How would you feel if this happened to you?
Monday, April 16th, 4 am, near the hamlet of Craigmyle, southwest of Hanna, Alberta. John Rew, age 50, was awakened to the sound of an Emergency Response Team (E.R.T.) “flash bang†shot through his bedroom window.
He was thrown face-down on the floor and handcuffed instantly afterward, as a second “flash bang†exploded through his TV stand in the living room, singeing the floor.
The Drumheller RCMP and Calgary E.R.T. had come for all his firearms, in particular his registered prohibits and restricteds. Yes! Registered!
Although their search warrant did not include any residences, John agreed to lead them across the farmyard to his 80 year-old mother’s house. Her basement contains John’s storage facility.
John’s mother, Betty, allowed them entry and was detained for her co-operative efforts. The masked, body armoured, assault rifle equipped law enforcement personnel got what they came for.
John was hauled away, still in handcuffs, John’s alleged crime: allowing his F.A.C/P.A.L to expire, his various criminal Charges all stem from that.
2:30 that afternoon John was released, promising to appear in Drumheller court 10am may 25th, 2007.
The police shut down his oilfield business for the day, turning his 20 employees away at the gate. His sister was not allowed entry to tend to Betty.
Ironically, the next day, April 17th, our government announced an extension of the long gun registry “amnesty†for another year.
Needless to say, Mr. Rew was somewhat upset.
However, rather than taking it laying down like a good POGG (Peace, order, good government)-loving Canadian, Rew did something that was very un-Canadian indeed:
Rew went down to the CRO’s office in the constituency of Drumheller- Stettler where he lives, and registered to be a candidate in a June 12 provincial by-election, which just happens to be taking place right now!
Speaking of being un-Canadian, Rew, the new Independent candidate in the Drumheller-Stettler provincial by-election, is running on a platform of Alberta Independence.
While his late entry and lack of profile makes it unlikely that Rew will challenge for first, he is bound to pick up some sympathy, and maybe a few votes, from those in east Central Alberta who are experiencing yet another bout of disillusionment with the provincial and federal government. Tired of being either written off or taken for granted by the provincial/ federal Conservatives, the voters of Drumheller-Stettler may send Ottawa/ Edmonton a message by backing an outsider who wishes to register the ultimate protest.
While it is hard to imagine a separatist winning in Alberta being good for Confederation, perhaps the opening of a fault in the provincial/ federal conservative bedrock of Alberta could be jolt that brings both parties back from their centrist slide.
With provincial and federal Conservatives drifting further to the left, and potentially towards oblivion, they may be wise to pay heed to the warning shot John Rew is about to fire from the prairies of east central Alberta.
…..
Link Byfield asks what happened to “Common Sense Policing” here.
joe wrote:
Knitpickin’ time: Craigmyle is West North West of Hanna just North of Highway 9 about 20 kms distant. Born and raised in that area. Tough independant people not likely to ask any help from govenment and not likely to put up with any truck from same. Go Rew.
Posted on 04-Jun-07 at 10:59 pm | Permalink
George Freeman wrote:
This needs more publicity! What thugs!!!
Posted on 04-Jun-07 at 11:17 pm | Permalink
Joel K. wrote:
I’ve read too many stories of underhandness and over-aggressiveness by police forces accross the country, mostly the RCMP, towards law abiding gun owners.
It’s immoral. What if Rew had (understandably) thought it was a bunch of low-life criminals breaking into his home and pulled out a shotgun to defend himself?
This idea of treating gun owners like violent psychopaths and throwing SWAT teams at them is ludicrous.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 2:37 am | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
Just curious. The only source I can find for this story is the “victim” himself, primarily from his “Elect John Rew” website. Does anyone have a link to a more objective account of this incident?
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 4:40 am | Permalink
Progressive wrote:
Does anyone have a link to a more objective account of this incident?
*crickets*
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 7:51 am | Permalink
Canadian Cynic: I'm sorry ... do I know you? wrote:
[…] Gitmo and throw away the key” Canadian wankerhood, and replaced them with folks who are all about civil rights and due process and socialist, leftard, moonbat stuff like that there.Right-wing trolls will, of course, have no […]
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 8:57 am | Permalink
Aaron Unruh wrote:
“Does anyone have a link to a more objective account of this incident?”
