The Commonwealth Publications Saga Part II: Black Clouds

The ad in the Edmonton Journal read: ‘North America's fastest growing mass market publisher requires Public Relations professionals.’ Having just moved to town, I was looking for a fresh start and a new direction. Like many of the authors I would come to know, I took a fateful chance on the small Edmonton publisher.

In March, 1997, I interviewed with Faye Hillman at the offices of Commonwealth Publications, Inc. Impressed with the atmosphere, I took an instant liking to the surroundings. Staff was buzzing from one office to another, phones were ringing, the walls were covered with impressive book-promoting posters, and the back warehouse held racks containing original manuscripts as well as row upon row of pallets full of already-printed novels.

The interview itself, however, was quite bizarre. A pleasant if not docile woman, Ms. Hillman seemed not to know how to conduct an interview. She seemed unprepared and unsure of what to do from one moment to the next. In short order, I became the one keeping the conversation afloat, even offering suggestions as to what questions should be asked. Indeed, an interesting first impression.

The next day I received a call back from Faye. It took me a moment to realize who she was on voicemail when she referred to herself as ‘Lorraine Phelan’ – Don’s wife. Odd, I thought, but stranger things.....

Upon arrival at the Commonwealth offices I was greeted by Lorraine and escorted upstairs to meet publisher and top C.P. poobah Don Phelan and his right hand man, a friendly, rotund, chain-smoking Australian ex-patriot named Ken Malloy. I thought the first interview was bizarre, but that was nothing compared to this adventure. While I recounted my experience in P.R. and marketing, Phelan seemed more interested in the fact that I am of Irish descent. As I quickly found out, if you wanted a job at CP it helped to be Irish (even if ‘only a Protestant’).

I was told that there had been three new jobs created in the P.R. department and was offered one as something called an ‘Author Liaison Officer’. It should have been called ‘Author Complaint Department’. Unknown to me at the time, the position was borne out of necessity. Someone had to hold the wolves at bay.

There were three of us hired as A.L.O.’s. On the very first day, we were given brand new desks and computers, all new stationary, email and voicemail set-up by noon. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that myself and my two new A.L.O. partners were given the same slick treatment used so many times (and so effectively) on numerous authors. The top brass had their presentation skills down pat.

We chose our own territories of responsibility. I was to look after the needs of writers from Canada, the central United States, and some areas overseas. As was the case with most of the staff, we had very little previous experience in the publishing field and had no knowledge of what was usual and what wasn’t.

At first, contact with the writers was mostly pleasant. The fact that there was a direct line of communication with Commonwealth put most at ease, and the three of us adapted to our roles quickly. As with all jobs that deal with the public, not everything was peaches and cream. There was grumblings of a few writers who had heated disagreements with Phelan, and some whispers of lawsuits. Expected, we were told, and not at all unusual for a publishing house.

As the days became weeks, some things became apparent. The lack of coordinated marketing and advertising plans became glaring, and quickly explained as just part of being a small business. So low key was the marketing effort on the part of CP, our chief duty quickly became scheduling book signings for our authors in their local areas. We were even given a $10 per event bonus on top of our average pay. Only a few titles gained any kind of notoriety, and did so mostly via the hard work of the author.

Under the breath questions started traveling between staff members. With all of the new contracts, where was the money going? Sure, Phelan had continued to expand his company. The one, slow-producing Docutech machine was badly outdated and poorly maintained, so C.P. went ahead and bought its own expensive Heidelberg printing press.

This was a dual-purpose solution: it gave the P.R. department ammunition they could use to try to instill a positive ‘big-boy’ image for C.P. within the industry, and it gave the Liaison officers a short-term tool to keep the authors appeased. We could tell them in all confidence that the notorious backlog in the production schedule will be cleared up in no time with the new monster press. The spin was passed on.

*(What actually happened turned out quite different. In the fall of 1997, Phelan ended up forming yet another sister company to Commonwealth; a printing company built around the Heidelberg called Bardes Press. It also failed.)

