Tag Archives: Canadian Freedom Convoy

Does America Still Have A First Amendment?

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On Tuesday, The Daily Wire reported that Arizona Democrat Representative Ruben Gallego has called for seizing the trucks of protesters headed to Washington, D.C., and then giving the property to businesses looking to grow. Glad to see we have elected representatives who took their oath to defend and protect the U.S. Constitution seriously. Seizing property and giving it to others is generally called robbery. It is also one of the principles of socialism.

The article reports:

“Perfect time to impound and give the trucks to small trucking companies looking to expand their business,” Gallego tweeted in response to the following news headline: “Trucker convoy could shut down DC Beltway tomorrow.”

On Tuesday, Hot Air reported:

American truckers and their supporters are organizing and heading to Washington, D.C. to protest COVID-19 mandates. The People’s Convoy is patterned after Canada’s Freedom Convoy. Truckers will leave California tomorrow and arrive in Washington on Saturday, March 5. D.C. law enforcement is preparing for their arrival.

The People’s Convoy announced plans to launch a “peaceful and unified transcontinental movement” in Southern California. Organizers say their intention is to have a “law-abiding convoy” with truckers, blue-collar workers and supporters participating in it. According to the news release, they expect supporters from all walks of life. Their news release named some conservative-leaning journalists who will join the convoy to cover the event, providing daily updates as they travel across the country.

…D.C. law enforcement agencies are preparing and a request for assistance from the National Guard has been made. U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) released a statement that they are aware of the convoy’s plans and are on alert. The D.C. National Guard, if activated, will test its new activation process put in place after the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill.

I suppose we should be grateful that the National Guard will be called out to make sure the protest remains peaceful. I suspect the protest will be infiltrated by a few ‘bad apples’ to try to tarnish the cause. The question is whether or not those ‘bad apples’ will be government agents.

Meanwhile, not all of the news about the Canadian truckers is bad.

On Monday, The Patriot Journal reported the following:

As it stands, the Freedom Convoy has been painted into a corner and now they’re facing stiff penalties. Though they have plenty of public and financial support, the government’s power is clear.

In response, Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NV) has introduced a new piece of legislation specifically designed to aid these truckers.

If it’s successful, it would give the protesters a safe port in the storm, so-to-speak. And it would show them that certain politicians in America absolutely support their right to protest.

It’s going to be an interesting week.

 

 

Tyranny Expands When It Is Not Stopped

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I have no idea what the eventual fate of the protesting truck drivers in Canada will be. I can only hope that some law enforcement and some banks will not comply with the illegal emergency actions that are planned. I can only hope.

On Wednesday, The Conservative Review posted an article about some of the extreme actions that government is taking.

The article reports:

Canadian parents who bring their children to demonstrations the government considers to be “unlawful” can now face thousands of dollars in fines or jail time, CBC News reported.

The new power reportedly comes after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act this week, granting itself exceptional measures to address the country’s ongoing Freedom Convoy trucker protests. It marked the first time the act has been invoked since its passage in 1988.

As has been said by people much smarter than I, this is not the purpose of the Emergencies Act. The Act was not designed simply to quell views opposed to the ruling class.

The article concludes:

In a notice issued Wednesday, Ottowa police told protesters, “You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested.”

“You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you will face charges,” the notice added.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino similarly commented, “To those who may be thinking to come to Ottawa this weekend — don’t. At best, the residents of the city have made it clear that this is not the time. And at worst, you may be tying yourself to dangerous criminal activity.”

While announcing the invocation of the Emergencies Act on Monday, Trudeau noted that the military would not be called in to disperse the crowds but said the nation’s police would be granted greater power to impose fines and imprisonment on those engaging in “illegal and dangerous activities.”

“This is about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people’s jobs, and restoring confidence in our institutions,” he said.

The protesters are not the ones undermining confidence in Canada’s institutions–the runaway tyranny of the government is doing that.

Changing The Meaning Of Words

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The political left has been challenged in finding a way to deal with the Freedom Convoy in Canada. So far they have not successfully managed a political narrative to make authoritarianism look good and the truckers look bad. So they continue to try.

On Monday, Townhall posted an article about one attempt by the political left is attempting to regain the narrative in the truckers’ strike.

The article reports:

I guess we should have expected this to happen. COVID is over. The pandemic is over. The arsenal to combat it or deal with its symptoms is substantial. It’s endemic. Natural immunity is a real thing. It has a 99-plus percent survival rate. It’s time to end ALL the mandates. No more masks. No insane and creepy obsession with penetrating the masses with the COVID vaccine. Enough. The truckers in Canada get it. They were cleared off the Ambassador Bridge during the Super Bowl yesterday, but they’re still honking in Ottawa. 

