Ezra Levant returns from covering the Tommy trial in the UK, where a verdict is expected by late July, amid skepticism over its timeline. The episode critiques Toronto’s progressive school policies—marijuana use, teacher assaults, and canceled SRO programs—while questioning the NDP’s handling of Christine Moore’s conduct allegations and Jugmeet Singh’s past ties to terrorism-linked movements. It shifts to the NFL’s decline, blaming concussion fears and anthem protests for dropping ratings, then praises Canada’s underrated lacrosse while mocking liquor/cannabis monopolies like Ontario’s 38-store system. Levant highlights Justin Trudeau’s $10.5M payment to a convicted murderer as government hypocrisy, wrapping up with a nod to viewer donations and economic struggles, underscoring how policy failures erode public trust in institutions. [Automatically generated summary]
I'm David Menzies, filling in for Ezra Levant, and this is Battleground.
Good afternoon.
It is Friday, July 4th.
I'm David Menzies, filling in for Ezra Levant, and this is Battleground.
Well.
Yes.
Where is it?
Hey, good afternoon.
Whoops.
Friday, July 30th.
I'm David Menzies filling in for Ezra Levante.
Folks, bear with me.
We just have another technical glitch.
What a way to end the week.
But Mr. Producer number one is busily fixing it.
And there we go.
We have muted the computer.
I didn't know that was on.
My apologies.
You know, it can only go up from here, right?
I think on Tuesday, when it was my first time this week, it was a passable performance, according to the producers.
Wednesday, Mr. Producer number two said, that was really, really rough.
And he meant it.
I could tell by the look in his eyes.
And on Thursday, it was, hey, good job.
Good job, Menzoid.
So on Friday, I was really hoping to knock it out of the park, but already off to a, I don't know, pop-up to shallow left field.
Anyways, folks, let's get on with it, shall we?
As you know, Ezra is just now coming back from the UK.
He's been covering the Tommy trial.
Nothing to report there except for the fact, of course, that a decision shall be made at the end of July.
A bit of a long time, if you ask me.
I think it's a slam dunk.
I know you're not supposed to use that kind of terminology in the legal community, but even if it isn't, and since Tommy's no threat, as I've said over and over again, let the guy out already.
He's not any kind of threat to the public.
And so if you do want to contribute, by the way, I have to plug this.
For Tommy's legal costs, it is save Tommy.com.
That is saveTommy.com.
Even if you can chip in a buck or two or five, every single penny is going towards Tommy's legal fees and they are considerable.
And if you want to help Ezra with his expenses, it's a completely separate fundraising endeavor.
It is tommytrial.com.
That's TommyTrial.com because we are not taking a single shilling from the save Tommy.com fundraiser for Tommy himself.
That is strictly for Tommy's expenses.
And speaking of expenses, it is very expensive going to London, especially on last minute folks.
So if you have it in your hearts to give, we really appreciate that.
And on the free side of things, if you want to get your free Tommy ringtone, please go to TommyRingtone.com.
You can download that there.
That doesn't cost you anything.
And of course, you can tweet hashtag free Tommy to show your support there.
So there you have it.
Disciplinary Challenges in Schools00:15:21
Well, lots to talk about today.
One of the things that grabbed my eye this week is Sue Ann Levy, who is one of my favorite journalists in Canada.
Yes, in the mainstream media, there are still those who care and who tell the truth and who are great at their jobs.
And Joe Warmington is certainly one of them.
We had him on the show earlier this week.
And my other favorite son columnist is Sue Ann Levy.
And she has been doing a series.
And it is a real eye-opener.
It is incredibly disturbing to say the least, but it's quite profound.
And if you want to Google this and read Sue Ann's work, just put in progressive discipline, turn some Toronto schools into hell holes.
There's another one, tough kids, lax administration, make for high school hell.
You see where this is going, folks.
And before I get into the, well, here's the here it is in a nutshell.
Basically, at the Toronto District School Board, which is about as far left as it's ever been in its history, there really is no discipline anymore.
And you have kids smoking marijuana under the stairwells of school who are threatening teachers and other students, who are carrying out threats against students and teachers and even the principal.
And I mean physical threats.
And they can't do anything, it seems.
It is literally a case of the inmates running the asylum.
And if a teacher even has the temerity to defend him or herself, you can expect a disciplinarian hearing.
It is out of control.
What is very important about Sue Ann's piece, I think, is that we have heard these stories in the past, folks.
And I have spoken to teachers too, and I've clamored for them to come on the record and tell their stories.
And they say, well, you know what, we really can't.
We don't want to rock the boat.
We don't want to get on the bad side of the teachers' union.
Teachers union, by the way, in Sue Ann's piece, have been completely absent.
They still haven't given her a comment.
And so they've been cowered into silence.
But I think we're at a breaking point because several teachers are coming forward and they're saying what a dangerous place some of these Toronto schools have turned into.
And when it comes to calling the cops, there are no cops to call.
Everyone in the administration, in the teachers' union, at the school board, is holding their nose and turning a blind eye and saying, nothing to see here, folks.
So before we get more into this, Sue Ann Levy had a fantastic video with a teacher, Sean Goldman.
And he, I think we're going to run a clip of that.
It's about a minute and a half long.
