SMUSA Still Struggling With Basic Concepts Like Free Speech

Same old, same old!

 Every year SMUSA disappoints , and apparently the SMU administration are not helping them learn. Outspoken Professor Mark Mercer speaks his mind:

... once we all knew that it was SMUSA and not Saint Mary’s that had interfered with the expression of opinion on campus, I received an email message from Colin* saying that he takes the incident very seriously. He didn’t say whether he was for it or against it or what he intended to do....
...The continuing important story, then, is the administration’s implicit refusal to comment on the matter.”
*(SMU president Colin Dodds)

Previously...

Intolerance At SMU Re-Dux
Cancelled Debate
Free Speech Bullies
Bad Girls?
Atmosphere Stifling!

Of course, if you've been paying attention, you know of the many other examples - not limited to students- on other Canadian campuses like Queens, York, Calgary ,UBC, Ottawa.. the list goes on. We've even garnered some international attention!

Are these students/university free-speech travesties - anomalies, or a symptom of general societal disease? I freely submit it's endemic to Canadian society. The public schools teach it. The governments support it. Canadians seem to be able to live with it.

Hey Folks! What happened to "True North Strong and Free"!! Edited out?

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"Oh Canada, You Fell Asleep On Me"

Its been an interesting week in the land of loud liberals and quiet Christians (that would be Canada). The end result of the media and public 'servant' freak out over a Catholic clergyman expressing Catholic beliefs OUT LOUD in Quebec , is that the Quebec politicians are proposing that the federal gov't ensure the safety of all Canadian ears from hearing such free speech ever ever again!

Really!

American blogger Jimmy Akin sees this whole 'out of the closet' totalitarianism of the liberals, as a cautionary tale. How long before the American public becomes as quiet and docile as the Canadian? How long before Americans undergo a 'Christian Heritage Lobotomy'?

Not long folks, not long. And if you think a 'somewhat' conservative gov't will save you, check Canada again. (What's lined up for 2010+ isn't going to be good enough.)

It remains to be seen exactly how much more of this 'in your face' anti-freedom stuff can go on in the name of 'choice', without a backlash from non-sheeples ...

Which reminds me of a Marci McDonald joke :

Her book.

Not exactly original material, although its interesting that she is trying to make a buck by selling this old claptrap in Canada. No doubt she will (make a buck.) There's nothing Canadians like more than to give money to a deserving liberal.

U of Calgary : Letter from Alumnus

Dr. Warren Veale,
Interim Pres. U of Calgary

Dear Sir;

The fact is that Albertans are overwhelmingly in favour of protection
under law of unborn children from any form of violence against them,
whether attacked by knife-wielding boyfriend of the mother, or the
forceps and cutting devices of an abortionist. Lack of protection for
the child in Canadian law, however, should not deter a discussion of
law, with life or death implications, especially at institutions of
higher learning. Surveys favouring protection of unborn children range
from 75% to over 90% in Alberta, depending how the question was asked.
Albertans understand that the unborn children have a high probability of
suffering death from lack of law in Canada and they want the situation
changed.

As a former unborn child, if the present state of lawlessness was
present when your mother carried you in her womb, perhaps you'd have
been the victim. Instead, you can thank her on Mothers Day. I urge
you, on behalf of Albertans and unborn children everywhere in Canada, to
put your best instincts into action to stand up to the radical leftists
who protest that conversations may not be held on U of C campus on this
subject. Take the steps to establish a civilized dialogue at U of
Calgary about the rights of children to be kept alive until their birth.

The young people you have allowed to be persecuted by Student Union,
radical leftist university staffers and professors, should be treated
with respect, if not with awe, for their courage in defense of voiceless
victims. Two hundred thousand per year is the rate at which innocent
babies die in Canada. Are they dying for population control, to please
United Nations? Canada needs more people, not less! Is their cause of
death an ideology that has no right or wrong? Since when does Canada
not have a conscience? What is the university doing to discover why
babies have to die, when over 100,000 couples per year apply to adopt a
child? What a crime, that no Canadian babies are available for adoption
because of no protection in law during gestation.

