With respect to Sun TV

I want to leave a public record that I support the concept of free speech with respect to the government. I respect that Sun TV may perceive a bias in other media for liberal points of view, and feel compelled to present what they perceive as an unbiased alternative. I encourage them to try their best. I welcome deeper analysis and better reporting so I may be better informed.

I expect Sun TV to be treated fairly as any other news organization, no special treatment for or against them. So far, there is no reason not to.

I want to be clear here, so that if in the future I present a negative point about Sun TV, that I won't be characterized as someone who wanted them shut down from day one. I don't. But I want them to live up to what they could be. We'd all be better for it. At least, don't let us down.

It would be quite Orwellian to convict or punish someone before they commit a crime. Sun TV have done nothing wrong, and should not face unusual sanctions, limits or constraints based on something they might do in the future, or for any similarities to news organizations in other countries.

However, this post by Kady O'Malley makes quite interesting reading. It's about an incident involving a source of Mr. Kory Teneycke and some tampering with an on-line petition put for on avaaz.org. I plan to follow this matter as more information becomes available, and I urge everyone else to follow as well. It is a serious matter to steal someone's identity, whether for financial gain or political influence.

It must be noted that complaints about offensive programming are not handled by the CRTC, but rather by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, of which the CRTC required Sun TV to hold membership in good standing when their application was approved. I sincerely hope Sun TV works with the CBSC to present their best news for the benefit of all their Canadian viewers.