the SPRING 2016

Counterweight
Volume XVII
Issue II

THE OTHER HALF OF YOUR BALANCED EDUCATION

MILO YIANNOPOULOS
VISITS BUCKNELL
STORY ON PAGE A4

STORY ON PAGE A7

DINESH DSOUZA
VISITS BUCKNELL
WHY IM A THE DEATH OF THE THE CASE FOR THE
CONSERVATARIAN AMERICAN REPUBLIC LIBERTARIAN PARTY
STORY ON PAGE A1 STORY ON PAGE A6 STORY ON PAGE A3

WHY IM A CONSERVATARIAN The Counterweight

Spring 2016 Edition

Somewhere between a conservative and a libertarian Volume XVII, Issue II

Ethan Wise
editor@thecounterweight.net
It can be boiled down
to two words: Im an- the mistakes of the past.
ti-authoritarian.
Recent movies have
helped to remind me just
why Im anti-authoritar- the government more
ian; post-apocalyptic se-
ries like The Hunger Games
and the Divergent series
in particular. They have
many things in common,
but they all circle around
the liberation from an
authoritarian regime.
This is also a common
theme found throughout
human history, including
recent history.
The leading cause of
unnatural death during
the 20th century was due
to authoritarian regimes.
Between the regimes of
Hitler, Stalin, and Mao
alone, close to 70 million
innocent lives were lost.
Thats nearly a quarter of
the current population of
the United States. We, as
the human race, cannot
allow ourselves to repeat
dent. They amassed their
I caution those wanting
more comfort and secu-
rity at the cost of giving
tionalism, the greater
power. If you give the
government an inch, it
takes a mile. Every mile
it takes, is a step towards
I REFUSE TO LET FREEDOM BE
NOTHING MORE THAN A STO-
RY PASSED DOWN GENERA-
TION TO GENERATION
an uncontrollable au-
thoritarian regime.
This may seem ex-
treme or even laughable
to some, but Id ask you, these ends, it is the Right
how did Hitler, Stalin, or
Mao get all their power?
Were they born with it?
Did everyone willingly
just give up their free-
dom for authoritarian
rule?
The answer is self-evi-
power over time, taking
every inch they could,
under the guise of na-
good, or progress. were giving these same
The founders under-
stood this all too well.
Thats why the Decla-
ration of Independence
states, ...whenever any
Form of Government
becomes destructive of
of the People to alter or
to abolish it, and to insti-
tute new Government
as a safeguard against po-
tential future authoritari-
an rulers. Out Full Response to
The Bucknellian | A4
For the well-meaning
liberals who believe that
all of todays problems Dinesh DSouza Visits
should be solved by the Bucknell | A7
government, I ask you
to take a second and ask, Why Im a Conserva-
would you like it if you tarian | A1
powers to someone you
The Death of the
knew would exploit them
American Republic | A6
for their own purposes?
You give the govern-
ment the power to make
Letters to the Editor | A2
healthcare insurance
mandatory today. But The Case for the Lib-
ertarian Party | A3
what if years later, in a
strange turn of events,
the government then says
purchasing a firearm was
Outrageous and Quo-
tatious | A5
necessary for the securi-
ty and well being of its Never Mind or
citizens, under the same Never Again? | A6
argument?
We must all act as if The Republican War
every inch we give the
Against Women | A3
government was being
given to an authoritari-
Mission Statement
- Continued on A2 - and Contributers | A8