Surely, expelling your best and brightest students does not add to a
solution for the brutality of abortion. I say best and brightest
because they are the ones who see the issue clearly and have the ability
to express for the unborn, in a thought-provoking and articulate manner,
that God-given rights are violated and lives are unnecessarily taken,
when institutions like yours become blind and heartless.

Kindest regards,

James Edward Mullen
BSc. '62, U of A

Calgary Circus School : Part II

The University of Calgary 'powers that be' are so determined to keep a puritanically abortion welcoming atmosphere at their school, that they can't allow a dozen or so students to continue attending...in case they educate someone about the ugly reality of abortion while on campus:

John Carpay- Advocate

The University of Calgary has taken its war on free speech to a new front, charging its own students with "non-academic misconduct" for having erected a pro-life display on campus on April 8.

LifeSiteNews

The group has put up the GAP display, which compares abortion to past historical atrocities through the use of graphic images, on the University of Calgary grounds without incident eight times since 2006.

In 2009, the university charged six students with trespassing in relation to the display, but the crown prosecutor stayed these charges prior to a trial scheduled for November 2009. The university has threatened participating students with non-academic misconduct charges on the occasion of each display, but this is the first time they are following through with their threat.

UofC has attempted to force the club to turn their signs inwards so they are not facing passersby, but CPL has refused to comly. Leah Hallman, CPL's president, told LifeSiteNews (LSN) that UofC's demand “is essentially saying that we can speak as long as nobody can hear us, we can show images as long as nobody can see them.”

Hallman explained that on April 8th campus security ordered them to turn their signs inward, but they refused as they always have. Then security told them to leave the campus and the students again refused, “knowing that we have the right to be there.”

UofC is charging the students with having failed to comply with an order from campus security, but according to Hallman, “campus security has no right to censor our ... legitimate free speech.”

Calgary Herald

No, they're not backing down, and short of being physically carted away by U of C campus security, they'll continue their fight, steadfast in their belief they live in a society where speaking out is a right, not a privilege.

U of C Campus Prolife press conference:

History will not remember what illegitimate excuse they used, other than as a derogative footnote; but history will remember their transgression against freedom, and it is upon this that posterity shall judge them.

So let the university do whatever action their twisted worldview sees fit, for we fear not the judgment of tyranny.

see also:
Calgary Circus School (part one)
U of C Student Leaders Embarrassingly Conformist

"Oh Canada, We Stand Around For Thee"

Mark Steyn reviews the latest progression in 'PC' oppression - police inaction :

Just so. The mob's not the threat, you and Ann Coulter are. In the old days, the Mounties always got their man. But these days they'll get you. Frankly, it's a lot easier. Canadian law enforcement gives off the same vibe re Miss Coulter that the Dutch justice system does re Geert Wilders - that in many ways the most convenient outcome would be if the mob took care of the problem, pour encourager les autres...

Free Speechers - Canadian Senate

Senator Finley :

“The great Alan Borovoy, who was the head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association for more than forty years, calls freedom of speech a “strategic freedom”. “Because it is the freedom upon which all of our other freedoms are built. “For example, how could we exercise our democratic right to hold elections, without free speech? “How could we have a fair trial, without free speech? “And what would be the point of freedom of assembly, if we couldn’t talk freely at a public meeting? “It is the most important freedom. Indeed, if you had all of your other rights taken away, you could still win them back with freedom of speech.

“Benjamin Franklin once said that “Without Freedom of thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such thing as public Liberty, without Freedom of speech” “Freedom of speech is embedded in Parliament’s DNA. The word Parliament itself comes from the French word, parler – to speak.

“And as Parliamentarians, we guard our freedom jealously. No Member of Parliament or the Senate may be sued for anything he says in here. Our freedom of speech is absolute. “And yet just last week, only a few miles from here, censorship reared its ugly head....

Senator Duffy:

“I rise to join my colleague, Senator Finley, in support of an inquiry into the state of freedom of speech in Canada. “I share Senator Finley’s love of freedom and his concern about the growing phenomena of censorship. “I approach the subject from the perspective of someone who, as a journalist for more than forty years, has used freedom of speech every day of my life, and has seen its essential role in keeping our democracy healthy. “And that’s my first observation: freedom of speech is much bigger than just politics.