In June Commonwealth took a shot at the big time. Massive capital was poured into a huge display at the BookExpo ’97 trade show in Chicago. The largest industry trade show in North America, Phelan intended on making a splash. A group of us were chosen to represent the ‘fastest growing mass market publisher’ on the continent. Ironically, previous legal entanglements prevented Don Phelan from making the trip himself, leaving his brother Michael to run the show in the Windy City.

We were making contacts, signing contracts, and creating a small buzz in Chicago. We met with authors and distribution reps over dinner and late night scotch. We discussed second and third novels. We made grandiose plans for movie options. To those in attendance, Commonwealth Publications was the new, upstart player in the publishing game.

Unknown to the blissfully unaware representatives in Chicago, while we were busy schmoozing with industry professionals in McCormick Place, regaling them with tales of ‘the small publishing house that could’, the first wave of lawsuits were underway back home.

The storm had begun.

…to be continued in the final chapter: Implosion

The Commonwealth Publications Saga Part I: A Scam Is Born

At one time or another, almost everyone dreams of becoming a published writer. Whether it is an essay for English class or a blog posting, the idea of our creation being read by the masses and thereby having our egos stroked has appealed to most of us.

For the majority, not achieving that goal doesn’t bother us to the point of distraction. We don’t become obsessed with getting our name in lights, and we certainly do not gauge our success in life by our writing. For us, it’s easy come, easy go. To quote the saying: A true writer writes for no one but himself.

But for some, especially those self-centered uber-creative types whose inflated self-worth has created a false value of writing expertise, repeated attempts and failures to have their life’s Master Work published creates something of a monster. Usually blaming the publishing houses for not recognizing true, undiscovered talent (if I had a dime for every ‘next Stephen King’ I spoke with…), they focus all of their narcissistic energies on their goal.

In the city of Edmonton, Alberta in the early 1990’s, there was one such man. His name was Donald Phelan, and what he built – and subsequently destroyed – left a long trail of broken promises and shattered dreams.

A self-professed author, Don Phelan wrote his masterpiece ‘The Tanaiste’. Repeatedly failing to get the interest of any major publishing house, Phelan hatched a plan. In 1993 or ’94, he created the Canadian Literary Agency and, with the help of some of his family and close friends began a series of mail outs and ad campaigns with the intent of signing as many authors as possible.

Legend has it that once Phelan signed an unsuspecting first-time author, he would move the writer on to a certain vanity publishing house for a cut of the profit. Vanity or ‘joint venture’ publishing are common terms used for an agreement whereby the author pays a portion of the publishing costs to the publisher. Read: scam.

While the intent was originally to create an avenue to publish his own book, the opportunity to make some serious cash appealed to Phelan, and soon he launched his own joint venture publishing house. CLA told its clients that they had found a publisher interested in their work. What the writers didn’t know was that CLA and Commonwealth Publications were essentially the same person: Don Phelan.

With a contract that typically called for $4500 to be paid by the author for what CP claimed to be a ‘portion’ of the publishing costs, authors – many of whom just weren’t quality writers at all – were given a chance to see their dreams become reality. After all, what’s a few thousand dollars to invest in yourself? Isn’t that a small price to pay for the vast marketing network Commonwealth says that it is part of?

Along with photocopies of rejection letters from legitimate houses, Commonwealth staff would mail out an offer sheet to prospective authors. The impression, of course, was that CP was the only publishing house willing to put your work into print.

Over a short amount of time, Commonwealth grew to a small yet impressive sized operation. A sales staff of six (that could only be described as slick) kept the contracts and the vital dollars flowing in. Since his family helped fund the company, Phelan made sure that nepotism was the rule. Many of the Phelan clan got a piece of the pie. Phelan’s brother Michael ran the marketing department, while his two sisters held vital yet otherwise meaningless positions for which they had little or no actual training or experience.

Things were good around the office. So good in fact, that the literary agency was all but forgotten in favor of the Commonwealth meal ticket. Hopeful and loose-pocketed writers were jumping on the CP bandwagon hook, line, and sinker. Mail delivery brought a new batch of checks, cash, and money orders. The company was growing, new distribution channels were opening up, and Commonwealth titles were available by some of the biggest wholesalers and distributors in the world. Some titles were even getting interest for being optioned out to Hollywood agents.