FOLLOW US www.thecounterweight.net The Counterweight @BUConservatives

A2 The Counterweight Spring 2016
- Continued from A1 -
an dictator, because one
day it just might be. In
the words of Nobel prize
winning economist Mil-
ton Friedman, Concen-
trated power is not ren-
dered harmless by the
good intentions of those
who create it.
Friedrich Hayek echoed
this sentiment in his
1944 book, The Road to
Serfdom, stating The dan-
ger is not immediate, it is
true, and conditions in
England and the United
States are still so remote
from those witnessed in
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
he Counterweight wholeheartedly welcomes letters to the editor, letters to writers, or guest columns. They can be
T
emailed to the individual writers or to editor@thecounterweight.net. Prospective writers are advised that all corre-
spondence with The Counterweight staff about the publication is liable for publication unless specied otherwise.
To the Editor,
I read with great inter-
est the thoughtful article
by my friend and col-
league, Prof. Alf Siewers,
regarding political diver-
sity amongst Bucknell
faculty. But let me get
this straight. When Prof.
Siewers states, classify-
ing political diversity an
an explicit goal in uni-
versity diversity policy
is something that Buck-
nell has not yet done but
should, is Prof. Siewers,
and by extension The
Counterweight, suggest-
ing there be affirmative
action for conservatives?
Sincerely,
Chris Boyatzis, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
FREE BUCKNELL
My friend and es-
teemed colleague Prof.
Chris Boyatzis wrote The
Counterweight in re-
sponse to my article in
the last issue on liberal
hegemonic thinking at
Bucknell to ask whether
there is support for af-
firmative action for con-
servatives, on the part of
conservatives.
The possibility of affir-
mative action for conser-
vatives at Bucknell, sug-
gested by my esteemed
colleague, is mentioned
as an option to redress
hegemonic liberal think-
recent years in Germany
as to make it difficult to
believe that we are mov-
ing in the same direction.
Yet, though the road be
long, it is one on which
it becomes more difficult
to turn back as one ad-
vances.
The majority of mil-
lennials today have had
the luxury of never ex-
periencing or seeing first
hand true authoritarian
governments. We can-
not let that lull us into
a false sense of security,
and shrug it off by saying
oh that would never happen
here. I have news, it can.
ing on college campus-
es by the authors of the
recent book Passing on
the Right, Conservative Pro-
fessors in the Progressive
University, published by
Oxford University Press.
The co-authors, Prof. Jon
A. Shields of Clarement
McKenna College, and
Prof. Joshua M. Dunn, Sr.,
of the University of Col-
orado-Colorado Springs,
cite statistics in a number
of studies indicating the
percentage of Republi-
can professors in the so-
cial sciences nationwide
at about 8 percent, and
in the humanities about
8.5 percent. In various
studies the percentage of
self-identified conserva-
tives in the social scienc-
es ranged between 5 and
17 percent, and in the hu-
manities between 4 and 8
percent.
This is in line with
findings of an article in
the Bucknellian last fall
that indicated, based on
faculty voter registration
in Union County, that
74 percent of faculty are
registered Democrats and
only 6 percent registered
Republicans. At the same
time, university surveys
of faculty indicate that
70 percent of professor
self-identify as liberal
or far left, and only 9
percent as conservative,
with none identifying as
far right.
Shields and Dunn note
that this situation around
the country, which seems
to have become worse in
Two words: Donald
Trump.
Did you expect him to
gain as much popularity
as quickly as he did? If
youre a liberal, are you
afraid of what might hap-
pen if he actually became
president? I propose we
make government small
enough that it doesnt
matter whos in office
because they wont have
enough power over its
citizens to dictate their
will.
Our ancestors fought
for our self-evident right
to choose our own des-
tiny. As a result, the idea
decades since the 1960s, is
especially acute for those
who identify as cultural
conservatives (often prac-
ticing adherents of tradi-
tional religious faiths),
who reported often harsh
difficulties with restric-
tions on their freedom
to express their identity
in negotiating the secular
academic world. In gen-
eral, the authors noted
that the popular conser-
vative view of academia
as leftist, and the popu-
lar liberal view of conser-
vatism as un-academic,
both discourage and lim-
it academic careers of
conservatives in the US
today, isolating the acad-
emy and the conservative
segment of the populace
from one another, and
even inciting enmity be-
tween the two.
One study, by Profs.
Daniel B. Klein and
Charlotte Stern (Profes-
sors and Their Politics:
The Policy Views of So-
cial Scientists, Critical
Review 17, 264), offered
this graphic perspective
of America, and the most
prosperous and free na-
tion ever to exist in the
history of mankind was
created.
We cannot let that slip
away. I refuse to let free-
dom be nothing more
than a story passed down
generation to generation.
Or worse, false stories diligently work to deny
of perilous times. Sto-
ries like President Snow
in The Hunger Gmaes or
Jeanine in Divergent tell
their constituents to keep
them in fear of their own
free will.
As Ronald Reagan once
said, Freedom is never
below.
Yet Shields and
Dunn in their book
nonetheless ulti-
mately dismiss af-
firmative action as an
option for conservatives
at universities. Instead,
they favor including po-
litical diversity as a cate-
gory in university diver-
sity policy, and adopting
statements on freedom of
speech to reassure junior
conservative faculty and
job applicants, options shield individuals from
that I advocate at Buck-
nell. find unwelcome, dis-
Two top American uni-
versities, the University
of Chicago and Princeton
University, both provide
Bucknell with models for
such a policy, to support
our own excellence as a
liberal arts university. Ex-
cerpts are given below, in
order hopefully to spur
Bucknell to follow suit in
the near future.
1. University of Chicago
Report of the Committee
on Freedom of Expres-
sion, Jan. 2015
official Rights, Rules,
more than one genera-
tion away from extinc-
tion. We didnt pass it
to our children in the
bloodstream. It must be
fought for, protected, and
handed on for them to do
the same.
There will always be
evil people. We must
them a platform pow-
erful enough see their
dreams become a reali-
ty. We must continue the
fight to pass down free-
dom to our children, and
our childrens children.
That is why Im a Con-
servatarian.
(https://provost.uchicago.
edu/sites/default/files/docu-
ments/reports/FOECommit-
teeReport.pdf)
Of course, the ideas of
different members of the
University community
will often and quite nat-
urally conflict. But it is
not the proper role of the
University to attempt to
ideas and opinions they
agreeable, or even deeply
offensive. Although the
University greatly values
civility, and although all
members of the Univer-
sity community share
in the responsibility for
maintaining a climate
of mutual respect, con-
cerns about civility and
mutual respect can never
be used as a justification
for closing off discussion
of ideas, however offen-
sive or disagreeable those
ideas may be to some
members of our commu-
nity.
2. Resolution of
Princeton University
Faculty, April 2015, fol-
lowing the University of
Chicago statement, ad-
opted into Princetons
Responsibilities policy
guide.
( http://www.princeton.
edu/pub/rrr/part1/index.xm-
l#comp113)
- Continued on A3 -
A3 The Counterweight Spring 2016
- Continued from A2 -
In a word, the Uni-
versitys fundamental
commitment is to the
principle that debate or
deliberation may not
be suppressed because
the ideas put forth are sity community, not for contesting the ideas that essential part of the Uni-
thought by some or even the University as an in- they oppose. Indeed, fos- versitys educational mis-
by most members of the stitution, to make those tering the ability of mem- sion.
University community to judgments for them- bers of the University
be offensive, unwise, im- selves, and to act on those community to engage in Professor Alf Siewers
moral, or wrong-headed. judgments not by seeking such debate and deliber-
It is for the individual to suppress speech, but ation in an effective and
members of the Univer- by openly and vigorously responsible manner is an

