Update: The president of Donovan Creative Communications has responded to Don Laird’s emails. This is a fair reply.
Mr. Laird should perhaps reconsider his position vis-à-vis the flag:
Good afternoon.
Some of you on this email string know us, some do not. For all, I would like to make it clear that we have no association with the gentleman who calls himself Don Laird, have never heard of him before now, and everything claimed in this letter, or in the numerous subsequent faxes to our office, are patently untrue and unsubstantiated. He has absolutely no knowledge of our business operations, nor the opinions of this company and its staff. He came into our offices on a Saturday uninvited, and has now taken it upon himself to personally and professionally attack us and our reputation.
We have decided until now to avoid confronting him, but, for the personal safety of my staff given recent events, have filed a complaint with the Alberta RCMP and plan to do this now with the City of Edmonton police service.
Unfortunately, our landlord has since decided to remove the flag from our office rather than replacing it due to this OPEN LETTER. We think this is unfortunate. To make it clear: This was never our flag; we co-habit this building with another company and the building is owned by an independent operator.
I can say that our VP of Strategy, Tim Schultz, whom Mr Laird buttonholed outside of our office that Saturday, has in previous capacities welcomed troops home from Afghanistan, and has put in personal and professional time to demonstrate his commitment to Canada’s troops. His record here is above reproach. So too is the integrity of our business.
It goes without saying for us that we support the men and women who put their lives on the line every day for our personal freedom.
We hope that Mr. Laird decides to stop defaming us publicly. For the moment, I wanted to fill in everyone in that he has cc-ed.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Truly yours,
Michael Donovan
Our Alberta correspondent Don Laird has a personal story to tell about two businesses in Alberta and their very different ways they responded to criticism about the shabby condition of the Canadian flags flying from their premises. The first one, Hitrac Equipment Ltd., promptly bought a new flag and ran it up their flagpole. The second, Donovan Creative Communications Inc…. Well, they had a very different response, as you’ll see.
In my opinion Mr. Laird was a bit hard on this guy Schultz at Donovan. On the other hand, the fellow was being disingenuous when he said, “We don’t own the building,” because he was able to produce results of a sort within a week.
Here’s the video report on what happened:
The accompanying article is below.
A Tale of Two Flags
by Don Laird
(A true story)
The First Flag
Several weeks ago I was driving through an industrial section of Spruce Grove, Alberta called “Acheson”. It was early in the morning and the sun was up against a brilliant blue, cloudless sky.
On one of Acheson’s streets I passed the yard and office of Hitrac Equipment Ltd located at 21-53016 Hwy 60. The office and yard, crisp, clean, with equipment neatly lined up, contrasted with one of 3 flags that flew from poles located on the equipment yard’s corner. The contrast that caught my eye was the Canadian flag; it was in a pathetic and miserable state.
On a personal note, considering my previous military service, considering the numerous members of my family, members of the military, who have served our country and died. Considering my family has been in North America for over 450 years (yes, I can trace them back that far and further) and considering the nature of the contribution, in blood, sweat and tears, of those many generations who have helped birth, forge, serve and protect my two countries (my grandfather was an American from Montana), I am particularly protective of that piece of cloth that drapes the coffins of our soldiers, and marks the country I call my home, a country that is the envy of the world.
As I drove by Hitrac Equipment’s yard I noticed a telephone number on their company sign. I called the number.
A gruff voice answered.
I asked the voice, several times, to speak to the manager or the owner as I had a couple of questions about their yard. Admittedly, I was being purposely vague and that, combined with the fact that the man on the other end of the telephone hadn’t finished his morning coffee, and combined with the fact that I hadn’t even had a morning coffee, resulted in a terse exchange, that concluded with my comment about maybe the owner of Hitrac Equipment should look at the miserable condition of the Canadian flag that was flying out in front of their office and yard. I pointed out that that flag covered the coffins of dead patriots and, when flown properly, symbolized one of the best countries in the world. The response was garbled and terse. The conversation ended with a dial tone.
The next morning I was, again, driving past the office and yard of Hitrac Equipment Ltd.
To my pleasant surprise, coincidentally, again, against a blazing sunrise and a brilliant blue, cloudless sky… fluttering and snapping in cool early morning breeze, was… a brand new Canadian flag.
I was very pleased… and very moved.
Once again, I looked at the telephone number on the company sign and dialled the number. The same voice answered.
“I see you replaced the flag”, I said.
“Who is this?”, the voice said.
“It doesn’t matter does it?, I’m just a guy driving by and I wanted to thank you for replacing the flag. It looks great” I said.
“You’re the guy that called yesterday aren’t you” the voice asked.
“Yes I am” I confessed.
The voice said, “you were right, it was an eyesore and needed changing; we overlooked it but now its changed.”
