizing the president to take pre-emptive action against Iraq.
Silas Lyons covers the city of San Luis Obispo. He can be reached at 781-7929 or at slyons@thetribunenews.com.
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© 2001 sanluisobispotribune and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.sanluisobispo.com
Not surprised to see that the Lovely and Gracious Congresswoman Lois Capps is chirping approvingly about this - she's the ultimate in touchy-feely blathering.
Right on the mark, Mr. Murphy.
Maybe SLO will secede from the Union...
As a person with a graduate degree, I have finally ceased to be amazed by the total idiocy that eminates from institutions of higher learning in this country and elsewhere. Nearly every university town in America is full of over-educated A**holes trying to control everything around themselves.
It's the same thing with Santa Barbara County: the city of Santa Barbara is disgustingly liberal (and rich), while the rest of the county (Santa Maria, Lompoc and some smaller towns) is quite conservative. That's one of the reasons there's a lot of talk about a North-South county split.
This area is big on agriculture, ranching, and of course, the military (Vandenberg Air Force Base). Also, the wine industry is booming here on the Central Coast.
I see both counties as a microcosm of the entire country - mostly conservative, but with heavily populated enclaves of latte-drinking, brie-munching elitists and addle-headed college kids (who, BTW, can vote in our local elections).
If Clinton (or another Rat) were still in office, most of these same people would place the blame where it should be placed -- on the terrorists themselves. They have absolutely no political philosophy or principles other than "If the Democrats in charge say so, that's good enough for me; if they Republicans so, I say the opposite." That's about as deep as they do.
Thanks to Rep. Lois Capps [D-CA], this Congress may have hit a new low in the creation of a wasteful spending program. Representative Capps has secured $50,000 in federal money to fund a tattoo-removal program in her district. According to her press release:
"People with visible, inappropriate tattoos often encounter negative attitudes, stereotyping and discrimination, resulting in unemployment or the inability to move forward in their careers. This program supports people who are trying to make a change in their lives by removing those negative marks of distinction."
At least she was properly ridiculed by The Great Man himself, Rush Limbaugh, who even had a parody commercial about it. It was hilarious.
Lois is a nice, well-meaning lady who is dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. We got stuck with her after a long, sordid series of congressional elections in the '90s.
Our congressman for years had been a good solid Republican named Bob Lagomarsino. In 1992, Michael (Girly-Boy, ex-husband of the annoyingly nasal Arianna) Huffington came roaring out of Texas with tons of Daddy's oil money, and wrested the seat from Bob.
After about six months, Mikey declared that he was "bored" with being a Congressman and decided to challenge Dianne Feinstein for her Senate seat. After the most expensive senatorial race in history, DiFi cleaned Mikey's clock. He kept a low profile for a while, then he decided to out himself as gay. Nobody paid attention, and he hasn't been heard from since.
In the interim, Conservative Republican Andrea Seastrand won the seat in '94. In '96, Andrea got clobbered by the "get out the vote" effort at UCSB, and Walter Capps, Professor of Religious Studies at UCSB, won the seat.
Poor Walter dropped dead less than a year into his term, and Lois took his place. We're stuck with her until she decides to retire :-(
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