“It’s about our right as free men and women to express ourselves in any way we choose – not just politically, but socially, musically, artistically and through every other human endeavour.

“Our freedom of expression is inextricably linked to our right to think for ourselves, to choose our place in the world, to talk back to the world, and even to fight against the world. “If you doubt that, ask any high school rock band why they do what they do! “So while it’s often political speech that grabs the news headlines – we should never forget that millions of Canadians put freedom of speech into action every day, from film-makers to authors, to stand-up comedians, to advertising agencies to PTA meetings and Rotary Clubs. “Free speech is a thread of personal liberty that is woven into every part of Canadian society...

Hopefully this is just the beginning.

Oh, Christmas Tree...,

Here we are in Advent, and we have the annual stories of 'cultural vandalism' filling the air. First , two tree stories - one from Orange County, Calif., and the next from Cambridge (Incidentally, Dundee has had a change of 'Spirit'!)

If that's not cheerful enough, how about a 'Naughty & Nice' list from the American Family Association, or one from Liberty Counsel?

WW11 Redux : Where IS This Going?

Those European megalomaniacs just can't stand independent thinker Vaclav Klaus. With Ireland's second-vote cave-in, they're feeling their oats.

France and Germany want to stifle the freedom of the Czech people's choice....so what's new!?

UN Resolution To Outlaw 'Hate' Speech

A resolution, co-sponsored by the US and approved by the UN Human Rights Council, asks for the criminalization of 'hate' speech:

EuropeNews:

the resolution, cosponsored by the U.S. and Egypt, calls on states to condemn and criminalize “any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”

Sound familiar? Perhaps that's what Jennifer Lynch has been up to, and why she refuses to back down from her untenable position of excusing the abuse rampant in the CHRC she is responsible for.

Good work, Canada.

Meanwhile, in other 'spread the grief' news, Cardinal Antonelli speaks bluntly about the bucket of woe dumping on Africa, courtesy agencies our tax dollars support, and our politicians, media, and educators laud:

The agents of various international institutions and organizations start from real problems, which must be dutifully resolved, such as the injustice and violence suffered by women, infant mortality, malnutrition and famine, problems related to housing and work. They propose solutions based on the values of equality, health and liberty: sacrosanct concepts, but rendered ambiguous by the new anthropological meanings that are given to them. For example, equality of people no longer just means equal dignity and access to fundamental human rights; but also the irrelevance of the natural differences between men and women, the uniformity of all individuals, as though they were sexually undifferentiated, and therefore the equality of all sexual orientations and behavior: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transsexual, polymorphous.....
....This ideology is spread by reproductive health centers, local educational meetings and international TV programs broadcast via satellite. Collaboration of African governments and local groups, including ecclesial groups, is sought, and these groups usually don’t realize the ethically unacceptable anthropological implications of this.

Implications of which can be seen clearly in the disintergration of the family and the eroding of the value of a human life in Western society.

The constant push for homosexuality and abortion to be accepted as 'norms' and 'good', would be a lot easier for the UN if in every country it was illegal to speak up against them, wouldn't it.

The US already has the wheels in motion...

Intolerance at SMU Re-Dux

The students' union at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, hosts a 'society fair' each fall, the purpose of which , is to give their members the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the various student groups on campus. This year's event was marred by the theft of ALL the materials from the 'Students For Life' display.

It may seem like a small thing, but looking around society today, I'm pretty sure its indicative of an underlying problem with veracity. Liars are intolerant. The truth is an inconvenience they cannot bear.

Here is a letter from a student regarding the unfortunate disruption of the student event :

Crime & Drama at the Fair - Students For Life:
Last Thursday at the SMU Society Fair, one small display was targeted. Someone secretly watched the table, and at the first opportunity, tore down the sign, and stole clip-boards sign-up sheets, pens, and personal documents. You might be thinking... what could possess someone to go to such extreme (not to mention illegal) lengths to prevent students from seeing, hearing or thinking about something? It’s a mystery to me, and I was manning the display, but maybe it was the name that set them off...
Name: “Students For Life”.
Right... the same as the name of the article, and since you’re reading this it doesn’t seem to be as offensive to you as it was to the thief. On the other hand, maybe it was the idea behind the group that was so terrifying and offensive...
Founding Principal: “Every human life has equal value”

Uh... that’s pretty much of the foundation of civil society. Not scary stuff. Maybe the society was planning dangerous and offensive activities of some sort. What is the society going to do?...

