on THE POOR are always with us, it says in the Bible. So are the freaks of the Left, in. spite of the failure of social- ism. They go on prospering. In the universities, the media, and polities. You keep them going. So do [. We finance them whether we Tike them or not. We have no say in the matter. Wednesday's column on govern- ment grants to special-interest groups gave a glimpse of how it is done, That's not (o say that every spe- cial-interest group is left-wing. But without those grants, plus the sup- port provided by the universities the Left would he supping on thin gruel. just like the Right. The cash sources are noi only federal and provincial. Cities and districts also dip into their lls. | have here an eight-page flyer put out by a bunch called Basic Inquiry. Its headline reads Fascism and the Spectacular State. The (strangely named) Speciacular: State, declares the flyer, is providing “a forum on fascism.” Itwasa two-month affair that ended Friday, featured dozens of speakers from far and wide, and was a: virtual ‘roll- activists, ’ It could not have been put on _ Without a great deal of money. So “Where did the money come from? “Not from passing the hat round at “street corners. It lcame from the City of Vancouver, which is supposed to ‘have. a right-wing council; the ' Government of British Columbia, which is you-know-what, Canada Employment and, Immigration * (Well, done, Sergio Marchi!); the Canada Council; Simon Fraser University, and various foundations that are always willing to drop a dol- “lar into the hat for “cultural” . pur- poses. . Basic Inquiry is a non-profit society and therefore pays no taxes. ’ Nice work if you can get it and you can always get. it if. you. ask Canadian governments, especially if “ you stand on the left of the political ~ spectrum: :L have never heard of any right- wing group getting as much as a - dime. The’ participants in this leftist orgy see all right-wingers as.“ “ascists or potential fascists. . The. very: first lecture was on Fascism’s Return. (Hi there, Adolf! And I thought you wuz dead.) ‘ Some of the characters involved | in the exercise were good for a few laughs.. Frances Wasserlein was described this way. “She talks, does box offices, teaches, js taught ... and is unclear at the moment about how otherwise to describe her identity but is definite-, call of left-wing” oug Collins on the other hand ly left. anti-fascist, expression.” “Jeet Kai is a fourth generation Chinese Canadian hip-hop artist who has been active in radical and community politics for the past six years.” ; Nancy Paterson of Toronto “is an electronic media artist who writes on cyberfeminism.” She's also big on “the links between fascist ideology and the voyeurism of tourism.” (Which is a new one on me.) A fem called Krystyna von Henneberg “sees a relationship between Italian Fascism and the rise of mass colonial tourism.” pro-gender vs: Sarah Jain is a Canadian “study- ing the History of Consciousness at the University of California.” (Is anyone studying the History of Unconsciousness, I wonder? They should.) Janet Altshool is “a politically- active Jewish lesbian” interested in “sexuality, gender and immigration rights.” Aren’t they all? There are racists everywhere, of course, and the world has to be con- stantly on the watch for them. ‘There were vague references to “numerous recent instances of polit- ically motivated genocides and acts of terror promulgated by fanatical 1 groups.” (But no mention of how well Stalin and Mao did-in that respect.) Chin Bannerji, we are informed, “is:an anti-fascist activist who is currently the secretary of the B.C. Organization to Fight. Racism, He also teaches english (sic) literature at SFU.” An “Anti-Fascist. Film-Jazz Crashup™ was due to be held yester- day, plus films showing “historical and contemporary aspects of fas- cism.” David Lethbridge was scheduled to speak today. He's the Salmon Arm guy who got a $3,000 grant from the feds to fight fascism in the boonies. (He's being sued for libel, too, by Eileen Presster of that city.) There are dozens more such guodies. But you get the idea. The Left is glorious and anti-fascist, the Right is rotten and pro-fascist, Would any university, govern- ment or foundation supply. similar support for an inquiry into the hor- rors of socialism and political cor- rectness, of which Basic Inquiry i isa pillar? Don't be silly. There would be no grounds for complaint if these people were pay- ing for their own thing. But they aren’t. ! have another question: why didn’t they ask me te give them a talk? I’m anti-fascist, too, especially of the currently dangerous leftist sort. RO Aceuy PROBLEMS Read Home & Garden and you could have no mow ’ problems! |Your child will gain one full grade| level in just 36 hours. G With Sylvan's positive, caring, individualized instruction, students find their grades soaring ~ along with their self- confidence. We've already helped more than a million children turn their grades around, Let's talk about how we can help your child. 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