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Canada's thought police
Los Angeles Times ^ | June 17, 2008 | Johah Goldberg

Posted on 06/17/2008 7:02:09 AM PDT by Uncle Ralph

[The Canadian Islamic Congress] took [Maclean's Magazine and author Mark Steyn] to "court," but not a real court. These tribunals [of the Canadian Human Rights Commission] have all the rigor of a student government star chamber. There are no rules of evidence and, again, truth is not a defense.

Why bother with evidence at all? Hate speech is essentially defined as anything certain "victimized" people find offensive...

And what about free speech? Dean Steacy, an investigator for Canada's national commission, explained it nicely: "Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value." He gets points for honesty...

It might be easy for some to dismiss all of this. After all, we're talking about Canada.

But this is just the latest in a long parade of assaults on free speech, including the aftermath of the Danish Muhammad cartoons and the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Sometimes it seems like a lot of people see free speech as "an American concept," thus in need of rethinking.

As the Atlantic's Ross Douthat observed, the New York Times' only story on the case suggested "that the 1st Amendment is a peculiar and quite possibly outdated feature of the American political system, along the lines of, say, the electoral college or the District of Columbia's lack of congressional representation..."

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: freespeech; macleans; marksteyn; steyn
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"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." -- George Washington
1 posted on 06/17/2008 7:02:10 AM PDT by Uncle Ralph
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To: Uncle Ralph
Dean Steacy, an investigator for Canada's national commission, explained it nicely: "Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value."

Funny how such an ignoramus was put in charge of these show trials. Or maybe that was the intention? But of course, anyone in a former Crown colony dumb enough to make such a brazenly false statement shouldn't be in any position of authority.

2 posted on 06/17/2008 7:07:12 AM PDT by pnh102 (Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
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To: Uncle Ralph

Bump


3 posted on 06/17/2008 7:08:38 AM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: Uncle Ralph

If the Founders had had any idea of what was going to happen in this country, they would have made the Second Amendment the First Amendment and added another line, something like:

“All other rights which we will now proceed to enumerate, flow out of this fundamental right of individual citizens to arm themselves against the unreasonable power of the state.”

(Something like that.)


4 posted on 06/17/2008 7:20:56 AM PDT by samtheman (McCain is throwing away a landslide victory and opting for a landslide defeat.)
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To: Uncle Ralph

Do you have a reference source for that possible GW quote? It sounds like another bogus one.


5 posted on 06/17/2008 7:39:55 AM PDT by Travis McGee (--- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com ---)
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To: Uncle Ralph
These agenda-driven kangaroo courts already exist in the United States. Their inevitable move against the First Amendment should be a second Fort Sumter.
6 posted on 06/17/2008 7:54:14 AM PDT by atomic conspiracy (Victory in Iraq: Worst defeat for activist media since Goebbels shot himself.)
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To: Travis McGee
Do you have a reference source for that possible GW quote? It sounds like another bogus one.

Try doing a search on the phrase. Google shows about a thousand hits. Try this link:

C-Span Archives

7 posted on 06/17/2008 8:10:18 AM PDT by azsportsterman
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To: azsportsterman

Those are not attributed references. There are dozens of proven bogus quotes by Jeffereson, Washington etc that are repeated thousands of times on the internet. Another famous bogus GW quote is the one about the 2nd amd that refers to consetoga wagons. It has been repeated over and over, so it must have a thousand google hits. Still, it’s bogus. A thousand internet hits means zip. Attribution means when did he say it? In what letter or speech, to whom? WIthout that, I’ll just have to assume this is another bogus quote, given life by the internet.


8 posted on 06/17/2008 8:14:17 AM PDT by Travis McGee (--- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com ---)
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To: azsportsterman

This is what a sourced attribution looks like. Click the UVA.edu link, and go to contents, then subjects. Every valid Jefferson quote is sourced to the date, letter or speech etc.

http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/

Even brainyquotes uses your GW quote, but it also quotes GW’s bogus “2nd amd is liberty’s teeth,” so evidently anybody can stuff brainyqoutes with fake crap. Your possibly bogus GW quote is given no attribution on brainyquotes, which is not surprising.


