Vancouver journalist Terry O'Neill, former editor of the Western Report magazine, had an Op-Ed in the National Post calling for 'human rights' legislation to be drastically altered, to prevent those tribunals from behaving like 'Star Chamber' inquisitions, trampling on Canadians' rights of free speech, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of religion (and, I would add, our Charter-protected democratic political rights).

We urgently need masses of Canadians to endorse Mr. O'Neill's call for protection of our rights. NOW! How? Write or phone your MP!

In 1857, American anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass warned:

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."

But wait. Aren't words like "tyrants" and "oppression" a bit too strong?

No.

As Jonah Goldberg points out in his new book Liberal Fascism, it has long been understood that when fascism comes to the democracies of the West, it will come as a smiley-faced, "nice" fascism, full of good intentions.

But fascism is still fascism. The heart of fascism is elevation of the State and its agencies to the status of little gods. The inevitable tool of fascists is using the power of the state to suppress ideas they cannot defeat with logic.

That's exactly what "human rights" tribunals are doing in Canada-right now, today-to journalists, publishers and politicians.

And if we submit, as Douglass wrote-if we will not vigorously oppose the tyranny-we will deserve our chains.

And there's another important issue, beyond the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press that are now under threat: defending democracy and our Constitution from the hubris of judicial activism.

Our courts have usurped Parliament's exclusive authority of to write laws-and Parliament takes it lying down, without a murmur.

Why?

"The problem," said Senator Anne Cools at a 1998 conference in Ottawa, "is not just judicial activism. It is also cowardice in the House of Commons."

The Senator is right. We've been electing people to Parliament who lack either the vision or the courage to defend Parliament's law-making authority and the restraint on tyranny we get from the division of government powers.

Of all the 16 registered federal political parties, only the CHP-the sixth-largest party, and the one the mainstream media never tell the public about-has a plan to defend democracy and the Constitution.

So who will bell the cat? Who will make the HRCs and judges keep to their proper spheres? It must be the people; and to do it, we must start electing MPs who are willing to endure the media's scorn to defend the freedoms for which earlier generations were willing to risk their very lives.