Planned Activities: 1. Come together as a group.
2. Provide volunteer opportunities.
3. Discuss value-of-life issues.

I take it you’re still reading, and have somehow managed to avoid destroying and /or stealing anything. You may even want to consider participating in some way down the line. We aren’t completely up and running, but if you send an email with your first and last names to smu.studentsforlife@gmail.com we’ll give you a heads-up when we’ve got something on the go. Students are busy people, so participation will be on an event-by-event basis. Show up when you can, and make Saint Mary’s University (and the world) a better place.

Note: Students who have already signed up are asked to re-submit their names by email.

Thank you for your time,
Paul Mullen
SMU student & member of Students For Life

The usual suspects (see this post on SMU's 'free-speech' travails last winter) were reminded by campus police ahead of time to follow 'rules of good behaviour', sat themselves directly beside the 'Students For Life' table, and left as soon as the display had been stolen. Witnesses say that as soon as Paul Mullen had stepped away a few feet to the trashcan, a man in a 'hat' came and took everything and left. Apparently he had been waiting for his chance!

Mr. Mullen has a very good point in his letter. What exactly is so disturbing and scary about 'Students For Life'? Can it be that the mere idea that everyone have access to the truth, is so threatening to some that they can't allow it? Can people really be rationalizing their actions this way? Knowing that a group exists that cares whether babies, elderly, handicapped and...well, everyone, lives or dies, is REALLY a threat to ...whom?

To liars. Only those protecting their own lies are threatened by the truth.

"Freespeechapalooza"

Kathy Shaidle, Ezra Levant and Salim Mansur spoke at a 'free speech' event in Canada last week. A Catholic, a Jew and a Muslim explain to Canadians the dangerous restriction of freedoms being imposed by Canadian Human Rights Commissions.

Kathy Shaidle has published her entire speech on her site, and Roy Eappen has video coverage on his site.

Although this was a Canada specific event, it certainly isn't a unique problem. Human rights commissions around the world are doing their best to force 'correctness' on unruly citizens. Freedom is no longer a Western value, but a hindrance to Western governments seeking to align their legislation to conform to UN standards of 'proper belief'. That 'proper belief' would include state imposed syncretism, and total submission to the 'culture of death'. One writer at Brussels Journal concludes that we are now 'post democracy', citizens having become subjects in a 'global' construct run by 'expert elites'.

One wonders who ultimately will remain to benefit , and what the benefits will be in a soulless world of no democracy, no free speech, no children, no elderly, no families or marriage, and no faith?

Encouraging, if for no other reason than the joy of witnessing free expression, are the recent 'tea parties' in the US. Having followed this idea/event online since its inception a few months ago, I can state positively that there is a broad range of political and other 'beliefs' represented by these protesters. Something democratic has been unleashed, and the surest sign of this is the reaction of the media. (Even David Frum can't bring himself to really like the protests - not quite up to his standards of 'articulation'!)

Its going to take a lot of tea to reverse the stifling effect of the 'latte' drinkers, but is it impossible?

Not quite yet.

Books worth reading:
Tyranny Of Nice- Kathy's book
ShakeDown- Ezra's new book on his HRC experience.
America Alone by Mark Steyn

Where Are The Christians in Britain ?

Apparantly they are being baited by PC agents in 'charity' organizations, to answer questions about their beliefs, so they can be chastised for being 'uncharitable' in their beliefs!

Christian Legal Centre:

An employee at a Christian ‘homeless’ charity, whose Patron is the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been suspended for answering questions about his faith to a colleague at work.

David Booker, aged 44, a Christian from Southampton, has worked for the English Churches Housing Group for almost four years .On 26 March, whilst working an evening shift, he had a 35 minute conversation with a female colleague. The colleague asked him about his faith and beliefs. During the conversation he was asked the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and same-sex marriages, which Mr Booker explained. The conversation was free-flowing and Mr Booker clearly explained that he had homosexual friends and that he was not homophobic.