“Thank you, take care of yourself and have a good day”, I said.
“You too”, the voice said.
The Second Flag
Donovan Creative Communications Inc of Edmonton, Alberta had a Canadian flag flying above their corporate offices at 101-10183 112 Street NW. To say that the condition of the flag and the ignorance of that same condition was a thorn in my side would be an understatement.
(Second verse, same as the first!!!!… kinda… sorta…)
The flag, one of the symbols of our nation, was a victim of disregard and neglect. The flag was torn, weathered, frayed and was a shameful disgrace and a slap in the face to not only our war dead and veterans but our men and women currently serving and protecting Canada in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Donovan Creative was contacted numerous times by me prior to a personal visit, and were politely asked to return phone calls regarding the miserable condition of the Canadian flag that graced their corporate offices. They never returned the phone calls.
Many times I had driven by, but as I don’t reside in Edmonton, it was always on a weekend or later in the evening when the offices were closed.
Finally, on a Saturday, I passed the office and there were cars in the parking lot. I grabbed my video camera and grabbed a brief interview. The interview, as seen in the video, was held with Tim Schultz, the Vice President of Strategy for Donovan Creative Communications. The interaction with Tim Schultz is self-explanatory as reflected in the video.
Once Tim Schultz stormed back into the Donovan Creative Communication offices all comment from all levels of Donovan Creative’s management, including owner Michael Donovan and the other Donovan Creative corporate officers and managers, on the condition of their flag and the “support for the troops” as detailed by Tim Schultz, stopped. No comment. None whatsoever.
Then, as this is a matter of principle, for Michael Donovan and Tim Schultz, a matter of principle as a “filthy, conservative, blue collar, narrow minded, ex-military, patriotic, unenlightened, uneducated, boorish, Neanderthal, right-wing, ultra right-wing, right wing extremist who doesn’t buy his coffee at Starbucks” will never ever, ever, ever, ever tell us what to do… and they were right… the flag remained, and flopped, gasped, rattled and fluttered in the wind above their headquarters for an additional week… just to make their point.
Then, just to make their final point, seven long and principled days later, as reflected in their name… they provided a very “creative” solution to the troublesome flag problem… they simply pulled it down and didn’t replace it.
No flag, no problem.
You see ladies and gentlemen, flag maintenance can be very, very, very dangerous. In fact it’s so dangerous its on a par with walking point on an infantry foot patrol in Afghanistan, dodging IEDs and RPGs.
In fact, the maintenance of a flag can be terrifying, difficult (almost as difficult remembering the name of one dead patriot soldier), distracting, divisive, tedious, controversial, time consuming and ridiculously expensive (a 3’x6′ Canadian flag runs about 100.00 dollars). Therein lies the logic and “creative strategy” as provided by Michael Donovan and Tim Schultz… no flag… no problem.
Unfortunately for Donovan Creative Communications Inc., this issue… will not “disappear”.
You see ladies and gentlemen, Donovan Creative Communications Inc is a “social media” agency. Essentially, Donovan is the modern equivalent of the New York City Madison Avenue crew of the 1950’s and 60’s. Donovan Creative, in parlance less flattering, are spin-doctors. They apply polish, wax and spin to dog crap, turning it to diamonds and then make the same a “must have item”. They are manipulators of public opinion.
Donovan Creative has their finger on the pulse of the internet. They are in touch with everything that is sassy, that is sexy, that is fashionable and trendy. Hence their contempt for a national symbol and the sacrifice of our soldiers… patriotism and selfless service of country is so passé… so 1940’s… so rude… so boorish… so out of fashion.
One look at Donovan Creative Communication’s client list will give you a small indication of the numerous, lucrative, tax-payer funded contacts for the nebulous art of “social media consulting”. The vast majority of Donovan Creative Communication’s clients are either solely taxpayer-funded or receive large amounts of public funding. As they say, there’s no contract like a government contract.
Strange then, in a city, Edmonton, that hosts one of the largest concentrations of Canadian soldiers, of 1 CMBG, at CFB Edmonton, that a company, Donovan Creative Communications, taking full advantage of the sacrifice and service of our bravest and most courageous young men and women in tilling the protected soil of our democracy in pursuit of their wealth and happiness, can’t find the time to maintain a symbol of that same democracy, nor speak with particularity, the name of one, just one, patriotic soldier who died for them. How quaint, how fashionable, how liberal.
Conclusion
Two solitudes… really, in essence, this is little more than a brilliant, real-life reflection of the yawning abyss that separates the hard-working, blue collar, free enterprise businessman from the self-entitled, big government, politically correct, liberal hipsters and leftists that derive their living, in attaching themselves, in the fashion of garden variety parasites, to the posteriors of government, by availing themselves of the sweat and effort of others to fund the obscenely fatuous, utterly frivolous and ridiculously overpriced.
