The NDP Must Stop Victimizing Women if They Hope to be Taken Seriously Again

In early December 2012, the Toronto Star reported:  Near-brawl erupts in Commons between Tory Peter Van Loan and NDP’s Nathan Cullen 

Apparently Van Loan was upset with the NDP's delaying tactics on getting the Conservative budget measures passed, and crossed the floor to the NDP caucus, pointing his finger and shouting obscenities.

In typical fashion, Thomas Mulcair began shouting obscenities back, and things could have gotten out of control, had not members of both parties stepped in to defuse the situation.  Then Speaker, Andrew Scheer, did nothing.

According to Van Loan, members of his party only left their seats, fearing for his safety; and according to Nathan Cullen, his only concern was for the women folk. 

Had a bench clearing brawl erupted, we can assume that only those wanting to engage would jump the boards and everyone else would scatter.  He should not have dragged gender into this.  What Van Loan and Mulcair did was wrong.  They created an unsafe and uncomfortable working environment for everyone.

Last week we witnessed a similar situation in what has been dubbed Elbowgate.

This time the obstructionism was more evident as several NDP members tried to delay the vote on Assisted Dying legislation, by preventing Conservative Whip Gord Brown from making his way to the Speaker.  Given that the clock was running out, the Prime Minister left his seat to move things along.

He was angry.  He cursed.  He was wrong.

During this brief encounter, NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brousseau, who had moved up behind him, got bumped.  She stepped back to her bench, laughing and then made a gesture like she had been injured.  

However, the issue here is not whether she was indeed hurt, or to what degree.  It's not even about whether or not she took a dive, as many believe she did.

It is about what we know did NOT happen.

She was NOT sexually assaulted.  She was NOT molested.  And she was NOT the victim of intentional violence.  She pushed against Prime Minister Trudeau.  He did not seek her out.

But that didn't stop the Opposition members from turning this into a three ring circus, making it all about violence against women and putting the lives of female MPs in grave danger.  Women must feel safe when they go to work, they insisted.

When did women become so fragile that we needed this kind of protection? When things like this occur in the workplace, they are disconcerting to everyone.  Believe it or not, we've heard the "f" word before and many of us like contact sports, including boxing.

Our female Members of Parliament come from varied backgrounds.  They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, business people et al.  Many rose to the tops of their professions and no doubt took an elbow or two in the course of their careers.  Singling them out as frail individuals is misogynistic.  Feminism run amok.

As feminist blogger Rachel Edwards says:

"While feminists say that feminism is about equality, actions speak louder than words. These actions suggest an uncomfortable truth. Feminism is not the assumption that we are equal, but the assumption that women are weak... "

Had the NDP stuck to the narrative that Justin Trudeau should not have lost his temper and should not have left his seat to physically move Brown through the NDP wall, they would have come out on top.  But by making it about violence against women, they lost all credibility and the public turned on them.

Not just Liberal supporters, but all women who know what sexual assault and violence against them really is.  Also many men who are tired of always being painted as "perverts, bullies and misogynists"

Unfortunately, most of the anger was directed at Brousseau, while it should have gone to those who victimized her for political gain.

I know I also found myself upset with the MP, especially after viewing the video, but have since realized that she only played a small role in this farce. What I also noticed from the video, was how easy it would have been for Brown to go around, instead of continuing to try to go through.  Sure looked liked a set up.

I also discovered from following social media, that many of the people decrying the bullying of Brousseau, are the same ones who bullied Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, just a week ago; so clearly this was not about protecting women.

NDP MP and self proclaimed feminist Niki Ashton, epitomizes what is wrong with feminism today.  She led the charge against Sophie Trudeau when she asked for help in performing her duties, by suggesting that no one asked her to do anything.

Something women have heard for decades,  if not centuries.  "No one asked you to have those children".  "No one asked you to join a male dominated profession".  "You brought this on yourself".  

In November, Ashton had criticized the prime minister's wife for taking her son Hadrian along on an official visit, despite the fact that he was still breast feeding.

Feminists need to step back and ask themselves what they are hoping to accomplish and pseudo-feminists need to stop assuming that they know. Only then will we be taken seriously.

What Was This Really About?

I was quite taken aback by several well known Canadian journalists and pundits, who shared stories on Twitter from international news outlets about the incident.  They appeared giddy over the fact that this might tarnish Justin Trudeau's reputation on the international stage.  How is this a good thing?

Do they detest him that much that they fail to see that it would also be our country's image that would suffer?

I doubt it will have much of an impact, but it does shed a light on the true nature of all the uproar.

So instead of #PrayForSophie #Nannygate or #elbowgate let's just use one to cover everything.

#TrudeausJustTooDamnPopularGate

So What Does Larry Miller Think of Jason Kenney's Hitler-Like Move?

'Walking past the hundreds of stately Somali refugees lined up outside the gates of the UN High Commission for Refugees here in Nairobi -- men in tidy shirts and slacks, women in baby blue, fuchsia or copper chadors -- the pasty face of Jason Kenney floats into my mind.

Later, watching the images of the nearly 400,000 starving Somali women, children and men crammed into the Dadaab refugee camp on Kenya's border with Somalia, there he is again, forcing his way into my imagination: Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of immigration and xenophobic rhetoric ....'  (1)

In Kenney's world only the tidy shirts and slacks need apply.  Unless of course you're a tidy shirt and slacks wearing Muslim.  His department has made it clear "No Muslims!" (Harperland)

Astonishingly, Kenney has been able to redefine the term "refugee" as "queue jumper," "illegal alien," or his favourite xenophobic term: "terrorist."
 
Fortunately for Peter Van Loan, someone like Jason Kenney was not immigration minister when his family fled Estonia after it fell to the Soviets.  They were able to avoid arrest and execution, when given asylum in Canada.  Or as Bruce Cheadle reminds us of Vic Toews.

There's a global recession and Canada's economy is not immune. Shiploads of strange, foreign refugees — economic migrants and oppressed minorities — have been landing on our shores, fleeing civil war, economic upheaval and famine. No one is certain how they can be assimilated and there are concerns about criminals, subversives and agitators in their midst.  "If (their) ... government is threatening to deport them ... it is probably because they refuse to obey the laws of the country, and we should have full information regarding the facts," one mainstream advocacy group objects.