The following day he was summoned by his employers and told that he was suspended for “events that happened last night”. On March 30, he was given a formal suspension notice alleging that: “ On 26 March 09, whilst on shift with a female colleague, you seriously breached ECHG’s (English churches House group) Code of conduct by promoting your religious views which contained discriminatory comments regarding a person’s sexual orientation.”...

Did the Archbishop not know the terms of the agency's 'code of conduct'? Who set up the PC sting? Will the Archbishop continue to be the patron of a 'charity' that seeks to punish Anglicans that are knowledgeable and honest about their own faith?

Next, the government will step in with its own 'chastisements'. Its not for nothing that they failed to pass a 'freedom of speech' amendment to the 'Coroners and Justice Bill'.

Oh Britannia!!

Lessons in Repression - 'How To Control The Media'

One might argue that the current administration of the US gov't has a handle on media control already, but they just want to make sure it lasts...

Jonah Goldberg:

...The argument from supposedly liberty-loving liberals goes like this: We protect “extreme” and unpopular speech because if that is safe, they’ll never get to our core liberties. If they can ban trash, argue the slippery-slopers, what’s to stop them from banning criticism of politicians?

One problem: While Frank Rich et al. are preening on their soapboxes for making filth as American as apple pie, the government, under Republican and Democratic presidents alike, has been banning criticism of politicians.

Just last week, the Obama administration argued before the Supreme Court that it has no principled constitutional problem with banning books...

Read anything about this in your newspaper?

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Pioneer Spirit Must Prevail

Alberta should lead the way to HRC reform in Canada

Calgary Herald:

...Today, society is far more open than it was.That's wonderful. But, since 1996, when Alberta's commission began policing opinion, politics is more closed.

That's when it became illegal not only to offend people the commission protects, but to publish anything that might offend them. No matter that statements be true, offence warranted, or publication dealt with matters of immediate concern--as did Rev. Stephen Boissoin for example, fined for writing letters against gay marriage while legalization was before Parliament.Or Levant, sued after his magazine printed Danish cartoons that had caused uproar in the Islamic world and were central to an international news story. (In all the world, he claims, he is the only person prosecuted for printing them, and it was right here in Alberta.)

No society prospers that silences contrarians--wrong as such people often are. But, sometimes they have something useful to say, offensive to some as it might be, and even if they don't, silencing them is still wrong....

....It should not be illegal to give offence: What is offensive, is that it presently is.The caucus now has the chance to lead the rest of the country in reclaiming the most fundamental right in a democracy.

I'm Alberta born, of pioneer families. Nothing in the travails of the first Albertans supports the current 'wussified' AHRC need to find offense in others' words.

Its time the AHRC reflected the mettle and character of Albertans.

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Do Your Homework Missy!

Saint Mary's University student forgets to get her story straight before offering 'daft' interview in 'The Journal'.

Scott Gilbreath:

...Ms Taylor’s “defence” is full of faulty assumptions, erroneous arguments, and dumb mistakes. The unnamed SMU Journal reporter who conducted the interview is complicit for failing to challenge her foolishness.

Taylor cites as precedent SMU’s cowardly decision to cancel a debate between former philosophy professor Peter March and alleged racist Jared Taylor in March 2007, but she gets crucial facts wrong. According to her, the university cancelled the debate “in an effort to protect students from the pain and suffering that is inflicted by the promotion of hate speech”; but that’s not what SMU said about it. The SMU press release she herself quotes refers only to “high security risks and potential threat to both our campus community and to visitors”.

The press release also says this:

The University remains committed to academic freedom, diversity of opinion, and supports open debate in a forum that does not put the personal safety of our community at risk.

Taylor does not allege that Mr Ruba’s presentation endangered anyone’s “personal safety”, so the press release that she relies on as justification does not actually support last month’s display of anti-free speech fascism...
Hello! She refers to the Canadian Human Rights Act, but quotes from and links to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Does she know what she’s talking about?

