As you may be aware, I am the House Communist© at Sun News. I write a couple columns for them a week, and I go on their TV network a couple times a week.

It’s unlikely you’ve ever seen me on the network, given that it is nestled up near channel 682 on your dial. After the foreign-language channels that you pay for.

I don’t, of course, agree with 99 per cent of what is said on the Sun News Network. In fact, I go on there to gleefully rebut it. I also go on to defend just about every single misdeed and misstep that progressives make, real or perceived (usually perceived). I enjoy it.

I’m a Liberal from Alberta, so I am used to being surrounded by conservatives. They don’t scare me. At Sun News, in fact, they’re pretty good to me. With the exception of one celebrated incident, they let me say and write whatever I want. That hasn’t ever happened to me at any other media joint, including the ones owned by self-described progressives.

Anyway. The CRTC hearings about Sun News have been of more than passing interest to me, even though I’m just a Sun contributor, not an employee. Mainly, I’ve been interested in the Sun opponents who have been invited to appear. Here’s a short summary of some of the ones who are showing up.

• Gustavo Ruiz:  Gustavo is kind of angry.  He wants Stephen Harper charged with treason.  In his missive to the CRTC, Gustavo said, after he eyeballed Sun News, he felt “like taking a shower in a desperate effort to clean off the filth.”  Wow! He also says Sun News “should be banned from the public airwaves” because we have a “fascist ideology.” Holy smokes! In my punk rock youth, when I wrote songs about smashing the state, I would have punched Gustavo in the face for that.  In my old age, I just wonder: “Why would the CRTC invite a charter member of the tin foil brigade to testify?”
• Jeff Hanks:  Jeff is an Occupy guy, and I kind of like that.  Anyone who read Fight The Right knows I liked the Occupiers.  In his missive to the CRTC, however, Jeff said he didn’t “want this offensive garbage on cable filling Canadians with propaganda from gov’ts and corporations. The future of a Canada that is equal, environmentally minded, socially just is at stake. If these people are allowed on cable it will be very harmful to people that do not have a lot of education and are vulnerable to their ideas that are setting back Canada 20-30 years.”  Hmm.  What I found a bit offensive, there – and quite un-Occupy – was Jeff’s apparent suggestion is that you, the public, are morons and automatons, who believe every damn thing you see on TV.  That’s silly.  So, possibly, is Jeff.
• Dimitri Lascaris:  Dimitri is a lawyer and a seemingly accomplished fellow.  In his request to appear before the CRTC, he said that Sun news is “a propaganda organ and is designed to mislead and manipulate the public into supporting an agenda that is decidedly pro-business.”  Like Jeff, above, Dimitri is implying that Canadians are uncritical, unintelligent empty vessels, into which the evil Sun News overlords pour Satanic thoughts.  Believe me, Dimitri: if we could do that, we’d be doing that to get you to buy expensive stuff you don’t need, not just watch a TV show.
• Kevin Donaldson:  Kevin is 18 years old, but he wears ties and vests in public.  That alone should result in him being banned, not Sun News.  Bow ties are worse than vests, but not by much.
• Matthew Hays:  Mr. Hays is journalist, and – as such – he works for lots of different news organizations.  Ie., Sun News’ competitors.  In that way, he’s like Glen McGregor, except more accomplished.
• Tod Maffin:  Tod is kind of like Matthew, above, but way worse.  Tod’s actually the CBC’s “national technology columnist.”  He’s paid by the CBC to do his thing.  He says Sun News is “garbage,” “absolutely biased,” and:  “[Sun News] should NOT be allowed on Canadian television.  I am appalled that the CRTC is even considering adding this channel to basic cable. Please, toss Sun “News” off the air.”  It is so obvious it doesn’t even merit saying, but here goes: the views of someone paid by a competitor are, well, the views of someone paid by a competitor.  They’re what you’d expect.  Pepsi vs. Coke, Tory vs. Grit, Hatfield vs. McCoy.  Does anyone really listen to what one side says about the other?  Well, no.  Duh.
• Michael Sona:  He’s the guy who is facing charges by Elections Canada.  My suggestion that some other folks accused of breaking the law – Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen – be brought in by the CRTC have, so far, gone unanswered.  How come? Not fair!

Anyway, I’ve had some fun, but you get the point, I hope.  CRTC, by all means, do your job.  Hear from both sides.

But, for the love God, can you get a better crop of opponents?

Comments (85)

Christie Blatchford is a columnist for Postmedia. Postmedia promotes Blatchford all over the place, putting her face on billboards (when they shouldn’t), and letting her write whatever the Hell she wants (when they shouldn’t).

On the rare occasions when I am tricked into reading one of Blatchford’s cop-loving, native-hating screeds, I am reminded of Ezra Pound. Yes, Blatchford reminds me of Ezra Pound.

Pound, as you will recall, was an acclaimed poet and writer. Some of his works, like The Garden, I committed to memory in my youth. But even in a work as great as that one, there were subtle and disturbing hints about what his politics would become – particularly, for me, the line about “the filthy, sturdy, unkillable infants of the very poor.”

Pound would go on to become a fascist, and an unabashed fan of Hitler and Mussolini and Mosley. He wrote pieces calling Jews “the disease incarnate.” By war’s end, he was placed in a cage by the Allies, and had a mental breakdown. He died in disgrace, and deservedly so.

I am not saying, of course, that Christie Blatchford is a fascist. She is, however, a great stylist, who uses her undeniable writing skills to defend the Right, and attack the weak – such as when she likened natives she dislikes to “terrorists,” for example. I don’t despise her for her views, even though they are often despicable. I despise her willingness – like Pound – to cheapen the gift that God gave her by writing hateful garbage.

