Nasty Little Man

Jimmy James

You can't help but admire state Senator Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny). His most recent crusade is a petition drive to impeach President Bush. This just a few months after he spent a few days in Crawford, TX, in August, a lovely vacation destination at that time of year, to support the anti-war vigil of Cindy Sheehan.

A former City Councilman, it seems this has been Ferlo's MO for decades, according to this article from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Assigned to cover a union protest some 30 years ago, veteran broadcaster Bob James arrived in time to see Pittsburgh police grabbing the limp body of a shaggy-haired protester and throwing him into the back of a wagon.

James bent over the tailgate to interview the protester, who appeared upside down on the evening news that night.

"I said, 'Who are you and why are you here?'" recalled James, 81, who retired last year after 46 years of covering Grant Street politicians.

"He said, 'I'm Jim Ferlo.'"

Senator Ferlo also stood in the way of bulldozers that were assigned to demolish the Syria Mosque, an old theater in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, just off the Pitt campus. My first week at Pitt in 1991 I attended a "Save the Syria Mosque" street concert that featured Rusted Root. Reading this about Ferlo's protest brought back fond memories. Unfortunately, the mosque is now a parking lot.

How many politicians who have risen to the level of the state Senate can say that they've been arrested for what they believe in? Come to think of it, a few Republicans in Congress might soon be arrested for what they believe in- money.

Politicians like Ferlo, Howard Dean, and Russ Feingold are refreshing. They don't put their finger to the wind in an attempt to figure out just the right thing to say, ala Hilary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry. We desperately need more straight talk.

When I saw that Ferlo is now calling for Bush's impeachment, I thought he might be preparing for a Congressional run, but the more I read about him, the more I realized that it's just Ferlo being Ferlo. Bless him.

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 10:14 AM