From who? The RCMP? The guy’s mother?
Never mind. The guy’s a gun owner. Must also be a liar.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 10:48 am | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
“Never mind. The guy’s a gun owner. Must also be a liar.”
Come on Aaron, the story is a little bit over the top; with exploding television stands and singed doors, and all.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 11:42 am | Permalink
Aaron Unruh wrote:
Perhaps the RCMP should issue a press release (as they are so good at doing) disputing Rew’s account. I’m sure they went in with a bouquet of roses and sprinkled Rew with fairy dust.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 11:51 am | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
I don’t even know why I care about this… in fact, I am a firm believer that the people get the elected officials they deserve, so if they elect this guy, then I wish them luck.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 3:06 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
I take it all this leaden sarcasm means “no”, Aaron?
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 3:06 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
Janque, just politely asking: did you have any source for this story beyond the individual’s own assertions?
George, given your indignation, are you aware of any other source? Any source on any website seems to track directly back to a single source, Mr. Rew, who appears to be parlaying his victimhood into a run for office. Given that, I think my question is legitimate.
Anyone? Any other source?
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 3:12 pm | Permalink
Greg Farries wrote:
Balbulican, I’m looking into another source, I’ll report back if I find anything…
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 4:23 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
Thank you.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 4:24 pm | Permalink
Jaunque wrote:
Sorry for the delay.
I first learned of the incident through the Link Byfield column posted in the article which appeared in a local weekly newspaper.
As for the validity of his story, I can only take Mr. Rew at his word. I don’t know why he would lie, however if anyone has any insight as to why Mr. Rew would choose to fabricate a run-in with the RCMP, and follow that up by taking a last minute run for office, I am open to hearing them.
Posted on 05-Jun-07 at 9:06 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
Thanks, Janque. I found Mr. Byfield’s column, which appears to have originated at his website for the “Citizen’s Centre for Freedom and Democracy.” Mr. Byfield’s column appears to have two sources: Mr. Rew, and a neighbour who didn’t actually witness the incident, but who says her husband counted the police cars.
No police, news or witness reports appear to be available, and there is no indication that any report or explanation from the police was sought. Curiously, this potentially explosive “story” is for some reason being ignored by journalists from every medium and every political stripe…except, of course, the gentleman running for office, and the “columnist” who heads a political movement espousing views similar to those of Mr. Rew. No doubt one of those evil MSM coverups, right?
Say, I just got a letter from a banker in Nigeria with really interesting busines proposition I can’t go into right now. Send me your email address and bank account number, and I’ll share it with you.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 5:40 am | Permalink
George Freeman wrote:
Well, news story or not, veracity can likely be determined through the court at Drumheller, by looking up any criminal charges that Mr. Rew is facing and any court appearances.
Second, if this story is not true, the RCMP would likely have issued a denial. The RCMP seemingly manage and protect their public image more than any other government agency in Canada.
Anyone wishing to discredit this story has means to do it, besides, that is, peremptorily bellowing about the lack of news coverage, how it must be a sham.
Maybe it is; maybe not.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 7:00 am | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
“Well, news story or not…”
Not. What we have is a “story” based on one person’s narrative, with no actual journalistic coverage.
“veracity can likely be determined through the court at Drumheller…”
By all means do so, if you care to. Since you haven’t, I assume all this righteous wrath and indignation is based on the extremely weak sources already noted.
“Second, if this story is not true, the RCMP would likely have issued a denial.”
No. There is so far no credible evidence that any RCMP malfeasance has occurred, beyond an unsupported statement by the alleged victim. Why on earth would they?
“Maybe it is; maybe not.”
Indeed. As an occasional journalist/editor, I find the story risibly weak: but the folks who find it ideologically useful seem to have put their critical faculties on hold.
There’s no “new
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 7:38 am | Permalink
George Freeman wrote:
Isn’t Link Byfield a journalist?
Righteous wrath and indignation? How’s that for the pot calling the kettle black. I’m not the one taking issue with the veracity of the story, so why would I investigate it further. I’m not jumping on board with Mr. Rew’s separatist Republican agenda, but you have to be pretty dense not to know that there are more than a few recent reports of injudicious RCMP conduct.