Her column today on Rehtaeh Parsons, today, is hateful garbage. I won’t link to it, because it really, truly is that foul. But, essentially, Blatchford writes an entire column – without one named source, without any sources at all, in fact – to seemingly promote the notion that Rehtaeh Parsons wanted to get raped, and that the police were right not to do anything about it. You can find it yourself, if you have the stomach for it. It made me want to throw up, personally. Is she at all aware that an inebriated 15-year-old can’t consent, under Canadian law? And that’s not all: why are the police in Nova Scotia showing evidence to Blatchford, when they’ve announced they’re reopening a criminal probe? That merits a judicial inquiry all on its own.

Anyway. I, we, get Christie Blatchford. She plays a part, like columnists often do. She plays a role. She’s the pro-police, leftie-and-native-hater at Postmedia. If you want to read someone who will always defend the indefensible, but with a clever turn of phrase, Blatchford’s your gal.

There are plenty of writers who will defend the indefensible, unfortunately. But what makes Christie Blatchford a special case – what makes me despise her writing – is that she uses her talents so recklessly.

Hey, Christie Blatchford: Rehtaeh Parsons was the victim. She was gang-raped, and hounded, and harassed, and driven off this Earth by hate. Her death diminished us all, every single one of us.

And you? You don’t give a shit about that.

UPDATE: Rehtaeh’s Dad doesn’t like what she’s written either. Here.

UPDATED AGAIN: And Rehtaeh’s mom hits Blatchford hard, here. (See below.) Blatchford is indeed twisted, and she indeed degrades what happened to Rehtaeh, as her Mom says. No one would disagree.

Comments (82)

Going after Deb Hutton?  Seriously?

That’s going way too far. It’s shameful, in fact.

Spouses, and families, are always off-limits.

If I was still involved, this wouldn’t be happening.  I can guarantee you of that.

UPDATE:  More here.

Comments (14)

And that wonderful quote corresponds exactly with my long-running view about religions (or any human institution, frankly): there are idiots in every organization. The Muslims have them, but so do Christians, Jews, you name it.  There is no monopoly on virtue, just as extremism is no exclusive club.

That doesn’t in any way exclude the criminal acts of idiots, of course.  Investigate and prosecute, to the fullest extent possible under law.  But don’t – as white supremacists and/or bigots like Kathy Shaidle, Arnie Lemaire and Kate McMillan and their ilk regularly do – suggest that Muslims alone are evil.

Every group has its fair share of evil people.  And idiots, too.

Comments (25)

Wonderful story, about Jerry and his friend in Toronto. Here.

Comments (0)

Comments (6)

Quote unquote, with some minor edits for space.  John Wright, in the comments last night on wk.com:

• Hubris will make the Liberals lose…if you read the actual full poll release, it is a very diagnostic sounding…it doesn’t just have the vote number, but a lot more. I’ve said this publicly: the current Liberal regime is liked for its style, but it is not seen to be defined or with substance. 
• After three months at the helm, a greater proportion [of voters] want change than before. That’s hardly a great beginning…in fact, the underlying numbers look more like Kim Cambell’s than anything else. 
• I think the Tories have a soft ten point lead, because it is the same [numbers] they had at the start of the last election – and, last time I checked, Toronto proper isn’t known for its sturdy blue hue. And the underlying numbers don’t have a whole lot of growth for the PC’s at the moment – but anything can happen in a campaign. 
• It’s the NDP who likely has the greatest potential for a Minority or Majority. [But] they have a tough choice: get some budget sops on things like car insurance, or pull the plug after the budget is brought down…
• …neither the Grits or the Tories have demonized the NDP. The Liberals are undefined, except for style over substance – with the biggest movement for “change” we’ve seen in a decade.
• The PC’s have the baggage from the last campaign, and Mr. Hudak’s recent interviews have been in praise of Mike Harris’s mettle. 
• Watch the NDP: they can leave the Liberals in for another year…or they can do the deed now, as Spring arrives, and the “change in the season” becomes a metaphor for their campaign. 
• Sometimes the best people with the best hearts and intentions forget that getting along with your opponents is not what cuts it in the blood sport of politics. 
• Folks, these numbers are bad for this incumbent minority government. The budget…may not be enough to sustain them on the hustings. So, we will see over the next month whether this government will find its political inner being – or just be a populist group who can be swept aside easily by an electorate who wants change…

Comments (7)

Right here.

What’s it mean?

You know damn well what it means.

Comments (31)

Quote:

“One of the two men accused of an al Qaeda-backed plan to derail a passenger train in Canada questioned the authority of Canadian law to judge him, telling a court on Wednesday that the criminal code is imperfect and is not a holy book.

Chiheb Esseghaier, a Tunisian-born PhD student, faces charges that include conspiracy to murder and working with a terrorist group.

He and another suspect allegedly hoped to derail a passenger train, perhaps at a bridge near the U.S.-Canada border, with possible heavy loss of life, authorities said.

In a brief hearing where he was ordered back into custody, Esseghaier, 30, said the allegations against him are based on laws that are unreliable because they are not the work of God.

“All of these conclusions was taken out based on (the) Criminal Code,” he told a Toronto court. “The Criminal Code is not (a) holy book.”

I don’t see this as a big problem, personally. The holy Koran says, inter alia: “The punishment of those who [strive] for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides…: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.”

The Koran is a holy book, unlike the Criminal Code, as he says. So, if he is indeed found guilty, Esseghaier seems to be expressing enthusiastic and unambiguous support for the execution, crucifixion, or dismemberment options.  Exile is possible, too, but doesn’t really amount to “heavy punishment,” now, does it?

So, there you go.  Problem solved.

Comments (26)

Comments (20)