Friday, December 30, 2005

Sticks and Stones

While Jack Layton may not blog on the NDP website he certainly has turned the Liberal Blog scandal, into a cause celebre.

The racist sexist blog comments came from Liberal Volunteer (sic) Mike Klander's attack on his wife and him (Klander who is no mere volunteer is a high ranking Liberal appratchick and was working on Debra "I Bore PET's Love Child' Coynes campaign against Jack.)

As reported here, and everywhere in the blogosphere, Klander managed to dis everyone, the disabled (Tory Stephen Fletcher), the ethnic/religious/visible minorities (Tory Rahmin Jaffer) and racial/sexist/sterotyping of Olivia Chow. And Jack.Wow all in one blog. Well Jack came out swinging.
Layton lashes out over blog blunder

And even Stephen Harper joined him in denouncing the Liberal Blog antics. Giving folks more food for thought that maybe a minority CPC government with backing from the NDP was a realistic alternative to the Liberals.

"I frankly never expected that we would face such things, that a candidate would be singled out," Layton said in his first public appearance since before Christmas.

"I certainly hope racial slurs will come to an end in this campaign."

Layton noted that Europeans who controlled portions of China in the past used to hang signs that read "no dogs or Chinese allowed," and said no Chinese person familiar with their history will ever forget those signs.

"This is no joke, and I think it's a culture of arrogance that has set in . . . and the election will have to deal with it," he said. "It reminds us that insults flow from arrogance. There is far too much of this in today's Liberal party."

Layton slams Liberals for taunts against his wife

And what is this all really about. Well the historical arrogance of the Liberals who introduced the dreaded racist Head Tax on Chinese coming to Canada way back at the begining of last century. A Head Tax they refuse to pay back or apologize for. However they made half hearted attempts to make amends just days before the election call by announcing a memorial program funded through a Chinese Canadian Organization headed by long time Liberal Raymond Chan. The culture of entitlement knows no bounds of arrogance.

Layton also won applause for saying Canada should apologize for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and compensate those who paid the tax and their surviving families.

"We need to have a response from our government that starts with an apology - an open and complete apology to the Chinese community," he said. "That has got to be the starting place for redress."

Ottawa collected $23 million from more than 80,000 Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1923, with the tax ranging from $50 to $500 a person.

Last month, the federal government signed a $2.5-million agreement in principle with the National Congress of Chinese Canadians and other organizations to set up educational and commemorative projects related to the head tax.

But Prime Minister Paul Martin has refused to apologize for the controversial tax.


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