Update on US Truckers' Convoy; Recent Interviews

Here are my interviews with Megyn Kelly, Laura Ingraham, Kristi Leigh, and Allison Royal

I’m behind on my media roundup posts, so am sending below links to several interviews that might be of interest. But first, an update on the USA Trucker’s Convoy.

Last week, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fled Ottowa and continues to refuse to meet with the Truckers. This week, he invoked the Emergency Act, which has never been done before by the Canadian Government. With this legal pretense Trudeau vowed to freeze the bank accounts of anti-mandate protesters associated with the Canadian Truckers. Without a court order, banks will be able freeze personal accounts of anyone linked to the protests. Welcome to the Biosecurity Surveillance Regime, Canadian Edition.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association responded, quite sensibly, with the following:

Canadian Civil Liberties Association @cancivlib

The federal government has not met the threshold necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act. This law creates a high and clear standard for good reason: the Act allows government to bypass ordinary democratic processes. This standard has not been met. 1/3

February 15th 2022

21,114 Retweets59,113 Likes

Canadian Civil Liberties Association @cancivlib

The Emergencies Act can only be invoked when a situation "seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada" & when the situation "cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada."

February 15th 2022

4,992 Retweets22,597 Likes

Canadian Civil Liberties Association @cancivlib

Governments regularly deal with difficult situations, and do so using powers granted to them by democratically elected representatives. Emergency legislation should not be normalized. It threatens our democracy and our civil liberties. #cdnpoli

February 15th 2022

5,501 Retweets26,488 Likes

Also of concern in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security recently issued a bulletin targeting anti-mandate online voices and public gatherings, mischaracterizing them as “domestic terrorists.” Welcome to the Biosecurity Surveillance Regime, American Edition:

Here’s the link to the entire document, “Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” and some key highlights:

The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors.… The primary terrorism-related threat to the United States continues to stem from lone offenders or small cells of individuals who are motivated by a range of foreign and/or domestic grievances often cultivated through the consumption of certain online content.

Key factors contributing to the current heightened threat environment include:

1. The proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions:

   • For example, there is widespread online proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding… COVID-19. Grievances associated with these themes inspired violent extremist attacks during 2021.

   • As COVID-19 restrictions continue to decrease nationwide, increased access to commercial and government facilities and the rising number of mass gatherings could provide increased opportunities for individuals looking to commit acts of violence to do so, often with little or no warning. Meanwhile, COVID-19 mitigation measures—particularly COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates—have been used by domestic violent extremists to justify violence since 2020 and could continue to inspire these extremists to target government, healthcare, and academic institutions that they associate with those measures.

The bulletin cites no actual incidents of such violence. But the message is clear: if you challenge the government’s preferred pandemic policies, including by exercising your First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of association, in the form of peaceful protests against mandates, you may be considered by Homeland Security to be a “domestic threat actor,” or a “primary terrorism related threat” who is fueled by “domestic grievances often cultivated through the consumption of certain online content.”

Narratives are characterized here as “false or misleading” when they “undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions.” Think about that carefully. The bulletin ignores the fact that trust in these institutions has been undermined above all by these institutions’ own harmful pandemic policies and by their manipulative public messaging. Never mind that: according to DHS the real problem is with anyone who criticizes these policies online or in public gatherings.

In light of these ominous developments, the US Truckers’ Convoy leadership decided they could not wait any longer to start their convoy from the West Coast to to the DC area. So they are now planning on departing next week on February 23. Since our Defeat the Mandates event in Coachella Valley, CA mentioned in my last post will not coincide with the Truckers’ departure, the California event has been postponed to allow more time to plan and organize it. Stay tuned here for more updates.

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Now, for the recent interviews. I enjoyed my conversation with Megyn Kelly on her podcast. My segment is the second half of the show, which starts at 47:20, though you may also be interested in the interviews with Senator Rand Paul and journalist Josh Login in the first half of the program. If you don’t have time for the whole thing, here’s a 10-minute excerpt of my segment on YouTube.

My interview on Laura Ingraham’s podcast is behind a paywall at Quake Media, though I was able to listen by signing up for a free trial.

My interview with Kristi Leigh is, fortunately, not behind a paywall and you can find it here.

You might also take 7 minutes and listen to this interview that Allison Royal did with California attorney Julie Hamill and yours truly. A new proposed bill in California would muzzle physicians, trample on free speech, harm the doctor-patient relationship, and prematurely close legitimate scientific debates. Independent journalists who are no longer under the thumb of corporate media are the wave of the future for real news and honest reporting. Allison is a terrific example of these emerging voices (she left her job at CBS so she could honestly pursue journalistic stories with integrity). I am grateful that she did this segment about this misguided legislation:

Finally, I just got back from Florida where I did a long interview with Tucker Carlson. Tucker was friendly, engaging, and high energy so the interview was great fun. The show will air on Fox Nation in a few weeks and I’ll share it with you when the link is available.