The year was 1929 when migrant Mennonites were fleeing deportation to certain starvation in Siberia under Stalin. Fortunately for Toew's Ukrainian refugee parents and grandparents, they were able to find safe haven in Canada.  Those queue jumping, illegal alien terrorists.

However, today Toews refers to those like his parents and grandparents as "customers".  From his June 2011 press conference he explained the reasoning behind his mistrust of potential "smugglers".  "What we're trying to do is to put a big question mark in the minds of the potential customers.  About the prospect of quick family reunification and we're trying to say to them that you, even if you get asylum status in Canada, it won't necessarily be permanent. We believe that those doubts seeded in the minds of potential customers  will significantly depress demand and the price point ..."

"No one is certain how they can be assimilated and there are concerns about criminals, subversives and agitators in their midst."  The "customers" of the Toews family perhaps?  Just as fortunate for them, Vic was not yet in the picture and indeed there would not have been a Vic at all if Kenney was running the show in 1929.  At least not in this country.

In an unprecedented move, Jason Kenney has presented legislation that will create "safe" lists.  Bill C-31 would also block claimants from so called “safe” countries from appealing a negative decision to the new Refugee Appeal Division and it would eliminate a provision that called for a committee of experts to decide which countries would be placed on the safe list.  It also ultimately gives the Kenney full discretion over the yet-to-be-established safe list.

His list.

Where's our Nazi spotter Larry Miller?  It's a dangerous thing when one man can make and control a list that determines the fate of entire groups of people.

One country on Kenney's list is Czechoslovakia, and concerns the Roma of that country.  Those queue jumping terrorists need to stay home.  After all, as he points out, Czechoslovakia is a democratic country and champion of human rights.

Or are they?

According to Canwest European Correspondent Peter O'Neil:

A ghastly arson attack that has left a two-year-old girl fighting for her life contradicts Canadian and Czech government assertions that an exodus of Roma refugee claimants to Canada is driven by economics, rather than fear of persecution, say members of the Roma community here.  ... They say they face a constant threat of neo-Nazi attacks and hateful demonstrations, where marchers head into Roma communities and call them "parasites," organized by increasingly sophisticated organizations such as the far-right Workers' Party.

"We are afraid for our lives," said Martin Duna, 31 ... "We are worried that Hitler is coming back." ... Duna's reference to Hitler, who sent Roma, as well as Jews and homosexuals, to extermination camps during the Second World War, isn't as extreme as it may sound ... Czech municipal politicians have won nationwide public praise for evicting Roma from apartments to live in metal containers in city outskirts; and human-rights groups have reported involuntary sterilizations of Roma women from the late 1960s to as recently as late last year.  Growing neo-Nazi violence, as well as discrimination and even segregation in areas such as health, housing, education, criminal justice and employment, have been reported in numerous publications issued by the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the U.S. State Department and Amnesty International.

Does this sound like a country committed to human rights?

And how does someone like Jason Kenney qualify as the supreme keeper of lists and authority of what constitutes oppression?

He has a high school education, dropping out of prep school at a time when that prep school, St. Ignatius was accused of running a cult.  He made headlines in San Francisco for his attacks on the gay community.  He challenged the Pope Paul because he opposed the Iraq War. He established the Christian Coalition in Canada, a group determined to take North America back to the time of the Reformation.

Or according to one of Kenney's teachers the '50s.  Not the 1950s but the 1550s.

He has had no job outside of politics, running a pyramid scheme called the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, inspired by Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform.  Much of his time was spent traversing the country forcing politicians to sign a pledge not to raise taxes.  Mike Harris signed Kenney's pledge.  Enough said.

This new legislation is nothing more that a power trip by a narcissistic nincompoop.

I can't wait to hear what Larry Miller thinks of all this.  Maybe I'll give him a call.

1. In Africa, It's Sickening to See Tories Play Refugee Politics: Here at the bleeding edge of the Somali crisis, I can't shake the face of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, by Cam Sylvester, The Tyee, July 20, 2011

If Vic Toews Had Lived Then ...

I spent several years researching my family history, not only to create a genealogy, but to find the stories that brought my ancestors to Canada.

The first arrived in 1632 as an army surgeon. His future wife would join the colony at Port Royal, a few years later, but it's what brought her here that is interesting.

Her father was escaping the law. Apparently he was among a group, that included a Catholic priest, who were caught stealing firewood from a nobleman's estate. Had they not they would have froze to death, but that didn't matter. All the wealth was in the hands of a few, and you didn't try to get any of it for yourself.

Had that been today he would no doubt have been detained and shipped back, but he found refuge in Canada. His daughter would marry my ancestral grandfather, raise a large Acadian family, and contribute to Canadian history.

One of their descendants would later meet the son of an Irish immigrant, better known as my grandparents.

What brought his family to Canada is also an interesting story.

My dad had always told me that his grandfather was a "freedom fighter". An Irish Catholic who had joined a group of rebels opposing British rule.

I mentioned this to an aunt several years ago, when I was visiting her in New Brunswick, and she brought out an old Irish newspaper that she had from 1833. In it there was a small story about three men who had blown up an "outhouse" and were still at large.

I laughed thinking it was just a prank. A desire to watch the crap fly. But she informed me that the "outhouse" was actually a munitions shed, and had they not escaped to Canada, would have probably been executed.

They were just teenagers then, and by today's standards, "terrorists". But given the suffering of the Irish at the time, especially Irish Catholics, who were refused basic human rights, it's easy to put it into context.

Those rebels found wives in Canada, raised large families, and produced many mayors, judges, and even a provincial fisheries minister.

Bruce Cheadle has a great story on the ancestors of our current Public Safety minister, Vic Toews. He reminds us that had someone like Toews been in his job in 1929, the future Vic Toews would not exist.

There's a global recession and Canada's economy is not immune. Shiploads of strange, foreign refugees — economic migrants and oppressed minorities — have been landing on our shores, fleeing civil war, economic upheaval and famine. No one is certain how they can be assimilated and there are concerns about criminals, subversives and agitators in their midst.