THE CASE FOR THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY

Colby Rome
colby@thecounterweight.net
Politics of the day seem
to indicate that the time
is ripe for a third party
candidate to win a sig-
nificant portion of the
nationwide Presidential
election vote: a recent
Monmouth Universi-
ty poll shows that in a
hypothetical three-way
race of Hillary Clinton,
Donald Trump, and Gary
Johnson, the hopeful Lib-
ertarian nominee garners
11% of the vote to Hil-
larys 42% and Trumps
34%.
Americans are be-
coming more and more
disillusioned with our
two-party election pro-
cess as a result of the es-
Clinton over Sanders by a
16 to 1 margin).
Regardless of your
opinion on Senator Sand-
ers political positions,
the overwhelming estab-
lishment support of Clin-
ton in spite of the near-
ly split primary delegate
count (read: the peoples fairly consistent record
votes) is an indication
that the establishment
does not respect its base.
In a recent interview
after winning several
primaries by enormous
margins, Senator Sanders
A WASTED VOTE IS VOT-
ING FOR ANYBODY YOU
DONT BELIEVE IN.
the Democratic National and voters are becoming
Committee who served (or will become) disillu-
on her 2008 campaign sioned with their party
for President. as well.
I personally do not Consider first the an-
align with Senator Sand- ti-Trump Republicans: a
ers proposed economic large portion of the Re-
policies, but I can none- publican base says they
theless acknowledge his will not vote for Donald
Trump, even if he is the
as a member of Congress eventual nominee. As-
over the past quarter suming the national elec-
century. Thus, I have dif- tion is between Trump
ficulty comprehending and Hillary, who will
the support for a person this group of Republi-
with such a weak record cans throw their support
in support of social free- behind?
Next, lets consider the nominated, and the re-
pro-Trump Republicans.
A possible scenario for
the GOP, thanks to John
Kasich remaining in the
race, is a brokered con-
vention in July. This
half of the Democratic
base, will lose the nomi-
nation to Hillary Clinton.
I am not as confident in
predicting that Donald
Trump, despite narrowly
missing the required del-
egate count to secure the
nomination, will be re-
placed by Cruz or Kasich
to take on Clinton.
Regardless, the estab-
lishment of each party
respectively will do ev-
erything in their pow-
er to stop outsiders like
Trump or Sanders to be
sult is that approximately
half of each party will be
alienated and left with-
out a voice.
This November, we
should not be motivated

tablishments lack of re-
spect for voters choices.
Lets first examine the
Democratic race. Ver-
mont Senator Bernie
Sanders, while only trail-
ing Clinton by a rela-
tively small margin in
pledged delegates (based
on state primary results),
receives virtually no sup-
port from superdelegates
(who have supported
- Gary Johnson
will almost definitely to vote simply to keep the
result in someone oth- other side out of office
er than Trump receiving but rather to vote for the
asked superdelegates, If a doms as Hillary Clinton. the nomination, despite best possible candidate. I
candidate wins your state The fact is that Clinton Trump holding the great- implore all disillusioned
by 40 or 50 points, who opposed a freedom as est number of votes! Will voters this November to
are you going to give your basic as same-sex mar- these Trump supporters take a good look at Gary
vote to? Clintons estab- riage as recently as 2008 support the GOPs new Johnson and the party of
lishment connections and only recently flip- candidate, or sit at home minimum government
run deep, from profiting flopped positions in or- in November? and maximum freedom:
hundreds of thousands of der to attract more votes. I predict that Bernie the Libertarian Party.
dollars from Wall Street The Republican prima- Sanders, despite receiv-
speeches to the Chair of ry is likewise in disarray, ing the votes of roughly

