The Legion of Reason The Legion of Reason

The death of George Floyd was tragic and horrific and the outpouring of outrage justified. So where was this anger when Tony Timpa died in exactly the same way? Why is Black Lives Matter silent over the death of retired police captain David Dorn at the hands of looters and so many others? What kind of sick and depraved individual takes video of Dorn's death and uploads it to Facebook Live instead of rendering aid?

Some people may not like what I have to say, but it has to be said. We need real conversations, and BLM is not at all interested. I'm angry too. But I have some pointed questions for those who buy the narrative BLM is selling.

I was loath to edit this one. The audio on my side took a lot of work to correct because of some glitch in the audio chain, but I think it came out well in the end. The volume was all over the place and I had to take the time to go through it and alter the volume envelope. Better late than never!

For Feb 6, 2020...

Assisted dying news - Justice Minister David Lametti to table new legislation expanding access to medical assistance in dying; Catholic authority predictably plays the fear card; a British Columbia hospice refuses to comply with MAID poloicy; BC court sides with father and orders children to be vaccinated over mother's objections.

We at The Legion of Reason hope everyone is staying safe and not getting too antisocial. In this episode we talk about COVID-19 and how social justice has warped the mind about the development of vaccines with conspiracy theory; "Cancel culture" goes after Jeff Goldblum for daring to suggest Islam is not LGBTQ friendly. I guess the punishment (up to and including the death penalty) for simply being death penalty for the "crime" of being LGBTQ is just propaganda....Retired philosopher Hendrik van der Breggen attempts to school sociologist Dennis Hiebert on the "slippery slope" fallacy, and fails miserably. We correct him.

The Legion of Reason Podcast ep. 269 for January 27, 2020....

Some final thoughts on wokeness in the entertainment industry, including the motivation behind the attacks on movies like Joker (which have begun again with its 11 Oscar nominations) and Ford v Ferrari, the destruction of Star Trek and all it once represented, and the difference between my position and that of the blue-checkmark crowd. Then it's off my chest once and for all. I swear!

The world has lost a comic genius in Terry Jones of Monty Pyton fame. We look at his contribution to the skeptic and atheism.

A University of Alberta anti-choice student group has won a court battle. UAlberta Pro-Life claimed the whopping $17,500 price tag on security for an event they were hosting infringed on their freedom of speech. The appellate court agreed. We have a look at the implications of this decision in a country where freedom of speech is not enshrined in its constitution (or in this case its Charter of Rights and Freedoms).

Coincidentally, Alberta's Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has directed post-secondary institutions to adopt free speech principles based on the University of Chicago model.

A Quebec court has struck down the arbitrary and frankly ridiculous criterion of "foreseeable death" will be no more come March 12, leaving the federal and Quebec provincial governments scrambling to fill the void. Justice Minister David Lametti, who has made numerous statements about expanding MAID eligeability, plans to table legislation in February. Public consultation in the form of a questionnaire on the Government of Canada website ends tonight at midnight. Quebec is readying its own legislation which was to include accessability for reasons of mental health, but has put a hold on this provision.

Meanwhile, the BC government in Vancouver is threatening to withdraw public funding for the Irene Thomas Hospice as it refuses to allow MAID on its premises.

Catholic Watch...
And of course Catholic authority is inciting "resistance". Pope Frank has come out unequivocally that MAID is not acceptable. Speak for yourself, Frank. They've been active across The Pond on the Isle of Man as well. Locally, Edmonton's Archbishop Richard Smith and minions have sent a pastoral letter read in Alberta and North West Territories parishes. Do we have a replacement for the retired Bishop Fred Henry?

Quack Tracts...
An appellate court in BC has ordered the vaccination of two children over the objections of their mother, who questioned the safety of immunization. While the judge in this case got things right, we look at the problem of adjudicating science in a courtroom.

We didn't get through all the topics listed here, so we'll finish next episode.

It's been a while, but we're back!

The topic du jour has been welling up inside me for some time and I need to get this rant out. We'll have a look at how our entertainment has been hijacked by those who want to use it as a propaganda tool for their political agendas, starting patient zero (Ghostbusters 2016) and ending with some truly spectacular failures. And of course men are to blame for poor box office showings.

Seriously. They actually say this.

And movies like Joker and Ford v Ferrari can't be allowed to do well at the box office or at major film award events.

We will finish the discussion with one of the most godawrful shows - nay! THE worst thing on any medium.

In other news, in a BC court a judge has sided with a father who wished his children to be vaccinated over the mother's objections.

An anti-choice student group at the University of Alberta claiming its free speech was suppressed by being forced to pay an exorbitant amount for security at an event has won in court.

The federal government is in the process of fixing the mess Jody Wilson-Raybould left MAID legislation in and wants your input.

For episode 264, Sunday, August 11, 2019...

The Regressive Left Files...
The Democratic Socialists of America had their national convention and showed why they aren't fit to run a lemonade stand, let alone a nation state...
http://tiny.cc/i200az

Serial HRC complainant Jessica Yaniv is in hot water following a YouTube debate with Blair White (also trans)...
http://tiny.cc/m400az
http://tiny.cc/2400az
http://tiny.cc/a500az

Vancouver Pride bars the Public Library for merely being the venue for speaker Meghan Murphy, who the Coalition Against Trans Antagonism alleges promotes "hateful views".
http://tiny.cc/l800az

We discuss an Aero piece by Melissa Chen titled "Why postcolonial theory is not helping Hong Kong".
http://tiny.cc/6b10az

Quack Tracts...
The retrial of David and Collet Stephan continues, but the bickering over whether the the testimony of medical examiner Bamidele Adegabo should be admitted into evidence as expert testimony (seriously?) in voir dire sessions means we have nothing to report. Things may get spicy when a former medical examiner testifies that she disagrees with Dr. Adegabo on his conclusions. Sorry, Justice Clarkson... No vacation for you!
http://tiny.cc/0d10az
http://tiny.cc/uk10az

Eye on Islam....
The Barbaric Kingdom of Saudi Arabia now allows women to travel without requiring the permission of their male guardian. Imams are in an uproar over this loss of patriarchal control.
http://tiny.cc/0p10az

Lincolnshire school girls are being asked to wear a hijab for a day because that will show them the hijab means - how did Ilhan Omar put it? - "power, liberation, beauty, and resistance". Yeesh.
http://tiny.cc/hq10az

Religion Watch...
Vancouver doctor Ellen Wiebe has been cleared of wrongdoing after she disobeyed the edict of an Orthodox Jewish care facility that no assisted death take place on the premises. The question is, will care givers who force their own religious nonsense on those they purport to care for?
http://tiny.cc/8u10az

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Bishop James Chechio says medical assistance in dying is an utter failure of the government to protect the vulnerable. And if there's one thing the Catholic Church knows, it's how to fail to protect the vulnerable!
http://tiny.cc/0410az

Two Red Deer candidates for Maxime Bernier's NeoCon spin off People's Party of Canada propose a wedge bill which would prohibit abortions past 24 weeks, and treat violators as criminals with up to five years imprisonment. El Salvador, here we come!
http://tiny.cc/h910az

We discuss a Global News piece on how a proposed ban on conversion 'therapy' is mobilizing the Canadian religious right.
http://tiny.cc/3a20az