"If (their) ... government is threatening to deport them ... it is probably because they refuse to obey the laws of the country, and we should have full information regarding the facts," one mainstream advocacy group objects.

No, it is not 2010. The year is 1929. The migrants are Mennonites fleeing Joseph Stalin's Soviet Russia and deportation to certain starvation in Siberia. Canada's doors are slamming shut to refugees. Among the massive Mennonite influx who had helped fuel that public and political backlash were the Ukrainian refugee grandparents and parents of current Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.

I had written a similar story when Peter Van Loan was Public Safety minister, and I learned that he was engaged in horrific workplace raids.

With the stage being set for war, the small Republic of Estonia declared neutrality, not wishing to take sides in any conflict.

However, a month before the Invasion of Poland that precipitated World War II; Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was a treaty of nonaggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

This sealed the fate for the Estonian people, as they soon fell under the Soviet sphere of influence. Mass political arrests, deportations, and executions followed, as Stalin's scorched earth philosophy was inflicted on the country.

Peter Van Loan's mother and grandparents fled during this horrible time, and were among three thousand Estonian immigrants, given asylum in Canada.

Toews refuses to discuss his family history, I suppose believing it to be irrelevant. But it is very relevant.

We could argue that the world is a dangerous place, but the world has always been a dangerous place, and Canada throughout our history, a refuge, where many sought safety from oppressive regimes, starvation, and in the case of my Irish ancestor, political asylum.

Do we really want to be a country that closes the door, and turns back those suffering? For example, Jason Kenney once claimed that the Roma from Czechoslovakia, were not legitimate refugees, only opportunists.

But Peter O'Neil, European Correspondent for Canwest News Service, wrote in May of 2009:

A ghastly arson attack that has left a two-year-old girl fighting for her life contradicts Canadian and Czech government assertions that an exodus of Roma refugee claimants to Canada is driven by economics, rather than fear of persecution, say members of the Roma community here.... They say they face a constant threat of neo-Nazi attacks and hateful demonstrations, where marchers head into Roma communities and call them "parasites," organized by increasingly sophisticated organizations such as the far-right Workers' Party."We are afraid for our lives," said Martin Duna, 31 ... "We are worried that Hitler is coming back." ...

Duna's reference to Hitler, who sent Roma, as well as Jews and homosexuals, to extermination camps during the Second World War, isn't as extreme as it may sound ... Czech municipal politicians have won nationwide public praise for evicting Roma from apartments to live in metal containers in city outskirts; and human-rights groups have reported involuntary sterilizations of Roma women from the late 1960s to as recently as late last year.

Growing neo-Nazi violence, as well as discrimination and even segregation in areas such as health, housing, education, criminal justice and employment, have been reported in numerous publications issued by the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the U.S. State Department and Amnesty International.

We are becoming a country without a heart, and one that ignores its rich history.

I'm just glad that Vic Toews, Peter Van Loan or Jason Kenney, were not around in 1632 or 1833. If they had, I would not be in 2011.

Why we Must Listen to Ron McKinnon and Ignore Dimitri Soudas

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

The story of the S.S. St. Louis is well known in history, and immortalized in the movie The Voyage of the Damned. For those who need a refresher, the S.S. St. Louis was a Jewish refugee ship that set sail May 27, 1939, with 938 Jews from Germany headed for Cuba. (1) The short version is that it was turned away, not only by Cuba but also by the United States and Canada. As a result the ship was forced to take the refugees back to Germany, where many died in concentration camps. It has always been a black mark in our history.

And yet we now poised to repeat history with our government's handling of the Tamil Refugees. Through clever PR and hyperbole, these refugees are being painted as 'terrorists', and Stephen Harper has taken it one step further, by putting "pressure" on oppressive regimes, to make sure that victims of these regimes, never escape again. AKA: we support your oppressive regime and please do what you have to do. Just don't send them here.

Michael Ignatieff has said that "We [Canada] must always be a haven in a heartless world." Jack Layton called their plight "... a symptom of the continued humanitarian suffering in Sri Lanka."

While Stephen Harper "described the vessel as "abnormal", claimed that it created security concerns and warned that he could seek a change in the law to deal with similar arrivals. Canada's public safety minister, Vic Toews, said that it could contain members of the Tamil Tigers and that it was a "test ship ... part of a broader organised criminal enterprise". (1)

And a member of Jason Kenney's Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Maureen Bader, asked "... Do human rights advocates, clerics, and "progressives" really think that our lifeboat [Canada] can be infinitely accommodating? Do they even know that we are living in a lifeboat? ... Since several voices have spoken on behalf of the Canadian taxpayer and the need for public security, let me presume to speak on behalf of Mother Nature. She doesn't distinguish between refugees and migrants. She doesn't notice if they are legitimate or illegitimate, or whether they are skilled or unskilled. She doesn't really care if they will assimilate into our culture or remain apart. Nor does their fiscal burden impress her, or their crime rate, for that matter..."

She is citing potential ecological damage, but speaking for Mother Nature? What a load of crap. Jason Kenney must be so proud.

Canada is a big country. No one is saying that we need to simply allow all refugees to land without proper screening, but to suggest that all claims must be made and processed overseas, means certain death for many. And to paint them all as "terrorists" or threats to national security, sounds more like xenophobia , and has no place in a democratic and multicultural country.

The Voyage of the Damned

On the surface, it appeared that the Nazis were trying to be fair, and allow the Jewish population, at least those who could afford it, to leave. But there were other things at play here.

For one thing, it provided an opportunity for profiteers.

The cost of this trip was exorbitant; most Jews could not afford it. Almost all of them had lost their jobs. The Nazis had forced them to pay steep rents for their homes or apartments. Relatives from outside Germany, in some cases, had sent them money. Several families had to pool their resources so that just one member of the family could leave, thus rupturing family units. Each person was permitted to take the maximum equivalent of $4.00 in cash upon leaving. (3)

And to top it off, visas had to be purchased from a corrupt Cuban government, who told the refugees that they would be processed in Cuba first, and then would be welcome into the United States.

But it was a set-up.