And he's going to outline just some of the absolute egregious nonsense he and his colleagues have to put up with at his Scarborough School.
It's disgusting what's going on to the staff.
And the staff are being physically assaulted.
I don't think there's any other job I can think of, I mean, other than cops maybe.
But I mean, cops have weapons.
They can defend themselves.
Teachers can't.
And in fact, if a teacher actually does defend himself, then you get into trouble.
The teacher that I know who, you know, said, stop it when he was being physically assaulted and actually grabbed a kid by the arm is facing criminal charges right now, assault charges.
He's facing the assault charges.
And it's disgusting that the board will not step up and say, teachers, we've got your back.
For sure, it's the board's policy.
I mean, now you can talk about the problems with this kid or that kid, but overall, if you don't have a strong disciplinary policy, and this is what the issue was, that kids would be committing acts of violence, destroying property in the school.
They go down physically assaulting either other students or staff.
They would get sent down to the office and coddled and given a lollipop and sent back to class.
And that's what progressive discipline is.
And that policy was brought in under the Liberal government.
And I'm hoping that the new government will look at their, they said they're reviewing the math curriculum.
And I hope that they're going to review the disciplinary.
There should be suspensions.
If a student dares to put their hand on a teacher, that kid should be out of this school.
Yes, how you dig in that liberalism, that progressive approach to education now.
And Sean Goldman isn't the only one to step forward in her piece yesterday.
Sue Ann Levy spoke to an auto shop teacher, Rob Ball, who is also talking about what he has been going through and his colleagues.
And Mr. Ball came up with a very important point.
He spoke to the school resource officers program, which was eliminated by the Toronto District School Board this past year.
What this was, folks, is that those schools where there was a lot of these bullies, these malcontents, these kids that they're not there to learn.
They're there to wreak havoc on everyone else.
The Toronto District School Board would have a police officer at these schools.
And guess what?
In the presence of a uniformed officer, the discipline would return to these schools because you had a literal cop at the school.
And some of these things that they're doing, these are criminal code violations.
But guess what happened?
Yeah, Black Lives Matter Toronto, they went on a campaign and they actually convinced the nutty trustees on the Toronto District School Board that this was somehow, I don't know, racist to have cops at these at-risk schools.
And the program was eliminated, even though the majority of parents want it there, even though I would suggest the majority of kids, which is to say, those kids who are going to school and want to learn and don't want to be bullied and don't want to have a bunch of thugs shaking them down for their lunch money.
They had no problem with this.
But because Black Lives Matter Toronto wants something, we live in a city now where what Black Lives Matter Toronto wants, Black Lives Toronto gets.
And that includes basically banning cops from the Gay Pride Parade too.
Meanwhile, we have another summer of the gun.
A disproportionate number of the gunmen and victims are black.
And where is Black Lives Matter when it comes to black-on-black violence and homicide?
The radio silence from this group, ladies and gentlemen, right now is deafening.
So, you know, I don't understand when we, you know, you go to these schools and you see signs on the wall and it says zero tolerance for bullying.
Yet when the bullies go beyond bullying, they're actually breaking laws.
Where's the hammer?
Where's the discipline?
Well, we don't want to stigmatize anyone.
We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
I'm assuming that's the ostensible policy reason behind not, you know, not having any kind of discipline in these schools.
And I assume that because as Sue Ann Levy says in her story, the representatives of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation have promised to get in contact with her about this.
And guess what?
Still haven't come up with some kind of a solution.
So this is a shameful thing.
And thankfully, I take my hat off to Mr. Goldman and to Mr. Ball because these two teachers have the testicular fortitude to step forward and to speak about this issue, whereas for years and years and years, it has been absolute radio silence.
But like I said earlier, folks, I guess the situation where you're actually experiencing physical harm at your workplace, when it gets to that point, what other choice do you have but at least to speak out?
And let's go to the chat board and see what we have here from Dee Michalelli, leftist teachers reaping what they sow.
How do you spell Scheidenfreud?
Well, you know what?
Scheudenfreud is that German term where you take pleasure in the suffering of others.
I don't know.
That's not where I'm coming from on this.
I'm thinking of those teachers who really do want to do their job and those students who really want to learn.
And I would suggest, at least for those people, surely you would think that would be the majority.
It is that progressive minority that is ruining things for everyone.
I'm not taking any pleasure in seeing anyone, teacher, student, or principal, getting threatened with violence or actually being physically assaulted in a school.
No joy in that.
And all we need is some discipline to get things back in order again.
We have a super chat from C182OPR.
It's $5 Canadian.
Thank you so much for your generosity, sir.
With all due respect, the teachers' unions have been supporting the Liberal Party and their progressive agenda for years.
Karma's a bitch, I guess.
You know, you're right.
But, you know, I have to tell you, like rats abandoning a sinking ship, if memory serves this current election, going back to June, they switched their support to the NDP, even though the Liberal Party of Ontario has given the teachers' unions, I would argue, just about everything, everything they could possibly ask for to create, to make a union block out of those teachers' unions.
And yet, when they got a whiff in the air that regime change was inevitable, it was thanks, but what have you done for me lately?
So talk about fair weather friends.
Okay, then.
We have from R.O. Junkie, he's responding to Tony Nagy.
