Dakota Beacon

Our world is becoming narrower and narrower.  Even as we are seeing more and more dissident commentators shut down, deplatformed and hounded out of the public square for holding an opinion different from the left, we are now seeing what happens in progressive nations which have politicized their culture and their media.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, last summer, began a program of subsidizing the press.  Not just the “state” organ, the CBC, mind you, but all news outlets which would accept his largesse.  He put $600 million on the table - up for grabs by those who were willing to sell their souls for it. All but two did.   Those who did accept the candy from Trudeau have access to news conferences, public announcements, speeches and other public fora and events.  Those other two, not so much. True North Media is one of the two, basically a current events outlet which satirizes the news of the day.  As such its reporters are persona non grata at official press events and public rallies.  

A more prominent case is that of Ezra Levant’s Rebel News Media.  Levant is a courageous fighter for freedom of speech and press in Canada.  He has his work cut out for him there. I wish we had him here, except then there would be practically no independent press in Canada.

Levant’s independence and his crowd-funding model have given him leeway to speak out against leadership when he feels they are wrong, to report on “politically incorrect” stories such as the never-ending saga of the savagely violent trans person, Jonathan Yaniv.  (Yaniv, you may recall, demanded that girls working as cosmetologists wax his male parts, and when they declined, he sued them.) Yaniv has proven a hazardous story to cover. If one gets within a city block of him he and his mother (from whom he is inseparable) attack one - with sticks, steel canes, fists, even jabbing a tablet into one’s neck.  Sadly, he is like the “Asians” in Great Britain - that is to say, off-limits to get the truth about. He is a “sensitive” subject and if he or his mother attacks another person, such as Rebel reporters seeking a statement, the police, both local and RCMP, refuse to come to the aid of his victim. No charges are ever filed for assault, no matter the harm done.  This is one way in which the government attacks Rebel Media. Of course Rebel is subject to the same kind of discrimination that Andrew Lawton of True North has had to deal with.

Rebel Media was offered the same juicy bribe as these other media, as was True North, but these two both understood that this would end their independent journalism and hence their ability to pursue the truth, truth which they believe is vital for the people of Canada to have access to.

During last fall’s federal election campaign as well as the run-up thereto, Rebel was thrown out of numerous public press news events - including even the Conservative Party’s convention.  In Canada, the Conservative Party is a mere rubber stamp for the Liberal Party which holds office, which is why they were soundly defeated in that election. Levant has written some books, as have other reporters on his staff.  During the federal campaign, his book, The Libranos, was released. It went on to become an Amazon best-seller. He is critical of Justin Trudeau and Trudeau’s policies in this book. One of the ways in which he advertised his book was through yard signs.  The signs prominently say, “Buy the Book” right in the middle, in large letters, and has the same design which appears on the book’s cover. Following the election, during Hanukkah, Levant received a letter advising him that he is being investigated.  The government is attempting to cite him for failing to register as a “third [political] party” for purposes of planting the yard signs advertising his book.  Canadian law specifically exempts books from laws governing campaigning.  

Levant appeared as requested, before a “commission” of two former senior RCMP officers, now turned state inquisitors.  It wasn’t the first time. Years ago, Levant, while with the Sun, had published the Danish Mohammed cartoons which had set off a flurry of silencing by various outlets on their own and on orders of governments.  He was hauled before the so-called “Human Rights Commission” for grilling. He won his case at that time but, of course, it was costly. Now he is in the position of defending his right to sell his own book.  

Of course the book is on a political topic.  Of course it was planned in advance. (It’s a book.)  Of course it was released before the election. Why would you write a book with a political theme and hold it back until after an election?  At this particular “inquiry”, the government agents, we’ll just call them G-men, refused to reveal who made the complaint upon which they were acting, they refused to even give Levant the complaint itself, saying that as long as it was “under investigation” the complaint itself would not be forthcoming.  In other words, this was a total kangaroo court (or as Levant himself styled it, a “Star Chamber”). During the course of the interview the topic morphed from the signage, which purportedly was causing the kerfuffle, to the book itself. Levant persisted in defending his right not to answer certain questions as well as in his demand for the wording and source of the complaint.  

One interesting feature of this scenario was that although the meeting was being taped by the government, no video taping was to be allowed.  Levant continued taping surreptitiously. It is well that he did, because this meeting is very informative of what it looks like when freedom, liberty and truth are under attack by the implacable and menacing force of government.  We all need to see this. It is the result of government which has grown out of its normal role. 

Our own Founders who authored our Constitution, intended that the federal government nal would have no role to play outside of national defense, interstate disputes, a fiscal policy and a treasury.  It specifically forbade the federal government a role in religion, press, education, etc., and in fact prohibited states to interfere with our natural rights, as set forth in the Bill of Rights. Over time we have become sanguine in our defense of these boundaries of our government.  Government has overstepped them and we have found it more comfortable to take the bribes than to stand up for our freedom. The result is our schools are nothing but propaganda mills and training grounds for anti-American and anti-life activities of all kinds, institutionalized hate of our own culture and our own laws.  Our welfare system, also illegal, has made people into slaves and they have gone willingly into their shackles.  

About the only thing the federal government has stayed out of has been regulating our press.  This is undoubtedly because our internet outlets - which is now the mainstream - have been censoring commentary so completely on their own.  Perhaps it lessens the burden of bribery to funnel some money to Gates through “Core Curriculum” or to his co-villains at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Amazon and the rest.  A shortcut. Our newspapers are mostly defunct now anyway, thanks to an illiterate public, thanks to the education “system” our federal government has encouraged and imposed.  

But when we see the inner workings of the state Inquisition for merely publishing a book which does not praise the current government and its leadership (many books of a political nature is were published just ahead of the election, but none of these others criticized the leadership), we get a preview of what can happen when we give government a role in the press.  It is like just bringing one or two cockroaches into your home as pets. You will wish you hadn’t.

Canada is our closest neighbor.  It shares with us much common history and cultural background as well as much of the same ethnic diversity we have.  The people of Canada have long considered themselves a free people and have taken pride in their freedom. They made the mistake, however, of bringing those pet roaches in and now they have some serious problems.  They might have learned from our Founders. But we surely can learn from them now. This will not end here. Watch as it develops.

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