In the US, there’s a freedom convoy revving up here as well. The destination being Washington DC. This is about freedom and civil rights. The Left cannot manufacture anymore COVID panic porn. We’re all desensitized. We’re also sick of it. Most if not all the panic scenarios never came to fruition. Most if not all the so-called advice was science fiction. So, with no place to go, the Left says the quiet part out loud regarding their true agenda. They’re attacking freedom. It’s their new “F” word.

The CBC reports:

For many, freedom is a malleable term — one that’s open to interpretation.

That flexibility, in part, has fuelled its growth among certain groups, said Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at the Oshawa-based Ontario Tech University.

“It is a term that has resonated…. You can define it and understand it and sort of manipulate it in a way that makes sense to you and is useful to you, depending on your perspective,” she told Cross Country Checkup.

It’s also a term that has thrived among far-right groups, said Perry, one of a number of experts who say the presence of far-right groups in Canada is growing.

[…]

Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, says the way many protesters frame their calls for freedom renders the word meaningless — and what they’re really asking for is a shift in government policy that could potentially have a negative impact on others.

“When they’re yelling they care so much about their freedom, they’re taking freedoms away from other people who don’t have the same kind of agency and choice that they do,” he said.

[…]

To see the word freedom bandied about as part of these protests points to a broader circulation of what Elisabeth Anker calls “violent” forms of freedom. 

“Freedom is a slippery concept,” said Anker, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University and author of Ugly Freedoms, which examines the history of how freedom, as a concept, has been used in American society.

“On the far right, [individual freedom] is often translated into somebody who refuses to be bound by norms of equality, treating all people equally or norms to remedy inequality, whether that’s trying to remedy racial discrimination or gender discrimination.”

So I guess freedom is only good when it’s a leftist concept. Freedom for those on the far right is evidently a really bad idea.

Clamping Down On The Protests

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On Monday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to deploy the “Emergencies Act” on Monday, which would allow him to take additional steps to quell the Freedom Convoy protests, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC).

The act has never been used before, CBC reported. The act defines a national emergency as “an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that (a) seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it or (b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada.”

Under the act, Trudeau is given the authority “to take special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times.”

The Prime Minister is expected to tell lawmakers of his decision some time on Monday.

The article continues:

Jack Lindsay, an associate professor in the applied disaster and emergency studies department at Brandon University in Manitoba, told CBC that the government must first prove the protest is a national emergency.

“[Trudeau is] basically going to be arguing that these truckers are basically creating a threat to the security of Canada,” Lindsay reportedly said, noting the government is not allowed to take control of police forces.

I don’t know much about Canadian politics, but I don’t see this as a positive move for Prime Minister Trudeau. The truckers have won the hearts of Canadians and Americans, and to end the protest without resolving the underlying issues is probably not a wise move.

Stay tuned.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

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The idea that GoFundMe would take the money donated to the Canadian truckers and distribute it elsewhere is disturbing. However, good things are happening because of GoFundMe’s bad decision.

On Sunday, The Western Journal reported:

Last week, the website GoFundMe decided it would no longer support the Canadian Freedom Convoy, which meant $9 million in donations would never reach the Canadian truckers whose convoy transfixed freedom-lovers everywhere.

By Sunday morning, it no longer seemed to matter.

A page on the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo dedicated to the Freedom Convoy had surpassed $2.5 million in donations Sunday morning. The page said all money raised would go to the Incorporated Freedom 2022 Human Rights And Freedom Association.

The page contained a clarion call for freedom.

…The site said that donations will be used for fuel, lodgings and food to support truckers as they put pressure on Canadian leaders in Ottawa to hear the voices of the people.

“It’s a small price to pay for our freedoms.  We thank you all for your Donations and know that you are helping reshape this once beautiful country back to the way it was,” the site said.

On Friday, GoFundMe decided the protest was beyond the pale and said it would no longer send donations to the purpose for which they were intended. In it’s initial statement, the company suggested any unrefunded donor money could be spread around to GoFundMe’s chosen recipients.

In the end, after a vast outcry, GoFundMe went into reverse and decided to simply refund everyone’s donations.

There will be hardships as a result of the Canadian truckers’ strike and of the similar strikes around the world, but hopefully there will also be a breakout of freedom. Truckers move our food and other goods. We desperately need them. We don’t need them to be subject to regulations that make their job even harder than it is.