Kids have respect.
White kids respect non-whites.
Blacks respect blacks.
Chinese respect Chinese.
Every kid has respect, laughing out loud.
Well, I don't think respect should be racially based, folks.
But I would say this, in the absence of respect, if it's not going to come voluntarily, you have to bring in the cops.
And I don't mean that in the literal sense, although perhaps it gets to that stage.
But you have to lay down the line.
You have to suspend them.
You have to expel them.
And I'm sorry if that means, oh, what about the kids we leave behind?
Well, if you're kowtowing to those kids that are causing a toxic environment for the vast majority of students, I can live with that rather than spoiling the entire bunch, which is what we see happening right now.
And let's see, just from Mushmorent, neither the teachers nor the administration are worthy of respect.
They have allowed themselves to become human doormats.
Well, I would say the administration, in terms of the Toronto District School Board, in terms of the trustees running the Toronto District School Board, they don't get their hands dirty, do they?
They're in their ivory towers and they're preaching their kind of socialism and their progressive values, but they're not in the front lines.
They're not being told to F off by a student.
They're not having a student whip out a marijuana cigarette in the school and stinking the joint out.
They're not being assaulted.
So, yeah, they're very happy with their progressive ideals when they're insulated from the reality.
As for those teachers, yeah, there's some teachers that have undergone the cone of silence, and that's disgraceful, as a matter of fact.
But to these teachers, at least two of them in Sue Ann Levy's columns, we have to take our hat off to them because they are rocking the boat, ladies and gentlemen.
I can tell you that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is not happy about these stories getting into the media.
And hopefully, these teachers are not going to be disciplined.
But you know what?
If they do, it wouldn't surprise me.
And Chuck McGill says, teachers' unions are like ex-wifes in a modern divorce.
Your kids are held hostage to the person that pays.
Yeah, and the person that pays in this case is, of course, the taxpayers.
And also from Chuck, they outsourced my union job, union in quotes, now outsource the teachers' unions next.
I would agree with that.
I've long said that what is the idea, what is the concept of having a public sector union when you have a monopoly on delivering that service?
I think the very idea that there are public sector unions is perverse.
And if we didn't have these unions, that would be a big layer of fat lopped off the taxpayer dime.
And we'd also maybe have some people that can enact rules and discipline when the inmates are running the asylum.
And by the way, I'm happy to, if anyone is experiencing this kind of situation with their kids' schools, because I know Sue Ann Levy, she was interviewed on radio and she said she's had calls from London, Ontario to the Maritimes with people getting in touch with her and saying these kind of situations are also happening at my kids' school.
So it's certainly not an isolated incident.
And from Mushmorant, remember the movie Class of 1984?
Following trends in the American Education System is the last thing we want to do.
You can thank the McGinty Wynn Liberals for this.
Investigation Into Kirkland's Claims00:06:56
You know what?
I think I did see that movie Class of 1984 in 1984.
I can't remember it.
I guess it couldn't have been that much of a profound film.
But on your other point, yeah, this is the handiwork of the McGinty Wynne government and their 15 years of vandalism.
It wasn't just to the economic books, my friends.
It was to the school system as well.
And again, with regime change in Ontario, maybe with the Progressive Conservatives in power under Doug Ford, the education ministry is not going to put up with this.
And Evan Sauer writes, every sanctuary city will end up similar to San Fran.
And you know what?
I think that's what the schools are becoming if you read into Sue Ann's pieces.
They're like sanctuary cities.
No one is illegal.
No one can break a rule.
No one can be disciplined.
Does that sound like a learning environment to you?
I would suggest no.
Anyhow, please feel free to weigh in on that.
And also in the news, this broke last night, folks.
The Christine Moore, yes, Christine Moore, she is back in the news.
If the name rings a bell, it should.
I'm not going to say anything more.
We're going to run a little clip of an excerpt of Ezra.
Okay, that's upcoming.
Ezra Levant went on a rant about Christine Moore when she initially got into some hot water.
And that kind of, I think, frames the story and explains the story to a great degree.
And then I'm going to weigh in on what the latest is.
So here is Ezra on the lovely Christine Moore.
Kirkland says when he arrived at Moore's office, she offered him gin and persisted even after he told her he was taking antidepressants and painkillers and was not supposed to be drinking.
She's a nurse, he says.
And I thought I was, I suppose, if she's a nurse and says it's okay, it is.
There were a few more drinks, and it became clear Moore's intentions went beyond a professional interest in his case.
That night, he says, she I think that was cut off prematurely, folks.
So I'll just explain the rest of the story.
Christine Moore is someone who's always made herself out to be a victim of harassment.
And then it came to light that a veteran, Mr. Kirkland, was his allegation is that he was being harassed by Christy Moore himself.
He was a soldier.
He was testifying at a hearing and he was taking medication.
The story goes that they went back to a hotel room.
She plied him with liquor.
He thought he was in a situation where she was in a position of authority and he acquiesced to her demands.
And then he came public with his story once she was getting all this publicity about other people harassing her.
So he thought it was a bit of a double standard.
Here was a harasser that was claiming she was the harassee.
Well, guess what?
Last night, NDP MP Moore cleared of inappropriate conduct.
She remains in caucus.
