1

Vol. XVI NO. October 2013

What is the extent of American civilization, if the prison’s watch expands beyond the razor wire and

into the civilian realm?

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The CounterWeight

October Edition

Volume XVI Issue 1

3-5 Diversity, Social Justice, and Sustainabil-

ity: Conservative Values

-Professor Alfred Siewers

7-9 Don’t Look Now: the Continued Use of

Drones to Spy and to Deceive

-Emerson Davis

10-11 Media Musings: Opinion or Truth

-Liz Lilienthal

12-13 Why Are Tattoos Popular?

-Thomas Rie

14-15 And the Big Weiner Is…

-Shiri Levine

Published since 2001 by

THE BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY CONSERVATIVES CLUB

Richie Pisano ’15

President

Liz Lilenthal ’16Vice President for Special Events / Treasurer

Shiri Levine ’16Secretary

Mission Statement

THE COUNTERWEIGHT is a non-partisan publication

dedicated to promoting the free exchange of ideas in an

environment where meaningful debate and ideological

diversity are often lacking. We, its staff, seek to serve the

Bucknell community by infusing it with the ingredients

necessary for a balanced educational experience. These

ingredients include conservative, libertarian, and classi-

cal liberal thought. We aim to find and describe logical

solutions to issues big and small, while adhering to the

Constitution of the United States. We believe that peace

is best achieved through strength, that utopia is nowhere,

and that true equality is blind to race, creed, sex, and

sexuality. We take it as our mission to expose the inade-

quacies of the leftist ideas that dominate this University

and to articulate an alternative viewpoint. We strive to

inform, engage, and perhaps even amuse our readers in

doing so. We invite the active participation of any stu-

dent who shares our vision and would like to join our

mission.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in the articles herein are solely

those of each respective author. They do not necessarily

reflect the opinions of any other club members, the Con-

servatives Club at large, BSG, or Bucknell University.

Especially Bucknell University.

Submissions Policy

THE COUNTERWEIGHT wholeheartedly welcomes

letters to the editor, letters to writers, or guest columns.

They can be mailed to the club post office box or e-

mailed to the individual writers. Prospective writers are

advised that all correspondence with THE COUNTER-

WEIGHT staff about the publication is liable for publi-cation unless specified otherwise.

The CounterWeight

Thomas Rie Editor-in-Chief

Distinguied Members of the Board: Professor Alfred

Siewers, Emerson Davis, Doug Burney, Will Persing

The failure to keep popular media fair

Even though both Weiner and Filner have failed to stay relevant, there remains an important lesson to be learned

A Sign of the Times or Something More?

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Diversity, Social Justice, and Sustainability: Conservative Values

By Alfred Kentigern Siewers (Assoc. Prof., English)

I join many in mourning the untimely passing this summer of Tom Shawe, 53, an esteemed col-

league and chemistry professor at Bucknell, the former long-time advisor to the Conservatives Club. As

we say in my faith tradition, "May his memory be eternal!" He is survived by his wife Rebecca Mohr, and

other relatives in the South, as well as by his beloved dogs, Jasper, Fiona, and Cedric. Our President John

Bravman noted in his statement to the campus, "Tom was a talented and insightful organic chemist who

was a highly effective instructor of Introductory Organic Chemistry," "an ardent supporter of academic

rigor in the classroom and in the research laboratory." A graduate of the University of Georgia at Athens,

with a Ph.D. from Emory, he received many research grants for his work, including awards from the Na-

tional Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. "Tom’s research involved new methods

for synthesizing compounds with valuable medicinal properties," President Bravman noted. "He was

highly valued by his departmental colleagues for his deep knowledge of chemistry, his intellectual crea-

tivity, and his willingness to defend rigor and depth in the chemistry curriculum." Tom also had the

courage of his convictions. After his recent passing, students in the Conservatives Club contacted me,

saying that they were having trouble finding a faculty member at Bucknell to be advisor in his stead.

