The Ann Coulter thing

[bouche]

I don't understand why anyone gives a fuck what AC has to say. What DOES she have to say that's useful?

[phishtaper]

What DOES she have to say that's useful?

where to get head at a dead show.

[Kanada Kev]

She put the "going down" in GDTRFB

http://www.jambands.ca/sanctuary/showpost.php?post/639026/

Edited March 24, 2010 by Guest

[jVids]

I think it's embarrassing that liberals are so afraid of what conservatives have to say, I think it's embarrassing that the protesters played so well into Coulter's hand and dealt her such a clear victory.

Agreed.

A victory for us in this whole situation would have been if she stood up to talk and no one was there to listen.

[localcrew]

All those things are a shame as Velvet says. But as has been pointed out it is not the protesters that stopped the show but the organizers. Protesters always say the kind of things they said-they just don't usually win.

Of course she can spin this since that is what she does. Billy Bob and Bill Maher will be slagging Canada again as she is doing now and go on as ignorantly as they came.

The truth I see is that she wimped out and really shouldn't have been such credibility to be seen as a 'speaker' in the first place but rather as a political entertainer/comedian-which of course she can't do since she isn't really funny. I'm not sure anyone who talks all the smack she does should be given much credibility.

[Velvet]

The day started with UofO reps stating in media that she was stopped from speaking by the protesters and that they were happy that she was stopped.

This afternoon (I suspect in a rush of damage control) the UofO reps have changed their story. Turns out she cancelled and they are all disappointed.

[AD]

I didn't see what the reps said in the morning. Got a linky for that?

Here's the statement from this afternoon.

OTTAWA, March 24, 2010 — On Tuesday, March 23, an appearance by Ann Coulter was scheduled on our campus, organized by the International Free Press Society Canada and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute.

The University of Ottawa has always promoted and defended freedom of expression. For that reason, we did not at any time oppose Ann Coulter’s appearance. Whether it is Ann Coulter or any other speaker, diverse views have always been and continue to be welcome on our campus.

Last night, the organizers themselves decided at 7:50 p.m. to cancel the event and so informed the University’s Protection Services staff on site. At that time, a crowd of about one thousand people had peacefully gathered at Marion Hall.

“Freedom of expression is a core value that the University of Ottawa has always promoted,†said Allan Rock, President of the University. “We have a long history of hosting contentious and controversial speakers on our campus. Last night was no exception, as people gathered here to listen to and debate Ann Coulter’s opinions.

I encourage our students, faculty and other members of our community to maintain our University as an open forum for diverse opinions. Ours is a safe and democratic environment for the expression of views, and we will keep it that way.â€

Please note that this is the University of Ottawa’s official statement and no further comments will be issued.

[SaggyBalls]

You guys should join the elitists discussing this matter over the politics forum.

Discussing politics in the politics forum...real elitist.

[ollie]

The day started with UofO reps stating in media that she was stopped from speaking by the protesters and that they were happy that she was stopped.

This afternoon (I suspect in a rush of damage control) the UofO reps have changed their story. Turns out she cancelled and they are all disappointed.

If it boils down to a he said/she said between the University of Ottawa and Ann Coulter (not to mention the odious Ezra Levant), I feel pretty comfortable swallowing the U's sequence of events.

P.S. Freak By Night wins this thread with his last post.

[Freak By Night]

You guys should join the elitists discussing this matter over the politics forum.

Discussing politics in the politics forum...real elitist.

As with pretty much all of my posts, my tongue was planted firmly in cheek.

I was parodying the tendency of the Coulter crowd to call anyone with an education "elitist".

[Davey Boy 2.0]

look at you!

[SaggyBalls]

FBN - you should have just told me to ride a donkey into town.

[doohdoohhead]

I don't know if I would say embarrassing considering how the facts are unclear. What is clear is that she wins, surely will make the university and ( by extension, unfortunately) Canada look bad as well.

Coulter is a prankster, albeit a well-disguised one. She is incredibly well educated and experienced. I'm willing to bet that she probably isn't even as extreme as she claims to be. She just really craves attention.

She needs to be allowed to speak at universities and the bigotry and ingnorance should be discussed afterwards (without her participation), to mitigate her nonsense. If she is ignored she will go away.

[Hartamophone]

[AD]

a good rundown of the events of yesterday.

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/03/ann-coulters-adventures-in-ottawa-so-what-really-happened-last-night.html

[Velvet]

The day started with UofO reps stating in media that she was stopped from speaking by the protesters and that they were happy that she was stopped.

This afternoon (I suspect in a rush of damage control) the UofO reps have changed their story. Turns out she cancelled and they are all disappointed.

