Barrel Strength

Barrelstrength announces the creation of a movement to assist the smaller defendants in the Warman case. We are calling it Tankards for Truth.

 The idea is that people across Canada will hold events in their favourite drinking spot to raise money.

Board games, movies, sports events, bicycle rallies, 100 meter marathons for out-of-shape bloggers - it does not matter. Help organize a fundraiser in your community.

No money should go to Tankards for Truth. All money you collect should be sent to the defendants.

Our goal is to raise money for Catherine MacMillan of Small Dead Animals, Mark and Constance Fournier of Free Dominion, Ezra Levant, and Kathy Shaidle of Five Feet of Fury. We assume that the Aspers and the National Post can take care of themselves.

We know that each of these bloggers has a donations button on their pages. We  intend to supplement their fund raising with fundraising on their behalf.

We will communicate with the defendants to tell them of our support and coordinate our efforts with theirs, as appropriate.

We will set up a website, www.tankardsfortruth.ca, which will be up shortly. A MySpace page will be created. We will allow postings of events and cooperate with other activists to help defray the costs of supporting freedom of speech.

We welcome all communication from supporters of the bloggers who have been made the subject of Richarrd Warman’s libel suit. 

Let every person concerned with freedom of speech in this country know of this movement. Organize your own Tankards for Truth event.

Let us know how you feel. Write to tankardsfortruth@gmail.com or Dalwhinnie@barrelstrength.com. Get out there and drink, run, play, bicycle, perform for freedom of speech! get every friend you know to your local event. Send the defendants money!

We will have more details as we develop our plans.

The Commission’s statement on the Maclean’s case was wicked, cowardly, hypocritical and I do not think it would be mischaracterized by the word evil. It passes belief that you took more than a moment to realize the case had no validity. It is completely wrong that you then condemned Maclean’s for precisely the transgression you declined to investigate. Beyond that, I am horrified that you seek to expand the powers you already abuse so shamelessly. You look to tyrannize over thought by force. You recklessly encourage illiberal and dangerous forces. To quote Edmund Burke, “But this weapon will snap short, unfaithful to the hand that employs it.” When you legitimize the suppression of lawful expression of opinion, which is precisely what you have done and intended to do, you endanger everyone.  In the foolish pursuit of some abstract ideal, you have done a real and immediate wrong.