They had heard through the underground that one was hidden in plain sight in the English Department

(in fact my new office is right on the corner of Vaughan Lit by Bertrand Library, near the plaque for

“Good luck John”).

I may have been identified by the lonely Romney bumper sticker on my car in a sea of faculty-

staff Obama stickers, although that display was more ironically contrarian than partisan on my part.

Still, in memory of Tom’s legacy, and of the importance of diverse views at our liberal arts university, I

agreed to step up unworthily. Frankly, in his honor, I also would like to promote inserting political di-

versity explicitly as a category in Bucknell’s new diversity plan. Let’s call it the Shawe provision.

Political non-conformity I do know. I grew up in a liberal Democratic family in Chicago, with personal

and family commitments to the civil-rights movement, and my own ardent devotion as a young pre-

voter to first George McGovern and then Jimmy Carter. But in a city where the Democratic political ma-

chine was corrupt and all-powerful, my family branches hid traces of a secret crypto-cult known as Chi-

cago Republicanism, going back to my great-grandfather, who participated in the Republican convention

that nominated Lincoln at Chicago’s Wigwam in 1860. Only now it can be told publicly.

Unlike paleo-conservatives in the South and bicoastal libertine-libertarian conservatives today,

hidden neighborhood Republicans in Chicago often considered themselves “Lincoln Republicans,” in a

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secret counter-culture amid the Democratic Machine,

appreciating only distantly the Southern agrarian end of

conservative tradition in America, given its racist associa-

tions. They emphasized a big tent of urban and local-

industrial communitarian- ism, grounded in a moral neigh-

borhood ethos that reflect- ed Protestant, Jewish, and Cath-

olic family faiths, historically including African-Americans. Aspirational in life in a “family individualism”

way, they had an ideal of service to others as the rationale for economic and civic life.

With such subversiveness in my ancestry, in junior high and high school I went on a dystopian

literary reading spree, which finally led me deep into Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s newly translated Gulag

Archipelago. Lured by George Orwell’s writings into journalism to cover Chicago politics, I followed a

personal trajectory to grad school in medieval studies, and conversion to the Eastern Orthodox Christian

faith after discovering Dostoevsky on the side. Along the way, in my political evolution, I even helped to

lead a local Green Party organization with a communitarian focus.

But concern over our nationally accelerating technocracy (an apt term used by C.S. Lewis in the 1940s to

describe bureaucratic and cultural rule by tech-savvy elites focused on

their own security) finally drove me into registering as a reluctant Re-

publican in central PA. That's because I felt that our country needs an

intellectually vibrant (not merely provocative or reactionary) conserva-

tism to subvert its often-bipartisan elite consensus. Students at Buck-

nell are especially well-poised to contribute to such political diversity.

We especially need in the future, I think, to contribute better conserva-

tive approaches to four key issues, on campus and in society:

--Diversity. Conservatism can help make our community not only more politically diverse, but more in-

tellectually and culturally so. It draws on traditions from many cultures and time periods, with varied

experiential lessons and perspectives. It celebrates the importance of the diversity of embodied life on

earth, as well as diverse approaches to economic life, while making room for religious traditions of all

kinds, important in an increasingly international community like Bucknell, where "secular privilege" can

be a cloaked but real personal issue for many.

--Social justice. The American Right in my view too often in our time has been blind to sins of greed and

racism, idolizing corporations, accepting abstract individualism rather than deeper personalism as an

ethos, while encouraging excesses of our national security state. Yet the very term "social justice"

Rest in Peace.

Thomas Shaw

1960-2013

Do we want a University with a diver-

sity of opinion, or merely one-sided

lecturing?