And it's an astounding story because folks, when you look at the investigation, and it's really something because I don't think I've ever seen an investigation quite like this, because namely, when they did the investigation, they never took an interview from Mr. Kirkland.
So you have an investigation about the alleged perpetrator of this inappropriate conduct.
She's interviewed, but the investigating team doesn't take Mr. Kirkland's comments.
How is that even possible?
And not only that, in the department of nothing to see here, folks, that is a truism for sure because the report itself, guess what?
It will not be made public.
So so much for the transparency NDP leader Jugmeet Singh keeps talking about.
So much for his comment that he always believes a survivor.
Well, didn't happen in this case, did it?
Who's to say what really happened between those two people?
But certainly I think what any reasonable person can agree to is that you can't have an investigation in which the victim is not interviewed.
Now, what they're saying is, well, you know, we looked at his comments that he made in the media, but no.
That's not right.
I'm sure there were far more comments, far more details Mr. Kirkland could give, but I guess it just doesn't matter too.
And Tammy writes, Moore was given a pass.
This isn't right.
You know, I don't know if it's right or wrong.
I just think, but I can tell you this, the investigation is 100% flawed.
And if it isn't flawed, then why not make the results public?
It smacks up a cover-up to me.
And let's see.
We have Jughead is a terrorist sympathizer.
That's from Jay O'Shea.
Well, you know, you know, yeah, in a way he is.
And I think it comes down to the Air India bombing in which Jugmeet Singh has never really come out and condemned the movement for a separate Sikh state in India, the Khalistani movement.
And there are all, he's being an apologist for that.
And remember, this was the single biggest act of terrorism that was conceived of on Canadian soil.
And he continues to beat around the bush about the Khalistani element, and it's shameful.
And it should get more press than it currently gets.
And we have here for like the East Wind, there should be no pass due to gender.
Pig Balloon Controversy00:07:53
Well, you know what?
Good point.
Is this because Moore is female?
Is that what tipped the scales in this investigation?
Because going back to Mr. Singh's lines that he always believes a survivor, did he mean to say he always believes the female survivor?
Looks like that to me so far.
And John Zeeland writes, was there even an investigation?
Smells fishy.
Well, there was an investigation.
I guess we'll have to take their word for it.
How detailed it was, how competent it was, remains to be seen.
And they could answer those questions by making it public.
And guess what?
They're not.
So again, so much for transparency.
And there you go.
Okay, so feel free to weigh in on the MP Moore being cleared of all inappropriate conduct.
For me, I'm not buying it.
And here's something on the lighter side, if we can call it that.
I caught this story the other day.
The headline was this, Tom Brady body shamed.
Now, Tom Brady is, as you know, if you follow football, probably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
I think he's got five Super Bowl rings.
He's got a super model for a wife.
He's got a super bank account worth probably in the hundreds of millions with his contracts and endorsements.
And yet the troll faction was out there commenting on him wearing his swim trunks in Costa Rica, I believe.
And I'm wondering if my Mr. Producer team has a photo.
Yep, there we have it.
Now, I don't know about you folks.
I don't think that's a male body to be ashamed of.
It looks fine by me, but I guess there's this, I don't know, preconceived idea of what the himbo should look like.
That's the male version of the bimbo, I suppose.
And you've got to have that DoRaguer action figure six-pack, which Mr. Brady is missing.
Well, I don't think you need a six-pack to play quarterback in the NFL, and you don't have to be overly muscular.
I know Tom Brady has made a point of not excessively working out and becoming muscle-bound because it would actually hurt his game.
But, you know, I'll tell you, if I had a physique like that, well, let me tell you about myself.
I mean, I actually do, folks, have a washboard stomach under my shirt here.
It's just that it's got 20 pounds of laundry on it right now.
So I would kill for Tom Brady's body.
And yet the comments of people talking about Brady, I think I wrote some of them down if I can find them.
But if you go to social media, you can find them out for yourself.
They're actually kind of shocking.
And hopefully I can find that on some of the paper I've written on here.
But please weigh in.
What do you think?
And I'd like to put that.
Oh, it's on the screen here too.
Tom Brady is lying about his diet.
His body is trash still, laughing out loud.
I don't know.
Is that a trashy body?
Wait, this is Brady's body.
That looks like my body not expecting my superhero to look like me.
Well, you know what?
Maybe that's part of the problem, folks.
If that fellow's calling Tom Brady a superhero, if you pick up superhero comics, everyone's got that, you know, pristine body figure.
They are all rippling with muscles.
They've all got six packs.
But you know what?
We're talking about a real man in the real world.
So he's not a cartoon superhero.
And I'm sorry if you're offended by the fact that he doesn't have biceps on triceps and this glistening six-pack of muscles in his abdomen, but he still love him or hate them.
I mean, I know he's got his fans, he's got his detractors.
You can't argue that he isn't one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.
Perhaps the best.
And maybe that opens up another debate too.
We have a super chat here, and it's from Ezra's first irregulars, £1.99.
Did you see cop response to Con Pig Balloon London?
I did not.
Please, Ezra's first irregulars, weigh in.
What was the cop response?
I can only imagine what the cop response.
I bet they weren't happy.
