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<table cellspacing=3D'0' cellpadding=3D'0' border=3D'0' background=3D'none'=
 style=3D'font-family:arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;background-color:#=
ffffff;width:100%;'><tr><td valign=3D'top' style=3D'font: inherit;'>--- On =
<B>Tue, 6/17/08, Karl Keating <I><karlkeating_eletter at catholic.com></=
I></B> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(=
16,16,255) 2px solid">From: Karl Keating <karlkeating_eletter at catholic.c=
om><BR>Subject: Karl Keating's E-Letter<BR>To: arthurkelly at yahoo.com<BR>=
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 3:23 PM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=3Dyiv1245973907>KARL KEATING=E2=80=99S E-LETTER<BR><BR>June 17, 200=
8<BR><BR>TOPIC:  <BR><BR>CANADIAN =E2=80=9CHUMAN RIGHTS=E2=80=9D THUGS=
 ATTACK A PRIEST AND HIS MAGAZINE<BR><BR>Dear Subscriber:<BR><BR>You may ha=
ve heard about the =E2=80=9Chuman rights commissions=E2=80=9D in Canada. Th=
ese are extra-judicial bodies set up to make an end run around judicial nic=
eties. The commissions are staffed by left-wing activists who, unable to wi=
n election to provincial legislatures, try to impose their will by coming d=
own hard on people who are not left-wing activists. <BR><BR>The main purpos=
e of the commissions is to squelch free speech. This is done by dragging be=
fore the commissions people who speak their minds and whose minds are not i=
n accord with left-wing views.<BR><BR>The commissions have been styled by c=
ommentators who are not left-wing activists as =E2=80=9Ckangaroo courts.=E2=
=80=9D This is imprudent talk, because it probably will result in some poor=
 Canadian writer being brought before
 a commission on a charge of hating marsupials.<BR><BR>The best-known case =
now before a human rights commission concerns Mark Steyn, a Canadian journa=
list who, in Maclean=E2=80=99s magazine, wrote an article (actually, an exc=
erpt of his book America Alone) alleging, more or less, that Muslims are no=
t friendly to Western culture and that Western culture is to be preferred t=
o Muslim culture. <BR><BR>This did not sit well with Muslims in Canada. One=
 of them filed a complaint against Steyn and Maclean=E2=80=99s, asking the =
human rights commission in British Columbia to penalize them for =E2=80=9Ch=
ate speech.=E2=80=9D The goal is to cow the magazine=E2=80=94and other peri=
odicals in Canada=E2=80=94into silence, making it too onerous and expensive=
 to run articles that counter left-wing sensibilities.<BR><BR>How can this =
happen, you ask? In Canada there is no equivalent of our First Amendment. I=
n America you can write pretty much what you please, and the government can=
=E2=80=99t do anything about it. In
 Canada (as in Europe), you don=E2=80=99t have that liberty. Saying the =E2=
=80=9Cwrong=E2=80=9D thing can get you in a lot of trouble.<BR><BR>(Which r=
eminds me of a joke that made the rounds when Nikita Khrushchev ruled the S=
oviet Union. Johnny and Ivan guarded opposite sides at Checkpoint Charlie i=
n Berlin. They daily exchanged brags about their respective countries. One =
day Johnny thought he had come up with proof of the superiority of the Amer=
ican system: free speech. He said, =E2=80=9CI can stand in front of the Whi=
te House and yell, =E2=80=98President Eisenhower is a fool,=E2=80=99 and no=
thing will happen to me.=E2=80=9D Ivan thought for a moment and then replie=
d, =E2=80=9CSo what? I can stand in front of the Kremlin and yell, =E2=80=
=98President Eisenhower is a fool,=E2=80=99 and nothing will happen to me e=
ither.=E2=80=9D)<BR><BR>The Canadian human rights commissions are not elect=
ed bodies. They do not have established rules of evidence. The government p=
icks up the legal bills for people who prosecute complaints
 through the commissions, but the accused have to cover their own expenses.=
 Naturally, this is a disincentive for the defense. <BR><BR>Mark Steyn and =
Maclean=E2=80=99s have the wherewithal to cover their costs, but many accus=
ed persons do not. Unable to afford to fight the charges, they cave. This, =
of course, tends to encourage additional frivolous complaints. <BR><BR>But =