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emerged from conservative traditions that provide alternatives to technocracy. In creative approaches

ranging from support for entrepreneurship, urban agrarianism, localism, communitarianism, to imagi-

native "anarcho-monarchist" constitutionalism and environmentalist “geolibertarianism,” conservatism

can offer human-scale solutions to issues from health care to industrial policy and food issues. By high-

lighting justice as intergenerational to "the seventh generation,” and emphasizing human dignity, it can

come to articulate more compassionate “pro life” positions as social justice--to help those less fortunate

in the U.S. and around the world; to support better education, health care, and economic opportunity;

and to advocate sensitively for alternatives to abortion and in support of traditional marriage--all as so-

cial justice issues.

--Sustainability. If we think of sustainability as an overlapping of personal and civic virtue, and of the

realms of economy and ecology, this must involve meaningfulness in everyday life. It requires relation-

ship to one another through mutually engaging narratives and traditions, and ecological and community

memories, across generations. To this conservatism has much to contribute, such as the inclusive yet

patriotic “oikophilia,” or love of home, which the philosopher Roger Scruton cites as a basis for develop-

ing national policy on environmental issues.

--Humility and good humor. Everyone needs these qualities, which paradoxically help to shape moral

courage. Conservatism to be reborn as an effective balance to liberalism in our society especially needs

them. Although as faculty advisor to the student Conservative Club I am neither censor nor editor, I

hope to lend my voice in support of a good-humored and humble yet courageous grassroots conserva-

tism.

Let's express the spirit of Lincoln in American conservatism, akin in spirit to the neighborhood

counter-cultural resistance to Chicago’s Machine that I knew growing up, but deeper and more inclusive.

Not a liberal elitist corporate Republicanism, libertine libertarianism, nor neo-colonialist neo-

conservatism, but an hospitable conservatism of happy warriors, mindful of generations past and future,

and grounded in a dynamically shared experience of community and place today. May such a humbler

and morally courageous conservatism draw on traditions that are both working class and intellectual,

rural and urban, old and new, in creatively diverse ways from many traditions, to reach honestly toward

new approaches to justice, reform, and sustainability. May it hold to a strong moral compass with devo-

tion both to freedom and to an intergenerational and inclusive ethos of faith, friendship, and family. May

Bucknell play an important role in this deepening of American political diversity.

Photo Credit: http://logoinspirations.com/uploads/2010/03/Bucknell-Bison-

ALT.jpg

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Outrageous & Quotatious "This shutdown is hurting everyone. Today Michelle Obama told obese kids: 'You're on your own. Eat a Happy Meal. I don't care.'"

–Jay Leno

“The reason to pass immigration reform is not to bolster a political party but to fix a system that’s broken. Good policy yields good politics.”

-Former President George W. Bush

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” -Pablo Picasso

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

-John F. Kennedy

“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.”

-Milton Friedman

''President Obama just held his first monthly bipartisan meeting and said that working together on jobs would be a good place to start. You know where else would have been a good place to start? A year ago.''

—Jimmy Fallon

''In Austin, Texas, President Obama told an audience, 'If you want to go forward you put your car in 'D.' If you want to go backward, you put your car in 'R.'' But you know something? Either way, the economy is still F'd.'' —Jay Leno

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Don’t Look Now: the Continued Use of Drones to Spy and to Deceive

By: Emerson Davis

Recently, America has been forced to reconsider its mores, which safeguard individu-

alism and privacy. The snooping conversation required full attention after Edward Snowden’s

whistle-blowing, exposing NSA’s alleged activities. For the present, America wrangles be-

tween dichotomy of privacy and security, and Snowden imbibes his year of asylum with Stol-

ichnaya at the Kremlin. Given Snowden’s circumstance, I thought it was appropriate to begin

with a Russian’s thoughts. Fyodor Dostoevsky, wrote, “The degree of civilization in a society

can be judged by entering its prisons.” Riffing off of Dostoevsky, I want to raise the initial

question: what is the extent of American civilization, if the prison’s watch expands beyond

the razor wire and into the civilian realm? Rather than the surveillance towers and crooked

correctional guards, the American government payrolls defense contractors to manufacture

drones for the inspection of every Average Joe. Unlike correctional guards, drones cannot be

bribed with smokes or petty cash; rather, drones create a physical disconnect between jailor

(government) and detainee (citizen). So, I must ask, is the United States observing the popu-

lation to fabricate a threat? If these are the intentions of the American government, then

9mm is to Zimmerman, as a drone is to the American government.

