Beat the Races

Flanagan, Tom

Arco Publ. Co.

From an acclaimed professor and former advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a passionate and edgy defense of free speech in Canada, and the role the internet plays in the issue. In February 2013, Tom Flanagan, acclaimed academic, University of Calgary professor, and former advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, made comments surrounding the issue of viewing child pornography that were tweeted from the event he was speaking at and broadcast worldwide. In the time it took to drive from Lethbridge to his home in Calgary, Flanagan's career and reputation were virtually in tatters. Every media outlet made the story front-page news, most of them deriding Flanagan and casting him as a pariah. He was made to apologize publicly for his use of words but the bottom line was that Tom Flanagan simply sounded an opinion (he in no way whatsoever suggested that he was anything but virulantly opposed to child pornography) in an academic setting. In effect, his university, several of his colleagues, and much of the media, including the CBC -- and most of Canada! -- made him persona non grata. This book is two things: The author's side of the story, and what he endured during what he calls "The Incident," and a passionate and convincing defense of free speech, not just in Canada but everywhere. While Flanagan's is hardly the first book on the subject, what makes this book different is the component of the internet, a tool that is very much a double-edged sword when it comes to freedom of expression--it allows people to have an unfiltered voice to say what they want, but it also allows those to use it to be judge, jury and executioner against those whose opinions they disagree with. The book is also a sobering look into the kind of political correctness that has become a staple in the academic world. What happened to the author illustrates important tendencies in contemporary Canada threatening freedom of speech and discussion, and how the new technology is playing an increasing and menacing role.

Persona Non Grata: The Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age

Computers & Technology

Networking & Cloud Computing

Signal

Now in paperback, a passionate and edgy defense of free speech in Canada, and the role the internet plays in the issue--from an acclaimed writer and former advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. On February 28th, 2013, Tom Flanagan, well-known author, University of Calgary professor, and former advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, made comments about the punishment for viewing child pornography that were tweeted from the event he was speaking at and broadcast worldwide. Following the event, in the two-and-a-half hours it took to drive from Lethbridge to his home in Calgary, Flanagan's career and reputation came under siege. Every media outlet made the story front-page news, most of them deriding Flanagan and casting him as a pariah. His university, the Prime Minister's Office, other influential politicians, and much of the media, including the CBC, made him persona non grata before he even had a chance to explain the comments he made. Persona Non Grata is a superb and convincing defense of free speech--not just in Canada but everywhere--in the age of the Internet, a double-edged sword when it comes to freedom of expression.

Controversial and thought-provoking, Tom Flanagan's "First Nations? Second Thoughts" dissects the prevailing orthodoxy that determines public policy towards Canada's Aboriginal peoples. Flanagan argues that this orthodoxy enriches and empowers a small elite of activists, politicians, administrators, middlemen, and well-connected entrepreneurs, while bringing further misery to the very people it is supposed to help. Over the last thirty years Canadian policy on Aboriginal issues has come to be dominated by an ideology that sees Aboriginal peoples as 'nations' entitled to specific rights. Indians and Inuit now enjoy a cornucopia of legal privileges, including rights to self-government beyond federal and provincial jurisdiction, immunity from taxation, court decisions reopening treaty issues settled long ago, the right to hunt and fish without legal limits, and free housing, education, and medical care as well as other economic benefits.Underpinning these privileges is what Flanagan describes as Aboriginal orthodoxy - a set of beliefs that hold that prior residence in North America is an entitlement to special treatment; that Aboriginal peoples are part of sovereign nations endowed with an inherent right to self-government; that Aboriginals must have collective rather than individual property rights; that all treaties must be renegotiated on a 'nation-to-nation' basis; and, that Native people should be encouraged to build prosperous 'Aboriginal economies' through money, land, and natural resources transferred from other Canadians. In "First Nations? Second Thoughts", Flanagan combines conceptual analysis with historical and empirical information to show that the Aboriginal orthodoxy is both unworkable and ultimately destructive to the people it is supposed to help.

First Nations? Second Thoughts

History

Americas

McGill-Queen's University Press

Over the last thirty years Canadian policy on Aboriginal issues has come to be dominated by an ideology that sees Aboriginal peoples as "nations" entitled to specific rights. Indians and Inuit now enjoy a cornucopia of legal privileges, including rights to self-government beyond federal and provincial jurisdiction, immunity from taxation, court decisions reopening treaty issues settled long ago, the right to hunt and fish without legal limits, and free housing, education, and medical care as well as other economic benefits. Underpinning these privileges is what Flanagan describes as Aboriginal orthodoxy - a set of beliefs that hold that prior residence in North America is an entitlement to special treatment; that Aboriginal peoples are part of sovereign nations endowed with an inherent right to self-government; that Aboriginals must have collective rather than individual property rights; that all treaties must be renegotiated on a "nation-to-nation" basis; and that Native people should be encouraged to build prosperous "Aboriginal economies" through money, land, and natural resources transferred from other Canadians. In First Nations? Second Thoughts Flanagan combines conceptual analysis with historical and empirical information to show that the Aboriginal orthodoxy is both unworkable and ultimately destructive to the people it is supposed to help.

Harper's team fought four campaigns in five years: two leadership races and two national elections. Through trial and error - and determination - they learned to combine the Reform Party's strength in grassroots politics with the Progressive Conservative expertise in advertising and media relations, while simultaneously adopting the latest advances in information and communications technology.

Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power

Legal Theory & Systems

First Nations? Second Thoughts: Second Edition

Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power, Second Edition

In Waiting for the Wave, Tom Flanagan studies the rapid rise of the Reform Party and presents some fascinating insights into the party and its leaders. He corrects two popular misconceptions about Preston Manning: that his political philosophy is directly derived from his religious convictions, and that he is an extreme right-wing conservative. Flanagan examines Manning's strategy of populism (listening to "the common sense of the common people") and illustrates how he used this strategy to "catch waves" of popular discontent to boost support for his party. Having held various positions within the party, Flanagan is able to portray its inner workings, revealing some of the personal ideologies of party members and showing how these conflicted with Manning's strategy of populism.

Waiting for the Wave: The Reform Party and the Conservative Movement

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Flanagan, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Flanagan, Tom

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Flanagan, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Beat the Races

Persona Non Grata: The Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age

Persona Non Grata: The Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age

First Nations? Second Thoughts

First Nations? Second Thoughts

Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power

First Nations? Second Thoughts: Second Edition

First Nations? Second Thoughts: Second Edition

Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power, Second Edition

Waiting for the Wave: The Reform Party and the Conservative Movement