some people and groups without deep pockets choose to fight back. Case in p=
oint: Fr. Alphonse de Valk and Catholic Insight magazine.<BR><BR>The Cathol=
ic priest, well known for his pro-life activities, wrote in defense of the =
Church=E2=80=99s teaching on marriage. Specifically, he wrote against =E2=
=80=9Cgay marriage,=E2=80=9D citing the Bible, the catechism, and the writi=
ngs of John Paul II. He wrote nothing that you or I would consider inflamma=
tory; he simply restated constant Church teaching: marriage can exist only =
between one man and one woman.<BR><BR>What Fr. de Valk got for his troubles=
 was a complaint
 filed by homosexuals who accused him of fostering =E2=80=9Cextreme hatred =
and contempt.=E2=80=9D So far, the legal expenses for the priest and his ma=
gazine have exceeded $20,000. They are sure to rise. <BR><BR>Catholic Insig=
ht is a small-circulation, orthodox Catholic magazine. (That is almost taut=
ological. All orthodox Catholic magazines have small circulations.) If its =
legal bills pile up enough, the magazine will have to fold=E2=80=94which is=
 probably the goal of both the complainants and the activists on the human =
rights commission.<BR><BR>Fr. de Valk and Catholic Insight deserve our supp=
ort because they support Catholic teachings. The magazine=E2=80=99s web sit=
e (<A href=3D"http://email.catholic.com/t/7020/17711/114/0/?u=3DaHR0cDovL3d=
3dy5jYXRob2xpY2luc2lnaHQuY29tLw%3d%3d&x=3D8cf4d585" target=3D_blank rel=
=3Dnofollow>http://www.catholicinsight.com</A>) has an appeal for help in c=
overing the legal bills. There are instructions about how to write a check =
or how to contribute
 through PayPal. <BR><BR>A few days ago, I donated $500 to the magazine=E2=
=80=99s legal defense fund. I hope a good many of you will choose help too.=
 I=E2=80=99d like to see Fr. de Valk have a kitty large enough for him to d=
o whatever it takes to defend his magazine and, derivatively, the Church, b=
ecause the complaint filed against him and Catholic Insight really is an at=
tack on the Catholic Church and Catholic moral teaching. <BR><BR>Until next=
 time,<BR><BR>Karl<BR><BR>********************<BR><BR>If you have a comment=
 about anything appearing in this E-Letter, please do not hit your Reply bu=
tton. Instead, go to Catholic Answers' discussion forums at <A href=3D"http=
://email.catholic.com/t/7020/17711/27/0/?u=3DaHR0cDovL2ZvcnVtcy5jYXRob2xpYy=
5jb20v&x=3Deef06346" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow>http://forums.catho=
lic.com</A>, where you may post your comment in the forum dedicated to the =
E-Letter. You will find a thread devoted to this issue of the E-Letter. Fee=
l free to add
 your comment in the form of a reply to that thread.<BR><BR>***************=
*****<BR><BR>To subscribe to Karl Keating's E-Letter, send an e-mail to ele=
tter at catholic.com and write "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject line or go to <A hre=
f=3D"http://email.catholic.com/t/7020/17711/33/0/?u=3DaHR0cDovL3d3dy5jYXRob=
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ollow>http://www.catholic.com/newsletters.asp</A>.<BR><BR>*****************=
***<BR><BR>If you do not wish to receive Karl Keating's E-Letter, send an e=
-mail to eletter at catholic.com and write "CANCEL" in the subject line.<BR><B=
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e-mail addresses.<BR><BR>********************<BR><BR>From time to time subs=
cribers to the E-Letter may be sent e-mail containing information about
 Catholic Answers' projects.<BR><BR>********************<BR><BR>To learn mo=
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olic.com</A>.<BR><BR>********************<BR><BR>The content of this E-Lett=
er is copyright 2008 by Karl Keating.<BR><BR><A href=3D"http://email.cathol=
ic.com/t/7020/17711/69/0/?u=3DaHR0cDovL2VtYWlsLmNhdGhvbGljLmNvbS91P2lkPTE3N=
zExJTJlMzI5YjM4OTM0OWJiZDRhYjUxZTliNTBmZjBhMWE4ODUmbz03MDIwJm49VCZjPUYmbD1l=
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020/17711/1.gif" width=3D1> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></td></tr></table><br>=0A=0A=

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