Before the Anne Coulter-thumping, McCarthyistic zealots deem me a socialist and un-

American; I recommend they hear me out. Then, they can decide whether or not to report my

seditious activity to the NSA. I am just saying, justified or unjustified, both Zimmerman and

the United States are paranoid—an emotion that is never good, and can usually be corrected

with a heavy dose of Xanax. Nevertheless, returning to the drone issue, I see the conversa-

tion as two distinct discussions: military use on Americans abroad and domestic surveillance.

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Under the moniker of counter-terrorism operations, the military authorizes the use of

weapon-bearing UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) against American citizens. To be fair, the

military did not indiscriminately stalk and fire on these “citizens”without cause. The four

Americans killed were

Anwar al-Awlaki,Samir

Khan, Jude Kennan Mo-

hammed, Abdulrahman

Anwar al-Awlaki. Alleged-

ly, all four Americans had

become radicalized Mus-

lims, and Anwar al-Awlaki

was the keystone in

the plots of Septem-

ber 11th. If I had the power to approve the drone strike, I would like to rashly act, defend-

ing the killing of these extremists on the grounds that they forfeited their rights as American

citizens when they became “terrorists”. However, I cannot do this in good conscious. I

refuse to be comfortable with the image of two pimply twenty-somethings, eliminating the

suspected insurgents from some German military base. These soldiers gun down people

with the same weighted consideration as a 1st person shooter game, afterwards picking

their crotch because their jumpsuit is too tight. The separation of killer and victim is undenia-

ble. Nevertheless, this is not a military issue; the blame rests upon Washington.

I do not want to seem ridiculous. If an armed gunman ambled onto Bucknell’s Cam-

pus, I would want the boys-in-blue to pursue the gunman in their sporty unmarked Ford

Figuratively and realistically, there now exists a scary conflict between freedom to act freely ver-

sus being under constant surveillance.

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Edge. I trust in Public Safety, as I know the officers are all too eager to fire their handguns

on someone/thing. However, this scenario is becoming increasingly unlikely. For rumor has

it, after fall break, Buffalo Valley Police will be instituting militarized security checkpoints at

downtown’s most threatening locations—Saint Catherine’s and 6th Street. In truth, by law

enforcement acting unencumbered by our legal process, it can prevent further injury to our

community. Likewise, bomb-totting Americans in the Yemen desert does sound like a large

threat to our community. Therefore, I encourage intelligent legislation to establish the roles

of drones when pursuing American targets abroad and domestically.

I am trying not to sound like the cadaverous Ron Paul, but I enjoy my privacy—call

me crazy. I loathe the peeping-Tom voyeurism of the government. As Frost wrote, “Good

fences make good neighbors”, and I believe, as Americans, we should value this principle. I

am not uncomfortable with the concept of drones viewing my daily happenings. To those

who say, “If your doing nothing wrong, then you should have nothing to hide.” I cringe at

such naivety. This argument is avoidance of the reality of privacy infringement. For in-

stance, do you feel comfortable with the government or a private corporation viewing pic-

tures of your children? Just as a reminder, there are almost 750,000 registered sex offend-

ers in the United States. Admittedly, I give this example with intent to provoke; however, at

this current time, I am not prepared to overlook my civil liberties for supposed protection.

Thus, my fears rest on the loose-term of and, occasionally, defamatory designation of

“terrorist”. It inflicts the same horror as communist or—before that—witch. I urge the gov-

ernment and its citizens not to fall into hysteria. Yes, there are extremists who deserve our

persecution; however, I do not want the government to embolden domestic fanatics with the

capability of an omnipresent and unblinking surveillance. Until then, the drone’s tinted fly-

like eye will continue to monitor the cell-block of suburbia.