I speculated that if they ever got that con balloon going, not only would it be grounded, but whoever came up with the idea or whoever was present on the ground ready to launch it would probably be charged with a hate crime.
But I haven't seen a story about that.
Hopefully you're going to prove my prediction wrong.
But please weigh in on this.
And again, from Tammy, we have nothing wrong with Brady's physique.
Anyone notice Justin's man boobs when he was photographed jogging topless after Kokene Groper hit the media.
You know what, Tammy, there's nothing that makes me divert my eyes more than man boobs.
Don't mind the other kind of boobs, I got to tell you.
I guess that makes me a sexist in our new world order.
But, you know, funny enough, just did a commentary yesterday on this.
There is a Justin Trudeau doll that you can buy from the Bradford Exchange.
It's $130 plus shipping and handling.
And given what happened in Kokeny, I imagine there's a lot of handling in that order.
But when you look at that doll, which of course is made in China plastic, he has an incredible physique.
Do you think there might be some falsehood in terms of truth and advertising going on there?
That maybe, and I wonder if Justin had a role in the creation of the doll.
I wonder if he said, I mean, if Tammy is correct that he's got man boobs, he says, can you get rid of that?
Now I'm looking at that.
You know what?
I got to be honest.
Don't like Justin Trudeau, don't like his politics, don't like his inane quotes.
I don't think that's a bad body, but the fact of the matter is we're not electing prime ministers based on their physicality.
We're electing them, hopefully, based on what's up here.
And I don't think there's much up there when it comes to Justin Trudeau.
Anyways, not sure if the man boobs of Justin are showing on those on that picture.
Now back to Ezra's first irregulars.
Loads of cops surrounded a woman with a con face on a pig balloon.
The protesters saved the flag, but the cops sent in horses to quell the mood.
Have the footage.
Would love to see that footage and would love to know what happened to the pig balloon.
Did it ever get launched?
But I'll look into that story.
That's worth pursuing.
And I guess even if it never got launched, the UK being the UK these days with just 900 police officers in London alone, 900 folks, monitoring the internet for impolite chatter and then showing up at your house at 4 a.m. to make arrest for something impolite said on social media.
It would be kind of surprising almost that somebody with a pig balloon identified as Mr. Khan wouldn't get charged and hastily convicted of a hate crime, such as the mood in the UK when it comes to enacting the law.
National Anthem Controversy00:13:49
And again, back to the Tom Brady incident.
Tammy writes it again.
David, where is the Sophie doll with gold-plated microphone?
I would actually say, where is Sophie herself?
So often she seems to be AWOL.
I wonder if Sophie, this is complete speculation.
I wonder if Sophie is just being in a tortured state in that relationship with Justin Trudeau, kind of like how Margaret had to deal with Pierre Trudeau.
I don't think that was a very happy marriage either.
And let's see.
Just looking for a few more comments.
And from Tony Nagy, Brady's last season, I think.
I think you might be right about that too.
He doesn't need the money.
And the NFL is a brutal game in which in any game you can risk a career-ending injury.
And I say this: if you've accomplished your goals, and I would say five Super Bowls, yeah, that's a pretty big goal.
Get out while the going's good.
Get out while you have all your marbles intact and you're not, you know, concussed into irrelevancy.
So, but even Brady at his age, that catches up with you.
So it might be Tom Brady's last season indeed.
That is, is anyone still into the NFL though?
I'm still a little upset over their national anthem policy.
Basically, the NFL didn't crack the whip.
They're basically saying if you want to take a knee, you do it in the dressing room out of camera range.
What they should have said is, no, no, no, you stand at attention.
But even that, I understand, has got the players' union filing a grievance.
They want to show their disrespect on camera.
And by the way, a lot of people say, oh, you know, you right-of-center people, you free speech people, you're always going on about free speech and you're always going on about the First Amendment.
This idea of taking a knee during the national anthem, as I've said before, folks, this is not a First Amendment issue.
This is not a free speech issue.
What I liken it to is, say you had a, I don't know, a job at an auto dealership and you decided, you know, for no reason whatsoever that you're going to take a knee for a couple of minutes while you're on the clock.
You know what?
You can get on your knee before work and after work and at your house and at the park and what have you.
But while you're on the clock, and these guys are on the clock the moment they're in the stadium, you follow the rules.
And this was such an act, a brazen act of disrespect.
And remember, this is the NFL.
This is a league that wraps itself in patriotism.
It has the U.S. Air Force do flybys over its arena.
Look at the NFL logo.
It is essentially a stylized American flag with a football in it.
So they wrap themselves in patriotism and the national anthem and the stars and stripes on one hand.
And then on the other hand, they let this kind of lunacy take place.
And all they had to do was change the rule because really there was no rule making it a requirement for players to stand.
And probably I thought, I think that it's a matter of they never thought they needed a rule.
I mean, it's so preposterous that these multi-millionaire athletes are taking a knee.
They probably never even thought there'd ever be a reason to have a rule requiring them to stand at attention.
But clearly, that isn't the case given their behavior.
And I don't like this wishy-washy approach to it.
And like I said, not a freedom of speech issue.
And by the way, speaking of freedom of speech, how about this?
Why don't all those NFL players, most of them are multi-millionaires, why don't they pool their money and, hey, buy some advertising during the game, buy a 30-second or 60-second ad spot?
