Getting Used to It

On Wednesday afternoon I checked in with John Oakley at Toronto's Global News Radio 640. The main topic of discussion was Monday's appalling mass murder on Yonge Street in North York - and whether around the western world we're getting accustomed to these attacks. But John also found time to ask me about Shania Twain's apology for telling The Guardian that, if she'd been American, she'd have voted for Trump. Click below to listen:

If you're one of that small, brave band who prefer me on camera, I'll be back on TV tomorrow, Thursday, south of the border with Tucker Carlson. And, for Mark Steyn Club members, we'll have a special video bonus this weekend.

~As you can tell from my conversation above with John, I think we need to expand the parameters of public discourse. In Britain, alas, almost everyone who matters - government, police, and even the media - want to shrivel them even more. Peter Lucey, the Mayor of Wokingham, Berkshire, has just been forced to resign because his Facebook page linked to ...well, we'll let genius reporter Phil Creighton of The Wokingham Paper explain:

THE mayor of Wokingham town has resigned following an investigation into his social media presence.

Cllr Peter Lucey decided to step down with immediate effect after an investigation was launched in to his posting of links to far right and Islamophobic websites.

Golly. Like what?

Some of the sites that the Wokingham town councillor links to include The Gatestone Institute, a right-wing anti-Muslim think tank, and We Are At Home, a page that says it is for people who "are sick of increasing political correctness" and links to webpages about white supremacy.

Cllr Lucey's Facebook page, which was viewable by anyone yesterday, also included likes to a fan page to controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders and the former UKIP leadership candidate Raheem Kassam who has just self-published a book called Enoch Was Right: 'Rivers of Blood' 50 Years On.

Raheem Kassam: there's an obvious white supremacist moniker. Anybody else?

There are also posts from Cllr Lucey showing him with controversial Canadian author Mark Steyn, who hold anti-Islamic views, at a book signing.

I'm so anti-Islamic I'm plural: "Mark Steyn, who hold anti-Islamic views..." Evidently anti-Islamic enough for at least three run-of-the-mill Islamophobes.

Only a weasel writes like this:

Why is Gatestone "right-wing"? Because they publish lifetime liberal Democrat Alan Dershowitz? Why is Gatestone "anti-Muslim"? Because their chairman is an Iranian? Or because their speaker next Tuesday is a Saudi Muslim?

Why shouldn't a chap's Facebook page be "viewable by anyone"? Would we all be safer if, say, Thames Valley Police got to determine who gets to view whose Facebook page?

Why exactly is this Canadian guy "controversial"? Because he guest-hosts America's Number One radio show with an audience equivalent to half the UK population? Are all those listeners controversial, too? Should they be banned by UK immigration?

Freedom of expression is dying in a land that was once the crucible of liberty - and so-called "journalists" like Phil Creighton are happy to serve as court eunuchs to the new thought-crime commissars. [UPDATE: Mr Lucey defends Mr Creighton's honor below - which is more than Creighton was willing to do for Lucey. I maintain my original objection: He simply accepted these labels instead of getting off his arse and checking.]

~When Mark is asked about which of his books is his personal favorite, he often picks his anthology of obituaries, Mark Steyn's Passing Parade. So we were pleased to see Joseph Sherlock's brand new review of the book:

Each obit is interesting in itself. Many are irreverent and witty; all are chock full of information about the deceased.

Mr Sherlock then provides a few favorite tidbits, before concluding:

Recommended. A fun and informative read.

Personally autographed copies of Mark Steyn's Passing Parade are exclusively available from the SteynOnline bookstore - and, if you're a Mark Steyn Club member, don't forget to enter the Club promo code at checkout to enjoy special member pricing.

~For more information on the Mark Steyn Club and becoming a member, please see here - and don't forget our limited-time Gift Membership. As our first anniversary approaches, we are grateful for the support of all our friends around the world, and look forward to welcoming many more in the years ahead.