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Media Musings: Opinion or Truth The failure to keep popular media fair

By: Liz Lilienthal

As Thomas Jefferson once said to John Tyler, “Our first object should therefore be, to leave

open to him all the avenues of truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is freedom of the

press. It is therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.”

Freedom of the press has re-

quired the

in politics. To-

dia presents

perspective,

acts to influ-

zens’ views.

Peek, in her

grich To Rom-

media’s involvement

day's mainstream

me-an undeniably

biased which

undeniably ence

American citi-Fox

News reporter Liz

article “From Gin-ney

To Tebow -- Why

Is The Media So Out Of Touch With America?” asks the question, why are so many Americans

hostile to our biggest media outlets? Her rationale is because liberals operate almost all the

major networks and newspapers in this country while three-quarters of the country describe

themselves as moderate or conservative…. To further this claim, is another study funded by the University of California, Los Ange-

les wherein they studied major newspapers, TV and radio stations in 2005 and the results

de-cisively concluded that, “there is a quantifiable and significant bias… to the left.”

Numerous record-keepers have documented that more than 80% of reporters vote for

Democrats.” My issue lies in that those in the news industry have their own corporate,

political, and econom-ic agendas, which have taken precedence over the truth and the

interests of the American people.

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Economic and social forces influence

the relationship between government and

the media (as long as those in the news in-

dustry are doing well, they will support gov-

ernment and vice versa.) Jeffrey Kuhner of

the Edmund Burke Institute explains, “Liberal

Democrats are attempting to muzzle con-

servative talk radio: they are assaulting free

speech. Like the communists in the former

Soviet Union,

America’s liberals seek to crush dissent by

consolidating control over the media—

especially talk radio, which has emerged as

the dominant medium for conservative opin-

ion.

More importantly, the war on talk ra-

dio reveals the totalitarian impulse at the

heart of modern liberalism. Its ultimate goal

is to transform America into a society charac-

terized by economic collectivism, personal

and multilateral globalism. To accomplish

these goals, the left must fundamentally re-

structure the economy, the family unit, tradi-

tional bourgeois values, and even the nation

in and of itself.”

Furthermore, with the recent news

that the Department of Justice will be investi-

gating Fox News’ James Rosen for, “being a co

-conspirator for writing a 2009 article discuss-

ing North Korea’s possible reactions to eco-

nomic sanctions handed down by the United

Nations.” The DOJ went so far as to dig

through Rosen’s personal email account, as

well as his fathers personal email account, in

addition to Associated Press’ News corre-

spondent’s emails. Reporter Erika Johnsen in

her article “Report: DOJ seized multiple

White House, Fox News records in Rosen

‘Investigation’” writes, “It looks like the DOJ

had not ‘merely’ been sticking their nose into

Rosen’s personal and professional e-mails,

calls, comings and goings, but had done eve-

rything in their power to fumble through

years worth of records that weren’t even as-

sociated with the ‘case.’” To me, these ac-

tions by the DOJ are a clear and absurd abuse

of power as it crosses the boundaries of both

personal life and professionalism. Not only is

the media biased, but also it cannot even be

honest when itself is the target of the very

people that they are supposed to investigate.

Photo Credit: http://www.monomakhos.com

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Why Are Tattoos Popular?

A Sign of the Times or Something More?