Even before they set sail, it was apparent that they would not be welcomed. "The U.S. State Department in Washington, the U.S. consulate in Havana, some Jewish organizations, and refugee agencies were all aware of the situation. The passengers themselves were not informed ..." (1)

And the reason for this, was that Nazi propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, saw it as a perfect opportunity to embarrass other nations who had been vocal about Germany's persecution of the Jews.

The voyage of the St. Louis attracted a great deal of media attention. Even before the ship sailed from Hamburg, right-wing Cuban newspapers deplored its impending arrival and demanded that the Cuban government cease admitting Jewish refugees. Indeed, the passengers became victims of bitter infighting within the Cuban government. The Director-General of the Cuban immigration office, Manuel Benitez Gonzalez, had come under a great deal of public scrutiny for the illegal sale of landing certificates. (1)

But there was also a populist movement in Cuba against accepting these refugees. "Both agents of Nazi Germany and indigenous right-wing movements hyped the immigrant issue in their publications and demonstrations." and "Hostility toward immigrants fueled both antisemitism and xenophobia." (1)

And with the help of right-wing media:

Reports about the impending voyage fueled a large antisemitic demonstration in Havana on May 8, five days before the St. Louis sailed from Hamburg. The rally, the largest antisemitic demonstration in Cuban history, had been sponsored by Grau San Martin, a former Cuban president. Grau spokesman Primitivo Rodriguez urged Cubans to "fight the Jews until the last one is driven out." The demonstration drew 40,000 spectators. Thousands more listened on the radio. (1)

So to recap: Profiteers profited. Governments used it for propaganda. Right-wing groups engaged in xenophobia. Right-wing media inspired demonstrations. And despite all of this, those refugees were still refugees and their claims of persecution valid, as later proven when the horrible news of the Holocaust was echoed around the world.

And yet this week, when a brave soul, Rob McKinnon, President or the Port Moody–Westwood–Port Coquitlam Federal Liberal Association, suggested that the actions of the Harper government were "akin to collaborating with the Nazis to stop the flight of Jews", the media went nuts. Dimitri Soudas went on one of his usual insane rants, and they followed him around with glazed eyes and open mouths.

But as Mr. McKinnon pointed out:

...while Canada supports the UN Declaration on Human Rights that provides that everyone has a right to seek in another country asylum from persecution, as well as conventions that clarify our obligations in such matters, it turns out that if refugees don’t reach our territory we don’t have to do anything. So they propose to stop on the high seas vessels carrying such persecuted souls, and turn them back well before they get to Canadian waters; if we build the wall high enough, and make it impossible for refugees to actually get here, we can bask in our warm pious glow and never have to actually face them. (4)

We, as a nation, should be both alarmed and ashamed.

Taking the Moral High Ground

If you want to draw a modern parallel, look at Glen Beck and his Tea Parties. It's not too difficult to see him as a Grau San Martin urging Cubans to "fight the Jews until the last one is driven out." His demonstrations attract thousands, but the issue is now Muslims, women, blacks and Liberals. And in the same way that our media went after Mr. McKinnon, Beck's Fox News* attacks anyone with dissenting views. Facts are optional.

But we also have to take a look at ourselves. As Mr. Mckinnon says, "we can bask in our warm pious glow and never have to actually face them."

In 2008 the Harper government acknowledged our complicity in the St. Louis incident, which was a good thing.

This past week, the government of Canada made a series of important announcements, acknowledging errors of past governments and providing resources to commemorate these blights on Canadian history. Along with an announcement of funds for an educational program related to the St. Louis, recognition was also given to the Komagata Maru ship incident, where more than 350 potential immigrants from India were denied entry into Canada in 1914. (5)

However, you can't apologize for past mistakes, and then continue to make them. This feel good, "pious" act is only candy coating for our new draconian immigration policies. We have to prevent further holocausts, not be seen as promoting or accepting them.

At about the same time as the S.S. St. Louis incident, there was a letter to the editor of Time magazine, chastising the the way that the Nazis treated their refugees. It was from a passenger who had travelled on the Caribia, another Hamburg-American liner. And he says:

It is one of the most exasperating and humiliating things that can happen to a human being in the world today—to travel on a German ship loaded with Jewish refugees. ... At first, you find yourself enraged at the Germans for being so inhuman but gradually you take a deeper and more abstract view of the situation and, while you develop a sense of shame for the Germans, you come to suspect that their treatment of the refugees is just another indication of a reappearance in Germany of that peculiar quality which in the end will always bring defeat on the German nation. . . .

... The lines between the Germans and the Jews and between the Germans and all other foreigners on board were drawn long before I got on in Curaçao. By the time I got on, the ship had divided into two groups with the Germans by themselves and all others on board—English, a few Americans, a few Irish, Venezuelans, Colombians, etc., all siding with the Jews. . . .

The Hitlerites would not swim in the pool with the Jews. . . . The Germans ate their meals in solitary Nordic splendor—all by themselves. . . . The Germans were angered beyond measure when we went ashore with the Jews at Cartagena and Puerto Colombia. . . . I never was so glad as I was this morning to put foot on American soil. (6)

That same American soil that segregated it's blacks, and afforded few rights to African Americans. "No blacks allowed" ... "Blacks to the back of the bus". Those were familiar signs in Mr. Caldwell's America, but he could take the moral high ground because he defended the Jewish refugees. Prejudice is prejudice, and while he himself may not have harboured bigotry, what's that they say about people who live in glass houses? Or a segregated America?

A similar situation, that was even more grave, also proves this point. In his book, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, tells the story of Captain Wolfgang Hoffman. Hoffman was not a member of the SS, but an ordinary citizen; the commander of a Police Battalion, given the task of executing Jews in Poland.

But when the commander was presented with forms that he must have his men sign, promising that they would not steal from the state, Hoffman fired back with righteous indignation:

" it appeared to me a piece of impertinence to demand of a decent German soldier to sign a declaration in which he obligates himself not to steal, not to plunder, and not to buy without paying. . . ." He continued by describing how unnecessary such a demand was, since his men, of proper ideological conviction, were fully aware that such activities were punishable offenses. He also pronounced to his superiors his judgment of his men's character and actions, including, presumably, their slaughtering of Jews. He wrote that his men's adherence to German norms of morality and conduct "derives from their own free will and is not caused by a craving for advantages or fear of punishment." (7)

He took a stand in protecting the honour of his men. The same men whose duty was the senseless slaughter of human beings. Not in self defense. Not as justice for crimes. But for the simple sin of being Jewish.