In any case, taking the law into one’s own hands by presumptively shouting down a speaker is not one of the legal remedies set forth in the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. One must lodge a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, which will decide if the complaint is worthy of further action.

She calls Ruba a racist because he cites Martin Luther King, Jr, in support of anti-abortion views in what she thinks is a misleading and manipulative fashion. A racist is someone who thinks that some races are inherently inferior to others. Quoting a black man with approval is prima facie evidence that Ruba thinks blacks are equal. Taylor may disagree with Ruba’s interpretation of King’s words but, obviously, that doesn’t make Ruba a racist.

Besides, in view of Taylor’s self-serving misuse of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act, it’s a little rich for her to complain that someone else is being “misleading and manipulative”.....

I'm sure Ms. Taylor is unaware that Dr. Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, frequently quotes her uncle in her prolife advocacy work.


(I sure hope my son is receiving a better education at SMU than Ms. Taylor apparently is!)

An Exercise In Free Speech

(well, its free so far...)


Find more videos like this on Smart Girl Politics



This taxpayers 'Tea Party' event was organized on social media networks (twitter) and blogs. Across the US, groups of unhappy taxpayers gathered at designated sites at noon, Feb.27, to express their disgust with the government's 'stimulus' plan.

Look for more of these events in the future. The average 'Joe' may not have a voice in the 'mainstream' media, but he knows where to find his neighbours!


Michael Leahy

World Net Daily

The Roundtable

Michelle Malkin

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Students For Free Speech

Some university campuses in Canada are more in favour of free speech than they are against the culture of life. That's good!

LifeSiteNews:

Pro-life advocates are celebrating the fact that freedom of speech has been upheld on two Canadian university campuses in the past week, as two student unions have decided to treat pro-life clubs fairly despite opposition to giving the clubs official status.

Choose Life McGill, the pro-life club at McGill University in Montreal Quebec, received full accreditation as a campus club at the student union's board meeting on February 12th. The final vote after a more than 2 hour debate was in favor of ratifying the club. The vote came after Choose Life operated as an interim club for 3 months.

Meanwhile, at the University of Victoria, pro-life students had been fighting for fair treatment from their student union since October 2008, when they were denied the same funding as all other campus clubs. On February 10th, the student union board voted to grant the pro-life club, Youth Protecting Youth, the same funding that is applicable to other campus groups.

Both of these decisions come shortly after the campus pro-life club at the University of Guelph had their club status restored in a January 27th meeting. All allegations against Guelph Life Choice were dropped after a term of battling with their student union...

Perhaps the 'grownups' will learn a thing or two about what 'freedom' means, why its important, and how to stand up for it! Canada is facing repression of free speech on several fronts right now. Who cares?
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And In Canada, Will They Fight?

Will the people of Canada waken from their somnolent stupor and give chase to Barbara Hall and her bureaucratic idiocy that threatens Canadians underappreciated freedoms? Doubtful. But the media may try to stir them...

Montreal Gazette:

...a preposterous suggestion that every publication in the country, including "media services" websites, be required by law to belong to a national press council that could adjudicate breaches of professional standards and complaints of discrimination. Chillingly, the council would have the power to order offending media to publish its findings, along with counterarguments from complainants. And in a bit of verbal legerdemain that would make Big Brother wince, the commission claimed that this would not constitute censorship.

The most frightening thing about this bit of nonsense is that it's hard to see what possible reason the commission has for proposing such a draconian measure. Scan Canadian media from, say, This Magazine on the left to blogger Ezra Levant on the right, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that pushes the boundaries of reasonable discourse...

...Commissioner Hall also claims that the media have a responsibility to "engage in fair and unbiased journalism." Those are certainly ideals The Gazette and most other Canadian publications strive to achieve, with admittedly imperfect success. But that responsibility, like membership in the Quebec Press Council, is voluntary. If someone wants to start a rabidly partisan, scurrilous scandal sheet, that's fine with us, too. State-compelled norms of behaviour are censorship, not idealism.

The underlying problem here might be that liberty has once again run into one of its most formidable foes - the bureaucratic mind. Such minds recoil at the unruliness of the media - among other things - and won't rest until all participants in public discourse are fully regulated by government. They do all this "for the common good," of course.