For comments, criticism and compliments the two solitudes can be contacted at:
Donovan Creative Communications
Michael Donovan, President, Owner
michael@donovancreative.com
780-428-0411 Ex 101Hitrac Equipment Ltd
“The Voice”, President, Owner
780-960-4252
If it was true that the flag was in disrepair then it should have been replaced. All they had to do if they could not do so themselves was to phone the landlord and ask them to replace the flag. They should have noticed this themselves and taken care of it previously but it is possible that for whatever reason they overlooked it. When it was brought to their attention why not just thank Mr. Laird for pointing it out, apologize, invite him in for a coffee before he went on his way and then take care of it. Anyone dealing with the public with an ounce of common sense would have made this into a positive thing rather than give themselves a black eye.
Lord Laird, I am totally on your side.
People who disrespect their own national flag, don’t deserve the protection it stands for.
To quote Don Laird.
“In fact, the maintenance of a flag can be terrifying, difficult (almost as difficult remembering the name of one dead patriot soldier), distracting, divisive, tedious, controversial, time consuming and ridiculously expensive (a 3′x6′ Canadian flag runs about 100.00 dollars). Therein lies the logic and “creative strategy” as provided by Michael Donovan and Tim Schultz… no flag… no problem”
Who appointed you czar of flag inspection and maintenance? What fuels you to instigate such an unnecessary confrontation? If, as you point out above, “(a 3′x6′ Canadian flag runs about 100.00 dollars”, why didn’t you buy a new flag and have someone make a video of you presenting it to Tim Shultz? Take it a step further and video the mounting of the new flag on the flag-pole? Win-win. You actually look the hero, you so desperately seem to feel the need to be, instead of a person with questionable judgement poking his nose where it does not belong. Now you have another unnecessary involvement with the police that will likely cost you more than $100, the fallout from which, to assuage.
PS There are many renditions of George Washington crossing the Delaware in a small boat with a tattered flag. The power of the image all the greater due to the state of the flag. I personally have great reverence for old flags. They have done a job and is it not better to fly a old tattered flag than none at all?
Well, well, well…….
Mustapha, Mustapha, Mustapha……..
Forgive me, but once again from the woodwork from whence you came comes more of your brilliance and bullish buffoonery as you bumble about the china shop of intellectual discourse and debate. Quelle suprise.
It seems you are still brooding, bearing a grudge, a limp and a fast fading torch, over and for your mentor, Arron Swartz, the same in tandem with his enablers, the Anonymous crew, I dealt a well deserved and truthful editorial regarding both Swartz’s death and Anonymous’ arrogance and criminality. To that I say; get over it.
Moving on.
Knowing myself, I offer, in advance, my apologies for my utter failure to maintain a semblance of brevity in my response. (mea culpa….mea culpa..)
I am at somewhat of a loss to determine the nature of the catalyst that would give rise to your suggestions regarding the flag issue/tempest. Perhaps I can save myself some trouble and just deal with the byproduct of your brand of reason and logic.
Firstly, a comment, criticism or question regarding the condition of a national symbol, a flag, by no means makes a person a “czar” or a zealot.
Secondly, the suggestion that I should purchase a flag for a company, the same deriving large portions of their profits through lucrative taxpayer funded contacts, is ludicrous. The drama surrounding a “reflagging” at Donovan Creative, equally ludicrous.
Thirdly, your affection for worn and tattered flags bears some limited resonance with me. I too am an admirer of those guidons, standards and flags that led those men and women who carried them, through their darkest moments to victory and, like those same men and women, have suffered the withering, weathering ravages of adversity and challenge.
This said, I am not an admirer of a flag that has suffered the ravages and adversity of disregard and callous ignorance. In that I find nothing charming nor quaint, rather just injurious obscenity.
Moving on a little further…….
The Baron and company have, as expected as I nor all the readers would have expected nothing less than his characteristic element of fairness, given the owner of Donovan Creative, Michael Donovan, a chance to respond to both the video and my comments surrounding the same, and respond Michael Donovan did.
Coincidentally, this is the same opportunity I, respectfully and politely, extended to Mr. Donovan immediately after filming the video, the same opportunity he chose not to respond to.
In reviewing the posting on GOV I did note the “official” response as issued by Michael Donovan and consider it to be wrought from service of self, an attempt at intimidation and in its entirety, self serving.
With respect to controversy and provocation let me say that a position of opposition, vigorous revelation and agitation is something I’m not unfamiliar with.
There are a few Muslim groups, their ardent supporters and others who have found my defence of our country and our culture, including our national symbols, to be “extreme”, “ultra-nationalist”, “right-wing”, “criminal”, “frightening”, “disturbing”, “hateful”, “islamophobic”, “intolerant” and worthy of immediate reportage to local and national law enforcement agencies both in Canada and the United States.
