Free Republic

Bob Filner is not a pervert, he just hugs a lot. Is that so wrong? The San Diego mayor doesn’t seem to think so, and despite calls for his resignation from former colleagues, political supporters, and even his ex-fiancée, Filner made clear Tuesday that he has no intention of giving up his post without a fight. --snip-- For the past week, Filner has been weathering accusations of sexual harassment from former City Hall employees who, according to their lawyers, were not just hugged but repeatedly groped and even subjected to a few unwanted wet ones. Filner’s advances were allegedly so...

Calling Mayor Bob Filner "tragically unsafe for any woman to approach," former Councilwoman Donna Frye on Monday renewed her call for his resignation while sharing explicit details about encounters that women had with the mayor. Frye read from statements from two unnamed women: - jamming his tongue down her throat - groped her under her bra - he grabbed her ass and touched her chest - (Filner) tell them that they would do a better job on that floor if they worked without their panties on

San Diegans overwhelmingly want Mayor Bob Filner to resign as the sexual harassment scandal deepens around him, according to a U-T San Diego/10News Poll released late Friday. The survey shows city residents favor resignation by a 2-to-1 margin, 59 percent to 30 percent. Among those who favor resignation, 74 percent say he should be recalled if he doesn’t step down. That belief appears to transcend gender, party affiliation, education level and socioeconomic status. A majority of Democrats, Republicans and independent voters said they believe the Democratic mayor should leave office on his own volition. A majority of self-identified liberals, conservatives...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The week began with news that Mayor Bob Filner's fiancee ended their engagement and, by Friday, San Diego's first Democratic leader in 20 years was desperately trying to stay in office amid sexual harassment allegations made public by some of his closest supporters. He apologized, promised to change and begged voters to let him keep his job. The rapid-fire developments put heavy scrutiny on the personal foibles of Filner, a feisty liberal who was elected in November after 10 terms in Congress marked perhaps most famously by a 2007 run-in with a United Airlines baggage...

SAN DIEGO — Three of Mayor Bob Filner’s biggest supporters, including former City Councilwoman Donna Frye, have called on him to resign over allegations of sexual harassment. Frye and local attorneys Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez each sent letters to Filner this week asking him to step down. The trio declined to answer questions until they hold a joint news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday. - - - -snip - - - - Filner took office in December promising to shake up City Hall, but his tenure has been marked by clashes with other city leaders and several controversies. They...

Democrats in House of Reps. joined J Street in supporting Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions Seventy-four Democrats in the House of Representatives have joined the dovish J Street organization in supporting the Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions to the Palestinian Authority. “In our view, support for a two-state resolution is inseparable from such support for Israel, its special relationship with the United States, and its very survival as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people,” the letter said. Seven Jewish members signed the letter, including Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John...

Were the heinous acts that occurred on Jan. 8 in Arizona the product of an isolated deranged mind, or were they the spark of something scarier with more violent implications?According to California Democratic Rep. Bob Filner, it’s something on a much grander scale that people should take very seriously. On MSNBC’s Wednesday night airing of “The Last Word,” host Lawrence O’Donnell asked the U.S. representative for California’s 51st congressional district if there could be anti-Semitism involved in last weekend’s tragedy.“Congressman, this weekend when you saw what happened to Gabrielle Giffords, who you know well, you also know to be Jewish like yourself,...

Bob Filner is a Democratic Congressman for California's 51st District. Without doubt he is one of the most far left members of the U.S. House of Representatives. This is not surprizing, as Bob Filner's father, Joseph Filner, was once a leading member of the Communist Party USA. In the 1940s Joseph Filner, when not changing baby Bob's red diapers, was running a bakery business and serving as secretary of the Pittsburgh Communist Party. After WW2, Joseph Filner entered the scrap metal business. He founded the Stainless and Alloy Corporation of America, eventually expanding its scope of operations worldwide and becoming...

Rep. Bob Filner Charged With Assault on Virginia Airport Worker Monday , August 20, 2007 WASHINGTON — California Rep. Bob Filner was facing charges Monday for allegedly assaulting an airline worker at Dulles International Airport after becoming upset that his luggage had not arrived at a baggage carousel. Filner, 64, is slated to appear in Loudoun County, Va., General District Court on Oct. 2. Court officials could not say whether the San Diego Democrat had been served the summons yet to show up on that date. Filner's office passed all inquiries directly to the congressman, who has yet to respond....