THE REPUBLICAN WAR AGAINST WOMEN

Madison Cooney
madison@thecounterweight.net
You are a woman, you can
not be republican. This is
a statement I have often
heard from peers, edu-
cators and even people
close to me. However, my
gender does not, and will
never, define my political
leanings. Being a part of
the millennial generation
means that as a woman I
am supposed to identify
as feminist, but I despise
the word and refuse to
use it to describe myself.
The Republican Par-
ty has been accused by
some on the left of wag-
ing a war against wom-
en, which is completely
absurd. This idea stems
from legislation some
Republicans support that
is anti-abortion or an-
ti-Planned Parenthood.
Because the majority of could they be waging a through abortion or the war is the defunding
Republicans are pro-life, war against women? rights the babies should of Planned Parenthood.
apparently this means The women in their par- have. Instead, they are They claim the Repub-
they are waging a war ty obviously do not seem only concerned with the licans attempting to de-
against women. to think so, and being biological mother of that fund Planned Parenthood
A 2009 Gallup poll one of those women, nei- baby, and whether or are taking away womens
showed women are ther do I. not she had the right to rights to healthcare. This
more likely to be Dem- Since the idea of a war choose. Barring rape, she is simply not factual. In
ocrats regardless of age. against women began did, in fact, have the right fact, Bill H.R.3134 will
According to their data, with arguments against to choose and she chose only withhold funds
25% of the female pop- abortion and womens to have sex, which every- from Planned Parenthood
ulation identifies as Re- healthcare, we should one knows has the possi- if they perform abor-
publican, and 28% of the tions. Thus if they stop
male population identi- WE, AS A PARTY, ARE NOT performing abortions,
fies as Republican. The they can keep their gov-
gap between the percent WAGING A WAR AGAINST ernment funding. This
of men and women who
identify as Republican is
WOMEN AND NEVER WILL. bill also offers to fund to
other community health
really not all that signif- debunk the myth that bility of ending in preg- centers during the time
icant. Women, for all in- Republicans are against nancy. She had the right period in which Planned
tents and purposes, are women by remembering to choose and Republi- Parenthood will be de-
equally represented in that being pro-life means cans are the ones pro- funded. However, the
the Republican Party. you have an almost 50% tecting that first choice best part in my opinion
If there is an almost chance of saving a female she made to participate about H.R.3134 is that
equal amount of wom- baby. However, it seems in procreation. Diane Black, a Republican
en and men in the Re- Democrats are never con- Another issue on the
publican Party, then how cerned with the lives lost forefront of this so-called - Continued on A8 -
A4 The Counterweight Spring 2016
OUR FULL RESPONSE TO THE BUCKNELLIAN
When asked for comment on the Milo Yiannopoulos event
Ethan Wise
editor@thecounterweight.net
The bold sections are
questions that we were
asked by Elizabeth Worth-
ington, who wrote the arti-
cle in The Bucknellian about
the Yiannopoulos event.
The responses are a joint
statement by Tom Ciccotta,
17, President of Bucknell
College Republicans, Ethan
Wise, 17, President Buck-
nell University Conserva-
tives Club, and Colby Rome,
17, President Young Ameri-
cans for Liberty, who hosted
Yiannopoulos.
What was your prima-
ry motivation for bring-
ing Milo to campus?
Correspondence start-
ed when Tom emailed
Milo Yiannopoulos about
his and others experi-
ences dealing with over-
whelming political cor-
rectness and perceived
progressive bias here at
Bucknell, and asked Milo
Photo by Maggie Fischer
In The Bucknellian article
published on March 3rd, ju-
nior Tooba Ali, who started
the safe space Facebook
event commented: Some-
how the people who told us
you should hear both per-
spectives were belittling us
and preventing us from even
going together as a group.
We can only assume she
was referring to Tom Ciccot-
tas post in the event page,
as we are unaware of any
other posts to the event
page by members of our or-
ganizations.
We were understandably
confused by this statement,
for Toms post was very cor-
dial and respectful. But well
The Counterweight @BUConservatives
to be a guest on our radio
show. Milo indicated that
he would instead like to
come and speak at the
University, free of charge.
A lot of people are
questioning this decision
and wondering why you
didnt choose a less ex-
treme/controversial con-
servative. Thoughts/com-
ments?
The vast majority of
Milos views are not ex-
treme and are held by
many Americans, but
perhaps he gets that rep-
utation from his style
and schtick. Milo is the
only conservative or lib-
ertarian speaker in recent
Bucknell history who
filled an auditorium with
college students, and for
that reason, he was the
perfect choice.
What do you think
about the political atti-
tude on campus in terms
of openmindedness and
composition of liberals
let our readers decide who
is being belittling whom.
Below youll find exactly
what Tom posted in the safe der pronouns, reassign-
space Facebook event page
(direclty below), as well as
what a student against the
event posted in the official
event page created by Tom
(on page A5).
Im the person who
arranged MiIos visit to
campus, and for what its
worth, theres probably
nobody more anti-Trump
on this campus than me.
As a libertarian, Im prob-
ably on the same page as
you all on a lot of issues. I
believe in absolute social
HOW TO STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE COUNTERWEIGHT:
versus conservatives? and be responsible for gan recently hosted Milo,
To generalize and say their own destinies. and the article about the
that all on the right are How do you define the event in their student
more open-minded than boundary between free newspaper included a
those on the left is an speech and hate speech? quote from the univer-
incredibly absurd state- We believe that all sity spokesperson, who
ment. But generally, those speech should be permit- said: The university
who have opposed events ted, with the exception feels so strongly about
similar to these across of direct incitements of [freedom of speech] that
college campuses typical- violence. The best way our commitment is cod-
ly consider themselves to to defeat ideas is not to ified in an official policy,
be on the left side of the censor them, but to chal- called a Standard Practice
political spectrum. lenge and defeat them. Guide. In the Standard
Were you surprised by If you believe someone Practice Guide, it states
student reaction? Specifi- is wrong, the best way that Expression of di-
cally the tearing down of to beat them is to shine verse points of view is of
the posters? a spotlight on their ideas the highest importance...
We were disheart- and to challenge them, The belief that an opinion
ened and disappointed not try to hide them or is pernicious, false, or in