I think the rates start at several hundred thousand per 30-second segment.
So in other words, chump change for a collective of them and produce a professional ad where they clearly state what it is they're protesting because right now folks, I don't even know what they're pro.
I don't think even some of them know what they're protesting.
So if they can articulate what this kneeling during the anthem is with an ad, I totally respect that.
That is freedom of speech and action, not when you're taking a knee on the field before the game.
And let's see if we have some chatter about that.
From Toxic Chat, NFL needs some changes.
They need to jack these guys up on premium steroids, then go back to the leather helmets.
Well, you know, I think some of them are already jacked up on the premium steroids.
It's just a matter of not getting caught.
It's about using the right masking agents.
Leather helmets, you know, you raise a very interesting point.
Will the NFL in a generation or two even look like the NFL of today?
The concussion problem is so fundamental.
And what you have are people, upper class people, middle class people, they're pulling their kids out of football.
It's become too unsafe.
You have schools in the U.S. canceling their football programs because the insurance costs are now in the stratosphere.
They can't afford it.
Forget about the equipment.
It's just paying those insurance premiums that have made it unreasonable.
So where is this pool of new talent for the NFL going to come from in the years ahead?
This is the profound problem that the NFL should be addressing.
And maybe it's an equipment issue.
Maybe some of this equipment that makes these guys look like robocops on a football field, maybe that has to be addressed.
I'm not sure if the answer is to go back to leather helmets from almost a century ago.
But certainly, what a waste of time and effort talking about the national anthem when this is their real skin in the game, the future of the game, given their concussion issue.
And what else do we have?
Tony Nagy writes, NFL should have a clear rule, no political sign.
And if you want to make that political sign, like I said, Tony, take out an ad on the broadcast.
Put your money where your mouth is.
What a concept, eh?
But I'll tell you, I would totally respect that.
And Chuck McGill writes, even Torstar is saying Trump is right.
Chinada needs to pay more for NATO.
That is a subject, not American football.
No one watches now.
Well, two points.
It's not a matter of no one watches, but ratings and attendance in the last two seasons have fallen.
That is absolutely true.
And as for, I can't remember the other point, but I will go back to it when I remember it.
I guess I've been concussed.
And look at this, I got a desk job.
See how prevalent it is?
And Nolan Baptiste says, well, I'm happy the NFL is going to find the players.
Yeah, let's, I'll believe it when I see it.
And well, that I think is maybe one of the reasons to tune in, at least in the early part of the season, is to see if the NFL is going to clamp down on those who have the temerity to still defy them on the anthem issue.
And Magical Girl writes, don't worry, those cheerleaders are working two jobs.
Is that a dig at that Democrat candidate, Cortez, that everybody is working two jobs in the U.S., which of course is false.
It's really six to seven million Americans are working two jobs in the U.S.
It's about 148 million Americans are working one job.
But because she's a socialist and a progressive, it's what she feels is right is the fact of the matter, not what the facts say, at least according to the Labor Bureau.
I assume that's what you're talking about.
And Synthworks writes, who wants to watch gay male cheerleaders?
Are there any male cheerleaders in the NFL?
I don't think so.
But it wouldn't be what I want to watch.
Why doesn't The Rebel cover Canadian sports?
And that came from Ed B.
Well, you know what?
We have that discussion here.
I think we should have some kind of a sports show here.
And if you want to weigh in, folks, but not just, you know, he gives 110% and my job is to put the puck in the net and the biscuit in the basket and all that kind of psycho-babble, cliché-omadic sports drivel.
But a show that looks at when sports intersects with politics.
And that is happening more and more.
In fact, that's why we're talking about the NFL right now.
It used to be the NFL, I should think.
On a Sunday, you'd sit in your easy chair, have a beer, sit back, relax.
You're getting into a fantasy world of fun and games.
And then you got to bring out the anthem and disrespect to it and disrespecting the veterans.
And that's why people are shutting off the TV.
That's not what they want to buy.
And maybe the NFL is getting that message.
But if anyone else wants to weigh in yay or nay, I will pass on the tally of the votes to Ezra and ask him to consider a sports show, a sports politics show.
I think, because Ezra's not really into sports, but that's okay.
We have other people here who are into sports.
I think it would be a good idea.
And Patrick Mack says it is an excellent idea.
So there you are.
I think that's taking it.
And here's Toxic Chat curling with Menzies.
Oh boy, could you imagine how boring that would be?
Are there any political curling stories, by the way?
I'm sure it's only a matter of time.
And Ed B says local sports, not sure what that means.
Chuck McGill says Halifax wants a CFL team.
I suggest they call them the Rough Riders.
You know what?
They should.
But I think somebody owns the trademark in the U.S.
I think it's a Mr. Chen from when he owned the Ottawa Rough Riders.
But I always thought that was so perverse that in a nine-team league of the CFL, there were two teams out of nine that had the same nickname, Rough Riders.
I know one of the spellings was one word and one was hyphenated.
I can't remember which was which.
But now we just have one Rough Riders.
But why don't have a league with three or four teams called Rough Riders.
And Chuck McGill writes, I don't think they destroyed lacrosse yet.
Chuck, I'm so happy you brought up Canada's official summer sport.