But like any scam, Commonwealth Publications was nothing but a house of cards. A few disgruntled authors who figured out that they had been had, along with the death of a princess, became the beginning of the end.

...to be continued in Part II: Black Clouds

Bad Boys: Who's Copping the Cops?

An ever-growing number of residents of the city of Edmonton, Alberta are starting to ask the question: What the hell is wrong with the Edmonton Police Service?

In roughly a twenty year span, successive serious incidents and allegations have wreaked havoc to the public image of the Capital City’s police force and have now begun to shake the confidence of the citizens in their Finest.

Whether it is whispers about member of the police paying for sex with hookers back in the 1980’s, more recent shouts of ‘racism’, questions of ethics over photo-radar deals, or the more eyebrow-raising allegations of police stings against local journalists who dare criticize the EPS, the people of the Greater Edmonton area have been fed a seemingly-endless diet of one credibility-damaging issue after another.

The public took notice in the fall of 2004 over the so-called ‘Overtime’ scandal, in which it was alleged that some members of the EPS set up a sting in a local bar with the intent of catching Edmonton Sun journalist Kerry Diotte, as well as Police Commission Chair (and EPS adversary) Martin Ignasiak, driving while impaired. What looked dirty to begin with became scandalous when some audio of that night made its way to the local media.

Here is an exchange as two officers try spot Diotte and Ignasiak (who is balding):

OFFICER 1: Nobody is dressed like he is anyway so he will stick out. He's got a real bright royal blue button-up shirt with a tie on and a sports jacket and his shiny, shiny dome.

OFFICER 2: A couple faggy looking guys coming out now. Maybe one of them's him.

Before that, Officer 2 says, "Yeah, I think the guy who gets this target will never have to pay for a drink as long as he lives."

Now the latest has an off-duty officer charged with impaired driving after a crash that sent an 18 year old teen to hospital with serious burns. (Unbelievably, a friend of the cop had the audacity to call his buddy a ‘hero’ for saving the teens life – after he allegedly almost took it away! Some people will blindly support even to most tainted of the Boys in Blue.)

The public has been told that the officer in question has a total of ten charges against him, but that – and here again is an example of bad optics – he has been suspended with pay. The backlash from this little tidbit has filled the talk shows and the Letters section of the local papers. The people are getting disgusted and suspicious of their police.

The citizens of Edmonton now wonder if their city’s Finest are really that at all. Confidence has been shaken, and the attempt at soothing the public fears with ‘internal affairs investigations’ is no longer acceptable. Edmontonians just don’t trust a tainted police force to investigate itself. Too Old Boys Club.

Recent incidents of gangs of thugs ‘swarming’ police officers is shocking, to say the least. The idea of the man on the street not having any respect for the police is a sad sign of the times, and brings into question the idea of the loss of order and the beginning of chaos. No defense can be stated for someone who would attack an officer of the law, and none can be given. But it indicates a glaring lack of respect of the police as a whole, and shows the low level the Edmonton Police are thought of by some of the very people the police are supposed to protect us from. Some now question: Is there a link between the EPS's low public image and the attack?

The Edmonton Police have a large force of ethical and trustworthy officers. The EPS is stacked with hard-working, loyal, and damn fine men and women who put their lives at risk every day. But there is a cancer within that is damaging their reputation on the street, and it’s that cancer that must be cut out in order to restore public confidence in the EPS.

General-ly Speaking

He rose through the ranks and paid his dues. He beat the odds to become not only the top Canadian military man, but a key cog for NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina and subsequently became the point-man in the Free World’s War on Terror with his successful tenure as Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Not only did he work tirelessly to rebuild the Canadian Armed Forces to a level of respectability, he instilled a long-lost pride in our military by spearheading the change from ‘peacekeeping force’ to actual ‘military’. In some nations, they would give him his own ‘day’.

In usual Canadian form, he is underappreciated and, in some cases, scoffed at by his countrymen.