by the response of some prevent them from being any other way detestable
in the Bucknell commu- heard. cannot be grounds for its
nity who thought it was How can Bucknellians suppression.
acceptable to deface or benefit from this speak- We call upon this uni-
destroy our posters, or er? versity and its adminis-
found personal attacks a Bucknellians will be tration to adopt a similar
justifiable or productive given a glimpse at alter- policy, giving all mem-
form of discourse. nate perspectives that are bers of this Universi-
Ive heard that profes- very often not presented, ty the right to set forth
sors have told some of and even intentionally their views and opinions.
their students not to at- skipped altogether. This Although the student
tend. Do you think this was clearly evident by handbook states, We af-
defeats the purpose of the response of some in firm that diverse experi-
free speech? the faculty who signed ences and perspectives in
It doesnt necessari- the petition to cancel the the classroom and across
ly defeat the purpose of event or actively encour- campus enhance every-
free speech, as choosing aged their students not to ones educational expe-
not attending is a form attend. rience, there is no spe-
of expression, however it Anything else that you cific mention of freedom
defeats the purpose of a deem relevant or nota- of speech or expression
liberal education where ble or want to make sure similar to that aforemen-
students should be pro- people hear, please in- tioned. You cannot have
vided the tools to come clude. one without the other.
to their own conclusions University of Michi-
The Great Facebook Debate
freedoms and privacies, on the Joe Hogan pod- officer right outside of
like the right to abor- cast, Milo revealed his where well be eating
tion, gay marriage, gen- support of Trump isnt during our club dinner.
all that serious. In fact, I ask you all to consider
ment surgery, etc. Im the based oft my off-the-re- whether thats more of
member of a multi-racial cord relationship with a reflection on Milo and
family (my sister is South Milo, I can say that his his message, or on some
Korean), I visited New most controversial state- Bucknell students inabil-
Hampshire during their ments are almost never ity to carry themselves
primary to campaign for serious or entirely seri- maturely in the face of
a Latino-American can- ous. There seems to be a adversity (as displayed by
didate, attended a Ber- fear that Milo will cross the actions of a few indi-
nie Sanders rally, and the line Thursday night, viduals in destroying and
Im currently arranging but who has crossed the defacing $220 worth of
a political comedy event line so far? Our posters our posters).
between my club and the have been ripped down In my opinion, the most
Bucknell Left and the and defaced. And due to efficient way to defeat
College Democrats. Divi- potential fears for our fringe and radical opin-
siveness isnt really part safety, the administration ions, is to challenge them
of my nature. has decided for Thursday
For what its worth, to place a plain-clothes - Continued on A5 -
www.thecounterweight.net
A5 The Counterweight Spring 2016
that divide us, and these
- Continued from A4 - conversations have fun-
rationally and mature- her revealed for me that
ly. The information sec- Mr. Disneys sentiment
tion of this event page is here is undeniably true
dripping with emotional of this world we live in
language, and I guaran- and of the human condi-
tee that it is in your best tion.
interest to not approach Thursday nights event
Thursday night this way. is truly an incredibly ex-
I dont agree with ev- periment and opportuni-
erything that Milo says, ty for Bucknell students
but isnt that kind of the to show their ability to
point? behave civilly and ratio-
We been surprised at nally in a truly challeng-
the lack of willingness to ing situation. If the atti-
talk to me or one of the tudes weve seen so far
members of my club di- this week manifest them-
rectly about this event. selves in Trout Auditori-
There have been a few um on Thursday night,
people who have reached Bucknell students will
out to me, and I can risk their reputation on
honestly say that those a national level, just as it
conversations have been happened at Rutgers last
incredible, and eye-open- week. That story was the
ing. My personal hero, number one trending sto-
Walt Disney, said We ry on Facebook, and the
have created characters focus wasnt on Milo, it
and animated them in was on the students mis-
the dimension of depth, behavior and disruptions.
revealing through them Im quite busy managing
to our perturbed world my work and preparing
that the things we have for Milos visitlrespond-
in common far outnum- ing to hate mail this
ber and outweigh those week, so I wont be re-
sponding to this post, but
please feel free to reach
out to me (tjc024@buck-
nell.edu), if youd like to
briefly chat in person. Id
be more than willing to
take the time to sit down
with you, and address
your concerns.
- Tom Ciccotta
Hey Tom,
Couple things
First of all, youre clear-
ly an extremely open
minded and progressive
guy. You dont support
an openly racist, sexist,
and ethnocentrist pres-
idential candidate; you
havent ruled out a pres-
idential candidate despite
his lesser background as
Latino, and youve even
managed to accept your
sister despite her Korean
heritage! Wow, good for
you you clearly have
a lot of world view and
perspective.
We lesser Americans
are also truly grateful
that youre able to find
it in your heart to grant
us equal freedoms like
marriage well, even law enforcement officer.
though you sort of dont Speaking of posters,
have a choice anymore. since economics is the
But thats fine. Thanks preferred veil of power
so much anyway. I also and authority that I know
greatly appreciate you that right wing rheto-
allowing me to make ric favors you printed
decisions about my own $220 worth of posters!
body! Because thats ab- Wow! How much are you
solutely something that paying Milo, then? And
concerns you. how much of that mon-
Now that weve estab- ey is being contributed
lished how much alike by me, and by other stu-
we are let me bring dents that are gay, trans-
something attention re- gender, feminist, black
garding the emotional or just not white male
language that your event republicans? If you tru-
page is dripping with. ly hold all of these so-
If you had time for more cially liberal views, then
than a brief chat about I have to assume that
the issues that burden youre fiscally conserva-
your fellow students tive. If thats the case, we
here on a daily basis, you that do not support this
would understand that event that are paying for
when a persons ability it would be more than
to feel safe is threatened, happy to accept a refund
it makes them speak in from you.
an emotional way. I can Thanks so very much
imagine that you can start for your time and atten-
to put yourself in these tion.
shoes since apparently
tearing down posters is
enough to make you feel
so scared that you re-
quire the protection of a

