Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

"The scene was vastly different than the one Coulter faced in Ottawa a few days earlier, and she remarked how she felt so much safer and that she knew it would be the best of the three stops she made in Canada.

"The audience gave a huge cheer when Coulter proposed making Calgary the 51st of the United States.

"She said Canada was the least diverse country she's seen -- which brought objections from the audience, but she pointed out that everyone in the crowd looked like she did.

"Coulter spoke a lot about how there's standards for Liberals but not for everyone else, especially Conservatives.

"`In conclusion, if anything I've said tonight offended you, my work is done,'" she said to end her speech."

Coulter's comment about everyone in the Calgary crowd looking like herself is classic racism, the type of comment made in the racially explosive period of the American South.  Coulter's most thoroughly racist comment, however, had been made earlier in her Canadian speaking tour.

The event was supposed to be held at the University of Calgary campus, but was moved after her speech at the University of Ottawa was cancelled earlier this week when hundreds of protesters came out after learning about comments she made at another university.

Coulter told a Muslim student at the University of Western Ontario that she should "take a camel" for international travel after the student challenged a previous Coulter statement that Muslims shouldn't be allowed on airplanes and should take flying carpets instead.

When Coulter was later confronted for making a racist remark she followed a frequent practice of seeking to dismiss the comment as "satire."  There was nothing satirical about it but it was loaded with racist innuendo aimed at Arabs.  Canada is a diversified society and comments such as that made by Coulter is apt to be vigorously challenged, as occurred in this instance.

Using a Coulter double standard, she indicated an intention to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission over the way she was treated by the University of Ottawa.

Provost Francois Houle sent Coulter a note before her speech, urging her to educate herself about Canada's hate laws.  Houle warned that promoting hatred against an identifiable group could lead to criminal charges.

The inflammatory commentator pulled out of that appearance after 1,500 people tried to get into the venue that was already filled to capacity with pre-registered guests. Another few hundred loudly protested her speech outside the building.

On Ann Coulter's speech engagements this past week in Canada, everyone is weighing in now and, unfortunately, all it is doing is giving the "ravin', hatin' GOP fembot" a chance to improve her bottom line.

A source of mine highly active in the Canadian political process protested how the Coulter controversy has been spun in American the mainstream media, pointing out some essential facts:

"Canada is being painted as having a free-speech problem and criticized for not letting her speak at the University of Ottawa, claiming that if we had allowed her to speak at the institution where she was invited to speak, we would have then had our turn to mock her and put her `ideas' in the garbage where they belong.

"Provost Francois Houle may have unnecessarily sent a letter warning her of speech promoting hatred against any identifiable group, but it should be made clear that the main reason the event was cancelled was due to the poor planning of the university's Campus Conservatives, who planned the event."

According to attendees, they were behind schedule.  They then announced to the large crowd that if they weren't registered they wouldn't get in.

As my source continued:

"Fans and critics were penned in the building, organizers were blocking entry to the hall, and people couldn't leave. In truth, a concept that is foreign to Ann Coulter, the evening was cancelled due to poor planning.  Also, some prankster pulled the fire alarm."

If there is one thing that surpasses the sheer gall of Coulter's racist comments it is her penchant for crocodile tears and protests of discrimination when she is confronted with opponents responding to her message.