The alleged victim is running for public office on the basis of alleged “RCMP malfeasance.” If it were untrue, you’d think some guy running for office on the basis of it would provoke a statement from them.
As far as putting one’s critical faculties on hold, please, phone the court in Drumheller and report back; given your righteous wrath and indignation.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 10:42 am | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
“Isn’t Link Byfield a journalist?”
I don’t know. I know he’s a columnist. Do you understand the distinction? His publication of an unsupported allegation, based exclusively on the “victim’s” allegations, without any other apparent source, suggests that no, he is not a journalist. Or at least, not a good one.
“You have to be pretty dense not to know that there are more than a few recent reports of injudicious RCMP conduct.”
I’m quite aware, thanks. Some such reports have a basis. Some don’t. That’s why a “journalist” looks for corroboration.
“If it were untrue, you’d think some guy running for office on the basis of it would provoke a statement from them.”
Heh. You don’t do a lot of PR work, do you? Why on earth would the RCMP bother denying an improbable account that appears to have no evidence to back it up? It’s simply not credible, except to the ideologues for whom credibility is secondary to utility.
“Phone the court in Drumheller and report back.”
Naw. I don’t follow up on most Elvis or UFO sightings, either. There’s a certain threshold at which I take these reports seriously. An unsupported statement from the alleged victim doesn’t quite make it.
You, of course, are free to set the bar as low as you want. I’m just pointing out to your readers that this story has very little actual merit. The chronically histrionic and outraged can get upset if they want. Folks who understand the difference between news and propaganda may pause.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 11:21 am | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
Come to think of it, there ARE a lot of UFO sightings around Drumheller, aren’t there? Hmmm….
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 11:23 am | Permalink
George Freeman wrote:
UFO sights, I don’t know.
Neither do I know how much investigation Link Byfield gave to his piece. Maybe he phoned the court in Drumheller.
Unless you investigate, your claim that the story is unsupported remains an unsupported claim. Then again, I guess some folks understand the difference between news and propaganda.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 11:56 am | Permalink
Grog wrote:
Isn’t Link Byfield a journalist?
As Balbulican said, he’s a columnist.
When his family was still publishing “The Report” magazine, they were quite proud of the fact they didn’t actually consider themselves “journalists” - and the crap they wrote showed it.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 12:01 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
“Some folks understand the difference between news and propaganda.”
For sure. Maybe you could find and talk to one of them, since I’m obviously not able to help you.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 12:22 pm | Permalink
Aaron Unruh wrote:
So when Link Byfield reports on the story, it’s “crap.” When other media don’t report on the story, that’s haughtily dismissed as one of those “evil MSN coverups.” Anyone else noticing the cognitive devices that Balbulican employs to view the world precisely as he thinks it should be?
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 12:58 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
I didn’t refer to Mr. Byfield’s column as “crap”, Aaron. I simply pointed out noted that he has no sources beyond the alleged “victim”, and provies no other perspective (not even the ritual “The RCMP refused to comment…” From a journalistic perspective, that makes his story extremely week. As a propaganda column, it’s fine, of course - the standards are much lower.
“When other media don’t report on the story, that’s haughtily dismissed as one of those “evil MSN coverups.â€
Heh. I see you still have gone in for that irony tune-up, have you? I don’t think this is a case of media coverup, Aaron. I think (he said again, wearily) that it’s a weak victimhood story, with no corroboration, and that no serious editor would touch it.
“Anyone else noticing the cognitive devices that Balbulican employs to view the world precisely as he thinks it should be?”
Don’t know what you can deduce from all this about my “view” of the “world”, other than I’m a bit more sceptical that you.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:18 pm | Permalink
Ryan wrote:
Link Byfield was not reporting on the story. Rather, he cut and paste it into a column. There is no evidence of the required due diligence that an actual reporter would undertake (e.g. indpendent verification of facts, seeking comment from the RCMP, looking into charges filed in court, etc.)