OUTRAGEOUS AND QUOTATIOUS

Experience hath shewn, that even under the
best forms of government those entrusted
with power have, in time, and by slow opera-
tions, perverted it into tyranny.
THOMAS JEFFERSON
Anybody who comes to speak to you and you
disagree with, you should have an argument
with them. But you shouldnt silence them by
saying, you cant come because Im too sensi-
tive to hear what you have to say. Thats not
the way we learn, either.
PRESIDENT OBAMA

My whole life is about winning. I dont lose often. I almost never lose.
DONALD TRUMP

I predict future happiness for Americans

Government, even in its best state, is but a if they can prevent the government from
necessary evil; in its worst state, an intol- wasting the labors of the people under the
erable one. pretense of taking care of them.
THOMAS PAINE THOMAS JEFFERSON

We must reject the idea that every time a laws broken, society is guilty
rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept
that each individual is accountable for his actions.
RONALD REAGAN
A6 The Counterweight Spring 2016

THE DEATH OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

Justin Pinard
justin@thecounterweight.net
It has, in the last several
years, become one of the
greatest political and so-
cial debates so far of our
generation: the attacks
to and fro regarding the
one percent, the nine-
ty-nine percent, wealth
inequality, and wealth
redistribution. This child
of the worldwide Occu-
py movement has forced
its way into this years
election season, and may
very well determine the
victor of that race.
Accusations of ram-
pant crony capitalism, a
lack of government reg-
ulation and oversight,
and a malicious plot by
the top one percent to
control everything, have
been made since the fall
of 2011. Attacks are lev-
eled at many people, both
specific individuals and
larger demographics: the
Koch brothers and Shel-
don Adelson, down to the
owners of major media
outlets and corporations,
to a much wider-applied
upper-class white male
grouping.
These people, it is
claimed, manipulate
elections and acquire
economic monopolies
that triple and quadru-
ple their already huge
profits. From there, they
exact total influence and
control over the govern-
ment and, eventually, the
people themselves. Pres-
idential candidate Bernie
Sanders, the Democratic
Senator from Vermont,
is perhaps the most well-
known of these crusad-
ers; even Hillary Clinton,
The Myth of the Richs Fair Share
who is the wealthiest
candidate in the race be-
hind Donald Trump, has
moved to attack Wall
Street cronyism and the
purported evils of wealth
accumulation.
One of the great mys-
teries of this phenome- or more? Does anybody
non, however, is not the
aforementioned claims
of inequality and unfair-
ness, but rather the pro-
posed solutions to these
inequalities, and the
remedies to cure what
they claim to be a disease
on American democracy.
One of the most well-
known and agreed-on of
these solutions on the
American left, is an even
higher progressive tax;
that is, to tax the richest
Americans even more,
while lowering taxes on
everyone else.
Some, probably many,
of you will agree with
such a proposal and
why not? On paper, in-
creasing the tax rates on
the one percent will in-
crease government rev-
enue, decrease income
inequality, and allow for time goes on? The in-
further tax cuts on the
middle class. If one were
making $4 million an-
nually before taxes, and
a fifty percent income
tax were put in place for
those making over $1
million, he would still
have $2 million left over
to spend which seems
fair in the long run. But
it isnt as simple as this.
Senator Sanders and
many other liberal poli-
ticians often claim while
on the campaign trail,
that the rich need to pay
their fair share. What a
confusing phrase; where
did it come from? What
exactly is a fair share ty, sales, state and local
how can we quanti- taxes, and nearly every
fy it? Is it a fifty percent
income tax? Seventy-five
percent? Ninety percent
warranted - percentage of
even really know? Thus
stems the problem with
this solution.
Even if we take Sena-
tor Sanders proposed tax
plan, which puts high-
end incomes around fif-
ty-two percent, what is
keeping the government
from increasing this as
come tax level on some-
come tax has increased
gradually through time
ever since its implemen-
tation in 1913 and what
is keeping this trend from
continuing, unabated?
On top of this, Sand-
ers proposed payroll tax
increases and Wall Street
speculation taxes the then what is keeping the
latter of which would
greatly affect the millions
of middle-class Ameri-
cans that do trade on the
stock market would
spread the misery onto
millions of unsuspect-
ing Americans, not just job outsourcing?
the rich. Add to these tax The power to lay and
rates the various proper- collect income taxes has
been clearly established
as a distinct power of the
American family would federal government by
be paying an excessively the 16th Amendment to
high - and frankly, un- the Constitution; and the
Supremacy Clause of that
their income to the gov- same document estab-
ernment in taxes (espe- lishes federal law as the
cially in states that have law of the land. Theoret-
a propensity for higher ically, then, as state nul-
taxes, like California, Or- lification of federal laws
egon, New Jersey, and my has been ruled to be un-
native New York). constitutional by the Su-
preme Court, there is no
limit as to the income tax
rate that the government
can place upon the citi-
zenry.
Montesquieu and Lord
Acton both famously said
that men with power will
ultimately be corrupted
by it, and will abuse that
power to whatever end.
Similarly Locke said that
government has no oth-
er end but the preserva-
tion of property (within
which he included one-
Arguing that the gov- self as ones own proper-
ernment has the right ty). I think it is high time
to place a certain in- that we think very long
and hard about these
one due to their wealth ideas, lest we forget those
the justification being great republican ideals
that the government is that the United States
making that person pay was founded upon. After
his or her fair share all, it was the violation of
is dangerous indeed. If the right to property
the government can tax and unfair taxation without
ones property freely at representation that start-
any rate because it is fair, ed the whole American
Revolution in the first
government from, in the place, nearly 250 years
future, extrapolating this ago.
fairness to even higher
levels, so as to bring peo-
ple to financial ruin, or to
bring the country to eco-
nomic collapse through

NEVER MIND OR NEVER AGAIN?