By: Thomas Rie

I am willing to bet you - the reader, any amount of money that you cant deny that tattoo’s are by and large becoming

more common and treasured in today's ever adapting culture. Tattoos are seen just about everywhere- whether it is in

TV commercial ads, on rappers in music videos, and even amongst older generations of people, which I myself find

particularly amusing. As some begin to accept the rapidly growing tattooing fad, others have begun to probe the rea-

soning behind body art. It is my belief that a common consensus of readers would agree that the increased number of

tattooed persons can be drawn back to the popularization over the concept that a person can achieve artistic embodi-

ment by simply sitting in a chair, feeling a bit of pain for 10 minutes while the needle leaves a permanent mark for the

rest of the world to see. To back this claim, there have been studies that show that the increase in tattoo artistry has

come about due to an overwhelming num-

ber of people who seek to cover up emo-

tional trauma or on the contrary seek to

celebrate a joyous occasion in a catchy,

trendy new movement.

In a survey conducted in May of 2012 by

The Harris Poll, which asked the simple

question, “Do you have a tattoo?” revealed

something that has never happened be-

fore in history- more women have tattoos

then do males. The split of people who have a tattoo

tipped the scale for the very first time in documented history. The poll revealed that 23 percent of females answered

yes to the question, while men only answered yes 19 percent of the time. The poll also went on to conclude that one in

five U.S. adults now have a Tattoo, yet ironically more than two in five without a tattoo say adults with tattoos are less

attractive. I find this contradiction and opposing split amongst the US residents as the most intriguing storyline, and that

is why I decided to share it with you here.

Is this the look you want to portray...forever?

Photo Credit: http://blogspot.com/Tattoo_Artist_At_Work.jpg

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Conversely, one could challenge this whole claim by justifying that tattooing has been in existence longer then one might

guess. As it turns out, tattooing for both divine as well as ornamental reasons has extended back to an estimated 10,000

BCE in Japan.

However, in todays society as people continue to flock to Tattoo Parlors and receive tattoos in increasing num-

bers, some sectors of the business world have begun to be more accepting and hiring people with visible tattoos, while

others have not. As Forbes has studied workplace tattoo rules and regulations seem to diverge greatly even within in-

dustries. Many contemporary companies have long stressed their commitment to diversity and inclusion, and as a result

tattoos are becoming increasingly unproblematic across the board. Laidback tattoo policies for blue-collar and art-related

jobs aren’t shocking, but the increasingly tolerant outlook of leaders in the corporate, the educational and the medical

industries are more surprising, as they have been notorious as to hire less competent applicants who don’t wear such

tattoos. Relating back to University ties, tattoo policies for positions in universities differ as well- this of course is depend-

ent on the institution’s mission. Bruce Potts, professor at The University of New Mexico, has an uncharacteristic look;

Professor Potts wears a full tribal tattoo on his face. He commented stating, “I haven’t had trouble getting a job because

success is all about how one presents him or herself, and doesn’t solely depend on appearance.” But UNM’s ac-

ceptance of Potts’ atypical appearance is not necessarily representative of all employers. Especially when it comes to

younger children, institutions and camps are more concerned with the message that a leader’s appearance may be

sending. In result, it is my concern that there soon may become many skilled people who will be denied jobs because of

their decision to attain a tattoo. So before sitting in the tattoo chair one must seriously consider whether the visibility of

self-expression in a physical sense worth the potential loss of a job opportunity.

Love us? Hate Us?

Write To Us.We delight in receiving letters, emails, hate-mongering rants, and even

love-filled poetry.

Direct emails to tmr019@bucknell.edu

14

And the Big Weiner Is… Even though both Weiner and Filner have failed to stay relevant, there remains an

important lesson to be learned

By: Shiri Levine

In 2011, a sexting scandal involving the unfortunately named Congressman Anthony Weiner, hit the

media hard (pun intended). Weiner was accused and eventually admitted to sending waist down photos of

himself to younger women and acknowledged conducting “inappropriate” exchanges with six women via the

Internet. With pictures surfacing and more and more women coming forward, Weiner originally insisted he

would not resign and instead requested a leave of absence from Congress in

order to enter professional treatment.