When General Rick Hillier leaves his spot as Chief of the Defense Staff this July, he will leave a legacy of no-nonsense policy and strong, confident leadership. As the top military man in Canada, Gen. Hillier became the first real outspoken champion of our Armed Forces in decades, and never backed away from stating the truth, no matter whose toes were in the way.

When the mind-numbing politicians and the general public went round and round over the silly issue of extending the mission beyond the original, former Liberal government-imposed date of 2009, the good General waded into the fray:

"... Is it too much to ask that our Parliament ... show their support for the men and women who will execute the (Afghanistan) mission by voting overwhelmingly to support them in the danger and risks they will encounter?."

Gen. Hillier’s comments often landed on the front page of the paper and on the lips of Opposition parties in the House of Commons.

Never one to be tied down with the shackles of political correctness, he was cheered by realists and shocked the leftwing elite when he gave the truthful response to his opinion of the terrorists Canada was at war with:

"These are detestable murderers and scumbags. They detest our freedoms, they detest our society, they detest our liberties…..We're not the public service of Canada. We're not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people."

The Liberals, fresh from election defeat and suffering life with a lame-duck leader, did a classic leftwing move and flip-flopped on their position regarding Afghanistan. Comically trying to reduce the issue to dates and semantics – “…we agreed to send the troops to Afghanistan, but we never meant for them to actually…you know…fight…” – the Libs reacted in desperation by targeting Hillier.

The General’s response set the tone for his public image and his leadership. The men and women wearing the uniform took notice and felt, possibly for the first time ever, that their leader had their backs. He broached the subject of past Liberal government cutbacks of the 1990’s that gutted the Armed Forces when he fired back:

"Those actions, dollar deprived, have now led to some deep wounds in ... the Canadian Forces over this past, what I would call, a decade of darkness."

Of course, nothing the poor Liberals threw at Hillier stuck. It turned out the Canadian public approved of General Hillier way more than any of the thieving Liberal whackos in Parliament. That prompted the Liberals to try the ‘he’s a puppet of the evil, war-mongering Prime Minister Harper and his minion Conservatives’ angle, again to no avail. Hillier wouldn't play favorites, and public disagreements over the proposed length of the military mission between Harper and Hillier proved that the General was nobody’s puppet.

That didn’t stop the more outspoken of our nation’s leftwing to accuse Hillier of having ulterior motives. The desperation to tear down a Canadian military hero is strong in some circles, especially in the more artistic communities. (Note to Matthew Good: your psychosis is showing.)

With the imminent departure of a true Canadian hero, we can only hope that a lasting effect of General Hillier’s time at the top will be continued strong and proud leadership in the Forces and in the War on Terror. General Hillier deserves our thanks and our respect for the amazing success he achieved.

Pick Your Wife's 'Porn Name' Wisely

May 8, 2004 is a day that will live in infamy. Four years ago, I had what some friends still refer to as my ‘moment of clarity’ (others refer to it as the ‘moment I was placed in shackles’). My idyllic, completely libertarian free-spirited lifestyle came to an end with one ‘I do’ and a gathering of family and friends at the pyramids of the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton.

Four years in and here’s the report I promised to all of my still-single friends out there. My friends, the only way to describe married life post-newlywed stage is: controlled and comfortable chaos. Once you shed the ‘newlywed eyes’ and see your Mate for Life for the first time for who and what they really are – human! – you reach a make or break point in your relationship.

For the record, mine was the first time a certain bride did something that chased both of us out of the room. Independent Leigh would have thought of a reason to leave the premises – I have to get up in the morning…Really, I mean it…- and gotten out of there faster than he would have tossed the phone number out the window.

Married Leigh, on the other hand, sees the opportunity to start a competition where, as the daughters have put it on many occasions, WE ALL LOSE. I should note that they are developing into good players in their own right when it comes to that certain game.

What cannot be easily described here is that unspoken feeling that she has your back and you have hers, no matter what. Through all of the crap that life throws at you from now until the end, you have a reliable and completely trustworthy partner at your side. You give to the other person without thinking because it’s what you do in a marriage. You have someone who takes you for all of your faults and still chooses to stay with you.