Alf Siewers
asiewers@bucknell.edu
When the European
Parliament, the US Com-
mission on Internation-
al Religious Freedom,
and finally Secretary of
State John Kerry, all rec-
ognized the persecution
of Christians and oth-
er groups in the Middle
East as genocide in recent
weeks, it marked overdue
Western recognition of a
longer-term trend: The
extermination of Chris-
tian communities as an
ancient faith and cul-
tural tradition from the
Middle East. This geno-
cide goes unrecognized
at Bucknell, despite the
impact that it has had
on international students
and others in our com-
munity.
But when the local
Daily Item newspaper on
March 9, published a let-
ter by a local teacher com-
paring Donald Trump to
Hitler as arch-genocid-
alist, some Bucknell fac-
ulty expressed approval
online. The comparison
trivializes the horror of
both current and past
genocide by equating it
to a candidates rhetori-
cal wrongs (and I am not
a Trump supporter). No
one delighting in calling
Trump the new Hitler
raised even one rhetor-
ical finger to condemn
actual genocide today
in the Middle East, in
which America is partly
implicated by the Obama
administration.
Maybe some genocides
are more equal than oth-
ers, to paraphrase George
Orwell. Does never
mind, instead of never genocide in Syria), and
again, apply to genocide
deemed politically cor-
rect?
Those who connect
Trump with Hitler appar-
ently seem unaware that
policies of the Obama ad-
ministration aided and
abetted the current geno-
cide, by prioritizing the
removal of Syrian Presi-
dent Assad (whose dicta-
torial regime nonetheless
had helped hold back the
forces of anti-Christian
by arming and funding
so-called moderate reb-
els (with that support
quickly falling into the
hands of ISIS and other
genocidal agents there).
US government interven-
tion is entangled with
our support for other op-
A7 The Counterweight Spring 2016
pressive Middle Eastern
regimes, and Hilary Clin-
ton was in the middle of
all this as US Secretary of
State. But comparisons of
her and Obama to Hit-
ler would still be as un-
founded as the Trump
comparison.
Clintons rival Bernie
Sanders, whom many of
the Bucknell faculty sup-
port or admire, nonethe-
less himself is ideologi-
cally in a family with the
Marxist utopianism that
led to the Soviet gulags
and mass extermination
of Christian commu-
nities. While it may be
unfair to hold his brand
of socialism directly re-
sponsible, at the same
time it is even more un-
fair and tone-deaf to toss
around Hitler compari-
sons about Trump when
ignoring the connection
between socialist utopia-
nism and genocide in the
past centuryas unfair as
it would be for someone
adhering to a variation of
fascism to compare Saun-
ders with Lenin, Stalin,
or Mao.
Nonetheless, some of
our faculty in the past
(and maybe still today)
have happily displayed
on office doors or other
accessories insignias of
violent communism, or
have quoted with seem-
ing approbation from
such historic leaders of
mass communist killing,
whose estimated up to
100 million victims in
DINESH DSOUZA VISITS BUCKNELL
Maggie Fischer
maggie@thecounterweight.net
The saddest thing of all
is I think that the Amer-
ican campus, and I dont
think this campus is any
different, is engaged in a
process that can only be
called omphaloskepsis.
Omphaloskepsis is a big
word that basically means
gazing into your own na-
vel, Dinesh DSouza said
during his February 18th,
2016 visit to Bucknell
University.
DSouza was brought
in a joint effort by the
Bucknell College Repub-
licans, Young Americans
for Liberty, and Bucknell
University Conservatives
Club to speak as a part of
a series on intellectual di-
versity. His speech filled
Trout Auditorium with
students, staff, and com-
the twentieth century in-
cluded millions of Chris-
tians. Any comparable
identification by faculty
with Nazi leaders and
systems would rightly be
condemned. But a double
standard regarding com-
munist genocide reflects
political bias more than
objective academics.
The lack of academ-
ic attention to genocide
against Christians today
has a precedent in the US
governments steadfast
denial of the genocide of
Armenian Christians in
the early 20th century,
and the lack of recogni-
tion in American higher
education of the mass
victims of communism.
It parallels well-doc-
umented bias toward
the Left in 21st-century
American universities
(see the accompanying
response in this issue to
calls for affirmative ac-
tion for conservatives at
Bucknell). At the same
time, it seems to follow
the so-called law of mer-
ited impossibility: It is
impossible that Chris-
tians can be persecuted,
but when they are, boy do
they deserve it. This de-
spite the fact that the two
worst examples of actual
religious mass killings
on university campuses
last year both had Chris-
tians as targets: Slayings
at a Kenyan university
and an Oregon college,
in each of which shoot-
ers singled out Christian
munity members alike.
Following his na-
vel-gazing remark,
DSouza went on to ex-
plain that universities
today have a severe lack
of worldly, ideological
diversity, and instead a
focus on the guarantee
of liberal (not in the clas-
Photo by Colby Rome
students for death. lims. All such arguments
Arguing that Christians are wrong because they
are dominant and privi- ignore real human suf-
leged in the US, and that fering, promote stereo-
therefore any past or pres- typing, and gloss over the
ent persecution against complexities of evil in
them is historically or human nature and histo-
morally irrelevant, is as ry.
wrong as would be any In an increasingly sec-
parallel argument (voiced ular American culture,
by fringe extremists in- on college campuses
ternationally) that perse- such as Bucknell, prac-
cution of Jews should not ticing Christians have far
be highlighted because from privileged positions
of their alleged privilege in terms of community
due to Israels close al- voice, employment, and
liance with the United social acceptance. The
States as a superpower. small minority of stu-
And arguing that Chris- dents and faculty at Buck-
tians deserve perse- nell who are practicing
cution, marginalization, Christians (as opposed to
and genocide, because those considering Chris-
of historic evil deeds at- tianity indifferently, hos-
tributed to Christianity, tilely, or affectionately as
likewise is akin to blam- a cultural heirloom) have
ing Islam for the actions reported marginalization
of ISIS, and using that and ostracism socially
to target persecution or and intellectually, while
marginalization of Mus- others spew bias from
3 Car bombs hit the central Saadallah al-Jabiri square in Aleppo.
October, 2012. Photo by Zyzzzzzy. flickr.com/photos/81399520@N00/8049978198
sical sense of the word) DSouzas opinion, uni-
ideas within the univer- versities are no longer
sity. devoted to the free ex-
He said, the campus change of ideas, as lib-
is a laboratory of knowl- eral-minded professors
edge, and that college is significantly outnumber
the only time in ones life conservatives of the same
where one can devote status. DSouza spoke to
completely unadulterat- not only a lack of such
ed attention to ideas. In diversity on campuses,
but also to his experience
as an immigrant to the
United States, his opin-
ion on capitalism and the
role of the entrepreneur,
and his time spent in jail
over a campaign finance
violation.
DSouzas past as a Dart-
mouth College graduate,
Reagan administration
policy analyst, and best-
selling author made him
the prime candidate to
come speak at Bucknell.
Tom Ciccotta, President
of the Bucknell College
privileged positions.
Many also experience
intersectionality related
to other aspects of their
identities that are not
in line with Bucknells
upscale liberal White
Anglo-Saxon Protestant
heritage (not representa-
tive of many believers on
campus today), or a ma-
terialistic party culture
often at odds with prac-
tice of faith identities on
campus.
It is time for Buck-
nell as a community to
demonstrate sensitivi-
ty to the suffering of all
people struggling under
the history and current
reality of genocide glob-
ally, and to realize the
interconnectedness of all
such evils.
Republicans said, I in-
vited Dinesh so that he
could draw attention to
the increased need for an
intellectual liberation on
American college cam-
puses. There are few peo-
ple out there who under-
stand as well as he does,
just how willing univer-
sity faculty are to narrow
the range of allowable
opinion.
DSouzas full speech
can be viewed on the
Bucknell University Con-
servatives Clubs YouTube
page.
ELECTION DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the articles
herein are solely those of each respec-
tive author. The Counterweight
does not endorse or support any par-
ticular candidate; we simply provide a
forum for students to share thoughts
that are not typically expressed here at
Bucknell...especially by the professors.
A8 The Counterweight Spring 2016
where it should be, it is
- Continued from A3 - on the rise and, those
woman, is sponsoring women refuse to be qui-
it. If this war on wom- et.
en was real, then this Carly Fiorina, is not a
Congresswoman would career politician by any
be spearheading a war means, yet she ran for
against her own gender. president and had a fairly
The GOP is no longer successful campaign for
a boys club and even if being one of the first few
they were, its hard to women to ever run for
believe they would hate president.
women. While the num- We, as a party, are not
ber of Republican wom- waging a war against
en in Congress is still not women and never will.
We recognize that wom- woman, should belong box that someone else
en have equal rights just in. This is the beauty of has labeled and told me
as everyone else, but also living in the 21st centu- I should fit in to. I also
understand that women ry of a free society. As a refuse to believe that the
are different from men. woman in America, I can Republicans are waging a
I believe women should make decisions for my- war on women when
stop trying to do every- self about whom to vote all the evidence is to the
thing that men do, and for, where to spend my contrary. The Republi-
be the distinctive (and money and how to live can party allows me to be
sometimes better) human my life. Simply being a anything I want to be, so
beings that we were cre- woman does not mean that is where I will stay.
ated to be. I should be a Democrat,
Being a woman does a Feminist or even a Re-
not define what politi- publican for that matter.
cal party I, or any other I refuse to be put in a

