WELCOME TO FREE DOMINION

[Peter O'Donnell]

Welcome to Free Dominion -- Now You're Talking

Greetings, members and especially visitors, browsers, and all those of you who are lost in the political and cultural wilderness and looking for some landmarks. That was myself just two short months ago, when I happened to learn of the existence of Free Dominion. If you are, like myself, a conservative who feels burdened down by living in a nation that seems at times to be governed like a one-party state, with the uniformity of media coverage of news and opinion that you would expect to find in North Korea or the former Soviet Union, then I have good news for you -- you are now among friends. You have reached an oasis of sanity in a vast wilderness of political insanity (not to mention inanity).

We are not an extension of the Conservative Party of Canada, and in fact not all of our regular participants are members of that party. However, I think it's fair to say that this is a forum where Canadian conservatives can discuss the issues of the day, both national and global, without the usual filter of the nanny state tut-tutting over our shoulders, reminding us of what we're supposed to think and say under the religion of political correctness.

As your front page host, I will make some suggestions about where you can go on this rather complicated website to find some really solid evidence that there is a better way for our country. From time to time, I will update this list of recommended sites within the Free Dominion library, because indeed, this has become a collection of five years worth of conservative discussion and opinion. There is no wrong place to go here, but as of today, these are some of my recommended destinations. --
Peter O'Donnell front page host

You will find that we are organized into several forums, and the way to reach those is by clicking on "forum" above. You can also watch the scroll of most recent posts, and you may see something that interests you -- just click on the topic there and jump in. You need to register to comment.

Here's a few places I would recommend that you start.

The third forum in the list, Conservative Party of Canada Issues, always has some of the most lively and updated discussions going on. Right now, I would suggest What the Liberal Party of Canada has brought us by Westviking. This is a rather chilling list of the "accomplishments" of our Liberal government. Don't read this while eating a meal. Then in the same forum, members are actively discussing this question posed by Gratian Gasparri -- In retrospect, was the PC-CA merger a good thing? -- and as with many of our articles, there's a poll there for members to register their vote. Last time I looked, the consensus was that, yes, it was a good thing, but some felt this should be reviewed soon after the government came into office, assuming that the Conservatives do win this election we seem to be heading for.

Then, if you ever emerge from that forum (lots to read there), I would recommend a complete change of pace, in this month of observances of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Holland and V-E Day. Oaktree wrote a very interesting piece entitled It's Time to Fight, Not to Give Up, which traces the social changes that have occurred in Canada since the time of our great sacrifice in the war, and how moral relativism has undermined our society in modern times. You'll find a good discussion that follows his essay. This can be found in the "Opinions are Like Clymers" forum, and believe it or not, I have been here two months and never asked what a clymer is. PM me below and enlighten me further.

Now, no sane person can observe Canadian politics without laughing at the sheer absurdity of it all. That's why we have a Ridicule Room, and all you need to do is go there and look for any fairly recent post to see what's making conservatives laugh this month. I seem to have the most severe attack of the Liberal laughing gas recently, so check out what candidates are really thinking under the title Mr. Subliminal Runs for the Liberals. He wants your vote, and he's willing to hide the truth to get it. There's a poll you can answer in this section too, although I am not sure why it is under Ridicule since it is far more serious. Have a look at it and come up with your own answer -- ARE YOU PROUD TO BE CANADIAN ? -- the discussion is lively, and the opinions about equally divided.

Conservatives are torn between their patriotic love for Canada, and their concern that it is becoming a hostile state. This is the real tragedy of our political movement, not that we currently sit in opposition, but that we have already seen our nation transformed along the lines of some socialist experiment where political correctness is the new state religion. It's difficult sometimes for conservatives to maintain a strong sense of national identity and remain committed to a united Canada in the face of so much that seems alien and hostile. There is a tendency, not ill-founded in my opinion, to place the blame for this alienation on one region, or the cities, or political parties, or even generations. This all makes the challenge of patriotism the more difficult. In the Rhetoric Room forum, you will find another thoughtful piece by Oaktree that I can highly recommend, not only for his words but for the very interesting discussion that follows. The link for that is under the heading Canada is a Body of Many Members, not just one.

Well, friends, that is but a small sample of what's truly worth reading on Free Dominion. Welcome, and make yourself at home. We love to hear from new members. It's a large country, and there are so many shades of blue.

[J.B. Stone]

As your front page host, I will make some suggestions about where you can go on this rather complicated website to find some really solid evidence that there is a better way for our country. From time to time, I will update this list of recommended sites within the Free Dominion library, because indeed, this has become a collection of five years worth of conservative discussion and opinion. There is no wrong place to go here, but as of today, these are some of my recommended destinations. --
Peter O'Donnell front page host

Thank You.

I have two questions...

1. Are Americans welcome here?

2. Why?

[Peter O'Donnell]

I have two answers to those questions, speaking for myself --

1. Yes, Americans are more than welcome, the conservative movement in Canada probably overlaps that portion of our population which is either pro-American or at least not ritually anti-American.

2. Why? Short answer, because we can learn from each other. There are many issues we face in common, as well as some that are unique to our two countries. I know that you have been a member here a lot longer than I have, and that you have concerns about government weapons testing that might be of interest to many Canadians. If you want to reply with your recommendation of which forum people might wish to read, by all means do so. Please keep in mind, this discussion will probably be read mainly by new members and visitors to FD. As you will be aware, a lot of regular members don't scroll down the page far enough to see "Front Page News" and so most of the interest in this particular discussion will probably come from first-time visitors after today.

In that regard, I don't want to encourage any long exchanges on this one forum because this is essentially the ticket counter, not the airplane.