9 posted on 06/17/2008 8:20:34 AM PDT by Travis McGee (--- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com ---)
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To: Uncle Ralph
New York Times' only story on the case suggested "that the 1st Amendment is a peculiar and quite possibly outdated feature of the American political system"

Outdated, eh? Let's see now, the freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment, right? Guess it's okay to outlaw the New York Times then.
10 posted on 06/17/2008 8:34:28 AM PDT by LearsFool ("Thou shouldst not have been old, till thou hadst been wise.")
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To: Uncle Ralph

Don’t be complacent. It’s already here but to a lesser degree. With a liberal administration, it will get worse.


11 posted on 06/17/2008 8:45:23 AM PDT by BooksForTheRight.com (Fight liberal lies with knowledge. Read conservative books and articles.)
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To: Uncle Ralph
Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value.
Dean Steacy. Investigator for Canada's National Commission .

The man does not have the intestinal fortitude to add a caveat. This would be "my freedom of speech is my value" and "If I want your opinion I will give it to you".

A bureacratic dictator, a non-violent terrorist.

12 posted on 06/17/2008 8:47:51 AM PDT by Peter Libra
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To: Uncle Ralph
The name Steacy rang a bell.

He is the agent provocateur for the "Hate Crimes" Johnnies. He posted on a right wing extremist web site. It is called "Stormfront". He posted messages of extreme and wacked out hate. He used a pseudonym. Prosecutions were then urged by another group within his area of "expertise", then saying- look at that hatred. A Richard Warman was involved.

Steacy has been legally blind since 2004.

13 posted on 06/17/2008 9:09:47 AM PDT by Peter Libra
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To: Travis McGee

Take you pick.


14 posted on 06/17/2008 9:20:50 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20 (If the opposite of Pro is Con, what is the opposite of Progress? -- Tom Glennon)
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To: Turret Gunner A20

Incomplete —please delete.


15 posted on 06/17/2008 9:21:44 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20 (If the opposite of Pro is Con, what is the opposite of Progress? -- Tom Glennon)
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To: Travis McGee
Take your pick

http://search.peoplepc.com/search?area=earthlink-peoplepc-wssynd&cgid=176&memberID=null&segmentID=1,-2,-3,-4&category=membersite&channel=&hl=&logosrc=http://home.peoplepc.com/i/common/ppco_blue.gif&q=%22If+the+freedom+of+speech+is+taken+away+then+dumb+and+silent+we+may+be+led%2C+like+sheep+to+the+slaughter%2E%22

16 posted on 06/17/2008 9:22:36 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20 (If the opposite of Pro is Con, what is the opposite of Progress? -- Tom Glennon)
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To: pnh102
Dean Steacy, an investigator for Canada's national commission, explained it nicely: "Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value."

Has Canada moved?

The last time I looked at a map, it was still a part of America.

So, it would appear to me, following that dictatorial idiot's logic, any concept hatched in Canada is also to be given little value. Hmmmmm. Put that way, maybe he's not entirely off the mark.

17 posted on 06/17/2008 9:38:22 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20 (If the opposite of Pro is Con, what is the opposite of Progress? -- Tom Glennon)
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To: Travis McGee
Attribution means when did he say it? In what letter or speech, to whom? WIthout that, I’ll just have to assume this is another bogus quote, given life by the internet.

Maybe you do, but when I read an attributed quote that is abcolutely true and appropriate, I don't worry a helluva lot about the possibility the one who posted the truth was right about the attribution or not. To me that does not change the truth.

And in this case, George or no George, the quote hits the nail squarely on the head.

18 posted on 06/17/2008 9:55:14 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20 (If the opposite of Pro is Con, what is the opposite of Progress? -- Tom Glennon)
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To: Travis McGee
I went hunting in search of the source of the quote and it looks like it is from Washington's "Newburgh Address" as printed in the 1807 book "The Life of George Washington" by David Ramsay. Of course, this is not to say that Ramsay didn't make it up.

I don't remember ever hearing about the Newburgh conspiracy. You learn something new every day.

19 posted on 06/17/2008 9:55:37 AM PDT by mollynme (cogito, ergo freepum)
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To: pnh102

That’s the point - NOBODY is stupid enough to make a statement like this. Think about the mind set of these people - can anybody with enough of a brain to function be this stupid?

It’s just like Mugabe’s burning people who want to democratically un-elect him - it’s a way to hold on to power at all costs. The left instinctively understands this, while we on the right just think they are stupid. It’s not stupidity - it’s fascism.


20 posted on 06/17/2008 9:58:53 AM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Nope. Not gonna do it.)
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