In fact, the vain, self gratifying, overly litigious, thin skinned, pious, vexatious, reptilian and infinitely pompous, Mr. Syed B. Soharwardy, of the “Cartoon Cowboy/Ezra Levant/Alberta Human Rights Commission” fame went tiddling off to the Calgary Police Service with a complaint alleging that my invitation to him, his family and the entirety of his brethren, to leave Canada, and that I would pack them a bag lunch for the trip all whilst waving them adieu at the Calgary International Airport with a tear stained hanky, constituted a grievous and indictable “death threat”………..strangely, inexplicably, the Calgary Police Service were duly unimpressed. (Oh horrors!!!)
As for the RCMP and the Edmonton Police. They, Donovan Creative, have no complaint. There is no harassment, there has been no harassment, there have been no threats, there has been no intimidation, there has been no stalking, there have been no phone calls. Strange that Michael Donovan should whimper about being “defamed” yet the very same can be found in his insinuation that I am posing a “threat” worthy of police attention. (With respect to insults and howling, hot winded, hysterical hyperbole and defamation I, unlike “social media experts”, have extremely thick skin and tend not to find offence, “ism” and injury in everything from breakfast cereal to long-distance calling plans).
What I did do was to take an extended period of time outside their offices with a video camera, ( on public property across the street from Donovan Creative) due to a blizzard of retakes/outtakes, if at any time during my filming if they had felt “threatened”, as they now allege, they could have called the police. They didn’t, as this, and the alleged “complaints” and “fear for safety” is all self-serving, last minute, brilliant but utterly predicable, social media strategy and hyper-hysteria. It’s also known as not liking having one’s nose rubbed in one’s poo-poo.
In short, Mr. Donovan’s tactics (social media-ization) were and are transparent; lets see if Mr. Laird’s video and email gains some traction, if not, there is no need to respond. If the emails and video do gain traction, well then, simply allege an intangible, nebulous “concern for safety” and fear monger by dropping names of local law enforcement agencies. Considering the nature of Donovan’s meat and potatoes, a brilliant example social media and the manipulation of public opinion in action. Bravo Tim and Mike!!!!
As for Donovan “just being a tenant”……..a ridiculously self serving position.
A tenant has leverage. One phone call stating that “the flag flying above our office is a disgrace and reflects poorly on our company and our staff” and the flag would have been removed. As for a timeline……..a flag in that condition doesn’t get that way overnight. Further on the “tenant” excuse, and again, being somewhat repetitious, I was not concerned with the identity of owner of the building, Donovan or otherwise, the fact remains, the tenant has considerable leverage with respect to most aspects of the building including but not limited to the flying of flags from the same.
Case in point……sorry, I do rattle on……………..
If I rented an apartment and the owner decided to fly a Nazi flag above it and someone pointed out the Nazi flag to me and accused me of a little part-time goose-stepping, it would be insufficient for me to ignore the flag and simply deflect criticism by saying, “its not my building” That is too much of a “good German” for my liking.
Not beating a dead horse, and not turning this flag incident into a “mission” or an “obsession”, but we have gotten to a point here in North America and across the civilized world, where the death of a thousand cuts have contributed significantly to our current state of chaos and degradation as we teeter on the blackest abyss of totalitarian leftism/Islamo-fascism. (two of those cuts being Islam and all its accoutrement, and another being the irreverence and disrespect shown our soldiers and national symbols, this nothing more than the handiwork of the handmaiden to Islamism; the leftist/liberal/socialist,).
The abyss and our self-detonating dinner guests aside, I am simply, albeit in a somewhat direct, unswerving, rough hewn manner, saying; no more disrespect, no more flag burning, no more wiping your asses with a piece of cloth that covers the coffins of our very best, our bravest young men and women, no more smearing the excrement of “free expression” on that which herald’s one of the greatest nations and democracies in the world.
Forgive my enthusiasm ladies and gentlemen, its my redneck Western roots showing through and for that, and my roots, I remain fiercely unrepentant and unapologetic.
Quiet reflection………….
In closing dear reader………consider our flag on this coming Canada Day…….and consider the same again this coming Remembrance Day…..and listen to the echoes of the voices of those who gave everything they had to secure the hallowed ground from which we can speak without fear, the ground where the word freedom is not spoken in hurried whispers, the ground where doors are not kicked open ‘neath the cover of night, the ground from which patriots are not “disappeared”.
Food for thought……….
Regards, Don Laird
Dogtown, Crankville County
Alberta, Canada
PS: Perhaps someone can forward this post and the video to a Member of Parliament with a request that he or she sponsor a Private Members Bill that would criminalize the desecration of our national symbols.