In the Bible study of the St. Louis incident (3), that I quoted, there is an interesting assumption made by the author.

The S.S. St. Louis incident also underscores the constant need for a strong and secure Israel. Had there been an Israel during the years of the Holocaust, not only would the passengers of the S.S. St. Louis, but thousands, if not millions, of the victims of Treblinka, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and other death camps could have found a place to begin their lives anew. Regardless of our views of some of Israel’s policies, we must acknowledge that it is the only country in the world that will admit an unlimited number of Jews living under duress at all times. (3)

But they are wrong. Prejudice against Jews was not confined to non-Jews. According to the James Shasha Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem:

Some 90,000 German Jewish immigrants came to Palestine in the 1930s, particularly in 1933 after Hitler’s rise to power. Their impact was felt in almost every sphere of life in the country – academic, social, cultural, industrial, judicial, medical, agricultural and architectural. This was not another immigration of young pioneers, but of people in their 30s or older, who already had established professions, such as, physicians lawyers, merchants, economists, theatre professionals, musicians and artists.Much has been written of the painful absorption process of the German Jews into the local society.

There was a huge clash between these migrants, whose nature was seen as foreign, and the absorbing element, the Eastern European Jews – established, patronizing and holding key positions in the community. For example, Eliezer Yafe, a leading figure in the Labor Movement, wrote: "There is a great danger to the community from the Hitler Zionists, after their Vaterland vomited them out. Is it not possible that they will wish to have their own German schools, a German hospital?"

"Vomited them out"? Again, prejudice is prejudice. Xenophobia is xenophobia. No one can take the moral high ground unless they earn it.

When Canada turned away the St. Louis, we had an arch anti-Semite as Minister of Immigration, by the name of Frederick Charles Blair. And his opposition to the Jews was based on ignorance.

“I suggested recently to three Jewish gentlemen with whom I am well acquainted, but it might be a very good thing if they would call a conference and have a day of humiliation and prayer, which might profitably be extended for a week or more, where they would honestly try to answer the question of why they are so unpopular almost everywhere...I often think that instead of persecution it would be far better if we more often told them frankly why many of them are unpopular. If they would divest themselves of certain of their habits I am sure they could be just as popular in Canada as our Scandinavian friends are.” (9)

This was not unlike what William Aberhart said on the matter:

Personally, I have little doubt that in working through Jews, the Jewish financial group has sacrificed its own people on the altar of its greed for power and this group is preeminently responsible for the poisonous anti-Semitism which is rampant in the world today. (10)

Or in a report prepared by Ernest Manning tying Communism with Judaism:

If international finance and socialism are travelling in the same direction is it possible that socialism is promoted by the money power to hasten the completion of their plot for world domination? Not only is it possible, but there is a fund of evidence which leads to the inevitable conclusion that there is a plot, worldwide in scope, deliberately engineered by a small number of ruthless international financiers. (10)

It was their own fault. They just needed to be sat down and have the whole thing explained to them. Maybe a day of humiliation and prayer would make them see the light.

What Kind of Country Do We Want to Live In?

That question was asked recently in a column about the closing of Canada's Prison Farms, but it relates to many of the changes made to the Canadian identity, since Stephen Harper and his Reform Movement took power.

Do we want to be "a haven in a heartless world" as Michael Ignatieff suggests and see the symptoms "of the continued humanitarian suffering in Sri Lanka" as Jack Layton reminds us. Or will we simply "bask in our warm pious glow" as feared by Rob Mckinnon?

We have pulled ourselves, for the most part, out of the darkness of anti-Semitism, but now risk jumping head first into the perils of bigotry against others, based on the fear of "strangers". This is the kind of fear that prompts a Florida minister to consider burning the Quran. And it is the kind of fear that prompts right-wing groups, like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to suggest that taking in refugees is a threat to Mother Nauture. (I'm sorry, but that's just nuts).

And it's the same fear that prompts Stephen Harper to tell oppressive regimes to sort out their own "mess" and not send it here. Canadians should not have to be "bothered" with this.

Forget that Sri Lanka is quickly become a "white van" culture, where the police and other government agents engage in intimidation and unwarranted arrests**. Where corruption and police brutality have become the norm. (11) And that Reporters Without Borders have ranked Sri Lanka 165th among 173 countries in its annual worldwide press freedom index***. Or that Human Rights Watch**** research alleged that the Sri Lankan government is responsible for widespread abductions. (Wikipedia)

Instead Vic Toews is focusing on the criminal act of selling passports to legitimate refugees, as the main problem, and not the fact that they are "legitimate refugees." That we have to listen to their stories, and not as Stephen Harper suggests, leave it to the government with the "white vans" to sort out the problem.

The refugees aboard the St. Louis bought their freedom. But by not listening, and assuming the worst, we sent them to their deaths.

Is this really your Canada? Is this really how you want to be defined?

We need to listen to the Rob McKinnon's of this country and ignore the Dimitri Soudases, and the Vic Toews and the Stephen Harpers and the Maureen Baders.

And we need to listen to the Tamil Refugees. Our identity as a fair and compassionate people depends on it.

Something else to think about. The following Nazi poster depicts the heroes of the French resistance as members of an Army of Crime. Something to think about.



Footnotes:

*Canada may soon have out own Glen Beck in Kory Teneycke and Fox News North.