Hair disappearing from where it’s supposed to be and appearing where it has no business being, the once-unthinkable belly arriving overnight, the middle-of-the-night-while-sleeping arm swing on your mate’s forehead, - she takes it all in stride and still loves you.

That right there is the secret my friends, the clue to what differentiates a marriage that is for life and a marriage that is destined to fail: the couple settles into a comfy place where specific roles are filled. The wife accepts the husband for all of his faults, while the husband spends his years befuddled as to why she hasn’t chucked him out yet (but tries not to screw up a good thing).

I’ll leave you with one word of warning. The ‘unconditional love’ thing is good, but don’t make it a habit of testing it. It turns out, my suggestion that Eyeful Towers would have made a good ‘Porn name’ for my wife was, in fact, incorrect.

There goes my new barbeque.

Perez Hilton and Other Stale Leftovers

Once in a while I have to do an office clean up, and I always find a few of the odds and ends topic ideas that were ignored or ‘put aside for later’. Ones that usually were the beginnings of what became posted articles, some of which ended up focusing on a completely different issue than the original. I like to throw these leftovers together in a mix I like to call my Random Rants.

Thanks in advance for helping me clean up around here…

You gotta love that internet rumor-monger Perez Hilton. He repeatedly and very publicly calls certain celebrities gay, attempting to force them out of closets that may not even exist, then justifies it by saying that all the celebrity has to do is publicly deny the allegation to prove him wrong. In his deeply warped mind, Hilton claims no slimy wrongdoing in his actions. A recent television interview had the Queen of Sleaze in full defense mode, shown in his statement: “…I don’t force anyone to come out. They have the choice whether or not…” (to respond to Hilton’s claims). If nothing else, this proves that assholes are assholes, no matter the sexual orientation…..


Not to beat a dead horse, but has there been a more useless Leader of Her Majesties Official Opposition in Canadian history than Stephane Dion? The government doesn’t take him seriously, the public can’t take him seriously (at least, those of us who actually know who he is), and the giggling party members aren’t doing it behind his back anymore. They are scoffing at him eye to eye, while the sharks (Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Justin Trudeau) smell blood and are circling. It’s an excruciatingly slow public political death that is almost painful to watch…..

The anti-Bush mood in the United States as outgrown anything created by the Nixon years and has taken on a life of its own. Never mind the media and Hollywood bashing of Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s, this Hate Bush mindset has achieved almost cult-like status in America. The Left is firing at will, and the Right is split between those jumping on the anti-Bush bandwagon and those who have seemingly taken a mass vow of silence. Here’s the kicker: let the American people live one four-year term under either a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Hussein Obama administration and some will start to actually wish they had a leader like Bush again…..

Has anyone else noticed our society’s ironic move towards banning cigarettes while making marijuana more and more accepted? Don’t get me wrong – I gave up the horrible brown weed long ago and that’s where I am going to leave that nasty little habit. It’s obvious that cigs aren’t the best habit you could have, but isn’t it kind of strange that those folks who almost gang tackle anyone who dares to light a smoke on the street are the ones who claim ‘liberty and individual freedom’ when it comes to pot? I say let ‘em both be available for adults to consume if they choose…..

Snippets:
How long before we acknowledge the (Bill) Clinton administration’s failure to catch the signs of impending terrorist actions for eight full years?.....an Obama victory would take the focus off the War on Terror. The last time the top priority of the President of the United States wasn’t fighting terrorism was September 10th, 2001…..Britain has gone from a pro-War on Terror P.M. in Tony Blair to a pro-War on Terror P.M. in Gordon Brown. France now has leadership that is tough on Islamofascists and is a growing ally in the War. Canada’s leader Stephen Harper is the strongest proponent for the Afghanistan War, often risking his reign for his support of the cause. The question is, what the hell happened to Australia?

Progress In Afghanistan (or: What the MSM Won't Tell You Pt.344)

It would be wrong to say that some vital information is ‘lost’ in the barrage of feel-sad stories the main stream media throws our way each night when it come to the ongoing struggle in Afghanistan.

The term ‘lost’ would imply something was actually there to begin with. That doesn’t apply here.

