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It appears as though we have a big brother north of the border looking out for us, and all that is civil in the world. And NO, I am not talking about Santa Claus either, although the Canadian government does seem to live in a perpetual fantasy land of their dreams. Suddenly, they have become ‘holier than thou' concerning their version of free speech. As evidenced by this letter to Ann Coulter concerning her invitation to speak on the campus at the University of Ottawa:
Dear Ms. Coulter,
I understand that you have been invited by University of Ottawa Campus Conservatives to speak at the University of Ottawa this coming Tuesday. . . .
I would, however, like to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or "free speech") in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here.
You will realize that Canadian law puts reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. For example, promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges. Outside of the criminal realm, Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind. . . .
Hopefully, you will understand and agree that what may, at first glance, seem like unnecessary restrictions to freedom of expression do, in fact, lead not only to a more civilized discussion, but to a more meaningful, reasoned and intelligent one as well.
I hope you will enjoy your stay in our beautiful country, city and campus.
Sincerely,
Francois Houle,
Vice-President Academic and Provost, University of Ottawa
My, our neighbors to the north are suddenly puffing their chests just because we, here in the United States, now will have substandard health care just like they have had for years. Perhaps we have empowered them to make themselves feel like they are actually contributing to things, such as the security of our continent. Take for example their massive Navy. It consists of 2 destroyers, 1 frigate and 1 submarine.....I have personally seen all of them except the submarine go by in the waters around the Puget Sound. It's a good thing they are here to protect us from the North Koreans. Or is it protection from the local whale watch boats? It is hard to tell.
Concerning their threat to Ms. Coulter of possible criminal charges because, "Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind...; it is interesting how they "choose" what is hate and what is not. Any opposing view, from their own liberal slant, has to be restricted in their book. Once again, I have listened to Canadian radio for years. Especially during the Bush Administration years, and trust me, they don't enforce hatred being spewed out against conservatives. A Victoria, BC radio station dj has an editorial once a day that literally was a rant against anything conservative, primarily on things happening in the United States.
It is my opinion that Francois Houle, is the one that should be prosecuted for a hate crime for threatening Ms. Coulter with a statement that her speech ‘could in fact lead to criminal charges'.
Truly,
Michael Bertrand
Publisher & Co-founder
The Daily Pledge
Constitution Doesn't Change....Administrations Do
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I remember back in the day. It was 1976. I was an Eagle Scout attending the Bicentennial Celebration of our dear nation in Washington DC. The day's activities began at the Capitol Building for a tour. When we arrived the line was long. As we stood in line a staff person came up to our leader and asked who we were and how many were in our group. After a brief conversation the staff person of the Capitol motioned to those at the entrance to let us proceed ahead of everyone else. Not only did he allow us in ahead of others, he told us that we didn't have to be escorted by staff people on a regular tour. He said as Boy Scouts you can go wherever you want on your own. I thought WOW....Did I just hear him right? I didn't hesitate. I was in DC to explore, and explore is what I did. I checked every door. If it wasn't locked I went in. I found more spiral stone staircases than I had ever imagined. For 3 hours I went everywhere. As an architect wannabe I was in my element within the confines of this timeless building.
I tell you that story to show you how things have changed. Today during the rally against the health care bill, the protesters were refused entry into congressional buildings. How sad is it that voters can't visit their elected representatives in the Nation's Capital and tell them what they think of a bill that is about to be voted on. Some of our worst fears are being seen now .......the PEOPLE are not allowed to speak. Doesn't sound like a democracy anymore does it. Dictator Obama has everything under a tight grip now in Washington. At least he thinks so.
Just today the Administration's Chief Actuary expressed concern about the new health care spending bill that is to be voted on within hours. They state ‘I regret that my staff and I will not be able to prepare our analysis within this very tight time frame, due to the complexity of the legislation.’ What? The Obama administration's chief actuary at the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services notified Republican leaders Saturday that the "very tight time frame" and "complexity" of the Democrats' health spending bill would prevent them from fully analyzing the costs and efficacy of the bill before the House vote. So let me get this straight. Obama's own people have not and will not, analyze this health care bill before the vote. Yet he is backing it 100% as a move ahead for the people.
Republican leaders responded this way:
House Republican Leader John Boehner said: “The House of Representatives should not vote blindly on an issue that is so important to every American. We deserve to have all the facts about how much this bill raise health care costs before we vote. The decision to press ahead and jam this bill down the throats of the American people is just one more example of arrogance and irresponsibility from Washington Democrats.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said: “Americans deserve to have a full analysis of this bill, but won’t because of the mad dash forced by the Democrat leaders in the House. We now know that even the Obama administration’s chief actuary predicts more government spending, more price increases for consumers and less care for low-income patients. This debate was supposed about lowering costs for Americans not making things worse.”
The whole process that is laid out in our basic civics class is being ignored. They are not only ignoring common sense they are ignoring the Constitution. The problem lies in the fact that they are so set on passing government run health care that they are ignoring and criminally violating the rules of law as spelled out in the Constitution. The Senate has passed its own health care bill. The House could pass that one and then send it on to the President for him to sign and make it law. But......Here's the problem. The House doesn't like the Senate version so they are attempting to "amend" their bill and pass the amendment without actually passing the Senate version. That is why they are calling it "deem and pass". The House is allowed to amend bills that are law only AFTER they are law. Not BEFORE.
From my experience in local government, procedure and process is almost as important as the law itself. If it won't hold up in court the law is worthless. That has been mine and everyone else's concern for any local ordinances. If I didn't follow proper, legal procedures at my job on the local government level, I would have lawyers all over me like Al Gore on a lumberjack. Ordinances and laws are a worthless piece of paper if they are not legal. Hopefully this socialist health care bill will be so deemed a worthless piece of paper after this criminal Congress gets through with it.
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