73SC wrote:

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Doug Benson, he's the one who said that he didn't even know Canada was fighting in Afghanistan, but that didn't stop him from spewing out more uninformed garbage. "Isn't Canada where you go when you don't want to fight?"

CTV is reporting that organizers cancelled him, probably did him a favour. Have a look at the photos, does anyone think he would have the guts to repeat what he said in person?



-- Edited by 73SC on Tuesday 24th of March 2009 08:07:01 AM

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73SC wrote:

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AlienX wrote:

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  my grandfather fought side by side with the canadian military on the aleutian islands my dad was S.A.C. 2 of my cousins are in afganistan as i write this. They all support this country and the 1st amendment. Sure doug besen is dumbass and that whole show is garbage , but it is their right to say .  Don't watch i don't and this is the first i heard of it. We may not be well received , but no one is afraid to beg us for help.  First hand in our pocket or First fist into your face.  a proud YANKEE !

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This patch from WWII shows the bond between our fighting forces, any know what it is?

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73SC wrote:

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Doug Benson, he's the one who said that he didn't even know Canada was fighting in Afghanistan, but that didn't stop him from spewing out more uninformed garbage. "Isn't Canada where you go when you don't want to fight?"

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This gentleman has now issued his own apology and admitted to having no facts whatsoever to guide him in his discussion. He has said he will never appear on the FOX News panel ever again with Greg Gutfeld.

An amazing letter to the Editor in today's Northumberland Today, (March 25, 2009), provides a wonderful way for those who've never been standing on a bridge to get a "look" at what it's like on the Highway of Heroes when our heroes roll through.

Here, Greg Gutfeld, is the country that you belittled and the military service you mocked........
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Stand down, Soldier

There is a banner someone brings to the fence of Canadian Forces Base Trenton whenever there is a repatriation of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. It reads: "Stand down, soldier. Your job is done. You can go home."

People line up along the fence surrounding CFB Trenton waiting for the aircraft from Afghanistan to touch down, open its cargo door, and offer up its burden. Some of the onlookers are civilians, some are retired service men and women, some are on leave from active service and dress in uniform for the occasion. Some of them even bring young children.

There's a large contingent of bikers, the Blue Knights, wearing distinctive blue vests. One couple is visiting from Nova Scotia. Another man has just come home from Europe. The gathering spreads farther and farther along the fence.

Soon, a drone is heard overhead and the CC-150 Polaris transport plane comes into view. A hush falls over the people standing at the fence. The aircraft circles into position near the hangar where a family stands in the wind and cold to receive their loved one.

The silhouettes, especially the shoulders, speak of their exquisite pain. Their eyes are fixed on the wooden box that is now being hoisted onto strong shoulders and carried in measured steps toward the hearse.

The only colour in the whole scenario is the Canadian flag draped in its somber duty like a blanket over the fallen comrade. It seems to speak the words from the banner: "Stand down, soldier. Your job is done. You can go home."

After a 20-minute repatriation service, the casket is loaded into the black hearse. The family members board a limousine. Slowly the convoy exits the gates of 8 Wing-Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

The black vehicles are escorted front and back by two police cars as they drive out of Trenton and onto the celebrated Highway of Heroes. A signal is sent to a police car waiting on the ramp of the next overpass along the way to Toronto: "Cortege en route. ETA 15 minutes." Messages are radioed to the firefighters and ambulance workers in commuter parking lots all along the way to Toronto who have been anticipating the final good-bye. Each firetruck and ambulance rides to the top of its respective overpass where the crowd welcomes the shelter from the wind.

The police car drives down the ramp to block traffic from entering Highway 401. The crowd on the overpass is watching for that space of several minutes when there is no traffic in the westbound lanes. Then a whisper is telegraphed from one person to another: "They're coming. They're coming." By this time, not one space is left unoccupied along the railing.

I stand on the side of the hill by the sign that welcomes drivers to Brighton. I want to be as near as possible to the cortege. My student will be passing by. His sister, also a former student at my school, will be sitting in the limo with her mom and dad behind the dark glass. The last time I saw these siblings they were sitting innocently in a classroom.

On my one side is a member of the Legion, a retired Sergeant-major dressed in khaki. He is the first to sight the cortege and barks instinctively, "Heads up!" to everyone on the overpass.

I am frozen in place, steeling myself against an onslaught of emotion, tears burning behind my glasses. The Sergeant-major snaps a salute and, even though he is a complete stranger, I feel supported by his experience and professionalism. Behind me, the people who have come to the overpass for just this moment wave their flags. The dark glass of the limo opens and a long arm in a black coat ending in a black glove answers in silent acknowledgment.

In less than a moment the cortege is gone. Only now do I notice how many young people have also been standing vigils at the overpass. They look to me like students skipping school.

Who are all these other people? Does each of them have a connection, as I do, to the fallen soldier? Some of them are relaying messages by cell phone -- to other overpasses down the line. Are all the on-lookers on all the overpasses along the Highway of Heroes connected, like a web that stretches from Trenton to Toronto cradling the casket of the fallen at its centre?

What a strange experience our presence creates. A unique made-in-Canada ad hoc ritual that leaves participants feeling richer, and sadder, and more connected for having spent this one moment in the wind.

Patricia Calder
Colborne, Ontario
(Northumberland County)

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Thank you, Patricia, for that letter.

Metallica !! There you go again, Made me crack a smile . 


O yea we do have something like your first ammendment. I should now this as was one of the Questions when I took my Citizenship in 2005, Its one of our
fundamental freedoms in our Charter,  freedom of expression,freedom of religion,freedom of thought,freedom of belief,freedom of peacful assy and freedom of association.