With no disrespect intended to the families of the fallen Heroes of all fighting nations, the MSM has proven to be far more interested in rushing to the airport so they can grab fresh footage of the latest casket to be carried out of a transport than they are with reporting anything about the progress being made because of those very Heroes.

Frivolous arguments over when and if to lower the flag – why not let the family decide? – have eaten up valuable newsprint and television airtime, leaving the stories about the small victories on the cutting room floor.

According to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) website, their main Reconstruction and Development (R&D) duties include (but are not limited to):

^ Provincial Reconstruction Teams
^ Support humanitarian assistance operations coordinated by GIRA organizations
^ Monitor counter-narcotics efforts

While the ISAF has reached varying levels of success in each area of responsibility, there is no arguing what the statistics are telling us. The website continues to list some R&D achievements in numbers:

^ In 2001, 8% of Afghans had access to basic healthcare. In early 2007, the figure is up to 83%.

^ In 2001, 1.2 million children attended school daily; today, 7 million do, including 2 million girls. A total of 43,000 – 45,000 teachers were trained in 2006.

^ 825 of the ring road network is open to traffic, through portions are still under construction.

^ There were 88,136 anti-personnel mines destroyed, as well as 11,524 anti-tank mines.

^ 83% of the population now has access to medical facilities, compared to 9 percent in 2004

^ More than 4000 medical facilities opened since 2004

^ Millions of girls are back in school with 400,000 new female students starting school for the first time this year

While the ridiculous debate over what day to end the war goes on in Ottawa, Canadian and Allied forces are helping to teach a nation how to defend itself. In the Security section of the site I found this nugget:

^ The Afghan National Army is truly a “national” institution representing every major ethnic group.

^ The ANA is growing in strength and capability every day. Three years ago, there was no ANA to speak of, but today the ANA exceeds 50,000, many of whom are conducting operations side by side with ISAF forces. In many cases, the ANA is now engaged in or leading major operations.

Presidential candidates chew the Iraq bone down to nothing and are silent on Afghanistan. The animatronic newscaster drones on about timelines for withdrawal, debates over what to do with American war deserters in Canada, and a death toll that is but a drop in the ocean of World War II numbers.

What’s worse is the media’s complicity in the perpetuation of the erroneous belief that the ‘reconstruction’ aspect of the Afghanistan mission is lacking. While the opposition parties cry that too much focus is on the military mission and too little work is being done in the area of R&D, the numbers don’t support that allegation.

Not that the national news would broadcast success stories. That could lead to a spike in public support for continued military operations, perhaps even until the job is done.

And what kind of story would that make?

Doubleplusidiot

Warman: Doubleplusidiot.


The attack on freedom of speech courtesy of Richard (I was picked on as a kid) Warman and his partner in crime, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, has drawn opposition from all sides of the political spectrum with pundits on the left and the right condemning the lawsuit (read: witchhunt) against Canadian conservative writers.


The Canadian Human Rights Commission is now in session...


The story has crossed international borders and has created a buzz in the U.S. and overseas. American bloggers and mainstream media columnists alike are almost fascinated by Warman's one-man crusade against freedom. I should elaborate here - they are not in awe of Warman's audacity, but rather the Canadian general public's seemingly apathetic attitude towards such an overt threat to their freedoms. (Note to my American readers: this is what happens when leftwing federal governments rule for the majority of your nation's history. I'm just sayin'...).

The national media is strangely silent on the subject, even though one of the Canadian liberal media's favorite targets - Ezra Levant - is one of the writers Warman has zeroed in on.



Ezra Levant


This issue is of vital importance. Our right to express our views openly and without threat of repercussion from 'authorities' is at risk. All that our forefathers fought and died for, the very freedoms that allow someone like Richard Warman to exist, are now in question.

Support our fight to save our freedom of expression. If Warman succeeds, we all lose.



Donate to Fight the HRC




Free Dominion Defense Fund:
http://www.freedominion.com.pa/phpBB2/donate.php

Richard Warman's Censorship Sideshow

Richard Warman: His best side.