When asked if Weiner should resign, President Obama answered,

“Well, obviously what he did was highly inappropriate. I think he's embar-

rassed himself, he's acknowledged that, he's embarrassed his wife and his

family. Ultimately there's going to be a decision for him and his constituents.

I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign. When you get to the point

where, because of various personal distractions, you can't serve as effectively

as you need to at the time when people are worrying about jobs and their

mortgages and paying the bills, then you should probably step back.”

These words from Obama as well as pressure from his party took a toll on Weiner.

Because of this increasing pressure, on June 16th, 2011, Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress and

apologized to his neighbors, constituents and wife for his “personal mistakes” and “the embarrassment” he

caused. Weiner just did not get his happy ending…or did he? On May 22, 2013, less than two years after his

resignation from Congress, Weiner launched his re-entry into the world of politics with a run for New York

City mayor, asking voters for a second chance. With his wife by his side, Weiner came back for round two

and until public backlash and common-sense prevailed , Weiner seemed to be the only candidate that people

paid any attention to.

On the other side of the country in San Diego, seven women came forward accusing Mayor Bob Filner

of sexual harassment. The first woman to accuse Mr. Filner publicly, Irene McCormack Jackson, had served

as a former staff member of Filner’s. She filed a lawsuit against him on July 22, 2013 accusing him of repeated

harassment in the office. In the days that followed, other highly accomplished professional women made their

own allegations. Retired Navy admiral, Veronica Froman also came forward and stated Filner once blocked

her from exiting his former Congressional office and ran his finger down her cheek, asking if she had a man in

Anthony Weiner’s portrait

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her life. Another instance, including President of the San Diego Port Tenants Association, Sharon Bernie-

Cloward joined the extensive list of women who accused Filner when she went on the record and claimed that

as she was talking with friends, Filner proceeded to give her a hug, and began to touch her inappropriately as

he groped her backside. Another successful woman, Joyce Gattas, Dean of the College of Professional Studies

and Fine Arts at San Diego State University described interactions where Filner held her “too tight” or kissed

her on the cheek. She also stated, “I’ve experienced his sexual innuendos with me at various events that again,

have left me in that sadly strange feelings of: This is inappropriate, this is unwanted and this shouldn’t be hap-

pening.” With more and more women coming forward and with animosity and resentment growing towards

the Mayor, the media as well as the city of the San Diego looked to Filner to

resign. After fighting it until the bitter end, Filner sent in his resignation on

August 22nd, 2013.

With these men fighting to continue their careers in politics, women

around the nation have been left utterly disgusted by the behavior and con-

duct of these politicians that were in office to represent them. In a statement

addressing the behavior of these two men and their sex scandals, House Mi-

nority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke harsh and biting words for her former col-

leagues, criticizing their behavior stating, “The conduct of some of these peo-

ple that we are talking about here is reprehensible.” Furthermore she added,

“It is so disrespectful of women. And what’s really stunning about it is,

they don’t even realize it. They don’t have a clue. If they’re clueless, get a clue,” she continued. “If they need

help, do it in private.”

Pelosi took the words right out of the mouths of many American women- myself included. These

elected men have not only embarrassed themselves but have proven on numerous occasions that they do not

respect women. They have proven to all of us that they are neither mature nor courteous enough to represent

the hundreds of thousands of people they make decisions for daily while they are in office. By attempting to

continue their political careers, these men have created a precedent in which men can behave completely and

utterly inappropriate. But more saddening is the belief that they could attempt to rectify their mistakes with a

short and sweet trip to counseling. I will now conclude by saying that these men should be utterly ashamed of

themselves, as should Weiner’s spouse, Huma Abedin for condoning Weiner’s behavior. I could go on for

hours on that topic alone, but really, you don’t want to know my thoughts on Weiner’s wife embodying Hilary

Clinton and standing by her man.

Former Mayor Bob Filner

Photo Credits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthonyweiner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki Bob_Filner_portrait

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Photo Credit:

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