But when they succeed, we can all kiss our precious freedoms goodbye.

(h/t Dr. Roy)

"Abort This Debate" - Free Speech

Michael Coren in the Ottawa Sun:

...Canada? It's a free country, or at least it's supposed to be. But not, it seems, if you hold a view on the abortion issue that is contrary to that of the establishment.

The abortion debate should not, however, be the point here. Any more than a discussion of free expression should be framed around party politics, religion, sports or favourite cheese.

We have the right to disagree, to argue and, short of violence, to be passionate and committed.

It's the lifeblood that should flow through any healthy body politic.

Yet abortion has become a topic that is different from any other in the world. And the examples are legion....

Of course its not just Canada that is experiencing a reduction in free speech. The US is considering the same kind of gov't control over the media that the HRC members were discusssing in Canada this week. Many European states are becoming more and more repressive. Britain is practically insane with more and more ridiculous 'rules' of 'appropriate behaviour'!

When there is no basis for justice, no belief in right and wrong, good and evil, then determination of 'appropriate behaviour' becomes subject to the whim of those with power, and more and more arbitrary. Good bye democracy.

Ever hear someone express their opinion that something said or done was inappropriate and a violation of someone's individual right not to be offended? Did they justify this opinion by saying ' free speech is important, but...'?

Everyone who understands that EVERYONE's freedom is undermined by this kind of 'fuzzy logic', needs to speak up .

Free speech - Use it or Lose it!



Interesting side-note: The Cayman Islands has finally come to an agreement with Britain and amongst its own leaders, to a draft of its new 'modernized' constitution and a bill of rights. In the process of negotiating an acceptable draft, (one where the bill of rights refers to the gov't responsibilities to its people, NOT between the people - vertical, not horizontal- and where the courts are restricted from 'interpreting' against the laws of the Cayman Islands) Canada was used frequently as an example of how it can all go SOOO wrong. It remains to be seen what Britain actually allows to be signed as the final document, but at least we hope to not repeat EVERY mistake! Not surprisingly, our HRC (why does it exist again?) is crying foul and criticizing the draft bill for not providing enough specific 'special' rights. Perhaps Cayman's HRC has the same problem as Canada's in understanding the meaning of freedom.

"You're In Alabama Now"

Nine young prolifers were arrested in Birmingham Thursday, and spent the night in jail, finally being released this morning.

Christian News Wire:

...All nine members of the Campus Life Tour were taken to the Birmingham City Jail, where they were forced to change into orange jumpsuits and placed in holding cells for 6 hours without water or access to a phone, as the officers ignored their requests for help. They were booked and placed in cells around 1:00 a.m., but were not released until hours later, the young women at 7:00 a.m. and the men at 9:00 a.m. The group was released without any paper citations, only bond forms stating a generic "Charge of Trespassing" with no penal code listed on the form.

As the officers questioned Blythe at the jail, she stated that the Constitution protected her right to stand on a public sidewalk. The police officers' response was clear: "You're in Alabama now."...

...At the Birmingham City Jail, in an eerie throwback to the past, Rev. Shaver was handcuffed and shackled at his feet. Despite repeated requests from his attorney to remove the shackles, guards kept the painful and restrictive shackles on Rev. Shaver for hours. Rev. Shaver and the other young men were informed during their jail stay that several of the guards at the jail also serve as security guards at a local abortion clinic.

"We were arrested yesterday because of the content of our message. It's clear from the attitudes and actions of the police officers that our message of life is not welcome in Birmingham, and prejudice is alive and well in this city. It is a shame that this historic city which saw the Civil Rights movement firsthand continues to refuse basic civil rights to peaceful activists simply on the basis of their message," states Kortney Blythe, Director of the Survivors Campus Life Tours. "We are shocked by the Birmingham Police Department's response to our peaceful actions, and we call upon the Chief of Police to initiate a thorough investigation of yesterday's horrifying civil rights abuses. The Survivors will continue to peacefully promote a culture of life and expose the truth of abortion in Birmingham and throughout the state of Alabama, regardless of the actions of prejudiced police officers."...

I'd like to know who put the police up to it. Somebody missed the turn of the century...last century!