Expelled: Why are Americans allowed to care so much about freedom?, and other thoughts

Two nights ago, I finally saw the Expelled film (the controversial political documentary about the intelligent design guys).

I had become almost proprietorial about the widely denounced #5 political documentary. I had first broken the story of its existence last August. I watched it pitch and roll through accusations of trickery, a threatened lawsuit over plagiarism and a real one over intellectual property, production delays (it was supposed to be released on Darwin’s birthday but was pulled for edit), and, inevitably, street drama.

Security was so tight that - as I learned a couple of weeks ago - not only could I not get a screener, neither could the screenwriter - fellow Canadian Kevin Miller.

Okay, so there I am, sitting half-frozen in a half-empty theatre in downtown Toronto, and … I had two main reactions:

Go here for the rest.

Open letter to comedian Guy Earle ... the latest to be charged by a Canadian "human rights" commission

Hey, Edgy Guy,

I've been watching, as you are about to be subjected to the British Columbia human rights tribunal.

As David Wylie explained in The National Post (June 26, 2008)

Reached yesterday, Mr. Earle said he was the show's emcee when Ms. Pardy and two of her friends walked in, sat in the booth closest to the stage and began heckling him and other comics.

"Two of them started making out, flipping me the bird and saying I hated lesbians," he said.

Mr. Earle was reluctant to repeat the remarks that led to the human rights complaint. "Everybody wants to know what I said, and I invite people to come see me on stage because you can't take it out of context. And that's exactly what's happened here."

In fact, you say a mouthful about it all here at YouTube.

(Readers, go hear that soon. The "Chariots of Fire" video, which talks about the growing elimination of free speech in Canada, was yanked a while back, on account of undisclosed "defamation" accusations. It was a videotape of a session on freedom of speech issues at the Canadian Association of Journalists' annual meeting. You can still find it here, however. Note: No, Mr. Earle's sense of humour is not to all tastes. Please do not seek me out to explain that fact. Go live your life and be happy.)

Anyway, Guy, you add,

"The reader or the listener or whatever has no feeling for the environment of the comedy show that is triple-X, edgiest-show-in-town, controversial and offensive, so when you walk in there you're making an agreement to be a party to this controversial show."

No, but remember that human rights commissioners in BC are "experts" in publishing and in public health. In fact, they are experts in any field they waddle into. So why not experts in comedy too?

Now, here's an interesting problem that these tribunals, the "human" face of fascism, create for someone like me (see my profile above and you will get the picture): If anyone had asked me a few years ago what I thought of your show (as per your YouTube account), I would have said, "It offends me."

I would never say that today!

The tribunal fascists have hijacked words like "offend." If I say your show offends me, all I mean is, I would choose something else for private entertainment - maybe March of the Penguins, for example.

I don't mean that you should be dragged through tribunals, forced to spend your life savings on defence, forced to apologize for matters on which you are not sorry and do not believe yourself to be in the wrong, attend "reeducation" courses run by cranks and quacks purporting to brainwash you into believing something you reject - or ordered never to crack wise on a given subject again, in public or private.

You face all or any of those. And your fellow wisers will see and tremble. Or fight for the right to be funny.

Now, as you rally supporters, here are three questions I would urge that you and they ask:

First, Toronto artist Andrew Furey's question: He asks, why is the Canadian arts "community" so much more concerned about recent cuts to government funding than cuts to freedom of expression?

He calls that the "elephant in the room."

Let me put the matter more bluntly: Are they, after all, just the poseurs that many people have long suspected? The forgettable producing the unwatchable?

If so, can't we just put them all on welfare and be done with it? Issues like free expression are, after all, only relevant if someone somewhere other than a paid and appointed government censor or snitch would actually watch your show ....

Second, there is Rex Murphy's question: Why the impressive media silence on these issues? I have called them the "legacy" mainstream media for years, but why must they prove it for me? Running ahead of me like that, they are putting me out of business as a prophet!

Third, why the Conservative government's obvious complicity? For years, they have tried to tell us that Conservatism was not just another brand of fascism. Are they daring me to vote Liberal?

I accept! The Libs may be worse, but maybe they aren't deceiving me either.

Well, I am happy to help publicize your rally, and try to attend - and no, DON'T worry about offending me. Just don't bore me.

If I have to stand in the rain and be bored, I may as well be at a government-sponsored, tax-supported function with official nobodies hogging the mike.

Cheers and good luck, Denyse

Why there is an intelligent design controversy: