I would offer the comment that it is a rather inoportune time to play around with Lieutenant Colonel McCrea"s wonderful and much loved poem.

Per Ardua Ad Astra

Regardless of what was in the Toronto Star.

It would be interesting to know if any of the Toronto Star's hierarchy ever attended a Rememberance Day ceremony, wouldn't it? I mean are they allowed to even wear poppies at work?

The Harper / Hillier military bashing cartoon simply emphasizes the poisonous mindset the corporate editorial body at the Toronto Star holds for the current Conservative government.

Coming on the heels of a duplicitous Harper headline earlier in the week completes the toxic leftist, defeatist spin.

The 'star children' will do whatever they want.

I've dug out my WHY WE FIGHT videos featuring 'The Battle of Russia 1943', and 'The Battle of Britain 1943' to watch them.

That's my way to remember what the world went thru those dark days, and why we are where we are today.

Kate, I agree with BCer about the inappropriateness of modifying the poem at this time.

As for the Star's editorial cartoon, that is absolutely repugnant. Does having a grade 3 education or beyond disqualify someone from being an editor at the Star? Hopefully the vast majority of the people who subscribe to this rag will cancel their subscriptions over the next few days. Pathetic.

and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

May God grant us a dove

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We Will Remember Them

Inappropriateness is the point.

In somewhat bad taste considering the day, wouldn't you say?

I agree BCer.

http://pipingdesign.com/poppy.jpg

With respect, I'm not buying your excuse (12:55 AM). I sincerely doubt that you INTENDED to highlight the inappropriateness of the Star printing that cartoon on the eve on Remembrance Day by making an inappropriate modification of In Flanders Field. I think you thought you were being clever, and now you're trying to cover up your mistake by pretending it was meant to be ironic all along.

I think you candyasses need to grow up and grab a brain. TorStar struck first and Kate struck back in a manner designed to make you think while highlighting the absurdity of the TorStar cartoon.

Though it may be painful for you to think objectively about what TorStar just did, you have to. No matter what freakin' day it is.

I'm a "lefty" and even I was somewhat offended by the modification of the poem. I figured out why you did, but two wrongs not making a right...

Just a re-play of the Liberal cartoon - soldiers, in our cities...

Regardless of the Star and what it did, this crossed the line. This should be a time for peaceful and respectful time, and if the Star can't rise above it, leave them alone with that. Don't engage in equally puerile activities.

One wouldn't need weapons and an army to successfully invade Canada, one need simply to say something shocking and outrageous and the Canadian people, not overly burdened with stoicism, will keel over by the millions.

People, please, Canada did not become great by righteous indignation, quite the opposite. Our forefathers did not affect poses, they did not "vogue". They worked, and were too busy being men and building a nation with their bare hands to cry and whine like we do today. Enough! No more righteous indignation!

Here come the lefty trolls acting all indignant. That's rich, after years of lieberal cuts, and open disrespect for the military. I agree with Kate on this one. Inappropriateness is the point.

Toronto Star, is beyond the pale. As are all the suddenly righteous trolls who oppose standing up for what we believe in, democracy and freedoms and fighting for them if need be.
They have the gall to wear a poppy which is the most blatant hypocrisy.
If it were up to their ideology we wouldn't have any military forces and defending our sovereignty would be impossible.

Well done, Kate. I was a little concerned with changing the poem, but I think those who value this work are best suited to take your point.
Warning to the outraged; posts here sometimes require a little more thought than is otherwise required on the internet.
As for Garrett, just because you didn't get it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

My husband's immediate response was, "Well, they SHOULD bomb the Toronto Star."

He wrote a letter to the editor earlier in the week about the Press Corps at the Prime Minister's Press Conference, none, that he could see, wearing a poppy. As he said, this is showing respect for our country and for the price paid for our freedom--and their freedom to do as they darned well please, anytime they want--by so many in WWI and WWII?

My family and I are getting ready to go to church to honour the war dead and all those in our family who have died, to pray for the repose of their souls, and to pray for God's peace in our hearts and in the world. We will all be wearing poppies.

Yesterday, when I got my poppy from a veteran, who must have been in his eighties, I took his hand and sincerely thanked him for his sacrifice in the war.

'Lest we forget.

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord.
And may light perpetual shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

Repugnant, but I bet there will be no carbques anywhere in Canada, no mass protests in the street, no burning of bldgs and no one will be killed. Who drew that piece of ----, and did he/she ever work for any university paper.

Some Canadian schools used to excise the entire third verse of In Flanders Fields owing to its warmongering nature:

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with those who die
We shall not sleep, tho' poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I'm sure some schools still censor this much-beloved poem. What do the people who are feigning outrage at Kate think of that? Are they going to protest to their local schools and school boards if they teach only the abridged version of In Flanders Fields?

Here is what Kady O'Malley of our "National Newsmagazine" Maclean's had to say about our veterans only 6 days ago to a national audience:

"First it was the veterans who successfully bullied the War Museum into "reworking" the text of one panel in the appropriately named "Enduring Controversy" exhibit, which examines the strategic bombing of German cities by Allied Forces during the Second World War."

forums.macleans.ca/advansis/?mod=for&act=dip&pid=85912&tid=85912&eid=48&so=1&ps=10&sb=1

See that? In a gratuitous shot to veterans wholly unrelated to the rest of her article on Lord Durham, Kady O'Malley tells us how she really feels about Canadian veterans. What a clever girl, cleverly burying a shot like that against the patriarchy only days before Rememberance Day!

Bullies.

She thinks they are bullies, and if you follow her line of reasoning inferred by the hatred dripping from her words she comes *very* close to saying that Canadian WWII veterans are war criminals. Actually it sounds like she's waiting for the last of them to die before she just comes right out and says it.

Righteous indignation that.

So lowering yourself to the left's level is somehow alright?

I guess Kady O'Malley hasn't got it into her pointed little head that she wouldn't have the freedom to express herself in Canada's MSM if it weren't for the sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands of Canadians who paid a heavy price to maintain our democratic freedoms against the tyranny of the tiny, little thug Adolph Hitler.

Let her call him and his armies "bullies."

Of course, Kady wouldn't have a clue, seeing as she has come up through the recent Canadian educational (sic) system which has, for years, sanitized and revised our national history and our role in international affairs.

My father and my two grandfathers (may the rest in peace) were veterans, who were willing to make the supreme sacrifice so that twits like O'Malley can spew their pea-brained mush to the rest of us.

Kyrie Eleison.

Rest eternal . . .

I'm off to church too with my family--all wearing poppies. Like batb, my grandfathers and dad were vets. God bless them all--and especially, today, all those who didn't come back. May they rest in peace.

"two wrongs not making a right..."

No but they sure make one hell of a point eh?

So pissed about that cartoon right now I'm biting my lip!

I have 2 relatives in foreign war graves....not sure how they'd feel about dying for what we have in Ottawa today.

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." Mark Twain

With regard to the Toronto Star political 'cartoon' - it was outrageous. Not only for its slander of the military and its clear suggestion of military amorality, but also for its open lies about Harper.

The Toronto Star has been telling the public that Harper rejects cities. Their previous day's headline of 'Harper to Cities: Drop Dead' was an open lie. The Star ignored his massive funding of Toronto's transit system, etc.

Their latte-Liberal/NDP base of Cloud Dwellers in Toronto means that numerous letters to them from 'realists' can be, and is, ignored by the editors.

With regard to kate's update, this essay assignment is also pure manipulation and is, like the Toronto Star's actions, propaganda. Students will pick up key words in an assignment and then, to get marks, 'give back' those key words to the teacher.

If you insert the term 'propaganda' into the question, the young student will pick up on it, and agree - without having a clue what he/she is writing about. Only a few among the group will have the self-assurance to go against the teacher's assumed opinions.

A 1915 letter to my Grandfather from (one) of his brothers in the Ypres Salient

This is to wish you a Merry Xmas
& a happy & prosperous
New Year France
Dec 11th/15

My Dear Old George
Thanks for yr letter dated Nov 6th/15.
At present I am in hospital with influenza, but am much better & will be out in a day or so. Willie & Alec are both well & going strong.
On December 1st our regiment was bombarded for two & a half hours & our numbers have been sadly reduced in both officers & men.
You have no idea what a terrible thing a bombardment of that description is like. Shells of all kinds coming over in hundreds & hundreds, the explosions of the high explosives being deafening & making the whole earth tremble & heave like an earthquake & the…

II

…parapets built of sandbags 30 or 40 feet thick would totter & sway like drunken things.
The suspense is awful as the shells would hit first one side & then the other of the parapet & we always expected the next to land right on top of us. We were very lucky to come out of it unscathed, but it was different luck with some of our poor fellows, especially those in Alec’s old squadron C. One place where I had left just a few minutes before was blown to atoms & the poor fellows were blown 40 yds out in the rear of our trenches. We went out & got them at night.
At this place we are only 100 yds from the enemy, & we were…

III

…delighted to see our artillery set to work & blow them to pieces. One battery (4 guns) alone sent 400 shells into them in 1-1/2 hours & altogether our artillery gave them worse than they (the Germans) gave us. They literally blew the German trenches & parapets to pieces for a space of 500 yds & the Germans, or what was left of them, fled over the open country.
You can imagine the din that was going on within 150 yds space of us where our shells & the German shells were exploding, to say nothing of the reports of the guns as they fired.
Talk about hell, we got it that day & with a vengeance. However, we are alright &

IV

…ready for some more, though believe me, not very anxious. Major Fane, who was blown up on to the top of a dug out & had his leg shattered, lay there & encouraged his men, calmly smoking a cigarette, & I’ll tell you he wasn’t half pleased at the way the boys stuck it out.
One of the other regiments next to us along the line wanted to retire into the communication trenches, but their Colonel would not hear of it, as he said we are not getting it half as bad as the (censored), meaning our regiment, & they are sticking it out.
Quite a lot of the fellows went bughouse & crazy…

V

…& there are some of them whose nerves are so badly shattered that I doubt if ever they will be of much use again.
We hear from Muriel & Aunt Julia from time to time & get parcels from them with cigarettes, chocolate, etc. You ask how you are to address me in your letter, well private is right for Alec & I & Corporal for Willie.
Well must wind up now & will try & write again soon. Best of luck to ee my zun

Yr affect brother

Arthur

The Toronto Star exploited the fact of Remembrance Day for political purposes, to make what they thought was a legitimate point about Conservative Party policies and attitudes towards Torontonians.

Kate exploited right back the fact of Remembrance Day for political purposes, to make what she thought was a legitimate point about "the Left's" policies and attitudes towards Canadian soldiers.

Both acted in poor taste. Both believed they were justified. Neither will apologize. Partisanship will continue to rend this country apart.

Lest we forget.

"It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

- Father Dennis Edward O'Brien

I didn't pick the timing, Z.

The left talks a good game, but in everything they do - from voting for the Taliban Jacks, to "Soldiers In Our Streets", to the relentless drumbeat of failure that spews across our media, to the silence when the tables turn and we score military success, to hiding behind meaningless slogans such as "we support the soldiers but not the war" - the political left has spent 50 years undermining the military, and seeding suspicion about the motives of anyone who supports a robust defense policy.

The Ted Rallesque Star cartoon, along with the editorial policy that permitted it to run (at any time of the year), should result in the cancellation of so many subscriptions that the newpaper is forced to close its doors. But it won't. And the fact that it won't is evidence that their efforts are successful among a great number of Canadians.

They scorn the military. They use the casualties for political purposes, but they have no respect for the dead or anyone else in uniform, unless they can recast them as victims and themselves as their advocates.

Never forget, indeed.

"Partisanship will continue to rend this country apart."

No, a shrill ignorant minority, a lunatic fringe, on "the Left", who have infested the media, the public service and the education system, are still fighting for the 20th century's global communist revolution, and are the ones trying to rend this country apart.

SDA is just a small part of the steadily growing backlash against the destructive lies and hate mongering of "the Left". "The Left" dragged us into the gutter and set the tone, now we have to crush them on the battlefield they chose.

Is it simply the military that the left derides, kate, or is it what our military fights for? Our military fights for freedom. Freedom of the individual.

The left also fights. For slavery. They support the Taliban, Al Qaeda; they support Islamic fundamentalism. They support communism and socialism. They support all fighting for these modes of life. They revere Castro, Guevera, Lenin, Mao - and Bin Laden.

They reject any and all rights of the individual. Thought, speech, actions. They insist on a homogeneity of belief and behaviour. Differences are permitted only when sealed into groups, kept isolated and sealed from entrance and exits.

The left supports Top Down Authoritarian government, setting themselves up as Philosopher-Kings who alone know what's best for the enslaved peasants in the community. They reject reason, critical thinking, facts. They operate within emotion - they engender fear and offer themselves as safety from fear.

Our military and our defense is in support of individual freedom, to think, to debate, to work, to doubt, to innvoate and yes, to both fear and be courageous.

The left rejects all of this, locking themselves into cocooned havens isolated from the real world. That's why the left are found only in the concrete unreality of cities. The real world isn't as simple and manageable as they think it should be. That's why they reject freedom. They can't control it.

*
"BCer sniffs... it is a rather inoportune(sic) time..."

It's exactly the appropriate time.

When the mother of Laine Watkins, a young Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan, commented on her terrible loss -- "They deserve your respect. In supporting them, you'll make our loss much easier to bear" -- guess which Canadian Blogger had to go out of his way to spit in her face.

begin quote...

"With all due respect, Wanda, f@ck you and your grief. It's not the job of the rest of Canada to continue to let its soldiers die just so you can sleep better at night."

end quote.

shame on the lunatic left.

*

F'ing A, Kate. Good job.

Those four points from the teacher, were those answers he/she received from students, or were they discussion points assigned to the students? If they were answers, they're disturbing enough (except for the last one). If they were discussion points actually written by an educator in order to "encourage debate", I think I need to take a couple aspirins and lye down.

Not to worry. It is Remembrance Day. CTV QP is interviewing Dion, it's all about the Mulroney-Shreiber affair. That's the biggest concern for that pack of rat's asses.

This is exactly what they've been dreaming of, all the MSM, something they can do for their Liberals, whack the Harper government.

Well, let's continue down that path and really look into the dealings of Chretien during his reign. They want to clean things up? Lets get going, going back about a decade.

Absolutely unbelievable. Beyond the bounds of taste - which is quite an accomplishment for SDA. I thought you hit rock bottom with your attack on a dead man earlier this week, but I see you keep on digging...and that your minions here keep on salivating for more.

My new vow - in honor of veterans everywhere - is to no longer visit this site. Consider it my subscription cancellation. SDA has always had its attractions (in the way that rubberneckers slow down to gape at a car accident), but this post is, quite simply, delusional, hypocritical hysteria. It distorts and perverts its own twisted logic to its own partisan ends. The very fact that everyone here willingly overlooks Kate's hypocrisy in assuming the very same approach she assails the Star for is proof positive that this site's regulars are beyond reasonable discourse. It is, to be frank, a gigantic waste of time for anyone who fails to echo Kate in every word and deed to visit, let alone comment.

I would close by saying that I don't know how Kate McMillan and her disciples sleep at night, but the truth is they probably sleep just fine. The truly simple, special people of the world often do.

I've debated with some of you on here, and made more than my share of idiotic assessments and comments. I doubt very much I'll be missed. I only ask, and I do this with all honesty, that the regular partisans (of all stripes) who do frequent this site excercise some independent, critical thinking. Please stop blindly following your leader, whether it's Kate, Harper, Layton or Dion. There's far too much of this going on in Canada today, and its affects, judging from this site and other partisan sites like it, speak for themselves.

Absolutely unbelievable. Beyond the bounds of taste - which is quite an accomplishment for SDA. I thought you hit rock bottom with your attack on a dead man earlier this week, but I see you keep on digging...and that your minions here keep on salivating for more.

My new vow - in honor of veterans everywhere - is to no longer visit this site. Consider it my subscription cancellation. SDA has always had its attractions (in the way that rubberneckers slow down to gape at a car accident), but this post is, quite simply, delusional, hypocritical hysteria. It distorts and perverts its own twisted logic to its own partisan ends. The very fact that everyone here willingly overlooks Kate's hypocrisy in assuming the very same approach she assails the Star for is proof positive that this site's regulars are beyond reasonable discourse. It is, to be frank, a gigantic waste of time for anyone who fails to echo Kate in every word and deed to visit, let alone comment.

I would close by saying that I don't know how Kate McMillan and her disciples sleep at night, but the truth is they probably sleep just fine. The truly simple, special people of the world often do.

I've debated with some of you on here, and made more than my share of idiotic assessments and comments. I doubt very much I'll be missed. I only ask, and I do this with all honesty, that the regular partisans (of all stripes) who do frequent this site excercise some independent, critical thinking. Please stop blindly following your leader, whether it's Kate, Harper, Layton or Dion. There's far too much of this going on in Canada today, and its affects, judging from this site and other partisan sites like it, speak for themselves.

I think that's the least we can do on Remembrance Day.

Kate et al:

I posted the first comment on this thread and I did so without imagining it would cause argument among the bloggers.

I wore a uniform for 28 years in the service of my country. I served during the dark years General Hillier describes so elequently but he was being kind because the dark years of Liberal disinterest lasted longer than a mere decade. Because I served during those years I believe I earned the right to speak out when I see a Canadian institution attacked or being twisted to gain an advantage. That is why I objected to the manipulation of Lieutenant Colonel McCrae's wonderful poem.

I join you in your quarrel with the left and support the same causes held by most other SDA posters. I detest socialism and the constant disruption and dishonesty from the left but I feel it would be much more valuable to our cause if we exercise prudence in how we conduct argument in support of that cause. Twisting a long recognized iconic poem which honours our military and particularly those who have paid with their lives is not a proper way to wage battle. Pure and simple, and I'll not budge from that position..

Per Ardua Ad Astra

The Bear wrote: So lowering yourself to the left's level is somehow alright?

Not only is it all right my friend it is about time. The only way to beat a dirty fighter is to fight dirty.

That was why it was all right to bomb German cities. That is why it was all right to use the atom bomb on Japan.

It has been nearly 40 years since Trudeau put this country on the "glorious" path to socialism. The Left has had a virtual free ride shoving their politics of jealousy down our throats ever since.

The time is long over due that we get our hands dirty and fight fire with fire.

"Both acted in poor taste. Both believed they were justified. Neither will apologize. Partisanship will continue to rend this country apart."

However, the Star bills itself as a 'newspaper' with Canada's largest circulation.

The question subscribers must ask themselves is why they are paying to be blatently manipulated?

The Star is not a newspaper, it is a deceptive Liberal house organ masquerading as a newspaper. The publisher, editors and writers abide by no ethical conduct, let alone report balanced news.

In section 'A,' there's a report trumpeting "Dion reveals party's 'bold goal." Which states, "If re-elected, his party pledges to cut the number of children living in poverty by 50% within 5 years."
Of course, there's no substance to the statement. No strategy, nothing. "Precise details of how they intend to deliver on this promise will have to wait until the election..." They admit.

Most of this rubbish is based on findings from the leftwing, Centre for Policy Alternatives, which manipulates reality to their own end, as would be expected from socialist propogandists.

Further, in the editorial section, next to the cartoon, sits the headline, "Dion's ambitious poverty strategy."

Here's an excellent example of the Star's hardcore manipulation of its readers. What strategy, exactly? They once again state Dion's ridiculous Kyoto like goals, with zero method to achieve them. Yet, it's an "ambitious poverty strategy."

Below that, under the headline, "Nix Senate Reform," they state that, "Has Prime Minister Stephen Harper nothing better to do in the runup to the next federal election than plunge Canadians into a divisive and energy-sapping referendum over abolishing the Senate?

Isn't the Bank of Canada's overly high interest rate policy a greater worry?"

Yes, of course, anything is more important than further eradicating Liberal hegemony by reforming, if not getting rid of an unelected, non-democratic senate. That wouldn't work for the Star's political masters.

And on the same page, "Key role for lawyers in newsroom." Which begins, "Journalists have long needed lawyers to help us get the story without getting sued or put in jail....Increasingly, it's only Canada's largest media organizations, such as the Star, that are willing to commit the resources to fight these legal battles for freer expression."

"Freer expression," to the Star obviously means partisan Liberal propoganda, unfettered by the truth. In the Star's world, free expression, read Liberal propoganda, trumps truth.

It's time Canada's biggest tree killing machine died.

Randall Denley goes very low in the Ottawa Citizen today: "Disgraceful".

Mark
Ottawa

We can scream about the Red Star to the believers but we must also contact editors and columnists through e-mail,telephone, etc to express our outrage!! Let them know how we feel!!

I think Kate's perversion of McCrae's poem would be much more offensive to the old Vets at the Legion Hall today then the cartoon she is ranting and raging over. Shame on you Kate ... your emotional illness is becoming more and more evident to those who read your raging hatred!

Like it matters what I think, but I agree today is the last day for partisan politics.

So the left wing moonbats would defend the Star's right to print a cartoon about Harper using the Canadian Forces to attack Toronto (on Remembrance Day), but vilify Kate for her rendition of the poem.

You lefties don't even have to TRY to be hypocritical any more, do you?

Kate, you crossed the line. Justify it to yourself any way you want, but it was offensive and an insult to the men and women who serve and served.

Shame on you.

What's that old saw about two wrongs?

Those are student responses, Ranter.

Will the TO Star cartoon go down in history as the first shot of the First Canadian Cold Civil War?

***************************************

"The common space required for civil debate has shrivelled to a very thin sliver of ground

But it's that one phrase that makes you pause: "A cold civil war."
...
A year before this next election in the U.S., the common space required for civil debate and civilized disagreement has shrivelled to a very thin sliver of ground. Politics requires a minimum of shared assumptions. To compete you have to be playing the same game: you can't thwack the ball back and forth if one of you thinks he's playing baseball and the other fellow thinks he's playing badminton. Likewise, if you want to discuss the best way forward in the war on terror, you can't do that if the guy you're talking to doesn't believe there is a war on terror, only a racket cooked up by the Bushitler and the rest of the Halliburton stooges as a pretext to tear up the constitution."

www.macleans.ca/culture/media/article.jsp?content=20071022_110242_110242

Well done, Kate. As for the chamberlains that object, you don't wear a wedding dress to clean out a cesspit, and you size your ammo to the calibre of your weapon. This fit.

Thanks to all you vets, especially those that liberated Holland.

Tired listening to all the hypocrisy, the overly offended at Kate's post. You're all so full of pure Bullcrap one can almost smell it.

My husband was among those very young men who liberated Holland, he's not a bit offended.

Kate: I didn't pick the timing, Z.

No, but you chose to respond, and you picked the poem.

That The Star leans hard-left is nothing new. That it is crass and obvious in its opposition to PM Harper is to nobody's surprise. But today of all days is a call to rise above our partisan squabbling. The Star indeed failed, but so did you.

You had the choice to respond or to not respond to the Star's tasteless provocation. And then you had the choice of how you would respond. And in both instances, you chose to further break with the solemnity of the day by engaging in gutter-level mudslinging. If The Star disrespects the memory of the fallen by indulging in cheap (and ultimately meaningless) political opportunism, then you accomplish nothing less (and nothing more) in your own response.

And so it continues. Your characterization of "the Left" and its views of the military ("The left talks a good game, but in everything they do...") is just more partisan vitriol, Kate. And yes, of course, you are not alone in this -- vast portions of the Left are equally guilty of mischaracterizing "the Right" as a monolith, and a racist, sexist, homophobic, war-mongering one at that.

Their style of rhetoric, their "contributions" to the political discourse, are the worst that the Left has to offer; yours is the worst the Right has to offer. Both sides talk past one another; both trade in stereotype, generalizations, and caricature. Worst, both are smugly self-assured that it's the other side, and the other side alone, that is the root of the problem.

Why should virtue say to evil: I don't wish to offend...

?

Bl**dy relativists.

Z

If what Kate posts is the worst the right has to offer we are doomed. I think it's high time to take the gloves off and what better day then this one. BTW there is no way to talk with lefties, there is no "political discourse".

I find it laughable that leftards villify Kate, based on a poem that all of them, given their marxist ideology, would stand against, let alone fondly remember in the first place.

These are the types who continuosly and progressively abuse, and belittle the sacrifices made by Canada's soldiers. These are the types who marginalize our ancestor's sacrifice through revisionist history and outright lies.

The Star's flippant insult to our dead, capping it all.

This has everything to do with the morally bankrupt, insidiously ignorant left. Who by their remarks on this thread are demonstrating their diseased minds and souls once again.

"But today of all days is a call to rise above our partisan squabbling"

When I hear the word "partisan", *always* from a left wing person and *never* from a conservative, I reach for the hypothetical revolver I would own if Canada were a truly free society.

The cold civil war is on. The leftists in this country hate Canada and hate Canadians. They hate men, they hate Anglo-Saxons, they hate breeders, they hate babies. They especially hate those who would stand up for what they believe in, calling it "partisanship" and apparently deeming it to be the supreme evil.

The cold civil war is on. I for one would never take a bullet for a country that actively discriminates against me in the workplace, in universities, and in the court of law. Very much the opposite.

Can anyone even imagine this type of discourse in the "letters to the editor" section of ANY newspaper in Canada?
The internt is making a difference albeit marginally at present, but the very fact that the leftist propaganda sheets like the Toronto Star are getting the pushback from ordinary folks and their circulation may well begin to dwindle and share value fall as it is happening in the US big time!
Good job Kate, and your comments on this issue are timely and very welcome, because I suspect the ivory tower types in this country are visiting regularly and are learning something going on in the country beyond their comprehension.

Hell they may even be posting behind pseudonyms, like Perry.
And thanks to Liz J , ET and the rest of the well written posts by women.

To all the lefties faking outrage,the villages are calling,they're missing their idiots.

...hey if all the motor mouths piling on Kate using the poem, why not use your energy and fix this country by going after the newspapers and airheads who come up with this crap?

Easy to do the "holier than thou" routine here, put some legs to your words, kick the Toronto Star butt instead.

Will Perry be getting a refund for the unused portion of his canceled sda subscription?

...holy frack look at all the leftist airhead goons coming out of the woodwork.

Jerks.

Twisting a long recognized iconic poem which honours our military and particularly those who have paid with their lives is not a proper way to wage battle.

I believe John McCrae would be embarrassed at this faux reverence. I believe he would cheer Kate's robust fighting spirit. I believe he would say it was a good poem, not a sacrament.

Hasta la vista, perry.

Its those who fought and died in WW II that allowed these liberal left-wing journalists to print lies and half-truths like they do

Don't worry fairy,I mean perry,albie,jeffie and the rest of the useful idiots who come here to annoy have got your back.

Our Father McCrae, who art in...dirt;
Hallowed be thy poem.
Thy remembrance come, thy will be done,
on only a single day of each year.

Righteous hypocrites be gone! Kate has exhibited more compassion and caring for our fighting men and women in this blog than the lot of you put together in your past comments. You're making a mountain out of a molehill...her "sin" is not "nothing", but it isn't much either.

And Perry? "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!"

I think I'll stand with Perry on this.

Kate, you can remove me from your Sask Election blog roll at your convenience. If you have a change of heart about the suitability of this post you wrote, please let me know, because I won't be stopping by any time soon to read a retraction.

As if saskboy added insight to any topic in the first place. You and your ilk won't be missed, you were only tolerated.

Kate,you should have done this sooner,the leftie trolls are going to boycott you and we could not be happier.

Darn, Kate. There you've gone and lost another irritating Lefty from your audience. What were you thinking?!

abcd - "The Left" dragged us into the gutter and set the tone, now we have to crush them on the battlefield they chose.

largs - Not only is it all right my friend it is about time. The only way to beat a dirty fighter is to fight dirty. The time is long over due that we get our hands dirty and fight fire with fire.

Tenebris - As for the chamberlains that object, you don't wear a wedding dress to clean out a cesspit, and you size your ammo to the calibre of your weapon. This fit.

djinbc - I think it's high time to take the gloves off and what better day then this one.

I agree. Kate is totally justified in descending to the level of the repugnant left, as exemplified by The Star. Of course, by approving this gloves-off, fight-fire-with-fire approach, my position also tacitly if inadvertently legitimizes The Star's decision to run the editorial cartoon in the first place. But whatever -- there's no room for such introspection during times of war.

Good on you Kate.

Today I also remember the family in East Germany whose
son was disappeared by the Stasi in the middle of the night.

@albatros39a, Garret, PiperPaul, Saskboy, BC Tory, the bear, Z, leftdog, djb:

Will you all be so good as to set an example by honouring the contribution of General Julian Lord Byng to the war effort in World War 1? He, after all, was quite a good general who deserves an accolade on this day.

"Julian Byng, First Viscount Byng of Vimy." Appropriate title, as he distinguished himself on that battlefield.

"When the First World War began, Byng campaigned in France with the British Expeditionary Force as commander of the Cavalry Corps, which included the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. Later he commanded the British 9th Army Corps in the ill-fated Dardanelles Campaign and supervised the British withdrawal from the straits.

"In 1916 Byng took command of the Canadian Army Corps on the Western Front. With his subordinate General Arthur Currie, he gained his greatest glory with the Canadian victory at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, an historic military victory for Canada that inspired nationalism at home. Following this victory, Byng took command of the British Third Army, where he conducted the first surprise attack using tanks at Cambrai, considered a turning point in the war. For these services he was promoted to the rank of general, and after the war was raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Byng of Vimy and Thorpe-le-Soken, in Essex, on 7 October 1919."

@BCer: Thanks for serving.

Some of the comments on here are unbelievably reactionary. The simple point in my first post was that I'd rather not see a modified version of "In Flanders Fields" posted on Remembrance Day - even if it was to make a point. I didn't consider it to be highly offensive, just not appropriate.

The cartoon that the Star has posted on the other hand IS highly offensive and absolutely disgusting. To try and equate Kate's paraphrasing of the poem to the perverted cartoon that the Star has published is idiotic.

The Star is out of control. Freedom of Speech is something that our forefathers fought and died for so it is not free. Secondly, Free Speech does not mean you go about ranting and raving and telling untruths. Without Responsible Factual rhetoric you become nothing but a ranting raving lunatic and propagandist. That is the Toronto Star today appealing to it's poor uneducated and fearful immigrants in one of the worst cities in Canada. Toronto is no longer the proud city it once was. It is now a ghettoized city of disparate cultural groups. Bravo Pierre what a mess you have made of Canada.
Thank God we have intelligent people to lead this country such as PM Harper.
Bill O'Reilly says that there is a Culture War going on in the West. Indeed there is and pray that we do not lose our culture as you may not like those who fill that vacuum.
Funny about Liberals, when they get their freedoms such as drugs, sex, lenient sentences, they are the first to whine and cry when it starts working against them and call for the government to do something.
People in this apathetic country had better wake up because there is a lot of agitation in the world today. We need to stand up and fight for the Canada our forefathers fought for.
The Star needs to be severely reprimanded for it's irresponsible rants and raves of the last few years. It is getting bolder because noone is doing anything about it.

Here's the letter I wrote to the Toronto Star; they phoned me that it 'is being considered' for publication in tomorrow's Star:

"Your editorial 'cartoon' showing PM Harper insisting that Toronto be bombed, and Gen. Hillier obeying this command is pure slander. It is not a political critique.

Furthermore, it slanders all the men and women who died in the world wars - on this day of honouring their sacrifice, November 11. These people gave you freedom. Your response is to spit on this freedom.

You owe Canadians an apology."

What these papers normally do, is print one letter condemning them - and one letter praising them. We'll see.

I'd really love to know if any of you who are spitting vitriol against the Star or who are going on and on about how much you love and support the vets have actually bothered to enlist or contribute to the military in any way.

It's all big talk, isn't it, safe at your computers, feeling indignant about the "left." A little like George Bush, really.

And before you go on about poetry and whatnot, perhaps you should remember a few lines from Wilfred Owen:

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,–
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Yes Dean - many who are commenting on this site are ex-military. Are you?

I suppose it would be out of line to desire the firing of "teacher", burning of her Communist Party membership....errrr union card and a frog marching to the nearest sturdy limb?

The cartoon's timing and the suggestion that In Flander's Fields is propoganda are a slap in the face to those who choose honour over cowardice.

Rats, liberal stinking communist rats have infested this country.

It is the Maoist leanings of the liberals that would order the troops into the streets against those they are sworn to protect.

Turdeau did in the 70's. The Lieberals have festered from his beliefs. They would do it again to keep their power.

If PM Harper ever had to order the troops out, it would be under great reluctance to preserve the nation.

That is the difference between the PM and the liberal infestation.

Saying "Thank you" to our vets is what is required. Poking at them for political gain is the epitomy of cowardice and sleaziness. The Star owes the PM, Gen Hillier, the men and women of the CF and Canada's Vets a HUGE apology on the front page of their rag. That is the only edition I'd pay money to have.

The teacher was provided this assignment - it wasn't her doing.

What happened to the Canada that these people faught for to protect?

Propaganda? What next! Not only did these men die, they died fighting to the death and through horrendous circumstances. We can only imagine what it would be like to have our friends and comrades blown to bits in front, to the sides, and behind us, and still have to move forward and be able to fight. And for Pete's sake, it is just a poem; I'm sure John McCrae would have enjoyed the spin put on it by Kate if he had read the Toronto Star.

"The general impression in my mind is of a nightmare. We have been in the most bitter of fights. For seventeen days and seventeen nights none of us have had our clothes off, nor our boots even, except occasionally. In all that time while I was awake, gunfire and rifle fire never ceased for sixty seconds ..... And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way.(Prescott. In Flanders Fields: The Story of John McCrae, p. 98)"

Basically I would think the last verse of the poem is stating to not let their deaths be in vain. All those who died in war deserve to have their deaths not be in vain, and that is why we reserve November 11th as a day to remember their sacrifice so no soldier will ever have to think that his/her sacrifice isn't acknowledged or appreciated.

It's funny how only the Left can have a sense of humour when it comes to them digging at the Conservatives, but when the shoe is on the other foot, they can't get over themselves - sorry, but you are not in a position to be indignant, so shut up, cowards....the lot of you.

And guess what, you don't have to be in the military, to support the military. I'm sure the military appreciates the employees who forego the military and serve up Tim Horton's coffee.

You always know how Leftards are feeling when they accuse the right of hatred. Poor Leftards are consumed with hatred and nobody gives a rat's ass.

And as for the lot of you who vow not to return to SDA, who bloody cares?

I assume I've been lumped in with the "left" for daring to criticize Saint Kate.

For the record, I'm definitely conservative politically and economically. I've voted that way since I was able to vote and I've NEVER missed voting in an election.

I'm simply offended by anyone show such blatant disrespect for our veteran and serving military, doubly offended by the "well, they did it first" kindergarten style justification offered by you, Kate, and triply offended by the infantile responses by the so-called "Conservative" fan-boyz.

*
"sanctimonious perry whines... Absolutely unbelievable. Beyond the bounds
of taste, and saskboy sucks it up... cancel me too..."

did either have anything to say about their fellow-progressive "canadian cynic"
telling the mother of a dead canadian soldier to "get f@cked"?

what's that you hear?

the sound of supremely skewed socialist silence.

*

*
"djb mewls... such blatant disrespect for our veteran and serving
military, doubly offended by the "well, they did it first""

that's pretty selective reading, you wuss.

hope you shared some of your outrage with your pal...
"canadian 'f@ck you wanda watkins' cynic".

*

you're a dirtbag mcmillan, no way around it. shame on you.

Kate, I strongly disapprove of what you've written here. To put it mildly.

Was that editorial cartoon in The Star over the line? Clearly. But so was this.

How would you know anything about shame Davidson, you're a lieberal. Not a word in your limited vocabulary or you wouldn't insult a lady.