That self-serving legal maladroit Richard Warman is making waves again with his so-called Maximum Disruption Campaign. The latest has the anti-rightwing, anti-conservative, anti-freedom of speech legal beagle launching an all-out attack against a number of conservative writers and internet forums.

It’s no secret that Warman is only interested in getting his ugly mug in front of the cameras and that his intentions have nothing to do with erasing websites whose content or subject matter fall into his definition of ‘hate’. This employee of Canada’s Department of National Defense (feel safer now?) and long-time lackey of the Canadian Human Rights Commission has a rap sheet full of attempts at imposing censorship.


Here's a response from one of the targets named in the mad rush to censor. As posted on Free Dominion:


Mark Fournier Free Dominion April 09, 2008

"Silence! I sue you!" Dichmed - the litigating censorship bomber

The silent sound of censorship has been Richard Warman's goal since long before he ever came to our attention, and the CHRC has been on the same quest right beside him. In the end, what was the CHRC planning to 'do' to Free Dominion after it added it to its 100% conviction total? The CHRC was going to silence the website because that's what the CHRC does.

The Marie-Line Gentes complaint against Free Dominion was utter nonsense from the outset. According to the CHRC, out of the blue some infidel woman from Quebec was so offended (on behalf of Muslims who hadn't bothered to actually be offended themselves) by a link that appeared on Free Dominion that she considered the site to be a hate site deserving of the censoring punishment-by-process that is the specialty of the CHRC. The CHRC agreed with Gentes assessment of Free Dominion as a hate site and informed us that the wheels of injustice were grinding our way.

Things have gone downhill for the CHRC and Richard Warman since that day.

Today we received a package in the mail (requested by us) from the CHRC containing what they say is all the information they have on Mark Fournier, Connie Fournier, Connie Wilkins, Connie Wilkins-Fournier and Free Dominion. The package contained nothing we had not already seen or were not already aware of. This is not a disappointment to us because the absence of additional information has implications that are not good for the CHRC.

For example, CHRC investigator Dean Steacy has testified that he only registered at websites using the name jadewarr to put them under, or while they were under, investigation by the CHRC. When he was confronted with the fact that he began his investigation of Free Dominion months before the Gentes complaint was filed he retreated to vague references of other kinds of complaints that might have been received about FD. When he was asked the names of these alleged unofficial complainers he refused to answer. He didn't say that there were no names to give, he said he refused to give them. No documentation of the content of these alleged complaints, or of how they were received, or of who they were received by, was included in the package we received from the CHRC. As it stands, we have Dean Steacy's word, and Dean Steacy's word only, that there was any complaint at all about Free Dominion that preceded Marie-Line Gentes complaint. His evidence for existence of these alleged complaints is effectively, "Trust me, they exist."

I don't, and I don't think they ever did.

So why was the government of Canada using its censorship arm to investigate Free Dominion in the first place? If Free Dominion is, or was, a hate site, why hasn't the CHRC acted beyond supporting the lame-assed complaint of Marie-Line Gentes? And why was Free Dominion suddenly fighting a deluge of accusations of being a hate/Nazi/white supremacist/ist/phobe site? Who was the source of that smear job and why does it so closely resemble the recently-discredited smear job of Marc Lemire?

Logic 101: Pop quiz Who would have the most interest in seeing Free Dominion tarred as a hate site?

a) Roger Oxbow and the Estavan, Sask. Knights of Columbus

b) Huey Lewis and the News

c) Richard Warman and the CHRC

To the best of our knowledge, there is no official connection between Richard Warman and Marie-Line Gentes or her complaint or the CHRC's investigation of the Gentes complaint. But shortly after the CHRC's attempt to silence Free Dominion was shortcircuited by Gentes withdrawing her complaint, the CHRC's preferred customer, Richard Warman, litigated his way into our lives. Is there any reason to believe his intention in doing so was different from the CHRC's? Richard Warman is filing suits to silence political opinions because that's what Richard Warman does.

Our freedom of expression is at risk from this leftwing nutjob. If Free Dominion goes, other forums will follow. Like a virus, Warman’s appetite will only grow with success until everyone’s public opinion – from forums to blogs and news columns – will be targeted.