If it boils down to a he said/she said between the University of Ottawa and Ann Coulter (not to mention the odious Ezra Levant)' date=' I feel pretty comfortable swallowing the U's sequence of events.

P.S. Freak By Night wins this thread with his last post.[/quote']

It was the University of Ottawa rep that was a featured guest on Ontario Today with Rita Celli that indicated that the protesters stopped Ann from speaking, and that was their goal. The University of Ottawa rep indicated that they were preventing a hate crime from occurring.

[Velvet]

I think it's embarrassing that a university refused to hear opposing views

It was her security guard that made that call. And the university had nothing to do with anything' date=' except the site for the talk. What opposing views do you mean? There is her view and then the university's view? Universities are filled with so many unique views it's impossible to generalize the statement that much.

I think it's embarrassing that a university rep deems themselves an authority on crime.

If you're talking about the Provost, I did a quick check on the UofO webpage and it appears he's an expert on many things. He's published books on multiculturalism in Canada, has a PhD in Government and Politics, a Masters of Law, Masters of Political Science, Bachelor of Social Science. I think it's safe to call him an authority. Here's his details.

I think it's embarrassing that a speech was deemed unfit for hearing before it was heard

It wasn't deemed unfit. It wasn't deemed anything.

I think it's embarrassing that 200 protesters trump 1,000 paying customers,

The numbers differ everywhere, but yeah, it's too bad that for whatever reason people couldn't get what they came for.

I think it's embarrassing that liberals are so afraid of what conservatives have to say,

In this case, I think sane people were fed up with the racist ridiculous ramblings of just one conservative who spends a lot of time in the limelight.

I think it's embarrassing that the protesters played so well into Coulter's hand and dealt her such a clear victory.

Agreed. Although it was her security that ultimately made the call to cancel, at the recommendation of the police.

I'm glad nobody got to hear her last night. But it's really too bad more people are hearing about her today because of that.

1) see above, but even if her security made the call, the decision may have been due in part to the protesters trying to stop the performance.

2) I'm talking about the rep on the radio today, I can't find a podcast link

3) Seems like the protesters deemed the speech unfit.

4) All numbers I've heard indicate the minority won.

5) Sanity is decided by consensus, truth is not.

6) Glad we agree.

[AD]

was it on the phone-in or prior to that? i'm listening to the phone-in now at http://www.cbc.ca/ontariotoday/story_archive.html

[Velvet]

Yeah, the phone-in.

[AD]

The first interview was lengthy and used some of the quotes from your post above Velvet (protesters stopped the talk, preventing a hate crime, etc) but she wasn't associated with the University; she's a 4th year student that organized the protest. Rita Celli repeatedly says it was Coulter's people that cancelled the event and that so far there was no comment from anyone representing the University, or Coulter's camp, or Ezra Levant.

[AD]

i'm thinking it might be fair to blame the whole kerfuffle on the organiser not booking a big enough room.

and Coulter's PR people.

[Velvet]

My apologies indeed. I thought they couldn't get the dean or the provost or whatever that is called, and that that girl was from the university. I totally missed that (I was doing the dishes while I listened) and I apologise for the misrepresentation.

She does illustrate that it was the protesters intention to stop the event.

[phishtaper]

a good rundown of the events of yesterday.

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/03/ann-coulters-adventures-in-ottawa-so-what-really-happened-last-night.html

thanx for the link, AD. it seems to suggest that really poor event planning resulted in a clusterfuck crowd outside simply trying to get inside. and that coulter's people hyped the "danger" of only a few protesters and had already planned to cancel the event to score political points. coulter wasnet even anywhere near the venue or even on her way, lol.

good story.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Yeah, a fiasco, for sure. And last night she was (not surprisingly) warmly welcomed in Alberta, and I'm sure had a few things to say about how the authorities have hindered her right to speak her mind (such as it is). Someone on CBC this morning pointed out that she's pretty much jumped the shark in the US, and this experience is all she needed to win back a bit of the public eye.

It was a pity how poorly spoken the student rep was yesterday on Ontario Today. I don't think she really had much ground to stand on, frankly; I saw her point about wanting a safer campus, but she and her crew seem to have overlooked a few key principles along the way - especially in terms of how this will embolden the pinheads on her own campus who do see eye to eye with Coulter. Don't they get that if you're going to do this kind of thing, you have to take the higher ethical ground?

(Not that it matters too much - the decision to cancel was still up to her and her handlers.)

[SaggyBalls]

DEM...pinheads that see eye to eye with Coulter on what issues?

It's really entertaining to watch people get so enflamed about this freakishly long&tall skinny aryan reptilioid (she looks like a monitor lizard).