** G-20 anyone? Witch Hunts Anyone?

*** Accurate News and Information anyone?

**** Amnesty International report anyone?

Sources:

1. Voyage of the St. Louis, Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Museum

2. Sri Lankan Tamil refugees spark racism row in Canada: Government accused of scaremongering after prime minister claims 500 asylum seekers aboard boat a security concern, By Duncan Campbell, UK Guardian, September 7, 2010

3. The S.S. St. Louis, Bible Study, No. 148

4. An Evasion of Duty, By Ron McKinnon, Discourse, September 8, 2010

5. Voyage of the SS St. Louis: Journey toward a better future: Canadian government points the way forward by commemorating blights on our history, By: Bernie Farber, Toronto Star, May 27, 2008

6. Letters, Apr. 24, 1939, By: Ben Caldwell, Time Magazine

7. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, By Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Vintage Books, 1997, ISBN: 0-679-44695-8, Pg 3-4

8. The Migration Experience as Expressed in the Arts, James Shasha Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, June 4 – 8, 2006

9. A Look Back at Canada’s Anti-Semitic History: Frederick Charles Blair, Fight Hatred, March 22, 2010

10. A Trust Betrayed: The Keegstra Affair, By David Bercuson and Douglas Wertheimer, Doubleday Canada, 1985, ISBN: 0-385-25003-7, Pg. 34-38

11. The Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan State, by Ashik Bonofer & David Morgan, South Asia Analysis Group, Paper No. 3786, April 29, 2010

Guest Column by Ashik Bonofer & David Morgan

ANIMAL FARM II: Stormy and Hope. A Modern Day Love Story

CHAPTER ONE

Peter Van Loan, minister of Crime and Punishment, was ready to head out, but had just one more task to perform before leaving. He crossed the room toward an array of video screens, and with remote in hand, changed the scenes from "Save the Prison Farms" activists, to animals in distress. This was his favourite part of the day, where he could view the effects of his arbitrary decisions.

After several engrossed minutes, he shut off the screens, smiled and left the room, clearly enjoying the fruits of his labour.

Meanwhile, in Kingston Ontario, the cattle at Frontenac Institute were huddled together in the barn. Rumours abounded that they may soon be leaving their familiar dwellings. And though most refused to believe it, there was no mistaking the change in the men who came to look after them everyday. Word was that many were now receiving grief counselling.

"Grief over what" asked a demure little Heifer.

"Over us, stupid. I heard them talking. We are to be sold."

"How can we be sold? This is our home. I was born here and so were my parents, and their parents before them."

"Doesn't matter. I heard it had something to do with the country's loss of dem ... dem ...democy ...."

One of the larger Holsteins, who had already settled into it's bed of straw, got up and approached the group. "Democracy, my dear. I'm not sure what it is but it has something to do with a fair and just society. That's what they said. A man named Harper suspended democracy, and no democracy means no justice, and no justice means that we can now be sold to the highest bidder."

The cattle slumped and all settled into their beds, but there would be little sleeping that night. And in the darkness, came the sound of a lone bovine voice, singing barely above a whisper, but the words were heard by all:

Beasts of Kingston, beasts of Frontenac,
Beasts of this great land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.

Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Harper shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of Frontenac,
Shall be trod by us again.

But unfortunately, the uproar awoke Van Loan and Harper, whose ears are too big, and hearts too small. They seized their guns and were ready to react, until Stockwell Day brought them to their senses. "Wait men. Don't be hasty. We'll let them suffer a little more. You don't want to end the fun too soon."

And across the fields and highways, the melody reached another pair of ears. Stormy the donkey knew just what he had to do. But for now he must get his rest.

CHAPTER TWO

Stormy awoke to the sound of loud voices. His friend Jeff Peters was on the phone: "We'll fight this. They are not going to get away with this. It is not just about those prison farms, but this is an assault on Canadian farmers and the entire justice system."

He knew Jeff would come through. And all the others in the room were just as determined. Stormy had allies. All that was left was to draw up a battle plan.

Meanwhile at Frontenac Institute, the cattle were once again huddling in groups, pondering their future. They had noticed that the men were especially kind that morning. An extra little tickle behind the ear. One more pat on the rump. They liked it but couldn't help feeling a sense of dread.

"They know something, but are not telling us what it is."

"I told you guys. We are being sold. I hear things."

"Stop scaring the young ones. We've heard your rumours before. Remember when you had us convinced that they were experimenting with five legged calves. Do you see any five legged calves around here?"
Walking away, the heifer just shook her head. "They'll see. I'm right. I know I'm right."

But clearly she was hoping that this time she was wrong.

CHAPTER THREE

In Ottawa, things were heating up. The opposition parties demanded answers. Where was the proof that the farms were no longer sustainable? What alternative rehabilitation programs did the Reformers have in mind?

"Shhhhhh." They were told. "We answer to no one."

"But all experts agree that ..."

"There's that word experts again ... experts'. And 'facts'. Do you think we are concerned with 'facts' or what 'university types' have to say? Our base wants the farms gone, so they will be gone. End of"

Mark Holland reminded the Reformers that Canadians from all walks of life opposed their decision, and they deserved answers. But it was no use. As Wayne Easter reminded us, the buffoons had dreamt of super prisons and they were going to build super prisons, even if Canada did not have enough criminals to fill them. Said he:

The former Minister of Public Safety, Peter Van Loan, was the first to raise the spectre of the 'super prison' model. This strategy was based on a report, which was prepared for the Conservatives and which called for the construction of regional complexes across the country. These complexes would incorporate four or five penitentiaries within one perimeter, housing upwards of 2,000 inmates -- in short, the San Quentin State Prison model. No prison in Canada currently houses more than 550 inmates. The U.S. tough on crime agenda has increased their prison population to a point where it has incarcerated more people than any other country in the world. Few would claim that this has created a 'safer' environment.

What the government requires is the land base upon which to construct these facilities. San Quentin sits on 432 acres of land. Interestingly, the Frontenac farm in Kingston is comprised of 772 acres of class 2 and 3 soils -- prime agricultural land. In 2007, Correctional Services Canada was requested to develop a cost estimate for a new correctional facility that could incorporate the correctional activities of several existing facilities located in the Kingston area into one footprint. The plan for super prisons has been underway for some time.

But even the Conservatives knew they needed some kind of justification for closing the farms to acquire the land to build super prisons, so they decided to claim that the work on the prison farms -- agricultural work -- was worthless.

How could agricultural work be worthless, farmers wondered? I guess it was as logical as the Reformers' notion that a university education was worthless. Stockwell Day only got as far as high school, and he was doing alright, even if he was in fact, doing everything wrong.

