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Stephen Solarz, Rest in Peace

I came to know the name of Stephen Solarz as a high school kid, observing a man I either agreed with (the Philippines) or disagreed with (Central America) strongly. After his electoral defeat in 1994, the next time I heard his name when I learned that he was one of the leading members of the board of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. I met Mr. Solarz once, after observing him making a rousing speech in front of the Capitol. I had never thought that “rousing” was Mr. Solarz’s style, and I was so amazed by his command of the facts he spoke of that I asked if I could get a copy of his text. I was amazed to find that he spoke from just a half-page of illegibly scrawled notes. The speech had been almost entirely contemporaneous. We’ve clearly lost a brilliant and decent man in Stephen Solarz.

Solarz, by the way, died of esophageal cancer, the same cancer that took Tom Lantos from us. Like Lantos, Solarz was a part of that dying liberal, pro-democracy wing of the Democratic Party. Funeral services were held Thursday at Temple Rodef Shalom.

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  3. Jason, though it’s plausible that it could be Kim Jong-un, I think the untitled painting being Kim Ilsung in North Korea a long time ago is the far more likely scenario. The churches are not unlike Korean-style Protestant churches (don’t forget the clergy roots of Kim Ilsung’s family) and off in the distance the upward flare on the rooftop of some of the small buildings looks more Korean than Swiss.