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:21 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
And to give him credit - it’s very bad “journalism”, but it’s pretty good propaganda. I really liked the way he quoted the neighbours wife who quoted her husband about the number of police cars, and the careful choice of verbs to draw attention away from the utter absence of verifiable information.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:22 pm | Permalink
George Freeman wrote:
Yeah, too bad he doesn’t actually substantiate his claim that Rew’s story is bogus and check with the court in Drumheller.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:22 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
George - you’ve got the onus for corroboration backward, I’m afraid.
Ryan, if that’s the case, do you have any sense of what the original source was? There isn’t a editor in the world that would touch a story that weak AS NEWS, so you may well correct; IF the story was published elsewhere, I’d assume some due diligence.
I frankly doubt it, but I’d love to see a source or link.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:31 pm | Permalink
Ryan wrote:
Balbulican - A great deal of the text in Mr. Byfield’s column is remarkably similar to the text on Mr. Rew’s website, so it would appear that the source is the website, Mr. Rew himself in direct communication with Mr. Byfield, and/or third party blogs or websites. I think we are in violent agreement on this one.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:48 pm | Permalink
Greg Farries wrote:
Just to follow up, I actually contacted John Rew directly and asked if he had any external sources for his story. He hasn’t gotten back to me, but if he does I’ll report back here.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:56 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
That was my impression too. That’s why I was asking for any source independent of the “victim”. 32 comments later, no-one’s come up with anything…which I expected.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 1:57 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
Greg: You contacted John Rew, and asked him whether he had “sources” for his own story?
Oh, dear. You guys really do need a bit of clarity around this whole “journalism” thing.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 2:01 pm | Permalink
Aaron Unruh wrote:
“Don’t know what you can deduce from all this about my “view†of the “worldâ€, other than I’m a bit more sceptical that you.”
By which you mean selectively skeptical, of course.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 2:09 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
“By which you mean selectively skeptical, of course..”
No, I mean generally skeptical. When a Palestinian press release announces that X children were killed by an American bomb at a wedding, I generally google to try to track the story back to its original source. More often than not, it sources back to a single report, with no outside corroboration. That reports gets picked up and reported by dozens of outlets: but while the proliferation of a story through a range of ideological websites creates the illusion of validity, you can usually tell it’s bullshit if it stems from one report.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 2:27 pm | Permalink
smarter than balbie wrote:
geezuz balbulican, journalist/editor? you da man on this one, c’mon people, let’s get that corroborate, clarity, journalism thingy moving here, there’s a journalist/editor amongst us. Mr. Rew’s story never had a chance nor the UFO’s flying over Drumheller.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 2:55 pm | Permalink
Greg Farries wrote:
Come on, balbulican - cut me some slack here - what’s wrong with giving a guy the opportunity to share his side of the story?
Anyways, a friend of mine forwarded the actual RCMP Police Report sent out to the various media outlets in Central Alberta. I’ve created a new posting for this report.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 8:58 pm | Permalink
ThePolitic.com » Drumheller-Stettler By-Election - Police Report on John Rew Arrest wrote:
[…] follow up on Jaunque’s posting, “Harper & Stelmach: Register this!” a friend of mine has forwarded me the actual RCMP Police news release relating to the […]
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 9:19 pm | Permalink
balbulican wrote:
“Come on, balbulican - cut me some slack here - what’s wrong with giving a guy the opportunity to share his side of the story?”
Nothing, Greg, except that we HAVE his side of the story, twice…once from him, once from Byfield. What I’d like to see is a report from another source. I’ll check your supplementary posting.
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
smarter than balbie wrote:
Oh oh! you’re in trouble now Greg F., the balbulican will be checking “your supplementary posting”, double check all the spelling, cross all the Tees and dot those Eyes, check and check sir! we await the journalist/editor balbulican’s vetting of said “supplementary posting”…oh! the pressure!
Posted on 06-Jun-07 at 10:12 pm | Permalink
Harper & Stelmach: Register this - Topix wrote:
[…] How would you feel if this happened to you? Monday, April 16th , 4 am, near the hamlet of Craigmyle, southwest of Hanna, Alberta. via ThePolitic […]
Posted on 11-Jun-07 at 4:18 pm | Permalink
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Posted on 12-Jan-08 at 9:20 am | Permalink