And from the caucus room could be heard the familiar song:

All Hail Harper, we'll rub their noses,
In our bad decisions all,
Bit by bit, we'll destroy this country,
Total destruction, before we fall.

Riches will be ours for taking,
Farmers we don't like a bit,
Lock them up and fill those prisons,
Cause really we don't give a sh..... darn?

CHAPTER FOUR

Stormy was feeling very optimistic. All around him were people engaged in activity. Sawing and painting "Save the Prison Farms" wooden cut-outs. Organizing rallies in Ottawa. Some were on the phone, others at their computers.

This kind of solidarity could move mountains. They would save his friends at the prison farms, human and animal alike. He just knew it. And he was going to help.

The humans spoke of all people from all political stripes joining in, except of course the Reformers. Hugh Segal their senator from Kingston got a case of "hoof in mouth" disease, and their candidate Brian Abrams sent one email suggesting that he supported the cause. Then Harper stuck a gag in his mouth, strapped a plough to his butt and demanded that he mulch the fields to remove any evidence that it was once fertile farmland.

But they had musicians, teachers, nuns, professors, farmers, seniors, youth ... everyone with a stake in the cause. In fact who didn't have a stake? This was about food and it was about justice and it was about doing what was right.

Even Margaret Atwood, a national treasure was lending her support. How could they lose?

But poor Stormy didn't understand evil. He had spent his life with people who cared about all those things. Maybe if he spent a day with the Reformers, he might understand about inhumanity.

Bright once shone the fields of Frontenac,
A star in our community,
Now foul odour rides the breezes
As we lose our democracy.

CHAPTER FIVE

The cattle at Frontenac were up earlier then usual. The sky was cloudy and threatening rain. But that's not what had them feeling uneasy. There was something else in the air that day. They could feel it.

A rumbling outside the gates as trucks idled. Loud voices of people not letting them pass. And the inhumane sound of humans being thrown to the pavement by men and women in uniform.

But they were not the uniforms they saw everyday. These were different. These were the uniforms of a death squad. A death squad that would put the final bullet into the heart of Canada.

"I have some bad news guys. Stormy's been arrested," said the agitated heifer.

"Stop that. More rumours. You're frightening us."

"No, I'm not lying. I saw him being led to the Big House. And Jeff was with him. This is not good."

And they all sang now. A melancholy melody.

For all the days that we have laboured,
Building up this beautiful farm;
And for all the men who've found salvation,
This will do irreparable harm.

CHAPTER SIX

And indeed the worst had happened. The cattle were led away in chains and sold off, while their supporters were led away in handcuffs.

But the battle is not over, and there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Or should I say a glimmering Hope.

Those involved in this operation for a year and a half were able to purchase some of the cattle back. Only six of three hundred, but it's a start.

And one little calf, aptly named Hope will now symbolize that little light glowing in the darkness.

Meela Melnik-Proud now has Hope. The resident of Kingsmere subdivision travelled to the cattle auction in Waterloo on Tuesday, eager to buy one of the milking cows that had been removed from Frontenac Institution. Instead, she found herself the owner of a four-month-old calf, which she aptly named Hope.

"She's just perfect," said Mel-nick-Proud, who took part in the recent protests against closing local prison farms. "The whole point is that she represents hope, maybe rebirth, that we'll come back to the table with dialogue and diplomacy, not dozens of armed police officers."

Melnik-Proud said her university-aged daughters will help take care of the newest member of the family. "I'm not a farmer or anything," she said. "I just thought -- I was watching the cows being removed, and talking to farmers and the anguish of the whole ordeal -- I thought, 'Well, I'm going to go buy a cow.' "

And where there is a beautiful little calf and a determined little donkey, there will always be HOPE!

So to all former beasts of Frontenac,
And all of this great land and clime,
Harper's days are clearly numbered
Then we'll have a golden future time.

NOT THE END

Conservative Bigotry Now Defining Canadian Values

To say that the Reformers are bigots, is like saying Sarah Palin is ignorant. Tell us something we don't know.

A story by Paul Koring (an excellent journalist always) in the Globe and Mail, only reveals that nothing has changed. They are still the same party they were more than 20 years ago, where only Anglo, Judea-Christian males need apply.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has been ordered to reconsider the Harper government's refusal to allow a Canadian citizen to return home to serve out his prison sentence.

In an unprecedented federal court ruling, the minister was given 45 days to explain and justify or reconsider the decision. It seems “inconsistent and arbitrary, and therefore it lacks transparency,” ruled Mr. Justice Robert Barnes of the Federal Court.

Yavar Hameed, the lawyer representing Dwayne Grant, the Canadian black man denied permission to return home, said he believed bias played a role in the Harper's government's decision ... Mr. Van Loan rejected the unanimous advice of senior government officials who recommended last March that Mr. Grant be allowed to return to Canada to serve out his sentence. “He's a black man; maybe that's why the treatment is different,” Mr. Grant's fiancée, Felecia Douglas, said in an interview prior to the judge's ruling last Thursday. In that ruling, Judge Barnes raised the same issues of double standards ...

There is a pattern of this kind of selective citizenship, that is not confined to Peter Van Loan. It just represents the Reformer's view of Canada.

I did have to correct one remark by Koring though:

In some high-profile cases, the Harper government has acted quite differently. Amid a public outcry, Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a cabinet member to Mexico in May of 2008 to sort out the release of Brenda Martin, a white woman.

The government then chartered an executive jet for $82,000 and flew Ms. Martin, who had been convicted of fraud in connection with a pyramid scheme that bilked more than 15,000 people $60-million and sentenced to five years in prison, back to Canada. She was released from prison eight days later.

So I left this comment:

I have to correct the Brenda Martin situation. Harper did send Helena Guergis to Mexico to look into it, and all Guergis did was party. Martin said she NEVER even came to talk to her and prison officials confirmed they heard not a word from the minister.