*
"jeffy says... no way around it. shame
on you"

oh, bugboy... you're not sharing more of
that special insight, are you?

*

I can't believe we couldn't have one day of respect in which there wasn't any foolish bickering.

It's not a left-right thing. When people bicker on a day like today it is self-defeating. The point was to respect the day as a day of reflection and honour for the dead.

Oh well, carry on.

Some of you people are so utterly clueless it even astonishes me. Here, then, a reminder - again - since Charles @8.44am seems to have been ignored:

Verse III

"Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."

Good catch, Kate. Hold it high and keep the faith.

To all you pansy-livered pusillanimous pantywaists, you nattering nabobs delighting in the even tenor of your days, desperate to keep the boat of your lives on an even keel, petrified that you may have to stand and be counted...

...is peace in our time your only god?!

So, people seem to think Kate's modification of a poem honouring the war dead on Remberance Day is worse than a major newspaper publishing a cartoon, which depicts our PM as a bloodthirsty warmonger ordering our military to attack a civilian target and kill civilians, and having the military automoton-like doing so? On Rememberance Day no less.

A modification of a poem is no where near as disgusting as The Star depicting our soldiers as war criminals on Rememberance Day, and the boneheads thinking they are morally equivalent need to give their heads a shake.

Was Kate's poem in poor taste? Likely to the thin-skinned, who worship words over morality, and especially to ones it was targeting - timing could have been better, but tomorrow the story would have been od news. Was it as bad as the The Star's cartoon? Not even close.

So now in Canada modifying a poem dedicated to dead soldiers is worse than a cartoon depicting Canadian soldiers bent on attacking Toronto on Rememberance Day? Especially when that modification is a response a critique of the sideswipe to Canadian soldiers - the very same type of men who the poem was written for.

And shame on the Toronto Star for trying to enshroud Toronto in the Cloak of Victimhood with regards to Harper. All I can say is GROW UP!

The people who post here from the political "left" illustrate perfectly the infantile mindset and world view that dominates their ideaology.
Their socialist causes are really communism by stealth.
Communism is the enemy of western democracy.
Stalin's "useful idiots" are enemies of our country and way of life.
Never waste an opportunity to castigate them and put them in their place.
Their opinions are rubbish even if they do have the right to espouse them.
Blatent idiocy.

Having read through all the comments, I have come to the following conclusions:

1. The scent of faux outrage is detectable through a high speed connection.

2. Those professing this outrage are very often selective in said outrage. See Neo's post regarding the ever eloquent CC.

3. Regardless of a persons self identified political leanings or sense of decorum, there is a spectrum. Shades and degrees folks.

4. For those of you who took offense to Kate's rendition of Flanders Fields...so be it. I do however find it ironic that many here seem to hold a dog breeder/blogger from central Saskatchewan to a higher standard than the editorial board of the largest daily in the nation. In my mind that says a lot more about the expectations you hold for the MSM than it does about the character of Kate. Either that or across the spectrum Canadians have largely become a collection of sniveling, spineless school children.

5. I wonder how many sanctimonious morons (see above post) have the wherewithal, smarts and courage to establish and maintain a top flight blog in the face of some of the most vile personal commentary on the net? For those of you who don't know what I mean, once again check out CC.

6. And finally, for the tender souls who must never return to SDA as a matter of high principle....I hear Warren Kinsella has reworked his blog.....I'm sure you will all enjoy many hours of riveting political discourse as soon as Warren gets the comments function figured out.

Syncro

We the willing, led by the unknowing, doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We've done so much for so long with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

========================

I wish I knew who it was that said that, however, whoever did had it absolutley correct.

As far as I can see, not one person in this thread has mentioned the word “irony”, which is what Kate was using when she changed the words of “In Flanders Field”.

The outrage from the leftards and disapproval from some supporters (peace, BCer, and thanks) is ludicrous. Even a supportive poster said that Kate’s “descended to the level of the repugnant left”. SHE’S DONE NOTHING OF THE SORT.

Not to mince words, Perry, you’re an idiot. The difference between what the Star did and what Kate did is a universe apart: The Star MEANT to slur the military and PMSH. It did so with relish. Utterly shameful. What Kate did is called “irony”—look it up, little boy. (And very good riddance. Though you write reasonably well, your smug ignorance will not be missed.)

Kate completely supports the military and respects its traditions and its mettle and has stated this clearly many times. She changed the poem, not to libel our fighting men and women, but to make a point. There is a huge difference between what she did and what the Star did.

Frankly, the fact that so many posters here have entirely missed the point and have unfairly castigated Kate for making a most valid thrust, using the literary technique, called irony, vastly disappoints me. It seems our culture’s been so dumbed down that people, who should know better, fall for the literal, and, in this case, do so completely ignoring the context, e.g., that Kate is both a patriot and a huge supporter of the military.

I appreciate Kate’s astuteness and her creativity in thoroughly slagging the Star. (Psst . . . THAT’S what she was doing here.)

Well done, Kate! And thanks.

Who's "we"?

Who's "we" is for Lycan Stark.

Lookout, the "we" are people like your grandfather and father are also the men and women of our present armed forces. The rest is self explanatory.

Then I altogether appreciate your post. Thanks!

Yes, my grandfathers and my dad must be rolling in their graves, seeing what they fought for at great sacrifice being trashed by the present dispensation in our poor, benighted country. (I'm pleased to report that none of them read the Star. They were Telegram men!)

How fitting to use McCrae's poem to introduce us to both the Toronto Star's cartoon and the poem as propoganda piece. These are the foes to whom McCrae bequeaths us the quarrel.
"Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."
McCrea asks those who honour and respect freedom to carry "the torch" of vigilance and expose those who would vilify their sacrifice.

...maybe look on the bright side, with all the air head leftists blowing gaskets all over the place here, I'd rather they do it here than in some position of leadership or political front.

The Remembrance Day assembly at my daughters' school started with cadets entering with the flags accompanied by bagpipes. The younger kids sang "Oh, Canada" in English and French and a staff member played "The Last Stand" on trumpet. Poppy donations were placed in front of a wreath by class representatives and a student's father, an active duty soldier, spoke briefly about the sacrifices made by today's soldiers. He said that they don't do it for glory; all they ask is that on November 11th at 11:00am we all stop for a moment of silence to remember the sacrifices made by soldiers to preserve and ensure our freedoms.