It used to be Canada's official sport, period, and then they amended that in Parliament so that we recognized hockey as our official winter sport.
La Crosse is our official summer sport.
If you are in a city that has a lacrosse team, a professional lacrosse team, in Toronto it's the ROC, this is by far the biggest bang for your sports buck.
You know, for maybe $20 or $30, you'll get an excellent seat and you will see a level of athleticism that is off the charts.
And more to the point, folks, a lot of these lacrosse players, they are, this is not their day job.
They are cops, they are emergency service personnel.
They are, you know, busting their arse out there and taking headache tablets in the aftermath for the love of the game, not for the pursuit of contract.
You are not going to get rich playing professional lacrosse, but they wear their heart on their sleeves.
And I'm begging you, folks, if you go to a professional lacrosse game for just to check it out once, I guarantee you, 99 out of 100 times, you're going to go back and enjoy it again.
So thank you for Chuck.
La Crosse gets overlooked and they don't deserve to endure that.
And Evan Sauer says, lacrosse is the most violent sport on earth.
Oh, it is a violent game indeed.
Well, I probably think we've, so we've gone from Tom Brady body shaming to NFL anthems to lacrosse.
But thank you for those who support my fervent hope that the Rebel one day will have a sports show.
And by the way, it won't be like the sports shows you see on the sports networks where it's pretty faces because I don't have a pretty face, but basically Ken and Barbie dolls talking about sports as though it's dead serious, that they dare not say anything that's politically incorrect, that they dare not rock the boat.
Used to have that in the sports broadcasting world.
Does anyone ever remember Dick Beddows?
I mean, this guy could rattle cages like no other.
A guy like Dick Beddows would never get hired today.
And all we have left is Don Cherry.
Three Eight Beer Cases00:06:55
You know, he is the only one of his kind that I can think of that is still in Canada or still actively employed.
And what does it tell you that he is still actively employed?
Well, it tells me this.
Don Cherry's coach's quarter is perhaps the, not perhaps, it is the most eight minutes of watch TV in Canada every Saturday night.
So even though the CBC poobas can't stand his opinions and he's actually on a seven-second delay, because you remember when he went to bat for the troops in Afghanistan, oh, you know, the CBC was saying, well, we don't want to get into politics and sport.
We don't do that.
Let me tell you this.
If Don Cherry had condemned the mission in Afghanistan, the CBC Pubas would be doing this.
That's right.
Now Don Cherry is on a seven second delay in case he ever goes off the sports reservation ever again, ever again.
What a disgrace.
So anyways, we'll see what people say about a sports show as you weigh in on that.
Now, another story that broke this morning, and I have to ask, are we ready for this?
Are we adult enough for this?
Well, the provinces are agreeing to raise a personal exemption for inter-provincial boo sales, which means that if these go through, folks, individuals can now, will be able to bring six cases of beer across an interprovincial border, two cases of wine, six liters of spirits.
Oh, goodness gracious.
Could this be the end of the world as we know it?
You know, I mean, there is so much talk right now in terms of trade disputes, in terms of a new NAFTA agreement, if there is going to be a new NAFTA agreement.
And I just find it absolutely perverse that in our country of Canada, this idea that you can't bring, what are the current regulations?
I think it's two cases of beer over a provincial border without being charged if you're caught committing such an offense.
I mean, for goodness sakes, 150 years ago, didn't we level mountains and install thousands of kilometers of train tracks to open up interprovincial commerce in this great dominion?
And so what's the problem if I go to Quebec and I buy a few cases of beer and a few bottles of spirits and bring it into, say, New Brunswick?
Well, what the problem is, of course, is that these provinces have provincial liquor monopolies, control boards, and oh boy, are they ever about control and controlling the revenue that they get from the exorbitant taxes that they charge on liquor?
That's what it's all about.
But it shouldn't be about that.
I, as a Canadian, should be absolutely free to go to BC and buy several cases of BC wine and bring it home with me with no problem.
I mean, if I went to a BC shopping mall and I bought 100 pairs of blue jeans, nobody would bat an eyelash.
But when liquor's involved, oh, no, there are these rules.
You know, government's here to protect us from ourselves.
So this is a baby step, but it is a baby step in the right direction, and it should go through.
I don't see any reason for it not to go through.
And I think the only jurisdictions that were against this were New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
And certainly there was that case.
I'm going by memory now, folks.
It was somebody that was charged in New Brunswick for exceeding his beer limit for beer he bought into Quebec.
And I think that went, if memory serves to the Supreme Court, I thought it was going to be a decision for him at that level, and it wasn't.
But if you remember that case and you want to fill me in on the details, I'm just going by my wonky memory right now.
I seem to remember that's how it played out.
So let us see if anyone wants to talk about interprovincial booze.
So far, not by the, oh, here from Evan Sauer.
I'm so sick of monopolies in Canada.
When will we ever be free from them?
You know, Canada or the authorities, the apparatus in Canada, Evan, they love monopolies.
It's ever been this.
And you're right.
When it comes to, I mean, you know, in most provinces, you have a liquor monopoly, you have a casino monopoly, you have a lottery ticket monopoly.
Now with booze being legalized, and boy, that's going to be a jolly thing, right?