ABOUT THE COUNTERWEIGHT

ABOUT US:
The Counterweight is a publication ded-
icated to promoting the free exchange
of ideas in an environment where
meaningful debate and ideological di-
versity are often lacking. We, its staff,
seek to serve the Bucknell communi-
ty by infusing it with the ingredients
necessary for a balanced educational
experience. These ingredients include
conservative, libertarian, and classical
liberal thought.
We aim to nd 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 inadequacies of the leftist
ideas that dominate this University and
to articulate an alternative viewpoint.
We strive to inform, engage, and per-
haps even amuse our readers in doing
so. We invite the active participation of
any student who shares our vision and
would like to join our mission.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the articles
herein are solely those of each respec-
tive author. They do not necessarily
reect the opinions of any other club
members, the Conservatives Club at
large, BSG (Bucknell Student Govern-
ment), or Bucknell University, its staff,
faculty or students.
SUBMISSIONS POLICY:
The Counterweight wholeheartedly
welcomes letters to the editor, letters
to writers, or guest columns. They can
be emailed to the individual writers or
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spective writers are advised that all
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writers about the publication is liable
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wise.
Published by the Bucknell University
Conservatives Club since 2001
President:
Ethan Wise 17
Vice President, Events:
Elizabeth Lilienthal 16
THE COUNTERWEIGHT Contributers:
Editor-in-Chief:
Ethan Wise
Distinguished Members of the Board:
Tom Ciccotta, Elizabeth Lilienthal,
Justin Pinard, Maggie Fischer,
Nick Paray, Colby Rome,
Madison Cooney, AJ Albanese.
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