At 3:51 P.M. EDT today, CNN aired a "Just In" report on filing of assault and battery charges against California Congressman Bob Filner. Anchor Kyra Phillips said the CNN report was in turn based on a report from its Arlington, VA affiliate, WJLA-TV. According to the WJLA report: [T]he Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have charged Representative Robert Filner of California with assault and battery following an incident at Dulles International Airport Sunday night. Police say they were called to the baggage claim area around 6 p.m. when a passenger attempted to enter an area authorized for airline employees only. ABC...

<p>Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) was involved in an altercation last night at Dulles Airport. He was allegedly angered by the amount of time it was taking to get his luggage and tried to push his way through the United Airlines baggage claim office. The release below is from The Washington Area Airports Authority.</p>

Cindy Sheehan, Tom Hayden, and the Hate America Left meet with pro-Ba'athist members of the Iraqi parliament to discuss “peace.” TO FIND PEOPLE WHO HATE AMERICA AS MUCH AS THEY DO, the Fifth Column Left had to go halfway around the world to meet with Iraqi political leaders who call terrorism “honorable national resistance” and say foreign jihadists “are guaranteed Paradise” – and at least one of whom has ties to militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. By the end of the trip, the American leftists would echo these sentiments. Somehow most of the media – occupied with interminable coverage of Hurricane...

Rep. Bob Filner of California was so impressed by Al Gore's movie about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," that he has volunteered to head any campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination that might be launched by the former vice president. Although Gore has professed no intention to attempt a presidential rerun, his film-boosting tour has built nationwide party support. Filner, who recently survived a primary election challenge in his San Diego district, is a seven-term congressman who would chair the House Veteran Affairs Committee if Democrats win control this year. A footnote: Filner was the only Jewish House member...

CNSNews.com) - The California Democrat currently acting as ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee reportedly launched a profane verbal assault on two employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs after they labeled a press conference held outside the VA headquarters Tuesday a "publicity stunt." Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) is described as "uttering obscenities" at the VA employees in one media account. Filner joined other Democrats Tuesday outside the VA's main offices to criticize VA Secretary Jim Nicholson for waiting three weeks to inform the public about the theft of a computer disc drive that contained the names, birthdates...

The hurdles to an Imperial County desert airport are in sharper focus with a report on the feasibility of a maglev train from San Diego, placing costs at a minimum of $148 million a mile and one-way fares below the price of a tank of gas. The 165-page consultants' report released yesterday presents a mixed bag to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, which had kept the Yuha Desert concept on its list of airport options while the analysis was conducted on the magnetic levitation train. The cost of building the project – $15.2 billion to $18.5 billion for...

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, I attended an "Out of Iraq" forum at a local church, featuring a keynote address by anti-war Congressman Bob Filner. After his speech, Filner opened up the floor for questions. He fielded a few softballs from the largely friendly crowd. Then he called on me.

Yesterday evening, Congressman Bob Filner, who was on his way to the El Centro INS Detention Facility to see a deportee, blew through the security checkpoint at the entrance to the INS and Border Patrol stations. The entrance to the INS Detention Center has a large stop sign requiring everyone to stop so that they can be inspected by the INS agent manning the checkpoint. Apparently, the Congressman did not feel the need to be inspected during these times of hightened security, and with the media in tow, stormed passed the guard and into the INS Detention Facility. The Facility...

<p>Thank goodness for conservative college student journalists. They bravely blow the whistle on the cultural rot plaguing the nation's institutions of higher learning. And they alert the public to the ugly truth about campus hedonism, which is downplayed by clueless administrators, admissions flacks and faculty enablers.</p>

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey (D-Petaluma) is a strong "no" vote on going to war with Iraq. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills) is a solid "yes." Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher of Alamo, like many other Democrats on Capitol Hill, wishes the whole issue could be decided after November's elections. The state's Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have raised no qualms about President Bush's Iraq policy. California's congressional delegation is, in short, a microcosm of Congress as a whole as it grapples with Bush's request for a resolution authorizing use of force against Iraq. "The snapshot is: Republicans are supportive of...