You're going to have a cannabis monopoly.
I think in Ontario they're opening 38 stores.
Can you imagine that?
38 LCBO stores to be Ontario cannabis stores.
Remember the Ontario cannabis logo?
I mean, this shows you how off to a winning start they are.
They paid an advertising agency, I think it was in the neighborhood, of $600,000 for the Ontario cannabis stores logo.
I don't know if my Mr. Producer team can find that logo.
If they can, later in the show, we should show it to you.
Folks, this logo, it's a black and white logo.
It looks like it was done on an ECHA sketch by a 10-year-old.
And that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So already they're off to a brilliant start.
But here's the thing.
Government's role when it comes to casinos and lottery tickets and alcohol and soon-to-be marijuana, you regulate it and you tax it.
But you know what?
You don't get into the retailing of it.
You don't get into the warehousing of it.
You don't get into the advertising of it.
And look, my crack team has put it up on the screen.
Can you believe that?
Look at that.
OCA.
Can it be any more simple than that?
Doesn't this scream why?
Listen, I'm not a fan of marijuana.
Never had a joint, let alone a cigarette in my entire life.
But if we are legalizing it, if that's the way of the land, so be it.
Why can't we have mom-paw stores doing this, selling this product?
Why does it have to be through a monopoly?
And, you know, the government is only kidding themselves if they think this is going to be the end of the black market.
First of all, 38 stores for the entire province of Ontario.
Government Incompetence Joke00:06:06
What a joke.
That's going to nowhere near serve the demand.
The black market is going to flourish because of government incompetence on this file.
And the incompetence begins at that ridiculous logo.
I've never seen something so simplistic in all my life.
And I have been informed a super chat has come in.
And I'm going to scroll up to it.
Although I do remember, I think it's a syrup producers association in the States that has a logo.
I think it might be for Vermont or Maine.
It is the most unintentionally funny logo you'll ever see.
And I can't say on a family show why it's so funny.
But if you Google that, you'll see what I mean.
And we have another super chat from Ezra's First Irregulars.
Thank you very much, Ezra's First of Regulars, $1.99, much appreciated.
And the con balloon footage and commentary after the show.
Well, that doesn't quite help me right now, does it?
But I will look for it.
And I will follow this up.
Maybe I can do a commentary on that too.
So thanks for tipping me off on that.
And from the Dark Musket, is it true Justin Trudeau paid a terrorist $10 million as compensation?
100% true.
Actually, no, false.
I think it was $10.5 million plus a public apology.
It happened a year ago last July.
And I'm glad you bring it up, Dark Musket.
I hope this becomes an election issue.
And we all must always bring this to the fore.
This was a convicted murderer, Omar Cotter, who got $10.5 million taxpayer dollars and a public apology from the Prime Minister.
Don't think he cried this time.
I think he saved the water work.
So maybe it was an insincere apology because when Justin Trudeau doesn't, I think it might be one of the only apologies aside from the groping apology where Justin Trudeau didn't turn on Niagara Falls while he was delivering it.
But the perversity of it was that the liberals were saying Cotter was going to take them to court and to fight this in court was going to cost tens and tens, maybe even over $100 million.
And two things, based on principle, I don't have a problem with my tax dollars, even if it's more tax dollars than the settlement going to fighting a jihadi murderer.
And secondly, on a matter of principle, suddenly the Trudeau liberals have suddenly become fiscal conservatives.
They're worried about the money now when it's a jihadi terrorist.
Suddenly, tens of millions means anything to them.
What hypocrites.
What a double standard.
And I am told we have another super chat coming in.
I greatly appreciate that, folks.
I greatly appreciate your generosity, no matter how much you're giving.
Ah, Ezra's First Irregulars, again, £1.99.
I think we're up to six pounds now almost.
Thank you for that, Ezra's First Irregulars.
It's up on my channel, second vid on upload.
Well, I am going to check that out after the show.
And I appreciate that, and I appreciate your generosity.
And everybody else, I've given Ezra's First Irregulars a plug.
Go check out his video.
And we have from Copa Dasso $22.
Now, does that mean Norwegian kroner?
Yes.
Mr. Producer number two has told me yes.
I think that's less than $22 Canadian.
Even if it's less, I thank you very much for currency in any denomination for your generosity.
And Copa says, I've seen 10-year-olds make better logos.
You know, maybe that's, you've given me an idea.
Maybe when school's back in, we can do a little caper at Rebel.
We'll go to a class that has 10-year-olds and we'll give them all a marker and a piece of white paper.
And we'll say, hey, kids, we need a logo for the Ontario cannabis stores.
Give us your best, and we'll come up with some prize for the top three.
And you know what?
I am betting you, you are right.
I am betting the top three entries will be better than that pathetic Etch-A-Sketch OCS black and white logo we saw that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Your money, by the way, folks, you know.
But yet another reason why aren't you so happy like I am that there was regime change going back to June?
We have one minute, so I'll get to some of the quick to chats.
Seek the light and you shall find it writes.
Trudeau is so generous with our money as the Clintons.
Yes, isn't that always the case?
When it comes to our money, they are absolutely generous.
And Chuck McGill writes, I would give you money, but I am a laid-off retired auto worker, so I can't spend my union money for there are no good jobs now.