It was only after W-Five exposed the story, that the Harper government took action. It had nothing to do with justice or protecting Canadian citizens.And as to 'Liberal' judges. They are Canadian judges appointed by the elected (by us) government of the day.And given that 2/3 of Canadians still live on the left side of the political spectrum, they best represent 'our values'.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Canadian Sovereignty Still Under Attack by Harper Government

A long, long time ago
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With every paper I delivered
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

No I'm not having another melancholy nervous breakdown. I just love this song. It's hard to believe that it is from almost 40 years ago, and yet it's still popular today. Baby Boomers really do rock.

I actually wanted to post on another area of grave concern that is further threatening Canadian sovereignty. Not the Buy America/Sell Canada deal that Harper struck during his 2 1/2 month vacation, but the extension of the Security and Prosperity Partnership in terms of national security.

A scheme was 'quietly' developed between our military and the U.S.: Canada, U.S. agree to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies.

Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other’s borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal

Neither the Canadian Government nor the Canadian Forces announced the new agreement, which was signed Feb. 14 in Texas. The U.S. military’s Northern Command, however, publicized the agreement with a statement outlining how its top officer, Gen. Gene Renuart, and Canadian Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, head of Canada Command, signed the plan, which allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

Again we have to go to American or foreign websites to find out what's happening in our own country. The joys of having a government that doesn't believe in talking to it's citizens. U.S. Northern Command, Canada Command establish new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, and Canadian Air Force Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command, have signed a Civil Assistance Plan that allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

The signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already strong working relationship between Canada Command and U.S. Northern Command,” Dumais said. “Our commands were created by our respective governments to respond to the defense and security challenges of the twenty-first century, and we both realize that these and other challenges are best met through cooperation between friends.”

Now they never really elaborate on what would constitute a 'civil' emergency. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I might delve further into one of the fathers of the neoconservative movement, Leo Strauss. He recognizes that once the agenda is put in place, people are going to be pretty upset, so maybe they're planning for repercussions. You have to remember that most of the people in our current government are nuts, so who knows what their rationale is.

For the U.S. they are hardly going to turn down such a gift, that is being handed over to them for nothing. 'Free. ... Canada ... take it, it's yours. ... no really, I insist'. (Harper's side of the debate)

It's rather interesting that the Canadian media turned this into a left/right issue.

The new agreement has been greeted with suspicion by the left wing in Canada and the right wing in the U.S. The left-leaning Council of Canadians, which is campaigning against what it calls the increasing integration of the U.S. and Canadian militaries, is raising concerns about the deal.“It’s kind of a trend when it comes to issues of Canada-U.S. relations and contentious issues like military integration. We see that this government is reluctant to disclose information to Canadians that is readily available on American and Mexican websites,” said Stuart Trew, a researcher with the Council of Canadians.

I think all Canadians should be concerned with this.

Peter Van Loan and Stockwell Day have been working on a one military/one police plan for some time, under the guise of needed security. One of the pitfalls of this, is that Canada can no longer refuse to join the Americans in war. Jean Chretien was able to keep us out of Iraq, but those days are now gone.

However, when it was discovered that U.S police were training here in an exchange program, and jointly patrolling the waters; we were told that it was only for the Olympics. However, we learn recently that the Reformers want to extend that, like we didn't already know that was their plan.

Canada and U.S. authorities are talking about extending cross-border security measures that were implemented for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and were to end with the closing of the Winter Games.

The RCMP and the U.S. Coast Guard have jointly patrolled the waters off Vancouver since the beginning of the month, boarding nearly 200 vessels and interviewing about 500 people in their efforts to maintain security, RCMP Sergeant Duncan Pound of the border integrity program said in an interview.

I'm not comfortable with this at all. American laws are not the same as Canadian. Not yet anyway, though soon. We need to hold onto what little we have left to call our own. American Republicanism may be a perfect fit for Stephen Harper, but not for us.

Did someone say 'American'? Smile, we will get our country back, I promise. But in the meantime, enjoy:

Documents Show That Reformers Hijacked the House in Their Attempt to Abolish Gun Registry

I posted Saturday that there was an accelerated effort to save the gun registry, once the House resumes this week.

The Reformers used every trick in the book, to have it abolished, and some of those tricks were revealed by the Toronto Star today.

Critics of the long-gun registry insisted that it is of little use to the police and not worth maintaining. This argument was effectively rebutted in an RCMP report on the registry that was released two days after the vote. At the time, Peter Van Loan, then minister of public safety, said the report had been in his hands only for "several days."

Now we learn – thanks to a trail of government emails obtained by the Star's Tonda MacCharles – that it was more like seven weeks, and that Van Loan's officials used every trick in the book to stall the report. They disputed its statistics and questioned why the report was produced at all. They even launched a witch hunt over an innocuous banquet held by the gun registry's staff. (It turned out that the staffers had paid for the event themselves.)

For the record, the report noted that police use of the gun registry is increasing rapidly – to 3.4 million checks in 2008, up from 2.5 million the year before – and it said this "highlights the importance" of the registry to law enforcement.

This was certainly not the first time that the Reform-Conservatives resorted to dirty tricks to convince Canadians that the gun registry was a waste of money. Susan Delacourt reported in May of 2007:

OTTAWA–The Conservative government's firearms advisory committee, appointed and operating in virtual secrecy, is made up almost entirely of pro-gun advocates opposed to the firearms registry.

Its dozen members include a man who argued that more guns in the hands of students would have helped in the recent Virginia Tech massacre, in which 32 people were killed, and another shooting aficionado who described a weapon used in last September's Dawson College killings in Montreal as "fun."

And remember Van Loan's horrendous interview when he tried to spin his sitting on the report for seven weeks:



IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

************

More Postings on the Gun Registry

Garry Breitkreuz Stacks Firearms Advisory Committee

Reformer Garry Breitkreuz Has Suggested That the RCMP Have Fallen From Grace

Shooting off Their Mouths Over Gun Registry

Police Chiefs Blast the Harper Government Over Gun Registry

Reform-Conservatives to Run Attack Ads Against the Police

The Real Story Behind Guns and Reform Conservatives

Gun Ownership in Canada is a Privilege, Not a Right. WHAT DON'T YOU GET?

Before You Lambaste Jack Layton Remember This is a Democracy