California US Representative Tom Lantos, a fourteen term Democrat serving southern San Francisco and San Mateo County, passed from cancer on Tuesday 11 February. Lantos had an extraordinary life, escaping from the horrors of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany occupied Hungary in the 1940s to career of distinction in public service in academia and later in Congress.Lantos was a strong supporter of liberal and progressive causes and was a legislative leader on bills addressing numerous social issues. Lantos was doggedly in support of Israel and helped facilitate US financial and military support for that nation, often getting criticism from others stating his support for Israel was hindering efforts for Middle East peace, particularly with the Palestinians. Lantos supported the Iraq War initially, but markedly reversed his stand in recent years. Lantos served on the powerful US House Foreign Relations Committee, and offered strong words against the wasteful and unsuccessful foreign US military ventures in the Middle East this decade. Lantos was also a longtime strong proponent of environmental efforts around the nation, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Region.
http://cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002669072
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lantos
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