This wonderful ceremony was marred by the inclusion of anti-war songs including "Blowing in the Wind" and "Where have all the flowers gone?" The latter song includes the lines (paraphrased) "Where have all the soldiers gone? They are all in the graveyards. When will they ever learn?"

These songs seemed incredibly inappropriate for Remembrance Day. I agree that peace is a noble goal but this day is about remembering the sacrifices made by soldiers fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others. It's about them doing what was just and right when it needed to be done because it needed to be done. Sometimes it is necessary to fight for what is right.

Next year the school should focus on freedom and expressing gratitude.

JBS wrote, "McCrea asks those who honour and respect freedom to carry "the torch" of vigilance and expose those who would vilify their sacrifice." Absolutely. And, that's just what Kate's beautifully done here in her pithy, intelligent way.

Thanks, meesh, for the information about your daughter's school's ceremony. I'm altogether familiar with the hijacking of November 11th by those who say, "Peace, peace, where there is no peace". (Jeremiah 6:14) Poor misguided souls, but what damage they do because they are not the tellers of truth. Their dissembling misleads many: appeasement follows. Kyrie eleison.

BuckDog posted an anti-SDA rant on his site with this line at the bottom:

NOTE:
... if you need to comment on this why not comment at her site ....

Too bad you don't have the guts to allow comments on your site Dog. They seem to have been shut off sometime yesterday. Real brave.

meesh: These songs seemed incredibly inappropriate for Remembrance Day. I agree that peace is a noble goal but this day is about remembering the sacrifices made by soldiers fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others. It's about them doing what was just and right when it needed to be done because it needed to be done. Sometimes it is necessary to fight for what is right.

lookout: I'm altogether familiar with the hijacking of November 11th by those who say, "Peace, peace, where there is no peace". (Jeremiah 6:14) Poor misguided souls, but what damage they do because they are not the tellers of truth. Their dissembling misleads many: appeasement follows.

I received a donation solicitation in the mail last Friday from the War Amps, among my most favoured charitable causes, clearly timed so as to coincide with Remembrance Day. On their literature was the following messages:

"Never again! "The War Amps believes it has a responsibility to warn younger generations about the true horrors of war. Who better to recount the battles as they really happened than veterans who experienced war first hand. Archival war footage is used extensively to convey the suffering and death caused by global conflict. War amputees know the importance of fighting for freedom. A military deterrent may indeed be necessary to prevent future conflicts but we owe it to younger generations to do everything possible to avoid global war in the future."

"In a war, everyone suffers...we must never let it happen again."

I trust you will not (mis)characterize the War Amps as yet another example of the misguided Left.

Anti-war sentiments are not incompatible with Rememberance Day, because "anti-war" is not synonymous with appeasement and capitulation. Indeed, it is in remembering what was lost that we are reminded that future conflicts should be entered into with sober intent, and only where the need is absolute.

A, thank you.

On CBC yesterday I heard Benjamin Britten's quite magnificent "War Requiem". (He was, however, a pacifist: It sounds good but it means the bully always wins. Not smart—or compassionate either.)

Howard Dyck, the host, kept speaking of "the futility of war". "NO! NO! NO!" I thought. I felt like throwing my slipper at the radio. But what else would one expect from the CBC? All surrender monkey, all the time.

I would agree that anti-war is not necessarily incompatible with Remembrance Day. However, the songs sung that day had the tone of a reprimand for those who had fought or are currently fighting. Many (most?) anti-war protesters and those who write anti-war protest songs are pro-appeasement and are happy to capitulate. War should be avoided if possible but not at any cost. We can attempt to avoid war but if those who would destroy us and our way of life are willing to die to do so then our only recourse is to defend ourselves.

I'm just saying that for this one assembly each year is it too much to ask that we honor the sacrifices made, acknowledge the cost paid for our freedoms, and leave the anti-soldier sentiments at the door?

In answer to your question, NO!

Remember, though, that vast majority of school administrators are up to their eyeballs in political correctness. They either just go with the flow or actually believe it. It's more than too bad.

The letters the Star did print are here.

Mark
Ottawa

lookout: 100% with you on this.

The futiliy of war? What utter sentimental, a-historical tripe.

The following article appeared in The American Legion Magazine. The author, Ralph Peters, gets at the heart of the issue — myths circulated by our media and politicians weaken our ability to wage war on Jihadi terrorists.

12 Anti-war Myths

Pacifism Kills!

Well done, ET. Well said. Too bad articulate and factual criticism of the TorStar editorial policies probably won't have much of an effect on the lib-left surrender monkeys.

But, what you said needed to be said. I'm glad you said it and I'm glad the TorStar printed it.

Do you think it would be legitimate/appropriate for the PM to sue them?

Excellent article, MND. Many thanks.

It--or Canadian equivalent--should be required reading in every grade 6 plus class in our public schools, instead of the steady diet of pacifist propaganda that's the usual fare.

Anti-war; Opposed/Against-war. There are some people who are against war absolutely and do not want to engage in it for any reason whatsoever, even if it means sending their/our freedoms down the loo. I believe most people believe that war is necessary when others threaten our lives and freedoms. No mother or father wants to see her sons or daughters go to war; there is a reason war is referred to as hell on earth. Veterans do not want people of younger generations to have to engage in war, but they also believe in what they did was right and just and know that men and women may be called up to fight again. Why veterans tell the younger generations what war was like may be for many reasons.

"The War Amps believes it has a responsibility to warn younger generations about the true horrors of war."

Really, I only think warning the younger generations of the horrors of war only instills fear, instead of hope, not that I don't believe their stories should be told, because I do. We have always fought to save lives, not to take them and preparing for war, physically and mentally is like preparing for child birth - it hurts like hell and when the pain ends, we feel better for experiencing it because the alternative would have been far worse.

Many veterans chose to never speak of war again, which I believe speaks more to the horrors of war than speaking of it.